Zetsubo no Senki: Symphogear if

**Zetsubō no Senki: Symphogear i*f*** 絶望の戦姫シンフォギア i*f* is a fan fiction written by OrchidSomnium. It should be noted that this story is for **mature audiences**, being filled with angst. The story can also be read on ao3.

The story serves as an alternate universe retelling of the *Senki Zesshō Symphogear* anime series, focusing on a diverging timeline where Miku Kohinata was able to attend the Zwei Wing concert alongside Hibiki Tachibana present at the beginning of the franchise.

## Characters

This section contains spoilers for the story. View at your own risk.
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### Squad of Nexus Guardians

**Kirika Akatsuki**

The first of the Receptor Children brought in by FIS. "Kirika Akatsuki" was a name given to her by the scientists that looked after her in America; her real name and even birthday are completely unknown. Prior to meeting Shirabe, Maria, and Serena, Kirika had been experimented on by FIS under the direction of a disguised Adam Weishaupt and trained to be a super soldier. Kirika is currently the vessel used by Finé though, unlike the priestess's other vessels, has a symbiotic relationship with her and co-exist, rather than being completely taken over by Finé out-right. First appeared in G Chapter 1. Wielder of the Igalima Symphogear.

**Kanade Amou**

Member of Zwei Wing, which has since been disbanded as an idol group. Kanade also works with Sector Two of the Special Disaster Response Team as one of the Symphogear candidates, though she is not naturally able to resonate with the weapon. Following the Zwei Wing Tragedy, Kanade's body was heavily damaged, and now lives life with a single eye, though she does not let this get to her. She acts as a older sister-type figure to Tsubasa, and genuinely cares about each of Zwei Wing's fans and their perception of her. First appeared in Chapter 1. Wielder of the Gungnir Symphogear.

**Kuriyo Ando**

A student of Lydian Private Music Academy who was befriended by Hibiki Tachibana and Miku Kohinata. After learning about the Symphogears from Hibiki, she was taken in by Sector Two as a preliminary member, often performing a variety of odd jobs for the group. Kuriyo is capable of wielding the Ame no Habakiri Symphogear. First mentioned in Chapter 6.

**Leiur Darāhim**

One of the four Autoscorers created by Carol Malus Dienheim. First mentioned in GX Chapter 2.

**Carol Malus Dienheim**

First appeared in GX Chapter 2.

**Elfnein**

First mentioned in GX Chapter 2.

**Maria Cadenzavna Eve**

A world-renowned idol. One of Finé's descendants, Maria was taken in by the priestess and used in experiments. Blackmailed into working for terrorist organization F.I.S. through the threatening of her "sisters" Kirika Akatsuki and Shirabe Tsukuyomi, and with whom she declared war on the world. First mentioned in Chapter 14. Current wielder of the Airgetlám Symphogear.

**Serena Cadenzavna Eve**

Maria's younger sister. Six years prior to the events of the series, she had been killed during an experimental attempt to awaken the Nephilim relic. Serena was brought back to life years later through the use of the Rod of Asclepius for experimental purposes. Was brainwashed by Dr. Vercingetorix into being a mindless warrior named Chalkydri, and remains comatose following the undoing of said mental manipulation. First mentioned in G Chapter 6. Original wielder of the Airgetlám Symphogear and currently bound with the Shénshòujìng relic.

**Sakuya Fujitaka**

An employee of Sector Two of the Special Disaster Response Team. Fujitaka works alongside Aoi Tomosato as one of the co-heads of the research team, though Genjuro often has him performing a variety of other odd jobs when needed. Known for his more lethargic personality, Fujitaka is rarely seen without a cup of coffee by his side. First mentioned in Chapter 3.

**Yumi Itaba**

A student of Lydian Private Music Academy who was befriended by Hibiki Tachibana and Miku Kohinata. After learning about the Symphogears from Hibiki, she was taken in by Sector Two as a preliminary member, often performing a variety of odd jobs for the group. Because of her reputation as an otaku, Yumi's knowledge of more-obscure and supernatural topics derived from anime makes her a useful asset to the government agency. Currently works under Shinji Ogawa in intelligence, and is capable of wielding the Ichaival Symphogear. First mentioned in Chapter 6.

**Micha Jawkān**

One of the four Autoscorers created by Carol Malus Dienheim. First mentioned in GX Chapter 2.

**Genjuro Kazanari**

The commander of Sector Two of the Special Disaster Response Team and Tsubasa Kazanari's uncle. Many years ago, Genjuro had been planning to aid famous musicians Masanori Yukine and Sonnet M. Yukine in achieving their dream of bringing peace to the world through music. After their deaths, he had been in charge of searching for the daughter of the two celebrities, eventually reconnecting with her after Sector Two met her as an enemy. First mentioned in Chapter 2.

**Tsubasa Kazanari**

Member of Zwei Wing, which has since been disbanded as an idol group. Unbeknownst to the public, Tsubasa is also one of the few people able to naturally resonate with a Symphogear, making her one of humanity's only way to combat the Noise that frequently appear to attack the species. She is known by her fans to be fairly withdrawn and quiet when off the stage - despite her powerful voice while singing - though she also harbours a selfish and slightly cocky side as a result of her training. Tsubasa claims that she is a sword whose sole purpose is not to protect humanity but instead the few she cares about. First appeared in Chapter 1. Wielder of the Ame no Habakiri Symphogear.

**Miku Kohinata**

*Main article: Miku Kohinata (OrchidSomnium)*

A survivor of the Zwei Wing Tragedy, and the one responsible for her and Hibiki's presence at that concert. Both of Miku's parents committed suicide in the aftermath of the tragedy, and she moved in with Hibiki afterwards. Miku has a strange view of humanity due to her experiences: though she has trust issues and a tendency to push away most people, she still feels indebted to help others, if only due to the guilt she feels at causing so much pain for others. First appeared in Chapter 1.

**Satomi Kubert**

A girl who had been in FIS custody before her assumed death. In reality, the girl who takes the appearance of "Satomi Kubert" is actually a clone of Shirabe Tsukuyomi, and wishes to be referred to as such. First appeared in AXZ Chapter 3.

**Shinji Ogawa**

A ninja who works for Sector Two of the Special Disaster Response Team. Ogawa also served as the manager for Zwei Wing before their dissolution, and continues to be particularly close with those two idols. Acts as one of the Japanese government's top intelligent agents, which allows him to get away with things that others would be reprimanded for, such as bringing onto his team civilian minors. First mentioned in Chapter 2.

**Phara Suyūf**

One of the four Autoscorers created by Carol Malus Dienheim. First mentioned in GX Chapter 2.

**Hibiki Tachibana**

A survivor of the Zwei Wing Tragedy. Hibiki's father left her family after the tragedy, leaving her alone with her grandmother and mother to deal with the aftermath. While her opinion on humanity has been strained by the turbulence she has faced since the concert, Hibiki is still willing to give humanity a chance for redemption. After being approached by former idols Tsubasa Kazanari and Kanade Amou, Hibiki agrees to join Sector Two of the Special Disaster Response Team in hopes of becoming able to wield a Symphogear. First appeared in Chapter 1. Able to make use of the Gungnir Symphogear due to shards that had been embedded within her body during the Zwei Wing Tragedy, though doing so places immense stress on her body.

**Shiori Terashima**

A student of Lydian Private Music Academy who was befriended by Hibiki Tachibana and Miku Kohinata. After learning about the Symphogears from Hibiki, she was taken in by Sector Two as a preliminary member, often performing a variety of odd jobs for the group. Shiori is capable of wielding the Gungnir Symphogear. First mentioned in Chapter 6.

**Aoi Tomosato**

An employee of Sector Two of the Special Disaster Response Team. Tomosato works alongside Sakuya Fujitaka as one of the co-heads of the research team, and is often the one on duty watching out for Noise. Following Genjuro, Tomosato is the highest-ranked member of Sector Two and thus the leadership position falls to her in his absence. First mentioned in Chapter 3.

**Shirabe Tsukuyomi**

First appeared in G Chapter 1. Wielder of the Shul Shagana Symphogear.

**Garie Tūmān**

One of the four Autoscorers created by Carol Malus Dienheim. First appeared in GX Chapter 2.

**Chris Yukine**

Daughter of the late celebrities Masanori Yukine and Sonnet M. Yukine, who were world-renowned musicians who hoped to bring peace to the world through music. After her parents died in a bombing while visiting the country of Val Verde, Chris was sold into slavery and treated horribly for many years of her life. She eventually ended up in the care of a woman named Finé, who brought her back to Japan and used her as part of her plans. First appeared in Chapter 6. Wielder of the Ichaival Symphogear.

### Villainous Factions

**Adam Weishaupt**

Founder of the Bavarian Illuminati. First mentioned in G Chapter 18.

**Cagliostro**

An alchemist working for Saint-Germain and the Bavarian Illuminati. First mentioned in GX Chapter 5.

**Elsa Bête** (Subject RHX-Greifswald)

A girl who was experimented on by the Bavarian Illuminati and transformed into a wolf-human hybrid. First mentioned in GX Chapter 23.

**Millaarc Cranstoun** (Subject RHX-Stoker)

A girl who went missing in Slovakia ten years prior to the series. Believed by Shinji Ogawa and Yumi Itaba to currently be working for the Bavarian Illuminati, committing atrocious acts for unknown reasons. First mentioned in G Chapter 18.

**Izak Malus Dienheim**

Carol's father. First mentioned in GX Chapter 6.

**Vanessa Diodati** (Subject RHX-d’Espie)

A woman who initially worked for the Bavarian Illuminati before becoming a subject of their experiments following an incident, transforming her into a cyborg. First mentioned in GX Chapter 23.

**Saint-Germain**

An alchemist working for the Bavarian Illuminati. First mentioned in GX Chapter 5.

**Fudo Kazanari**

The father of Genjuro and Yatsuhiro Kazanari. At some point, an alternate Adam Weishaupt took over the life of Fudo Kazanari, and he became the biological father of Tsubasa Kazanari as well. First appeared in GX Chapter 8, though the status of the original Fudo Kazanari is unknown.

**Prelati**

An alchemist working for Saint-Germain and the Bavarian Illuminati, and an acquaintance of Carol's. First appeared in GX Chapter 5.

**Akira Tachibana**

Hibiki's father. First appeared in GX Chapter 10.

**Tiky**

The original Autoscorer, built by Adam Weishaupt and Izak Malus Dienheim. First mentioned in AXZ Chapter 6.

**Nastassja Sergeyevna Tolstaya**

First mentioned in G Chapter 2.

**John Wayne Vercingetorix**

First appeared in G Chapter 2.

### Other Characters

**Komichi Ayano**

A student of Lydian Private Music Academy. After Chris Yukine transferred into the school she tried to befriend the girl, and Chris now reluctantly (but happily) considers her one of her friends. First appeared in GX Chapter 2.

**Finé**

A priestess who was among the earliest members of humanity - the Lulu Amel. Finé is able to continually influence history by sending her consciousness into the bodies of her descendants upon death, though she can also forcibly overtake the minds of others with some drawbacks. Desires to get rid of the "Curse of Balal" that binds humanity. She currently exists fused with the consciousness of Kirika Akatsuki, and previously inhabited the bodies of Ryoko Sakurai and (temporarily) Miku Kohinata. First mentioned by name in Chapter 7.

**Yuki Godai**

A student of Lydian Private Music Academy. After Chris Yukine transferred into the school she tried to befriend the girl, and Chris now reluctantly (but happily) considers her one of her friends. First appeared in GX Chapter 2.

**Otome Kaburagi**

A student of Lydian Private Music Academy. After Chris Yukine transferred into the school she tried to befriend the girl, and Chris now reluctantly (but happily) considers her one of her friends. First appeared in GX Chapter 2.

**Yatsuhiro Kazanari**

The older brother of Genjuro Kazanari and father of Tsubasa Kazanari. Works as a national security specialist for the Japanese government, whose work often brings him into the realm of illegal or barely legal. First mentioned in G Chapter 8.

**Ryoko Sakurai**

A scientist who works for Sector Two of the Special Disaster Response Team and the creator of the Symphogear weapons. At some point prior to the series, Ryoko's consciousness was usurped by Finé. First mentioned in Chapter 4, though "Ryoko Sakurai" herself technically never makes an appearance in the series.

**Masahito Shibata**

The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Japanese government. Shibata often has to work with Sector Two in order to clean up (or look into) incidents that may have connections to other countries. Humorously, he is very rarely seen without some kind of food by his side, even while on the job. First appeared in G Chapter 5.

## Story

### *Zetsubō no Senki: Symphogear if*

**Table of Contents**
1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14
#### Chapter 1

The bustling crowd flowed like a raging river around the giant silver arena in the middle of the city. People of all ages gathered like moths to a flame under the red and blue banners and signs decorating the plaza as they waited for their turn to enter the giant building beyond them. Every person here shared a single goal: they simply wanted to gaze upon the popular idol duo Zwei Wing, who are to hold a special concert for their fans later this evening. Within the crowd stands two young girls–one a devoted fan of the two singers they are going to see, while the other, her best friend, had never even heard of the duo only a week ago.

"This is so exciting! Getting to see Tsubasa and Kanade in person... I can't wait!" The girl with the black hair squealed as she hugged a Zwei Wing flier to her chest. Miku Kohinata had stars in her eyes as she excitedly waited for her turn to enter the stadium. Beside her, Hibiki had a goofy smile on her face as well. "I've never been to a concert like this before." Hibiki looked at her own copy of the flier. "Still, I don't know much about these two."

"You'll understand a lot once you hear their music, Hibiki, I guarantee it!" The two stepped forwards together as they were finally the next two in line to cash in their tickets.

Behind the desk, young men and women worked at computers, checking in every customer and handing out glow sticks to the excited audience members. Some, like the woman serving Hibiki, can see the slightly anxious looks on the faces of those who had never attended concerts before, and smile brighter with a ‘have fun' cheer as they see them off. Hibiki and Miku reunite a short distance away only moments later, happily holding up their glow sticks as they laugh in excitement. "This is going to be fun!" Hibiki says, finally succumbing to the energy around her and getting lost in the hype.

Hand in hand, the two girls happily walked out into the arena, joining the crowd in cheers as the sun began to set above them. As the sky turned a brilliant bronze, the two girls looked to the stage as lights turned on and the sounds of music began to blare. The blue idol, Tsubasa Kazanari, known for her quiet and withdrawn appearance off the stage and powerful voice while on it walked out alongside her partner, the red idol known for her wild optimism, Kanade Amou.

As the song began to start, Kanade opened her mouth as she began to sing:

*"Kikoemasu ka…?" Gekijō kanaderu mujīku*

As the instrumental for the first song, *Gyakkō no Flügel*, began to fade, Hibiki and Miku looked to each other with happy expressions as they waved around their glow sticks just as everyone around them did. They didn't have to say anything–they knew what the other was thinking just from the gleeful expressions plastered across their faces: *this is the best!*

That thought would not last for long. As the second instrumental slowly started up, the entire stadium stood still as a scream rung out. The song continued but neither idol sang. Instead, all eyes turned up to the sky as it was torn asunder. Everyone in the crowd was aware of this phenomenon; they may have been rare, but they were deadly.

The Noise. Extra-dimensional creatures of unknown origin. Any living creature they touched was turned into carbon dust within moments–even the slightest glance would be fatal. Noise was malevolent, though they seemed to be nothing else but mindless killers. Still, their very presence struck fear into the hearts of all present.

As the entire stadium looked to the sky to see the cracks of white where Noise were appearing, everyone began to panic all at once. Chaos broke out as people rushed for exits without care for anyone else in their way. Selfishness won out as those who were strong pushed aside anyone smaller than themselves in order to flee from the descending Noise. And once they landed, the mayhem only exploded in ferocity.

Hibiki and Miku clung to each other as they tried to push through the crowd to safety, though they were getting nowhere. "Hibiki look!" Miku shouted, pointing back the way they came. Though they hadn't moved far, the spot where they had only moments before been cheering happily was now filled with the carbon ash of several victims of the Noise. With no hope of escaping through the main entrance, Hibiki pulls Miku in a different direction–away from the crowds of people and the Noise.

As they fled up the stairs of the stadium, trying to get to higher ground, the two girls wanted to do nothing but gag. All around them were piles of carbon ash–piles of ash that had only moments ago been living people–and the bodies of even unluckier audience members who had been trampled to death by others trying to escape. Hibiki wanted to close her eyes and scream, but she held them back as she pulled Miku away.

*Maboroshi? Yume? Yasashī te ni tsutsumare*

Neither girl wanted to look back, but to their surprise they suddenly began to hear music. Even as they dodged around bloodied bodies all around their feet as they ran away from the impending doom that was the Noise, the two suddenly felt a strange calm wash over them. Courage welled up inside them as they climbed the stairs, getting as far away from the stage as possible–and as far away from the Noise. As they reached the top, they finally turned back to see a spectacular sight.

The two idols that stood brilliantly on the stage now stood in armour, battling the Noise head-on... and, to the surprise of both girls, damaging them. The Noise were infamously invulnerable to all attacks; they couldn't be shot at or beaten, so fleeing was the only option. Yet here, two girls barely older than Hibiki and Miku were now slashing their way through the technicolour crowds, a giant spear in the hands of Kanade and a sword in Tsubasa's grasp.

Kanade deftly stabbed her spear through groups of Noise as Tsubasa cleaved enemies both lanky and stubby in half with swift swipes. In the eyes of the two girls, the idol of Zwei Wing worked together as beautiful warriors, sparkling despite the circumstances around them. They were like beacons of hope in a world of despair; a thought only heightened as Hibiki and Miku heard the two girls singing as they fought for their lives.

The two girls were entranced by the chaos beneath them that it was pure luck that Hibiki, out of the corner of her eye, caught a glimpse of some Noise heading towards them. "Miku, we need to go." She told her friend, snapping her back to reality as the now-alert girls looked for a way out of their new predicament.

Below them, Tsubasa kept her eye on the two girls high in the stands. "What are they doing?" She muttered under her breath, somewhat annoyed that they hadn't just escaped with the others. Despite her complaining she did somewhat understand her thought process; their delay in acting did cost many people their lives, and there are corpses littering the exits. Tsubasa sighed, and in that brief moment gave the Noise an opening to attack. One tall figure whipped its arm out, hitting her directly in the chest. A normal person would have faded away in an instant, but Tsubasa wasn't like other humans at the moment. She was clad in her Symphogear armour–she was a sword to cut down the Noise.

Tsubasa flew through the air at a high speed, colliding into the far wall. She was vaguely aware of Kanade calling her name in shock in the distance, but Tsubasa couldn't tell which direction was which as she slumped against the wall.

...And then she heard a crack.

The ground quaked beneath Hibiki and Miku's feet. No, more accurately the stadium shook under their feet. Miku and Hibiki had been running hand in hand until now, trying to outpace the Noise chasing them, but they both stumbled as they momentarily lost balance and Hibiki collapsed to the floor. The colourful alien creatures came at them from all sides, taking advantage of the two showing a single moment of weakness. That was it, they couldn't run any longer; their time had come. Miku looked down at Hibiki beside her and knew that she couldn't do anything for her friend now, so she bent down as well. The two placed their foreheads together as they embraced, tears flowing from their eyes. Hibiki and Miku were terrified–they knew for sure they were going to die.

"Don't give up on living!"

Suddenly, an orange flash rushed past the two girls huddled together on the ground. They looked up towards the sound of the voice and saw the idol they had been looking up at not too long ago in front of them: Kanade Amou. With her spear in hand, she flashed a confident smile back at the two of them before rushing towards the group of Noise in front of them. "Now go! I'll cover you!" Kanade shouted, but both girls could tell that something wasn't right.

The brief moment they saw her eyes, and the way she spat out her words; Kanade Amou was in incredible pain. But they knew they were helpless right now–their only option was to do as ordered and escape.

Miku leapt up to her feet and pulled Hibiki up beside her, who winced as she did so. "My foot." Hibiki whined. "I think the fall..."

Hibiki was cut off by the sound of another thud, this time not too far from them. They watched in horror as Kanade was whipped, collapsed against the cold ground. Her entire body was coated in the blood of those who had fallen, and the carbon ash stuck to her as a grim reminder of all those who she failed to save. "Kanade!" The two girls shouted as one, and the idol merely glanced back in shock. Her eyes told them everything they needed to know.

She was worried about them. She was scared of dying. And, most importantly, she was afraid of showing her fans a weak side of herself. Kanade spat out blood as she climbed back to her feet and, on unsteady feet, gave the two girls behind her an order: "Stand back. I'll take them all out and keep you safe. I swear my life on it."

Noise rushed towards her, now running up the stairs and climbing over each other just to reach the orange Symphogear user. She spun her spear as she used it to cut her enemies down, but it was useless. Every time one Noise disappeared, another two took its place.

*Todokanu koe "nē hitori ni shinai de"*

Kanade took beatings every so often, but for the most part she stood her ground as she continued to sing. Hibiki and Miku started to have hope after a short time–she was doing it. The hoard was dispersing, starting to thin. Tsubasa, too, was now fighting again down below them.

Then the four girls all saw it at once: a giant Noise. Large and pink, it looked somewhat like an axolotl, albeit one with two long arms tipped with humanoid hands and a face that lacked any features besides a mouth filled with eerily white-green human teeth. The giant Noise had no eyes, but Kanade, Miku, and Hibiki could all feel its penetrating gaze bearing down upon them.

With its giant hands, the creature easily climbed up through the crowd of Noise, crushing some beneath it while others were knocked out of the way. What took Hibiki and Miku minutes to run up, the Noise crossed in seconds. Kanade's singing stopped for just a moment and, though quiet, Miku could hear a single word escape the idol's lips: "Shit."

Hibiki closed her hand around Miku's tighter than it already was; Miku could feel the blood starting to leave her fingers, but it didn't bother her right now. What they needed to do was get to safety. The two girls looked every which way, trying to find some way out of this mess, but they had no ideas. Instead their eyes drifted to Kanade, who stood steadfast in the face of this new threat.

Kanade waited for the beast to come closer before approaching it; she focused on just the smaller Noise in-between her and the giant newcomer. She waited, as if ignoring it, until the right moment came.

In her mind, Kanade counted: *three, two, one...*

But the signal to go never came. She miscalculated. As she turned to attack the beast it was much closer than she had anticipated. Its giant shadow loomed over her; even Kanade was intimidated by the monster. But she didn't–no, couldn't–back down. She stabbed towards the beast with her spear and it easily punctured the beast's body.

Or so she thought. The giant Noise was smart; it had let her attack it in order to weaken the Symphogear wielder. Indeed, as Kanade's spear plunged into the Noise, its body seemingly absorbed the spear, and she could not pull it back out.

The beast roared and Kanade leapt back, leaving her spear embedded in the creature. She had little time left–she had already strained her body well past the limits allowed to her by the LiNKER that helps her resonate with the Symphogear. She glanced over at the two girls cowering behind her. *If this keeps up...*

Kanade had an idea–a suicidal one, though it was the only idea she had right now. Steadying herself, Kanade stood up against the monster and, as it went to swipe at her with its giant hand, jumped high into the air. Her goal wasn't to dodge the attack, no: it was to launch a kick into the spear, pushing it further into the beast. It was incredibly dangerous–improper timing by even a second meant the Noise could readjust itself and make her miss her mark, which could also be fatal considering the spear was lodged just above the beast's mouth. She needed to perform flawlessly.

Flipping through the air, Kanade soared towards the beast and out-stretched her leg as she flew towards the spear. The gap closed quickly, and in seconds she felt the end of her spear against her foot. She pushed as hard as she could and the spear slowly sank deeper into the creature. It was working! The creature was weakening from her attacks, Kanade acknowledged, but a dark thought crept into her mind as well: *but can* I *survive this?*

Her body was dying. Every Symphogear user (all two of them, to her knowledge) had the power to make use of a Superb Song as a last resort; it was essentially a self-destructive power, meaning it should never be used unless need be. Kanade did not want to use it here–or ever–but she considered that she may need to. Especially as she coughed up blood from her body rejecting the Symphogear's power. *Just a little more.*

The beast roared and flailed as the spear sank fully into its body, and Kanade was flung away as it swatted at her. She flew and crashed against the wall, just as the spear began to eject itself from the beast's rubbery skin. *Oh no!!!*

The spear bounced back out of the Noise's body. It flew not inwards, but outwards through the sky. Kanade tried to move her body, to do anything, but her brain was the only thing working. She was stuck. And the beast, seemingly eyeing her, knew this, as it turned towards her and pulled back its fist.

Miku and Hibiki couldn't see Kanade after that. The beast encroached on the idol and covered her from their line of sight, and then they heard a crash. As the Noise pulled its arm back it was now covered in sticky red blood that had not been there before. Hibiki stifled a scream. *Noise don't bleed.*

"Look out!" Hibiki heard from beside her as she was knocked to the ground and suddenly covered by Miku. She didn't know what was happening, but then she felt a sharp pain stab her in the neck. Then the legs. Above her, Miku's face mere centimetres from her own, she saw pain and agony in her best friend's expression. She wanted to call out to her, ask if she was okay, but no words came. She couldn't speak.

No, she couldn't think either.

Hibiki felt herself fading. *Kanade, Tsubasa, Miku...*

The names of those around her flashed through her mind.

Tsubasa didn't know how much time had passed. After seeing the beast punch Kanade against a wall, she flew into a frenzy. The next thing she knew, she was standing amidst a sea of carbon ash and blood. The two girls were collapsed not too far away, but they were none of her concern right now. She looked instead at Kanade, who was still breathing–if only barely. Her Symphogear had been destroyed; she was back in the pink frilly dress she had been wearing during the concert, though it was now dirtied in ways that would be impossible to clean. "Kanade!" Tsubasa cried. Her partner as both an idol and a Symphogear candidate laid against the wall like a broken marionette. Her arms bent at strange and unnatural angles, Kanade was surely out of commission. But she was alive, and that's all that mattered to Tsubasa.

For a moment her eyes glanced over to the two girls not far away from her. They laid in a pile, but she could see the eyes of the one on the bottom looking in her direction. They looked hollow and lifeless, but she too was alive. *I couldn't even protect two girls.*

What should have been a cheerful memory for Hibiki and Miku was only the start of the end of their normal lives.

. . .

Hibiki stared at the television. She couldn't hear it over the screaming from outside, but she was drowning in the monotony of the news on the screen. Miku sat beside her as if a lifeless doll, though she was not much better.

It had been seven months since the concert. They had managed to survive, just barely, but every day since had been hell. The news on the screen was still reporting on the day that became known as the Zwei Wing Tragedy. A confirmed 12,874 casualties and rising and over 500 more missing persons–all believed dead as well, or injured beyond recognition. And the news was framing this as if it was the fault of the survivors.
Of the 12,800 confirmed deaths, less than one-third of them are being reported as having been caused by the Noise. Over 8,500 deaths were the result of other human beings trampling each other to death. The news loved this in a morbid way–the real enemy of the tragedy was not the Noise but other humans. They got the entire world to turn on the survivors.

Hibiki could hear shouting outside, but she didn't acknowledge it. People rioting because of her surviving was a daily occurrence now. She and Miku hadn't killed anyone, but no one else knew that. As far as they knew, the two of them had been as selfish as anyone else, pushing whoever was in their way to their doom.

It didn't help that several of their classmates, including an incredibly talented soccer player who was being scouted by high school teams, were among those confirmed deceased. Those with talent died yet Hibiki, who had achieved nothing thus far, survived? To outsiders, it was a cruel joke that only lit their hatred for her even brighter.

Miku had no one left. Her parents couldn't handle the riots and committed suicide, ending their own lives in an act just as selfish as those who were now being condemned. She was a hollow shell. Hibiki's father disappeared and her mother and grandmother lived in total fear with the two girls day in and day out; they had long stopped going to school.

*How much longer is this going to last?* Hibiki's lifeless eyes stared at the television, unflinching.

Suddenly, the crowd outside grew quiet. That was the first time in months that silence filled the house, if it were only a brief respite.

"Hibiki Tachibana." A voice called. "Miku Kohinata. I know that the two of you are in there. I wish to speak with you."

The voice was familiar, one that the two girls would never forget. They instantly snapped up as it entered into their ears, and Hibiki slowly stumbled towards the boarded-up window. Peaking between the wooden bars used to shield her from the world outside, she could sense a figure just beyond them. "I'll be at your front door in a moment."

Hibiki could hear murmurs on the other side of the window. People were talking, but not in an aggressive way as they usually were. There was something different about them. Hibiki turned to Miku, who stared back at her–though faint, life began to creep its way back into her eyes.

Miku, Hibiki, and the latter's two guardians slowly crept toward the front door. It had not been boarded up–they did need to stock up on provisions, albeit rarely–so opening it should have been easy. But the four women were all incredibly nervous, their bodies paralysed with fear.

To everyone's surprise, it was Miku who acted. Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened the front door.

"I would like to apologize to you, for failing to protect you back then."

The first apology Hibiki and Miku had heard in months was from the one person who needn't ever apologize to them. She looked much different now, but the burning look the girl gave was still recognizable.

Kanade Amou, now bound to a wheelchair and with an eyepatch over one eye, smiled faintly. Tsubasa Kazanari, wearing a stern and somewhat angry expression, stood behind her.

"We wish to offer you assistance." Kanade smiled. "Mind if we come in?"

#### Chapter 2

Hibiki looked up at the girls in front of her. Sitting across from her was the girl who allowed her and Miku to live on–even if the lives they've lived since have been torturous, Hibiki was still, deep down, grateful to be alive.

The two idols–*former* idols, now, considering the tragedy that occurred–had asked Hibiki's mother and grandmother to give them all some private time to speak, so now they all sat around a small wooden table where happy memories were once shared over meals.

"I wanted to apologize to you both, for failing to protect you at the concert. And from everything you've gone through since." Kanade awkwardly looked around as she spoke, as if fumbling for the words in her mind. "I would have come sooner, but I just got out of the hospital."

"Just now?" The surprise in Hibiki's voice was clear to all four girls, but none reacted to it. No, instead Kanade just nodded before she spoke.

"I had actually been in a coma for a while." She chuckled, despite the shocked and grievous faces on the two girls' faces across from her. "And, well, clearly I'm still not in the best shape. But at least I'm alive–" Kanade smiled, a deep, genuine smile, "–and I'm truly glad that the two of you are, too."

Hibiki and Miku couldn't contain themselves any longer. With that, the two broke down into tears; a long awkward pause sat in the air between the two members of Zwei Wing as they waited for a break in their streams. It took time, but they did manage to dam their tears for only a few moments, allowing Kanade to continue; Tsubasa still quietly watched Hibiki and Miku from beside her.

"Now, about what you saw–our Symphogears. Normally we–Sector Two of the Special Disaster Response Team–would have to step in and force you to sign some forms forcing you to be quiet about that little national secret. But in your cases, Sector Two's been doing some digging."

"Wait, what is a... Symphogear?" Hibiki recalled the tragic events that played out on that fateful day. Kanade carried a large spear as she fought against the monsters that had killed so many. "Was that your spear?"

Finally Tsubasa spoke up. "My unc.. ahem, the commander has asked us not to divulge anything unnecessary about the Symphogear system to you at this time." Her words were cold and robotic, as if reading off a script. The only sign of her humanity was the small mistake at the beginning of her sentence.

Kanade sighed, scratching the straps of the patch that now covered her eye. "Regardless, normally we'd have to force you to keep this a secret, but the commander actually wanted to meet the two of you."

"Why us?" Hibiki asked, tilting her head slowly.

"The commander liked your quick thinking, Tachibana. Trying to get away from the crowd might seem like a cowardly move, but you ran to the highest possible ground in order to get a better view of the situation. He thinks you might have some hidden talents."

Hibiki laughed dryly, her eyes losing their shine for just a moment as she muttered under her breath. "Talents? Me? As if."

Ignoring Hibiki–or perhaps not hearing her–Kanade turned her focus to Miku. Miku looked down at her lap, her gaze distant, as if she weren't even listening. But Kanade knew she was; it was just her instinct. "As for Kohinata, she selflessly threw herself in harm's way in order to protect her friend from falling debris. The commander really admired your courage in doing that. He thinks the two of you have what it takes."

"What it takes?' Hibiki asked. She had a feeling, deep down, that she wouldn't like the answer she would receive, but she knew she had to ask anyway.

"Kanade, remember what he said..." Tsubasa muttered, but Kanade just waved her off with a dismissive mumble.

"Considering my current condition, the commander has asked us to formally request that you join Sector Two of the Special Disaster Response Team as temporary Symphogear candidates. Or as support staff, should you be unable to wield relics on your own. As you might have guessed, it is our job as Symphogear candidates to fight the threat that is the Noise and protect humanity with our songs."

"I refuse." An immediate answer escaped from the lips of Miku Kohinata, who still stared downwards. Hibiki could see her fists were clenched so hard that blood was starting to drain from her fingers, and she quietly called her friend's name. Ignoring it, Miku stood up, knocking her chair over and causing it to crash loudly to the floor, and looked Kanade Amou straight in the eye: "I refuse. Ever since that concert, the two of us–no, everyone who survived–has faced constant abuse and suffered through every single day because of other human beings. Not Noise; humans. With my entire being, I can say that I truly hate humanity."

Miku was furious as she yelled, and everyone just quietly looked at her. Even as her words only echoed through the room as a memory, the three other girls kept quiet for a few moments, taking in the thoughts straight from the heart of the girl with the white ribbon in her hair.

But the one who was most surprised was Hibiki. The two had known each other... forever, and she had never once heard Miku shout like that. Ever since the suffering began, Miku had withdrawn into her mind and stayed mostly quiet; the sunlight that once radiated and pulled Hibiki to her had been snuffed out like a candle in a tornado. Hibiki understood her plight of course, she had similar thoughts. But to disregard humans entirely?

"So you've given up on humanity, then?" Tsubasa spoke, her words cutting through the stale air like a knife. "Then what does that make you? Do you count yourself–or Tachibana, for that matter–among the humans you despise, or are you monsters of your own kind."

"Hibiki isn't a monster!" Miku screamed, her face turning red.

"So you don't deny that you are a monster, then? Interesting." Tsubasa, for the first time since entering the Tachibana residence, smiled, then stood up and slowly circled the table.

Miku watched in shock as Tsubasa stopped right next to her and extended her hand.

"I, too, have disregarded my humanity. I do not count myself as a man, but instead as a sword. A tool to be used to cut down the Noise. It needn't matter who use me if it means I get to protect those close to me." As thsose final words left her lips, Tsubasa stole a quick glance at Kanade before quietly turning back to the girl beside her. "Join me. Together we can be weapons... no, monsters, fighting not to protect humanity as a whole but for the few we care for."

Miku's eyes were cold, but she stared deeply into Tsubasa's for just a moment. She grumbled then, taking the former-idol's hand in her own. "Very well. Even if it means casting aside my emotions, I will protect Hibiki with my entire being."

Tsubasa chuckled. "Very well. If I am the sword that will cut through hell..."

"I shall be the spear to pierce through the heavens." Miku's eyes suddenly flared to life in a way Hibiki hadn't seen in months. She was, quite frankly, a little scared of what Miku had become; though she'd never say that aloud. The sunshine in Miku had been cast aside, pushed out by a raging storm. Hibiki understood why, but she didn't want to accept that the girl who radiated hope had been transformed into one who embraced that despair she faced and wore it like a veil.

Hibiki turned to Kanade, who caught her gaze. "If I agree, can you do something to protect my mother and grandmother?"

"Sector Two has made arrangements already to move you and your family closer to our headquarters. Your family will be under watch and protected against any threats."

Even with that news, Hibiki had already made her decision. Like Miku, she had a distrust of humanity–though she didn't want to admit it to herself–but she wanted to help for different reasons. If it meant helping people, giving others the strength to live just as Kanade had given her, she wouldn't hesitate any longer.

Also, there was Miku: Hibiki wanted the cheerful girl she had loved for all those years to come back; the shadows clouding her soul could only be removed by her.

"I'll do whatever I can to help."

Kanade smiled at that. She would have stood up if she could, but instead she just gave a thumbs up. "Perfect. Welcome to the team."

Tsubasa didn't know why Kanade was so set on having the two of them join Sector Two, anyway. While Kanade had admitted to her that saving people and bringing hope through their songs did make her happy, Tsubasa had always felt like Kanade hated being a Symphogear candidate. She only became one in the first place to kill Noise and avenge her parents and sister, anyway.

Pushing aside any doubts, she knew that her uncle would be happy to hear the news. She knew that she would probably be getting a text soon regarding what to do next; after all, the infamous ninja of Sector Two, Shinji Ogawa, had secretly been listening in on their conversation and relaying it to the rest of the team... *That's something that would be best left secret.*

#### Chapter 3

A couple of days later Miku, Hibiki, and the latter's two family members had packed up most of their belongings into cardboard boxes. Not long after finishing, Hibiki and Miku were greeted at their door by a slim man in a black suit who introduced himself as Shinji Ogawa. Behind him were two black cars, and in one sat a man dressed in blue with tired eyes and spiky brown hair behind the wheel. "I'll be escorting the two of you to our headquarters." Ogawa explained to Miku and Hibiki. "Fujitaka, one of our men, will be taking your grandmother and mother to your new residence. I'll bring you there, too, when you're done."

"Are Kanade and Tsubasa not here?" Hibiki asked, peering over Ogawa's shoulder.

"Kanade's waiting at HQ for you, and Tsubasa's..." Ogawa paused. "Working, at the moment."

"Taking care of Noise?" Miku wondered under her breath, but neither Hibiki nor Ogawa responded; despite the fact Miku could see Ogawa's eyes turn towards her as she spoke.

. . .

The car ride had been fairly long, but soon Ogawa gestured with his chin to a building on a hill. "You two wouldn't happen to recognize that building, would you?"

Hibiki turned to Miku and noticed recognition in her eyes. She didn't know what the building was and responded as much, but Miku chimed in right afterwards.

"Lydian Private Music Academy. It's one of the country's most prestigious schools focused on grooming musical talent. I was actually thinking of applying there."

Ogawa laughed. "You needn't apply there. If you two are serious about joining up with us, you'll be enrolled there free of charge." He glanced up in the mirror above his head to see two confused looks on the faces of the girls behind him. "Some of the faculty of Lydian is actually aware of Sector Two–our headquarters are under it, as well."

"It's a fake school?" Hibiki asked.

"No, it's by all means a real school. We use it to look for potential Symphogear candidates, but we don't interfere with classes at all. It is also a convenient way to keep Tsubasa and Kanade safe, since we know where they are at all times." Ogawa kept his eyes on the road as he spoke, but Hibiki and Miku still felt as though he were observing them all the same. "Hibiki, your mother has a teaching licence, doesn't she? We can offer her a position at Lydian if she would like."

Hibiki wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that, especially on her mother's behalf, so she just nodded with an affirmative grunt.

That's when a siren broke out from the dashboard of the car. "Noise?" Ogawa shouted, and turned hard on the steering wheel. Miku and Hibiki, shocked by the sudden movement, gasped in surprise as they crashed into the side of the car. "Sorry about that. It seems we have some company."

Her face plastered against the cool window, Hibiki's eyes grew wide as she saw the familiar colourful figures plop down from the sky not too far from their car. The breath caught in her throat as she gasped in fear, her heart being strangled by anxiety. She had a hard time breathing–a panic attack. She had gone to therapy after the concert and was told she might experience PTSD should she see Noise again, but the thought had crossed her mind until now.

She turned to Miku, expecting to see her in a similar state, but was surprised to see her friend calm. Miku's expression was serious, her eyes cold; the Miku she saw when Tsubasa and Kanade had visited them before had returned. "Miku..." Hibiki gasped, sadness choking her from saying any more.

Ogawa cursed, and the two girls collided again as the car swerved to avoid more Noise. "This isn't good." Hibiki looked out the back window to see an army of Noise chasing after them–their car the only thing worth focusing on.

"We've got their attention, at least." Miku announced. "Do we know if Tsubasa is close?"

The driver clicked his tongue. "Seems like she's still across town. We're going to need to–"

"Look out!" Hibiki screamed, interrupting Ogawa. He swerved at the last second as a large Noise collided with the ground right beside them. The impact sent the car spiralling out of control, and even Ogawa's eyes were open wide in surprise.

A large crash could be heard from the now-evacuated halls of Lydian Private Music Academy.

. . .

"Noise?"

A siren blared in the headquarters of Sector Two at the same time Ogawa's phone started blasting a similar tone through his car. In response to this sound the large computer screen flared to life, showing a map of the area. A woman with blue hair typed away at a computer and gave her report. "A large amount of Noise has been detected not far from here." This woman–Aoi Tomosato–paused for a moment before loudly exclaiming. "They're targeting Ogawa!"

Kanade, in her wheelchair, looked up at the screen with her one uncovered eye. "They may be after the girls." Turning to the large imposing figure beside her, she addressed her superior. "Chief, you have to let me help them."

"No, you can't." The tall man with the red mane looked down at the girl beside him. His face was stoic yet angry, but his eyes were sad. "Even if the Symphogear grants a limited amount of increased recovery while active, it still wouldn't be safe to use in your state. You'd be killing yourself!"

Kanade knew he was right, but grunted in anger anyway. "We can't let them just die!"

"We'll have to trust Ogawa to handle this, at least until Tsubasa can return." Then, turning away from Kanade, the chief shouted. "Tsubasa's ETA?"

"Calculating..." Tomosato muttered, before giving her report. "She's about thirteen minutes away."

"Curses." The chief grunted. "If Ryoko were here, I'd go out myself to help. Of all times for her to take a day off."

"Bad news. Ogawa's stopped moving." Tomosato stated. "This could be bad."

. . .

The car crashed into a stone wall, sending debris scattered around the vehicle. Hibiki's head hurt and her vision was fuzzy as she slowly took in the world around her. She could see Noise encroaching on their position, but with the car beaten up the way it was, she knew they weren't going anywhere. Leaning forwards, she gasped in horror as she saw Ogawa slumped over the steering wheel, his eyes closed.

Beside herself, Miku was unbuckling her seatbelt. "Hibiki, you get Ogawa somewhere safe. I'll lure the Noise away."

Hibiki was shocked. "No! You can't!"

"I promised to protect you, didn't I? And I was on our school's track team. I could out-run these Noise, easily." Miku smiled. It was the first time in months that Hibiki had seen a smile on Miku's face, but it didn't feel genuine. No, she knew in her heart that Miku wasn't planning on returning alive–she just wanted to keep Hibiki safe, no matter what.

"No. I'm sure Tsubasa's on her way. We just need to keep them busy until then." Hibiki countered. "I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself just to keep me safe."

Hibiki and Miku, together, climbed out of the battered car, and Hibiki crossed to the front seat. Slowly, she managed to pull Ogawa out, and she could hear the man groaning as she pulled his arm up onto his shoulder. "Sorry." Ogawa muttered. "Even I was caught off-guard by that one."

"Are you okay?" Hibiki asked him in response, and he gave a light nod.

"Now what?" Miku turned away from Hibiki. "If you went let me draw them away, then I'm sure you have a plan."

Hibiki nodded. "We run. Together."

"Where?"

Hibiki pointed to a forest down a slight incline. "In there. We can lose them and hide among the trees."

Miku nodded and walked up to her friend. Pulling Ogawa's other arm onto her shoulder, the three slowly tried to make their way down the hill and away from the Noise that grew ever closer.

The hill was steep–walking down it normally would have been difficult enough, but two middle school girls having to carry a grown man while doing so was near impossible. Still, with shaky footing, they managed to. As they reached the ground, a Noise leapt from the cliff behind them. It looked like a cluster of grapes at first, though it soon shed this appearance as it launched its purple orbs–its grapes–up into the air. Miku and Hibiki shouted as the grapes landed around them, exploding on impact with the ground. But they couldn't give up. They slowly kept waddling towards the trees. "Come on..." Hibiki grunted under her breath.

Their hopes were then dashed completely. As they finally reached the treeline, they saw more Noise in the forest racing towards them. They were being sandwiched by the terrifying creatures–a classic pincer attack that someone who studied history probably would have recognized. Hibiki was not such a person, however.

Seeing the Noise running towards them, Hibiki finally collapsed. Despair had overtaken her. Her near-death experience at the concert, the torture she faced afterwards, and now reuniting with and being forced to run from the Noise. It was all too much for her.

"Don't give up on living!"

The words echoed through Hibiki's mind before, but now she could actually hear them. She looked up at the source–Miku.

Miku had let go of Ogawa and now stood firm, her face serious. "I will protect you, I swear."

Parting with those words, Miku took a step forwards. She could feel some deep desire to protect–to fight–burning within her heart. Hibiki was her best friend, no she loved her in a way that surpassed just friendship, and she wanted her to be happy. She had been carrying the guilt of being the cause of her parents' suicide and being the one who invited Hibiki to the concert all those months ago. She needed to fix this, to do whatever she could to make Hibiki laugh and smile like the two of them had before their world came crashing down.

Miku opened her mouth, and, without being conscious of it, sang four words.

*Scupeum Adsto Gungnir Zizzl*

. . .

In the brightly-lit base of Sector Two, the chief standing on the plateau at the centre of the room spit out his coffee as a design appeared on the computer screen. "An Aufwachen Waveform?"

Tomosato clicked away on her keyboard. "Cross-referencing data... What?"

A single name crossed the screen, covering the pattern that had appeared seconds earlier. "Gungnir!?" The chief–Genjuro Kazanari–shouted in surprise as he read the single word.

Beside him, Kanade clutched the red jewel that hung from her neck without saying a word. A slight smirk cracked on her face as she pictured those two girls in her mind.

#### Chapter 4

Hibiki and Ogawa could not believe their eyes. In seconds, Miku's clothing transformed through a white light. The clothing she had been wearing before was cast away as the light faded, replaced with a white and green jumpsuit. A red pendant on her chest, and a black and purple robe that extended up into a hood. In her hand, Miku clutched a long black spear which she held with pride.

"Miku?" Hibiki wondered aloud, saying her friend's name like this for the umpteenth time today.

"So Kohinata has access to a Symphogear? I'm truly surprised." Ogawa spoke calmly despite his injuries. He flinched when Hibiki shifted her weight slightly in order to keep them balanced better, so she knew that he was putting up a front for her.

Contrasting Hibiki's confusion and Ogawa's–apparent–surprise, Miku stood calmly. She did not question her situation, even though she had no idea where this power came from. Miku did not truly care; though she had no fighting experience, she knew she needed to do whatever she could to protect Hibiki. She steeled herself in the face of the growing army surrounding the three of them.

Then she rushed forwards as fast as she could. Miku swung her spear with ease, as if it were an extension of her own body that she had wielded since the day she was born. With a single attack she cut down countless Noise–one attack was all it took. Noise shattered as she cleaved them with strong, yet elegant strokes.

But she did it in silence; she did not sing.

Miku had a song in her heart, one that she wanted to express more than anything else, but even the Symphogear could not draw it out. Pushed deep into the depths of her soul and barricaded by locks not even she had keys for–Miku refused to sing, to make use of the Symphogear's power. With just the weapon she held, she fought to keep the Noise at bay.

. . .

Tsubasa raced through the streets on her motorcycle. She had a helmet covering her face, so no one could see the face she made as her uncle spoke to her over her headset. "We believe one of the girls somehow activated a Symphogear–we're detecting an Aufwachen Waveform from Gungnir in their vicinity."

Tsubasa ground her teeth. She knew the theory that Sector Two's resident scientist Ryoko Sakurai had put forth, but she never once believed it to actually be possible. As far as she was aware, Ryoko had not made that idea public to the rest of the staff–the real reason why she had suggested Genjuro test them. She clicked her tongue as she tried to push the thought from her mind, but memories bubbled up n their stead.

The power of a Symphogear. Theoretically speaking, any woman could wield one. The problem lies not with certain people needing to be ‘chosen ones', but rather with the fact that the Symphogear can be harmful to people who are not able to resonate their hearts with the device well enough. Kanade is one such person unable to–she relies on a special substance called LiNKER that forces her body to link with the Symphogear.

Tsubasa could still remember that cruel look on Kanade's face when she first took LiNKER. The scientists injected her with but a small amount, and her features twisted in pain as she violently coughed up blood. But she was determined to fight–to kill the Noise and avenge her parents. She stole the device and injected herself with the rest of the vial. Incredibly dangerous, a move like that could be; but Kanade's body withstood the pressure.

Through that pain, Kanade proved herself to be the only one in Tsubasa's mind who was worthy enough to wield the Symphogear relic known as Gungnir.

But now, one of those two girls who almost got themselves killed had stolen that power from her.

She wasn't mad at the girls per se–she saw the same determination in Miku's eyes when she visited the two girls that she saw in Kanade's eyes when they fought together. No, she was mad at Gungnir. At the entire situation unfolding around her. At Ryoko Sakurai.

Tsubasa angrily swerved her motorcycle, dodging past any cars in her way with no regard for traffic laws.

. . .

Hibiki picked herself up–both literally and figuratively. While Miku was fighting, she couldn't just sit in place and do nothing, especially with Ogawa's injured state. "Ogawa, do you think you can walk? We need to get somewhere safer." Getting a weak nod in response, Hibiki began to stumble away from where Miku was fighting, as she was drawing the Noise towards her.

Miku saw this out of the corner of her eye and smiled. She didn't care if she was injured, she just needed to keep Hibiki safe–that was the one thought that continued through her mind as she continued to slice and stab through the technicolour beasts surrounding her.

The purple Noise that resembled grapes waddled up to her, tossing its bombs into the air around her. Having seen the power of their explosions, Miku knew that she wouldn't be able to get out of their range in time. Looking at the Noise around her, she came up with an idea. She stabbed her spear into a smaller Noise right beside her and, before it evaporated, she flung it upwards, sending it crashing into the grapes and causing them to explode in the air while she ducked away from it.

The crowd of Noise was thinning, and quickly–at the pace she was moving, Miku wouldn't even need Tsubasa's backup. But still, she frowned. She knew she couldn't get confident now.

Casting aside her weariness, she ran towards the final few enemies that stood in front of her and leapt into the air, carving a Noise in half as she descended upon it.

. . .

When Tsubasa arrived, she was shocked to see a lack of Noise in the vicinity. She had found Ogawa's car, still wrecked and now on fire, and followed the path of destruction to where Hibiki and Miku now stood. Ogawa, a short distance away, leaned against a tree for support. Tsubasa could tell that his left leg was injured heavily–likely broken–from the way he favoured his right and the blood staining his pants.

"Are you two alright?" Tsubasa asked seriously.

Miku nodded sternly at that, but Hibiki just kept her eyes locked on the black-haired girl beside her. Miku pretended not to notice the stare that Hibiki was giving her instead turning to Tsubasa. "I... don't know what happened."

"I heard one of you activated a Symphogear without a relic. Can I assume it was you, Kohinata?" Miku nodded again. "Right. I guess Sakurai's suspicions were correct, then. Unfortunately."

"Who is Sakurai?"

"Ryoko Sakurai. She's a scientist who studies relics and Noise with us at Sector Two. She's the one who developed the Symphogears."

"Um... Tsubasa?" Hibiki finally spoke up, breaking free from her trance. "Can I speak with you... alone, later?" Her words were slow, timid. She seemed scared of something.

"Very well. I'm sure the two of you have many questions. I'll escort Ogawa to headquarters first to have his injuries treated, then have someone come pick you up." Tsubasa didn't wait for a response as she climbed back on her motorcycle. She had deftly avoided all the trees as she raced into the forest to find them; her motorcycle hadn't even suffered a single scratch and, to Hibiki, looked brand new. Unbeknownst to her, it actually was brand new.

Tsubasa started up her motorcycle and slowly pulled up to Ogawa. With unsteady movements, he climbed on behind her and the two sped off. It took only seconds for the two to disappear, leaving Hibiki and Miku alone for the first time.

Miku turned to Hibiki with a smile. "I'm so glad you're safe." She wrapped her arms around Hibiki, embracing her in a stifling hug. Hibiki was confused at first, but then she, too, put her arms around Miku. Her friend had actually smiled again, she realized, and moments later she could feel her cheeks beginning to wet.

"I was so worried for you, Miku. All of these months, I... I don't know how to make it right. I've always been so useless, haven't I?" Hibiki cried, and she could hear Miku doing the same.

"You're not useless, Hibiki. Don't ever say that. You're the brilliant sun that lights up my world. I..." Miku choked back those last words and fell silent.

"And you're the sunlight that warms mine..." She paused, before pushing out of Miku's weakened embrace. She felt it as she spoke–Miku's body had gone limp. Hibiki propped her friend up and realized that she had simply passed out from exhaustion. Her face lightened into a smile. Despite the events that had just transpired, something about this felt normal. Like their lives before they were consumed by darkness.

A short distance away on the road where Ogawa's car still sat in its ruined state, a woman with blonde hair smiled as she turned her back to the forest. In her hands she clutched a long white staff, which she spun before tucking under her arm. She wore jet black clothing–a short dress, a sun hat, high heels, and sunglasses–but around one arm hung a small pink purse. From within it a cell phone rang.

#### Chapter 5

It didn't take too much longer for Tsubasa to return in a car driven by Fujitaka. Miku was still asleep as they approached, so Hibiki had to carry her friend to the car and strap her in; Fujitaka had offered to carry her instead, but Tsubasa stopped him. Before Hibiki had even really been able to process all that she had seen earlier in the day, she found herself in a small elevator tucked away in a corner of Lydian Private Music Academy's clean halls.

"You're going to want to hold on to something." Fujitaka explained. He shuffled behind her as he grabbed hold of a pipe on the wall. "I'll make sure Kohinata doesn't fall off."

Hibiki had Miku slung over her back. Miku slept surprisingly peacefully, occasionally muttering Hibiki's name as she travelled through her dreams, though Hibiki was struggling to keep her balance due to both Miku's weight and the fatigue that began to encroach on her mind. Still, following Fujitaka's advice–and as she watched Tsubasa do the same across from her–Hibiki gripped the wall as well.

And a second later understood why.

With a shake, the elevator descended at an incredible speed. Had she not taken hold of the handle on the wall, Hibiki was sure that she would have become a splat of paint on the ceiling. She couldn't help herself–she screamed as loud as she could. This forced Miku awake with a start who immediately slammed her head into the wall as she jolted, unsure of where she was. It was a chaotic mess of errors, and Tsubasa couldn't help but plant her palm against her face in disgust.

The elevator began to slow after a while, and Hibiki looked out of the grated windows surrounding her. The scenery was amazing–the walls of the elevator shaft were painted and carved with brilliant designs. "Pretty cool, right?" Fujitaka, too, was looking at the walls. "Apparently they're remnants from an ancient civilization–one who created the relics that the Symphogears are made from. Or something like that, anyway. I'm not too sure of the details, that's Dr. Sakurai's area of expertise."

Miku, who took the time now that the elevator had slowed to climb off Hibiki's back, rubbed the part of her head that she had hit on the wall. "So this Dr. Sakurai person, they created the Symphogears right? They must be pretty amazing."

Fujitaka looked away with a wry look in his eye. "Amazing is definitely one way to describe her. She's..." Fumbling for the words, the elevator finally stopped. "She's something."

As Fujitaka's words exited his mouth, the door to the elevator slid open. Hibiki and Miku could see a number of people clad in blue suits–all identical to that worn by Fujitaka–tapping on computer keyboards, but it was the imposing man in the centre that drew her attention.

"I'm home." Fujitaka playfully said as he stepped out of the elevator. He chuckled under his breath as no one responded to him and slowly made his way over to an empty station. Tsubasa followed him out of the elevator, but Miku and Hibiki were hesitant. Or, rather, Hibiki was hesitant–Hibiki could sense in her posture that Miku was examining everything she could about the room.

"We brought Kohinata and Tachibana." Tsubasa announced, walking up to the giant man with the red mane of a lion. "How is Ogawa doing?"

The tall man did not turn away from the screen he was staring at. Hibiki could see footage–presumably live footage–of the area that they had just been in. Signs of battle were apparent, but a tow truck now had Ogawa's damaged car lifted out of its spot in the cement wall. "Ogawa's condition is fine. Kanade wanted to speak with him." He sighed, and finally turned around.

Hibiki could feel herself stiffen in the man's gaze. At first glance, the man she assumed to be Genjuro Kazanari appeared to be incredibly intimidating. His square jaw was clenched and his eyes narrowed, but there was something there beneath it that felt kind. Hibiki took a step forwards, finally exiting the elevator, and Miku followed suit. As they finally stepped into the light, the man smiled. As she thought, Hibiki noticed that his smile was warm, friendly even. He laughed. "What a way to be introduced to you two."

Hibiki and Miku were both confused, and Hibiki even tilted his head. Tsubasa, who had been on her way towards a door, turned her head over her shoulder and sighed before finally exiting. "Apologies." Then came another chuckle. "Allow me to introduce myself: I am Genjuro Kazanari, the current commander of Sector Two."

"I'm Hibiki Tachibana." The girl with light brown hair introduced herself first. "And this is Miku Kohinata."

"You two really are quite impressive, you know." Genjuro said, looking the girls up and down. "With some training, the two of you could be some great fighters. Ah, but I'm getting carried away now. I wanted to speak to you too–I've got some questions I'd like answered."

"I have questions of my own, as well." Miku finally spoke up.

"I'm sure the two of you have a lot you'd like to ask me." Genjuro glanced up at Fujitaka, who nodded as they made eye contact. "Very well. There are some couches over there, why don't you girls sit."

Hibiki was too confused to argue, and Miku followed behind her friend as her shadow. The two silently passed through the large room–Hibiki could swear that she was being watched by all of the workers as she did so–and sat down on one of the couches. Genjuro strolled up a moment later.

"Truthfully, I'd been hoping that Ryoko would be here for this, but she had some urgent family business to attend to. Not that I haven't tried calling her multiple times since your... impressive work, out there." Genjuro stood in front of the two girls and started rambling without even a proper start to the conversation.

"You know chief, I know talking seriously isn't your strong suit. Just say what you want to say already." From behind Genjuro came a voice, and Hibiki and Miku leaned slightly to get a glimpse of Kanade rolling up in her wheelchair, Tsubasa beside her. "It's great to see you two again, and you're already making waves too."

Genjuro cleared his throat. "Very well. Originally I wanted to call you here to see if you were compatible with the Symphogear relics, but... well, now we know that Kohinata is at least. Somehow." Genjuro turned to the two Zwei Wing members. "Did Ryoko give you any ideas as to why she was so insistent on us bringing them in?"

Tsubasa sighed. "She had a theory about the two of them." Looking at Hibiki and Miku, she addressed them directly. "You two were pretty out of it at the time, so I wouldn't suppose you remember being rained down upon by shrapnel?"

Miku nodded. "I saw Kanade's spear get knocked away and it broke part of the overhang above us."

Tsubasa continued. "Right. Kanade's Symphogear was forcibly deactivated at the same time. Whenever that happens, there tend to be some... issues. Sakurai believed that, mixed in with the shrapnel from the venue's wall, you were also buffetted by part of Gungnir itself."

"Wait, when did she tell you all this, Tsubasa?" Kanade leaned in, giving her an accusatory look with her one eye.

Tsubasa turned away quickly. "I just happened to overhear her muttering to herself."

"So she likely thought that, if their surgeries had neglected to remove any shards of Gungnir, they would likely be able to wield the Symphogear to some extent. Or at least have some sort of connection that could be boosted through LiNKER." Genjuro wondered aloud. He shook his head. "It's impossible to know what that woman's thinking. I wouldn't put it past her if she figured you'd be able to activate the Gungnir shards in your own body to create your own Symphogear as well." He sighed.

"Umm... Mr. Kazanari--" Hibiki started, but Genjuro stopped her with a flick of his wrist.

"Feel free to call me Genjuro."

"Alright then, Genjuro. Why did you offer to let us work with you?"

Genjuro looked down. "Truthfully, I feel guilty. The Zwei Wing concert that the two of you had attended, we... we were beneath it, conducting an experiment. We were hoping to use the symphonic gain from Tsubasa and Kanade's singing to activate a relic, but we didn't account for the possibility of Noise appearing. I can't shake the feeling that perhaps they had been drawn towards the relic as it resonated with them. And the two of you were the only ones to directly see the Symphogears in action so I did a bit of investigating and learned about your circumstances." Genjuro, the tall imposing man with the hair and beard of a lion, lowered his head in an apology. "From the bottom of my heart, I would like to apologize to the two of you for what we put you through. I take full responsibility for the aftermath of that event and–as unfounded as it may be–the appearance of the Noise at the concert."

The four girls were all dumbstruck; no, every worker in the room was completely silent. The air was still, cool. Everyone liked Genjuro, with his near-obsessive love for action movies and his near-infinite amount of passion for bringing peace to the world, but no one had expected him to not only say something so serious but to also take full responsibility for the tragedy that ruined the lives of the girls he had invited into a top secret facility deep underneath a high school.

"And to top it all off, the relic you were testing ended up going missing in the chaos." Tsubasa grumbled beneath her breath.

Genjuro ignored that comment, instead continuing his speech to Miku and Hibiki. "I know the two of you will probably never be able to forgive us for what we put you through but I thought one way to make it up to you would be to extend our hands to you in an alliance. Of course, I'd love to do the same to all victims of the tragedy, but that would be impossible for us at this time."

"Genjuro." Hibiki said, standing up. "Even knowing that you might have attracted the Noise to the concert, I'd never blame anyone for the tragedy that happened. The only ones at fault were the Noise–no one could know where they would appear or when."

Miku was silent, though. She stared straight at Hibiki standing in front of her, then turned to Genjuro as well. Her eyes were sad. After the tragedy that occurred at that concert, she had lost everything. At school she and Hibiki had become victims of bullying of the worst degree by both students and teachers, she had been cast aside from the track team that she had loved to compete on, and her parents had even fled out of her life in the worst way possible. The only light in her life was Hibiki Tachibana, the girl she loved.

"I will do anything for you, Hibiki." Those were the only words Miku said. Hibiki turned around with a shocked look on her face, but Genjuro and the two girls behind him just closed their eyes. They understood.

"Now, Kohinata, if you're serious about wielding the power within you, then I'm going to give you the appropriate training." Genjuro smiled, but Tsubasa just had an annoyed look on her face.

Kanade, in stark contrast, smiled. "You're going to love his training."

#### Chapter 6

For the next year, Genjuro Kazanari trained Miku Kohinata and Hibiki Tachibana in combat skills. Though they expected it to be an arduous ordeal, they were shocked to learn that a majority of their time would be spent watching action films. On occasion Genjuro would have Miku assist Tsubasa in combat whenever Noise would appear, though he stressed that he didn't want her to go into battle unprepared and was hesitant to send her in. For that same reason, he didn't even allow Hibiki to touch Kanade's Symphogear pendant; he worried that, should she be able to link with the relic, then he'd be unable to keep the two girls from running off on their own.

The two girls also met Ryoko Sakurai, much to their dismay. The excitable doctor was all smiles as she poked and prodded at Hibiki and Miku's bodies, wondering what secrets they may be holding within them thanks to the shards of Gungnir potentially lodged within. Though she had attempted time and time again to "experiment" on the girls, Genjuro–or either of the two Zwei Wing idols–would step in with a cough, though even Miku had begun to develop a cold gaze whenever Sakurai was in the vicinity.

In-between bouts of training, Sector Two had arranged for Hibiki and Miku to be privately tutored. They couldn't go to their old school–for obvious reasons–and enrolling them in a new academy was seen as inefficient, especially since they'd only be there for a handful of months before graduating. Once the time came, Miku and Hibiki were able to attend Lydian Private Music Academy, finally giving them a chance to once again act as normal girls their age. The two had even managed to make some friends within their class, despite their need to keep secrets.

For a while, Hibiki began to feel as though her world was slowly becoming normal. A new, strange kind of normal, but normal nonetheless. The walls that she and Miku had been forced to build within their hearts were being torn down–if only slightly. Even some of Kanade's injuries had begun to heal, so she and Tsubasa were also returning to their own kind of normal–her eye would forever be useless, but Kanade could now walk, though she lacked stamina after being forced into a wheelchair for so many months.

Whenever the Noise wasn't attacking–which was increasingly rarer, Hibiki found–the girls of Sector Two were finally beginning to find their own crazy senses of happiness.

. . .

"Well, you seem to be all good and healthy again, Hibiki. Your muscle mass is increasing, too." Sakurai stated while looking at a checklist. Beside her, Hibiki climbed off of the bed she was laying on–a bed that was encircled by a strange device that Hibiki initially (and according to Sakurai, erroneously) believed to be an x-ray machine. "Of course, you have yet to be able to use a Symphogear, so it's not all that surprising. Still, it's good to be cautious."

Hibiki nodded, clutching her hospital gown closed. "How is Miku doing, by the way?"

In the few times Miku was allowed to use her Symphogear, she'd always assured Hibiki that she was alright afterwards. But Hibiki could tell that something was wrong with her friend. Over the months since the Zwei Wing Tragedy, Hibiki noticed Miku's original, kind self be twisted by despair. She first became withdrawn and quiet, almost like a doll that had been abandoned, but now she sensed something else. She knew that Miku had developed a hatred for humanity as a whole–one Hibiki disapproved of silently–but there seemed to be something beyond that. An emptiness; not like before where she turned her sadness inwards. No, Hibiki could sense nothing.

"Miku's vitals all seem to be in order as well." Sakurai assured Hibiki as she flipped through her pages. "No injuries to speak of. She's all good as well."

Hibiki asked about Miku every time the two of them were looked over, and every time Sakurai would say the same thing: Miku was fine. Hibiki knew that, from the mouth of the doctor that Sector Two held in such high regard, then there couldn't be any error. She sighed. "I'm glad to hear that."

"Speaking of which, have you seen Miku around?" Hibiki asked, but Ryoko Sakurai didn't get a chance to answer that question. As the words were leaving Hibiki's mouth, the room was bathed in an eerie red light. A siren blared–they both knew what that meant.

Hibiki quickly changed into her school uniform and dashed into the main room of Sector Two. "What's going on?" Hibiki saw Genjuro and Kanade, looking at the large monitor, standing side-by-side. Kanade looked over her shoulder and, with a small jerk of her chin, pointed Hibiki towards the monitor.

"We're under attack!" Genjuro announced to the room–or, rather, to Hibiki and Sakurai, who had just entered.

Kanade could walk and run now, but she lacked balance and stamina; trying to walk without the added depth perception that two useful eyes grant also made her feet unsteady. Genjuro had been having her go through physical rehabilitation, but Kanade was certainly not ready for a fight. Genjuro and Kanade both knew this, and the latter could see the distress on Genjuro's face as he mulled over the situation.

On the screen Tsubasa was spinning around upside-down, cutting down an army of Noise that surrounded Lydian Academy. "What about the students?" Hibiki asked, thinking about her new classmates. She hadn't been able to get particularly close to anyone other than Miku, but she (and Miku) had managed to make three new friends since starting school: Shiroi Terashima, Yumi Itaba, and Kuriyo Ando. Hibiki pictured their faces as she frantically looked at the scene playing out on the screen.

"Unfortunately the Noise appeared without warning and some people had been outside..." Kanade said, her gaze turning downcast. As she said this, Hibiki saw Tsubasa blow some carbon dust up into the air with a leap; the sign that people had indeed been eviscerated by the Noise's fatal touch.

Genjuro elicited some hope in Hibiki, who had gasped in horror at Kanade's words. "It was a teacher and two third year students. The rest of Lydian has been safely evacuated to a bunker we had built for such an occasion."

"Thank goodness." Hibiki breathed a sigh of relief, before finally taking in the situation as a whole. Tsubasa was fighting on the screen, and she stood alongside Sakurai, Genjuro, and Kanade in the command centre. That meant.... "Where's Miku?"

Almost as if Fujitaka had been waiting for her to ask, he pointed at the screen as the view split in two. Though they weren't physically together, Hibiki saw Tsubasa and Miku standing as if they were side-by-side. They seemed to be fairly far apart–Tsubasa was out in front of the school, beneath the corridors that connected the two halves of the school together, while Miku was fighting Noise on the oddly-shaped running track tucked away behind the academy. As with every other time Hibiki had seen Miku make use of her Symphogear, her lips were pursed together seriously; she had never seen Miku sing once, whereas Tsubasa always did.

"I'm picking up something on our radar–it's not Noise." Tomosato announced, and a small window opened up between the two girls. It showed a map of the area around Lydian. Tsubasa and Miku were marked with white dots within circles of red–Hibiki knew the red symbolized the Noise–but there was a third marking not too far away from the school. "It doesn't appear to be Noise."

"Want me to go check it out, chief?" Kanade muttered. She knew the risks of asking, and she knew what his answer would be, but she hated being forced to the sidelines. *I can't avenge my family by doing nothing.* Kanade pushed her anger down as she waited for his answer.

"It's too dangerous for you to go, but Tsubasa and Kohinata shouldn't abandon each other, or the school, either." Genjuro mused. He closed his eyes as he thought, his large arms crossed against his chest.

Hibiki knew it was time for her to speak up. "What if I go?"

"We still don't know if you can use a Symphogear. If... whatever that is turns out to be dangerous, you won't be able to defend yourself." Genjuro shot her down immediately, without even looking at her. Hibiki had known that she was even less likely to get a go-ahead from Genjuro, but she felt like she needed to ask anyway.

"No that's not exactly true."

Hibiki's head tilted upwards as Kanade spoke up a few seconds later. "It'd be dangerous if that is Noise, but if it's another person–or something else entirely–she should be able to defend herself enough to not get killed." Kanade smiled as she turned towards Genjuro. "Or do you not have enough faith in your training."

"The possibility that it is a Noise is low, but not impossible." Genjuro countered with a shout, then sighed. "Kanade, Tachibana. You two, go check that out together. But remember: only engage in combat if absolutely necessary. You two are in no shape to be in a fight, so flee if you can. I'll have Tsubasa and Kohinata back you up once the Noise here settles down."

. . .

Hibiki looked around the area. Coincidentally, it was the exact same area where she had been forced to flee from Noise only a year prior. Since then, all damage that had been dealt to the area had been repaired and Ogawa had been given a replacement car, but Hibiki could still picture the fiery wreck parked inside of the concrete wall that she and Kanade now stood beside.

Genjuro's loud voice resonated through the earpiece she wore as he began to speak. "The two of you should be nearing the location now." This was followed by Tomosato confirming that the unknown signal was still active and in the same area. "Remember–"

"Yeah, we know. Don't fight unless absolutely necessary." Kanade said, brushing her boss off. Despite the fairly easygoing look on her face despite the circumstances, Kanade had stumbled six times and tripped once just on their way over here. Her lack of stamina was also apparent from the way Hibiki noticed that her forehead was sparkling from heavy sweat. They really couldn't afford to get into trouble.

"See anything?" Hibiki asked Kanade as she scoured the area. There was a blanket of trees in the area below them, so whatever they had found could hide easily.

An explosion echoed from behind them–back towards Lydian–and almost immediately Hibiki heard Fujitaka through her earpiece. "Don't worry, everything's fine."

"Tsubasa really can be reckless sometimes." Kanade scratched her head in response, apparently being able to picture whatever had transpired at the school nearby. Then, turning to Hibiki, she made a suggestion. "We're not getting anything from here. Let's go down into the forest."

Hibiki nodded–she had thought the same thing. While it increased the chances of the two of them getting into danger, standing around on the road was getting them nowhere.

Hibiki felt a strange sense of déjà vu as she carefully made her way down the steep hill. She held Kanade's hand as she did so, trying to keep the idol she had gone to see all that time ago steady as she clumsily fumbled her way down. With no errors–surprisingly–the two of them descended to the ground below and entered the forest.

"Tomosato." Kanade touched her earpiece. "What are the coordinates of the signal."

"They're... wait. The signal's moving, it's... look out!"

Kanade leapt into action at the last possible second. Pushing Hibiki aside, she dove in the opposite direction just as the spot they had been standing in exploded. Hibiki covered her face with her arm as dirt pelted her body, and she coughed as she inhaled a cloud of dust let up from the earth.

"An Aufwachen Waveform?" Genjuro screamed in confusion in Hibiki's ear. "The two of you need to escape, now."

Hibiki climbed to her feet and looked for Kanade, ignoring Genjuro's order. She saw Kanade on the ground not too far, clutching her foot, which was now painting the grass red with blood. Kanade chuckled as she saw Hibiki looking at her in worry. "I have really got to stop getting hurt around you." Shaking her foot, Kanade slowly stood up as well, wincing as she gained balance. Hibiki couldn't stand doing nothing for her though, and helped Kanade stand up straight. "At least you're safe."

"Tch." The third party finally revealed themselves, albeit only with a click of their tongue. They were shrouded in the cover of the trees, but Hibiki and Kanade could make out a shape of a girl. She lowered the crossbow she had pointed towards them. "You two aren't even the ones I'm supposed to be going after."

"You're the one that we're supposed to be going after, though." Kanade announced, pushing away from Hibiki. She clutched the pendant around her neck–the small red crystal that was the Symphogear known as Gungnir.

*Croitzal ronzell Gungnir zizzl*

Kanade sang four words and was engulfed with light for just a moment. Hibiki had a flashback as she saw the attire that Kanade's clothing transformed into. For just a moment she found herself back at the Zwei Wing concert, standing in horror beside Miku as Noise was about to attack them. She shook her head.

"My, my. The washed up idol still knows how to sing." The mysterious girl chuckled. "Maybe I'll be able to have some fun after all."

The girl finally stepped out into the sunlight, and Hibiki took in her appearance as best she could. She wore what looked like a crown of red and black rockets around her head of white hair, and this set the standard for the rest of her outfit. A dark red–almost black–leotard that exposed her cleavage with white plating around her hips and giant red gem-like protrusions extending from her back out past her legs. It was, without a doubt, a Symphogear.

Kanade stumbled a bit as she readied her spear, taking up a defensive position, but no attack came.

Instead, the girl just burst out into laughter. "You can't even hold your Armed Gear correctly! How do you expect to fight me?"

"I don't need to win." Kanade lowered her gaze, her eyes clouding over with a darkness. "I just need to buy time."

"Very well." The girl in the red Symphogear calmed herself and readied her crossbow, but Kanade was faster. The girl with the orange hair dashed forwards, her movements surprisingly steady. This threw the mysterious new Symphogear wielder off-guard as she struggled to properly aim her crossbow. Kanade, as she rushed towards the girl, began to sing.

*Kimi to iu oto tsumugu tame

Futari de ayunda tsugau ashiato wa

Bōgyaku kara umaredeta

Zankoku ga nomikomu*

Hibiki could only watch the sight in front of her. The clumsiness that Kanade had in her movements before had ceased entirely as she put the pressure on her enemy. With quick stabs and fierce slashes, Kanade clearly had power behind each of her attacks... but Hibiki felt that she was impatient. The white-haired girl seemed to sense this as well, as she just dodged each of Kanade's strikes with ease.

"Tachibana, get out of there!" Genjuro ordered Hibiki through her earpiece.

"No. Kanade's not acting right. This is bad." Hibiki muttered in response, unsure if Genjuro could hear her on the other side.

Indeed, it was bad. Kanade was only getting more and more frustrated as her spear cleaved through the air time and time again. Her enemy chuckled, taunting her. "You clearly don't have 20/20 vision... Oh wait, make that 20/0 vision."

Hibiki then understood why Kanade was frustrated. She wasn't mad at the girl, she was mad at herself. She couldn't protect Hibiki before and even now, when she could, she ended up getting wounded herself. Kanade must have felt as though she was getting weaker with each passing day. Not to mention, Hibiki remembered, Kanade was likely running on an empty battery; she had clearly been tired even before climbing down the hill. She was likely straining her body well past its abilities.

"Kanade, what are you doing?" Genjuro was frantic. Instead of yelling at Hibiki–who ignored him–to leave, he now yelled at Kanade–who also ignored him–for answers. But it was futile. Hibiki wasn't even sure if Kanade could hear him over the blood rushing to her head in anger.

This continued for a few more moments, and Hibiki clutched her chest tight. She wanted to help, but she knew that she'd only be getting in the way. She had no Symphogear, no weapon to fight. She had her fists, but against someone with a crossbow she would be no match.

Eventually Kanade succumbed to her fatigue, and stood limply as she breathed heavily. She couldn't catch her breath, and her spear hung lazily by her side. Needless to say, Kanade couldn't sing any longer. Her enemy just laughed. "Done already? That was pretty boring."

The girl with the white hair did something remarkably simple after that: she just walked straight up to Kanade and kicked her. With the power of the Symphogear on her side, the girl's kick had remarkable strength and Kanade went sailing through the air as it connected with her chest. Hibiki scrambled in an attempt to catch Kanade and ease her fall, wanting to be of some use, but did not anticipate Kanade's weight forcing her to the ground as they collided.

"Wow, this is pathetic. A useless former idol and a girl who can't even use a Symphogear. And here I thought you guys were supposed to be tough." The girl chuckled, looking down upon Hibiki and Kanade–literally and figuratively. She didn't even aim her crossbow at the two of them, despite Hibiki and Kanade being incredibly easy targets in their collapsed state. "I'm going to go see how the others are doing, now. I've had enough here."

"Wait!"

Hibiki and the white-haired girl were shocked as the word carried through the air. Kanade climbed to her feet, a trail of blood dripping from her mouth.

"No, Kanade, don't!" Genjuro shouted. Hibiki could hear him scrambling on the other end of the earpiece. "Get a medical team over there, stat. Kanade, you better not be thinking of doing what I think you are."

Kanade smiled. It was not cocky, nor happy–her smile was grim. "Sorry chief."

Hibiki didn't understand what was going to happen, but she knew that she needed to stop it. She climbed up to her feet and tried to grab Kanade's hand, but the idol pulled it away at the last second. "You might want to get back." Hibiki was told as Kanade slowly stumbled forwards. Even the white-haired girl just watched in surprise as the girl with no more strength in her body stumbled forwards like a zombie. It was a terrifying sight–one that Hibiki also found to be beautiful in its own way.

Kanade just kept walking forwards towards the girl, dropping her spear onto the ground. She was leaving herself open to attack, but her enemy didn't do anything. She just watched, seemingly aware of what she was about to do but unable to move on her own.

Then, once again, Kanade began to sing.

*Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal

Emustolronzen Finé el balal zizzl

Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal

Emustolronzen Finé el zizzl*

The world was still for what seemed to be an eternity. Silence enveloped Hibiki, Kanade, and the girl in red. Hibiki felt as though the world had died in the forever that followed–a forever that lasted a mere three seconds. She closed her eyes to blink...

...Then opened them again several hours later.

#### Chapter 7

At the time, the girl named Chris Yukine could only stare and watch the idol standing before her. Kanade Amou, the girl was strong–no, she had been strong. She was told that Kanade's strength rivalled even that of Tsubasa Kazanari despite not being someone who could naturally link with a Symphogear. She had underestimated her, and only watched as she sang her Superb Song.

Chris hadn't expected that from the idol. The Superb Song is the most powerful weapon of any Symphogear user, but it comes at a great cost. Without proper–and immediate–medical treatment, using the Superb Song would cause enough backlash to out-right kill or even wholly disintegrate the user. It was not something to be used lightly.

So, of course, Chris hadn't believed that Kanade would use it.

*Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal

Emustolronzen Finé el balal zizzl

Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal

Emustolronzen Finé el zizzl*

The words exited Kanade's mouth and Chris felt it immediately. Pain rocked her body from all angles; no, she felt pain resonate out from within her, as well. The power of the Superb Song was intense. Chris was strong, and she had suffered through more pain than most other humans, but even she was no match for the Symphogear's true power.

Kanade's song launched her away, sending her crashing through tree after tree. Splinters of wood pierced her skin, but they were nothing compared to the pain of the Superb Song. It overtook all of Chris's other senses.

She didn't know how long she had been laying there. At some point, Chris had landed in a clearing of the forest, staring up at the sky. Stars were beginning to pinprick the darkening view above, but Chris didn't want to move. To other people, the view above her might have been beautiful, but Chris couldn't do anything but remember the darkness that she had seen in adults for most of her life. The stars that lit the night sky should have been bits of hope piercing through the despair she had felt after her parents died, but she snuffed those out quickly. It was better to wallow silently in despair than be disappointed when the help you hoped would come didn't.

And it was because of that despair that she found herself lying on the ground now. She had drowned in hopelessness and been crushed by despair for years only to suddenly be offered salvation by her current master. No, not a master. To her, the woman who took Chris in was nothing short of a god. No longer would she be manhandled and used like a tool, passed around and tossed out when the time came. No, she was treated with care. Pain is the only way for humans to connect, Chris believed, and her new master cared for her deeper than anyone else in the world.

Her body ached, but she welcomed the pain as she gazed into the abyss above her, and she closed her eyes. Under the cover of night, Chris Yukine felt herself fall into a deep sleep.

She didn't even hear the voices of the Sector Two agents as they closed in on her location.

. . .

Hibiki laid on a bed. Her body, like Chris's, also ached profusely. Hibiki tried to move her hand but felt it clasped between something; carefully craning her neck in a way that didn't cause too much strife, she saw Miku sitting beside her, asleep, with her hand trapped beneath Miku's in her lap. She smiled.

"Good morning, Miku." She whispered softly. Hibiki wasn't even sure if it was morning. The room she was in had no windows and was aglow thanks to the white fluorescent lights hanging above. Hibiki knew she must have been in Sector Two's underground headquarters. She stared at Miku's sleeping face and just thought about how cute she looked.

"Oh good, you're awake." Hibiki tilted her head in the opposite direction as she heard the voice of Sakurai break apart her thoughts. The doctor, who just walked in through a nearby door, held yet another clipboard, no doubt with Hibiki's vitals plastered on it.

"What... what happened?" The scene that played before Hibiki blacked out replayed in her mind. The stillness, the silence, the pain... She sat up suddenly, recalling the catalyst for all of this. This sudden movement both sent pain shooting up through Hibiki's body and awoke Miku. "Where's Kanade?"

Sakurai looked to the side. "Well... Kanade's alive, is the good news. The bad news is that she's currently comatose and in surgery."

"What did she do? That... song she sang."

"What song?" Miku muttered, her mind groggy.

"Kanade sang the Superb Song. It's the ultimate power of the Symphogear. The song overloads the phonic gain from within the singer's body and creates an explosion through the air. It's extremely powerful, but also extremely dangerous. It can kill you if your compatibility with your Symphogear isn't high enough."

"I didn't understand any of that." Hibiki admitted after a few seconds of silence. Sakurai groaned as she pressed her clipboard against her head.

Miku, even in her sleepy state, rubbed her eyes with a yawn before hugging the girl laying next to her. "I'm so glad you're safe, Hibiki!"

Hibiki smiled as she breathed in the familiar scent of her best friend.

"Oh and about that other girl." Sakurai started speaking again, and both Hibiki and Miku looked up at her. "We found her in the forest and have taken her in. If you want, you can talk to her; she's in one of the dorms."

"You gave our enemy a room?" Miku asked, her voice metallic as she glared coolly at Sakurai.

"That was Genjuro's idea. I don't know for sure but I think there's a story between them." Sakurai smiled, backing out of the room. "Chris Yukine's her name, by the way. Feel free to say ‘hi' for me if you go see her."

. . .

Chris Yukine was confused. When she awoke, she found herself in a nice bedroom–one not her own. She hadn't had a room of her own like this since she was young, back when her parents were still alive. The only parts of her situation that she understood were the silver brick that encased her hands and the fact that her Symphogear pendant was missing.

"I'm coming in."

A voice from beyond the white door. Chris couldn't say no of course–she was a prisoner–but she could stay silent. She turned her back from the door, sulking as she looked at the handcuffs.

"Chris Yukine. I'm so glad you're safe!"

That voice. Chris realized that she'd heard that voice before. The brief feeling of familiarity forced her gaze to land on the man who just walked into the room: Genjuro Kazanari.

"Genjuro Kazanari?" Chris recalled his name as she took him in. It had been a long time since she had first met Genjuro, but he still looked almost the exact same.

"So you do remember me then? I'm very glad." He had a very kind, warm smile on his face despite the fact that he was talking to a prisoner.

About ten years ago, before Chris's parents were killed in an explosion, they had been working with Sector Two.

Masanori and Sonnet M. Yukine were famous musicians who donated a large sum of money to charities over the course of their lives. Wanting to do more for the world, the Yukine pair decided to use the power of music to bring peace, hoping that, through songs, they could bring together opponents and end wars. Around the same time they had decided to travel to the South American country of Val Verde to try and amend the civil disagreements that had spiralled into a war, Sector Two had contacted them. Their goals aligned, albeit in different ways–they wanted to bring peace to the world through songs.

Chris went with her parents to that one meeting with Genjuro. It was a short meeting, but Chris remembered it well. She remembered being scared of the large Genjuro Kazanari, seeing him as a fiery lion, but his smile warmed her heart. She could feel that warmth radiating from him, just as she could from her parents. He was kind. Chris was a young child at the time, around six years old, but he also treated her with the same respect he gave her parents.

Genjuro and Chris's parents had planned to speak more once they returned from Val Verde in three months' time–a meeting that would never come to pass–and even set up correspondence for them with the United Nations through their government connections.

Chris's heart felt warm at the sight of Genjuro as memories bubbled to the surface, but on the outside she scowled. "I don't want to see you." Chris growled as she turned her head away.

It wasn't entirely true, nor was it entirely false. His appearance brought to mind her parents, which were all memories she treasured, but her heart ached. She felt betrayed by him. He was supposed to meet with her parents again three months after they travelled to Val Verde, so why... "Why didn't you do anything to help me? Don't you know how much I suffered after my parents died? I hate adults."

Her thoughts leaked from her mouth as she angrily began to rant. Chris felt tears paint her cheeks as she shouted, but paid them no mind. "I was alone, the orphanage I got sent to was taken over by the rebels. I was sold into slavery... And you never did anything! Did you even care about meeting with my parents again? About me?"

Genjuro sat down on the ground next to her and placed his hand on her head. She glanced over at him and saw the gleam of tears welling in his eyes as well. "After I heard your parents had been killed in a bombing, I did everything in my power to find you. I travelled to Val Verde, I spent over a year there, looking for you. Even though I couldn't remain there, I kept doing everything in my power. Nobody even knew if you were alive, but I kept looking as much as I could."

Chris felt herself actually crying now, sobbing, but Genjuro kept talking. "I never once gave up hope that I'd find you. Your parents' goal in life was the same as our own, so I felt a kinship with you from the moment we met, Chris." Chris's eyes were full of tears now. She couldn't see anything, but she felt it as his giant arms embraced her in a way she hadn't felt in years. Every time someone touched her it was with force, with no disregard for how she felt. But Genjuro wasn't like anyone else. He hugged her like a parent would hug their child. She could picture her father in Genjuro's place, and this is what broke her.

She finally gave in to her emotions and sobbed, screaming out in sadness.

On the other side of the closed door, Ryoko Sakurai smiled as she leaned her back against the cool metal. "Sometimes things work out better than you hope." She whispered, bringing a pen to her lips.

. . .

Chris Yukine didn't know how long she had been crying, but her face hurt and her vision was fuzzy. Genjuro was still beside her, but no longer hugging her. Instead, he was fiddling with the handcuffs that he had removed from her hands.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to apologize to you enough for what you went through. And I can't force you to believe what I told you, but I want you to know that I honestly, truly, have never forgotten you." Genjuro's warm smile returned, and Chris wiped her eyes with her trembling fingers. "That said, I am curious. What were you doing out there? With a Symphogear, no less?"

Chris had completely forgotten about that. She had been in a fight with a Symphogear user–Kanade Amou–and she was likely working with Genjuro, if him being here meant anything. That meant that she was fighting against Genjuro. Chris felt guilty about that, knowing now that he had been trying his hardest to help her, but above all she felt conflicted. Her master had been the first person since her parents to show her kindness, but Genjuro had shown her kindness even before their death. She wanted to repay both of them for their impact on her life.

"My... current master," Chris started and immediately noticed a slight twitch in Genjuro's eye at that third word. "She taught me about the Symphogears, told me that with them we could build a world where no one would have to go through the horrors I did. I wanted to carry on my parents' mission with her."

"Who is this woman?"

"Her name was..." Chris hesitated. Revealing the woman's name could ruin their plans but... to repay Genjuro for his kindness, was it worth it? She thought for a moment, then opened her mouth. "I need to know, first: can I achieve my parents' mission with you? To bring peace to the world through music, and prevent people from going through what I did?"

Genjuro nodded. "Our goal, too, is to bring peace to the world, and, as you know, the Symphogears can assist in this. I will forever extend my hand to you, Chris. It's the least I could do for failing you."

Genjuro lowered his head in a bow. He was sincere in his apology. "I believe you." Chris answered. She steeled herself, aware that giving her master's name could be dangerous. Regardless, it was something she needed to do. "Her name is Finé."

"Finé." The large man repeated. "The end."

With that, he stood up. "Chris Yukine, please don't leave this room for a while. Not until I inform the others that you wish to join us. That said, if there's anything you need, feel free to call." He pointed to an intercom on the wall. "I'm sure you're hungry, too, so I'll have some food brought here in a bit."

Chris nodded silently, her eyes still glaringly red but a small smile on her face. "I will."

Genjuro smiled back. "Welcome to Sector Two, Chris Yukine."

#### Chapter 8

Chris Yukine clutched her head. She couldn't believe what had just happened. No, she couldn't accept it at all. Chris had gone through trauma after trauma, never once revealing a single weakness to anyone, but all it took was one familiar face for her to break? She shuddered at the power that Genjuro Kazanari held. "Is it really just because his smile reminds me of my father?" She wondered aloud as she wiped the remaining tears from her eyes.

As she was wallowing in her thoughts, Chris heard the door open again–and this time two sets of footsteps echoed around her. "Hello?" A voice called out behind her. She recognized it–it was one of the girls whom she met in the forest.

"What do you want?" Chris asked, her back to the two behind her.

"We just ran into Genjuro. He told us you're going to be working with us from now on, so we thought we'd come introduce ourselves to you."

Chris sighed. She didn't expect Genjuro to spread the news slowly–or rather, she hoped she'd be able to get all of this out of the way. She still couldn't believe that, in the heat of the moment, she'd agreed to betray her beloved master, the only one who'd shown her compassion. She spat her name out. "Chris Yukine."

"Oh! I'm Hibiki Tachibana." The familiar voice trailed off, clearly waiting for her friend to follow up. She didn't though, and Chris too remained silent.

Then, Chris heard a familiar sound. It was one she heard on occasion, though something very important was missing. At the same time, she heard the weird girl–Hibiki Tachibana–make a strange noise, as if confused, then shout. "Miku, what are you doing?"

Chris could sense it without even needing to look: the girl's Armed Gear was pointed directly at her. It wasn't making contact with Chris, but she felt the weapon–which she had seen herself while she watched the Symphogear candidates of Sector Two fight the Noise only a short while ago–piercing her heart. She could feel sweat run down her forehead and her heartbeat hasten, though, oddly enough, Chris's mind felt strangely calm.

"I will not forgive you for allowing Hibiki to get hurt." The girl who hadn't introduced herself to Chris announced. "Friend or foe–I am the shield that will protect the sun."

Chris stifled a chuckle. "Isn't that a bit dramatic?" She giggled. "I get wanting to protect what you're close to, but that line..."

Now she actually did feel the spear's tip prodding her back, just as Hibiki called out her friend's name again. "See to it that you never harm her again." Miku glared down towards the back of Chris's head, burning her cool gaze through the girl's skull.

And a couple seconds later, Chris heard a series of footsteps as Miku exited the room.

"You know," Chris mumbled. "I wasn't even the one who did anything to her."

. . .

Miku looked down at her shoes as she walked, drops of blood being left on the ground behind her like a trail of breadcrumbs. Her fingernails had long dug into her hand as she clenched her fist.

The power of the Symphogear. She wanted to use it to defend Hibiki Tachibana–and she failed. Hibiki had been hurt and ended up in the infirmary with a concussion. If she had been stronger, she could have defeated the Noise sooner and gone to investigate instead; that's what Miku thought.

But she was hesitant. As strong as her desire to protect her friend was, her fear of the Symphogear was perhaps even more apparent.

Every time she activated the power of Gungnir, darkness began to cloud Miku's mind. With each new use of the Symphogear, the shadows would encroach further and further upon her psyche, and she worried that soon the walls that she was forced to put up around her heart after the Zwei Wing tragedy would not be enough to stop it. And she feared that.

She didn't know if Tsubasa, Kanade, or that new girl–Chris–suffered from the same effects or if it was due to her unique circumstances, but it was because of this that Miku kept petitioning to Genjuro to keep Hibiki from trying to activate a Symphogear.

"You don't look so good."

Miku spun on her heel at the words and took in the figure behind her. The voice was familiar to her, yet at the same time the tone was different. Indeed, though the voice seemingly belonged to Ryoko Sakurai, a different woman–albeit one still wearing her clothing–now stood behind her. She had long, light blonde hair with similarly golden eyes that looked weathered. Miku knew this woman was dangerous, yet one thing stopped her from activating her Symphogear: curiosity.

The woman stepped towards Miku, closing the distance in only a few simple steps, but the few seconds it took felt like hours to Miku as she looked into her eyes. Only one word came to mind as she felt her gaze pulled towards the woman–end. "Who are you?" Miku asked, her voice small.

"I'm just someone who shares the same goal as you." The woman's slender finger caressed Miku's face as it made her way down towards her chin. Tilting Miku's face upwards, the woman leaned in to stare deep into the young woman's eyes. "You wish to protect the girl that you love, just as I wish to protect the species I love."

Miku didn't know how to respond to the woman. Instead of speaking, she just continued staring into the void that brought to mind the ‘end.' Sensing that Miku's silence was everlasting, the woman continued. "This world of ours has been cursed. Vexed by a god so cruel as to deny humanity an eternal peace." She lowered her face, as if ready to kiss Miku on the lips. "I wish to see this world free from the chains that bind it. To allow you to express the love you hold so dear to your heart."

For just one second, Miku's resolve faltered. The woman could see it in Miku's eyes as, for the briefest of moments, the storm that clouded her soul cleared to reveal the hope beneath it. The moment should have passed quickly, but it was then that the woman whispered into Miku's ear. "I just need your help, Miku Kohinata."

The lightning that had been striking Miku's heart since the Zwei Wing concert finally subsided temporarily, just enough for the light to return to Miku's cold eyes. She did not smile–no, she didn't even emote. Miku simply responded with a chill hiss. "Tell me how I can help Hibiki."

The woman with blonde hair smiled and spun around. As if her previous appearance had been a mirage, as the woman turned to face Miku again, her face and hair were back to the familiar goofy smile and brown up-do that she associated with Ryoko Sakurai. The doctor held out her hand. "Come with me, Miku."

With the hand that wasn't dripping with blood, Miku slowly reached out.

*I will do* anything *to protect you, Hibiki.*

#### Chapter 9

Hibiki burst into the main room of Sector Two's headquarters as a siren flared. "Has anyone seen Miku?" She yelled over the alarm, a fearful look in her eyes. Behind her, she clutched the hand of an angry–and somewhat flustered–Chris Yukine, who continually tried to pull her hand away from the apparently-stronger girl.

"You brought Chris?" Genjuro asked, but shook his head. "Yes. We know where Miku is. Unfortunately that's why we're now in a state of emergency. Fujitaka!"

As his name was called, Sakuya Fujitaka fumbled a pile of documents he had been holding and spilled them all over the ground around him. Sighing, knowing full well he would have to clean them up when time permitted him, he turned to his keyboard and brought up a video on the main feed. "Twenty-five minutes ago, our security cameras caught this."

The screen showed Ryoko Sakurai approach Miku before her appearance changed drastically. At the sight of the golden-haired woman on the screen, Chris gasped. "Finé!"

Genjuro's eyes narrowed as he stole a quick glance over at the girl in red beside him. Her hand was still trapped within Hibiki's grip, though Chris no longer showed any signs of wanting to escape. Instead, she just stared at the footage, watching as silent words floated from her master's lips. Her eyes, Genjuro could tell, were like those of a lost puppy–confused, scared, but above all reverent towards the woman before them.

Hibiki, too, watched the scene play out and gasped in horror as Finé violated Miku's personal space. The noisy siren was the only sound that filled the room until the moment when Ryoko returned to her normal self, her hand extended. All everyone could do was watch as Miku's hand slowly came to be ensnared within the doctor's own, though Hibiki, perhaps unconsciously, sadly whimpered a single name. "Miku."

And with that, the two in the security camera footage vanished. As their hands intertwined, a circular light enveloped Finé and Miku's feet before the two disappeared. "That light is likely alchemical in nature." Ogawa reported from beside Genjuro. "Just who is Ryoko Sakurai?"

Fujitaka looked up as he gathered the papers on the ground. "Ryoko Sakurai is a real person. A background check must have been conducted on her when she was first brought on as a member of Sector Two. Knowing the higher-ups, they would have sniffed out a false identity with ease." Neatly forming a new stack of papers, he finally climbed back into his chair. "Therefore we can assume that either this Finé woman merely took on Sakurai's appearance in order to infiltrate our command centre, or Sakurai has been masquerading as Finé and not the other way around."

Genjuro grunted in agreement. "Whatever the case may be, we know that Finé had managed to infiltrate our base without our knowledge and that Miku Kohinata is now not only MIA but also potentially working against us. Whether that is of her own free will or not is another story."

"Miku would never work want to fight against us!" Hibiki cried out. "I know Miku better than anyone. She'd never want to hurt anyone..."

Tsubasa, who had been standing silently next to Kanade in the back of the room, stepped forwards. Her gaze, one cold and illuminated by the red lights filling the room, looked deadly to Hibiki as she just watched the girl slowly march towards her. "Do you remember how Kohinata responded to our invitation to join Sector Two?" Tsubasa waited for a moment, only the sound of the alarm punctuating Hibiki's decision to remain silent. Then she repeated something, a short phrase that Hibiki could never forget as long as she lived. "'If I am the sword that will cut through hell...'"

Hibiki finished the line from her memories, one she had replayed in her mind ever since that day when their worlds changed for the second time. "'I shall be the spear to pierce through the heavens.'" Hibiki shook her head. "But that doesn't mean–!"

As the siren finally quieted, a different sound filled the room for just a short moment. A quick noise, one that leads to a sense of finality. The loud impact of skin against skin as Tsubasa smacked her open hand against Hibiki's cheek. The latter girl fell to the ground as she clutched her cheek, and Tsubasa just glared down upon her like a bug ready to be stepped upon. "Use your brain, Tachibana. It is the duty of a sentinel, of a sword, to protect those that they have sworn to regardless of the danger. No matter the cost, a sentinel will do what it must."

"But Miku's–" Hibiki swallowed the words that squeaked out of her mouth. No, she remembered clearly what Tsubasa and Miku had managed to bond over that day. The feeling of devoting their lives to others in a way that made them little more than a tool. Tsubasa swore to protect humanity from the Noise, but Miku's resolve was stronger. She didn't want to protect the worthless species that cast her aside, she wanted to protect the sun that lit a fire of hope inside her.

"Kohinata will be willing to put herself in danger or fight against the rest of us if it meant she could keep you safe."

Hibiki just stared at the ground, her eyes wide as she was overcome with a familiar sense of despair. She hadn't felt it in a year's time, but she remembered the sensation as the feeling of hopelessness strangled her and crushed her heart. The weight of the world crushed her. She knew Tsubasa was right, but above all she was scared. Hibiki cared about Miku above anyone else, so she didn't want her to be in danger.

She didn't want Miku to die for her.

. . .

Miku stood facing the strange woman who called herself Finé. Blood still dripped from one of her hands, but she still paid it no mind. Instead, she was focused entirely on the woman.

After all, she couldn't do anything else.

As the two teleported from the headquarters of Sector Two to a new environment, Miku found herself dizzy as she took in her new surroundings. Unfortunately, this gave Finé just enough of an opening to trap her on a device, one that now locked her hands and feet in place. "I need you, Miku. You are very special, you see." Finé, now wearing no clothing, was standing directly in front of Miku with a seductive smile on her face. "Ever since my first diagnosis, I'd assured you nothing was wrong with the shards of Gungnir within you. But oh how I lied. You, dear girl, are more valuable than any one relic."

Finé gestured at the wall, and Miku craned her neck to see what she was looking at. A small stone-like object was perched on a display against the wall. It looked strange, dangerous even with the spikes extending out from it, but Miku recognized what it must have been. It was undoubtedly a relic, and over the past year of being part of Sector Two she knew that relics housed incredible powers; they were what the Symphogears drew power from, as well. "The Nehushtan Armour: a powerful suit that is technically indestructible as it can regenerate itself endlessly."

Beneath the fossil was a silver case, so sleek and lacking in details that Miku at first thought it had merely been part of the Nehushtan Armour's pedestal. "Durandal: one of the few wholly complete relics still in existence. A sword that can release energy on par with, or greater than, a nuclear warhead."

Finé shifted now, revealing a staff from behind her. The staff was silver, with its head a strange face of outward protrusions surrounding a rectangular purple jewel. "Solomon's Cane: a staff capable of opening up gates that lead into the Treasury of Babylonia, summoning Noise into our world to wreak havoc."

Finally, the woman pressed herself against Miku's body, and the young Symphogear candidate could do nothing but grimace in disgust at the thought of this woman having her way with her. Finé, however, just danced her finger around the curves of Miku's face. "With these three relics, I possess power beyond no other. The power to end the curse that has been plaguing our world since the days of the Lulu Amel. The only thing standing in my way was you, Miku."

"I genuinely thought you wanted my help to save Hibiki from this curse you speak of." Miku spat, narrowing her eyes in disgust at Finé. "Humanity deserves as many curses as possible for all it's done to me."

Finé laughed as she stepped back from Miku. "The Curse of Babel isn't just any curse. It's one that prevents humanity from truly being able to understand one another. The god that created us, the one I fell in love with all those years ago, turned his back on us at the end and pushed us onto a path of self-destruction." Her face twisted into a heinous figure as her eyes narrowed and her face curled into a grotesque frown. "I want nothing more for humanity than our peace, and to do that I must destroy that which is keeping us from being free from his influence."

Miku's brow furrowed. "To go that far for a love not reciprocated..." She felt a pang of guilt in her heart as she muttered the words. Could I be the same?

Finé's pointed Solomon's Cane towards Miku. "A love not reciprocated?" She snarled. "The god reciprocated the love that I showed him, I know that to be true as I am his eternal priestess. Yet, still, he turned his back on us. He must have his reasons for doing so, but those reasons are ones I can never accept.

"To free us from the chains that bind us, I will destroy the satellite that has forever looked down on us; the eye whose gaze has paralysed our hearts just as the god intended."

Miku watched as Finé–whose face returned to its calm form–danced with light steps to the window. Then, with an elegant gesture, she pointed. The sun was starting to dip over the horizon, but there, in the sky, the moon could faintly be seen. Miku understood what she meant. "You wish to destroy the moon?"

"And you, with your unique Gungnir, are perhaps the only one strong enough to stop me. Your body has not only accepted Gungnir–and I know now that you seem capable of engaging the Symphogear with only a thought–but it has fused with it. You are becoming a living Symphogear, and not just with any relic. A relic capable of striking any target, one that brought about the end of the world once its master fell." Finé smiled. "And yet you, my dear Gungnir, are simply far too valuable to dispose of. No, in the world that follows I wish for us to connect on a spiritual level."

"You called yourself an eternal priestess." Miku began connecting the dots in her mind as fear began encroaching upon her soul. "Does that mean you survive by taking over other humans?"

Finé smiled, though in the light of the setting sun Miku could only see the face of the devil staring back at her. A face fitting of one known as the end. "Once my mortal body fails, my consciousness enters the mind of one of my many descendants and awakens to a song." Finé's shadow stretched out against the wall, painting the Nehushtan Armour and Durandal in an inky darkness. "Though dangerous for us both, I have forced my consciousness into those unrelated to me as well in times of extreme duress."

Miku's eyes widened. "You want me to be your next body?"

"Alas, this body lacks the strength to properly resonate with the Symphogear's power. Yet your body is evolving faster than any other. Yours is transforming into the very Symphogear system I created so many years ago. Truly this can be nothing other than fate."

Finé walked towards Miku, or so the latter thought. Instead, the priestess stopped as she reached a small grey podium at the bottom of the stairs in front of her. "Fortunately, I know of a way to ease the process."

Miku's senses erupted in that moment. It felt as though lightning had run through her; in fact, she was not all incorrect. The device she was strapped to was one designed for torture, and torture her it did. Sending just a few seconds' worth of electricity through her body, Miku could do nothing but scream as she embraced the pain.

Finé merely watched the girl struggle, her body unconsciously wiggling as the volts were shot through her. She would die if the device was left on for long enough, so Finé had devised a fail-safe: the device would only release electrical shocks for only a short moment. Not enough to kill, yet still enough to destroy the barriers to her heart.

"And now," Finé pressed a button on the podium, setting the mechanism to torture Miku at random intervals. Then, skipping towards her collection of relics, her hands took hold of the solid stone armour. "The world's final night is upon us."

. . .

As darkness enveloped Japan several hours later, the sky was alight with a red glow. People from all over looked into the sky at the being that resembled one of the Noise that they feared, though they knew it wasn't one of the deadly creatures. Or at least, the red unidentified flying object was not wholly a Noise.

Genjuro stood with Hibiki, Chris, Kanade, Tsubasa, and Ogawa outside of Lydian Private Music Academy, glancing up at the red beast that had appeared over the city. He was perplexed at the monster floating over the town, basking the world around it in its eerie light, yet that was not what he looked at. Instead, Genjuro's eyes found themselves locked on the girls around him–the children who were the only ones with the power to fight that beast. "I truly am sorry." He apologized to everyone, though the girls did not react to his words.

Hibiki, too, felt guilty. She was not sure if Miku was safe–or if she was involved with the red beast–but she knew in her heart that she needed to save her. Hibiki had not been allowed to try to sync up with a Symphogear yet, so she knew the task of saving Miku had to fall to her while those who could fight the monster did so.

The Red Dragon of Revelations looked down upon the girls from its perch in the sky, and in its centre was Bablon herself, Finé. None of the girls below could actually see Finé, but Chris could feel her master's presence. "Was this your goal this whole time? Did you ever care about me?" She sighed. Chris knew that Finé's goals were, to be blunt, 'evil,' but she had been in the dark as to what they actually were. All she knew that if Finé gave her a command, she'd follow it without question; and that's what Chris had done for the past few years. "Did you ever need me, or did you just need someone to work as a distraction so you could go about your own plans?"

"None of this is looking good." Kanade said grimly as she echoed everyone's thoughts. "But I think the four of us have a decent shot at taking it down."

Tsubasa caught the number that Kanade had spoke. "Four?"

"Hibiki was also pelted with the rubble at the concert, so there's a chance that she's had the ability to use the Symphogear all along. Maybe she just hasn't been able to call upon it yet because there aren't as many shards in her body as in Miku's. Maybe she'll surprise us at the best moment, and pull out all the stops."

"You really think Tachibana could do that?" Tsubasa asked quietly.

Chris, not even looking at the idol pair beside her, muttered a retort as well. "I've known her for only a few hours now and even I can tell your opinion of her is too high."

Kanade smiled. "Never know until she tries. Either way, we're going to need her help. And she should be the one to save Miku."

Hibiki's gaze was focused on the distance, just as her mind floated away from her body. She could hear the conversation happening around her, but none of it stuck in her brain. "Miku, I hope you're safe."

#### Chapter 10

Before Finé had exited the manor she used as her base, Miku watched the priestess ready herself. She gently donned the golden Nehushtan Armour, which snaked around her body and hugged her figure as it revealed her abdomen. The golden-eyed woman slowly took out the Durandal sword from its case and held it aloft with her left fist; in her right, she clutched Solomon's Cane tight.

All the while, Miku had been blasted with electrical currents at random intervals. She could feel her consciousness slipping even before Finé left.

To Miku, it had been an eternity as silence filled the air around her; in reality it had been about ninety minutes. The only sounds she had heard since she was left alone were the mechanical chants let out by the torture device she was strapped to and the screams she could no longer stifle.

Her body, her mind, they were breaking. The walls she had put up around her heart after the Zwei Wing tragedy were being barraged by attack after attack; she did not know how much longer she had until she fell completely. Her vision was starting to blur, shadows dancing in the edges her of eyes even as she stared into the dark room that was illuminated solely by the faint glow of the moon.

She wanted to call for help, to say anything, but she simply lacked the energy to. Another current of electricity ran through her body, but even the pain she felt from that was starting to be dulled.

Miku opened her mouth and whimpered as a lone tear danced down her cheek.

. . .

Hibiki was running, a young girl clutching her shoulders as she held tight to the teenager's back. Several people were around Hibiki, crowding through the streets. "Everyone, get to the shelters!" Hibiki was evacuating as many people as she could, just as most members of Sector Two were now. After all, the red beast floating through the sky above them was not here in peace.

The Red Dragon of Revelations was a creature that should not exist. It was a fusion, consisting of three relics–Nehushtan's Armour, Solomon's Cane, and Durandal–as well as countless Noise and Finé herself according to the scans Sector Two ran on the beast.

The team back beneath Lydian continued to analyse the beast, looking for any weaknesses, but so far had not come up with anything. Tsubasa, Chris, and Kanade were on standby; they were worried about what could happen should they provoke Finé while she flew high above a populated area. Thus, Hibiki was now working with the other Sector Two agents to move everyone to safety before war broke out...

...Though Finé was not about to let them go through with that plan.

As Hibiki carried a girl through the streets, bringing her to safety, she heard a sound. It was unlike anything she had ever heard before, and yet familiar to her as a student of a music academy. It was the roar of a trumpet, albeit one that felt as though it originated from another dimension entirely as, though distinctly musical, it was also truly a stranger to her in every sense of the word. The sound reverberated through the air and into Hibiki's body, she felt as though the trumpet's call was echoing out from her body as the source.

Everyone beneath the Red Dragon of Revelations froze. Even Hibiki could do nothing but crane her neck skywards at the beast's cry.

. . .

Tsubasa shuddered as she heard the cry that Finé released. Having trained to fight with a Symphogear for her entire life, she familiarized herself with as many legends that history birthed as she possibly could. Every culture had myths and fables, some more outlandish than others, but she knew that the relics that they spoke of had some basis in reality.

The Book of Revelation spoke of a red dragon and a woman of the apocalypse; Tsubasa now knew that they must have been based upon Finé and her heretical amalgamation of powers no human should have ever possessed on their own.

And that sound she released must have been one of the seven salpinges that the same legends described as apocalyptic signals.

Tsubasa narrowed her eyes as she looked to Kanade and Chris to her right. The former looked back at her after a second, a smirk crossing her face.

"Seems like it's do-or-die time, Tsubasa." Tsubasa nodded at Kanade's words. Kanade then turned to Chris. "And you. We didn't exactly meet on the best terms, but we're going to need to work together to beat... whatever that is." Chris didn't look at Kanade; the quiet girl's eyes were locked on the Red Dragon of Revelations. Kanade knew she heard her words, though, and turned her eyes to the sky. "The three of us. We've gotta give it our all, now."

With that, Kanade stabbed a device into her neck. Her eyes went wide as she felt the green juice enter her veins. A power welled up inside her, and she felt blood rushing to her brain. She could not naturally use a Symphogear in the same way as Tsubasa; she relied on LiNKER to allow her to synchronize her heart with the relic she wielded.

Together, with Tsubasa by her side, the idols of Zwei Wing began to sing.

*Croitzal ronzell Gungnir zizzl*

*Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron*

Now clad in their colourful sets of armour–their Symphogears, with Armed Gears in hand–the two idols turned to the third girl standing beside them. She was silent, but her eyes slowly turned to look into those of Kanade Amou. The red-haired girl reached out her hand. "The three of us are the only ones who can stop that thing. Are you with us?"

Chris finally spoke up, addressing the two other girls directly for the first time. "Finé was the first person to care about me after my parents died. But once I was captured by you, she didn't even come to see me; her attention turned to someone else immediately." Chris looked down, her vision blurry as tears began to well within her eyes. "I know... I can't let her go through with her plans, however dangerous they must be, but I don't know if I can fight Finé."

Kanade put her hand on Chris's shoulder. "I don't know what you've gone through, but all of us are fighting for different reasons. Tsubasa's fighting to protect humanity, I'm fighting to avenge my family. I can't tell you what to fight for but, if I were in your shoes, right now I'd want to face that woman and ask her directly what she thought of me." Kanade wiped away a tear as it rolled down Chris's face.

And with this, Chris finally smiled. "Ask her what she thinks of me, huh?" Now Chris wiped her own tears. "Yeah, maybe I'll do just that."

*Killter Ichaival tron*

. . .

Hibiki had dropped the girl off at the shelter and run back into the city to see if anyone else needed assistance. But now, as she ran down an empty street, she regretted that decision.

The Red Dragon of Revelations was active now, raining a great army of Noise down upon the city. If evacuations hadn't been mostly completed by now, Hibiki knew the casualties would have already surpassed that of the Zwei Wing Tragedy.

Now, several of those Noise were chasing after her. If Hibiki hadn't undergone Genjuro's training she was sure that she wouldn't have had the stamina or the strength to outrun them, but now she was outpacing them easily.

Hibiki didn't know where exactly she was running, but she knew she had to get somewhere where no one else would be yet not somewhere too out of the way where no one will be able to help her. She bit down on her bottom lip as she had an idea. She wasn't sure what the extent of the Noise's abilities were, but Hibiki was willing to gamble on her chance.

As Hibiki dashed past a store she had been taken to by some of her friends from school–a restaurant named Flower–she tried to make a map in her mind. She placed a pin where she was now, recreating the town to the best of her ability using only her memories.

With a destination in mind and now sure of her current location, Hibiki turned down a street as she made her way towards the river that ran around the hill on which Lydian sat.

#### Chapter 11

Before the girls went into battle, the Symphogear wielders had stood in the headquarters of Sector Two as they analysed the great red beast that had appeared without warning. Until Genjuro began talking the air had been still, only the sounds of keyboards clicking and the hum of electricity reverberating around everyone. "Fujitaka, Tomosato–what have we learned about this creature?"

Tomosato began talking without looking up from the monitor she looked at. "From our analyses, this creature appears to be an amalgamation of several Relics: namely Durandal, Solomon's Cane, and the Nehushtan Armour. All three of these relics had been in our possession at different points in time, and the Nehushtan Armour and Solomon's Cane disappeared under mysterious circumstances."

"And Durandal?" Tsubasa asked.

"We have no records of Durandal disappearing from the vault beneath us. Officially Durandal should still be locked away. That said..."

"If Finé had been masquerading as Sakurai, then she'd have access to the vault at any time." Genjuro closed his eyes, and Chris Yukine, who stood beside him, could see his fist clench around his arm as he crossed his shoulder.

"Right. From the security camera footage it's clear she has some sort of heretical technology or alchemical power that allows her to teleport, so it's likely she simply teleported Durandal out without us knowing."

Fujitaka looked up with a sigh. "Who knows how much that woman did without us knowing." Clicking a button on his keyboard, Fujitaka brought up a different angle of the red beast that flew across the night sky. "In addition to several relics, the beast is made up of countless Noise. It's impossible to calculate the exact amount but a preliminary scan gives us an estimated minimum of five thousand."

"Five thousand?" Hibiki cried out in surprise, her eyes wide. Everyone had been thinking the same thing at this point–Finé had planned so thoroughly that their chances of defeating her were minimal.

"Also," Fujitaka glanced at Chris quietly, a sad look in his eyes. "Saku... no, Finé appears to have included herself inside of this chimera."

Chris looked down. So she truly does not care about me.

"With Kanade out of commission from singing her Superb Song, will Tsubasa need to take all Finé on alone?" Tomosato spun around in her chair and looked straight at her boss.

"No." He answered immediately, though another voice echoed his. With surprise filling the room, everyone turned to the door to see a girl with bright red hair leaning against the wall. Bandages were wrapped around her forehead and her right arm, and there was crusted blood surrounding the eyepatch over her eye.

"Kanade?" Tsubasa cried out. "You can't be out of bed!"

"This is an emergency, Tsubasa, we both know this. Chief, I knew the risks of becoming a Symphogear candidate when I agreed to join you. You need as many fighters as you can right now, so I'm not staying back."

Genjuro sighed. "I know I can't talk you out of this. Even if I said no, you'd just sneak out anyway." Finally he turned to Chris. "As for you, I won't force you to fight that woman. All of us have connections to Sakurai or Finé, so it won't be easy for any of us, but I'd be forever grateful if you worked with us for now."

"She'll do it." Kanade said with a smile, limping over to Chris. She placed her hand on her shoulder. "We don't need to fight Finé directly, we just need to weaken her. Take down the Noise and separate her from the relics."

"Fine. I don't know if I'll help you fight m-" Chris caught herself from almost calling Finé her master once more. No, she swallowed those words, gripping her own palms tight. "Finé. I'll fight the Noise, but I'll leave her to you."

"I suppose a compromise would be in order." Genjuro nodded. "As for Kohinata. Have we located her yet?"

Fujitaka shook his head slowly. "Unfortunately we still have no leads on her whereabouts, but we have narrowed the search to thirteen possible locations within the city, six on the outskirts. It'd be impossible for all nineteen of these locations to be searched while we also attempt to evacuate the city, so we're still working to narrow it down further."

Chris looked up. "A lake." This got the attention of everyone in the room. "I don't know the exact location of the manor but... it was on a lake."

Turning back to the computer, Fujitaka brought up a map on the monitor over-top the image of the glowing beast that just remained oppressively calm in the sky. "If what you say is the truth, then that would narrow our possible locations down to four."

Hibiki stepped forwards. "I want to save Miku."

Genjuro shook his head in response and was planning to immediately shut her down, but Kanade spoke up beforehand. "Unless you want to check all four of those locations, alone, while also having to avoid the Noise. Chief, put her on one of the evac crews." Kanade smiled at Hibiki. "I know you want to save Miku, but I won't let you–or anyone–die. We'll all make it out of this together."

Kanade gestured with her chin to Tsubasa, who reacted in confusion at the notion. Seeing her partner lost, Kanade couldn't help but burst out in laughter. "Yes, just believe; we'll make history with a light even God doesn't know of." She sang after catching her breath.

. . .

Chris sighed, wiping sweat from her brow. They had been fighting for over an hour now, continually cutting down the Noise that the beast–the Red Dragon of Revelations–kept spawning. She was angry at Finé, frustrated with the Noise, heavily fatigued, and still sad that she had been left behind by Finé, but none of those emotions could break through her single-minded pursuit of destroying all the Noise. She had not kept count of how many creatures she'd blasted to bits with her many firearms, but she was positive that the estimate she had heard before had been way too low.

She saw Tsubasa cut through a wall of Noise on the street beneath where Chris stood on a building. Her sword was now much larger than it had been when they started fighting, Chris noticed, but there was something more pressing catching her eye. Despite the cold front Tsubasa emitted, her eyes and slower singing made it obvious that even she was starting to get tired as well. Chris bent over, placing her hands on her knees for just a moment. "Forget fighting that thing, we can't even handle all of the Noise down here."

"Everyone seems to have been evacuated." Kanade announced, landing on the building beside Chris. Though her body had been devastated by injury after injury, she now stood strong beside Chris with a smile on her face. The amount of strength the Zwei Wing idol radiated was clear to even her, and she couldn't help but be impressed.

"Guess this means I can go all out now, huh?" Chris clicked her tongue. All this time she had been fighting using only the simplest of Ichaival's weapons in order to not accidentally harm anyone who had not yet been evacuated. Small crossbows that fired magical bolts at a rapid fire pace were what she had been relying on most, using missiles only sparingly when she had no other options.

But now, if all bystanders were safe, she could finally reveal Ichaival's true strength. "Hey blue!" Chris called down. "Get back!"

Tsubasa heard Chris's shout and did as she was ordered, leaping high into the air; all the while she kept singing the song in her heart. As she gently landing on the tips of her toes beside Chris, who thought that the aerial flips she performed were unnecessary and just showing off, the girl in red opened up the missile launchers on her hips. All at once, twenty-four missiles fired out of Ichaival and into the air, spiralling through Noise as they rained down upon the technicolour sea below them.

"Holy shit." Kanade gasped in awe. "That was incredible."

Chris's missiles had taken out more Noise in a second than the three of them had managed to take out in a span of twenty minutes. Even Tsubasa, who stopped singing as she admired the strength of Ichaival, couldn't hide the look on her face; she, too, was clearly impressed with Chris.

"Can... uhh... Can you guys stop staring, please?" Chris blushed and spun around after a couple moments of being the centre of attention.

Tsubasa coughed in response. "Excellent work, Yukine. Now then, how do we plan to get up to Finé?"

Kanade leaned in front of Chris's tomato-coloured face, spooking the flustered girl. "What's the largest missile you've got?"

. . .

Hibiki continued to run. She was running out of stamina and gasping for air now.

It had been a much further distance than she expected. She remembered from the map Fujitaka brought up that the river that ran through town connected to one of the lakes near one of the spots they suspected Miku would be. She had planned to hide underwater and try to make her way downstream to the lake; Hibiki's whole plan hinged on her hopes that Noise couldn't swim, but she had not even thought that far ahead. Her mind was focused entirely on saving Miku and staying alive.

Suddenly the air around her pulsed. The Noise that had been chasing her were too surprised by this, something that confused even Hibiki. She looked up to see the dragon soaring through the heavens no longer–its nose now pointed downwards as the smoky remnants of a powerful explosion rocked it. She had wanted to continue watching the beast's descent, but the Noise turned their attention back to Hibiki after only one short moment and thus she was forced to continue fleeing for her life. But now she had a new destination, one much closer.

The Red Dragon of Revelations was beginning to fall, and she could tell where it was going to land.

Thus, she made her way towards Lydian Private Music Academy to confront Finé head-on.

#### Chapter 12

Kanade looked up at the figure waiting for them: Finé. The woman stood leering over the three Symphogear wielders, her golden-blonde hair now corrupted by shadows that danced out from the night sky and down her body. She wore a dark purple suit with a red dress; Kanade thought she resembled a spilling bottle of wine. Clutched in Finé's right hand was the golden sword Durandal, which contrasted the dark figure wielding it with its golden shine that glimmered in the light of the moon. The scene was positively eerie, and not one Kanade ever wanted to see again for as long she lived.

"I must say, I never expected the three of you to ride a missile up to me." Finé recounted the exciting arrival of Kanade Amou, Tsubasa Kazanari, and Chris Yukine from high on her perch above the three. Just as she said, they had ridden a missile in order to fly up to her position in the sky; a dangerous idea, but it worked both to bring them face-to-face with their foe and injure the Red Dragon of Revelations on which they stood. Indeed, even now, as the two parties simply glared at each other, the dragon was slowly falling ever closer to the earth waiting beneath them.

The eternal priestess eyed the girls, her gaze falling upon the one in the middle. "Chris, my dear dear little girl. To think you'd rather play with some strangers instead of me."

Chris wanted to shout. Be it excuses for why she decided to fight against Finé or pleas for her to stop, no words were able to escape her lips. She just stared at the woman whom she once referred to as her 'master,' one now with some unknown–but clearly malevolent–goal.

"Alright, look." Kanade shouted, stabbing through the mess of words gathering within Chris's mind. "I don't know what your deal is and frankly I don't care. But I do want to know one thing: do you even care about Chris?"

Finé chuckled. The gleam within the priestess's eyes was clearly missing, something that was noticeable even in the low light. Yet, despite that, her cruel lips cracked into a smile–a genuine smile. "Do I care about Chris Yukine? Of course I do. I took her in when the world cast her out, when she had nowhere else to go, and taught her the ways of the heart."

"Doesn't look like that to me." Kanade scoffed. The idol glared, this time at the white-haired girl standing beside her. "Seems like all you've done is traumatize everyone you've ever met."

"Oh? Everyone? I don't remember traumatizing my good friends at Sector Two."

Kanade shuddered. "Did you think I wouldn't have known? All these years of us working together, did you really think I wouldn't have put two and two together? You were supposed to be at the excavation at Mt. Minakami, but all of a sudden something 'comes up' and you can't make it? I've had a suspicion all of these years, I did my research. The records show that nothing 'came up' and, from what I found, it seemed like everyone was under the impression that you were at the dig." Tsubasa gasped as she looked into Kanade's eyes. The girl who usually looked so strong yet laid-back, who was always the first to make Tsubasa feel like a human rather than the sword that she projected herself as. She saw no trace of that Kanade within the eyes of the girl before her. Everything she recognized had been stripped away, replaced with a feral fire that kept burning through hated.

"Solomon's Cane just happens to disappear three months earlier, forcing the previous head to step down, and shows up now in your clutches?" Kanade chuckles, though the sound rings hollow. Even as the beast they ride atop nears the ground, no one is panicked; everyone's focus is on Kanade, and Kanade alone. "You were the one that killed my family that day. The one who stripped away everything from me. And I bet you did the same to Chris."

Despite the accusation, the face of the priestess before them did not change. She wore the same smile, one warm yet now unnerving, with soulless eyes that looked through the world around her. "'The ends justify the means,' isn't that what they say? I will do anything to achieve my goals of reuniting with my beloved."

Chris finally snapped as she took in the weight of the words Kanade and Finé both said. "Finé... did you kill my parents?"

"Masanori and Sonnet Yukine were just unintended casualties. I needed a distraction so that I could look for... an old friend, let's say, without being bothered. Unfortunate that I couldn't find that toy of his. It would have made for a great bartering chip."

The flippant way that Finé revealed the truth behind Chris's entire life, the way that she casually moved past the topic of Kanade's tragedy–that was enough for the Symphogear wielders. Chris screamed as she readied the full extent of her relic's arsenal, but she would not get a chance to use them. Almost as if the world reacted to her shout, it was then that the Red Dragon of Revelations finally crashed into the ground. All three of the Symphogear wielders stumbled as they tried to remain up-right, though Finé simply continued to elegantly look down upon them with her one haunting expression. "And everything I've done has been leading up to this one moment." Those words echoed out of Finé's mouth despite being but a whisper that should have been drowned out by the noise around them. The Red Dragon of Revelations slid across the ground, tearing up the earth as it dug out a new ravine, landing just feet from the giant building on the hill: Lydian Private Music Academy.

"The three of you are going to sing your songs for me, now." Finé readied the sword she held, now lifting it aloft. Tsubasa was the first to notice this, despite being in an unsteady position, and immediately assumed a defensive posture.

It was a fruitless endeavour.

With a swift motion of her one arm, Finé swung the relic Durandal downwards. The sword extended as its blade carved the air in two, reaching the distant Tsubasa in moments.

And the world promptly exploded.

. . .

Hibiki stumbled up the hill and towards the school gates just in time to see the massive explosion engulf the school. She had only been a student of Lydian for a short time, but it was a strange new home for her. As she slowly managed to find a new normalcy, Hibiki's life became revolved around the school. She made friends, allies... The memories she had of Lydian were all fairly positive; a stark contrast from the darkness that still crept at the edges of her past. It had only been one year and yet it felt as though a second life for Hibiki had opened up for her.

But this explosion changed that. In an instant the school was completely vaporized. She had no idea if the students had been evacuated just as the town was, and even if they had she didn't know if they were still safe, but more than anything she worried about the rest of her friends. Miku was missing and now, as she looked over the smoking debris of the school, Kanade, Tsubasa, the rest of Sector Two, and potentially even Chris could all be dead as well.

She sank to her knees as every emotion she had been bottling up finally overwhelmed her. Hibiki no longer cared about the Noise that had been following her, that she could be dead in the next few seconds. None of that mattered to her.

Hibiki Tachibana was tired.

"Well, that blade was even stronger than I had anticipated."

A voice cut through Hibiki's brain, pushing away the clouds that had gathered around her soul. It was a voice that was familiar, yet one that also sent a chill down her spine. Hibiki slowly looked up through the rapids clouding her vision, the tears still rushing down her cheeks from her reddened eyes. "Ryo...ko?"

Not Finé, but Ryoko Sakurai stood before her. The good doctor's lab coat was spotless and there wasn't a hair out of place. She looked deceptively normal, despite the situation around her. "I'd have preferred it if I didn't have to use up Durandal immediately, but sometimes it can't be helped."

Hibiki's mind was empty. She didn't know what was going on. No, even what she did know was not registering with her.

In Ryoko's hand, she clutched the three Symphogear pendants. Red jewels on strings that the Symphogear wielders would have never taken off from around their necks. Those were the weapons they wielded–Gungnir, Ame no Habakiri, and Ichaival. "You know, way back when, I was the one who actually created these Symphogears. Delicate little devices they are. They turn the power of song into one for combat. But that wasn't their entire purpose, you know."

Hibiki didn't even flinch. As she stared at the three crystals in the woman's hand only one thing came to mind: *they're dead. They're all dead. Tsubasa, Kanade, Chris...* She tried not to think about the possibility that even Miku was no longer among the living. But still, she didn't move; she was frozen in place, her eyes locked to the Symphogears.

*It's hopeless.*

The woman who was both Ryoko Sakurai and Finé leaned down, cupping Hibiki's chin with a delicate grasp. "I was once just like you, you know. Someone who was blind to themselves and their own feelings. It's unfortunate that the shards of Gungnir within you never did end up evolving as they did with Kohinata. Truth be told, I would have much preferred using you as a vessel."

That last bit caught Hibiki's attention. "As a vessel?" She snarled. "Is that all you see Miku as? A tool that you can use and dispose of?" The idea that this woman–this monster–would dare insinuate that the two were similar in any way only to then declare that she'd toss away a living being as if they were nothing more than a soda bottle ready to be recycled revitalized Hibiki. Her entire body started shaking.

"You just said the two of us are similar?" Hibiki couldn't control herself. Anger filled her mind, her body. Hatred for this monster who was ready to disrespect Miku was all that Hibiki could feel.

She reached out and gripped hold of all three Symphogear pendants, aiming to pull them away from the priestess in front of her. "I would never disrespect Miku like that!"

As she shouted, Hibiki felt a strange power well up inside of her. Her heart was pumping, though it was not blood that flowed through her veins. No, the anger burned her mind like lava and yet her body felt colder than ice. It was as if her body had been dead, her soul the only remnants of life, and yet the opposite also felt true.

The darkness overtook her mind at that moment as four words welled up from deep within the depths of her mind. She knew not the meaning of these words, nor how she learned them, and yet they felt familiar to her in an odd way.

*Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron*

Ryoko tried to back away at that moment, but her body was frozen. She leered at the young girl in front of her, who now radiated with immense power. Hibiki had grabbed hold of all three Symphogear crystals and sung a Holy Chant, which means she resonated with at least one of them, and yet something incredible began to happen.

Hibiki convulsed on the ground, falling back away from Ryoko. Her body exploded in pain. Try as she might to breathe, no air entered her lungs. Likewise, all of her senses simultaneously erupted in sensation yet dulled completely. She had no idea what was going on. Hibiki could not see, could not see, could not hear. All she felt was the anger of Ryoko's words crushing down upon her like a weight.

But for the woman across from her, she had a much different experience. While Hibiki screamed in pain as her body adapted to the Symphogear, Ryoko watched in horror as the girl's body began to transform. From the tips of her toes, slowly a darkness began to overtake her body. It felt like it took an eternity for the shadows to creep up Hibiki's body and encase her entire being, and yet it took less than two seconds.

She dropped the disguise at that moment. With the power of alchemy, Finé realized that a true threat had emerged as her appearance reverted back to that of the eternal priestess. She frowned, trying to study the unique being in front of her, but knew she couldn't.

Hibiki had transformed completely. No longer was she a human, she was a beast of pure darkness. Hibiki crouched on all four of her limbs as she growled; all traces of humanity had exited the girl's face–in fact, her face was almost missing entirely as Finé could only make out the red glow of two eyes hidden within.

All three of the Symphogear pendants had disappeared and now Hibiki was a monster. Finé knew this was no coincidence, but she forced her analytical mind to shut off as she watched Hibiki. The monster shook her head and arms, as if testing to see if they were still attached to her body, before turning towards Finé. Her hands were no longer human but instead large black claws, and her feet too appeared bestial.

The creature formerly known as Hibiki Tachibana leapt forwards at Finé with no hesitation. Her movements were incredibly quick–almost too quick for Finé to see–but the priestess managed to create a pink barrier to block the beast's attack just in time. She watched on with a strange sense of awe and horror as Hibiki clawed at the pink barrier, though Finé knew that the alchemical powers fuelling it would keep her at bay.

She quickly realized, after only a couple attacks, that she was underestimating Hibiki's newfound strength. As Hibiki pounded on the pink wall of ethereal glass, Finé could sense that the strength that lingered within Hibiki would overtake that of the alchemy easily. Indeed, on the fourth hit the wall shattered and Hibiki immediately took advantage of her now-clear path.

Finé dodged Hibiki's first attack, a sideways swipe with her former left hand, but was unable to react fast enough as the powerful beast of darkness reached towards the sorceress with her other claw and gripped her throat tight.

"Miku." Hibiki hissed. The voice was not her own. It was a low, feral growl that was more akin to a monster's growl than an intelligent language, yet Finé could make out the meaning regardless even as the beast crushed her windpipe.

When Finé refused to answer–or rather, proved unable to–Hibiki slammed Finé hard into the ground, her face digging a pit into the ground. Earth exploded around the two of them and Finé felt pain erupt through her body.

Finé had been alive for thousands of years, but never once had she encountered an enemy like this beastly Hibiki. Every enemy she had ever fought, from those pesky alchemists of the past to the scientists of today, had all been nothing for Finé... and yet this girl now held more power than all of them.

She snarled. "Unbelievable!" Finé cried. With a wave of her hand the air opened up like a pocket for Finé to reach into, and that she did. Slowly she pulled from this impossible pocket a large golden sword–Durandal, the weapon that created the devastation in which they stood. Its blade was no longer a shiny gold; the relic had been damaged by its own explosion and the now-bronze weapon was slowly starting to crumble apart. "You leave me no choice, now."

Hibiki snarled in response as she rushed forwards.

The two clashed, claw against sword, at a speed faster than the human eye could detect. Finé was barely able to block each incoming attack; she only kept up with Hibiki's impossibly fast movements by watching the tracks her feet dug into the ground as she changed direction. She realized, as the sound of their conflict echoed across the empty night sky, that for the first time since the god she loved abandoned her, Finé felt fear.

But she wasn't angry at that revelation. In fact, she welcomed it.

"This power!" Her eyes widened as Hibiki's growling face closed in on hers. The girl's claws collided with the sword with immense strength, creating new cracks in the relic that was once said to be indestructible. Though terrified of the strength that Hibiki now wielded, Finé knew that the girl was the one that she had been waiting for. Kohinata may have been a suitable vessel, and one she still wished to make use of, but Hibiki might be the one she required to finally destroy the curse placed upon humanity.

"Hibiki Tachibana!" Finé jumped back as she called the beast's name, and for just a second the beast's eyes seemed to flicker with recognition. Its movements stopped as it growled again. That pause was all that Finé needed; just a few seconds was long enough for her to put her plan into motion.

Had Hibiki been in her right mind, she would have recognized the glowing circle that appeared beneath Finé's feet, but the beast that she now was just watched with curious eyes. Of course, there was a reason she did that.

Finé clutched the newcomer to her chest, her arm stiff around their neck.

"Do you wish to save the girl you love?"

Miku Kohinata was conscious, albeit barely. Even without Finé's arm pressed against her neck, the girl had barely been able to breathe after all of the shock that her body had been forced to endure. Even now, Finé felt that her prisoner's body was slick with cold sweat as she tried to grab onto life.

Her eyes slowly opened and looked sadly at the beast standing across from her. She whimpered, realizing the identity of the monster in her sight, but she lacked the energy to speak or even appear surprised. No, she even struggled to keep her eyes open.

"Grant me your power. Together we will end the curse placed upon humanity." Finé's cruel smile returned to her face. While not on the verge of death as Miku was, Finé, too, was heavily fatigued and knew that Hibiki would overpower her should the fighting keep up. Thus, she needed to negotiate if she wanted to use the chance that this life granted her. "Join me, Hibiki Tachibana!"

Despite her weak state, Miku managed to squeak out a single small word: "No."

The beast shed a single tear as she cried out in pain at seeing her beloved Miku in such a state. For a slight moment, Finé could swear she had seen Hibiki's face peak through the beast's dark body.

"What do you say, Hibiki? Care you save the human race?"

#### Chapter 13

Hibiki sat in complete darkness. The world beyond her poked through the shadows via a tiny window, no bigger than a pinprick, though that was the only light that could break through the darkness that surrounded her. She couldn't hear anything, she had no idea what was going on; all Hibiki Tachibana felt was a concoction of strong emotions beyond her control. Anger, sadness, confusion–these emotions swirled through her very soul as she stared into the abyss and out into world beyond.

Through that small little window into the outside, Hibiki saw Finé clutching Miku close to her body. Miku was clearly in pain, her face twisted as she gasped for air. Hibiki wanted to reach out for her friend, but her arms wouldn't move; nothing would, as she floated like a cadaver through a still lake.

"Have I ever been the one to help you?" Hibiki wondered. Her thoughts echoed through the chamber in which she was trapped as if she had spoke them aloud but, like the rest of her body, her lips couldn't move. Hibiki should have been surprised or confused at that, and yet she didn't focus on it at all. Even as the question bounced around throughout the hollow nothing around her, Hibiki just kept her eyes glued to Miku.

She knew the answer to the question she had asked, of course–no. Hibiki had never been able to save Miku, to offer her the help she needed. It was always the other way around. At the Zwei Wing concert Hibiki had tried her best to be the one to pull Miku's hand to safety, but it was she who ended up needing to be saved at the end. A tear rolled down her face. Hibiki felt–no, within her heart, she knew–that she was completely useless.

Finé could not believe her eyes. The beast formerly known as Hibiki Tachibana did not give her an answer to her question–though she doubted her ability to in that state, anyway. Instead, the girl who embraced darkness began to cry. Small tears ran down her face, each one appearing like blood as the light of her red eyes reflected within the small drops. The beast let out a growl, a low guttural sound that rolled over Finé's heart like a steamroller. But the sound was not one of anger; Finé, someone who had been feeling the same way for thousands, if not millions, of years, resonated with the emotion the beast unleashed.

"You're trying to escape the darkness, aren't you?" Finé clicked her tongue, her eyes narrowing into a snake-like expression as she assessed Hibiki. She had been stalling for time, and that time seemed to be about up. Finé needed to enact her plan to destroy the moon, though she couldn't do so from here. Yet, Finé was sure, if she tried to move, the beast would try to stop her.

She smiled.

Hibiki could only watch as the pinprick of light slowly expanded. Or rather, the small window she had been given to see the outside world slowly expanded as the vision she saw zoomed in on one particular feature.

Finé's smile was all she could see. That crooked grin, with confident eyes.

For the first time in her life, Hibiki stared at the very devil that many religions spoke of. Hades, Satan–their name didn't matter, but Hibiki was sure they all referred to the woman in front of her.

But still, she could not move her body. The tears that leaked from her eyes fell into the void below, but they were the only objects capable of moving in this dimension.

Hibiki was helpless to watch the scene as it began to play out.

. . .

Asgard, an alchemical power that Finé had created thousands of years ago. She had not been the one to create alchemy (though her name was written in records as if she were), but Finé had come to wrench it out of the hands of those who had and twisted its use to fit her goals. The power to turn lead into gold? Finé laughed at the very idea. She wanted to use alchemy for greater purposes: to ensure her plans came to fruition.

The power she devised was Asgard. It was her personal weapon, a type of pink shield that bent reality itself to block any attack–at least, that's how it looked on the surface. In truth Asgard did not merely act as a shield, rather it bent reality in such a way as to redirect any attack pointed at her towards an entirely different universe and injure the copies of Finé that exist throughout the ever-branching timelines. Impossible physics, according to all known laws that humanity established, yet for a Lulu Amel who had been directly touched by the god she adored, Finé had no trouble creating such a technique.

But the way Asgard bent reality could be used in other ways as well. Finé had lived many lives as countless women; no one, not even her, could keep track of how many consciousnesses she had invaded, infected, and destroyed throughout the annals of history. And it was all for this plan, the plan she knew she needed to see through to the end.

With one arm still holding the frail black-haired girl Miku Kohinata close to her chest, Finé placed her other hand on the girl's neck. "This may hurt a bit. But don't worry, you won't feel a thing." Those words were the final ones Miku heard as pain seared through her body.

Finé activated Asgard, a pink barrier surrounding Miku's neck as if to guard it, yet also penetrating through it like a knife. The look on the girl's face was clear: it was incredibly painful for Miku. She screamed, silently, as the pink beam cut through her body.

But it didn't leave a mark.

Slowly Finé began to move her hand upwards, slowly slicing the entirety of Miku's head open with her alchemical power. Any good alchemist would tell you that analysis was the backbone of every strong experiment, and this was no different. Finé's eyes were locked on Hibiki, who stood motionless as she continued to cry, but in her mind she could feel emotions and memories slowly bubble to the surface. Not her feelings, either–those of the girl she was slowly overwriting: Miku Kohinata.

"Miku." The beast finally growled, seeing her friend in pain. Hibiki's eyes flared up; no longer red, they burned as if they themselves were the hottest flames in the world. The beast howled up into the night, a growl that reverberated up even to the moon. "Miku!"

This caught the eternal priestess off guard. She continued to analyze Miku's emotions, slowly burning her own self over top the girl's, so she could not move as fast as she wished to.

And that proved to be her downfall.

Before Finé had even registered pain, she found herself flat on her back. Her head ached and brain was fuzzy. But she smiled all the same.

The procedure had not been entirely completed, and yet it had not failed either.

"Miku!" Hibiki–the real Hibiki, now clad in the uniform of Lydian Private Music Academy–shook her friend. Tears streamed down her face, dripping down onto Miku's, as she continued to cry her name.

And Finé couldn't help but laugh.

*Scupeum Adsto Gungnir Zizzl*

Finé sang the words with two voices: her own, and that of Miku Kohinata. Hibiki could just watch as her friend, her sunshine, stared with empty golden eyes at her friend as the green suit of Gungnir appeared on her body.

"Miku?" Hibiki was confused, her heart broken, and seeing that despair only made Finé–and by extension, Miku–laugh all the more maniacally.

"How does it feel, Hibiki?" Miku cried, just as Finé did. Their voices were filled with disgust as the two women glared down at the sobbing Hibiki. "To have your sunlight wrenched away from you as I did?"

Of course, Hibiki did not answer. Tears streamed down her face, but Hibiki was silent. She just stared at the ground.

"A fitting answer." The two voices sliced through Hibiki's heart once more. "I offered you a chance to save humanity with me; now you shall burn alongside the Curse of Balal!"

Finé, with Miku mimicking every movement, turned around and began walking away. "To think the creator of the Symphogear system would have to resort to such tactics just to use them herself." The eternal priestess scoffed.

The two women stopped, simultaneously of course, and spun to face Hibiki again. "It's time to die, little one." They spoke, their words echoing over each other. "Enjoy the feeling of being betrayed by the one you love!"

Together Finé and Miku rushed forwards, the priestess readying Asgard and Miku carrying the spear of Gungnir. The latter was ready to pierce the heart of her sun, even if it was against her will.

And yet, Miku was crying. Tears flooded down her face, even though her expression remained blank.

The tears only flowed faster as Miku's spear pierced through Hibiki's stomach. "I never could help you." Hibiki gasped for air as she vomited up a gross amount of blood. With a trembling hand, she reached up and touched Miku's face. As a kind smile crossed her face, Hibiki coughed up her final words: "I'm... really sorry... I wish I... could have been... more useful..."

With that, her hand fell.

And that is how Hibiki Tachibana died.

. . .

Finé kicked through the rubble, Miku by her side. Her new vessel, who now contain part of Finé's very soul, mimicked every movement. The process had been disrupted; if Finé hadn't been interrupted by Hibiki, her current body would have faded away as her entire being ingrained itself within that of Miku Kohinata. As it stood now, the girl was nothing but a lifeless puppet whose strings were clutched by the priestess.

"Tsubasa, Kanade, Chris. All of you proved to be completely worthless in the end." Finé spat as she finally found what she was looking for. Donning the Nehushtan Armour once more, she pressed her hand to the ground and said a phrase in an ancient tongue. Its meaning had been long lost to time, and yet the Earth reverberated as it heard the priestess's words.

Her original plan had been to use their songs to power her device, to supercharge it and ensure the moon's complete annihilation. Alas, as they were flung from the Red Dragon of Revelations as it collided with the planet, she lost sight of their bodies. She had no doubt that at least one of them must have survived, yet–as she had not been opposed by any of them nor Sector Two–Finé had begun to think otherwise. "A shame, really. Had you just listened to my story, perhaps we could have worked together to save this species."

Finé and Miku backed up a great distance, and the former drew a shape in the air with her finger. Leaving behind a trail of the pink interlocked walls of energy that was Asgard, Finé smiled as she then snapped her fingers. As if the planet had been waiting for eternity to hear that sound, the world split in two.

The ground quivered, trembling in fear at its own might. The power of the ancient relics were unparalleled; those that were still complete could be considered natural disasters of their own right. No, complete relics would likely be on their own tier above even the strongest hurricane or earthquake. Finé laughed as she took in the sight of one such complete relic.

Kadingir towered before her, reaching up to the heavens as the quakes began to subside.

A particle ion cannon Finé had created using ancient technology long ago, thought lost to history. Sector Two had originally been built in this location because of Kadingir, to study the strange device no mortal in this time could hope to comprehend; it was pure luck that Finé had been reborn into the body of a woman who happened to work at this site. A cruel twist of fate for others, she assumed, but for her it was nothing short of a miracle.

The gargantuan beast was like a single solitary finger poking up at the sky. A phrase came to Finé, one not from her own memories. She couldn't help but smile as she said it aloud. "I shall be the spear to pierce through the heavens."

A fitting idea, she knew. With the wave of her hand, everything that she had been planning for generations would finally come to fruition.

The eternal priestess smiled. "To hell with you, you damned curse!"

Something felt off as she shouted, and it took her but a single moment to figure out what it was. She turned to Miku, her golden eyes no longer lifeless. The girl, her doll, had not repeated her last few words; no, now she stood with an angry look on her face. "Oh? Have you managed to stave off part of my infection?"

Miku did not answer, and Finé wondered how deep her tendrils had truly dug into Miku's psyche. The girl with the white ribbon in her hair was clearly not herself, though she did not seem to be fully under Finé's command any more. "The shock of being the one to kill the one you love must have given you the strength to turn against me." Finé surmised, looking at Miku. Her lifeless, yet angry, eyes just stared back at her in silence.

That's when Finé realized something. "If my own consciousness is like a curse upon you..." She nodded in acknowledgement of the girl's strength. "Clearly the two of us truly are alike." The priestess smiled.

"That's bullshit, and you know it."

Finé looked through the darkness. She recognized one silhouette, as it was of a pawn she had played with and discarded so many times, now. The other, one much taller, was the one who shouted. In her arms she cradled the limp corpse of Hibiki Tachibana. "If you and Miku had been more similar, then you wouldn't have needed to resort to murder to get what you wanted. Nor would you have tossed away Chris like she was nothing!"

"Kanade, you always had a habit of being annoying." Finé whispered. She turned her eyes back to Kadingir. "The scene is set for my dream! Do the two of you not want to save humanity, as I do?"

"Save humanity? By blowing up the moon?" Kanade laughed. "Don't you know what would happen without the moon? Sure, this curse or whatever wouldn't exist any more but the world would be legitimately fucked. The climate would get out of control, the rotation of the Earth would change. Do you know how much the moon affects our planet?"

"All trivial matters in comparison." Finé soothed the two girls over. "Why, without the Curse of Balal plaguing humanity, our ability to communicate would finally be unlocked once more."

"You sound insane."

Those three words were spat out of Chris Yukine's mouth. She glared at her former master. "Do you really just believe that things would 'work out' like that?"

"Of course, for my beloved god would–"

"Your 'beloved god' who abandoned you without warning, who cursed humanity, who likely never even reciprocated your feelings?" Finé's eye twitched as Chris spoke. "You sound like a lunatic, Finé."

Kanade shook her head. "Chris is right. You're a lunatic acting on blind faith. I have no idea how long you've been planning this, but I do know that you're doing it for entirely selfish reasons."

"Nonsense. I'm trying to save humanity!"

"By destroying the moon." Chris added, deadpan. "You may be the dumbest person on the planet. I can't believe I ever thought highly of you."

The eternal priestess shook her head. She was clearly annoyed and frustrated with the two girls. With a huff, she turned towards the giant ion cannon before her. "Kadingir!" She ordered, raising her hand into the air. "Destroy the Curse of Balal!"

Kadingir, the giant cannon, flared to life. The runes enscribed both on the cannon's outer and inner layers began to glow, and soon the world had turned white beneath the giant relic. Kanade and Chris, both clad in their Symphogears, simply watched as the cannon began to charge; their silence was deafening to Finé, who laughed maniacally. The eternal priestess had assumed they'd given up, and allowed her the chance to release the curse plaguing them.

Then she felt pain. A sudden, sharp sensation filled her guts, and she looked down. "When...?" Finé couldn't believe her eyes, as she looked up into the eyes of the girl standing before her.

Miku, her golden eyes filled with tears, stared her hollow stare. She didn't speak, though she didn't need to. Finé had her memories now, and the two were connected telepathically. She could sense what Miku was thinking, and yet she'd still managed to sneak up on her.

But Finé still smiled. "You know, even when I die, I'll just be reborn again."

The golden-eyed Miku tilted her head. Though her face refused to emote, Finé could sense her soul burning with hatred beneath the surface. Though Kadingir rocked the heavens as it charged up, a cacophany of ethereal sounds filling the air, the space between Miku and Finé was silent and still. A strange calm washed over Miku as she stared Finé deep in the eyes and reminded her. "You'd be reborn within me, the one person who has managed to stave off your influence."

Finé touched the blood staining her skin. She may have been wearing the Nehushtan Armour, but the armour was only useful if it got hit; Miku aimed for an area that Finé had left uncovered. "I look forwards to seeing what my future looks like." Finé chuckled, resigning herself to her fate.

Without a sound or a transition, Finé evaporated. The eternal priestess seemingly turned to dust, her body blown away and scattered in the debris of Lydian.

"Now, we need to find a way to turn that off." Kanade declared. She shifted Hibiki's body in her arms, but it was clear that the girl would never move again. Blood stained her clothing and her eyes were empty and devoid of the life that once filled them. Despite that, Hibiki still smiled. Kanade looked down at that smiling face, one that will remain happy for all eternity. "I understand wanting to help humanity, but destroying the moon isn't the best way to go about it."

Chris clicked her tongue as she looked Kadingir up and down. "Even with all I've got, I doubt I'd be able to make a dent in that thing." Regardless of the results of her assessment, Chris readied all of her missile launchers and prepared to fire. "Where did Blue run off to, anyway?"

"Knowing Tsubasa..." Kanade trailed off, scanning the horizon. "She's probably hacking away at that thing with all she's got."

Kanade was correct, of course. Tsubasa had climbed up onto Kadingir as it began to sprout from the ground, and now stood on its barrel looking down into the depths. She recognized the patterns that now glowed as the elevator shaft that led down to Sector Two. "I hope everyone's okay." She muttered, sparing but a single thought for her silent comrades as she readied the blade of Ame no Habakiri.

Kadingir's roar was slowing now, which Tsubasa took to mean it was almost ready to fire. Assuming her blade would not cut the relic, she backflipped into the air. As she did, explosions rocked the place where she had just stood; as she had suspected, Chris had decided to test the weapon's durability. And, as she landed within a cloud of smoke, Tsubasa noted that not only had Kadingir not sustained a single scratch, but the area that had been damaged seemed to glow even brighter, as if it absorbed the power of Ichaival's attack.

"If attacking it is out of the question, then that leaves only one rational option." Tsubasa raised her sword skywards and swung it backwards over her head. As the blade cut through the air, it began to grow; slowly it extended to double, then triple, then quadruple its size. In seconds, it had turned from a simple katana into something more akin to a wall than a sword, a wall that Tsubasa swung to block the cannon's opening. She leapt off the device, sliding down the edge of Kadingir as if riding an invisible snowboard, and landed only metres away from where her comrades stood.

"Tachibana?" Tsubasa asked, only now learning about the fate of her friend despite her calm disposition. With a solemn shake of her head, Kanade told Tsubasa all she needed to know. "I see."

Miku stared up at the giant sword, her expression still blank. "Blocking the cannon won't work. If it has the strength to strike the moon, it'll pierce Ame no Habakiri without issue."

Tsubasa nodded. "Right. I only blocked the cannon in hopes that it will slow the shot somewhat."

The giant cannon finally quieted. "We'll need to think up something, quick." Chris announced, and the others agreed with stern nods. "I can try blasting the projectile out of the air." Even being the one to suggest it, Chris knew that it had no chance of working. She could not even damage Kadingir; assuming the projectile made use of the ancient, heretical technology that Finé had amassed throughout the generations, there was no way it'd fire something significantly weaker than its outer shell.

"Chris, can you launch us up there on one of your missiles?" Kanade asked.

"Yeah, but I don't know what good it'd do, other than get us all killed."

"Then just send me up." Miku announced, her golden eyes turning to stare blankly at Chris. "I need to..." Finally her expression started to waver, if just for a moment. As if in response to this, Miku closed her eyes. "Let me try."

"It's too dangerous!" Kanade shouted and Tsubasa curtly stated, their voices overlapping. "Do you want to die?" Kanade continued, glaring at Miku. Unfortunately, she thought she already knew the answer to that.

Miku's eyes glistened as they wet with tears, but her blank stare remained on her face. "I promised I'd protect Hibiki, no matter what."

Kanade could feel Miku's resolve. The girl knew she had already failed in her goal, it was clear from the tears that sparkled in her eyes, yet she held onto the faint hope that she could still protect her friend somehow. Kanade sighed. "I know I won't be able to change your mind."

Chris, on the other hand, did not sense the emotional weight of Miku's words, and turned to Kanade. "You're just going to let her do this? Are you stupid, too?"

A chuckle rumbled from Kanade's lips. "I think we're all a little bit stupid, for wanting to fight as we do." She shook her head. "Let's make this quick. Miku, are you sure you want to do this?"

Miku nodded.

Chris sighed.

Tsubasa closed her eyes, as if offering a prayer.

"Thank you for your hard work, Miku." Kanade smiled.

. . .

"You're all seriously nuts." Chris said, as she watched the missile fly up into the air. Miku stood atop it, her spear pointed upwards. None of the Symphogear candidates knew when Kadingir would fire, or how strong its blast would be. All they could do was hope that Miku would be able to stop it.

"It comes with the territory, I guess." Kanade chuckled. "And here we are, chatting as if the moon wasn't in danger."

"I have to wonder about this curse Finé spoke of." Tsubasa interjected quickly. "A curse to prevent humans from understanding each other? Is that not the point of music? A universal language that speaks to hearts, rather than through simple words?"

Chris shook her head. She knew Finé better than the two of them, but that didn't change the fact that Chris wasn't even sure she truly understood anything anyvmore. She barely had a grasp on her own heart, let alone what might be going through the minds of others. But she was confident in one thing. "Finé was blinded by love, right?" She'd suffered for years under Finé, all while being taught one simple thing. "Pain is the only way that humans can truly understand one another; that's what Finé taught me. Maybe she thought that bringing pain to others would help them understand her more... or something."

Tsubasa nodded. "If her plan succeeds, it'd bring the world together to face a tragedy. If her plan fails, she still managed to make us aware of that curse."

"Plus," Kanade added. "We all got a little bit closer because of it. Even if..."

The fact that Kanade's gaze dropped down to the girl in her arms spoke more words than Kanade ever could.

But even if she had said anything else, neither Tsubasa nor Chris would have been able to hear her, even though they stood so close to each other. As, in that moment, Kadingir finally activated.

. . .

The blast of Kadingir rocked the air around Miku as she flew on the missile. The missile and the projectile seemed to move at about the same speed, and she looked sideways to watch as it followed along beside her. She had been about to jump off onto Kadingir when the cannon fired; luckily, this just forced the two into a race.

Her stone-faced expression didn't waver; only the image of the missile reflected into Miku's cold, now-golden eyes.

And for the first time since she had donned her Symphogear over a year ago, Miku finally began to sing.

. . .

Tsubasa, Kanade, and Chris all looked up. "Is that...?" Kanade asked.

"What's the big deal? We all have to sing when using our Symphogears." Chris interjected, only to be cut off by Tsubasa.

"Miku has never once sung while donning her Gungnir. She has shards of the Symphogear within her body, so the theory is that those protect her just as our songs would us."

Chris looked aghast. "I feel like you glossed over a big detail, there."

"I'll explain later." Kanade looked away.

. . .

*Tsunagareru hō no te wo akete matsu yo*

*Kimi no daisuki na egao wo*

*Sasete hoshī kara*

As Miku sang, her eyes tracked the movements of the orb beside her. Contrary to what she initially thought, the orb was moving at a slightly faster speed than she was. Even though it theoretically should have moved at the speed of light, Miku wondered if perhaps the projectile defied the laws of physics just as Finé had done before.

She could feel the eternal priestess judging her from within her mind with a smile that said. "I can't wait to see you fail." But Miku shook her head, ignoring the interior gaze she felt.

Formulating several ideas in her mind as if a robot, Miku finally sprang into action. Lifting her spear, she thrust it into the missile's head at an angle, knocking it sideways through the air as if ready to collide with the ball of light she was racing. She looked up to see the ever-growing moon as they reached the upper-limits of what could be classified as the 'planet,' and she shook her head. The missile exploded then, launching Miku high into the air; though the ball of light was unfazed as well.

Resigned to her fate, Miku watched the ball of light spiral towards her. Ame no Habikiri had done nothing to stop it, and neither had Ichaival's missile. The chances of Gungnir having an effect on it were minimal, which left Miku only one option.

She closed her eyes.

*Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal*

*Emustolronzen Finé el balal zizzl*

*Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal*

*Emustolronzen Finé el zizzl*

. . .

From down on the ground, the three Symphogear wielders could hear Miku's Superb Song as it reverberated in the air, replacing all sound. Despite that, they were unable to see the aftermath of its effects. As they stared up at the sky, all they saw was a bright flash of light, and then Miku was gone.

Obliterated from the projectile, no doubt. Kanade and Tsubasa lowered their heads, and a tear fell from the former's one uncovered eye.

"Holy shit. I think she did it." Chris said in surprise, snapping the two other girls' gazes upwards.

. . .

A streak of blood dribbled out of Miku's mouth, and pain flared throughout her body, but she was alive–for now.

With the power of the Superb Song, Miku released just enough energy to propel herself downwards. Stabbing Gungnir into the projectile as her body slowly began to collapse, Miku used the entirety of her strength to push the ball downwards, slowing its ascent.

It should never have been possible, it denied the laws of physics.

"That's par for the course for us, I suppose." Finé's voice echoed through her mind, and Miku felt strangely calm at that.

The ball had disintegrated as it travelled up into the sky, breaking through the earth's many natural barriers. But now Miku floated, falling back down through it. Her body was warm; she was not going to survive, and even if she did she had no way of knowing where she was going to end up.

She knew this was how it would end for her, wanting to do everything in her power to save Hibiki. "But you failed. Hibiki is dead." Finé reminded her from within.

"Hibiki climbed up through hell to reach heaven." Miku said, and finally managed to break the stoic expression that Finé forced upon her face. Her lips cracked into a smile as her golden eyes closed. "I don't think Hibiki could die that easily."

Miku could feel Finé's confusion, but did not care. "I never planned on letting you use me for your plans." Miku addressed the ghost within her. She opened her eyes to get a view of the world. Now that the ground was slowly starting to fade into sight, Miku took in the world's beauty. "Really, if you had gone about it in a different way, I think we could have worked together."

The image of the eternal priestess smiled. "So you simply didn't care for my methods?"

"You said humanity is cursed? Any curse should be broken, I think." Miku could feel her body heat rising with every second that passed. Even with the increased vitality granted to her by the Symphogear she wore, Miku was still fighting hard just to stay conscious as the wind pounded at her skull. "Next time, please come up with a different strategy. One that Hibiki would want to help you with."

Finé was genuinely surprised. "Perhaps," She thought back. "I may have been blinded by my selfish desires. Claiming to be working towards the greater good of our species yet wanting to ravage the one planet we have. I can see now why you didn't care for my plan."

"You had thousands of years to come up with something else. Maybe, in your next life, try to figure out why your god cursed humanity in the first place."

Miku's head was pounding so hard that she was even having difficulty hearing Finé's next words, even though the ghost resided within her own mind. As she finally passed out, Miku replayed the final things both she and the priestess had said together. "Perhaps we truly are fairly similar."

#### Chapter 14

*Three months later...*

Tsubasa and Kanade stood at the ruined site of Lydian Private Music Academy. Despite the destruction of the school, all students had already been evacuated to underground shelters so casualties and heavy injuries were minimal. Sector Two suffered more losses than the school, if only because Kadingir rising out of the ground collapsed part of a tunnel. Even then, only a total of three people died at the Lydian site that day across both groups.

Miku's whereabouts are unknown. An Aufwachen Waveform was detected in the atmosphere, but disappeared south of Japan, near the Philippine Sea. She has been assumed dead, though members of Sector Two are still scouring the area where they last detected traces of her Symphogear hoping to find some answers.

Tsubasa looked up at Kadingir above them. The relic was still technically active, and Sector Two was researching how to deactivate it permanently. The device still couldn't be destroyed; Kanade and Tsubasa had both sung their Superb Songs together after everything had settled, and even then they'd only managed to break off only a small part of the outer shell before they had to be hospitalized for a month.

"I still think about what she wanted to accomplish. Even if her methods were insane, she did seem to have good, albeit twisted, intentions." Kanade said finally. The orange sky and setting sun disappeared behind Kadingir, and the two were left in the dark shadow it cast.

"I agree. If only she had spoken to us, instead of jumping to the most outlandish of ideas."

The two girls turned to walk down the hill. Lydian was in the process of relocating to a smaller school in the town itself. A European-styled school had bee closed a few years earlier, and Lydian was now planning to move into that after a couple of renovations had been completed. Unfortunately, with the battle against the Red Dragon of Revelations and subsequent destruction of the school, Sector Two's secret technology, the Symphogears, had accidentally been made public. Thus, they were no longer allowed to operate in secret from the school's grounds. That primarily inconvenienced Lydian's newest student, Christ Yukine, the most, since Kanade had already graduated and Tsubasa was set to in the spring.

The two girls walked in silence. Though they may have once been idols, Kanade's injuries transformed her enough to make her unrecognizable to many–she was even less recognizable now, as she had cut her once wild hair short–so few people approached them. Even fewer wanted to, as a rumour came about how the two had been 'cursed' before the Zwei Wing Tragedy. But they didn't mind the quiet life; in fact, both of them preferred it. Even if they loved to save others with their songs, all that they had been through had made them love the normalcy that others lived.

"Should you even be out and about?" A girl's voice cried out. Tsubasa and Kanade didn't need to check to know what was going on, this was becoming a regular occurrence for them.

As they always did after leaving the site of Kadingir, the two walked past the hospital in town. And, as always, a group of three girls were always yelling at their friend who tried to escape the hospital every day.

"I told you, I'm fine!"

"You almost died! No, you did die! It's a miracle you can even breathe right now! You shouldn't be up and about so soon, or do you think you're an anime character?"

A girl with brown hair tied into spiralling twintails with pink ribbons leaned over her friend in a wheelchair. Beside her, a tanned girl with short, lighter brown hair looked nervously between the two of them.

"I know you don't want to sit around, but do you really think she'd forgive you if she saw what you were doing?" A blonde haired girl wearing a white, ribbon-tied, headband had a sweet smile on her face as she spoke. But underneath it, her friends saw a silent darkness waiting to be unleashed; they both backed away as she neared the wheelchair.

"Eh? Shiori? What are you planning on doing?"

These three girls were Yumi Itaba, Kuriyo Ando, and Shiori Terashima–all first year students of Lydian and fans of Zwei Wing. Tsubasa couldn't help but sigh as she and Kanade neared the commotion they were making; she was tired, but this was part of the 'normalcy' that she had begun to like. Kanade just smiled.

"Come on, all of you. You're making too much noise. Remember that this is a hospital." Kanade called out to them, and the three girls who crowded around their friend jumped to attention in surprise. Kanade couldn't help but laugh; even though they had met a couple of months ago, the three still felt starstruck whenever it came to interacting with the idols they had been fans of.

"Really, can't you go one day without trying to escape, Hibiki?"

Hibiki laughed awkwardly as Tsubasa glared down at her.

Miku's consciousness may not have been in full control while under Finé's spell, but she still seemed to have some sway. When she stabbed Hibiki, she managed to avoid anything too important. That isn't to say Hibiki didn't suffer from lasting injuries, but she was for all intents and purposes alive.

Though you wouldn't think so with how she looked. She had bandages wrapped around her head, and her skin was pale and shrunken. Hibiki looked like a living corpse; she couldn't walk on her own, and she had trouble eating and, at times, breathing. Yet she miraculously survived–something that even Kanade had found incredulous as she had assumed that the girl she carried that night had been dead in her arms.

Yet despite the fact that Hibiki would never be the same physically, her old personality shone through. She smiled as Tsubasa and Kanade got close, followed by a couple of coughs echoing out from her throat. "Just you wait. Once I'm better, I'll go find Miku!"

Of course, Sector Two had told Hibiki about Miku's disappearance, but she didn't seem fazed one bit. In fact, she seemed to use it as a way to keep herself in high spirits: she needed to get better in order to reunite with her sunshine.

"You're really insane, Hibiki. But I guess that's why you're the one living an anime life, huh." Yumi sighed, hands on her hips. The three girls had been some of the only people Hibiki and Miku had managed to befriend at Lydian, and Hibiki accidentally let slip to the three of them about the Symphogears while in the hospital. Sector Two swore them to secrecy and the three have basically been appointed Hibiki's aides, to help her sane while living alone in the hospital.

Hibiki's mother and grandmother would come by too, as they were also aware of her situation, but they just felt ashamed that they were unable to help Hibiki–or Miku, for that matter–during the whole matter. Even though Hibiki kept reassuring the two of them, they still started to become distant.

And yet through it all, Hibiki still smiled.

Tsubasa looked at Hibiki's smile. "You know, Tachibana, you don't have to keep smiling all the time." Tsubasa could see better than anyone the sadness and pain that her smile was masking. "It's not healthy to keep everything bottled up inside."

"Says the sentinel herself." Kanade put her hand on Tsubasa's shoulder. "But she's right. It's clear to everyone that you're just smiling to keep us from worrying, but you don't need to worry about that."

"You almost died, you dummy!" Shiori cried out. "If anything, it's weird that you've been acting so normal."

Hibiki just looked around at all of the faces looking down on her. She could see concern upon all of them, and she finally sighed. "If I'm not smiling," Hibiki looked down. "Then, I'm thinking about Miku. About how useless I've been for her... And I worry that I'll never be able to apologize to her."

Silence hung over the group.

"I don't think you need to apologize for anything." Kuriyo said after a moment. "There's only one of you in the world, Bikki, and that's the you we all care about. It doesn't matter how much you do–you draw people to you, and that's why we're all friends."

Yumi tilted her head, repeating what her friend said word-for-word under her breath. After doing so, she furrowed her brow. "I don't think that made sense."

"What I think she's trying to say is that it doesn't matter how useful Hibiki thinks she is," Tsubasa starts. "All that matters is that she remains herself. She's managed to survive multiple tragedies, multiple fatal injuries, and yet she is still the same girl at heart."

Tsubasa said most of her speech with her eyes closed, and thus was surprised when she opened them to a series of nine eyes all looking at her, curiously. "What?" She asked after a moment, searching for an answer upon any of their faces.

"You called her Hibiki. I think that's the first time you used her given name." Kanade pointed out. "Actually, I don't think you've ever used anyone's given name but mine."

"Well..." Tsubasa fumbled for words, a blush creeping over her face. She turned away to hide her embarrassment, earning a chorus of laughs from the others. Even Hibiki, who needed to wheeze for air after ever few giggles, had her mouth wide open in a smile at the sight of a flustered Tsubasa.

~~

"Oh good, you're all here." Genjuro walked up from down the street, no doubt drawn to the laughs. Beside him stood Chris Yukine, who was–quite messily–eating an ice cream cone. Ogawa stood beside the two of them as well, and handed her a napkin as he pointed to a spot on his own cheek.

"Chief!" Kanade called out in welcome. "What's up?"

While Chris was obliviously munching away on her treat, and clumsily trying to clean up afterwards, Ogawa and Genjuro both had serious looks on their faces. "Something bad." Tsubasa narrowed her eyes.

"Tell me," Genjuro turned the tablet he held in his hands around. "Have any of you heard of the idol Maria Cadenzavna Eve?"

"Yeah, she's a pretty big deal over in Europe." Yumi explained quickly. "I think she's supposed to be doing the opening theme for an anime later this season, too."

Genjuro scratched his head. "You may want to watch this." He explained, tapping the video's thumbnail with, aptly, his own large thumb.

### *Zetsubō no Senki: Symphogear if G*

**Table of Contents**
1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9
10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18
#### G Chapter 1

Maria Cadenzavna Eve sat down in a chair with a huff. She was exhausted, both mentally and physically, as she leaned back and rubbed her temples. Anxiety gripped at her heart as she tried to catch her breath, but it was no use–her heart simply refused to calm itself.

"What did I just do?" Maria was an idol beloved worldwide, despite her limited time in the spotlight. Her cyan eyes that sparkled like jewels and bright pink hair in which she wore blue butterfly ornaments were a symbol of hope to many–or were, until a couple of minutes before.

As she sat in the small dressing room, alone, she could hear the rumble of chaos beyond the door. "Excellent work, Maria. I know it must be hard for you, doing this." A voice echoed through the small device lodged in her ear. It had no speaker, so Maria could not respond verbally, but she chose not to regardless. Instead, Maria simply gave a dry chuckle as the static on the other end silenced–the connection was cut, for now.

Slumping back in the chair, Maria turned her gaze to the grey ceiling. "I never even wanted to become an idol." She tilted her head, a crack echoing through the room as her tense body finally broke its position.

Up until two years ago, Maria Cadenzavna Eve was presumed dead. Her parents had been killed when she was a child, and she and her sister had been taken into government custody not too long after. At the time Maria didn't know why, but now she wanted nothing more than to apologize to her younger self–she couldn't have known that her parents were the target of the attack that killed them, but that it was all in the name of securing Maria. All official records of her existence ended with the lives of her parents, and only those 'in the know' were aware that Maria and her sister had both survived. Of course, no one truly cared about the Maria from back then; it was only once she stood on stage did the world finally take note of her.

Yet despite that, she casually tossed it all away in one night. "To declare war on the world for the sake of peace? A truly insane plan." With a sigh, Maria placed her sweaty palm against her forehead and looked towards the door.

"What do you think? Are we doing the right thing?" Maria spoke not to herself nor the empty room, instead directing her question to the two figures she sensed beyond the door. When neither of the two girls she knew stood there answered, Maria narrowed her eyes. "I know you're there."

This earned a small chuckle from one of the girls as she slowly pushed the door open and poked her head through the opening. Maria couldn't help but feel the nerves leave her body at the sight of the girl's cheerful smile; she mirrored her expression unconsciously. "You two need to work on your stealth techniques."

"Yeah, Kiri. You're too noisy." The second girl said quietly, her body still hidden from Maria's view by the door. Her words were curt, and Maria could picture the annoyed expression that was likely crossing her face at that moment–an expression that the girl in the entryway was now staring at as she slowly backed into the room with an awkward smile.

The cheerful girl, who stood in the space between the hallway and Maria's dressing room, turned back to the idol they had been spying on. With a thumbs up and a cheerful smile that could light up any room, she tried to lift Maria's spirits. "We'll fight through heaven and hell if it means we can be together, Maria!"

At that, Maria stood up slowly and stumbled towards the two girls on tired legs. Pushing the door open with her elbow, Maria did not give the two any warning as she scooped them up into a wide hug. She loved these two girls; they were not her sisters by blood, though she felt a kinship with them. They had all been through so much, and she wanted nothing more than to keep them safe.

As Maria tucked her face in-between the two girls, trying to calm her heart that still beat faster than some rock songs, the two girls looked at each other over the cloud of pink hair that separated them. They didn't need to say anything, they both had the same thought: "Maria... we can't breathe..." It was the girl with blonde hair who finally spoke, ending the silence that hung in the stale air around them. With that revelation Maria finally let go, and the two girls could see why she had been so focused on keeping them close: she was crying.

These three girls had been through so much together, they were all they had. The vulnerabilities that lined their hearts was clear as day to each other. As Maria stepped back the other two could see the calamity of thoughts that shook behind her eyes, as they knew they likely had similar storms brewing behind their own.

Maria Cadenzavna Eve smiled at her strange family. Her own sister had perished in an incident that left their so-called 'Mother' horribly injured and Maria's heart decorated with a quilt of scars, but these two almost filled the hole in her heart left by the disappearance of her real family members. She took in every last detail of these two girls as she knew there would likely come a point soon where they could be separated forever.

The blonde girl who poked her head through the door first was Kirika Akatsuki. She wore a black and green t-shirt that looked to many to be a sweater due to the matching detached sleeves that began as gloves that hugged her palms before rolling up past her elbows. The white X-shaped designs on her shoulders matched the same black design she wore across a lock of her straw-coloured hair.

Beside her stood Shirabe Tsukuyomi. Shirabe was a reserved girl who admired the world through ruby-coloured eyes. Her coal hair was held in place, dropping down into two twintails that danced past her shoulders, held in place with pink ribbons that matched the turtleneck sweater she wore.

The two girls were technically her cousins–distant cousins connected only through their shared, albeit extremely distant, relative. That was the reason the three met, their fates intertwined from the moments they were born. Maria had known Kirika and Shirabe for less of her life than they knew her, but they all knew their connection would never be broken.

After all, of the 37 children who had been abducted by The Federal Sacrist Research Institution of America–F.I.S.–the three of them were the only three who still drew breath. The pain of loss they had been forced to feel more than most should have forced the three to withdraw into their broken minds, but they learned young that forming any relationships within the environment they grew up in was only a detriment. Their strong bond was only a result of their survival; F.I.S. was officially dead–a fairly new development–but it was still a cage that hung over the three of them, and would for the remainder of their lives.

Even now, though the official group that was F.I.S. had been disbanded, the three of them were still in the shackles of the group that controlled their entire lives. The collars the two younger girls wore around their necks were proof of that–weapons designed through a combination of both modern technology and the knowledge gifted upon humanity through its research into the ancient relics. The collars were designed to administer LiNKER, allowing them to make use of sparkling red jewels that hung from their necks, yet they could also harm the wearer should the order be given. The three of them were strangled by the hold F.I.S. had over them–in Kirika and Shirabe's cases, this was literal–and could not disobey any of their orders.

"Preparations have been completed." A curt voice interrupted the three girls, cutting into their ears through the communication devices they wore. The voice of the man on the other end of the headset sent chills down the three girls' spines, their bodies recoiling in disgust at the mere thought of having to interact with him once more. "Report to the extraction point, immediately."

Kirika hung her head low as the planted her hands upon her hips. "We never get a moment to rest, huh?" She said it in a comical manner, her voice dripping with a heavy dose of irony. All three girls were well aware of the plans they had been forced to participate in–or whatever plans their esteemed benefactor desired to let them in on, anyway–but they did wish that they could have just one moment of peace.

"Kiri, Maria just declared war on the world. We're only going to get busier." Shirabe pointed out, her cold gaze slicing up the comical veil in a single moment. Kirika looked wounded as she pointed out this fact, exaggerating the pain of being stabbed through the heart by Shirabe's retaliation. Maria just giggled at the sight, reflecting an image of a little girl over top the refined and powerful image she radiated as an idol.

"You two... together, I'm sure it will all be fine." Maria sighed, pushing the two out of the room. "Come on, it's time to go."

. . .

"Everything is not fine!" The girl in the hospital bed whined. "What do you mean we're going to war and I can't be of any use?" She coughed, her throat clenching as she screamed. Her face was red in anger but, in stark contrast, she flailed her arms about in a goofy manner. The three girls who stood by her bedside sighed knowing that–while her anger was justified–she still had to accept her situation.

Hibiki Tachibana had almost died (again) three months ago. She awakened to the ability to make use of a Symphogear in an extreme way: grabbing hold of the three crystals her friends made use of, she had absorbed the power of them all and transformed into a feral beast of darkness. The result left her weak after she regained her true self, only to be stabbed by the girl she loved more than anyone else. She held no grudge; her friend was now missing, potentially dead, but Hibiki didn't give up hope that she was alive, and she wanted nothing more to find her.

Unfortunately, the injuries left her in an incredibly weak state. She could barely survive in a hospital room now–she knew it, and her three friends all knew the same. Still, they held the same sentiment as she: they wanted to help somehow, and right now they were trying to do that by keeping Hibiki calm.

Yumi Itaba was one of the three girls looking at her wailing friend in the bed. She recalled the message that the large man had shown them all only an hour earlier:

*"Attention, people of the world. You may know me as the idol Maria Cadenzavna Eve, though I implore you now to cast away all prior impressions of me. My true name is Finé, the priestess of the end, and we–The Federal Sacrist Research Institute–and we, in the name of the future, declare war on the globe."*

The speech that the woman–whether you desire to call her Maria or Finé–made echoed across the entire world. Yumi and her two closest friends, Shiori and Kuriyo, had no idea what was going on, but they could tell by the dour looks on the faces around them–the faces of Genjuro and Tsubasa Kazanari, Shinji Ogawa, Kanade Amou, and Chris Yukine–that the situation was worse than it seemed on the surface. Of course, they knew that war–any war–was bad, but it was the name 'Finé' that seemed to resonate with the others more than the rest of her declaration.

The situation only turned from bad to worse when the pink-haired idol was joined on stage by two other girls. They looked younger than even the fifteen year-old Yumi, yet one carried a large green scythe and the other wore large pointed shields from her head.

Yumi recalled the way the two girls were dressed. "So those were Symphogears, huh?" She muttered, tilting her head. These words managed to silence Hibiki's tantrum, drawing all of the girls' attention towards her like a magnet. Yumi knew they expected some analysis of the situation, but she was well aware that she did not know enough to make an accurate assessment. Instead, she just waited before making a simple, slow comment. "They really do look like something out of an anime."

The sighs from her friends that immediately filled the room afterwards felt like a stab to the heart to Yumi, but she paid it no mind. Instead, she looked down as she brought up the video–which had been uploaded to every social media site on the planet–and gazed at the looks on their faces. The girl with the scythe looked angry while the other looked cold and distant. Together, flanking the sparkling girl radiating a powerful aura, they looked like a team of super villains from an anime, and yet... "I don't think they wanted to do that." Yumi could sense it. She had watched countless hours of television so she had a grasp on the larger, more obvious ways that animators displayed emotion, and this eventually evolved into a way of reading other people like she would manga. Yumi was sure about this as she looked into the girls' eyes.

"I think you're right." Kuriyo added as she peered over Yumi's shoulder. "They look almost empty."

Hibiki sighed. "I feel empty just sitting here." Her tone was sad, yet still joking.

"Well that's the risk that comes with wanting to be an anime character, I suppose." Shiori muttered with a hand cupping her cheek. She glanced over to Yumi to see whether she appreciated her attempt to mimic her, but got nothing in response. She instead kept her gaze locked on her phone, scanning every possible detail.

Eventually Yumi gave up and put her phone away. With a huff, she dropped herself into one of the chairs that were pressed up against the bone-white wall. "All we can do right now is wait until you get better, I guess."

Hibiki crossed her arms as she pursed her brow. She knew for sure that her friends were right, but she couldn't get the thought out of her mind: Miku was out there, somewhere, and she needed to find her.

#### G Chapter 2

Maria stared out of the window at the murky grey sky. She, as well as all of her associates, were currently flying over the Pacific Ocean in an aircraft powered with heretical technology, en route to Japan. The sight should have been beautiful, but Maria only felt a deep sense of unease as she gazed out over the water that still sparkled despite the grey clouds forming above. In addition to the fact that their crew was now Public Enemy #1 across all countries and continents, the main thing sewing dread within her was the man sitting across from her with a wide smile plastered on his face.

She wanted to gag as he looked at her, but Maria forced herself to look at his reflection in the window beside her as his mouth cracked open and his frog-like lips began emitting words. "Finé, the Kadingir that you had developed and attempted to use: are you sure you were unable to activate its true potential?"

While they were active, F.I.S. had the backing of the American government's intelligence network at their disposal. Every relic-related incident across the globe made its way back to them somehow, so, even though Maria was only acting the role of Finé's new vessel, she had studied every detail of the ordeal that her ancestor went through. So even the most accurate lie detectors would not be able to catch onto the fact that Maria wasn't actually Finé as she explained the incident to the man beside her. "Correct. I had intended to use the songs of the three Symphogear users to supercharge the ion cannon. Unfortunately, my plans were interrupted before that could happen." Maria wanted to vomit as she spoke; this whole lie, it was disgusting.

The man gave a chuckle as he crossed his arms, turning his focus back to the cage by his feet. Maria knew he had lost interest in her for now and was grateful for the silence that followed.

Finé, an eternally-reincarnating priestess whose soul travels into the body of one of her descendants upon death. Ever since humanity's creators, the godly race known only to humanity as the Custodians, turned their back on the planet known as Earth, Finé set her sights about undoing the curse that they placed upon humankind before their disappearance. She had been working towards this goal for generations, and even founded F.I.S. under one of her many identities to assist in this purpose–as well as to gather all of Finé's potential vessels: the Receptor Children.

Yet, as they found out three months ago, Kadingir–the particle ion cannon that Finé had constructed in order to destroy the ruins on the moon that kept the curse chained to humanity–had been activated, yet the Curse of Balal still bound them.

Maria was not entirely sure what the Curse of Balal did to humanity. Throughout her entire life, Finé and her followers had described it to her and all of the other Receptor Children as something that prevented humanity from being truly able to understand each other, and it was the cause of humanity developing so many distinct languages. Even so, Maria believed that the curse truly wasn't too much a burden on their species; music transcended the power of language and connected people in a way even a shared language would be unable to. Thus, Maria often found herself wondering what the true source of Finé's obsession with the Curse of Balal was.

The question lingered on the tip of Maria's tongue, but she knew that if she asked it aloud then she'd need not only tear down the veil that she was forced to wear but also potentially endanger the two girls she cared about more than anything on this planet. Yet even despite her ability to swallow her words, she noticed the white-haired man gazing at her as if he knew the truth.

Suddenly the door to the small chamber opened with a chill noise that sounded like something out of a sci-fi movie, not that Maria had ever seen one. Kirika and Shirabe were on the other side of the automatic door and marched into the room like soldiers, an act that dropped immediately as Kirika threw herself down on the bench next to Maria like the child that she should have been able to live as. "Mom said we're nearing the coast of Japan and will reach Kadingir in about an hour." She reported to the room.

Kirika and Shirabe were much younger than Maria was, and every memory they had been one of F.I.S. and the devils that ran it. While Maria did hold some respect for their so-called 'mother'–Dr. Nastassja Sergeyevna Tolstaya, one of the world's foremost engineers on heretical technology who had been trained by Finé herself–Maria was slightly more hesitant to see her as the parental figure that her younger cohorts did. It wasn't that she hated Nastassja, it was more what she represented that she could not get past: though she was not at the top of the food chain, Nastassja had essentially been the head of F.I.S. and the executive that most often dealt with all of the Receptor Children.

Nastassja had a cold exterior, even more so since the incident that occurred six years prior, but even Maria could tell that there was genuine kindness within her. Even as she had beaten all of the Receptor Children and forced them to endure so much pain, her eyes were always filled with regret and sadness. Still, all Maria, Kirika, and Shirabe had went through was all, to some extent, the fault of Nastassja Sergeyevna Tolstaya, and Maria was not about to forget that. Even their current predicament was Nastassja's brainchild, as was the fact that they were now working with the maniacal scientist who simply smirked as he looked the newcomers over.

Kirika's face twisted into a cruel snarl as she saw the man gazing at her. "Would you stop looking at me, creep?" She asked, her voice cold. The other two girls–and potentially even the doctor himself–knew that Kirika wouldn't hesitate to resort to violence if the direction of his eyes didn't change, but neither said anything. They were both, deep down, hoping that Kirika would unleash her rage upon the man.

"You girls need me to keep your 'Mom' all healthy. I know you wouldn't harm me." He answered with a smirk, which remained on his face even a moment later as Kirika held him by the collar of his shirt. He was right, of course; after all, the doctor sitting across from the three girls was on a level equal to that of Nastassja.

While Nastassja Sergeyevna Tolstaya was an engineer who studied the relics in order to integrate them into modern technology or bring out the full potential of their powers, Dr. John Wayne Vercingetorix was a researcher who knew more about the relics that America possessed than any other person. In fact, he had been working directly under Finé to analyze and replicate the theory that she–or rather, the Japanese scientist Ryoko Sakurai whose consciousness Finé had usurped–used to create the weapons known as the Symphogears. Dr. Vercingetorix–or Ver, as the girls called him–was essentially the leader of their current operation; the three girls knew not his true motives, but he claimed to only follow the words of Finé so they could all guess.

Still, that disgusting look in his eyes and megalomaniacal attitude send shivers down Maria's spine. Plus he was the reason Kirika and Shirabe now wore collars that could end their lives at any moment–the one stipulation Ver had for offering his assistance in keeping the internally-wounded and sickly Nastassja alive until they could achieve Finé's goal.

"This is all a mess." Maria thought, and the words echoed into her ear simultaneously. She turned with a start to see Shirabe looming over her, the girl's cold expression somehow burning through the walls Maria had put up around herself. Shirabe was always quiet, but Maria knew it wasn't because she never had anything to say. Rather, Shirabe simply just didn't feel the need to speak too often. Since she was brought into F.I.S. as an amnesiac all those years, she'd clung to the lively Kirika like glue; Maria assumed that her silence was merely to allow Kirika more room to speak. But because of her desire to remain quiet, Shirabe was very perceptive. Not only did she always seem to read Maria's mind, but she also knew just the right way to phrase things in order to playfully push Kirika's buttons. In fact, as Maria reacted in shock at the girl reading her exact thoughts, Shirabe continued: "I agree. Kiri needs to learn to control her emotions better."

This, of course, riled up Kirika, who promptly dropped Ver and leapt over to Shirabe to playfully prove how 'wrong' she was–although her method of doing so, by flailing about like a child, said otherwise.

Shirabe spoke the least of the trio of Receptor Children riding in the grey flying machine, yet Maria believed that she was the only one capable of actually saying what she wanted to. Maria was now being forced to live a lie and pretend to be Finé, while Kirika pushed down her past with a playful and cheerful shell that Maria had only ever seen broken once–after the incident six years ago that Maria did not want to remember.

"You girls are too carefree." Ver commented. "We may be working towards our idea of a just world free of the Curse of Balal, yet we are the villains to everyone out there! Yet here you are, playing like schoolchildren."

"Technically we are schoolchildren." The barely fifteen year-old Shirabe pointed out as Kirika–who was now silently watching Ver–continued to punch the black-haired girl in a comical fashion. Maria silently wondered if Kirika's attacks hurt, but Shirabe didn't even flinch.

"Schoolchildren normally don't wield–pardon my official terminology–weapons of mass destruction." Ver scoffed. "You two are monsters, plain and simple, as necessary as you are for this."

This silenced Shirabe and finally ended Kirika's fury. Ver was right, of course. No human should be allowed to harness the relics without proper knowledge, yet the two of them embodied the strongest versions of these heretical weapons that Finé had devised. Both of them looked down at the red jewels hanging from their necks. Even Maria, who couldn't use bond with a Symphogear even half as strongly as the other two girls (though none of them could without some amount of LiNKER, regardless), stared at the jewel that once belonged to her sister.

Igalima, the soul-reaving scythe; Shul Shagana, saw blades that could cut through anything; and Airgetlám, the mysterious silver hand. These were the Symphogear weapons that surpassed all other relics–barring other Symphogears, of course. Any weapon equal to their power would be locked away, accessible only through top secret protocols and meetings, yet these three were in the hands of some random orphaned girls. Maria knew that their Symphogears were powerful, but even she couldn't believe that they had been entrusted with them–even if she refused to use the one her sister had used before her.

"No offence, of course, Finé." Ver added after the hefty pause, his gaze turning to Maria. "I know you mean well with these Symphogears, though I am still apprehensive about their use."

"Ver, Finé: buckle up." A voice echoed through the aircraft, silencing the party in the passenger cabin. Even if the source of the voice was in another area of the ship, the four passengers couldn't help but turn their heads skywards, towards the speakers. "Akatsuki, Tsukuyomi: report in, now. This is an emergency."

Doing as ordered, Kirika and Shirabe ran out of the room. With Maria and Ver left alone once more, the doctor chuckled. "Seems our work is finally going to be put to the test, Finé. You must be quite excited to see the results."

. . .

Kirika and Shirabe leapt out of the aircraft and spread their limbs out wide. "I detected Aufwachen Waveforms not far from here. It seems Sector Two is aware of our approach." Nastassja told them when they reported to the cockpit. "Regretfully, I'm going to need you two to deal with them."

"You can count on us, Mom!" Kirika said with a smile as Shirabe nodded silently.

Of course they were confident. The two of them had never been in a proper battle using their Symphogears before. They'd undergone training exercises, sparring in virtual reality against fake Noise, but Kirika was sure that fighting other human beings would be just as easy as their training had been. Shirabe, the more sensible one, knew otherwise. "Be careful, Kiri." She yelled to her partner as the two fell through the sky.

With a fresh dose of LiNKER injected into their veins before they exited the vehicle, they gripped tight the red crystals around their necks and sang their respective Holy Chants.

*Zeios Igalima raizen tron*

*Various Shul Shagana tron*

As if stars dancing through the sky, the two girls were briefly enveloped in bright white light. In an instant their casual clothes had been replaced with armour developed using science no human should be able to comprehend. Yet, Ver had grasped the techniques Finé devised with ease and created these two Symphogears in record time.

Kirika and Shirabe landed in a crash, the earth shattering into the shape of a spider's web beneath their feet as they took crouching positions upon impact. "There." Shirabe pointed, a blue flash on the horizon. They had done their research into Sector Two and their Symphogear wielders; the two girls who wielded Zababa's blades recognized the sight as the work of the one who wielded Ame no Habakiri, the first Symphogear.

Indeed, though their heads were hidden by helmets, the two girls could make out two figures riding tandem on the blue motorbike. "Ame no Habakiri and Gungnir." Kirika reported. "We could take them out, easy." She pointed her scythe upwards and leapt into the air.

Kirika was taken aback by the fact that the two motorcyclists predicted her technique, leaping off of their ride as they drew close. Kirika proceeded with her attack anyway, slamming her scythe into the earth's surface to slice open a new crevice, though she landed on unsteady feet as she realized that Ame no Habakiri's wielder was underneath her and ready to strike.

Thinking fast, she spun her weapon horizontally around herself, turning herself into a saw blade not unlike those thrown out by the Symphogear of Shul Shagana. While a smart attack, Ame no Habakiri countered Igalima's descent, launching the spinning girl as if she were nothing but a baseball about to become a home run.

Shirabe, meanwhile, encased herself in a blade of her own, riding within a saw as she cut the earth in two. Seeing the mark Kirika left had given her an idea, and she was going to make use of her partner's clumsy failure. With one eye on the approaching Gungnir wielder, Shirabe spun into overdrive as she threw her bladed wheels into the ground around her.

The saw blades spun of their own volition, continuing in a path that the Gungnir wielder was unable to comprehend; but she didn't need to. The goal Sector Two's Symphogear wielders had right now was to gain information; and that meant testing the two other candidates in battle. The orange-haired girl smiled as a bonfire erupted from within her as she kept cutting the air with her Armed Gear. Every swing of her spear, to others, would have seemed like a miss, but even with only one eye she could see that she was barely able to deflected Shul Shagana's deadly attacks: saw blades of light that travelled so quickly they appeared to be simply pink flashes that spun through the air. They disappeared as soon as Gungnir stabbed or sliced through them, but the sheer number of the weapons and Shul Shagana's ability to fire them indefinitely was, as the spear-wielder noted, definitely an issue.

But Shirabe, the one using Shul Shagana, refused to get close to the spear. She kept driving her giant bladed skate across the ground, carving the earth's crust to her own whims, as she fired blade after blade at her enemy.

Kirika, on the other hand, was having much more trouble. Her scythe engulfed with the flames of the damned, she unleashed a wave of energy that burned the very air it flew through... but Ame no Habakiri easily cut through it. Every attack that Kirika fired was countered with a simple strike; she realized quickly that it was as if her enemy was only toying with her, and this made her angry. She cast away her thoughts. "I won't let you stop us!" She roared as the pauldrons on her shoulders extended. It was one simple movement that transformed her from a girl with a scythe into a spider–each pauldron extended into two blades of their own, granting her five blades to attack with. She smiled at her enemy, who looked down upon her with a single sword.

Pushing off the ground, Kirika lunged towards the blue-haired girl and spun. Each of her additional blades sliced not only the wind but every molecule that hung in the air. With her scythe, she effortlessly sliced and finally managed to stagger her opponent–Kirika clicked her tongue. All that and all she managed to do was knock her enemy backwards a few metres. "Damn it." She cursed, readying her scythe for another attack.

Just then, her partner appeared beside her. "Kiri, watch this." Shirabe said innocently and clicked her fingers. The Gungnir wielder, who rushed next to her own friend, was caught off-guard by the sudden explosion that erupted around them.

"What did you do?" Kirika watched in awe as the ground in front of them began to sink. Indeed, Shirabe had managed to cut out a portion of the earth and cause it to collapse in on itself–she dug a pit by erasing the outer edges. Kirika wasn't sure how it was possible, but she was impressed.

"I set blades into the ground as I moved and distracted Gungnir with others. They can probably get out, though."

"You two done talking, yet?"

This voice came not from the brand-new pit in front of them but rather from behind. Both Shirabe and Kirika were shocked to see a third Symphogear candidate now standing before them. Clad in red, she carried two crossbows; Kirika knew immediately that she was at a disadvantage. Even still, she smiled. "Give us everything you've got."

The white-haired girl smiled. "If that's what you want."

She then proceeded to do something neither of Zababa's blades could comprehend: the third opponent threw away her weapons. Both were aware of the powers of each Symphogear and Ichaival was no exception–it was a magic bow. And yet, they could not believe their eyes as, all of a sudden, the girl unleashed missile launcher on missile launcher from her form. It was as if she, herself, was a silo housing missiles; Shirabe, at a quick glance, estimated about fifty or so missiles were readied and aimed directly at them.

She made a quick decision. "Run." Kirika nodded at Shirabe's order, and the two split up just as the first rockets began to eject themselves out of the cannons. Seconds later the spot that they had just been standing in was no more; a lump just as deep as the one Shirabe had made earlier had been added onto the initial crater. Shirabe was shocked–that wasn't in the report; Ichaival's strength had increased significantly.

On the contrary however, Kirika had a smile plastered on her face as she angled her eyebrows. Extending her pauldrons out into arms once more, Kirika took on a new approach. "Shirabe!" She shouted to her partner, hoping that she would understand her idea.

And Shirabe thought she did as she encircled herself with a saw and, once more, cut through the earth. This time, she fired her lightning-fast blades not at Ichaival but at her friend. Kirika nodded and, with each of her four bladed hands, stabbed perfectly through the centre of the many blades Shirabe had thrown to her. Yes, the bladed arms became saws themselves, and Kirika almost laughed to herself as she could see surprise in her enemy's face.

But Ichaival did not waver. Pulling out more crossbows, she fired round after round at the two Symphogear wielders that danced around her, but not a single shot hit. Similarly, Shirabe began to toss her own weapons at her enemy just as Kirika sliced at close range, though not a single attack hit.

To Maria, who watched the scene above in worry, the battle looked like a dance. Every time Kirika drew near Ichaival, she'd dodge away and past every blade Shirabe threw at her. Maria knew the name of each of her opponents, and she hesitantly praised the wielder of Ichaival in her mind–Chris Yukine. "They seem to be having trouble."

"It is their first time in a real battle, I suppose." Ver stated, his eyes glued to the cage beside him. It was small, as if it could carry a dog; in fact, one might think it did. "Perhaps I should let our friend here assist them."

Their 'friend' was a unique relic known as Nephilim. While most relics were simple objects that harboured immense power, Nephilim was almost a living being of its own. It had been awakened only once before six years ago, and Maria's sister had been killed trying to seal it again. Yet, forced by Ver's demands, Kirika and Shirabe's songs had been forcefully used to rile it from its slumber once more.

But Maria did not want it to claim another life. That was a fate she didn't even wish upon her foes. "No. I believe in the two of them. As you said, this should be seen as a test of the capabilities of Igalima and Shul Shagana."

"Yes, I suppose I did say that."

"Aren't you two back yet?" Ichaival's wielder screamed as she avoided yet another one of Kirika's strikes. Igalima's user was getting desperate; her attacks started as quick sweeps that tried to cover as much ground as possible, but now they seemed to be focused on power and hitting her target directly. The girl with the white hair–Chris Yukine–was tired of dodging their attacks. Shirabe was too fast to get a proper aim on, and any attempt she made was interrupted by Kirika jumping in to strike. They were in sync, despite their failure to land even a single blow. Because of this, Chris was getting furious. "I can't believe they're having me doing everything around here!"

'They' referred to her partners, the wielders of Ame no Habakiri and Gungnir, respectively. She frowned as she finally decided to make the call to retreat. Or rather, Chris wanted the blades of Zababa to believe that, so she quickly tried to put as much distance between herself and the two of them. It seemed to work, or at least make them hesitate, as Shirabe slowed her volley as she realized the distance would be too great to cover.

Thinking now was the perfect time, Chris readied more firepower–this time a single missile, albeit one much larger than the others had been. This time, she wasn't aiming for the Symphogears in front of her. No, she was aiming for–

"Get ready to dodge!" Maria ordered as she burst into the control room. Nastassja, at the helm, nodded; they had cameras on the outside of the vehicle that let them see the ground below, and they planned to use this to avoid Chris's incoming missile.

"Taking into account the size, and the speed that the previous missiles travelled at..." The woman with the wavy violet hair coughed as she made calculations in her brilliant mind. She waited, her teeth clenching her dry lower lip, until the perfect moment. Not too early–otherwise Ichaival's wielder could adjust her aim before she fired–but doing so too late could result in their death. The timing had to be perfect.

"Now." Maria and Nastassja both shouted as one. Between them their three eyes had been glued to the monitor showing the scene below and the moment they saw the missile begin to shift, that's when they knew it was time to move. Nastassja activated the thrusters on the left side of the ship, and they tilted as they sped in that direction.

Maria held her breath as she watched the missile fly by the window in front of them. If it had made contact, Maria was sure that they wouldn't have been able to survive its blast even with the sturdy outer plating. She gasped for air as she watched the trail of flames pass by them as the missile flew up into space. Who knew where it would land?

"Alright, I think I've had enough of this." Chris said, watching frustrated as her missile just barely managed to squeak past the ship without exploding. She noticed relief on her opponents' faces; they were clearly glad that whoever was up there was safe.

Chris looked past the girls now, at the two figures exiting the hole. She realized now why it had taken them so long to escape–though Tsubasa Kazanari, the wielder of Ame no Habakiri, leapt up over the edge of the pit with grace, Kanade Amou, the one who used Gungnir, was clearly drained of all stamina as she stabbed her spear into the ground and used it to pull herself up. She clicked her tongue, biting back the desire to scream "about time you showed up!" As her eyes met Tsubasa's, the blue-haired girl gave her a nod.

"Hey." Chris shouted over to the pink and green girls who stood in-between two groups of foes. They stood back-to-back now, Igalima facing Chris and Shul Shagana facing the two former idols known as Zwei Wing. Chris addressed the girl turned towards her. "What are your names?"

"Kirika Akatsuki."

"Kiri don't just give her your name." The pink one immediately cut in as her friend's name left her lips. Chris could see Shul Shagana's user sigh, before looking over her shoulder at her with cold eyes. She was used to pain of the physical kind, but the glare that Chris received felt like icy daggers being stabbed into her brain.

She smiled. One name was enough. "Alright. Later."

. . .

Kirika and Shirabe shook their heads as they watched the missile fly off. "What just happened?" Kirika asked.

"I think we won?" Shirabe was just as confused as she. In one moment, the two of them were fighting against three enemies; the next, one of them asks for their name and then hops on a giant missile as it flies away, the other two hopping on next to her.

The girls couldn't help but just stare at the horizon. "It doesn't feel like we won." Kirika pointed out to her partner. "We didn't even hit them once."

"They're strong." Shirabe agreed.

After the missile disappeared into the distance, finally becoming shrouded within the grey clouds blanketing the sky, the two girls had a new thought pop into their mind. "Hey Shirabe?"

"Yeah, Kiri?"

"Do you think Mom will remember to come pick us up this time?"

The two girls craned their heads upwards–their ship was gone from its perch above them. Indeed, it was already beginning to fly in the opposite direction of the missile. The two girls sighed. It wasn't the first time they'd been forgotten about; they weren't the important ones in this situation, they were just tools. Maria was the star of the show that they were putting on, using her to manipulate Ver into keeping Nastassja alive so that they could each complete their own goals. Kirika and Shirabe were just caught in the middle of this mess.

But even so, they were putting their lives on the line–both purposefully and not. Kirika and Shirabe both silently wished that a little more attention was paid to them.

"Do you think that girl's motorcycle still works?" Kirika bounced over to the edge of the pit and gazed down into the deep hole.

"Are you strong enough to carry a motorcycle out of a pit?" Shirabe retorted, but Kirika shot her down immediately just by holding up the giant green scythe of Igalima. Shirabe was not sure how heavy the scythe was, but she did have to admit that it looked hefty. "Do you know how to drive a motorcycle?" She instead asked, and this time Kirika just brushed the back of her head with her hand.

With a clumsy smile, Kirika offered some encouragement. "It can't be that hard, right?"

The two girls ended up walking for almost an hour before they saw their ship inching closer in the sky, looking for the two of them.

#### G Chapter 3

As the sun fell beyond the horizon, the members of F.I.S. silently crept through the trees and towards the giant structure looming over them. According to their intel, this site was once the location of a private music academy–and the location of Sector Two's headquarters–though no trace of the building that once stood here remained. Instead, standing tall above them was the large cylindrical form of Kadingir–an ancient cannon developed by Finé so many years ago using technology lost to time.

"It's huge." Kirika marvelled. "I mean, I get that it was supposed to shoot the moon, but this is way bigger than I expected." She looked to Shirabe, who just nodded in response.

Kadingir stood several stories tall. Even if the weapon had not been placed on a hill away from the city, it likely would have looked down upon most of the skyscrapers that F.I.S. had just flown over. But the surprise Maria felt had to be stifled; not just as part of the act she was forced to play, but because other thoughts fluttered into her mind. They had no idea what had happened to Sector Two after the destruction of their base but, considering the attack they suffered on their way here, Maria knew they were still active–the question she had was whether they were watching them at this moment.

"It's marvellous! To think, the technology that had been poured into this device is completely unknown to us today!" Though Kirika was in awe of the spectacle that was Kadingir, the illustrious relic researcher Dr. Ver was much more focused on the technological aspect of the device. Of course, there was a wooden fence surrounding the cannon's base so they couldn't get too close to the weapon–for now–but Maria could picture the doctor running up to Kadingir and hugging it like it was his own child.

"Yes, Kadingir is quite impressive. However, as we know, using it to destroy the moon in its entirety would do more harm to the planet than good, even if it were to end the Curse of Balal." Nastassja spoke matter-of-factly from her high-tech wheelchair. She looked to Maria–to the 'Finé' of their group–as the words left her mouth. "My apologies, Finé." Maria did not answer.

Like the ship they rode in, Nastassja's wheelchair was outfitted with all kinds of heretical technology that Maria would never be able to understand. All she knew was that, no matter the terrain, Nastassja could traverse anything, sometimes even better than she could.

"So tell me, Finé, how does one activate the secondary and tertiary functions of this device?" Ver asked, his eyes going wide. Maria sensed the doctor's vicious hunger for knowledge and lust for power within his eyes as he gazed at her, waiting the precious answers he desired. Then he scowled. "But first, we must do something about this pesky wall."

Without even waiting for a response, Ver dropped the cage he had carried from the aircraft. It landed with a thud on the ground, bumping against the stones and nearly tipping over, but Ver kept it steady with a light kick. "Nephilim." He ordered, opening the heavily-reinforced cage. "Show us but a modicum of your incredible power!"

Maria watched as a black blur flew out of the cage at a high speed, crashing head-long into the wall in front of them like a riled bull. The being pulsed with veins flowing with pink and green energy as it effortlessly pulled down the wooden curtain, splinters flying every which way as sounds of destruction reverberated across the scene. It was a tiny creature, about the same size as an adult Pomeranian, yet the power it contained likely surpassed that of the two blades of Zababa, who simply watched the chaos with wide eyes. Kirika and Shirabe, just like Maria, were terrified still, not wanting to move in case Nephilim decided to turn on them next.

Nastassja, on the other hand, just watched the scene with disinterest as if it were paint drying; it was only Ver, his insane laughter being drowned out by the noise, who found any glee from the sight. "Excellent work, Nephilim! You did exceptional!" He cried as the Nephilim's face–or rather, where its face would be, as it only had a wide mouth cut into its body like a river–turned towards them. Slowly, as if it had used up all of its energy, Nephilim lumbered back into its small cage and fell silent. If not for the splinters of wood that littered the hillside, no one would have ever believed the beast was capable of such a ruckus. Even if it had only been a wooden wall, the Nephilim's work was complete in less than a minute.

"Back to my initial question, Finé, how are Kadingir's additional functions activated?" Ver turned calmly back to Maria as he slid the cage shut. "We'll need to complete our work here fast if we are to also search for Durandal and Solomon's Cane."

Nastassja slid in-between Maria and Ver at the mention of the two latter relics. "Based on our intel, we know for sure that Durandal and Solomon's Cane both went missing during the activation of Kadingir. We also believe that Sector Two has yet to find them, even after clearing all of the debris from the building that had been here prior." The elderly woman turned to the young girls who stood a short ways from the group, looking on in silence. "Akatsuki and Tsukuyomi should scour the nearby area while we work on Kadingir."

Maria forced herself to nod. More than anything, she wanted the two girls to remain forever by her side–especially if she had to work directly with Ver. But right now she was not Maria Cadenzavna Eve–she was Finé, and she was dead-set on being as convincing as possible in this part. "Most relics resonate with songs; that is the basis for the Sakurai Theory, as I believe you're aware doctor." Maria faced her two young friends. "Of course, while it would behoove us to rely on your Symphogears to amplify the songs in your hearts, it would also allow Sector Two to detect your Aufwachen Waveforms. If they did not know we had landed here, then they certainly would, then."

"A double-edged sword." Ver muttered. Then he waved his hand. "Bah, forget it–we have Nephilim. You two, go search for the relics. I hope you know what they look like."

Kirika glared at the doctor. "Of course we do." She spat. "Come on, Shirabe. Let's go." Kirika didn't need to add that last part as, while Kirika spoke to the doctor (who had already lost interest and begun to walk towards Kadingir) with her sour expression, Shirabe had already begun walking away. Seeing this, Kirika bounced into high gear to catch up.

. . .

"Hey boss, I know I said I wanted to know what was going on, but this isn't what I had in mind."

Hibiki laid in her hospital bed, her bleak blue gown blending in to the bedsheets of the same colour. She stared up at an awkward angle, looking into a tablet held up for her by Shiori Terashima. "You know full well that you can't be out and about in your state." Her friend stated.

The tablet showed the room of Sector Two's new, albeit temporary, headquarters. This was the first time Hibiki was getting to see the building where she was technically employed, and it was a small, low-quality view from another tablet. "Can you tell Fujitaka to at least keep the tablet still?" Hibiki muttered to herself, trying to both keep an eye on the meeting she had been asked to attend' and avoid the shaking stream.

Fujitaka sighed from behind the camera. "Here give me that." A second voice said from beside him, and Hibiki suddenly felt the view of her workplace shift as a pair of hands gripped the tablet. The scene she saw shook as another employee of Sector Two–Aoi Tomosato–smiled into the camera. "Sorry about that, Hibiki."

"You shouldn't apologize. It's Hibiki who is being unreasonable." Yumi said. She and Kuriyo sat in chairs beside Shiori, holding up tablets of their own to show whatever was on the main monitor in Sector Two's HQ–which, right now, was absolutely nothing but a basic green grid.

"Hey, you idiot, maybe don't let yourself get stabbed next time! Then you could be here in person." Chris shouted. Hibiki could only see Genjuro and Tsubasa's left side from the position Tomosato took up, but she knew Chris and Kanade were both in the room as well. Still, Chris's voice surprised all four of the girls, and Hibiki's three friends all flinched–both from the shout, and the words she spoke.

Hibiki Tachibana had been hospitalized three months before, on the night that Kadingir had first activated. Stabbed clean through the abdomen by her best friend, the now-missing Miku Kohinata, whose mind had been under the control of Finé at the time. She could still picture Miku's emotionless face as she stared down at Hibiki–in fact, it was the only face Hibiki could picture when she thought of her. Hibiki had known Miku almost her entire life and the two girls had been so close that most people thought they were sisters. Yet despite the fun that they had had and the tragedies that they endured, only Miku's cold stare remained front-and-centre in Hibiki's mind. And she hung her head at the thought. "My apologies." Hibiki muttered towards the tablet.

Not wanting the situation to get any more awkward, Genjuro, who stood with his back to the giant monitor that illuminated the headquarters, cleared his throat. "Alright, Hibiki, I'll catch you up to speed a bit first." Finally the monitor behind him, and thus the tablets that Yumi and Kuriyo held, displayed something other than a simple green grid–it showed a scene that all four girls had been staring at on their phones several hours earlier. "As you know, the idol Maria Cadenzavna Eve interrupted one of her concerts to declare war on humanity, claiming to be Finé in the process. We have continued to investigate her claims, but we currently have no updates on that.

"Now, several hours ago we detected an unknown aircraft travelling at a high speed across the Pacific Ocean towards Japan. The aircraft did not answer to any radio transmissions. Normally the Self Defence Force would be the ones to investigate a potential threat, however we stepped in as the leads on this investigation. Tsubasa, Kanade, and Chris all went out to meet the ship and gather as much intelligence as they could."

"And we got tons." Chris said enthusiastically. "Well, more than we were hoping for."

Chris had had a terrible life. After her parents were killed, Chris had been forced into slavery and suffered through terrible acts at the hands of so many men. Eventually she came into the care of Finé, who promptly tossed her aside when she saw no more use for her. Yet despite that, she'd come to grow close with Genjuro and started to become just a bit more lively–he'd even had her enrolled in the new Lydian Private Music Academy and provided her with a place to live, helping to reintegrate her into society.

Hibiki had to smile at that. Here she was–in terrible shape both physically and mentally, with the sunlight who'd always led her out of the dark no longer guiding her–and yet just as she fell, another girl found her footing. They traded places, in a sense, but Hibiki didn't hold a grudge. She was truly happy that Chris had found happiness with Sector Two.

As Tsubasa began to talk, Hibiki was pulled out of her thoughts and back to the meeting at hand. "The two Symphogears we encountered were, as we believed, Igalima and Shul Shagana, two of the relics that America had seized during the Iraq War. We can assume they likely have the third, Airgetlám, as well." Tsubasa seemed to make a face, as Genjuro tilted his head in confusion after she stopped talking. Just as he was about to ask, Tsubasa continued. "As for fighting prowess, neither seemed particularly skilled. Shul Shagana's wielder seems far more observant and clever, while Igalima's is more brash and impulsive."

"Akatsuki something." Chris reminded the room. "Kirika, I think." At the mention of a name, Hibiki could hear furious hands typing from behind the keyboard, and the scene shifted just a bit as Tomosato glanced behind her.

That one glance, however, showed Kanade to Hibiki. "Is Kanade okay?" The orange-haired idol was wrapped in bandages, and one around her arm was stained with a bit of blood. But the way she stood was not weak, rather it was as if Kanade didn't feel the pain at all.

"Yeah. The pink one, Shagana, she can create an endless number of saw blades. Used them to create a pit around Tsubasa and I. And with my limited amount of stamina, I may have tumbled a bit more than I should have."

"You've got to be more careful, Red." Chris spoke up. "If I hadn't been around, they probably could have finished you off."

"Yeah, you're right. But it's not like we have anyone else who can use Gungnir."

"Well, why don't we give it a shot?" Yumi stood up, setting her tablet down. The one that Kuriyo held now only showed half of the image of a flying ship unlike any Hibiki had ever seen before. "You've got three girls right here who can help you."

"No way." Genjuro flat out rejected Yumi's suggestion immediately with such force that Yumi–despite not even being in the same room–stumbled backwards. "Truthfully, I had reservations about sending Kohinata, and even Kanade, Chris, and Tsubasa into battle before. And now Kohinata is... missing and Kanade keeps getting more and more injured–everything I had worried about is coming to pass. Unless we get backed into a corner and become truly desperate, I'm not allowing anyone else to try using a Symphogear."

"Aww chief, I didn't know you cared so much." Kanade playfully added after a brief silence, cutting the tension down with only one sentence. "But I'm real glad you do."

"Sorry to interrupt, but I have... information on Kirika Akatsuki." Fujitaka announced to the room. "Or rather, I have the lack of information on Akatsuki. The only records of her I could find was an American death certificate in her name. Nothing else–not even a birth certificate." He breathed in slowly as if to say something else, but was cut off instead.

"Igalima said her name was Akatsuki." Chris leapt to her own defence immediately. "And the other girl even chastised her for giving out her name, so I don't think it was a lie."

"I did find one other thing, however." Fujitaka continued after a lull. He brought up a very low-quality image on the monitor behind Genjuro; Hibiki had thought the tablet she was seeing her boss on had poor image quality, but the (half) image she gazed at on the monitor Kuriyo still held up was so much worse. "This security camera clip from one of Maria Cadenzavna Eve's concerts from a few months ago."

The clip, which had very low sound, showed Kirika pulling her friend–Shul Shagana's wielder–along through a thin hallway before crashing into a security guard. The young girls shrunk back as he berated her before pausing. From out of the camera's range, another girl entered into the commotion: Maria. Hibiki could barely make out the words the idol said as she addressed the guard in an elaborate dress befitting an idol known throughout the world. "These are my friends Kirika Akatsuki and Shirabe Tsukuyomi. We're practically family, so I gave them permission to be here." The clip paused after that.

"I ran a check on Shirabe Tsukuyomi as well, but I got nothing outside of this clip. It seems they've done perfect jobs covering their tracks..."

"...Or they don't legally exist to begin with." Kanade finished his thought. "If that woman, Maria, is calling herself Finé, then it wouldn't be crazy to think she had a hand in the fact that they seemingly don't exist. Like me, they're probably orphans... maybe those aren't even their real names."

Chris sighed. "What's with Symphogears and orphans? Is Tsubasa the only one of us who has a living parent?"

"I've got my mother." Hibiki pointed out, but it fell on deaf ears as a siren erupted from the opposite side of the monitor. Her camera feed shook as Tomosato spun around, and suddenly Hibiki found herself staring at the ceiling of the building. "Hey! Tomosato!?"

"We've detected an Aufwachen Waveform... two Aufwachen Waveforms." Tomosato reported, ignoring Hibiki's confusion. "They're close by... at Kadingir!"

"I'll go investigate." Tsubasa shouted over the confusion. Hibiki could hear Genjuro fumble for words, but nothing came out of his mouth as three sets of footsteps echoed through the tablet.

Hibiki turned her face away from the tablet as the scene refused to change, and instead gazed upon the looming figure of Kadingir on the hill. It overshadowed the hospital she sat in, always a grim reminder of her failure to help Miku. She was about to sigh until she heard something outside. "Is that singing?" She asked the room.

Kuriyo, who rubbed her shoulder after finally being allowed to drop the tablet she had been holding above her head, shook her head. Just as words were about to leave her mouth however, she froze. "No, I hear it too."

"Yeah there's definitely... No, you can't go investigate it." Yumi noticed the glimmer in Hibiki's eyes in the reflection of the window. They were determined, yet Yumi could also sense a deep sadness lingering beneath it.

Just as Hibiki was about to complain, they found the source of the singing. Or rather, the singing girl found them.

The room erupted as the glass window exploded, and Hibiki used her pillow to cover her head just in time to prevent herself from being bombarded by too many shards; Shiori, Yumi, and Kuriyo instinctively leapt back, too, so they were unharmed. "What was that?" Yumi yelled, but regretted it immediately.

The pink Symphogear wielder stood on the windowsill. She had her arms positioned downwards in an A-like shape, her feet delicately maintaining balance on the thin beam. She seemed like an impossible dancer to all four of the girls, yet knowing that she must have been the reason for the sudden shower of glass raindrops, they could only hold their breaths in silence as they waited for her next move.

Shul Shagana's wielder scanned the room, her ruby eyes piercing Yumi, then Kuriyo, and lastly Shiori. Finally, Shirabe looked down at Hibiki. Anger was in the injured girls eyes, though she did not speak–Shirabe's cold expression reminded her too much of Miku's on that day. She froze up entirely, but Shirabe clearly singled her out as her target.

While maintaining her precarious perch, Shirabe bent over and grabbed Hibiki by the collar of her hospital gown. Despite her small size, the pink armour that covered her body granted her far more strength than someone of her age normally would possess, so she lifted Hibiki up to meet her eye-to-eye. "Where is it?" Shirabe asked, her face unflinching and her words cold. "You have it, don't you?"

Hibiki could not answer. The face that stared back at her. "Miku..?" She asked the girl, but Shirabe shook her head in response.

"I know you have one of the missing relics. Hand it over, now."

Yumi, not moving from her spot on the other side of the bed, raised her hand. "Hey, what are you even talking about!? What kind of relic are you looking for."

Shirabe dropped Hibiki, throwing her back into her bed. Leaping from the windowsill, she cleared the obstacle in front of her and landed in front of Yumi, Kuriyo, and Shiori; they all froze up as she seized their abilities. After just a second, Shirabe extended her arms. "Gold sword about this big?" She made a box with her hands. When the three girls shook their heads, Shirabe continued and drew out a thin line in the air. "A staff–cane–about this big?" Again, the three girls shook their heads.

But Shirabe was not backing down. She had come this way and singled out this particular room for a reason: she sensed a relic calling out to her song. Turning away from the three girls, she examined the bed that Hibiki watched her from.

The blue bedding draped over the sides of the steel frame, hiding whatever may lay under it. Shirabe had a hunch and pushed them up, throwing the sheets over Hibiki's head. The girl whined as she was covered by a veil of blue, but Shirabe paid it no mind. She had found what she was looking for.

Solomon's Cane rested in the shadows of the bed. The cane could be compressed into a smaller size, and it was that shape that Shirabe reached for. It had been hidden just behind the leg of the bed, against the wall in such a way that most people would not notice it.

"I'll be taking this." Shirabe held up the compact version of Solomon's Cane and promptly leapt back out of the window that she entered in through.

The four girls just watched her go. Hibiki was waiting for the inevitable question, but–thankfully–it did not come. Instead, she gasped in surprise as Yumi and Shiori expressed their own thoughts to the room.

"Alright, let's go after her." Yumi announced as her friend echoed a similar idea at the exact same moment.

#### G Chapter 4

Kirika kicked at the ground. "Death. Death, death, death." She muttered as she sent rocks and twigs flying with even the lightest of kicks. Her orders had been to locate Durandal and Solomon's Cane, and Shirabe suggested they split up in order to cover more ground quicker. Of course, Kirika would never turn down any suggestion from Shirabe, no matter how absurd.

Especially because she didn't want to let Shirabe–or Maria, for that matter–know that she hated being alone more than anything. Kirika wasn't supposed to be sad; she was the funny girl, the light-hearted one who always tried to cheer others up. Of course that's not to say Kirika did not feel other emotions, she just stifled them for the sake of those she cared about; they were more important than she was, Kirika believed.

Kirika wasn't sure why she had such an aversion to solitude, but whenever one of her closest friends weren't around she'd feel as if the world was suffocating her. That was how Kirika felt now, as she angrily marched about trying to calm herself down. "Where am I even supposed to start looking for these things?" She sighed, looking off into the distance. The sparkle of the city glistened in the distance just as the stars did above, and she had the fleeting wish for the freedom to just sit there and gaze out at the world from afar forever.

"Kiri."

The small voice caused Kirika to jump–quite literally in fact, an act that caused her to leap directly into the low branch of a nearby tree. Turning her head as her feet crashed back to the ground she saw Shirabe standing amidst the tree trunk soldiers that gazed back at her, her two black twintails swaying back and forth as she waved around a compact device.

"You found one already?" Kirika asked as she rubbed her head.

"Easy." Shirabe flashed a peace sign with her other hand.

Kirika sighed. Shirabe was far more impressive than she was, that was both Kirika's belief and–she thought–a fact that the others would never vocalize around her. "I don't even know where to look."

"I just sang as I rode around."

Kirika could picture Shirabe singing nonsense as the giant saw blade wheel that she loved to encase herself in carried her across the city streets. Of course, the Symphogears drew out the songs within the hearts of the girls who wore them, so the thought in her head of Shirabe singing about food she wanted to cook was nothing but a comical dream.

Kirika watched Shirabe as she looked at the small device in her hand. It looked no bigger than one of those compact umbrellas that would extend out at the push of a button, but Kirika recognized the design of its head from the documents Nastassja had shown her.

Shirabe, seeing the languid look on Kirika's face, held the relic above her head with one hand. "Da da da-daaaaa!" She sang, imitating a tune from a video game that Maria had gotten a chance to attend a press event for as part of an idol gig. It was her chance to make Kirika smile, and Shirabe's heart filled with glee as she saw the result she wanted.

And then Kirika pointed up at the sky. "Hey, why don't we just sing from atop Kadingir?" When she saw Shirabe tilt her head in confusion, she continued. "We could see so much more from up there, and our songs would be carried a lot further than in these trees."

"Let's give it a shot." Shirabe gave a small smile as she nodded.

. . .

Kuriyo sighed. "Maybe this wasn't such a great idea."

The group of four girls–Kuriyo, Yumi, Shiori, and Hibiki–were trekking through the trees. Hibiki, who could barely walk on her own, was being carried on Kuriyo's back after she stumbled three times before they even got off the road. "Sorry Kuriyo. I appreciate the help." Hibiki muttered, offering an apology for the work she was now putting her friend through.

Turning around as she reached the top of the hill above the other girls, Yumi waved her hands before placing a finger to her lips. "Quiet." She hissed in a whisper. When the others got closer, she continued. "They're right there."

With a confident point, Yumi's finger directed the others' gazes through the wall of bushes they hid behind. Sure enough, a short distance away were Nastassja and Maria, the two talking as they looked around the perimeter. Hibiki, poking her head over Kuriyo's shoulder, pointed out something quite obvious to the others: "The Symphogear wielders aren't with them."

"I could have sworn that girl went this way." Yumi placed a hand to her cheek. "It's not like she could have disappeared. Real life is not like an anime, where characters disappear and then reappear when you least expect them to."

"Maybe she jumped?" Shiori pointed above the group. Sure enough, there was a hole in the roofing of leaves that spread out above them to hide the stars.

"Jumped where, though? To the moon?" Hibiki was only partially joking.

The group stopped and wondered–should they remain in the bushes and continue to be oblivious to the two Symphogear users' whereabouts, or try to locate the two girls so that they wouldn't have to worry about them sneaking up on their group. Unfortunately the decision would be made for them, as they heard two voices a short distance away only seconds later.

"Hide." Yumi screeched in the loudest whisper she could muster, and the group scrambled–carefully. Yumi and Shiori quickly clambered up nearby trees, hiding amongst the thick coat of leaves, while Kuriyo pulled Hibiki into one of the bushes making up the wall between the girls and their enemy.

Their movements were speedy and as quiet as possible. Yet the two approaching Symphogear wielders were still somewhat cautious as they approached. "Did you hear something?" Hibiki heard the familiar voice of the girl with the black hair speak, and plastered a hand to her own mouth to prevent any sound from leaking; beside her, Kuriyo did the same.

"No, should I have?" Kirika responded quickly and took up an exaggerated pose, bending forwards as she placed the side of her hand upon her forehead in order to 'properly' search their surroundings. After turning her head back and forth twice, she shrugged. "I hope it wasn't a bear, death."

"Are bears even in this area?"

"I don't know where bears live! I've never even seen a bear outside of a book!"

The two girls continued to talk about nothing useful as they ignored the four girls who watched them. Shiori and Yumi, from above, got a perfect view of the two small girls as they leapt out of the forested area and into the clearing to greet their allies. In the trees, Shiori and Yumi both let out a simultaneous sigh as they realized they had been holding their breaths.

"Good work on finding Solomon's Cane." Hibiki heard the woman with indigo hair wheeze. "As for Durandal...?"

"Kiri thought it might be a good idea to use Kadingir as a vantage point."

"You didn't have to tell her, death."

Hibiki watched the group as they spoke, but her eyes continued to rest on the pink-haired idol who claimed to be Finé. She did not speak, but a warm smile was plastered on her face as her allies drew near–Hibiki found this quite odd. The Finé she remembered looked down on everyone, and tossed aside anyone or anything she no longer needed. Her heart clenched as she remembered the fate that befall her beloved Miku.

*Miku.*

Something flared up inside Hibiki, and she found herself angry all of a sudden. The warm smile that this Finé wore was foreign to the one that the priestess burned into Hibiki's mind.

"Wait! Hibiki!" Kuriyo found herself gasp, slightly louder than she wished to, as she struggled to reach for Hibiki. Hibiki, up to this point, had not realized that she had stood up out of the bush; it was only when Kuriyo spoke was her attention snapped back to reality–and the members of F.I.S. also turned their attention to the girl who stood half out of a bush, as well.

"Who are you?" Kirika shouted, pointing her giant green scythe at Hibiki. She was a distance away, but Hibiki was aware of a Symphogear's power.

But Hibiki ignored Kirika's question, as did she completely disregard the glares Shirabe and Nastassja were giving her. Instead, she addressed the idol known to the world as Maria Cadenzavna Eve: "Are you really Finé?"

This shocked the idol, who could only watch as Hibiki stumbled forwards on unsteady feet. She could barely walk as her legs shook, but Maria was somehow scared of her deep inside. "Do you want us to..." Shirabe was about to ask, but Maria stuck her arm out in front of the Zababa blades. Instead of a vocal response, Maria just stepped forwards to meet Hibiki, and in a few steps they faced eye-to-eye.

"Yes. I am Finé." Maria recognized the girl from the data they received from the real Finé on Sector Two: she was Hibiki Tachibana, and Finé held a strange fascination with her based on the data that Maria had studied. Maria looked down on the weak girl. "What do you want, Tachibana?"

"So, you do know who I am." Hibiki was not fazed by this fact, despite her belief that Maria was a fake. But she did not care about that. No, Hibiki wanted to know one thing–something more important to her than anything else. "If you really are Finé, then tell me. What happened to Miku?"

Maria was shocked to hear this. Behind her sapphire-like eyes, Maria's brain began running at a breakneck pace. She tried to fit together the puzzle that came with only half of the pieces, none of which were able to connect. Maria recalled the information from Finé–Miku Kohinata was another person Finé held interest in. *But why would she know what happened to this Miku girl?*

She realized the answer, and her breath caught. She did not know if Finé could actually go through with it; it was just a theory that F.I.S. had proposed at one point, to Maria's knowledge. *Finé tried to use this Miku as a vessel. If that girl is alive, then this would explain why Finé hasn’t yet awoken within one of us even though we can sense that her body is gone.*

Hibiki could not catch the slight change in expression on Maria's face–it lasted for less than a fraction of a second–nor could she read her mind. To her, she just saw Maria sizing her up until her mouth cracked into the familiar smile she recalled from her memories.

Every muscle in Maria's face hurt as she forced it into a cruel smile; one she had only seen on one occasion. Her mouth cracked open into the creepy crescent reminiscent of Sock, the smiling comedy and tragedy mask. Maria could see Hibiki, whose body shook as it struggled to keep herself standing tall, freeze up; that was how Maria was sure she bought the act. "Ah yes, my past vessel. Clearly, as I am standing here now, it should be obvious to you."

Hibiki's entire soul quivered as the girl, whom she truly believed to be Finé at this point, spoke three simple words. She crumpled to her knees even before they all had left the woman's mouth. Static filled her head; Hibiki had denied the thought all this time, but if it was coming from the culprit herself, then it must be true.

"Miku is dead."

A sharp pain flared up through Hibiki's head unlike anything she had ever experienced–it was if a million needles filled with electricity all stabbed into her brain all in a single moment. She grabbed her head with both hands as tears filled her eyes.

Maria was both confused and scared; confused as to why the girl's reaction was so dramatic, but scared that her act was so convincing. She may not have actually been Finé, but Maria could feel herself becoming more and more like her ancestor as she was forced to play the role. She turned away from Hibiki, dropping the cruel smile as she took a step forwards.

"Stop." Hibiki growled, and Maria did just that. It wasn't as if Maria followed the order out of the goodness of her heart, rather she froze up from the power she could sense coming up from behind her.

"Get back!" Kirika and Shirabe leapt into action simultaneously, leaping towards Maria at a high speed. The idol couldn't wrap her head around the situation, even as she found herself being pushed away. She heard a clash.

Hibiki stood in the clearing, no longer wearing the loose shirt and pants she had been given before leaving the hospital. Now hugging her body was an orange jumpsuit that transitioned into a white skirt, a black V-shaped mark extending across her chest. On her wrists she wore white gauntlets marked with brilliant gold wraps. Maria was shocked as she recognized this design as a Symphogear; yet she did not hear a Holy Chant to activate it. Furthermore, the large orange crystals protruding from Hibiki's body–from her shoulders, around her neck like a spiked collar, and like a unicorn's single horn–looked foreign to her in every sense of the word.

With the powerful gauntlets Hibiki wore, she effortlessly held the giant scythe of Igalima. Her eyes were empty as if she were in a trance, yet Hibiki seemed fully aware of what she was doing as she tossed Kirika away as if she was nothing but a crumpled up piece of paper.

Kirika crashed into Shirabe, and the two girls rolled a short distance. "Girls!" Nastassja called in surprise, watching her three associates as they all realized what had happened to them.

"Enough of this, you useless tools."

Hibiki's empty eyes just stared forwards; yet they bore directly into the physique of Dr. Ver. The doctor appeared with the small crate holding Nephilim in his hand, slowly walking around the side of Kadingir. Stopping as he stepped up next to Nastassja, the doctor dropped the crate and slid it open with his foot. "Nephilim!" Ver's eyes bugged out of his eyes as he spat his orders. "Kill that woman!"

On all four limbs, Nephilim rushed out of the crate and straight towards Hibiki. Its feral movements were wild and each step created a new dent in the ground, yet Hibiki just stood unmoving as she watched it.

Yumi, Shiori, and Kuriyo couldn't believe their eyes. "What do we do?" They were all panicking, but it was Kuriyo whose thoughts leaked from her mouth. "We can't just let her get more hurt!"

"But what are we going to do!" Yumi flailed her arms. They were still whispering, hoping to remain undetected, but their voices were quickly raising in volume. "We're not the heroines of this anime! We don't have powers."

Shiori pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts. "I'd suggest we call Kazanari or Amou, but we don't have their info." She sighed. "We could try to distract the old woman, maybe?"

That was when the three girls heard Dr. Ver make his grand announcement: "Nephilim! Kill that woman!" They all froze, and poked their heads through the bush. Fear gripped their hearts as all they could do was watch as the black form of Nephilim appeared and, despite its size, exploded into the scene.

"Hibiki!" They couldn't help but call out in unison.

Kirika clicked her tongue as she saw a bush sprout three unique heads and shout. "She had friends, death."

"Lets take care of them." Shirabe took a step forwards, but was stopped once more by an arm–this time, Kirika's.

"I'd rather not." Kirika moaned but held her scythe up anyway. "But, if we must."

An explosion rocked the ground near her before she could take a single step, forcing the blades of Zababa to turn their eyes upwards. They could only watch as three figures appeared from above, one of whom fired with twin crossbows at the grounded girls.

Shirabe and Kirika dodged to the sides as Chris Yukine landed where they had been standing just a moment earlier. Dirt flew into the air at the impact, forcing the two smaller girls to cover their eyes for just a moment.

"Don't take your eyes off us." A deep voice sent chills down Kirika's spine–literally–and a second later this cold feeling was replaced with the heat of pain as Tsubasa kicked the girl in the spine to send her flying.

Tsubasa dashed up to Chris, who just looked at Hibiki. "What's that idiot doing?" The white hair girl shook her head.

"What did I just say?" Tsubasa retaliated as she used her sword–Ame no Habakiri–to knock away an incoming saw blade.

Hibiki just watched with cold eyes as Nephilim flew towards her. Without moving her feet in the slightest, Hibiki waited until the beast entered the range of her hands and–just as she had done with Kirika's scythe–reached out to grab the Nephilim. Its arm made contact with Hibiki's hand, though the girl did not flinch as the beast knocked her arm away.

With her emotionless expression Hibiki just tried the same strategy again, and Nephilim repeated its original attack. The beast growled; if it had eyes, anyone would be able to see the hatred burning within it. It lunged forwards to try and bite Hibiki this time, and for once the girl finally moved her feet. It was like a dance as Hibiki dodged the Nephilim's lunge, just for her own follow-up punch to be avoided by the black beast.

"Get back!" Kanade shouted from a short distance behind Hibiki, before she tossed the powerful Gungnir at Nephilim. Hibiki however did not heed her warning; instead, the girl caught the spear out of the air to use on her own.

Hibiki had never used a spear before, but the emotionless being inhabiting her body as this moment had no difficulties getting used to the weapon. She stabbed with immense fury, a power so devastating that the air itself caved until Gungnir's pressure.

Yet this attack was useless on Nephilim, who simply dodged to the side. Hibiki repeated this farce again and again, but the small beast was simply too fast. Seeing that this action was futile, Hibiki tossed Gungnir to the side and raised her fists.

"Don't tell me she intends to punch that thing?" Kanade asked nobody. She was still recovering, so she did not want to get in the way of Tsubasa or Chris as they dealt with Igalima and Shul Shagana. Still, she didn't want to be useless–especially now, after Hibiki just tossed her spear away.

With her one eye, Kanade saw the crazy doctor that summoned Nephilim raise a relic she believed had been lost: Solomon's Cane. "Guess my job will be taking care of the small fry." She mused as a group of seven Noise appeared out of green lights around the laughing man.

"This is chaos." Maria stood away from the others and just watched the battles unfold. Chris and Tsubasa were countering each attack Kirika and Shirabe threw at them–though Maria's friends were holding their own as they did the same–while Kanade cut down the army of Noise that Dr. Ver kept summoning. All the while, Hibiki and the Nephilim performed their revue in the centre of the clearing; the emotionless girl and the feral beast continually missing each other.

"This is the chaos we aim to end." Nastassja sat in her wheelchair beside her.

The songs of the five Symphogear wielders washed over them, but the two of them could only sit in silence.

Hibiki finally landed a single punch of Nephilim, leaving not even a dent in the creature's stony exterior. The beast, in response, did not flinch, but instead extended one of its multi-jointed arms to bat at Hibiki, who dodged it effortlessly with a backwards jump. Her face still frozen in a cold stare, Hibiki flew forwards as flames seemed to extend from within her.

The girl literally flew through the air, spinning as she went to punch Nephilim head-on. The beast, too, charged toward Hibiki, aiming to rush head-first into its enemy. But when Nephilim sensed an opening, it took advantage of the situation.

Just as Hibiki's punch was about to connect with Nephilim's head, the beast opened its mouth. Hibiki's gauntlet disappeared into the dark void that matched Nephilim's exterior, and the beast could almost be seen smiling as it chomped down upon Hibiki's arm.

Her bones shattered, muscles tore. The light returned to Hibiki's eyes and the crystals covering her body shattered as her body filled with immense pain. With her left arm she reached for her right.

But it wasn't there.

The realization shocked her. Blood spewed from the hole in her shoulder where her arm had been until only a second ago. When she looked back at the monster looming over her, the horror she felt only gripped her heart tighter.

Nephilim was chewing on Hibiki's arm. Every time its mouth moved and its sharp teeth dug into the limb that had once been part of a girl's body, the beast grew bigger and bigger.

Hibiki clutched the stub at her shoulder and screamed.

Hibiki's scream tore through the clearing, and all eyes turned to her. Tsubasa, Chris, and Kanade all looked at their friend, their faces white as they saw her missing arm. Even Kirika and Shirabe stopped fighting as they looked on with pained faces.

The doctor however, still clutching Solomon's Cane, just laughed. His wide eyes were like cue balls as they bulged out of their sockets. "Excellent work, Nephilim!"

"Quick. We need to get her help." Kanade announced to her comrades, and they nodded. Fighting this threat was important, but they could do it another day; at the rate Hibiki was bleeding at, she might not survive the hour.

A stone landed by Kirika's foot as she just watched her opponents turn around–it came from the bushes, where the three girls' heads popped out of. She wanted to say something or go after her foes, but she truly did not want to fight them. F.I.S. had a goal–to unite the world, without the Curse of Balal–yet they still needed to fight in order to see the peace they wished for. "Come on Shirabe. We have to find Durandal."

The chaos that had erupted in the clearing was brought to an abrupt end just as it had begun. Shiori, Yumi, and Kuriyo ran down the hill, following after Kanade and Chris as Tsubasa, whose Symphogear granted her increased mobility even in comparison to the others, carried a comatose Hibiki in her arms a short distance ahead.

The six girls dodged trees as the laughter of Dr. Ver and the sound of Nephilim chewing on Hibiki's arm reverberated both through the forest and through their minds.

"Which one of you idiots let Hibiki out?" Chris looked over at her shoulder as she addressed the three 'normal' girls. But when she saw the pale looks on their faces, Chris's own expression softened. "No, there would not have been any stopping her anyway."

"Hibiki had that relic." Kuriyo blurted. "Solomon's Cane? Hidden in her hospital room."

"She... what?" Kanade couldn't believe her ears. "Seems as though chief's going to need to do some interrogation. If, well..."

Kanade didn't want to finish that sentence, and the three girls were grateful for that. They had already lost one friend–even if they hadn't known Miku well or for long, they still considered her their friend–and losing another so soon scared them. Chris, however, just cursed in anger. "Forget Genjuro, when she wakes up she'll have me to deal with."

#### G Chapter 5

Genjuro slammed his coffee cup into the desk. It was empty so the hollow slam reverberated through the room. Everyone present–including Tomosato and Fujitaka–stared at him in silence. On the screen in front of him, the face of their government contact, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Masahito Shibata, stared back at him as he slowly slurped down some ramen. Genjuro could not contain his anger as he glared at the tired man on the other side of the screen.

"Thirteen minutes ago the American government publicly pledged their support to F.I.S.–to Finé. The higher-ups don't want you to fight them now, for obvious reasons." Shibata sighed in-between sounds of his food slapping against his lips.

Genjuro sighed. "It'd be seen as Japan declaring war on America." He pinched the bridge of his nose as he began to think, and immediately the question sprang to mind. "Does this mean that F.I.S. is an official government agency?"

"Seems like it started that way originally. The data we found seems to imply that Americans have been researching relics and heretical technology secretly–F.I.S. seems to be behind this."

"Does this mean Finé was working with the Americans?" Fujitaka asked from afar, and the sound of Shibata's eating was his immediate answer.

"Possibly. Hard to know." The white-haired Vice Minister clacked his chopsticks together. "Considering that woman declared herself to be Finé, it wouldn't be surprising if she meant it literally and not simply as 'the end.'"

Genjuro crossed his arms. "We have a terrorist group being backed by America with two mysterious Symphogear users and some sort of creature that we know nothing about; Tachibana appears to have the power to generate a Symphogear of her own just as Kohinata did, and had Solomon's Cane in her possession all this time, but is currently comatose after losing an arm; Durandal is still missing; and this whole mess centres around another woman claiming to be Finé. Yet we still know nothing!"

Tomosato waved to Genjuro from across the room as he recounted the situation aloud. Seeing this, he nodded to acknowledge her and, as the final words left his mouth, Tomosato began talking. "F.I.S. does seem to be trying to reactivate Kadingir, as well. But, right now, the two women–Finé and the violet-haired woman–are just loitering around while the others go about their own tasks."

Fujitaka brought up an image on the monitor. "I've identified the two individuals working with F.I.S.: John Wayne Vercingetorix and Nastassja Sergeyevna Tolstaya."

Shibata put down his bowl, now empty. "Vercingetorix, huh? I feel like that name is familiar." Off to the side, outside of the borders of the camera feed, he reached for a pile of papers and quickly began shuffling through it. He smiled as he held up a paper. "From what we found, it seems F.I.S. was split almost five years ago into three groups after an incident occurred: two are complete unknowns, but one likely continued their research as before, and the final group consisted of researchers who abandoned the group. We don't know the complete details, but it seems that Vercingetorix was one of the people in the latter category–we have details about his termination from F.I.S. but almost everything has been redacted."

"Anything on Tolstaya?" Tomosato asked as she tapped on her own keyboard. "Our records are pulling up nothing."

"Unfortunately it was incredibly difficult getting even these details–we don't have too many other names. However, we do know that the American laboratory seemed to have been shut down some months ago after a massive cyberattack. We're talking a complete corruption of all data they had."

"F.I.S. has the backing of the American government, so it's likely they may have continued their research until the group shut down. But with Vercingetorix working with them, them being those who left the group is not an impossibility either." Shibata threw his stack of papers back onto his desk and leaned back to look at the ceiling. "The real question we should be asking is: what do they want?"

Genjuro nodded. "We have absolutely no idea on their current goals. We have attempted to analyse Kadingir, but we haven't made too much progress on that front. If they know how to reactivate and use it, their goal may be the same as Ryoko–they may plan to destroy the moon–but we have no idea if that cannon has any additional functions."

"Could they want something in our old base, maybe?" Fujitaka pointed out. "It was mostly destroyed and our excavation of it has been slow going. We did have a vault of relics below the base, so that may be their true target."

"The vault would make sense." Tomosato nodded. "That creature–Nephilim–grew in size when it devoured Hibiki's arm. We assumed its change in size was due to it simply consuming anything, but if we were to instead believe that it absorbs the powers of relics to increase its own strength..."

"It would be pretty bad if they got their hands on the relics down there." Shibata sighed. "But it's basically impossible to get into that vault now, right?"

Genjuro nodded. "We barely managed to excavate enough for us all to escape the ruins from the main room. Right now it would be almost impossible for anyone to enter the vault." He tilted his head down. "Still, it's not a possibility we should rule out. It would spell certain doom for us."

"But, again, you can't use your Symphogears to fight them." Shibata reminded the group. "What are you going to do?"

Silence. The tense and heavy air surrounded the members of Sector Two that stood in their new temporary headquarters, weighing down upon them in a way that almost seemed suffocating.

Outside, Kanade quietly sighed. Everyone in the room she spied on was under the belief that she was resting and recuperating; even Tsubasa and Chris had collapsed as they returned with Hibiki. She had no energy, and yet she was also supercharged.

The former-idol with the burning orange hair looked down at the device in her hand. A small gun-like tool that injected the LiNKER she required to use her Symphogear properly stared back at her, and the murky green liquid in the vial it held reflected just her eyes. Kanade could see the dark bags forming under them, and yet she did not feel tired.

Instead, she ran away.

. . .

"We're detecting an Aufwachen Waveform!" Tomosato shouted.

"What?" Genjuro had just disconnected the call with Shibata and had flopped back into a chair. But now he, once more, stood at attention, his hands clenched around his biceps as he crossed his arms.

"This pattern... it's Gungnir!" Fujitaka exclaimed, bringing up the familiar orange flower-like image that Kanade's Symphogear released. "It's Kanade!"

"Kanade!?" Genjuro slammed his hand into the communication device in front of him, connecting to the earpiece he knew Kanade would be wearing. The second he heard the signal tether to her own, he shouted into her ear. "What are you doing?"

"Sorry chief." Kanade's voice was sad as she spoke. "But someone's got to do something. If you officially can't fight F.I.S. then I'll do it unofficially."

The gruff man knew he couldn't stop her; he was strong, his power surpassing that of most people, but he knew fighting Kanade, even in a weakened state, would be difficult. He knew Tsubasa's fighting style and trained Tachibana, but Kanade created her techniques herself; it was a complete improvisation. At full strength Kanade would easily be able to overpower Genjuro, but even in her injured state he'd have incredible difficulty. "I know I can't stop you." He sighed after a moment. "And I know that even if I did, you'd just go out and fight anyway. Truthfully, I do even agree with your idea. Just, don't do anything stupid. We're going to get hell for your work either way, but I'd rather you be safe."

Genjuro couldn't see her, but he could tell that Kanade flashed a confident smile as she spoke once more. "Got it, I'll be careful this time."

Kanade ran leapt from building to building as she crossed this city. The sun was beginning to rise above the horizon, and she couldn't help but smile at the sunrise as it finally poked its head up at her. "Got it, I'll be careful this time." She spoke into the headset she purposefully wore up until this point.

Genjuro cared for her–for all of the Symphogear girls–quite deeply and Kanade knew that throwing them into battle again and again weighed heavily on his soul. She knew he'd call the second she activated her Symphogear, and she wanted to speak with him.

If what she heard from Shibata and Genjuro's conversation was to be believed, what Kanade was about to do was declare war on America on Japan's behalf. Regardless of the outcome of this battle–a battle against a mysterious black beast and two wielders both with more energy than she–Kanade was fully aware that she was technically in the wrong here.

As the connection to Genjuro snapped shut, Kanade reached up and pulled the speaker out of her ear. Tossing it onto the ground in front of her, she smashed it with the butt of her giant spear, completely decimating the device in a simple smash. "Sorry chief, I don't think I'll be able to make good on that."

Kanade leapt towards the forest as she reached the boundary between the city and the wilderness that led up towards Kadingir. She had run this same path not too long ago with friends, but now she ran it alone. Kanade clenched her jaw as she watched the trees pass by her, one thought running through her mind: "I'm sorry Tsubasa."

. . .

"Do you see it?" Shirabe asked Kirika, who stood facing the opposite direction.

"Nope." Kirika replied, once again with the side of her hand pressed against her forehead.

The two girls stood at the very top of Kadingir's barrel, which they climbed with Shirabe's giant saw blade wheel. From this vantage point–just as they believed–the two could see a great distance, but they forgot that the dense forest would make it difficult to see the ground around the trees. Still, they tried to sing and activate Durandal, hoping it would give them a sign, though to no avail.

"We could always try–" Kirika cut her friend off before she could even fully make her suggestion. She was fully aware of the idea Shirabe had, but it was one that she was completely fine with never making use of again.

"Not a chance. I am not going through that hell again." Kirika scowled. Shirabe couldn't see Kirika's face, but the quiet girl could sense the immense amount of hatred and anger that resonated from behind her.

*We could always try singing our Superb Songs.* Shirabe had wanted to suggest to Kirika. The two of them were forced to sing the nuclear song that devastated the bodies of the Symphogear wielders as it released immense power. They had been forced to sing it together to activate Nephilim after overdosing on LiNKER; their bodies had almost been torn apart at that time, and the two of them almost died as a result. It was for this reason that Kirika especially hated Dr. Ver–it had been his idea to have them perform their songs–but Shirabe was aware that there were truly no other options; even Maria's powerful singing did nothing for the beast, and their Superb Songs were only barely able to activate the monster's heart.

"Hey Shirabe, I think I see something!" Kirika pointed, and Shirabe turned her head to follow the girl's slim finger as it cut through the air. It was barely noticeable, but through the leaves there were splatters of orange moving about. "I think those girls are back."

"Should we engage?" Shirabe asked, but Kirika ignored her. Or, rather, she silently gave Shirabe the answer to her question: by leaping off of Kadingir with her scythe ready to cut anything in its path. Shirabe sighed, but followed after her regardless.

*Keikoku melody shinigami wo yobu zetsubō no yume Death-thirteen*

Kanade heard the singing before she saw her enemy, but reacted accordingly regardless. She swung her spear at the source of the song, just as a girl in green and black descended through the leafy cover above her. The spear crashed against Igalima's scythe, and Kirika flew back through the air and landed with a flip. Shirabe, silently, landed beside her.

"She's all alone this time." Shirabe noticed, muttering to a singing Kirika. Her partner nodded as confidence flared up within them; their last battle could be seen as a draw, but this time they were sure they would win.

But Kanade just smiled. As if her body had suddenly regained all of its energy, Kanade leapt towards the two girls at a high speed. This quick movement surprised Kirika, who could do nothing but, again, block the girl's incoming attack and be sent flying, this time crashing into a tree.

Shirabe watched her friend get knocked away but remained calm. Unfolding the two coverings that surrounded her twintails, Shirabe revealed two large arms that extended from her head, each ending with a spinning buzz saw. Kanade saw this, but the smile did not leave her face.

Shirabe punched forwards with one of her saw arms as she spun towards Kanade, though the idol parried this with her spear as if swatting a fly away. As Shirabe's footing was disturbed as she landed on a tree's root, Kanade took advantage of this to stab at her saw. With just a single strike, Gungnir pierced Shul Shagana's extended arm and the metallic Armed Gear shattered, the buzz saw spinning through the air as it fell to the ground. "She's strong." Shirabe muttered.

Kirika, back in the action, followed up from behind. As the saw of Shirabe's twintail crashed into the ground in front of Kanade, Kirika transformed her scythe into a halberd as she fused it with a copy of herself, and cut through the tree to Kanade's left with a single strike. The idol did not even blink however, and leapt out of the way of the attack as Kirika and Shirabe regrouped as the buzz saw lodged in the ground was crushed by the tree.

Using her spear as a javelin, Kanade stabbed the ground in front of her and leapt forwards, swinging her weapon out of the ground and around herself. Shirabe pushed Kirika out of the way as the idol hurled towards them, and used her remaining saw arm to counter Kanade's saw-like movement. The saw and the spear clashed and sparks flew through the trees, but Kanade came out on top: the saw buckled under the pressure and Kanade made contact with Shirabe's body directly. Shirabe's body was filled with pain as her tiny frame bounced down towards the ground and then back up into the air; Kanade followed this up with a powerful sideways kick that launched the small girl into a nearby tree. Shirabe crumpled to the ground as she flew through the one trunk that Kanade had aimed for and crashed into another not too far behind her.

Seeing this, Kirika was pissed. Hatred filled her entire being as she saw flames–no one hurt Shirabe. She rushed towards the idol and swung down her halberd, sending forth spinning boomerang blades of light, yet Kanade effortlessly dodged them. Kirika screamed as annoyance filled her, and tried again; but Kanade dodged once more.

Kanade saw the frustration in Kirika's heart and took advantage of this. She readied her spear over her shoulder and, knowing Kirika would put her entire focus on her weapon, threw it like a giant dart. As Kanade believed, Kirika's eyes followed the spear, which she blocked with a strike of her weapon–but she did not see Kanade as she closed in on her and grabbed the weapon just as Igalima collided with it. She swung the spear like a guillotine's blade, cutting through the air and stopping just short of Kirika's neck.

"What kind of idol turns to murder?" Kirika grunted in anger. Slowly the blind fog of hatred began to lift, but the intense hatred she felt only grew hotter.

But Kanade didn't care, and in response to Kirika's question she simply chuckled darkly. "One who has a spot in hell reserved for them." Kanade grabbed hold of Kirika's arms, forcing Igalima out of the blonde girl's hands. "Tell me. What are you all after?"

"I won't tell you."

"Fine. Then I'll kill you."

"Go ahead." Kanade could feel the girl's arms clench despite her strong words. "As long as Shirabe is fine, that's all that matters to me, death."

Kanade let out another dark wheeze. "So be it."

The orange-haired idol pulled back her weapon. Just as she had before, Kanade swung her oversized spear with the entirety of her strength, and Kirika just closed her eyes. She awaited the sensation of death that saw so many people experience before her...

...But it did not come.

"What?" Kanade gasped, and Kirika opened her eye a crack to see what was wrong. At the sight, she could not form words. Her entire brain shut down as she took in the sight that blocked Gungnir's powerful spear from piercing through Kirika's neck like a guillotine.

The pink, interlocked wall of energy. Both girls had seen this same creation before. "No." Kirika whisper, her eyes wide. Terror gripped her entire being. "No, no. No." She just continued repeating the one word over and over, and she collapsed to her knees as Kanade's grip loosened on her arms. As Kirika slumped to the ground, the same word tumbling over and over out of her mouth, the pink wall disappeared.

Asgard. The alchemical power that Finé wielded against the Symphogear wielders before.

Kirika looked up and met Kanade's cold glare that dug into the heart of the girl who could cleave souls. "So, you're the new Finé." Kanade pointed her spear directly at her enemy's head, marking the spot between her eyes as if ready to strike. "This changes things."

At the idol's words, Kirika hung her head and fell silent. Her eyes darkened as the shine of life left them. "I'm..." Kirika's voice was sad as she began to moan a word, but cut herself short.

Kirika kept her eyes glued to the ground in front of her, so she did not see Kanade as her own eyes flickered in an attentive way. Kanade leapt back, dodging away as one of Shirabe's pink saws crashed into the ground in front of Kirika.

"Kiri, let's go." Shirabe weakly muttered, her face covered with dirt and her skin pierced in multiple areas by small splinters of wood. Dirt and mud caked her body, sticking her hair into clumps, but her eyes were determined. "She's too strong for us."

Kirika did not answer, nor did she give any indication to Shirabe that she had heard them. Confused, and worried for her friend, Shirabe grabbed hold of Kirika's hand in her own and leapt up into the air, pulling her partner with her. Kanade just watched them fly up and away and swung her spear horizontally in anger; a single motion that easily cut a tree in half. With a click of her tongue, Kanade decided to follow them.

Shirabe looked down at the girl whose hand she held. Kirika was flailing as if she was just a doll being blown about by the wind, the usual shine and cheerful attitude completely vacant from herself. Shirabe had not heard any of Kanade and Kirika's conversation; the second she regained her senses, she fired a blade at her attacker. Her body hurt all over, and she could feel blood dribbling from her nose as they bounced from tree to tree towards the clearing surrounding Kadingir.

The small girl did not know what had happened to Kirika, but she was sure that whatever had happened was certainly not good. Whether it was something the idol said or an attack; whatever it was, Shirabe believed it to be imperative that they keep their distance from Kanade Amou. She spied Dr. Ver, walking with the Nephilim by his side, as they neared Kadingir.

"Nephilim." Shirabe spoke to the beast quietly. "Are you hungry?" She pointed back in the distance the two had come with, and just as she did Kanade appeared through the trees. As if it were a cheerful dog ready to play fetch, Nephilim dashed forwards towards Kanade and the two collided.

"Doctor, we need to go." Shirabe addressed the crazed doctor, who silently watched the fight in front of him.

"Very well. I've discovered a way in to the base below, so we may be able to get to their vault after all. Our two other associates are down there now." He replied as he adjusted his glasses. Dr. Ver's attention was already being diverted away from the fight as he spun around, leading Shirabe–and thus, by extension, Kirika–towards the apparent entry to the old Sector Two headquarters.

#### G Chapter 6

Tsubasa reached up and grabbed hold tight of her uncle's collar, but Genjuro did not resist nor pull back. He saw the blue flames burning behind her eyes, ones demanding answers, and knew exactly what she was going to ask him.

"How could you let her go after that thing alone?" Saying that Tsubasa was angry, or even pissed off, was an understatement. As an idol Tsubasa was always known to be somewhat shy and reserved, but ever since the Zwei Wing Tragedy she had transformed into an aloof defender who saw herself as nothing but a sword. Yet that image of a cool shield was nowhere to be seen in the hellfire burning a hole through Genjuro.

He sighed. "You know as well as anyone how impossible it is to get that girl to listen to you." It was now when he finally acknowledged Tsubasa's hold on his shirt as he gently placed his hands upon her own. "Go."

Tsubasa had stormed into the room when she had awoken, dragging a yawning Chris with her. When she forced the answers out of Fujitaka as to Kanade's whereabouts, her hatred turned directly to Genjuro. But he did not mind. He was the boss; every decision Sector Two made was his responsibility, even if these decisions were unofficial. These were the burdens he placed upon himself when he took up the position–the burden of having to watch children fight wars, and the burden to be helpless to protect them.

He watched as Tsubasa stormed out of the room, but did not try to say anything else to her. Genjuro and Tsubasa were family, he knew her far better than anyone. Yet even still, the flames he felt were new to him.

"Guess I'll help those idiots out too." Chris groaned as she wiped her eyes. Her hair was disheveled–the two tied tails of hair that ran down her back were undone and a wreck–and the bags under her eyes were dark. Genjuro could tell that Chris likely had not been asleep. For a little while after the destruction of their original base, Genjuro had let Chris stay with him as they could sort out living arrangements and every night he could hear Chris's sobs and screams from the nightmares that tortured her. Yet even then, the tired look in her eyes was also one he had not seen before–this fatigue dug deeper than emotional, physical, or mental levels, and instead perverted her very soul.

The door closed with a hiss as Chris's slow footsteps echoed out of the room and for just a few short moments the room fell into silence. Genjuro had wanted desperately to monitor Kanade as she fought, but considering she was technically doing so 'unofficially' they decided that it would be best if no records of her leaving remained–this included footage or recording logs. He was worried, his mind a hurricane of doubts, and finally Genjuro collapsed into a chair.

"This may not be the best time to add more bad news to the pile," Tomosato slowly began to say as the familiar tapping of working fingers filled the office once more. "But it seems Tachibana's condition has worsened. The medical team has also sent us a report regarding that full body scan we ordered."

Genjuro did not move, but instead let out a deep, exhausted sigh. "Of course her situation is worsening." He muttered. Pinching his forehead, he asked Tomosato to continue her report.

"It seems as though Dr. Sakurai–or Finé, rather–had been destroying some sections of Tachibana's medical results–and Kohinata's, as well. The initial scan we had revealed fragments of Gungnir in both of them: Kohinata had fragments concentrated within her back, while Tachibana had a far fewer amount located in her shoulders and around her neck. However, today's scan revealed that Tachibana's situation is far more dire than we initially believed. It seems some of the relic's shrapnel has embedded itself within her brain."

Genjuro looked at her. "I may not be as well versed in this subject as Ryoko was, but would it be possible for Gungnir to be fusing with her brain?"

"This is the doctors' hypothesis as well. They believe she may very well be becoming Gungnir, and this is likely how she activated the Symphogear earlier without possessing a pendant or by singing a Holy Chant."

Genjuro was tired of all this bad news. He was sure of how this conversation was going to end, so he just skipped to the part he was dreading. "How long does she have to live?"

Beside Tomosato, Genjuro could hear Fujitaka inhale sharply as he undoubtedly brought up the report on his own screen. Tomosato, too, simply remained in silence. "They're not sure. At most they believe two months, but at the least they believe she could be dead by tomorrow. It seems as though Gungnir's rate of fusion with her body fluctuates constantly–and randomly, apparently."

"It fluctuates." Genjuro repeated. "Is it possible it's resonating with Kanade's Gungnir? Or, Kohinata's, if she is still alive?"

"That's..." Tomosato cut herself off. "That could be a possibility. And it might also be why her condition suddenly worsened once Kanade disappeared."

Genjuro had already let one girl in his care die, and he desperately did not want another to follow behind. He brought up the communications relay, ignoring their earlier assessment of the situation, and ordered Kanade to be constantly monitored as he waited for the connection to link. When he heard the buzz of Tsubasa's headset connecting, Genjuro opened his mouth to speak before it was severed. "Tsubasa severed the connection herself, sir." Fujitaka reported immediately.

Exhaling once more, Genjuro tried to establish a connection again–this time with Chris. When he heard her slow reply a few seconds later, he immediately relayed the situation regarding Tachibana to her. "So you want me to get Kanade to stop using her Symphogear?" Chris muttered after taking it all in. "Dunno how useful I can be there, but I'll give it a shot."

. . .

Kanade felt the darkness burning within her as she fought Nephilim. Her spear could crack the beast's exterior, though the strain the weapon was putting on her body was a double-edged sword. Every successful strike forced Kanade to flinch as she felt the brunt of her song recoiled back into her.

While every woman is technically capable of bonding with a Symphogear, not everyone could naturally do so–Kanade fell into the latter camp. The phonic gain that resonated from a candidate's song could make or break them as a fighter, and Kanade's simply wasn't strong enough for Gungnir to grant her its full strength.

So, she used a technological marvel known as LiNKER to off-set the difference. LiNKER temporarily raised the phonic output of a candidate's song to such a degree that they could theoretically bond with any Symphogear, though LiNKER came at a cost–the injection put immense strain on the body and mind of the wielder.

Yet despite knowing these risks, Kanade continued to use it. In fact, as she had run away from headquarters, she stole multiple vials of LiNKER and essentially overdosed on the formula. Six complete vials she took–normally only half was used at a time. Kanade knew this was dangerous and could barely breathe now as she swung her spear into Nephilim's stony hide, but she had no other options. It was only because of the amount she took that she was able to overpower Igalima and Shul Shagana's wielders and stand toe-to-toe with Nephilim. Even if it killed her, which Kanade fully expected, she was not about to stand idly by as F.I.S. continued to do as they pleased.

But now, the LiNKER was about to run out. Kanade could feel every vein in her body pumping lava into her heart as she struggled to remain conscious. Every muscle screamed at her, begging to rest, but she needed to ignore them–Kanade Amou was set on stopping Nephilim at all costs. It was the least she could do.

She and Nephilim clashed once more, and the force knocked the two fighters back. The darkness that had invaded Kanade's mind was only getting stronger–the consequence of using so much LiNKER at once. She did not want to allow it to completely overtake her, and yet she realized that it may be the only way to defeat the beast once and for all.

Kanade watched Nephilim's foot graze the ground for barely an instant before it flew back into action, ricocheting off an invisible wall and towards her person. In that second, as she saw Nephilim's mouth begin to crack open wide, she tore off her eyepatch.

"I'm tired of staring into the darkness!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. The darkness clawed at her mind, and she could feel a feral rage building within her chest as she stabbed Nephilim's head with her entire being.

. . .

Hibiki Tachibana was unconscious and laying in a brightly-lit room. Genjuro had come to check on her after hearing the news about her condition, and was just entering the room when the girl let out a blood-curdling scream.

The girl on the bed could barely breathe. Even in her comatose state, unaware of the world, she was wailing louder than a banshee. She clawed with her one arm at her throat, trying to rip away the invisible hands that strangled her, but to no avail. Seeing the girl in this state, Genjuro gave orders to every medical officer in the room, who turned at the girl's sudden outburst: "Get her strapped down, and do whatever you need to do to calm her down."

"Sir, we've already administered painkillers and anaesthetics. Theoretically speaking, she should be in a completely peaceful sleep." One medical professional reported. "This condition... it's likely the fault of Gungnir."

Almost as if on cue, Hibiki began to convulse. As the name of the relic left the doctor's lips, crystals began to form across Hibiki's entire body, sprouting primarily from her head and shoulders. It wasn't like before, where spikes erected themselves upon her neck and forehead; no, now chunks of orange ore began to manifest from her body as if she the walls of a cave. As her screams rang out through the room, Genjuro and all of the other medical professionals were unable to do anything other than strap her three remaining limbs to the table–to prevent her from clawing herself to death.

"That's it." Genjuro growled. Loosening his tie, Genjuro tossed the piece of fabric over his head as he bolted out of the room at a speed that certainly would have put an Olympian to shame.

. . .

Despite the chaos in Sector Two's headquarters and the chaos of battle above her, Maria Cadenzavna Eve walked in peace. Though these tunnels, ones partially-collapsed and lit only by the few emergency lights that they managed to return power to, were ones she had never before visited, she found herself feeling a twisted, sickening kind of nostalgia as she walked. Trying to calm herself, Maria began to sing a song to the ghosts that followed alongside her.

*Ringo wa ukanda osora ni…

Ringo wa okkochita jibeta ni…

Hoshi ga umarete uta ga umarete

Ruru ameru wa waratta tokoshie to

Hoshi ga kisu shite uta ga nemutte

Kaeru toko wa doko deshō…?

Kaeru toko wa doko deshō…?

Ringo wa okkochita jibeta ni…

Ringo wa ukanda osora ni…*

In her mind's eye she could picture the sweet smile of her late sister as she brushed her hand on the dirty wall she walked beside. This song–Apple–was one passed down to her by her parents before they died, and it was the only thing that still bound her family to her. With the hand not touching the wall, Maria clutched tight the red pendant that hung from her neck.

"You're a good singer."

Maria had heard the footsteps creeping up to her but, when she turned around, the pop sensation was still surprised. Standing in the shadows of the tunnel was Shirabe Tsukuyomi–and only Shirabe. It was rare for Shirabe and Kirika to be separate, so Maria knew something was up. "What's wrong?"

Maria's expression softened as she approached Shirabe, and the smaller girl looked down. Shirabe was always hard to read, but she had a hard time hiding when she had doubts. Seeing the sadness reflected in Shirabe's eyes, Maria recalled a time many years ago when Shirabe had always had a lonely look in her eyes; this was before she had warmed up to their new 'sister' Kirika.

"Something's wrong with Kirika." Shirabe and Maria leaned side-by-side against the wall. They were Receptor Children–technically distant relatives already–but Maria considered Shirabe and Kirika to be sisters on the same level as her departed Serena. Whenever one of them had a problem, Maria was always willing to help them to the best of her ability.

And yet, when Shirabe brought up that 'something was wrong' with Kirika, Maria couldn't help but sigh. "I think there are a few things wrong with all of us at this point." She looked up towards the dark ceiling. "If it wasn't for those collars around your necks, I'd have carried the two of you away long ago."

Shirabe shook her head. "The Gungnir wielder appeared and fought us. I was knocked out for a moment but, when I recuperated, Kirika was different."

"So you think Gungnir said or did something to her?"

"Possibly."

"Truthfully Shirabe, with everything going on, it's not insane to think that Kirika's just being crushed by the situation we're in and needs some time to clear her mind. She cares about you more than anything–if she didn't want to talk to you about whatever was worrying her, then it's something Kirika needs to work out herself." Maria put a hand on her chest. "That's what I think, anyway. Serena told me something similar before."

"So you think she'll be fine?"

"Kirika's probably the strongest of us. She's always been there for us, so I'll help her out in a heartbeat, but I don't want to force that assistance onto her. I'll talk to her, but I don't want us to force our help upon her."

Shirabe nodded. "I think your thoughts got a bit muddied there, at the end, but I can understand what you're saying." She slowly slid down the wall and landed on the cracked floor. Bringing her knees towards her face, Shirabe pressed her head against her legs. "I'm still worried."

Up on the surface, Kirika found herself in the same position. She sat against a tree, beside the entrance to the small cavern that led down into Sector Two's old headquarters. The path was thin and hard to traverse so 'Mom' had not travelled down there–instead, she returned to their craft in order to prepare for the reawakening of Kadingir–so Kirika offered to watch the entryway in case any of the other Symphogear users appeared. Or rather, she insisted that she would guard this place–alone.

The sounds of Nephilim and Kanade fighting in the distance echoed into Kirika's ears, but they were drowned out by the calamitous storm of thoughts that ran though her head. She was scared–terrified, even–of becoming Finé. She and Shirabe had been let in on the plan to have Maria masquerade as the priestess in order to bring Dr. Ver into their circle, but she never expected her to appear within one of them.

"I'm going to lose my self." Her black and white-striped stockings were starting to get dirtied from the tears that ran from her eyes, yet Kirika continued smiling all the same. "I'm never going to be able to see Shirabe or Maria again."

Kirika could feel her body shaking uncontrollably. "I don't want to become Finé."

The Receptor Children had been told about Finé by the eternal priestess herself. Ever since they were brought into F.I.S., the children had all been fed propaganda in order to prepare themselves for the eventual future where they would possibly become Finé's vessels. Kirika never believed that she would be the one in which Finé would awaken, so she never paid the idea any mind, but now...

She looked at her hand. She could sense something within her that was foreign now–Finé–and wanted to address the second soul within her directly. Kirika tried to remember what she had been taught in that sanitary hell, but her thoughts were such a mess that she was unable to focus on the idea. "I can't let this happen."

For the first time, Kirika's forced smile wavered. "But if I were to die, then she'd just awaken in someone else." The smiles of Maria and Shirabe popped into Kirika's mind to cover up the brief suicidal thought. She did not want to become Finé, but even more she did not want her closest friends–her sisters–to succumb to the same fate.

The air was still around her as she wallowed in her future–or lack thereof–until she sensed the wind blow. This should not have bothered Kirika, and yet it tore the mad thoughts racing through her mind asunder. The wind was not natural, Kirika could sense, and readied herself.

*Zeios Igalima raizen tron*

The green and black fairy tale outfit granted to her by the Symphogear Igalima appeared on her person in an instant, and she leapt up to the trees above her. Using her giant scythe, Kirika cut through the leaves to get a clear view of Kadingir and the battle that waged on at its base.

What she saw shocked her.

Kanade and Nephilim glared at each other as darkness encircled them. The two fighters let out identical monstrous roars as the light faded from the world around them. Kanade was losing control of herself; the effects of the LiNKER doses she had taken were overpowering her senses, and now she was falling into the shadows she had tried to push away.

The darkness swallowed her in an instant, and Kanade suddenly found herself floating in a black void. She had no control of her body, which was now entirely lacking in light. The black beast that took on Kanade's form had glowing orange eyes and a similar faint glow about her, and it screamed in anger as it appeared in the spot where Gungnir's wielder had stood.

Across from this beast, Nephilim–a monster of its own calibre–let out a feral screech. The two monsters had been several metres apart from each other and yet in the blink of an eye the two had collided. The shockwave that exploded out from their contact was intense; even Kirika, a fair ways away, could feel the wave of power wash over her.

Kirika found herself even more weary now. She could throw herself into the middle of a battle she had no way of winning, or remain here and continue drowning in her doubts. Her heart pained as she hesitated.

"Akatsuki." Nastassja's voice rang out in her ear. "Gungnir's wielder has lost control of her Symphogear. At this rate she will likely overpower Nephilim. I need you to assist it."

The decision had been made for her, it seemed, but Kirika wavered. Her legs quaked as she hugged the giant Armed Gear to her chest. "I'm doomed either way." She finally realized, looking up at her new enemy with a small flame igniting in her chest.

*Ikusen, ikuman, ikuoku, no inochi

Subete wo nigirishime furikazasu

Sono se mo kōritsuku danpa no issen

Chiru kakugo wa aru ka?*

The song reached Kirika's ears before she could even move, and barely had time to register the sudden appearance of the blue Symphogear–Ame no Habakiri–before pain flooded her body. Tsubasa collided with Kirika's back, launching the girl in green from her perch in the tree with a strong kick that, to anyone else, was so fast it appeared as a blue streak of light through the air. Kirika landed with a thud, blood rising from her throat, but she choked it down.

"Didn't want to save me this time, Finé?" She whispered to herself as Igalima's scythe dug into the ground in front of her. Kirika used her weapon to prop herself up and pull her to her feet.

But Tsubasa did not give Kirika a second glance; already the girl in blue was running away, racing towards the two dark beasts that fought a ways away. Kirika considered retaliating and raised her scythe to fire out blades of energy, but hesitated. "Now I don't have to get involved." She realized with a whisper, and lowered her Armed Gear slowly.

Her hands were still shaking as she deactivated her Symphogear, but not out from being kicked. No, Kirika felt Finé's soul again–though it was significantly stronger now. "I can't use Igalima any more without letting Finé grow stronger." She realized, placing a hand on her forehead. A smile cracked over her face as insanity filled her wet eyes. "I'm completely worthless!"

Chris Yukine did not want to fight the mad girl either. She just watched from the treeline as Kirika's sanity collapsed in on herself. The girl in the black shirt laughed and cried as she fell to her knees, the black X-shaped band in her hair bouncing alongside her shaking head.

"Poor girl." Chris lowered the crossbow she had trained on her, ready to follow-up on the opening Tsubasa gave her, but was now aware that she would only be pouring salt into the many wounds that crossed Kirika's heart. "But I do know how she feels."

She shook her head. Chris had heard Kirika's cry about Finé and instantly wanted to rush over there in search of answers, but she had a more pressing matter to attend to–Kanade. She looked at the two black beasts that continued their feral dance as Tsubasa stood in the centre of them. "How am I supposed to reason with a monster?" Chris had not told Tsubasa about Hibiki's condition–or couldn't, as Tsubasa had maintained a decent lead on her. Realizing the best way to deal with Kanade, Chris's eyes filled with an exhausted annoyance. "I'm going to need to destroy that Nephilim thing and then beat Kanade, aren't I?"

The girl in the red Symphogear known as Ichaival turned her back on the sobbing Kirika in the clearing and instead began making her way towards the three distinct flames that burned against one another.

A distance away, Hibiki Tachibana screamed in a vicious agony that echoed throughout the building she was kept in.

#### G Chapter 7

"Kanade! Calm down!" Tsubasa called as she dodged out of the way of her friend's attack. Kanade had completely lost her sanity–the darkness had entirely consumed her–and she was now indiscriminately attacking both an unwilling Tsubasa and a Nephilim that, too, is flying about in a blind rage.

As Tsubasa rolled out of Kanade's way, she heard the sounds of the former idol colliding with Nephilim, the two growling like angered animals as their limbs smashed against one another. "Please Kanade." Tsubasa muttered, her heart in pain from seeing her friend's descent into a feral madness more uncontrollable than a wild animal.

Chris dropped down next to Tsubasa. "I have a feeling she'll calm down a bit if we take out Nephilim." She assessed the battle unfolding in front of her. "But we're goin' to need to deal with this fast."

"Fast?"

Brushing the back of her head, Chris looked away. "Yeah, you kinda ignored Genjuro and I didn't have a chance to tell you yet. They think that Kanade using her Symphogear might be making Hibiki's condition worse." She looked over to Kanade. "And considering... that, I can't imagine the idiot's faring great right now."

Tsubasa's eyes widened as her head turned to face Chris. The surprised look lasted for barely a second–a sand grain falling from an hourglass would take longer to hit the bottom of the object than the amount of time Tsubasa held that expression–and was quickly replaced by one of self-doubt. Tsubasa shook her head. "I shouldn't have let my anger get the better of me. I'm sorry."

"Damn right you should be sorry. You rushed off without thinking and ignored HQ's call! That's not like you!" Chris placed her hand on her forehead in annoyance, grumbling some nonsense that could barely be called intelligible before she frowned. "Regardless. Let's just deal with this however we can. We're wasting time."

Tsubasa nodded. "That beast's hide is extraordinarily tough; even Kanade's spear seems barely able to pierce its body. I doubt Ame no Habakiri would be able to cut it."

"Then just leave it to me. You get orange away from it." Chris flashed a cocky smile as she extended gatling guns from the jewels on her back. Seeing the confidence in her ally's eyes, Tsubasa couldn't help but smile as she climbed to her feet.

Kanade sliced the air with her spear, the air being cleaved in two just millimetres from Nephilim's body. The beast bowed its head to avoid the Symphogear's attack and roared as it swung its body up to tackle Kanade; though the girl bounced away just in time.

With some distance between the two monsters now, Tsubasa once again jumped in the midst of the battle. "My apologies, Kanade." The former-idol in blue spun upside-down, kicking with the blades on her legs as she spun like a tornado towards her friend. Kanade's eyes flashed acknowledgement as the girl trapped within the darkness of her body managed to wrench control from within for just a moment–a single moment that was just long enough for Tsubasa to come in contact with the monster that overtook her.

As Tsubasa's body collided with her partner, the monster that was formerly Kanade flew through the air. She did not fumble, however, as even while airborne Kanade managed to regain balance and land on her feet like she was a deranged cat. "Good enough." Chris noted as Tsubasa ran away from Nephilim, who thus turned its attention towards the newest, and closest, threat: Ichaival.

A second later, the sky was torn apart as Chris ripped apart reality with a hell-storm of bullets, following right afterwards with as many missiles as she could summon with her songs. Nephilim, still being fairly small despite having absorbed strength from the severed arm of Hibiki Tachibana, should have been fast enough to dodge the lead snowstorm that approached it and yet it didn't–it took the brunt of the attack head-on without flinching.

Though Tsubasa wanted to make sure Chris's attack was successful, Kanade was not going to let her: the black monster with a giant spear lunged at her with reckless abandon, and Tsubasa struggled to parry the attack with her own Armed Gear as Kanade's feral face snarled at her own. "Kanade, snap out of it!" Tsubasa screamed, enlarging her sword in a desperate attempt to gain the advantage over her friend's strength.

"What the hell?" Tsubasa heard Chris yell from behind her, followed by a quick warning: "Look out!" But this was impossible for the blue idol as she was forced to push her blade down upon the spear of Gungnir that desired to dissect her. It was when Kanade retreated that Tsubasa realized that Chris's attack was a failure, as she then immediately found herself flying through the air.

. . .

Dr. Ver slammed Solomon's Cane on the ground. He had managed to restore some power to Sector Two's former base, but most of their equipment had been damaged so he could not get anything from the servers about the location of the relic vault somewhere below him. He scowled as he reached yet another dead end in the labyrinth of tunnels that had collapsed when Kadingir broke through the earth above.

"Noise only target human beings, but they transform those they come in contact with into carbon dust." He looked to Solomon's Cane, a plan beginning to form in his mind. "If this phenomenon will occur should Noise come in contact with any organic substance, then theoretically you could use them as excavation tools." Up to ten percent of dirt is made up of organic matter. Ninety percent of the soil would remain and carbon dust would replace the remaining ten percent, however, so this plan was doomed from the start; a fact that caused Dr. Ver to, upon realization, kick the wall in anger as a vein bulged from his forehead.

Just then, he felt the earth above his head quiver as the world seemed to explode outside. Dr. Ver was several metres underground, so the impact on the surface must have been intense if he was able to sense its shock from so low. He cursed, spinning on his heel. "That damned brat. She said she could handle guard duty."

As Ver was about to leave, something caught his eye. A hole–a very small one, barely the size of a 10 yen coin–had been carved into the wall as a new piece of debris had been dislodged from the ceiling by the new quakes. He cracked a wicked smile as he slammed his foot into this space upon the realization of what he had found.

It took a few kicks, but eventually Dr. Ver managed to break the hole open further. He found within the small crevice behind the wall a small box, an image of two snakes wrapped around a sceptre marked burned into the wooden face he looked down at. Dr. Ver recognized the symbol–most people would–but his eyes lit up further when he pulled the box open and found its contents in pristine condition.

"With this, my trump cards will be complete." He laughed as madness gripped his soul. "With this, I shall be the hero who purges calamity from this earth!"

It took several minutes afterwards for the doctor to reach Maria and Shirabe, who had both returned to the main room, where computers and glass now sat in incomplete states. They stared at the base of Kadingir through a hole in the wall, and barely even acknowledged Ver's approach until he shouted at them. "Finé, let us begin the activation of Kadingir's secondary functions." Ver addressed Shirabe now. "You should know your role in this."

Shirabe nodded solemnly. "Of course." This was her quick response as she clutched the pendant around her neck.

*Various Shul Shagana tron*

The song caused pain to flare up in her head, yet she pushed through it as she let the white light of the Symphogear wash over her. Shirabe and Kirika both required LiNKER to use their Symphogears to their full potential, and it had been some time since she had taken some. Still, Dr. Ver had enhanced their formula so that they would require smaller doses, and even then Shirabe had taken more than she should have before exiting the now-hidden aircraft. The pain she felt was a sign not that the LiNKER's effect was running low, but that it was only beginning to wear off; her phonic gain was likely still high enough for her to be of adequate use.

"I'm sorry about this." Maria sighed with a bowed head. They had no other option; if they wanted to achieve their goals, they needed Shirabe–or Kirika, though the latter was on the surface at the moment–to sing their Superb Song and resonate with the relics with which Kadingir was built.

Shirabe did not respond to Maria's words, nor did she pay her nor the doctor any mind as they stepped back. The girl with the bobbing black twintails and eyes the colour of pomegranate seeds stepped towards the giant wall that was Kadingir's exterior and placed her hand upon it. With a sharp inhale, she felt the tingle of pain pulse through her skull again, and Shirabe began singing.

*Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal

Emustolronzen Finé el balal zizzl

Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal

Emustolronzen Finé el zizzl*

As the final word exited her mouth, Shirabe felt her body explode. Blood rushed up from her heart, and she vomited out the red liquid like a geyser would pump out water. She felt her eyes watering, though she was sure that they were dripping blood, not tears. Her entire soul was being torn asunder by the Superb Song, and it was simply too much for her. She lost consciousness just as Maria's arms encircled her.

. . .

Outside, Chris cursed as she tried to fire upon Nephilim, who continued rushing around the field at a high speed. It bounced off the ground with its eyes set on the girl carrying crossbows, but Tsubasa leapt in front of the beast to protect her friend, using Ame no Habakiri's blade to block its attack at the last second. At the same time, the monstrous Kanade, still lost to the shadows that consumed her form, seemed somewhat aware that her fellow Symphogear wielders shared her goal of defeating Nephilim and tackled the beast from the side, sending it rolling away from the two other girls.

"This is absurd! What is that thing?" Chris asked as she lowered her firearms. She refused to fire at the beast as it struggled under Kanade's might in fear of accidentally hitting the latter.

"Is it possibly a relic?" Tsubasa wondered aloud.

"That thing? A relic?" She screamed. "Are you insane?"

"Think about it. This creature is clearly not Noise, yet it resonates with our Symphogears in the same way. Our songs can connect with certain relics, so it would stand to reason that this thing must either be a relic or the result of one."

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Relics aren't usually alive, you know!"

"There are still many things about these treasures that we don't know, Yukine. The vault Sector Two used to have had many relics that we never managed to activate. Take Gjallarhorn for example–"

"Now's not the time for this." Chris shook her head. Kanade and Nephilim were of equal strength, and spiralled across the ground as they used their power to push each other around. The two were locked in an eternal draw. "We need to do something about these monsters before something else happens."

As if Chris's line was the cue for it to happen, Kadingir suddenly exploded in light. It was not the same light as when it had been active all those months ago, no; instead it lit up in a red glow, one that Nephilim suddenly shared. The beast looked at the structure and threw Kanade off itself as it suddenly lost interest in their scuffle.

"Or maybe that something else could be useful." Chris said in bewilderment at the scene that had just played out. "Now we just have to deal with orange... and Kadingir, again, I guess."

The red Kadingir was like a siren that blared through the clearing, engulfing the world around it in a fiery glow. Slowly, this red glow began to soften and then turn to a sparkling silver.

"Girls!" Chris and Tsubasa turned in surprise as a new figure approached them–Genjuro Kazanari. "This is not looking good."

"What are you doing out of HQ, old man? Don't you know what you're doing?" Chris screamed as the lion-like beast of a man approached them with a scowl.

"Yes. What I'm here to do is deal with Kanade. I want you two to figure out what activated Kadingir. Get down into the old base, pronto."

"Wait what do you mean you're going to deal with Kanade? She's..." Chris was flustered, waving her arms about in shock at the nonchalant way Genjuro explained that he would handle the situation, but Tsubasa smiled.

"I'm sorry, unc–boss." Tsubasa bowed her head in apology before turning to Chris. She was about to continue before a light shot out of Kadingir's barrel–a white light so beautiful that even the uncontrollable Kanade was lulled into a peaceful state by its light.

 . . .

Maria had been the one to activate Kadingir after it resonated with Shirabe's song. With the small, bleeding girl cradled in her arms like a cat–Shul Shagana having deactivated itself–Maria sang a song so calming that even the unconscious Shirabe cracked a smile.

*Ringo wa ukanda osora ni…

Ringo wa okkochita jibeta ni…

Hoshi ga umarete uta ga umarete

Ruru ameru wa waratta tokoshie to

Hoshi ga kisu shite uta ga nemutte

Kaeru toko wa doko deshō…?

Kaeru toko wa doko deshō…?

Ringo wa okkochita jibeta ni…

Ringo wa ukanda osora ni…*

In front of her, she had her eyes locked onthe red jewel that was her sister's Symphogear–Airgetlám. Maria had never once activated the Symphogear herself, and yet it still resonated with her whenever she had sung this song. Even now, as Airgetlám sat pressed into a diamond-shaped hole in Kadingir's impenetrable shell, the small device glowed a heavenly white that soon encapsulated the cannon's entire shell.

"Excellent, just as planned." Maria heard Nastassja's voice in her ear as she stared at the glowing beast in front of her. "Just as Finé had said it would–Kadingir is now resonating with all presence of the Custodians left on Earth."

The Custodians–the ancient extra-dimensional race of beings that created humanity. They had been the gods to the precursors of civilizations both modern and ancient–the peaceful land that was home to the Lulu Amel. And yet these same 'gods' that had been worshipped were the ones that placed the Curse of Babel upon humanity's heart, forcing them into a catastrophic cycle of war as they lost the ability to truly understand one another. Maria unconsciously scowled at the mention of their name in her ear, but calm soon replaced it as she stared into the glow that radiated in front of her.

"Maria, that's good. We've pinpointed the location of Frontier." Nastassja reported, giving Maria the okay to remove Airgetlám. She carefully did so, not wanting to drop Shirabe, and turned to the doctor who should have been behind her, only to see his back as he exited the room. "Report back. We're leaving."

. . .

At Sector Two's headquarters, Aoi Tomosato clutched her head. With Ryoko no longer with them and Genjuro MIA, command thus fell to the next most-qualified member of the team: her. But, just her luck, this meant she had to deal with any official calls that came through for them–and she stood staring now at the sight of Kadingir aglow on her screen. Fujitaka clicked away beside her.

"I've got a lock on the signal that Kadingir is resonating with." Fujitaka sighed. "Whatever this thing is... talking to, I guess? It's out in the middle of the ocean."

"I can't believe chief made the right call when he made this our new headquarters." She was dumbstruck. Genjuro watched a lot of action films, and the excitement he felt from them was what compelled the chief of Sector Two to splurge–with his own money–for the unconventional headquarters she now stood in.

Sector Two's second base of operations was not a building, as had Hibiki Tachibana been led to believe. No, it was a high-tech submersible akin to a strange cross between a WW2 aircraft carrier and a submarine–Tomosato was amazed that it could float, let alone move through the water.

"Guess we should have believed him when he said he had a 'gut feeling' that we would need it." Fujitaka shook his head. When Genjuro had revealed to the team that their new headquarters was a submarine, both Tomosato and Fujitaka had been appalled and berated him for the decision; Chris Yukine joined in, as well, as she believed him to be just as much an idiot as he appeared to be. And yet now their boss's purchase seemed to be the one thing allowing them to keep up with F.I.S. and their still-unknown plans.

With gentle, yet quick, taps, Tomosato radioed Chris. "Yukine, are you there?" She asked. When she got a curt reply, Tomosato continued. "Kadingir's resonating with an unidentified object in the ocean. We're going to need you all to subdue Kanade and return to base ASAP."

"Oh yeah, about that." Chris sounded a bit dumbstruck herself as she spoke. "Genjuro managed to do that all himself."

Chris had not believed her eyes–the 'battle' between Genjuro and the animalistic beast that used to be Kanade was over before it had even begun. The giant man in the red button-up shirt suddenly disappeared from his spot next to Tsubasa and Chris and, in the next moment, was colliding fists with Kanade. The two had exchanged blows with movements faster than Chris's eyes could even track. With one successful blow, Genjuro completely launched the darkness off Kanade's body, and the idol collapsed under the stress. Chris shook her head just recalling the chain of events, and a thought escaped her lips. "Is that numbskull even human?"

"Probably not." Was the resounding answer Chris got from all directions–both Tomosato and Fujitaka on the other end of her headset and Tsubasa from her side. Chris could not believe her eyes. He was incredibly powerful, far stronger than any other normal human (read: non-Symphogear wielder) that Chris had ever seen; and she had lived with a priestess that could generate alchemical shields, infect others with her consciousness, and resurrect herself through her descendants.

Now, Genjuro stood with Kanade in his hands. She had fallen unconscious, her orange hair dirtied in such a way that made it look more like the smouldering embers trying to stay alive on burnt logs. He smiled as he looked to Tsubasa and the dumbstruck Chris. "Alright, let's get a move on."

"Hold on." Chris remembered. In the distance, she saw the small, shivering frame of Kirika Akatsuki hugging herself on the ground–Tsubasa nor Genjuro seemed to notice it, and only recognized the figure as Chris deactivated Ichaival and began to run over to her.

"Uhh... geez, I'm not good at this kind of stuff." Chris stuttered with a blush as she approached Kirika. The girl was sobbing and her red eyes looked up to Chris as she began to talk. Inside those reddened eyes, she saw a mix of emotions–confusion, sadness, anger... a stew of feelings that Chris was very familiar with. She bent over and reached out her hand.

"Listen, I know we're supposed to be enemies and all but... you said you're Finé, right?" Kirika was unsure how to respond to that, and both shook her head and nodded simultaneously. "I'm going to assume that's a yes. Finé saved me once, so I feel as though I have to do my part and give back to her by doing the same."

"But I don't want to become Finé..." Kirika finally spoke up, albeit only with a sad moan. Chris smiled as she realized that Kirika was just like she had once been; though Chris had not had the same help back then as she was offering now.

"Come with us. We've got people who can make sure you don't."

Chris went to grab Kirika's hand forcefully, but Finé's pink wall of Asgard blocked her. She clicked her tongue as her knuckles bounced against the alchemical barrier, but it was weak; like a frail pane of glass, Asgard shattered under her touch and Kirika shuddered as it did so. "Alright. I, personally, will make sure that witch doesn't corrupt you. She's already stolen away the friend of this idiot I know, and I'll be sure to protect you so that those close to you don't have to suffer in the same way."

Kirika let go of her own body and laid limp on the ground. "I... I don't want to become Finé, but I don't want Maria or Shirabe to either."

Chris patted the girl's muddy hair, and this time Asgard did not appear. "You're a good kid." Making sure Asgard wouldn't appear again, Chris bent over fully and scooped Kirika off the ground. The lost little puppy in her arms shivered a bit, but Chris couldn't help but feel a strange warmth in her heart.

"Was this how he felt when he reached out to me?" She wondered aloud, and slowly began walking back towards the two members of the Kazanari family with the sound of Kirika's tears finally dissipating into snores.

#### G Chapter 8

*Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.*

The sound had ingrained itself within Maria's mind, yet she had only been sitting in the room for ten minutes. The grey walls of their small infirmary rarely saw company–and when it did, the only one whose eyes laid upon them tended to be Nastassja and Ver–but now they housed far more colourful characters.

Maria's eyes were glued to Shirabe, who was almost deathly still–if not for the shallow rise and fall of her chest, most people would have believed her to be a corpse. The oxygen mask on her face and the bandages that wrapped most of Shirabe's body made her look more like a medical diorama than a living being, a thought that caused Maria's chest to tighten as she clutched her friend's hand.

Kirika was missing, presumably captured by their enemies; Ver had disappeared into the depths of the ship to engage in his own work, though Maria had no idea what that doctor was planning; and Nastassja was piloting the ship–which was currently cloaked using the heretical technology they reverse-engineered from the Shénshòujìng relic. For the first time since she had placed Shirabe down on the bed and tried to aid her in recovering from the blowback of the Superb Song, Maria glanced to the other side of the room–at Nephilim. Dr. Ver suggested that Nephilim had resonated with Shirabe's Superb Song, and the beast has since refused to leave her side. It sat on the ground next to Shirabe's bed, up at attention like a dog waiting for its master as it guarded its post.

"We declared war on the world in order to unite the world against us. But we can't even fight a group of girls from Japan on equal footing." Despair gripped Maria's heart as she whispered to herself, and the idol sensed Nephilim turn to her as the words escaped past her lips. "I know we're supposed to be doing the right thing, but it just feels like we're villains running around with no plan."

Extremely weakly, Maria felt a light pressure around her hand and looked down at Shirabe. The girl's lips moved slightly but no words fell out–even if she had made any noise, Maria knew they would be drowned out by the infernal beeping that repeated every few seconds. Maria felt herself tear up as she clutched Shirabe's hand tighter. "I'm so, so sorry."

. . .

Dr. Ver laughed maniacally as he took a small blowtorch to a small silver device on his desk. When he had first agreed to work with Nastassja, he had several stipulations in exchange for both his knowledge of relics and medical expertise. In addition to placing collars around the two girls to ensure they do not betray the group, Ver required Nastassja hand over a copy of all data she had stolen from the official F.I.S. and allow him to continue his precious research.

The other stipulations really were more an attempt to hold power over the group–he truly did not care to use the explosives placed in the collars Shirabe and Kirika wore, nor was the research data particularly useful to him. But his research, his beloved research, was what he cared about most.

He dreamed of being a hero, but he needed songs to complete it. The songs generated by the Symphogears had proven strong enough to awaken Nephilim–Dr. Ver's expectations had been completely shattered by that act alone. For their songs to be strong enough to successfully resonate with Kadingir, to locate the tools he required to be humanity's saviour–they were sure to hold the strength to unlock that which bound his experiments.

The mere thought of his project succeeding excited Dr. Ver beyond all the borders of his mind. He had proven capable of recreating the theory that Finé had put forth and created several Symphogears. But this was the child's play for Ver–he wanted to surpass Finé, the priestess who embodied the origin of humanity in the modern age, not just match her.

With trembling hands, Ver put down the blowtorch. The small silver device seemed to glow as he held it up in the dim light of the workshop he had cut off from the rest of the airship. It was a replica–a near-perfect copy of the relic he had found hidden away in Sector Two's old headquarters. He knew not how it ended up locked away behind a wall (he assumed such was the work of the cursed woman who once worked there) but he thanked the strings of fate for guiding him to it. Ver smiled at the small silver object, but his eyes focused more on what sat past him.

"I truly must be the chosen one." He giggled, remembering that his work had only managed to get to this point through pure chance. Luck was not an aspect of science, and as a doctor he should not have believed in it, but he knew some divine manipulation had allowed all of the pieces to fall into place perfectly.

But he now had two of these small devices. Though one was the original–a device created by the Lulu Amel and only existing in the modern era through myths and legends–Ver believed the replica he had created lacked any flaws. It was truly perfect. There was but one major problem, one that he was about to rectify.

"Maria Cadenzavna Eve." Ver muttered, drawing the famous idol's visage in his mind. "While you may not be the Finé I long to surpass, you may still be of some use to me."

He placed the two identical objects down on the desk in front of him and turned off the light that hung above them. Draped in the cloak of darkness, none could see the look in his eyes that would have burned even the devil's heart. The man placed his hand on the handle to the door with a touch hotter than the Earth's very core.

Pushing down on the small piece of metal, he slicked his wicked white hair back into a neat push and readjusted his glasses.

. . .

Three girls now laid in the infirmary: Kirika Akatsuki slept on the bed, her body twitching at random intervals as unconscious emotions surfaced; Kanade Amou was unconscious with her eyepatch removed, blood caked to her cheeks as she slept surprising peacefully; and Hibiki Tachibana rested now silent and still, though orange crystals still peppered her skin. Chris Yukine and Tsubasa Kazanari looked at the three girls from afar as they sat, otherwise alone, in the pure white medical lab.

"You look exhausted." Chris noted as she looked at Tsubasa's face. 'Exhausted' was an understatement; Tsubasa's ponytail had–at some point–come undone and black rings draped her reddened eyes. Her skin was somewhat pale as Tsubasa's body shook slightly. "You need to get some rest."

"You're one to talk." Tsubasa chuckled. As she looked at Chris she believed that she was looking into a mirror. Chris's hair was similarly undone, and her face sick from fatigue. The two girls looked like zombies and, despite the circumstances, both smiled. They were so tired, their bodies and minds felt disconnected, and they couldn't control their emotions. They should have been angry or sad or worried–they had hundreds of reasons why–but both just sighed; despite the chaos and the several girls in pain only a short distance away, this was a very brief moment of respite.

Chris leaned her head on Tsubasa's shoulder. "I am so tired." She muttered, but Tsubasa did not respond. When Chris looked up at her friend, she found that Tsubasa was silently snoring as she finally succame to the hands of the Sandman that groped for her mind. Chris chuckled to herself and moments later she too joined the others within the abyss of sleep.

. . .

Sector Two's submarine headquarters cut through the water like a knife through warm butter. They could not find any trace of F.I.S. as they made their way towards the area that Kadingir had pin-pointed. Tomosato, Fujitaka, and a grumbling Genjuro–who had just been (begrudgingly) lectured by the National Security Specialist, and his own brother, through a video call about his and Kanade's actions–all stood looking at the screen that displayed the world around them. Their sensors picked up absolutely nothing; they had no idea what they were racing towards.

And they had no idea that F.I.S. hovered in the sky not too far away from them. Nastassja knew what their destination was, but she had no idea whether their plan could be successful. They were hoping that the Custodian's work could still be activated; it had been thousands of years, so no one truly knew if age had eroded its functions. She coughed as she stared at the horizon and caught a dash of blood that flew from her mouth.

Six years ago, Serena Cadenzavna Eve had been killed during the first attempt to activate Nephilim. They had been successful in doing so and it flew into a rampage; Serena sacrificed herself in order to put it back into its slumber. Many scientists had been killed in the event, and Nastassja has since suffered as a result of the injuries she sustained back then. Internal bleeding, one eye had to have been removed from her head during surgery, and so much shrapnel embedded within her that she could still feel the tickle of these shards in her muscles.

Nastassja knew she was going to die soon. Her last act on Earth would be to free her successors from the shackles of the Curse of Balal: this was what she desired more than anything. Her eyes looked to the sky in the horizon as she thought of the faces of the remaining girls whose lives she had helped ruin. F.I.S. had done so much harm in the name of good and Nastassja had regrets; her one dream was a selfless one, for the sake of Shirabe Tsukuyomi and Maria Cadenzavna Eve.

As for Kirika Akatsuki, Nastassja had to make good on her promise–as much as she did not want to. With a shaking hand, Nastassja Sergeyevna Tolstaya pressed a small button on the dashboard in front of her as she said a silent prayer for the final life she was about to steal away–and the only one which had no virtuous backing for it.

#### G Chapter 9

Kirika shifted through the images that appeared to her as she slept–some were familiar, filled with the faces of Shirabe and Maria, while others featured locations and people she had never before laid eyes upon. Kirika gazed at this collage of fantasies that spread forever throughout the dark void that was her unconscious mind as she flew past them.

Lands that seemed like fantasies to Kirika and modern cities she had never before visited were among the many locales she passed through as she flew towards her unknown goal. She recognized a giant statue of Buddha among these pictures–the Shōwa Daibutsu–and briefly stopped to admire its marvel. It was smaller than Kadingir, but she saw the cannon as nothing more than a weapon; the Shōwa Daibutsu was a work of art that stole her breath away, even if she had never seen it before in person.

But after a short pause, she continued on her trek. Kirika flew away from the Buddha and towards a memory–this one distinctly her own. The young Symphogear wielder saw a sterile white room with a gaggle of children–perhaps twenty or so at this point–all loitering about, but none seemed happy. Among the crowd were white-wrapped scientists who followed a golden woman like they were her lost chicks, and all eyes in the room–and the eyes of both Kirikas, past and present–were glued to her. The shining yellow shell of hair that wrapped her body, the porcelain skin, and the expensive black attire she wore–all of this contrasted the chrome room she strolled through in a way that told everyone that she was the focal point. Indeed she was, as she was a woman every single person, including the kids, were highly aware of.

Her name was Finé.

"I do remember you from back then." A voice resounded next to the Kirika of the present, but it did not shock her; she had seen the figure materialize next to her. "I found you to be quite an interesting young child–it was quite fortunate for fate to grant me this chance to learn more about you."

Floating beside Kirika was the ghostly figure of the same woman she watched in her memory. The spectral figure to her right wore a revealing white dress that arched up into a hood that covered her forehead, with golden jewellery that sparkled across her neck; this image, Kirika knew, was far more befitting the 'eternal priestess' role she held than that of the Hollywood actresses she appeared to be mimicking in her memory. Kirika, however, only spared the ghost an impatient glance before returning her gaze to the memory, but spoke to her nonetheless. "Do you wish to take over my soul, too?"

The image of Finé smiled. "No. Before I lost... no, treating her like an object is disrespectful. The girl who was Miku Kohinata, she taught me a great many things–both through the words she spoke to me and the memories I saw." Both the present-day Kirika and Finé watched the priestess in the memory gently bend down and say something to a young girl, who silently nodded in response. "I see now that my approach may not have been as virtuous as I believed them to be."

"I thought your last vessel was some doctor named Sakurai." Kirika raised her eyebrow. "Or have you gone mad after all of these years?"

The Finé of the past may have taken it as an insult, but her present day counterpart let out a small chuckle at the thought. "Kohinata, I tried to force my self upon her, yet her will was too strong, and she managed to match my strength." The spectre floated in front of Kirika, blocking her view of the memory that was screened before her. "I believe you, too, may have the necessary mental fortitude to block me from completely usurping your conscious, not that I particularly care to."

"So you're letting me remain... me?" Kirika was confused. The scientists–and Finé herself–had explained to all of the Receptor Children that carrying the priestess's soul was an honour, and they would be mad to not want to give up their beings for her; and most of the Receptor Children probably would have believed that. Kirika, too, may have once lacked any objections to having Finé push her consciousness to the side, but now she was different–now she had a family. She cherished that family more than she cherished herself, and yet Kirika's place in that family was one she did not want to give up.

Hearing that Finé planned to allow Kirika to remain herself–even if the idea was one with no substantial basis–caused her eyes to regain the light they had lost. The young girl stared into the eyes of the everlasting woman who now shared her body and mind, and watched as she nodded. Finé placed her hand upon Kirika's chest. "I wish to aid you, Kirika Akatsuki. I shall grant you the power of Asgard and access to my wisdom, as thanks for allowing me to remain in your soul. Until your body should crumble to ash, the two of us will be as one."

The idea of having a second person living within her scared Kirika, but the thought of her body being usurped by this invader scared her more. She smiled as she thought about the idea Finé had just put forth: not only would Kirika Akatsuki remain Kirika Akatsuki, but Finé would essentially gift her all that she had. It was a complete win for her–but she knew it couldn't be as good as it seemed.

"You thought correct." Finé's voice was sad as she slid a short distance away from Kirika, who recoiled as the priestess seemed to read her mind. "As I said, I do not intend to take over your body at this time. Granting you my knowledge and memories, however, may prove to be as harmful to your mental state as they would be useful to you in the future. There are some things I've seen that no human should ever have to see."

"So you're basically placing your own curse onto me." Kirika narrowed her eyes before hissing one more word: "Death."

"It is a necessary burden to carry should you desire the power of Asgard. I have been able to protect you from within thus far but, as our souls are currently separate, I lack the strength to continue doing so for long."

Kirika could not disregard the power of Asgard. She had seen it protect her now several times; the barrier seemed completely impenetrable–with it, no one would ever be able to call Kirika useless again. But to continue making use of it, she needed to put a strain on her mind that no human should ever bear. The girl with the short hair frowned just as Finé's calm expression changed.

"Something is wrong." Finé sensed, and every hair on the mental image of Kirika's body stood on end–she felt it too. Finé closed her eyes for just a moment, and both figures sensed something horrible about to happen; Kirika did not know how this premonition was coming to her, but it was likely related to the woman in front of her.

Finé had momentarily offered Kirika a choice–gain the power of Asgard or not–but now that choice had been made for the two of them. The eternal priestess apologized as she thrust her hand into Kirika's chest–her fingers literally diving through the girl's skin like it was the glistening surface of a calm lake. As Finé's hand reached around Kirika's heart, a sharp pain erupted through her entire body as the entirety of human history forced its way into her soul. She cried out silently as her main began to collapse under the weight of several thousand years of lives.

"Kirika Akatsuki, I promise that I will do everything in my power to keep your soul intact. Until your body fails from natural causes, you must believe in me."

Kirika awoke from a yelp that sliced through the room like a sword. It took her a few moments to gain her composure as the world spun around her. As if it were being crushed by a hydraulic press, her brain cried out in pain from the new weight that was foisted upon it, and Kirika winced as she slowly sat up.

Propping herself up with a kick of her feet, Kirika met the shocked and confused eyes of Chris Yukine. "So you really are my... Finé." Kirika did not understand Chris's words until she followed the line drawn by the white-haired girl's pupils.

What she saw was something she did not fully understand, at least not at first. Kirika seemed to wear Asgard like a necklace, but within the pink barrier floated chunks of steel shrapnel. It took several moments, but Kirika realized what had happened. "Dr. Ver activated it, death." She hissed through her teeth like a snake. "I'm going to kill him if he did anything to Shirabe."

"Keep it down." Moaned Kanade, who laid groggy on another bed. She flopped from her back onto her side. "I'm trying to sleep."

"You guys have been asleep for hours." A new voice chimed in–one that Kirika had not heard before. It belonged to a girl with dark blonde hair pressed in by a white headband. "They were worried that you weren't going to wake up in time."

"Not that we can talk." Kuriyo Ando said from beside her. "We slept for a long time, too."

"You have to see this!" Yumi Itaba shouted as she leapt up into the air. A giant smile was plastered on her face and her eyes were literally sparkling. Yumi's excitement was contagious–even Kanade rolled to face the girls in the entrance at her cry. "Even Hibiki managed to muster the strength for this!"

At the mention of Hibiki's name, Chris, Kanade, and Tsubasa all turned to look at the now-empty bed in the centre of the room. As they said, Hibiki was missing from it; belts that held her arms and legs down were strewn about the ground around the bed. "We must have been out." Tsubasa shook her head, the realization that they had fallen asleep at a crucial moment.

None of the girls even seemed to pay much attention to Kirika, beyond Chris's initial reaction anyway. The small girl watched as Yumi, Shiori, and Kuriyo led Kanade and Tsubasa out of the room, but Chris remained behind. She looked down, almost as if embarrassed by Kirika's curious gaze. "Hey." She said quietly. "I... We'll talk later."

As Chris ran out of the room after her friends, Kirika reached up to touch Asgard, which still encircled her neck, only to realize that she had been restrained. Her legs were free–she could walk around–but her Symphogear pendant was missing and her hands were encased in an iron block. "I suppose it'd make sense they would treat me as an enemy, death." Kirika sighed.

Flopping her legs over the side of the bed, Kirika pushed off the platform. She did not expect a chill to rise up her legs as they brushed the frame, and the involuntary shudder her body made caused her to nearly fall back into the bed. Kirika did not have the mental fortitude to try again, so she just crashed her back down onto the soft surface and stared at the ceiling glowing with lights. "Chris Yukine." Kirika recalled the name of the girl who had just run out of the room in a hurry. She had learned it from the records they managed to acquire from F.I.S.–who in turn had stolen from Sector Two–but now the name held a different weight.

Kirika barely knew Chris Yukine. The two had technically never had a conversation–though Chris had spoken to her–and yet Kirika felt a strange kinship with her. She knew why, of course: Finé. The memories the priestess bestowed upon her showed Kirika all of the pain that she had put Chris through. Physical, mental, and sexual tortures–Chris Yukine had seen it all, and yet she stood strong as one of the members of Sector Two. "And I can't even get out of bed." Kirika said to herself, realizing just how pathetic she could be.

"No." Kirika blinked. She threw away the pathetic coat that she had been wearing up until now as Finé's memories flooded into her mind. Hundreds, thousands of years worth of failures compounded upon Kirika's heart, and yet the young girl recalled the way Finé had been acting in her mind–she was happy. Finé had found strength through her missteps. Her greatest failures–namely trying to take command of Miku Kohinata and trying to destroy the moon–both caused her heart to change.

The Finé that Kirika had witnessed in her memory wore a fake smile akin to that which Kirika was intimately familiar with, but the priestess's eyes were cold. She cared for the concept of humanity rather than other humans; everywhere her eyes turned, Finé always looked downwards.

And yet, the new Finé seemed different. Kirika had seen the priestess flutter directly in front of her and met the woman's eyes. No longer did she seem to view others as tools in her goal of reuniting with god–Finé wanted to undo the Curse of Balal that bound everyone by working with them as equals.

With newfound determination, Kirika threw herself off of the bed and onto her feet. From the memories she was gifted, Kirika now had knowledge that would help others. And, more importantly, a grudge she needed to settle for the sake of someone she had never–and will never–meet.

Kirika Akatsuki, with one emerald green eye and one eye that sparkled like an ancient golden treasure, finally marched towards the exit that led into the grey hallway beyond.

Chris held her face as she leaned against the wall right outside of the room. Her brain had overloaded; she had so many things she wanted to say to Finé but could not find the words to do so. Panic gripped her heart as she heard footsteps from within the room echoing towards her as she fumbled for what to say to the girl who would show herself in seconds.

But she didn't come. Instead, Chris heard the girl speak to herself. "Oh right, I need to do something about this." Kirika's voice seemed confused, almost as though she were a doctor performing an experiment, the results of which would be a surprise to everyone. A moment later Chris understood why as the sounds of metal colliding on metal–that is, the shrapnel of the detonated collar she wore colliding with the cold ground beneath Kirika's feet–reverberated into the hallway. "That's better, death."

Taking that as her cue to reveal herself, an anxious leapt out into the entryway, causing Kirika to flail backwards in shock and confusion at the girl's sudden appearance. But Chris paid her reaction no mind, and instead just pointed at Kirika's heart. "If you are Finé, then I have some words to say to–"

The words caught in Chris's throat as she watched Kirika do something she would have never expected Finé to do: she bowed at the waist, at almost a perfect ninety-degree angle. "Yukine! On behalf of Finé, I want to apologize to you."

Chris was frozen at the sight, but Kirika continued as she turned her gaze up while retaining her bent pose. "Finé granted me her memories, death." Straightening her back, Kirika looked at her hands. "It feels like I did everything that she did, and it makes me sick to think that a part of me put you through worse than what I suffered through."

Still, Chris didn't speak. The most shocking part of this was not the apology coming out of Kirika's–Finé's–mouth but the tears that leaked from the girl's heterochromatic eyes as she profusely apologized. Kirika turned her head at Chris's stone gaze and wiped away her tears. "It's terrible. I can feel all of the joy that Finé felt while manipulating your heart. I hope you can forgive me, death!"

Chris clutched the palm of her hand tight. She had wanted answers from Finé, but this was not what she was expecting to happen. As Chris's own vision began to blur, with one hand she wiped her eyes and stuck her other out, ready for a handshake. "They said your name was Akatsuki, right? You don't need to apologize to me. But if you share Finé's feelings then... I'll forgive her."

Kirika slowly took Chris's hand with her own trembling fingers locked in handcuffs, and the two girls' embrace bounced up and down once before breaking apart. "That said." Chris started, still wiping fresh tears from her eyes just as Kirika was doing the same across from her. "I still want answers from Finé."

"I don't know how much I can be of help, but you can talk to me whenever you want." Kirika realized now what she had said–or rather, to whom she spoke.

She was in enemy territory. Shirabe and Maria were nowhere to be seen; she was surrounded only by strangers that only half of her were familiar with. Perhaps it was because Kirika had unconsciously begun to sort through Finé's memories that she did not find it weird to be among Sector Two, but now, thinking about it from the perspective of Kirika Akatsuki, she panicked. "Wait! I'm supposed to be fighting against you guys, death!"

Chris laughed. "You're only realizing that now? You might be as big an idiot as she is, after all."

"Well. I don't mind working with you, Yukine. As a way to atone for what Finé did..."

"Like I said, you don't have to worry about doing anything!" Chris patted Kirika on the shoulder as she spoke, and gave her new friend a little shove. "Come on, the others are going to need help from you. Both of you."

Kirika felt her consciousness be flooded for just a short moment as she closed her eyes. She spoke a few words in a voice both her own yet in a tone unfamiliar to herself; they were Finé's thoughts. "You've changed for the better, Yukine, and I couldn't be more proud."

Chris froze up at the comment for just a second and spun to look at Kirika's face with a mix of hope and fear twisting in her heart, but as the smaller girl opened her eyes the wielder of Ichaival saw not the calculating eyes of Finé but instead the confused–and slightly scared–ones of Kirika Akatsuki. "I... um." Kirika stuttered, not completely realizing what had just happened to her own body. She wanted to move past it, forget it ever happened, and leapt forwards a few steps. "Let's go, death!"

. . .

Maria stood behind Nastassja in the bridge of their airship, and Dr. Ver stood close beside her. The three looked out over the sea, at the marvellous structure that Nastassja had managed to lift from beneath the sea with the Shénshòujìng relic that sat in the dashboard of the craft. "So, that is Frontier."

In Japanese mythology, Torinoiwakusufune no Kami–or Ame no Torifune–was the god of ship and transportation, but more prominently the name referred to a vessel that carried the gods across the universe. In reality, the legend about the flying barge was entirely true: it belonged to the vessel that carried the ancient Custodians to Earth. None would have ever imagined that this mythical relic actually resided on Earth, yet Finé knew otherwise. This was Frontier–a codename that the eternal priestess had used for the relic.

Frontier was technically a spacecraft from another dimension, yet you would not be looked down upon should you think otherwise. The alien device looked more like an island; in fact, with its hills of green and brown, it likely harmoniously mingled with the scenery of Earth in an ancient era. The most alien thing about Frontier–other than the fact that it floated above the blue surface beneath it–was the giant stone structure that extended into the sky.

The Custodian's eye, as Maria had imagined it. It was almost an antenna of sorts, the artistic display that pierced the heavens like a spear. The antenna split in two at one point and rejoined at another to create a circle in which a small orb seemed to float despite being connected to the perimeter by two arms of its own. This majestic display was only overshadowed by the large, pointed appendages that surrounded it however, resembling what Maria could only describe as alien wings.

"It's as gaudy as I imagined it would be. No offence intended of course, Finé." Ver cracked his lips into a crescent as he scanned the area in front of them. "Now, it would seem as though we have some guests awaiting us. Shall we have them disposed of?"

They had been tracking Sector Two's movements ever since they left Japan. Unlike F.I.S., the Japanese government's envoys lacked the heretical technology to completely block their signals, and thus doing so was simple enough for Nastassja. With another cough, she turned in her chair and looked to the side to get a better view of the two standing behind her. "Unfortunately, with Tsukuyomi currently bedridden and Nephilim refusing to leave her side, we have no way of entering combat."

The lack of mention when it came to Kirika hurt Maria's heart. Of course, she knew why: she was dead. Nastassja had activated the explosive in her collar, just as the professor had promised Dr. Ver she would. Maria wanted to cry, to express any amount of sadness over another loss, but she couldn't; she was 'Finé' right now. She had to be uncaring and see the world through the eyes of the priestess that Maria had only spoken to on one occasion.

"I'll have you know that I have not been cooped up in my workshop for nothing." Dr. Ver's voice ripped Maria out of her thoughts and back into reality. "I have been working on something, just for such a situation. However, I will require something for the both of you, and some time to prepare, should you wish to make use of it."

"What are you planning, doctor?" Nastassja asked with a hoarse voice and a glare. She seemed to haveno idea of what Ver needed, just the same as Maria.

With a chuckle and a slight adjustment of his glasses, Ver ignored her question. "Give me... let's say less than twenty minutes; likely fifteen or so. Then you'll see."

"I see." With a sigh as she abandoned her search for answers, Nastassja turned back to the dashboard at the front of the craft and readjusted the position of their ship.

Maria watched the eye of Frontier rise to meet them as the ship lifted higher into the air. Still not knowing what was going on, this confusion only intensified as Nastassja spoke into the microphone that was built into the dashboard to allow the captain to communicate with the rest of the ship. "Tsukuyomi, I'm sorry, but we will need your assistance."

. . .

The command room of Sector Two's submarine was filled to capacity with Yumi Itaba, Shiori Terashima, Kuriyo Ando, Tsubasa Kazanari, Kanade Amou, Genjuro Kazanari, Chris Yukine, Kirika Akatsuki, Aoi Tomosato, Sakuya Fujitaka, and, leaning against the wall, Hibiki Tachibana. "Ame no Torifune." Tsubasa muttered as she recalled the legend of the god's ship.

"That thing's a relic!?" Chris shouted in surprise. When she and Kirika–their apparent prisoner–had entered the room, the two barely got a glance; yet this cry turned all eyes towards her. "First we have some weird rock dog thing and now an island? What even are relics!?"

Kirika, who hid slightly behind Chris as to not garner unwanted attention, addressed her, regardless. "Even with Finé's memories, I don't think I can answer that question for you, death."

"I'm sorry, did you just–" Tsubasa turned her gaze to Kirika as what she had said echoed in her brain, but Chris stuck her arm out in front of the small girl. It felt ironic to Chris as she found herself protecting Kirika just as Finé had technically protected her before.

"We have other stuff to worry about first."

"Right. Akatsuki–er, Finé?" Genjuro scratched his head as he tried to figure out how to address the handcuffed girl still cowering behind Chris. It was only for a second that he paused before continuing his question. "What can you tell us about F.I.S. and their plans?"

Kirika tilted her head. "Kirika Akatsuki was not let in on any of F.I.S.'s goals. I was just used as a tool by them because I could make use of Igalima." She looked down, again realizing that her Symphogear had been stolen from her. "Even Finé's memories can not be entirely sure."

She did not know why she was so willing to share with her captors, but Kirika did not even hesitate to assist them. Was it Kirika's desire to prove her worth to others, or was it Finé's warm memories of her time as Ryoko Sakurai–Kirika did not know whose will was stronger in this instance, but spoke regardless. "Ver and Mom–Nastassja–worked with F.I.S. so they likely share Finé's goal of undoing the Curse of Balal. But with the way they're going about it, they might know something about the curse that Finé doesn't."

"So we're still in the dark, huh." Fujitaka sighed.

"But I do know one thing." For the first time since she entered the room, Kirika Akatsuki stepped out from behind Chris; but her eyes were dark. Gone was any trace of the light of life, and no emotion took over her face. In the darker room, everyone was sure that Kirika's eyes glowed like an intense golden fire as she spoke six simple words. "I'm going to kill Dr. Ver."

As the words left her mouth, Kirika looked around in confusion; even she could not believe what she had said as her wide eyes looked at the shocked expressions around her.

The only one who spoke up afterwards was Hibiki, who hobbled up next to her. The girl's face was worn out and pale, almost ironically monotonous as the orange crystals protruding from her skin reflected every bit of light in the room. A tired look filled her eyes, but beneath the clouds of fatigue laid an intense feeling that burned her soul. Hibiki reached for Kirika's collar with a shaking hand, and could barely grasp it tight as she spat angry words into her face. "I would want nothing more than to kill you for what you did to Miku." A similar fire as that which ignited in Kirika's eyes spewed from Hibiki's mouth, but it was only for a brief moment. The next, the girl let her fist fall away from Kirika's dark shirt as she hung her head limply. "But none of us ever get what we want."

Silence suffocated everyone else present. Hibiki's eyes registered only the girl in front of her, the one who had killed Miku; and to Kirika, only the girl she thought had died looked back. They simply stared at each other until one of the many computers made a noise.

"Report: we have located F.I.S.'s craft. They're... right above us?" Tomosato reported in confusion.

"Why would they reveal themselves now?" Genjuro asked the room–mainly Kirika, albeit indirectly.

"Now that they've activated that relic, perhaps they need to reveal themselves in order to use it as they want." Fujitaka speculated, but something popped up on his monitor immediately to ruin his idea. "Never mind–a new signal is approaching us. And fast!"

"Is it that rock dog again?" Chris asked.

"If it is, I'm going to take it down this time." Kanade punched her open palm.

"Not a chance." Genjuro shot it down immediately as Tsubasa began to recount the hypothesis she had heard third-hand from Chris Yukine–that Gungnir is resonating with Hibiki whenever Kanade uses it, and the reason why her body is slowly being destroyed. The others in the room all watched as Kanade's expression darkened with each word, and she simply exited the room as Tsubasa backed away. "Apologies, Kanade." The boss muttered before the door closed, and he saw Kanade pause for a second before continuing on her sombre march.

"We don't have time for this!" Tsubasa yelled, following after Kanade through the door; though she did not echo the path that Kanade took, instead taking a sharp turn and jumping up a ladder as she began to sing.

*Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron*

. . .

Shirabe stood now next to Maria on the roof of their aircraft, looking down on the submarine that pushed out of the water like a small stone. Nephilim was flailing its arms as it flew like a meteorite towards the submersible, a low growl echoing even over the sound of the vehicle's propulsion system. "How terrifying." Shirabe said in a complete deadpan.

Shirabe's gaze was distant, her face frozen in a strangely horrifying calm–but Maria didn't blame her. She had almost died–even now Shirabe was only on her feet thanks to Maria literally lending her a shoulder to lean on–and she had been told that one of the very few people in her life who actually cared for her had been killed by their so-called 'Mother.' Maria could feel the girl tremble lightly; she felt frail, like a centuries-old doll that could crumble apart at any moment, and the thought brought a tear to her eye.

Due to the power of Shirabe's Superb Song resonating with Nephilim, the beast now only responded to her commands; and seemingly did so even if she did not have Shul Shagana activated. As Shirabe had said earlier, the beast was terrifying in every sense of the word, and yet, whenever it stood next to the girl with black twintails, it now sat docile. Maria had seen the Nephilim's insatiable hunger and the chaos that erupted from it, so seeing it be completely obedient–and to a small girl of barely fifteen years old–truly did send a slight chill down her spine. "Truly terrifying." She echoed.

The Nephilim collided with the submarine. Though the two could not see the action from their perch, they knew that Nephilim had been countered. The beast bounced back into the air for a moment as a blue flash of light seemed to pass right through its body.

"Maria." Shirabe let herself fall limp as Maria's hold grew stronger. "I don't want to be a villain any more."

The former idol could not summon any words to respond with. Instead, she just brushed a stray strand of hair out of Shirabe's face as she looked up at her with scared eyes. The mental toll of declaring war on the world–and then not only going through with it by constantly doing battle against opponents with weapons straight out of legends, but also losing a beloved comrade along the way–would destroy anyone's mental state, let alone that of a child. Maria began to cry as she realized that face.

Shirabe was just a child.

Kirika had been just a child.

The two should have been going to school, singing karaoke, and studying with friends. Maria wanted normal lives for them–she wished she could turn back time to save Kirika and give them the chance to be your average fifteen year-olds. Yet, she also realized, if they had lived normal lives, the two would likely never have even met nor managed to develop such a close bond. It was a paradox; Maria wanted Shirabe and Kirika to be normal girls together, but if they had been normal then they couldn't be together.

The weight of the thoughts she had crushed Maria. "You're crying." Shirabe pointed out, now mimicking the older girl's action by brushing away a strand of hair that stuck to her tear-stained face. What Shirabe had not mentioned was that she, too, had begun to cry as well.

Even though a battle raged on below the two girls (that they should have been monitoring), Shirabe and Maria stood surrounded by peace as they let their calamitous emotions take over.

Below the two girls who lorded above the submarine, Tsubasa clenched her teeth in-between lyrics as she reflected the Nephilim's charge once more. She could not unleash the full potential of Ame no Habakiri if they continued to fight on the submarine carrying the rest of Sector Two so she was taking care to make sure neither she nor Nephilim damaged the hull. So far she had managed to prevent any damages beyond slight dents, but Tsubasa knew that this was likely not going to remain the case for too much longer. Unfortunately, the closest landmass was Frontier–which was floating high above the water.

*Dakishimete… kono tsumi wo…

Ryōte surinukete yuku puromisu

Onegai my star… dōka ima…

Tabidatsu tsubasa no kaze wo ah kanadete*

Tsubasa tried to look around her surroundings as she fought, but as she feared there was nowhere she could take the battle beyond Frontier. While singing, Tsubasa frowned.

"Head's up!" A voice cut through the air, attracting the attention of both Tsubasa and Nephilim. With a very quick glance, she saw Chris, Ichaival's missile launchers at the ready, in an odd crouch; as the launchers came out at a downwards angle, her crouch had to angled to account for this and yet not in such a way that she would lose balance. Tsubasa was afraid that Chris had not taken into account the fact that they held the safety of the people below her in mind, but the calculating look on her face told Tsubasa otherwise.

Just as the single missile ejected from Chris's missile launcher–Tsubasa had expected far more–the blue girl used Ame no Habakiri's enhanced mobility to bounce back a great distance. She did not expect this missile to harm Nephilim, just as the storm Chris had unleashed at Kadingir did nothing for it, so she wondered what Chris had in mind.

The missile collided with Nephilim but, to Tsubasa's surprise, it did do something: launch the monster with the small detonation. "What?" She stopped singing to question Chris's tactics, but the girl offered no explanation beyond a thumbs up and a smile.

"Let's take this battle up there." Chris nodded with her chin as she fired a missile from her back. Both girls fumbled their fingers as they gripped the missile tight as it began to fly up into the air towards Frontier's base.

But Nephilim's trajectory was off–it would not reach the same area they did. Tsubasa noticed this, but Chris offered a smile. "I've got it, don't worry."

The two girls were still beneath Nephilim, but gaining on its height quickly. As they came up from below the beast, Chris transformed the missile launchers into gatling guns and fired them at Nephilim, sending it spiralling through the air at a greater height than before. The two girls then watched as it arched right towards their goal.

"My weapons may not do much harm to that thing but it sure can knock it around." Chris explained with a shrug. Their missile reached the same height as Frontier's base just as Nephilim crashed into the ground in front of them. "Well, now that we're here, we can let loose."

"Problem is, even if we did, we likely won't hurt it." Tsubasa countered, enlarging her blade. "Does the genius Chris Yukine have any other ideas?"

"Genius, huh? Well we could always resort to That."

"Perhaps calling you a 'genius' was not the best idea." Tsubasa sighed as she kept her gaze on Nephilim. The beast slowly clambered to its feet but did not move; it was as if Nephilim was analysing its prey's strength for the first time.

"Do you have any other ideas?" Chris shouted at her ally as she kept her handheld crossbows trained on Nephilim. Even now the beast did not move, and the two Symphogear wielders stayed just as still as to not provoke it.

"We do have our medical team on standby." Genjuro reported to the two girls through their headsets. "Though I would prefer it if you thought of the Superb Song as the last resort that it is."

Chris clicked her tongue. "Alright, Plan B."

Tsubasa turned her head in surprise. "We have a Plan B?"

"Plan B: think of a new plan."

With a groan of disgust, the two girls continued their stand-off in silence.

. . .

Kirika walked up to Genjuro. "If you let me, I can help you." For the first time Genjuro had seen her awake, Kirika seemed completely sure of something–other than her desire to murder Dr. Ver–as her eyes looked up at him. She smiled mischievously. "Don't worry, I won't stab them in the back."

Genjuro brushed the back of his head as he ruminated on the idea. "You are technically our prisoner–you're aware of that, correct?"

Kirika nodded. "We–Shirabe, Maria, and I–did not want to do any of this. We were all forced to help them, death. All we want to do is help others, so they don't have to suffer like we did."

The surprisingly virtuous speech Kirika gave caused Genjuro's face to soften. He did not want to put another girl in harm's way, but he knew he had no choice yet again. Even if the chance for this girl to turn on Tsubasa and Chris was there, Genjuro was sure she would stay true to her word.

"Let her help."

Hibiki took Kirika's side, both in a metaphorically and physical sense. The weak girl could barely stand, and glared at Kirika in disgust as she stood next to her. "I saw Finé's power first hand. Even without her Symphogear, she'd be useful."

"You just want me to croak, don't you, death?" Kirika snapped at Hibiki.

"I'm not heartless." That was Hibiki's only response. She turned her head away from Kirika as she spoke; everyone in the room was sure that Hibiki had more to say, but she just left it at that.

"Is it just me," Kuriyo spoke up, reminding the three in the centre of the room that they were not alone. "Or is this new Bikki a little scary?"

"She's definitely gone full anime rival character." Yumi nodded with her arms crossed and a satisfied look on her face. Once she realized what she had said however, she open her eyes in confusion. "Wait, then who is the main character?"

"This isn't the time for this." Shiori sighed, but her words were overwritten by a hiss from Hibiki.

"Miku is. Miku will always be the main character of this story, even if I have to be her rival." Hibiki had a sad look on her face as she looked to her three classmates, and they knew it would be best to say nothing else on the subject.

"Once we get back, we'll need to get you some of Flower's famous okonomiyaki." Kuriyo said with a smile. "We'll have to bring Hina there too." Hina–a nickname stemming from Miku's last name, Kohinata–may have been dead, but she would always live on with Hibiki; Yumi, Kuriyo, and Shiori had accepted that long ago, and they never insinuated the opposite. To them Miku was just missing, but they believed that one day she would walk in through the door with the genuine smile that existed now only in Hibiki's memories.

Genjuro sighed at the scene. "You girls are all too carefree." Reaching into his pocket, the man with the red lion's mane pulled out two objects. First came a key, which he used to unlock the iron brick that had been bound to Kirika's hands (and now she could finally scratch her wrists, which had been itchy this whole time). The other item he held was the red Symphogear crystal of Igalima, the string tangled around his fingers. As he looked down at Kirika, who rubbed her pained hands together, he gently placed the pendant around her neck. "Don't die."

"I won't, death!" Kirika had a wide smile on her face and ran out of the room. The literal second her back foot left the room however, she spun around. "How, do I get out of here?"

With an awkward chuckle, Tomosato walked to the door and gave her quiet directions.

#### G Chapter 10

The air was a frenzy as Shirabe and Maria watched Tsubasa and Chris combat Nephilim from afar. The two Symphogear wielders were holding their ground as they battered at and fired upon the black creature that glowed with burning veins of pink and green, but the beast refused to flinch from their attacks. Every slice, every bullet–every attack simply bounced off of the beast's thick, stony hide.

Standing on the aircraft as it hovered in place, Shirabe and Maria wiped the tears from their eyes. Inhaling through her mouth deeply, Maria then let out a deep sigh as she tried to calm her rowdy heartbeat. Beside her, Shirabe had already managed to stifle her tears, though the red that encroached upon the sclera of her eyes was still painfully clear to Maria.

"I'm a little glad I don't have to fight Nephilim." Shirabe muttered, and Maria couldn't help but let out a dark chuckle. She realized that Shirabe had been trying to lighten the air around them a bit.

*Zeios Igalima raizen tron*

"Kirika?" Maria and Shirabe shouted together. They showed each other their shocked expressions just for a moment before they peered over the edge towards the sound from where they had heard their friend's voice come from: the submarine below them.

Like a bolt of green lightning, the two members of F.I.S. watched as a small girl just slightly larger than Shirabe flew out of the ship's hatch and high into the air. Kirika was facing away from the two girls, but the two recognized her from the green witch-like hat she wore, the sparkling yellow hair, and the giant green scythe she held high above her head. Just as they knew Kirika had a determined smile on her face, Maria and Shirabe's own faces sparkled with the new knowledge that their friend was alive.

But they were also shocked. Her appearance was drastically different from how the Igalima of their memories manifested. Gone was the jet-black jumpsuit and skirt, replaced with bright greens and whites. Kirika's witch-like hat was now sparkling like snow atop her head, from which two minty wings protruded. The most notable difference came in the form of two giant green bat wings that sprouted from her back, from which sparks of lime-coloured electricity jumped. She flew through the air, singing with such a strange calm that Maria and Shirabe could not believe that they were looking at their friend.

*Pīkan no sora ni shuwashuwa na funsui no shawā

Iēssu! Naui wanpi go go desu*

With a flip, Kirika begins her quick descent. Sensing her approach, Chris and Tsubasa dodge out of the way as Kirika's scythe begins change shape. Instead of one hooked claw, the scythe sprouts new blades, which split out into a claw-like formation as she begins to spin it. The multi-headed weapon cuts through the air at a high speed, creating a tornado that surrounded Nephilim in an instant. As Kirika quickly flew like a meteorite, Nephilim just looked up at her–or seemed to, though, lacking eyes, one could only guess–and roared.

Kirika collided with the beast, the two exploding in a burst of green flames. The other Symphogear wielders close by could not see Nephilim in the smoke that erupted from the ground, but Kirika leapt out towards them. She landed with a smile as her scythe folded back into its single blade.

"What's with the wings?" Chris asked with one raised eyebrow. She put her weapons down for a moment as she spoke to Kirika, but Tsubasa kept an offensive pose; she remained on-guard against both the newcomer and Nephilim.

Kirika noticed Tsubasa's stern expression, so she kept her focus on Chris as she replied with a non-answer. "I'm not sure. It just... happened, death."

"Are you friend of foe?" Tsubasa needed the answer to that question before she returned to the fight against Nephilim, but both Chris and Kirika knew that, no matter what she said, the possibility of Kirika attacking them would remain in Tsubasa's mind.

"Friend. I'm tired of being used by F.I.S. and I'm tired of fighting, death!" Kirika shouted. "I just want to live peacefully with Maria and Shirabe!"

Though they were a fair distance away and standing on an aircraft from which loud engines roared, Shirabe and Maria heard Kirika's shout as it pushed aside all other sounds. "I just want to live peacefully with Maria and Shirabe." Maria echoed, tears in her eyes. "We all just want to be normal girls."

Though bandages wrapped around her entire body and her movements were shaky, for the first time since standing up from the medical bed Shirabe stood on her own away from Maria. "Let's run, then."

"But what about the collar? Na... Mom will detonate it if you try to disobey her."

Shirabe touched the device that was locked around her neck. "If Kirika could get it off, then maybe she can help me, too."

Maria did not want to argue with Shirabe–she had wanted to do this from the beginning, run away–but she was worried. Maria did not want Shirabe to die from either an explosion nor by Nephilim's powerful claw. Thus, she knew that staying up on top of their ship was the safest option for them right now.

The girl with the curly pink hair clutched the red jewel that hung around her neck. For the first time, she had heard the Symphogear speak to her just as she knew it had spoken to her sister all those years ago.

"Let's go." Maria nodded.

They would not have much time. Neither Maria nor Shirabe had taken any LiNKER, and going back into the ship to get more would be suspicious. For Maria especially, having never used a Symphogear before, the two would only be able to help take Nephilim down for a short while, but they knew that five heretical weapons would be a greater advantage than three.

Shirabe and Maria both drew in sharp breaths before the songs in their heart exploded out of their mouths.

*Various Shul Shagana tron

Seilien coffin Airgetlám tron*

Two new Symphogear girls landed on the ground in front of Kirika to block the incoming charge of Nephilim. With Maria's inexperience and Shirabe's beaten body, the two have to force themselves to the brink just to match the basic strength that the other girls have shown this entire time.

"Maria? Shirabe?" Kirika looked between the two girls with wide eyes. "What are you doing?"

As Nephilim bounced back a short distance, giving the three girls time to speak, Maria spun around quickly. "We don't have much time. We'll be able to help you safely if you can remove Shirabe's collar however you got your own off."

Chris shook her head from a short ways behind Kirika as she fired her crossbows at Nephilim from afar. Kirika chuckled just as the words left the white-haired girl's mouth. "That's not the best idea."

"Kazanari!" Kirika turned to Tsubasa, who had just retreated after attacking Nephilim. "Ame no Habakiri should be able to cut her collar off. Just aim for... that seam." Kirika pointed to the right side of Shirabe's neck.

Tsubasa narrowed her eyes but knew not to object. She appeared next to Shirabe within a second, and flicked her sword at a speed faster than light. Just as Kirika had said, Tsubasa's sword effortlessly cut through the steel collar at the seam, and it fell onto the ground in two pieces. "If you had cut it anywhere else, it would have exploded." Kirika said in awe. "You're incredible, death!"

"I take it Finé was the one who created the plans for these?" Tsubasa picked up the pieces of the collar off the ground and tossed them at Nephilim. Just before they made contact, Tsubasa swung down her sword to release a blue beam of light–the explosive in the collar mixed with the power of Ame no Habakiri's attack finally caused Nephilim to flinch, albeit briefly.

"No. She just knew how they worked." Kirika said quickly. Noticing the confused looks on her friends' faces, she reassured them with a smile that she would explain everything to them later. "For now, let's just defeat Nephilim, death!"

. . .

As the battle unfolded on the monitor that acted like the sun to light up the dark command centre, Genjuro turned to Hibiki. She looked sickly, the bandages covering the stump of her right arm stained lightly with blood; Genjuro wanted her to rest, but he did need answers to a question he had been waiting to ask. "Where did you find Solomon's Cane?"

The already-small Hibiki shrunk beside the imposing Genjuro. Her three classmates, who now stood around Hibiki as they worried that she would collapse, all flinched as if ready to catch her. But, as Hibiki regained her footing, they all bent back with relieved sighs. "I've been wondering about that too." Kuriyo said with her finger pushed up against her cheek. "Bikki was unconscious when she was brought to the hospital, and we were with her as much as possible so she couldn't have snuck out to look for it."

"That's because I didn't. Solomon's Cane, just..." Hibiki pressed her toes against the ground as she rotated her heel slightly. "It just kind of appeared."

"Okay, I think you need to go lay down." Yumi said after a tense moment. "Now you sound like you really are from an anime."

"No, it's true!" Hibiki shouted, causing her friends to flinch back slightly in fear.

"What are you talking about?" Genjuro asked calmly, crossing his arms.

"Solomon's Cane can summon Noise, right? It opens up portals to dispense them." Hibiki seemed to be changing the subject, but, as Genjuro was about to question her about this train of thought, Hibiki continued. "I don't know how, but it appeared from a portal of its own, so I assume it just... activated itself?"

"All we know about Solomon's Cane is that it acts as a doorway to the Treasury of Babylonia, and can be used to summon Noise." Fujitaka reported from his seat at the base of the monitor. "You said it summons portals? That doesn't seem entirely correct."

"Then," Shiori spoke up. "Do you think someone gave Solomon's Cane to Hibiki?"

"As much as I want to deny the possibility, we have no idea how many relics exist nor their functions. It's entirely possible that something could be used to create portals through space." Genjuro closed his eyes. "But that begs the question: who sent Solomon's Cane to Tachibana? They needed to find the relic and know where she was being kept. Not to mention they had to be willing to part with Solomon's Cane, unless they were not aware of its functions."

The red lion glared at Hibiki now. "Whatever the case may be, why did you keep it hidden from us?"

"I wanted to use it as leverage." Hibiki said meekly. "I was going to ask you to let me go find Miku if I could find Solomon's Cane for you, so..."

Genjuro sighed. He had a feeling that had been the reason why she kept it secret, but was still slightly annoyed at her. "Even if we let you go searching for Kohinata, we have no idea where she may have landed." Genjuro shook his head. "We've done as much as we could through satellite scans to try and narrow down a possible search area, but a single girl that small is impossible to keep track of for even our highest-grade technology."

"I know, but I can't give up on Miku!" Hibiki had tears in her eyes. She clutched at the stump of her arm as the bandages that wrapped it began to darken with blood stains. Hibiki grunted in pain as Shiori slung the girl's one arm over her own shoulder.

"Let's get you back to the medical centre for now." Shiori whispered, and Hibiki knew that she had been defeated here. She hung her head and sadly nodded.

"Wait. What are these readings?" Tomosato cried out in shock, and this froze Shiori and Hibiki in their tracks. The two girls turned to look at the girl with the short blue hair just as she stood up in surprise with a shout. "An Aufwachen Waveform?"

. . .

Nephilim let out a loud roar as Kirika's scythe, bathed in green flames, pierced through one of the colourful veins that glowed atop the black, rocky exterior. "These veins are surprisingly tough to hit, death." Withdrawing her blade, Kirika jumped out of the way as Nephilim clumsily swung its arm out at her.

According to Finé's memories from when she had studied Nephilim with the official F.I.S., the veins that criss-crossed over Nephilim's body were its true flesh; the black, stony exterior was more akin to a clam's shell. Though the beast had not been awoken at the time, Finé believed that its active state would only be hurt if one could target these specific thin lines; this was, of course, just a theory. But, when Kirika suggested this to the others, it did prove to be the beast's one weak point.

Maria and Tsubasa, each clutching their own swords, followed up as Kirika got out of range. Tsubasa's ancient katana Ame no Habakiri sliced through the same vein with precise cuts at high speeds, while Maria clumsily stabbed with the silver shortsword of Airgetlám at a slower, but still effective, speed. Tsubasa was able to escape with haste as Nephilim rocked its entire body, but Maria–whose blade was still lodged in the beast–was thrown back by it.

Shirabe, skating on the ground with small wheels on her feet, leapt up to catch Maria as she flew through the air. Not taking into account Maria's size and weight, Shirabe and Maria collided and rolled around clumsily on the ground as they landed together. "Sorry about that, Shirabe." Maria offered an apology to her friend as they both climbed to her feet.

Nearby, Chris readied a missile. "Out of the way!" With a warning, Chris fired the missile at the black beast–Tsubasa and Kirika both jumped out of the way at the last second as the missile collided with Airgetlám's blade still trapped within Nephilim's body like Excalibur in its stone pedestal. The explosion from the missile launched the swordsword into Nephilim's body, and the monster screamed in pain as the knife flew all the way through its body, slicing off one of its arms.

Clumsily trying to adapt to the lack of one limb, Nephilim toppled over and was helpless as Tsubasa and Shirabe double-teamed their enemy, slicing at the creature's exposed veins as it flopped onto the ground. It shouted again, its roar paralyning everyone in place as the pain the creature felt washed over them.

. . .

"This is not good." Nastassya watched the battle from her position in the sky. She had not reported Shirabe and Maria's desertion to Ver, for she knew that he would simply brush her off with the order that he needed more time.

The Symphogear wielders of both F.I.S. and Sector Two had their focus locked on Nephilim, but now that they had found its weak point and were now dicing it up like an onion, it was only a matter of time before they remembered her airship was there.

With a scowl, Nastassya slammed her palm into the communicator on the dashboard. "Ver, we're running out of time!" She shouted, but her voice was hoarse. The ageing scientist could feel blood rising from her throat as she spoke, and did not even bother wiping the liquid she felt dribble down her chin.

"Alright. I'm finished. I'm activating my trump card now. Nastassja, you were an excellent pawn but I'm afraid my benefactors and I no longer have any use for you." Dr. Ver's cool voice echoed through the speakers around her.

"What are you talking about you fool?"

"Me, a fool? Did you truly believe I would work for that witch?" Ver laughed. "It was only a means to an end for me. I long for justice, to heal humanity of its cursed wounds. Though you may share my goal, your methods and hers have both been nothing but games. You truly do not understand anything."

Nastassja had given Ver everything she had been able to, and now he was turning on her. She had a thought that it would come to this, but she still could not believe it. "Apologies, doctor, but it seems you and your so-called benefactors may have underestimated me. I shall send Shirabe and–"

"Hah. Do you think that I haven't been paying attention? I know that those two ran off already. You have no weapons to turn against me."

Ver's eyes were wild as he flung his arms out. Speaking into the microphone on the wall, Ver laughed as he revealed to Nastassja something she had dreaded. "I haven't been healing your body, Nastassja; I've been making it more and more impossible for others to heal you! You're a blight on our species, a villain masquerading as a virtuoso, and for that you must face justice."

The white-haired doctor heard a cough on the other side of the speaker. "You... monster." Nastassja's voice hissed, but Ver did not care to hear it. Instead, he spun away from the communicator the second the word 'justice' had left his mouth. The dying doctor was not of his concern now; it was time for celebration.

"After all of these years." Ver's smile eclipsed his entire face. "My lifelong dream is almost complete. But alas, I may need to delay its completion for just a little while longer."

With a snap of his fingers, a purple glow illuminated his lab. This glow emanated from a large machine he had against one wall–or more specifically, the light came from what was within it: Shénshòujìng, the divine mirror. Ver walked over to the relic as he took in its splendour, completely ignoring that which surrounded the ancient object as he produced a small silver device from his breast pocket.

"If only this relic had been in its complete state, then your mind may have been whole. Then again, perhaps it is better this way–so the darkness does not pervert you." Ver took the small relic between his fingers and stabbed it into that which carried a shard of Shénshòujìng.

In Greek mythology, Asclepius represented the strongest of the healing arts. The man was said to have defied the gods in order to resurrect the dead with his heretical knowledge. Myths were built upon fiction, however, and Ver knew the truth: it was not Asclepius who rose the dead, it was the relic he held. The silver staff wrapped by a single snake: the Rod of Asclepius. Though the small device he held differed slightly from the symbol that was still used in medicine today: the snake's small head had been chipped away with age. Such a small blemish, and yet it cost the relic dearly as it limited its true potential.

As Ver pushed the Rod of Asclepius into the figure in front of him, he slowly felt a spasm as the body's heart began to beat once again. Simply restoring life to a corpse was not the only use for this incredibly powerful relic; he had managed to restore this body from nothing but a small piece of DNA. Ver marvelled at the device's capabilities even in this imperfect state–to think of what would be possible if it were whole! He smiled as he activated the brainwashing headset and stepped away from the figure.

"Wielder of Shénshòujìng, you serve me!" He commanded with an insane disposition. His laboratory was connected to the ship's docking bay with only a small wall blocking them, so he heard as the platform began to expose itself to the realm outside. Pointing towards the wall, Ver shouted. "Go, eliminate all threats that stand in our way!"

The figure punched through the wall and flew out of the ship at intense speed. Ver did not care how much damage was caused to this vehicle; he had another set to arrive from his benefactors in moments. He simply needed Shénshòujìng to distract the girls outside for long enough for him to finish his masterpiece.

Dr. John Wayne Vercingetorix strove to develop an artificial relic, and his goal had almost been completed. With the activation of Shénshòujìng as a Symphogear, he now had all of the data he required.

. . .

Tomosato cried out that they had picked up an Aufwachen Waveform on their scanners, but she need not say any more. Everyone in the command room of Sector Two's submersible–no, even the girls who stood around a lifeless Nephilim outside–all turned their gazes to the being that hovered in the air.

It was a girl, her body covered from head-to-toe in black armour. A grille of purple lights covered the girl's face, and the bulky armour prevented her frame from being seen. From a hypothetical standpoint, anyone could have been in that armour; but something about it gave Hibiki pause.

As she stared up at the girl, she felt something familiar in her chest. "Miku?" She whispered, just loud enough for those nearest to her–but no one responded. Everyone held their breath as they waited for what this new combatant would do.

"Eliminate all threats." The girl said. Her voice was distorted and broken by the helmet–it was completely indistinguishable from a text-to-speech bot on computers–but as the girl raised her hand and spoke those three words, she made her intentions crystal clear.

"Submerge, now!" Genjuro shouted, but it was too late. Before the procedures could even begin, a purple light crossed through the ship and blinded everyone within.

#### G Chapter 11

The black beast known as Nephilim laid broken on the ground. Its body had been shattered by the girls who wielded Symphogears, but the relic had not yet been deactivated. It lacked eyes, though Nephilim was able to see the world around it regardless.

Trembling lightly, the beast saw with a new clarity. Ever since it had first been awoken, Nephilim had been blinded by an insatiable hunger for power–power it could only absorb from other relics. When the girl with the two tails sang, Nephilim felt its heart flare up as a determination to protect her arose within its body. But now, as it laid on the ground, it realized its mistake: that girl, and the one with the X in her hair, had both been its targets in this battle. The beast's hunger for relics had thrown it into a frenzy, and the multiple overlapping songs had drowned out the voices it knew.

Nephilim did not feel emotions the same as humans did; it was, by all accounts, technically an inanimate object. The beast's 'life' was nothing but a heretical lie. Yet, despite all of this, Nephilim felt a pang of regret–outside of a lust for food, this was the first emotion it had ever felt.

None of the Symphogear wielders had their eyes on Nephilim any more–they had all lost interest in it, believing it had been defeated, as another enemy had appeared. As the clouds of hunger finally cleared from its non-existant eyes, Nephilim tried moving. Most of its body had been torn apart by the girls' relics so now only one of its legs was able to move on command–Nephilim knew that it would not be able to fight in this state.

One of the girls shouted, and Nephilim's attention turned to them. The beast could not understand their words but it realized that they were in danger. One-by-one, the girls clad in musical armour leapt out of the way as a spray of purple lights flew towards the island that they stood on. The girl with the X, the girl with the silver arm, the blue streak of light, and the red archer–each of these girls dodged, but even Nephilim could see the fatigue setting in. But its focus was not on these five girls; Nephilim only cared about the girl with the two tails.

The girl was shaking, not in fear but in pain. Nephilim could sense the girl's weakness as she struggled to move. The monster did not understand humans but even it could tell that she had been hurt earlier, and the wear in her muscles was incredibly apparent. One of the other girls shouted as the purple beams of light continued to rain down the island known as Frontier, but the one that Nephilim cared for did the opposite–she fell forwards in pain.

She tried to look up, her ruby eyes reflecting the bright purple missile of pure light that cut through the air with ease. Nephilim could feel the energy that the projectile gave off and knew she would not be uninjured should it hit her. Mustering up all of the power it had in its one limb, Nephilim pushed against the ground.

Sweat coated Shirabe's forehead, soaking through the bandages that were plastered against it. The wielder of Shul Shagana gasped for breath as her small chest rose and fell quickly. She winced as pain overtook all of her senses–Shirabe knew she was at her limit.

As a white flash surrounded her for but a second, Shirabe could feel Shul Shagana's influence leave her body–her Symphogear had been deactivated. She tried to move her legs or arms, to do anything she could to move out of the way, but it was a futile attempt.

The light that had just moments before hit the submarine of Sector Two finally crashed into Shirabe.

...

...

...

Or, it should have.

Shirabe watched in shock and horror as the light dissipated just centimetres from her face. The reason for the halt in the light's momentum was clear to her, yet so insane that she could barely comprehend the sight.

As the light was about to collapse into Shirabe, Nephilim suddenly appeared. Flinging its lumbering body over Shirabe, the light crashed into the beast and tore it apart; but in doing so, the monster had absorbed the power. In an instant, Nephilim's body shattered completely–shrapnel of its body flew out in every direction, and the beast's head, which had just escaped a direct hit, was thrown through the air over the ocean. Shirabe could feel some of the small pebbles bounce off her body, but she did not care.

"Nephilim?" She asked, more confused than anything. Shirabe could not move her body still, but even if she could she knew she would regardless be frozen in place. Her mind was rocked, trying to understand how–and why–the beast that had known only insatiable hunger would protect her.

"Shirabe! We need to get you somewhere safe!" Kirika shouted, landing beside her. Shirabe could not see her friend's face, but something inside her did not want to look up at it anyway. The one golden eye that replaced one of Kirika's earthen green ones shocked her to her core; it was the same shining organ that the witch behind her pain had carried in her skull.

Shirabe let Kirika pick her up and hold her princess-style in her arms. She looked up at Kirika and the burning question in her heart spilled out of her mouth as the two flew through the air down towards the submarine. "You are Kiri, aren't you?"

"The one and the same, death!" Her friend replied with the usual cheerful smile that Shirabe was familiar with, but the overall expression was not. The eye of Finé tried to match the warmth that radiated from the emerald beside it but was unable to; the simple idea of a friendly expression seemed foreign to it. Shirabe looked away, watching the ship that floated in the sky behind the two girls as they descended. Moments later, Shirabe found herself surrounded not by the clouds that whipped by her but instead glowing computers.

"Keep an eye on her, death!" Kirika gave an order to someone to whom she handed Shirabe to.

"Understood." The man in the red shirt gave a curt nod as he took the frail girl in his strong arms.

The light of Shénshòujìng had cut not through Sector Two's submarine in an effort to destroy it, but instead seemed to be nothing but a warning. With extremely precise aim, the girl who raised her arm managed to cut off only the roof of the submarine and tore it off just like one would the thin tin lid of canned fish. Though now the submarine could not submerge, it did allow easy access for the Symphogear wielders... and attacks from their enemies.

"Chief!" Kanade ran into the room, exasperated. She clutched the pendant of Gungnir that hung around her neck as she glanced at Hibiki beside Genjuro, then at the small girl in his arms. "You have to let me fight, too."

"You know I can't... Hold on." Genjuro turned his head and addressed the three girls who stood clustered in a group near the front of the command room. "Terashima, Ando: get this girl down to the medical room. Itaba, stay here." Silently the girls obliged, and Shiori took Shirabe on her back before she and Kuriyo sprinted from the room.

Turning his focus back to Kanade, Genjuro narrowed his eyes. "You know I can't let you use Gungnir until we can find a solution for Tachibana."

"Let her go." The stump of Hibiki's arm was bleeding profusely now, and Hibiki looked to be in great pain as she clenched her teeth. She narrowed her eyes, which seemed to glow as the light from the outside reflected upon them and the crystals that sprouted from her body. "I don't think I'll be seeing tomorrow, anyway."

"Don't say that, Hibiki!" Yumi shouted. "What about Miku? You have to stay alive to save her!"

"Miku is dead. I've been lying to myself this whole time, but it's obvious." Hibiki hissed, her eyes bulging as both anger and pain flooded her body. "Finé took over another person, so that means Miku has to be dead."

Kanade put her hand on Hibiki's shoulder–the one not wrapped in bandages–and the girl with dusty brown hair looked up at the idol. They had both been scarred by the war they fought, and the experiences they had faced since that concert had changed them. Regardless, Kanade's words from that day echoed through Hibiki's mind as she stared into the eyes of the fiery red idol.

But the hopeful eyes–now eye–of the idol had clouded over. Hibiki searched for the optimism that caused her to shout those words that day, but they were missing from Kanade's face. As the sounds of battle echoed from above them, Hibiki saw only a single goal etched deep into Kanade's mind. That, and the fact that she was so insistent on fighting. "You gave up on living, didn't you Kanade?"

Kanade could not help but smile at that, though her expression was hard and soaked in sadness. "I've never been one to follow orders–even my own." With that, she bent down and stared into Hibiki's eyes at equal height. "Both of us gave up on life long ago. The second you find that spark of hope again, I'll stand down."

The idea of Kanade tossing Hibiki's life away momentarily brought pain to her heart, but Hibiki too shared the same thought. "Genjuro." The girl clutched her arm as she looked past Kanade and to her boss. "Let me fight. I know I might not be useful, but..."

"Are you two insane? Do you want to die?" Yumi shouted, her face red with anger. "This isn't like an anime, you know. It's not like we'll be able to save you from danger at the last moment."

"Itaba's correct." Genjuro nodded sternly, but then sighed. "But I know if I tell you not to, you won't listen. Go. Do as you please."

"What?" Yumi shouted her question in anger, but Kanade and Hibiki shouted the same word with pure confusion. The two girls nodded to each other with that sentence of approval.

*Croitzal ronzell Gungnir zizzl*

As Kanade donned the orange and black jumpsuit of Gungnir, Hibiki fell to one leg. The crystals that sprouted from her body began to glow–this time not just a trick of the reflecting light–and more ejected themselves from her skin as she grunted in pain.

Hibiki screamed as her body was encased entirely in white. As the cocoon of light enveloped her, Kanade squatted down and pressed her hand on Hibiki's head. "It will be okay. Just hold in there." She comforted.

"What are you doing? Change back!" Yumi was desperate now and threw herself at the former idol she once adored. "You're killing her!"

"She wanted this." Kanade said sadly, not even sparing the girl a glance. Yumi knew that Kanade spoke the truth, but it hurt her seeing Hibiki in pain like this. The two had not known each other long, but they had managed to grow quite close in that time–Yumi had, at first, revelled in the fact that her new friend was like the protagonist of an anime, but over time she began to worry as doubts and pain began to crush Hibiki's heart. Yumi pitied Hibiki–it was why she, Kuriyo, and Shiori had worked so hard to bring a bit of hope to Hibiki's life as she was hospitalized; they felt they needed to replace the sunlight that had burned out.

Hibiki's scream reverberated out into the sky above them. Finally, the white light began to subside and the girl known as Hibiki Tachibana–or what was left of her–returned to reality.

The girl's eyes were closed and she fell forwards, out of her crouch and into Yumi's waiting arms. The crystals had multiplied profusely; now her skin peaked in what seemed to be hundreds of orange stones–and one giant crystal sprouted from her back like a camel's hump. But none of these were what the eyes of Yumi, Genjuro, and Kanade focused upon. No, what everyone's gaze was drawn towards was her right arm.

No longer was it just a stump, now Hibiki's right arm was a long crystal–it was as if her arm had been transformed into a lance. Even Hibiki stared at the object that had appeared where moments before there was nothing, but her eyes were unfocused as she winced through the pain. "Whoa." Kanade flinched away from the girl in shock.

Yumi glared at Kanade from over Hibiki's shoulder. "I'm not exactly in the best mood right now. Just get out there, do your hero thing."

Hibiki grit her teeth. "I'm going too." She slowly pushed herself away from Yumi and stumbled as she tried to get to her feet. Ignoring Yumi's pleading eyes, Hibiki cut the air with her new limb and began to sing.

 *Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron*

Hibiki's body transformed in a way she never had before. Her jumpsuit was white with light yellows and orange, a device resembling orange spider legs extending out from her back. Between the appendages that appeared on her spine flapped four golden wings that rivalled those of the angels of fiction. With the orange crystal lance that was her right arm, she pointed towards the sky. "Let's do this!" She screamed, blood dribbling from her nose as she did so.

It was almost as if she had lost her physical form. One second Hibiki had been standing in the remains of the command room, and the next only an orange light remained as she sped up into the air at light speed. Kanade looked up with a smile. "What do you know. Maybe that spark of life never died out after all." Turning to Genjuro, she addressed the issue she had yet to announce to the room. "Now, I'm going to need you to move over there a bit so I can get a ride up."

"There?" Fujitaka's eyes followed the line that Kanade made with a dramatic point. As he scanned the area, something in his brain clicked and his eyes lit up. "Ah. I see. Genjuro, sir?"

"Let's go." He announced with a smile–he too had figured out Kanade's plan.

Fujitaka obliged with Kanade's earlier order and began the preparations to move the submarine to the target area. At the same time, Tomosato, at her own station, turned to Genjuro next. "Sir, we have received a message from Ogawa regarding his own mission."

. . .

Nastassja watched in horror as the girl used the Shénshòujìng relic. Even this indigo-haired scientist, whose chin was dribbled with blood both new and old as she continued to cough up her life, did not understand what she was looking at.

The girl in the black armour was completely obscured–Nastassja had no idea who could be within it. What Nastassja was sure of was that Shénshòujìng did not have an offensive power that could decimate a submarine as it had. No, Shénshòujìng's light was one with purifying properties; unless that vehicle had been made of relics, theoretically speaking nothing should have happened when her light pierced it. "What did that doctor do?"

Watching as the girl in black bounced through the air like a butterfly flapping its wings, Nastassja realized that sitting still in the air was not what she should have been doing. Even with all of these setbacks, her goal was within reach. Nastassja had located and raised Frontier from beneath the ocean floor. The scientist knew how to activate it, but whether or not her body would allow her to–and thus use the giant spaceship to free humanity from its curse–was a deadly gamble.

The scientist bit down on her lip, but as she flinched in shock her teeth managed to tear away just a small bit of cracked skin. The sound that surprised her was that of the door behind her opening, coupled with the low cackle of the crazed doctor who claimed to be fighting for righteousness.

"Marvellous, isn't it." Ver leaned over Nastassja as he admired the girl outside. Outside the Symphogear girls of both F.I.S. and Sector Two took turns dodging and retaliating against the purple light of the girl that embodied the black knight, but within the cool airship Nastassja could only focus on the doctor's face as it hung above her. "Though that witch may not have been in her right mind, her techniques are utterly superb."

"What did you do to Shénshòujìng? To that girl?"

"The art that decorated was not just aesthetic, you know." Dr. Ver leaned back to stand with a straight back and adjusted his glasses with a maniacal crescent crossing his face. "Many of those drawings were runes infused with alchemical gold. By merely infusing just a miniscule amount with Shénshòujìng, I managed to combine both the powers of the divine mirror and the wretched cannon Kadingir together."

Dr. Ver threw his arms out as a wicked laugh rang out. "I call it Chalkydri! The archangel of the sun that will rise over my new world!"

"You defiled ancient relics in such a way?"

Ver chuckled. "If that angers you, then you wouldn't be able to stomach my real trump card."

"That monstrosity...?" Nastassja gasped as she realized. This man created a monster that could utterly destroy Nephilim in a single attack, and yet that was not the extent of his power. The sickly woman shrunk back as her eyes grew wide. "Just what are you planning, doctor?"

"Like you, I, too, wish to cleanse humanity of the Curse of Balal that plagues us. However, doing so would only allow the heinous to rise up and infect the righteous easier. I aim to create a just world, one where only those with heroic spirits stand unburdened against the gods that abandoned us."

"What kind of justice do you believe in?" Nastassja spat. "Transforming a girl into a weapon like that!" Nastassja turned her head just in time to see the girl's black helmet be shattered apart.

~ ~ ~

While Hibiki sprouted a new limb where she had lost the other and Nastassja confronted the wicked doctor, the Symphogear girls were engaged in battle against the black knight that donned Shénshòujìng.

Kirika leapt from Sector Two's submarine with her scythe raised high above her head. As she encroached upon the mysterious figure's personal space, she swung her Armed Gear as hard as she could. Not only did she cleave through the air, she cleaved through the very space where oxygen had existed just seconds before, tearing apart the essence of reality for just a small second. But this attack did nothing as the girl dodged with a light flutter. Kirika clicked her tongue before crashing down next to Chris, Tsubasa, and Maria on the dirt ground of Frontier.

"She's too fast to hit, death." Kirika shouted.

"We could fill the air with projectiles so she has nowhere to dodge." Chris suggested.

"It won't work. With that light, she could just destroy anything we throw at her." Tsubasa stomped her foot into the ground. "We're completely out-matched here. Only one of us can fly, and–" she glanced at Maria "–another one of us has no idea how to fight."

Maria grunted as she readied her blade. She could not argue–Maria knew she wasn't as useful as she had hoped. This Symphogear had belonged to her sister, and she had watched her elegant movements as she fought many, many times, but Maria's attempts to replicate them have been mediocre at best.

Though her combat mentality may have not been as trained as those of her current allies, Maria knew that she could still be of use with her intellect. Remembering how Tsubasa had changed the size of her sword to fight Nephilim, Maria turned to the former idol with the blue ponytail hanging off the side of her head. "How big can you make your sword?"

"What are you getting at?" Tsubasa raised her eyebrow.

"If you can make it large enough, the rest of us could use it as a platform to combat that girl at close-range."

"That would only make it an easier target for that light." Tsubasa grunted.

"Then we'll just need to make sure Ame no Habakiri doesn't get hit, death!" Kirika pumped her empty fist at the idea, but Tsubasa just sighed. Still, she knew the group had no other options, so she did just as suggested.

Tsubasa pointed her blade skywards and focused. With stiff movements, Ame no Habakiri's blade unfolded out into a giant version of itself–the sword's blade exceeding the size of even a giant tree. With shaking hands, Tsubasa leaned back and held it out in front of herself. Just as Maria had suggested, the sword created a stage for the girls to use to fight the black knight that watched them from afar, seemingly amused in their attempt to level the playing field despite no face being visible.

"Go." Tsubasa grunted, and her three allies followed her order. Leaping over the blue girl, they began to run up the blade that was held up at an angle. Sensing that they were once again ready to fight, the mysterious girl fired lights as she waved her hand through the air like a conductor would a wand.

Chris leapt out in front of Kirika and Maria and fired pre-loaded missiles at the lights. They collided in the air, the smoke blocking their view of each other and eliminating the threat of Shénshòujìng's purifying lights. This did not last for long, however, as the girl quickly flew through the cloud that had enshrouded her.

Maria met Shénshòujìng's approach. As the girl used her arm as if it were a blade, Maria countered with her own silver weapon. She clenched her teeth as she tried to fight against her opponent's superior strength, but her footing was beginning to waver.

"I won't let you harm anyone else!"

A shout echoed through the air and the girl in black dodged away from Maria just as an orange light flashed through her vision. She could not tell what she had seen–at least, not until she found where Shénshòujìng had been pushed to.

Hibiki, her four golden wings sparkling in the natural light, thrust her orange crystal arm against the arm of the girl in the armour. Sparks of both orange and purple flew as the two girls pushed their arms against one another, wildly spinning through the air while they did so.

"You idiot!" Chris yelled at Hibiki. Not at all grateful for her sudden appearance, Chris's eyes fired anger towards the girl covered in orange crystals. "Do you want to die?"

"Yes!" Hibiki shouted in response, and Chris did not know what next to say. She truly did not expect that to be how Hibiki answered her, so she just cursed under her breath.

Hibiki stared at the girl whose face was obscured by a black and purple grille. "Who are you?" She grunted. With her left arm–her actual human arm–Hibiki readied a punch, but the girl with the light of Shénshòujìng pushed back against her. The force of this knocked Hibiki off balance despite being airborne, and she lost some of the altitude she had gained in seconds with a powerful jump.

Though Hibiki had not expected an answer from the girl, a cold robotic voice whispered one as she fell onto Tsubasa's blade. The voice was quiet, and Hibiki could only just hear it as wind whipped around her. "Chalkydri."

"Chalkydri, huh?" Chris had heard it too, and repeated the name as she fired upon the girl with her crossbows.

*'At the rising of the sun, they burst into song.'* Maria recalled a small excerpt about the Chalkydri. *Ironic that this girl does not need to sing.*

Running her hand across the silver blade that she held, Maria transformed the small Armed Gear into a long whip-like sword of shining chains. With quick movements, Maria jumped into the air and shot her new, longer blade at her enemy. But the girl–Chalkydri–did not care, and batted it away with her hand as if it were nothing but a bug. At the disrespect, Maria frowned, recoiling her blade.

"Alright, idiot, why are you here?" Chris readied gatling guns on her hips, but held off firing until she got an answer.

"I'm here to fight." Hibiki shouted, anger filling her body. Chris could sense that the darkness was beginning to well up within the body of the girl beside her, but knew that, even if it did, it would be nothing but an advantage for them.

So Chris nodded. "Alright. Nice arm, by the way." She smiled as she began to fire at Chalkydri, hoping that the black knight would not just decimate the storm of bullets with another wave of light.

Hibiki and Kirika followed Chris's lead. As the white-haired girl's guns slowed down, the two girls with wings flew up at a high speed. Kirika sliced down her scythe as its blade became engulfed in a coat of green flames, and Hibiki stabbed forwards with the orange lance that had become her arm. But, just as before, Chalkydri bounced through the air as if she had elegantly trained her entire life to be airborne.

"Get back!" Maria yelled, noticing something the two nearby girls had not–Chalkydri's arm began to glow as she readied another wave of light. Tsubasa, too, took notice of Maria's warning and, just as Kirika and Hibiki landed on her giant blade, she flicked Ame no Habakiri up as if she were a chef cooking pancakes. This threw her allies into the air, but allowed her enough time to then lower her blade underneath the wave of purple energy that cut through the space that the entire party had populated a moment earlier. As the purple light disappeared, Tsubasa held her blade flat again as Maria, Hibiki, Kirika, and Chris all landed on the blade simultaneously.

Kirika did not hesitate. Immediately after landing, she bounced off of the steel relic and flew straight at Chalkydri. Spinning through the air, Kirika threw herself towards her enemy with her spear held in front of her like the blade of a guillotine.

"You... Yukine." Maria turned to the girl next to her. "Send me over to them on a missile."

"You sure? You won't be able to get back."

Maria pointed with her chin, pointing at the floating island that served as the backdrop on their combat revue. "Angle it towards Frontier. I'll use my whip."

Chris nodded, albeit reluctant to go through with the plan. As if practised before, Chris fires a missile from her back and Maria flips onto its back in a quick and elegant manner totally unbefitting of Maria's earlier, more-clumsy movements.

Kirika's guillotine attack barely missed Chalkydri, who only bounced out of the way at the last second. Expecting this, Maria had already shot out her whip-like blade and targeted not Chalkydri directly but rather the spot where she predicted–accurately–that she would dodge to.

Chalkydri did not expect this, and, for the first time, a successful attack landed on the girl. Just after Maria's Armed Gear smashed into the black armour, Hibiki punched into the confused girl's face with her crystal arm. The sharp lance pierced the helmet from the side, shattering the front from the impact.

One of the Symphogear wielders could barely breathe as she saw the face that had laid underneath the black helmet of Shénshòujìng. Though they had been some ways away, it was clear to them that Chalkydri was not this girl's real name.

Empty green eyes, completely lacking any sense of life, stared at Hibiki. Strands of brown hair the colour of milk chocolate were still tucked away beneath the rest of the helmet, but her thick bangs dropped down over her now-exposed forehead.

Serena Cadenzavna Eve spoke, now in her own voice without the voice modulator, as her raised up her glowing arm with robotic movements. "Die."

#### G Chapter 12

 *Ringo wa ukanda osora ni…

Ringo wa okkochita jibeta ni…

Hoshi ga umarete uta ga umarete

Ruru ameru wa waratta tokoshie to

Hoshi ga kisu shite uta ga nemutte

Kaeru toko wa doko deshō…?

Kaeru toko wa doko deshō…?

Ringo wa okkochita jibeta ni…

Ringo wa ukanda osora ni…*

Six years ago, two small girls were led down a long, chrome hallway by a myriad of men and women all wearing monochromatic attire. This was not an abnormal sight to them; though the two girls had only been brought into F.I.S. only a year or so earlier–though they had lost track of all time–they had still managed to walk this same path countless times.

Maria Cadenzavna Eve, the elder of the two girls by two years, had no reason to follow her sister down this path each time she was summoned, but did so anyway out of a desire to protect her. After all, Serena was all Maria had left; their parents had died in the war that ravaged their home country, and they had no more possessions of their own. When they had their futures stolen away from them, Maria and Serena were forced to wander the desolate world that had been scarred by humanity's weapons, huddling together for warmth in the cold, white hell scape of winter that worked to hide the work of the war.

Knowing what each other had been through, Maria and Serena never left each other alone in this white orphanage they had been brought to. After all, the world that they left behind was only marginally more dangerous than the experiments they were subjected to each day.

The song the two girls sang as they marched through the laboratory was what kept them grounded in reality. They did not know the origins of the song, only that their parents had sung it to them from their births until their deaths. Humans robbed Maria and Serena of their possessions, so they clung to this song as the only memento of their family and their life from before they knew tragedy.

An elderly woman with indigo hair opened the door at the end of the hallway, and it was only now that Maria let her fingers untangle from her sister's. The room that Serena followed the woman into held a stone-like object that the scientists called 'Nephilim' that the doctors wished to awaken, and Serena was believed to be the best candidate to do so.

Maria followed a different doctor through another door, which led to a set of stairs. This was the viewing platform that looked down over the large room that housed the old woman–Dr. Tolstaya–as well as Serena and the pedestal on which Nephilim sat. Alongside the brown-haired man that let Maria into this room, there was another unfamiliar man in glasses and a woman with a beehive-like hairdo that she recognized as Dr. Sakurai.

*Seilien coffin Airgetlám tron*

Maria could hear as her sister sang four strange words that neither girl knew the meaning of, and subsequently watched as her body was bathed in a shining silver light. "Airgetlám, the silver arm." One of the doctors–the one with the darker brown hair–beside Maria marvelled. She had never seen this man before, and from his reaction she knew that he had never seen Serena undergo her frequent transformation either.

Serena appeared in the room before her, clad in a new, strange armour. On her torso, there sprouted four white wings that Maria thought looked like flower petals, and on her back she wore a cape of pink that resembled a lotus.

Though Maria could only see Serena's back from this angle, she knew Serena held her in her mind as she began to sing a hopeful melody.

*Dareka no tame no

Hikari ni nareru no nara…to

Chīsana hāto ga furueru*

Serena's song resonated with Nephilim and the relic glowed white. This had happened before a handful of times, but the glow subsided into a dull silver every other time. But now, as Serena sang about her desire to protect dreams and memories, even Nephilim could not help but react to the emotions the young girl poured out.

Dr. Tolstaya muttered something from her post beside Serena, but Maria could not hear what the old woman said. Dr. Tolstaya was the one in charge of overseeing Maria, Serena, and all of the other young children that lived in this mysterious little lab, and most of the younger children saw the old woman as their 'mother' of sorts. Maria and Serena refused to call the doctor by the familial name however; their memories of their real parents were too strong and recent, they couldn't bring themselves to overwrite them now.

"It's working. Airgetlám is resonating with Nephilim!" Dr. Sakurai leaned forwards, taking her eyes off of the clipboard that she held close to her chest. Maria did not know what that meant, but her heart felt heavy–she had a very bad feeling.

As the final words of Serena's song echoed into infinity, the relic on the pedestal before her began to shake. Dr. Tolstaya stuck out her arm to protect Serena. "Get back." The doctor cried, pushing the young girl behind her backwards as she, too, backed up slowly.

The relic released a deep growl that shook Maria to her very core. "What is that?" She asked, not being able to believe her eyes. The stone-like object began to morph, being pulled apart by invisible hands and moulded like a ball of clay. In moments, it transformed from a small white object that resembled a tiny nautilus into a quadrupedal beast several times larger than both of the women that shrunk away from it.

A siren blared as the rooms that both sisters inhabited turned completely red. "Nastassja, get out of there." The doctor with glasses shouted, and Dr. Tolstaya ushered Serena towards the door. As their exit slid open, the beast flew into a frenzy and rushed towards the two figures that tried to escape.

"Lower the shutters!" Dr. Sakurai ordered, and the two doctors that flanked her began to furiously tap buttons on the consoles in front of them. Maria watched as the walls around Nephilim released black, steel grates, transforming the pristine lab into a twisted prison.

Serena–still wearing the silver Airgetlám–rushed in to the room to reunite with Maria, and the two girls shrunk away as Dr. Tolstaya stormed in. She furiously began yelling at the two male scientists, but Maria tuned her out. "What do we do?" Maria asked her sister, fear chilling her heart solid. Her scared eyes flew back and forth between the beast that attacked the walls around itself and the girl who she clung to.

"We need to do something about that beast." Serena's eyes, on the other hand, were calm. Her voice was steady as she stood strong, ready to take on the beast. "I need to do something about Nephilim."

"No, Serena, it's too dangerous!" As Maria cried out, Serena stepped forwards. Her hand reached out to grab Serena's angelic arm, but, as if her skin was coated in soap, Maria's grip slipped off.

"Stand back." Serena addressed the adults in the room. Dr. Tolstaya and the two male scientists ignored the girl's order, but Dr. Sakurai smiled at the wielder of the Airgetlám Symphogear.

"I don't think they're going to listen to you." Dr. Sakurai had a strange look on her face that appeared to Maria to be a mixture of apologetic and curiosity. She winked at the girl, her expression transforming into a playful one. "Just bust through the glass. I'm sure Airgetlám is powerful enough."

Maria jumped forwards to try and block Serena, but her sister was faster. Producing a pink sword that seemed to absorb one of her hands, Serena leapt into the window–which Maria had, apparently mistakenly, assumed was bullet-proof–and it shattered instantly, startling the three scientists that had ignored the girl's approach. When Dr. Tolstaya recognized that Serena was the cause of the glass's destruction, she yelled out through the newly-created hole that connected these two rooms. "Serena, what are you doing?"

"I'm the only one here who can wield this Symphogear." Serena strolled up towards Nephilim at a slow pace, facing the wild beast that flung its arms down into the ground around her. "I'll protect all of you."

Taking a deep breath, Serena began to sing once more. This time, the song was not a hopeful one; it was a cursed song that no girl should ever have to sing. Dr. Sakurai recognized it as the first word echoed out of Serena's mouth: "The Superb Song."

*Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal

Emustolronzen Finé el balal zizzl

Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal

Emustolronzen Finé el zizzl*

Maria felt her brain explode as a burst of light exploded out from Serena. The young girl lost consciousness as her body was launched backwards into the white wall painted by red light behind her. Serena was grateful for this as she stared back towards the group that had watched her sing from the other room.

Tears of blood burned down Serena's face as she cracked a crooked, yet peaceful smile. Her eyes were wide as her brain was unable to comprehend the sensation of pain that welled up within her.

As quickly as Nephilim had formed, Serena had destroyed it with her Superb Song. But Nephilim was not the only target of this attack. The doctors–barring Dr. Sakurai, who was bent over with her hair now undone–were strewn about the room and debris began to rain down as the building collapsed.

Serena was not aware of her surroundings, but she heard a crack above her. The girl refused to look and instead only barely recognized the scent of fire as it began to tingle her nostrils. Everything that was happening around Serena was being rejected by her brain; she ignored the flames that began to encroach upon her, the rubble that was being thrown down upon the area around her by the gods above... nothing fazed her.

And nothing would ever faze her again as, still lost in the limbo between conscious and unconscious, a giant block of concrete broke off from the ceiling and crushed the girl like a boot would stomp down upon a bug. Her bones were shattered and her skull crushed open like a watermelon, but no one aside from Dr. Sakurai was aware of this fact.

It would only be several days later when the doctors returned to salvage their data that they would find the mangled and heavily burned corpse of Serena Cadenzavna Eve. And a week after that, Maria awoke from her coma to the news of her sister's death.

. . .

"You're... not Miku..."

Hibiki stared at the girl who floated in front of her. The girl had a kind face framed by strands of hair the colour of chocolate. If not for the lifeless expression and pale skin, Hibiki would have sworn that she was looking into the eyes of an angel–but not the angel that she wanted to see.

Sadness overtook her. Hibiki had said that Miku was dead, but her heart refused to believe that fact. When she saw a mysterious girl appear, Hibiki wanted to believe that somehow Miku had found her way back to her. But now that small light of hope had been extinguished; Miku truly was gone.

Hibiki screamed to the heavens just as she heard Kirika shout the name of the girl that had called herself Chalkydri: "Serena!"

The name embedded itself in Hibiki's mind, and she felt the darkness consume her mind. The white angelic armour that she had been clad in was quickly enshrouded in murky ink, just as her skin was. The orange crystals that spiked out of her body lost their colour and shine, turning dull and grey upon the creature of shadows that had replaced Hibiki Tachibana. She screamed Serena's name in a feral roar as Serena, across from her and silent, held up her now-glowing arm–she was getting ready to fire another beam of light from Shénshòujìng, but Hibiki wouldn't allow it.

Lunging at Serena, the berserk Hibiki swiped at the girl with her one good arm, which was now large as evil claws burst forth from her skin. Serena, for the first time, seemed to panic at the sudden change of strategy, though her gaze remained still–the girl cancelled Shénshòujìng's charge and used her arms to instead block the onslaught that targeted her. Serena struggled as Hibiki's claw struck her armour again and again.

"That idiot!" Chris spat as she glared up at Hibiki and Serena as they tumbled across the endless blue sky. The Ichaival wielder lowered her crossbows. "I can't aim like this."

"And I'd just risk hitting Tachibana if I got in close." Kirika added with a click of her tongue. The two girls looked at each other in frustration as they tried to determine what their next move would be.

Seeing their inaction, Tsubasa began to swing her giant sword platform. The action slowly brought the two closer to Frontier, and the girls leapt off onto the grass as they reached the floating island. With sweat beading down her forehead, Tsubasa shrunk Ame no Habakiri back into its original katana-like appearance, the relief of no longer needing to hold the weighty blade for her allies apparent in her eyes.

"Who is that?" Chris turned to Kirika. "You said her name is Serena?"

"That's my sister."

Running up from behind Tsubasa, Maria spoke sadly. "But she should be dead. I... saw her body."

Maria had begged the doctors to let her confirm that Serena had truly died, and the heartless scientists agreed. At the time, Maria had not known what awaited her, and as she stared at the mangled flesh that laid on a silver table, she could not believe that the object was once her beloved sister.

Her head had been missing, one arm bent at a strange angle and missing a hand. Both of Serena's legs were splayed out, clear to any who looked at the meaty–and heavily burned–flesh that almost every bone in her limbs had been shattered as debris crushed her.

In the present, Maria's eyes grew wide as the image returned to her mind. Beside her, Kirika–who had not seen Serena's corpse in person and thus must have conjured up a memory from Finé–put a hand to her mouth as she gagged.

Yet the image in Maria's mind did not match reality. The utterly destroyed corpse she had looked down upon six years ago had been real, and the remains of the dress that clung to her body made it clear that it was Serena, and yet reality seemed to disagree as Serena–her body completely whole–floated above the sparkling ocean defending herself against Hibiki's rage.

"If she's dead, then what's she doing attacking us?" Chris raised the obvious question as she put one hand on her hip. "Are you really telling us that we're fighting a zombie?"

"There must be a relic that can resurrect the dead." Tsubasa's eyes turned to gaze into Kirika's golden eye as she speculated aloud.

"Finé thought that there was–the Rod of Asclepius–but she could not activate it, death." Kirika tilted her head as she dove into the flood of memories that were not her own. "Even then, she was under the impression that you needed the corpse to resurrect someone."

"So your friends up there brought your sister back to life. And they seem to have fused her with a Symphogear." Chris summarized in deadpan, following her report with a deep sigh. "How do you kill a zombie that they could just resurrect again and again?"

It was now Tsubasa's time to sigh. "In my uncle's action films, the definite way to kill a zombie is to cut off its head." She shook her head. "But that's just a film, and–"

"We can't fight Serena. We definitely can't cut her head off!" Maria shouted. "Even if she is our enemy, I don't want to have to see her die again. If we can just find some way to free her from whatever brainwashing Ver did to her..."

Chris rose an eyebrow. "Our enemy, huh? So you have turned against F.I.S. now?"

Kirika's cheeks puffed up. "After we've been fighting together all this time, death?"

But Maria was far more calm about the accusation. "The only reason I followed Nastassja's orders was because they had explosive collars around Kirika and Shirabe's necks."

"And we only followed after you!" Kirika jumped onto Maria and embraced her in an overpowering hug. Chris blushed and looked away at this act of affection, fumbling for something to say to break up the act she believed to be inappropriate.

"So you were blackmailed." Tsubasa closed her eyes in thought for a moment. "Regardless, now is not the time to question loyalty. What are their plans? Do they plan on destroying the moon just as Finé did?"

With Kirika still clinging to Maria, the older girl shook her head. "No. Even we–Nastassja–agreed that Finé was going too far in that regard. They theorized that the Curse of Balal's seal was held in ruins on the moon, and wanted to use Frontier to block it."

"This thing–" Chris stomped on the ground once. "–Can break the curse?"

"I don't know the specifics," Maria finally pushed Kirika off her as she spoke, and the smaller girl stumbled back in surprise. Kirika caught herself by stabbing her scythe into the ground as if it were a cane, leaning on it to balance herself. "But that's how they framed their plan."

"Frontier was the spaceship that the Custodians–the gods to the first humans–used to travel from their dimension to ours." Kirika explained. "Finé was very fascinated in it, but she thought that treating this thing as just another relic was disrespectful to..." Kirika blushed and covered her eyes. Muttering her single-word catchphrase multiple times, Kirika shook her head quickly.

"I don't know how I feel about you knowing so much about everything." Maria sighed. "And I really would like an explanation as to how you do. But that will have to wait."

"Okay, so this thing–Frontier–has the power to break the chains that bind humanity. F.I.S.–" Tsubasa began to summarize everything they had just learned but was cut off as Maria specified the name of the mad scientist who she believed to be responsible for her sister's reappearance. With that, Tsubasa corrected herself. "Dr. Ver managed to resurrect a girl from the dead and bound her to a Symphogear in a way that does not require her to sing, likely as a countermeasure to us and any other organization that would rise up to fight against them."

Chris looked out at Serena and Hibiki clashing over the ocean. The berserk beast's movements were too fast for Serena to charge up Shénshòujìng's power but too weak to sufficiently damage the girl. Their struggle was an infinite loop that sent the two careening wildly. "So that brings us back to step one: what are we going to do?"

Kirika, diving back into her sea of knowledge, spoke up with a suggestion. "Shénshòujìng's power is supposed to be able to purify... impurities, so if we could find a way to turn that light back on Serena, it may free her from the brainwashing."

"Even if it's supposed to be a pure light," Chris pointed out to the vessel that sat partially-submerged in the water below them. "I don't think you want to be hit by something that can cut off the top of a submarine."

"I don't think we would want to be hit by it anyway." Tsubasa looked at the blade of Ame no Habakiri, which glimmered in the light of the sky. "If it destroys impurities, then it may obliterate our relics."

"If it doesn't kill you first." Chris sighed as she wiped her forehead, closing her eyes for just a moment. "At the very least, we only have to deal with one of these Symphogear killers."

When Chris opened her eyes again, she saw three annoyed expressions looking back at her. It was Kirika who voiced her concern for what Chris had said. "I think you just jinxed us, death."

. . .

Dr. Ver angrily slammed his fist on the chair in which Nastassja sat. "They managed to break the helmet's armour? Perhaps I underestimated the power of those Symphogears."

"Even with all of our research, we never truly understood the capabilities of the Symphogear relics that Finé developed. I have trust that those girls will destroy your plans." Nastassja spoke calmly with a fierce smile at first, but this transformed into a cruel glare as she looked over her shoulder. "But bringing back a girl from the dead? Is nothing sacred to you?"

The doctor grunted in rage. "As if you can talk about consecration, with the experiments you performed on those children."

Moving to the side of Nastassja's chair, Ver used one arm to push the elderly woman with incredible strength, sending her flying out of her seat and against the wall. She coughed up blood as she collided, moaning in pain as she tried to regain her composure.

Dr. Ver pulled a small device out of the pocket of his white lab coat and slammed the button present on it. "They may be able to damage the black armour I clad Chalkydri in, but that was merely a passion project I had been working on." He smiled with a wildly intense look in his eyes. "All of my research had been leading into the development of completely artificial relics beyond those that the accursed gods had gifted our forefathers–and a goal that you shall now see the borne fruits of."

As the button clicked under the doctor's pale finger, the injured Nastassja could feel as the ship she sat in began to shake wildly. Already dizzy from the potential concussion she suffered from, Nastassja's head only began to shake harder as her body quaked. Across from her, the devious doctor laughed like the mad scientist that he was.

. . .

*Kara Lancea Longini zizzl*

The Holy Chant chilled the four Symphogear wielders that stood on Frontier to the core. Kirika only glared at Chris as if to imply that the sound that resonated through the air was her fault–and the wielder of Ichaival seriously questioned whether or not she had manipulated the whims of fate only seconds earlier.

But Tsubasa froze for a different reason. It was not the Holy Chant's claws that stabbed her heart, but rather the voice that sang it. The voice was quiet and calm, but just as emotionless as that which came from Chalkydri–Serena–on the rare occasions she spoke.

The girl with the blue ponytail could not help but glance over to Serena and Hibiki, and was shocked to see that the two had ceased their clash. Like the others around her, their gazes were locked on the flying airship from which the words emanated.

As if she had been there the whole time, Kanade suddenly appeared beside them. "Alright, I'm here to help." She introduced herself with, sparing but a single glance to look over the Symphogear that Maria held.

"Kanade, where did you come from?" Tsubasa was both confused but glad to see her friend, and could barely contain herself as she looked into Kanade's one uncovered eye.

The girl whose wild hair flowed down her back like a volcanic river shouldered her giant spear–the spear of Gungnir. "I attached a rope to Gungnir and threw it at the underside of the island. Climbed right up and then scaled the rest of the mountain." Though Kanade had a confident smile on her face, the slight red colouration of her face and the heavy rise and fall of her chest gave away that she was not as energized as she tried to appear.

Regardless, the others had a difficult time hiding the fact that they were impressed with the girl's strength. Kirika even vocalized such as her eyes glowed. "You're incredible..." she muttered quietly, awe filling her mind.

"Now's not the time to admire me." Kanade waved her hand, but the blush that crept through the red of fatigue was obvious as she turned her head. "We've got a difficult battle ahead of us."

. . .

From within the black void of her body in which she was trapped, Hibiki's eyes went wide. The anger that clouded her mind were sliced by the sword that was the Holy Chant of Lancea Longini.

Somehow, the sadness that welled up within her began to push aside the darkness in which she drowned. Hibiki found herself wading through the corruption that tried to weigh her down, climbing her way up to the light that shone from above.

As Hibiki's consciousness regained control of her body from the evils within her heart, a voice from a ghost reverberated in her mind. It was a kind voice, one very familiar to her, saying something that she had long forgotten about.

I shall be the spear to pierce through the heavens.

. . .

The airship in which Dr. Ver and Nastassja had resided in exploded as a figure cut its way out of it with no regard for safety. The weapon cleaved through the heavy metals of the ship as if it were a pair of scissors cutting through a thin piece of paper.

"Miku!" Hibiki shouted as the darkness exploded from her body. Colour returned to her body, her Symphogear glowing a brilliant white and gold just as angelic as the wings that sprouted from her back.

Tears welled up in Hibiki's eyes, blurring the sight of the airship's destruction. Hibiki felt a strange mix of anger and relief as the ship finally broke apart like an egg and a figure flew into the sky. Unlike Serena, who looked like a villainous black knight with purple spikes attached to her legs, the being that appeared was instead clad entirely in gold, holding a long polearm that appeared to be a giant bladed cross.

The girl was, of course, Miku Kohinata–the girl who should have been dead. Her wavy black hair was loose and significantly longer than it had been when Hibiki had last seen her and the girl's eyes were no longer gold to signify the influence of the eternal priestess Finé. No, the girl's eyes sparkled just as blue as the ocean beneath her, yet the darkness that clouded them was clear at even a glance. Another new element of Miku's appearance came in the form of the dark red lines that carved through her face, a remnant of the burns she suffered as she fell back to the earth.

The sight of her friend should have brought her complete joy, but Hibiki only felt despair; she knew in her heart that Miku was her enemy now. Hibiki swore to herself that she would do absolutely anything to bring back the girl she loved.

Remembering that Serena–who was just as captivated in the sight as Hibiki was–still floated next to her, Hibiki launched into the girl with a powerful kick. The amount of force she put behind her attack far exceeded that which her body should have been capable of, but she did not care as she watched Serena spiral towards her allies on the island of Frontier–towards her allies. Hibiki cared about Miku just as much as Miku cared for Hibiki, so the angel faced her golden sunshine filled with the determination to free her from the chains that bound her.

Neither girl acknowledged the water that sprayed up around them as the ruined vehicle finally dropped crashed beneath the waves.

. . .

Serena righted herself in the air, but did not halt her momentum. From below her, Chris fired upon the girl with her crossbows, and Serena instead turned her attention to those who looked up at her.

"Serena!" Maria, who stood beside Chris with her silver arm pressed up against her heart, called out to her sister. "It's me! Maria! Don't you remember me?"

The girl who was now called herself Chalkydri did not acknowledge the idol's desperate plea for her to see her. Instead, Serena just began to charge up the power of Shénshòujìng, her arm beginning to spark with purple intensity.

With a powerful wave of her arm, Serena let loose a blade of light that cut through the air as it sailed towards Chris and Maria–the other Symphogear wielders were nowhere to be seen, but Serena did not think highly enough of any of her enemies to care. Chris fired a missile into the light to block it, and the two exploded as the air shook as purple lightning and orange embers flew out from the cloud that resulted in their collision.

"Watch about below, death!" Serena had forgotten that Kirika, like her, could fly–a deadly mistake. The young girl barely had the time to turn her head upwards before she felt a foot make impact with her back.

"Let's get you down." Kanade spoke calmly as she stood on Serena's back. The two fell to the ground, rocking the false earth with enough force to dent the spaceship, but Kanade seemed unfazed despite the fact that Serena's nose was now pressed into the ground.

As Serena slowly righted herself, the other Symphogear wielders surrounded the new, shallow crater that had formed as Kanade jumped up to join them. As she stood up next to Chris, Kanade swung her spear out to point at their enemy. "Aim for where I just kicked."

Chris nodded in acknowledgement and readied the gatling guns that Ichaival provided. Maria saw this, however, and gasped in horror at the thought of Chris's weapon shredding her sister, but Chris shook her head. "I won't aim for your sister's face. The rest of her body should be tough enough to withstand this."

Without waiting for Maria's response, Chris began to unload her lead volley at the girl in the centre of the pit–though she did not move nor attempt to block it. Serena's sole response to the attack was to once again charge up the electric light in her arm.

"Not on my watch." Tsubasa rushed up to the girl at a high speed as Chris halted her attack, igniting her Armed Gear in blue flames as she neared. Cutting the air, Tsubasa released a wall of flames that Serena was forced to dodge.

As the girl younger than the other Symphogear wielders that she fought against jumped high into the air, presumably to regain the advantage of distance, Kirika appeared in her path. With an intense look on her face, Kirika smashed her weapon into Serena as she swung her scythe like a baseball bat, launching Serena back into the crater she had just escaped from.

Kanade was ready for the follow-up and landed on the girl to pierce her armour with her spear. For the first time as the black metal buckled under the spear's attack, Serena's blank expression changed into a wince.

"Serena, I'm sorry!" Maria cried as Kanade stepped back. The silver arm of Airgetlám transformed into a pink sword of light and Maria ran this weapon down through her sister's back. A chasm was cut through the shield that protected the young girl within the shell of Chalkydri, and now her white skin was exposed.

In a rage, Serena threw her elder sibling off of her back. Slowly flipping into a vertical state, Serena once again began to charge up Shénshòujìng's power. Tsubasa saw this and attempted to repeat her earlier attempt to block the attack, but Serena anticipated this.

Instead of charging the attack to its full potential, Serena channelled the attack into her index finger, which she extended outwards. Pointing at Tsubasa as she dashed towards her, she fired a small bullet of purple energy from the tip. With Ame no Habakiri's enhanced agility Tsubasa was able to dodge, but she still only barely managed to do so.

Serena did not give the wielders any time to compose themselves as she immediately began charging up another attack, and it was the nearby Kanade who was her new target. As she released another small ball of light from her pointer, Serena gave Kanade barely enough space to react to the projectile only to immediately follow-up with a second.

"Sorry about this, orange!" Chris shouted, launching the missile at Kanade at the same moment the first purple light appeared from Serena's finger. The missile collided with the ground right next to Kanade as the orange idol dodged the first attack and knocked her far out of the course of the second.

Serena immediately began to charge up the attack again, but Maria and Tsubasa retaliated first. Together, the two girls rushed towards the black knight, raising their blades down upon the girl in a harmonic attack. Both of their blades bounced off the armour of Serena's shoulders, but Maria expected this. Withdrawing the pink blade that surrounded one of her arms, Maria sliced at her sister with a small silver dagger, wrenching open the ravine that ran down her spine.

The armour cracked as Maria used her knife as a crowbar, and a deafening crack rang out. Serena could not hold her stoic expression any longer, and screamed as the black plating shattered off–but she did not let this stop her. The young girl swung her arm at her sister with no weapon ready, and struck her across the face. Maria crumpled away, not anticipating the power of the small girl.

"Sorry." Serena cried out, and this single word caused everyone–even the young girl–to pause. For just that single moment, her eyes regained their light before it was quickly overtaken once more by the emotionless darkness.

That small second brought hope to Maria. "Serena, you..." She shook her head, the pink curls bouncing as Maria took on a renewed determination. Their attacks were breaking the armour and freeing her from her curse–she did not know how, but they were doing the right thing here.

Kirika smiled as she saw the hope in Maria's eyes flare brighter than they had been before. She had an idea that she knew the others would disapprove of, but she tossed aside any restraint that kept her back–more than anything, Kirika just wanted to see her friends happy.

She tossed her scythe aside and slowly began making her way towards Serena. Tsubasa nodded in acknowledgment at her decision and jumped back, pulling Maria–who withheld her complaints with this plan–with her.

Taking a deep breath, Kirika began to sing.

*Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal

Emustolronzen Finé el balal zizzl

Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal

Emustolronzen Finé el zizzl*

As the final word escaped Kirika's lips, she reached her hand out towards Serena. Blood dribbled out of her mouth as the song came to a close, and she felt Serena's hand touch her own as her consciousness faded.

. . .

Hibiki and Miku simply stared at each other as they floated in space. Tears streamed down Hibiki's face, but the expression that looked back at her was cold and distant. "You will die here." Miku said in her best impression of a robot.

"Miku, how are you alive? We thought you..." Hibiki knew speaking to her friend was useless halfway through her thought. Instead, pushing away the tears with her good arm, Hibiki pointed her crystalline spear at the girl she held higher than anyone else. Miku, sensing Hibiki's will to engage in combat, mimicked her as she raised her Armed Gear in an identical manner.

Throwing herself forwards, Hibiki flew towards Miku just as her beloved echoed the same action. The two collided, their spears releasing a symphonic chime as the two relics clashed with an intensive power that released a wave to ripple the watery surface far below them.

Pain flared up through the stump of Hibiki's arm, but she ignored it. Drawing back her opposite arm, she threw a powerful punch that Miku deftly avoided by kicking her opponent away. Hibiki spun for just a moment but, with a shake of her head, regained her will to fight.

Hibiki's desire to defeat Miku exploded as the pain from her friend's attack lingered in her gut. It was no longer just a wish to free her Ver's experiments, but also a desire to simply punch her friend for letting her fall to him.

Miku did not give Hibiki time to continue thinking however–she flew towards the angelic Hibiki with her spear pointed forwards, ready to cleave a hole through the light of the sun she once admired.

"Snap out of it, Miku!" With a shout to the heavens, a pain flared up through Hibiki's body. The entirety of her mind was being pulled apart by a combination of her injuries, the strain of the shards of Gungnir embedded within her, and the stress of seeing her friend in such a state.

Hibiki did not move, nor even attempt to guard the attack. The desire to punch Miku was replaced in a moment. The pain took over her mind, Hibiki's strength being pushed by the side as the weaknesses exploded within her.

A second later, the spear pierced Hibiki's body, cutting straight through the girl's chest.

#### G Chapter 13

"Maria... now you can... be happy... with Serena..."

Kirika laid on the ground, her cheek pressed against the cold artificial earth that was the surface of Frontier. Tears of blood stained her cheeks, just as a similar red river flowed out from between her shaking lips.

As she had sung her Superb Song, Kirika Akatsuki surrounded herself and Serena in the power that Finé had bestowed upon her–Asgard. By trapping the energy her body released through this self-destroying song within a pink globe, Kirika was able to bombard the armour that shielded her enemy from every which way, though consequently she, too, suffered from an omnidirectional attack.

Her plan had been successful, however. Though Kirika now laid on the ground in a heavily damaged state, Serena's armour had been drastically weakened and the girl laid on the ground unconscious. The black shield of Chalkydri had many holes in it, the largest of which revealed the young girl's chest as that had been where Kirika approached from.

Luckily, both girls, however, were alive. Though Serena had collapsed in silence, the shallow rise and fall of her chest and the painful look in her eyes signified that life remained within her; life that, for all intents and purposes, should not have been there to begin with.

But Maria had tears streaming down her eyes as she leaned over the body of the other girl. Kirika's golden hair had been stained by the dirt around her and her skin tainted by gore, but she was smiling as she looked up at the idol who cried over her. "Stop crying..." Kirika tried to ease her friend's pain. "I... saved Serena..."

"You idiot! Why would you do something so dangerous?" Maria screamed at Kirika with a concoction of anger and sadness, but the girl's weak smile remained on her face. "You know how dangerous singing the Superb Song was!"

Kirika did not respond verbally. Instead, as her eyes began to glaze over as her consciousness faded, Kirika slowly raised up her shaking hand and wiped the tears that had wet Maria's cheeks. A kind act, but the blood and dirt that had collected on Kirika's hand was now painted across the idol's face like warpaint. Kirika let out a weak chuckle–though the exhalation sounded more like a sigh to the girl sitting over her–as the blinds of her eyelids were finally drawn.

"Oh shit."

As Maria and Kirika had a touching moment alongside the sleeping body of the resurrected Serena, the other three girls watched the battle unfolding over the ocean with wide eyes. Or rather–they watched the result of the battle, one that particularly shocked Chris Yukine, who couldn't help herself but swear.

The golden warrior who sparkled amongst the heavens held a pointed cross-like spear in her grip, the weapon's point embedded deep within a shining angel.

Hibiki looked down at the weapon that had pierced her chest in shock. She couldn't breathe–both due to the injury, but also from the shock that ate through her mind. With trembling fingers, Hibiki reached for the weapon but could not grip the relic as she instead only made contact with an ocean of blood.

"Mi–" Miku Kohinata stared at Hibiki with emotionless eyes as her victim tried to call out her name, only to gargle up blood instead. These two girls had known each other for years–no bond could have been stronger–and yet now one of them was silently working to drain the other of life.

Hibiki vomited blood as Miku pushed the weapon deeper within her, cutting through the muscles and organs in their path with little difficulty. Her body spasmed slightly as the weapon reached as far as it was allowed, and Miku then began to quickly withdraw the blade from its living sheath.

As Miku's Armed Gear finally exited Hibiki's body, she crumpled. Falling limp with her blood-stained hands collapsing to her sides, Hibiki then fell like an unwanted doll through the air. Her Symphogear shattered apart as a trail of blood painted the trail Hibiki made. But the amount of blood that her body released slowly decreased.

Hibiki's consciousness faded as she watched Miku travel further and further away from her, but the young girl's vision was not fading to black like at the end of a film–no, she saw orange as Gungnir's crystals sprouted around her eyes. But these crystals did not only cut through the skin of Hibiki's face; the gems grew like weeds across Hibiki's entire body, with a crystalline flower growing from the deep cavern that had been carved into her chest.

The water exploded as Hibiki's body crashed into the surface. As her limbs splayed out from the incredible impact, the water parted to bury her beneath the shining ocean for all eternity.

By the time Hibiki Tachibana hit the waves she had already left the realm of the living.

. . .

Maria and Tsubasa landed in the submarine that was Sector Two's headquarters. The air was tense as the two girls–who carried Kirika and Serena on their backs, respectively–cut through the coat of depression that hung over the vehicle.

Genjuro had a stern expression on his face, but most everyone else was a mess with tears. Not only did they just watch Hibiki get murdered–with Kanade currently swimming through the water trying to locate her body–but she had been killed by the girl she had dedicated herself to reuniting with.

After stabbing Hibiki, Miku seemingly deactivated. It wasn't as though life left her body, rather she just froze in the air. Even now, almost an hour later, Miku had not moved from the position where she committed murder, staring into the distance with a vacant look in her eyes. She did not seem willing to attack further, but the girls were still on guard; even as Tsubasa and Maria left the command room to give the girls medical attention, they kept one eye each on the sky above them.

"Damn it!" Genjuro finally snapped and punched the steel wall he stood beside. His fist burst the metal plating, denting it in an instant and exploding the air with the sound of destruction. This stunned the already-quiet room into a chilling silence; not even the cries of sadness could be heard.

It was Chris who was brave enough to speak up under the pressure that strangled them. "The Rod of Asclepius." She mused, recalling what Kirika speculated about how Serena miraculously returned to life. "If that Serena girl was brought back to life, there must have been something in that ship that could bring the idio... Hibiki back to life."

"We'll go look!" Yumi shouted, punching her chest to feign a confidence her tear-stained face and red eyes belied. "We'll find some way to save Hibiki!"

Fujitaka and Tomosato, who, up until now, had silently tapped on their computers as they forced their emotions inwards to project a false calm, both looked at each other when the suggestion came up. Their looks were not hopeful, rather they were quite the opposite. "We performed a scan on the wreckage of the ship immediately, but..."

As Fujitaka trailed off, Tomosato picked up the remainder of the thought. "We found no traces of anything worthwhile. There were no signs of life nor relics. Our scan was quite thorough."

"Still, it doesn't feel right for us to just stand around like this!" Yumi angrily waved her hand. "I don't want Hibiki to..."

Shiori grabbed her friend's rumbling hand. Even though her face mirrored the same sad state of her friends', Shiori's voice was exceptionally calm as she spoke. "It may be fruitless, but let us look. Even if we can't find any relics, we might be able to find something to explain why nothing was left behind."

Finally pulling his clenched fist out of the crater that he had created within the wall, Genjuro addressed the two girls with a cold stare a scarily calm voice. "Very well. We have diving equipment in storage that you can use. Tomosato, show them the way."

"Understood." Tomosato stood up in a stiff manner. Despite the tragic act she had witnessed, she still strove to maintain a professional–and friendly–demeanour in every possible way. Her sad eyes that whispered pitiful vibes contrasted the small, kind smile she wore as she led Shiori, Yumi, and Kuriyo out of the room, dodging out of the way as Tsubasa entered right afterwards.

Tsubasa immediately gave her report to the room as the door–which was useless, considering the recent removal of their roof–slid closed behind her. "Both girls appear to be in stable condition."

"Do we know if Serena's brainwashing was broken?" Chris asked, and Tsubasa immediately shook her head.

"She's still unconscious, and I do worry about what could happen if she awoke and tried to kill the girls in the infirmary, but I have a feeling Maria Cadenzavna Eve would be able to handle it."

"Speaking of," Fujitaka spun around in his chair. "What are we going to do about those girls? Even ignoring the fact that Akatsuki seems to have acquired Finé's knowledge and memories, the three girls are officially wanted terrorists in almost every country."

"We'll need to figure that out afterwards." Genjuro sighed as he closed his eyes. "Ogawa, brother, you two have a difficult task ahead of you."

The group heard a splash of water from beyond the walls around them, and a second later a geyser of water rose up a short distance away. No one panicked however, as they saw the cause of it but a second later: Kanade, who fell from the top of the water's tower and landed with a thud in another room of the submarine. A few moments later Kanade, her entire body–which was still wearing her Symphogear, being the only girl still clad in the armour–dripping wet. Just by standing still in the entryway, a puddle quickly began to form beneath her feet just from the droplets that fell from her hair.

Kanade had a solemn look on her face as she undid the rope that had been tied around her waist. This rope had trapped the body of Hibiki Tachibana against Kanade's back as she swam through the water, and the corpse fell off and landed against the ground in a thud.

Hibiki Tachibana's corpse had completely transformed. No longer was she a girl who slumped like a puppet with cut strings, now Hibiki's entire body was encased in a spiky orange crystal like a fossil in amber. Her face was frozen in shock, and the blood that had spilled from her chest now floated before her in a cloud, suspended within the stone that kept her trapped.

"That..." Chris tried to find the words to describe the scene. Despite the fact that they were technically staring at a corpse–and a corpse of a girl they had all grown fairly close to–her body looked more like a twisted work of art. Chris stared at the cadaver forever locked in orange, her mind racing for a way to finish that sentence but unable to gather a single word.

"Even if we were able to free her from this, we couldn't revive her." Tsubasa touched the crystal with her hand, gripping one of the many spires that extended out from the prison at awkward angles. She lowered her head in apology as she stepped back after a moment. "I am truly sorry, Hibiki Tachibana, that you had to meet your end in this way."

Kanade punched her hand into her opposite palm as anger filled her mind. "Damn it! I want to kill that girl." Lowering her hands sadly, her tone shifted. "But I know she would be heartbroken to know what she did."

"This really is a mess." Genjuro collapsed into his designated seat. "The only silver lining we have is that Kohinata has not continued her attack."

"Isn't that weird?" Chris pointed out at the mention of their stalemate. "She's clearly strong and could probably take the three of us on all at once, but it's like that girl only wanted to fight her." She gestured towards Hibiki with her head, consciously doing so in a way that prevented herself from getting a proper view of the girl's terrifying expression.

"Now that you mention it," Tsubasa realized. "Chalkydri–Serena–primarily focused her attention on Tachibana as well. It was only when she was launched towards us that her target changed."

"You think this was intentional?" Kanade asked as she wrung her hair out like a soggy towel. The ground around her was already soaked, so nobody complained as another puddle formed around her feet. "And do you think they knew Tachibana would become...?" Though she trailed off, they all knew where she was going.

"Unfortunately, we're still almost completely in the dark. If only Finé was kind enough to share her research data with us." Fujitaka sighed.

His sigh was quickly replaced with surprise as a light flashed upon the console in front of him, illuminating his face. "Kohinata seems to be on the move." He announced, and all eyes turned skywards.

"Shall we go, then?" Tsubasa stretched her leg out as if about to run a marathon, taking a quick and silent moment to glance at Kanade as she did so.

Her Zwei Wing partner just stared at the sky, taking in a sharp breath through her cracked lips. Tsubasa noticed a distant look in Kanade's tilted eyes, one that was justified due to the recent death of one of their allies–their friends. The sadness that came with the tragedy of death gripped Tsubasa's heart for just a moment, but she pushed it aside.

Now was not the time for mourning. Right now, they needed to avenge their fallen comrade.

*Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron*

. . .

Miku Kohinata flew towards the giant tower of Frontier in silence. In her hand, the girl clutched the cross-shaped lance that was coated with the stolen life of her best friend. Her dark eyes were focused on the location that the brainwashed Miku's master had ordered her to report to: the control room of the Custodian's giant spaceship.

The obnoxious voice of Doctor John Wayne Vercingetorix resounded in her ear. "My greatest creation, fulfil your duty!" He cackled to end the orders he had given her.

Miku's heart wanted to disobey the man within her mind, but her brain shouted otherwise. She felt compelled to follow Dr. Ver, for reasons she did not quite understand. Was it the result of the experiments he performed on her, or was she subconsciously grateful that he brought her back from the brink of death?

The answer did not truly matter–Miku knew that she had no choice but to follow his orders. After all, Miku had no will of her own at this moment; she was but a living weapon, the Lancea Longini, designed solely to assist Dr. Ver in his twisted goals.

A sound rippled in the distance from behind her, and Miku turned to look over her shoulder. She saw a large missile flying through the air, aimed directly at her and carrying four figures atop its back.

Chris Yukine, the source of this rocket, stood at the head, her gatling guns taking aim at Miku's chest. Behind her, the girl in gold could see Tsubasa, Kanade, and their new ally, Maria Cadenzavna Eve all with their Armed Gears drawn and ready to strike.

Miku was floating above the ground of Frontier, not too far from the mountainous outcropping that extended up into the eye-like antenna at the top of the artificial island. She knew that, when they landed, they could engage in combat with her far easier than when she floated above the ocean; this was something she needed to rectify.

As the girl began to ascend away from the ground, Miku watched as Tsubasa jumped high into the air and off the missile. The girl in blue slashed her sword to cut through the air, sending a projectile of blue light towards Miku. She had no choice but to dodge, sliding downwards out of the projectile's path. The act made her certain–they were not going to let her run off.

The missile closed in on Miku, and she made the decision to temporarily abandon Ver's orders: it was time to fight. She had successfully completed her first mission, but the corrupted Miku knew that this second fight would not be so easy. Hibiki had been weakened both mentally and physically, but a four-on-one fight with girls who have only been worn down by fatigue would be significantly weaker.

Lancea Longini was a completely articial relic designed using the data of all other Symphogears: Gungnir, Ame no Habakiri, Ichaival, Airgetlám, Shul Shagana, Igalima, Shénshòujìng–even data taken from Nephilim, Solomon's Cane, and Kadingir. All of these powerful relics came together to create the armour that now clad Miku Kohinata; a set of armour that she had not even begun to use to its full potential.

And now Miku knew–it was time to wield this power.

As the missile closed in on Miku, black veins cut through her skin. The power of Lancea Longini was generated not through songs as Symphogears were, but through emotions and memories; this was because of the alchemical metals that Ver had implanted within Miku's central nervous system. She could control her new power effortlessly so long as she breathed–the only downside was the pain that consumed Miku as her body rewrote the notes of her heart.

The group that backed Ver and his research had tasked the doctor to create an artificial weapon that combined the Symphogear system that the eternal Finé had concocted with the alchemical Faust Robes that Ver only had cursory knowledge of; Lancea Longini was the result of this perfect marriage.

Maria, Chris, and Kanade all leapt off the missile as it finally entered Miku's personal space, but the latter girl did not move. With her soulless eyes, Miku simply watched as the red point of the rocket sailed directly towards her.

An explosion rocked the air, sending a dark cloud of flames spiralling out in all directions, but the four girls who arrived on the missile were sure that Miku was still active. The explosion likely would have harmed her, but, if they had learned anything from the armour that had clad Serena, Ver's work was incredibly durable.

What none of them could have predicted was the report that came from Tomosato in their earpieces just as the missile collided with the girl in the air above them. "We're detecting a new Aufwachen Waveform!"

Chris cursed in shock both as the news and the sight registered within her brain. "This girl's a monster!"

Miku Kohinata was completely surrounded in a blue globe of metal, one which did not even have a single speck of dust stuck to it. Though describing it as an orb or globe was apt, the design more closely resembled two flowers, whose petals were angled to touch at the tips. The shield was more a prison that hid Miku within the shining calyces and away from the view of the girls before, and two chains of diamond links crossed around the entire product like a pair of ouroboroses.

These chains unfurled slowly, disintegrating into light as the new object dissipated. Miku revealed herself once more, her golden armour now the same shining cyan as the shell had been.

"Shrivatsa." Miku commanded that the shield disappear with a wave of her hand, and the blue colouration of her armour returned to its wealthy gold–though the black tears that sliced her skin remained. Miku did not need to speak the command but did so as she aimed a shadowy glare at her opponents.

Miku lowered herself to the ground as she made the decision to reveal the extent of her power to her opponents, hoping they would flee so that she could complete the mission she had been given with haste.

She deftly dodged an attack from Maria without blinking, and swatted away the incoming spear of Gungnir with a back-handed smack. "Weak." She spat, echoing the words of the man who commanded Miku from a safe distance.

"Why not give them a taste of their own medicine?" Dr. Ver phrased his order as a considerate question but Miku was forbidden from disobeying him. She complied, raising her arm into the air.

The black tears across her skin lit her body up in a similar murky darkness, and a moment later her armour had once again transformed.

"Gold is a spear, blue is a shield..." Chris commented from afar, watching as her allies regrouped around her. "What do you suppose red means?"

Miku silently answered the girl's question by thrusting her arm out in front of her. "Ichaival." Miku shouted, though she did not address Chris by saying this.

No, as Miku called the name of the relic, her arm was engulfed in a red energy. The girl grabbed down on the gas that formed around her fist, which connected with a solid bar.

"Are you kidding me?" Chris complained. Her face was washed with anger and confusion, and the girls around her were similarly shocked.

After all, Miku now pointed one of the same crossbows Chris held at the girl clad in the Ichaival Symphogear.

"She can use our Symphogears?" Kanade asked her allies. "Then we're going to need to get creative."

As Kanade smiled, Miku began to unload upon her enemies.

#### G Chapter 14

Waving to Tomosato, Yumi and her two friends dove off of a platform that had extended out from the submarine. Though Yumi, Shiori, and Kuriyo had never gone diving before, Yumi had grasped the fundamentals from an anime she watched and had–to Kuriyo's surprise–successfully instructed her friends how to use the equipment properly.

The helmets the three girls wore were claustrophobic, but they were equipped with radios to allow them to communicate with each other. That thought was comforting as they slowly descended beneath the waves. "The ship crashed in this direction, right?" Kuriyo asked as she led Yumi and Shiori through the darkness.

"Ah, is that it?" Shiori pointed–very slowly, considering the weight of the water that surrounded her–at a structure beneath them.

Frontier's emergence had torn up the ocean floor, turning the mysteries beneath the surface inside-out like a sweater, and dust was still floating around the girls. Despite that, the tan exterior of the airship seemed to sparkle through the darkness, perhaps a result of the few rays of sunlight that streamed down far enough to reflect off the glass that still remained.

Yumi was the first to reach this part of the ship. It had flipped upside-down in its descent and the water had rocked the interior; she had no idea which part of the ship it was, nor what it was being used for, but it seemed to look like something out of a sci-fi anime. "I think this was the lab." Yumi reported as her friends drew nearer to her.

As Kuriyo stared into the darkness of this part of the ship, she gestured towards an area that seemed brighter. "I think Hina broke out of here." The giant hole in the wall did not have a symmetrical partner, and the way some of the surrounding wall spiked outwards away from the girls, it looked as though something had definitely broke out–Kuriyo was correct in her assessment.

Yumi clicked a button on the side of her helmet, which projected a cone of light out in front of her via a small light implanted atop it. As Shiori and Kuriyo did the same, the girl swam into the remains of the lab. "This place looks horrifying."

She may not have been sure if the chaos was due to the ship's destruction and the water's interference, but it was still clear to Yumi that some of the mess may have been here before the ship was destroyed. As she looked around, she could tell that some terrible experiments had gone on in this room. What looked to be a medieval torture rack was built into the wall–with markings of a cross drawn over it in a red substance that Yumi hoped was paint–and next to it a giant tesla coil-like device that had multiple chords still attached to it. Only one of the chords that floated within the water had anything in its grasp, but Yumi believed that all twelve of the rubber tentacles around her had all held the same thing: giant syringes. Yumi cringed at the thought of being stabbed by even one of these large needles, let alone twelve–or potentially more.

"What did Hina go through?" Yumi heard Kuriyo, who was on the opposite side of the room, through her headset and looked over as she picked up a small, pure-black shard. "Do you think this was what that armour was made from?"

Yumi remained on the other side of the room, fixated on the horrible mechanical monstrosity, but spared just a quick glance. "It looks the same, doesn't it?"

"Hey girls, over here." Shiori slowly waved from further into the ship. "Do you think they might be able to salvage anything from these computers?"

Shiori gestured at something that looked to once be a table. Both sitting atop it and around it, several large machines had toppled over, and one had even cracked open like an egg to reveal several colourful chords. These machines surrounded three computers, all of which seemed to be in fine condition despite being submerged. "We could each carry one up."

"It might be worth a shot." Kuriyo nodded.

"Yumi?" Shiori called to their other friend, who still stared at the black device. She now held one of the rubber chords in her hands, ogling the dagger-like syringe. The giant anime fan poked the tip of the needle absent-mindedly, forgetting that she was underwater and wearing a diving suit. Even as Shiori called her name, Yumi did not acknowledge them.

Instead, Yumi recalled the reason why Genjuro had asked her to remain in the command room while Shiori and Kuriyo brought Shirabe to the medical room.

It took Shiori a few waves of her hand for Yumi to finally snap back to reality. When Yumi realized that both of her friends were looking at her with very concerned looks.

"Are you all right? You're focusing very hard on that... syringe." Kuriyo asked.

"Of course I'm not all right, it'd be weird if I was after everything that's happened." Yumi sighed, but smiled nonetheless. "But yeah, I heard you. You found some computers?"

Shiori and Kuriyo looked at each other as Yumi simply turned and swam further into the ship. They both knew Yumi was not okay–they weren't either, of course–but they felt that she had been acting especially odd. "Perhaps the stress is just getting to her?" Kuriyo offered a moment later, and Shiori smiled a smile of pity.

Yumi, on the same radio frequency as her friends, ignored their questions as she swam away. An image had burned itself in her mind; it was not the syringe that had held her attention, but what had been carved on the wall beside the device that she had held it in its grasp.

. . .

It took Yumi, Shiori, and Kuriyo far longer to carry the computers up to the surface than it had taken them to reach the ruined lab. Kuriyo had needed to swim up to the surface to get some ropes, to allow them to tie the computers to their backs as they swam. What's more, the girls did not realize how much they had left gravity aid them in their descent; what took them only a handful of minutes before required almost an hour's work to rectify.

As she dropped the computer down at Tomosato's feet, Yumi collapsed onto her back. The girl threw off her helmet, letting her untied hair fall down onto her wet shoulders, and she shook her head as her lungs filled with clean air for the first time in what felt like an eternity. Kuriyo and Shiori, she noticed out of the corner of her eye, did similar motions–they had not realized how suffocating their helmets had been until they removed them.

Tomosato bent down and handed them towels, a concerned look on her face. She clearly wanted to say something, but Yumi held her hand up. "I'm really sick of bad news right now." She angrily fell to her back and closed her eyes, dropping the fresh, white towel over her face.

"Yumi, that's..." Shiori muttered, but she could understand the girl's feelings. With her blond hair curled up even more, taking the shape of the helmet that she had stuffed it into, Shiori nodded an apology to Tomosato, who simply smiled in return.

Once they had stripped out of their diving suits and hung them to dry, Tomosato led Kuriyo and Shiori out into the hall, giving them the 'bad news' that Yumi had declined to hear. None of them noticed as Yumi cracked the door open to hear as they walked away, curiosity getting the better of her.

"The Symphogear wielders are engaged in battle with Kohinata at the moment." At the news, Kuriyo couldn't help but sadly gasp out the nickname she had given her classmate, and Tomosato paused for a moment as she tried to determine the right phrasing for her continuation.

"How are the others doing?" Shiori asked, seeing the distress in Tomosato's expression.

Tomosato did not know whether it would be better to phrase the fight in favour of the girls' close friend–Miku Kohinata–or the ones trying to free her from her cursed gear, so she instead just came out and addressed the situation in the most blunt way possible: "Terribly."

At this point they exited the range for Yumi to continue hearing their conversation, so the girl slumped back into the room and slowly began to remove her diving suit

. . .

Kanade flew through the air and collided with the side of the cliff that acted as the base for Frontier's main tower. The stone behind her cracked under the force of the impact, creating a pattern resembling a spider's web that had trapped the orange-haired girl like a fly.

"What did they do to you?" Kanade pulled herself out of the dent in the wall that her body had made and let gravity pull her to the ground. Her sad words only reached the ears of Tsubasa, who stood next to her breathing heavily.

The two members of Zwei Wing stared at Miku Kohinata as her armour continually shifted between different colours. With every move of her arm, a different shade engulfed her body and the weapons she held changed appearance accordingly. With Maria closing in on her, Miku became awash in a golden glow as she countered the silver arm of Airgetlám with the lance she had begun the battle with, following up immediately by targeting a distant Chris with saw blades she summoned as her gear turned pink to match the design of Shul Shagana.

Kanade Amou, Tsubasa Kazanari, Maria Cadenzavna Eve, and Chris Yukine. Together, these four wielded some of the most powerful relics known to humanity, and yet Miku held a power far greater.

"She can counter all of our attacks effortlessly, as if she's reading our minds." Tsubasa assessed the situation, watching as Maria and Chris attacked simultaneously from opposite directions. Their attempt was useless however, as Miku's blue armour folded into its spherical coffin to protect her from their onslaught before Chris's projectiles had even begun flying through the air. Both the ethereal bullets that Ichaival fired and the silver blade Maria clutched in her hand bounced off of Miku's shield, leaving not even a dent.

"There's something odd about the way she's fighting." Kanade spat out a globule of blood and wiped away some red that had dribbled down her chin. It had not been the first time she was thrown against something during this fight; several spider webs dotted the scenery around them, and each time Kanade stood back up with resolve in her eye. "I don't think she actually wants to kill us... and..." Though Kanade trailed off, Tsubasa was able to finish that later thought. It was something even she had realized during their battle.

*Miku did not channel Gungnir.*

As Miku's shield unfurled, the armour that was bound to her sparkled like an emerald as she sliced the air with a giant scythe–one that Maria was only barely able to dodge by leaping back towards the two idols of Zwei Wing who watched as if innocent bystanders not intending to fight.

"I want to test something." Kanade cocked a sad smile as Maria approached. Then, raising her voice, Kanade summoned Chris over.

The robotic Miku Kohinata did not understand why the four girls had halted their attack. Of course, they had yet to even glance her with their Armed Gears, but Miku had been sure that the four Symphogear wielders would not simply give up.

As if echoing her thoughts, a voice hissed in her ear. "They're planning something. Kill them now."

"Understood." Miku could not help but nod at the suggestion. This man was the puppeteer of the strings that held up her heart; she could not disobey him no matter what her weak heart tried. As such, under his command, she clad herself in armour as black as the night–the armour signifying the use of Shénshòujìng.

Just as the second test subject Chalkydri–otherwise known as Serena Cadenzavna Eve–had done before, Miku channelled a sparking purple light throughout her entire body as her hollow eyes focused on the group of Symphogear wielders that she mostly knew from her past life.

Then, she heard the music from the Symphogears begin to play. The song that emanated from the heart of the girl that wore Gungnir was not one filled with the emotions she wished to convey through fighting, but instead a melody that was familiar to the deepest recesses of Miku Kohinata's mind.

Sparking purple light continued to spark around her body, but Miku did not move. Her heart simply froze as the voices of Kanade Amou and Tsubasa Kazanari reverberated around her.

*"Kikoemasu ka…?" Gekijō kanaderu mujīku

Ten ni

Tokihanate

"Kikoemasu ka…?" Inochi hajimaru myakudō

Ai wo

Tsukiagete*

Though her mind was frozen in confusion at the memory that welled up within her, Miku could tell from the warmth in her chest that this was one from her past life–the one that should have been thrown away.

The girl looked around in confusion–Frontier was nowhere in sight. Instead, under the orange light of the burning sunset, two voices rang out from the dazzling stage laid before her.

Tsubasa and Kanade sang, not dressed in the armour built from relics but instead clad in bright blue and pink dresses of idols. The serious expressions that the two had worn in combat looked foreign to the girls before her now; the fact that Kanade looked down upon her with both eyes was, in itself, incredibly startling to Miku for reasons she did not quite understand.

Cheers welled up from around her as Kanade and Tsubasa. Ghosts from a past that Miku had forced down slowly filled the empty stadium around her, with only a single empty hole right next to her. The girl, no longer wearing the black armour that had been forced upon her, looked down in confusion as her hands grasped green glow sticks.

*Yes, just believe kami-sama mo shiranai hikari de rekishi wo tsukurō

Gyakkō no shawā

Mirai terasu

Issho ni tobanai ka?

Just feeling namida de nureta hane omokute habatakenai hi wa wish

Sono migite ni soeyō

Boku no chikara mo

Futari de nara tsubasa ni nareru singing heart*

"Thank you Miku." A girl's voice drowned out the cheers beside her, and Miku looked up. The spot was empty, a faceless figure the closest being to her, but Miku knew that a familiar voice had rung out from the chaos that surrounded her. As she looked for its source, she heard it speak again. "Without you, I never would have been able to see this!"

Chris and Maria stood off to the side, just as they had been asked to. Chris had her gatling guns ready and aimed at Miku in case the plan that Kanade suggested had backfired, but all seemed to be working as she believed it would.

"So that's the power of Zwei Wing." Maria admired from beside her. They stood on the side of Frontier's base, clinging to it as if they were spies as they balanced on the uneven earth that rose up the edges.

Kanade had suggested that she and Tsubasa try to use the power of Miku's memories to break the spell that controlled her, noticing that, though they had all been sent flying at different points in time, Miku only ever attacked in defence. "I think some part of her is still alive in there." Kanade explained with a nod. "We just need to draw it out."

"But singing Gyakkō no Flügel?" Tsubasa raised an eyebrow. The question she had on her mind was more so why she wanted to drag out that particular memory–the memory of the day when Miku and Hibiki had almost died, and the catalyst for the events that led them to today.

Kanade's sad smile and kind eye looked down at Tsubasa. "Unlike you, I'm not always focused on the mission at hand. I remember seeing the looks on their faces that day–I noticed the wonder in both Kohinata and Tachibana's eyes, and it made it clear to me that my songs were actually helping people.

"I think that song we sung was the last thing that had brought them hope." Kanade admitted with a sigh.

"Even I have to admit that they're pretty incredible." Chris's words pulled Maria back to the present. Even though Kanade and Tsubasa carried their Armed Gears, they performed elegant movements befitting the idol name that they had created for themselves. "But I still can't believe this is working."

Maria couldn't help but release a chuckle. Even if she had only worked as an idol to aid in Nastassja's experiments, she did not hate living the life of someone that people all over the world looked up to. She was fluent in English, Ukranian, Russian, and Japanese–Maria's songs could communicate meaning to many different people across the world. She knew better than anyone that the words she told Chris were true: "The power of song is not to be underestimated."

It was as if the world agreed with her. She felt Frontier tremble slightly beneath her feet, knocking her and Chris both slightly off their precarious balance, but they managed to remain on their balcony looking down at the idols' performance below. But the scene looked different now: golden veins of light flowed through the ground, up towards and through the tower that Maria and Chris had their backs pressed against.

"That's probably bad, right?" For the first time, Chris purposefully lowered her crossbow off Miku and turned to look at Maria, whose face was white with fear. "Yep. Alright, now what?"

"Is it possible that their song activated Frontier?" Maria wondered aloud. Shaking her head, she spun her neck to meet Chris's gaze. "Let's head up to the control room."

Kanade and Tsubasa noticed the lights flare up around them but kept singing regardless. Miku was stunned into silence, her body no longer pulsing with the energy of Shénshòujìng, and the sight made even Tsubasa's face break into a smile.

Kanade's theory was right–the real Miku Kohinata was still locked inside there, somewhere, and they just needed to draw it out to overpower her. Unfortunately, if Miku broke from the daze and still wanted to fight, Tsubasa knew that they no longer stood a chance of winning as she saw Maria and Chris dash away.

But as the music that their Symphogears played slowed to its end, Tsubasa knew combat was no longer necessary. Breathing even harder now than she had been while fighting–a thought that made her forget how difficult it was to be an idol–Tsubasa watched as Miku's eyes flooded with tears. The black veins that crossed her scarred body slowly began to fade away, and the girl collapsed to the ground. "Hibiki!"

Miku sobbed as she curled herself over the artificial earth of Frontier, crying the name of her friend over and over. Tsubasa was both glad that their song had had such an effect on the girl but also quite sad; after all, all they had really done was brought back the Miku that now had to deal with the fact that she murdered the one who she was closest to. Miku had already lost her parents to suicide, and now the girl who she clung to for support had been ripped away by her own hands.

Tsubasa wiped a tear from her eye as Kanade approached Miku. Bending down, she patted Miku on the back as she encouraged the girl to let out her feelings.

"I'm so sorry, Hibiki!" Echoed through the silent air as the members of Zwei Wing comforted their distressed fan.

#### G Chapter 15

Miku slammed her fist on the ground as her heart exploded into a hurricane of emotions. The song that Zwei Wing had sung grounded her self within her body, yet the mind that she had had corrupted through the experiments of John Wayne Vercingetorix tried to turn off the light that had begun to burn once again.

It was as if Miku's mind was fractured in half. Within the cage of her brain, Miku looked through the supernova that exploded out around her at a copy of herself–one with a stiff and frozen expression that looked through her. The two Mikus simply stared at each other within this metaphorical space, watching and waiting for the other to attempt to force out the other.

The two beings that were each different versions of Miku Kohinata were locked in a tense stalemate, though this could not have been known by either of the two idols who stood over the crying girl who huddled over the ground.

Kanade patted Miku's back with her warm hand, listening to the heavy sobs and the cries for her departed friend that Miku continued to release. The orange-haired girl had a sad smile on her face as she turned to her blue partner. "Go."

Tsubasa did not want to stand around any longer. She was not heartless, far from it, but she felt as though there were more important matters to deal with at the moment now that the largest obstacle in their path had been dealt with–if only potentially temporarily. The long blue ponytail that hung off Tsubasa's head bobbed as she nodded quickly before dashing off.

"I'm sorry." Kanade looked back down to Miku, kneeling down to match the height of the girl crumpled over the ground of Frontier. Her head hanging low, Kanade shed a single tear of her own. "I truly am."

. . .

Chris Yukine and Maria Cadenzavna Eve jumped off a missile and landed on the squared-off rocky cliff that the rocket flew past at a high speed. This cliff acted as a rectangular window that looked into the wide, mostly empty chamber within the centre of Frontier's main tower: the control room.

It was more apt to describe this area as the control crater, however. The 'control panel' was a large ornament that rose out of what appeared to be bottomless pit. A long, thin spire of stone rose out of this chasm, and it transformed a tower of giant gears at its peak. These gears held a violet crystalline shrine, with a small pedestal that held a spherical device atop it and surrounded by a similarly–albeit cyan-coloured–crystalline pillars that encircled the entire spectacle as a ring.

Standing at the top of this pedestal was Dr. Ver–his hand on the globe that emitted a deep blue glow. In disgust, the doctor scoffed at the sight of the two Symphogear users as they looked down upon him. "I had hoped that the activation of Frontier was due to a mutual destruction. Seems as though my research may not be as complete as I had originally believed."

"Ver!" Maria shouted, and her voice echoed through the chamber. "What is your plan?"

"My plan?" The mad scientist laughed, spit flying from his mouth as his cackle reverberated towards Maria and Chris above him. "To free humanity from the Curse of Balal and create a just society!"

"So we've got a Finé wannabe?" Chris rose her eyebrow, shaking her crossbow in annoyance as she drew up memories of her former master and the life she had been forced to live. "Do you want to blow up the moon, too?"

"You dare compare me to that insolent witch?" Ver's response was an angry shout, and the girls could see veins bulging from beneath his skin as rage flowed through him.

"That's a yes, then." Chris and Maria spoke simultaneously, with the former following it up with a heavy sigh.

"Bah! What would you children even know about this cursed world of ours?" With a pump of the hand not pressed against the alien machine, Ver rose his fist to the sky. "Then I shall show you! This world that shall be changed by my hand!"

The false ground began to shake, throwing Maria and Chris off balance. "Uhh..." Chris turned her head to glance at the world over her shoulder–a world that was now shrinking as Frontier slowly began to ascend. Looking back to the doctor, she shouted in the loudest voice she could muster as an angry confusion gripped her. "Are you insane?"

"The only insane ones here are you!" Ver laughed. Though his wild eyes looked up at the grey ceiling, the doctor still twisted his body to dodge a magical bullet that Chris fired from her crossbow–instead of cutting through the man she had it trained on, it only barely glanced the tail of the white lab coat that whipped up as Ver's body spun. As Chris clicked her tongue, annoyed, her eyes focused on Ver's hand, still pressed against the control panel.

"This place doesn't offer us a lot of combat options." Maria's focus danced around the room as she analyzed the layout. "We don't know how he got here, but if Ver was so confident to leave himself open like this then we should assume he has something up his sleeve."

Beneath them, Ver chuckled quietly.

"And it definitely does not seem like it would be a good idea to fall in that pit." Chris finished Maria's thought. Showing Maria a sly smile as she held up one of her red crossbows. "I'll be fine up here."

Maria just let out a sigh as she readied the small silver blade in her hand. "You're going to need to cover me."

Flipping up through the air, Maria landed on the stone bridge behind Ver with a gentle thud, and immediately regretted her decision as the ground quaked beneath her. She looked down beneath the rocky platform on which she stood and gasped in confusion.

"Noise?" Chris shouted, firing her crossbows at the technicolour beasts that began to claw their way up the tower. A magical bullet cut through the large grape-like one that had rocked the bridge Maria was on by firing a purple explosive at the ground beneath her; the bridge should have shattered because of the blast, but Maria assumed it held its shape due to the Custodians' advanced design.

"Where did they come from?" Maria asked, slashing at a small orange creature that flew up to meet her. As the silver weapon of Airgetlám cut through the Noise, it shattered into sparkles as the monster disappeared.

Ver cackled from his position in front of her. "Have you not wondered what had happened to Solomon's Cane?"

Finally, the mad doctor took his hand off of the device that he had been desperately groping up until now. As he spun around, he threw open his white coat and pulled up the grey-green turtle-neck that had hidden underneath.

Strapped across Ver's chest was a silver bandolier-like device that crossed over his heart–above which was a purple jewel. The crazy eyes of the doctors cut through Maria's soul just in the same way her blade pierced another flying Noise leapt up to meet her. "It is merely a prototype right now, but I have merged my own body with the technology of Solomon's Cane."

The doctor threw one hand out beside him and a pink blast released from it. The energy that had pulsed out of Ver's palm formed into an orange flying Noise to replace the one that had just shattered–though it, too, would likewise explode as Chris fired upon it. But Ver turned back and placed his hand back on the globe, not sparing the girls another glance. "I had spent this time spawning an army of Noise, commanding them to remain hidden until you appeared."

"So your secret weapon was Noise?" Chris smiled, watching as Maria slowly cut through the army of Noise that reached the peak of the stone tower and began marching towards her. "Do you really think that some of these smallfry would be enough to beat us?"

"Of course not, you imbecile." Ver spat. "Who do you think I am?"

"A disgusting creature." Maria clenched her teeth as she remembered the twisted experiments that she–alongside Shirabe and Kirika–had been subjected to by the doctor with the snowy hair. But moreover, Maria took a deep breath as she tried to push out the pain that had begun to grip her mind.

Tsubasa leapt up the cliff as she circled the tower of Frontier. She was having a hard time catching her breath as the artificial island flew up towards the heavens, and worry flooded her mind as she thought of Kanade–and Miku–below her. "Knowing her, she should be fine." A smiling image of Kanade flashed through Tsubasa's mind as she verbally reassured herself, and continued her climb.

She was not too far away from the cliff she saw Chris perched upon. Sounds of battle pierced her ears, and Tsubasa pushed herself to continue pushing herself past the limits her body placed on her.

"Ah, you made it." Chris replied casually as Tsubasa finally landed beside her. The blue-haired girl placed her hands on her knees as she struggled to find her breath, realizing now that her lungs were filling easier on this cliff than they had outside.

"So we can breathe in here." Tsubasa noted, wiping sweat from her forehead. With a shake of her head, she focused on the battle that unfolded inside of the rocky dome.

"He said he fused with Solomon's Cane." Chris fired off blast after blast with her crossbows, not even sparing a moment to pause as she spoke to Tsubasa. "So now we're dealing with some old friends."

Tsubasa nodded a thanks for the recap of the events that she missed. Noticing a gap in the army that closed in to encircle Maria from both directions she could move in, Tsubasa backed up and sprinted to the end of the cliff before leaping off. While in the air, Tsubasa swung down the blade of Ame no Habakiri, firing off a blue blade of energy to cut through the hoard and widen the safe haven she was aiming for.

Landing behind Maria, the two idols gave each other a glance as they readied their blades to continue the fight. In that quick interaction, both noticed the slight weaknesses both suffered from: Tsubasa's lungs were still gasping in the air she had been deprived of outside, while Maria's eyes were slightly unfocused as the knife stabbing her brain only dug its blade deeper in. But they could not worry about each other at the moment.

"We need to get to Ver." Maria shouted as the two cut down the Noise that approached them.

Tsubasa, her back brushed by Maria's long pink hair, stabbed through a Noise that had leapt up from the side of the bridge. "Trade."

With one order, the two girls' movements synced up. Taking but a second to hesitate, the two girls slid past one another as they traded positions, slicing through Noise that had been leaping at the opposite idols' backs as they switched the directions they fought in. "Now, ready to run?" Tsubasa asked, but did not give Maria any time to answer.

Flipping onto her hand, Tsubasa extended the blades on her legs as she began to spin. Her legs rotating like a helicopter's rotor, the girl spun over the long stone bridge towards Ver, cutting through some smaller Noise and tossing some larger ones off into the abyss.

"What?" Maria gasped in surprise at the speed Tsubasa travelled at and ran to catch up with the spinning helicopter-girl who blasted off towards Ver. Ignoring the wall of Noise that closed in from behind them, Maria cut down any of the Noise that managed to dodge Tsubasa's spinning fury and stood now in Maria's way.

In moments, Tsubasa had closed a much greater distance with her kicks than Maria had in the entire time she had been fighting. She marvelled at the strength of the girl who flew about in front of her. "This is the power of a true Symphogear candidate."

Ver grunted in anger as he noticed the two girls' approach. He muttered to himself as his brain ran through several ideas on how to combat these two girls should he need to. "That pathetic girl. I know I should have used the Rod of Asclepius on her as well."

"Stand down Ver." Tsubasa ordered as she reached the base of the shrine from which the doctor looked down upon her, flipping back to her rightful head-up position. "Back away from the console."

Dr. Ver cracked a smile as he held up his hands. "Very well. I surrender." The doctor hung his head low and feigned a sad expression as he turned around to face the two girls, ordering the Noise to cease their approach. He took one step towards the edge of the level, towards the stairs that led down to the Symphogear wielders, and stopped.

"After all, we're all in position now." Lifting his head, Ver's wild smile burned the two girls that looked up at him.

"Guys?" Chris called from even further up.

Tsubasa and Maria turned their gaze upwards to see the girl who shouted to them. Chris's white hair seemed to glow as the darkness behind her contrasted her pale beauty. It was this darkness that stole their breath away, as, even further behind Chris, they saw a sparkling blue globe in the distance.

They were no longer on Earth.

"We're on the moon." Chris and Ver shouted simultaneously, though their tones were far different. Chris shouted it in surprise, while Ver's cry was one of satisfaction.

"What? I thought..." Maria stumbled for words, but Ver cut her off with a creepy laugh.

"Finally, the Curse of Balal shall be broken today!" Ver clapped his raised hands above his head twice, a sound which echoed through the silent chamber.

At the sound of his hands colliding, all of the Noise in the room disappeared as they shattered into light. Maria and Tsubasa took positions back-to-back again, waiting for Ver to show his hand.

"Rise, my creation!" Ver screamed to the heavens, and the room was filled with a dark purple light as a bolt of violet lightning struck through the centre of the room.

"What now?" Maria sighed, wondering how much longer she could keep fighting as the stress compounded in her mind.

As the bolt of lightning dissipated, a figure appeared in its place.

"Is that...?" Chris gasped as she saw the monster that floated in the air.

"But I thought we saved her." Tsubasa couldn't help but gasp, herself.

Floating in the centre of the room was Miku Kohinata–or a beast that looked like her. Her skin was jet black, with purple spikes protruding from her body and out of indigo rivers that crossed her body. She looked similar to the Berserk forms that Hibiki and Kanade had taken on before, but her movements were distinctly different. Instead of a wild ferocity that Miku embodied in her very appearance, she instead seemed sad.

The girl's eyes were not visible, they had been consumed by the darkness that enshrouded her skin just as most of her features had been, but it was not as if they had disappeared. No, Tsubasa, Maria, and Chris could all see tears streaming out of the shadows where her eyes should have been.

"Please, run!" Miku sobbed a warning out to her allies. "I can't control my body!"

"Silence you fool! You had been robbed of your humanity by that witch, so now it's time you become the tool that you are." Ver waved his hand out with an angry scowl. "Now, release the chains that bind humanity!"

Dr. Ver raised his hand and pointed towards Miku with closed fingers. Channelling the power of Solomon's Cane, the doctor's fist released another pink explosion that slowly sped through the air.

The energy collided with Miku, and the girl let out a scream. The three Symphogear wielders could only watch as her body was engulfed in the light of the cursed cane that could summon Noise.

As the glow surrounded her, Miku's body began to change. No longer did she seem to resemble a humanoid version of Nephilim, Miku's body became engulfed in colourful globules that morphed her form.

It took only a handful of seconds for the figure of a young girl to disappear from their view. In its place floated a monstrous beast: a fusion of relics, Noise, and a human.

Miku had become a second Red Dragon of Revelations, the same kind of beast that Finé had become several months earlier. The monster that she became was drastically different, however: Miku seemed to tower over the girls and the doctor that gazed up at her, with six giant arms that were amalgamations of different Symphogear weapons and the Noise that surrounded her body. These evil limbs extended out from a wide, bestial body that flashed between jet black stone and colourful plasma. Yet, despite the horrendous look of the body, the head appeared simple: the same shadowy face that had just cried out a warning looked down upon the figures she floated above, though now she wore what looked like an afro formed out of hundreds of different Noise creatures.

. . .

Earlier, not too long after Tsubasa had left the two girls, Miku finally grew silent. Kanade listened as Miku's faded into nothingness, and the girl fell to sleep. While she wanted to believe that this was because Miku had finally exhausted herself, a small voice in Kanade's mind told her otherwise.

Frontier was rising up into the sky–it had begun slowly, but now the artificial island was now speeding into a racing pace. Kanade had noticed the darkening sky as they raced into space and her body had similarly realized that they were no longer as close to the Earth's surface as they had once been. The breath in her lungs slowly chilled as her body rejected the thinner air that it had been forced to adapt to at a high speed.

Kanade picked Miku up and held her in her arms. For the first time, the older girl realized how small Miku actually was–as she trembled slightly, Miku looked more like a baby than the teenager that she was. Perhaps it was her position, the fact that she curled up in her sleep as if cradling a pillow–or a lover, Kanade realized sadly–in a hug.

"Alright, let's hope these spacemen gave us a place with oxygen." Kanade looked up into the air, gazing at the tower that sparkled gold above her. A thought dawned in her mind as she took in the gigantic scale of the spire. "I don't think I'll be able to make it up there."

Kanade shrugged, albeit only slightly because of the girl in her arms. "Maybe they left us a staircase." She hoped aloud, speaking only to the girl who was no longer conscious.

Slowly wandering over to a small rocky mound not too far away from where Miku had collapsed onto the ground, Kanade sat Miku down gently, listening to the girl as she muttered nonsense as she flew through dream land.

Turning away, Kanade returned to the wall of the tower that exploded out from the uneven surface of Frontier. Summoning her Armed Gear, the orange spear of Gungnir, Kanade drew in a deep–but weak–breath.

Back-flipping into the air, Kanade kicked her spear, launching it flying as if it were a soccer ball. The spear sailed through the air at a high speed, colliding with the stone wall and obliterating a chunk of it. Landing with a satisfied huff, Kanade returned to Miku and scooped the girl back up as she walked through the newly-devastated wall of Frontier's tower.

As they crossed over the rubble, Kanade could feel as the air somehow became plentiful. She did not question this; she had just hoped that something would have worked out in the end. It was pure serendipity on her part, but she did not complain.

Again, Kanade set Miku down on the ground within the tower. Taking a breath of the clean air that contrasted the dingy tower, Kanade leaned against a remaining part of the wall and slumped down. "I'm safe, for now." She rode down the wall and collapsed into a sitting position with a satisfied sigh. "I hope the others are okay."

The girl eventually fell asleep from fatigue, and would eventually be awoken by the sound of lightning exploding in front of her.

#### G Chapter 16

"Hasn't this girl been through enough!?" The loud, angry plea stunned the vast alien chamber into silence. It was not the question in particular that stood out, but rather the girl who screamed it.

Chris Yukine looked down at Dr. Ver with a pointed, fiery glare. She leapt off her perch with a huff and slammed down next to Tsubasa and Maria, landing in a crouch as the ground shook beneath her powerful stomp. "Damn it, man! At least Finé pretended to care about me. All you seem to do is treat people like tools!"

Ver looked confused at the girl's accusation, and cut his hand through the air as if to tell Miku to pause her imminent attack. "And why wouldn't I treat you traitors like tools, hmm?"

"Traitors?" Maria was the one to ask, but Chris and Tsubasa had the same question in their minds. At the sight of the three confused girls below him, Ver cracked a maniacal smile.

"My research, and my benefactors, have provided me with knowledge that even that Finé of yours may not have been aware of." With a confident glimmer in his eye, Dr. Ver pointed at Maria. "Airgetlám is a unique relic, almost being more akin to a living organism than an inanimate object; and yet it is wholly inanimate. All of the Symphogear weapons you girls possess seem to contain traces of the same alien makeup as the relic we know as the silver arm, which led me to my theory–a theory that was only bolstered by my own successful attempts to replicate the initial three Symphogears.

"I believe Airgetlám may have once been at least part of one of the Custodians, potentially the arm of one. Likewise, as all of your Symphogears contain the same type of unknown energy that makes up Airgetlám, it's highly likely that Finé made use of the bones of the Custodians she admired when initially creating the Symphogears." Dr. Ver's eyes were practically bulging out of his head entirely as he spat his revelation at the three girls. "In essence, you girls are wearing corpses of the aliens that enslaved our kind."

But Ver was not done speaking. Leveraging the knowledge he possessed, Ver slowly began to descend the shrine's steps towards the girls who grimaced both in anger and disgust at his words. "What Finé believed to be an innate genetic compatibility some women have with the Symphogears is more likely to be an unconscious contract that you girls are forming with the souls of our dead creators. In layman's terms, you girls are puppets–the envoys of the Custodians' spirits in this modern age."

Reaching the bottom of the incline, Ver leaned in towards Maria. "My illustrious supporters even provided me with the knowledge that led me to my goal here today. I fully believe that the Symphogears... no, the ones who wield the Symphogears are the stakes the Custodians have planted to cage us in with the Curse of Balal."

Maria flinched back at his words. "You mean...?"

"To bring as many of you Symphogear wielders to the moon, here: this was my goal from the beginning. With this, my greatest tool–" Dr. Ver gestured up to Miku, who stared down at the small group as the ovoid pool of Noise that floated above her pulsated like a beating heart. "I shall destroy you–the ones holding the Curse of Balal in place upon humanity with the songs you sing!"

After his rambling ceased, the mad doctor raised his hand up to the sky. Snapping his fingers, this was the cue for the weaponized girl floating above him to begin her attack–as the sound echoed through the chamber, the pulsating orb of Noise began beating at a rapid pace. Tsubasa, Chris, and Maria did not react though. Despite the imminent threat quite literally looming above them, the three girls just continued to stare at the man in front of them.

"So what?" Chris muttered after a moment. "That's just a theory, though. We don't know what this Curse of Balal thing even is, so what does it matter if we're the ones protecting it? We're working our asses off, trying to protect others."

"Truthfully, I had been hoping you knew a little more about this curse than we did, Yukine." Tsubasa sighed, but not in despair. Resolve flashed behind the blue sword's eyes as she raised her Armed Gear. "But she is right. No matter what adverse effects our songs could have, they don't matter as long as we can still use them to protect others."

Maria smiled. "Excellently put." Raising the small silver dagger she clutched beneath her armoured fingers, Maria took on a fighting stance just as the other two did.

A fiery aura seemed to surround the three Symphogear wielders, and Ver could not help but flinch back in surprise. He had hoped that the revelation he had bestowed upon them would put out the fires of battle within them–he truly did not anticipate the opposite happening.

Ver twitched into a dancing step to avoid Tsubasa as she thrust her blade towards him. But the wielder of Ame no Habakiri did not follow-up. "You will free Kohinata from your control right now." The girl's voice was like a bestial growl as she fired a dark glare up towards the doctor's face.

But Ver did not back down. He cracked a smile. "I know you care too much about the knowledge I possess to kill me." With a chuckle, the doctor launched a kick into Tsubasa's chest in defence of his personal space.

Sprinting back up the steps he had just descended, Ver's glasses shone beneath the lights of the stars that dotted the scenery beyond Frontier's walls as he looked up and shouted a simple command. "Destroy them all!"

"Understood." Miku's voice was both filled with emotion and yet robotic as she raised one of her six arms out in front of her.

Each of the girl's new limbs was a chimera–a fusion of a relic, Noise, and Miku herself. The six arms that extended out from the sides of her torso were each corrupted amalgamations of the Armed Gears that the Symphogear wielders fought with: the spear of Gungnir; the blades of both Ame no Habakiri and Airgetlám; a cannon resembling Ichaival's gatling guns; the scythe of Igalima; and what appeared to be a normal, humanoid arm that unleashed sparks of Shénshòujìng's purple light. It was the arm that resembled Igalima's firearm that Miku rose now as she prepared to fire upon her friends.

The Noise that pooled above her head slowly began to rain like droplets onto Miku, dissipating as they collided with her jet-black skin. Every time one would explode into shards of light however, the cannon began to glow with greater intensity.

"Is she using the Noise as her ammo?" Chris asked her two allies, though she knew that they wouldn't have the answer.

But Tsubasa nodded all the same. The three girls had little room to move on the platform that encircled the shrine in the centre of Frontier's control chamber, so they all knew that they would need to prevent their foe from taking potshots at them to have any chance of victory. "Then we'll need to cut off her supply."

Miku let loose a burst of orange and green energy from her cannon at that moment. The sound that exploded through the room was like that of a thousand screaming children as a painful hiss echoed through the chamber. The girls who were in the attack's line had not anticipated the sound and were momentarily stunned, but threw themselves out of the way as the giant globule raced towards them.

The projectile exploded upon the ground, destroying the weak hold the shrine's platform had to the bridge. When the three girls looked back, they only saw a hole where they had been standing before; their already-limited battle arena was now even smaller.

*Aisatsu muyō no gatling

Gomibako iki e no death party

One, two, three mezawari da*

Chris countered. As soon as she slid out of harm's way, she immediately began firing upon the orb of Noise that floated above Miku's head. Every time one of her crossbow's bullets would pierce the orb, she would see the sparks of Noise being defeated before another would take its place immediately. Still, she continued her attack, ignoring as Miku readied another blast.

Noticing the imminent annihilation of their battle arena, Maria and Tsubasa caught each other's eyes and nodded. They had the same simultaneous thought: as long as Ver was commanding Miku, the chances of her attacking him were slim. As such, the two girls rushed up the steps, hoping to block her shots by using Ver as a human shield.

"Wait! What are you–!" Ver noticed their plan and spun to address Miku. "You fool! Don't! You'll kill me!"

"Understood." Miku's sad monotone rang out once more, and she instead readied her more melee-oriented arms. Chris's barrage did not stop–even with the cannon now sidelined, she still fired blast after blast into the pool of Noise that continued to float high above the ground.

The monstrous creature that Ver had transformed Miku into flew down–away from the Noise–to meet Maria and Tsubasa, blocking their approach with her own versions of their swords. The two could only parry her attack, underestimating the raw strength that the girl had been imbued with. Miku had the advantage however; while the two pushed against her with all their might, Miku used her Gungnir-like limb to thrust at Tsubasa and Maria. The two leapt out of the way, giving up on their futile attempt to overpower Miku as they dodged, and regrouped with Chris as she climbed up the steps.

Maria and Chris had been through their own versions of hell before them, but seeing the power that the monstrous Miku wielded with ease, even they needed to back down. "What did you do to her?" Maria couldn't help but ask the doctor as he 'confidently' cowered at the top of the shrine.

He flipped his hand in response. "I merely did what I needed to purge that witch from her mind... is what I would say if she had not been the perfect subject to test my theories on."

"You truly are a monster." Chris couldn't help herself. Knowing that Ver's knowledge relating to relics was only rivalled by Nastassja Sergeyevna Tolstaya–whose whereabouts were currently unknown–was not enough to restrain her. With the crossbow that she clutched tight, Chris fired a projectile straight at Ver.

The doctor, not anticipating to be attacked directly again, did not attempt to dodge the attack–a fatal error. The pink arrow pierced straight through the man's shoulder, a chunk of meat flying off as the arrow continued to soar after its gory exit. Ver's scream echoed through the chamber.

"Thank you." Miku turned to Chris and spoke in her sad monotone, but the word that escaped the girl's lips shocked all parties. From the emotion in her voice, it was clear that Miku Kohinata still lurked beneath the monstrous surface, but now they had proof that they could draw her out.

Chris was momentarily shocked, but recollected herself a second later. With a smug smile, she addressed the girl who had just been attacking her, Tsubasa, and Maria with all her might. "Not used to people thanking me. Especially not from someone trying to kill me."

As if that brief moment of clarity for Miku had never happened, she lunged for Chris with her spear arm. "And we're back to this." Chris spat as she sidestepped the spear's attack. In retaliation, but knowing her weakness when it came to close-quarters combat, Chris attempted to kick Miku's side, but this attack was easily caught by the humanoid arm on her left side.

Tsubasa and Maria would not let Miku activate Shénshòujìng. The two pushed off the ground at the same time, their blades sparking under the starlight as they both worked together to stab at the Noise-like armour that covered Miku's chest.

Miku did not flinch as their blades sliced at the colours however. As if Chris were nothing but a wet towel, she effortlessly picked the girl off the ground by her leg and flung her at Tsubasa and Maria, knocking them tumbling down the side of the shrine. At the Symphogears' failure, Ver let out a pained, but cocky, laugh.

As the girls struggled to untangle themselves from their tumbleweed of limbs, Tsubasa muttered–mainly to herself, but not caring that she was loud enough for her partners to hear. "I doubt we'll be able to overcome her strength."

"We managed to free her mind for a sec when I shot Ver." Chris pushed herself away from the two other girls, a slight blush creeping across her face as she imagined how the way they had just been connected must have looked.

"It would be easiest to just kill Ver." Maria agreed.

"You two really do sound like the villains." Tsubasa was not having their ideas. She shook her head in disgust, and gestured with her chin as Miku began flying towards them again.

Miku swung her giant scythe at the three girls, who all easily avoided its wide berth. "Well, got any other ideas?" Chris shouted as she fired a volley towards Miku, who, in turn, effortlessly swatted away every projectile with one of her other limbs. "I don't think singing will work a second time."

"As I said!" Lording over them from on high, the 'righteous' doctor cackled as if he were a deity atop his shrine. "There is nothing just about the cursed songs you sing!"

Chris fired another shot at Ver, but this time the doctor anticipated it and dodged. She clicked her tongue as she ducked around one of Miku's blades as it swung down towards her.

"What if we just dig out her raw emotions?" Maria suggested, stabbing Miku's technicolour armour once more yet not getting a reaction out of the girl wearing it.

Tsubasa's eyes lit up at that. "I truly am sorry for this, Kohinata." With an apologetic whisper, and a counter of one of Miku's high-speed attacks, Tsubasa backed away from her opponent.

Then, raising her voice, she called out in a hateful voice. "Kohinata! Did you forget that you killed your best friend? Hibiki Tachibana is dead because of you!"

"Tsubasa!" Chris shouted in surprise, not expecting the girl to dig up such a recent tragedy and frame it as if Miku had killed the one closest to her of her own volition. But Chris stifled any more complaints when she saw the sad look in Tsubasa's eyes.

Swallowing, Chris joined in. "Yeah, that idiot would be alive right now if you hadn't let yourself be taken over by that mad scientist." She did not want to admit it, but Chris choked slightly as she shouted at Miku; perhaps Chris had held a higher opinion of Hibiki than she consciously realized.

Maria understood what the two were doing but, having been their enemy up until only a short period of time ago, she held silent. Part of Maria felt guilty; though she had no idea of what Ver had been working on, nothing stopped her from checking on him in his lab. Something nagged at her as the two continued to shout, attempting to draw out the sadness from within Miku's broken heart: the thought that maybe she could have prevented the death of one of their friends.

*Or,* Maria realized as she listened to the way Tsubasa and Chris spoke about the recently-departed Hibiki, describing her as an idiot and referring to her in a formal manner. *Had they even been friends with Hibiki Tachibana?*

But despite the storm of guilt that brewed in Maria's heart, she did not disagree with their methods. As Tsubasa and Chris continued to criticize Miku for her role in her friend's death, Maria noticed as Miku's attacks quickly began to slow. She still attacked–Chris shouted once more, dodging as Miku clumsily swung down the scythe that made up one arm–but her attacks had far less power behind them.

"Hibiki." Miku's voice, one filled with the raw pain that exploded from the young girl's heart, reverberated through the room as she screamed. The black ink that covered Miku's skin slowly began to fade to a light grey, and her delicate features became visible once more.

Miku's eyes were full of tears, her cheeks burning red through the stone-coloured exterior that covered her body. "I'm so sorry!" The girl's sad screams hindered the movements her body was puppeted to make. Now, as Miku stabbed one of her blades towards Maria, the pink-haired idol barely needed to move as she easily parried the blade with her own.

"You useless..." Ver, noticing the weak heart of the girl he had mentally and physically destroyed, shouted in anger. He rubbed his head with his uninjured arm–the other hanging limply by his side. "If you want something done right, I suppose."

Miku's movements were like those of a snail. She swung one of her blades through the air with little force, the mere air being enough to slow its slice. It was as if Miku had been underwater; though, from one look at her bawling face, that may not have been completely inaccurate. The strength flowing out of her body as she shouted her friend's name again and again, Miku's body transformed back into its original state–its true, original state. No longer was she covered in Noise nor even the golden armour of Lancea Longini–no, collapsed on the ground was Miku Kohinata, wearing a grey T-shirt and matching shorts, both of which had been torn in places and stained with blood.

Chris walked over to Miku and looked over to Tsubasa. "You handle Ver." A smile spread across Chris's face as she looked down on Miku, but she did not know why. She had not been close to the girl before; heck, the two had only interacted on one, maybe two occasions. Chris did not know why relief flooded her heart, but she brushed a single tear from her own eye as she bent down beside Miku.

But Tsubasa just watched the two girls that had collapsed on the ground. Noticing her lack of movement, Maria approached. "Something wrong?"

"No. I just had the strangest sense of déjà vu." Remembering that this had been the same scene she had left earlier, a thought poked up at her mind. "I hope Kanade is fine."

"She is." Maria nodded despite the fact that she had never really spoken to the girl. "Nastassja believed that Kanade was the strongest of you, even though she requires LiNKER to fight."

Maria put her hand on her forehead. "Speaking of which: I'm out of time, too." Her Symphogear shattered into white, with new clothes replacing the silver armour she had just been clad in. Tsubasa would not describe Maria's clothes as 'casual'–with a spiky blue jacket over a white top that exposed her cleavage, tiny tan shorts, and a single brown stocking that hugged her left leg–but she, being a former idol herself, definitely could understand the image she was trying to project with the clothing.

Tsubasa had not been aware that Maria required LiNKER to fight, but that matter little at the moment. Miku Kohinata had been... 'defeated,' to some extent, and Chris was watching over her, clearly worn out herself. But that only left two individuals locked in combat: the steel sentinel Tsubasa Kazanari, and the mad Dr. John Wayne Vercingetorix.

With her sapphire eyes, Tsubasa glared up at Dr. Ver. While the four girls below him had been conversing, the scientist had made use of Solomon's Cane's power and begun summoning Noise around himself to use as a shield.

But Tsubasa cared little. Even if she, too, could feel her limbs growing heavy from fatigue, the girl with the blue hair bounced up the steps as if she were on the moon–which she was.

The wielder of Ame no Habakiri ascended up the shrine like a frog within seconds, cutting through any Noise creature that stood in her path with quick work. Ver was shocked at how much energy Tsubasa seemed to have as she landed in front of him. "I know you won't kill me!" He reminded her, but Tsubasa ignored him.

This time, Tsubasa aimed for Ver. With a quick stab, the Armed Gear pierced the air towards the trembling doctor's fragile heart...

Only to stop short as a crack echoed around them.

"That should be enough to prevent you from using the relic any more." Tsubasa lowered her blade to her side as Ver lifted up his shirt. Just as Tsubasa said, the bright purple eye that stared out from within a silver bandolier-like device that crossed over the mad doctor's chest had been shattered into the shape of a spider's web. It did not stop Ver from trying to summon Noise, however; but the way he wildly threw his hand outwards with shouts of broken confidence did nothing but make the man look silly.

"I can't believe it. My plan... I was supposed to be the one to free humanity from the Curse of Balal..." Ver collapsed to the ground with a sad laugh. "I... failed?" The realization that his plans had been crushed finally came to him, and he crumpled like a doll. Tsubasa, meanwhile, deactivated her Symphogear and returned to the clothing she had worn before donning Ame no Habakiri.

"Hey!" Tsubasa heard Chris shout from below her, and looked down to see the girl–balancing one of Miku's arms over her shoulder as Maria did the same on the other side of the unconscious girl in the middle–cupping her mouth as she yelled. "Don't forget, he needs to get us back to Earth."

Tsubasa just looked at the sobbing mess that crumpled on the ground in front of her. "I don't think that's happening." That realization scared Tsubasa, and the quote made a fire light up within Ver's heart. The doctor laughed as he replayed what Tsubasa had just said again in his mind.

"No! I won!" A maniacal chuckle echoed out from his chest. "If we can't get back to Earth, then you all shall perish with me up here on the moon!"

For the first time in what she believed to be her entire life, Tsubasa gave into the anger that welled up inside her. The intense hatred she felt for this man who toyed with girls with no remorse, doing so for a twisted justice that made no sense–her emotions overpowered her as he began laughing in his delusions of success.

With all of her strength, Tsubasa couldn't help but kick Dr. Ver in the chest. The impact knocked the breath out of the doctor's lungs, and he struggled to inhale as he sailed over the edge of the shrine platform the two had stood on. Tsubasa did not even watch as he fell–she knew that, somehow, the doctor wouldn't die. He was a twisted man who deserved far worse than death, but fate had a way of shielding those like him.

"Oh." Maria's slight exclamation came a few moments later, but Tsubasa ignored her friends. She turned to the console and placed her hand upon it instead of reacting to the confused shouts that began to flow up from Chris's sky-turned mouth.

"This shouldn't be too hard to figure out, right?" Tsubasa whispered to herself, as the small silver globe lit up under her touch.

#### G Chapter 17

Chris sat on the cold stone ground, her back pressed against the slanted incline of the shrine that sat in the centre of Frontier's hollow control chamber. In her lap was the head of the sleeping Miku Kohinata, whose shallow breaths brought a strange calm to Chris despite the uncertainty of their future.

Tsubasa stood a short distance away, mumbling annoyances under her breath. The blue-haired swordswoman had been unable to solve the mystery of how to control Frontier. Stoically standing at the top of the shrine, she had stood with her hand on the glowing orb for far too long; they had no way of telling the time as their giant spaceship sat on the moon's surface, but Chris assumed it had been several hours now since they 'defeated' Ver. Maria had replaced Tsubasa at the top of the shrine and, judging from the few quakes that have shaken Frontier, seems to be having a slightly more productive time.

A loud gurgling echoed through the room, and Tsubasa turned to a blushing Chris as if on instinct. "I understand that feeling." Tsubasa put her hand on her stomach with a wry smile. They hadn't had much downtime until now, so their bodies were finally starting to show the wear that they had accumulated over the day. Miku had fallen asleep even before Tsubasa's first attempts to move Frontier, and Chris, too, was now struggling to stay awake.

"I think those three girls,"–Chris did not want to admit that she did not know the names of Shiori Terashima, Kuriyo Ando, and Yumi Itaba–"Had mentioned some famous okonomiyaki restaurant. We should check it out after we get back home."

With a kind chuckle, Tsubasa slowly made her way over to Chris, and joined her on the ground. "That sounds like fun."

Chris felt the girl laying against her fidget slightly. Miku had flinched several times now, so Chris had a feeling the girl was either awake or not entirely asleep any longer. Pushing back the dirtied black hair that hung down over Miku's red face, Chris smiled. "Of course, you can come too."

"Oh, is Kohinata awake?" Tsubasa glanced down at the girl in surprise.

"Yeah." The girl moaned as she slowly sat up. "I just... needed a moment."

"I think we all do." Chris chuckled, looking up at the stone ceiling that hung above them. A thousand cracks were painted across the flat surface, a sign of the many eras that this spaceship had endured. Deep inside, Chris wondered how many other humans had stepped foot even onto the island of Frontier, yet alone sit in its control centre.

"I must admit, Yukine. When I first met you, I did not take you to be the kind sort. Especially considering you put up enough of a fight for Kanade to resort to singing her Superb Song."

Despite Tsubasa's unintentional insult, she had a kind smile on her face, so Chris couldn't exactly get mad at her. She flushed red as her mind struggled to accept the roundabout compliment that–she hoped–Tsubasa's intended. After stammering for a couple seconds, Chris instead turned to look at Miku as she took a seat opposite Tsubasa to surround Chris on both sides. "How are you doing?"

"Awful." Miku's answer was blunt. Her eyes were clouded over, but not as they had been when Ver was in control of her mind. No, now the storms of depression were heavy over the teal lakes of her pupils. Chris could not deny that Miku did indeed look terrible, what with her bloodstained and tattered clothes, and eyes that looked redder than the hottest steel, but the small smile that cut across Miku's face implied otherwise.

"Even after all that's happened." Miku closed her eyes. "I almost died to save the moon. I almost burned up as I fell back to Earth. Ver brought me back from the brink of death only to experiment on me. I attacked you all under his orders and ki... Did things I regret.

"But, right now, I think I'm too tired to be sad any more. I'm sure, once I have time to think about the horrible... thing I did, I'll be even more of a mess, though."

"Yeah, tragedy has a way of doing that to you. We've both been through hell, huh? No, wait. I guess all three of us have." Chris's gaze spun between Miku and Tsubasa on either side of her before she settled in the middle. "Finé and Ver messed with our bodies and minds, and all three of us–either indirectly or directly–have blood on our hands."

Tsubasa looked down. "I still can't forgive myself for the tragedy that day."

"Eh, it's not your fault. You've got to move past it." Chris sighed. "That's what Genjuro keeps telling me, anyway. I don't think I'm doing a great job with it, though."

"You're doing fine." Miku did not pass over the comment Chris made earlier, though, and was curious about it. "But... you killed people, too?"

"I didn't question Finé's orders. She saved me from the hell I went through back in South America, so anything she asked of me I would do without question. That included... yeah, I'm not the most innocent." Chris didn't want to elaborate much more on the past she tried to push down out of her mind. Just thinking of Finé brought forth a hurricane of emotions she could not control–confusion, anger, hatred, love... she hated having to deal with it. Wanting to move on, she tilted her head back as far as she could and yelled up to Maria, who was working above them. "What about you, superstar? Are you part of our little club of sins, too?"

"Unfortunately." Maria's answer was one word. The three below couldn't see her from the angle that they were at–or at least, only the top of her pink, pointed hair as it bobbed around, annoyed–so she could easily hide the fact that she was clenching her teeth, biting back memories she so desperately wanted to forget.

But Chris, having been through the same, understood that feeling and did not press further. "Look at us. We're supposed to be the heroes of this story, aren't we?"

"The differences between us and people like Finé come down to our motivations. We fight to help people, as shields to protect what we..." Care about. That was how Tsubasa had wanted to end her sentence, but considering Miku was the one responsible for destroying the last ray of sunshine she had been grasping for, she knew that was not the best thing to say. Instead, she fumbled for an alternative as she continued. "For what we can. We're just doing what we can, as best we can, for the sake of others; the people we've fought against all had selfish reasons propelling themselves forwards."

"Did they, though?" Miku wondered. "Didn't Finé and Ver just want to rid humanity of this Curse of Balal thing? I don't think that's necessarily selfish, but– Finé at least–definitely could have gone about it in a much different way. I even told her as such."

"Oh right, you were possessed by Finé." Chris recalled, and then flinched away from her. "Wait, that's right! What happened to you? How are you even alive?"

Miku touched one of the red marks that had scorched her skin–burn marks from when she fell back to the planet after her race to prevent Finé from destroying the moon. "I remember falling, and feeling very warm. Then, next thing I know, I'm in a lab and Finé's no longer in my head. Instead, I have to listen to the ramblings of some doctor who thinks he's a hero." The small girl shuddered, and the ill-fitting clothes that were lightly draped over her body danced as her body shook. As her shirt lifted ever slightly, Chris could see burn marks and scars dotting her skin, creating a blanket of scars that wrapped the girl tight.

Chris felt bad for the girl. She knew how it felt to be violated and tortured, but she would never wish the same pains she felt in her heart upon anyone. Though it embarrassed her, Chris knew she had to bare the scars upon her skin–to help Miku accept her sins somewhat, just as she had been trying to do.

"Whoa, Yukine!" Tsubasa slid a short distance away as Chris pulled the red and maroon dress she wore over her head clumsily. She still wore a thin white shirt–and of course her undergarments–underneath, and pulled the former up to bare her back.

With wide eyes, Tsubasa and Miku both stared at the girl's battered skin. Like Miku, Chris's back was covered in red marks that would never fade, her body forever scarred by her past. Her hand trembling, Miku traced one of the larger scars that sliced down her spine, hesitating slightly as the other girl's skin trembled under her cool touch. "I guess we're both broken." Miku whispered, her warm breath bouncing against Chris's skin.

"No, you're not broken." Tsubasa shook her head. "The scars only serve as proof of your strength–your resolve to survive after all you have been through."

As Chris began to redress herself, hiding her burning face, Miku backed away. With sad eyes, she turned to Tsubasa with a confession. "I... don't want to live." Picturing the blood of Hibiki Tachibana on her hands, Miku held her fingers up to try and keep a grip on the red life that she had shed. "Hibiki should have been the one to survive. I... don't deserve it."

Tsubasa put her hand on Miku's shoulder, but did not speak. Both girls who looked at Miku had the same thought, the same thing they wanted to admit: *I've had those same thoughts*. For Chris, she believed her parents should have continued to chase their goal instead of leaving her to be ruined; for Tsubasa, she still could not come to grips with the fact that almost thirteen thousand of her fans had gathered to see her on stage, only to meet the shadowy face of death by the end of the day.

"Don't you remember what I said on that day?" A shout echoed up from below them, and all three girls hurried to peer over the edge of the platform they had been on. There, a fair distance below them, an orange speck hung from a white stick that was protruding from the wall. The fiery orange hair burned with optimism as the figure tried to look up at her friends gazing down upon her. "Don't give up on living!"

"Kanade?" Tsubasa shouted down at the girl, who waved cautiously in response as her other fist gripped tight around her Armed Gear. Hurriedly turning to Chris, Tsubasa opened her mouth to say something but stopped as Chris stood up.

*Killter Ichaival tron*

A couple moments later, Kanade, Chris, and a third figure all collapsed onto the platform beside Miku and Tsubasa. Chris had jumped off into the void and used her incredibly useful missiles to carry the group up into the sky and back up to the shrine.

What Chris, Tsubasa, and Miku had not expected to see flop off the missile was the unconscious form of Dr. John Wayne Vercingetorix, a rope tying his body into a crescent as if he were a hog.

"You saved him?" Tsubasa asked, stepping in-between the doctor and Miku. The latter girl froze up upon recognizing the man, and the fire that ignited in her eyes told all of the other girls that she would not hesitate to kill him for all that he had put her through. Tsubasa hoped that, by using herself as a wall, Miku would at least wait for a little while.

"I'm going to kill him." Miku muttered, but only Tsubasa heard her cruel whisper.

Kanade rubbed the top of her head. "I would have made it up here sooner, but he hit me and reset my progress." She smiled. "But even if this guy is shit, I couldn't leave him down there."

"I don't think that was the best idea." Chris sighed, also repositioning herself to block Miku's approach. "Even if you think his head might be useful, we've also got Finé's knowledge if we get back to Earth."

"There's no 'if' we get back to Earth." Kanade's eyes narrowed as she stuck a finger in Chris's face. "I'll get us back there, no matter what."

With that mission statement, Kanade–not giving herself a moment to rest despite having climbed up the stone walls of Frontier by creating hand holds with her spear–pushed past the girls and marched up the steps of the shrine in the centre of the chamber. Chris, Tsubasa, and Miku just watched her go, crowding around Ver's limp body.

"I'm going to kill him." Miku repeated, this time far louder.

"Honestly I think we should let her." Chris whispered, leaning in towards Tsubasa. Though Tsubasa glared at the suggestion, Chris tried to defend her idea. "It'd probably be good for her psyche. To help her get over the pain of..."

"Truthfully, I understand her desire to exact revenge Ver. He made even me lose myself for a moment." Tsubasa admitted with a sigh, her voice just as low as Chris's earlier whisper. "But, still, is killing him the right thing here?"

"It is." Miku hissed as she entered into the conversation, scaring Chris and Tsubasa so much that the latter grabbed for her Symphogear as if ready a new threat had arisen.

"You'll only regret it." Tsubasa stood in front of Ver, who still flopped unconscious against the cold ground. "Besides, right now he's the only one who can get us back to Earth."

As if changing the subject, Miku turned to Chris with a question. The fire died in her eyes for just a moment as she addressed the white-haired girl. "How long has it been since Kadingir?"

Shocked, Chris searched for the answer in her mind. "Three months, I think?"

With that information, Miku angrily turned back to Tsubasa as the flames of hatred reignited within her. "That man tortured me for three months and then used me to kill the girl I loved. He's a monster who doesn't deserve to live!" She stomped on the ground with so much force that the impact reverberated throughout the room.

And, as if answering the cry of her foot, Frontier began to shake. The three girls could feel the spaceship begin to lift off the lunar surface for the first time, even if it was only moving slowly. The shock at the events pushed away the thoughts Miku had about killing Ver, and all three turned to the shrine.

Maria slowly descended the stairs with a shrug and a vague explanation. "Seems like she really is special."

Kanade had figured out how to move Frontier–a feat neither Maria nor Tsubasa had managed to accomplished. The ancient alien language that flooded Tsubasa's mind as she touched the orb confounded her entirely–and still did–and yet Kanade had managed to decrypt the riddles immediately and take complete control over Frontier just as Ver had earlier.

Though the girls could not see the former idol's wild eye, they heard loud and clear as Kanade made an announcement. "We'll be back home in no time."

. . .

Genjuro rubbed his temples. It had been four hours since Frontier ascended, and they lost all contact with the Symphogear wielders. Worry had gripped him at first, but now he was just filled with the stress of having to deal with the aftermath.

The submarine, or what was left of it, had since begun making its way back to Japan–though not entirely by choice. The partial destruction of their base of operations was the main reason for this, as a storm had begun brewing, and they needed to protect the equipment and people they had on board; but Genjuro had a second reason as well, one which he had been dreading: he had been summoned by the Japanese government for an emergency meeting regarding Frontier, the terrorist organization that declared war on the world, Genjuro acting against orders and fighting said terrorists, and, most importantly, the loss of the precious Symphogear technology.

Serena Cadenzavna Eve and Kirika Akatsuki were still asleep, but Shirabe Tsukuyomi had awoken; Shiori Terashima and Kuriyo Ando had been wrecks–grieving over Hibiki and incredibly worried about Miku, whose status they had not known–and since tried to retreat for rest. Yumi, on the other hand, was far more composed, and Genjuro looked up from the monitor in front of which he was sat.

The two teenage girls–Yumi Itaba and Shirabe Tsukuyomi–sat down in chairs between Aoi Tomosato and Sakuya Fujitaka. The latter was groggy, chugging his seventh cup of coffee in a row to stay awake as he continued to scan for Frontier's reappearance; but Tomosato was particularly cheerful as she spoke with the two girls, waiting for the information that they had managed to find in Ver's heavily damaged computers to transfer to Sector Two's database.

Noticing Genjuro's gaze from the corner of her gaze, Yumi got up and slowly strolled over to him. He leaned back as she stood over him, playing with her brown hair left untied out of their usual twintails and instead now hanged down over her shoulder. "Remember that logo we saw in the footage Ogawa provided us? I saw it again down in Ver's laboratory."

Genjuro slowly nodded. "Yes, Tomosato told me that you reported that. That proves that Ver is definitely connected to them, and likely explains the current whereabouts of Dr. Tolstaya." The man stroked his spiked red beard. "But that's not what you were so eager to talk to me about, was it?"

Yumi crouched down to look into Genjuro's eyes at equal height. She reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a small black stone covered in gold protrusions that slightly resemble the orange jewel that now encased Hibiki in a prison. "This was in a syringe I found down in Ver's lab."

"Why did you not report this earlier?" Genjuro asked, raising his eyebrow. He knew that Yumi was smart, so it did not aggravate him that she kept a secret from him officially–there must have been a reason why she did not mention this.

"When I found it, it was just a black stone, without the crystals. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but something about it seemed odd so I also didn't want to toss it." Yumi explained. "When I brought it close to Hibiki, that's when the crystals appeared."

In thought, Genjuro stroked his beard again as he sat straight-up. "So, the stone resonated with the Gungnir crystal? No, that shouldn't have possible without a song..."

Yumi pocketed the stone again, hoping that no one else saw her treasure. "Anime likes to call it alchemy, but a lot of the time it's just magic." Seemingly changing the subject, Genjuro leaned back again as he dove into his thoughts while Yumi continued to speak. "But these crystals, I think they're gold; and Alchemy was originally the scientific pursuit of turning lead and other metals into gold."

"I'm listening, though I'm not really following where you're going here." Genjuro admitted.

"Remember how Miku looked when she first appeared? Her armour was golden–I think this is what Ver used to... do whatever he did to Miku."

Sensing how Yumi was about to continue, Genjuro managed to predict the next word that the girl would speak just as it escaped her mouth: "But...."

Yumi pulled the stone back out and held it up in front of her. "But I don't think this stone should exist. Look." She tilted the stone, and Genjuro could tell immediately what she meant by her hypothesis.

The stone was almost like a two-dimensional image. Whenever Yumi tilted the stone in her hand, it seemed to shift accordingly; there was only one angle that you could view it at. Not only that, but it did not seem to react to the lighting of the room as the crystals stayed a murky gold that, while it looked shiny, did not reflect any light.

Genjuro's eyes went wide, and he couldn't stifle a cry. "What the hell?"

"Here's what I'm thinking, right. It's going to sound crazy, but you're going to have to stick with me." Yumi hid it again, and this time Genjuro's eyes followed the strange stone as she slid it into her pocket.

"Okay." Genjuro exhaled. "I doubt anything could surprise me at this point."

"I think it came from another dimension." Yumi responded without hesitation. "I mean, obviously–look at it–but I think it may be, like, an incomplete... alchemical summon? Or an alchemical mistake? When that island returns, I want to be there to see if there's anything like this on it. It's clearly alien, so it might have some leads."

"So I take it this means..."

"Yeah. I like your idea."

"Alright, fine. With everything that's happened to your friends, I understand your desire to be involved. I'll get you in on the investigation."

Fujitaka did not want to barge into the conversation that he had been listening in on but, as a warning flashed across his screen, he felt as though he finally needed to. "Sir, sorry to interrupt."

Yumi and Genjuro snapped their attention to Fujitaka, the girl sliding her hand into her pocket stealthily. Genjuro on the other hand stood up, pushing himself into his vertical position by slamming his hands against the desk. "Go on, Fujitaka." He urged.

"I've detected a large mass entering the atmosphere. It's very likely..."

Shirabe and Yumi shouted the names of their friends together: "Maria!" "Miku!"

Genjuro walked over to Fujitaka. "Where do you estimate it will land?"

Taking a drink from his empty mug–a sight that Genjuro shook his head at–Fujitaka tapped into his keyboard as he did the math. Tomosato, on the opposite side of the room, completed her calculations faster however, and spoke up instead. "Based on its angle of re-entry... it seems to be targeting Kadingir."

"How fast can we get back there?" Genjuro asked.

"Ninety minutes at best." Fujitaka replied immediately.

"Let's go get the girls." Yumi shouted excitedly, throwing one arm in the air as she cheered. Turning to the quiet Shirabe, she stared into the small girl's large ruby eyes. "We'll need to give them the best welcome party!"

Shirabe nodded with a smile.

Tomosato, Shirabe, and Yumi had been talking about how to welcome the girls back after their–assumed–success, and the latter two came up with the idea of throwing Chris, Tsubasa, Kanade, Miku, and Maria a feast. Shirabe was especially interested in the idea, having been the chef for the terrorist organization she was forced to work for, so Tomosato gave the girls permission to use the submarine's small kitchen to prepare whatever they wanted.

"Let's get cooking!" Yumi grabbed Shirabe's hand and lead her out of the room with a smile, pulling her cooking partner along as she wore a shocked expression.

Genjuro watched the girls leave and could not help but shake his head. "I'll never understand teenagers and how quickly they can shift tone."

Fujitaka chuckled. "Hard to dislike how lively it has gotten, though."

"A shame their party may not end as well as they hope." Genjuro sighed sadly. After all, despite their attempts to help, Maria, Shirabe, and Kirika had all publicly declared war on the world–they were wanted criminals, and Sector Two would need to bring them into custody for, at the hopeful (but unlikely) least, questioning.

#### G Chapter 18

Shirabe and Yumi flew around the kitchen, making a ruckus as they cheerfully readied food for their returning friends. The excitement in the air was infectious as they worked; Shirabe throwing out orders to Yumi as the two girls worked to create a delicious cake. The submarine's kitchen was not designed for elaborate meals so the amount of ingredients they had were limited, so they had to scale down their plans from a grand party to just making a 'welcome back' cake.

The reason for their chaotic workflow was two-fold: they had little time until they believed Frontier would reach the ground, but more so they were working hard to keep sad thoughts out of their mind. Both girls did not want to have to think about the possibility that only one–or neither–of the girls they were specifically waiting would return, or, in the worst case scenario, the possibility that all of the Symphogear wielders had fallen.

But there were other ideas trying to creep into the girls' minds that they wanted to ignore. Yumi, in particular, was privy to theories that none of the Symphogear wielders nor her other friends had any knowledge of. Ideas about the ones funding Ver's research, and theories she was concocting like a witch would potions about what their goals may be.

The ruby-eyed Shirabe, too, was struggling to hold back doubts as she cracked eggs into a steel bowl. Shirabe was worried about Kirika–no, she was scared of the Kirika that existed now. The cheerful blonde girl who had introduced herself with a smile to a girl with no memories seemed to have been corrupted by the wisdom of an ancient priestess. The golden eye that tainted the peaceful field that had once sat behind Kirika's eyes had burned itself into Shirabe's mind, just as the image of the woman who gifted it upon Kirika still haunted Shirabe.

Though these murky seas of doubts tried to drown the two girls in their own unique ways, they struggled to swim up towards the surface. Within this chaotic tsunami of darkness, the two girls used only the idea of baking a sweet cake as a raft to weather the storm around them.

"Do we have strawberries?" Shirabe asked quietly, and Yumi silently pushed a plastic container of red fruits across the counter towards her.

Fujitaka, who stood outside of the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee–his sixth since the girls had starting baking–sighed. He, too, struggled with his own thoughts, though his were far less suffocating than those that rampaged through the girls' minds.

While he did like the idea of the girls baking a cake for their friends, he did not want to mention that two of them were still unconscious. Furthermore, Kirika had sung her Superb Song; the blowback from the attack had damaged her far more than the medical team originally believed because the LiNKER had begun to exit her system by the time she had used the sacrificial technique. Kirika likely would not be able to enjoy the cake they worked hard to make, and Serena's condition was even more of an anomaly considering she had been brought back from the prison of death.

But, like Yumi, Fujitaka's mind was also brewing his own theories about the ones who contributed to Ver's research and drove him to reach for his crazy ideals.

Finishing off his cup of coffee, Fujitaka recalled the conversation the group in the command centre had had with Ogawa earlier that day.

. . .

"Sir, we have received a message from Ogawa regarding his own mission." Tomosato reported from her seat, and Genjuro nodded sternly.

"Itaba, as you may have already surmised, we looked into the three of you–Shiori Terashima, Kuriyo Ando, and yourself–before we brought you on to work for us." Genjuro turned to Yumi, who was wiping tears from her eyes. At this time, she had just seen Hibiki cry out in pain before her arm transformed into a crystalline spear due to Kanade activating her Symphogear, so she was not entirely in her right mind.

Despite this, Yumi still spoke up with a cloud of confidence forming over her emotions. She did not truly think highly of Genjuro at this moment–especially now, as Yumi's suspicions that they had snooped on her and her friends had been confirmed. But, she knew from anime that this was to be expected of top secret government agencies, and continued listening with clear eyes as Fujitaka spoke up with a smile that signalled his high opinion of the girl that was Yumi Itaba.

"You seem to have quite an interesting repertoire of knowledge. We want you to consider working under Ogawa on intelligence."

Yumi cocked her head. She had joined in order to keep an eye on Hibiki–that was something she, Shiori, and Kuriyo had all made evidently clear when they were brought on. So for them to be asking her this, Yumi was sure they weren't done talking. "You can still keep an eye on Hibiki; we rarely have Ogawa working remotely like we do now." Tomosato clarified, just as Yumi expected.

"Believe it or not, we believe your extensive knowledge of anime may actually come in handy." Genjuro nodded. "Tomosato, patch Ogawa in."

"Understood." Tomosato clicked her keyboard. A moment later, Ogawa's face expanded across the large monitor.

With the sunlight peering in to the [former] submersible from the removal of the roof it was difficult–but still possible–to see Ogawa's shocked face as he saw the sorry state of their vessel due to the glare that crossed the screen's surface. "Not going well?" The man with spiked brown hair asked after a moment, earning just a sigh from Genjuro in response. Seeing that his boss was not going to elaborate on their situation at Frontier, Ogawa cleared his throat. "Right. As you had asked, I looked in to F.I.S. and the current whereabouts of all of their alumni. Just as we had suspected, all of them have since passed away since the organization was shut down, with the exception of John Wayne Vercingetorix and Nastassja Sergeyevna Tolstaya of course."

"Oh god." Yumi muttered.

"What's curious is how most of these scientists passed away, however–every single one of them was murdered. The cases are still being investigated by the American government believing them to be connected, but so far they have not officially revealed a culprit."

"Officially?" Genjuro raised his eyebrow, and Ogawa looked down.

"There was one case that differed from the others, and that the American public seems to be overlooking. Do you remember, several months ago, the body that was found in the Sumida River? The Japanese police ruled it suicide and her identity was never publicly revealed." Turning his gaze back up to look at the people in Sector Two's base, Ogawa continued. "We learned that she had fled to Japan after F.I.S.'s shuttering."

"Do you suppose Finé had a hand in their deaths?" Fujitaka speculated, but Ogawa shook his head in response.

"With the help of some friendly gentlemen, we managed to acquire backups of 'lost' security footage from a construction site near the hotel where the woman had been staying. I just sent it to you, but first I want you to play this clip."

A small box appeared over part of Ogawa's face, and within it played a short clip. The video showed an American woman with her blonde hair tied into a long ponytail and large sunglasses hiding her eyes. Clutching a purse tight to her chest, she exited the building with a professional air about her. There was nothing suspicious about this clip, at least to Yumi.

"That is the American scientist." Ogawa reported, and clicked something on the tablet he held. The footage zoomed in on one frame, where one of the scientist's eyes could be seen from behind the dark glass. Yumi now saw what Ogawa had taken interest in–her eyes did not look normal. Instead of a pool of solid colour filling her sclera, the woman's pupils appeared to be filled with a rainbow of stained-glass shards.

"Are those... contacts?" Yumi asked, more to herself than anyone else. She needn't even wait for an answer, as a moment later her brain offered her one from her memories. "No wait, those look far more realistic than contacts for cosplay purposes."

"Precisely. We believe that she may have been..." Ogawa searched for the word. "Influenced, in some way. We know that Finé can implant part of her consciousness into others, and we speculated that that power may have some basis in alchemy. This appears to be a derivative of that technique."

The small box cut to black, before the image of the girl's corrupted eyes was replaced with a new, albeit far lower quality, one. This primarily showed a construction site, just as Ogawa had said earlier, that had been draped in shadows by the setting sun. Yumi waited in silence as the same American woman slowly walked into the frame, a definitive purpose still in her mind.

"And here is the 'lost' footage we procured." Ogawa announced. "This reveals to us that the scientist was, in fact murdered, and gives us a slight look at the culprit."

Yumi swallowed–she was about to view a murder. Characters often died in anime, but seeing a living person suffer grievous wounds in real life was far more gruesome. She steeled herself as her eyes followed the scientist's movements.

The American walked behind an unfinished wall, obscuring most of her body. She stood and, from the way her arms moved, appeared to be speaking to someone that was outside of the camera's view.

And then, the woman fell over as a line of blood dripped through the air. Yumi did not see an attack, but assumed it had been from a bullet that was fired from the person that the woman had been speaking to.

"Replay that last second, but go frame-by-frame." Genjuro, on the other hand, kept his mind open and believed otherwise. With a nod from Fujitaka, the entire screen filled with the low-quality image.

The first still showed the woman with one arm out-stretched, as if pointing to something. Several more frames showed her in similar positions as she drew her arm back. And then Yumi gasped in shock.

A hand entered the screen, with two fingers extended outwards as if making a knife, a sight only compounded by the long fingernails that the tips of the figure's fingers wore as a hat.

The next few frames showed an arm enter the frame. And then the side of a woman's body. These three consecutive frames, smaller than a fraction of a second apart, revealed a figure that moved at incredible speed. Genjuro couldn't help but grunt in surprise at the idea that this person could move so quickly that even digital cameras had a hard time tracking her. With part of the girl's head visible from behind the steel beams that crossed through the site, this was where the scene paused.

"Who is that woman?" Yumi wondered aloud, and Ogawa–his face still hidden by the killer who could move at supersonic speeds–answered her with an uncertain voice.

"We could not find this woman in any Japanese records, however..." He trailed off, as if searching for something on his own tablet. Eventually he found it, and the image of a young girl appeared on the screen next to the partial face of the mysterious woman. "Ten years ago, a missing persons report was filed for nine year-old Millaarc 'Milly' Cranstoun from Austria. She and her family had been on vacation in Slovakia when the girl had been kidnapped. We believe this to be her."

Side-by-side, Yumi could see a vague resemblance between the young girl and her allegedly elder counterpart, but there was nothing concrete. The image of the child was smiling, her long black hair tied into a long braid that hung down the left side of her sweet face with golden eyes filled with innocence. By contrast, the older woman's eyes were stern and heartless; her now blue-black hair was spiky, tied into a high ponytail that forked outwards in all directions like a saw, with a single red strand spiking down over her forehead.

But what she really focused on was the girl's mouth. The supposed elder version of this Millaarc Cranstoun had long, almost bestial, fangs that cut down through her open mouth as the killer sneered.

"I... don't really see much of a resemblance." Yumi admitted after a moment, shaking her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Fujitaka nod in agreement.

"Cranstoun's mother has been hard at work trying to locate her long-lost daughter, and has even started an organization dedicated to tracking down missing children. One year ago, almost to the day, she had an artist attempt to create an image of Cranstoun as she would look at eighteen years old based upon old photographs of Millaarc and both of her parents." Ogawa continued his explanation, and the portrait of the child disappeared from view. In its place came a similar, but starkly different-looking image.

Now, Yumi could see the resemblance. Though the eye colours and hairstyles differed, the girls looked very similar. The artist's rendition of Cranstoun had shorter hair tied into a ponytail, and her eyes had darkened into an almost brown–just darker than the orange of the killer's eyes beside her. Still, the largest difference between the two came down to the pointed fangs.

"Incredible work, Ogawa." Even Genjuro was impressed with his subordinate's research. "But that does not give us much to go on."

"Unfortunately, we have not been able to connect too many more dots." Ogawa sighed. "See, this woman–Cranstoun–simply disappears afterwards. We checked all security camera footage we could, and not a single camera captured her anywhere."

"Can you brighten the security camera footage from the construction site?" Yumi asked, having a hunch. Her eyes were locked on the girl that resembled a vampire, but in the dark shadows of the image it was difficult to take note of specific details.

"Alright." Tomosato responded, and the image brightened significantly. "Applying colour correction..." The blue hair woman continued to mutter as the image changed in appearance, slowly becoming slightly more clear to Yumi.

She pointed at the screen. "I thought so–look." Yumi's finger singled out a small area of the image–around Cranstoun's neck. Tomosato zoomed in on this spot, and they all noticed the same thing that Yumi had: a metallic band.

It was distinct from the one that Kirika had worn when they brought her in, and looked far more sleek; though clearly made of a black metal, it looked almost like rubber. But there was something else, and that was what Yumi had actually been focused on: an eye.

A small eye was etched into the collar that the girl wore. It was very subtle in the original version of the footage, but Yumi thought she had noticed something there and was surprised to find out that she was right.

More over however, she was surprised that she recognized the eye. "That's the Eye of Providence." She explained to the room. The small image was that of a simplistic eye surrounded in a triangle–one made famous as the insignia of a certain secret society that Yumi had become familiar with through the media she consumed. "The Bavarian Illuminati allegedly used it. They were a secret society that existed in the late seventeen-hundreds under a man named Adam Weishaupt, but there are still many conspiracy theories relating to it today because of the interest some of its later members had in alchemy and spiritualism."

"Alchemy, huh?" Genjuro scratched his beard as he contemplated the implications of that.

Recalling a quote she had read once–one that was written to be the general goal of the organization–Yumi followed up on Genjuro's self-directed thought with a monotone voice. "'The order of the day is to put an end to the machinations of the purveyors of injustice, to control them without dominating them.'"

Later, Yumi Itaba would find another Eye of Providence, carved into the wall of Dr. Ver's laboratory.

. . .

"Attention, everyone."

Tomosato's voice crackling over the loudspeaker brought Fujitaka back to reality. Choking on his new (seventh) cup of coffee that he had been drinking, Fujitaka's throat struggled to take in air as his business partner's voice echoed down around him.

"We've almost reached the port. Please be ready to disembark."

"Ah we're almost out of time!" Yumi panicked from the kitchen connected to the dining hall that Fujitaka stood in, and the tired man couldn't help but let out a dry chuckle as he finally recovered his ability to breathe.

. . .

Six figures stood around the base of Kadingir, staring up at the sky with a total of twelve tired eyes. The silhouette of a giant island lingered above them, blocking out the moon from their sight as it cut through the starry blanket that hung above them. Beside them, the giant cannon of Kadingir looked like a single leg that stretched down to the ground to keep the island in place.

Frontier no longer glowed–it hovered silently, with no lights upon it. The group below the alien island–a group that consisted of Yumi Itaba, Shirabe Tsukuyomi, Aoi Tomosato, Sakuya Fujitaka, Shiori Terashima, and Kuriyo Ando–waited patiently to see their friends return to Earth.

"How do you think they're going to get down?" Kuriyo yawned. Though she and Shiori had retreated to a small room to rest, they had not been able to fall asleep and instead just laid awake staring at the sky that had been made available to them.

"If worst comes to worst," Fujitaka brushed the back of his head. "We may need to run away from a missile."

The girls around him all took one step back at the comment. They all knew Chris would not hesitate to fire a missile at the ground–and towards her friends, if she did not know they were there–as a means of travel, just as she did in any other direction.

"And you still haven't been able to reach them?" Shiori turned to Tomosato with the question as she patted down her messy blonde hair.

Tomosato, her hand to the earpiece she wore, shook her head. "If I had to guess, it's possible that Frontier–or the tech inside it–reflects our signals. That would explain how none of our technology was able to detect that it was hidden beneath the ocean."

"Is that them?" Shirabe pointed upwards, drawing a line that all of the people around her followed. Her finger identified a small shadow that seemed to be growing in size. First small, it quickly grew and grew until the people beneath it were able to make out the shape clearly.

"Run." Fujitaka ordered calmly, but his eyes were anything but. The group scurried away from where they had been gathered–the place where one of Chris's missiles was now poised to explode. Even though most of the people had managed to get very little–if any–sleep and were running on the fumes of anxiety, none of them hesitated for even a moment as they scrambled for safety.

As they ran for the safety of the tree line, the group was launched as the ground behind them detonated into a cloud of fire. Silhouetted amongst the orange flames, grey clouds, and brown dirt that mixed together in the new crater that formed stood the images of Chris Yukine, Maria Cadenzavna Eve, and Kanade Amou. Though the group that stood a short ways away likely couldn't be seen by the three Symphogear wielders through the pollution that filled the air, they could certainly hear them as they spoke.

"So what did you think?" Chris leaned in to address Maria with a proud smile. "Fun, right?"

"Yeah. But not something I think I'd want to get used to." The idol replied as she smoothed down her frazzled hair.

"It's a good thing we were looking up!" Fujitaka shouted to the three girls, snapping their attention to the group who had been dirtied by the earth that had been thrown by the explosion.

"I did try to tell Yukine that it may not have been the best idea." A voice from above sighed, everyone turned their gaze skywards. It had been Tsubasa who spoke, her hand gripping the palm of Miku as the latter girl–clad in the gold armour of Lancea Longini–slowly descended through the air. Of note, the still-tied up Dr. Ver was also being held unconscious under Miku's other arm.

"I knew they would move out of the way." Chris's objection came with the wave of a hand as she sauntered towards the blue-haired sword whose feet touched down on the ground in a much more delicate manner.

"I'm so glad you're all okay!" Shiori exclaimed as the Symphogear girls gathered around their Sector Two allies. Shirabe threw her arms around Maria, and Miku was instantly surrounded by her classmates, but the other girls were not ignored as they were all dragged into a group conversation.

"I'm going to be honest... I don't think any of us are okay." Miku said as her friends dragged her into a group hug. The calm smile on her sad face told her friends that, though she did mean what she said, it was not in a completely negative way. After all, they had lost a friend on that day and their mental states would likely take a long time should they ever be able to recover from the stress they felt over this twenty-four-hour period.

As Miku, Yumi, Shiori, and Kuriyo all embraced, the ghost of Hibiki Tachibana floated over them as they finally all took the time to mourn their fallen friend. Tears began to stream from the latter three girls' eyes, but Miku's were dry as she had depleted her own collection long ago.

Tsubasa, a short ways away, smiled as she took up her post by Kanade's side. "I think the four of them are quite strong."

"Speaking of strong guys," Kanade tilted her head to address Fujitaka and Tomosato beside her. "Where's the chief?"

"The government called an emergency meeting." Fujitaka said with a weary look on her face. "I don't think they were really impressed with our actions today."

"Hey, we took down a terrorist group and defeated some mad doctor. What more could they want?" Chris's cocky voice rose up from behind the group as she stood with her arms crossed against her chest.

"Well... it seems more like we assimilated that terrorist group into our ranks." Tsubasa gestured towards the happy couple of Shirabe and Maria who spoke happily in the shadows of Kadingir.

"We also have orders to bring them in for questioning." Tomosato solemnly added. "Even though they had been blackmailed into fighting against us, the government is still acting as though they had been the masterminds behind this event."

"Not to mention, they seem to think we had been hiding the existence of Frontier from them. And the existence of more Symphogears." Fujitaka sighed. "I hope Genjuro doesn't get yelled at too much."

"Maria, I'm very glad you're safe." Shirabe spoke quietly, nuzzling her face against the pink-haired girl she thought of as her older sister.

"I'm glad you're okay too, Shirabe." Maria petted Shirabe's hair down as the two hugged. Warmth filled their scarred interiors and kind smiles crossed their exteriors; they truly loved each other like family. But their family was incomplete right now, a fact that Maria couldn't help but bring up: "How is Kirika doing?"

Shirabe was conflicted and bit her lip as she struggled to answer the question. Kirika was doing as well as one would be after using their Superb Song, but Shirabe did not know if she was necessarily 'okay.' After all, Shirabe could no longer tell where Kirika ended and Finé began.

But she didn't want Maria to worry, so she happily nodded with a quiet lie. "She's doing well." Continuing with actual facts now, Shirabe took a step away to look at Maria. "Kirika and Serena are both unconscious still."

Maria's eyes lit up. "I still can't believe that Serena..." Though she now considered Shirabe and Kirika to be part of her precious family, Serena had been by her side long before she had met the other two Receptor Children that were younger than her. Serena still stood atop a pedestal in her heart that no one could measure up to.

"Doctor Ver may have been a monster but at least he somehow brought Serena back to life." Shirabe muttered.

"I'll have you know, I take offence to being called a 'monster.'" Ver spat at the two from his position on the ground beside Maria. Neither of them had known that the mad scientist had awoken–and that's something that was likely true for the others as well.

Shirabe looked down at the doctor with a dark fire burning in her eyes. "Shut up, you creep." She sneered, kicking the man across the face. Not only had that man subjected one of her friends to experiments unknown, Ver had been responsible for a lot of the terrors that the Receptor Children had experienced throughout their lives. That one, quick act of revenge brought a small flare of satisfaction to Shirabe, though she desired to do much worse.

"Oh, real nice. The traitors to humanity continue to defile the virtues of our species." Blood trickling out of the doctor's mouth, Ver spoke with a crude smile and wild eyes.

When Shirabe turned to Maria in confusion, wondering about what Ver meant by 'traitors,' the girl just shook her head and brushed it off with a sigh. "He said a lot. I'll tell you later."

"Oh! Speaking of which!" Yumi clapped her hands together, drawing all eyes towards her as the girl stood up with a bounce. "Shirabe and I baked everyone a cake. We wanted to have a celebration."

Walking over to the group with a phone in her hand, Tomosato offered some good news to Maria and Shirabe. "I just received word that your sister has regained consciousness. Akatsuki, too, seems to be doing better as well."

The two Receptor Children both exhaled as they placed their hands against their chests. Despite their drastically different appearances, one would not be remiss to think that they were twins from the almost-identical movements they made. "Thank goodness they're both all right." Maria sighed in relief.

"So, how about we all head back for a little party." Yumi smiled, pulling Miku close with her arm.

"Sounds like a good idea. I could use something nice after everything we've been through today." Tsubasa nodded.

"Probably a good idea. We do have a lot to talk about afterwards." Fujitaka scratched the back of his head as he vaguely tried to both acknowledge and ignore the bad news that he needed to present later on. He sighed, shaking his fatigued head.

"I hope you like the food." Shirabe looked up to Maria with shining eyes.

As the sun began to lift over the horizon, the light purple sky caused Shirabe's red eyes to glow like the most pristine rubies. Maria couldn't help but happily nod at the sight. "I'm sure I'll love it."

"Am I invited to this party?"

Everyone leapt back as Ogawa seemed to appear out of thin air in the centre of their group. Though his appearance was sudden, it should not have been unexpected–everyone around him, including the F.I.S. girls who had done research on their former-enemies–knew that he was a ninja. It was why he was so skilled in gathering intelligence.

"Where did you even come from?" Kanade shouted with a wide smile plastered on her face. She had been scared by Ogawa more than anyone else, so by now she had grown to expect his random pop-ups. Because of this, Kanade was the only one who remained in the same spot as where she had been a moment earlier.

"Sorry, sorry." With quick apologies as he surveyed the confused looks around him, Ogawa turned his attention back to Kanade. "I was underground. The higher-ups asked me to lead the excavation of the relics from our old HQ. But now that I've got all of them loaded up, I thought I'd check to see the commotion."

"And you didn't think to come up when Chris blew the ground up?" Miku asked deadpan, one eyebrow raised. This earned a chuckle from the brown-haired young man, who wore a clumsy look on his face.

"After Tomosato told me you guys would be landing here, I just assumed she was the source of that."

"Maybe I do rely on my missiles too much." Chris muttered under her breath so quietly that only Tsubasa, who stood next to Ichaival's wielder, could hear the near-silent words. The blue swordswoman couldn't help but smile at the late realization.

"Alright! Now that we're all together, let's have a party!" Yumi shouted, pointing at the island that floated above them. "To victory!"

. . .

Genjuro Kazanari rubbed his temples as he exited the room. His heart had been crushed in the meeting he had been forced to attend before the sun had even begun to rise over the country of Japan.

As the girls of Sector Two held a party, Genjuro had been yelled at non-stop for several hours. Even with their attempts to defend his actions, Genjuro's brother Yatsuhiro and Masahito Shibata had done little to stifle the amount of complaints rained down upon Genjuro like the deadliest storm. His two allies, even now, were trying to defend his actions to their bosses, though Genjuro had been asked to step out for now.

The man sighed as he held up the papers he had just been given. With a scared look, he re-read the notice his superiors had prepared for him. Genjuro's tired eyes scanned the first paragraph over and over, and eventually found himself reading the words aloud to the empty hallway around him.

"As a result of the reckless actions of Sector Two that went against the orders given, it has been decided that the Sector Two of the Special Disaster Response Team will be disbanded and the Symphogear program be reorganized."

**[ To be continued... ]**

### *Zetsubō no Senki: Symphogear if GX*

**Table of Contents**
1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12
13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 · 21 · 22 · 23 · 24
One-off: Symphogear if: Shooting Out of Hell
#### GX Chapter 1

"R-Zero-One, do you copy?"

The robotic drone of the man on the other end of Tsubasa's line of communication coursed anger through her brain. The former idol who dazzled atop the brilliant stage as one half of Zwei Wing could not help but grind her teeth in response to the question asked of her.

It had been three months since the incident that brought into the public eye the existence of the Custodians–an ancient, extra-dimensional race of beings who created humanity in their image–and the Symphogears–powerful sets of armour powered by the songs in the hearts of the women who can don them.

One of the girls who could don a Symphogear was now locked in battle with an army of beings known as the Noise. Tsubasa Kazanari, with a long sapphire-coloured ponytail that hung off the side of her head, carried in her grasp a shining silver blade–the relic known as Ame no Habakiri; the same sword that was said to have been used by Susanoo-no-Mikoto to slay Yamata no Orochi in famous myths. Shards of this legendary sword were used to craft the Symphogear that Tsubasa now donned, and the use of its official designation by the navigator that now spoke from afar–SG-r01–indicated to the swordswoman that she is the one being spoken to.

If it had been the previous team that acted as her support staff while fighting, then Tsubasa would be addressed by name. But now, Tsubasa was nothing more than a tool to be used–a sword to be used to cut down whatever enemy may stand up to harm humanity. In a way, the new staff who acted as her commanders reminded the wielder of Ame no Habakiri of the twisted John Wayne Vercingetorix, who performed many cruel experiments on many girls and even successfully fused the power of relics with the bodies of the tragic Miku Kohinata and the resurrected Serena Cadenzavna Eve.

Her previous support staff would have also been aware that, as the Symphogears draw out songs to power up their wielders, Tsubasa was too busy singing her own battle leitmotif to respond vocally. The dedicated–but eternally overworked–Sakuya Fujitaka and the responsible and incredibly professional Aoi Tomosato would not have asked if Tsubasa could hear them. No, they would have simply held trust in Tsubasa Kazanari and the others who could wield Symphogears.

The powerful blade in Tsubasa's hand sliced through a group of four Noise, shattering the monsters from another dimension into a snowy shower of white light. Her hands trembled slightly as the blade stopped against an invisible wall–the barrier of stress that forced her muscles to tense up. Luckily, these were the final four enemies that stood against Tsubasa, so now the former idol could relax for just a moment.

"Yes. I copy." As the silence surrounded Tsubasa, she let out a calm grunt. These three words carried an abundant amount of different emotions that the man on the other end of the headset erroneously believed to be targeting the Noise.

"No more Noise signals have been detected. You are free to return to base."

No 'thank you,' no 'are you okay.' The man did not care about Tsubasa, about any of the Symphogear wielders. Though Tsubasa did not mind being treated as a sentinel who lived only to protect humanity, it did upset her to see her few remaining companions be treated the same way.

But she was bound by the shackles of the ways of the world. Tsubasa had no other choice but to obey these heartless fools if she wanted to continue using her songs to help others. Closing her eyes to calm her sprinting heart, Tsubasa spat one word as an answer. "Understood."

. . .

Two days after the fight against Dr. Ver, Genjuro Kazanari summoned everyone to the ruined submarine that had acted as Sector Two's base for only a short time. Despite being brightly lit by the sun shining above, the air in the ship's command room was dark and heavy.

Genjuro had a sad expression on his face as he stood, looking down on the girls in front of him. Miku Kohinata, Yumi Itaba, Shiori Terashima, Kuriyo Ando, Chris Yukine, Tsubasa Kazanari, Kanade Amou, Maria Cadenzavna Eve, and Shirabe Tsukuyomi all looked up with curious eyes, wondering what new threat had arisen to call everyone–even those who could not make use of a Symphogear–together again so soon.

"I have some..." Genjuro sighed as he tried to find the words to explain the news he had been given two days earlier.

Seeing the stress in his stance, Tomosato–who had already been given the news–pushed a chair behind the large red-haired man, who quickly collapsed into it with a slump. Pushing his strong fingers against his temples, he finally addressed the confused girls before him.

"As of today, Sector Two has been disbanded." With a deep exhale, the man awaited the outburst that he was sure would follow.

"Wait, are you serious?" Chris was the first one to speak up. The white-haired girl with two long tails that draped down her back shook her head. "You're joking, right?"

"It's not a joke." Tsubasa, standing beside her, shook her head. She could tell that her uncle was completely serious from the atmosphere around them.

"What? But we did it! We captured Ver!"

"And that is commendable," Tomosato bowed her head as she stood next to Genjuro. "Unfortunately, the higher-ups are not entirely happy of the fact that we had you fight against F.I.S. after the Americans pledged their support to them and the pressure that they have placed on them since."

"With the appearance of Frontier, the Americans are now pressuring us to release the information we have on Symphogears, and they have already done so." Fujitaka, crossing his arms as he sat on the opposite side of Genjuro from Tomosato. "Basically, we've become the scapegoats."

"So what will happen to us?" Kanade had a fire burning behind her one uncovered eye that matched her blazing hairstyle. Though her tone was calm, the way she clenched her fists gave away to those around her that she was not confused nor sad–she was mad that they were being tossed away.

"The Symphogear program is going to be taken over by another team. You all will continue fighting Noise and any other threat that may require your strength, just as you did under us." Genjuro crossed his arms.

"But we'll have tight collars hindering our movements." Tsubasa could sense where Genjuro was going as he had spoken. "The government will have far more control over us than before."

"Yes. To put it bluntly, your Symphogears–and by extension, you–will officially be government property. Fujitaka will be joining you as well, though it's unlikely he will continue to act in the same communicator role as before." Tomosato gaze landed on Tsubasa. "I will be joining your father's division. Because of the knowledge that she holds, Itaba may also join us if she would like, as Ogawa will be working with us as well. He's currently in a meeting regarding our transfers."

"My brother, Shibata, and I have been trying to work out deals for the two of you–Terashima and Ando. The government is not happy that we brought you–and Itaba–on board, but now that you have knowledge of our operations, they don't want you to potentially leak information." Genjuro had his eyes closed now as he continued talking. "The best we could manage for the two of you was a probation. You will technically be let go from your roles here and go back to being normal girls, but my brother's team will be keeping an eye on your actions for the time being."

Fujitaka finally stood up now. Taking his cue from the fact that their situations had not yet been addressed, the spiky-haired man strolled over to Maria and Shirabe.

"So, you really are going to arrest us?" Maria looked down with a silent argument as Fujitaka placed a white brick around her wrists. Beside him, Tomosato did the same to Shirabe.

"The two of you–as well as Akatsuki, once she awakens–are the only public figures to have declared war on the world. The Japanese government would like to question you. For the foreseeable future, you be treated strictly as criminals despite the assistance you provided." Genjuro explained with an apologetic nod. "I am sorry."

"I guess we do deserve this for what we did." Maria said remorsefully.

"Fortunately, your sister will have complete freedom once she regains consciousness. We managed to convince the higher-ups that, despite the familal connection, she was a complete victim in this."

"You told them the truth." Shirabe's eyes were locked on the block that bound her hands together, not even looking up for a moment as her quiet words rung through the room.

Fujitaka chuckled darkly. "You would be surprised how little they care about what the 'truth' actually is."

"So that just leaves the Symphogear wielders. As I said, your operations will be taken over by a new team. You will report to their office beginning tomorrow; Fujitaka will take you there tomorrow. Kohinata, you are being treated the same as Terashima and Ando are, as we managed to convince them that the experiments performed on you and Serena had no permanent effects."

Miku's eye twitched at that comment, but only the man with the pointed red beard noticed the spasm. With a distant look in her eyes, Miku turned her gaze away. "If only."

With a long exhale, Genjuro finally finished his lengthy explanation for the future of their team, leaving out one important detail–what was happening to him. But no one dared ask that question, for they all had an idea of what terrible answer they would receive. Instead, a silence hung in the air as everyone digested the news.

"Yeah I'm not going to do that." Chris waved her hand. With her other, she angrily gripped tight the red crystal that hung from her neck and pulled with all her might. It was very easy for her to snap the chord that it was attached to, and she held the Symphogear pendant out in front of her with an open palm. "Consider this my resignation too."

"I had a feeling you would do this." Despite the sad tone, Genjuro smiled. With his hand that dwarfed the one reaching out towards him, he plucked the red jewel out of Chris's pearly palm. "I'd already handed in a report regarding your dismissal. Tsubasa, Kanade: I have similar reports written up for you, should you wish to do the same."

"No. I am a sentinel. My entire life, I have trained to protect people with my songs and the power of the Symphogear." Tsubasa unconsciously clutched the Symphogear that hung from her neck. "I will continue to do so for the time being."

Kanade was a little more hesitant. With a sigh, she scratched the back of her head, ruffling her already-messy orange hair. "Someone's going to have to keep Tsubasa in line. I guess I'll stick by her side."

"So that's it, then? We're just... done?" Kuriyo cocked her head. "We're all going our separate ways, now? That seems a little sudden."

"No need to worry." Yumi pulled her friend in close with her elbow. "Friends walking away from each other is a common trope in anime openings. And at the start of arcs that will eventually bring them all back together."

"You're a little more optimistic about this than the rest of us." Shiori rested a hand on her cheek as she looked over the confident Yumi. "Is it because you've still got a job?"

"'Art imitates life,' right? Well I think the opposite is true, too. If anime casts all get back together eventually, then we probably will too. I just know it."

"That sounds a bit childish." Chris's deadpan echoed Shiori's puzzling look.

"I agree, but I do like the optimism." Tsubasa smiled.

"I'm sure, in time, all of you will be together again." A sad, but hopeful, look crossed Maria's face. Though she was still comatose right now, Maria had managed to magically be reunited with her sister after she had died six years ago. It truly went to show that anything was possible in this crazy world. From the way she stoically nodded from Maria's side, Shirabe seemed to agree.

"Shall we consider it a promise?" Yumi excitedly threw her hand forwards, holding it out as if waiting for someone to place their own on top.

Kanade was the first to understand what she meant by the action, and slowly placed her palm atop the roof of Yumi's right hand. "Sure. Lets all promise to fight together again."

"Maybe we should promise to just continue to be friends." With a bit of hesitation, Shiori gently placed her own hand on the pile. "After all, I don't think we should be hoping for more excitement like before."

"Yeah, some peace would be nice." Kuriyo joined in now, too.

"If you'll have me as part of your team, then I'll be willing to join you as well." Maria, unable to join the promise with only one hand, snuck the brick encasing both of her hands beneath Yumi's hand.

"Very well." Tsubasa's small smile continued to cross her face as she placed her hand atop Kuriyo's.

"You guys are crazy." Chris shook her head. "But, I guess it wouldn't hurt to see you all again at some point. Maybe." With that, she joined the group and placed her hand upon the pile as well.

Shirabe, silently, placed the brick that encased her wrists atop Chris's hands.

That just left Miku, who everyone turned their gazes toward. "Well?" Chris prompted, but Miku just scoffed, her face still looking away from the group whose attention she attracted.

"Don't get me wrong, it's not that I dislike you all. It's just that..." Miku finally turned towards her friends, revealing the very sad look in her eyes.

Next to perhaps Chris Yukine, Miku Kohinata had suffered far more than the rest of the girls in the room had, and only over the past year and change. As a survivor of the Zwei Wing Tragedy that resulted in over twelve thousand deaths, Miku suffered as the world turned against her and her parents eventually ended up committing suicide after being crushed from the stress. The injuries she suffered that were near-fatal and caused shards of the Gungnir relic to be lodged within her body, to the burns she suffered after falling to Earth, and the experiments that Ver had performed on her had scarred her body permanently, and the pain of having been the one to rob the girl she loved of her own life–albeit while brainwashed and under the mad doctor's control–tainted her mind.

The girl was tired. She wanted nothing more than to find some kind of peace–something she had hoped to grasp when she pledged to protect Hibiki Tachibana all those many months ago. But she had failed that. She still had other friends by her side, but the guilt that ate away at her heart hurt far too much.

"I..." The pleading eyes of Yumi, Shiori, and Kuriyo also took bites out of Miku's shattered soul, and she stammered as she tried to find the right way to decline. "I just want to do something. To atone for what I did to Hibiki."

"So what will you be doing, then?" Kanade asked with a tense expression. "I hope you haven't forgotten–"

"'Don't give up on living.'" Miku cut the other half of Zwei Wing off with a sigh as she recalled the words that had ingrained themselves within her brain during that fateful concert. As Kanade's expression softened slightly, Miku continued speaking. "No. Dying would not do anything. I need to find some way to apologize to Hibiki, and I don't know how long that will take. I may never find the right answer. And I don't want to keep you waiting."

"Boo." Yumi cried, half-mockingly. "Way to ruin our moment, Miku!"

Yumi's half-serious complaint brought back a bit of energy to Miku's eyes. She cracked a weak smile. "Fine." Slowly, Miku placed her hand, which had been melted by the heat and cooled into a red, malformed version of the once-fair skin that had covered her limb, atop Shirabe's handcuffs. "I don't know if I'll be able to keep this promise, though."

"I didn't think the day would come when someone would be edgier than Tsubasa." Chris chuckled with a playful look in her eye. But a bit of a blush creeped over her cheeks as the girl warmly looked up into her friend's eyes with a more-serious expression. "I'll always be willing to help you, Miku. If you ever need to talk..."

After the party that Yumi and Shirabe had put together for everyone, Chris had let Miku stay over at her place–considering Miku had lived with Hibiki, she knew that the painful memories that would surface at her home were likely to do more harm for Miku than good at the moment. But instead of falling into the deep sleeps that their bodies desperately craved for, Miku spent hours sobbing into a pillow as Chris comforted her.

Both girls knew pain, both had taken lives, both had been corrupted by the evil priestess known as Finé, and both had their families–their own futures–stolen from them under tragic circumstances. Chris felt as though she was looking into a mirror when she saw Miku, and Chris wanted to be the hand that tethered her to reality that she only managed to grasp when she reunited with Genjuro several months ago.

Miku nodded, a stern determination in her eyes. "Chris... Yumi, Shiori, Kuriyo... Everyone... I will be back eventually. That's something I will promise you."

"Good to hear it." Yumi shouted and threw her hand–and thus the hands of everyone but Maria–up into the air with a cheer. "It shouldn't be too long until we get back together. I look forwards to seeing it."

. . .

In the three months since that promise was made, Tsubasa had only seen Kanade on more than one occasion, as the two still worked together daily. That is not to say that she couldn't see the others, but it was fairly difficult for her considering the strict orders she had since been forced to follow.

Maria, Shirabe, and Kirika–who had awoken several days after her friends' imprisonment–were under constant watch, and Tsubasa had only managed to see Maria by chance when she had been ordered to assist Ogawa with some of his work. Tsubasa technically was not able to see these girls–she did not have permission to visit them at any point–but she could do so with Ogawa, or Yumi's, help if she asked.

She had technically graduated from Lydian, which had moved to an old Catholic school after some renovations were completed, so Tsubasa had no reason to see Yumi, Kuriyo, Shiori, or the school's new transfer student, Chris Yukine–in fact, she had not yet even seen the new building that now housed Lydian Private Music Academy.

Miku was the outlier. As far as Tsubasa knew, the only person to have seen Miku since that day was Chris–and that was only a rumour that Kanade had passed along to her. No one knew where Miku had disappeared to, but Tsubasa had steeled herself long ago and learned to push aside any doubts or worries that may interfere with her duties. Tsubasa had no time to worry about Miku's whereabouts at the moment; the Noise had begun appearing more and more frequently over the past week, and she suspected that there was a reason for it–though her new superiors would never dare let her in on anything they may know.

"R-Zero-One, report. We have detected more signs of Noise within your vicinity. R-Zero-Three is already en route." The man who acted as Tsubasa's new communicator–she did not know, nor care, for his name–spoke again into her earpiece.

"Understood." Tsubasa raised the blade of Ame no Habakiri again.

Tsubasa Kazanari was a sentinel. It was her duty as a sword to fight endlessly–and fight she was going to continue to do, just as she had done all this time.

#### GX Chapter 2

The world seemed eerily still and quiet to Tsubasa as she ran through the city streets. Tall buildings loomed over her, looking down upon the blue-haired swordswoman as if judging her for the choices she had made. No, it was something beyond the steel giants that surrounded the girl that had her on edge.

"Tsubasa, you there?"

Slicing through Tsubasa's brain and cutting away the thoughts that she was being watched by a figure–or figures–from afar was the voice of the girl she was closest to in the world: Kanade Amou. When she had been an idol performing as part of Zwei Wing, Kanade had always been the one to push away the doubts that Tsubasa had before lives; even on the day of that concert that brought despair to so many, Kanade had helped calm the steel swordswoman's nerves. The voice of the former idol, even now, had a soothing effect on Tsubasa that she did not completely understand–and she did not want to keep that voice waiting.

"Kanade? Is something the matter?"

"Yeah, the Noise over here are acting odd."

Kanade stood on the roof of a skyscraper, gazing down into a lake of beings known as the Noise. These creatures come from another dimension, their technicolour forms distinctly alien (and almost as if they had been lifted from anime) as they contrasted the modern-day setting around them.

Noise were feral creatures who were drawn to humans–though this was not an attraction born of curiosity. These extradimensional beasts had the power to disintegrate organic matter, and would transform humans into a pile of carbon dust within seconds of making contact with them.

But the Noise that Kanade looked down upon did not act as typical Noise do. The monsters did not spread out, chasing after the lingering scents of the humans that had been evacuated earlier. Rather, the strange beasts simply stood still, patiently waiting for some unknown reason. The multicoloured mob that the monsters formed was hypnotic as their bodies shifted colours in a way that Kanade had never seen before.

The Noise were oddly peaceful–and that was what unsettled her more than anything. With hesitation, she spoke into the headset she wore and relayed her gut feeling to Tsubasa on a line that only the two of them shared–the heartless suits they worked for would not approve of them speaking like this, but Kanade did not care about that.

"The Noise are just standing around?" Tsubasa repeated as she began to ponder the implications of what Kanade had just told her.

Kanade knew the first conclusion that Tsubasa would come to–but both of them knew it would be incorrect. Not wanting to have to waste time with that idea, Kanade instead flipped the unspoken question around. "Solomon's Cane is in storage, but there must be some other relic capable of commanding Noise."

"You said they were changing colours?" Tsubasa brought that detail up, recalling the brief comment that Kanade had made during her explanation. "Is it possible they aren't Noise?"

That was a thought that had not occurred to Kanade. "I guess it's possible?" She said this statement more as a question than as an answer.

The creatures looked like Noise–their strange appearances, while distinctly alien, were also familiar to Kanade outside of their shifting colours. She recognized the different kinds of Noise that she had grown to know quite well through their many encounters: humanoid beasts with what looked like two speakers atop their heads and green coffin-shaped panels where a face should be; stout, spherical creatures with fat tails and skinny human-like limbs that looked out of place on the tadpole-like creature's body; large slug-like beasts that had eight white tendrils protruding out from its body on the sides of the green stripe that acted as its face; and–Kanade's least favourite–tall pole-like monsters that had dotted spheres for heads, from which beaks protruded to match the similarly bird-like feet that let them waddle across the ground.

But it was the way that these creatures changed colours that kept Kanade from dismissing the suggestion out-right. Despite the wild ways they looked, the Noise were always consistent in their colourations: the humanoid ones were orange, the tadpole ones were blue, and the ones with the beaks that Kanade affectionately called 'spitters' were mostly red–of course, the green screens with grid patterns that acted as their face was the staple of Noise, and that remained static even now despite the rest of their bodies shifting through the spectrum.

Kanade pushed away the questions that would be impossible to answer for now. "I'll wait for you before I start fighting."

"Alright." Tsubasa nodded a curt acknowledgement as she ran. Though Kanade could not see the action in person, she could picture in her mind's eye the response she had seen first-hand far more times than she could count.

But the Tsubasa in Kanade's mind had a strained expression. Ever since the concert that ended with the death of over twelve thousand people–a day that was now referred to as the Zwei Wing Tragedy–the two of them had endured more hardships than they had before. Though Kanade only fought initially to avenge her parents–archaeologists who were killed by Noise that appeared when they had unearthed, and subsequently lost the Shénshòujìng relic–she had since formed bonds. Bonds stronger than most tethered Kanade to Tsubasa, to her friends of the former Sector Two, and her lust for vengeance eventually transformed into a righteous desire to help others; and Kanade knew that Tsubasa, despite her claims to just be nothing but a sentinel, also wanted nothing more than to save lives.

Now, however, some of their bonds had been broken. The two girls rarely saw many of their friends now–Sakuya Fujitaka, one of their former communicators, was the only one they still worked with, and Kanade could count on one hand how many times both Kanade and Tsubasa had seen any of the others they had befriended. She was worried that the change in organization, the bonds that Tsubasa had forged and had torn away from her, were starting to wear down Tsubasa just as they had begun to tear at Kanade's mental state.

"Hey, by the way Tsubasa–how are you holding up?"

"I'm fine, Kanade." The curt tone of the answer Tsubasa gave and the speed at which it had come told Kanade that she was, in fact, the opposite. But, she was aware that Tsubasa did not like to talk about herself or her feelings, and, for now, was willing to let the sidestepping answer pass.

"We'll talk later, then."

. . .

"Man, this is so boring!"

A deep sigh came from the white-haired girl who stood with her arms on her hips. The room she was in was crowded with people, who all spoke fairly casually despite the events unfolding outside the room. This was a shelter designed to hide people away from the Noise whenever they attacked–in theory, anyway.

"Don't worry, Chris, you get used to it." One of the girls near the girl named Chris Yukine spoke with an awkward smile.

Chris Yukine was a former member of Sector Two, and one of the few girls in the world capable of naturally wielding a Symphogear without the use of the LiNKER substance. Because of her abilities, Chris had always been on the front lines of the fight against the Noise ever since she had entered a semi-normal life, and before then had never been in the care of people willing to protect her from the rainbow of monsters from another dimension.

Over the course of two weeks, Chris had now spent almost a total of two days' time locked in these shelters. She had resigned from Sector Two as it was disbanded–an act that drew ire from the government and still caused her to often be followed by men in dark suits and sunglasses–and no longer carried the pendant that allowed her to call upon the Symphogear known as Ichaival. Essentially, Chris Yukine was completely 'normal' now, though her memories of tragedy would prevent her from ever fitting in with others.

The people in the crowd around her were not aware of Chris's past as a Symphogear wielder, however. Though the existence of the powerful music-based weapons had been made–with great reluctance–public by both the Japanese and American governments, the only three people whose names were published as Symphogear wielders were the ones who declared war on the world: Kirika Akatsuki, Shirabe Tsukuyomi, and the famous superstar who won the hearts of millions, Maria Cadenzavna Eve. Of the people who had been crammed like sardines into the shelter around her, the only two who were aware of Chris's past were other former members of Sector Two: Kuriyo Ando (who had been the one to reassure her earlier) and Shiori Terashima.

"I hope Yumi is okay." Shiori ignored the distressed look on Chris's face, lost in her own worries for their missing friend. Unlike the three of them, Yumi Itaba was still employed by the government and often missed school because of it. They rarely had any idea where Yumi was, but they knew she turned in schoolwork because she still managed to get high marks.

"Eh, she's a tough one. I'm sure she's doing fine." Chris waved her hand. She had not actually gotten to know Yumi all that well–it was Shiori and Kuriyo whom Chris had interacted with most–so her impression of the anime-obsessed girl mainly stemmed from what Shiori and Kuriyo had told her.

"I'm sure Yumi would probably jump in and grab one of the Symphogears if worst came to worst." Kuriyo smiled. "You know she'd love to imitate her favourite characters if she got the chance to."

"That's why I'm worried about her, though." Shiori cupped her cheek. In the fluorescent lights that hummed above the girls, Shiori's blonde hair instead looked a pale white as it reflected the cold artificial bluish glow.

"Chris, so that was you!"

Chris did not have time to react as she was jumped upon from behind. A girl with messy dark green, almost black, hair tied into a ponytail hugged the girl as she knocked her over. "Wha-?" Was the only thing Chris was able to gasp out as her brain struggled to comprehend what was happening to her.

When the girl's ponytail flopped into Chris's view and she heard the sounds of two more sets of footsteps approaching, that was when she understood who had leapt onto her. "Godai? What are you doing?"

"Godai? You know you can call me Yuki!" The girl who Chris wore as if she were a turtle's shell smiled with a wink. "You don't need to be so formal with me–or any of us, you know?"

"Oh, so that's where you ran off to, Yuki." Between gasps as she tried to catch her breath, one of the two other newcomers spoke. This girl, who had chocolate hair held down by a band the colour of sunshine, was Komichi Ayano. "Sorry Chris."

Beside Komichi stood her bespectacled friend with lighter brown hair Otome Kaburagi. Together, Komichi and Otome pulled their friend Yuki Godai off of the struggling Chris.

Like Chris, Kuriyo, and Shiori, these three girls wore the white and grey uniform of Lydian Private Music Academy. They were, after all, Shiori and Kuriyo's upperclassmen–some of Chris's own classmates. Much to Chris's initial chagrin, these three girls were trying to bring normalcy to her life despite not knowing anything about her past; though she had come to get used to their comedic routine over the few months that she had been attending the school, and part of Chris felt as though she should respect them like friends. After all, there was no reason for her to distance herself any more; she was no longer a Symphogear wielder, nor did she need to stand up against any threats that may arise. At some point Chris had unconsciously decided to give being a normal girl a shot, and Yuki, Komichi, and Otome had been the ones to drag her down into that reality.

"Someone's popular." Shiori chuckled, her worries for Yumi's safety dissipating as she found entertainment in the scene of Komichi and Otome struggling to pull Yuki off of a flailing Chris.

"Not like I want to be!" Chris retorted.

As the words left Chris's mouth, she felt her foot lose its grip on the ground. She fell forwards, taking her three classmates with her as they collapsed into a heap. Kuriyo couldn't help but giggle alongside Shiori as the salad of limbs on the ground groped the air trying to understand what had happened–and this caused Yuki, Komichi, and Otome to start laughing too. "What are you all laughing for?" Chris blushed, holding back her own enjoyment of the comedic scene she was forced to be part of as she tried to pull herself together.

Despite the harsh memories that confined themselves within Chris's mind and scarred her soul, she found as though this peaceful life she lived was a miracle gifted to her by fate. She was finally living a life free of torture, not being degraded mentally or physically as Chris had been since her parents died all those years ago. That said, she was not entirely sure this was how a 'normal' schoolgirl acted; she had been homeschooled by her parents, and had not received any schooling after their death–but it felt more 'normal' to her than the trials she had faced thus far in her relatively short life.

As Yuki, Komichi, and Otome finally began to collect themselves and help each other (and Chris) stand up, Shiori's cell phone began to ring.

"Yumi?" Shiori answered the phone quickly, recognizing the name that had been displayed next to the number. "Oh, good, you're safe!"

"I'm safe? Yeah, I guess you could say that. I'm standing over a giant pit though. This Frontier place looks like a supervillain's lair." Yumi laughed loud enough for Kuriyo, who stood next to Shiori trying to listen in on the conversation, to hear even over the grumbling and apologies coming from Chris and her classmates. "Oh, hey, listen. This is going to sound a bit weird but Ogawa wants to test a theory. Any chance you could get some people to head over to Frontier?"

Frontier, the giant spaceship used by the Custodians that travelled to Earth from another dimension, still floated above the hill near the city, over the ruins of the former Lydian Private Music Academy that had been destroyed by both Finé's Red Dragon of Revelations and the emergence of her cannon that had laid dormant beneath it, Kadingir. The fact that Kanade and Dr. Vercingetorix remained the only two people who have been able to grasp the complex control scheme for the artificial island meant that it was stuck in place until the government decided it was worth moving–and, considering their desire to research it, they decided it was optimal to leave it in its current position.

"Right now?" Shiori tilted her head. "We're kind of locked in a bunker right now."

"Ogawa and I will be at Frontier all day. Come over whenever you can. Bring Kuriyo, Chris, Miku–whoever you can find!" Yumi was about to sign off before she paused for a moment. Though Shiori was not privy to it, she could tell that Yumi was speaking to Ogawa on the other end of the phone; something she would confirm only moments later. "Hey, Shiori, can you put Chris on for just a sec? Ogawa wants to talk to her."

"Hm? Yeah, alright." Shiori held out her phone to Chris with a straight arm. "Ogawa wants to talk to you."

"Huh? If this is about..." Chris caught herself, remembering who now stood around her–she couldn't mention Sector Two in front of Yuki, Komichi, and Otome. Thus, Chris reluctantly grabbed hold of the phone and placed it to her ear, watching as Kuriyo and Shiori crowded around her trying to hear. "What do you want?"

Ogawa chuckled through the other end of the line. "Come on Chris, is that any way to talk to an old co-worker?"

"Couldn't you get in trouble trying to pull civilians into your work?" Chris glared uncontrollably, aware that she was simply making a menacing expression towards her three classmates, who shrunk back in confusion.

"Yeah, I'm definitely taking a risk here. That's why everything I mention in this call–to you, and to Terashima–is off-the-record."

Chris was a little impressed with the ninja. She was well aware that he had many contracts and hidden skills, but Chris had assumed that, with the reorganization of the former staff members of Sector Two, he'd be monitored non-stop just as she, Shiori, and Kuriyo seemed to be. "If that's the case, *friend*, then what can I help you with?"

"I mentioned this earlier to Terashima, but I want to repeat myself to you as well: I want you to come to Frontier later today. We've been investigating the control mechanism for the spaceship and I've come up with some theories regarding why only certain people may be able to grasp the control scheme... Not to mention, I want to show *you* something."

The last comment piqued Chris’s interest, but her hatred for the politicians that fired Genjuro and broke apart Sector Two overpowered that curiosity. "And why should I help you, Ogawa?"

"You never did get a chance to talk with Finé like you wanted, correct? If you help, then I'll try to get you an audience with Akatsuki–as difficult as that may be." Chris's eyes lit up at that.

"Fine. You just want me to show up at any time?"

"Yes, any time works–my team will continue to be investigating Frontier for the foreseeable future, so even if you can't make it today then tomorrow's always an option." Chris was waiting for Ogawa to end the call, but silence hung between the two for a few moments before the brown-haired man continued. "I also have one another small favour to ask of the three of you as well; I'd be appreciative if you could pass this along to Terashima and Ando as well."

"Now what?"

"I want you to find Kohinata. If my theory is correct, then her presence would be..."

"Yeah I'm going to stop you there. None of us have seen Miku in months. She stopped by my place a while ago, and then disappeared. You'd probably do a better job tracking her down than we would."

"I'm not so sure. After all, Terashima and Ando–and Yumi, here–are probably the people who know her the best,"–the silent now hung between the two for a moment before Ogawa continued.

"You owe me–us–for this, though."

"Yeah, yeah. A visit with Akatsuki, for sure, and we could come up with more terms later."

"Fine."

With a huff, Chris ended the call and held out the phone for Shiori. "He wants us to find Hina, huh?" The tanned and sandy-haired Kuriyo mused the idea, having been listening to the conversation over Chris's shoulder. Her nickname for the girl–Hina–came from part of Miku's family name, Kohinata. "Our best bet would be checking out the places that we visited before, right?"

"Once we're allowed out of here, we've got a lot of work cut out." Chris sighed but did not lower her head. Instead of making a defeated expression, she turned to the incredibly confused girls who had no knowledge of the secret lives the three girls they stood next to had lived for several months. "Sorry about that, girls."

"We'll help you find your friend, if you'll let us." Otome pumped her fists with a wide smile across her face–she, just like the two girls flanking her, was determined to do anything to help Chris for reasons she was not entirely sure of.

Of course, Chris knew that it would be bad for her to drag into Ogawa's plans people who had not been part of Sector Two, but that was a trivial matter. They had no idea where Miku could be, so six heads were far better than three. Turning to Shiori and Kuriyo, Chris asked them a question in response. "You got a picture of Miku? It'd help if they knew what she looks like."

Having not yet put her phone away, Shiori began to shift through the images she had stored within its memory. As she found one with Miku, her large golden eyes lit up and then immediately clouded over in sadness–Chris had an idea of why.

"The girl with the black hair, wearing the white ribbon." Shiori held her phone out as she sadly spoke to her three upperclassmen. "That's Miku."

The image on Shiori's phone screen was one from a very different time. Four girls smiled into the phone's small camera, while another gazed longingly at the ghost that had been leaning over her shoulder.

Yumi, flashing two peace signs, stood on the far left, with Kuriyo leaning out of the way to dodge her out-stretched hands; followed by Shiori peacefully watching them with a kind smile on her face. Kneeling on the ground was Miku, her eyes torn away from the camera as she stared at the awkward smile of a sandy-haired girl who peered over her shoulder.

That girl's name was Hibiki Tachibana, who existed as nothing more than a memory to all of the other girls who stood around her in the image. Through a miracle, they had met a comatose girl who had been brought back from the dead–and every girl who crowded around her back then wished now that the same miracle would be bestowed upon Hibiki by the whims of fate as well.

"Okay. We'll help you look for her!" Yuki smiled, flashing a peace sign with her own fingers as if to mimic Yumi's pose in the image she had just looked at. "You can count on us."

"Thanks guys." Chris said with a genuinely warm smile on her face.

Though it would have been a charming way to begin their adventure of the day–an adventure far less dangerous than those that the girls had grown accustomed to–Kuriyo felt the need to point out the obvious fact that they were all forgetting about. "We still need to wait until they lift the lockdown order."

. . .

Tsubasa stood up on a balcony next to Kanade, looking down at the multicoloured sea below them. "I see what you mean, now. They really are abnormal Noise." The blue-haired swordswoman had just climbed up next to the lower platform that Kanade had descended to from her initial rooftop perch, and now stood with her Armed Gear by her side.

Kanade had been musing the situation for the past few minutes as she waited for her partner to approach, but no answer to her internal question had yet to come to her. She had no idea why these Noise might be different from the others they had fought, and only knew that they clearly were from their shifting palettes.

"Hey Tsubasa, Kanade. Can you hear me?" Both girls flinched in surprise as a more friendly voice echoed into their brains through the earpieces they wore. The voice was not the monotone drawl that both girls had been forced to get used to, rather the more friendly–albeit tired–voice of one Sakuya Fujitaka, a former member of Sector Two.

Before Kanade or Tsubasa could answer, Fujitaka continued speaking in a hurry. "This is a one-way line, I won't be able to hear you–just listen up for a moment, okay?" Kanade stifled a reply as the man kept speaking. "I've been reading the reports of the scans from your area, and the results are very... interesting, I suppose?

"The Noise there are giving off a unique signal. It's similar enough in most areas that the idi... *team* back at HQ likely overlooked the differences or don't care enough. But the data I'm looking at is very strange. I worry that your Symphogears may not be as useful against these Noise as the ones you usually fight. So, I wanted to warn you–be careful."

"Thanks Ogawa." Kanade gave a reply to his information on reflex.

"I hope I've been helpful. Anyway, I've got to go." Ogawa signed off, and the buzzing from the low-quality signal that Fujitaka–who had not been at base earlier and thus had likely patched himself into their line hastily from a remote location–spoke over disappeared in an instant.

"Our Symphogears may not be as useful?" Tsubasa shook her head. "Do you think, if a relic is involved here, that this could possibly be a trap for us?"

"Yes. Definitely. But if we don't throw ourselves in there soon, we won't hear the end of it from the brass later. So I guess we're going to spring it." Kanade shrugged. "Hopefully it won't be that dangerous."

. . .

A small girl sat in a large throne, staring down at a robot who posed elegantly below her. The sapphire-coloured dress, headband, and shoes that this automaton had dressed in contrasted her snow-white skin just as well as her short black hair did, creating a beautiful model that the young girl parallel to her looked down upon proudly. Or, rather, that was how the girl normally looked at the robot and her three 'sisters.'

The young girl's annoyed eyes narrowed as she glared at her creation. "So tell me, Garie, what were the orders I gave you?"

The robot–whose name was Garie Tūmān–bowed respectfully, lowering herself from the tip-toed position she had held as if a ballerina. "Master, you had ordered Leiur to trail Elfnein–whom we allowed to 'escape' with the shard of Dáinsleif you gave her–and pretend to attack her periodically as if trying to hinder her attempts to make contact with the Symphogear wielders.

"Phara was given the task to lure out our enemies, which she has attempted to do so by creating an army alchemical Noise replicas. I have been told that Phara has found the Symphogears, but they have yet to engage with her trap."

The girl to whom Garie reported all this to simply sighed. The innocent expression that Garie wore on her mechanical face was hard for most to get mad at, but her creator was one of the few exceptions. After all, she had created Garie using a fragment of her own memories; no one knew Garie better than her creator–and no one hated the cruelty that laid just below her cutesy facade better than her as well.

"No, Garie. I specifically wanted you to tell me what the orders I gave *you* were." The girl leaned forwards as she yelled at her creation. As she did so, the long pointed witch-like hat that had been perched on atop her golden crown fell off, dancing down through the air towards the mechanical marvel.

Catching the hat with a fast, albeit still elegant, hand movement, Garie cracked a cruel smile. "Master, I am fully aware of the orders you gave me. You ordered me to collect memories so that we could power both Micha and the true functions of the Château de Tiffauges that you have spent so many years constructing."

Garie tossed the hat back up to her creator, who snatched it out the air as it approached her at a fairly high speed. Placing the black spike back atop her head, the young girl let out an annoyed acknowledgement. She then began to speak in a very calm tone. "So tell me, then, Garie..." As if a switch had been flipped, the girl let out an angered scratch. "What are you still doing here?"

Replacing her crude pointed smile with a soft one in order to restore her facade of innocence, Garie pointed at her cheek with wide eyes. "Oh you needn't worry about me, Master. I've got something planned." With a regal curtsy, Garie nodded her head. "It shall give us far more power than my previous methods."

As a red pentagon appeared beneath Garie's feet, her creator just shook her head. She watched as the automaton sank below the ground, disappearing as the alchemical warp activated to send her to places unknown.

Placing her hand against her forehead, the young girl exhaled deeply. "I truly do despise that her annoying personality comes from somewhere within me."

#### GX Chapter 3

*Shosen wa kemono to kawaranu no ka? Sabi ni ore yuku no ka?

Mayoi madoi tsukinu hibi yo saredo ima wa

Gedō ni ai no issen wo "aku, gyō, soku, shun, satsu"

Garō no hikaru kiba wa mizukara wo mo kowashi messu moroha no yō

Hagishiri nagara chi wo fuku koto mo shiriete nao mo kū

Tsurugi wa tsurugi to shika yobenu no ka? Chigau, tomo wa tsubasa to yobu

…Waga na wa "yume wo habataku mono" nari*

The sparkling sword of Ame no Habakiri glistened in the silver sunlight that shown down upon its wielder as she fought. Singing all the while, the girl with the long blue hair flew around the street at a high speed, cutting down every Noise in her path.

Tsubasa and her partner Kanade had been doing this for twenty minutes already, yet the number of their enemies had yet to diminish even a single percentage. Every time their Armed Gears would pierce through the vibrant flesh of the alien beasts around them, the Noise would simply be replaced by another in a moment as if regenerating.

"R-Zero-One, R-Zero-Three–what are the two of you doing? Have you not yet engaged the enemy?" An annoyed man cawed at the two Symphogear wielders through their headsets. "We have detected no decrease in Noise within your vicinity. Engage, now!"

"Shut the hell up." Kanade snapped, pulling back the giant spear that had just cut down a Noise. A dark shadow clouded her eyes as she glared through the monsters that surrounded her. "We're trying over here, but they just keep regenerating! Maybe you should do your jobs and give us some ideas!"

"R-Zero-Three, we will not tolerate–" The man on the other end of the line was furious, his face likely red, but neither of the Symphogear wielders he spoke to cared at all for his emotions.

Tsubasa pulled her blade away from the army and jumped back to safety as she sent a signal to Kanade. In a very cold voice that would send chills down the communicator on the other end of the line, the former idol let out a report that was–comparative to both other parties involved–incredibly calm as she stifled the song in her heart.

"Command, what Kanade stated is the truth. Every time we cut down Noise, they simply regenerate as if our Armed Gears had no effect on them." An orange Noise waddled its way towards Tsubasa as she spoke, and the girl sent it flying with a simple kick. "What's more, these Noise only seem to be targeting the two of us specifically. Are there any deviations in the signals you are receiving from these Noise, or..."

The angry man inhaled sharply. "R-Zero-One, remember that we are the ones in charge here. While there are slight differences between the signals of these Noise and others that you have fought, they are within ranges that we would not consider abnormal. If this is an attempt to skip out on work..."

"Shut the hell up, you asshole." Kanade spat. "We're the ones putting our lives on the line out here day after day to protect people like you who can't fight the Noise. Do you really think we'd come up with a lie to get out of keeping people safe!?"

"R-Zero-Three..." The man started, but the rest of his thought never came.

"I suppose that may be my cue."

Tsubasa and Kanade readied their weapons as their attention turned towards the group of Noise. The voice that had spoken to the two warrior girls was unfamiliar, but more so it was uneasy; the Noise can not speak, and neither of the Symphogear wielders would have ever imagined that the voice that would come from the extradimensional beasts would be that of an elegant woman.

"Who goes there?" Tsubasa yelled into the rainbow sea in front of Noise, awaiting a response.

. . .

Fujitaka scrambled as he ran back to the office. Though he was the only member of Sector Two to be able to continue working with the Symphogear wielders, the government had pushed him aside and made him work beneath even the lowest rung of the ladder; Fujitaka was a no one to many of his peers, now, despite being the most knowledgeable among them about both Noise and the Symphogears.

Today of all days, Fujitaka had been asked to play the role of a delivery boy. Delivering a package of reports to their superiors–a package that, by all means, could have been sent digitally. Perhaps the managers of the new Symphogear program had been aware of the fact that Fujitaka's knowledge would be useful today and did not want him to curry favour with the rest of the team.

Still, as a member of the project, Fujitaka had been receiving reports just as all of the other members, but his experience told him that something bad was going down. Now, he rushed through the massive compound, running back to his office.

Fujitaka was not an optimistic person by nature, but even disregarding that, he felt as though there were many things wrong with everything around him. The fact that he had been called out of the office, the strange signals that his peers were disregarding–those he could chalk up to the penalties that came with the dissolving of Sector Two and his replacement's inexperience in this field.

Some other worries bubbled up within Fujitaka as he ran through the large halls of the government labyrinth in which he now worked, but the biggest problem that stood out in his mind was the fact that he had not seen any people since he entered this building.

Descending down the dark grey steps two at a time, Fujitaka felt his heart pumping at a dangerously high speed as he threw open the door to the monitoring room...

...and his blood ran cold.

"Oh, there you are. I've been looking for you."

A girl with short black hair stood in front of him, licking the tips of her bone-white fingers. Fujitaka could tell that the girl was not human–barring her milky skin tone, the sing-songy mechanical whir of gears could be heard with every one of her elegant movements. Fujitaka's lungs were robbed of air as he stared at the Autoscorer named Garie Tūmān–a robot who seemed to know who the man named Sakuya Fujitaka was.

The man with tired eyes looked around the room in horror. Disregarding the strange automaton and her mysterious words, Fujitaka's gaze darted about the many bodies littering the ground. He did not see any blood, nor any external wounds, but he could tell that they were no longer among the living–and he feared that he would be next to join them.

"You're the member of this useless group with the most knowledge of relics, right?" Garie had a sweet smile on her face as she spoke like a young, innocent child. The wide sapphire eyes that gazed at Fujitaka chilled him to the bone. He detected no malice behind the jewels, and that was what scared him the most.

Fujitaka tried to take a step backwards, to escape the girl's stare, but his feet were frozen. Looking down, he noticed that his feet were indeed frozen–literally, ice covered his shoes, locking him down to the ground like an Antarctic prison. His face immediately snapped back up to the girl at the realization that he was a goner.

"Oh, no need to worry." Garie's smile began to morph into a cruel crescent as she bared her spiked teeth and a murky evil corrupted her eyes. "I have no intentions of harming you–for now."

Garie stomped the ground, and the ground trembled. The girl's fancy blue shoe sent out a shadow of ice that snaked its way towards Fujitaka as if it were a beast chasing its prey. "My master would like to poke your mind a little bit."

The serpent of ice opened its fangs and snapped down upon Fujitaka, trapping the man within a frozen crystal. In seconds, Fujitaka went from being able to move his entire body–sans his imprisoned feet–to only being able to blink as his fearful expression was literally frozen upon his face.

Seeing the gift to her master thoroughly wrapped up in her signature wrapping paper, Garie clapped her hands in satisfaction. "Now to have a bit of fun, myself." She muttered, ignoring the panicked blinking of the man she would be taking with her during her escape, Garie turned to the console behind her.

A microphone was planted on the desk beneath a large monitor that currently showed an overhead map fo the area. Several dots littered the stage like chicken pox, which Garie presumed were likely the Noise her master bestowed upon the Autoscorers the ability to create.

Bending over slightly, Garie tapped onto a nearby keyboard, her fingers delicately dancing upon the letters. The girl did not even look at what she typed, her eyes remained static as she gazed up into the monitor. From the data she inputted, the screen changed to show a view of the situation surrounding Tsubasa and Kanade–judging from the camera angle, it was likely taken from a camera implanted within the Symphogear of the latter.

The two warriors stared at the image of Garie's older sister, a scene that Garie could not help but shake her head at. "Dear sister," Garie sneered with a glare. "You may have gone a bit overboard with the amount of those beasts you summoned."

. . .

The sea of Noise in front of Tsubasa and Kanade parted, and a girl in a mountain blue dress and turquoise vest stood in front of the two Symphogear wielders. The dark khaki-coloured hair that draped over her shoulders in thin braids that showed off the green highlights that ran through her hair like emerald thread.

"And who are you?" Kanade, her blood boiling from the disrespect she faced from the team back at their headquarters, snapped with an angry look. She had no patience for the elegant figure standing before them.

"Apologies for my rudeness, Kanade Amou." The woman spoke with a calm demeanour, her words like a powerful wind that cut through the two Symphogear wielders like a hurricane. "My name is Phara Suyūf, one of the four Autoscorers that my master so lovingly crafted. A pleasure."

Kanade lowered her weapon, a defeated sigh escaping from her mouth. "Oh, so she knows who I am. But at least she's treating us with more respect than our allies."

"What do you want from us, Autoscorer?" Tsubasa barked, preferring not to use the name of the enemy who appeared before them.

"A battle, preferably, sword girl. And, please, give me everything you've–"

Phara's words were drowned out as a loud noise echoed out around them. The Autoscorer, Tsubasa, Kanade, and even the two icy figures viewing the scene on a faraway monitor–all figures turned their focus to the remnants of the fiery explosion that lingered in the air across the city.

"Was your plan to lure us here so one of your allies could act elsewhere?" Tsubasa's steely glare changed target, again piercing Phara like a dagger. "You did mention there were four of you Autoscorers."

"No." Phara mused. "That... was not in our plans. As I said, my goal here is to test the strength of the Symphogear wielders–to see the power that mother of alchemy created."

"The mother of alchemy? Finé?" Kanade shook her head. "Somehow I'm not even surprised."

"Now, as much as we are all curious about the cause of that explosion, I would like to once again offer to you my request." Sliding her hand through the air, Phara revealed in her grip an emerald sword that sparkled as it crossed through reality. "I wish to duel you–the wielders of the Symphogears Gungnir and Ame no Habakiri."

Tsubasa raised her blade. "Very well."

. . .

Garie shrugged as she looked at the remnants of the lingering explosion off in the distance. "Whatever could my sister be doing over there? Ah well, that's none of my business."

Spinning on her heels, Garie turned her focus back to the man locked in a frozen prison behind her. Looking him up and down–and confirming that Sakuya Fujitaka was still alive–Garie raised her hand.

And as the room was engulfed in a fuchsia light, the girl and her frozen friend disappeared.

. . .

The cause of the explosion was a figure clad entirely in red. Black veins darted about underneath the blood-coloured armour, an accursed look in the glare that looked down at the damage their attack had caused.

Unfortunately, the target that they had actually been aiming for stood still in the dark smoke that still spread out through the streets. "That was quite a forceful impact." The figure said in a deep feminine voice, dusting off their clothes. "And an unexpected one at that."

No response came from the figure in red that stared at the silhouette of the Autoscorer named Leiur Darāhim, or the small child that hid behind the crimson killer with fearful eyes. The Autoscorer, knowing that she was trying to hold a one-sided conversation, adjusted the cuffs of her golden shirt. "Very well."

The two words that Leiur spoke were her farewell. Before the smoke had even cleared completely the Autoscorer disappeared in a flash of pink light, leaving behind the red warrior and the child clutching to their back.

"Um... thank you." The young girl with pale green hair squeaked her timid appreciation like a mouse. The black and purple hood draped over the child's head obscured her face in shadows, but her saviour did not seem to care about their identity. No, the warrior said nothing at all.

Just as fast as they had appeared, the red figure flew up into the air and quickly disappeared from the young child's sight. The girl known as Elfnein watched the sky with eyes just as blue, still clutching a small black trunk to her chest.

The realization slowly donned on Elfnein as her arms trembled from the fear that had coursed through her as she ran from Leiur. "I... couldn't even give this to her..."

#### GX Chapter 4

"Miku?"

Chris had been entering her room, a navy blue bag slung over her shoulder as she prepared to relax after one of the first few school days in her life, when a girl approached her from behind quietly. The amethyst eyes of Chris Yukine widened as she took in the dirtied visage of the girl she had not seen since the disbandment of Sector Two, two weeks ago.

Miku Kohinata had her wavy black hair tied loose, her usual white ribbon no longer keeping it held back. It had grown out in the few months since the appearance of Kadingir, and now draped down past the shoulders that her hair once could not even reach. The girl's fair skin, scarred red in areas that had been burned, was also covered in a thick layer of grime and patches of dirt remained glued to Miku's face with features that had sunken in from hunger. More over, her clothing–a large hoodie and sweatpants–were even more of a wreck, being torn in areas and stained in others.

"What happened to you?" Chris gasped, her mind running through the many possibilities as to how she ended up such a mess. Miku was a tough girl with a broken soul–Chris could only imagine what sort of circumstances could have lead to her current look.

But Miku's hollow eyes and sad expression did not falter. Chris waited for some sort of explanation, but a cool wind blew through their conversation as Miku side-stepped the question. "Can I use your shower, please?"

Have you not been home in two weeks?" Chris realized how stupid a question this was as it had left her mouth–of course not. If Miku had been somewhere expected, her whereabouts would not have been a mystery for the past few weeks. Chris shook her head. "No, that's a dumb question. Yeah, you can take a shower.

"I owe you for so much." Miku gave a polite bow.

Once Miku had showered, scrubbed clean to her sparkling natural state and now wearing some of Chris's (slightly too-large) clothes, the two girls sat around a small table. "How are you doing, now?"

Miku sighed. Pulling her new shirt up, Miku turned around and bared her back to Chris, who made an involuntary sound in response.

Miku's back was by far the most scarred part of her body. The melted skin twisted like a whirlpool over the bones beneath it, which were marked by a pyramid as her skin sunk in around her spine. Presumably from the experiments that Dr. Ver had done to her, Miku's back was also dotted with precise incisions, her back looking more like a jigsaw puzzle than part of a human body. But what really drew the embarrassed Chris's attention was the black stain that rose up from her hips like a plague of shadows.

As Chris stared in shock at the mark, Miku continued talking as a gloomy atmosphere spread out through the room like a poisonous gas to suffocate the two girls. "This mark spreads whenever I use the... Whatever Ver did to me. And I think it's going to kill me."

"Stop using it, then!" Chris shouted, slamming the table with so much force that it knocked over the empty cup of tea that she had on the wooden platform.

"I can't! I need to do something–I just... can't leave Hibiki in the state that she's in. Especially because..." It's my fault. Chris finished silently, watching as tears welled up in Miku's eyes.

With her mind under the command of the malicious Dr. John Wayne Vercingetorix, Miku had taken the life of her best friend with the weapon that the doctor had forced into her body–Lancea Longini. But Hibiki was not normal; her body had shards of the Gungnir Symphogear embedded within it, and they continued to resonate with Kanade whenever she made use of her own Symphogear. When Hibiki was killed, Gungnir surrounded her body in an impenetrable orange crystal–even now, scientists working with the government are still trying to analyse the substance and find some way to allow the girl from getting a proper burial.

"Is it really worth sacrificing yourself to–"

"Yes." Miku's voice was a confident shout. But that confidence quickly faded. Looking down at her trembling hands, the girl continued in a shaky voice. "I was the one who killed Hibiki. Even if I couldn't command my body, I was in there–and it was my body. I need to do everything I can to take responsibility for my actions."

"So what have you been doing, then? Where have you been?" Chris had so many questions for Miku, but every one she asked just generated new worries. "No. I need to slow down. Miku–are you okay? That's the most important thing right now."

"No, of course I'm not okay!" Miku closed her eyes, and only now did Chris fully recognize the dark grey bags beneath them. "Every time I try to sleep, I'm overwhelmed by memories. What Ver did to me... that's just a nightmare compared to remembering the face Hibiki had when I...

"I killed Hibiki. I killed her, Chris. She's never coming back. Hibiki was my sunshine, she was always there for me, and I was the one who killed her." Miku's body was shaking uncontrollably as she clutched her arms tight.

Chris couldn't stand the sight of the sad girl and, though she was not truly sure of what it meant to be 'gentle,' hesitantly moved to Miku's side and hugged her. On the night of the party, before Sector Two had been broken up, Chris had tried to comfort Miku the best she could, but the idea of a hug had never come to her. Now, seeing Miku in such a state, Chris's body seemed to move on its own as it remembered a memory from happier times.

Post-traumatic stress disorder–Chris knew it well. Even now, Chris found herself unconsciously shying away from all adults, and especially men. The only adult she trusted was Genjuro Kazanari, and only because her parents had done the same all those years ago. Especially now, after Ver had brought so much pain to Miku, Chris found herself mentally cursing the cruel world they lived in.

But even more so, she found herself empathising with Miku. Like her, Chris's body too was marked with a patchwork of wounds that would never heal–both physical injuries and mental ones. When she had been sold into slavery after her parents died, there was no one willing to reach out to her as Chris was abused in every possible way; Chris wanted to make sure the same didn't happen to Miku.

Embracing the crying Miku in a warm hug, Chris knew that these memories of pain would never truly fade–you just became strong enough to carry them alongside the good ones. "I'm so sorry, Miku."

It had taken some time, but eventually Chris managed to console the sobbing Miku enough so that she could get some answers out of her. So Chris once again asked Miku where she had been, as she dropped two new cups of tea down on the table for both of them.

"I've been going everywhere." Miku took a long sip of the warm tea. Chris's glass scalded her hands as she touched it, but Miku did not seem to mind the pain that came from the leafy lava quickly flowing down her throat. With a slow exhalation, breathing out a stream of fiery air, Miku began to speak again. "I've been travelling the world, looking for something that could help Hibiki."

"Miku, I know how much you care about Hibiki, but you need to take better care of yourself." Chris couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. No one took good care of her since her parents, and even now Chris's dorm was filled with piles of clothes and discarded food scraps. Miku, too, seemed to realize the irony of this as her eyes slowly scanned the room.

Noticing the judgemental gaze, Chris flared up as her face turned a flustered pink. "At least I'm not killing myself!"

This froze both girls, and Chris immediately leapt to her feet as she realized what she had said. Miku, on the other hand, remained seated, staring blankly ahead as the words echoed into her soul. "You're right. I am doing that, aren't I?"

"Miku, I..."

"Kanade told me to never give up on life, but that's exactly what I've done." The girl looked up at Chris's concerned face. "Hibiki would never forgive me for throwing myself away."

Chris sucked in her breath as she recalled the last thing Hibiki had ever said to her. "Do you want to die?" Chris had asked back then, to which Hibiki responded with a startling "Yes" as she threw herself into battle against Serena Cadenzavna Eve.

"Miku, I think... Hibiki would want you to take care of yourself." Chris shook her head. She did not know what Hibiki would want, nor did she know the right thing to say in this situation. But she was trying, and that's more than anyone had ever done for her. "I think she would be disappointed, seeing you in this state."

"You're right, but... I'm doing this for her." Miku clutched her fist and, for the first time, looked directly into Chris's eyes. "I've been travelling the world, Chris. I've been looking for something–a relic, or some power–to save Hibiki. I've done everything I can in these past few weeks to find some hint. And I think I may have found something.

"Yumi mentioned to us that she thought that Ver was working with the Illuminati, so I've been looking for their eyes. You'd be surprised how difficult it is to avoid their gaze, Chris. They're planning something."

"What do you mean?"

"I broke into an American facility to–"

"Whoa. Wait, hold on. You did what?"

Miku held up her arm, which became engulfed in a black ink. After a short moment, Miku's hand was replaced with a large pink saw blade, which spun on its own as she showed it to Chris. "I can access the power of Lancea Longini without singing, or using a Holy Chant. And, from what I've tested, I seem to be physically immortal."

"You're saying a lot of stuff really quickly here." Chris held up her hand, showing the flat face of her palm to Miku as if telling her to stop. "You broke into an American facility... can you even read English? No. More importantly, what did you mean by immortal?"

Miku's face turned pale. "Chris, I went to America and broke into a top secret government facility. I was fired at by so many guns, and I did not get away unscathed. But I'm completely fine. My body was torn apart but... I'm alive." She held out her arms by her side. "Whatever Ver did to me... he made me into something inhuman, Chris. I want Hibiki to live the best life she can, but even if I can save her, I don't know if I'll be able to live beside her."

"Miku... you're human." Chris grasped one of Miku's hands with her own. "I need you to stop seeing yourself as inferior to anyone. We've gone through a lot, Miku, but we're stronger because of it.

"And I want you to know, Miku... I care about you. We all care about you. Your classmates and I, and I'm sure Tsubasa and Kanade, too.. We've been worried about you since you disappeared. We want you to be safe."

Light began to spark behind Miku's clouded eyes. Over the past few times that they'd seen one another, Chris had noticed an inconsistency in the strength of the fire that burned inside Miku, but this was different. For the first time ever, Chris noticed a genuine hope well up within the girl, who once again had tears in her eyes. Miku smiled. "I... I'm sorry I've worried you all."

"You better be. No more breaking into Area 51, you got that?" Chris had a dark glint in her eye as she leaned forwards. "I'm serious–maybe just stick to Japan for now. It's not like you can even understand any other languages."

"Yeah. You're right. Maybe I got a bit too ambitious in my search." Miku wiped the fresh tears of hope from her eyes with a trembling finger. "Thank you, Chris. And I promise: I'll be more careful from now on."

~ ~ ~

Over the next few months, the deterioration of Miku's body had increased at a rapid pace. The entirety of the skin covering the young girl's legs had turned jet black, and the curse stretched up her back and around her arms like a backpack. Veins of black stretched out, clawing shadowy marks upon her face with their twilight claws.

Yet Miku did not care. At first, the strange darkness burned her body freezing cold–a paradoxical pain haunted her. Even now, though the stain continued to assault Miku's brain with awful sensations, she had learned to block it out and thus become numb to the plague's effects. But she was still no closer to finding any way to undo its effects.

Miku soared through the air with the power of Lancea Longini. The girl's long black hair, now tied into a thin ponytail, blew in the wind like a flag waving homeland pride. She had a dour expression on her face as the winds buffeted her face, forcing Miku to squint as she tried to navigate.

In her investigation into relics, she came across many references to the Bavarian Illuminati and many of their eyes–Miku had long lost count of the pupils she had seen etched into walls, jewellery... anything. The lone eye trapped within a pyramid seemed to be everywhere, and Miku knew that there must have been a reason for this–but that reason eluded her.

As she flew back home, hoping to pay Chris another visit after so many months, a sharp pain flared up in Miku's leg, and she winced. Ever since the darkness had eaten her lower body, random flashes would strike Miku's body like a thousand knives piercing her skin simultaneously. The pain was unbearable–especially at first–but Miku had learned that this pain subsided in only a few short moments.

Not realizing that she had been holding her breath in wait, Miku exhaled as she slowly descended towards the ground. "This body of mine is a mess." She growled, kicking at the ground with the foot attached to the source of her current strife–a mistake, as the injury only flared more intense. "Damn it."

"Hey, you!"

Miku's focus was torn away from her cursed body by two small hands. She scanned the horizon for the source of the small voice that seemed to be a desperate exhale, but saw nothing.

"Over here!" The voice called again, and this time Miku's attention snapped to the direction of its source.

In the shadows of a building burnt white by the sun, Miku saw a small figure shaking. Clutched tight to their chest was a black box, but that drew Miku's curiosity less than the attire the small child was wearing.

A black hood with purple trim connected to a robe that the child seemed to wear as a vest–long sleeves ran down their arms and ended at their fingers, but their bare chest was exposed to the elements as they wore nothing underneath. The child wore no pants but instead a black strip of cloth resembling bikini briefs, a revealing choice that contrasted the long blue boots that hiked up their legs.

Miku, put simply, was quite confused by their appearance. She could tell that the figure was a child, but they looked androgynous to her–no, Miku realized that the child wasn't entirely human. They looked human, but at the same time they looked almost robotic, almost fake. Not due to the androgynous nature of their appearance, Miku's deduction came from the fact that they seemed to lack any sexual characteristics, and the small navel they possessed on their stomach looked more akin to a torn piece of paper than an organic error.

"Help me! She's coming!" Miku did not know what the small child was referring to, but she could tell that they were not lying–they truly were in danger.

As if a switch had been flipped within Miku's brain, her sense of pain completely vanished as she attentively scanned the area. But she did not see anything of note...

Miku jumped out of the way as a large golden coin fell like a hydraulic press against the ground, crushing the cement that the girl had just been standing on. The young child hidden in the shadows let out a yelp as a metallic clang reverberated between the tall buildings around them.

Miku entered combat mode in that second. Though she knew no long-lasting harm would come to her, that did not mean Miku was willing to have to bear the pain that came from having her bones broken and muscles blown apart–again.

In her struggle to find answers to her questions, she had had many run-ins with unsavoury individuals. Miku had been stabbed, shot, and struck, yet none of those injuries had left a mark on her body–they only gave the shadows that crawled along it more power. But being crushed by giant gold coins could potentially destroy her skull and harm her brain, and that was a risk Miku was not willing to take.

Especially since she promised Chris that she would be careful.

"A flashy dodge. You're quite the spectacle."

Miku saw the figure who spoke land atop the gold coin. It was a woman, yet Miku could tell that she, too, was inhuman. Though she did possess a feminine appearance, the pure white 'skin' of Leiur Darāhim was clearly artificial and robotic. Yes, it was that trait which caused Miku to realize that she was fighting something inhuman.

And, if she had learned anything from dealing with Finé, Miku knew that monsters posing as human were far tougher than they appeared. She did not need to hold back against the enemy that stared at her.

"Ichaival." Miku commanded, and in that moment her golden armour turned a horrific crimson like the blood that would be shed if her enemy was a normal human.

The girl, having forgotten that a small meek child continued to shake within the shadows nearby, kept a stone-cold expression as her arm transformed into a long cannon. She continued to say nothing as, from this cannon, she shot a missile straight up into the air...

...And caused an explosion that, though Miku would not be aware of this fact, many of her friends would see first-hand.

With an ever so slight nod of acknowledgement, Miku accepted the thanks that the small child–a homunculus named Elfnein–offered with her uncertain voice once their enemy, Leiur Darāhim, had made a pronounced exit.

The appearance of two figures of unknown origin left Miku with a strange thought that ate away at her mind like a mouse nibbling on cheese; though, Miku could confess that the confusion in her mind may have been linked to the darkness that now ate up more of her fair skin.

As she leapt up into the sky, Miku decided to make a detour–her plans to reunite with Chris and her friends could be put on hold. Instead, she flew over the city in the opposite direction from where Tsubasa and Kanade were currently locked in battle. Her goal was to reunite with someone she knew she could trust to help sort out the tangled web of ideas and worries that made up her brain.

. . .

The woman in green laughed haughtily with wide eyes as she swung her blade over her head in a crescent–the opening move in the battle that set Tsubasa Kazanari and Kanade Amou against Phara Suyūf.

Though the attack should have been useless, considering it's skyward target and the distance between the Autoscorer and the two Symphogear wielders, yet the latter party was still forced to dodge as a tornado of energy the same green as Phara's dress flew towards them at a high speed.

Tsubasa used her dodge as a catalyst for her to launch an attack against her enemy, bouncing away from the wind at an angle that let her push off the ground to dash towards Phara. With the Armed Gear of Ame no Habakiri, Tsubasa stabbed forwards with her symphonic sword, putting the full weight of her strength behind this single attack.

But Phara effortlessly swung her own blade down and blocked the approach in a second. The Autoscorer didn't even flinch as Tsubasa's blade prodded, and subsequently bounced off of, the shining silver sword that Phara gripped by its teal grip.

Unfortunately for the Symphogear users who required songs to power themselves up, this made stealth attacks quite difficult. Kanade, who tried to follow-up from behind with her spear, had her strike elegantly dodged by Phara as if she were not on a battlefield but instead the floor of a ballroom. Instead of slicing through the robotic woman, the large Armed Gear of Gungnir instead bisected nothing but air.

"I had been under the impression that you and your associates were far bigger threats than this." Phara teased, ducking as Tsubasa's blade aimed for her glaring eyes. "Though, now, your movements are somewhat clumsy."

Tsubasa lit up in a sapphire flame as she swung her Armed Gear again and again. Every time, however, Phara would simply spin out of the way at the last second, the blade cutting nothing but the ghost of where the Autoscorer had once stood. The taunt tore away Tsubasa's layer of cool, her eyes lit up under a cloud of volcanic ash.

Kanade backed up to watch the zig-zagging path the two girls made as their song and dance continued. "Tsubasa!" She shouted. "Calm down!"

But the words never reached Tsubasa's ears, as she shut the cries of her partner out as the blood pumped through her ears. "Tsubasa!" Kanade repeated, her screams getting more intense but still only targeting the nothing around her as they bounced around the city's streets.

Resolved to calm Tsubasa down, Kanade made a decision. Waiting for Tsubasa to back away from Phara for just a moment, Kanade dashed into the gap and blocked Ame no Habakiri with her own Armed Gear–an act that forced Tsubasa to open her eyes wide in shock at the situation. In contrast, Phara wore a confident smile as she calmly looked down at the spear in front of her.

"Tsubasa!" Kanade screamed at the girl frozen in shock. "Calm down for a moment!"

The cloud covering Tsubasa's mind lifted as Kanade's plea finally reached her brain. The taunt–not particularly a great one–had infuriated Tsubasa far more than she wanted to admit, and she backed away from both her enemy and her partner.

"You are still weak." Phara looked down upon the blue swordswoman with a glare that froze the very air around them. "We shall finish this duel another time."

Kanade kept her spear held up, blocking Tsubasa from approaching Phara, as the Autoscorer began to teleport away in a pink flash–and all of the Noise around them disappeared at the same time. When Tsubasa tried to approach at the last moment, Kanade adjusted the angle at which she held her weapon.

"Tsubasa. Calm down. This isn't like you." Tsubasa's eye twitched as she realized the truth in Kanade's words. She finally stood down, backing away from Kanade's spear. "Good."

"Kanade... I... Sorry, that was unbecoming of a sword."

"No, Tsubasa. You're not a sword–you're a human. Humans feel emotions–it's natural. But you need to control them." Kanade finally lowered her weapon, shutting down the Symphogear armour that she wore–and Kanade finally felt the pressure that had been pushing down upon her brain disperse. She sighed in relief. "But I do understand why you're on edge."

The reason why Phara's comment that they were not as tough as their reputation preceded them struck Tsubasa's heart in such a way to make her lose her cool stemmed from a variety of reasons–but it was that they had been told the same thing time and time again over the past three months.

Tsubasa would not readily admit that she had been particularly close to Hibiki Tachibana or Miku Kohinata, but neither would she claim that she was apathetic towards them. But the death of the former in particular got to her: Tsubasa had not been able to fight Miku at the time, instead being locked in battle with Serena at the time, so the claws of guilt gripped her heart at her inability to assist her in any way. She blamed herself for being unable to protect Hibiki, nor save Miku from Ver's torturous experiments.

Phara telling Tsubasa that she was weak just confirmed the doubts that Tsubasa held–she believed that she was no longer fit to fight as a Symphogear wielder. She hung her head at the thought as her white and blue armour transformed back into the navy blue dress that she had been wearing before donning the weapon. "I'm sorry, Kanade. I am a failure."

"If you're a failure, then so am I." Kanade smiled as she hugged Tsubasa close. The taller Kanade closed her eyes as she leaned her head against the dark blue sheet of hair atop Tsubasa's head. "But we're only human–we just do what we can."

Tsubasa could feel Kanade trembling slightly as she hugged her. She suspected that the stress that the Symphogear put on Kanade's body was increasing with time–likely a result of the fact that they were running out of the LiNKER that Ryoko Sakurai (Finé) had concocted and the subsequent arrest–or disappearance–of all other parties who might be able to make more, namely: John Wayne Vercingetorix, the mad scientist who had experimented alongside Finé as a member of F.I.S. but was now locked up; Nastassja Sergeyevna Tolstaya, one of the world's top heretical engineers who, similarly, worked alongside Finé, and has since vanished off the face of the Earth; and Kirika Akatsuki, who now housed Finé's memories and thus, in theory, might be able to create more of the special elixir should she be let out of the prison that she and the other F.I.S. members had been confined to.

"Kanade..." Tsubasa reciprocated the hug that was trapping her in the spot. She wanted to comfort Kanade in some way, just as she had done for Tsubasa so many times before, but the words didn't come.

The two girls instead just continued hugging silently in the empty street as the cool wind blew around them like a whisper.

. . .

"Garie, what is this?"

The small child who sat upon her royal throne glared down in a mix of confusion and anger at the blue doll who stood at the bottom of the steps leading up to her. It was not the sudden appearance of Garie Tūmān that shocked the blonde-haired girl, but rather what she appeared with: a man frozen in an iceberg.

"This is the plan I mentioned earlier, master–my plan to gather strong memories capable of powering the Château de Tiffauges." Garie spoke with a sweet smile on her face, as if an innocent little girl, but her master knew that the act would drop momentarily.

"Tell me, Garie, how exactly does... no, hold on." The young girl hopped off her chair and flew down the steps with grace. Circling around the block of ice, she took in the sight of the man tinted blue trapped within it. "Is he alive?"

"Of course, master. You don't think I would kill indiscriminately, would you?" Garie poked her cheek and stuck out her tongue like a young child teasing a friend, a stark contrast to the dark words she had spoken.

The shorter girl just nodded in response–she knew for sure that Garie would, but held her tongue. "Interesting. No, I understand now what you may have in mind." Turning her back to the popsicle that was Sakuya Fujitaka and the Autoscorer who stood beside it, the young girl began ascending back up towards her throne. "I had planned to simply get rid of the Symphogear wielders so that they would not hinder my plans, but making use of them as tools would be far more beneficial."

With a nod, the young girl took her rightful place at the head of the grand hall, looking down at the four pedestals–three of which were currently filled with the figures of Micha Jawkān and the recent returnees Phara and Leiur. But that confident look upon her face faded into a scowl as a sudden realization passed through her mind.

"I'm going to need to talk with them again, aren't I?" She placed her hand against her head. Inhaling deeply, the young girl released her breath in a huff. "Garie, don't do it here, but I want you to release that man. Leiur, keep an eye on him. I will have use for him."

"Aye, master." Leiur spoke with a confident nod, and Garie simultaneously made a similar acknowledgement.

Hanging her head, the young girl then turned her gaze to Phara. "But first, Garie: I want you to pass some memories to Micha. I... am going to need to be alone for a little while."

The four Autoscorers did not know who it was that their master disliked speaking to, but they knew that giving her solitude while she did so was for the best. The last time the young girl had spoken to the girl she called her 'friend,' Garie recalled that one of the large bronze gears that was part of the room's boundaries had been knocked loose–an act that had set the construction of their base and super-weapon, the Château de Tiffauges, back several months.

Garie still remembered the injuries that she had sustained working to reincorporate the gear into the large mechanisms of the Château with a dire expression, and the curt, annoyed orders that her lovely master spat out as she worked.

"Understood, master." Garie nodded.

#### GX Chapter 5

Chris Yukine stretched her back out as she deeply inhaled the fresh air of the evening. She and her five companions–Shiori Terashima, Kuriyo Ando, Komichi Ayano, Otome Kaburagi, and Yuki Godai–all sighed in relief as they had finally been allowed to exit the underground shelter that they had been confined to for most of the day.

Though hundreds of people chatted around the group as they slowly returned to their every day lives, Chris's loud sigh managed to overpower the calamity of the many conversations being held around the six girls. "Alright!" She pumped her fist into the air, a wide, confident smile crossing her face. "Let's go look for Miku!"

"Isn't it getting a bit late? We have school tomorrow." Kuriyo mused, earning a cautious smile from Shiori beside her.

"If Ogawa wants us to find Miku, then something important is going on. School can take a back-seat for now."

"If it's for Chris, then we're up for whatever!" Otome nodded with a large grin, and Yuki and Komichi both bobbed their heads in agreement.

Yuki continued Otome's thought. "From what it sounds, this girl has a tendency to move around a lot. If she's around here, then we've got to act fast!"

Shiori and Kuriyo both sighed. It was not as though they did not want to find Miku–quite the opposite, however–but they had been looking for Miku in their free time for the past few months and so far had no results to show for it.

The blonde-haired Shiori leaned towards her friend as she had a realization. Lowering her voice to a whisper, Kuriyo noticed Shiori wanting to talk and leaned in to hear what she said. "Chris is really fired up, huh? You can't help but admire her optimism."

Kuriyo tried to draw her mouth into a grin, but it ended up being nothing more than a crude scribble. "Maybe, with more of us, we'll have better results?"

"We can only hope."

"What are you two whispering about?" Chris popped up between Kuriyo and Shiori. "We need to work fast! We don't have much daylight left."

"Do you have any ideas for where Hina is?" Kuriyo asked, pulling Chris off her cloud of positive thoughts for just a moment.

"I think we should split up. You two know Miku the best, so you can hit up the places you might think she'd be. Otome, Yuki, and Komichi–you guys don't know Miku, so you might be able to figure out some places she might be if Miku is intentionally trying to avoid us." Chris held up her phone. "We could keep in contact with a group chat as we look. And if we don't have any luck today, we could come up with a new plan for tomorrow."

"I can't help but notice that you left yourself out of that split." Ayano pointed out. "Can we assume you have a plan of your own?"

Chris winked. "I'm going to enlist help from a friend."

"A friend?" Shiori tilted her head. In her head, she began to list off all possibilities: Yumi was with Ogawa, and they that the two of them were likely incredibly busy investigating Frontier; Shiori believed Fujitaka was likely busy with work, unaware that he was currently encased in a block of alchemical ice; Tomosato, too, was likely busy with work; Maria, Shirabe, and Kirika were still locked up in prison and no one was allowed to visit them. That left one possibility: "Genjuro?"

"You know it. Even if he's too busy to help, I'm sure the old man will have some weird ideas that might help."

. . .

"Now this is certainly a surprise, getting a visit from you."

Genjuro, wearing a yellow track jacket and still sweating from his long and strenuous workout, looked down in surprise at the girl who had appeared at the entrance to the large, traditional-styled house in which the Kazanari family lived. Since the dissolution of Sector Two, Genjuro had only been visited by two of his former co-workers, namely Fujitaka and Ogawa–and each had only visited him once. The fact that someone else had gone out of their way to visit him was a shock on its own, but he never would have expected one of the girls he had thrown into war to now be standing at his front gate.

"Would you rather I leave?" The response was cold, but, to Genjuro, it also felt pained–as if he genuinely did not want her to visit him.

"No, no. That's not what I meant." The large man sighed as he wiped his forehead with the light green towel that had been draped over his shoulder. "What can I do for you, Kohinata?"

Miku stood with her hands shoved into the pockets of the baggy hoodie she wore. Long, similarly loose, pants covered her legs, and the hood had been pulled over her wavy black hair to partially obscure the face that she had carefully applied concealer that she had–though Miku would never admit this to Genjuro–stole from a shop that had been temporarily abandoned while everyone was hiding from the Noise. Miku took every precaution to make sure Genjuro would not find out about the dark virus that crawled up her body, and, on first impressions, seemed to have worked successfully.

The young girl tilted her head. "We need to talk about the Illuminati. I've been doing a lot of looking into them." Her response caused Genjuro's eyes to widen for a moment in surprise, and he ushered her into the compound immediately.

"You know I'm not part of the government any more, right? I can't actually do anything official, now." As the large wooden door swung shut, Genjuro threw an angry look down at Miku–though she was fully aware that her anger was not directed towards her. "Not to mention, you really should not be putting yourself in danger any longer. You don't need to, Kohinata."

"No, I want to. I need to do something–to find some way to help Hibiki." Miku shook her head. "But that's besides the point. The fact that you're not with the government is precisely why I'm talking to you now."

"Now you have piqued my interest." Genjuro raised his eyebrow.

The man with the red lion's mane stroked his beard as he thought about the implications of what she had said–the Illuminati likely had connections to the Japanese government if she specifically wanted to speak with him now. But he could not ask for more details, as both he and Miku turned their heads to the wooden door that began to open once more.

"Ah, brother. Welcome back." Genjuro's intense expression was quickly replaced by a jovial smile as the figure of his brother appeared in the doorway.

Yatsuhiro Kazanari looked at his younger brother with tired eyes from behind his black glasses. Upon noticing Miku Kohinata by his side, he stiffened slightly–being one of the most well-informed members of the Japanese government, he was fully aware of who Miku was and what she had gone through. But her presence now worried Yatsuhiro. "Brother, if you're trying to do something reckless..."

Genjuro waved his hand. "You've got it wrong, Yatsuhiro. Kohinata just came for a friendly visit, to catch up. Ah, speaking of which." He turned to the girl beside him now to introduce the new man who had just entered the property. "Kohinata, this is my older brother: Yatsuhiro Kazanari. He's a national security specialist, and also Tsubasa's father."

Upon hearing that last point, Miku bowed politely. "Nice to meet you. I'm Miku Kohinata."

"Ah, yes. I've heard a lot about you, Kohinata." He returned her bow with his own, before turning back to address Genjuro. "I hope this 'chat' of yours goes well. You know how disheartened Tsubasa would be if something were to happen to you." Miku could sense that there was more to that sentence that went unsaid, and Genjuro could clearly the end of his brother's sentence in his mind: *She always liked you more.*

"Oh, Yatsuhiro, you know..." Genjuro trailed off with a grunt; it was evident to Miku that the two had had this conversation many times before. She was partially curious about what was going on in this family, but more Miku was beginning to grow impatient; Miku had hoped that this would be a short visit.

"Before you go, I should tell you something." Yatsuhiro cracked a small weathered smile, something that seemed unnatural upon his stony face even to Miku. "The girls from F.I.S., I just got out of a meeting with the brass. Not much has changed for Akatsuki and Tsukuyomi, but we managed to finally strike a deal regarding the release of Maria."

The mention of Kirika Akatsuki caught Miku's attention. It wasn't so much that she cared about the young girl so much, but rather the brain within her. Kirika had absorbed the memories of the eternal priestess Finé, who had once possessed Miku's body as well. If anyone were to have further information on relics capable of helping Hibiki, or even on the Bavarian Illuminati that seems to be lurking in the shadows, Miku suspected it would be Finé.

"Yatsuhiro Kazanari, sir." Miku found herself addressing the grey-haired man professionally before her mind had even caught up to her mouth. "Is it possible to arrange a meeting between me and Akatsuki?"

"Impossible." The older man replied immediately. "Because of her connection to Finé, the government refuses to see Akatsuki as the child she is, and is approaching her situation with the utmost caution. It would be difficult for even I to visit her...

"Is what I would say to someone normal." He turned to Genjuro, and the two shared a knowing glance that seemed to be a mutual understanding. "Considering the power of the weapon you wield, I doubt I could stop you from doing what you wish. Moreover, considering you, too, had been temporarily possessed by Finé, I may be able to use that as leverage against my superiors' complaints. But... not today, please. I just got out of a ten hour-long meeting regarding the status of Maria Cadenzavna Eve–I'm going to need a break for now."

"Please, have a good rest, brother." Genjuro smiled. "You deserve it for all that you've done."

"For all that he's done?" Miku asked, and Genjuro just patted her on the shoulder in response.

"Come on. Let's go have that discussion, now." Genjuro led Miku away from his brother–whom he gave a farewell to via a curt wave–and into the mansion, finally giving the two shelter from the midday sun.

Several hours after Miku would leave, Genjuro would again find himself reconnecting with a former Sector Two Symphogear wielder.

. . .

"Prelati."

"Carol."

Two girls stared at each other with their own suspicions in their glares. Carol Malus Dienheim sat upon her throne in the dimly-lit chamber of the Château de Tiffauges, her vision focused on a tear in reality as she absent-mindedly toyed with the long golden braid that was longer than her own, childish body.

On the other side of the gap that had ripped the air apart in front of her, another young girl looked at Carol with unimpressed eyes the colour of violet, glancing over the top of glasses with green, hexagonal frames. Prelati had black hair that she tied into two messy drills that hung down just past each of her shoulders, with a large burgundy beret sitting atop her crown. She spoke in short, curt sentences as she addressed the girl with cruel eyes through the tear in reality. "And to what do I owe the pleasure."

"I see your associates are not with you at the moment." Carol mused, trying to make small talk. While she did not like to converse with any of the boorish alchemists of the Bavarian Illuminati, Carol would readily admit that Prelati was the most sensible of them. Thus, she would always take the time to butter the girl up in hopes of getting more information out of their rare conversations.

"We've had to split up for the time being to speed up our search." Prelati's annoyed expression did not change, but Carol could see Prelati shift the large green toy that she clutched to her chest as she spoke.

"Oh right. Your ever-so-secret treasure." Carol did not know what Prelati and her associates had been looking for, only that it was important to the plans of the Bavarian Illuminati–though those were of no interest to Carol. She had her own goals, which would render the Illuminati's moot should they succeed.

"Enough about me, Carol. I take it you require something from me? Have your plans for the Château changed again?"

"No, Prelati. We are nearing completion on the Château de Tiffauges. Your assistance in its development is invaluable. No, today I require information."

"Information, huh?" Carol could see Prelati's eyes wander. She had lost interest–not that she had had any to begin with.

"The Bavarian Illuminati is well-connected to different government agencies, yes? What do you have on the Japanese government–namely, their weapons known as the Symphogears."

"Ah so you've met them, hm?" Prelati's eyes did not move back to gaze at Carol, but the latter could see her eyes light up slightly at the comment. "Was my warning that they could be dangerous true?"

"No, actually. My Autoscorers have informed me that they seem... preoccupied. And substantially weaker than your previous reports have suggested."

Now Prelati's pupils lined up with Carol's as a surprised expression crossed her face. "Is that so? That is honestly quite reassuring."

"However, I wish to know more about those girls. We've managed to capture one of the men that worked alongside them, but I doubt we'll be able to get useful information from him. What do you and the Illuminati have on the different wielders that I could use to bring them to my side."

"Bring them to your side, you say? Even after dismissing them as weak?" Prelati looked down at the large frog plush she held in her hands, nodding at it as if she had just had a telepathic conversation with the toy. "No. Considering how valuable your late father's knowledge has been for both of us, I know better not to question your methods."

"My father established many of the alchemical theories that serve the basis for what both of us use today, so it's a wonder that it's taken so long for you to believe in me." Carol scoffed. "But the theory that I have is one I came up with all my own–although I must admit my father's work does act as a backbone."

"Oh, in that case I take back what I said." A shadow was cast over Prelati's face as her mouth cracked into the eerie crescent of a grin resembling that of the Cheshire Cat. "After all, a young girl like you relying on her own theories? That could only end in failure."

*There it is.* Carol frowned. Prelati was a cruel person at heart, and yet she was still easier to deal with than her strange associates–the cold Saint-Germain and the overly perceptive yet always (and, in Carol's opinion, annoyingly so) bubbly. Though Prelati's lazy personality often pushed down her crude remarks, so, by comparison, Carol saw her as the most 'normal' and thus the easiest to get information out of.

But these remarks often hit Carol in very precise ways. Her eyebrow twitched as she focused on the idea of Prelati calling *her* young. "Bold of you to call me young, considering I'm your senior of several hundred years."

Yes, despite the fact that Carol and Prelati both looked like girls whose ages might have–at oldest–barely dented two digits, in truth both of them were several centuries old. The power of alchemy could be, despite being based entirely in science, considered magic to the average person–even stalling the act of physical aging was not impossible for alchemy.

Neither girl would dare share their true age–should they even remember the number–both knew that Carol was indeed the elder despite her more childish mannerisms. Prelati had been born in the fifteenth century, and Carol's wisdom stretched back even further.

"Now, I'm on a time limit, here, Carol. So let me move on." Prelati waved her hand away, pushing the conversation forwards.

"Fine with me." Carol sulked in her chair, though tried her best to prevent the girl–whose location in the world was completely unknown to Carol–from seeing the anger on her face. "The information you have on the Symphogears. I require it."

"Very well. As you said, we all owe your father a great deal for his research. I see no reason to hide this info from you." Prelati reached somewhere and seemed to grab something. "I'll send it over to you momentarily."

Carol's face twisted in annoyance as Prelati brought to her lips a weisswurst on a bun, topped with all kinds of different sauces and toppings that Carol thought looked nauseating. "You're busy, huh? Seems to me like you're just enjoying a festival."

"We all have our vices, Carol. You're in no position to judge."

"Very well." Carol shook her head. "But you could have waited just a bit longer, no?"

Still chewing on the mountainous mess that she held up in front of her, Prelati spoke with a full mouth before cutting the conversation short. "I'll send the information to you soon."

The tear in the air sewed itself shut, finally leaving Carol in silence. She groaned as she grabbed her head with both of her black gloved-hands. "That girl always gives me a headache." Shaking her head, Carol shouted towards the four empty pedestals below her. "What kind of person decides to eat food while in the middle of a conversation?"

Slumping back in her chair, Carol stared up at the dark ceiling above her. "It would be beneficial if I could power the Château without needing to sacrifice the Autoscorers." She muttered, still gripping her head tight as her brain pounded like a drum. "As annoying as Garie can be, I still prefer her to that idiot."

. . .

As night encroached upon the sky, Genjuro looked down as another familiar face stood at his doorstep. She was hunched over, her hands on her knees as she gasped for air that her lungs refused to clutch.

"Chris? Are you okay?" Genjuro had a concerned look as he looked down at his new visitor; he was alert, however, keeping his senses trained on the darkness that drew shadows on the surrounding streets. He was surprised to see her, but the sorry state that she was in took precedent over the confusion at her sudden visit. "Is something wrong?"

Chris held up one hand. "I... W... Ho...ld...." She shook her head and collapsed down to the ground in a huff. "Ho.... hold... on...."

Seeing Chris take a comfortable(?) seat on the ground, Genjuro realized that his worry had been for nothing. Chris was safe–she was just out of breath. He exhaled the breath he did not know he was holding as he crouched down beside her.

Still panting heavily as sweat dripped down her forehead, Chris managed to finally relax her body enough to say a full sentence without needing to pause between each word. "I'm looking for Miku. Can you help?"

"Kohinata? She was here a couple of hours ago." Genjuro wondered if Chris had known that Miku had visited him earlier in the day or if his meetings with the two today was purely coincidental.

As Chris groaned in anger, falling onto her back, Genjuro assumed the latter. "Of course she was." A mixture of annoyance, anger, and fatigue flashed through Chris's eyes as she looked up at Genjuro. "Do you know where she went?"

"Today? No. But she will be back here tomorrow–Kohinata wants to work with my brother to set up a meeting with Akatsuki."

"Greeeeat." She sighed as she pulled her phone out of her pocket. Chris's face was lit up in blue as her phone's screen flashed to life, and the girl began checking the many messages she had ignored as she ran across the city–far further than she had initially expected–to meet Genjuro. "What time? I'll be back then."

"Don't you have school?"

"Ogawa wanted me to find Miku, so that means something important is going on." Chris finally pulled herself back into a sitting position. "Besides, my grades are good enough that I'm sure I can skip a day or two and be fine."

"Your grades?"

"Yeah, turns out I'm really good at this whole 'school' thing." Chris wore a confident smile on her face. Genjuro was both confused–Chris had never before attended a normal school and had not had any education since her parents' death, so by all accounts her grades should not be that high–and yet also proud of the girl. He smiled.

"Good work, Chris."

"Thanks. But PE is not my strong point." Chris sighed. Then, realizing that she would now be forced to run back to school–and potentially not get any sleep tonight–she groaned extremely loudly. "Shit. How am I going to get back?"

"I'll give you a ride, and the details of Kohinata's meeting."

"Thanks, Genjuro. I owe you another one."

"Just wait here, I'll bring the car around." Genjuro pulled keys out of his pocket and walked back into the compound, slamming the wooden door closed behind him.

Scrambling to her feet, Chris suddenly took in the fact it was nighttime–and that she was alone. Afraid of the ghosts that might jump out of the shadows at her (but not wanting to admit it), Chris leaned her back against the wall beneath one of the large white lights that illuminated the area around her.

"Maybe I should just learn how to deal with the trains." Chris sighed, pulling out her phone. Thirty-two messages had been posted to the group channel that she had set up to record their progress on finding Miku, but none of them had good news. More recently, all of the girls decided to call it a day as the sun set, knowing that it would be difficult to even recognize the girl named Miku Kohinata in the darkness.

Not sure if any of her friends were still awake, Chris tapped the news she had been given into the channel: [Miku visiting Genjuro tomorrow. Will meet him again.]

"On second thought, Chris..."

Genjuro's sudden voice made Chris jump, and she tossed her phone into the air. The small device, its screen face-up, slid across the ground a short distance away, disappearing into the shadows as the screen turned off due to–as Chris hoped–inactivity.

"Don't scare me like that, old man!" Chris flared up in anger, her face a fiery red.

"Sorry about that. I was going to suggest you stay over tonight instead–considering how difficult a trek it was for you to get here." Genjuro had an apologetic smile on his face as he held up his hand. "Although I don't approve of you skipping school, I know you'd do it anyway."

"Like I said, Miku's far more important than school right now." Chris smiled. "I'm still mad that you scared me, though."

Genjuro chuckled loudly. "Sorry, sorry. I'm surprised you didn't hear me open the door, though, considering..." With his large hand, Genjuro pulled the wooden door open at a fair pace. As he did, a loud screech as the rusted hinges strained to act accordingly rang out; Chris now recalled that she had heard this sound, now, three times. "I really should do maintenance on this."

"Yeah, sorry. I guess I was really focused on my phone."

"Umm... Here's your phone..."

From the shadows came an unfamiliar voice, one that froze Chris's blood cold. She did not see the person who spoke, and immediately dashed up into the safety of the now battle-ready Genjuro.

"Ghost!" She screamed, cowering behind Genjuro.

But then they heard a squeak. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!"

The figure slowly walked towards the light, and Genjuro dropped his fists as he realized that the voice belonged not to someone threatening the two but instead what appeared to be a young child wearing a robe.

In one hand, the girl held out Chris's phone with shaky fingers; under her opposite arm, she clutched a black chest. "Umm... My name is Elfnein... I'm looking for the Symphogear wielders."

#### GX Chapter 6

Yumi Itaba stared up with tired eyes at the sparkling stars that poked holes through the black void of the night sky. She sat, legs extended outwards comfortably, on the artificial island that floated high above the ground and doubled as a spaceship: Frontier.

Though her eyes focused on the stars behind it, Yumi held up a mysterious black stone with her thumb and index finger. For the past few months, Yumi has carried it everywhere with her and let very few people know of its existence–Genjuro Kazanari and her current superior, Shinji Ogawa, were the only other two aware of it. The small shadowy mineral was no average rock, even if one were to ignore the shining orange gems that protruded from it. Yumi called this small, alien piece of gravel the Twostone–a name derived from its most peculiar quality: though it was a three-dimensional object that Yumi could feel with her hands, the rock appeared to be an image drawn onto reality. No matter what angle you viewed the stone and its gems from, you would only be able to see it from one angle; in a way, it was something both scary and beautiful.

Yumi rubbed her eyes as she stuffed the stone back into the pocket of her black pants. Taking after the secret agents from anime–and Ogawa's own appearance–Yumi had started to wear a professional ensemble while on duty. Only the white collared shirt shone from beneath the suit and tie that were both the colour of the darkest shadows. Though it was night now and thus useless, Yumi also had a pair of sunglasses perched atop her forehead.

She was, to be completely honest, living her dream life. Yumi was a giant nerd–the biggest otaku any of her friends knew. Manga, anime... Yumi indulged in as much as she could during her free time. Being pulled into a world that most people could only dream of; being one of the only three people in the world privy to the existence of a stone that defies all physics; being one of the few human beings to ever stand on a giant landmass that alien gods had once created–Yumi had never felt happier in her life. The bubbly girl with the reddish-brown twintails felt a warmth in her chest that she had never felt before in her sixteen years of life.

But, at the same time, she felt somewhat lonely. Her friends had all gone separate ways–Kuriyo and Shiori were deemed 'useless' to the government and thus went back to normal lives, Chris left the government's care on her own, Tsubasa and Kanade now worked in a different sector altogether, and she had no idea where Miku was.

To make matters worse, one of her friends had died–something that the government would not let her forget, considering her corpse, which was still encased in an impenetrable orange crystal, was being kept and researched upon in the same office that Yumi technically worked out of. It was hard, seeing Hibiki's face frozen in fear every day.

"You don't look so good." Yumi tilted her head back to get a view of her boss, Shinji Ogawa, as he approached. He had a kind smile on his face but, just as Yumi assumed she did, dark rings under his golden eyes.

The two of them–or more specifically, Ogawa–had been put in charge of researching Frontier due to its assumed connection to the technology used by the Symphogears and their knowledge of the weapons. They had been working on the island now for almost fifty days; the two basically lived on Frontier, as a small workshop had been set up for them. Their division had made some progress in trying to learn more about the so-called Custodians that built it, but the government was not interested in that.

What the government cared about was the technology powering it, and they were not alone: every country in the world was interested in the strange spaceship that had risen out of the ocean. But, on that front, Ogawa and Yumi were stuck. All of the technology that they had encountered was far too intricate for them–for any human–to make heads or tails of. Kanade and Dr. Ver had both managed to pilot the ship, but the former wrote it off as her getting lucking and the latter was unwilling to share his knowledge.

But the government's insistence that they find anything to reverse engineer was crushing them. And thus Yumi and Ogawa had now been up for almost two whole days, attending meetings and investigating Frontier. They were both at the ends of their ropes.

"I could crash for four months." Yumi sighed, collapsing onto her back. As she took on a horizontal position, she immediately felt her eyelids grow heavy–sleep was beckoning her.

"You can't fall asleep now, Yumi. We've still got–" A yawn escaped Ogawa's mouth. "Work to do." Though he was her boss, the two of them had grown very close to one another over the three months that they had worked under Yatsuhiro Kazanari–they were so friendly with one another that many of their associates assumed that they were family members.

It probably didn't help that Ogawa was also teaching Yumi some of his family's ninja techniques on the side.

Ogawa gave into his own tiredness and laid down beside Yumi, staring up at the sky just like her. They both wanted to say something to one another–the same thing, most likely.

They had placed their hands on the control mechanism for Frontier for the first time today, and been assaulted by visions of runes they could not understand and unfamiliar, alien faces. But there were some notable things that they recognized, and both wanted to theorize about what they meant.

But they were simply too tired.

"Hey, Ogawa..." Yumi didn't know how long the two had been laying there in silence, but neither of them had said a word. Eventually, she felt awkward and wanted to break the silence. "The Custodians... where do you think they came from?"

"Who knows?" He muttered. "Maybe they're Noise."

"Chris told us that Finé's goal was to 'reunite with her beloved,' right?" Yumi recalled, her sleepless brain fried and now jumping from thought to thought with no pause. "If she was talking about a Custodian, then I wonder what they were like."

"Crazy." Ogawa answered immediately. He had been awake longer than Yumi, so the young girl fully understood why he was speaking only in short slurs. If Yumi's brain was being grilled on a stovetop, Ogawa's had been overbaked and deep-fried; it was a wonder he was even still awake.

"I'd like to meet one, eventually."

"We have enough insanity to deal with here on Earth. I think..."

Ogawa seemed to be trying to say something else, but Yumi heard his steady breaths as the arrow of sleep finally found its mark on his brain. She chuckled lightly under her breath as she open the gates to dream land, herself.

. . .

Genjuro led the sleepy Chris and mysterious Elfnein into the traditional mansion that sprawled across a massive compound, checking his cellphone several times on the way. The room they stopped in, which was draped in shadows as no lights permeated the room with a large television embedded within one wall, was small and fairly cool; Chris shivered as she sat down on the large black couch that faced the screen.

"Alright." Genjuro turned on the lights and plopped down with a huff beside Chris. Elfnein, still clutching the black box as she shook with nervousness. "Normally I'd be a little more cautious around someone so mysterious, but I can tell from your body language that you're not a threat."

Chris brushed some of her hair on her head. "Hey, I've got a question for you, kid: what kinda name is Elfnein? No family name?"

As Genjuro shot the girl beside him a quick look, Elfnein trembled under Chris's curious glare. "Umm... my name is Elfnein. I am a homunculus that was created by an alchemist named Carol Malus Dienheim. My name... it's German, I believe."

"A homunculus?" Genjuro and Chris repeated the word simultaneously, with very different inflections. Genjuro said it calmly as he thought, while Chris shouted it in surprise. The latter then continued to follow-up, asking another question. "So you're, like, a robot? Is that why you're wearing... that?"

"No. A homunculus is essentially just an artificially-created human. I am essentially just as alive as you, just... I wasn't born traditionally. As for my clothing, that was my creator's decision." Elfnein's eyes wandered as she spat out information, but they eventually snapped back to Genjuro's face. "W-wait! That's not important! I need to find the Symphogear wielders, and I know you're one of them! I need your help!"

"Hold on, there, Elf." Chris waved her hand. "I'm a former Symphogear wielder, and this old guy's the former commander. We've both been kicked out of the government."

"Whaat?" Elfnein screamed in surprise, almost dropping her chest as she flailed in shock. "Then, why am I here?"

"Well, the two Symphogear wielders that are still active do live here." Genjuro pulled out his phone. "Speaking of which, they just got back. I let them know to come here."

"Oh, I didn't know Kanade lived here, too. She wasn't around when I stayed here before." Chris had wide eyes, but they narrowed as she had a realization. "Well, I guess Tsubasa didn't even come home for those few days."

"Brother, do we have more company?" Genjuro's elder brother Yatsuhiro Kazanari walked into the room. Seeing Chris give the older man a wave–the two had been acquainted when Chris stayed at the Kazanari residence before–he nodded before taking in the appearance of Elfnein. "And who do we have here?"

"Your next enemy, I guess." Genjuro replied quickly. "Or, rather, the homunculus servant of them."

"Homunculus, hmm?" Yatsuhiro walked through the room and crouched down to look Elfnein within the eyes. The small child shrunk back slightly in discomfort as the old man studied her. "Pardon me, miss. Considering my group took over most of the data that Sector Two had, I've become familiar with the limited amount of information we have on alchemy.

"Now, I apologize if I'm saying something incorrect here, but from what I've gathered all alchemical elements need a theory as a base. I assume that would be the same for the creation of a homunculus, yes?"

Elfnein's eyes widened in surprise at the man's question–more, she was shocked that they had any knowledge of alchemy to begin with. She nodded after a beat of silence passed. "Yes. Most homunculi are created to act as servants, but I was created for a different purpose–I was born to house a copy of my master's memories."

Chris shuddered–she did not want to carry all of the memories that existed within her brain already, so the thought of forcing copies of them into another living being felt like a form of torture.

"A copy of memories? For what purpose?" Genjuro asked, leaning forwards. At the same time, Yatsuhiro stepped back from Elfnein.

"Carol devised a way to sacrifice memories in order to strengthen her alchemical abilities. I know you all probably don't have too strong a grasp on alchemical theory, so I'll try to put this in a way you all might understand." Elfnein tilted her head in thought for a moment. "In the same vein that the Symphogears draw out songs in order to power up their wielder. Though, the fact that she destroys her memories grants her an even greater increase in strength than the Symphogear users should gain."

"So basically the Symphogears are the karaoke machines that we sing into, while this Carol person is the karaoke machine and uses memories instead of electricity. That makes sense." Chris summed up with a nod. Though she stated that she understood the idea, and wore a cocky expression to match, Chris's eyes showed that she was still somewhat confused.

But Elfnein looked at her in surprise. "Yeah, basically. I think you understand."

"So, why do you need the Symphogear wielders?" Genjuro raised his eyebrow, just as Yatsuhiro did behind him. From her position, Elfnein could see the family resemblance as the two mimicked each other's facial expression.

"Oh, this!" Finally, Elfnein thrust the small black box in her hands out in front of her. "Carol's alchemy would probably be impossible for the Symphogear wielders to fight on equal ground in their current state."

"Hold on. Go back a few steps." Chris lowered her eyebrows as she took the black chest in her own hands. "Why do you want... Tsubasa and Kanade to fight your master? Shouldn't you be against that?"

"Ah! I apologize!! This is the first time I've spoken to anyone besides Carol and the Autoscorers! I should have straightened out my thoughts better! Sorry!"

Genjuro shook his head. "Alright, Elfnein, let me handle this conversation. Once Tsubasa and Kanade get here–"

"We're here." Tsubasa's voice rang out as the door opened again. Chris leaned her head over the back of the couch to look at the blue-haired idol standing in the doorway, who had a surprised look on her face.

Tsubasa's body was stiff as she tried to avoid looking towards her father, who stood beside her and tried to slowly shrink away, but her gaze was stuck on Chris. Kanade, who peeked around the blue ponytail hanging off the side of Tsubasa's head, had a wide smile as she saw Chris. The two members of Zwei Wing called out the girl's name–Tsubasa addressing Chris more formally than her red counterpart–in surprise: "Yukine?" and "Chris?"

"Yo." Chris greeted them with a smile. "Long time no see."

"Huh? Those two are the Symphogear wielders?" Elfnein tilted her head in confusion as Tsubasa and Kanade entered the room; the whole time, Kanade stood in-between Tsubasa and her father, who remained silent.

"Tsubasa Kazanari." The blue girl nodded as she introduced herself. "My uncle sent us the basic information. Genjuro–uh, and Yukine–what information have you gathered from this..."

"Elfnein." Chris shrugged. "And no. She seems pretty scatterbrained. It's best if someone else leads the conversation."

"Hey, then, Elfnein." Kanade pulled out a strand of her orange hair that had been caught underneath the eyepatch she wore across her face as she took on the same investigative position that Yatsuhiro had been in earlier. "Why were you surprised that we are the Symphogear wielders you were looking for?"

"Well, there was another girl. This afternoon. She had red armour and–"

"Either someone used Ichaival." Chris looked over at Yatsuhiro, who shook his head at the suggestion. "Or you met Miku. I wish that girl would just, I don't know, get a phone or something!"

"Miku Kohinata is... a unique case." Genjuro sighed, his voice sad. He still regretted not being able to help her more, but he knew that giving her the space to grieve Hibiki was the right decision for the moment. "She isn't technically a Symphogear wielder... no, wait. She was always a unique case."

"We believe that Ver's experiments did not overwrite Kohinata's ability to access the Gungnir Symphogear, so she would technically would be a Symphogear wielder," Yatsuhiro explained. "But considering the state of Tachibana, it is for the best that we do not acknowledge that in her presence."

"That's enough, everyone. Let's get information out of this girl." Tsubasa curtly shot down the irrelevant conversations that kept sprouting up from the many different figures in the room around her. With her arms crossed in annoyance, Tsubasa walked up to Elfnein.

"I'm going to ask you questions. I want you to answer them truthfully, and with as few words as possible."

"Uh... Understood, Miss Kazanari!" Elfnein nodded.

"First question: who are you?"

"Elfnein." At the same time, Chris also supplemented this answer by further explaining that she was a homunculus.

"Do you have ties to Finé?"

"No. Though I believe she is the creator of alchemy as a whole, so by technicality I suppose I might."

"Who do you serve, then?"

"My master's name is Carol Malus Dienheim." Yatsuhiro cupped his chin in thought at the mention of Carol's full name.

"Was this Carol responsible for the deaths of our support staff today?"

This question shocked everyone else in the room–outside Kanade, of course. Genjuro shouted. "What? Everyone is dead?"

Kanade sighed. "Every member of the Symphogear program was found dead today, with the exception of Fujitaka. He's currently missing, so the brass does have their suspicions of him at the moment considering the security footage is coincidentally missing."

Tsubasa continued. "But we know Fujitaka does not possess the malice to do that on his own. Not to mention, ice was found in the command room that is likely alchemical in nature considering it has yet to melt."

"If there's ice, then that means Garie is likely the one you're looking for. She's one of Carol's four Autoscorer–uhh, Autonomous Doll–servants." Elfnein explained.

"Autonomous Doll?" Kanade finally backed away from Elfnein, straightening her posture. "That sounds a lot like that green woman."

"Green dress and wind powers?" Elfnein asked, earning a nod from Kanade. "That would be Phara, another one of Carol's Autoscorers."

Clearing her throat, Tsubasa continued with her interrogation. "In that case, what is Carol's goal."

"Carol wants to complete her father's work."

"She wants to turn some lead into gold? If she can make a homunculus, then that should be pretty easy, right?" Chris had a suspicious look on her face, then sank back into the couch. "No, if you need their help then her goals probably involve world domination or the destruction of the moon, right?"

Elfnein shook her head. "Carol's father was one of the most prolific alchemists ever, but he was executed after stopping a plague because the villagers thought he was a witch."

"I don't think that really answers my question, but I can sympathise with that part." Chris looked down.

"As he died, he asked Carol to continue analysing the world... but she misunderstood. She has been under the false belief that her father was condemning the village for all of these years when it was actually the opposite."

"So, let me guess, she wants to analyse the world by cutting it in half or something, right?" Chris had an annoyed tone in her voice as Elfnein continued dodging her question.

"Ah... that's... yes, basically."

"Well at least the moon won't be involved, for once." Chris sighed.

"Excuse me, Elfnein." Yatsuhiro, who had been silent since his daughter walked into the room, finally spoke up again. "Carol's father, what was his name?"

"His name was Izak Malus Dienheim."

"Izak..." The man repeated the name. With a nod, he turned to leave the room. "That name seems familiar to me. If you'll all excuse me."

Yatsuhiro silently exited the room and the tension immediately exited Tsubasa's body–something everyone, barring Elfnein, noticed. Tsubasa's stiff posture immediately dropped into a slight hunch as she pinched the bridge between her eyes.

"What's the deal between you and your dad, anyway?" Chris asked as silence filled the room. She was fiddling with the small chest that Elfnein had handed her, shifting it around in her palms without thought as she looked between the others in the room.

"My brother isn't exactly good at showing how much he cares." Genjuro stood up and went to Tsubasa's side, putting his hand on her shoulder. "And, after his wife died, he threw himself entirely into his work and pushed Tsubasa away. Needless to say, Tsubasa doesn't have too high an opinion of him."

"And, like I keep saying, I don't think he doesn't like you, Tsubasa. I think he's just..." Kanade tried to comfort Tsubasa, but even Chris could tell that this was not going to be an easy feat–and they had likely tried before, judging from Kanade's words.

"Um. Can we get back on topic, please?" Elfnein fidgeted. "Not to be rude or anything but construction on Carol's weapon is almost complete, so we likely don't have too much time..."

"You really should have led with that, Elf." Chris glared at the child, who shrieked an apology as she jumped back. Finally remembering the chest in her hands, Chris looked down as a slight embarrassed expression crossed her face. "Speaking of which, what's in this box?"

"Oh, yes. If you'd allow me, I'd like to modify the Symphogears. That box contains a shard of the relic known as Dáinsleif–a cursed sword that would theoretically be able to power you girls up enough to fight Carol's alchemy on equal footing. Should you be able to control it."

Chris suddenly stood up and ran out of the room, the box still in her hands, without a word. "What is she doing?" Kanade tilted her head. "Does she even know her way around this place?"

"Eh, she'll be fine." Genjuro sat down on the couch again, and this time the wielder of Gungnir joined him. "She seems surprisingly capable of finding her way, considering she walked here from the other side of the city without any directions."

"She really wanted to see you, huh Chief?" Kanade had a sly smile on her face as she looked at her former boss.

"Enough about that. She just took the shard with her." Tsubasa put a hand to her forehead. "Hopefully she'll remember to bring it back with her."

The girl with the white hair returned a moment later. While she had the small box tucked under one arm, everyone had their attention on what hung from the fingers of her left hand: four red jewels hanging from grey strings. "Alright, let's get an army together to save the world." She said with a smile.

"How did you get the Symphogears?" Genjuro stood up. "I thought–"

"They were locked away? Yeah, I may have asked your brother to swap them out in case of emergency. Believe it or not, he didn't exactly have a high opinion of your replacements."

"That makes three of us." Kanade said with a smile. "Good riddance."

"How did he get his hands on them?" Tsubasa asked in shock. "No, furthermore–when did you even contact my father?"

"I haven't just been sitting on my ass these past three months, you know. Your dad's spies have been tailing me this whole time, so I just had them relay a message. Asked him to meet one day, and he obliged–on all accounts."

"My father did that?"

"He and I have been doing a lot of secret behind the scenes work, Tsubasa, in our own ways." Chris smiled, swinging the four Symphogear pendants in her grasp. "Alright, Elfnein. Do whatever you need to these ones: Ichaival, Igalima, Shul Shagana, and Airgetlám."

As if the four precious jewels–masterpieces that merged lost technology of relics with alchemy and, allegedly, the remains of some of the Custodians that created humanity–were nothing more than a simple baseball, Chris lobbed the crystals at Elfnein. The homunculus clumsily fumbled for the jewels, snagging them out of the air and clutching them close to her chest. "Umm... okay, I will. But you still have the chest."

"Oh right. As for Miku, she'll apparently be coming over tomorrow. So, just hang around until then... I guess."

"Seems as though you've become quite the leader." Kanade was impressed, and she happily praised the girl who had once been her enemy.

"I may have been trying to get stronger so that..." Chris's smile waned for a moment as a sadness crossed her eyes, but she did not elaborate on that. Instead–leaving the sorry states of Hibiki and Miku unmentioned–Chris put on the look of a jester. "You guys see me as more than just transportation."

"Yukine... perhaps you're the strongest of all of us." Tsubasa whispered with a small smile on her face. No one heard her praise of the girl–just yet another person Tsubasa pushed away. Realizing that Kanade and Genjuro were the only people she had actually let reach out to her, Tsubasa asked something to the room. "Is this the strength I've been lacking?"

"You're still hung up on what the emerald lady said earlier?" Kanade scratched the back of her head–Elfnein, quietly huddling away from everyone else, quietly threw out the name of the woman to which Kanade was referring, but was completely ignored.

Kanade wanted to say more, but a loud gurgling sound echoed out through the room and interrupted her train of thought.

Genjuro turned to Chris, but she shook her head. "Wasn't me."

The two looked towards the next figure: a girl with a face as red as a tomato as she blushed in embarrassment. The identity of the one whose stomach roared loud enough to overpower a conversation caused even Kanade to chuckle. "It's not like you to skip out on lunch, Tsubasa."

Tsubasa turned her head away in embarrassment. "I was hoping to get some food after work but everything that's happened has kind of stopped those plans. Besides, aren't you hungry, too?"

Kanade laughed happily. "Yeah, I guess I am a little peckish."

Genjuro sighed. "I suppose you can't save the world on an empty stomach. Alright, I'll whip something up for all of you." He turned to Chris, who nodded happily, then to Elfnein. "Elfnein, do you..."

"Like I said I..." Elfnein's squeaky voice was interrupted as her own stomach rumbled loudly, and she too blushed as she covered her exposed gut with her arms. Genjuro laughed loudly at the sight of the flustered girls who have been embarrassed into silence.

"Alright, let me whip up some dinner for everyone."

. . .

On the other side of the city, Miku Kohinata's stomach, too, screamed for sustenance. Unlike with the girls at the Kazanari residence, however, no one was around to offer Miku food.

Wearing her bland tofu-coloured clothes that had been stained with all kinds of substances and torn in so many places, but they were also darkened as water was absorbed into their threads.

Miku shook her head in disgust as she sat on the cool stone ground. Not wanting to burden Chris or any of her other friends, and not wanting to have to face the memories of Hibiki, Miku had taken to making a sewer into her own personal space. She had 'customized' a small dry area by setting up an old, holey tent she had picked out the garbage–this is what passed as her residence nowadays–and in it, she kept the small amounts of food she could scavenge or steal.

But mainly, Miku survived day-by-day drowning out her sorrows with beer. The source of Miku's haul of alcohol (that she should not possess) sat up against the wall next to her tent: the decaying body of a yakuza member who had found Miku and attempted to do some unsavoury things to her. The yakuza member had been carrying a crate of beer–Miku didn't know why or to where–but she was now going through and making use of his leftovers.

She popped open a warm can of beer and took a long swig of the liquid within. The alcohol scalded Miku's throat as she downed her third can of beer today. Though she had only killed the man a couple of weeks ago, she only decided to begin consuming his stash as the pain from the darkness bruising her body heightened a handful of days ago. Miku had sixteen cans to begin with–with this can, she had now opened five in total.

"God damn this body of mine." Miku shouted as she finished the can. Tossing the aluminium cylinder against the wall with a crash, Miku began sobbing.

Miku's body was in so much pain that she could barely stand living. Every waking moment of her life, Miku felt as though iron heated in the flames of the sun was being pressed up against her body–but the seemingly-random bursts where it felt like knives were piercing her muscles was what truly brought her strife.

But now, as alcohol filled her veins, Miku felt as though her brain was melting, too. It drowned out the feeling of the dark flames engulfing her body by attacking her mind directly, but Miku found that it did, somewhat, help. She clutched her head as tears streamed from her eyes.

"Don't give up on living." She muttered sadly, rocking back and forth. "Don't give up on living."

Bile rose up into Miku's throat, and she felt as though she was about to spew out the disgusting thorns that pierced her heart on a daily basis. Miku turned to the waterway that ran through the sewer, reading to heave into it, but nothing came out besides the sad moans. "Hibiki... I'm so sorry..."

Had Hibiki still been alive, Miku was worried that her sunshine would not even recognize the corrupted form she now took. All the way up to her chin, Miku's body was now entirely black; and onyx veins criss-crossed around Miku's facial features like a tartan. Miku had once worn her shorter hair tied back with a white ribbon, but now the black wavy mane hung loose past her shoulders. The hollow look in Miku's eyes was terrifying; even before she had decided to indulge in the poison of alcohol, Miku had a vacant look that made her like a haunted doll.

As she sadly cried out for her friend, her thoughts all tangled from the beer she had downed at a high speed, Miku held on to the slight hope that Finé might have the answers that she was looking for.

. . .

Carol's gaze flipped from the paper in her hand to the tear in reality in front of her face. "This is utterly depressing." Her tone was deadpan as she acknowledged the sad state of the scene she was viewing through the gap in the air. Miku's tearful cries silently echoed towards Carol, who looked back down at the report in her hands.

"'The girl demonstrated immense mental strength, capable of keeping the spirit of the eternal priestess Finé at bay to retain her original persona as a second personality. Her physical strength is beyond abnormal, evident by the fact that she had managed to survive highly-invasive experiments performed upon her by John Wayne Vercingetorix.'" Carol read the notes aloud, shaking her head. "Seems to me like she's a sad girl with a hole in her heart."

"Master, if I could remind you, that girl seems to possess an incredibly powerful weapon that may even surpass your alchemy–or so says Leiur." Phara stood on one of the four pedestals down below Carol; she was one of the two Autoscorers currently in the room with their master.

"Master... why don't you just let me go out there and have fun?" The other Autoscorer whined like a small child, but the implication her words held were far more cruel.

This Autoscorer was Micha Jawkān, the first of the Autoscorers that Carol had created. Unlike her successors, Micha was not capable of draining normal humans of their memories, though that was not her initial purpose. Micha was originally built to be Carol's bodyguard–every aspect of her design stemmed from her use as a weapon.

Micha carried inside her a fragment of Carol's personality, just as all of the Autoscorers. For Micha, she kept part of the childish whimsy that Carol had held as a young child, while her father was still alive. The personality made her unpredictable in battle, and her large bear-like paws made her impossible to combat without extensive fighting experience. She was a killing machine... if you ignored that she acted like a child of single digit age.

"As Leiur told us before, Micha, that girl's powers seem to be comparable to neither Symphogears nor my alchemy. That means she falls into the category of the unknown–a god." Carol waved her hand and the image in the air dissipated. "I wish to study her before killing her off. Otherwise, I would never be able to face my father as an alchemist."

"But masterrr~" Micha cried out sadly.

"Enough, Micha. There is no room for argument here."

Phara sighed from her own pedestal. "Master, while I understand the interest in this subject, I fail to see why you care to learn about the other Symphogear wielders."

"Tsubasa Kazanari and Kanade Amou." Raising her hand, Carol formed another image in the air. While she could stalk Miku due to Leiur having the foresight to focus on her mana during their short encounter, Carol possessed a telepathic link with Elfnein and thus could see through her eyes as if they were her own. Or, as she was doing now, Carol could also project said vision into the air.

The two idols whose names she had spoken appeared in her vision. Elfnein shakily held the sides of a warm bowl of ramen, but her head was jumping between each of the different people at the table. From the reports that Prelati had given Carol, she recognized all of them: Chris Yukine, the wielder of Ichaival; the two aforementioned idols, who sat together in front of Elfnein and thus were the main figures in her sight; and Genjuro Kazanari.

"I had hoped," Carol's eyebrow twitched. "That she would have already been able to integrate Dáinsleif into at least one of the Symphogears by now. But this is ridiculous! She's having dinner?"

Carol put her hand to her forehead as she took in everything around her. "Sometimes I think Leiur is the only person I can ever count on among you. All of you seem so..." She punched the arm of her throne in anger before hanging her head in defeat. "If you want something done right, you may as well do it yourself."

She flipped through the reports that had fallen onto her lap as she madly raised her fist. "This one would probably prove most useful as an expendable tool." Though she was several hundred years old, Carol still used a child's body; she only had so much energy. With a yawn, Carol hid the documents away in a pocket dimension she created with her alchemy and stood up.

"Phara, Micha–do not leave the Château until I give you the order. If Garie attempts to leave the premises, do anything in your power to stop her–I feel as though she will likely be more of a hindrance if she tries to work without my orders." Carol slowly began to walk down the steps at the base of the plateau on which her regal chair sat. "For now, I am going to get some much-needed rest. Tomorrow will be a busy day."

"Understood, master!" Micha happily shouted a response.

Phara, too, nodded in acknowledgement at the order. "Have a good sleep, master."

#### GX Chapter 7

**Content warning:** Sexual assualt.

The chillingly white room was fairly large, but almost entirely empty. A small toilet sat against one wall, and a cot folded out of another; none of the furnishings were acknowledged, however, by the one figure huddled far away.

"Death. Death. Death."

Kirika Akatsuki clutched her legs tight as she rocked back and forth slowly. Her eyes were dilated as red cut through the white sclera and encroached upon her heterochromatic pupils. Kirika's short blonde hair had grown out in the past three months; messy from lack of care, Kirika's hair now extended down past the length of her neck.

"Death. Death. Death. Death."

The young girl just repeated the single word over and over–it was the only thing her mind could focus on. Gone were thoughts of her beloved found family; Kirika had nothing but anxious fear pounding her fractured brain.

After all, her mind had been completely shattered.

The eternal priestess known as Finé possessed the power to take over the minds of others. Upon her death, Finé would automatically transfer her ancient soul into the body of one of her descendants; Kirika was the latest of the hosts that she clung to like a parasite.

Kirika's situation was much different from the other bodies that Finé took over, however, and that was thanks to the advice of Miku Kohinata. While Finé had completely controlled the mind and utterly transformed the body of her hosts into her own, she refused to do so for the girl named Kirika Akatsuki. Instead, Finé simply transferred her memories to Kirika in order to grant her use of the near-invincible alchemical shield known as Asgard.

But that had many unintended effects. Combined with the tragic past that the girl had already possessed, the thousands of years that Finé had lived through crushed Kirika's weak soul. She had already been forcing herself to smile through the pain, but now that was simply impossible.

Finé had lived many lives, too many to count. One of the first humans created by the godly race of aliens known as the Custodians, Finé had dedicated her entire life to undoing the curse that had broken apart humanity–the Curse of Balal. In pursuit of her goal, Finé had cast aside all walls that had been placed in front of her; nothing would stand in the way of bringing peace to Earth.

To this end, Finé had done so much–and so much had been done to her, in turn. The priestess had manipulated, tortured, and killed anyone who tried to stop her, and forced herself upon men in order to ensure that she had the successors needed to continue reincarnating through the eras. In order to ensure her survival, Finé would go so far as to kidnap the children that carried her genes and do absolutely anything to ensure their survival.

But, in time, that had been twisted somewhat. No longer did she care solely about ensuring the survival of her future vessels; Finé eventually desired to possess the power that she felt was lacking. The strength that Finé believed she needed to fully shatter the chains that the Curse of Balal had placed upon her. This wish was what caused her to fixate on the enigma known as Miku Kohinata; a decision that eventually led to a change in mentality.

That desire for power, however, also led to her creating both allies and enemies–and she had been killed by both.

Kirika Akatsuki now possessed every single one of those memories within her mind, and the strain was far too much for one child. She felt every sensation as she sifted through the millennia that Finé had forced into her mind. The feeling of being stabbed, shot at, and straight-up executed–the visceral memory of being murdered even once placed a strong toll upon a human brain, yet she had many, many memories of death in her mind.

And, worse of all, Kirika's new memories of death were somewhat preferable to those that she had possessed before Finé entered her body. Such terrible memories were pulled to the surface of her mind, overpowering the sensations of pain, by the sterile and bleached walls that blinded Kirika like freshly-fallen snow.

Sensations of death both not her own yet so, and the tragic life that the girl now known as Kirika Akatsuki had been forced to live fully destroyed her mind. She was, in every way, just a zombie. Forever clutching her legs and muttering a single word–Kirika could barely be considered 'alive' in this state.

Perhaps the company of others might help her situation, but the government was terrified of her new existence as 'Finé;' Kirika had been kept wholly separate from her former F.I.S. allies, who shared a cell of their own and worried for their lost friend.

"Death. Death. Death." The girl's weak whimpers continued to echo through the chamber.

It was a sad sight, yet the guard who walked past did not care. With a stoic face, he slipped open the small letter box-like opening on the incredibly thick door–stealing a simple glance at the girl cradled in the corner, but his stoic glare did not falter–as he attached a small metal tray to the door. A gross, pale curry with no taste sat in a dull bowl on the white platter–Kirika's dinner, being given to her in the dead of night.

The guard huffed as he backed away. "Food." He ordered before exiting, leaving the girl to mutter to no one once again.

Never once did Kirika's eyes move from the spot on the ground in front of her, nor did her repetitive moans ever halt.

~ ~ ~

The Federal Sacrist Research Institution of America–F.I.S.–was an official government organization fully committed to the research of heretical relics and the powers they possess. Before they were an official institution, however, F.I.S. was an underground team of American scientists that Finé had gathered to create the so-called 'perfect' vessel that would allow her to achieve her goals and protect the Receptor Children in which she could be reborn.

Six men and women clad in solid white coats looked down at the girl who was barely four years old. The figures looked like giants to the young girl with a short crown of very light brown–almost the colour of biscotti. Her eyes were empty, hollow; she had lost everything, including her ability to speak.

"She has no familial connections or past; she suffers from global aphasia, though her actions imply that she also possesses some form of amnesia. A completely blank canvas: the perfect subject for our research." One of the men spoke clearly, his dark eyes focusing on his peers around him from behind a large pair of glasses. "Should anything happen to her, no one would be worried for her."

"An excellent find." A woman with short black hair nodded at her colleague's words.

"That does leave the question, though." The shortest of the scientists, a man with a high voice and a small scar above his left eye. "How should we refer to her in the presence of... our leader?"

"Subject A?" The first man spoke again. "Is it necessary for us to give her a proper name? She told us that she fully replaces the consciousness of her vessels, so there really is no need to learn any unique names. Besides, she has no records–even if we wanted to call her by her birth name, it's impossible to know it."

"Doctor, you said she's Japanese, correct?" A lanky man with perfectly combed silver hair spoke slowly. "Allow me to suggest the surname Akatsuki–a name meaning 'dawn,' and thus perfect for our very first subject."

The burliest man with a dark red moustache chuckled slightly. "I hope there were no... personal influences in that decision, Dr. Akatsuki."

The short scientist put his hands up. "Now, now, it doesn't matter what we call this girl. Akatsuki works regardless. As for a first name..."

The final scientist, a man whose eyes had been locked on a clipboard throughout this entire conversation, finally spoke up at the prompt. "Kirika." He lifted his gaze for just a moment to look at Dr. Akatsuki across from him. "I'm not entirely knowledgable in the readings of Japanese characters, but I believe these characters are read that way."

The main tore off the page on his clipboard and showed it to Dr. Akatsuki. A memo to the scientist written by the group's founder, the page was a mess of different languages all cobbled together into their orders. The only two kanji characters on the page were circled in blue ink: 切 and 歌.

Dr. Akatsuki shook his head. "In the context of these sentences, they would be separately pronounced as 'setsu' and 'uta,' but Kirika is not an incorrect reading of them put together."

"Very well, Kirika Akatsuki." The moustached man stroked his one defining feature as he crouched down to meet the meek little girl staring up at the adults in confusion. "May you survive to see the world you will help create."

"I don't understand your care for this child." The woman with short black hair curtly shook her head. "She's nothing more than a subject to us. Completely disposable."

"That may be true." The man admitted, standing back up. "But, consider: should this girl survive to see the new world she... no, we all create..."

"She won't." Several of his colleagues cut him off with a simultaneous hiss.

"Perhaps I am a tad optimistic."

. . .

The now-blonde-haired girl screamed out as electricity coursed through her entire body. She was six now, and far from the only Receptor Child who had been found possessing Finé's DNA. Still, however, Kirika remained the favourite of the stoic men in the monochromatic clothing–she was their first subject, and surprisingly resilient despite the many tortures they put her through. Some of her successors had since been disposed of, but Kirika was still existing in the chrome-white laboratory of the secret organization.

"Increase." The woman with brown hair tied into a beehive and decorated with a purple butterfly pin ordered those around her with a cruelly emotionless expression. "Her body can take more."

"Understood." The man at the giant silver system pressed up a large red lever. This man was the same Dr. Akatsuki who had gifted his surname upon the girl he was still torturing, but now his eyes were hidden behind a pair of blue-framed glasses not unlike the red ones the woman by his side wore.

Kirika screamed, veins bulging from her neck. In the roughly two years since she had been brought into the government's blank lab, she had been able to reclaim the voice that she had once lost. No, rather she was forced to recover it for the sake of research.

"Now, stop." The woman, whose name was Ryoko Sakurai, spoke with a calm tone that was a stark contrast from the painful cries emanating from the girl just a short distance in front of her. Even as the giant generator slowly fizzled into silence, the girl strapped to the machine still screamed in pain as the phantoms tore her body apart.

Between Kirika Akatsuki and Ryoko Sakurai was a small pedestal with a bony fossil perched upon it. This was one of the rarest kinds of objects present on Earth in the 21st Century: a complete relic. Unfortunately, the relic was in its inactive state; it was essentially worthless unless a song–or, as they were testing now, the powerful screams of pain–born from the depths of a person's heart could power it.

The Nehushtan Armour had been recovered by the Japanese government earlier that year and passed to the relic-centric division that Ryoko Sakurai also worked with, Sector Two of the Special Disaster Response Team. Having snuck it out from right beneath the noses of her superiors, the girl now stood in an American lab hoping for just a hint from the relic.

"I wonder if it even hears the songs?" Ryoko wondered aloud as she admired the relic.

Kirika, panting heavily right behind her as her body tried to adjust to the lack of electricity being forced into it, just listened in silence, though Dr. Akatsuki spoke up to present an answer. "We don't have extensive knowledge of complete relics like this, however I do have a theory."

The idea sparked Ryoko's attention, and she lifted up from the bowed position she took on to more-closely admire the relic's attention. "Anything is possible when it comes to relics like these. Shoot."

"Considering all of the data we have on the awakening of relics comes from incomplete relics, it's possible that the process is completely different to the awakening process of complete ones..."

"Impossible. Songs are the universal language. Even if you can't understand the meaning of the words, even a relic can connect with the emotions put into one."

"In that case," Dr. Akatsuki adjusted his glasses. "Is it possible that a complete relic requires multiple subjects' songs to awaken?"

"Hmmm...." Ryoko cupped her chin as she began to walk. She circled the giant device where the sweating Kirika continued to gasp for breath as she thought about the idea. "It's certainly a possibility."

The woman sighed as she returned to the side of the Nehushtan Armour, tapping her chin with her right index finger. "Regardless, I should get this back to Japan before they realize it's gone."

Dr. Akatsuki saluted. "Understood, ma'am. I'll inform the others of our progress here–or lack thereof–in our report."

As Ryoko Sakurai took the relic in her hands, she briefly glanced at the girl whose chest rose and fell at a high rate. It was a brief glance, but in that one second she managed to imprint the girl's face in her brain. She turned away quickly, looking to Dr. Akatsuki instead and giving a silent nod.

Once Ryoko Sakurai disappeared, Dr. Akatsuki approached the girl strapped to the device. As he slowly undid the braces that locked her to the giant machine, Dr. Akatsuki took note of the many injuries that he and his associates had burned into the skin that he could see. Around her wrists were dark red rings from where the machine's claws dug into her skin, and various scars danced down her arms.

But Dr. Akatsuki did not feel even a single pang of emotion for these. 'Exitus ācta probat,' of Ovid's Epistulae Heroidum–from which the common phrase of 'the end justifies the means' is believed to originate; the philosophical phrase that justified all of the insane actions that Dr. Akatsuki, Ryoko Sakurai, and all of their colleagues schemed.

Instead, leaving the girl to drop to the floor as she desperately reached out for the light of consciousness, Dr. Akatsuki turned and returned to the console he had been standing at. From upon the table beside it, he picked up a sea foam green hospital gown; Kirika wore a similar hospital gown now, albeit one now soaked in sweat. "You can change into this." He tossed the garments to Kirika, who did not move as the gown fell onto the ground in front of her.

This was a regular occurrence for the two. Kirika and her namesake had gone through this exact routine just the day before as they had attempted other experiments upon the girl.

Even though she was almost always surrounded by several other people, some of whom were her own age, Kirika was completely alone in the world. Yet she wasn't sad about this existence; it, literally, was all she had ever known.

. . .

"The Noise possess a unique ability to perpetually shift between planes of existence, simultaneously acting within multiple timelines of our world and the pocket dimension from which they originate. Because of this–and, as you are aware–conventional weaponry that humans have developed can not harm them." Ryoko Sakurai explained to the bevvy of scientists around her. "The Symphogears I developed possess the power to temporarily drag Noise into our dimension by essentially 'tuning' the frequencies of their existence with the frequencies of the song from the wielder's heart."

The scientist with the once-red moustache–which was now as white as the walls around them–stroked the large bushy beard that had grown over his chin in the past four years. He nodded as his eyes focused not on the scientist in front of him, but the now-eight year old girl standing behind him in silence. "LiNKER can allow essentially any female to don the armour, correct? However, even should we conceive a way to mass-produce this technology, it would still require a host to provide a song."

Ryoko nodded. "Correct. Unfortunately, that is an undeniable truth. Additionally, the original three Symphogears I created–Ame no Habakiri, Ichaival, and Gungnir–make use of technology that would be near-impossible to obtain more of, thus it would be almost impossible to replicate the power required to destroy the Noise's Phase Contact Barrier, especially on a large scale."

With a confident smile, Ryoko held up a small silver box that she and her team–now officially an agency affiliated with the American government–had been supplied by their new benefactors. "I plan to use the relics we recently required to develop more Symphogears, though in order to do that we will require a way to replicate the technology of the original three using new materials."

"You theorize the Curse of Balal's source is on the moon, correct? Or that it may, perhaps, be the moon in its entirety?" One scientist prompted. "In that case, we could have NASA supply us with some lunar samples that they had brought back to Earth."

"The moon was a creation of the Custodians, who similarly hail from an extradimensional region." Ryoko nodded as she took in the idea fully. Her eyes lit up as she did the calculations, jumping between the tangled threads of ideas, and eventually came to a conclusion. "Yes. That could work."

"Now..." The moustached scientist turned to Kirika Akatsuki, who stood silently in the corner. "Regarding the child."

"Yes," Ryoko sat the silver box down and reached into one of the deep pockets of her snowy lab coat. Pulling out a small red crystal with an innocently playful chuckle, she held up the jewel in her slender fingers. "Sector Two has a database of Symphogear candidates, but I was curious as to whether any of my future vessels may also harbour the ability to wield the weapons naturally."

"Ah, so you wish to test their compatibility with the Ichaival Symphogear?"

"That's right. Even should none of these girls reach the required compatibility levels, it's highly likely that one or two may come close enough where a dose of the LiNKER I am working on may make it possible for them to use it–at least temporarily."

A younger man with a calm face and short silver hair adjusted his glasses. "Hopefully our test subject, here, will be able to don it. Being able to analyse an active Symphogear would be a great help to us in trying to replicate it."

"I agree, Dr. Vercingetorix." The moustached man nodded. "Though that aspect is above my head, being able to analyse even just the energy that an active Symphogear releases would be beneficial to most of our endeavours."

Ryoko, ignoring these men, turned to one of the scientists that have stood around her in silence. "You. Take this chest to Dr. Tolstaya for analysis."

The younger woman placed her hands against the cool metal of the chest that reflected the fluorescent white room in its shining silver coat. "Understood ma'am." Picking it up with the utmost care, the girl hastily exited the room.

"Now then," Straightening the purple butterfly that fluttered out of her chocolate brown hair, Ryoko Sakurai lowered her eyebrows. "Bring in the other Receptor Children as well."

"Useless. Of course the girl's useless. Useless, useless, useless! All of these children are worthless! Useless tools like them deserve death. Death, death, death, death!" A cranky man shouted as he repeatedly pounded the desk in front of him. Fire burned in his eyes as he glared at the group of children nearby.

"Calm down. Not all of them have proven completely useless." Ryoko Sakurai looked at the notes that they had taken. All eleven of the Receptor Children that had been brought in to the lab had been brought in and ordered to sing for Ichaival, but only one had any sort of connection to them. Ryoko's gaze fluttered to the small girl with blonde hair standing amongst the crowd now flinching back from the mad doctor's rambling–the one girl who managed to actually connect with the Ichaival Symphogear in any form, albeit only briefly.

The doctor with hatred in his eyes finally cooled down as he looked over the children with a renewed sense of clarity, and a cruel smile crossed his lips. A certain sin invaded his mind as he had a realization. "Although, they are all women, so perhaps... they could have another use?"

"Enough." Ryoko cut the air with her hand just mere centimetres from the man's face. Had she infused alchemical powers into her palm, she could have cut his face open as if she had been wielding a blade; the man gulped in surprise as he realized that he had just narrowly escaped death.

"Girls, return to the main room now." Dr. Ver ordered, seeing the expression on Ryoko's face flit from its neutral calm into one of annoyance. Even his own rope for some of his colleagues was nearing its end despite only being with them officially for a short time. "Your work for today is complete."

As the sun set on the world outside of the halls of the F.I.S. research facility, the Receptor Children were huddled in a large dark room–the small area closest to the thing they could call their 'home'. For the most part, the girls were all spread out in the room, claiming their own small square of the cold ground for themselves. Some girls huddled together for warmth in the cold room, but many just shivered alone.

Suddenly, a light exploded into the room as a grumbling man threw open one of the doors–it was the same scientist that had called the girls useless earlier. "I'm sure I'm not the first to have these thoughts." The lecherous man licked his lips as he looked around the room, his eyes falling on one unsuspecting girl who was far away from her peers.

"Useless, useless, useless." He whispered as he snuck through the room–his stealth techniques were useless, however, as none of the girls had even been asleep to begin with. The girl he targeted, the man believed, was the most useless of all–she possessed potential, but wasted it in the final moments.

As he reached the girl, he saw her large green eyes in the shadows staring up wide at him in confusion and fear. His crude smirk let out a windy chuckle as he threw himself down upon the girl before she had the chance to even move.

With his large hands that eclipsed the weak arms of the eight-year-old girl, the scientist pinned the girl's back to the ground. As she tried to flail about under the old man's weight, her head bounced upon the ground as he forced his mouth down towards her own. "Quiet." He hissed, a saliva trail connecting the two's lips.

"No." The girl was terrified. She struggled with what little might she had filling her malnourished body, but it was completely useless as the man began to disrobe himself. "No!" She cried again in horror, tilting her head now as she looked to her fellow Receptor Children for help.

None of the other girls in the large room moved towards her; rather, every Receptor Child gave the two a wide berth. Their eyes were filled with horror as well, more so for their own safety than that of the girl named Kirika Akatsuki.

"Let me go!" Kirika cried, but the only response she gained was a chuckle. She closed her eyes, waiting for the nightmare to end...

...and then it did.

A light flared on above her, and the man's shadow draped over Kirika like a loose curtain. The man was equally as surprised as she–and the other children–was, and he spun his head towards the door he had entered through earlier.

"Dr. Stinson." Though she could not see the source due to the man looming over her, Kirika immediately recognized the boom as the voice of the moustached scientist–perhaps the only scientist among the team that she held any minor amount of respect for.

"Ugh. You." The crude man–Dr. Stinson, whose name Kirika would hear now for the first and only time–finally let go of Kirika, and she instinctively covered up her exposed chest. It did nothing, however, to erase the lingering feeling of the man’s rough fingers pinching her chest.

Dr. Stinson stood up clumsily, his tan pants dangling around his feet. Luckily, his grey boxers covered his genitalia; the worst had yet to happen to Kirika, and she was grateful for the moustached man's sudden appearance.

The larger scientist who had invaded the moment of molestation marched across the room and grabbed Dr. Stinson's arm before he had even been able to pull up his denims. Sparing Kirika a short glance and a quick apology, the moustached man then dragged the (waddling) cursing abuser out of the room.

Kirika continued to lay on the ground in silence. She did not fix the thin hospital gown she had been wearing, nor did she attempt to even sit up. Kirika just simply stared at the ceiling with dark eyes as the lights above her faded to black. The young girl was not conscious of the fact that she was crying until she was unable to see the dark grid that creased between the ceiling tiles, everything blurring into a dark mass.

None of the other children dared approach the sobbing child–Kirika knew that she would not approach if any of them had been the one attacked instead. All of the Receptor Children were loners–they were forced to be. They all lacked pasts, and at any time they could be killed by the scientists' insane tests just as several already had. Better not form relationships that could be severed than mourn the death of one of the only people that these girls knew they would ever see–this was a motto they all, silently, held.

As Kirika's sobs transformed into snores, she questioned this status quo aloud with a gasp: "Is that really for the best?"

She realized that staying apart, being lone islands in the horrific sea of torture in which they lived, was their greatest problem. Kirika, the young girl with no memories of the world beyond the walls she was trapped between, had a realization as she fell into the world of dreams: the girls could not communicate with Ichaival because they could not even communicate with each other.

If she wanted to be useful, to never again suffer a similar torture as she had that night, she knew that she needed to do everything in her power to be seen as anything other than useless.

When Kirika was thrown awake the next day by the loud horn that blared through the compound once every 24 hours, she strangely had a smile on her face. "Good morning!" She shouted into the room as she stood up, startling both the girls who shrunk away from her and the blue-haired woman standing in the doorway.

"Umm... yes. Good morning." The old woman responded in confusion. This was the first time she had been the one to greet the Receptor Children in the morning and thus she had no idea that this was unusual. Nastassja Sergeyevna Tolstaya was not in the same division as the scientists that usually performed the experiments on the children–until today, that is–and thus she had no knowledge of the events that transpired the night before nor the personality of Kirika Akatsuki.

But she still sensed unease as she looked at the trembling girls huddled on the other side of the room. Though, again, she was unfamiliar with the relationships that may exist (but did not) between the girls, so simply just assumed this was completely normal to some extent.

Clearing her throat, Nastassja barked an order to the small figures that dotted the mostly-empty space. "Please shower and dress in the clothing provided. From today onwards, you will be under my care as we ready you all to make use of different relics."

A week later, two new girls would be brought into F.I.S.–orphans from a different country that Kirika had never even known the existence of. Their names were Serena Cadenzavna Eve and Maria Cadenzavna Eve.

"I'm Kirika. Kirika Akatsuki!" She shouted with a wide grin across her face. The girl who was meek and distant, the girl who was weak enough to be taken advantage of in the night–this Kirika was gone. No, now she was one who wanted to build relationships, create walls to protect herself from the horrors that surrounded her.

She wanted to be useful.

And when the scared pink-haired girl took Kirika's out-stretched hand, she felt as though she finally was starting to be.

. . .

"Attention." Nastassja held a riding crop in her hands–a familiar sight to the girls with wide eyes, as they would often be 'disciplined' with the black object. Nastassja's face was stoic, tense, but her eyes conveyed a much different emotion. "We have recovered a new Receptor Child. She will be brought in later today."

That was how the day started, and Kirika leapt to her feet. In the few months since Maria and Serena joined the program, more and more Receptor Children were brought in at a rapid pace. They expanded from eleven to over twenty-five–and Kirika had tried to befriend every one of them. Most refused to open up and those who had seen her original persona still tried to avoid her–the two sisters who sat against the wall beside her were the only ones she had managed to connect with, but every new addition was a new opportunity.

A few hours later, a quiet girl with long black hair and ruby-red eyes was marched into the white room, and Kirika immediately sprung to her feet to meet her. "Hello!" She waved, almost tripping over herself as she rushed to introduce herself.

Though Kirika could not see them, Serena let loose a lively, but silent, chuckle while Maria just planted her palm against her face.

When Kirika reached the newcomer, she took the girl's small hand in her own and froze for just a second. There was something different about this girl, she could tell immediately. She was not shaking in fear or confusion, not trying to back away. This girl just stood completely still, her eyes staring straight ahead.

Kirika bent down–the girls had been given new types of clothes, actual shirts and pants as opposed to hospital gowns, and on them came tags that printed each girl's name. The now-cheerful girl with emerald eyes tried to read the name printed on the newcomer's small white plaque, but could not figure out its pronunciation.

"Hey, how do you read that name?" Kirika asked with a curious little smile on her face. The black-haired girl tilted her head in response, and Kirika's smile only grew as she pointed to the name tag.

The new girl was surprised by this girl's reaction, and her eyes lit up in acknowledgment. Not so much scared of the girl but instead shy, she tilted her head away as she gave her answer. "They told me... Shirabe Tsukuyomi."

"Shirabe..." Kirika let go of the girl's hand and backed up slightly. Shirabe wondered briefly if that was the extent of this girl's curiosity, but her thoughts were invaded as Kirika's arms flew outwards. "That's a cool name! It's like a samurai or a toy! Or a samurai toy!"

With very limited knowledge of the outside world, Kirika did not actually know if her assessment was accurate, but she believed it was and that's all that truly mattered to her.

But Shirabe hung her head low in response. "I don't know if that's my real name. The scientists gave it to me because of the things I had." That stopped Kirika's heart for just a fraction of a second–it confirmed the thought that had been brewing in the back of her mind.

Kirika bounced towards Shirabe again and grabbed both of her small hands tight, swinging them up towards her own chest. "That means you're like me! I don't know my real name either. They call me Kirika Akatsuki, and my birthday is April 13th, because that's the day they brought me in."

None of the other girls, who silently watched the exchange, knew that about Kirika–in fact, very few even knew that she had been the first Receptor Child discovered. To most of them, Kirika was a distant figure who faced trauma and emerged a different person. Hearing even a small amount of Kirika's past stunned a lot of them.

Frankly, the remaining children that had been around for that terrible night believed Kirika had gone insane, and her new personality was born from whatever delusions played out in her mind like a theatre.

But Kirika's focus was squarely on Shirabe's wide eyes. "You're... Kirika Akatsuki..."

Kirika nodded with a cheerful grin on her face. "Yes. Let's be good friends Tsuko... Tsuki... Uhh... Shirabe!"

"Okay. Kirika."

Maria and Serena walked up to Shirabe, introducing themselves to the new girl as well. For the first time, a lively atmosphere filled just a small section of the chilling room, warming it ever so slightly.

The light that these four girls glowed would not last for long. Exactly one month after Shirabe met the girls that she would eventually call her found family, they would all learn together that Serena Cadenzavna Eve had died.

~ ~ ~

The ghostly projection of Finé that existed within Kirika's mind swam through these memories. By transferring her memories to Kirika without taking over her body, Finé had essentially split her soul in two and sacrificed her ability to converse with the girl's mind. To do so, she would need to forcibly extract Kirika's consciousness and steal away control of her body.

That meant that Finé had been only able to watch helpless as her memories, compounded upon Kirika's own, destroyed the young girl's brain. Not only for the sake of her own sanity, Finé wanted to genuinely help Kirika; she had not realized what effect her memories would have on the girl, and not wanted to atone for the pain she inflicted.

She could not speak–she technically did not exist–but Finé wished desperately that she could enter one of the memories she flew through and try to speak to a past version of Kirika–rearrange the bank of thoughts in a way that created more positive experiences that could mend Kirika's broken heart.

Of course, just as her plan to destroy the moon, Finé had also neglected to consider the consequences of that plan and how the manipulation of memories might both erase precious ones or simply worsen her condition as Kirika struggled to make sense of the differences.

Regardless, the eternal priestess's spirit was unable to go through with this plan anyway.

Crowded in the depths, beneath the terrors of the torture that Finé had–both directly and indirectly–put Kirika threw, she found the sparkle of light that she had been looking for: a treasured memory.

Theoretically, alchemy could be strengthened by sacrificing memories, but the issue was that a human brain unconsciously buries good memories–the ones that would generate the most power–in order to preserve them, like a chipmunk would bury food for the winter.

Finé placed her spectral (and non-existent) palm upon the shining memory. This was the one most treasured by Kirika, whether she knew it or not.

One certain April 13th reflected out into Kirika's soul.

. . .

Kirika's heart twisted in pain, and she let go of her knees to instead grip her chest. Her face contorted as the strangely warm affliction that welled up within her body.

"Why... am I crying?"

For the first time in months, Kirika's mouth released words other than the five-letters that she had been muttering excessively to the ghosts that lingered in the air around her. Ignoring the burning of her heart, Kirika touched her sunken face and was shocked as her hand came away wet.

The despair that had clouded Kirika's mind began to fade, and she suddenly took in some of the smaller details around her. The white room she stayed in was not actually white like the laboratory she had been forced to live in, but rather a very light, and pale, yellow; her memory had replaced the colour as the traumatic experiences resurfaced.

The cot was nicer than any that Kirika had ever slept in before–of course, she had only ever been given a bed when Nastassja took her in and forced her to be a member of a terrorist organization, so there was honestly little competition.

She stood up, feeling the tiles against her feet. Unlike those in the F.I.S. research lab, they were not chilling. Sure, they were slightly cold against her bare skin, but Kirika found the ground far warmer than any she was used to. With unsteady movements, her legs trembling from disuse, Kirika slowly made her way towards the tasteless goop that had been placed out for her several hours before.

"Death." She muttered, addressing no one but herself. The clouds had parted for a moment, and she had seized the chance to reach onto the small pinprick of hope that reached out.

Kirika could already feel her depressive thoughts creeping back in, the memories of tragedy flooding over this weak warmth she had been afforded, but she tried her utmost to push them aside. "Death!!" She shouted the word again as she shovelled the food into her mouth.

In order to survive, Kirika had eaten small bites of the food given to her, but never had she ever deigned to totally devour the meal. As she ate, Kirika realized just how hungry she had been...

...and then she felt the need to vomit after eating so much so suddenly. But she kept the bile down, knowing that this food–this uncomfortable feeling–was a new treat; anything to keep her mind preoccupied so she did not spiral back into madness, this was the only thought that Kirika focused on.

"Thank you." Kirika found herself saying as she finished eating, pushing the herself across the ground with a stomach nowhere near full but definitely satisfied. She tilted her head in confusion as to whom she thanked, realizing what she had said.

But the answer came to Kirika as a brief image flashed through her mind: the calm smile of the golden-eyed priestess that lived within her. Realizing that the sunlight of hope was thanks to the woman who had caused most of it, Kirika nodded another thanks despite the conflict welling up within her.

Finé had tried to kill her so many times, whether on purpose or not, yet the priestess had now saved Kirika twice. The mess of emotions she felt in response to this gave her a headache–though the lack of sleep was likely another cause for this.

For the first time in three months–no, for perhaps the first time in her entire life–Kirika closed her eyes and had a peaceful sleep. Her mental batteries began recharging past their absolute as she descended completely into a calm she had never before felt.

As Kirika drowned in dreams where she lived a normal life with Shirabe, Maria, and Serena, she was completely unaware of the chaotic air that filled the rest of the institution. There had only been four prisoners in this maximum security government prison, yet somehow one had magically disappeared as the sun crested above the horizon on a brand-new day.

#### GX Chapter 8

Chris Yukine rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Still at the Kazanari household, she had been lent a small futon to sleep on for the night, sleeping in a room alongside Kanade–who slept on a bed that she had apparently usurped from guests that did not visit–and Elfnein, who was rustling in the sleep that Chris was shocked to learn that she needed.

Neither Kanade's loud snores nor Elfnein's flailing was what woke Chris, however. No, what pulled her into the land of the waking was the sound of Yatsuhiro Kazanari's panicked voice from another room. Taking a quick glance at the small red numbers that burned upon the screen of a digital clock (which read 4:44, as if it were an omen), Chris bounced up to her feet. Slowly, she crept to the sliding door and cracked it open as quietly as she possibly could.

"When did this happen? Did the cameras pick up anything?" Yatsuhiro's voice was both low as to not awaken the others in the house, yet it felt as though he was yelling in shock.

A pause, presumably because the person on the opposite end of the phone was answering his questions. Chris could not hear Yatsuhiro sigh during his apparent-subordinate's report.

"Is it possible that..." Another pause. "No, that's not likely. Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can."

Chris panicked, not knowing what to do as she heard Yatsuhiro's footsteps approaching her. She wanted to close the door, but at the same time she wanted to confront him and learn what the context of his call was.

"I know someone's awake." Yatsuhiro's calm voice echoed from the opposite side of the wall, and Chris stiffened. Her breathing stalled as she hid behind the wall, the shadow of her form likely invisible to the man on the other side.

"And what was that about?" A voice unfamiliar to Chris sounded from somewhere down the hall, though she could not see the source. It was a powerful boom, though distinctly aged as well.

"Father? So you did hear that." Yatsuhiro seemed disappointed in himself as he replied to the man–whose name, though Chris did not know it at this point, was Fudo Kazanari.

"Both of you have been complete disappointments, continually ruining the work that I had put into this program. Though I suppose your failure, here, is less disastrous than your younger counterpart."

"Father, you know Genjuro..."

"Enough. You know as well as I that he does not deserve defence." Chris could now see Fudo somewhat as he finally reached Yatsuhiro. She flinched back at the man's long, snow-white hair that resembled a cross between Tsubasa's long locks and Genjuro's short style; they were certainly all family. "He alone tore down all that which I had created. He's lucky that I did not disown him completely."

Fudo muttered under his breath just loud enough for both Yatsuhiro and Chris to hear if they strained their on-edge ears. "Tsubasa is the only one of you that has any worth."

Yatsuhiro did not respond as Fudo seemingly walked through his son like a ghost. The old man's glare turned towards Chris for less than a fraction fo a single second as he sensed her presence, and he huffed as he realized they were being listened to. "It seems our conversation has awoken one of that useless man's guests. We're done talking for now."

Both Chris and Yatsuhiro stood in silence for a couple of seconds as the footsteps of the phantom Fudo Kazanari echoed into the darkness. Yatsuhiro sighed eventually, breaking the tense silence that hung between them. "Please, Yukine, come out. You're doing a poor job hiding yourself."

Chris chuckled quietly as she slid the door open and stepped out into the hallway, barely even turning around as she silently sealed the room with the two sleeping figures behind her.

"What are you doing?" Yatsuhiro eyed her suspiciously.

"Couldn't sleep, I guess. I heard you're having trouble."

"Yes." Yatsuhiro shook his head. "It's likely that we will have to postpone our attempts to visit Akatsuki. Though I worry how that may go over with..."

"Miku?" Yatsuhiro began to walk away, but Chris followed as she provided the man with the name of the girl he was thinking of. "I'm sure she'd understand the difficulties of what she was asking for."

Yatsuhiro nodded as a small smile crossed his face; Chris could swear that he was chuckling silently, albeit not happily. "It's more that I'm worried about what she might try to do in response."

Chris closed her eyes as she imagined the scenario.

"Sorry, Miku, we can't go visit Akatsuki." The imaginary Genjuro announced to the black-haired girl, who harrumphed and turned the other way.

With her face pushed down into a cute little pout, Chris imagined the Miku within her mind robotically sing the Holy Chant of Lancea Longini that she had heard only once before–Kara Lancea Longini zizzl–before glaring back at the tall, handsome figure with red hair. "Fine. I'll go see her myself." She muttered before blasting off into the air, not letting Genjuro get another word in.

Chris blushed as she realized the ways that she would describe her mental images of Genjuro and Miku, and shook her head to push her dream away.

"Something the matter?" Yatsuhiro asked from his side, oblivious to the internal struggle Chris was now having about her possible feelings for the apparently 'handsome' Genjuro Kazanari and 'cute' Miku Kohinata.

"Nope! No! I'm fine! Every-thing is..." Drawing out the last syllable slightly, Chris's sentence transitioned into a deep inhale. She then concluded her thought, exhaling to–hopefully for real this time–clear her mind. "Great."

But Yatsuhiro was somewhat sceptical, and raised an eyebrow at her panic. Seeing this, Chris hurriedly tried to move back to the topic at hand. "So, what's the problem?"

"Oh, yes. You, Yukine, are technically a civilian, so I shouldn't be sharing this with you, but considering your... unique circumstances and connection to the girls, I imagine I can trust the two of you with this information."

"Yes, you... wait. The two of huh?" Chris flailed her head around searching for the apparent second figure who Yatsuhiro was aware of. She did not find it on her own however, as it was only when they began speaking again did Chris finally make out the shadowy figure lurking in the courtyard that the two were now overlooking from one of the mansion's many exits.

"I was hoping you were not as sharp as Grandfather." Tsubasa grunted, stepping out of her hiding place and into the moonlight. For the first time, Chris looked at the blue-haired idol without her hair put up into a ponytail; Tsubasa's long blue locks flowed down the length of her back freely, swinging side to side as the swordswoman walked towards the two who had just exited the building. "It seems I was mistaken."

"Wait. How long were you waiting there?" Chris wondered aloud. "I thought you went to sleep?"

"That's none of your concern." With an annoyed grunt, Tsubasa turned her frustrated glance into a cool glare as she faced her father. "What is the problem?"

"Before I tell you–both of you–I want you both to promise me something. Especially you, Tsubasa." Yatsuhiro returned his daughter's glare not with one of his own, but instead sad eyes that told Chris that he genuinely cared for the girl he was looking at–and who blatantly ignored these feelings. "At least wait to act until we have the full details."

"So I take it Elfy's master's done something?" Both Tsubasa and Chris had picked up on the subtext of Yatsuhiro's words, but it was the latter who asked the question aloud.

"Assuming what that Elfnein said was true, then our enemy would out-number us at five to three–" Chris briefly chimed in to readjust the second number to 'four,' counting the currently-absent Miku, but Tsubasa did not halt her analysis of the situation. "Plus we currently lack extensive knowledge on their abilities–barring what Kanade and I have experienced first-hand. It would be suicidal taking them on directly in our current state."

As a beat of silence passed between the three, Chris leaned in towards Yatsuhiro and whispered something. "I think that's the closest you're gonna get to a promise, old man."

Yatsuhiro responded silently with a slow nod and a sigh, then finally took the time to reveal the situation he had been hiding. "The girl named Shirabe Tsukuyomi has gone missing. Given that she and Maria Cadenzavna Eve share a cell and only one of them has vanished, we can rule out a traditional manner of escape. More than likely, she was kidnapped by this Carol."

"Wait, why do the two of them get to share a cell? What about Akatsuki?" Chris ignored the fact that one of the girls mysteriously disappeared–and the many gruesome possible fates that she may have faced at the hands of a crazed alchemist wanting to destroy the world–and instead focused upon the off-hand comment about the separation of the girls. This surprised Tsubasa to some extent, who expected a more fiery result from Chris Yukine.

"The residence where they are being kept was only designed to house up to three prisoners at once due to..." He cleared his throat, cutting that issue short and instead got straight to the point. "The government's wariness of Finé prompted them to put Akatsuki in her own cell."

Tsubasa tilted her head. "That seems counterintuitive. If Akatsuki's mind has been fully usurped by Finé, leaving her completely alone would only allow her to concoct new plans. It would have made more sense to keep all three of the F.I.S. women in one cell in order to prevent any planning."

"I agree, but I'm ultimately not the one making the decisions." Yatsuhiro took off his glasses and, with a white cloth he produced from somewhere within the green yukata he wore, began to clean the smudged lenses. "Back to the problem at hand: the security footage of the moment that Tsukuyomi disappeared appears to be edited out, but no alterations have been made to the footage."

"So you have the moment of her disappearance on camera?" Chris asked. "You wouldn't..."

Placing his glasses back on his face, Yatsuhiro reached once more into his yukata and pulled out a large tablet–where he kept all of this, Chris and Tsubasa were both unsure. Before Chris had even fully formulated the question, Yatsuhiro handed her the small device.

"Oh so this is it, then?" Chris tapped on the static image that was present on the illuminated screen and a partial circle appeared within it. As this icon spun for a moment, Tsubasa slipped in-between Chris and her father in order to see the footage for herself.

The video began to play, and both Chris and Tsubasa were surprised to learn that the security team at the prison recorded both visual and audio data; though, as the scene they watched for a couple of seconds just showed Maria and Shirabe sitting on the ground with their backs to the wall in sleep, there was little sound but the dull hum of electricity.

Suddenly there was a very soft noise–what sounded like a large coin hitting a metal flooring in a silent room. It was barely audible in the footage, but Tsubasa and Chris both assumed that it must have been louder in-person as both Maria and Shirabe instantly woke up. The two girls were on their feet as their fight-or-flight instincts took over.

"What was that?" Maria asked. Her voice was hoarse–a far cry from one an idol should possess–and all parties noticed that both of the F.I.S. girls looked far more frail than the confident terrorists they had fought both against and with three months ago.

"A coin?" Shirabe tilted her head as she gave her answer, scanning the very dimly-lit room. Unlike Maria, Shirabe's voice sounded normal to the girls, though they wondered if the fact that she always spoke quietly managed to mask any sort of weakness. "I don't see anything." Shirabe reported after a moment.

"We both heard it, so it couldn't have been our imaginations." On shaky feet, Maria walked over to the door and pressed her ear against it. "I don't hear anything on the other side."

When Maria turned her gaze back to Shirabe, both the pink-haired girl in the footage and the two girls now looking through this window in the past all wore shocked expressions. Shirabe had been in mid-step, walking towards Maria, when she disappeared. There was no noise, no flashy effects. It looked as if someone had simply deleted her from existence.

Tsubasa recalled footage she had seen in the past–when Finé had taken Miku away through alchemical teleportation. "Finé's teleportation powers seemed to have a sort of charge up mechanic. The effected parties would slowly sink into the ground as a rune appeared beneath them, if I remember correctly."

"So that's not alchemical?" Yatsuhiro shook his head, as if answering his own question.

"Maybe it's just, like, super-powered alchemy?" Chris prompted. She tapped the screen and dragged the slider that denoted the video's current position back a few short moments; on the screen, Shirabe's random disappearance replayed once more. "I don't know a lot about alchemy, but Finé always relied on man-made tools whenever she could. Her pink shield... thing, and teleporting were really the only times I ever saw her use any mystical magic shit. And that dragon thing, I guess." Chris scratched her head, pulling back the time slider as her hand dropped back down.

"So, what you're saying is that Finé was a poor alchemist?" Tsubasa asked, not really sure what Chris's point entirely was.

"No, her shield thing was pretty strong. She'd used it to..." Chris looked up with a weak smile and sad eyes that told Tsubasa that she did not want to say any more. "I don't think Finé was a bad alchemist, I just don't think she was a great one–like she was just imitating others."

"So the teleportation spell Finé used back then may have been an attempt to recreate this technique." Tsubasa nodded, watching as Shirabe continued to disappear from the footage as Chris replayed that moment.

"There's also the possibility that she wasn't teleported, I guess." Chris suggested. This time, as Shirabe disappeared, Chris instead paused the video instead of dragging the slider back. "If this Carol person can create a homunculus, a couple of robots, and something that could destroy the planet, then who knows what she could do. I mean, doesn't this seem weird to you, besides her disappearance?"

"Weird in what way?" Yatsuhiro asked, very interested in Chris's ramblings.

Now, Chris's slim finger dragged the footage back once more. Instead of pressing play, she instead tapped on the period key to go through the video frame-by-frame. "Keep an eye on Tsukuyomi, right." Chris tapped quickly until the frame after Shirabe's disappearance. Then, with the comma key, she backtracked two and pointed under Shirabe's feet. "Look at that."

"I don't see anything." Both Kazanari family members made the exact same comment simultaneously, annoying both Tsubasa and the one trying to make a point.

Chris backed up one more frame. "Okay, you can see the ground here, right? White tiles?" Then she went back to the frame that she had pointed to before. "Now the ground seems to be slightly more grey in this frame... and then back to white in the next one."

Neither Tsubasa nor her father could tell the difference, so Chris went back and forth between two frames really quickly several times. Sure enough, Tsubasa eventually made a noise as she understood. "Incredible. Yukine, how did you notice that at normal speed?"

"Huh? I don't know. It just looked weird to me."

"Is it not possible this is just an issue with the footage?" Yatsuhiro brought up the same question that Tsubasa had wanted to ask–once again frustrating the blue-haired girl who disliked how similar the two of them seem to be.

"No, because then we'd be seeing similar spots in other frames." Chris shrugged, handing the tablet back to Yatsuhiro. "So I've got two ideas: one, the darkening of the tile was a shadow of something the video couldn't record; or the teleportation rune that Finé used appeared under Tsukuyomi, but disappeared so quickly that the footage couldn't capture it in time."

"Both of those theories are also possible..." Tsubasa sighed, but then pointed out something that Chris had been overlooking. "But nothing you've suggested has explained the sound that woke them up, or its source."

"Huh? I think that was just a bolt falling out of that bed. I don't know why they weren't using it, but it's probably good that they weren't."

Yatsuhiro played back the footage, this time focusing on the bed. Though Shirabe had scanned the room, the low lighting coupled with the bolt falling into the bed's shadow likely caused her to overlook it. Even looking under the bed during the entire clip, Yatushiro had a very difficult time seeing the bolt–but it was certainly there. "Incredible. It's actually there." The old man marvelled Chris's attentiveness. "How did you notice that?"

"If I wasn't good at picking up small details, do you really think I'd be standing here right now?" Chris had a cocky smile on her face as she said this...

"Even though you couldn't sense my presence at all earlier?"

...Before Tsubasa's words pierced her heart like a thrown knife. Chris's smile faded, replaced in an instant by an angry scowl as her face was lit ablaze. "Listen, I'm good at seeing what's directly in front of me, okay! That's more than I can say about you!"

"Enough, you two." Yatsuhiro curtly cut in-between the two girls. "I need to go assist in the investigation."

"I'm coming with you." Both girls turned their hostile attention to the man and shouted at once. Yatsuhiro just nodded in response.

"I knew you'd try to, regardless of my answer. Come on, let's go."

The car ride was completely silently–in part due to the fact that the compound they were driving to was top secret and thus Chris and–to her surprise–Tsubasa both needed to be blindfolded for the duration of the trip. With no way to comment on the scenery around them, that left the socially awkward trio to all turn to their inward thoughts.

Though she would never admit it aloud in their company, Chris was genuinely quite uncomfortable with the silence that had suffocated them throughout their roughly hour-long trip; from Chris's experience, silence always preceded terror.

"We've arrived." Yatsuhiro eventually announced as the car's low hum silenced. Before Yatsuhiro's next sentence exited his mouth, Chris had already reached up to her face and groped at the white cloth tied over her eyes. "You're free to take off your blindfolds now."

. . .

Kirika was startled awake by a sound she never expected to ever hear: the jingling of metal as the thick door of her cell was unlocked. Not sure what to do, Kirika's instincts told her to scurry back away from the cell–though she should have been happy, her fractured mental state told her something else was wrong.

And she was quite right.

The heavy door slid open with a loud groan as the hinges adjusted to being useful for the first time in three months. Without even a moment of peace, a burly man stomped through and pushed his way through the cell's stale barrier towards Kirika. "What the fuck did you do, Finé?" He grunted in a burly voice as he closed in on her.

Kirika did not understand the question, and stayed completely silent. She involuntarily shook in confusion and fear at the sudden appearance of this yelling man, looking up at his face with questioning eyes.

When the young girl offered no answer to his question, the man's already-angry face exploded red as his impatient fury only heightened. With his large hand, the man grabbed Kirika's collar and roughly pulled her up.

Already unable to breathe as the man's grip choked her, Kirika's vision spun as her body was pushed against the wall. Her head bounced against the wall, hard, and dots poked holes in the image of the man's angry face as he barked at her. Even though he spat in his face as he asked questions, Kirika could not hear the man's cries.

Realizing the situation that she was now in, Kirika's body tensed for a moment as she remembered the angered cries of the lecherous Dr. Stinson, and what came later that day. Her heart began palpitate wildly as a mixture of fear, anger, and hatred overcame her.

She was no longer a useless little girl: Kirika was a Symphogear wielder; she possessed the memories of the woman who has existed throughout the entirety of human history; and, above all, she was Kirika Akatsuki. She had a family now–a family she would do anything to see once again.

Before she realized what she was doing, Kirika saw Finé's impenetrable barrier–Asgard–appear in her vision. The red wall of light separated the limp Kirika from the man who had–now previously–held her up...

A man who was now screaming in pain.

Kirika's unconscious use of Asgard formed a wall only millimetres from her face, which sliced right through the man's arm as he held her against the wall. The man's hand and the stump of bloody flesh attached to it splashed to the ground, and even Kirika flinched back in shock.

"What the fuck did you just do to me, bitch?" The man called. His remaining hand was being washed by a waterfall of blood as he gripped the side of the stump that was once attached to a part of his body. Kirika almost vomited as she saw the muscles and bone in the hole that she–She!–had cut through his body like a guillotine.

The man did not wait for an answer, instead limping out of the room as he groaned in pain. "I'll remember this, you asshole." He cried back towards Kirika as he disappeared.

But he did not close the door.

Composing herself, and wanting to ignore the gore that now covered the floor in front of her, Kirika took in a deep breath of air tinged with the iron scent of blood. As she exhaled this large intake of air, Kirika slapped herself on the cheeks and pumped herself up–as bad as it was, she knew she needed to take advantage of the situation offered to her. "Let's get going, death."

. . .

"Sir! Sir!" As he entered the facility, Yatushiro was immediately swarmed by the people who worked within it. Chris and Tsubasa were pushed aside as the crowd of subordinates flooded around their boss, hounding him with every possible question regarding their current situation.

"Hey, Tsubasa..." Chris whispered. "Think we should just go?"

The girl with sapphire eyes nodded, but pointed towards a nearby door. "It seems we're on the same page, Yukine, but I doubt we'll get too far. It seems many of these doors possess card..." Tsubasa sighed, placing a hand to her head. "You stole a card already, didn't you?"

Chris turned her head away. "What do you take me for? A thief?" Despite her response to the accusation, she had a smile on her face. Revealing the hand that had been hiding behind her back, Chris twirled a white card in her fingers. "But, yeah. Some guy bumped into me and I just happened to catch one as it fell off his coat."

"I must admit: you are quite incredible, with your crafty nature and perception."

"I'm glad you're finally seeing how great I am." Chris waved the card around. "Now let's go."

Chris crept to the door on quiet feet, and slid the card over the reader. Waving Tsubasa over to her, the two girls dashed through the now-open entryway and it hissed closed behind them.

"Oh right." Chris reached into her pocket and pulled out a small red crystal–a Symphogear pendant. The girl with the red hair tossed it to Tsubasa. "Elfy finished her work on your Symphogear."

Tsubasa caught it out of the air with a determined look in her eye, and Chris nodded as she slipped her own Symphogear pendant over her neck. "It's a good thing you were the one awake." Chris chuckled, breaking the serious atmosphere. "Elfy fell asleep before she could finish Kanade's."

The two girls ran through the labyrinth of hallways. They had no idea where they were going, but they had a goal in mind: they wanted to find Maria and Kirika. Though not every door required the card that Chris had swiped, they learned quickly that Tsubasa's initial thought was correct–they would not have travelled far without the pass, as most of the doors that weren't locked simply led to other hallways where every door was.

But every hallway looked the same to them. "How big is this place, anyway?" Chris sighed as she came across another locked door. "I thought your pops said it was only built to house three people?"

"Knowing him, he likely told us only a fraction of the truth behind this building." Tsubasa looked around. "What's very curious is the lack of personnel."

"Oh yeah, you're right." Chris realized as she pulled out her card key once more. Her gaze glued to their surroundings, she kept a vigilant watch for the people that they have yet to run into. "We haven't seen anyone, huh?"

As Chris unlocked the door, she turned to run through the opening. Tsubasa let out a noise, and Chris saw a panicked look cross her face for a moment before she realized why.

"Hey, watch out, death!"

"Akatsuki?"

Kirika, who similarly was not watching her surroundings and would likely have just run into a locked door if not for Chris, had collided with the girl with white hair and now the two sat on the ground in confusion; behind them, Tsubasa had her hand on her head as she looked down in disappointment.

"Wait, what?" Kirika blinked as she realized who she had run into. "What are you doing here?"

"Better question: what are you doing? I thought you were imprisoned." Tsubasa countered, not offering an answer of her own.

"Yeah, I may have just cut off a guard's hand, death."

"You what?" Chris pulled herself to her feet and–grabbing Kirika by the shoulders–literally lifted her up to her own. "Why?"

"Never mind that, death! What's going on? This guy burst into my cell and started screaming at me and now no one else is around."

"I feel as though you left out some crucial details." Tsubasa shook her head with a sigh. "Akatsuki, do you know where Maria is being held?"

"I've been looking for someone who does, death. Most of the doors are locked. But if you can open them up, then we should be able to find her, death! And Shirabe, too!"

Chris sucked in a cold breath through her teeth. "Right. About that..."

. . .

Maria sat in a wooden chair across from a thin man in a dark blue suit. She leaned on her hand, looking at the blank wall silence as the man sighed beside her. "Alright, again, I need..."

"Like I've told you, I have no idea what happened to Shirabe. Her disappearance is just as shocking to me as you." Maria shot a glare at the man, and he stiffened in his seat. He was not threatening, nor even too pushy; he was a weeny little man doing nothing more than annoying Maria.

The silence that fell upon the two was quickly torn asunder as the door flew open. A man with only one hand–the other now mummified with slick red bandages–stomped in, a sword-like look piercing Maria. The man who had been interrogating the pink-haired idol stood up in protest at the newcomer's appearance, but a single look forced him to sit back down.

"You, bitch." He kicked the table, knocking it forwards a short distance to nudge Maria. "One of your friends disappears, another cuts off my hand. What the fuck is wrong with you crazy freaks?"

At the mention of Kirika being the cause of the man's recent injury, Maria stood up. "What did you do to Kirika?"

The man let out a cursed chuckle and licked his lips. Maria noticed a lusty look in the man's eyes as he looked the pink-haired woman up and down; a look of utter disgust crossed Maria's face as she seized the man up. "I was going to let her feel my wrath, but now I'm going to force you to... appease me, in her place."

"Now, hold on there!" The weeny man held his hands up. "Now's not the time to fight! We're not going to–"

"Shut the fuck up!" The man punched the one beside him with the stub of his right arm, red blood painting the interrogator's face as he stumbled back towards the wall behind him. With him out of the way, he turned his gaze back to Maria. "And you..."

But Maria was not letting him have his way. Leaning over the table, she mimicked the same motion that she had just watched and slugged the large man across the face. Unlike the weak interrogator–who now slumped against the ground–the large man just spat towards Maria as he absorbed the blow. "You really are a bitch." He growled, raising his hand above his head.

"Get away from her, death!"

At the familiar voice, the man spun towards the door with wild eyes. "You!" He cursed under his breath at the sight of Kirika running down the hall towards him, Tsubasa and Chris hot on her heels.

"If you do anything to Maria...!" Kirika leapt into the air and transitioned into a kick, landing straight against the man's chest. Taking the full weight of the weakened teenager, the man stumbled back and tripped over the man sitting on the ground.

"Nice kick." Tsubasa remarked, catching up to Kirika–without Ame no Habakiri's agility boost, she was surprised to see that the younger blonde girl was faster than her.

"Thanks, death." Kirika, who had fallen to the ground after bouncing off the man, slowly pulled herself back up. Her opponent was doing something similar, trying to steady himself by grasping the wall with his one remaining hand.

"Let's get out of here." Maria hopped over the table and gave the order to her friend. Turning to the man, who was still righting himself, Maria threw another punch–this time embedding her fist into his gut. She immediately followed up by kicking his groin, forcing him to collapse to the ground.

"Damn." Chris and Kirika said in chorus, though the latter added her trademark word to the end of her remark. Tsubasa let out an impressed chuckle as she just smiled.

Maria, however, was less patient, knowing that the man likely wasn't out for good. "You two have a lot of explaining to do." Maria said to Chris and Tsubasa as she pushed her way towards the door. Getting a nod from the white-haired girl, she responded with her own as they all ran off.

"Alright." Tsubasa's one word replaced the pitter-patter sound of four sets of feet as the girls all ran through the halls. "Do you remember which way we came from, Yukine?"

"Nope. But I've got a plan for our exit." Chris clicked her tongue.

"Don't tell me..." Maria realized immediately what that meant, and Tsubasa understood as the other idol vocalized her (unheard) complaint. Before Maria's words even fell upon Chris's ears, she was already singing.

*Killter Ichaival tron*

"Oh no." Maria, Tsubasa, and Kirika all stopped in their tracks as the white light of the Symphogear engulfed Chris's body. They took a step back together as the cocky girl immediately readied the missile launchers on her hips.

"Duck, death!" Kirika shouted, but her cry was too late. As the final syllable entered the air of the hallway, it was immediately drowned out by the explosive burst of rockets being shot towards the wall in front of them.

#### GX Chapter 9

 “Welcome to my abode, the Château de Tiffauges. Bow before the might of the all powerful alchemist, the murderer of miracles, Carol Malus Dienheim!”
Carol stood on her throne with her arms crossed, an angry expression on her face as she looked down her nose at the confused girl with loose black hair who was being held in a block of ice at the base of the steps. Shirabe looked up at the smaller girl who held her captive with a bored expression on her face, a stark contrast to the doll in a blue dress behind her, who was trying to stifle her giggling.
“Master, you’re so powerful~” Garie managed to squeak out, a wide smile plastered upon her face. Upon realizing that Garie had been playing her in forcing her to act all high and mighty, a blush crept over Carol’s cheeks as she took her seat.
Shirabe, not having any idea of what was going on, just blinked in silence. She was not scared–as if she had blinked, Shirabe suddenly found herself in a large dark room and was immediately encased from the neck-down within a frozen crystal. Now, with this child lording down upon her, Shirabe couldn’t help but be more confused than anything.
But the girl’s introduction–and the doll’s subsequent comment–told Shirabe some important bits of information: Shirabe was trapped by an alchemist named Carol Malus Dienheim; locked in a place known as Château de Tiffauges; and the doll served this Carol.
“This girl doesn’t seem as scared as I expected her to be.” A voice came from Shirabe’s left, but she couldn’t see the Autoscorer named Phara Suyūf from the position she was trapped in.
“She looks bored, just like me.” A different, higher-pitched voice that reminded Shirabe slightly of Kirika, rang out from her right. “Master, can I kill her yet?”
“Silence, all of you!” Carol, a vein bulging out of her forehead, thrust her hand out over the room before her, immediately ending all of the dolls’ chattering. Then, leaning her head over her shoulder as if bored, Carol sighed. “Shirabe Tsukuyomi, I’ve brought you here to make you a proposition.”
Shirabe blinked, still remaining silent. When Carol did not get any response–such as the question of how she knew Shirabe’s name–she glanced down at the smiling Autoscorer who stood by the iceberg’s side. “Garie, you didn’t freeze her vocal cords, did you?”
“No, master. As you asked, I only froze her in place. She’s remaining silent of her own accord.”
“Hmph. Very well. Since you seem to lack interest in your current situation, then surely this will make you more willing to engage with me.” Carol snapped her fingers, ripping open a tear in reality in front of her face. In the window that appeared, everyone in the room could see Sakuya Fujitaka tied up with Leiur Darāhim flipping a golden coin as she kept an eye on him from a short distance away. “I have trapped here one of your Sector Two associates. Surely you would want to ensure his safety, no?”
Shirabe tilted her head. “I don’t know who that is. I don’t work for Sector Two.”
Carol’s face transformed into a cherry once more, and she slammed her hand on the arm of the chair she sat in with enough force to dent the wood. “What? You mean that idiot child provided me with false information?” Cursing under her breath, she leaned forwards. “You are a Symphogear wielder, correct?”
“I suppose so.”
The so-called ‘murderer of miracles’ pinched her forehead with the entirety of her left hand, but said nothing. After a moment, taking a few beats to think as the Autoscorers looked at each other in confusion, Carol finally let out a deep breath. “Kirika Akatsuki. The two of you are close, correct?”
Shirabe said nothing, but the name of her friend caused a light to flash behind her eyes. Carol noticed this and leaned forwards. “So that got your attention, then.” She muttered under her breath. Then, raising her voice, Carol shouted into the large room. “Shirabe Tsukuyomi, your friend–no, your sister–now harbours the spirit of the heartless, heretical miracle Finé. What if I told you that, with my help, we can destroy that part of your friend and return her to how she used to be.”
Shirabe’s heart twitched.

~ ~ ~

 “Maria... I...” Shirabe whispered, but chose not to continue her thought.
The two sat in their cold cell, locked away from the outside world. A series of dim lights hummed overhead, just as they had every day for the three weeks they had now been locked here. Back to back the two Symphogear wielders huddled, staring at opposite walls as they were locked in their tangled thoughts.
“You’re worried about Kirika, right?” Maria could tell what she was thinking easily–she, after all, was also worried for their missing friend. But as Shirabe’s back stiffened at the mention of Kirika’s name, Maria had second thoughts.
Slowly, Shirabe pulled herself away from Maria with just her legs, before kicking at the ground to spin herself around. Maria tilted herself onto her side so that the two could speak face-to-face. “Can I admit something to you?” Shirabe fiddled with a thin strand of her long black hair that was no longer being tied into twintails.
“Of course, Shirabe.”
“I’m scared of Kirika, now.”
That shocked Maria to some extent, but she also felt as though she understood why. But, to confirm the reason, she felt the need to ask. “It’s because of Finé, right?”
Shirabe’s head shook, and Maria now noticed that the girl’s shoulders–no, her entire, small body–was trembling slightly. Reaching out with her own long arms, Maria took hold of Shirabe, pulling her into an embrace as she patted the girl’s black hair. “It’s okay. She’s Kirika–the Kirika we’ve always known.”
“Maria... I can tell you’re saying that for your sake, not mine.”
Her hand froze and her eyes widened; Maria realized that she, too, was fearful of the woman who had been responsible for her sister’s death and her potential influence on the girl she considered family.
“Finé’s eyes... they’re terrifying.” Shirabe admitted. “And now Kirika has one. It makes me want to...”
“Find some way to bring her back to normal?” Maria finished the idea. “You know, Shirabe, when Kirika was able to throw out information that she shouldn’t have known, even I felt a bit shaken.”
“It’s weird, knowing you’re human too.” Shirabe smiled.
Maria was confused at her words, and a bit of anger boiled beneath her skin. “What do you two see me as?” Maria cried out in surprise, not realizing how loudly her voice had been until Shirabe flinched at the shout.
“Maria is Maria, just like Shirabe is Shirabe.” Shirabe smiled. The girl closed her eyes, and her smile shrunk into sadness. “But I don’t know if Kirika is Kirika any more.”
“Shirabe... I think the Kirika we care about is the Kirika that still exists inside. She’s just got...” Maria tilted her head. “A little more going on, now? I guess?”
“You’re not good at this.” Shirabe chuckled.
“Let’s try to have this conversation again once we get some actual sleep, okay?” Maria’s own giggled echoed in chorus with the girl whose head she hugged close to her chest. “I think we just have to trust in Kirika for now.”
Shirabe wanted to agree, but she did not feel as though she could. It wasn’t as though she didn’t trust Kirika–the girl who had reached out her hand to her in a monochrome world where everyone shrunk away from each other; it was that her fear and distrust of Finé was just as strong. For all Shirabe knew, the Kirika she knew was totally gone, and what remained now was just the priestess playing a role on the stage of life.
Maria pet Shirabe’s head again before singing a song.

*Ringo wa ukanda osora ni…*
*Ringo wa okkochita jibeta ni…*

*Hoshi ga umarete uta ga umarete*
*Ruru ameru wa waratta tokoshie to*
*Hoshi ga kisu shite uta ga nemutte*

*Kaeru toko wa doko deshō…?*
*Kaeru toko wa doko deshō…?*

*Ringo wa okkochita jibeta ni…*
*Ringo wa ukanda osora ni…*

~ ~ ~

 “So, Shirabe Tsukuyomi, what do you say? Would you care to work with me, to achieve our respective goals?” Carol reached out her hand and Shirabe felt a strange sense of nostalgia. The scene of Kirika doing the same for her replayed in Shirabe’s mind, and she felt the urge to take the alchemist’s hand.
“Can you really help me turn Kirika back to normal?” Shirabe’s voice was small and quiet, though the girl several metres above her seemed to hear the question perfectly.
“My goal as an alchemist is to analyse the world and destroy the miracles that only serve to bring pain. If I wanted to face my papa once again, what good would it do to leave a heinous beast like Finé, whose very existence in this modern age is a miracle, to her own devices?” Garie shook her head from beside Shirabe, and Carol realized that maybe she had done the opposite of convincing the girl by revealing her goals. “I aim to murder miracles, not the ones who are hurt by it. In severing Finé from your friend, I promise I will do everything in my power to keep Kirika Akatsuki perfectly safe.”
Shirabe closed her eyes as she pondered the deal.
“Ah right, you’d probably be useless in such a state, anyway.” Carol flipped her hand. “Phara, retrieve the Shul Shagana Symphogear. It is likely that words alone are not enough to convince this girl.”
“Understood, master.” Phara bowed and promptly disappeared; Shirabe was completely unaware of her teleportation, however, as it was silent and the girl was out of her limited range of view.
“Now, as for those other ones.” Carol muttered under her breath. “Shirabe Tsukuyomi, you said that you do not care for the members of Sector Two?”
Shirabe’s eyes shot open in surprise. “Huh? I suppose not.”
“Very well. Micha, you’re free to go fight those two Symphogear wielders now–Chris Yukine and Tsubasa Kazanari. In order to assist in exorcising Finé, we will require their power.” Carol was about to send off the eager Autoscorer, who hopped up into a clap at the mention of her name, but paused for a moment first. “But remember–do not harm the friends of our new ally, only the two I mentioned. The ones with blonde and pink hair must remain safe at all costs. And take Leiur with you; we have no need for that man any longer.”
“Okey-dokey, master!” Micha smiled happily and performed a salute with one of her large bear paw-like hands. While Phara teleported out of the room with alchemy, Micha instead bounced towards the door as her arms flailed behind her. “Leiur~ we have orders!”
“What will you do with him?” Garie questioned, a shark-toothed grin eclipsing her cheeks as Micha’s cries for Leiur disappeared into a quiet echo. “Shall I dispose of him?”
“No, he is worthless to us. Remove all memories of his time here and send him back to work. As you said before, the memories he possesses would generate little power for our cause. Any unnecessary deaths should be avoided.”
Garie sneered at that last comment–she knew it wasn’t true, and only something her master was saying in order to make her seem more righteous in the presence of a tool she wished to sway to her side, but it struck a nerve with Garie. “Fine.” Then, with a snap of her fingers, the icy prison that held Shirabe to the ground crumbled away into nothingness, and the girl who had been floating within it slumped to the ground in shock. “Then, I suppose I’ll be going too, master.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Carol waved Garie away, who disappeared into nothingness as the hall fell back into silence.

 Shirabe sat on the ground, looking around in confusion as she tried to seriously consider the deal that had been proposed to her. She knew, of course, that it could be disastrous to place her trust in an alchemist–Finé was one, too, after all–but this Carol seemed to generally have good intentions to some extent.
Though Shirabe was aware that she was likely being used for some greater purpose, the idea of turning Kirika back into the girl she loved overpowered any doubts she held.
“No offence, but you look pathetic.” Carol broke through Shirabe’s thoughts with a cruel growl. “Didn’t those Japanese idiots feed you at all?”
Shirabe did not want to mention that Carol looked barely any more filled out than she did, but bit her tongue. The food that they had given her in the prison was apparently designed specifically to provide essential nutrients, but it did not seem to provide enough nor did it have any taste or texture; rarely was Shirabe able to stomach more than half of it.
It was something, Shirabe noted, that the food that she had been given was worse than that F.I.S. provided her growing up. Heck, she even preferred being a terrorist for that short period of time, when they were living off decades-old MRE’s (Meals, Ready-to-Eat) that they had taken from the American government.
Her stomach grumbled. “You must be hungry.” Carol sighed, acknowledging the noise that had made Shirabe unconsciously grip her belly.
What Carol wasn’t mentioning was that she, too, was hungry. Her body was still human–halting the ageing process kept her body just as physically weak as the child she had been all those years ago–though she could usually satiate hunger with alchemical nonsense. Still, Carol did need to eat every once and a while; and her stomach growled, too, as she thought about it.
Shirabe looked up at the alchemist, who drummed the now-dented arm of her throne with her fingers. Carol begrudgingly poked the air and spoke into a small hole that appeared at the end of her finger. “Garie, pick us up some food.”
“You know, I still haven’t decided whether I’ll take you up on your offer.” Shirabe pointed out, and Carol narrowed her eyes at the comment.
“Should you reject my offer, then the two of us would likely become enemies. However, for now, you are not yet a friend or foe. I have nothing to lose by feeding you.”
Shirabe was shocked at the ways of this girl. Even should Shirabe eventually become an enemy of hers, Carol was still willing to go out of her way to provide sustenance–or have one of her servants do so, at least; and for someone she had just met, no less.
‘Human’ is the word Shirabe wanted to use to describe Carol’s actions, and it was an adjective that she would never have even considered giving to many of the people she had met before. Nastassja and Ver forced Shirabe and her friends into their service; and Finé and her scientists performed experiment after experiment on them, as well.
“I could cook us something.” Shirabe offered. “If you’d let me.”
“Considering how little I trust Garie to actually get us anything edible, I’d love to take you up on that offer. But, unfortunately, I built this structure solely to further my goals; it doesn’t have a kitchen.” Carol placed her chin upon the hand she balanced on the elbow that rested upon the chair’s arm. Then, whispering so that Shirabe couldn’t hear, Carol exhaled a short comment. “Besides, you wouldn’t be as good a cook as my papa, anyway.”

. . .

 Phara stood face-to-face with Leiur, her eyes wide in shock at the sudden appearance of two of her fellow Autoscorers in front of her. “Hello there.” The green woman composed herself with a greeting.
“Phara! Phara! Master’s letting us fight!” Micha hopped up and down a short distance beside them, her giant, sharped claws protruding from her massive hands splayed out with no care in the world.
Phara smiled. “Ah, have fun, then, Micha. I’m sure you’ll do splendid.”
“Remember Micha.” Leiur turned to the shorter girl by spinning upon her heels. “Our only targets are the wielders of Ichaival and Ame no Habakiri.”
“Oh, that’s...” Phara muttered, becoming the centre of attention in their misshapen triangle. Exhaling with a slight nod, she continued. “The two of them just left, alongside a man with grey hair.”
Leiur put her hand to her head. “In that case, we must find out where they intend to go.” She glanced over her shoulder at Phara, expecting her associate to provide an answer to that.
“The prison that our master took interest in earlier, I believe. The man they left with seemed to be in charge of that operation.”
“Leiur! Let’s go! If we run fast then we could catch up to them!” Micha pushed herself up to Leiur, who took a step back instinctively.
“No, Micha. Let us go set up a trap for them, first.” Seeing the flash of disappointment cross Micha’s child-like face, Leiur continued. “It would make our battle all the more... fun, I suppose.”
“Ooh! Okay!”
“Well, then, I bid you two farewell.” Phara nodded with a wave of her arm, walking past the two Autoscorers towards the walls of the mansion they stood outside of. She had her own goal to achieve for her master, and she was going to see it through.

. . .

 “Yukine.” Maria eyebrow twitched as she struggled to keep her cool and stifle the anger welling up within her. The tone of her voice gave away her true emotions, and the two girls standing beside her–Tsubasa Kazanari and Kirika Akatsuki–took a step back.
Chris Yukine stood in front of them, looking through a newly-carved tunnel of destruction that she created with her missiles. Luckily, none of the people working in the facility were harmed, but she could see some poking their heads into the destruction as they assessed the situation.
“That was a bit stronger than I was expecting.” Even Chris was surprised at the chaos she caused.
“That was extremely dangerous. Even disregarding the fact that you could have harmed others, the structure may have collapsed on us if you destroyed any load-bearing elements.”
“Regardless.” Tsubasa put her hand on Maria’s shoulder, and the blue-hair idol noticed now just how weakened the confinement had made both Maria and Kirika. “She gave us an exit. Let’s go before anyone tries to stop us.”
Maria sighed but could not disagree with the idea. “Yes. Let’s go.”
The group all dashed through the debris that Chris’s flurry of bullets and missiles had created. Each girl separately noticed how strong Ichaival truly was (or how poor the construction had been) through their cautious marathon; the weapons had torn apart the building like the enforced walls were made of paper, utterly obliterating so much of the labyrinth that the girls had dashed through earlier.

 As they reached the end of the corridor, the four girls were all stopped in their tracks by a familiar voice from behind. “You bitches better stop right there.”
Kirika was the first to turn around, and she was glad she did. Her eyes wide, she threw up her hands and projected the pink wall of Asgard just as the guard with a single arm fired upon the four Symphogear wielders with a small pistol.
The bullets–of which there were five shots–all collided with Asgard and stopped dead immediately, as if the alchemical wall had glued them to the air. “Son of a bitch.” The man spat, tossing the gun aside as the bullets bounced to the floor and disappeared into the debris around them.
“What’s this guy’s deal?” Chris shouted, turning to face the man head-on. She was the only one of the four with her Symphogear currently equipped and had planned to use her weapons until Tsubasa shot her a look telling her not to.
“I’ve been given the orders to make your lives hell, girls. And I aim to please.” The man glared down at the four as he slid a full-on tactical knife out of his pocket. “You’re just lucky I couldn’t convince the chefs to poison your gruel.”
“Orders? From whom?” Maria asked, earning a sneer from the man. He pointed his bloodied stump of an arm forwards at the pink-haired idol’s words, as if telling her that she was his first target.
Indeed, the man kicked off the ground and raised his knife up as he flew towards Maria. Kirika, thinking faster, ducked in-between her friend and her attacker, throwing up a wall of protecting. “Just break another hole in the wall, death!” She shouted at Chris over her shoulder, who obliged with a nod.
“Leave it to me, this time.” Tsubasa shot a glance to the wielder of Ichaival.

*Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron*

 Raising up the blade of Ame no Habakiri as it appeared in her grasp, Tsubasa quickly chopped through the wall that stood in front of her. Despite Maria’s original lecture to Chris, Tsubasa did not take any care in destroying the wall, herself.
As a hole opened up, revealing sunshine as they broke through to the outside world, Kirika pushed her Asgard wall forwards to knock her opponent off balance. “Maria, let’s go, death!”
What happened next was complete chaos.
As Kirika shouted to Maria, the man shouted in confusion at the scene happening behind his targets. Simultaneously, the youngest girl saw out of the side of her vision as Tsubasa was knocked back, flying past both her and the man with a knife as a girl with long red hair (literally) clawed at the powerful blade she held.
Chris, facing the opposite direction, was the only one able to fully question what was happening around her as she looked at a woman with dark blue and orange hair. “What the hell?”
“I’m so glad I finally get to fight!” Micha Jawkān cheerfully cried as she sliced at Tsubasa, knocking the swordswoman back through the corridor that she and her friends had just run through.
Every time she took one of the Autoscorer’s attacks, Tsubasa was forced to readjust her feet as to not be knocked over by the debris littering the ground; she was so focused on not giving her surprising foe an opening that Tsubasa was not able to get in her own attacks.

 “You two!” Seeing Kirika and Maria wanting to assist her, Tsubasa shouted to the two who currently lacked their Symphogears. “Get out of here! Find my father, he’ll take you to safety.”
“As if I’m going to let you escape.” The man between Tsubasa and the other two girls clicked his tongue. Raising the knife in his grip again, he charged towards Kirika but was once again blocked by Asgard.
This time, Maria was not going to let Kirika play defence alone–she was going on the offensive. Looking down to the ground, Maria searched for a piece of debris that she could use as a weapon.
When she found a sharp fragment of concrete that appeared to be somewhat durable, Maria raised it over her shoulder. “Kirika, on my command jump out of the way.”
Kirika did not know what Maria was planning, but she trusted in the older girl she considered her family. “Got it, death.” She wanted to nod, but had to keep focus on Asgard as the man with a feral look in his eyes continually tried to break it apart with his dagger.
Getting her balance, Maria cut through the air with the piece of concrete as she tossed it forwards like a powerful dart. The shard spun as it flew straight forwards towards Asgard. “Now!”
Kirika jumped to the left, lowering Asgard as commanded. The piece of concrete continued flying, crashing straight into the man’s eye and knocking him backwards.
The man dropped his knife to the ground, his fingers groping for his eye as blood began to fill his vision. “Damn you whores!” He shouted, turning around to get medical treatment–again.

 Meanwhile, Chris did not even deign to converse with the mysterious Autoscorer that stood before her. Judging from the attacks Tsubasa now took, she was only sure that Leiur Darāhim was her enemy. Thus, Chris lowered her crossbow and began to fire at the woman.
Leiur, however, only lazily flipped her gold coin up into the air, causing it to grow to a massive size. The magical crossbow bolts fired by Ichaival collided with the golden wall, dispersing into sparks as they dissipated. Like Chris, Leiur said nothing through this.
Lifting her leg up, Leiur planted a powerful heel-kick against the giant gold coin, sending it flying towards Chris. The girl let out a startled cry as she leapt up into the air, crossing over the projectile in a single bound. Behind her, Chris heard the sound of the coin bouncing off of Asgard as Kirika created a shield to protect herself and Maria from the attack.
“Quick thinking from all of you.” Leiur smiled. “You’ve left quite an impact.”
“Gee, thanks a lot.” Chris grunted, readying the missile launchers on her hips. Leiur, however, noticed this and narrowed her eyes as she took in the preparation.
As the missiles began to eject from their canisters, Leiur timed her own ranged attack to interrupt their movement. Indeed, just as the heads of the pointed projectiles peeked out of the cannons, Leiur fired coins towards the missile launcher from her finger. The explosion that resulted from these two different attacks’ collision engulfed the closer Chris, sending her flying backwards into the facility once more.

 Tsubasa finally saw an opening as Micha reared one of her large claws backwards and took a chance. With perfect timing, Tsubasa spun her leg into the side of the Autoscorer, launching Micha into a wall nearby.
But Micha only laughed. “You’re stronger than I thought! This will be fun!”
The Autoscorer kicked off of the wall that she had just bounced off of, flying at Tsubasa like a fighter jet. As she cut through the air, Micha put her claws together and her entire body became engulfed in flames; she spun like a molten drill, transforming into a missile akin to that which Chris would fire.
Tsubasa met Micha head-on, attempting to parry the fiery claws with her own sword, but the Autoscorer was just too strong for her. Micha’s weight overpowered Tsubasa, and the blue-haired girl was launched backwards as the drill knocked her off-balance.

 Chris and Tsubasa were launched backwards towards each other, their spines colliding as they bounced into each other and crashed to the ground. “These guys are strong.” Chris noted, transitioning into a crouch.
“Indeed. We should make use of our new abilities, then.” Tsubasa nodded, and Chris did as well.

. . .

 “I thought you weren’t going to harm Kirika and Maria.” Shirabe eyed Carol suspiciously. The two girls sat on the ground together, watching the battle unfold through a gap in the air that hung in front of them like a television.
“That man? He’s not one of my servants.” Carol waved her hand as she bit into a hamburger she held up to her mouth. Then, with her mouth full of food, she continued. “He’s worth keeping an eye on, though.”
Garie had returned with hamburgers and fries from a fast food place–Carol knew she likely just stole some poor patron’s food–and now the two girls were chowing down on food neither of them were used to consuming. As she swallowed part of the burger, Carol commented on the taste with a suspicious glare. “I don’t understand the palate of modern people.”
Shirabe was chewing on fries as she watched the battle. “Your robots are quite impressive, though.”
“Autoscorers.” Carol took another bite of the burger after the correction.

 The two girls watched, just the sounds of their chewing echoing through the room as they watched the silent scene play out in front of them. Both Tsubasa and Chris gripped the pendants on their décolleté areas as they shouted something neither girl could hear–though Carol, capable of reading lips, knew they were shouting the word “Ignite!”
“What are they doing?” Shirabe wondered aloud upon swallowing an incredibly salty fry that tasted only moderately better than the paste she was fed for months.
“So Elfnein managed to successfully integrate Dáinsleif into their Symphogears.” Carol smiled as she took the final bite of her meal. In her hands she still held the greasy paper that the burger had been wrapped in, but it disintegrated into ash as she released flames from her palms. Swallowing the end of the food, Carol continued by thinking aloud. “Perhaps I should have waited until she modified your Symphogear as well.”
But Shirabe shook her head as she watched with wide eyes at the scene appearing before her.

. . .
Tsubasa and Chris became engulfed in darkness as they activated the Ignite Module that Elfnein had explained to them the night before. Before they could comprehend what was going on, the only thing their brains could focus on was the sharp pain of thousands of needles stabbing their hearts and minds simultaneously.
But they needed to bear through the pain.
Chris felt the darkness consuming her, and bared the fangs that had grown as the shadows altered her body. Slamming her teeth down against each other as she clenched her jaw, Chris was only acutely aware of the world around her, just as Tsubasa was beside her.
Tsubasa, likewise, felt the evil transform her body. Her eyes felt as though they were melting out of her skull, and she closed her eyes in hopes that they would not leak out. Unbeknownst to her, they were glowing a villainous red as blood streamed from her eyes; the same was true for Chris, as well.
Their screams tore through the compound, chilling even their two Autoscorer enemies in place.

~ ~ ~

 “The Ignite Module: this is what I propose.” Elfnein had said over dinner last night. “Dáinsleif is a cursed sword that mythology says can only be sheathed once it has claimed a life. By integrating a shard of the relic into your Symphogears, you could likely channel this curse into your body and give your body and songs a massive increase in power.”
“Likely?” Kanade had asked as she leaned over the table to eye the small homunculus. “Does this mean the Ignite power can only be ended if we kill someone?”
“No. That part of the curse has been rendered moot already as most of the sword has been destroyed. Dáinsleif’s reputation, however, has caused the relic to become what alchemists refer to as a philosophical armament; a weapon that has been granted supernatural powers due to wide scale public perception.”
“So what you’re saying,” Chris stopped messily shovelling rice down her throat for just a moment to question Elfnein. “Is that the sword is magical because everyone thinks it is?”
“To put it in extremely simple terms, yes.” Elfnein nodded.
“So, could anything become a psychological argument?” Chris asked.
“Philosophical armament.” Tsubasa and Kanade both corrected simultaneously from their own seats.
“I’m not entirely aware of the whole theory behind philosophical armaments,” Elfnein fidgeted in her seat. “But I believe they need to possess some sort of innate power to begin with. Then, that power has to willingly open itself up as a funnel, with the intent of transforming its nature.”
“So you’re saying relics are alive?” Chris picked off a grain of rice from her cheek, ignoring the many more scattered around her mouth.
“Not necessarily. Their power seems to be sentient to some extent, but it’s not as if they are living things.” Elfnein tilted her head as she thought. “You could think of them like incredibly advanced artificial intelligence, maybe? The power can evolve and change but only based on what it was previously programmed to do.”
“Regardless of how it works,” Tsubasa folded a napkin and placed it on the table beside her; unlike Chris’s area, which was a total mess, Tsubasa had managed to not let even a speck of food drop onto even the plate in front of her. “Dáinsleif’s power, should we choose to activate your ‘Ignite Module’ or not, is essential to combating alchemy, correct?”
“Yes, that much is clear. As it stands now, Carol’s alchemy is designed to destroy what she calls ‘miracles’–and the Symphogear could be considered such.” Elfnein explained. “You said before that you went up in battle against Phara? If you had made even a single mistake, it’s possible your Symphogears may have been totally destroyed.”
“Then it’s a good thing she left when she did, I guess.” Kanade muttered. “Alright, Elfnein. I honestly should be a bit more weary of you and what you’re saying, but you seem pretty trustworthy. I’ll let you mess with Gungnir if it means we can help more people.”
Tsubasa sighed. “I suppose you could modify Ame no Habakiri as well.”
“I should mention though. Activating the Ignite Module will likely be incredibly painful the first time, as both your body and the Symphogear will reject Dáinsleif’s power. You’ll need to keep focus so that the curse doesn’t fully consume you.”
“What would happen if it does?” Tsubasa asked, cutting Chris off as she began to ask why Elfnein did not bring this up sooner.
“This is purely hypothetical mind you, but you’d likely enter a berserk... no, perhaps more aptly, bestial state.” Elfnein looked up as she began to think, but Kanade twitched at her words. “You’d likely lose your consciousness–albeit only temporarily. But if you fail to push back the curse then your Symphogear would likely suffer heavy damage.”
“A berserk state, huh.” Kanade’s one eye narrowed as the friendly look on her face dropped into one of seriousness. She closed it as her head turned to look away from the other three at the table with her.
Then, with a long exhale, the jovial Kanade returned with a yawn. “Alright, I’m hitting the hay. It’s been a long day.”

~ ~ ~

 “So this...” Tsubasa felt as though the words clawing their way out of her throat were flames burning every bit of flesh and muscle within her. “Is the curse of Dáinsleif.”
“Not as bad as I was expecting.” Chris shouted, straining to keep her vision from fading completely.
And then, they felt as though they were at peace. The shadows that had been consuming their bodies dispersed almost as quickly as they had appeared, and the two girls stood side by side with new attire hugging their bodies.
Their armour and weapons were no longer sleek and pure, instead now being jet-black and edgy. The accented colours that corresponded to their relics shone out from beneath the darkness, enduring the corruption just as Tsubasa and Chris had been forced to.
Both girls let out a sigh of relief as they readjusted to their normal selves.
“Alright, let’s continue.” Tsubasa lowered her dark blade as she met the cheerful gaze of the ecstatic Micha Jawkān, whose clothing was being burned away as the flames she had surrounded herself in faded away.
“This is going to be so much fun!” Micha cheered, though a murderous look was all Tsubasa could see in the Autoscorer’s eyes.

. . .

 Miku Kohinata’s eyes slowly opened. Her eyelids felt heavy; she had no idea how long she had been sleeping for, or even when she had fallen asleep. As she became aware of the area around her, Miku felt as though her head was being crushed under the weight of a hydraulic press, though the pain coursing through her skull was nowhere near as devastating as that she felt throughout her entire body at all times.
Taking stock of the world around her, Miku noticed one thing immediately: she was out of beer. Considering she had only drank four before last night, that meant she had gone through twelve cans the night before. “No wonder I feel like shit.” She realized, glancing at the scattered litter of crushed aluminium that sat around her.
Shielding her eyes, Miku poked her head out of the entrance of her tent. Just as the thought, it was daytime; sunlight streamed in from a grate in the ceiling not too far away. “Guess I should go meet Genjuro.” She muttered as she crawled on all fours out of the small opening.
As she stood up, Miku noticed two things wrong: the hoodie she was wearing was stained now with all sorts of new colours–beer, vomit, and blood among them. The source of the blood was the second thing she noticed: a man wearing a dark red suit sat limp in a pool of blood beside the rotting corpse of the man she had taken beer from. “That makes three, I guess.” Her death count was increasing, and that made her sick.
Looking down at her messy clothes, Miku shook her head. “I guess I should get something else to wear.” She turned back to the fresh corpse not too far away. His red blazer was open, and the colour would make it hard to notice the blood staining it. But it was far too large for her small body, and she clicked her tongue at the realization. “Guess I need to go shopping.”
Miku looked down at her jet-black hands; no colour of the fair skin she had once had remained on most of her body, and she felt as though she was literally becoming a shadow of the girl she had once been.
“Shadows are supposed to hate the light.” She chuckled darkly, remembering both that the sun was high in the sky above her and the shining star that she, herself, had snuffed out. “And here I am continually chasing it.”
A tear fell down Miku’s cheek as she pulled her hood up.

#### GX Chapter 10

 It was not the morning sun cresting the horizon that awoke the two figures laying on the mysterious island floating high above a forest, but rather the loud sound of two cell phones screaming at the simultaneously. Yumi Itaba and Shinji Ogawa scrambled to their feet as they were thrown roughly out of the realm of dreams, patting themselves down to find the source of the deafening rings.
Upon finding his phone, Ogawa lifted his phone to his ear as he answered the call; Yumi did the same a second later as she composed herself, smoothing down the left side of her hair that had been pulled out of its usual tail while sleeping.
“Hello?” Yumi asked. She had forgotten to check the name of the caller, but with so few work-related contacts of her own, Yumi was not entirely surprised to hear the voice of Kuriyo Ando on the other end. Instead, what made her eyes go wide was what her friend screamed at her.
“Chris is on TV!”

 “A break-out at the holding centre? And the media is there, too?” Ogawa wiped his eye as he quickly responded to the report he was getting. “Do we...”
“The Symphogear wielders seem to have gone rogue–they’re the perpetrators of this.” The curt woman’s voice was full of disgust–disgust focused not on the situation but on the Symphogear wielders themselves, something that was commonplace in the other sectors of the government that Ogawa often worked with.
“Have all of those being detained escaped?”
“No. Tsukuyomi mysteriously disappeared beforehand–a matter that is still under investigation. Furthermore, Doctor Vercingetorix is still detained, and plans are already underway to transfer him to a new facility.”
Ogawa sighed. “Am I to assume, then, that Chr... Ichaival is among the wielders working to break the two out?”
“That is correct. Ichaival and Ame no Habakiri appear to be the only two on-site at the moment. They are currently locked in battle.”
At the mention of Ame no Habakiri, Ogawa silently groaned as he realized now that his plans to eventually have Tsubasa and Kanade return to the stage as Zwei Wing were now likely impossible.
But the mention of a battle intrigued Ogawa; with their Symphogears, Chris and Tsubasa would not have any issue breaking anyone out of a prison. “Who are the two fighting? Surely the team there has not decided to fight them?”
“Their opponents’ identities are unclear; we are still looking into who they are fighting. What we do know–both from our own reports and the media’s coverage of the battle–is that the ones engaging the Symphogear wielders in combat are inhuman and using supernatural techniques.”

 “They’re fighting robots?” Yumi screamed in surprise. Both Kuriyo and Shiori’s voices were screaming into her ear now, telling her every detail of the battle that now unfolded on the screen they were watching. “Wait, no, go back. These robots are alchemists?”
“There’s a girl who can control earth and a girl who can control fire.” Kuriyo explained in the most simple of terms, her breathing heavy as she excitedly spoke into the phone.
“Chris and Kazanari did some sort of new... technique. Their armour became black!” Yumi could hear Shiori cry from behind Kuriyo. “They look a lot stronger now?”
“How did Chris even get Ichaival?” Yumi wondered aloud, astonished at the very premise of the events she was now being told about. “It should have been back at HQ.”
She shook her head. “Guess we’re going to need to postpone our meeting over here for a bit.” Out of the corner of her vision, she saw Ogawa sigh as he pulled his own phone off his ear. With a nudge of his head, Ogawa urged Yumi to finish up her call as well. “Anyway, I have to go. Ogawa’s waiting.”
“If you’re going over there, be careful!” Kuriyo cautioned, and Yumi could hear Shiori shout her own well wishes as well. She did not even have time to respond, though, as Kuriyo cut the connection beforehand.

 Turning to Ogawa as she lowered the device, Yumi asked her boss what their next plans were. Ogawa’s expression, with lowered eyebrows and a clenched jaw, told her that their ‘orders’ were not what the man expected them to be. But it would not be the first time that he went against the commands given to him, even since Yumi had started working with him; he was simply too skilled and important to receive punishment.
“You should go–”
“Not happening.” Yumi cut him off with a wave of her hand. “Chris is apparently on TV right now? Fighting alchemists? This might have something to do with the Illuminati. And, more than that, my friends are in trouble right now. I want to help.”
Ogawa smiled. “I didn’t expect you to go home, anyway.” Adjusting his tie, Ogawa continued. “The brass ordered us to find some way to cover up the media’s coverage, but...”
“Easy. Just say that the news misunderstood the filming of an anime PV for an actual fight.” Yumi crossed her arms, a confident glint in her eyes. “If we say the ‘special effects’ are all the work of holograms, then that should push suspicions away from the fight, somewhat. Of course, then the government would actually have to fund an anime series based on the Symphogears.”
“Did you come up with that all on the spot?” Ogawa asked after a moment. When the girl gave him a wild nod in response, he chuckled. “Impressive. Alright, I’ll send the plan to the top.... Got a name for it?”
“The Amazing☆Singing Hood! With a star in the middle.” Before she had even finished saying the title that had popped into her mind, Ogawa was already tapping an essay into his phone with rapid movements. While she waited, Yumi brought up her own phone and sent away a message–one that was far shorter than Ogawa’s.
“Alright,” Ogawa said after a moment, sending away the proposal that Yumi had single-handedly come up with in seconds. “Now, then. Let’s head over to Chris.”
Yumi agreed cheerfully with a nod. But worry flashed across her face a moment later. “But, uhh, you didn’t happen to see where my other hair tie went, did you? I don’t want to give up my trademark twintailed look!”
The very casual question shocked Ogawa, and the ninja could not help but laugh out loud at the sudden change in topic. As chuckles fell out of his mouth, the man slowly shook his head–he had not.
“Guess I’m going for a different look, today.” Dissatisfied, Yumi grunted as if she were offended at the fact that she now needed to change her appearance in a ‘drastic’ way.

. . .

 “Oh, it’s a message from Yumi.”
Kuriyo had just put her phone in her pocket when Shiori’s blinked to life in her hand. The two of them had had a race to see who could call Yumi first about the battle that their eyes were glued to–Kuriyo, of course, won that competition.
Tapping the screen of her phone, Shiori brought up Yumi’s words in front of her. Kuriyo, curious, peeked over Shiori’s shoulder and read the email aloud for both of them. “Going to investigate. If you can, go to the Kazanari residence.”
“Well, we probably shouldn’t skip school, especially after the Noise attack yesterday.” Shiori sighed. A smile crossed her face, though; worry or confusion were neither of the emotions weighing on her mind. “But... I’m really curious about what’s happening.”
“Then lets head over there, now!” Kuriyo grabbed Shiori by the arm, almost causing the girl with the golden hair to drop her phone as she was pulled towards the exit of the room. The phone did not tumble out of her hand entirely, and she managed to safely put it away while staggering.

. . .

 Maria and Kirika were both breathing heavily as they ended up in the lobby area where many people were gathered–three months of little exercise had totally destroyed their reserves of stamina. Their entry into the room sucked all of the air out of the conversations that had been happening, and both girls immediately became the centre of attention.
“Oh, right. We shouldn’t be here, death.” Kirika whispered to Maria, shuffling slightly backwards towards the door they had just entered through.
“That’s correct. You two shouldn’t be here right now.” An older man with grey hair slid up to them, his tired eyes glaring down upon Kirika from behind his glasses. But he did not seem angry at them; Maria sensed that the man was more tired than anything.
Maria recognized the man as Tsubasa’s father, Yatsuhiro Kazanari–he had introduced himself as such to her during her first interrogation here in the prison. That was the only other time she had seen the man, but the experience stood out to Maria in that it was the only time she was questioned by someone who she saw as sane.
“Kazanari, Tsubasa told us to find you. They’re fighting...”
“Robots! Magical robots, death!” Kirika, hearing that the man was the one they were looking forwards to, perked up and offered her idea of what was going on. Clear to both Maria and Yatsuhiro was the lack of any influence of Finé in the comment.
“So that’s what those explosions were about.” Yatsuhiro cupped his chin in thought, but both of the girls stiffened up in front of him to deny that accusation. Knowing there were only two other options, he sighed. “Or they were my daughter and Yukine getting tired of running around aimlessly.”
“If it makes you feel any better,” Maria smirked. “I think the... magical robots probably would have done the same amount of damage.”
“Magical robots.” Yatsuhiro repeated, taking off his glasses to put pressure upon his eyes with the side of his hand. Shaking his head, he turned away from Maria and Kirika and addressed the crowd of people looking at the three. “Alright, listen up everyone.
“On the record: Kirika Akatsuki and Maria Cadenzavna Eve escaped on their own during this battle. They had no help from me nor the Symphogear wielders, and their current whereabouts are unknown. If anyone reports otherwise, you will be asking for repentance once I am done with you.” Slowly casting his stony gaze over the crowd–a look that some of the people in the room recognized as being incredibly similar to that of the elder Kazanari–Yatsuhiro inhaled deeply waiting for any protests. When none came, he exhaled. “Good.”
“Wow.” Both Maria and Kirika gasped under their breaths at the way that Yatsuhiro had taken command of the situation. The man had immediately earned the respect of both of the girls–though as he turned around to face them again, both found themselves unconsciously flinching back in fear.
“You two, come with me. We’re getting you to safety.” Kirika nodded obediently, and both she and Maria followed Yatushiro as he began to strut away with powerful footsteps. The entire room was silent as every person watched their exit.

. . .

*Aisatsu nado muyō tsurugi mau zange no jikan*
*Jigoku no okusoko de enma dono ni hirefuse*
*Hitotsu me wa utsu futatsu me mo utsu*
*Mittsu yottsu mendokusē …kizuna*
*Nameru de nai!*
*Namen ja nē!*

 Tsubasa and Chris were singing a song in tandem as they fought draped within the black armour of the Ignite Module. The two took turns, switching off targets in order to cover the other. Though the darkness felt as though it was suffocating them originally, now it had opened their minds and gave them a new outlook on the situation unfolding around them.
Swinging her blade with full force, Tsubasa sliced through one of Leiur’s giant golden coins in half–something that shocked even the Autoscorer that had been using it as a shield. The attack did not harm Leiur though, as she leapt back as soon as the blade pierced her weapon. “Impressive.” She admired, an annoyed look in her eye.
Contrasting the troubled Leiur, Micha had a giant, wide-toothed grin on her face. “This is fun!” She shouted as she used her invulnerable claws to slice out of the air the hell storm of Chris’s bullets that travelled towards her.
Micha’s excitement overtook her, and she forfeited her more-cautious, defensive tactic to instead go on the offensive. Deciding to take brunt of Chris’s fury, Micha bounced forwards with her claws ready to strike from an under-handed position.
Chris, however, was ready for this, and launched a kick into Micha’s chest as she drew close enough and launched the Autoscorer back with ease. Even as she flew through the air and, afterwards, collided with a wall, Micha had a merry grin as she enjoyed every moment of the fight.

 Leiur, however, was far less amused. Stomping the ground to send up a golden crystal beneath Tsubasa, she grunted as the Symphogear wielder leapt away with ease. “I am far less amused with this turn of events than Micha is.”
Tsubasa, in the air, swung out her sword to her side to cut through the wind. Leiur watched in surprise as, around the blue woman, swords created out of pure energy appeared around Tsubasa and began to rain down upon Leiur.
Knowing that Ame no Habakiri could slice through her coins, Leiur had no choice but to dodge the attack. Firing coins at the ground in front of her, she launched herself flying backwards and far out of the range of the swords’ storm. Landing in a handstand, Leiur clicked her tongue as she spun in a breakdance-like kick before jumping back up to her feet.

. . .

 “They’re not doing so well.” Shirabe noted as she watched Leiur and Micha’s fight against Tsubasa and Chris.
“No, the power of Dáinsleif is far deadlier than even I had imagined.” Carol bit her thumb as she analysed the footage that was playing through a tear in reality. “That said, Leiur and Micha are doing just as they need to. Drawing out the power of Dáinsleif is essential for me.”
“You don’t care if they destroy your friends?”
“Hmph. The great Carol cares not for the lowly insects she created! They are nothing but servants to me.”
Shirabe’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the girl with the flowing braid beside her. Vocalizing the action she was currently performing, Shirabe slowly leaned in towards Carol in order to draw out the truth that she was sure was being hidden beneath her ego.
It worked.
“Fine. Truthfully, I’d rather not any of the Autoscorers be destroyed. But, unfortunately, I require power for my plans, and the best way to collect that would be through the destruction of my servants. In the worst case scenario, I could always repair them given the time.”
Shirabe could somewhat understand the idea–she was, after all, quite apathetic towards most people outside of her small found family. But the Autoscorers should have been Carol’s family, Shirabe thought; even if they weren’t human, she thought that Carol would have been a little more protective of them.
Unless...
“Carol, what are your plans, exactly?”
“Did I not tell you? I plan on completing my papa’s work–to analyse the planet just as I have spent centuries analysing humanity and their actions.” When Shirabe again began to put pressure on Carol (in the exact same way), the alchemist flinched back. “Get back, you!”
“You just want to make your father happy, don’t you?”
Carol blushed at Shirabe’s–correct–guess, and couldn’t help but turn her head away to avoid Shirabe’s icy gaze. “You’re surprisingly more perceptive than I had anticipated.” Readjusting her sitting position, Carol continued. “Fine, yes. I admit it. Everything I do is for my papa’s sake! I just want him to be proud of me when I meet him in heaven!”
“I don’t remember my parents, so I can’t entirely relate.” Shirabe admitted, causing Carol to flinch in surprise–that had not been in the notes that her associate had given her. “But I understand the feeling of wanting to see the people you love happy. Seeing the smiles of Maria and Kiri warm my heart more than anything.”
“Even though you lack a family of your own...” Carol grunted, her face turning red as the thought of helping Shirabe unite with her parents briefly crossed her mind. She did not know why she cared so much for this girl who was so unlike her, but Carol could not bring herself to dislike Shirabe, nor even see her as the bug she saw other humans as.
Shirabe realized something and slid a short distance away from Carol as she straightened her posture. “Dr. Ver might be able to help you, actually.”
“Dr. Ver?” Carol dove into her mind to bring up the information she had on this ‘Dr. Ver’–the name was familiar to her, so she knew something was trapped within her brain.
“He...” Shirabe’s words trailed off into sadness, and Carol knew not to push further on the subject. What the alchemist did not expect was for the small black-haired girl to make a very shocking remark afterwards. “Dr. Ver found a way to bring people back to life. With a relic, probably.”

 The world pulsed for Carol as the colour drained from her surroundings. Her heart stopped, yet the blood pulsed crazily through her body at the same time as excitement gripped every facet of her being. “Bring people back to life?”
A warm, kind smile that Carol had not seen in centuries appeared for a second within her mind. It was the caring visage of her beloved papa, the one who the world shunned for the miracles he created. For a moment, she was back to being a normal girl, standing in a field with her small hand encased by his large, worked fingers.
“No. That’s impossible. Insane.” Carol shook the memory out of her head and wiped the tears of hope that began to well up in her eyes. “Even alchemy can not do something as powerful as restoring the dead to life.”
“I never got to see her body, but Maria said once that Serena’s corpse had no head. But she still fought against us after Ver revived and brainwashed her.”
Punching the air to access her extradimensional storage unit, Carol pulled out the notes that Prelati had sent her. She flipped through the small pile in a hurry, eyes darting over each word as Carol’s mind took them in at insane and inhuman speeds. As she reached the end of the pile, she confirmed her initial thought.
“If what you said is true, then my source left out some very, very important information from their report.” Carol blinked. “Where is this Dr. Ver now? And the one he resurrected?”
“I think Ver was in the same prison we were kept in.” When Carol brought up the second question again, Shirabe shook her head and shrugged.
With a new look of determination on her face, and a flame of hope burning in her heart, Carol stood up from her crossed-legged position on the red carpet. “You, remain here for a moment. I’ll be right back.”
Before Shirabe could say anything else, Carol was already gone; it was the same instant-disappearance technique that had brought her to the Château de Tiffauges she now sat in, alone.

. . .

 “Master?” Micha shouted in surprise as a figure appeared in-between her and the blue girl with a sword she was running towards. Both people on either side of the newcomer stopped short of attacking Carol as her physical form interrupted the battle. A short distance away, even Chris’s appearance was stolen away from Leiur at the mention of the ‘master’ appearing.
“Micha, Leiur, enough of this. I have a new goal for you.” She waved her hand. “Find the man named Dr. Ver! I have questions to ask him.”
“Understood.” Leiur immediately obliged with a bow and leapt away.
Chris, not understanding what was going on, shouted at the Autoscorer as she bounced off and abandoned the battle they had been engaged in.
But Tsubasa was a lot more calm. She raised her blade up to the back of Carol’s neck, ready to pierce it. “So you’re the one in charge of these alchemists.” The idol’s voice was like a freezing wind as it blew against Carol’s body. The blonde girl did not even turn around, nor attempt to move, at the comment.
“You needn’t worry about your so-called friend, Tsukuyomi. She is perfectly safe. And fear not as, for now, neither of you two–nor your other friends–are targets of mine.”
“But master~! I just want to fight more.” Micha whined, tears welling up in her eyes as her grin transformed into a weeping frown–and Carol was surprised that Micha was even able to cry.
“Enough, Micha. As my new friend made me realize, I was not thinking of your safety in this battle. And I apologize. Dáinsleif is too strong for you to take on in your current state. You’re coming back to the Château with me, Micha.”
Only now did Carol turn her gaze over her shoulder to address Tsubasa somewhat-directly. “As for you two Symphogear wielders–you did quite well in this fight; you far surpassed my expectations for you. I only do what I must in order to achieve my goals.”
Though Micha continued whining, Carol snapped her fingers and the two of them disappeared into nothingness to leave Tsubasa’s blade pointing at nothing.

 “If you weren’t so close to her, I would have fired a missile at her before she left.” Chris announced after a moment of silence. At that, Tsubasa righted herself and lowered her blade as she fell into a crouch–she had not realized how heavy her body had become.
“You too?” Chris took this moment to confirm that Tsubasa was not just weak. In fact, she did the complete opposite; Chris collapsed to the ground in a huff, landing on her chest as her Symphogear dispersed into a white light. “Guess this Ignite thing does a number on us, huh?”
“We should go after them.” Tsubasa stood up as she panted heavily, but Chris just placed her cheek against the ground as she relaxed.
“Why? Ver’s an asshole. I think we should let them do whatever they want with him.”
“His knowledge is invaluable, Yukine, we can’t afford to–”
“Akatsuki’s got Finé’s memories, which I’d say are just as good... if not better. Besides, she just said that Tsukuyomi’s safe, and we’re no longer her targets; if anything she just gave us a break.” Chris pulled herself up into a sitting position with a yawn. “Now then, I want to go back to bed.”
Tsubasa yawned too; she had not realized how tired she had become after not getting any sleep the night before. Staying up for multiple days in a row or for long periods of time was not something rare for Tsubasa, and she assumed that the Ignite Module’s effects must have made her fatigue worse.
“Also, Tsubasa...” Chris pointed up into the sky. “How long have they been there?”
Tsubasa slowly turned her head to see three white drones flying above them, each with fairly large cameras embedded within their frames. “I guess we must have attracted the attention of the media.” She sighed. “I wonder how my father will deal with this mess.”
“We’ve got a plan in place for that already.” A chipper voice called from within the compound that was largely destroyed now. Their battle had forced Chris and Tsubasa outside, and they both stood a short distance from the several holes in the wall that had been created since. So, they were surprised when they saw the girl who spoke standing among the wreckage with her boss.
“Yumi?” Chris shouted in surprise. “When did you get here?”
“Just now. I came up with the plan to have an anime made based off you guys, to help cover this stuff up.” She grinned and flashed a peace sign with one hand. “You don’t have to worry about them.”
“Well, assuming the brass approve of the idea.” Ogawa added from beside her as he admired the damage.
“What are the two of you doing here?” Tsubasa asked, now walking towards the two. “I thought you were investigating Frontier.”
As Tsubasa reached Ogawa, the man lightly karate chopped the idol on the top of her head. “We were worried about you, y’know. Our superiors think you’ve gone rogue and are having a lot of fun painting you guys as the villains of this situation.”
“Sorry!” Chris shouted, having not moved from her position on the ground.
“Now then, we’re bringing you back to your house; our new base of operations, I suppose.” Ogawa held up car keys. “You guys are probably not going to be getting off scot-free from this, so we’re going to have to find some way to deal with this whole mess.”
“I called the others to your house, as well.” Yumi held up the message she sent to Kuriyo and Shiori earlier. “You said Miku would be heading to the Kazanari residence too, right Chris? We’re having a reunion.”
“If Kohinata shows up, I suppose.” Tsubasa added.
“We’ve got a lot to talk to you about, too. All of you.” Ogawa added, jingling his keys. “Now, then. Your father, Akatsuki, and Maria are on their way back already. We wouldn’t want to keep them waiting now, would we?”

. . .

 Miku, wearing a fresh hoodie and pants that she ‘legally purchased’ (read: stole) from a store, walked down the street. Her face–which was covered now with even more black veins than before–was blanketed in the shadows of the hood that covered her head.
Walking down the street in silence, Miku cursed under her breath as a man bumped into her shoulder as he passed. “Watch where you’re going.” The man had grunted, even though it was he who went out of his way to collide with Miku.
“I guess I should head over to see Genjuro.” She looked up into the sky, though there was no way for her to tell what time it was from the sun’s position; all she knew was that it was not noon yet.
As she marched down the cement path, trying to find somewhere where no one would see her transform into the armour of Lancea Longini, she passed by a convenience store with a television in the front window. “Magical Girls Exist?” The headline on the news read, with a still of what appeared to Miku to be Chris and Tsubasa, both clad in their Symphogears, doing battle against two figures. She clicked her tongue.
“Guess I don’t need to hide my powers from a bunch of strangers, then.” She realized, but Miku did not move. It was no longer the television screen that was attracting her attention, rather something behind it. When she recognized what that something was, she cursed under her breath.

 The man mopping the floor of the convenience store was the sandy-haired father of Hibiki Tachibana. The man who, on the same day that Miku found her two parents dead in her house, abandoned the Tachibana family and cast away his name.
As she recognized the man, Miku felt anger boil up into her throat, but swallowed it down. “No. It’s not worth it.” She spat, spinning on her heel and turning away from the window.
Miku hurriedly walked down the alley next to the convenience store, unaware that the man named Akira Tachibana had seen Miku. He felt as though some part of his brain recognized the scarred girl looking sadly towards him, but the distant look felt completely foreign to him.
Akira shrugged as he continued with his work, doing an incredibly sloppy job as he poorly mopped the cold tiles. As he turned his back to the window, he missed the sight of Miku flying away over the street in front of the building he worked in.

#### GX Chapter 11

 As the wind pelted Miku’s face, she felt a sense of dread in the pit of her stomach. An uncomfortable feeling twisted her insides as she flew through the air, trying to run from the enemy hot on her heels: hunger. The girl clicked her tongue as her stomach growled for food, realizing now that she had not eaten since the morning of the day before.
“I’ll...” She began to mutter to herself, but stopped. For just a second, Miku felt as if the world below her tilted–or perhaps she had been the one to rotate on an axis.  Halting her movement, she looked around, confused. “What?” The one word escaped her lips as her vision began to blur. Putting a single, shaking hand to her forehead, Miku’s eyes widened. “Am I really this hungry?”
Her meeting with Genjuro would have to wait–it would be best if she did not burden someone who was going out of their way to help her any more than she needed to. What Miku needed right now was food, that was something both her mind and body were crying out to her.
Slowly, Miku began to descend...
...and then her consciousness faded completely.

. . .

 Shirabe stood at attention beside Carol in the dark room at the centre of the Château de Tiffauges. Her stiff posture was not one that manifested out of respect; no, Shirabe felt an incredible sense of unease and the girl beside her sized up the man whose arms were being held back by the Autoscorer that had just returned.
“John Wayne Vercingetorix.” Carol said the man’s name with a cruel inflection. “It seems as though you have knowledge that I desire.”
“How humiliating this must be for you.” Ver ignored the glare of Carol and instead spat towards Shirabe. “The age of the people you take orders from only seems to decrease each time. Next, are you going to be following obediently behind a newborn chick?”
“Silence!” Carol stomped her foot. In her hand, she produced a green rune that sparkled through the air–this caught Ver’s attention, and he did as ordered, silently drawing a wicked grin across his own visage.
“Apologies for the wait, master.” A new voice sounded from behind Carol, and the ‘master’ in question turned towards the green woman who had appeared.
Phara stood in a hunched posture, grabbing at her left side with her right hand over her now-torn clothing. Out-stretched, her left hand held a red jewel. “I underestimated that Symphogear wielder and her senses.” She groaned–both from her mouth and her mechanical joints. “She managed to sense me even while half-asleep.”
“You’re all right, and that’s what matters.” Carol snatched the crystal out of Phara’s hand and shoved it roughly into Shirabe’s own. “Phara, go get Garie to perform maintenance on you.”
“U...understood, master.” Phara stammered out of shock. She was not expecting any verbal answer–just a grunt and perhaps a comment about her uselessness. As she spun around, Phara suspiciously eyed Shirabe before slowly beginning to walk out of the room to look for Garie.
“Pathetic that you must surround yourself with robots. You couldn’t even convince other humans to do your work for you?” Ver cackled.
“Shut up.” Both girls roared at different volumes, simultaneously. At that comment, Carol created a second rune above her hand–this one orange–but had no chance to use it as Shirabe acted quicker and embedded her fist deep into the man’s stomach.
“Very well.” Ver chuckled as he coughed up a globule of red liquid from his innards.
“Now, Ver, if you do not wish for death, then you will answer my questions truthfully.” Carol glared down at the smiling man drooling blood from his mouth. Shirabe, likewise, stared at the man with a look more pointed than even the sharpest dagger.
“The relic you used to resurrect a girl from the dead... where is it?”
Ver eyed the small alchemist with suspicion. “You seek the Rod of Asclepius? Then you, too, must be part of the Illuminati.”
Carol snorted. “So those hacks did know about the relic.” She muttered, turning her gaze away for just a second. Then, raising her voice to a shout, Carol continued, closing the gap between her and the doctor in a single step. “No. Those fools and I have a... unique relationship, though I am not a member of their little club. I seek that power for my own goals.”
“Your own goals, then?” Ver turned to look at Shirabe with a cruel glint in his eye. “What, did your two friends die or something?”
Shirabe, of course, launched another punch into the man’s gut at the idea of Maria dying. The thought of Kirika’s life ending also caused Shirabe’s heart to tense up, but in a different way–she would be sad about losing Kirika, no doubt, but the fear of potentially being Finé’s next vessel terrified her more.
“Enough of that, Tsukuyomi” Despite the order she gave to Shirabe, Carol had no interest in actually protecting the man–in fact, she fully understood why she hated him so. “If you hurt him too much, he may not be able to give us the information we need.”
“The relic.” Carol repeated as she floated up into the air. Grabbing Ver’s collar, she lifted him easily off of his feet and off the ground. “Where is it?”
“The Rod of Asclepius... currently does not exist.”
“What?” In shock, Carol lowered Ver back down to the ground.
“Have you ever heard of the Caduceus? The staff of Hermes from Greek mythology. As an alchemist, I’m sure you know of it.”
“The Caduceus was said to be able to return the dead to life, yes. It is also the symbol of mercury–the planet and the element.” Carol’s fist still gripped the doctor’s shirt tight, though his feet remained firmly planted upon the ground.
“In America, the Caduceus is often mistaken for the Rod of Asclepius and vice versa–this is because they are the same relic. The Caduceus is simply the rod’s complete form.”
“I’m not sure what you’re getting at.” Carol held back the desire to slap the man as she continued questioning him.
“The Caduceus serves as the symbol of Hermes, young girl. The herald of the gods and protector of humanity. When you use the Rod of Asclepius, it bonds with the one who is brought back to life and forces them into the role of a psychopomp.”
“So, you’re saying that the girl you revived now carries the relic within her.”
“You choose to ignore that last part, then? Very well. Yes. The Rod of Asclepius exists within the girl at the moment. Be warned though–even I am not sure what will happen should they be separated.”
“Some things are worth the risk.” Carol clicked her tongue as she threw Ver away like a piece of trash.
The alchemist gently lowered herself to the ground and spun to face Shirabe. “As for you–do you wish to aid me in my goals?”

 Shirabe looked down at the crystal in her hands. “I don’t want to make Maria sad...” she muttered as she turned her gaze up to look into the teal eyes of Carol Malus Dienheim.
The eyes that Shirabe looked into were familiar. The slightly sad and distant look hidden behind a mask of power that Carol wore reminded the black-haired girl of the similar eyes that looked at her innocently all of those years ago. Her heart felt pained as the image of Kirika leapt into Shirabe’s mind–an image that had since been corrupted by the soul of Finé.
Remembering what Kirika had said as her introduction, Shirabe held out her hand to Carol. “Let’s be friends, Carol... You have a cool name.”
“Huh?” Carol muttered, shattering the touching moment in an instant. Ver, collapsed on the ground a short distance away, did not bother to stifle his laughter, too.
“She does, doesn’t she?” The voice belonged to Micha, who stood on her pedestal in a strange pose: standing on one foot as if taking a giant step forwards, the Autoscorer held her hands up–one extended out in front of her, and the other up, pointed forwards, by her ear. Her mechanically-white body was bare, stained only with some leftover ash from when her clothes burned away.
“Oh, right. I forgot you were here.” Carol grunted. At that, she turned her gaze to the other Autoscorer in the room–Leiur–who had been holding Ver until Carol snatched him from her grasp. “Can you get her some clothes, or something? It’s still uncomfortable seeing her naked, even if she is inhuman.”
Leiur let a small smile cross her face as she chuckled. “Very well. Micha, come with me.”
“Okay!” The red-haired Autoscorer leapt off her pedestal, performing a front flip in the air, and landed with a giant, playful grin on her face.

 “They’re funny.” Shirabe noted once the two Autoscorers exited the room. “But I can see why you’d still be lonely.”
“Lonely? Me?” Carol seemed genuinely surprised at Shirabe’s comment, flinching back.
“You look the same as Kiri did back then.”
“Kiri, huh? You seem to flip-flop on what you call her–you know that?” Carol sighed. “Very well. Shirabe Tsukuyomi, together we shall revive my father and exorcise Finé from your friend.”
This time, it was Carol who extended her hand out towards Shirabe, who took it without hesitation. The latter girl smiled. “Let’s be good friends.”
“Friends...” Carol repeated, a slight blush creeping across her cheeks. As she felt the warmth of embarrassment, the alchemist turned her head away quickly. “I have no need for friends. Only allies.”
Shirabe said nothing to that, but noticed the slight smile on the face of the girl in front of her.

 “Awww... how cute.”
Their touching moment was cut short by the cruel voice of Dr. Ver. Both girls turned their gazes to the man at the sound of his mocking tone, shooting him dark glares that hid none of their annoyances.
Letting go of Shirabe’s hand, Carol quickly formed a red rune in her hand at–from Shirabe’s perspective–threw it at the doctor on the ground. His clothes ignited into flames, and he began to roll around as he panicked.
“We still need him, don’t we?” Shirabe asked Carol. The eyes belonging to these girls were glued to the pathetic form of the grown man rolling about quickly, a somewhat cathartic–but still bitter–look on both of their faces.
“Most likely.”
“Unfortunate.”

. . .

 Though the car driven by Yatsuhiro Kazanari had left the compound before Shinji Ogawa’s, the two managed to reconvene at the front gates of the Kazanari residence only moments apart.
“What happened here?” Chris asked aloud as she climbed out of the stopped car, her eyes wide as she stared up at the large hole that now carved through the tall wall looming over here.
“This doesn’t seem good.” Maria added, as she and the two others who had been in the car with her walked up to meet Chris, Tsubasa, Ogawa, and Yumi as they arrived.
“You don’t have to worry. Kanade took care of everything.” The group of seven turned towards the voice of the woman who walked around the corner to greet them.
“Tomosato. It’s been a while.” Ogawa greeted the newcomer with a smile that seemed both business-y and genuine.
Like Tsubasa Kazanari, Aoi Tomosato could be described in the most simple terms as ‘blue.’ The woman–a former member of Sector Two like Chris, Ogawa, and Tsubasa in front of her–had short dark blue hair that did not even reach her next. With lighter blue eyes, Tomosato almost exclusively wore a blue suit and skirt combination, both of which had two thin cyan lines that ran down the front. The cyan lines matched the tie she wore beneath her blazer and atop a pale yellow dress shirt. Right now, she clutched a black clipboard to her chest.
“Yeah, it’s good to see all of you again. Though, I do wish it could have been under different circumstances.” Tomosato greeted her old comrades with a kind smile.
“Tomosato, what happened here?” Yatsuhiro asked, dropping any sort of pleasantries. “I received no reports on this.”
“We were just informed about this roughly...” She checked her watch. “Ten minutes ago. So we’re still putting the report together regarding what happened.”
“Understood.” Yatsuhiro nodded. “Continue.”

 “It seems as though this house was attacked by–according to the testimonies–a robotic being known as an ‘Autoscorer.’ This Autoscorer was targeting the Symphogear crystals.” Tomosato eyed Chris, who looked away guiltily. “Unfortunately, it managed to steal one of them–Shul Shagana.”
“They stole Shirabe’s Symphogear?” Maria asked.
“A bartering tool?” Yumi offered a possible explanation as to why. Cupping her chin, she continued to ramble on theories. “Or perhaps they plan to brainwash her through alchemy? Considering what Ver did, it doesn’t seem too far-fetched.”
“Tomosato: is Kanade okay?” Tsubasa cut Yumi off, sliding in front of the woman she was addressing.
“Yes. Kanade did not suffer any major injuries. She’s resting right now; considering our current lack of LiNKER, the Symphogear did put a massive strain on her body.”
“Oh, I can help there, death!” Kirika threw her hand up into the air. “Finé invented LiNKER, so I think I could figure out the recipe.”
Chris instinctively took a step back at the name of her former mistress. Tsubasa and Maria, however, had shocked expressions on their faces. “I did not even consider that.” The former muttered.
“Actually, we’ve been trying to arrange a meeting with Kirika explicitly about that for almost two months.” Yumi whispered to Chris in deadpan.
Clearing her throat, Tsubasa began to walk away. “I’m going to check on Kanade.”
“Why don’t we all go in?” Ogawa suggested. “Now that we’re all together, it would be best to get everyone on the same page as to our current situation.”

 A few moments later, everyone marched into the Kazanari estate. Luckily, the actual mansion sustained only minor damage; the wall surrounding the compound had taken most of the attacks.
Kanade was sprawled out on a couch, with Kuriyo Ando and Shiori Terashima by her side. Genjuro stood with his arms crossed in the corner, looking over the shoulder of Elfnein as she worked to integrate Dáinsleif into the remaining two Symphogears–Airgetlám and Igalima. With the exception of Kanade, who had her arm crossed over her face, the others all turned to look at the large group as the door entered, and made room for the eight new people who filed in, joining them in the large–but now cramped–room.
“Look at this, it’s a party!” Kanade grinned as she sat up. “We’ve got the whole gang together, now.”
“Well, almost.” Chris added. “We’re missing Miku, and...”
“Shirabe, death!” Kirika cut Chris off, though that was not the name that the white-haired girl was going to say. Everyone else silently filled in the unstated identity of the girl who was no longer among the living.
“Come to think of it,” Shiori prodded her chin. “This is the first time we’ve all been together since that party from a few months ago, right?”
“It’s like Sector Two was never disbanded.” Genjuro chuckled.
“I’m surprised you are so lively considering the destruction outside.” Ogawa commented with a wry smile at his former boss’s grin. “Not to mention a Symphogear was stolen, and two of the girls under your watch just disappeared in the middle of the night to visit a prison.”
“I heard your conversation.” Kanade turned to Tsubasa and Chris. “So I filled them in on where you went.”
“You didn’t want to come?” Tsubasa tilted her head.
“Nah. I knew someone should stay back just in case someone decided to target our new friend over there.” Kanade gestured with her chin to Elfnein, whose head was down in her own work. “Probably a good thing I stayed too, even if I wasn’t much help.”
“Speaking of your new friend over there,” Maria started. “What exactly is going on?”
“Right. Let’s explain that first.” Tsubasa crossed her arms.
“Should we not wait for Miku, first?” Kuriyo asked.
“We could explain it to her later. We don’t know when she’ll be showing up, anyway.” Genjuro shook his head.

 “Okay. Some alchemist apparently plans to destroy the Earth in order to analyse it, or something. Elfy over there said those robots that we fought are called Autoscorers, and that there are four of them.” Chris offered a very short–but not incredibly detailed–explanation for the current events. “Elfy specifically wanted us Symphogear users to stop her creator’s plans, so that means that the alchemist was aware of us and considered us a threat. But she appeared back there, and said that we’re no longer her targets, which... might mean plans have changed.”
At the mention of Carol’s appearance, Elfnein turned her attention to Chris with a surprised look on her face, though she did not say anything.
“She also sent one of her Autoscorers off to find Ver.” Tsubasa reminded Chris, whose eyes lit up in recognition of the fact that she had forgotten that. Both Maria and Kirika beside them flinched at the name of the doctor who had used them as pawns previously.
“So, Ver’s in play, again.” Yatsuhiro sighed. “Unfortunately, our interrogations with him did end up painting a very... bold picture of the man, but we were never able to decipher his intentions, or specifics on how he obtained the relics that played a part in his experiments on Kohinata and Maria’s sister.”
“Did you ever figure out who he was working with?”
Maria had asked Yatsuhiro, but it was Yumi who answered the former-idol’s question after getting a nod of approval from Ogawa beside her. “We’re pretty sure that he was being backed by the Bavarian Illuminati. That’s actually what the bulk of our work has been about for the past few months.”
“The Illuminati, hmm?” Genjuro shook his head. Then, turning to Ogawa, he continued. “So, that video you had sent us was connected to everything after all.”
“Unfortunately.” He shrugged with a smile.
“Back up. What video?” Chris looked between the two of them quickly, but then settled on targeting Yumi. “And what do you mean the Illuminati? Do you mean that Illuminati-Illuminati?”
“The Illuminati, death?” Kirika’s inquiry fell on deaf ears as everyone focused on Chris’s surprised reaction.
“Carol had a contact with the Illuminati.” Elfnein offered quietly, cutting a knife through the chaos behind her. “Though she wanted to be left alone whenever she spoke with them–not even the Autoscorers were allowed in the room. But considering how powerful she is, I can’t imagine her needing help from them.”
After a beat of silence, Yumi sighed. “Let’s see here: we have Ver getting help from the Illuminati, who had a vampire kill the American scientists that had been part of the F.I.S. before it was shut down by the government. Then we have an alchemist threatening the world’s destruction who is also in contact with the Illuminati, and may in fact be supplying them with information.”
“I’m sorry, did you say vampire?” This time it was Maria’s turn to be confused, though most people in the room had the same uncertain look on their face.
Ogawa clapped, stunning everyone into silence. “Let’s focus on the main matter at hand, here, alright?”
“Now would likely be a bad time to bring up what we’ve found at Frontier and the status of Maria’s sister, then, right?” Yumi muttered under her breath, but everyone heard it clear as day.
“Let’s all sit down and try to organize our thoughts.” Yatsuhiro suggested. “After all, we have over three months of information we need to explain to some people. We could be here all day, jumping from subject to subject, if we lack structure.”
Almost as if the wheels of fate were purposefully mocking the man, a loud crash sounded from outside and echoed through the mansion. Thus, another subject was added to their ever-growing list of topics to speak about. “That’s probably not good.” Chris sighed.
“I’ll go check it out.” Tomosato exited the room, and Chris followed behind her silently, sure that she knew the source of the noise.
A moment later, a shriek of disgust rang out from the direction that the two ha disappeared from, followed by a shout from Chris. “Miku?”
That caught the attention of the group inside, and the three former classmates of Miku Kohinata–Yumi Itaba, Shiori Terashima, and Kuriyo Ando–all peeked their heads out into the hall. The latter two pulled their heads back into the room with wide eyes filled with terror as the sound of footsteps neared them. Yumi, instead, just gasped a curse as she saw the figure of Miku Kohinata standing in the courtyard just outside.

 Miku Kohinata was covered head-to-toe in gore. Blood soaked her clothes and chunks of meat clung to her skin and hair. She had a distant, vacant look in her eyes as she stared directly at the horrified eyes of Chris Yukine in front of her.
“Chris...” She muttered. “I need you to kill me.”
“Miku?”
Miku stepped forwards at the whisper of her name. Her expression was tense, but she was clearly scared of something–and judging from her appearance and words, Chris assumed that she was terrified of herself.
“I need you to kill me.” Miku repeated, this time louder.
The words could be heard by the group inside the house, too, and now more than just Yumi crowded around the entrance to the room that they had been inhabiting. Chris’s eyes drifted to them for a moment, then back to Miku.
“What do you...?”
“Chris. I am a monster.” Miku dropped her hood, revealing the shadows that crawled across her skin. Chris flinched back at the sight of Miku’s face, now half-covered by darkness that enveloped even her eye. The sclera and pupil of her right eye were both solid black, blending in with the void that had overtaken her skin.
But what really got to Chris was Miku’s mouth. It was large, inhuman–yet somehow familiar. Her teeth had grown out at strange angles, pointing into sharp knives capable of tearing through any substance with ease. Her appearance reminded Chris–and Maria and Kirika far behind her–of the living relic known as Nephilim.
“I need you to kill me. I can’t control my body any more.”

 ~ ~ ~

 Miku looked at her dark hands in shock. She had no memory of the past ten minutes–one second she was falling out of the sky, and now she was here. Down on her knees, Miku sat in a pool of blood. She gagged violently, but the iron taste of gore caught in her throat.
In front of her were a pile of bones, covered entirely in red–blood and guts clung to them as if glued on tight. The sight was disgusting enough, but the crumbs of meat that littered Miku and her clothing were even more disgusting.
She had no idea what was happening, but she knew one thing for sure: the empty pit in her stomach that was growling for food had been filled. In its place sat a whirlpool of nausea as Miku realized what had happened. She bent over and from her mouth came a torrent of red-stained vomit from within her.
Miku had killed and eaten a human being.
Thinking back on it, she realized that the taste of the gore staining her tongue was not unfamiliar to her; a terrifying thought, but Miku believed it was not the first time she had consumed another human. Her newfound, monstrous appetite might have led her to downing all of the beer that she had the night before, and when she awoke she saw a fresh corpse in her ‘home.’ Though she hadn’t examined it closely, the blood that had covered her clothes then might not have been from when Miku ended that person’s life but rather from when she had decided to dine upon them.
But now, she had proof. Miku gagged, trying her hardest to release all of the remains that she had consumed, but her body refused. Even if she had devoured another human being while in a mind not of her own, Miku’s body desperately clung to the nutrients that it provided her.
“Why? Why does all of this keep happening to me?” Miku cried as blood dripped from her mouth. Tears fell into the rusty goop that pooled around the hands that held her up like a table. “I’ve been tortured by everyone... I killed Hibiki...”
Throwing herself back with wide eyes, she realized something. “I’m in a crime scene. I need to dispose of the evidence... I can’t help Hibiki from prison.” She stood up in shock as she looked around the scene.
“Ichaival.” She commanded in a panic, transforming the armour that she wore into a colour that matched her crimson surroundings perfectly.
With wide eyes, Miku fired a giant missile from the cannon that devoured her arm at the mention of the relic it was born from. The missile travelled straight up into the sky above Miku, and the girl flew away before gravity even had time to pull its nose down back towards the ground.
As Miku flew away, she heard the massive explosion in the distance behind her. “That should take care of the evidence.” She groaned inwardly, her stomach still churning from the disgusting meal she had consumed.
Narrowing her eyes, Miku silently flew through the air towards the Kazanari residence and towards the meeting she had asked to arrange.
“I need to get someone else to help Hibiki.” She realized, her gaze hollowing out as the horrific thought tip-toed into her mind. Miku knew now that she could not control her actions completely. At the rate she was going, she might soon hurt someone else she cared about.
“I don’t want to go through that again.” Her distant eyes grew wide. As Miku flew through the air, she realized that her body was trembling uncontrollably–and not because of the wind (that she couldn’t feel) that whipped at her body.
“I’m a monster.”

~ ~ ~

 Inside the Kazanari residence, Kanade clenched her jaw. She remained in the room alongside Ogawa, Genjuro, Yatsuhiro, and the wide-eyed Shiori and Kuriyo, still laying across the couch, and thus could not see Miku directly, but she could tell from the reactions of Miku’s friends that she was not well.
With a sharp inhale, she placed her feet against the cool ground.

#### GX Chapter 12

 “Alright.” Carol marched back and forth across the red carpet laid out upon the wooden floor of the Château de Tiffauges. Her hands were clasped behind her back as she dug a trench in the ground with her repeated loop. “First, we must locate the girl known as Serena Cadenzavna Eve. Attempting to find some way to remove the relic within her would be useless if we are unable to determine her location.”
The alchemist flipped back her long golden braid, dropping it over her shoulder as she turned to look at the two humans nearby. Shirabe Tsukuyomi stood with a calm expression on her face, watching Carol pace over a path, while Dr. John Wayne Vercingetorix sat on the ground clutching his stomach as blood dribbled from his mouth.
“You two have no idea of her current location, correct?” She glared at the doctor crumpled beneath her.
Shirabe shook her head. “I was locked up for three months.”
“Likewise.” Ver spat out.
Shirabe’s stone gaze turned briefly towards Ver before moving back to Carol’s figure in front of her. “According to Maria, she was comatose when we were put in captivity. If she hasn’t awoken, then she’s probably in a hospital or in the government’s care.”
“Assuming those interesting fellows of the Illuminati haven’t taken interest in her.” Ver chuckled cruelly. “Or worse.”
Carol pondered on their words for a moment, cupping her chin as she looked down to the ground. “There are several hundred hospitals in the area that she may currently be in. Furthermore, the Japanese government may be holding her in any of their many facilities–secret or otherwise–and perhaps even in other areas.”
Standing up straight, Carol shook her head. With a quick snap of her finger, she called out a single word: “Autoscorers.”
Immediately, the four Autoscorers appeared atop their respective pedestals in colourful bursts of light: Garie was awash in a blue glow; Leiur sparkling gold; green energy danced around the injured Phara; and a red explosion released Micha.
Garie cracked a crooked smile. “And what could we do for you, master?”
“Phara, as you are injured at the moment, you are to remain here and keep an eye on this–” Carol gestured to Ver “–insignificant fool. Surely you still possess the power to threaten him should anything arise.”
“Very well, master.” Phara bowed.
“Garie, you procured the memories of several government officials, correct?”  Carol turned to the blue Autoscorer. “Only you possess the ability to actually read the memories you collect.”
“That I do, master. You created me specifically to focus on the collection of memories, after all.”
“Did any of the government officials know the location of the girl named Serena Cadenzavna Eve?”
Garie closed her eyes for a moment as she looked through the vault of stolen memories within her. “Serena, Serena... Sorry, master, the name doesn’t ring a bell.”
“Perhaps I shouldn’t have had you let that other man go...” Carol shook her head. “No. I doubt they let a fool like him in on sensitive information such as this.”
“If I may, master,” Leiur began to speak as she sensed the annoyance on Carol’s face. “Elfnein may be able to lure the information you need out of the government officials she was looking for.”
“Currently,” Carol closed her eyes. “Elfnein is engaged entirely in her work–the modification of the Symphogears. Absorbing the power of Dáinsleif may not even be necessary any more, should we be able to separate the relic from the comatose girl, so her work is essentially useless as of now.”
Carol possessed a one-way psychic connection to Elfnein, and could connect the homunculus’s senses with her own through alchemy. The ability was limited to only observing, however; Carol could not take control over Elfnein’s body through this connection, and thus the ability was only useful in specific situations–such as determining Elfnein’s location.
“Carol, I have an idea.”
Shirabe spoke up, placing the red crystal that was the Shul Shagana Symphogear around her neck. “I could try and draw out the information for you.”
“Though you did accept my proposition to help me, Shirabe Tsukuyomi, it may be difficult to recover you if you simply walked in and asked for their assistance.” Carol stopped for a moment, tapping her chin. The idea was not bad, nor was it a perfect one.
“What if we just pretended she was enchanted by master’s charms?” Micha asked innocently.
Carol had not taken notice of it at the time, but the red-haired Autoscorer was not dressed in her usual garb, nor was she fully dressed. Instead, she wore only a large, oversized, pink T-shirt depicting the image of Nara’s mascot, Sento-kun: a bald, fair-skinned young boy with giant ears and the brown antlers of a deer protruding from his head.
“What are you wearing?” Carol asked in deadpan, completely confused by the choice of clothing that Micha now wore.
“Isn’t it cute, master?” Micha tugged at it. “It’s very stylish!”
“Yeah, sure, whatever.” Carol turned away from it and focused her attention away from the chuckling Garie who made the same realization as the alchemist who created her–Carol used her own personality as the basis for the four Autoscorers’ consciousnesses, so if Micha finds something cute then, surely, so does Carol.
“What Micha suggested is quite an interesting proposal.” Leiur spoke up, bringing the conversation back to its original topic. “Pretending that your new friend has been brainwashed through alchemy may be enough to stir them into wanting to protect their allies from suffering the same fate.”
“Unfortunately,” Ver laughed heartily as he climbed to his feet. “You chose one of the Symphogear wielders most unfit for battle. This little cretin can only fight for a short time without a supply of LiNKER.”
“Thank you for your wonderful explanation, doctor.” Carol rolled her eyes as she sarcastically addressed the man. “I’m well aware you’re just attempting to trick me into doing you a favour in exchange for nothing but a so-called ‘promise’ that you’d secure some LiNKER.”
Ver’s face soured as he cursed under his breath, and he collapsed back to the ground.
“But this begs the question–what, exactly, does LiNKER do?” Carol asked the entire room this question, not just Ver. Shirabe shrugged at the response, however, and the doctor refused to answer. Carol narrowed her eyes as she sent a threat towards Ver. “Just a reminder, doctor, we could simply have Garie drain the memories out of you and turn you into an empty vessel.”
“Oh, master, that would be delightful~” Garie leaned forwards, her music box-like joints chirping happily like the smile upon her face. “Truthfully, I’m not sure why we haven’t done that anyway.”
“Because, Garie, you have a habit of doing whatever you want and ignoring my orders.” Carol whispered under her breath, so quietly that not even the closest person to her–Shirabe–could make out the words entirely.
But Shirabe was preoccupied with her own thoughts and the memories of the experiments that had been forced upon her, transforming her–as well as Kirika and Maria–into the Symphogear wielders that they are now. She shuddered slightly, something that Carol noted.
“Very well, then, alchemist. Allow me to give you the simple run-down on LiNKER’s effects.” Ver announced, using his hand to wipe away the blood that had run down from his lips. “Developed by Finé, the serum was designed to forcibly raise compatibility between a subject and a relic to an acceptable level...”
“Enough. Your mention of Finé was enough.” Carol waved her arm. “Finé is credited as the originator of many alchemical techniques. Replicating the science behind this LiNKER should be relatively simple for someone such as I.”
“You’re so cool, master!” Micha cheered, raising one of her large claws above her head.
“But it is yet another small bump in my plans.” Carol sighed. “Perhaps it would have been more simple to just go with my original plan.”
Shirabe kept her eyes glued to the ground, forcing out the words of those around her. The mention of LiNKER–that she was unfit to use the Symphogear–really drove a stake into the delusion that she had been living in.
The desire to free Kirika from Finé’s influence? Shirabe couldn’t even use the one weapon at her disposal properly.
She never could.

~ ~ ~

 “With the loss of the only one of you girls who was naturally compatible with Airgetlám, we will need to run tests to determine who among you is the next-most capable subject for our tests.”
A doctor in a long white coat looked over the crowd of Receptor Children that sat scared in the brightly blank room of the F.I.S. institution. Beside him, Nastassja Sergeyevna Tolstaya, with a fresh eyepatch, sat in a wheelchair, a disgruntled look upon her face.
Nastassja was the next to speak. “We have been provided by Finé with a serum she has dubbed ‘LiNKER,’ developed with the intent of allowing even those without innate talent to become potential candidates.” Sucking in a tight breath, she finished with a chilling warning. “Some of you may not survive.”
The small hand gripping Shirabe’s tightened. Connected to her was Kirika, who also held the hand of Maria Cadenzavna Eve–the girl didn’t even have time to grieve for her sister before being thrown back into the torture. Despite the fear that Shirabe sensed from Kirika’s trembling fingers, Shirabe saw a caring smile creep across the blonde girl’s face when she looked at her.
“It’ll be okay!” Kirika assured Shirabe, but she felt otherwise.
Even in the few months since Shirabe was brought in to F.I.S., the number of Receptor Children had both increased and–especially lately–decreased, fluctuating wildly. Even now, Shirabe glanced around the room at a number of girls with scared wide eyes–most of the faces around her had not been here when Shirabe was first brought in.
But, even with the deaths of many Receptor Children, never before had they been warned that they may not survive. That was what worried Kirika most of all, and Shirabe could sense this emotion bubbling with her friend.
Her small fingers twisted into an embrace as Shirabe silently reassured Kirika. But the warmth that filled both girls’ hearts quickly faded as the man at the front of the room barked names. “Subjects Maria Cadenzavna Eve, Kirika Akatsuki, and Shirabe Tsukuyomi. From our initial tests, the three of you possessed the highest compatibility coefficients–thus, you three will be the first to undergo these new tests.”
“What?” Maria squeaked. “After what you did to my sister?”
“Silence!” The man screamed, walking over to the three. In his hand, he held a riding crop that he swung through the air.
“No!” Maria yelled, but this was a painfully normal sight for all of the Receptor Children. The man brought the weapon down, beating Maria’s arm as a loud crack filled the air–a red mark thus blighted the young girl’s fair skin.
Two more scientists filed into the room behind Nastassja, making their way towards the group of three terrified girls in silence. The man who had just beaten Maria took the arm of his target in his grasp, roughly pulling Maria to her feet as tears clouded her vision. Kirika and Shirabe, knowing the same fate awaited them, slowly climbed onto their own, unsteady legs and followed the scientists out of the room.

 The three future-Symphogear wielders were marched through the cold hallways of the institution, with only the sounds of their footsteps echoing across the metallic tiles accompanying their trek. Kirika, Shirabe, and Maria were all well familiar with the path they were forced to follow, and the destination it led to: the room with the electrocution machines that the Receptor Children were sometimes strapped to.
Indeed, the girls felt themselves tense up involuntarily as they laid their eyes upon the large machines in the cramped room–even Maria, whose mind was elsewhere, instead focused on grasping for the fading memories of her beloved sister.
The three children were given no explanation as the men in laboratory attire hurried off to retrieve similar objects. Shirabe was the first subject of this test, it turned out; the men returned, choking Shirabe with an iron collar that stifled her ability to breathe. Embedded within the metal claws that gripped at Shirabe’s throat was a small red crystal–the Shul Shagana Symphogear.
“Test zero-one-one; Shul Shagana.” One of the scientists reported from his place at a large metal machine–the console that controlled the torture device. While he spoke emotionless, two of the others lifted Shirabe up and pressed her up against the torture device that all of the girls had become adequately familiar with.
As Kirika, who watched with wide eyes, knew–and reported to Shirabe and Maria–the goal of using the electrocution machine was not to bring pain, but force the girl strapped to it to use their voice–and thus force them to assist their work.
“Begin.” The man who had reported the test name acknowledged one of his associates’ command. With more care than had been given to Shirabe in her time during her time in F.I.S. custody, the man at the console gingerly pulled a lever down.
Shirabe immediately braced herself, expecting the burning volts of electricity to course through her body, but it did not come. Instead, the lever he had pulled caused a new device–one unfamiliar to Shirabe–to lower from the ceiling. One of the other men quickly rushed to meet it, and open the orb-shaped storage container.
Though she could not see him retrieve the device, as he did so from the side opposite her, Shirabe’s eyes fell to the large vial filled with green liquid that the scientist held with care. Again, she realized, the inanimate objects were treated better than the humans they tortured.
“Shall we begin with a maximum dosage?” The scientist with the vial looked to Nastassja, who, up until this point, had remained beside Kirika and Maria in silence.
The old woman nodded slowly, but it was the man at the console who vocalized the opinion she shared. “We have ample supply; there is no need to hold back.”
“Very well.”
Shirabe’s eyes followed the scientist in front of her as he strolled around to her side. As he walked, the man pulled off the end of the vial to reveal a long, thin needle; Shirabe felt fear grip her chest at the sight of the pin.
“Inject her.” The man at the console ordered, and the orders were then carried out.
As the needle broke through the skin of Shirabe’s arm, stabbing deep into a vein and injecting the mysterious green liquid, she felt her entire body wanting to convulse–but, as she was strapped to the machine by both her wrists and ankles, Shirabe instead just flailed her chest around like mad.
The pain was excruciating: every cell in her small body felt as though it were expanding into the size of an apple before exploding out into a nuclear warhead of sharp daggers. Shirabe vomited up a torrent of blood, expelling it out onto the ground with such force that it splashed up to mark both the base of the machine and Shirabe’s feet.
Not helping the situation at all, the man at the console then slowly pulled a different lever, and Shirabe felt the familiar pain of being torn apart by electricity. The combination of these very different sensations tore Shirabe’s brain apart; focusing on the worried face of Kirika, that she could barely see through the tears welling in her eyes, was the only thing keeping her from passing out.
But there was something else. A pink glow emanated from the collar that was hugging Shirabe’s neck tight, and only now did Shirabe realize that her lungs were burning from the screams escaping out from beneath the pool of blood that sat in her mouth.
“It’s working!” The scientist who had injected Shirabe full of the green liquid had backed away, but now leaned forwards to look at the crystal strapped to Shirabe. “It’s resonating with the subject.”
But Shirabe could not hear the man over her own screams. Furthermore, there existed a series of dark tendrils that creapt across her consciousness–the eldritch beast of shadows that crawled over Shirabe’s brain was a stranger, yet it felt oddly comforting.
“Now.” The scientist at the console slammed a button, the claws keeping Shirabe against the machine letting their grip loose. Shirabe’s eyes widened as she found gravity pulling her to the ground, but her brain wasn’t able to focus on the concept of steadying her landing.
Before Shirabe’s feet touched the ground–despite being only mere centimetres from the Earth–she found herself doing something unbelievable. A song welled up from Shirabe’s heart and escaped her lips, a fiery warmth encapsulating her entire body.

*Various Shul Shagana tron*

 “Doctor, your theory was correct!” The third man, who had remained stationed beside Nastassja, had his jaw hanging low as a concoction of awe and surprise reflected in his eyes.
“Naturally.” The man at the console adjusted his glasses before running his hand through his pure-white hair.
“I’m quite impressed, as well.” Nastassja commented for the first time. “Your theory, Doctor Ver, that a raised emotional state would be required for LiNKER to take effect on its first use seemed unfounded at first. Truly I underestimated you.”
Shirabe looked down at her body. A dark black and pink jumpsuit hugged her skin tight, transforming into a dark skirt around her hips. Large pink and white devices extended out from her hair as if they were twintails, and similar coffins encased her legs from the knees-down. Most surprisingly, Shirabe found that her feet were not touching the ground, yet the effects of gravity were not pulling her down to the Earth; by stomping her foot, she found that a small wheel attached to her foot–even though Shirabe had no memory of ever roller-skating, she found herself able to balance on the sphere perfectly.
The excruciating pain that Shirabe had been forced to endure was now out of her mind, replaced by a curiosity for her new attire. Of course, the scars of the endeavour–both mental and physical–would forever linger upon her young mind.
“We have successfully created one Symphogear candidate, and on the first attempt, too.” Dr. Ver cracked a smile. Then, turning his attention to the other two girls flanked by scientists, he continued. “Now, to see if these two will bond with Airgetlám and Igalima, as well.”

~ ~ ~

 “Frankly, master,” Leiur spoke. Though she had been lost in her own thoughts, the fact that the Autoscorers and Carol were still mulling over possibilities told Shirabe one of two things: either she had not been distracted for long, or they were getting absolutely nowhere in their plan to determine the location of Serena Cadenzavna Eve.
Shirabe cut Leiur off. “Why don’t we just kidnap someone who would know?”
Carol turned to her new friend, the girl with the long black hair and ruby eyes. “A simple proposal. I like it.” The young girl spoke with a smile, which then transformed into one of disapproval as she spun to face Micha. “The four of you should learn to be more direct.”
“To tell you the truth, master,” Leiur sighed–which made Shirabe wonder if the Autoscorers needed to breathe. “I have been trying to suggest that very thing for the past five minutes.”
“Well.” Carol turned away in a huff. “Then, you needn’t learn anything, Leiur.”
“But where are we going to find someone to help us?” Garie asked with innocent eyes. These clouded over as the Autoscorer then cracked a crude grin. “Shall I go out hunting again?”
“No need, Garie. Elfnein has provided me the answer. She currently resides in the residence of the Kazanari family, alongside several influential figures who would likely be aware of our target’s location.” Carol pointed at Leiur, then moved to draw a triangle between the yellow Autoscorer and her blue and red sisters. “The three of you are to bring me the grey-haired man named Yatsuhiro Kazanari.”
“Understood, master.” Garie and Leiur acknowledged with elegance.
Contrasting them, Micha held her paw up above her head and cheerfully shouted. “Okay!”
“A two-on-one battle likely would have ended in your failure, Micha. Considering Phara reported only a single Symphogear wielder–one who has since been weakened–then the three of you should be more than sufficient for this operation.”
“I’m glad you care so much for us, master.” Garie smiled happily.
“Sure. Now, go.” Carol ordered with a confident thrust of her left hand. At that command, the three Autoscorers disappeared, fading into a pink glow.
“Now, then, let us watch this altercation.” Carol sighed, ripping apart reality to project the scene of the Autoscorers appearing outside of the Kazanari property.

. . .

 Kanade threw herself off the couch, landing on her feet with no effort. Like a ghost, the girl seemingly walked through the group crowding around the doorway, passing with quiet steps as she marched towards the courtyard.
“You, come with me.” Her hand touched the slick red oil that covered the arm of Miku Kohinata, and she gripped the limb tight. Lowering her eyes into a serious glare, Kanade addressed Miku with her own resolve. “Even a monster deserves to live their fullest life.”
“Kanade. Chris.” Miku shook off the hand and took a step back away from both her and Chris Yukine. Her body was shaking violently, and she grabbed her head. “I... there’s something...”
Miku’s eyes were darting about as she fumbled for words. “Miku. It’s okay. You can talk to...” Chris tried to reach out, but Miku pushed her away with a shout.
“No! Chris! I ate someone!”
That startled even Kanade, and a heavy air began to suffocate the three being burned by the sun above. “Miku...” Chris began to try and comfort Miku, but her arm froze in place, somewhat out-stretched away from her.
“There’s something wrong with me. When I get hungry, I just... lose control. My body moves on its own. I...” Miku clutched her arms as she collapsed to her knees. Her body still quaking, Miku looked down to the earth beneath her and whispered quietly. “Hibiki... I need to help Hibiki... But...”
“Miku! Miku! Calm down!” Kanade yelled, and forcefully grabbed Miku by the collar of her shirt.
Pulling her up like a sad bag of potatoes, Kanade looked into Miku’s dark eyes and did something she did not expect herself to: Kanade’s hand made a loud smack as she slapped Miku hard across the face. “Listen up, Miku. We’ll find some way to turn you back to normal.”
“I don’t deserve it, though.” Miku did not even react to the slap beyond her face being violently pushed to the side for just a moment. “I killed Hibiki... I’ve killed more people since... I’m a cannibal... I... shouldn’t live...”
“Shut up, Miku!” Kanade screamed into the girl’s face. “What would Hibiki think if she saw you like this?”
“She’d... hate me.”
“No, she’d want to do anything in her power to help you.” Kanade hissed. “She would never want to see you in a situation like this.”
“Besides,” Chris smiled, walking up next to Kanade. Placing her hands upon Kanade’s, she forced the orange-haired girl to let go of her grip on Miku’s collar–a fairly simple task, considering both Miku’s clothing and, now, Kanade’s hand were slick with gore. “I don’t even think that idiot was capable of hate. I think... no. She wanted to do anything to protect you–she even told me once that she was willing to die just to see you safe. Even if you were a monster, I think Hibiki would be right by your side, doing everything she could to try to make you smile.”
Chris’s words poked Miku’s heart, and her eyes flooded with tears. “Hibiki... Chris... I...” She collapsed to her knees again as her sobs echoed out into the courtyard.
Though she was somewhat disgusted by the gore covering her friend, Chris knew what she had to do–something she had desperately wanted from Finé, or anyone, for so many years. Kneeling next to Miku, Chris pulled the girl into a hug. “It’ll be fine, Miku.”
“Chris...” Miku whined, clutching Chris tight and coating her clothes red with blood.

 Neither girl was aware of time as they sat on the ground. Miku’s cries were the only thing that the two took in–the world beyond their bodies did not exist. At least, that was the case until Tsubasa walked up to stand next to Kanade.
“Kohinata.” Chris looked up over her shoulder at the blue-haired girl, but Miku kept her head against Chris’s chest as she wept. “I got a change of clothes ready for you. You should take a shower, and we’ll all work together to help you.”
“What’s this? Even the stone-cold sentinel wants to help?” Kanade mocked with a large smile on her face, aggravating Tsubasa.
“I’m not heartless. I’m just...”
“Not good at expressing yourself, I know. We really need to do something about that.”
Maria and Kirika slowly made their way over to meet the group as well, the former carrying a black towel in her hands. When their path ended in the spot beside the former idol duo known as Zwei Wing, Maria held out the gift in her hands. “We’ll need to dispose of those clothes, too.”
“Even after all you’ve been through, Miku,” Chris patted the crying girl’s head. “You’ll always have people to return to.”
What Chris left off was the comment of how true that had become for her. Years of experiences she would have paid to forget–and a mistress who cared so little–had taught Chris Yukine that pain, both emotional and physical, was the only sensation that connected humans. Yet, as she learned when Genjuro had returned from her memories and reached out to her–and continued to experience since with her new friends at Lydian–the power of hope, of simply having a shoulder to lean on, was always a greater strength. She had crawled out of the hole that fate had dug for her, and now Chris wanted to help Miku do the same.
“Come on, Miku.” Chris whispered with a warm smile, like that of a mother speaking to her child–even though Miku was only a single year younger than her. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
An explosion rocked the air, shattering the peaceful moment into shards of a distant memory. The wall behind the group–which had already been broken apart once by the battle between Phara and Kanade–crumbled away, and a large gap appeared as debris flew towards the six girls. This noise caused even most of those who had remained inside–Ogawa, Genjuro, Shiori, Kuriyo, and Yumi–to come running, though they remained at a distance as they saw the figures cross over the rubble.
“Sorry to interrupt your touching moment.” The cold voice of a pale girl in blue spoke, sending a chill down the spines of the Symphogear wielders before her. “But our master has ordered us to find someone of interest.”

. . .

 Carol yelped in surprise. “What are they all doing there?”
Shirabe just lowered her eyebrows, as if asking ‘seriously?’ “Did you forget? The man you wanted them to bring back–Maria and Kirika went off to find them. If he was at the mansion, they obviously would be too.”
The small alchemist rubbed her head, messing her shining hair up as her fingers forced the golden locks in every direction. “To overlook something so simple...!” She grunted, ignoring the maniacally-mocking laughter of the nearby Ver.
“Three-on-one would have been easy. But they stand no chance in a six-on-three battle, even if some of those Symphogears have not yet been imbued with Dáinsleif’s power.”
“Then, while they’re fighting, why don’t you go down there and bring him back?” Shirabe tilted her head.
“You’re suggesting I use the Autoscorers as distractions?” Carol glared at the girl. “Even if my original plan was to sacrifice my creations in order to collect the power necessary to power the Château de Tiffauges, it would be insane to simply toss them away now without reason.”
“Without reason...?” Shirabe whispered. “So, you care about the Autoscorers, then? Why do you feel like you’re alone?”
“Alone?” Carol whipped her head back. “I suppose, I must have become lonely in all of these years. With no one but that... Bavarian fool as my occasional contact.”
“You don’t count the Autoscorers as friends?”
“They’re... their personalities are based on my own brain, so I can’t really classify them as anything traditional. It’s like talking to different versions of me... but, not.”
“So in the end, you just want to protect yourself.” Ver laughed from afar. “You’re only viewing those robots as an extension of your own ego.”
“Perhaps that may be the truth. But, no longer.” Carol threw out her hand. “Something stirred within me, speaking with you, Shirabe Tsukuyomi.”
“Are you sick?” Shirabe innocently asked with the wide eyes of the child that she was.
“No! I... screw it. Never mind.” Carol stomped the ground, and silently returned her focus to the scene that was playing out across space.
She angrily mumbled as she began to formulate a plan to assist the Autoscorers–extensions of herself–blatantly unaware that the girl who stood beside her wore a smile on her face.
“Master.” Phara spoke up from her position beside the mad doctor gleefully writhing around on the floor. “Shall I go assist the others in their mission.”
“No, Phara. You’ve sustained too much damage for now. I’ll need to repair you, later. Just, keep an eye on the doctor.” Carol didn’t even bother to glance at the green-garbed woman, who merely bowed courteously in response.
“You have changed, master.” Phara noted after a few beats of silence, meeting the eyes of the black-haired girl whose gaze turned towards her. She offered a nod to Shirabe, aware of the source of this new Carol Malus Dienheim.
“No, I don’t think I have.” Carol quietly added. “I think I’ve just... become more like the me I was before the miracles birthed by my papa took his life.”

#### GX Chapter 13

 A young girl was bent over the beautiful sea of emerald blades that stretched endlessly beyond the horizon and only interrupted by the odd tree sprouting out of the ground. Where the sky began to touch down towards the ground, mountains poked up as the stone that had been birthed in ancient times to craft the delicate marble of Earth reached up towards the heavens.
This young girl had a short braid, more akin to a tail of a hog than a traditional weave of hair, protruding from her golden crown. Her jade eyes sparkled like the dew on the grass around her in the morning sun as she hummed a song her father had taught her from long ago.
In her hands, she held a bouquet of flowers that she had collected from the field around her. Multifarious colours and shapes sprouted up from the green stems in her grasp, tickling her chest as she worked to find the most beautiful shades among the petals that occasionally broke through the grassy meadow.
“I think papa would like this one.” A large grin tugged up over the girl’s cheeks as she held in her opposite hand her latest find: a peony, the colour of the coral that hugged the mysterious ocean depths that she longed to see.
Satisfied with the collection she had acquired, this small child of single-digit age stood up like a spring that had just uncoiled. With bouncy steps, she turned back towards the direction she had come and towards one of the very few structures blocking the view of the mountains that encircled the valley she lived in: the house that she and her papa lived in.
Instead of running towards the dark oak door that stood out among the pale wooden walls around it, the girl instead circle around to the side of the small lodgings. “Hello mama.” She said, though no human being stood around her.
Who the girl addressed was the brown mound that was dug into the ground, a white cross marking the head of this loved monument. On the symbol that stood up out of the ground was a simple, crudely-chiselled descriptor: ‘mama.’
“I brought you another flower, mama. I hope you like the colour of it. Papa told me you always liked running through the fields, so I found a green one that matched the grass!”
Though she should have been sad, the young girl had never met her mother–the woman had died in childbirth–and thus was nothing but a word to her. Regardless, the young child loved the ‘mama’ she never knew, and would often lay upon her grave different tributes: today’s was a brightly-coloured, chartreuse zinnia, whose face of petals shone up to mirror the warm smile on the gift-giver’s face.
Silence engulfed the girl as she paid her single moment of respect. Normally she would want to clap her hand once and say a prayer, but today she held many more gifts for her father and did not want to dirty them by placing them on the ground around her.
The quiet calm did not last long, however, as a loud noise boomed through the peaceful meadow. The young child’s eyes went wide, but she was not worried; this was commonplace. After all, she knew that it meant her beloved papa was working hard to create a new miracle. Explosions and messes were not mistakes–according to the genius alchemist that was her father, these were simply signs of progress.
With her flowers clutched to her chest, the girl spun away from the grave of her mother with a small wave and headed towards the entry of her home. “Papa, did your new experiment work out?”
Her question had been yelled out before she had even entered the house, and the man inside only heard it through the open window beside the door. Should she had opened the door first, the girl realized that she would not have asked that question as she looked out upon what should have been the living room of the house.
Then, she burst out into hearty laughter. “Papa! You look so goofy!”
The old man she addressed–her papa–chuckled as he removed his glasses, which only made the young girl laugh harder. He–and the area around him–was covered in some mysterious pink goop that smelled of strawberries, but the area that had been protected by his small circular glasses were left unstained, making a mask of fair skin that encircled the eyes his daughter inherited. The man smiled, and could help but join in on the laughter.
“No, I don’t think this experiment worked out.” The man’s grin and kind eyes matched those of the girl who looked at him with a mixture of awe... and a look that told him that she was not excited to help clean up the resulting mess. The man opened a nearby drawer and removed a small cloth, which he then began to use to clean himself off.
“You’d think I would be better at baking.” The man wondered aloud, the pink substance now smeared equally across both his face and the towel he held. “Maybe your uncle really was right about me.”
“‘When it comes to the unknown, you’re the summit of knowledge. But you’re nothing more than a fish out of water when you face the known.’” The girl quoted with a knowing glint in her eye. Her so-called uncle wasn’t the only one who noticed that her father was almost completely useless when he wasn’t working in the field of alchemy.
“Ah, those are some pretty flowers.” The man, with his face now clean enough, began to approach the young girl. “Were you going to give those to your mother?”
The girl shook her head with an audible noise. “No, these ones are for you papa! I thought your workshop might need more colour.”
“Ah, thank you. You’re such a good girl...” The man reached out for the flowers but then stopped as the girl pulled back the flowers–his hand was still covered in goop, so he’d just ruin the palette she’d chosen.
 Seeing the disapproval on his daughter’s face, the man returned to the drawer and grabbed another cloth, this time to clean off his hands so that he would not dirty the gift that his daughter so innocently gathered. “Let’s find a vase for these, shall we?”
The child nodded happily–she knew where the vases were, but her father would always forget. She ran off down the hall that stretched out from the living area down to her bedroom, careful not to slip on the mess that had covered the room.

 “Let’s see here. Which of the vases should I use today?” She asked herself, pulling open the large closet that a man in town had carved the year before and gifted her.
In the closet were a number of carefully folded dresses that she had collected over the years. Some were presents from people in town, others had been sewn by the girl herself–and her most cherished one, a mess of unwearable cloth that was her father’s one attempt at making clothing.
Below the shelves carrying her wardrobe sat three multi-coloured pots that she and her father had made and painted several years ago. The girl had made one–the nicest of the three, though it appeared to be a mangled tube that most would hesitate to call anything close to elegant–while her father had struggled to make the other two.
As she was trying to make her decision, the flowers still flopping about in her hands, the girl heard a knock on the front door followed only moments later by the sound of it opening.
“Ah, hello there.” She heard her father greet the visitor with a kind voice, but the response frightened her.
“You’re coming with us, witch.” The visitor’s voice was familiar–it belonged, the girl knew, to the kind man who had whittled the piece of furniture she was now crouched down in front of. But the tone he used was strange, unfamiliar; it was like the growl of a beast.
Knowing something was wrong, the girl rushed to the door. “Papa, is something wrong?”
“Stay back, child. Your father over here is a demon.” The man yelled. His once-kind face was twisted into a scowl, with dark rings tugging on his eyes, and his normally-coiffed moustache a frenzy, as if the mangled bristles of an old paintbrush.
“A demon?” The girl wondered, taking a step forwards. “My papa’s not a bad...”
“Carol.” Her father spoke her name in a serious tone, and the young girl froze in the middle of her step. “Stay back. Papa’s going out for a while. I don’t know when I’ll be back.”
Carol’s father had his arm grabbed by the woodworker, who simply grunted in disapproval at the words chosen by the man opposite from him. Seeing the glare on his face, Carol’s father continued. “Don’t follow me, Carol. Stay here. Promise me.”
“But papa...!”
“Enough!” For the first–and last–time in her short life, Carol heard her kind father raise his voice into a bark, and this caused the girl to flinch backwards and dropped the flowers that she had been clutching.
“Miracles are things that should never exist but do, and it’s my job to create them.” Carol’s father lowered his gaze. “Carol, you know more than anyone how much I want to analyse the world, to find a way to bring about a miraculous world free of hatred or illness... but others have not been so receptive to this.”
“A world free of hatred or illness? Bah.” The other man tugged the arm of Carol’s father, pulling him out of the house. “Your so-called ‘medicine’ is nothing but you spitting in the face of Our Lord, defying the trials He has set forth for us to climb over.”
The man pulled Carol’s father away, and he stumbled out of the small abode that had been built with care. Pink footsteps from the strange goop–that was apparently food-related–trailed out into the verdant green beyond.
But Carol did not want to let the man take her father away. Running over the flowers she had taken great care to collect over the past few hours, Carol dashed out of the house. “Papa!”
“Don’t follow us, child. You will regret the sight that you will see should you do.” The moustachioed man shouted a warning. “Or you could join Izak...”
“No. Carol has nothing to do with my work, and you know it.” Carol’s father, Izak, interrupted him. “At the very least, let her live out her days in peace.”
“Hmph. Very well.” The man pulled Izak towards a wooden carriage attached to a horse sat upon by a skinny man that Carol vaguely remembered seeing in town before. The rider averted his gaze from Carol’s as the woodworker pushed Izak into the carriage.
“Carol!” Izak shouted through the wooden bars. “Please, go. See the world and all of the natural miracles that it has to offer!”
“Papa!” Tears flowed down Carol’s face as she screamed for her father. She wanted to run towards the carriage that entrapped her father but her feet did not listen to the cries of her brain. Instead, she just shouted for her father again and again. “Papa! Papa!”

 Before Carol had engrossed herself in the realm of alchemy, she had been living as the child of one Izak Malus Dienheim–an alchemist in his own right, who would often go out of his way to aid the small village they lived near. Just a normal, kind girl, Carol’s peaceful life was ripped away from her in an instant as she watched the men her father had helped again and again take him away.
Though Izak had ordered Carol not to follow them, she did not obey. The girl had snuck into the town once she regained control of her body, and made it there by nightfall.
The sight she saw, then, was forever burned into her mind.
“Even in the next life,” Izak shouted over the crowd of angry townsfolk encircled below him. “I will continue to bring about hope. I promise to create for everyone an existence of miracles!”
Those were the final words of Carol’s father. The young girl watched with wide, terrified eyes as flames exploded out from beneath the genius Izak Malus Dienheim and slowly devoured him.

 But Carol’s heart twisted. With tears in her eyes and the red glow of fire paling against the blue flare of hatred exploding from her mouth, Carol Malus Dienheim denounced that which her father dedicated her life to making.
“You wouldn’t have to suffer like this if...” She shook her head and shouted from afar towards the crowd that cheered for death, though not even one person glanced in her direction. “Papa... I hate your miracles.”

. . .

 “Maria, Kirika! Get back! You don’t have your Symphogears, so get everyone out of here!” Kanade shouted as she threw out her arm to the side. Though her words addressed the girls behind her, the gaze of Kanade Amou was glued to the three new figures that had broken open the wall of the Kazanari estate.
Chris, on her own, pushed away from Miku. “You should go, too. You’re in no position to fight right now.”
“Let’s go, death!” Kirika tugged the hands of Maria and Miku, both of whom she knew were about to protest, and dragged them away. Ironically, Kirika, wielding the Asgard ability she inherited from Finé, was likely in a better condition to fight than the already-fatigued Kanade, but she bit back her own complaints as she guided the two other girls.
“None of you are the ones we’re looking for.” Leiur commented, looking down at the three girls clad in the Symphogears of Ame no Habakiri, Gungnir, and Ichaival. “Move aside.”
“Not a chance, robot.” Yukine shouted back. Recognizing the appearances of Leiur and Micha, she took aim with one of the crimson crossbows in her grasp. “Let’s finish our earlier duel.”
“Hmph. You learned nothing from our earlier encounter.” Leiur scowled. “Very well. Garie, you...”
Garie, however, was already skating towards Kanade, ice generating beneath her feet as she elegantly dashed towards the orange-haired wielder of Gungnir. Leiur sighed at the sight, then turned to see Micha already leaping towards Tsubasa to continue from where they had been forced to end earlier.
“Really. This was supposed to be a simple mission.” Leiur shook her head, casually stomping her foot to send up a crystalline wall that protected her from Chris’s incoming attack. “Very well. Let us deal with these miscreants first, I suppose.”

 Kirika ushered everyone who couldn’t fight the powers of the Autoscorers–which consisted of Maria, Genjuro, Ogawa, Yumi, Shiori, Kuriyo, Tomosato, Yatsuhiro, and Elfnein–further into the Kazanari abode, while Miku slowly trailed behind her. “Everyone, stay here, death.” She ordered.
Elfnein squeaked up at the command. “I was almost done modifying Igalima.”
“No, work on Airgetlám first.” Kirika lowered her gaze as she threw up a pink wall between herself (and Miku) and the crowd within the room. “I’ll protect you all right now, death. We don’t know who they’re after, so it’s best if you all stay together.”
Maria was about to complain at the suggestion, but Elfnein’s fierce nod interrupted her. “Okay. It shouldn’t take long to finish work on both Symphogears.”
“Ko... Miku.” Kirika turned to the mess of a girl still sulking as blood stuck to her entire form. “We’ll be defence.” Miku’s hollow, tear-filled gaze offered no response, but she slowly nodded in acknowledgement a moment later.
Beneath the gore glued to her body, Kirika noticed the form of Lancea Longini still active upon Miku’s body. “Can you even deactivate your weapon?” She wondered aloud, though had intended for the question to remain silent. The answer scared Kirika, who only watched as Miku’s head slowly shook from side-to-side.
Then, almost as if a switch had been flipped, Miku took a battle stance and her body began to glow blue. “Shrivatsa!” The girl’s voice ripped through Kirika’s mind, and a moment later she found herself–and Miku–encased within a blue orb. Less than a second later, before Kirika had even registered the shield going up around her, she heard the sound of a metallic scream as something outside attacked the impenetrable shield.

 “Stay away from them.” Tsubasa ordered as she threw herself through the corridor of her family’s home. Her sword pointed out in front of her, she literally glided across the ground as she aimed to pierce the form of the Autoscorer clawing at the shield created by Miku.
“But you’re so weak~” Micha whined with a tired glance. “That girl looks like she’d be a lot more fun to fight.”
The Autoscorer put in little effort as she kicked off the blue orb of Shrivatsa, propelling herself through the wall behind her... and the wall behind that... and the wall behind that. She landed out in the courtyard in a feral stance, glaring at Tsubasa while still wearing her large playful smile.
“Weak, huh?” Tsubasa jumped through the hole in the architecture that had just been torn open and her Armed Gear collided with the sharp claws of the Autoscorer.
Though only a second–or perhaps even less–had passed between her acceleration and subsequent collision, Tsubasa was shocked to see that Micha had not only met the blade of Ame no Habakiri with enough force to block the attack, but enough to knock even Tsubasa off-balance. The blue-haired girl clicked her tongue as she backed away from her freaky opponent.
“Weak, weak, weak!” Micha teased, her clown-like expression never fading.

 Kanade panted as she thrust the giant spear of Gungnir towards Garie, but it cut only through the wind by the Autoscorer’s side as she twirled out of the way.
Garie was barely even trying to combat Kanade, instead doing nothing more than playing with her like a small child. Instead of attacking, she danced literal circles around the Symphogear wielder, pirouetting around any strike that came close to even scratching the dress her master had designed for her. All the while, Garie had the innocent smile of a young woman plastered on her face, as if unaware of the strife she was causing the former idol.
Gungnir cut through the air once more towards Garie. This time, however, Kanade was ready for Garie to dodge out of the way, and had a plan to counter it: slicing the air at an angle, she continued to send the pointed arrow-like head careening into the ground, shattering the ground where Garie had once stood.
“You missed~” Garie teased happily, but the chuckle that escaped Kanade’s lips gave her pause.
The attack was not aimed for Garie. Instead, she spun the head on her shoulders around as she elegantly twirled on her icy platform, watching as flaming debris broken off from the earth sailed towards Leiur from behind.
“I’m getting nowhere with you.” Kanade growled. “So I may as well help my friends.”

 Chris saw Kanade’s attack, and knew that Leiur was not expecting one from behind. Thus, as she waited for the bits of stone and dirt to close-in on the Autoscorer she was facing, Chris guided her into place and stole away her attention with her magical arrows.
As a result, Leiur only had a bored expression upon her face as she stomped the ground and flicked coins at the projectiles that targeted her. Not one came anywhere close to hitting the Autoscorer, being stopped with ease through her golden shields.
But, as both Kanade and Chris expected, she did not anticipate an attack–or, rather, a distraction from behind. Leiur was completely oblivious as the stones were hurled into her back, causing her to stumble forwards without sustaining any injury. This, however, was just enough for Chris to take advantage of, launching a missile with perfect timing, giving the Autoscorer no time to dodge or defend herself.

 Confusion registered in Kanade’s mind before the pain of being assailed by the explosive power of Ichaival’s missiles. She found herself flying through the air as the might of Chris’s attack launched her flying.
“What happened?” She heard Chris yell, showing that even she had no idea of what happened. The response, though, was lost to Kanade as she collided with a section of the Kazanari mansion and, as if it were nothing but a thin bush, fell through the old wooden exterior to the abode below.
Kanade coughed from the dust that kicked up from the collapsing of the building. “I have no idea what just happened, but I don’t want it to happen again.”

 Chris, however, did hear the explanation straight from the mechanical lips of Garie Tūmān. The girl skated over to Leiur’s side as her partner righted herself, her polite mask dropping into its maliciously true form.
“A simple trick, really.” Garie snapped her fingers as an explanation, transforming herself and Leiur into a series of bubbles. As quickly as their physical forms had popped into liquid lighter than air, they reformed back into the Autoscorer enemies that Chris recognized–in opposite positions. “Just a little something I’m good at.”
“Well shit.” Chris readied more missiles, but stopped. She was brash but far from stupid–if they could essentially teleport each other, then teleporting her missiles would be far from a difficult task.
Thus, with a click of her tongue, Chris Yukine did something she hated–she turned and ran away. With a shrug, Garie followed.

 “Switch.” Tsubasa heard, and caught two figures running towards her from the corner of her vision.
Not bothering to respond vocally, Tsubasa flipped through the air and over the moving Chris, landing by smashing her sword down into Garie’s hand... or so she thought. Instead, a large icicle protruded out from the Autoscorer’s hand, stopping Ame no Habakiri’s blade in place.
But Tsubasa was not worried about that. “Burn!” She shouted, and the blade was instantly surrounded in bright flames the colour of the very ice that Garie aligned herself with. This caught the alchemical marvel off-guard, who spun backwards on her own icy platform in order to dodge the attack, staggering for just a moment.

 Behind Tsubasa, Chris was managing to combat Micha far better than she had before. As Micha excelled in close-range combat, Chris kept her at a distance by hounding her with projectiles that the Autoscorer had no choice but to block with her own claw swipes.
“Aren’t you a cowar–” Micha was about to say from her position, but was cut off by something that shocked even Chris–the form of Kirika, with Asgard surrounding her fist, punching Micha in the back and sending the Autoscorer flying towards Ichaival.
Taking this advantage, Chris launched missiles at the confused Autoscorer, who could do nothing as she clumsily fumbled through the air. “This is it!” Chris shouted, expecting to see her enemy’s defeat as the missiles exploded against their target.
Instead, however, Chris saw the golden shine of Leiur’s coin, which crashed to the ground in Micha’s place. The Autoscorer of Earth descended, too, landing atop the coin with only a single foot to balance her, despite cradling Micha in her hands. “Where did you even come from?”
“As I said before,” Leiur looked down her nose at the girl in red. “Move aside.”

 Tsubasa’s blade sliced at Garie with incredible speed, and the Autoscorer had no choice but to block it with the icicles she sprouted and back away immediately thereafter as flames chased her down. It was a crude dance–and one that Garie was getting tired of.
But Garie had the upper hand in this battle–or, rather, the lower hand. Tsubasa had been too distracted by Garie’s speedy defensive tactics to notice that the girl had been drawing rings of ice on the ground around her.
Tsubasa took a step forwards onto this ice, and immediately lost balance. Garie’s ice was not normal, as obvious as that was from the fact that it did not melt even in the summer heat–the molecules that made up the alchemical surface bounced at such a high speed as reality rejected their very existence that it was near impossible for most to claim any balance–the Autoscorers being among the few exceptions.
The girl with Ame no Habakiri immediately began to slide on the ice, slipping as she lost her balance. Kicking at the air, the idol flopped down onto her back as her foot was unable to keep the rest of Tsubasa’s body up against the pull of gravity. Seeing this as her chance to counter, Garie spun towards Tsubasa and kicked the idol with all of her might, sending Ame no Habakiri’s wielder crashing threw the air and towards her friend.
Chris had not seen Tsubasa coming, and thus was surprised when her ally involuntarily tackled her from behind. Their limbs tangled, the two girls tried to pull themselves together as the three Autoscorers looked down their noses at the web of Symphogear wielders that had been spun upon the ground.
“These fools are who our master was so worried about?” Garie commented. “They’re pathetic.”
“Fighting them like this is no fun.” Micha agreed with a happy nod from her position in Leiur’s arms. Then, throwing herself out of the princess-like position she had been laying in and landing on the ground at the base of the coin, Micha shouted. “Come on! Do that thing again! The... shadow... thing.”
“Not a chance.” Chris grunted as she climbed to her feet. “We can take you on well enough just like this.”
“No you can’t.”
Chris turned around to see the shadow of Miku emerging from one of the many new tears in the walls around them. “I’ll take them on. Instead of killing, for once I’ll be the one to protect.”
“Miku... you don’t need...” Chris wanted to stop her, but the fire that burned in the one eye not overtaken by darkness stopped her.
“Hibiki would want to help you now, so I’m doing what she can’t. Go find Kanade.” Miku did not even wait for a response from any party before she flew at supersonic speeds towards where the three Autoscorers had gathered.
Tsubasa, Kirika, nor Chris could keep their eyes trained on Miku as she flew. It was as if she had teleported–one second she stood among the rubble of the mansion, and the next she had launched the golden coin on which Leiur stood sailing sky-high with an uppercut. Garie and Micha, who were just barely out of her path, just watched in surprise as their sister flew away.
“Now this,” Garie’s shark-tooth grin widened.
“Will be fun!” Micha finished, readying her claws.

. . .

 “What’s with that girl?” Carol shouted in surprise as she watched Miku’s first attack play out through a gap in reality. “She’s like a living deus ex machina!”
The cruel chuckling from the doctor that laid on the ground forced the alchemist to turn her annoyed glare back towards John Wayne Vercingetorix. “My greatest creation–Lancea Longini! A perfect fusion of human and relic, a beast capable of utilizing the power of every relic I had the ability to analyse at the time.” Though he was sitting on the ground like an obedient schoolboy, the mad doctor’s wild eyes flew open as he strained under the weight of an invisible globe that had been dropped onto his shoulders, and he threw his arms out as if giving a passionate speech. “A being that surpasses even the ancient gods! Truly the very definition of a ‘hero.’”
“You seem to think very highly of this creation despite the fact that you have absolutely no control over it.” Carol muttered in deadpan.
“My greatest creation,” Ver explained, wagging his index finger at the young girl. “But not perfect. And I was this close, too, to stripping away her personality. If only those damned Symphogear wielders hadn’t managed to dredge up the memories I thought I sealed away.”
“Your Autoscorers aren’t doing so well.” Shirabe commented, ignoring the conversation happening around her.
“No. To think even one enemy would prove too much for three of my greatest creations.” Carol thought aloud, but then focused on the image before her of Micha dressed solely in a Sento-kun T-shirt. “Well, three of my creations, at least.”
“Master, shall I go assist them?” This was the voice of Phara, the fourth of the Autoscorers, who remained on standby to watch over Ver.
“No. Not yet.” Carol’s eyes were focused entirely on the images of the battle that raced before her. She was analysing every single frame that passed by her, memorizing every moment, looking for a way to turn the tables. And, in doing so, Carol came to a realization. “I don’t think that’s necessary, Phara.”

. . .

 Miku was taking on the three Autoscorers with ease as her armour switched between weapons at the mere thought. Her eyes focused on Micha as her claws swiped at her body, Miku’s spun the thick blade of Ame no Habakiri around to launch the red-haired girl flying, transferring the momentum of her attack into a spin as Ichaival’s crossbow replaced the sword in her hand and fired upon the encroaching Garie. Leiur, who had returned to the ground without harm, simply stood back–an act that Miku was weary of.
Garie popped into bubbles, dancing into the sky around Miku, who fired at each and every one with the weapons normally only usable by Chris Yukine. As the correct bubble was popped and Garie fell to the ground, Miku did not even bother to follow-up on that as Micha stepped in with a red beam extended from her palm, ready to slice Miku in half. The half-second between the bubble being popped and Micha’s appearance, however, was far more than enough time for Miku, whose brain was running overdrive as the power of the relics within her took command, to counter with a kick.
This was when Leiur took action, catching the launched Micha in her arms and, with a spin, tossing her back towards Miku as she launched herself forwards by forming a crystal beneath her feet. The two Autoscorers flew like missiles towards Miku, but they were unable to do anything as she hid within the shield of Shrivatsa and waited for them to bounce off.
Though this should have given them an opening, Leiur and Micha both retreated as their instincts told them not to approach. Indeed, instead of disipating as before, Shrivatsa instead transformed into a giant version of one of Shul Shagana’s sawblades, and the Autoscorers were all barely out of the range of the pointed that would have torn them apart like paper.

 “She’s good, death.” Kirika marvelled.
“It’s terrifying, what that doctor did to her.” Tsubasa noted, her expression dark.
Despite being ordered to find Kanade, Chris, Tsubasa, and Kirika all watched in awe as Miku took on the three Autoscorers all on her lonesome. Together, Chris, Kirika, Tsubasa, and Kanade had only managed to do as much damage to each other as they did to the Autoscorers, and yet Miku had yet to sustain even a single blow from them.
“I don’t think she can hold out for much longer.” Chris, however, noticed otherwise. “Miku’s movements are getting more desperate; she’s taking longer to react and doing so in ways that don’t make sense.”
Leiur fired golden coins from her finger at Miku. Though the attack should have been easy to counter in a number of ways, Miku instead proved Chris’s point to the others as she formed the spear of Gungnir in her grasp and used it to drill down into the ground–Leiur’s terrain. The Autoscorer noticed this and created a subterranean crystal with a powerful step, though what followed was the ball of Shrivatsa being launched up into the air as if a game of pinball were beginning.
“Either that, or she’s showing off.” Kirika added.
“No. I think...” As Miku revealed herself once more, the shell of Shrivatsa falling away, Chris strained her eyes to see if her idea was in the realm of possibility before speaking. “Whatever’s happening to Miku... I that darkness spreads more whenever she uses her powers.”
“Now that you mention it, her left eye has been slowly darkening, I believe.” Tsubasa, too, strained her eyes to see Miku as she rushed about at high speeds. “She must want to end this fight before...”
The rest of what Tsubasa said was lost to Chris, who ran up to get closer to the battle. “Miku! Stop fighting!” She yelled. “You’re only hurting yourself.”
“I know that!” While still fending off Micha, Miku shouted back to Chris. “But I’m doing what Hibiki would.”
“How many times do we have to tell you to–!” Chris began to yell, furious that Miku was still putting her own safety after everything else, but was cut short.

 “Yukine!” Tsubasa yelled.
Beside her, Kirika’s lungs screamed from air as she exhaled into a scream. “Chris!”
But Chris’s confusion was only compounded as she stared deep into Miku’s wide, equally surprised, eyes. “Mi... ku?” Chris had not registered pain until she tried to speak, and coughed up blood in doing so.
“Oopsie. Guess your hand slipped.” Garie’s voice rang out from somewhere beside Chris. “Sorry about that~”
“Sorry...?” Chris tried to repeat, and then realized what had happened as she looked down.
Garie could switch the positions of others by transforming them into bubbles... or something. As Chris saw the shaft of Gungnir protruding into her chest, blood pooling out from the wound that Miku’s hands made, she realized that she had been the target of this alchemical technique.
“Not again. No...” Miku muttered, looking at Chris. Her hands, which were still wrapped around the imitation of Gungnir born from her heretical, experiment-ridden body, were shaking involuntarily. Her breathing was rapid and heavy as anxiety, grief, and stress overtook her mind.
The sensation of killing Hibiki in the same way, sending her best friend falling into the ocean below–Miku felt the same thing now as she looked at Chris Yukine, skewered on the end of her weapon.
“No!” Miku screamed, freeing her hands for just a moment before grabbing her head.

 It was then that Miku Kohinata died.

. . .

 “Nephilim truly was an interesting relic.” Ver mused as he watched the scene unfolding elsewhere from a distance. “It was neither inanimate nor a living creature. By fusing it with the Nehushtan Armour, it would have been fundamentally invincible.”
“What did you do?” Shirabe was the one who question the doctor, stomping up next to him. Forcefully grabbing his collar, she leaned in to spit in the man’s face. “Whatever you did will definitely harm my friends.”
“Oh, that’s not the only thing that little monster over there is going to harm. Like I said–I fused data collected from every relic I had access to. The regenerative powers of the Nehushtan Armour, the ferocity and might of Nephilim, the weapons that birthed the Symphogears, Shénshòujìng’s ability to dispel curses, the connection to the Treasury of Babylonia offered by Solomon’s Cane...”
“And the ability to raise the dead.” Carol finished. “You combined them all to create a beast that could destroy and rebuild the planet in a way that would conform to your twisted vision, correct?”
Ver did not offer a verbal response, instead just cackling into Shirabe’s face as she looked at the man, disgusted.
“The power of those Symphogear wielders will be utterly useless against my hero of justice! Even those Illuminati freaks wouldn’t be able to stand up to it!”

. . .

 Miku roared–it was not her voice that escaped her crooked lips, but instead a deep, feral cry that sounded like an ancient beast. The cry caused the version of Gungnir that she wielded to disintegrate, allowing the bleeding Chris to fall onto the ground like an abandoned doll.
Flames of darkness enveloped the girl that was formerly known as Miku Kohinata. The Lancea Longini that she had been fused with merged with the shadows that devoured every minute particle that made up her being.
She was a human no more. Instead of standing only one and a half metres tall as she had before, Miku Kohinata’s body expanded as she transformed into what could only be described as a demonic presence. The three Autoscorers, not to mention Tsubasa, Kirika, and–though struggling to remain conscious–Chris, could only watch in horror as the dark form began to grow and, within moments, towered high over them.
From less than two metres tall to almost fifteen in mere seconds, all as her roar screamed towards the heavens.

. . .

 “Rise!” Ver commanded, climbing up to his feet. Phara held out a blade to stop his approach, but he completely ignored it–and she did nothing else to halt him. He stumbled towards the vision of his creation.
“Destroy this accursed world, Batara Kala!”

. . .

 Though she could not hear the insane words of Dr. John Wayne Vercingetorix, the beast now known as Batara Kala responded with a feral cry.
A beast whose body was pure black–a living shadow–the monster appeared to be a version of Nephilim that stood on two legs as opposed to four. A crooked mouth filled with teeth just as dark as the rest of her body, claws that each exceeded the length of even the tallest human’s height, and burning flames for eyes that slowly cycled through the entire colour spectrum: this was the monster that Ver dubbed Batara Kala.

 Kirika looked up at the beast that loomed over her. “I don’t think we’re going to be able to fight that, death.”
But Tsubasa wasn’t concerned about that. “First, we have to provide medical aid to Yukine.” She rushed over and took the bleeding girl in her arms, who had lost consciousness but had a light pulse, still.

. . .

 Shirabe looked at the doctor before her with an icy cold glare that could freeze even lava. “You’re truly insane.”
“To be sane means to be blind to the greater truths of the universe.” Ver snapped back. “I want to bring about a world of justice–one where heroes reign supreme. Is that truly insane?”
“Through these methods?” Carol asked, then answered her own question. “Yes.”
“Like you have any room to talk, child.” Ver scoffed. “Little Miss ‘I’m Gonna Dissect The Earth.’ You’re worse than me–you’re just a hypocrite. What I’m doing... I’m turning our very existence into one of miracles.”
Carol froze. It was not being called a hypocrite that struck a nerve, nor was it him pointing out that her plan to dissect the world was just as mad as the plan she was now criticizing. Her eye twitched at the final word he spat out towards them.
The small alchemist chuckled. “An existence of miracles...?” The fires that burned her father alive resurrected within her heart, within the eyes of the self-proclaimed ‘murderer of miracles.’ “How dare you twist my papa’s words into this insanity!”
Runes appeared around the figure of the small girl in a diamond shape: the fiery red burned at the top, with the gold of the earth, green of the wind, and freezing blue succeeding it in clockwise order. Then, around these four runes, Carol formed a golden ring–the fifth element of alchemy, silver.
“Come! Dur da Blá!” Carol commanded, punching off to the side and through reality itself.
“Did you just say...?” Ver trembled not at the sight of the magical symbols hovering in the air around Carol, but at the name of a relic he had not yet catalogued: Dur da Blá, the divine harp that was spoken about in Celtic mythology.
Carol pulled from her dimensional pocket a purple and gold object that looked almost like a gothic bow, but the musical strings that filled the curved design of the device confirmed it to be a harp.
Shirabe sidled up to Carol, as if an invisible threat had pulled her towards the alchemist she had befriended. As Carol strummed the harp’s strings, Shirabe strummed the Holy Chant of Shul Shagana, and the two were simultaneously wrapped in white as their bodies were imbued by the relics’ powers.
“Die.” Their voices overlapped even before the light faded from their bodies, but Ver could see their shining silhouettes thrusting their palms into the ring of elemental symbols before them.

 The last moment of Dr. John Wayne Vercingetorix’s life was filled with agony no human could ever hope to imagine. The crazed man was simultaneously torn apart by blades of wind, melted by ice so cold it felt warmer than the sun, scorched by the fires of hell, pelted by the asteroids that sailed through the cosmos above, cooled by the mysterious light of molten silver, and the completely eradicated by sawblades of energy from Shul Shagana.
Nothing remained–of John Wayne Vercingetorix, or the Château de Tiffauges.

#### GX Chapter 14

 Tsubasa’s eyes widened as she took a step forwards. Suddenly, it was as though the world had disappeared around her and the unconscious Chris Yukine in her arms. As if the curtain had fallen on her stage, she was surrounded in a void of complete darkness.
“Tsubasa? Chris? What happened?”
And she was not alone. Running towards her were the panicking shapes of Yumi Itaba, Shiori Terashima, and Kuriyo Ando, worried about the bleeding figure barely breathing in her arms. Kuriyo had been the one to raise the question, though the other two had equally as-worried expressions plastered upon their faces.
Behind the three high school students, Tsubasa noticed everyone else walking towards her: Maria, Ogawa, Tomosato, Genjuro, Yatsuhiro, and even Elfnein. Looking around in the other directions, it took her only a few more seconds to find Kanade and Kirika approaching from the vast ocean of darkness as well.
Yumi, Shiori, and Kuriyo ignored Tsubasa and their current situation and instead crowded to look down at Chris.
“Tsubasa, what happened to her?” Yumi asked, her voice surprisingly calm despite the hectic look.
The idol did not know if she should answer truthfully, and just tilted her head away as she pondered the situation. The three girls, however, were surprisingly perceptive; it was Yumi, in particular, who voiced her suspicions of the meaning behind that quick aversion.
“Miku?”
“One of the Autoscorers teleported Yukine in front of Kohinata’s blade, using her as a human shield.” Tsubasa decided that they did deserve the truth, regardless of how bad it may have hurt them.
“And, might I say, it was a brilliant decision on my part.”
The voice of the Autoscorer responsible for Chris’s current condition resounded, shocking Tsubasa as she hurriedly searched for the source of the echo that seemed to reverberate out throughout the entire realm they now lived within.
“What do you want, death?” Kirika shouted up into the inky sky, and it was then that Tsubasa realized that the source of the cry came from up above rather than on the same plane as she.
“Don’t look at us.” Leiur shrugged from her position on high. Though, relative to Tsubasa and the rest, she was ‘floating,’ Leiur and the other Autoscorers appeared to be standing on solid ground. “This was not our doing.”
“But master could do something like this!” Micha shouted. Her eyes then narrowed a little before springing back into her overly-happy expression as the Autoscorer’s large claw began to flail above her head. “Hi Elfnein!”
“Um... hello, Micha.” The homunculus squeaked, surprised by the greeting. As Micha kept up her wild wave, Elfnein decided to respond with her own, albeit far smaller and reserved, motion.
“So, then,” Maria asked out to the never-ending room. “What are we doing here?”

 “My apologies for the abrupt summoning... and for keeping you waiting.”
Just as Micha had speculated, the voice belonging to Carol Malus Dienheim bellowed as the alchemist in question sparkled into existence. She floated in the air, landing on a plane in-between the three Autoscorers and the group from the Kazanari residence, with Phara and Shirabe by her sides.
“Shirabe!” Kirika cried out as her friend materialized beside the form of the one who she believed to be her enemy, but Shirabe did not even glance in her direction.
“Are you hurt?” Maria followed up with her own worries, and this elicited a response from Shirabe.
“I’m fine.” Shirabe smiled down to her pink-haired friend, keeping out of her sight the golden eye of Finé attached like a parasite to the small frame of Kirika Akatsuki.
“Shirabe Tsukuyomi, we have more pressing matters to attend to at the moment.” Carol cut the reunion short with a curt comment, throwing out the order to silence like a knife.
“First, Miss Carol, two questions. Where are we?” This came from Yatsuhiro Kazanari, who stood beside his brother. “And, what have you done with one of our men?”
“To answer that second question,” Carol’s eyes turned to Garie above her. “I had ordered one of my Autoscorers to let him free once we determined he was of no use to us.”
“And that I did. I left him on that floating island, just in case I missed any memories of our glorious time together.”
“Are we to assume he is unharmed?” Yatsuhiro inquired further.
“Yes. He should be, assuming my orders were followed.” Carol confirmed. “Now, an answer to your first question: we are in the Treasury of Babylonia, or, rather, closer to that dimension than our own. I needed to transport you all out of that realm for the time being.”
Leiur thrust her fist into her hip as she looked down at her tiny master. “Master, why, then, are we not using our base of operations for a meeting of this scale?”
“We blew it up.” Shirabe answered curtly. This caused Carol to flail her arms about flustered, as if telling the girl beside her to shut up. “Ver was getting annoying.”
Carol sighed. “Yes. I admit that we may have gone a bit overboard.”

 Genjuro cleared his throat, drawing back the attention of those bickering above to the larger issue at hand. “We have a dying girl here, and need to give her medical attention. If you could make this quick...”
“Yes. Right.” Carol shook her head.
Slicing a hole in reality with her finger–one large enough to expand out through all three invisible levels of this dark void–she revealed the image of what was now happening back in Japan. Some of the girls at the bottom of the totem pole of this realm gasped as they saw the carnage that a giant black beast was now committing as it marched through the city.
“What is that?” Maria was among those who were shocked, though she was far from the only one.
“Kohinata.” Tsubasa offered no other explanation.
“According to our late mutual... acquaintance,” Carol began.
“Ver.” Shirabe clarified, cutting the alchemist off for a moment.
Brushing that brief interruption off like a speck of dust on her shoulder, Carol continued. “His experiments on the girl named Miku Kohinata were to lead to this result: a pure, destructive amalgamation of relics–including Nephilim, Solomon’s Cane, Nehushtan Armour, and more–that he dubbed Batara Kala. His goal was–though he had hoped to be commanding the girl as opposed to her rampaging without care–to destroy the world and recreate it in a way that mirrored his twisted form of justice.”
“Carol... is that not what you wanted to do?” Elfnein’s voice was quiet, but it echoed out into the infinity of this new reality so that each and every soul could hear it clearly.
“No. I merely wanted to analyse the Earth, Elfnein. Its destruction was an unfortunate side effect.” She glared down at the small, timid clone of herself. But her expression then softened. “However, those plans have changed with the new knowledge I’ve acquired.”
“Chris is still dying. Hurry it up!” Yumi snapped, screaming at the alchemist floating above her.
“Right. The being that Miku Kohinata has become is too strong for our two factions to fight separately; that’s what I have determined from a cursory glance at the beast.”
“So you called us here to form a treaty?” Tomosato offered up the meaning behind her words, earning a small nod from the girl looking down upon them.
“You want to kill Miku?” Shiori asked, disgust in her voice.
“Should you wish, I will do everything in my power to revert her to a human form.” Carol crossed her arms. “Additionally, to prove my willingness to assist you all, I will also save the life of the girl my Autoscorer decided to sacrifice despite my order simply to locate and extract one of you.”
“Yes! Please!” Kuriyo pleaded.
“Please save Chris!” Shiori shouted, too.
“Yes, saving Chris would be preferable.” Genjuro looked up at the image of Miku–or, rather, Batara Kala–as she bent down to pick up, and subsequently throw, a car. “We lack time right now, so we can’t exactly work on a detailed agreement, but I do need to request some answers from you regarding your motives, here.”
“Go on.” Carol hissed.
“You sent your Autoscorers out to locate one of us here, why?”
“I seek the relic known as the Rod of Asclepius, and I believe the man beside you,” referring to Yatsuhiro, “knows of its current location.”
“My apologies. I–”
Shirabe cut him off. “Ver said it’s inside of Serena.”
“Serena?” Maria yelped.
“Serena Cadenzavna Eve has remained comatose since the time when she was recovered.” Yatsuhiro explained. “Considering her physical injuries have mostly healed, we assumed she remained unconscious due to a psychological reason. However, it’s entirely possible that the strain being placed on her body by both that aforementioned relic and Shénshòujìng could be to blame, instead.”
“No. It’s likely her unconscious state is due to a mental limiter.” Carol glanced to Phara by her side. “Though, obviously, I have not been able to analyse the girl myself, it’s probable that her brain is simply confused–she is alive yet her brain remembers her own death.”
“Yeah. Remembering a moment of your own death can be pretty traumatic.” Kirika added darkly. Sending a chill down the spines of those on the same plane as her (and Shirabe), Kirika’s voice sounded unlike her own–it was almost a perfect blend of the tones of both Finé and Kirika. The girl who spoke shuddered beside Maria as those very memories bubbled up to the surface, the light gone from her eyes.
“That is why I believe my Autoscorers, with their ability to plunder memories, may be able to wake her. And, that, would prove beneficial both to the current situation of the world and your personal lives.”
“In exchange for your help,” Ogawa clarified. “You want us to let you keep the relic capable of resurrecting the dead. For what purpose?”
“To resurrect my papa.” Carol stated quickly, blurting out the answer she had not been willing to share consciously like the young child that she resembled. Clearing her throat, she signalled that they all wipe that weakness out of her mind.
“Your father... may that perhaps be Izak Malus Dienheim?” Yatsuhiro mused quietly. When Carol’s eyes lit up in recognition, he gave a small nod of confirmation that he knew of the connection. “No. We don’t have time for this at the moment. On behalf of the Japanese government, I agree to your terms, Carol Malus Dienheim. For now, let us work as one unified party.”
“Hey,” Kanade, who had been silent up until now, slowly waved up to the alchemist before pointing over to Kirika. “Two things I want to know. Do you have any way for the blonde reaper over there to cook up more LiNKER?”
“You know the recipe for LiNKER...” Carol mused. “Yes, I have a second workshop–well, I suppose it is my primary one, now–that you could make use of.”
“Good, because I’m at my limit here.” She wiped the cold sweat off her forehead, as she felt the blood within her body boil over from the stress the Symphogear forced upon her. “Secondly, I assume you just teleported every person who was at the Kazanari residence, yes?”
“Yes. I did a large-scale teleportation around your abode. Everyone present at that building should be here.”
Tsubasa, Yatsuhiro, and Genjuro all understood now what the implications of Kanade’s question and the subsequent answer were, but the orange-haired idol just threw a smile up as if dismissing it entirely. “Alright. Good to know, thanks.”
“Now.” Carol snapped her fingers, destroying the three separate levels that the groups stood on and merging them into one plane. She stepped away with light steps from the side of Shirabe Tsukuyomi–who was immediately surrounded by Maria and Kirika as they reunited–to approach Chris Yukine. “I’ll be taking her. For now, the rest of you should gather as much intel on our enemy as possible.”
“Understood master.” Leiur bowed. Likewise, her three sisters did the same beside her.
As Tsubasa cautiously let the small alchemist take Chris in her own hands, the alchemist turned her head to meet the gaze that was drilling a hole deep into her spine. Shirabe’s cold stare ignored the two girls relieved to see their friend–nay, their sister–safe to instead silently remind Carol of the deal that they had struck before.
Carol nodded. “I will now be dropping most of you back at the mansion I plucked you from. Do not die before I have time to return.” Then, she turned her head to look around at the group assembled around her.
“Kirika Akatsuki; government official.” Her eyes fell upon the figures of Kirika and then Yatsuhiro, who both froze under her gaze. “The two of you will be joining me at my workshop alongside this girl in my arms. Phara, considering your current state, you will be coming with me as well so I can repair you.”
“Very well, master.”
“Aww, but I wanted to play with Shirabe, death.” Kirika whined.
“You have an important task, Kirika.” Maria reminded her. “You’re the only one here who knows the recipe to LiNKER, so we’re counting on you.”
“Oh... before you go...” Elfnein ran up to Kirika and Maria, holding out two red jewels. “I finished work on your Symphogears. Both of you should be able to fight alchemy now, though...” You may not need it.
Maria smiled. “Thanks.”
Together, the two girls took their Symphogears in hand and gingerly placed the grey strings they were attached to around their heads. Elfnein, however, did not move. “Umm... I still need to modify Shul Shagana...”
Shirabe shook her head. “I’ll be fine for now.”
“If... you say so.” Elfnein squeaked, clearly not convinced.

 “Take care everyone.” Yatsuhiro said. Though a wishing of good tidings, his stone-faced expression and narrowed eyes seemed to indicate it was more an order than a simple platitude.
“Likewise, brother.” Genjuro smiled.
Though the man was not sure if his words reached Yatsuhiro as, next he blinked, he stood in the summer light outside of the Kazanari residence.
“Right.” Tsubasa looked down at her blood-covered hands as she clenched them into tight fists. “Let’s get started.”
“I’ve got to say,” Kanade sighed. “Once this is all over with, and we’ve got her back to normal, we really should keep a closer eye on Miku. This is, what, the third time her brain’s been hijacked?”
“To make light of your friend’s current status...” Maria worried about Kanade’s joking tone.
“She sounds just as clumsy as Kirika.” Shirabe smiled, joining in on Kanade’s attempt to lighten the air around them.
But clearly it wasn’t working. “I’d appreciate it if you took this a bit more seriously.” Shiori glared at the three girls–even though Maria was not at fault. “Chris is fatally wounded. Miku is rampaging because of brainwashing–again.”
Shiori collapsed to her knees. “I’m so exhausted of this.”
“Well,” Yumi smiled. Her eyes told Shiori that she understood the pain she felt, though, and that the cheerful grin was only a mask to cover that. “Ogawa and I have something that might be able to refresh you. But it’ll have to wait, of course.”
“Oh yeah, I keep forgetting. That’s how this whole thing started, huh? You wanted us to find Miku.” Kuriyo reminisced about events that had taken place only the day before.
“Well, I think some version of these events would have happened, regardless.” Ogawa supplied. “Sorry to get you girls involved.”
“I may be complaining,” Shiori stood up, throwing her fist out in front of her and almost punching Yumi in the face as she did so. “But I do enjoy being involved in this. I’m just tired of being worried for the well-being of my friends.”
“All you’re doing is supplying them with some kind of normalcy–a life to return to.” Tsubasa wiped the blood off her hands on the legs of her Symphogear, marking the white and blue suit in crimson. “I’m sure, even if they won’t say it aloud, the two of them are both incredibly grateful for your care.”
“What are you talking about?” Yumi jumped onto Tsubasa, launching a surprise hug on the girl. “We’re worried about you, too. And Kanade. All of you.”
“That’s great and all, but get off me.” Tsubasa struggled–both to remove the girl who was now clinging to her with more strength than glue, and to hide the warm smile that crept over her face.
“Even though we haven’t known each other for long,” Kuriyo turned to Maria. “I want to get to know you all better as well.”
“We are fans of yours, Maria.” Shiori smiled.
“Oh. Well, uhh...” A blush paved over Maria’s face as she fumbled for a way to respond to that comment. “It’s... nice to meet some fans, I guess?”
“You’re not a great idol.” Tsubasa commented deadpan, Yumi still clinging to her.
“Truthfully, I do enjoy singing, but I was only working as an idol as part of tests for F.I.S.. I had no personal stake in actually playing the role of someone people can look up to. I prefer more behind-the-scenes work, anyway.”
“Wow. You’re just Tsubasa.” Kanade blinked after a moment.
“What does that mean?” Both girls seemed to take that as an insult and freaked out at the comment, their faces red with anger at Kanade’s words. The orange-haired idol, as well as Shirabe, Yumi, Shiori, and Kuriyo, all laughed at their display in response; though this only flustered the two even more.
“Sorry to interrupt your moment.” Leiur’s voice pulled the girls back to reality. “But you must all realize that your friend is, as we speak, currently destroying the city–and will likely continue rampaging until the world is no more, correct?”
“Master ordered us to get to work!” Micha flailed. “Why are we standing here and watching this!?”
“In our master’s explanation of the beast known as Batara Kala, she mentioned that Solomon’s Cane was among the relics integrated into the creature’s body.” Leiur explained to her childish sister. “If that is the case, then it can likely generate true Noise–something which only we can not combat.”
“Our bodies wouldn’t be destroyed by the Noise, but our minds might.” Garie said sadly. “But our alchemy likely wouldn’t be able to harm them, anyway.”
“Oh. So we need to rely on these freaks to fight them? That’s boring.” Micha sulked.
“Even I can see the irony in you calling them freaks, Micha.” Leiur shook her head.

. . .

 “Kirika Akatsuki, the workshop is down the hall on the right. You should have everything you need there to create LiNKER. If not, speak with Phara–she will procure it, or anything else, for you.” Carol addressed Kirika (and her Autoscorer) in a commanding tone, to which the girl just nodded confidently. “As for you, government official, I wish for you to tell me about the state of this Serena Cadenzavna Eve while I operate.”
“Very well.” Yatsuhiro nodded, subconsciously recognizing the similarity here between his response and that of her Autoscorer creations.
At his words, Kirika dashed off.

 The place that Carol had transported them to was a small wooden house of only a single storey. A large, wide-open area was the entryway, connecting a living room space to a kitchen. The hallway that Carol had instructed Kirika to pass down contained only three doors: two on the left, which Kirika noted were both bedrooms; and the largest room on the right, being the workshop.
“Is this her house?” Kirika wondered aloud.
“I don’t know, truthfully.” Phara answered from behind. “Master does not wish to speak of this location often.”
Brushing off the unknown, Kirika opened up the door to the workshop. The room was a strange mesh of modern, futuristic, and ancient technology, some of which even foreign to the many years’ worth of memories belonging to Finé. Lining the walls were cabinets, containing vials filled with a rainbow’s worth of both solid elements and various potions.
“Wow.” Kirika couldn’t help but marvel at the sight, just as the Finé looking out from within her did as well.
“Alright, Finé, let’s see if you can help me out again.” Kirika muttered. “And, thanks, for keeping me company.”
Rolling up the white sleeves of the outfit she had been forced to wear while imprisoned, Kirika walked up towards the large desk at the back of the room. Finding a band on the desk, Kirika pulled the blonde hair that had grown down to her shoulders over the past three months back and tied it into a ponytail to keep it from potentially falling into her work.
“Now, death! Let’s get to work.”
Though Finé’s spirit was unable to speak to Kirika any longer, the eternal priestess smiled as she felt the heat of determination flare up in the girl’s mind. The orange flare of these positive emotions burned out from behind the wall of positive emotions that she had been forced to build in order to keep this girl’s mind from collapsing under the burden that Finé had forced upon her.
“Your name is Phara, right?” Kirika looked at the woman in the green garb. “I’m going to search for the ingredients I need. Can you find the largest jar in the room, death?”
“My master ordered me to assist you, so your wish is my command.” Phara bowed, though a scowl crossed her face for just a moment.

 Meanwhile, Carol laid Chris down on the oak table and the red and white tablecloth draped over it. The girl’s breathing was unsteady, her chest falling and raising only the slightest as she clung onto life.
The Symphogear of Ichaival had been forcibly deactivated when Miku had stabbed Chris, and thus the girl wore the now-bloodstained uniform of Lydian Private Music Academy. Yatsuhiro turned away as Carol crudely tore open the uniform, revealing the grisly wound she had suffered–and the light fabric that covered up the young woman’s otherwise-bare chest.
“So, government official, where is the girl being held?” Carol was only eyeing the wound for now, but her eyes did not even deign to glance in the direction of Yatsuhiro Kazanari as she inquired.
“Serena Cadenzavna Eve... she is a foreigner who has no documents relating to her arrival in Japan. Furthermore, an official death certificate from the United States was issued for her. Additionally, her body contains advanced technology connected to a relic whose existence was undocumented by our government. Because of this, we had to transfer her to the most top-secret facility under close watch.”
“Get to the point, government official.” Now Carol had begun her work by forming a red rune atop the girl’s body–a flame, to keep her body warm and cauterize the wound.
“Right, my apologies. She is located in the remains of the old Sector Two headquarters, in the deepest vault where we had stored all of the relics.” Yatsuhiro explained. “She–and Hibiki Tachibana–are both being kept at the base of Kadingir.”
“Hibiki Tachibana.” Carol pondered that name as she worked, pulling tools out of thin air as she attempted to perform surgery on Chris. “That name popped up in the information I had been given, yes. Like this Miku Kohinata girl, she could be considered the first example of a human-relic fusion.”
“The information you had been given.” Yatsuhiro repeated. “May I inquire as to how you came about this top secret intelligence?”
“I’m sure you’re quite aware of the organization my acquaintance belongs to.” Carol mumbled. “Though I would even hesitate to call her an acquaintance.”
“The Bavarian Illuminati.”
“Correct.”
Chris’s body convulsed as Carol worked, and the alchemist put a hand over her face as if to hide her vision. Almost as if on cue, the girl fell to sleep–likely a work of the magical science that Carol was versed in.

 “Tell me something else, government official.” Carol hissed. “How do you know of my papa?”
“Izak Malus Dienheim.” Yatsuhiro simply spoke the name, and Carol nodded in response. “His name came up in our research into the Illuminati.”
“Into alchemy, more likely.” Carol corrected, but–though she could not see him–Yatsuhiro shook his head.
“Both, actually.”
“Both? My father died before the formation of the Illuminati.” Carol was surprised, but her reaction was subdued by the fact that the whole of her concentration was focused on trying to make good on her promise to save Chris.
“Adam Weishaupt established the precursor to his secret society, the Illuminati, in 1776–the Perfectibilist–alongside four of his law students. However, one report about the group from one of the students’ journals described the group’s members as six at this time–counting Weishaupt, only five are known to history.
“Additionally, each of the Perfectibilist members took on different aliases: Weishaupt became Spartacus and his four students became Ajax, Agathon, Tiberius and Erasmus Roterodamus. However, the same journal also references an ‘enlightened soul without a name or face, whom Spartacus said climbed up from the fires of hell.’”
“A member without an alias.” Carol clarified.
“The journal, of course, was heavily aged and had several pages missing; what remained had been in the care of a European museum, and one of my men went out personally to read its contents.”
“And you came to the conclusion that my father was this man? Despite his earlier death?”
“Your father’s... death is catalogued in history.” Yatsuhiro continued. “If we were to take these words at face value, then...”
“A man who defied a death at the hands of scorching flames.” Carol was splitting her focus between this conversation and the girl before her, though she truthfully only wanted to focus on the former.
“There is more.” Yatsuhiro continued. “Something that truly establishes a connection between this unknown man and your father.”
Carol raised her eyebrow. “Go on...”

 Gritting her teeth, Carol stood back, ending that conversation with a silent gesture. It had been some time now since she began trying to keep Chris from departing into the realm of phantoms, and, while the girl’s condition had bettered, she was still being dutifully watched by the eyes of the grim reaper.
“This...” Carol clicked her tongue with a whisper, then spoke loudly. “Garie’s work here is certainly making my life difficult. I worry that this girl may not survive, even with my work.”

 “I’m done, death!”
Some time later, Kirika ran into the room with a sparkle in her eyes and a large smile plastered over her face. “I even managed to make it stronger than the original! I think.”
Phara followed close behind, a jar of shining orange liquid in her hands.
Yatsuhiro turned towards the small girl with a nod as she pulled out the band holding her hair back. “Excellent work. Unfortunately, work here is still ongoing.”
Carol pinched her lips tight as she looked down upon the body laying on the table. Most of the blood from the surrounding area had been cleaned up, but her chest was still drowning in a crimson sea. When she turned to face Kirika, the chilly glare in the alchemist’s eyes caused the other girl to flinch back.
“I’ll send you back.” Carol spat. Then, eyeing Yasuhiro, she continued. “Shall I send you to the others, as well, government official?”
“Yes. I suppose our conversation has ended. If your Autoscorers are capable of travelling to this place...”
Phara interrupted. “We are.”
“Then, Autoscorer, would you accompany me on making good on my end of this deal of ours? To bring Serena Cadenzavna Eve back to this location.”
“That would be appreciated.” Carol yawned before matching Kirika’s eyeline. “As for you, Kirika Akatsuki, I would like to speak with you again in the future. You possess the knowledge of a figure well-known in the field of alchemy, after all.”
“Um. Okay, I guess.” Kirika did not know how to respond entirely. “I want to talk to you, too, death.”
“Death.” Carol mumbled as she lowered her brow. “What an interesting verbal tic.”

. . .

 Kanade stood next to Leiur on the roof of a building. She was not clad in her Symphogear at the moment, and instead binoculars hung from her neck. Below her, in the destruction left in the wake of Batara Kala, Tsubasa was engaged in an army of Noise that the beast released whenever she roared.
Yumi stood on another building a short distance away, with Garie by her side, keeping an eye on Shirabe as she, too, combated more of the technicolour beasts. Maria was also down in battle elsewhere, being watched from on-high solely by Ogawa.
“I must admit, their techniques do leave quite an impact.” Leiur commented from her position beside Kanade.
“You guys aren’t half bad yourself.” Kanade muttered, remembering the techniques that the Autoscorers used against her.
“If only our master had imbued us with the power to fight Noise. As it stands...” Leiur cupped her chin, falling silent.
The Autoscorer pondered for a second before leaping off, jumping down to a nearby building and quickly rushing up over to her icy blue sister. Kanade, from her perch elsewhere, could obviously not hear the conversation that they engaged in, but Yumi seemed quite interested.
“What are they doing over there?” Kanade wondered aloud.
“Everyone, can you hear me? Tsubasa, Shirabe, you too?” Yumi’s voice cackled through the headset that she was wearing. She gave no time to answer, however, as she continued to speak. “The Autoscorers are going to test a theory. Can you attempt to pull together your groups?”
“What kind of theory are we talking about?” Ogawa’s voice crackled.
But Tsubasa seemed to catch on to what they were getting at. “Their imitation Noise, yes? They want to see if their Noise can touch the real thing.”
“That’s right!” Yumi’s smile was visible even from a distance.
Shirabe’s voice cut in. “Very well. Kazanari, I’m heading your way.”

*Futatsu musubi no rondo oshioki no sutāto*
*Barabara ni shite ageru no*
*Seigi no inisharaizu*

*Miseijuku na hāto-goto butsuketa tekitaishin*
*Ikiba no nai borutēji kakushita tiāzu*

 Shirabe encircled herself within a large pink wheel as she cut through the crowd of Noise that only continued to expand out through the streets–and the remains of collapsed buildings–like a multicoloured sea.
Holding small pink yo-yos in each fist, Shirabe drove the wheel off of a piece of debris and flew into the air. As the wheel disengaged during her flight, Shirabe threw out her bladed yo-yos down towards the ground to tear up the ground–and the Noise–waiting below her.
Crashing into the ground like a pink meteorite, Shirabe landed on the cement with a shock, her head rattling as the impact sent waves throughout her entire body. Tsubasa, seeing her descent, appeared in the same area, cutting through the Noise in her way with a tornado of blades as she spun like a top.
“Excellent work, Tsukuyomi.” Tsubasa nodded upon uniting with the fellow Symphogear wielder. She had managed to survive throughout an onslaught of Noise despite three months of inactivity and a Symphogear that had not been upgraded–that was something that Tsubasa couldn’t help but praise.
“We’re doing well.” Shirabe smiled, responding with her own praise.
“Alright, we’re coming down now~” Garie’s voice screeched in the girls’ ears, and they couldn’t help but cringe at the shrill sound stabbing their brains.
“Give me that.” They heard, albeit quietly, the voice of Yumi, apparently trying to wrestle back the headpiece that the Autoscorer had taken from her. The chuckle of Garie then resounded through the speakers as she tossed the technology back to its rightful owner.

. . .

 Genjuro watched from a monitor back at the submarine he had outfitted to be used by Sector Two before its disbandment–and since repaired after the events of three months ago. Kuriyo and Shiori sat at the stations that Tomosato and Fujitaka would normally be manning, though the former was currently en route to rescue the latter from Frontier via helicopter.
The monitor in front of them was split up into multiple different camera angles. Miku–Batara Kala–was front and centre, with the battles being fought by Tsubasa, Maria, and Shirabe–and now the Autoscorers–surrounding it. The fifth spot in this collage showed what remained of the Kazanari residence, in case Yatsuhiro and the others returned.
“If I’m reading this right,” Kuriyo tilted her head. “It seems like the amount of Noise just increased again.”
“Those are the Autoscorers’ Noise.” Shiori added, glancing up at the monitor to confirm her suspicions. Indeed, Leiur and Garie now danced among the crowd of Noise around Shirabe and Tsubasa, their Alca-Noise able to damage the real things.
“Poor Maria, though. She’s been separated from them.” Kuriyo tapped on the keyboard in front of her, and a map was brought up on the small screen glowing onto her face. “But where do you think Miku’s going?”
“She does seem to be rampaging about randomly, yes.” Genjuro agreed.
In the twenty minutes since they had reached the submarine, Batara Kala’s path seemed to snake through the city in a zig-zag, but that was more a result of the terrain than anything else. Originally they had assumed Kadingir or Frontier to be her destination, but currently she was walking in the opposite direction.
“It’s almost like she’s confused about what’s going on, too.” Kuriyo muttered.
“Carol said that the relics inside of her have the power to destroy the world.” Shiori nodded. “But, outside of summoning Noise, she hasn’t seemed to use any of their powers.”
“Is it possible she can’t?” Ogawa offered a solution. The group had been, of course, broadcasting their entire conversation to their allies in case anything came up unexpectedly.
“Even using one Symphogear can put a large amount of strain on your body.” Kanade chimed in. “But she’d been using Ver’s armour effortlessly this whole time–or that’s what it looked like.”
“There must have been some power source...” Tsubasa wondered aloud.
“Memories.” Shirabe offered, sucking the air out of the conversation. “I believe the Autoscorers and Carol mentioned that they were using memories as a power source.”
“So she was trading away her memories to make use of the different relics?” Kuriyo was shocked.
On the screen above Shiori and Kuriyo, Genjuro saw Shirabe rip off her earpiece and hand it over to Leiur. A second later, the Autoscorer’s calm voice echoed into the submarine.
“In the most simple terms, the human brain logs and vaults many memories within their subconscious, often to free room from your consciousness in order to create new ones. As you also create copies of old memories every time you remember one, you can see how difficult it would be for your brain to keep track of so much data all at once.” She spun out of the way as a frog-like Noise descended from the air, only to explode as one of Shirabe’s sawblades cut through it. “Your friend may have been sacrificing her memories without even being aware of it, as she didn’t sacrifice any recent or important ones.”
Garie’s voice cut in on the conversation. As she had disappeared from the monitors, it was safe to assume that she had returned to Yumi’s side and procured the girl’s headset once more. “Those memories don’t generate much power though–the electrical currents they provide are weak, basically useless. The stronger, more emotional a memory is, the more useful it becomes. So there’s a very high chance that she was only using the bare minimum strength of her power by sacrificing memories removed from her waking mind.”
“Which, in itself, is quite impressive.” Leiur nodded. “I took one of her attacks, and only barely managed to protect myself from it in a way that left me unscathed. There’s no doubt she possessed the power of a nuclear warhead, at the very least.”
Kanade hummed as she thought about the theory being presented, but it was quiet enough that it did not get picked up by the microphone. “This is all assuming your theory is correct, though. Not to mention, it doesn’t exactly explain where she’s heading now.”
“No, it does.” Leiur tapped her chin as she threw out coin walls to block incoming Noise. “If she needs to use up memories to power the relics within her, then she may be trying to dredge up the strongest one she has in her subconscious–or, just any emotional ones that she is willing to sacrifice.”
“Smells are especially useful for that.” Garie pushed her palm into a complaining Yumi’s face to keep her away, though this battle over the headset was an unknown event to the others. “Tastes, sights, sounds... really, anything can be used to help someone remember.”
“Emotional memories that she is willing to sacrifice...” Genjuro closed his eyes, thinking back to the file he had read on the girl even before he had met her.
“Her parents.” Shiori’s eyes flashed open. “She mentioned before that her parents died. She could be looking for the house she lived in with them, though might be a bit confused because of her current condition.”
Kuriyo didn’t seem convinced though. “If I were Miku, what would I want to forget...” She drummed her fingers on the console in front of her as she found the answer. “Oh... of course.”
“Yeah, I think I know what you’re getting at.” Shiori put her hand to her mouth.
“The scene of Hibiki Tachibana’s death.” Genjuro nodded.

 Tsubasa cut down a Noise in front of her. “Getting Kohinata to the ocean would be preferable as she’d have little else to damage.” She grunted, though, knowing the downside to that plan. “Though we’d have no way to combat her effectively.”
Maria, breathing heavily as she struggled to fight alone against the enemies that kept appearing around her, finally decided now was the right time to engage in this conversation. “So we need to stop her before she reaches the ocean.”
“Considering her current path...” Kuriyo muttered. “It’s impossible to tell which coast she wants to get to. She’s moving away from the nearest one, now.”
“Ideally,” Ogawa added. “It’d also be best to keep her away from Frontier. Just in case.”
Gesturing back for the headpiece she lent out, Shirabe re-affixed it to her ear as Leiur tossed it to the wielder of Shul Shagana. “Can we have the SDF distract her?”
Genjuro’s eyes went wide at the suggestion. He had been wondering why they had yet to engage the monster threatening the country, though he imagined the Noise it generated may have been part of the reason.
“We could always just use what we have at our disposal.” Kanade smiled. “After all, there’s a perfectly good cannon that Miku’s got some strong memories of. If we, instead, lure her there...”
“Kanade,” Tsubasa’s curt voice cut through the girl’s enthusiasm. “The idea is to keep her generating the theorized power source.”
“Oh, sorry, guess I forgot to mention my other theory, then?”
“Yes.”
“If she wants to cling onto any memories, they’re probably ones of Hibiki. So, if we just have her use up the strong ones–protecting the world from harm–until those are the only ones left, then...”
“Are you aware of what you’re suggesting, Kanade?” Genjuro and Tsubasa both shouted.
“Yes, I do. Living with trauma can make you stronger, but that’s not a rule. Miku has only suffered time and time again for all of these years. I think, if forgetting will finally bring her some sort of peace, then it’s what’s best for her.”
“I agree.” Shiori slammed the console. “Though it pains me to admit it, I think having Miku forget is the best course of action. I know, for sure, she won’t forget Hibiki–or the rest of us–in the process; I believe we’ve etched our names in her heart by now.”
“If you say so.” Kuriyo muttered. “I don’t know. It seems like a gamble.”
“Either way,” Garie chuckled. “It’s not like we can turn her back to normal until master returns. Buying time’s all that we need to do right now. If it works, it works. If not, then we’ll have to try something else.”
“You all do realize you are just casually putting the planet on the line, here, right?” Maria sighed, though it was impossible to tell whether it was due to her reaction to the others’ decisions or a result of the strain that Airgetlám was placing upon her. “Very well. Let’s try it, I suppose.”
“Right.” Tsubasa agreed.
“We’ll need someone to continue combating the Noise while we attempt to figure out how to activate Kadingir.”
“I know how to.” Maria gasped. “And I desperately need a break.”

#### GX Chapter 15

 The first thing that Yatsuhiro Kazanari realized was that he and his two associates were now standing in the summer heat, the sun scorching them and the ruins of the Kazanari mansion they now stood within equally. The second thing that the government official realized was the sound of his cell phone’s ring, which seemed to begin crying out at the exact moment they had been teleported from Carol’s abode.
Once Yatsuhiro fished his screaming device from the coat of his blazer, he placed it to his ear. Before even a greeting could escape his lips, the loud voice of his brother boomed through the device’s small speaker.
“Brother, we need that LiNKER ASAP. I’m sending a helicopter over to bring you and the others to Kadingir.”
“Kadingir? What a coincidence, that’s just where I needed to go. How did you know?”
Genjuro made a strange noise, as if confused. “Uh? No, we’re planning on using the cannon to keep Kohinata focused on a single location and limit further destruction.”
“Of course.” Genjuro shook his head, ashamed of himself for thinking that his brother had managed to see into the future and read into his plans.

. . .

 Their breathing steady, the hearts of Tsubasa and Shirabe were beating in sync as they focused on their targets. They had rescued Maria and escorted her to safety; though Shirabe, too, was struggling under the stress of the Symphogear she was not naturally capable of using, the small girl asserted her desire to help despite the risks–and protests.
Cold sweat boiled upon Shirabe’s forehead. Though her chest was rising and falling at a natural rate, every breath that the young girl felt as though she were breathing through a murky soup, water filling her lungs as she tried to focus on killing the Noise that Batara Kala was releasing at an increased rate.

*Kono michi wo kake agaru wake*
*Tatoe gyakufū ga purotekuto shite kitatte*
*“Kanade au” koto wasurezu susumi yukō*
*Ushinatte kara kidzuku namida wa mujō no kiwami dakara*

*“Dokomade mo yukeru mienai tsubasa ni kidzukeba”*
*Ten ni matta kotonoha tachi*
*Uketsuide mae mukō*
*Kabe wo koe sono saki no yūki ni tsunagō*

 It was like a dance as the two Symphogear wielders spun around each other, their Armed Gears slicing through the multicoloured beasts that encroached upon the opposite girl. Gliding over the misshapen earth, Shirabe’s yo-yo curled around Tsubasa as the latter flew like a thrown dart through lines of enemies.

 The two were not alone on this battlefield: the golden Autoscorer, Leiur, fought alongside them. Or rather, the alchemical Noise clones she created–Alca-Noise–wrestled with their original counterparts, pushing each other around as they, likewise, took on damage. Tsubasa and Shirabe did not care–nor were able–to distinguish between the two types, and instead only worked to cut down any foe in their way. Leiur did not care, however, summoning more whenever her goons shattered into light.
However, Leiur, being the only one of the three not needing to sing during battle, also served another role for the other two girls.
“We’ve rendezvoused with Yatsuhiro’s team at Kadingir. Tomosato is en route to your location now, and will be ready to extract you once we activate the cannon.”
Leiur now served as the only one of the three who was able to retain contact with Genjuro Kazanari, who served as the leader of this operation. She wore the headset that Shirabe had been given before–meaning the wielder of Shul Shagana could not receive the information–while Tsubasa’s had been damaged by a Noise’s attack.
“Understood.” Leiur replied. “I’ll pass along the inform–”
The rest of Leiur’s comment was lost as a loud scream pierced the skies. It was not uncommon to hear Batara Kala screech out–they had learned, over the course of the battle, that she did so whenever more Noise was spawning–but it was still jarring to each of the combatants every time. Part of the reason why was that the roar disrupted both the technology that the humans used to communicate, and the internal systems keeping the Autoscorers active.
Leiur grunted as her focused returned to the situation at hand. “I’ll tell them.”

 Stomping the ground to release a crystal beneath her, Leiur launched herself into the sky. Transforming into a flip, the Autoscorer summoned Alca-Noise around her as she began to descend. The rainbow storm descended upon the kaleidoscope of similar beasts below, beginning their attack to give Shirabe and Tsubasa a short moment of respite.
Leiur landed in the spot that had been cleared by her minions, and the two Symphogear wielders immediately flocked to her side as they knew her appearance meant new information.
“Once Kadingir is activated, we’re to be extracted by helicopter.” Leiur announced for the two warriors to only nod in response as their singing refused to cease.

 The roar of Batara Kala hounded their senses again, but this time the three stopped. It was not the same bestial cry that they had heard countless times before. No, this sounded more distinctly human, like a demon screaming out in anger.
While Leiur’s words did not elicit a verbal reaction from either of the Symphogear wielders, the two were unable to keep the song in their hearts from pausing momentarily.
“That sounded...” Shirabe muttered with wide eyes. “Human?”
“Do you suppose,” Tsubasa, not pausing as she slashed her blade through the forms of Noise. “That Kohinata found something to stimulate the memories she needed?”
“I wish to confirm something.” Leiur commented coolly, her gaze lowering. “It was only speculation on our part that your government had ordered an evacuation, correct?”
Shirabe and Tsubasa’s eyes bulged out of their skulls as they glanced towards each other in horror. They had been fighting under the assumption that the streets were clear because everyone had evacuated in time–a mistake, given the flood of Noise filling every possible crevice.
“You don’t think...”

. . .

 A man with sandy hair looked up as fear gripped his heart. The siren that warned of a Noise attack had sounded, calling for evacuation, though he had not expected to see a giant black beast lumbering through the streets, pushing holes in the buildings that towered up to pierce the sky around him.
He was a worker that hung on to the lowest rung of the corporate ladder, living on nothing but the crumbs that he had been the one to drop for others several years ago. The sad man’s life had been thrown into chaos after a certain event that rocked his entire family, and he had yet to set order.
And, because he had to do everything in his power to appease those who lorded over him, the man was forced to lock up the convenience store he worked at, as if there was no threat literally looming over him.

 “You!”
The dark black visage of the giant beast looked down upon this man and screamed. Despite it looking like a beast, the cry that emanated from its crooked mouth filled with onyx stalactites was distinctly human.
As the sharpened claws of fear as cold as space itself gripped at this man’s heart, he knew that the monster was gazing at him intentionally and that its cry was meant for him.
The sharpened claw of the monster reached down for the man, but his feet felt heavy. He wanted to move his legs, to dodge out of the way, but he could not as the sludge of fear glued him to his spot.
His clothing felt warm, particularly in the chaps of his pants, as the giant palm cupped itself around the man who began to scream for his life. He struggled, but the strength of the monster overpowered him tenfold.
“What do you want from me?” He cried in vain. Though the monster’s cry sounded human, he worried that it was not able to understand the Japanese he shouted.
“You!” The beast roared again, but this time it felt desperate instead of angry.

 As the beast’s hand crushed the man’s bones, he felt no pain despite the popping of bubbles he felt ripple through his body. Every bit of this man’s attention was focused on the fear he felt as he looked into the black void that was the monster’s face.
Then, to pierce his body with an even more deadly terror, the beast screamed once more as its body began to glow. No longer did the man stare into a black void, the glow seemed to creep into the darkness and, in seconds, eyes appeared to stare back at him.
The eyes that the man looked into were vaguely familiar. The large, teal green eyes that appeared before him seemed to belong to a girl he had forgotten about when his family pushed him away.
“Your eyes...” The man remembered the name of the girl who they reminded him of. “Kohinata, right?”
The beast screeched, its voice high and shrill. Though no words were discernible, the man could tell that the monster was confirming his suspicions. As the loud voice was carried up to the heavens, the mask of the eyes that had appeared on the monster’s face dissipated like fog, the murky darkness replacing it in seconds.
“Hi...bi...ki...” The monster slowly bellowed out three syllables, struggling to speak with the twisted mouth it possessed.
“Hibiki?” The man’s eyes lit up in recognition. “So... it is you, Kohinata.”
The man recognized the name ‘Hibiki,’ of course, for he had given it to his daughter sixteen years prior. The young girl, whom he had not seen in over a year now, had been friends with a girl just as kind as she–a girl whom she had been inseparable from–named Miku Kohinata.
As a young child, his daughter had worn a goofy smile as she always ran about. The reckless child very rarely thought about the consequences of her actions, and she would often come home roughed up–with her worried friend by her side, chastising her nature.
The man had forgotten those memories over the past year, replaced with the dark glare of disgust that she had given him in the last seconds he possessed the right to address himself as her father, Akira Tachibana.
“Hibi...ki...” The beast that Akira Tachibana–now Akira Morisaki–identified as Miku Kohinata repeated the name of her best friend. Though she lacked eyes, he could sense a burning hatred behind an unseen glare pointed in his direction as she continued. “Dead.”
“Dead?” Akira was taken aback. “Hibiki’s dead?”
The beast seemed to nod slowly, though Akira was not able to tell what the motion was as he, too, was shaken around in the beast’s hand. He stifled the vomit rising from his throat as dizziness claimed him.
“I... kill...” Miku screamed at Akira, his eyes growing wide despite the sickness growing in the pit of his stomach.
“You... killed... Hibiki...?”
Miku screeched again, seemingly affirming the thought that he had had.
“You killed my daughter?”
This time, Miku did not scream a response. As Akira’s blood ran cold, he saw a colourful glow surround the monster again, this time even surrounding the man. The freezing of worry that the man felt overpowered the fear from the situation and the pain from his shattered body.
“Daugh...ter?” Miku’s monstrous voice rumbled. Then, she repeated the word, clearly angry. “Daughter?”
The glow seemed to surround Miku’s head, transforming it into the familiar face of the girl whom his daughter had been close friends with. He gasped, seeing the entire appearance of the girl he had pushed out of his mind, a strange sense of nostalgia bubbling within him.
Then, from the fake face before him, came a very clear voice–the female voice of Miku Kohinata that he remembered. Her hollow glare focused on Akira as she tensed her fist harder, and only now did the man feel the pain filling his body. “Don’t call her your daughter!”
The shrill voice echoed out into infinity as the mask faded back into the black void. Akira felt nauseous as the fist trapping him shook heavily.

 In the next moments, Akira felt a weight being lifted from his shoulders–or rather, a weight being lifted from around his entire body. As his gaze was cast downwards, Akira no longer saw a black claw ensnaring him, but rather the ground rushing fast beneath him like a treadmill.
“Wha...?”
Akira looked back towards the monster, who was quickly disappearing as he passed below the horizon. The girl–Miku Kohinata–was now flailing about, a powerful red glow encompassing her like a cocoon, as she seemingly swatted at flies.
The man, the father of Hibiki Tachibana, was now flying away having been thrown by the giant creature who hailed from his memories. Wind batted Akira’s face as the ground ran below him at a high speed, but, contrarily, his mind was completely still.
He had no idea that he had been thrown by Batara Kala, the beast that Miku Kohinata had become. No, Akira’s brain was still trying to comprehend what the monster told him.
Hibiki was dead. His daughter was dead–killed by the friend who was always by her side.
“What?” Akira’s voice was hoarse as it was lost to the sound of air slashing at his ears.
Even as he began to descend, the ground growing larger in his vision, the man felt only confusion. The emotions that should have been invading his brain–fear, sadness, anger, pain–were nowhere to be seen. His heart had been toyed with in a malicious way over the course of mere minutes as he first feared for his life, then felt the confusion and despair of learning about his daughter’s death.
As the small human bug smashed against the shield of the earth, the man did not completely comprehend the situation unfolding around him.
In his final breath, Akira called out the name that he had bestowed upon the girl he called his daughter.

. . .

 Yatsuhiro, Phara, and Maria marched down into the depths of the old Sector Two headquarters. A year ago, this had been the most closely-guarded secret–a research laboratory located beneath the site of Lydian Private Music Academy–but it had since fallen into disrepair after Kadingir destroyed it.
“This is ‘the most top-secret facility?’” Phara asked the official she walked alongside. Looking at the number of corridors blocked off by rubble, the Autoscorer had a hard time imagining that this even fit the definition of ‘facility.’
“So you heard that?” Yatsuhiro sighed. “This facility did fit that description, some time ago. Its destruction by the rise of Kadingir is actually the reason why we chose to keep the two here.”
Maria picked up on the insinuation. “No one would think to look in a decrepit, clearly-abandoned facility, even if they did manage to find its location.”
“Indeed. Luckily, the vault even further beneath the ground was mostly undamaged, so we managed to keep a connection secure to keep an eye on the small research team we had stationed there.”
“There are still people working down here?” Maria asked, flabbergasted.
“We send supplies down here weekly, and allow any workers who may be suffering from claustrophobia to return to the surface and be replaced with others. We treat our employees as well as possible, even in situations such as these where others may see work such as this as a punishment.”
“I suppose,” Maria shook her head, utterly astonished about the conditions that the people working under Yasuhiro had to work in. “I should at least be grateful to them, for keeping my sister safe all of this time.”
“Save such emotions for my master,” Phara cracked a sinister grin. “Once she awakens the girl, that is.”

 Yatsuhiro shook his head. “Are you sure you don’t wish for us to assist you?” He asked Maria, who began to walk down a separate corridor to the one that he and Phara were planning to go down.
“If you’re worried about me running away from this situation, or my past connections to the American government and a terror...” Maria sighed as she began to ramble, but Yatsuhiro quickly shot them down.
“No. Truthfully, had it been up to me, the three of you would never have even been imprisoned. To me–and to my brother, I’m sure–you and your friends are nothing but young girls who have been through much trauma.” Yatsuhiro smiled, one filled with sadness. “I care about you–all of you Symphogear wielders–almost as much as I do my own daughter.”
Maria flashed her own small grin in response. “I’m glad to hear that, sir.”
“So, again, are you sure you do not wish for us to accompany you, at least, to the control panel of Kadingir?”
“No, it’s fine.” Maria held up her hand as she began to spin around. Though the action did make Yatsuhiro think that she was determined to help to the best of her abilities–and as soon as possible–the true reason for Maria hiding her face from view as so that her two allies could not see the fear that loomed in her eyes. “I’ll see you both, and my sister, soon.”
Not waiting for a response, the woman began to walk away from the government official and his Autoscorer companion. She did not hear his footsteps for a few more moments, not until her own had echoed exclusively for several minutes.
Maria had the path to her destination memorized, despite only walking it once before. In her mind, she sang a familiar song long passed down the history of her family, not aware that the words were quietly being hummed beneath her breath.

*Ringo wa ukanda osora ni…*
*Ringo wa okkochita jibeta ni…*

*Hoshi ga umarete uta ga umarete*
*Ruru ameru wa waratta tokoshie to*
*Hoshi ga kisu shite uta ga nemutte*

*Kaeru toko wa doko deshō…?*
*Kaeru toko wa doko deshō…?*

*Ringo wa okkochita jibeta ni…*
*Ringo wa ukanda osora ni…*

 The intent of the song was to calm the nerves shaking her heart like a maraca, but this tune did nothing of the sort. Of course, the fear came not from the surroundings nor the weight of the incident that Maria Cadenzavna Eve now found herself a part of, but for the way that Kadingir was activated–or, more specifically, the secondary function of the particle ion cannon that Finé had developed over the centuries.
In order to activate the secondary function, one needed to imbue the weapon with an incredible amount of power–a power that the Symphogear wielders could gain access to in exchange for their lives.
Asking Kirika not to accompany her, and shooing away Yatsuhiro and Phara may as well have been suicide to Maria, as the use of the Superb Song almost guaranteed her death.
But she had a feeling that she would be fine. The faint light of hope burned in the chest of Maria Cadenzavna Eve. She had finally been reunited with Kirika Akatsuki, and her beloved sister soon would be back by her side. Alongside Shirabe, the four girls would finally be able to be together, free from the chains that had been binding them all this time.
The peace that Maria had been hoping for–that they all had been desperately reaching out towards–was finally within reach.
She could not afford to die now, and she had no intention of doing so.

. . .

 “Auto... no, Phara, do you perhaps have some way of peacefully incapacitating people? Without harming them, I stress.”
As Yatsuhiro and Phara reached the elevator, the older man’s voice raised a sudden question, breaking the silence that had hung between the two since Maria’s departure. The sudden ask piqued Phara’s interest, and she did not hesitate to provide an answer.
“Naturally. Although I possess the ability to hide my presence so I rarely do so.” Phara smiled as the elevator door opened. “Do you wish for me to knock out the scientists working below?”
“Yes. It would be incredibly difficult to explain to them why their boss is kidnapping one of the two people he stressed should never be mentioned to anyone.”
“Ah, but a kidnapping from a third party would make far less trouble for you.” Phara understood. “So I take it you’ll remain up here, out of sight?”
“I’m glad you understand. I do wish to check up on Maria, after all.” Yatsuhiro shook his head. “Something in her expression weighs on my mind.”
Yatsuhiro reached into his pocket to retrieve a card. Seeing this, Phara held out her hand as a wild grin spread across her face. “No. If you wish for this to be a genuine ‘kidnapping,’ then we’ll need to dress up the scene.”
“Just... don’t destroy the elevator completely. We will need to extract the team, after all.”
Sending Phara off with a wave, Yatsuhiro felt a chain of worry constrict his brain as he began to walk away, the sound of a loud crack exploding in his wake. “I suppose I must come up with a Plan B, then.” He muttered with a sigh, retracing his steps to where he had separated with Maria.

. . .

 Phara had been sent on the task of retrieving Serena; Garie had left with Tsubasa and the others to travel to Frontier; and Leiur was fighting alongside Tsubasa and Shirabe as they now made their way away from the area that had been assigned to them, and instead towards the giant lumbering form of Batara Kala.
The fourth Autoscorer was a red-haired, battle-hungry girl named Micha Jawkān, whose actions were uncontrollable. Even though she knew she was unable to actually combat the Noise that appeared before her, Micha was the first to experiment with the idea of having Alca-Noise fight on her behalf–something she greatly disliked–while she focused her attention entirely on Batara Kala.
Watching the beast reach down towards the ground and pick up a human, Micha dashed between the monster’s legs. She had no interest in the sad, sandy-haired man who had been taken by the shadowy claw, and rather saw his capture as an opening.
Batara Kala had not even once acknowledged Micha’s desperate attempts to attack the large form–its bellowing out of Noise, which Micha had assumed was her fault at first, ended up being related something that the monster just randomly happened to do.

 As the large hand lifted the man up to its eyeline, the Autoscorer jumped up and latched itself to the beast’s leg, stabbing her knife-like fingers into the dark skin; and, again, the monster did not react.
“Fight me!” Micha screamed as she attempted to scale the beast. “Fight! Me!”
Her cries were desperate, like a child wanting the attention of a parent, but Micha’s tone was harsh. More than anything, she wanted to see the giant beast’s skills in combat–that, after all, was the sole reason for Micha’s existence.
Digging the claws of her opposite hand into the beast’s leg, the attack once again was completely ignored by Batara Kala. Frustrated, Micha stabbed her arm into the monster again and again, the same cry escaping her lips desperately.
“Oh?” Micha’s annoyed tone fell away for just a moment as the beast finally reacted–though the Autoscorer was not aware the reaction was not her fault.
The beast’s body began to glow, if only for a short moment, and Micha immediately felt glee well up in the mechanical heart that sat within her heart.
“Finally! Finally, you realize I’m here!” Micha was ecstatic–completely unaware that Batara Kala’s reactions were a result of Miku’s hatred for the man in her grasp peeking through the clouds that now suffocated her mind.
The knives that Micha cracked through the beast’s skin stabbed once more, the rate of which increased as excitement exploded through her. “Come on! Fight me, monster!” She chanted.
Again, the body of the monster began to glow. The sight should have been beautiful, but Micha had not a single worry in her mind as the faint light even swallowed her up–to the excited Autoscorer, Micha only took this as a sign that her attacks, as weak as they were against the giant, were working.

 Her emotions invading and usurping logic, Micha was shocked as she suddenly found herself pulled away from the monster. “What?” She wondered aloud, her eyes wide as the girl’s mechanical body flew back towards the ground.
Micha had been completely blinded by her passion for battle that she had failed to hear her name being called out from below, or the rope being tied around her. She looked down in surprise now at the sensation of the thin string digging through the large pink shirt she wore.
“So you finally realized we were here.” That was a voice familiar to Micha–it belonged to her sister, the second-eldest of the four Autoscorers (after her): Leiur Darāhim.
“Leiur! What are you doing?” Micha cried out, ignoring the two who stood by her side. This included Shirabe, the one responsible for trying the Autoscorer up with one of her yo-yos.
“Your attacks are not making an impact upon the beast’s hide, you realize.” Leiur said with narrowed eyes. “Or, am I mistaken about that?”
“But she was glowing!” Micha protested as she crashed down onto the ground in a huff. She shook her arms as Shirabe’s yo-yo string let her go, a childish fury crossing her face.
“Yes. Her head... it was changing form.” Tsubasa glared at the girl. “It appears that Kohinata’s mind may not have been fully usurped–at least not yet.”
“Poor man.” Shirabe said. Despite her sad words, her tone was completely deadpan; not a single hint of emotion poked through the blank veil she wore.
“Yes...” Tsubasa clicked her tongue, looking to the side. Contrasting the stone-faced look of Shirabe, Tsubasa only wore a mask of intense anger–a hatred for her inability to act. She clenched her fist tight as she continued. “If only Yukine were here... we may have been able to save him. I hate being unable to help others. Again.”
“Yes, it’s a shame that unidentified man lost his life.” Leiur brushed the comment off, making it clear that her true thoughts about the incident were the opposite. “Although we can be thankful that he kept the beast’s attention long enough. Everyone else seems to have escaped–and the Noise seems to have stopped appearing for the time being.”
“Well!” Micha stood up, clacking her metallic claws together as if sharpening them. “I just need to attack her more, then!”
“Your attacks are doing nothing, Micha. We must find some better way to damage this beast.” Leiur cupped her chin. “A weak spot, perhaps.”

 On the hill overlooking the city, the image of Kadingir piercing up through the clouds like a spear began to glow a bright white light. At the same time, the girls on the ground looked up to hear the loud sound of a helicopter dancing about the sky.
“Seems like our ride is here.” Tsubasa commented.
Batara Kala–Miku–did not, however, simply just watch the helicopter’s approach. The vehicle tried its best to stay away from the beast, of course, but Batara Kala reached out towards it. Her large foot lifted up, to close the distance between her large black body and the helicopter... and up over the group on the street below.
“Move!” Tsubasa and Shirabe shouted at once, and they all scattered in opposite directions. Leiur teleported out of the shadow that loomed over them, Micha dashed away on all four limbs like a wild animal, Shirabe skated away elegantly, and Tsubasa hopped away like she was performing track and field events.
All four figures, they cleared the area just in time for the foot to crash down upon the ground, sending up a shockwave as Batara Kala stomped her foot against the cement. The force was strong enough to send Micha, the one who had the closest brush with death in that moment, flying, and she crashed through the glass of the nearby convenience store window.
The helicopter descended slightly before moving back, out of Batara Kala’s reach. Leiur, who reappeared within the store by Micha’s side, placed a hand to her ear as she received new information from the pilot of the vehicle above.
“We’ll need to escape this monster’s reach, it seems.” She commented, grabbing Micha by the arm to pull her to her feet. This, however, was a mistake, and the arm just disconnected from Micha’s body.
“That’s not good.” The red-haired Autoscorer commented, though still had a cheerful grin on her face. With her other claw, she reached up towards her arm, and grasped it (loosely) with the paw that lacked proper fingers before reattaching it to her torso with a loud click.
“I’ll make note of that.” Tsubasa appeared by the Autoscorers’ sides as she hopped into the building. “That your limbs can attach and reattach with ease, apparently.”
“It seems we are missing one.” Leiur looked around at the group present in the store.

 Outside, Shirabe surrounded herself in a giant wheel as she raced up the back of Batara Kala with ease. Her head felt pained, as if it were being beaten like a taiko drum, as she focused only on the idea of distracting the monster long enough for Tsubasa to escape.

*Wakaranai kotobatachi atatakai kotobatachi*
*Purotokoru koto natta A.I. no kakusa*

*Shokika shita kanjō wo horiokosu gizensha-tachi*
*Saigo no sekyuriti sae mo nukumori ga hakku suru*

*Arāto mitaku mune utsu nanika*
*Tokuntokun to jama na kurai*
*Mitaiken no hazādo*

 Yet, still, Shirabe sang. Despite the immense pressure her body was feeling under the effects of the Shul Shagana Symphogear, Shirabe felt completely determined to do her part–to protect her friends.
Batara Kala’s large claw flew back as the monster attempted to smash the hot pink bug crawling upon her shadowy skin. Though her hand could not reach Shirabe at her current location, Shirabe still felt the need to slow down in order to safely avoid any threat.
Knowing that distracting Batara Kala was her goal, Shirabe continued to scale up the beast. Now, with yo-yos in her hands, she threw out her weapons to the side, driving the small pink wheels in opposite directions–towards both of the monster’s arms. As a distraction, it worked–Batara Kala’s attention turned away from Shirabe to smash at the areas that Shirabe’s yo-yos ran across. The annoying sense of Shirabe’s attacks continuing, showing that the monster missed her target, Batara Kala roared in frustration.
Shirabe’s sole focus was on distracting Batara Kala–right now, her idea of going through with this was simply to crawl about on the beast’s body, to drive her attention away from the helicopter flying about.
The monster’s arms flew about, trying to smack down upon the Symphogear wielder cutting a trench in her skin with her sawblade wheel. She tried again and again, but every time, Shirabe would just roll her yo-yos out to spread around the sensations and dodge out of the way when the large claws approached.
“Shirabe!”
The voice that called out sounded familiar, causing Shirabe to lose her focus for just a moment. Currently, Shirabe was not wearing a headset, and the helicopter’s blades would have cut off all attempts for someone in the vehicle to shout out to her; thus the voice came from somewhere around her–and somewhere very close.
The voice of Kirika.
The very slight pause was detrimental to Shirabe, as it distracted her long enough for Batara Kala to get the hold she needed.
Shirabe’s eyes widened as the large fingers gripped tight the wheel that Shul Shagana’s wielder had been riding around in, and lifted it off of the gigantic body over fifteen times Shirabe’s height. It startled her–both losing grip on what she was using as ground and the voice of her friend.
And then, she found herself feeling dizzy.

 “Tsukuyomi!?” Tsubasa found herself screaming in shock as she climbed into the helicopter that had landed upon the ground.
Tsubasa, the helicopter’s pilot (Aoi Tomosato), and the two Autoscorers looked on in horror as the pink blade was tossed easily like a disc, cutting through the air as Batara Kala had thrown her towards Kadingir.
“Shit.” Tomosato uttered. “We have to make sure she’s fine.”
“Yes, let’s.” Tsubasa nodded.

. . .

 “Maria!” Yatsuhiro gasped as he made his way to the scene.
What he had found at the control panel of Kadingir was the pink-haired woman, collapsed onto the ground. From her eyes and mouth were thick streams of blood that painted her fair skin.
Yatsuhiro bent down next to the girl, propping up her head. “Are you okay, Maria?”
“Yes.” She gasped, her body trembling slightly. “Kadingir requires power so...”
“You used the Superb Song.” Yatsuhiro nodded. Ignoring the crimson streams coming from her face, the older man slowly pulled the girl up onto his back. “Come on, let’s get you medical attention.”
“Allow me.”
Phara’s voice shocked Yatsuhiro Kazanari, and he very nearly fell over at the sight of the green girl teleporting in beside him. His heart was pounding heavily as he steadied himself, hoping not to let the girl on his back fall to the ground.
“Please,” Yatsuhiro shook his head, exasperated. “Be a little more respectful. You very nearly–”
“Gave you a heart attack?” Phara cracked a crooked smile. Confidently, she gave a suspiciously fake apology, before continuing on. “Let’s get you to my master, girl.”
“Very well.” Yatsuhiro sighed. “If you insist. Though I worry about...”
“Her work on that other girl? Yes, my master’s operation on her is almost complete, I believe.” Phara nodded. “Now then, we’re leaving.”
And once again, Yatsuhiro found himself standing in the entryway of a quaint little cottage.
“You again?” Carol glared at the man who had just appeared, furrowing her brow as she grumbled at the sight of him. “What do you require now?”

. . .

 Shirabe landed in a crash, her sawblade allowing her to soften the impact by cutting into the ground. She was stopped, sticking into the earth like a shuriken in a piece of wood.
The wheel–and the Symphogear–consequently disengaged, and Shirabe found herself collapsing to the ground. Her breathing was shallow, her sweat dampening her entire body. She was confused, dizzy, and increasingly exhausted; her body felt heavier than a blacksmith’s new anvil.
“But what...” Shirabe put her hand to her forehead, feeling her slimy skin beneath her shaking forehead. “Why did I hear Kiri...?”

#### GX Chapter 16

 The helicopter flew high above the city, the roar of the spinning blades echoing as the sound waves bounced around between the buildings below like a tennis ball on a court. Tsubasa Kazanari hung out of the side of this militaristic vehicle, with Leiur by her side. Both of these two looked down at the giant beast lumbering after them, chasing the helicopter they rode in–Batara Kala.
Tsubasa affixed the new earpiece she received from the helicopter’s pilot, allowing her to now hear Aoi Tomosato as she spoke to the two whose eyes were glued to the shadowy monster behind them.
“I believe Tsukuyomi descended around here.” With a glance over her shoulder, Tomosato then continued. “But I don’t think I’ll be able to land safely.”
“Continue to Kadingir.” Leiur ordered. When Tsubasa opened her mouth to denounce that idea, the Autoscorer than continued speaking. “My master took a liking to the girl. I shall find her.”
Tsubasa nodded, satisfied with that outcome, and the robotic woman reciprocated with her own. The woman dressed in gold dove out of the helicopter, head-first and without a parachute, and Tsubasa watched as she quickly flipped around and landed on the street several metres below with a slow flip.
“Sis is a show-off.” The mutter of the red-haired girl whose bored eyes looked out the other side of the helicopter was barely audible to Tsubasa, but she still sensed the disinterest in the posture of Micha Jawkān–the Autoscorer whose only desire was to fight.

 Leiur narrowed her eyes as she stood up out of the crouch she had been forced into upon her landing. Her balance had been shaken slightly, presumably due to the stomping of Batara Kala rumbling the ground around her, and thus Leiur’s landing was far less impactful than she had planned.
“Now then.” The Autoscorer mumbled, scanning the ground.
Signs of destruction followed behind Batara Kala wherever the monster went, but right now Leiur Darāhim was ahead of the monster. The city streets had been evacuated, and now emptied of life; finding a lone girl, who had been tossed like a frisbee, should be a fairly simple task until Batara Kala were to reach Leiur. She had a time limit, and she was going to make use of every second.
The Autoscorer tapped the toe of her pointed black shoe on the ground, sending out small, very weak shock waves that could be compared to mini-earthquakes. Through the power of her earth alchemy, Leiur could essentially transform herself into a reverse-seismograph as she emulated echolocation techniques through the impacts she made; Leiur could sense the objects that absorbed the waves she sent into the earth as if the ground was nothing but a glass window for her to look through.
Leiur closed her eyes to take in the full extent of the scene around her. Making use of this technique was difficult in her current situation as Batara Kala’s steps interrupted her own, but Leiur was still able to make out a small figure laying not too far away from her current position.
“Tsukuyomi.” Leiur nodded, opening her eyes.
She had found her target, but Batara Kala was closing in fast.
Leaping off the ground (and flipping through the air again, elegantly), Leiur rose up onto a nearby building in a single leap–something that would not be physically possible for a human. Doing it again, this time to rise up to an even taller structure that stood tall by this store’s side, Leiur got an aerial view of the destruction that Batara Kala had caused by throwing Shirabe quite a far distance.
A giant slash, like a claw mark, had been carved into the side of a building, shards of glass littering the ground at its base. This mark extended partially into another two, before Shirabe had landed upon the ground. The base of the third building and the road in front of it had been heavily damaged–it was as if a bomb had gone off–and laying in the middle of a spider web of cracks was the unconscious Shirabe Tsukuyomi.
“It is quite lucky that she managed to survive that.” Leiur admired from a distance, before she began to make her way over to her target.

. . .

 “So, you were interested in this, too.” Yatsuhiro nodded, looking at the scene he had been teleported into.
Chris was still sprawled out over the table in a pool of blood, but her chest was rising and falling at a more normal pace than before; but that was not surprising to Yatsuhiro, considering the proposition Carol had given him some time earlier.
Maria, too, was now laying on the ground next to Chris. Her condition was stable, she only required rest at the moment and thus Carol gave her only the minimal amount of attention now. Yatsuhiro had wiped the blood away from her face, but the red traces of life still stained her fair skin slightly.
But Yatsuhiro’s attention was primarily focused on two new objects that Phara had teleported into the room while he backtracked to find Maria. The first of these objects was a bed, in which a girl silently slept. Serena Cadenzavna Eve’s pale skin, sunken in from lack of exercise or actual nutrients beyond an IV drip, shone slightly in the orange lamplight burning down right onto her face, but the girl’s expression was entirely peaceful and undisturbed.
That, however, was not what Yatsuhiro Kazanari had commented about, despite Carol now looking at the small girl’s form. Behind the alchemist was the second object: a giant orange crystal in which a girl wearing a pained expression; like an insect fossilized within an amber stone, Hibiki Tachibana’s frozen grimace stared by at the man.
“Yes. A human-relic hybrid alone is quite fascinating,” Carol commented, her gaze not raising from Serena’s calm face. “But this girl was trapped in a crystal generated seemingly entirely from a relic’s power. That is something I wish to study–and, I assume, you would like some answers to its existence as well.”
“You would certainly be correct, there.” Yatsuhiro sighed. Turning his head, he now focused on Carol as she studied Serena. “Do you think you’ll be able to wake her?”
“It is just as I suggested before,” Carol moved around the girl’s bed slowly, looking down at the sleeping figure. “Her current state is a result of emotional distress. We will need to alter her memories.”
“Do as you must,” Yatsuhiro stepped back. Casting his gaze down to the sleeping pink figure on the other side of his room, a small sad smile slowly spread across his face. “I trust you, Maria, will be okay with that.”
“Understood, then.” Carol backed up. “Phara! Analyse her memories. Her death occurred six years ago; remove the exact moment of her death, and only that.”
The green Autoscorer cracked a smile as she bowed. “Very well, master.”
Phara Suyūf made her way to the spot that Carol had just occupied a moment ago. Putting one of her cold mechanical hands upon Serena’s forehead, Yatsuhiro noticed a small pale light glow from beneath the Autoscorer’s hand. After a few seconds, Phara nodded.
“I have found the memory, master.”
“Good. Remove it.” Carol glanced over to Yatsuhiro. “It’d be best if you do not look at this... intimate moment.”
Yatsuhiro was confused as to the meaning behind the alchemist’s words, but obliged to her suggestion. He slowly placed his hand over his own eyes to block out the scene in front of him, though, as he only held his hand in front of his glasses, he could still see a pulse of green light flash from in front of him.
What he did not see, however, was the incredibly embarrassed young girl whose burning red face turned to the side as Phara’s dark grey-green lips touched down upon those of the sleeping girl. This was how the Autoscorers manipulated memories; in order to steal specific ones, they passed alchemical currents into the brain to bring the desired thought to the front, only to–literally–suck it out as energy.
For the Autoscorers, memories, like that of Serena being crushed by heavy debris, were comparable to food; that was how they remained ‘alive.’
Satisfied with the amount of power that the devastating–yet small–memory produced within her, Phara cracked a small, mischievous smile as she savoured the taste. “Delicious.” She muttered, happily.
“I...” Yatsuhiro lowered his hand while shaking his head. “Will ask no questions.”
“That, government official, is for the best.” The blushing alchemist huffed.
Carol made her way back to Serena’s side, switching positions with Phara. “Now, normally it would be best to let her sleep–assuming that memory was all that was preventing her from waking–but I believe that Shénshòujìng’s power may be beneficial to defeating the current threat.”
Just as Phara had done several moments ago, Carol now placed her (much smaller) hand upon Serena’s forehead. This time, Yatsuhiro noticed a different glow appear from beneath Carol’s palm; while Phara’s had been a pale yellow, Carol’s was an icy blue.
“Now, we may want to wake her sister.” Carol muttered, backing away from the bed as the blue light subsided. “It would be best if their reunion happened now, and not in the midst of battle.”
“Yes, I suppose that’s true.” Yatsuhiro–who still did not fully comprehend the ‘magic’ that the alchemists and her robotic minions described as ‘science’–nodded, silently trying to understand what those lights’ purposes were.
Carol now bent down over Maria, placed her hand upon the woman and, once more, emitted the blue light that temporarily stained the girl’s forehead. Unlike Serena, who still remained asleep, Maria’s head flew upwards as soon as the glow faded. Smashing her skull into Carol’s hand as the alchemist pulled it away (and leaving a red mark upon her forehead), Maria winced as she hastily looked around in confusion.
“Welcome back.” Yatsuhiro offered a kind smile, but the curt words were muttered by the small girl who marched over to his side. “Seems as though you sleep far lighter than your sister.”
“What? Where am I?” Maria just uttered questions in response, her brain spinning as she tried to understand what was going on. She placed her hand up to her eyes, wondering if blood was still dribbling from her eyes, but she only touched the red glue that remained after Yatsuhiro wiped the rest away.
“My workshop.” Carol announced, turning her gaze back to Serena. “Your sister should be able to wake up, now, though she seems to be quite slumbersome.”
“My sis... Serena?” Maria climbed to her feet, almost stumbling as her limbs clumsily flailed while trying to pull the former idol to her feet. Her attention spun right around, first landing on Chris (whom she did not acknowledge for more than a pregnant moment), then on the large medical bed that seemed out of place in the rustic cottage. “Serena!”
At the sound of Maria’s loud cry, the eyes of sleeping beauty finally cracked open slightly. “Oh... good morning...?”
Serena was clearly out of it–and still lethargic, as she just turned onto her side instead of acknowledging her sister.
“You’d think she would be a little more confused,” Phara wondered aloud. “Considering her final memory of her sister is from six years ago. She looks quite a bit different, now.”
Maria had tears in her eyes, and stifled the desire within her to suffocate Serena in a large hug. Serena looked small and frail–a result of both Ver’s mistreatment of her and the three months since where she had begun to rot away while drowning in a sanitized bed.
But the fact that her sister was back–alive, again, and just as she remembered–usurped her logical analysis of the situation. Explaining the six-year gap in Serena’s memories could come later, Maria thought as she pulled the tired girl’s head up into her chest.
“Huh? What?” Serena flailed about, screaming questions at the unfamiliar body in an unfamiliar room now clinging to her as she laid in an unfamiliar bed.
Yatsuhiro chuckled. “A touching scene.”
Carol kept silent, though. Carol knew that, if she could just extract the Rod of Asclepius from within the recently-awoken girl, she would likely lose control and pull her beloved papa into a very similar embrace. She had no reason to judge Maria’s actions now, or the confused panic that arose from beneath Serena’s eyes as she realized who was happily hugging her.

. . .

 Tsubasa stepped out of the helicopter and onto the ground of Frontier, pushing aside the loose blue hair that whipped into her face as the blades above her still pushed around the air. So much had gone on today that Tsubasa had forgotten to tie her hair up into a ponytail–and being blinded by her azure mane now caused her to regret not doing so earlier.
The roar of Batara Kala from behind brought her back to the situation at hand, and she turned to the five who approached the party getting out of the military vehicle. At the same time, Leiur, with Shirabe Tsukuyomi in her arms like a sleeping princess, teleported in to her side.
“Shirabe? What happened?” Kirika, one of the aforementioned members of the approaching party (alongside Garie, Genjuro, Kanade, and Elfnein), yelled as she began to run and reunite with her friend being carried by the golden Autoscorer.
“It was cool!” Micha had stars in her eyes. “She VROOMED up the back of that monster and then there were SMACKS and then the monster did a BLAAAHH and PIIIIIP and then the girl went WOOOOOSH.”
“Thank you for the illuminating commentary.” Garie snarled as she came to a stop. As if to punish her (ironically, elder) sister for her absurd description of the situation, the icy woman flicked Micha upon the forehead with her index finger.
“Someone please be more coherent.” Genjuro pressed his brow down as he glared, annoyed, at Micha. Despite being built for combat–and a robot at that–Micha shrunk under the large man’s gaze, her fighting spirit all but extinguished.
Tsubasa took that as a cue for her to speak up. “Kohinata plucked Tsukuyomi up off her back while she was running distraction, and threw her like a disc.”
“You needn’t worry.” Leiur smiled, looking at the worried Kirika who had tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “She is alive, just unconscious from the impact.”
“On that note,” Kanade bent over to get a good look at Shirabe’s form–or, rather, what hung from her neck. Ripping the red crystal off of Shirabe’s neck, she tossed the Symphogear over to the small homunculus who was timidly hiding behind Genjuro’s body. “Do your thing.”
Elfnein fumbled to catch the crystal, earning a sigh from Garie, but did not drop the powerful object. “Umm... yes! I’ll do just that!”
“What happened to the others?” Tomosato noticed the lack of several characters joining their party here, and felt the need to question their absence.
“Inside the main spire; Ogawa and the girls are getting Fujitaka up to speed on the current situation. I want everyone unable to fight to remain there for the time being.” Genjuro explained. “We’ll head over there now.”
“You can leave Kohinata to us.” Tsubasa cracked a rare, albeit still small, smile. “We’ll do everything to save her.”
“Look at you, Tsubasa, being all heroic.” Contrary to the tiny smirk upon the face of her blue partner, Kanade wore a wide, cheerful grin. It then faded as she looked off into the distance, at the massive black beast steadily approaching. “She’s been through too much. We need to bring her some peace.”
“Yes, death!” Kirika pumped her fist from her position at Shirabe’s (and thus Leiur’s) side.
“About time I get to do some fighting!!” Micha shouted, mimicking Kirika’s enthusiastic pose and earning yet another disgusted glare from Garie.

 “Micha, you really must calm yourself sometimes.” The entire group spun to the source of the voice–Carol Malus Dienheim. Alongside Yatsuhiro, Phara, Maria, and (the still somewhat confused but also informed) Serena, the alchemist faded into existence a short distance away from them.
“Master.” Leiur and Garie both greeted their creator respectfully, but their elder sister with long red hair just pouted at the commented aimed towards her.
“Maria!” Kirika held her arms up at the appearance of her friend. “And... wow you look exactly the same as I remember, Serena.”
“Apparently I’m a zombie.” Serena chuckled sweetly with a tilt of her head. “And you look very similar, too, Kirika.”
“Yup. I kept my appearance the same in case you rose from the dead.” Kirika flashed a peace sign at the girl whom she had only known for a short time but quickly befriended. “I knew this day would come, after all.”
“You knew your friend would be resurrected from the dead by a mad doctor, forced to fight you, fall into a coma, and then be awakened by the world’s most powerful alchemist?” Carol lifted her eyebrow in suspicion as she muttered this question more to herself than anyone else.
Clearing his throat, Yatsuhiro brought everyone back on topic. “We have little time until that beast reaches this island. I know you girls haven’t been able to rest long, but...”
“Don’t worry.” Maria smiled. “We’ll still fight. We have to.”
“Good to hear.” Kanade threw her arm around Tsubasa’s shoulders, throwing her stern expression into disarray as her larger friend knocked her off-balance. “Zwei Wing will do our part too.”
“My Autoscorers will need to fight on my behalf for the time being, unfortunately.” Carol sighed. “I still have a procedure I must complete.”
“How is Chris doing?” Genjuro asked with intense force, implying that he had been biting back this question he had desperately wanted to ask since Carol first appeared.
“Fine. She’ll live... for now, at least. I’ve stabilized her condition, though she is suffering from many internal wounds. But, as I promised, I will return her to you, alive and healthy.”
“She outlined her plan to me for doing so. I was a little worried about the abundant use of alchemy, but...” Yatsuhiro sighed. “It seems as though she has little chance to survive, otherwise.”
“I see.” Genjuro lowered his gaze.
“Carol Malus Dienheim, the greatest alchemist on this planet, does not break a promise.” A blatant lie, and Carol knew this as she said it. “I will perform no miracles for you, but I will do everything in my power to make good on what I said.”
“I wish you good luck, then.” Genjuro nodded, though the weight crushing his heart clearly remained.
“Leiur, Phara, Garie, Micha...” Carol pronounced the last two names with added emphasis, the latter with even more than the third. “The four of you are to follow the orders of this team as you work alongside them without question.”
“Understood, master.” Leiur and Phara replied earnestly, while Garie just grunted the same response in disgust. Micha, however, nodded like a child as she kept her pouting mouth scrunched closed.
Batara Kala’s roar as she closed in on the floating island cut through the air, and Genjuro’s eyes opened wide. “We should get to safety, brother, Tomosato.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to keep an eye on Carol while she operates on Yukine. The alchemical processes she uses are very interesting–I’d like to learn more.”
“Oh, a budding alchemist, are you?” Garie chuckled. “Maybe we should be wary of new Autoscorers joining our little band, here.”
“No I doubt I’d ever become an alchemist, myself. I just wish to learn more about it.” Yatsuhiro defended himself, holding his hands up in front of him. “The rest of you should focus on the battle about to happen, now.”
Genjuro walked up to Leiur, who then placed Shirabe in the giant man’s clutches. Despite his giant, intimidating frame, Genjuro handled the small girl extremely delicately; his touch even softer than Leiur’s.
“Tomosato, let’s go.” He nodded to his former subordinate. “Good luck, girls. The fate of the world is in your hands.”
“No pressure.” Kanade whispered, getting a smirk out of Tsubasa beside her. “Alright, girls, let’s suit up! We’ve got to save Miku–or at least buy enough time for Carol to join us.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll do my best.” Carol waved her hand as she and the man beside her began to slowly fade away into red lights. They disappeared a moment later, those being her parting words.
“Sorry to make you do this, Serena.” Maria commented with a worried smile.
“Don’t worry, Maria, I...” Serena plastered a wide grin on her face, but it instantly shrunk again as she looked her sister up and down. “Wow you’ve grown really tall. It will take some time to get used to this.”
“Is this really the time?” Tsubasa curtly poked herself into this conversation. “We have work to do, both of you.”
“Oooh... you guys made Tsubasa angry, death.” Kirika teased, likewise sliding up in-between the two girls, only to then shrink away as Ame no Habakiri’s wielder cast her cold glare in her direction.
“You all are quite carefree.” Leiur remarked. “Despite the situation.”
“If you wallow in despair all the time,” Kanade crossed her arms as she walked over to the Autoscorer. “Then there would be no reason to being born in the first place. Every life deserves a chance to make a mark upon history–to cast a light and warm the hearts of others.”
“‘We’ll make history with a light even God doesn’t know of.’” Maria commented. “That’s part of your famous song, right?”
“‘When we’re together, our singing hearts become wings.’” Tsubasa offered another lyric as the annoyance that had crossed her face earlier dissipated into a calm gaze.
“When we’re done, you guys have to perform again, death!” Kirika flailed her arms about as she (literally) jumped into this new conversation. “Shirabe and I really enjoyed listening to your songs!”
Serena leaned in to Maria, a look of concerned confusion twisting her face. “Should I know who she is?” She whispered.
“Don’t worry about it.” Kanade waved her hand, ignoring the surprised look that the thirteen-year-old girl flashed towards her at the realization that she had heard her quiet comment. “I’m guessing your sister’s going to have a lot to catch you up on.”
Batara Kala’s bellow–the loudest, by far–interrupted this.
“You girls do seem to lose focus easily.” Phara commented. “I thought the ‘fate of the world’ was at stake.”
“Right.” Tsubasa nodded. “Let’s do this!”
Removing the crystal from around her neck, she held the Symphogear above her head. Seeing this as the sign that their battle was now beginning, the other wielders put their hands on their own Symphogears; Serena, lacking her own red jewel, instead just placed her hand upon her heart as she searched for the power of the relic within her.
Then, all at once, the Holy Chants of four Symphogear wielders overlapped in a chaotic harmony.

*Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron*
*Croitzal ronzell Gungnir zizzl*
*Seilien coffin Airgetlám tron*
*Zeios Igalima raizen tron*

 As the white light that engulfed the four girls faded, they all turned their attention to the remaining wielder, whose hand was still pressed against her chest. Serena, seeing this, closed her eyes and then slowly began to sing her own Holy Chant–one unfamiliar to the rest.

*Shénshòujìng Leimpya Zizzl*

. . .

 “Tell me a little bit about this girl,” Carol cupped her chin as she stared into the burning orange crystal before her. “Hibiki Tachibana.”
“Truthfully, I do not know too much about her life; it had been Sector Two who looked into that.” Yatsuhiro shrugged. “She was among one of the survivors of the Zwei Wing concert that ended with almost thirteen thousand deaths, and for...”
“I meant more about her status as a relic-human hybrid.” Carol cut the man off. “And how she came to be in this state.”
“According to theories, the shard of Gungnir that had been embedded within her body began to resonate with the ‘true’ Gungnir that Kanade Amou wielded, and slowly began to merge with her body; orange crystals began to sprout from her body. When she was stabbed by Kohinata–under the command of Vercingetorix–these crystals seemed to explode out and surround her entirely.”
“So it is just as I had assumed, then.” Carol poked at the crystal. “And you said none of your attempts to even crack the crystal have been successful... yes, I don’t see any scratches in the substance here.”
“I’d like to tell you more about her situation, but truthfully I explained a majority of our knowledge of it. We’re not even entirely sure if she’s dead or in suspended animation; the relic’s power interferes with our equipment, so we have not been able to even check for a heartbeat or any other signs of life.”
“Incredible. I’d love to be able to recreate this kind of crystal.” Carol shook her head. “No, that’s for later. Right now I need to begin work on this other project.”
The small alchemist sighed. Rolling her shoulders, she walked towards the table on which Chris Yukine laid unconscious. “I do, now, regret destroying the Château de Tiffauges in my fury. If I had not been so blind in that moment, I would have already completed the procedure by now.”
“Honestly, I only spoke with the man a couple of times, but I do understand how... aggravating he can get.” Yatsuhiro admitted. “Still, he was the foremost authority on relics confirmed to be alive. His knowledge was useful.”
“Yes, it was. A shame that such a nuisance possessed a library of knowledge.” Carol shook her head. “Though I do not regret *that* action, in truth.”

 Carol raised her hand, creating a large yellow rune in the air above her like a halo. This circle slowly expanded, growing to encompass a large area as it devoured the air that had been in its place a second ago. In a few short moments, Carol, Chris, Yatsuhiro, and the crystal containing Hibiki were all sheltered by this golden light, which the two conscious people looked up at.
“Now, let us fully analyse this girl–inside and out.” Carol snapped her fingers together, and the rune descended fully as gravity pulled it to the earth.
As the yellow light hugged Yatsuhiro’s body, he felt a strange chill run through his bones. Shivering, he kept his eyes glued on Carol, taking in every action that the small alchemist performed with a mixture of fear and awe brewing behind his eyes.

#### GX Chapter 17

 “The hard part of this battle will be getting close to Kohinata.” Tsubasa called out behind her as she dashed towards the cliff that marked the edge of the island, which Batara Kala was quickly approaching. She was not making full use of Ame no Habakiri’s abilities, allowing all of her allies–the other Symphogear wielders and Carol’s four Autoscorers–to keep up at a steady pace.
“You can leave that to me.” Phara smiled back. “I am well-versed in wind alchemy, after all.”
Above the group consisting of Tsubasa, Kanade, Kirika, Maria, Leiur, Phara, Micha, and Garie flew Serena. The girl was clad in jet-black armour from head-to-toe, her appearance matching that of the beast she was readying to engage in combat. Despite this, she could hear the words that her allies spoke clearly, as if she were running beside them; Serena wondered, as a result, what the extent of Shénshòujìng’s powers–or Ver’s experiments upon her–were.
But she was not focusing on those below her. Among the figures now nearing the end of the path, she had only really been acquainted with two–Maria and Kirika–and she was still very confused about her situation.
Shaking her head, Serena focused on the monster in front of her. As the beast she had learned was both a girl named Miku Kohinata and an abomination of relics named Batara Kala approached her, Serena felt electricity literally course through her veins. It did not hurt, however, despite the purple flash that exploded out around her body as the violet lightning leapt from her skin to her metallic armour shell. Her head remained calm as she raised her hand out in front of her and released the full power of the energy she had generated out of her palm.
The purple beam of light was like a weapon out of science fiction. The burst travelled at a high speed, colliding easily with the giant beast and ripping a small hole through its body.
“Wow.” Serena heard Kirika say from below her, but brushed off the compliment.
Serena’s eyes remained focused instead on the hole that she had cut into the beast’s body. Just as she had imagined based on the intel she had been given, the jet-black skin surrounding the hole began to cave in, and within seconds her body had been repaired.
“Never mind, death.”

 Thanks to Phara’s alchemy, the seven grounded enemies all took to the skies–though she was forced to reside on the ground as a result. Tsubasa kicked off of the air below her as if it were the earth, and found herself navigating within this new system easily after a short moment.
Tsubasa took no time to marvel at her hidden knowledge, instead focusing on the spot on Batara Kala that Serena had damaged. As it regenerated, she counted in her head the seconds that it took to fully recover. “We have three seconds.” She uttered aloud.
“That’s how long it takes to regen, right?” Kanade bounced up next to her with a clumsy smile. “It’ll be tough, but we can make it work.”
Maria climbed up to the same level with an angry scowl upon her face. Saying nothing, the woman with the pink hair ran her hand down the length of her small blade, engulfing it into silver flames at it expanded out into a bladed chain.
“If we hit the same place repeatedly...” Tsubasa noted, seeing the new form of Airgetlám’s Armed Gear.
“The issue for you, then,” Leiur joined the four, eyeing as Kirika led Micha on a frontal, and incredibly reckless, assault beneath them. “Would be making sure your rleics are not destroyed by the light of Shénshòujìng.”
“I’ll be careful!” Serena’s cheerful comment echoed as she flew over the team, her suit glowing once more as she charged up a second attack. The young girl did not, however, have a chance to fire this blast, as she instead dropped her altitude at a high speed to catch Kirika as Batara Kala’s large hand launched her away.
“Thanks, death!” Kirika smiled as she bounced out of Serena’s grasp and flew back towards her enemy to repeat the exact same strategy. Though neither acknowledged it, both Kirika and Serena heard the sighs of Tsubasa and Maria as they both watched Kirika raise her large scythe up over her head.

. . .

 Unlike her current allies, Garie Tūmān had no interest in engaging in battle. Instead, she remained beside one of her sisters, Phara, with a disinterested scowl marking her face.
In front of her, Garie watched as the group of four that had been analysing the situation around them–Leiur, Tsubasa, Kanade, and Maria–split up in order to surround Batara Kala, while Micha and Kirika were launched flying once more as the beast slowly threw its large hands around.
“Pathetic.” Garie sneered in disgust.
“A beast that could regenerate from any attack... it’s quite formidable.” Phara shook her head. “Though it pains me to admit it, I can understand their hesitation.”
“I meant this whole situation.” Clicking her tongue, Garie turned her head to look away from the sight of Micha being launched by an attack–and then subsequently plucked out of the air by Serena as she dashed about. “Why do we have to assist these idiots in saving their foolish friend? What is master thinking?”
“You should know not to question our master. She has...”
“Her methods? Despite her power, we all know she is still just a child at heart–one who refuses to grow up and move on from her grief.” Garie spat the words out as if they had left a sour taste on her tongue.
Beside her, Phara was shocked. The Autoscorer physically recoiled at the fact that her sister was speaking ill of the one who created them. Garie, ignoring this, just continued speaking.
“To throw away the centuries of research and decades of work that went into constructing the Château de Tiffauges in a single moment–one born out of an infant’s tantrum.” Garie shook her head. “Our lovely master may be a great alchemist, but not a leader worth respecting.”
“Garie, to defile the name of our...”
“Shut up, Phara.” Garie yelled, stomping the ground. As a rink of ice formed around her, Garie spun around on her toes. “I refuse to help her any longer. With plans so flimsy and a personality that could give birth to Micha’s blind love of combat, I don’t trust the judgement of the girl that created us.”
The blue Autoscorer skated away, leaving a chilled silence behind as Phara wondered where the girl’s thoughts–which should have been patterned upon those of Carol Malus Dienheim–had crawled out of.

. . .

 Maria threw out the chain sword that was Airgetlám’s Armed Gear, which slithered through the air like a snake as it flew towards Batara Kala’s claw. Coiling around the hand, and protecting Micha from an incoming punch, Maria strained every muscle in her body as she pulled back the other end of the chain, freezing the monster’s attempt to attack.
Seeing this as an opening, Kanade followed up. Flying through the sky like a bullet, Kanade slammed the spear of Gungnir into the beast’s shoulder. Tsubasa, too, dashed in from the opposite side, slicing a downwards trench parallel to that Kanade was now digging.
Batara Kala roared out in pain, throwing her arms back as fury took over her body and pulling Maria with her. One of the monster’s arms batted Tsubasa upwards, straight into Serena’s waiting arms, while Maria shook violently as the chain began to lose its hold on the limb.
“Whoa-oh!” Maria cried out in shock as nausea gripped her. Her body was being whipped around at a high speed as Batara Kala tried to force the former idol to let go of her weapon. Finally, the chain’s hold on the arm gave way, and she was sent flying as confusion and fear gripped her heart. She closed her eyes.
“Look out!” The cry of her sister snapped Maria back to reality, and she then felt small, cold arms ensnare her body–Serena, just as she had been doing throughout the battle up until now, had flown at a high speed and stopped the careening Maria with her own body. “I’ve got you, Maria.”
“Thanks, Serena.” Maria nodded, a warm smile crossing her face.

 Now that Maria’s chain had let Batara Kala go, Leiur took this as her chance to attack. As Kanade and Tsubasa’s injuries quickly began to heal, the Autoscorer created a giant gold coin in the air below her and dropped it upon the beast’s limb. The beast, however, saw this attempt and grabbed the coin out of the air... unaware that Leiur was only drawing her attention away from the approaching Micha.
“Take this, beasty!” Micha screamed in glee as she pierced Batara Kala’s chest with a red-hot crystal protruding from one of her claws. As the weapon broke through the beast’s skin, Batara Kala’s torso exploded into flames as the monster staggered backwards.
Batara Kala roared. The feral cry echoed through the city, tearing at the ears of all of the girls engaged in battle against it. Maria, who had just pushed herself out of her sister’s grasp, could barely keep her eyes open as it felt like the scream pierced her brain like a knife.
Through the tears that formed out of the pain, Maria saw something incredible: red veins of energy criss-crossed against the shadowy form like a volcanic stone glowing out from within. As the scream faded into nothing, Maria finally managed to crack her eyes open fully, letting the tears stream down her face as the pain subsided.

 “Move!” Leiur cried out, jumping in-front of Micha and throwing up a large golden coin. Though Tsubasa, who had regrouped with Kirika a short distance away, was confused, she and the wielder of Igalima did just as they had been ordered.
A second later, the sky around them exploded.
“What the hell, death?” Kirika shouted, her ears ringing as she bounced up away from the flames that now expanded out through the air she had just been inhabiting.
“What was that?” Maria and Serena dashed up next to the other Symphogear wielders, just as Kanade descended down from above.
“Ichaival.” Kanade guessed, looking to see if Leiur and Micha had survived the blast. She turned her gaze to Tsubasa as she saw Leiur’s golden coin still floating in the air, the two Autoscorers crowding behind it.
“It seems like she’s finally realized how to make use of her new body.” Tsubasa sighed.

 “Look out!” Kirika shouted, cutting off any further conversation.
With her giant scythe, Kirika slices through the air in a crescent, meeting a giant blade that Batara Kala swung; none of the other girls had noticed this giant sword–a copy of Ame no Habakiri–appear within its grasp, or that the red veins had changed to an icy blue.
Knowing that Kirika’s strength would not be enough to fully counter the incoming attack, Kanade and Tsubasa flew down to attack the beast’s hands as Maria joined behind Kirika with her own small weapon.
Kanade and Tsubasa crossed between each other as their respective Armed Gears sunk deep into the single claw that Batara Kala had around the handle of the blade. The monster screeched as Kanade’s spear dug through and cut off one of her fingers, the blade falling out of her grasp in the process.
“Sorry about that.” Kanade apologized, hoping that Miku’s finger would be fine should they manage to return her to her human form. She needn’t worry any longer, though, as Kanade watched as an appendage that wiggled about like a worm began to regrow in the finger’s place. “That’s disgusting.”
As the sword collided into the ground, kicking up natural debris as it sliced through the forest below, Serena unleashed a blast of purple energy into the beast once more. This time, Batara Kala dodged out of the way of the attack, knowing that it was the only attack capable of doing significant damage to her.
In response to Serena’s attack, Batara Kala’s veins began to glow a snowy white as she threw out her undamaged hand. Just as Airgetlám’s Armed Gear had before, Batara Kala’s fingers extended out like chains, whipping through the air in an attempt to grab hold of Serena.
The girl was shocked that the beast’s movements could out-speed her attack, so this counter caught her off-guard.
“Serena!” Maria shouted, hoping to urge her sister to move.

. . .

 Using her alchemy, Carol had created a window to Japan within her small abode, allowing both herself and her current assistant, Yatsuhiro Kazanari, to watch the battle unfolding against Batara Kala through the eyes of Phara Suyūf.
Carol had had her head down as she flew about the room. Chris Yukine’s breathing had grown shallow again as her body was slowly drained of life, and the alchemist knew that she was running out of time to complete her operation. For this reason, her attention had been mostly diverted from the battle, though Yatsuhiro’s was glued to the image whenever he was not performing any assistance that she required.
But a certain sound caused even her attention to be ripped away from her patient. As Yatsuhiro gasped in horror at what unfolded within the image hovering in the air before him, Carol could not help but spare a glance for herself.
Her eyes went wide at the sight that penetrated her child-like eyes.

. . .

 A loud clang rang out through the air as the metallic appendages clacked around themselves, crushing the girl who had been unlucky enough to be its target.
“What?” Serena gasped, backing away from the fist that was just centimetres from her body. Her figure trembled slightly as she realized that she–despite being the intended target–was completely unharmed.
Batara Kala’s grip held another girl; one whose appearance was completely unexpected to all around her. Everyone’s focus was on the massive, silver fist; their eyes haven flown open in surprise at the scene they saw...
...and at the loud noise that followed.
The sound of bones snapping like dried twigs crackled out from within the beast’s large hands. A silver prison trapped the girl, completely hiding her from sight as the monster’s intense strength slowly destroyed the girl’s body.
“No.” Kirika whispered, darkness filling her vision.

 Shirabe Tsukuyomi had, at the last moment, appeared before Serena Cadenzavna Eve. Clad in the Symphogear of Shul Shagana, she had dashed in front of Batara Kala’s incoming attack and let herself be ensnared by the silver fingers that shone in the sunlight.
Fingers that were now oozing crimson out from within.
“Shirabe!” Maria cried out in despair as she finally realized that her friend was being killed by the monster’s giant hand.
Sensing the anger and sadness behind her sister’s words, Serena began to charge up the energy required to fire a blast from Shénshòujìng.
“You fool! You’ll destroy her Symphogear!” Leiur cried out from afar.
“I need to save her life!” Serena countered. Letting go of her hesitation, Serena pushed out the air in front of her and released the largest blast of energy from her palm yet.
The explosion that her hand produced was devastating. Utterly destroying the hand that had crushed her friend. In the process, however, the armour covering Serena’s own hand–and much of the arm it extended from–also shattered, the dark black shards raining down to the ground below just as Shirabe did.
Serena clutched her arm as the pain from the recoil engulfed her senses. She tried to move, to help Shirabe more, but her body refused.
But no one else moved either.
Even the giant Batara Kala watched in horrific awe as Shirabe’s limp body tumbled through the air slowly, her limbs all bent at strange angles and her body wearing a coat of blood.
It was not the result of Serena’s attempt to save Shirabe, nor the damage she sustained, that captured everyone’s attention, however. As her figure was pulled to the earth by gravity, pink lights danced around her body–the remains of Shul Shagana, still trying to grasp at the song in Shirabe’s heart that had since ceased.
Shirabe’s mouth slowly moved as she tried to force out her final words on this mortal plane. “I’m... sorry... Kiri... I was... useless...”
And then, she was gone. As if she had faded out of existence entirely, the pink orbs danced around Shirabe’s body, and continued to do so even as her body dissipated from this reality.

 “Shi...rabe...?” Kirika was the first to break the silence. Two waterfalls of tears dribbled down her cheeks from eyes that had clouded over with the darkest of storm clouds. She just watched the pink orbs descend to the ground and fade away, just as Shirabe had done a few seconds before.

. . .

 “You weren’t useless.” Carol replied to the still air, her eyes wide as she forgot about the girl dying in front of her.
Though the girl’s head was turned away from Yatsuhiro, the elderly man could tell from the briefest of glances that the young alchemist that had grown close to Shirabe Tsukuyomi over the past little while was crying as well.

. . .

 Tsubasa’s face twisted into an expression of shock as she turned her attention towards a sound that was not fitting, considering the circumstances: laughter. Maniacal, insane laughter.
The source of this rancorous, cacophony of giggling was none other than the sad Kirika Akatsuki. Her wide eyes turned up to the sky as her brain completely shattered apart; the glass windows that were her mental state could be heard being destroyed by rocks as the other girls all stared in shock at the girl.
And, just as suddenly as she began to laugh, she fell back into silence.

 “Kirika...?” Maria slowly began to fly towards her friend, but Kirika’s arm shot out as if to tell her to stop.
“Stay back.” A foreign voice from Kirika’s body hissed, though none were unfamiliar with it. Every Symphogear wielder–barring Serena, who still clutched at her self-injured arm–flinched at the tone they had pushed down out of their memories; they should not have ever heard it again, after all.
“Finé.” Tsubasa announced with a scowl.
“Yes. It seems like Akatsuki retreated into her heart in order to cope with... what had just happened. And, in doing so, I was pulled out.” Finé sighed, her attempts to hold the large scythe of Igalima clearly failing as she struggled to get a good hold on the weapon.
Batara Kala roared, rocking Finé–and the other girls–out of their thoughts. This scream felt sad to all that heard it, and the bestial roar vaguely sounded like the name of the recently-deceased girl. It was almost as if...
“Miku’s clearly struggling.” Kanade acknowledged the roar. “I think she’s fighting her own battle, from within that thing.”
“While I will not judge you all for not trusting me, considering my actions,” Finé said as she floated up to meet Tsubasa and Kanade; as she did, both girls noted the fact that both of Kirika’s eyes were now gold–Finé’s influence had completely usurped the original personality. “I do, genuinely, want to help Mi... Kohinata, just as you do.”
“So you can possess her again?” Tsubasa grunted.
“I’ll have you know, I did leave her body of my own accord, before.” Finé snapped back. Then, in a softer tone, the girl looked at the black beast standing before them. “I’d like to think that we made amends... Well, in any case, she did change me somewhat.”

 “Finé...” Maria shoved her way into the conversation, a look of red-hot anger over her face. “What the hell happened to my friend?”
“Ah yes, Tsukuyomi.” Finé studied Batara Kala, who seemed to be grieving the girl she murdered by standing stock still, looking at the ground. Mimicking one of Kirika’s mannerisms, Finé then turned to face Maria with a big smile on her face. “No idea, death!”
“Don’t give me that you...” Maria reached out her hands, ready to grab Finé by the throat, but stopped short. Harming the priestess in any way would, in turn, harm Kirika; with Shirabe gone and Serena already having died once, Maria would do anything in her power to make sure her friends remained safe.
Sensing the conflicting emotions swirling like a hurricane within Maria Cadenzavna Eve, Finé returned to her original self. “It is the truth, what I said. I have never seen something like that before. Granted, this is also the first time I have ever seen a Symphogear get completely destroyed, as well.”

 One of Batara Kala’s sad roars rumbled the earth. As her monstrous scream ripping the thoughts of the Symphogear wielders away from their conversation, the two Autoscorers raised their arms as they returned to the battle.
“Right. We still need to save Kohinata.” Finé put her hand to her forehead. “Regardless of whether you would like it or not, I am offering my assistance to you.”
“Can I say something?” Serena asked, still rubbing her now-bare arm. The small girl had remained quiet since watching Shirabe dissipate into dust, but her expression now did not imply that she had been mourning. “Our attacks have been mostly useless. I think it would be best to accept any help.”
“Yes. I’m with you on that point.” Tsubasa sighed. “Finé... and Maria, too. We have greater problems at hand.”
Kanade pointed her spear at the bellowing beast that was attempting to swat at the two flying Autoscorers using the giant copy of Ame no Habakiri. “Miku Kohinata, Shirabe Tsukuyomi: we will bring you both peace. I swear my life on it.”
“That makes it sound like you’re planning on dying here.” Finé curtly pointed out. In response, Kanade flashed the eternal priestess possessing the young Kirika a determined smile.
Though Finé could not read her thoughts, she could see within Kanade’s eyes a strong, burning resolve–her words were not a lie, Finé knew; Kanade would do absolutely anything to save Miku in this moment.
“I do feel the need to avenge Tsukuyomi, in some way.” Kanade admitted, seeing Tsubasa begin to worry for her friend following Finé’s comment. She ignored that look on the blue sword’s panicked face–and the implications that this action brought–and turned to Maria. “I like...d Shirabe. She’s like me, in a way.”
“I can’t imagine you knew Tsukuyomi all that well.” Finé shook her head. Though she did not want to admit it, Tsubasa nodded slowly in agreement.
“Didn’t you ever wonder where I disappeared to after work sometimes?” Kanade shrugged, leaving that brief comment for Tsubasa and Finé to ponder.
The wielder of Gungnir flew off, dragging Maria by the arm in order to force her away from Finé for now; Serena, thus, followed behind her sister, trying to concoct a plan to remain useful despite having destroyed part of her armour.
Though the two remaining Symphogear wielders knew they should follow Kanade’s lead and get back to fighting the beast threatening them, neither Tsubasa nor Finé moved. They hovered in place, stoic looks on their faces.
“She never visited Akatsuki.” Finé said after a pregnant pause.
“Kanade must have been visiting them while I was writing up reports.” Tsubasa realized, her comment following right after Finé’s.

~ ~ ~

 Shirabe Tsukuyomi had awoken while in the arms of Genjuro Kazanari. She was sluggish, her mind barely managing to get a grip on the spinning world around her. Not sure what was going on, Shirabe decided to feign sleep in order to listen to the conversation occurring.
“Their attacks aren’t doing much.” A woman’s voice shouted from nearby. Shirabe did not recognize the voice of Aoi Tomosato to her right. “Shénshòujìng managed to deal the most amount of damage, but Kohinata regenerated the damage immediately.”
Another voice that Shirabe did not recognize–this one the timid squeak of Elfnein–chimed in next from somewhere to her right following a deep sigh. “So, are you saying that their attempts to stop Batara Kala are hopeless?”
At that, Shirabe’s eyes snapped open, and she threw herself out of the large arms of the man carrying her. As she did not feel the small red crystal bounce against her chest, Shirabe’s gaze scanned the three figures who looked at her in surprise for her Symphogear.
“Do not call them useless.” Shirabe hissed, snatching Shul Shagana out of the hands of the girl she both recognized as Carol Malus Dienheim yet felt like a stranger.
Ignoring the deep voice yelling at her, Shirabe’s legs carried her away from the three. Her heart was beating fast as anger infected her blood like a plague. The word ‘useless’ struck a chord with Shirabe–just as she knew it did Maria and Kirika–and desperately hated the insinuation that her friends had no worth.
Deep down, however, Shirabe knew that the FIS scientists who had called her useless for so many years weren’t entirely unfounded. She could not use a Symphogear natively, nor was she entirely smart or strong–that’s what Shirabe believed. With no memories of her childhood and the traumatic memories she had experienced since that filled her brain like an overflowing sink, Shirabe had long ago pulled her heart into the shadows. She lived for no one other than her new ‘family’–Maria and Kirika had far more worth than Shirabe believed she ever could.
Knowing the risks that came with using her Symphogear again so soon, and without LiNKER, flames seemed to shoot out of Shirabe’s mouth as she sang the Holy Chant that welled up within her.

*Various Shul Shagana tron*

 Shirabe reached the green Autoscorer standing on the edge of the cliff. Phara did not even turn her head at the sound of Shirabe’s song, only acknowledging the girl with a nod as she passed.
Despite not knowing that she would be able to fly through Phara’s alchemy, Shirabe held the belief that she would be fine should she just jump off of the cliff before her.
“I’ll make sure they’re happy.” Shirabe yelled, though her cry was drowned out by the roar released from Batara Kala in the same moment.

#### GX Chapter 18

*Dokomade mo tonde yukeru*
*Ryōyoku ga soroeba*
*Yatto tsunaida kono te wa*
*Zettai hanasanai*
*…Hanasanai!*

 With renewed determination, four of the remaining five Symphogear wielders activated their Ignite Modules. Tsubasa and Kanade had no issue activating their’s, having done so previously in their battles against Micha and Phara respectively; Maria and, especially, Finé-Kirika, however, floated in the air a distance away, screaming as the darkness tried to drown their consciousnesses. Clad in black armour, the wielders of Ame no Habakiri and Gungnir flew threw the sky as they worked in sync to slow Batara Kala’s movements.

*Sangeki to itami no*
*Ienai kioku wa*
*Yume demo umeku hodo*
*Mune wo sasu yō ni*

 Their song, one born from the hearts of the idol duo known as Zwei Wing, passed up through space and past the moon as their Armed Gears effortlessly blocked and parried any of the intense attacks that their large opponent threw at them.
Batara Kala wielded a copy of Ame no Habakiri, which it swung around with enough force to cleave even the oxygen from the air around them, but Tsubasa and Kanade–with Phara’s assistance–had no issue dodging their attacks, even remaining in perfect form even as the winds of the attacks tried pulling the two girls to the ground.
Tsubasa lifted her sword above her head, summoning a barrage of energy swords around her. Batara Kala roared at the sight of the weapons appearing, and Ame no Habakiri subsequently disappeared from her large claw as the spears rained down upon her.
They were not worried about harming Miku Kohinata–though they did want to see her return safely, even the boost in strength that the Ignite Module granted them was not enough to deal substantial amounts of damage; though it did take the beast longer to recover from these wounds than their earlier ones.

 “They’ve grown quite strong.” Finé smirked through the shadows trying their best to suffocate her.
Sweat beaded upon the forehead of Kirika Akatsuki–who was temporarily controlled by Finé–and the red glow that flashed from behind her golden eyes was terrifying, thought Maria, but the smile on her friend’s face reassured her.
Despite everything, it would all work out fine; that’s what Maria believed right now. Her sister had defied all odds and come back to life–she would absolutely see a reunion with both the Kirika and Shirabe she loved as sisters being a possible future.
Maria smiled at the thought, which pulled aside the black sheet that had been shrouding her body and soul. Then, pointing her small blade towards Batara Kala, she spat words from the side of her mouth at the girl who was still struggling beside her.
“Pathetic that one who lives in an eternal moment can’t even push aside a simple curse.” A sinister look in Maria’s eyes told Finé that she would never forgive the priestess for the hell that FIS had put her–and her friends–through at her command.
Finé chuckled. “Don’t blame me,” despite the shadows that crept around her body like chains ready to tear apart the body of Kirika Akatsuki, the priestess inhabiting it casually shrugged. “I’m just a collection of memories; Akatsuki’s the one who’ll decide my fate.”

. . .

 From within her own mind, Kirika stared out through a blurry window at the scene of Batara Kala. The two green eyes that shone like emeralds upon the figurative face of her mental avatar were hollow, clouded over by a despair that Kirika was overly familiar with.
“What’s the point?” The girl posed the question to no one, and the words echoed out through the vast void of the vault of memories she possessed.
Sights, experiences, sensations; both those that belonged to Kirika and the many different incarnations of Finé floated around her, but Kirika paid no mind to any of them.
“Shirabe.” She muttered, tears falling from the cheeks of her mental avatar. Then, she cried louder, “Shirabe!”
At the scream, all of the memories that had been floating past her and the image of the outside world all blinked out of existence in a single moment, replaced with a silent black void.
“Fitting.” Kirika remarked with a huff. “Without Shirabe...”
At the third mention of her friend, a new memory bubbled up in front of her. Kirika’s blank eyes stared at the memory, one that seemed strange compared to even the many that she inherited but had yet to sort through.
The sphere that represented the memory in this subconscious field she created for herself was completely black, and yet it did not blend in with the void around her.
Kirika’s brain felt heavy, as if filled with mud; similarly, her limbs felt as though they were made of concrete. Yet the curiosity that resulted from seeing this strange orb glued just a few shards of the girl’s cracked psyche together.
Slowly, she touched the circle in front of her, and a memory painted itself onto the canvas of Kirika Akatsuki.

~ ~ ~

*The ghost of Finé–a mere collection of fragmented memories stitched together through Kirika’s desire to be useful to others–swam through the swamp of thoughts that belonged to her current host.*
*In the months since she had fused her consciousness with that of Kirika Akatsuki, Finé noted a drastic change in the girl’s brain–it began to deteriorate rapidly, falling into disrepair like an abandoned warehouse.*
*The eternal priestess, of course, knew the reason for this–an immature brain like hers was fragile enough, but the fact that Kirika possessed strong memories of her own that overpowered even Finé’s strongest thoughts caused a schism within her soul.*
*For the past three months, the priestess had been attempting to fix this–both for her own sake, as a ghost living within, and the sake of the girl she burdened. By collecting Kirika’s strongest memories, Finé had been working to build a wall, one to separate the two sets of memories from each other in such a way that would not harm the girl or cause her to forget those she created over the years.*
*And she finally found the final piece to the insane jigsaw puzzle she was crafting. A simple memory, one that Finé could sense came from a date very important to Kirika.*

*This girl lacked a birthday of her own; no one knew anything about the identity of the girl that existed before she was taken in by FIS and given the name Kirika Akatsuki. Her entire identity was fake, manufactured for the sole purpose of having an identity in case Finé decided she was not fit to be a potential vessel. The name was concocted in seconds by a handful of scientists (many of whom Kirika still, all of these years later, did not know the name of), and her date of birth was simply the day that FIS declared her their property.*
*But, even if she despised the origins of her entire being, she kept these small things close to her heart. After all, Kirika Akatsuki–or the girl she had been, once–was a psychological mess; even before Finé had raped the girl’s mind and forced in her own memories, the eternal priestess had found many a repressed memory that even she was unable to examine properly–and yet, very few of the ones Finé had been able to properly view had been anywhere within the vicinity of ‘pleasant.’*
*The idea of having a birthday, anything that made it clear that the girl now named Kirika Akatsuki really did exist, was important to the girl, and Finé now understood why as she pulled her hand away from one window.*

 The date was April 13, 2043.
Following the destruction of a relic research laboratory and loss of all of its data–an event that the girls present would later learn was the work of John Wayne Vercingetorix–the American government had declared (in private) that they no longer had any reason to work with Finé following her disappearance from Japan since she had not been reborn within any of the three remaining Receptor Children. Thus, The Federal Sacrist Research Institution of America was closed down.
The three orphans–the only test subjects who had survived each and every cruel experiment forced upon them–were ushered to a new facility. Considering the value of the knowledge they had held, allowing them to enter society as normal girls was believed to be too dangerous; as Maria also had the reputation of being a celebrity through her idol activities–which FIS had forced her to participate in for research purposes–the American government believed that it would be very easy for her to curry favour with politicians in other countries and spill all of the knowledge she had collected over the years.
For the first time in her life, Kirika Akatsuki lived in peace. A large, peaceful smile crossed her face, as she realized what the day was.
“Happy birthday Kiri!” “Happy birthday Kirika!” Shirabe and Maria clapped, wearing their own happy expressions.
This was the first time in Kirika’s life (that she remembered) that she had ever been able to celebrate her birthday.

 The three girls lived in a small facility very similar to that which they had been held captive in as guinea pigs for FIS, but the people who surveilled Kirika, Shirabe, and Maria were far more friendly. From what they had gathered, most of the people working at the facility had been informed that they were related to people who died in the destruction of the research lab, and thus Kirika and Shirabe now orphans who knew too much about relics to be let into society; Maria, though she was old enough to live on her own, had also learned too much about the relics for the government’s liking, and she also refused to be separated from the two younger girls.
Even if the situation as to why they were being held in this new facility was a lie, the people all treated them with care. They had a small living area–with beds! Neither Shirabe nor Kirika had any memories of sleeping in a real bed, so that alone was cause for celebration.
In the midst of Kirika’s life turning around for the better–and the weight of depression finally being lifted from her shoulders–she had completely forgotten about the current date.

 Kirika sat at a small wooden table within a large white room. Like Maria and Shirabe, they also pushed themselves down against a fluffy pink rug that the government officials had decided was “homey”-enough for them.
The government agents weren’t around too often, so it was difficult for them to get anything from the outside world, but Maria and Shirabe had somehow managed to get what the three girls could only consider a banquet in comparison to the meagre amounts of slop that the horrible scientists who tortured them before had called ‘food.’
Clearly purchased from a convenience store, the table was crammed full of bags of potato chips, chocolate bars, and sodas–a junk food lover’s paradise, but also food that Shirabe and Kirika had never before tasted. In the middle sat a small white box with a red ribbon tied around it and into a bow that sat atop its pearly surface like a crimson bush: Kirika’s first-ever birthday present.

 Seeing the work that Shirabe and Maria had put in to make sure she could celebrate her first birthday, Kirika couldn’t help but tear up. The large grin she wore wavered as the beginnings of sobs worked their way up her throat. “You guys...”
“We really had wanted to do something a bit larger for you.” Maria smiled.
Kirika shook her head, the small droplets of water pooling in her eyes flying outwards at the violent movements. “I’m... so happy. Thank you!”
“We got this for you.” Shirabe held up the small box. Kirika’s hands slowly took the present in her grasp with shaking hands, ignoring the fact that Shirabe and Maria had not been allowed to leave so her words weren’t entirely truthful.
Pulling the bow apart, Kirika quietly pushed open the top of the gift that her friends had worked to get. A bed of white paper shielded the actual present within the immediate view of the girl looking down into the newly-opened box, so Kirika pushed her fingers through the clouds. The tips of her fingers grazed something cool just beneath the surface, and she pulled it out with a curious gasp.
In her fingers, Kirika Akatsuki held a small black object. As her emerald eyes looked down upon it, Maria chuckled as she realized that Kirika could not work out what the X-shaped object was.
“It’s a hair accessory.” Shirabe added happily, touching the ribbons that held her long black hair into two twin tails. Maria’s hands unconsciously, too, lifted up, and she poked the blue flower-like decorations adorning her hair. “Now we can all match.”
“Oh-yo-yo?” Kirika made a goofy noise that sounded somewhat cheerful, and her friends couldn’t help but laugh aloud at her vocalization. Kirika, though, took the time to clumsily clip the black X into her hair.
Her laughing subsiding, Shirabe leaned forwards. “Kiri... you forgot this.” She put her hand up to the new accessory that Kirika wore and, though the blonde-haired girl could not see what Shirabe was doing, she heard a tear.
“Oops.” Shirabe said, clumsily. “The sticker.” She held out part of the sticker that had been attached to the decoration and stuck it to Kirika’s out-stretched finger. The sticker advertised the manufacturer’s name, but it had been torn in two as Shirabe had only been able to pull off half of it in her first attempt.
As Shirabe fumbled to try and remove the rest of the sticker, Kirika looked at the sticker on the tip of her index. “Odess...? Death?” She mumbled, trying to make out what her part of the sticker said. As excitement filled her eyes, she realized something. “Death!”
“I don’t think randomly shouting death means anything.” Shirabe commented.
“It’s catchy, right? Death!” Kirika repeated, a glee-filled expression filling her eyes.
As Shirabe–and Maria, from a shorter distance away–tried to figure out what Kirika’s thought process here was, the small black-haired girl was interrupted as her friend pulled her into a big hug.
“Thank you! Shirabe, Maria... I love you both!”

 A couple of days later, the nightmares of her time in FIS would push themselves back into her life; but, for now, Kirika Akatsuki was at her happiest moment.

*Even from outside of this memory, Finé could sense the furnace of happiness burn up from within that version of Kirika Akatsuki.*
*No, the sensation she felt was like a bonfire. The warmth generated from this one memory–the one that Kirika Akatsuki treasured more than any other–was intense; to the ghost of Finé, it felt as though she were in the depths of an active volcano.*
*What the eternal priestess did not know was that, at this very moment, the real Kirika Akatsuki would also feel the same power swell up within her. The girl who, for months, had cradled herself in fear as depression and suicidal thoughts crept into her lonely, broken mind, finally felt a spark of an emotion that she had forgotten the sensation of.*
*Upon realizing this, Finé–or, rather, the formless collection of memories that called itself a ghost–found herself forming a smile.*
*“Perhaps it is time for me to atone for all that I have wrought.”*

*The ghostly whisper did not exist beyond a thought, but the Kirika Akatsuki of the present sensed the meaning of the priestess’s actions in her unconscious mind. Her heart, her soul, and her logical mind all rejected Finé–for obvious reasons–yet the emotional part of her brain found itself grasping for the woman’s non-existent hands.*
*What could only be described as a tangled web of thoughts and emotions surrounded the girl’s young heart. Kirika was desperate for any reason to live at this point. She had had her entire life stolen away from her thus far; from her very first memories, FIS had been scarring her body and mind in as many different ways as possible...*
*Kirika’s brain pulled at the messy yarn ball, only to tangle its intangible fingers within the web. She knew that the priestess was the reason for all of her trauma, the reason why she was separated now from Maria and Shirabe, and the reason for her brain’s inability to focus on even the spot in front of her face...*
*So, then... why...*

 The Kirika Akatsuki in real life clutched her chest as this mess of emotions pulled her apart. The pain of her heart filling with emotions for the first time in three months ached as if she had been stabbed straight through, and yet she did not feel angry nor did she feel wholly sad.
Welling up from the tangled web of emotions was a strange sense of happiness.
“Why... am I crying?”

~ ~ ~

 The ghostly image of Kirika that existed only within her consciousness touched the metaphysical representation of the gift that she had received on that day. “That... was my memory... from Finé’s perspective.”
Kirika shook her head. “Shirabe is gone, but if Serena could be reborn, then...”
With her non-existent arm, Kirika slapped her non-existent cheeks as loud as she possibly could. Defying all logic–as one does within a realm of their own consciousness, bound by no rules–a sound tore through the darkness that encroached upon her, and all at once Kirika saw the world around her light up.
The void that the ghostly image of Kirika had been floating in exploded, transforming from the darkest night into the brightest day in an instant.

. . .

 Kirika opened her eyes.
“I’m going to bring Shirabe back, death.” She shouted, the dark shadows that had been suffocating her physical form dissipating in an instant.
At the familiar tone of her friend, the woman floating beside her, Maria, recoiled in shock, with wide eyes. “Kirika?”
Kirika turned towards Maria with a wide grin, showing off her heterochromatic eyes–a signal that Finé’s influence still existed within Kirika Akatsuki, but now her original conscious was back in control...
“Well...” The girl’s mouth moved, but even Kirika was surprised at the mutter.
“Wait.” Kirika held her hand up to her face, and then quickly moved it from side-to-side.
Her eyes narrowed. “What are you doing?”
To Maria, it looked as though Kirika were talking to herself. As if she were performing some kind of rakugo act, Kirika’s tone shifted from her normal, excitable one to one that seemed smoother, more mature.
Maria pinched the bridge of her nose as she put her confused thoughts together. “So Kirika’s in charge of the body, and Finé’s... grown strong enough to be able to speak out through Kirika’s body...” She sighed.
“Seems like it, death.” Kirika replied. Immediately afterwards, in the tone that Maria assumed was Finé speaking out from within her friend, the girl said something else. “We... may need some time to figure out what exactly is happening here.”

 Batara Kala opened its mouth, firing out a giant pink sawblade akin to those formed by Shul Shagana. Its target–Serena Cadenzavna Eve–held up her one armoured hand and released a blast from her palm, cutting the weapon in two and forcing the energy-based projection to disappear into nothingness.
The monster responsible for this attack screamed in fury, and quickly performed an uppercut that Serena dodged with ease. As she readied another blast of light, Tsubasa and Kirika cut in front of her, slicing the raised claw off of the beast’s girthy arm with seeming ease.
Seconds later, black tendrils began to rise from the stump, recreating the missing hand as if the oily liquid was defying gravity and being poured into an upside-down mould of the amputated limb.
Tsubasa clicked her tongue. “Even with the Ignite Module, we can’t do anything against this.”
Completely ignoring the three Symphogear wielders–and the fact that the beast was regenerating its hand–Micha flew down from above with a feral look on her face, clutching the sides of one of Leiur’s giant gold coins. “Here I come!” The Autoscorer screamed with glee.
As Micha neared the partially-reconstructed hand of Batara Kala, her shining platform ignited in flames. The two objects collided with a heavy clang, releasing a pulse of hot air that knocked even the nearby Tsubasa and Kanade back a fair bit and forcing them and Serena to all close their eyes.
When they opened their eyes, Micha had disappeared.
“Just like I thought.” Leiur’s calm voice assessed the results of her and Micha’s combined attack. Though the Symphogear wielders were surprised at her sudden appearance, the Autoscorer just coolly continued speaking without acknowledging it. “The beast’s body appears to have the qualities of a liquid substance–and it appears to act as such when regenerating as well.”
Kirika and Maria flew up to match the others, just as confused looks upon their own faces. “Oh!” Kirika vocalized cheerfully, before her tone dropped into that of Finé. “You think Kohinata exists as a human somewhere within this beast.”
“I’m not even going to question what that’s about.” Kanade muttered her acknowledgement of Kirika-Finé’s new existence. Then, wearing a smile, she pumped her fist. “But if all we’ve got to do is get her out, then that’s a lot easier than taking this thing down.”

 Micha flew out of the stomach-area of Batara Kala, and the beast roared in pain as a torrent of fire surrounded the Autoscorer. “Woohoo!” The red-haired girl flew out, holding her claws out above her head like a superhero as she flew out of the creature.
“Well, Micha, did you locate the girl?” Leiur called to the approaching girl, who shook her head in response.
“I found a purple thing, though.” Micha smiled. Her happy expression quickly darkened into a sad frown, as she continued explaining. “But I couldn’t break it.”
“That’s likely where Kohinata is,” Finé nodded. Kirika’s smile then replaced Finé’s emotionless expression as the young girl added her catchphrase, “Death!”
“Where was it?” Tsubasa turned to the small Autoscorer, who flinched under the swordswoman’s icy gaze.
“You remind me of Garie when she’s mad.” Micha pouted. Stretching out her large claw, she pointed at Batara Kala’s neck. “It was in there, I think.”
“You think?” Maria raised an eyebrow.
“I tried to attack it, and then all of a sudden I didn’t see it any more. So I launched myself out of the black goop.”
“You exited through her stomach...” Leiur cupped her chin. “Perhaps, as some sort of defence mechanism, your friend can teleport her attackers away from her.”
Serena nodded. “If that’s true, we’ll need to figure out what the range of that ability is. I could attack it from a distance, if we can expose it.”
“Alright, everybody!” Kirika clapped her hands twice. “I’ve got an idea.”
“You do?” Her own mouth moved, shouting its own objection. Maria, too, voiced the same question simultaneously.
“Yes, death!” Kirika’s eyes sparkles as she looked at the group before her. “I’m gonna need all of your help, okay?”
“We’ll do it.” Kanade smiled. “We’ve gotta save Miku, no matter what.”
“Alright, then!” Kirika raised her hand.

. . .

 “This is a dumb idea.” Tsubasa narrowed her eyes.
“We all agreed to it, though. What does that make us?” Maria asked with a wry smile.
“Fair point.”
Tsubasa and Maria stood on the edge of Frontier beside Phara. In front of them, a short distance away, Kanade and Leiur were distracting Batara Kala, who countered their attacks with ease using her Symphogear mimicry.
The blue-haired idol held out her sword, which she had extended out into a massive size. Phara had used her wind alchemy to lighten the weapon’s weight, allowing Tsubasa to hold it out in the air in front of her as if it were just a piece of paper.
Atop the blade stood three figures: Serena stood near the tip in a crouch; Micha, attempting to copy the girl whose back she stared at, took on the position of a bestial crawl a fair distance behind Serena; and Maria stood, balancing as if riding a surfboard, only a short distance from Tsubasa. Kirika-Finé, the last remaining member of this team, stood behind Tsubasa.
“You should have expressed your doubts when you had a chance, Tsubasa.” Finé teased the girl in her strange, almost-deadpan (yet fully emotional) voice.
“I don’t want to hear anything from you, *Ryoko*.” Tsubasa spat over her shoulder.
“Alright everyone!” Finé’s expression disappeared, replaced by Kirika’s wide eyes. “Activate: Operation Cake, death!”
“That’s the one part of the plan I don’t understand.” Maria sighed, shaking her head, addressing the name of the operation. Finé was the only one beyond Kirika who understood why she had named the plan ‘cake,’ but had she not shared a vessel with the girl, even the priestess knew she would not have any idea.
Their plan was, conceptually, fairly simple. Assuming that Miku was still in the beast’s neck–or head–their idea was to attempt to create a guillotine using Tsubasa’s giant sword. Micha would use her alchemy to light the blade on fire as it flew, while Maria would use the shield that Airgetlám could generate–something she was not aware she was capable of doing until Finé and Serena explained how to–to protect Tsubasa from the flames. Serena, throughout all of this, would attempt to channel a weak version Shénshòujìng’s power into the blazing sword, essentially creating a red-hot guillotine that should be strong enough to slice through Batara Kala’s body.
In theory, anyway. Kirika decided not to answer any questions regarding the exact details of the plan, or how she planned to have Tsubasa get launched into the beast.
“Ready, Tsubasa?” Kirika shouted from behind the girl.
“I suppose.” She answered with a sigh.
“Good luck.” Phara smiled.

 Kirika reached down into her pocket and produced a needle she had been hiding–a vial of LiNKER.
“Oh, so that’s your plan, is it?” Her own mouth asked Kirika, who just nodded in response.
The syringe she held carried her solution of LiNKER. It was just a small dose, but combined with what she had taken before, it should be more than enough for her plan to go through without issue.
“Theoretically.” Finé muttered with a sigh, finishing the thought that had crept into Kirika’s mind. “I won’t stop you.”
“I knew you wouldn’t.” Kirika winked, then stabbed the syringe into her neck.

*Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal*
*Emustolronzen Finé el balal zizzl*
*Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal*
*Emustolronzen Finé el zizzl*

 As Maria and Tsubasa turned their gazes back in shock, what they saw was Kirika–blood beginning to dribble from her eyes–stabbing the ground with Igalima’s giant scythe.
Straddling the blade, Kirika smiled as she imagined herself like the witches in fairy tales. “Let’s go, death!
The blade of the scythe, which was pointed backwards, away from Tsubasa and the others, exploded out into a burst of green light. Throwing one hand out in front of her, Kirika generated a shield of Asgard in front of herself before she collided with Tsubasa.
“What--?” The swordswoman could only let out a surprised yelp as she was tackled by the Asgard wall that was being thrown through the air by a blast generated by Kirika’s Superb Song, which she had channelled through her Armed Gear.
Tsubasa’s eyes widened as she realized that the group was now airborne, and a mixture of shock, impression, and fear welled up within her as their plan commenced. Simultaneously, Micha and Serena channelled their abilities into Ame no Habakiri, but Tsubasa did not remove her hands away as Maria formed a small wall in front of herself to block off the flames from the two of them.
“This is insane!” Maria cried as the group flew through the air at a high speed, straight towards Batara Kala.
“But it’s working, death!” Kirika replied, barely holding on to the waking world. Though she wore a wide smile upon her face, the excited grin was corrupted by the eeriness that came with the sight of blood streaming from her eyes.
As the blast shooting out of the head of Igalima’s scythe finally weakened, Kirika sighed. Dropping Asgard, she waved with one hand to Tsubasa.
“Alright. I need to sleep now.”
With that, Kirika fell to the ground. As she descended, she looked up with blurred, crimson vision and an excited sparkle in her eye as her plan succeeded–the blade, just as she had hoped, sliced straight-through the beast’s neck, lopping off its head in a single moment.
Before she lost consciousness, Kirika saw Batara Kala’s head roar despite being separated from its body. “Good luck, death!” She weakly called up to her friends.

#### GX Chapter 19

 “I’m surprised that worked.”
The words slipped out of Tsubasa’s lips as she looked at the head of Batara Kala slowly tumbling down towards the earth. Despite being separated from its body, the head still appeared to be ‘alive,’ however: the mouth continued to emit a powerful roar.
“Huh.” Kanade realized. “I guess it can’t summon Noise without its head.”
Tsubasa turned her gaze away from the head as it smashed into the trees below them, creating yet another blemish in what, only months ago, was a beautifully natural field of trees. Her eyes instead looked to the beast’s neck, where she saw Micha diving in through the black ooze that seemed to be streaming upwards.

 Leiur reappeared on the cliff of Frontier, next to the figure of her green sister. In her arms, the golden Autoscorer held Kirika Akatsuki’s body. By overdosing on LiNKER, Kirika’s body had managed to negate some of the recoil damage that her Superb Song dealt to her, though she still winced in pain as she tried to focus on the spinning world around.
“We did it...” Kirika muttered, trying to be happy. Her tone, however, was more confused; she was primarily focused on trying to ground herself.
“I’ve got to admit,” Phara said, not looking away from the girls floating around in the air before her. “You’ve got a much better head on your shoulders than I first thought.”
“I think I’ve got two...?” Kirika clapped her hands against her cheeks. Her vision was still blurry–both from the blood streaming from them and the damage that the Superb Song dealt to her consciousness–and the area around her spun, but Kirika was trying her best to get herself back into the game.
Suddenly, her tone shifted. The voice of the girl switched from one that was slurred and confused to one that was more down-to-earth and serious in an instant. “And the others? How did they fare?” Finé asked.
“Micha’s gone inside of the beast again.” Leiur shook her head, though her eyes searched the skies for the remaining members of their taped-together team. “The Symphogear wielders all appear to be fine, as well.”
“I’m glad. I would have hated for them to die before I had a chance to properly apologise to them.” Finé muttered.
Kirika’s consciousness usurped Finé’s, and the girl muttered something to the second being that lived within her: “What about Shirabe, death? You put us through hell, too.”
“That’s...” Her own lips replied, trailing off as the priestess’s spirit fell into silence.
“Right.” Kirika wiped the blood out of her eyes and pushed herself out of Leiur’s grip. Landing on unsteady feet and nearly falling over–an incredibly dangerous action considering their distance from the edge of the floating island–Kirika put her hands on her hips. “Guess I’ve gotta go help them, death.”
“Good luck.” Phara nodded. Beside her, Leiur’s head also bobbed as she disappeared in a flash.

 Serena flew over the large onyx-coloured stump where Batara Kala’s head had been. Like tar, the black beast’s neck bubbled as it attempted to re-form the missing chunk of its body–something that Serena was determined to not let happen.
Maria smiled as she watched her younger sister fire small bursts of light from her armoured hand, slicing up the shadowy tendrils that reached up towards the heavens.
“Move!” Maria heard Tsubasa from her right, and quickly leapt up at an angle without a second thought. Where she had just been floating in a trance as she watched Serena’s attacks, Batara Kala’s large fist then flew threw the air; the pink hair on the idol’s head whipped around into her face as the breeze the limb whipped up smacked her.
“Now’s not the time to get distracted.” Tsubasa narrowed her eyes as she descended down to Maria’s side. “We still need to find Kohinata.”
Maria nodded. Running her hand down the silver blade, the Armed Gear in her grasp transformed from a small dagger into a sparkling chain sword, extending like a snake out into the air around her. “Any ideas?”
“If Kohinata can move about the inside of the body...” Tsubasa mused, tilting her head. As she thought, her eyes were tracking the movements of Batara Kala’s arms–right now, they were focused on Leiur and Kanade, who flew about on the opposite side of the beast. “...Then I suppose we’ll just need to limit the locations she can travel to.”
“Brilliant idea, Einstein.” Maria smiled. “Cutting off all four limbs at once while still leaving enough firepower to break your friend out is above us right now, surely.”
“I’ll take the legs, death!” Kirika cheered from behind them, startling the two girls. Before they could respond to her cry, both Tsubasa and Maria watched as Kirika tumbled downwards towards the beast’s thighs.
With a sigh, Maria conceded defeat. “I’ll take the right arm, then.”

. . .

 “Those girls are quite incredible, coming up with a strategy like that.” Yatsuhiro nodded approvingly at the vision of the battle that stretched out in front of him like a television screen. “Remarkable.”
“Yes, your country seems lucky to have such... creative weapons.” Carol grunted, looking down at the girl before her.
“Ah. You did it again.”
“Did what?” Carol sneered, her eyebrows pointing downwards as she asked the question.
“Do you not realize it? Odd.” Yatsuhiro shook his head. “Ever since you began your work, you have been stealing quick glances at Tachibana. Are you that interested in examining the crystal?”
“No, there’s...” Carol shook her head. “I don’t know why you’re prodding so much into my business.”
“Yes, I suppose it’s not my place to ask.” He sighed, turning back to the wall that protected the fight currently happening in Japan. Yatsuhiro’s gaze followed Kanade as she ducked under a punch sent from Batara Kala’s left arm, only for Tsubasa to stab down into the limb with her own Armed Gear.
Carol had ceased the audio transmission from the projection once Shirabe faded away, explaining with the excuse that she needed to concentrate. Because of this, the house was silent as Carol went about her business and Yatsuhiro his own.
The pregnant pause was burst when Carol finally sighed. “The truth is... this girl. She looks familiar to me, though I can not place why.”
“Hibiki Tachibana.” Yatsuhiro nodded. “She had been a normal girl up until that Zwei Wing concert a few years ago. After that, Kanade put in many requests to have her and her friend put under government care. Though,” Yatsuhiro stole a glance over his shoulder at Carol. “I can’t imagine you had been attending that event.”
“No, no. I’ve lived far longer than you can imagine, government official. For me to forget something means that it must have been a small, unimportant memory from when I had been young, myself.”
“Ah... Yes, I suppose that would make sense.” Yatsuhiro turned back around. “In that case, I doubt there would be another person alive who could help you remember.”
“Elfnein...” Carol shook her head. “No, unlikely.”

. . .

 A loud thud echoed across the world as more of the forest was crushed under the weight of inhuman appendages. Batara Kala’s left arm joined the beast’s head upon the ground, though a celebration could not be held for the occasion as the black ooze immediately began its attempts to recreate it.
Maria clicked her tongue as she dodged out of the way of a quick slash of Batara Kala’s arm. Ever since its head had been removed, the beast had yet to summon any of its imitation-Armed Gears, so its attacks had become much easier for the girls to dodge and predict.
Throwing out her chain blade, Maria ensnared the monster’s right arm, just below the shoulder. Pulling with all her strength, Maria forced the monster to raise its arm upwards to point towards the sun.
Kanade and Tsubasa, seeing that Maria was having trouble amputating this limb, both raced over at a high speed. Together, their songs ignited a fierce fire within Maria, who watched as the two members of Zwei Wing stabbed through the monster’s armpit and sliced straight-through the entirety of the limb in a single moment.
“Now we just need Kirika...” Maria began to say, only for her eyes to go wide.

 From her position beneath the monster’s legs, Kirika swung her giant scythe into the limb to her right, the blade sticking within the thick skin. Using this as a distraction, Kirika threw out her hand in the opposite direction, forming a wall of Asgard like a platform.
The pink platform of energy extended out through all matter in a single moment, cutting through the monster’s opposite leg with ease. As Kirika saw the second arm tumble to the ground before her, she withdrew Igalima’s Armed Gear from its position in the monster’s left leg and spun it around herself.
Flying out in front of Batara Kala, Kirika smiled as she spun the weapon around herself. Her pauldrons releasing bursts of energy, Kirika rotated like a powerful spinning top as she rocketed into the beast’s one remaining limb–and then travelled straight through it as she sawed it off.
Batara Kala’s entire body buckled, falling apart as all of its limbs were torn off. From somewhere below her, Kirika could hear the beast’s detached head release yet another roar as it screamed out, seemingly in pain.
“Now we just need to get Miku out.” Finé’s voice interrupted Kirika’s song.
“Right, death!” Kirika nodded, watching as the beast fell apart and collapsed to the ground below.

 Like a swarm of vultures racing to claim a carcass, the Symphogear wielders (and Leiur) descended down towards the puzzle pieces of Batara Kala’s body. Each section of the beast’s body was sprouting black goop as it tried to regenerate, but, with so much to rebuild, nothing was actually being created.
Micha burst out of the beast’s chest alongside a torrent of flames, flying up into the sky to meet her teammates. “Here I come!” She screamed, her claws open as if ready to give any of the people above her a hug.
Unfortunately, no one opted to accept that gesture. Even Leiur floated out of the way, letting the ecstatic Autoscorer sail right past the ground.
“Micha, did you locate Kohinata?” Tsubasa glared at Micha as she began to pout, sad that no one caught her.
“Yeah. The purple thing is in the stomach.”
“Good.” Kanade smiled. “Let’s end this!”

. . .

 A vast void of darkness stretched out in all directions, filling the sole source of light–the being casting the shadows–with an eerie sense of loneliness and dread. Sadness, hatred, anger, and, above all, fear; these emotions pushed down upon the lone figure from all directions, yet the weight they put upon her heart were far from the strongest pain that the girl felt at the moment.
Miku Kohinata floated in the nothingness on her back, her face twisted in pain. She had no idea what was going on in the outside world, and could only anxiously imagine what chaos her body was sewing without her consciousness to guide it. How many more people had she killed–this was the main question that ate away at Miku’s brain like termites chewing away at wood. She was sure that her kill count now had risen–no, the amount of strange sadness that had filled Miku’s body at one moment proved that she had at least hurt someone she knew.

 What the young girl was unaware of was that she was the one in control of Batara Kala’s actions–she was a puppeteer toying with the world she despised through a doll she moved subconsciously.
The murder of Akira Tachibana was an event she caused through her immense hatred and recent memory of the man, and her attacking the Symphogear wielders was born from a twisted desire to atone for the sins she caused–she did not believe that she deserved to be saved after all she had done.

 But Miku was unaware of all of this. The large teal jewels inset within her face stared up into the nothingness that surrounded Miku, who ignored the searing pain that the shadows caused to her body. This was nothing new to her, this pain; it had been omni-present for some time now.
So, she wondered, why was it that only now did she feel like the pain was eating away at her soul?

 Miku hazy eyes were unfocused as she instead stared inwards, at the memories playing out in her mind. She remembered that, for the past few months, Miku had been entirely alone; after she had killed Hibiki, she shut herself away from the world, using only Chris as her tether to reality...

*Chris....*

 Who truly was the girl named Chris Yukine?
This was the question that Miku thought about now. She knew that Chris had had a tough life, but the specifics were lost to her. To Miku, right now she was the moonlight that had begun to glow after Miku forced the sun to set over the ocean.
Was Miku using Chris Yukine as a way to fill the hole she had created in her heart by murdering Hibiki Tachibana, or did Chris actually want to reach out her hand to Miku just as Hibiki did so many times before?
More than anything, Miku loved the girl named Hibiki Tachibana... but now she wondered if the light that Hibiki had radiated was a trait unique to her. Chris had gone out of her way time and time again, offering a shoulder for Miku to cry on, yet she had never done the same.
No, what she ended up doing was the exact same thing she did to thank Hibiki for all of the times that she had anchored Miku with her smile: kill her, in cold blood.
Miku Kohinata’s body shuddered. For the first time, now, she closed her eyes, hiding the salty sea that began to fill the craters of her eyes. “I’m a monster.” Miku moaned, throwing her arm over her face.

 It was years ago–an entire lifetime–now that Miku had won two tickets to a Zwei Wing concert in a lottery. She remembered that day happily, as she clutched the tickets to her heart once she got them. The Miku from that time blushed as she closed her eyes, happily imagining the smile of her best friend as the two were embraced by the powerful songs that emerged from the hearts of Tsubasa Kazanari and Kanade Amou.
Never had she ever imagined that that concert would be the end of her life.
It was supposed to be the best day of her life–what Miku subconsciously wanted to call her ‘first date’ with Hibiki–but the Noise had ruined it. Monsters descended from the sky, destroying the atmosphere that the girls’ first song, Gyakkō no Flügel, had generated in a single second.
As Miku and Hibiki ran for safety, the two detoured in order to get away from the crowds being mauled by Noise and the panicked feet of other Zwei Wing fans–they learned later that they had possibly made a better choice by doing that, as many of the people they had avoided never made it out of the stadium. In doing so, they climbed up to the top row of seating... but this just made them easy targets for the Noise.
Miku knew, deep down, that everything was all her fault. Had she not won those tickets, she would never have gone to that concert. Kanade would be able to see clearly through two eyes; Hibiki would have never been thrown into the chasm of despair that ultimately cost her her life; Miku would never have become a killer; and the world...
The thought made Miku sob. She was the one responsible for so much of the tragedies that had occurred over the past few months. Becoming Ver’s toy and fighting her friends–twice–and murdering so many innocent civilians alone made Miku the world’s greatest threat. If she had just never won those tickets, the world could possibly be more peaceful.
That is what Miku thought, though she knew, in her heart, that it was a lie.
Finé would have still tried to destroy the moon–an action that Miku stopped. Ver would have still attempted to kill the Symphogear wielders in order to bring about the end of the Curse of Balal–Miku had only been one of that scientist’s weapons. Kirika, Shirabe, and Maria would have still been brought up in a torturous environment, and one of them would have had their consciousness fully usurped by a Finé who likely would have not given up on her goal of destroying the moon.

 None of those possible timelines mattered to Miku, however. She lived in this world–a world where the girl named Miku Kohinata was a murderer, a cannibal, and a monster. None of those had been by choice, but she was still wholly responsible for the actions of her body regardless of who controlled her mind like a video game.
Miku wished she had never won those tickets; that she had never killed Hibiki; that she had tried to talk to Chris more; that she had properly thanked Tsubasa and Kanade for saving her and Hibiki...
...but...
“The only thing I want to do...” Miku screamed into the void that swallowed her, but the rest of her sentence refused to leave her lips.

 “Don’t finish that thought!”
Miku pulled the arm off her face at the voice that cried out. It was familiar, yet not one that she had ever expected to hear again.
The black void had been shattered apart, leaving only a vast empty plane of pure white. Descending down towards Miku, with wings sprouting from her strong back, was a beautiful valkyrie with her arm out-stretched.
“Ah. I must be dying.” Miku smiled, the tears in her eyes sparkling now as she realized her one want was being fulfilled.
“Like hell you are.” The figure of Chris Yukine smiled as she floated down to meet Miku. The valkyrie gingerly put her arms around Miku’s back, bringing her close into a princess carry. “After all the work that Carol put into saving me and the others put into saving you, you better swallow any desire to die.”
“I don’t...” Miku shook her head. “Why do you all want to save me?”
“Because you’re our friend, idiot.” Chris’s sparkling grin shone in the bright void around her. It was not as warm as the sun that was Hibiki Tachibana, but, in a different way, Chris’s cool smile was just as comforting.
“Even after all I’ve done?” Miku squeaked out, her eyes wide.
“I’ve lost too much already, Miku.” A sombre look crossed Chris’s face. “I never had a chance to make friends before... you guys are all I have. No matter what you do, Miku, I’ll always be there to save you.”
“You...”
The image of Hibiki Tachibana flashed through Miku’s mind as a memory from many years ago popped to the surface. “You don’t have to worry!” Hibiki had said at that time with the same happy look that had burned itself into Miku’s soul. “No matter what happens, Miku, I’ll always be there to save you.”
“Hibiki...” Miku, in the present, muttered.
“I know I can’t replace her, but I can at least help you grieve.” Chris’s smile disappeared as she sadly closed her eyes. “I never got a shoulder to cry on. I don’t want anyone else to suffer like I had to.”
“Chris... I’m... so sorry.”
The white-haired girl who cradled Miku was silent for a few moments. A surprised look crossed her face briefly as she digested her friend’s words, but she bit down any response to it.
As she began to fly upwards, back to the heavens that she had descended from, Chris finally whispered something else to break up the silence.
“Come on. Let’s get you to safety.”
Miku leaned her head, cuddling up to the girl that held her. Closing her tear-filled eyes, she smiled. “You’re cool, Chris.”

~ ~ ~

 “Let’s end this!” Kanade had shouted.
“Yes. It would be prudent to save your friend before any more people have to suffer.” Carol’s voice echoed from around them. She had not yet appeared in the sky around them, so most of the combatants flinched at the alchemist’s high voice.
The small girl then appeared in a pink flash, but she was not alone.
“Yukine?” Tsubasa’s eyes were wide.
“In the flesh!” Chris smirked, floating beside Carol. Her expression dropped down into one of scepticism after a second, as she shrugged. “At least, I think it’s flesh.”
“Yes, it is.” Carol sighed.
“I thought you were...” Tsubasa tried to ask, but was cut off by Carol.
“Your friend, here, did die. What you see before you is a homunculus that houses all of her memories–her personality might be slightly different, but, for the most part, this is your friend, just as you knew her.
“You know,” Chris crossed her arms. “I’m glad you decided to make this body look exactly like my original one and all... but couldn’t you have made me taller?”
“Everything about this homunculus was crafted based wholly on the data I gathered from your body. Had your original body survived, the new scar that you possess upon your chest would have eventually formed as your fatal wound healed.”
Though she usually tried to avoid looking at Chris’s more voluptuous aspects, Kanade now forced herself to look at the cleavage that Ichaival’s armour revealed. Indeed, spreading from her right breast was a large scar; it was as if a star had been carved into her porcelain skin.
“So you’re... Chris, then.” Kanade just wanted to confirm. “Chris Yukine. The same one.”
“I think so. I do feel a little different, honestly.” Chris shrugged. “But I think it’s just going to take a bit used to this new body.”
“If I may ask...” Maria slowly pushed herself up towards the others, a meek look on her face.
Her eyes rolled about in her head as she searched for the right way to phrase the question she wanted to ask, but, after a few seconds, Kirika decided to interrupt and ask Carol the same question straight-out. “Can you do something to save Shirabe?”
“Unfortunately,” Carol looked down, a darkness clouding her gaze. “I can only remove memories from a living body. It was just luck that this girl managed to survive long enough for me to completely copy her thoughts.”
“You mean...?”
“No.” Carol’s focus turned to Serena. “With the power of the relic that revived you, we may be able to resurrect Shirabe Tsukuyomi.”
Serena opened her mouth to speak, but the sound was drowned out by the cry of Batara Kala below them.
“Right. Let’s deal with that thing, first.” Carol shouted, throwing out her arm. Chris, who was right beside her, was slapped in the stomach by the movement, and crumpled in the air as she took the full force of Carol’s surprising amount of physical strength. The alchemist, however, just continued speaking without acknowledging Chris at all. “Let us save your friends–both of them!”

 Together, their hearts beating as one, a sound began to echo out through the skies. The Symphogear wielders–all of them, including Serena, with her unique gear–resonated with each other’s singing, their hearts all connecting as one.
For the first time for all of the Symphogear wielders–barring Kirika–they achieved the ultimate forms that their relics allowed them: X-Drive.

 As Batara Kala’s body convulsed on the ground, trying to regenerate into a humanoid form, the three Autoscorers joined the six winged Symphogear wielders and their master.
“As one!” Carol shouted, creating a large yellow rune in the air. The Symphogear wielders all lifted their Armed Gears to the sky as well, while the Autoscorers, too, sent their power into the alchemical creation that expanded above them all like a large halo.
Letting out a loud cry, the ten girls all threw their arms downwards in a single motion and the yellow circle exploded out into a beam of light. As if trying to carve through the earth just as Carol had planned to, the ray sliced down into Batara Kala’s flailing body, utterly decimating it in a single moment. The dark strands of energy faded into nothing under the golden sparkles, leaving behind only a purple orb on the ground and the remaining parts of the legs and arms that were outside of the attack’s range.

 “Why couldn’t we just do this earlier?” Maria asked, wide-eyed, upon realizing what they had just done.
“The only reason that attack was strong enough to destroy the body,” Carol explained, looking over the new white armour that the Symphogear wielders all donned. “Was due to... this new armour. The combination of all of your songs resonating with one another, your hearts connecting as one, I imagine.”
“Now, then.” Chris shouted. “Let’s get Miku out of there!”
In her hands, Chris transformed the guns she held into a single giant cannon, and aimed it down straight at the glistening amethyst that sat in the sun. “I’ll be right there, Miku.”

#### GX Chapter 20

 Chris, with Miku in her arms, slowly flew up into the sky, now burning amber as the sun began to set beneath the horizon, after breaking through the barrier of the purple orb that was Batara Kala’s heart. She looked at her allies–specifically the six other human girls who were breathing heavily and sweating.
What particularly confused her was the fire spreading across the ground beneath them, which Tsubasa stood over with her hands on her hips and a satisfied smile on her face.
“What happened to you all?” Miku asked upon seeing their tired states.
“You...” Kirika glared at Miku. “Really should be grateful to us, death.”
“That purple... heart thing...” Maria grunted. “Did not want to break at all.”

~ ~ ~

 Chris channelled the entirety of her song’s energy into the large red cannon she held tight within her grasp. The weapon sparked with a pink energy, and a blast of white light fired out of the firearm like a spear of lightning, colliding into the purple orb with a loud crack.
But, as the light faded, Chris gasped in shock. “Not even a scratch?” She shouted, her voice a mix of confusion and utter surprise.
“Yeah, my claws didn’t do anything either.” Micha pouted, puffing her cheeks out like a squirrel filling their face with food for the winter.
“Interesting...” Carol mused, looking down at the ball. “A cocoon crafted of an unknown, highly resilient element. The work of a relic, no doubt.”
“Now that you mention it,” Kanade spoke up. “One of the powers she had used before was a spherical shield. What was it called? Shrivelessa?”
“Shrivatsa.” Tsubasa nodded. “Yes. This may be a byproduct of that. Perhaps it fused with another one of the relics that Ver stuffed within Kohinata.”
“In that case,” Chris separated her large weapon into two small pistols. “We’ll just have to hit it with everything we’ve got.”

 “She seems very determined, death.” Kirika whispered, deadpan, as she glanced over to Maria beside her.
“She’ll do anything to save her friend.” Maria smiled. “That’s something we can also relate to.”
“True,” This time it was Finé’s voice that escaped Kirika’s lips. “But there’s a fine line between acting heroic and acting stupid.”
“Didn’t you want to blow up the moon?” Maria’s narrowed gaze pointed deep into Kirika’s golden eye like a dagger, but the young girl did not flinch–her body, after all, was being controlled by someone who agreed wholeheartedly with Maria’s assessment of the irony being spilled. “You do realize how dumb that plan is, right? Even if you thought–incorrectly–that it would remove the Curse of Balal from humanity?”
“Yes... I suppose I’m not one to talk.” Kirika nodded, and opened her mouth to say something. Instead, however, Finé’s voice escaped her lips. “Wait–incorrectly?”
“According to Ver, anyway.” Maria shrugged.

 “Hey, the two of you!” Chris shouted over to the two former-terrorists. “Are you going to help or are you just going to sit there and talk?”
“Yeah, we’re coming, death!” Kirika smiled, floating away from Maria’s side.
Maria, however, just watched. Her sister was mimicking Chris’s earlier moment, firing a burst of energy into the orb from her hand, but it, too, did nothing to crack the exterior; the light simply splashed off the exterior of the purple shell, as if the purifying light of Shénshòujìng was nothing more than a weak spray of water.
“Wait.” Maria’s eyes flashed as a spark of realization lit the candle in her brain. “Serena, do that again... but weaker.”
“Okay!” Serena gave her sister a thumbs up with one hand as the opposite, the one covered in black armour, began to spark with purple lightning. Pointing out just one finger, another beam of light shot out towards the ball on the ground, which promptly disappeared on contact.
“Ah, I see now.” Kanade looked to Maria, and both girls nodded. Kanade then continued, “It looks as though the orb swallowed the light.”
Confused, Chris fired a missile at the orb from Ichaival’s missile launchers. Straining her eyes, Chris focused on the missile’s path as it cut through the air and soon smashed against the purple orb. At first, it looked as if it had exploded as normal, but as the smoke began to fade away, Chris realized what she meant: the smoke, instead of flowing up or outwards, appeared to be lightly vacuumed into the orb, like it was being slowly poured inside of the sphere.
“Oh.” Chris and Kirika both vocalized their understanding simultaneously.
“Nephilim.” Maria guessed. “Its power apparently grew as it devoured relics, but I don’t remember seeing it ever being fed.”
“That is to say,” Leiur looked to the girl who had just spoken. “Your Symphogears may not be so useful in destroying this.”
“But Leiur...” Micha looked up at her sister. “My claws couldn’t scratch it either.”
“Right...” Leiur cupped her chin.
Carol shook her head. “If both your relics and our alchemy will not work against this mysterious shield, then we will need to get creative.”
“Do you have an idea, master?” Phara asked her creator with an upwards tilt of her chin. When she did not get an answer, the green Autoscorer levelled her head.
“I think I might have an idea.” Tsubasa muttered, an excited smirk slowly spreading over her face. Coupled with the angled eyebrows and a mischievous glint in her eye, Tsubasa looked even more devious than some of the villains that the girls had faced previously.
“I don’t like that look on your face.” Kanade, in comparison, had a grim expression on her face. Sucking in her lips, Kanade looked straight at Tsubasa with her one eye as if trying to silence her friend.
“That just makes me even more curious, death.” Kirika, on the other hand, had a curious sparkle in her eyes as she looked between the two members of Zwei Wing.
“I’ll be right back.” Tsubasa blasted away into the distance at a high speed, leaving the others confused as to the details of her plan.
“Though I may not be one to talk,” Carol eventually commented. “That seemed a little out of character for your stoic friend.”
“Yes, she’s... an odd one, alright.” Kanade nodded with a smile.
“Odd is putting it graciously.” Maria sighed.

~ ~ ~
Miku looked down, sad–once again, she had caused problems for others. Seeing the look on her face, Kanade offered Miku a smile. “It’s good to have you back. Well, most of you, I guess.”
The frame of Miku Kohinata was still covered in shadows, albeit far less than before. As she was bare naked, the shadows drawn over her pale skin were clear. Spiralling out from her heart, these marks drew rings around Miku like a snake coiling around her body; from her chest to the tips of her toes, Miku seemed to wear a strange, black outfit.
Miku was not entirely unharmed, however: her left arm was completely missing, with what looked to be black flames rising up from the stub remaining attached to her shoulder.
“Considering your circumstances,” Maria looked up at Miku, wiping the sweat off her brow. “You seem to be far more... sane than Tsubasa down there.”
The girls all took a moment to take a glance down at the blue swordswoman, whose stiff, confident posture remained unchanged despite the fire spreading around her.
“Do I want to ask?” Miku looked up to Chris with eyes that reminded the latter of a puppy.
Micha waved her arms around at the suggestion to bring up the events that had just transpired. “We made a motorcycle fly through the sky!”
“Aaaaand that’s all we’re going to say about that mess of a plan.” Maria promptly cut the red Autoscorer off. “If you could even call it a ‘plan.’”
Miku could only guess what kind of plan regarding a flying motorcycle would cause the girls to become so exhausted. Judging by the expressions on the humans’ faces, however, she knew better than to ask for more details.

 Carol tilted her head away, embarrassed on the girl’s behalf upon realizing she was without clothing. Cracking a smile at their master’s childish reaction to seeing Miku, Leiur and Phara both looked to each other for a moment before teleporting away. They returned, less than a second later, with a white robe for Miku to wear.
“Before that.” Carol stopped her Autoscorers from covering up the girl in front of them. Turning to Serena, she then addressed the recently-resurrected thirteen-year-old. “You. Use the power of Shénshòujìng to eradicate the curse that plagues the girl. If you don’t, it’s likely that she will transform into another one of those beasts.”
Serena turned to Miku. “Are you okay with that?”
“I’m...” Miku sighed. “So tired.”
“I think that’s a yes, Serena.” Maria gave her sister a go-ahead.
With a bit of a timid hesitation, Serena then approached Chris and Miku. “Hopefully this won’t hurt you.” Serena gave a bit of a small smile as she tried to reassure her safety, but Miku just sighed in response.
“I’m used to pain by now.”
“That’s not a good thing.” Both Serena and Chris snapped together.
“I know.”
Serena placed her metallic hand upon Miku’s chest, and Miku flinched as the cool armour sent a chill down her body. That cold instantly disappeared when a purple light flared up around Serena’s hand.
Miku gritted her teeth, stifling a scream welling up within her. Contrary to Serena’s hopes, the light of Shénshòujìng was extremely painful as it coursed through her body. Her brain screamed out, crying for respite–but the ink that had painted her body slowly began to disappear.
After a few moments, the purple glow faded, and Miku’s tense expression softened as she was offered the first sense of peace in months. Breathing heavily and with a forehead drenched in sweat, she looked up at the smiling face of Chris above her.
“I’m glad you’re okay, Miku.”
Miku blushed, turning her head away now just as Carol had done before. In doing so, her vision landed upon the group of people surrounding her. “Chris, can I ask you something?” She muttered after a short pause.
“Yeah?”
“Who are these people?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, I know Tsubasa and Kanade. And there’s you, of course. I also recognize...” Miku’s eyes lingered on Maria for a moment. “Pinky?”
“Maria.” The former idol offered her name up at the comment.
Miku’s gaze then turned to Serena. “And I... think I recognize you from Ver’s lab?”
Serena cocked her head to the side. “I’m sorry. My memory’s a bit hazy–apparently I...”
Chris cut the small girl off with a cheerful laugh. “It’s a long story.”
“I guess we’re going to have to get you all caught up on what’s been happening, huh?” Kanade chuckled, too; the girls could not help but crack smiles at the notion that Miku had been–literally–in the dark when it came to the entire situation regarding Carol.
“Can that wait?” Miku sighed. Looking down at the spot where her left arm should have been.  “My... stub is killing me. And I’m exhausted.”
Leiur and Phara finally approached Miku now, draping her in the robe they had acquired. Once they had dressed her, Miku’s eyes barely staying awake throughout the clumsy ordeal, Carol nodded. “Leiur, take her to my hideout. Have the government official watch over her, for now.”
Leiur nodded, and she took Miku out of Chris’s strong arms with a brief acknowledgement of the Ichaival wielder’s desire to keep the girl safe. “See you in a little bit.” The Autoscorer commented before she, and Miku, disappeared.
“Now that she’s gone, I need to say something.” Kanade’s head was tilted down towards the earth below. “Though I do think Miku had some influence over that thing...”
“You believe that monster was actually controlling your friend. Yes, I agree.” Carol nodded. “That’s why, we must make sure the rest of it is eradicated.”
“Now that you mention it,” Kirika’s eyes lit up. “What happened to its head? Operation Cake was a success, but I heard it roar afterwards, death.”
“Our first order of business, then,” Maria began, “Is to locate the head.”
“Phara, Micha–” Carol turned to her two remaining Autoscorers. Just as she was about to give her orders, Leiur appeared at her sisters’ side. “And Leiur: I want the three of you to collect some samples of the beast from the remnants here–and destroy the remainder of its legs and arms. Put out the fires, too, while you’re at it.”
“Understood.” Leiur and Phara nodded.
“As for the rest of us...” Kanade began to shout an order, but Carol held up her hand as if to say that she had more to say. As such, the orange-haired girl shut her lips.
“Taking down the head should likely be an easy task. Therefore, I would like to request that you,” Carol pointed at Serena. “Come with me for a short while. The Japanese government promised me that they would cede the relic that resurrected you to me.”
Serena’s eyes widened for a moment, but then she slowly nodded with a smile. “You helped us out, so I suppose it’s my turn to repay the favour.”
“That said,” Maria flew in-between her sister and the alchemist, a glare pointed directly at the latter. “If you do anything to harm her well-being, I will end you.”
“Yes, yes.” Carol waved away the threat, knowing that Maria was completely incapable of actually harming her to a great degree. “Now, then. I will see the rest of you in time–with my papa in tow, I hope.”

. . .

 “What are they doing now?” Tomosato asked out to the room, though she expected no answer.
The woman’s eyes were glued to a pair of binoculars as she stood on the stone platforms that acted as windows for Frontier’s control room. Elfnein, Shiori, Yumi, Kuriyo, Ogawa, and Fujitaka were around her, either staring through their own pairs of binoculars or straining their eyes to see the battle a great distance away from them; Genjuro had climbed down to the shrine that hung in the middle of the room below them, where he was now speaking on his phone to someone.
“Checking for Noise? Putting out the fire they started?” Kuriyo wondered aloud. She was one of the few people to currently be in possession of binoculars, so Tomosato could only truly rely on her (and Elfnein, who had the other pair) for potential theories. “Or, maybe something else happened?” She added, handing the binoculars to Shiori.
“Ah, there go the robots.” The blonde girl immediately commented as the looking glasses pressed up against her face. “
“Oh, do we know what happened to Garie yet?” Elfnein’s voice squeaked out from her position a short distance away from the others, who had largely forgotten that she was with them until this point.
“Garie... the blue one, correct?” Fujitaka shook his head.
Ogawa continued from where he left off. “I had some of my men trail her from a distance, but she teleported away. As of now, we haven’t received any reports about her whereabouts since.”
“I’m worried...” Elfnein whispered. When she saw the look of confusion flash across Fujitaka’s face, the small homunculus explained further. “The Autoscorers’ AI were all patterened after Carol’s memories and aspects of her personalities. Theoretically, they should all share her goals, wishes, and dreams, so...”
“The fact that one has abandoned the others is suspicious.” Ogawa noted.
“Of course, that’s just hypothetical. They all possess different parts of Carol’s brain, so it’s possible that whatever memories or personality traits that Garie was given would cause her to develop rebellious tendencies.” Elfnein raised the binoculars back up to her face and looked away, signalling to the two men beside her that it was time for this conversation to end.

Yumi, whose eyes still shone from having watched the chaotic plan to save Miku that Tsubasa concocted, sighed happily. “Do you think they could do that motorcycle thing again?”
“I hope not.” Ogawa narrowed his eyes at his assistant. “Especially now, since there does not seem to be any more immediate threat.”
“Where did she even get that motorcycle?” Kuriyo asked. “Didn’t the mansion get destroyed?”
Ogawa smiled, his eyes actually cheerful. “Despite the tragedy that occurred over a year ago, the Zwei Wing name is still fairly prestigious; Tsubasa and Kanade still get requests for work, all of which they turn down. Some day, though, I intend to convince them to continue their work as idols.”
“That didn’t answer the question, boss.” Yumi mirrored the same expression that Ogawa shot her a moment ago. “But, if I had to guess, they probably still make a lot of money from royalties. Knowing Tsubasa, it wouldn’t be surprising if she bought garages or apartments to use as secret hideouts.”
“That doesn’t sound much like Tsubasa to me.” Shiori shook her head, handing the binoculars back to Kuriyo.
“She may seem kind of... aloof,” Yumi scratched the back of her head. “But I think she’s a massive dork beneath that cold exterior.”
“You should have seen her before, when she and Kanade were getting ready for their lives.” Ogawa smiled. “Even on that day, Tsubasa was huddled in a corner, incredibly anxious. Kanade would always do whatever she could to cheer her up. It was sweet–and why I want them to continue their idol activities. Their songs brought hope to so many people, and to each other.”

 Their conversation was interrupted by a loud war cry that ripped through the air. Even though they were a great distance away from the edge of Frontier, and thus even further from the site of the battle that had taken place before, the group inside of the massive command room felt as if the source of the roar was in the room with them. Kuriyo and Shiori placed their hands on their ears as the loud scream continued to echo around them, battering their ears with its power.
“What was that?” Yumi pulled the binoculars away from Shiori’s lap and excitedly lifted them to her eyes.

. . .

 The loud roar knocked Tsubasa out of her trance, and she looked up into the sky. In a moment, her eyes went from sparkling with satisfaction to cold and focused–nothing else mattered in this moment, other than getting ready to combat this new threat.
From a short distance behind her, using her wind alchemy to extinguish the flames around Tsubasa by removing the oxygen in the air directly around the fire, Phara raised her voice as the scream finally began to quiet. “That... sounds like something we’ll need to fight.”
“Oh yeah!” Micha cheered. “More fighting!!!”
With the X-Drive’s wings that were tied like a bow around her back and extending away, downwards, from her hips, Tsubasa leapt up into the sky with her Armed Gear drawn.
Her eyes went wide as she saw the figures of Chris and Maria being launched upwards, spiralling out of control as they were thrown away with an attack. “What?” She asked herself.
“Tsubasa, look out!” She heard from above her...
...and then, in the next moment, Tsubasa was laying with her head against the scorched ground below her. She did not even feel pain–the only thing lingering in Tsubasa’s mind was confusion.
“Are you okay, death?” Kirika floated down to meet her. Putting her arms around Tsubasa’s waist, the small girl pulled Tsubasa up from her crumpled position, forcing her to her feet.
“What just...?” Tsubasa’s eyes were wide, her mind fumbling for an answer she had absolutely no idea how to even go about finding. Turning her head to look at Kirika for help, Tsubasa saw the answer staring right at her from the other side of the pink barrier of Asgard.
The head of Batara Kala floated above the ground, looking down upon her like a crooked moon. Rings of energy coursed through the entire figure, in all of the seven colours of the Symphogears’ armour sets: orange for Gungnir, blue for Ame no Habakiri, red for Ichaival, green for Igalima, pink for Shul Shagana, silver for Airgetlám, and purple for Shénshòujìng. Cutting through these rings that lit the black flesh of the head were two horizontal, pure-white lines; it was as if the monster’s head had been ripped apart at two seams.
Kirika’s legs buckled as she strained to keep the shield up above her. Knowing that the girl would likely be overpowered if she did not help, Tsubasa lifted up the Armed Gear of Ame no Habakiri in front of her.
Seeing the fire of action return to Tsubasa’s eyes, Batara Kala’s head bounced away from Asgard, which promptly faded as Kirika lowered her hand. “That thing’s fast.”
“Too fast, yeah.”
That voice came from Kanade, though Tsubasa was not entirely sure of where her partner was. Quickly turning her head around wildly, she eventually saw the flaming bush of Kanade’s mane tangled among the leaves of nearby trees, with Kanade strung up between several branches.
Seeing Tsubasa’s worried face, Kanade smiled and flashed a peace sign with her fingers. “Yo.” She casually commented, ignoring her predicament.
“How are we going to take it down?” Tsubasa looked to the ground. “We could always...”
“We’re not doing the motorcycle thing again, death.” Kirika spat. Then, Finé’s voice replaced the younger girl’s. “It is essential that we slow it down somewhat.”
“Yes.” Leiur teleported beside the two girls, throwing up a large coin as Batara Kala’s head suddenly appeared before her, clanging as the metallic projection disintegrated under the immense force. “And I have an idea as to how we could do so.”

#### GX Chapter 21

 “Ah, so you’ve returned, as well.” Yatsuhiro greeted Carol and Serena as they materialized in the room of the small house. The older man was wetting a towel at the sink on the other side of what was a combination living room-kitchen, presumably to place on the forehead of the sleeping Miku Kohinata, who laid on the couch with sweat dampening her skin. “I must say: I’m not exactly fond of you leaving me behind.”
“Enough talking, government official.” Carol curtly cut off any compliments. “I still have questions for you, so I required you to remain here.”
“I see.” With that explanation, the man shut his lips. Strutting across the room, he placed the cool towel against Miku’s skin, and the girl smiled as the sensation of comfort filled her body.
“Now, then–you.” Carol turned away from Yatsuhiro Kazanari and instead focused on the girl only a little taller than the alchemist she stood beside: Serena Cadenzavna Eve. The curious thirteen year-old had begun looking about the room she now found herself, in awe at the combination of modern and centuries-old furniture and architecture surrounding her. Upon hearing her name, however, Serena turned back to Carol.
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
“No, you... needn’t apologize.” Carol was confused at her response–specifically, why her first instinct was to atone for acting just as an alchemist would in a new environment–but brushed it aside. Shaking her head, Carol continued with confidence. “First, we must examine your body...”
Serena instinctively covered her figure up with her hands, earning a sigh from Carol. “Using alchemy–to determine both whether or not the relic truly is inside of you and, if it is, whether it is in a physical or immaterial state.”
Blushing, understanding that the clarification was meant to assuage her fear of having to strip naked in the presence of an adult man, Serena stiffened into an attentive posture as she asked a question. “So, what do you need me to do.”
Carol glanced around the room. Chris Yukine’s original body–now a simple corpse–was wrapped up in a blanket and pushed against one wall; Miku laid on the couch with Yatsuhiro watching over her; and Hibiki remained frozen in a crystal against the far wall.
“Specifically targeting a relic–that may not even exist within you–would be difficult enough even if we were alone in this room. Considering that crystal...” She pressed her fist up to her lips for a moment before looking back up to Serena. “Stand in the kitchen, as far away from the others as you can. Government official, can you move the couch to the opposite wall?”
“Yes.” Yatsuhiro nodded, bending over to get a solid grip on the wooden frame of the seating apparatus. As he began to struggle with the weight of both the furniture and the girl atop it, Serena calmly made her way in the exact opposite direction.

 It took about five minutes for the couch to be moved as Carol readied a yellow rune in the air. Unlike the one she had used to analyse Chris’s body before, this relic was triangular in shape, and much smaller. In the centre of the design was an eyeball, one resembling the Eye of Horus; the sight of the entire icon, however, made Yatsuhiro narrow his eyes.
One point of this triangular shape–the one on the direct opposite side of Carol–touched the wall of the room, and the entire rune floated above a table. “This may be difficult, but I need you to stand atop the table, directly underneath this rune.” Carol told Serena, who offered a nod.
The thirteen year-old did as she was told, leaping up on top of the table with ease–Yatsuhiro couldn’t help but vocalize his surprise from across the room at the rabbit-like leap that Serena performed without the use of her Symphogear.
“Okay. Now, girl, close your eyes. Government official, you’ll want to do the same.”
“So it’s going to get bright, then?” Serena asked, her eyes shut as tight as she possibly could.
“That... would be an understatement.” Carol smiled.
In the next moment, it was as if the entire house had been transported onto the very sun. The heavens burned out around the figures within, bathing them in a bright, blinding light that Carol stared into with wide-open eyes.

. . .

 Kirika threw up Asgard in front of her just as the giant head of Batara Kala appeared before her. The black shape, with a rainbow of rings carved throughout its head, stopped just millimetres from the pink wall, as if knowing that continuing its journey would be meaningless. A split second later, it was gone, retreating back the way it came at unimaginable speeds.
“I... am getting tired of this... death.” Kirika put her hands on her knees, sweat coating her entire body as she breathed heavily. Using Asgard just once put a fair amount of stress on Kirika’s mind and body, but Batara Kala had now forced her to use it more than fifteen times or risk getting launched away.
“How... are you so good at figuring out where it’s coming from?” Kanade asked, her eyes scanning the area around them.
It was not Kirika, but instead Finé, who answered: “I know more about relics than any other on this planet. Estimating this beast’s approach is a simple matter for me.” Kirika cut the second personality inhabiting her body off as she spun around, throwing up Asgard once more with a grunt as Batara Kala appeared before them.
“Is that why it seems to be focused entirely on you?” Tsubasa asked.
Since Batara Kala had first attempted to attack Kirika, she remained its only target. Kanade, Tsubasa, Chris, and Maria had all been launched away only once, and the Autoscorers (minus Micha, who now ran about randomly hoping that the head would chase after her) had since disappeared in order to carry out their plan. Only on rare occasions since have they been approached by the beast, and every time it was only while they were in Kirika’s immediate vicinity.

 Maria felt bad about avoiding her friend, but the four Symphogear wielders were completely unable to even sense the beast as it moved, let alone act fast enough to defend themselves. Since Kirika was its sole target, they remained at a safe distance.
“How does it even move that fast?” Chris had a hand on her forehead as her eyes spun around trying to watch Batara Kala’s flying head.
“Ame no Habakiri, right?” Maria glanced at Tsubasa, who flinched at the comment.
Then, Tsubasa sighed. “That’s... likely, yeah.” She conceded, looking downwards.
“It’s not like it’s your fault, Tsubasa. Who knows what other relics are in that thing.” Kanade offered her friend a smile, but out of the corner of her vision saw a shadow as the beast’s head was stopped short by Asgard once more.
“Those robots have to get back soon. Kirika can’t take much more of this.” Maria’s eyes were focused entirely on her panting friend, whose movements were getting just the slightest bit more sluggish now. The millimetres separating Batara Kala from Asgard decreased each time the wall of energy appeared–it was clear that the monster’s head was only buying time until she was completely fatigued.

 Kirika clicked her tongue upon hearing Maria worry. It was not as if she did not like that the older girl cared for her, it was that she was once again proving herself to be useless.
Throwing up Asgard again and again–all this did was waste time, and both Kirika and Finé knew this, and it made the former incredibly frustrated. She knew she wasn’t strong enough to fight the monster, especially with the LiNKER’s effects quickly fading from her body, but the fact that all she could do was rely on the abilities of Finé in order to keep herself from being defeated just compounded her annoyance.
Shirabe was dead, yet she couldn’t even mourn her friend. Her brain was being crushed on all sides from anxiety and despair that crept in from behind the walls Finé had built up around Kirika’s psyche, and the darkness was only spreading further the more tired she became.
“I hate this, death.” Kirika whispered as she threw up another wall of Asgard. “Why can’t I ever be useful?”
Finé did not answer her in any form. The only response she received was the roar of Batara Kala as it began to back away once more.

. . .

 Carol exhaled deeply as the bright light faded from the room. Serena had her hands over her face, which was twisted in pain as the remnants of the holy glow still burned itself upon her eyes.
“Hm... yes. You definitely have two relics within your body.” Carol commented coolly, not even flinching despite having stared directly into the light. “Shénshòujìng is one of them, and the other must be what resurrected you. Luckily, it appears to be incoporeal, which makes our job easier.”
“It does?” Serena moaned, finally removing her palms from her face.
“Yes. If it was a physical relic, we would have needed to perform surgery and extract it.” Carol nodded. “As it seemingly lacks a physical form at this moment, all we must do is cause it to manifest...”
“But...?” Yatsuhiro could hear the ellipses Carol tagged onto the end of her thought.
“But... doing so could be detrimental to your life. Thus...” Carol sighed. “I think I’m going to need to craft another homunculus, just to be safe.”
“You’re going to put me into a fake body?” Serena had a grim expression on her face. “Does that mean I won’t age any more?”
“No. Homunculi still age, albeit at a slightly slower rate–in 24 hours, a normal homunculus body ages 23.87794 hours. You will essentially be as human as you are now, only with a body that was created through alchemy as opposed to...” Carol felt a faint blush creep across her face. “Natural... means.”
“Can you make the homunculus body look however you want?” Serena then asked.
“Yes, I... suppose I can make changes to your appearance, if you would want.” Carol muttered, interested to see where this conversation was leading.
“Well, I... apparently died six years ago...” Serena trailed off, and was immediately interrupted by Yatsuhiro.
“I’m sure your sister would be... quite appalled by the sudden change in appearance, not to mention it might be difficult for you to get used to. Perhaps a less drastic change would be more applicable?”
Serena sighed, knowing that he was right about that. “Could you then make me fifteen, at least? To at least be as old as Kirika and Shirabe?”
“I’ll do my best.” Carol nodded. “Though, girl, you will have to owe me for that extra bit.”
“Thanks, Carol!” She offered a warm smile in response, truly generous to the alchemist for going out of her way to honour Serena’s childish request. Carol’s eyes widened in admiration at the kind look on the girl’s face–it was the opposite of Shirabe’s smile, yet it welled within Carol the same kind of hope as her words had.
“Um. Right.” Carol turned her head away. “You all should be grateful to me, the world’s greatest alchemist.”
Yatsuhiro couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at the even more childish response from the centuries-old girl, who quickly turned to glare at the man across the room from her. “I’ll kill you.” She threatened, only causing his smile to grow slightly larger.
“You remind me a lot of my daughter.” He admitted.

. . .

 “What the hell was that?” Yumi screamed in horror, nearly falling over at the sight of Batara Kala’s head flying about at insane speeds. The binoculars fell from her hands, which were promptly scooped up by Kuriyo.
“Is that the head of the monster?” Elfnein commented, her tone far calmer as she looked into the distance.
“That’s going to pose some problems for our incoming guests.” Genjuro’s voice boomed from behind the group, confusing everyone with both his words and sudden appearance.
“Was that what your phone call was about, boss?” Fujitaka asked, then corrected himself. “Former boss.”
Genjuro nodded. “That was Shibata. Apparently he has urgent business with my brother and is on his way here.”
“I hope, in that case, the girls can manage to defeat it before he gets put in business.” Like Elfnein, Tomosato’s eyes were glued to the looking glasses pressed against her own face, looking at the battle raging on past the edges of Frontier.
“Do you think we could help in any way?” Shiori asked, knowing full well that she they likely would just end up being more a hindrance than assistance.

 Suddenly, Leiur appeared, floating in the space in front of Kuriyo. As her eyes were looking through binoculars now staring at the Autoscorer’s face, the girl fell over in shock as Leiur filled her vision. “Whoa!” She shouted, dropping the binoculars in the process.
“Your help would be grateful, in truth.” Leiur nodded, a smile creeping over her metallic face. “Should you be willing to put yourself in potential danger.”
“No matter what you have in mind,” Genjuro announced to the robotic woman immediately. “I will not allow those girls to put themselves in danger.”
“Once again proving that we should just have Symphogears of our own...” Yumi muttered out of the side of her mouth, earning a sigh from both Genjuro and Ogawa.
“I doubt they would be much help, unless they know how to pilot a helicopter.” Leiur countered, looking at Fujitaka. The lethargic man held up his hands and shook his head, so Leiur’s gaze then crossed over to Tomosato.
The blue-haired woman nodded. “Very well.”
Leiur’s eyes then fell onto Elfnein, who had completely ignored the Autoscorer’s presence in hopes of not drawing attention to herself. Now, though, she was being forced to participate in the conversation, as Leiur addressed her. “Your help will be required as well, Eleven.”
The original homunculus’s eyes went wide beneath the frame of the binoculars she still pushed up against her. Her body stiffened as she tried her hardest not to acknowledge Leiur’s comment, but her posture relaxed as Leiur spoke again. “You needn’t worry Eleven. You are our creator’s spare, her original creation; no harm should come to you, I promise.”
“Spare...” Elfnein whispered, then looked up to Leiur with a fire in her eyes. “My name is Elfnein.”
Leiur chuckled. “Very well, Elfnein.”

. . .

 Tsubasa sneezed. Seeing the looks of worry upon the faces of her allies, she brushed off the potential of her catching a cold. “I’m fine.”
“Apologies for the wait.” Leiur’s voice reached the four Symphogear wielders waiting among the trees before her figure manifested before them. A few moments later, Phara appeared behind Leiur–with Garie tied up beside her.
“Oh great, you brought the deserter.” Chris rolled her eyes.
“Seems as though our sister, here, might not have been in her right mind.” Leiur looked down her nose at Garie, who was kneeling on the ground. “I’ll have to tell our master about that... glitch later.”
“So, you plan on freezing the head.” Tsubasa nodded. “An interesting idea, but...”
“Please, spare your complaints.” Phara smiled cruelly. “Did you truly believe that we, the creations of the world’s greatest alchemist, had not thought through our plans to the end?”
Maria pushed her hand out in front of Tsubasa before she could respond to the taunt. “Just try not to harm Kirika.”
“Of course. You are, for now, our allies.” Leiur nodded. “I intend not to harm you, so long as my master orders us to.”
“If you’re all done talking,” Garie shook about. Being unable to flail her limbs, Garie’s attempts to escape instead just looked as though she were swaying to silent music. “Can you let me out of these ropes?”
Phara chuckled darkly. “No.”
“Unfortunate for you, dear sister,” Leiur began to explain. “You being entrapped in bondage is necessary for our plan. I hope we can rely on you to perform adequately.”
“I’d appreciate it if, next time, you could come up with an idea that allows me freedom.” Garie shouted, her face angry.

 “How can we help?” Kanade asked, slamming the butt of her spear into the ground.
“You girls will need to protect your friends.” Phara smirked. Seeing the confusion upon their faces, she pointed up into the sky, towards Frontier.
“What are you planning?” Tsubasa narrowed her eyes, seeing the target of Phara’s point.
“To do as we said.” Leiur waved her hand. “We’re going to slow down the beast’s head.”
The helicopter quickly began to draw closer, its large rotors kicking up leaves and dirt around the girls on the ground below it. As it flew above them, Phara grabbed the rope dragging behind Garie and began to fly into the air.
Still in the dark regarding the plan, the four Symphogear wielders just watched as the green Autoscorer flew up to the bottom of the helicopter and tied the rope around part of the vehicle’s landing gear. Though they obviously could not hear her, they could see Garie flailing about in anger, clearly complaining to Phara.
“And you’re confident in this plan?” Tsubasa raised her eyebrow, harkening back to her earlier–not entirely answered–question.
“More confident in it than you are, I imagine.” Leiur acknowledged her terrible explanation with a nod. “Now, if you would excuse me, I need to relieve Igalima’s wielder of duty for the moment.”

 Kirika’s eyes went wide as Leiur appeared in-between her and the pink wall of Asgard that she threw up. “You’ll be able to take a break in a few moments, girl, but first I need you to be useful for a few more moments.”
At the word ‘useful,’ a fire began to burn within Kirika’s chest. “What can I do for you, death?”
“You appear to be this beast’s target,” Leiur glared at the black beast on the other side of the pink wall. “Thus, you’re going to be playing distraction for us.”
The fire quickly faded, and disappointment crushed Kirika. “Not the kind of ‘useful’ you wished to be?” Finé asked from the girl’s own–still panting–mouth, who replied silently with a nod.
“Fear not.” Leiur acknowledged her desire to fight alongside her friends, turning to glance at Kirika with a smile on her face. “Once our plan is successful, you can fight alongside your friends again.”
“What do you want me to do, death?” Kirika asked, still dejected.
“Just go ride in that helicopter.” Leiur pointed at the black vehicle hovering in the air a short distance away. “We need this monster to target it–or, rather, to target my sister hanging beneath it.”
“I... don’t really get it, death.” Kirika shrugged. “But alright.”
“I’d teleport you, but we need to make sure that this beast knows your location. Thus, I’ll be escorting you there.”
“Got it!”

. . .

 Carol’s eyes were red and sore as she glared down at the naked girl on the table. Technically, the figure she was staring at was neither a ‘girl’ nor even ‘human,’ yet–it was a homunculus shell that she was crafting in an image of a slightly elder Serena.
The girl in question blushed behind Carol, looking out from between her fingers that were splayed out across her face. “Ahhhh I can’t believe this...” She muttered, flustered at the fact that Carol was concentrating on what–essentially–was her own naked form.
Yatsuhiro had been forced to leave the room (by Serena), and Carol was exhausted from both being worked over by these humans–humans that, truthfully, she did not care for in any way, and was only working with so that she could obtain the Rod of Asclepius–and the embarrassed complaints of the girl behind her. She grunted in anger as she worked, readying the inner-workings of the artificial body through alchemical runes that lines the older-Serena’s chest.
“There. Luckily I had the foresight to craft multiple homunculi forms when working on that first girl’s, just in case.” Carol sighed. Putting her hands on her small hips, the runes flashed away, and the alchemist took a step back.
“So... how does this work?” Serena asked, not removing her hands from her face.
“Well, we have two options.” Carol glared, holding up two fingers as she turned to face the girl behind her. “One–we simply copy your brain’s data into this form and attempt to force the relic into this realm using your living body; or two–we transfer your consciousness wholesale into body before I begin my work. The second option would be easier, as I would not have to be as careful with your original body as you’d technically be ‘deceased’, but I will leave the decision up to you.”
“Before I decide...” Serena shuffled. “I think that body should at least get some clothing.”
Carol nodded. “On that account, I agree.”

#### GX Chapter 22

 Elfnein shuffled in her seat. Since she had first been addressed by Leiur, her mind had been running at full tilt. She had run away from Carol–surely her creator would hold a grudge and her Autoscorers attempt to punish her for doing so, that’s what Elfnein thought. Yet, Leiur had treated Elfnein with relative respect, even showing more courtesy to her than to the woman sitting beside her now.
She did not understand.
Pulling the black and purple hood down further over her face, Elfnein wanted to hide her anxious self away from the world and to ignore the possibility that she could be the one to cause Leiur and Phara’s plan to fail. Her role in it was small and fairly insignificant, but she felt the crushing sense of impending failure strangling her, regardless.
Taking in a deep breath, Elfnein realized that she had not been breathing properly due to her worries, and felt her brain tense slightly as a sufficient quantity of oxygen rushed into her lungs. With an exhalation, she then took care to breathe at a steady, and normal, pace.

 Tomosato saw this out of the corner of her eye, and gave the small passenger sitting beside her a smile. “It will be okay. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“How can you say that? Aren’t you worried about the Autoscorers?” Elfnein had panic in her eyes as she threw herself forwards. Tomosato, shocked at the girl’s quick change in attitude, almost lost control of the helicopter she was keeping steady, though it jostled slightly as she bumped the pitch control.

 Underneath, still swinging from the chassis, Garie was shaken about at the sudden movement. Neither Elfnein nor Tomosato were, obviously, aware of the girl’s feelings, but the blue Autoscorer glared as she saw her slowly approaching sister crack a smile that told her that this was the punishment she was being subjected to for deserting her master’s orders.

 Steadying the helicopter, Tomosato sighed a breath of relief. Then, she turned her attention to answering Elfnein’s questions, though now while keeping her eyes on the controls in front of her.
“I’m surprised you didn’t see it–how much the Autoscorers seem to like you.” Tomosato began to explain. “You’re probably worried that they’re going to hate you for running away, but there’s something you’re forgetting: you were designed in the image of your master, Elfnein.”
“Huh?” The girl squeaked.
“You might have a shorter braid and differently-coloured hair, but you do look a lot like Carol. I think the Autoscorers recognize that–they probably see you as her second-in-command, and anything you do is right.
“Do you remember what happened when Carol brought us into that... void?” Tomosato suddenly asked. When Elfnein failed to answer, and instead tilted her head in confusion, the woman simply continued speaking. “The red Autoscorer–Micha, I believe you said her name was. The first thing she did was greet you, and happily at that. It seemed odd at the time, but once I saw how Carol looked, I realized that they may all want to treat you with just the same respect they’d give her.”
“But... I’m not Carol. I’m just...” A spare. A vault to keep safe a copy of Carol’s memories. A servant. Nothing. So many possible ways to finish that thought, yet Elfnein did not get a chance to use any of them.
“Elfnein.” Tomosato nodded. “You’re Elfnein. And the Autoscorers clearly don’t see you as a replacement for Carol. Leiur called you ‘Eleven,’ and quickly accepted your correction. Micha greeted you as ‘Elfnein.’ If they saw you as Carol, then they would address you far more stiffly... maybe not ‘master,’ but perhaps more with names like ‘clone’ or ‘second.’ They accept you as separate, yet they still treat you with respect.”
“But why? I’m a nobody. Carol doesn’t even care about m–”
“Carol probably cares about you more than anyone else, you know.” Tomosato smiled, though her kind expression was pointed out into the sky as she remained focused on keeping the helicopter steady. “You mentioned that you have her memories; memories that Carol clearly does not want to forget. Though, obviously I can’t speak on her behalf, I would not be surprised if she saw you more as a sister, or a daughter, than a tool that can be tossed away.”
Elfnein blinked as she took in all that Tomosato said. Alchemists were logical people–though Elfnein was not one, herself, she did have all of the memories of Carol spending years pouring over every bit of knowledge she could. Still, she found that because of this, Elfnein was logical as well, and thus she could see that Tomosato was correct in her assessment. But...
“Brains... they don’t like to accept change.” Elfnein shook her head.

. . .

 Garie glared at the two approaching figures as she swung from the chassis of the helicopter. She wanted to scream at the two, to let her free of the roped binding her, but knew that it would be futile considering the loud blades spinning overhead.
Still, anger overwhelmed the blue Autoscorer, and she let out an angry cry. “Don’t think I didn’t see you crack a smile back there!”
Of course, her words were immediately swallowed up by the booming cries of the helicopter’s spinning blades.
Phara had briefed Garie on the plan that the two Autoscorers had come up with, just as Leiur was now explaining it to Kirika as they flew towards the helicopter containing Aoi Tomosato and Elfnein. Garie was arguably the most important part of this whole idea–so it came to as a shock that her sisters would trust her to help, considering what she had done not too long ago.
But, she did owe Phara and Leiur for helping her. Garie had not been herself, something she even recognized, and it was only thanks to them that she managed to see the errors in ignoring her master’s orders.

 As Kirika and Leiur finally reached the helicopter–not before having to defend themselves against Batara Kala’s super-speed attack–Garie pushed her face into a frown. Once Leiur gave her the signal, the plan was to be put in action; Garie needed to be ready.
“Are you ready?” Leiur’s voice interrupted her thoughts–and the sound of the blades. The golden Autoscorer had teleported directly beside Garie in a way that was impossible for her to detect beforehand, which only made her more annoyed with her current situation.
“I will be once you let me out of these things. I can’t use alchemy in these dumb things, you know.”
The ropes that Phara and Leiur had used to tie Garie up were infused with the strongest alchemical element–one that only their master could make use of: Silver. Normally, if bound like this, Garie would simply turn herself into a flurry of bubbles and escape with ease; these ropes, however, forbade her from using any of her techniques at all.
Garie couldn’t help but wonder when her sisters had acquired the ropes (or, rather, when their master had crafted them), or why they still allowed Garie to remain active if they cancelled out alchemy–but these questions were drowned out at the grudge she now held for Leiur and Phara; she would get revenge, somehow.

 With a flick of her finger, the ropes were sliced apart; Garie assumed some sort of trick was at work–no way Leiur’s earth-based alchemy was capable of cutting those binds. But now she was free, and she clenched her fists together as she floated in the sky.
“Fine. I guess now I can help you.” Garie rolled her eyes, but the small smile creeping across her face told Leiur that she was glad to be of assistance, whether she knew it or not.
“You remember the plan?”
“Who do you think I am? I’m the star creation of the world’s greatest alchemist.” Garie chuckled.
“Good.” Leiur replied with a smile.

 Their plan was relatively simple–especially in comparison to the messy idea that Tsubasa concocted earlier. The idea was simply to lure Batara Kala towards the helicopter’s blades; as it only seemed to descend down onto its target, simply having Kirika wait inside of the helicopter would be a sufficient catalyst to make this happen.
Once in range, Phara and Garie would simultaneously use their alchemy to trap Batara Kala’s head and then soak it in water, which Garie would then freeze solid to slow its movements.
Should freezing Batara Kala’s head not slow its movements enough for the Symphogear wielders to take it down, then they would need to resort to Plan B: transforming the helicopter into a dry ice bomb and having Phara and Garie work together to expand the explosion enough to damage the flying beast–with the vehicle’s occupants escaping beforehand.

 “Begin!” Leiur’s voice sounded as a command as Kirika flipped her gaze to the sky.
All at once, a scream whipped out around the battlefield as the wind was kicked up and spun faster than the wheels of a speeding car. The air itself cried out in pain as it was thrown about by Phara, which was then drowned by the alchemical water of her blue sister.
The Autoscorers had begun their attacks even before Batara Kala had appeared before them, yet they knew that they had made contact with the beast. A roar ripped out from the beast and the droplets in the air began to sizzle under the pressure of the monster’s breath... that’s when it appeared, and immediately Garie’s face cracked into a cruel smirk as she knew her time had come.
Absolute cold ripped through the tornado cutting the air, freezing a blanket of ice over the flying head in an instant. For the first time, all combatants were able to see the beast without the wall of Asgard in the way.
“Now, Symphogears!” Phara commanded, screaming down to the group of girls waiting below.
“You heard the woman.” Chris smiled, aiming her guns. “Let’s take it out!”

. . .

 Miku rolled over with a start–and immediately crashed back into the back of the couch as her forehead smashed against the wall that she had been pushed up against.
“Ah, so you’re awake.” Carol’s voice muttered from somewhere behind the couch. “I wouldn’t look, if I were you.”
“What’s going on?” Miku questioned in response. She began to stir as she ignored Carol’s suggestion and tried to peek over the back of the couch. When she successfully crawled up into a kneeling position and her eyes laid upon what sat behind the wall, Miku’s eyes went wide–in confusion.
What she saw was Serena, now with a slightly more mature body, admiring her naked form in the mirror. On the table, however, also sat Serena, and it was over this childish body that Carol angrily stood with her arms crossed and a blush creeping over her cheeks.
The younger Serena–the one splayed out upon the wooden table–was laying face-down, her back sliced open horizontally. Another Miku would have been horrified to see the exposed muscles and bones protruding out from the schism made into the girl’s body, but this Miku merely acknowledged it as an afterthought.
Carol held in her hands what Miku could describe as a black Symphogear pendant, which the alchemist ran through her fingers. Her expression was stiff, her eyebrow twitching as she clenched her teeth.
Not sure what exactly she was looking at, Miku lowered herself back into a horizontal position as she laid down. Seeing this out of the corner of her eye, Carol sighed. “That warning wasn’t exactly for anyone else’s sake but your own.”
Miku collapsed with a confused huff.

 A few moments later, Miku heard Carol speak again. “Well, this girl proved to be quite useful.”
“What’s going on?” Miku asked.
“The girl possessed the Rod of Asclepius within her, which I have now extracted.” Carol spoke. “Unfortunately, I needed to butcher her body in order to do so.”
“And this new body,” Serena spun around, though Miku could only hear her feet bouncing on the ground as they readjusted them. “It’s quite incredible. I can’t thank you enough, Miss Carol.”
“Yes. I suppose this trade was worthwhile.” Carol smiled. “I also extracted the fragment of Shénshòujìng from your nervous system–here, girl. Now... put on some clothes.”
“Oh. Oh, right!” Serena cried, having completely forgotten about her nude appearance. She bowed to Carol in apology, and Miku heard the sound of fabric fluttering through the air as the alchemist tossed a robe to the girl.
“Tell the government official he is free to return to the room, now.” Carol curtly gave the order to Serena, who Miku then heard run off after a positive reply.
“Now then, Miku Kohinata.” At the mention of her name, Miku popped her head back up over the couch. Now, Carol held a small golden artefact in her left hand–one familiar to Miku–which she gripped with a tight fist. “Before I use this, I have a question for you.”
“I have no idea who you are or what’s going on.” Miku reminded the small alchemist. “But, fine. I’ll give you any answer you want.”
“Good–it is because of me that you are here right now, after all.” Carol replied. “Lancea Longini, the abomination of relics shoved within you; are you still capable of activating it, or did the light of Shénshòujìng destroy it?”
Miku tilted her head. Her hand quaked at the mention of the monster that still lingered in her body–the mess that had caused her to transform into Batara Kala in the first place. Worries immediately flooded her mind, and Miku’s teal green eyes flew open in shock. “I...”
“I understand your worries, girl, but fear not: Shénshòujìng likely destroyed whatever had been corrupting your body.” Carol threw out her right arm. “So, show me: can you make use of Lancea Longini?”
Sucking in a deep breath, Miku placed her one quivering hand upon her chest. Though she had been able to control the Symphogear before through simple thought, now Miku felt as though that tie had been severed.
Welling up within her was a Holy Chant born straight from the heart of Miku Kohinata. No longer did it feel as though the many relics crammed within her body–first the shards of Gungnir and later the experimental beast that was Lancea Longini–were parasites sucking out her life; no, now the relic whose power she called upon felt like a natural part of her body.
Miku smiled as the words escaped her lips.

 Carol smirked as the white light engulfed Miku. “As I thought.”
Miku looked down at her one arm. The golden armour of Lancea Longini was no more; instead, the girl was clad in a pure white suit–like a dress combined with a set of sparkling silver armour dotted with golden lines. Miku Kohinata literally shone, despite the dim light of the room she stood in. The one blemish on this holy Valkyrie standing in front of Carol Malus Dienheim were the onyx marks rising up from the stub of her missing right arm.
“Now then, it’s highly likely that part of that beast still remains alive.” Carol threw out her arm as a confident glint sparkled in her eyes. “Let us all go and assist your friends.”
Miku took a step forwards, but her leg collapsed out underneath her as she did. In an even shorter moment than it took for her to become bathed in a white glow, Miku was back in the thin robe that she had been dressed in by Phara and Leiur. Her face twisted into a pained wince.
“Okay, perhaps...” Carol looked down. “Such a thing was impossible in your current state.”
“No.” Miku grunted, looking up. “I’ll help them.”
Carol’s smile returned. “Good. Now then...”

. . .

 “How is this thing still so fast?”
Even with the power of X-Drive on their side, the Symphogear wielders were still being pushed to their limits in order to keep up with Batara Kala’s insane speed. Tsubasa, now, sliced the air with Ame no Habakiri, barely brushing the black flesh as it effortlessly dodged to the side as she scowled.
“Sorry I can’t be of more help, death.” Kirika sighed. Her voice emanated from the helicopter that was still zipping through the air like a large bee. The beast had stopped targeting Kirika exclusively–seeing the others as a threat now with its lessened speed–but it would occasionally turn its attention to the vehicle flying about.
In response to Kirika’s cry, the beast now flew up away from the girls on the ground–but Maria was ready. With the chain-like sword of Airgetlám in her hand, Maria cracked her blade at the beast. At the same time, Garie backed up her new ally, infusing the whip with ice that sent out a blizzard as it cracked through the air.
The weapon smashed against Batara Kala, sending the head twirling through the air away from Maria and Garie. Its chaotic course only lasted for a few minutes, however, and Batara Kala righted itself in an instant; though it focused its attention entirely on its two closer attackers, rather than continuing towards the helicopter above.
Opening its maw, the monster released a powerful burst of light–a missile of energy, born from the power of Ichaival contained within itself. This projectile, however, never reached the girls, instead scattering into the sky as Chris countered with her own firearms.

 The strange combination of clockwork warriors born through alchemy, and soldiers powered up through the mythical artefacts of old–only through this abnormal team could the unlikely allies hope to stand up against a monster born from every one of the relics that now opposed them.
Yet, still, the Symphogear wielders were only barely keeping up. Even with its movements slowed down as frost sheeted the jet-black beast, the four Symphogear wielders engaged in battle and their three Autoscorer allies (as useless as Micha was, who still bounced around the ground unable to keep up) were on the defensive. Every attack that landed upon Batara Kala only countered another, or served to draw its attention elsewhere.
Kanade realized this and sighed. “Okay, we’re going to need to slow this thing down more.” She planted her giant spear’s end into the ground as the orange-haired wielder of Gungnir began to assess their current situation.
Leiur landed beside her new ally, doing the same. “Yes. We seem to have underestimated how little our ice attack would slow it.” The Autoscorer pushed her fingers around her own chin. “Yet, I do not believe our backup would be sufficient.”
“What we need...” Kanade smiled. Leiur mimicked her expression only a fraction of a second later, completely understanding the road that her cohort was laying down before them.
Even Batara Kala was forced to hesitate at the three voices that resounded out, rumbling through the air like a calm clap.

*Various Shul Shagana tron*
*Shénshòujìng Leimpya Zizzl*
*Ayurvaed Shrivatsa tron*

 At the first Holy Chant, Maria turned her head to the sky. Kirika, too, poked her head out of the side of the steel contraption she sat in, her eyes wide in surprise at the voice.
“Shirabe!” The two girls said in unison, just as the pink Symphogear wielder smashed through the wall of reality, with the Valkyrie that was Miku Kohinata floating on one side, and the now-physically fifteen-year-old Serena on the other.

 As these three readied themselves, they were soon joined by another figure, who literally ripped apart the air with her bare hands. Before she cracked through into the battleground, the girls were serenaded with a powerful song born from the determined flames of a centuries-old alchemist.

*Ā, shūen e no “kanon” ga kaoru*
*Satsuriku no fukuin ni chihedo to chire*
*Bibunshi reberu made kaibō shite*
*Hangyaku wo eigō ni tatsuru*

 “You knew that my master would be coming, then?” Leiur eyed the girl beside her suspiciously, but the impressed smile showed her true impression of the girl.
“Just a hunch.” Kanade shrugged, but her smirk implied otherwise.
“You’re an odd one.”

 Kirika threw herself out of the helicopter, spreading her limbs wide as she dove down to reunite with her the one closest to her. “Let’s do this, death!” She screamed with a giant smile, her body now free from all sign of fatigue that Kirika had accumulated while defending against Batara Kala.
Shirabe caught her friend, pulling Kirika into a hug. “Welcome back!” Kirika literally sobbed as she embraced Shirabe, tears sticking to the small black-haired girl’s skin as Kirika used her like a tissue.
Carol stopped her song, coughing in order to pull the two girls back to reality. After a quiet apology from the girl whose free-flowing black hair draped down her back, Carol thrust out her fist at the beast before her.
“Now, Batara Kala–behold, the rath of Carol Malus Dienheim and her allies!”

 Though the monster seemed to attack however it pleased, it seemed to sense the power emanating from the newcomers. Every ring of colourful energy that spun itself around Batara Kala’s body darkened, turning into flames just as black as the rest of its body.
“You...” The monster seemed to form a word as it roared, its guttural cry shaking the earth that Kanade and Leiur stood on below.
The Autoscorer’s eye flashed in recognition. “As I suspected.”

~ ~ ~

 Garie grumbled as she skated across the trash-filled street littered with debris from where Batara Kala–when it was a whole monster–had trampled. It was a desolate scene; silence engulfed the Autoscorer as she silently danced against ice she conjured from beneath her feet.
The Autoscorer’s mind was buzzing, as if filled with a million tiny insects all trying to escape. Something was clearly wrong–her brain was being influenced from an outside source, yet whatever was at fault prevented Garie from even attempting to question it.
She was a servant to Carol Malus Dienheim, her creator, to whom she had dedicated herself to in ever way; yet Garie found rebellious thoughts creeping in through the cracks.
“Who...” Garie wondered aloud, but the question faded from her mind even as her lips fumbled for the rest of the idea that was pushed aside by the intruder within.

 All Garie Tūmān could do now was focus on the orders that were being forced into her mind from elsewhere–commands she did not understand the meaning behind.
While her real master had done inexplicable things before (such as obliterating the Château de Tiffauges that they all had spent so long crafting), Garie’s mind was based off that of Carol Malus Dienheim; she could, if she tried, comprehend how she came to whatever decision she reached.
But these orders were nonsensical–yet she was forbidden from questioning them at every step. The confusion born from her attempts to rebel did nothing but divert her attention away from anything that may distract her; nothing remained in Garie’s mind but the mission she was being forced to complete.
Thus, she did not notice Leiur and Phara looking down at her from above.

 “Just as you thought.” Phara commended her golden sister.
“When that monster began to glow, I sensed outside influence attempting to creep its way into it.” Leiur explained. “It was likely that some third party would attempt to assume control of it; and it seems I was not wrong that their target would change upon their failure.”
“So, then,” Phara smiled with wide eyes. “How exactly do you suppose that we purge our youngest sibling of this accursed one’s influence?”
“We’re all based upon our master,” Leiur chuckled. “Surely you know that there would be only one way to change the mind of such an illustrious alchemist.”
“Of course.” A cracked mirror reflected the differences in tone between the crooked smile Phara flashed and the confident one Leiur wore.

 The two Autoscorers spared only a single glance at the symbol that Garie had drawn upon the concrete with her pen of ice before nodding towards each other. With a sparkle in their eye, the two descended down in order to physically push the chaos out of Garie’s mind.
It was only once Leiur and Phara landed upon the giant eye-shaped glyph frozen upon the earth that Garie turned her attention to her sisters.

~ ~ ~

 From her fingertips, Carol unleashed invisible threads that snaked their way through the sky and quickly entangled the black beast. She expected the beast to break through them–this was merely a test to see the monster’s true strength. Indeed, the monster quickly cut through it as spikes resembling the sword of Ame no Habakiri cut through them like scissors through paper.
But Carol did not even blink. As her song continued to resonate from her heart, joined in chorus as Miku and Serena sang from their own unique hearts, Carol’s just readied runes as she hung in the air from her invisible perch.

 Miku and Serena, as if they had fought together their entire lives, danced through the sky. Purple lightning coursed through the black armour covering all but Serena’s one arm, and she fired a burst at the beast. While the beast readied its jaw, hoping to devour this attack, Miku went about her own techniques.
A chain of light sprouted out from Miku’s palm, which she used as if it were a a spear to pierce the black beast from behind. The shock of the pincer attack overwhelmed Batara Kala, who was thrust into the beam before it even had a chance to open its gaping maw.
Just as the cursed purple light splashed against the monster’s dark hide, Carol rained a litany of bolts, rainbow drops of different elements all painting the black canvas of the monster’s body. From three directions, the monster was assailed; in one instant, the three of them had accomplished more than the others had up until that point.

 “Kiri... we need to focus now.” Shirabe whispered into the ear of her crying friend. When she did not reply nor halt her passive attack, Shirabe silently stuck her tongue out, licking the skin that sprouted out from Kirika’s blonde hair.
That caused a reaction, and Kirika flew back in shock. “Death!!!!” She screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Enough, you two.” Maria’s voice cut through Kirika’s surprised cry, and she pushed her arms in-between her two FIS sisters. Then, with a smile, she turned to Shirabe. “I’m glad to see you again, too, Shirabe.”
“While it’s nice to see such a touching reunion,” Tsubasa fluttered down to meet the group. “It does look like they could use a bit of help.”
“Look who’s talking.” Finé replied from Kirika’s body.
“Can all of you just help already!?” Garie flailed her arms as she screamed up at the four girls floating above her. Like an icicle, the Autoscorer’s cold glare stabbed through Kirika specifically, who flinched away and tried to tuck herself behind Tsubasa.
“Yeah, but what about...” Kirika tried to snap back, her gaze falling upon one figure down on the ground. When she noticed that Kanade was now collapsed on the ground, her Symphogear inactive, she held her arms up in defence. “Death!”
Maria nodded. “The LiNKER’s effects can’t hold up for too much longer; not to mention, it’s getting darker by the minute.” The pink-hair idol turned her gaze towards the figures buzzing about–one of which was her mysteriously-older sister whose body was currently pulsating with light. “We need to finish this!”
Shirabe silently raised one fist, just as Kirika raised her own with a loud cry of her own: “Oooh!”

 Chris flew up to catch Miku as she dodged out of the way of the approaching Batara Kala. Sweat coated both girls’ foreheads, and their breathing was heavy. Still, Chris could tell that it was her friend who was in the worse state.
“Are you sure you should be doing this right now?” Chris asked, keeping her eyes focused on the black beast she was now firing magical bolts into.
“No, I shouldn’t be.” Miku gasped. “But this is kind of my fault, so I can’t just sit aside.”
“I know you wouldn’t believe me if I told you it wasn’t.” Chris sighed. Her expression was pained–and it had nothing to do with the fatigue starting to weigh her body down from having to fly about to avoid the high-speed beast.
“It’s good to see you again, Chris.” Miku smiled as Batara Kala’s head shook off the chains that Miku had been using to hold it in place. Then, after a pause, a spark lit up in Miku’s brain as she had an idea. “I’m home.”
The sudden touching comment shocked Chris, who stopped her barrage upon the beast. With a blush creeping across her face, Chris returned the calm expression looking at her. “Welcome back, Miku.”
Batara Kala’s roar interrupted their sweet moment, and both girls turned pointed glares at the beast. The monster–or the head, rather–flailed about as it was stampeded by a variety of different attacks. Serena blasted it with the purifying light of Shénshòujìng; Tsubasa sliced the beast’s side with the blue flames emanating from Ame no Habakiri; Phara sent sharp blades of wind to dice the beast from below; Garie crashed down upon the monster with a volley of icicle daggers; and Micha–who finally managed to catch up with the monster...
...jumped straight into its mouth.

 “What is she doing?” Phara sighed upon the sight of Micha throwing herself aimlessly in-between the sharp raven teeth of Batara Kala.
Garie clicked her tongue as she shook her head. “Being just as useless as ever.”
“No, that girl’s got a good sense for combat.” Garie flinched as Kanade, her arm thrown over Leiur’s shoulder, remarked, with blood dripping down out of her mouth.
“You look like shit, girl.” Garie commented.
“Thanks. I’ve looked worse.” Kanade grinned, an act which confused the Autoscorer before her.
“Unfortunately, the LiNKER supply has almost been exhausted.” Leiur addressed her sisters. “Only one of those other girls will likely be able to take a half-dose with the remaining amount.”
Garie shook her head as she flashed her crooked, shark-toothed smile. “I don’t know why that’s such a big issue. Our great and powerful master could take this beast out all on her lonesome, right?”
The four looked over at Carol, who was readying a series of circular patterns in the air before her. Though the girl’s eyes were closed, she still sang her powerful song as she made use of the Faust Robe woven from the stings of the harp relic, Dur da Blá.

 “Shirabe Tsukuyomi!” Carol’s eyes flew open in a flash, addressing the girl donning the black and pink Symphogear of Shul Shagana below her. When she saw the small girl’s ruby-red eyes look up at her, she continued. “Lure the beast towards me.”
The girl nodded at the alchemist’s order, and turned to Kirika beside her. “Kiri, you heard her.”
“Okay, but how, death?” Kirika sighed. “It’s not like we could just hit it like a baseball...”
Shirabe blinked. “Why not?”
“Huh?” Kirika tilted her head, but Shirabe had already moved away to begin telling others about the plan that the blonde wielder of Igalima had accidentally concocted.
As she looked around in confusion, she watched as Micha burst her way out of the monster’s flesh, a geyser of flames launching her like a rocket high into the sky.

. . .

 “So tell me,” Maria sighed, turning to her sister beside her. “How is this only the third-worst plan we’ve been involved in today?”
Serena smiled in response. “You have to admire their creativity.”
“Plus,” Kanade added from the opposite side of Serena Cadenzavna Eve, still clinging to Leiur’s arm. “As stupid as they are, they have all been successful.”
“Indeed. Though I have no clue how you all come up with these ideas, I do have to admit the impacts of them.” Leiur chuckled.
These four girls looked upon Garie, Chris, Tsubasa, Shirabe, and Miku–the four involved in this somehow-comparatively-normal plan that Shirabe had proposed on Carol’s orders: launch the monster into the alchemist so that she could defeat it.
Right now Phara, Micha, Maria, and Kirika were struggling to keep the beast from attacking either Carol nor Shirabe’s party as they all readied their own techniques, and to limit the area in which it was moving about.

 “The two of you must really like Ame no Habakiri.” Tsubasa nodded, impressed with the opinions of Shirabe and Kirika regarding the weapon she wielded as a sentinel.
Shirabe, having not been present for Kirika’s guillotine plan, just nodded in response–hoping this would be enough to side-step the conversation. “It’s useful.”
“Can we just get this over with?” Chris shook her head as she glared at the small girl with long black hair flowing down her back. “The faster we get this over with, the better.”
“We just have to wait for Carol’s signal.” Shirabe nodded.
Garie shrugged. “Eh, she’ll make it work; master always does.” Then she rolled her hand through the air. “Besides, she’s ready–has been for a while.”
“In that case,” Tsubasa held out her thin blade in front of her. “Let’s begin. Kohinata–”
“On it.” Miku replied immediately, firing a white chain out of her hand. The snake of ethereal metal danced through the sky and coiled itself around Tsubasa’s waist.
“Hopefully the next part goes well.” Chris sighed, readying the missile launchers that folded out of her body.
Garie smiled with her shark-toothed grin as she produced an icy replica of one of Ichaival’s missiles. “My alchemy produced ice far stronger than normal. You don’t need to worry about this breaking.”
“I assumed as much.” Shirabe nodded. “Micha’s attacks didn’t melt the ice you put on Batara Kala.”
“That’s...” Chris shook her head. In response, Miku nodded to the girl who was readying a complaint, and Ichaival’s wielder just sighed–now was not the time. “Fine. Load it up.”
With an elegant spin, Garie slammed her frozen rocket into the empty chamber of the rocket launcher, loading the weapon up in a second’s time. With the nose of the giant icicle protruding out from the launcher, Shirabe produced her yo-yos and tied the two Armed Gears around it as she hopped on top of Chris’s arsenal.
“All set.” Shirabe nodded.
“I guess we’re doing this, huh?” Chris sighed. Behind her, Miku leapt up to stand at Shirabe’s side–Tsubasa jingled around as Miku’s gravity-defying links gently floated her around by her side.
“Ready on you, Yukine.” Tsubasa smiled.
“Yeah, yeah.” Chris lowered her eyes. Taking a crouch, the girl steadied herself and all that protruding from the relic she donned as thin armour. “Good luck!” She then shouted, firing the icy missile as she found her target.

 Shirabe and Miku stood atop of the missile, which flew at a far faster speed than they were able to with X-Drive; Tsubasa flew behind the rocket. With her yo-yos, Shirabe steered the missile as Batara Kala was launched around by their allies’ attacks, and Miku kept her balance as she readied for her part of the plan.
“Out of the way, death!” Kirika shouted as Shirabe approached her, and all at once the girls still combating Batara Kala scrambled in all directions. At the same time, Miku flung her chain like a whip, letting Tsubasa go in the process.
Clenching her teeth, Tsubasa was thrown through the air and began to accelerate at an incredibly high rate. In a second, she was propelled at a higher speed than she had ever travelled at before–and yet the world around her felt as though it was moving in slow motion as she kept her eyes glued on the monster she flew towards.
With a brief flick of her eyes, she found Carol’s location above her, and Tsubasa smiled as she readied her attack.
Ame no Habakiri began to grow to a great size, becoming multiple times larger than Tsubasa within moments. The sword’s length stabilizes just as Tsubasa reached the beast, and she swung her Armed Gear at the shadowy creature with all of her might. Her muscles screaming out as she struggled under the weight of both her giant weapon and the beast it collided with, Tsubasa let out a scream.
Like a tennis racket hitting a ball, the giant blade of Ame no Habakiri launched the head of Batara Kala as a crack split the air apart, shattering the brains of all present as the loud sound ripped its way into their ears. Tsubasa couldn’t help but close her eyes as she began to fall away from the beast, and moments later would land amongst the branches of trees below her.

 Batara Kala was not a fully sentient being. While it had kept Miku Kohinata within its body, it had fed off of her emotions–the pain, the confusion, the anger; everything that Miku had felt while in its custody gave birth to its destructive nature. Now, all that remained was a blind fury–yet there was Something else brewing within it.
That Something felt anger engulfing it as the figure of Carol Malus Dienheim grew larger in the sights of Batara Kala. The alchemist had a confident smirk on her face as five rings surrounded her–the golden one in front of her, which Batara Kala now flew directly towards, imprinted itself upon the Something that resided within the raven-coloured monster.
The beast roared–though this was a result of its own hatred for its situation rather than the parasitic influence within it; that Something could do nothing but simply watch, as if the events playing out through the eyes of Batara Kala was nothing more than a television show.
But then, that Something was flooded with a strange, crackling glee–just as a bright white light engulfed Batara Kala.

 “That didn’t do it.” Miku narrowed her eyes as she looked up. She and all of the others had gathered on the ground–which was just barely far-enough away from Carol and the nuclear blast she created with her magical science; though the blast of white still swallowed up the darkening sky, Miku could tell that the beast was still alive.
“No possible way, death!” Kirika cried, bending forwards in despair.
“Even with that much power...” Maria was in awe of both Carol’s power and the durability of the monster whose scream now echoed out amidst the chaos of the explosion’s rumble.
“Well, now what!?” Chris groaned, running her angry hands through her white hair.
“There’s always another option.” Miku mumbled, keeping her gaze skywards.
“Yes, I think I know what you mean.” Kanade sighed. “That may be the only way, now.”
“If you guys are talking about what I think you are,” Chris’s fiery eyes flickered between the remorseful Kanade and Miku–who completely ignored her as she kept staring at the sky above. “Forget it.”
“No, Chris.” Miku’s gaze now lowered, meeting Chris’s eyes directly. “I think it’ll be the only way.”
Chris knew that she was telling the truth, of course, but worried more for the safety of everyone around her–even those she barely even knew. Chris had seen so much suffering through her life, and met so many people whose corpses she would later see being covered by blankets, but nothing came close to the deadly recoil dealt by the Symphogears’ most-powerful technique: the Superb Song.
“Fine.” Chris sighed, meeting Miku’s calm expression with a glare. “On one condition.”
Miku nodded, having already figured out what that condition was.

 Chris out-stretched her hand, which Miku took with the single arm that protruded out of her Valkyrie-esque dress. Their fingers intertwined, spinning together in a way that Chris had never before felt through her own volition; hope flared in her chest. Through all of this, the two only stared into each other’s eyes in a moment that felt strangely romantic–and quite uncomfortable for the others around them.
Maria coughed, pulling the two out of their trances. Both had been thinking about the other times in their lives when they had held hands with others–for Miku, these times were nostalgic memories of a departed loved one; but on the other hand, Chris felt nothing but confusion as an ingrained sense of disgust crept into her soul.
“If you’re doing this,” Finé’s voice escaped Kirika’s lips. The small girl produced the rest of the LiNKER–though only a very small amount remained in the glass jar. “Inject yourselves with the rest of this. It should, to some extent, lessen the impact of the Superb Song on your bodies.”
“Nah, I think we’ll be fine.” Chris shot a cocky smile. “After all, we’ve both been through hell before, we’ll climb back out again.”
Contrasting the confident girl who she stood beside, Miku’s expression was significantly darker. She then bowed, her body bending over at as close to a ninety-degree angle as she could. “I intend to take full responsibility for this mess; I hope you can all forgive me for creating this thing.”
“Like I said before, Miku,” Chris put her hand on Miku’s shoulder. “I don’t think anyone blames you for this.”
“Correct,” Kanade flashed a grin. “You’re just the victim of circumstance–again.”
A rare occurrence was then experienced by the two girls in front of the group of girls and Autoscorers as the looked at the blue-haired wielder of Ame no Habakiri: Tsubasa smiled, with a warm and genuinely happy expression. “Kohinata, Yukine... we’ll see you soon.”
“Awww, don’t go getting sappy on us now.” Chris turned her head away, hiding the tears of happiness that were beginning to swell up in her eyes. She had never had friends before–let alone anyone willing to care about her safety–yet now Chris was surrounded by people who genuinely cared for her; that, more than anything, was this entire situation feel like a dream to the Symphogear wielder.
“Chris...” Miku nodded after a moment of silence, exchanging smiles with Shirabe, Kirika, and Maria–whom she barely knew. “Let’s go.”
“Yeah... yeah! Right!” Chris pumped herself up.

 The two Symphogear wielders began to sing their swan song with overlapping voices as they blasted up into the air, aiming towards the black beast still recoiling from Carol’s last attack.

*Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal*
*Emustolronzen Finé el balal zizzl*
*Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal*
*Emustolronzen Finé el zizzl*

 As their song faded into silence, Chris and Miku stared at each other. Despite the blood beginning to creep out of their lips and eyes, both girls were smiling peacefully as the world around them seemed to be engulfed in a purple glow.

~ ~ ~

 Three months ago, before Miku had departed from Japan on her excursion to find any way to save Hibiki Tachibana from her crystalline prison, she sat on a futon in the small apartment that Chris Yukine lived in.
Up until a short while ago, tears had been running down her cheeks as she struggled to find a way to properly deal with the chaos that entangled around her heart. The sadness of losing her best friend–no, the girl who she truly loved more than anyone else–and the anger of having been used to murder her; those, above all, twisted the knife of despair into Miku’s already-heavily molested heart.
By her side, with her hand on Miku’s scarred back, was Chris. The two had been sitting in silence like this for far longer than the two could imagine–in reality, it was several hours, but it felt more like days to them.
“I know very well the pain you’re dealing with.” Chris whispered, her expression sombre yet masqueraded by a smile.
“Chris... someday...” Miku lifted her head, turning her eyes cracked red from tears to stare into those of the girl beside her. “I want to hear all about what you’ve been through.”
At the idea of sharing her horrible past, Chris couldn’t help but let out a short chuckle. “It’s not a happy story, but...” She nodded, her white hair bobbing as she did so. “Yeah. When you calm down a bit more, I’ll tell you about what’s happened to me...”
Miku noticed that Chris’s voice began to trail off, and she opened her mouth to ask why she was seemingly leaving off part of her thought. Before the words could escape her dry lips however, Chris sighed.
“I want to know more about you. And Hibiki, too.”
In response, Miku could not help but smile. “Okay, Chris. We’ll share our life stories once we find the happiness we’ve been looking for.”

~ ~ ~

 As Chris closed her eyes, her consciousness fading from the blowback caused by the Symphogears’ devastating song, she couldn’t help but let out a sad chuckle.

*Ironic,* Chris thought, *That we only managed to find what we were looking for now.*

 The final thing the two girls saw were each other’s smiles–the expressions of girls who, for the first times in their own eternities, were finally at a calm peace. Chris Yukine and Miku Kohinata had now, finally, found happiness.

#### GX Chapter 23

 “It’s over!” Kirika shouted.
The blonde-haired girl splayed out as she collapsed onto the ground of the floating spaceship-island known as Frontier–and around her, her various allies all took on similar relaxed positions.
“Maybe for you.” Tsubasa curtly addressed the girl as she leaned over Kirika.  In her arms was the unconscious body of Miku Kohinata; Maria, beside her, held Chris’s body in a similar position. “We still need to give these two medical attention.”
“No, I think they’re just sleeping, death.” Kirika narrowed her gaze. Even though the tone was that of the fifteen-year-old girl, Tsubasa could tell that it was Finé’s knowledge that was the source of that assessment.
“I have to agree.” Maria nodded as she gently placed Chris upon the ground. “Their breathing is... stable. They seem to be peaceful.”
Tilting her head in confusion, Tsubasa lifted Miku’s chest up higher and placed her ear in her direction. Seeing the awkward movements, Kirika couldn’t help but giggle; Maria, on the other hand, sighed as she looked on.
The Symphogear wielders were soon joined by Carol and her entourage of robotic bodyguards, who all teleported onto the island with the rest of their party of allies in tow.
“What the girl said is correct.” Carol announced, having somehow heard the conversation. “The two girls’ vitals are stable; it seems as though the power they used only affected their mental states.”
“Oh thank goodness.” Shiori cried as she breathed a sigh of relief. Shiori was just one of the many people who had been teleported by Carol and the Autoscorers–a shortcut, so that they needn’t climb down the towering ladder that leaned against the interior of Frontier’s monolithic command centre.
Shiori, Yumi, and Kuriyo all rushed over to the two sleeping girls, making sure that the alchemist’s assessment was correct. Meanwhile, Genjuro just nodded with his hands on his hips and a wide smile on his face. “Good work, everyone. I’m proud of you girls.”
“Yay.” Kanade, laying on her back, cheered in deadpan as she limply held a thumbs up into the air.
The orange-haired member of Zwei Wing then threw herself up into a sitting position as a whirring sound cut through the air. All of the wielders (and Carol) had deactivated their relics as they had landed, but Kanade still instinctively held up her fists as she searched for the source. Once she realized that the sound was only the approach of two helicopters, she lowered her hands and collapsed back to the ground.
“Oh yeah, that’s right...” Genjuro shook his head as he remembered something, then began to look around. After a few moments of only the noise of the helicopters’ blades whirring, Genjuro turned to Carol. “Where is my brother?”
Carol sighed. “Oh right, I forgot about him.” The small alchemist muttered before turning to Leiur. “Go fetch the government official.”
“Right away.” Leiur bowed, fading away before her words had fully exited her mouth.

 Everyone watched as the first helicopter landed upon the ground–this one warranted welcoming smiles from the group, as Elfnein and Tomosato promptly exited the craft a few moments later. Upon seeing Carol, however, Elfnein hid herself behind the tall woman beside her.
“It is fine, Elfnein; you needn’t worry about anything.” Carol pinched the bridge of her nose. Taking a seat on the ground (cross-legged), the alchemist breathed out in relief as she took a look up at the stars sparkling above her.
“I told you.” Carol overheard Tomosato whisper, but paid them no more mind.
“I think I finally understand what my papa wanted me to do.” Carol smiled with a quiet whisper that travelled up into the night sky.
Garie, Phara, and Micha all looked at each other in confusion, and shrugged.

 Leiur and Yatsuhiro Kazanari appeared before the group just as the second helicopter touched the artificial earth. “What’s going on?” Yatsuhiro immediately questioned his brother, who shook his head.
“Politics, I imagine. Shibata had apparently been trying to contact you.”
At the comment, the grey-haired man pulled out his cell phone and grunted in disgust; just as Genjuro had claimed, Yatsuhiro saw a flood of messages all with Shibata’s name attached to them. “I suppose I didn’t get service over there.”
“Yeah. That... no. My house technically doesn’t exist, anymore.” Carol shot out a short comment, but said nothing else as she kept looking straight upwards.
With those words still lingering in the air, the two Kazanari brothers gave each other confused looks as they then turned their attention to the side of the carrier, which began to open up with a clunk.
The snowy-haired rider of the helicopter climbed out of the vehicle with a wide grin on his face. Wearing a grey-brown suit the colour of stone, the man named Masahito Shibata began to march towards the group as he clapped happily. “Excellent work, girls. I saw the entire battle. Your techniques were very interesting.”
“That’s one word for it.” Maria muttered, but she was far-enough away from the newcomer that only the other Symphogear wielders nearest to her (namely Serena, Kirika, and Shirabe) heard her.
“Ah, Shibata. Apologies for not responding to your messages earlier.” Yatsuhiro walked forwards to meet the man half-way, greeting Shibata with a handshake as the two halted. “I was... in a unique situation, I suppose.”
“It’s alright, it’s alright.” Shibata chuckled. “I came here myself to give you–all of you–the good news.”
“The good news?” Yatsuhiro tilted his head in confusion. At the mention of ‘all of you’, Shibata had also attracted the attention of Genjuro, Tomosato, Fujisaka, and all of the Symphogear wielders around them as well.
“You girls did an excellent job today, even if there were some... hiccups, let’s say.” Shibata began to explain. Taking a quick pause, the man reached into the breast pocket of his blazer and produced a stick of strawberry-dipped Pocky, which he then stuck the end of into his mouth. “Coincidentally, a representative from the UN was visiting Japan, and happened to have a front-row seat for your girls’ fight against that... thing that showed up. He was quite impressed.”
“That’s... good to hear.” Tsubasa nodded. “But I am somewhat concerned by what you meant by ‘hiccups.’”
“So impressed in fact,” Shibata bit down on the Pocky, ripping off the tip, before pulling it out of his lips and pointing it at the blue-haired wielder of Ame no Habakiri. “That they got right down into writing up a proposition for you girls–and the United Nations.”
“Are you saying...” Yatsuhiro began to ask, narrowing his eyes as Shibata stuck the treat back into his mouth.
“Yup, and the report went all the way to the top and was approved almost immediately. If you girls are on board with it, Sector Two will be somewhat revived under the command of the United Nations; in essence, you will be part of an international association designed with protecting the world from threats like these.”

 The girls thought in silence for a moment, with only the sound of the cool wind blowing between the heads entering their ears.
“No thanks.” Kanade held up her hand, being the first one to come to a decision. “I want to help people, don’t get me wrong, but considering how poorly Tsubasa and I–and those FIS girls–were treated under your care, I don’t have high hopes for the UN.”
“I agree.” Tsubasa nodded, her arms crossed.
Maria’s face twisted in disgust. “If the choice for us is to remain in captivity or join another government organization, then I’d rather put my trust in the jailers.”
Serena opened her mouth to counter her sister’s thought, but stopped as Maria gave the girl a pointed look that told her that her answer would not be swayed.
“Actually...” Kirika squeaked out, but shut her lips. “No, Maria is right. I don’t trust the government, death!” Shirabe nodded at that.
Genjuro couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that all of the Symphogear wielders promptly shut down Shibata’s proposal. He could tell that the girls all actually did want to help people and saw the opportunity as a good one, but–even if Shibata had not been at fault for any of it–the way that they had all been chained up or thrown away by the government overpowered any rational desire to help. It was karmic retribution.

 Shibata frowned. “Genjuro, Tomosato, Fujitaka, Ogawa, and Itaba would have all been welcome to join as well; as would you, young magician.” The elderly government official’s eyes landed upon Carol at that last comment, but she completely ignored him.
Taking another bite of his Pocky, Shibata scratched his chin. “Truthfully, this is the exact outcome I expected. Once I explained how you had all been treated to the UN rep, even they said that they believed that you all would decline.”
Yatsuhiro raised an eyebrow. “So, then, Shibata... what’s the real reason you’re here?”
“Well, the United Nations really want your support, truthfully. They’re willing to do just about anything to get it.” Shibata smiled. “So, I threw my own idea into the mix.
“Instead of working under a government, I proposed you all form a government-funded, but wholly private, organization, one that will receive diplomatic immunity to engage in any... supernatural threats, let’s call them. Genjuro would be the head of this organization, of course; and he would not have to answer to anyone.”
“Is this why the SDF didn’t try to attack that beast?” Yatsuhiro raised his eyebrow at Shibata as he quietly asked this question. “They were a bit...”
“Yeah the government didn’t take too kindly to my suggestion of placing you guys outside the law. Once they heard you were on-sight already, they called off the back-up.” The other man’s response was a whisper, so that the girls behind him would not hear.
Yatsuhiro sighed. “I figured something was up.”

 Kanade slowly sat up, having made up her mind immediately. “Yeah, if Genjuro’s at the helm, I’ll do anything.”
“And I’ll go wherever Kanade does.” Tsubasa announced with a smile.

 Maria looked uncomfortable as she thought about the proposal. She did not know much about this Genjuro man, but he seemed fairly trustworthy. Likewise, she had spoken to Kanade before and trusted her decisions to some degree, so hearing the Gungnir wielder accept the proposal did help sway her.
“I think you girls should accept.” Finé said from Kirika’s body. “I don’t trust any human more than I do Genjuro Kazanari.”
“That honestly makes me want to join less.” Maria countered. “Contrary to that, I don’t trust you at all.”
“I didn’t say that expecting to sway your opinion, Maria Cadenzavna Eve; I know full-well that you girls dislike me. But hating me does not mean that one of you doesn’t trust me.”
“Let go of Kiri.” Shirabe spat, glaring into the one golden eye of Kirika.
“Uhh, Shirabe, you’re scaring me death.” Kirika flinched back under the small girl’s red gaze. “And, for the record, I hate Finé most of all, death.”
“But...” Kirika’s mouth moved, continuing the thought in the voice of Finé. “If not for me, Kirika Akatsuki would have broken a long time ago.”
“So, even if I hate her,” Kirika’s tone took over, continuing to speak to her friends as if she had been the one to speak that last sentence. “I know Finé does want to atone for what she put us through, death.”
Kirika then blushed and covered her face with her hands as she shuffled. Mumbling from behind her palms, the embarrassed girl then continued. “Besides, death. I have the memories of when they... Did stuff, death...”
Shirabe’s eyes darkened at that. “What are you making Kiri do, Finé?” Her hollow expression was like that of a doll, with her question coming out in an eerily cold tone.
Though she was not clad in her Symphogear at the moment, the air felt as if it was just about to be sliced through by Shul Shagana’s pink saw blades.
Meanwhile, Serena and Maria blushed as they understood what Kirika had meant. “Very well.” Maria whispered, turning her head towards Tsubasa. “We’ll join you as well.”

 “Yeah,” Yumi put her hands on her hips as she turned to Shibata. “I know Miku and Chris are out right now, but I’m going to have to decline on at least Miku’s behalf.”
Shiori stood strong beside her friend. “Every time something like this happens, Miku is always tormented and used by the enemy. She told us that she was taken over by Finé before, and then she was used by a mad scientist for experiments, and then she transformed into that black beast.”
“Miku needs peace–she’ll die if she keeps fighting.” Kuriyo agreed with her friends.
All three girls stood like a fence in-between the two sleeping behind them and the group of Symphogear wielders and government officials before them. They had no fear for the repercussions here; the resolve that Yumi, Shiori, and Kuriyo felt to keep their friend safe was like a flame that could not be extinguished.
“That said,” Yumi turned her head to look at Ogawa with a blush. “I wouldn’t mind still working with Ogawa...”
The man in question awkwardly chuckled at the comment, while Shiori and Kuriyo shot Yumi pointed glances as if they had personally been offended by her decision.
“What?” Yumi defended herself. “Miku absolutely shouldn’t do any more fighting, but I like working in intelligence.”
A weak grunt came from behind the three girls, and they all turned their heads simultaneously. Chris and Miku were both smiling through their blood-filled eyes as they looked up at the girls.
“Yeah. You said it, girls–I’m done getting into danger.” Miku’s lips widened into a shaky grin, but her voice was still quiet. “I want to be a normal girl again.”
“I also like being normal.” Chris muttered weakly. “But feel free to call on me if you need some extra firepower.”
“Well, I guess we did the right thing.” Kuriyo smiled. Then, turning to the rest of the people around them, she raised her voice to make the announcement. “They said they’re out.”

 “It’ll be a shame though.” Chris sighed. “I was starting to like the others’ company.”
“Oh you don’t have to worry about saying goodbyes.” Genjuro laughed as he approached them. “After all, it’d be best to keep all of you girls in one place when you’re not working.”
“Are you suggesting–” Yumi spun around to turn to the large man in the red shirt. “That everyone’s going to transfer to Lydian?”
“Well, if they were up to it, I’d definitely have Tsukuyomi, Akatsuki, and Serena start studying with you girls.”
“I haven’t been to school before, death.” Kirika smiled. “It could be fun.”
“It’s not.” Tsubasa shook her head. Holding up two fingers, she continued. “There are two types of people at schools: the ones who all want to be your friend for personal reasons, who don’t actually care about you; and the ones who find you intimidating but are still interested enough in you to watch from a distance.”
“Tsubasa.” Kanade curtly responded. “That’s probably because we were idols. And you’re not exactly the most sociable person to begin with.”
“But they might know who we are though.” Shirabe commented. “Mom wanted us to film a threat with Maria. They probably saw that.”
“Oh right, about that.” Shibata lowered his eyebrows. “Ogawa sent us a proposal, and it’ll help explain away your presence in that video... But, yeah, you’d still probably gain some sort of celebrity status from it, regardless.”
“Ah, if you mean that proposal,” Ogawa pointed to his twin-tailed assistant. “I wasn’t actually the one who came up with it.”
“What proposal, death?” Kirika asked, but Shibata only smiled in response.
“I do hope I can count on you three to help with it. Let’s call that the price for your freedom, alright?”
“I don’t like that smile you’re making.” Shirabe remarked in deadpan.
“But, if you’re not lying about letting us go free; yes, we’ll help.” Maria added.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ll help too.” Serena raised her hand with a smile.

 “Nice to see that everything’s working out well for them.” Carol uttered under her breath, her eyes still glued to the sparkling holes poking through the dark sky above.
“What’s the matter, master? Are you hungry? You look hungry.” Micha, with her large claws reached down to hug Carol, but stopped knowing that her sharp fingers would do nothing but harm the small girl.
“Micha, remind me later to do something about those hands of yours.” Carol looked at her creation. “And, no, I’m not hungry.”
“You do seem to have something on your mind though, if you do not mind me saying.” Phara looked at her master with kind eyes. “Is something troubling you, master?”
“It’s regarding your father, correct?” Leiur guessed.
“Ooh, good ol’ Daddy Dienheim.” Garie gushed. “He seems nice, from what memories of him you gave me.”
“He... is nice, yes. The nicest person in the world.” Carol looked down. “At least, my papa was like that to me.”
Phara, Micha, and Garie all exchanged confused looks, so Leiur began to explain. “Before we resurrected Shirabe Tsukuyomi with the Rod of Asclepius, our master attempted–obviously–to bring her father back to life.”
“But it didn’t work. So I think...” A small drip of water dropped down from Carol’s eyes, which were still looking down at the ground. Turning to look at her four beloved creations, the small alchemist had a wide grin that was only being tainted by the sad tears welling up in her eyes. “I think papa is alive!”
Carol couldn’t help but let her emotions overwhelm her. All this time she had been working to achieve her father’s goals, unaware that he might have survived the attempted execution from the start. Carol had spent the centuries of her life analysing humanity, but clearly she only did so as well as her father would have if he could have been among the species she studied.
“Aw... it’s okay, master!” Micha ruined the emotional moment as she misread the reason for Carol’s crying and pointed out something that the alchemist had overlooked. “There must be some reason why he never tried to contact you. Or look for you.”
Phara, Leiur, and Garie stiffened at that comment–none of them had expected her to say that, nor had they even considered it themselves. The ends of Carol’s lips slowly began to fall into a concerned look as she pondered the meaning. But she did not stop crying, and Carol’s small sobs continued for a few more moments.
“Papa... who exactly are you?” Carol eventually sent the question into the aether. All this time, she had assumed that she had known the man named Izak Malus Dienheim better than anyone else, yet it was that government official who caused her to rethink this idea.
Wiping her reddening eyes, Carol let out an angry sigh. “The Illuminati.”

 “Carol.” The small alchemist turned her head at the mention of her name.
Standing above her–having somehow avoided Carol’s detection–was Shirabe Tsukuyomi. The girl with long black hair flowing free smiled as she looked down at the golden-haired Carol, her ruby eyes sparkling as the light of the stars was mirrored within them.
“Shirabe Tsukuyomi.” Carol rubbed her eyes again, making sure they were completely dry. Once she was sure that her face was no longer a mess, she clumsily climbed to her feet.
In the eyes of Shirabe, Carol just now seemed to act like the child she appeared to be.
“I wanted to thank you, Carol. For bringing me back to life.”
Carol pushed out her chest as a confident glint filled her eye. “No need to thank me, human. After all, I am Carol Malus Dienheim, the murderer of mir...” She was quickly interrupted as Shirabe grabbed the alchemist’s hand out of the air.
“And... I wanted to thank you too, for being my friend.”
“You...” The sweet smile on Shirabe’s face, coupled with the words and the crushing confusion placed upon her due to the mysteries surrounding her father, broke Carol. Her eyes welled up again, and she instinctively threw her arms around Shirabe.
“Wow. This is certainly a new side of master.” Garie snickered from behind her master.
“I suppose all this time, she was really just looking for someone to connect with.” Phara smiled. “Master... really is just a young girl at heart.”
“No, master is master.” Micha seemingly corrected. “Master’s kind and strong and really cool.”
“I don’t disagree with anything that you all have said...” Leiur began to say. “That said, we should consider stepping in now before that blonde-haired girl gets the chance to.”
Glaring at Shirabe’s back was a jealous Kirika, who kept muttering her catchphrase, “Death,” under her breath as she glared at Carol embracing her best friend.
It was a scene that Garie could not help but take advantage of. “Oh, so your relationship is like that, is it girl?” She chuckled, skating up to Kirika with a playful grin on her face. “I had you pegged as sisters, rather than lovers.”
“Shirabe is...” Kirika stopped as her face flushed red. “Shirabe is Shirabe! It doesn’t matter what our relationship is, death!”
“I think you’d get along great with Micha.” Garie exhaled a chilly breath as her playful expression faded more into one of annoyance.
“You shouldn’t be so down, young one.” Phara appeared on the opposite side of Kirika, trailing the girl’s face with her finger. This contact caused Kirika to stiffen in shock and disgust, but she did not move. “Or, are you afraid that our master will steal your friend away from you.”
“That’s... uh...” Kirika stammered, distracted by the Autoscorer’s cool finger dancing along her skin. “I’m... uhh...”
“Just join them.” Garie chuckled, pushing Kirika from the back.
The wielder of Igalima let out a yelp as she was launched into the two girls in front of her, screaming out a warning as her feet fumbled to regain balance and keep herself from moving forwards–only to completely fail and tackle Shirabe and Carol to the ground.
Carol, however, just glared up at the giggling Garie behind the two girls on top of her. But, as Shirabe stood up and both she and Kirika offered Carol their hands, the alchemist’s expression softened. “Perhaps, I’ve been going about this the wrong way.” She sighed, taking their hands.
With the hands of Kirika Akatsuki and Shirabe Tsukuyomi swallowing her own, much smaller, one, Carol took her first literal step into the new life she planned to live going forwards. An alchemist–but not one who shut herself away from the world.
“‘See the world and all of the natural miracles that it has to offer!’ All this time, I’d taken his words as those of an alchemist speaking to his pupil.” Carol recalled. “But I’d forgotten that, first and foremost, those words came from my papa.”

 Shibata walked into the middle of the crowd that was spread out wide on the stony platform. “So I take it this is official, then? We’ve got most of you on board with this plan?”
“Yeah, I guess you do.” Kanade replied.
“Good.” Pulling out another stick of Pocky from his blazer, Shibata held it up into the air. “Now, I hand command of this organization to you, Genjuro Kazanari. The Squad of Nexus Guardians–or SONG for short; that’s what we came up with.”
“Nexus Guardians?” Tsubasa asked.
“It was something we pulled from Dr. Sakurai’s reports. She described the Symphogears as ‘weapons to protect the nexus that connects humanity and the Noise’ in her initial pitch to get funding for Sector Two.”
“Politicians really like their poetry.” Kirika quietly muttered in Finé’s voice.
“I’d still like an explanation as to what happened to Kiri.” Shirabe reminded the priestess in a response of equal volume.
“SONG... I like it.” Genjuro smiled. “It’s fitting, considering the Symphogears’ powers.”
“I agree.” Yatsuhiro nodded.
“Now, to those of you who want to join SONG–we will need you to sign some contracts basically to acknowledge you as official members, but we could do this at a later date.” Shibata shook his head. “Now, though, I think it’s about time I head to the first of many meetings about... this.” The man gestured back towards the destructive path that Batara Kala had carved through the city.
Luckily, Miku and Chris had fallen back asleep, so the former did not have any chance to feel guilty for being technically responsible for the destruction.
“Yeah, I guess we... probably could have handled it a bit better.” Kanade admitted, being the only one still sitting on the ground.
“Considering your circumstances, I can’t blame you at all. My superiors might differ, though.” Shibata chewed down the end of his Pocky as he furrowed his brow. “Either way, I’m basically just locked in meetings as a punishment for this proposal, I think. I shouldn’t even be put in charge of these kinds of things.”
“I apologize for that.” Yatsuhiro gave him an apologetic smile. “But I thank you for your work.”
“Yeah, once I’m done, we’ve got to go hit a bar or something, Yatsuhiro. It’s been a hard few months.”
His associate chuckled. “Sure, Masahito. We’ll have to work something out.”

 From a distance, Serena looked at the two laughing men. “I wonder what alcohol’s like.”
“Not happening.” Maria immediately shot down the idea brewing in her mind. “Besides, you’re not old enough.”
“Oh come on, sis. I’m technically nineteen. Next year–”
“You’re thirteen, though.”
“Fifteen, actually.” Serena showed off her new body. “See, I had Carol make me this older body for me.”
“I was hoping for a bit more of an explanation than that.” Maria sighed, but her expression was soft. With a small smile and sad eyes, she looked straight at her young sister. “I missed you so much, Serena.”
“I’m glad to see you again, too, Maria.”
The two sisters embraced in a silent hug. Serena pressed her head up against Maria’s shoulder, trying to see over, but was too short to do so. Maria didn’t mind though; she chuckled inwardly as her sister comically shuffled about.
“But I need to know...” Maria eventually whispered. “The cost of being brought back from the dead.”
“Oh...” Serena felt her blood run cold. “You realized it, huh?”
“From the second you first awoke.”
Serena pushed herself away from Maria and looked up at her sister. No longer was she wearing a peaceful expression, but instead one of complete neutrality; no emotion shone behind her eyes.
“The Rod of Asclepius... when it revives someone from the dead, it can’t recreate the same electrical currents in the brain.” Serena explained.
“Yes, I could tell that you were faking your expressions. You never were much of an actress, Serena.”
Serena shuffled. “It’s not so much that I don’t feel emotion any more, rather it’s just... difficult to. I’m genuinely happy to see you again, but it’s more like... I imagine the emotion I feel is as strong as you would feel if I told you I bought you a chocolate bar.”
“So, does that mean...” Maria’s eyes avoided Serena’s empty eyes, instead wandering over to look at her two friends crowding around the small alchemist and her four Autoscorers.
“Shirabe’s likely the same, yes. But we should be fine. When I asked Carol about it, she speculated that our brains just needed to develop the emotions again with time.”
“Serena, I’m...”
“It’s fine Maria. I’m still your sister. Even if I can’t express myself properly right now, I’ll always love you just as much as I always have.” Light returning to Serena’s eyes, she threw herself into Maria again. “You’re my precious sister. This time, I won’t go dying on you.”
“I hope not.” Maria patted her sister’s head. “I’ll be the one to protect you, now.”
“No.” Serena pushed her face into Maria’s skin. “We’ll protect each other.”

 Shibata began making his way to the helicopter, the blades of which began to spin again at a high speed. As the mechanical roar cut through the air once more, he shouted to Genjuro. “Good luck with SONG, everyone. I’m looking forward to the future of our planet.”
Climbing in to the helicopter, Shibata waved to the Kazanari brothers before closing the door of the vehicle. The two brothers simply smiled, with their arms crossed, watching happily as the helicopter lifted up off the ground.

. . .

 The man shrouded in darkness stood atop a crooked skyscraper, with a young girl by his side. His eyes tracked the helicopter that had just departed Frontier, an unimpressed look burning behind his pupils.
“Should I follow them, master?” The girl asked.
A late teenager, the girl was dressed in a black bodysuit that accentuated the curves of her body. Though some might take this to be an attempt to sexually appease the man she called her ‘master,’ the reality was quite different: she was his servant, forced to follow any order that he gave her; and that included wearing this provocative outfit.
The metallic cuffs that encircled the girl’s wrists and ankles–her hands and feet both completely bare, yet marked with many scars–looked tight, evident by the red skin lining the suffocating bands. A similar band wrapped around her neck, though this one was somewhat looser so that she could breathe.
Upon this entirely-black ensemble, the only sign of colour dotting this girl’s torso was the small golden eye carved into the metallic neck brace, which was surrounded by a pyramid. This eye image looked up from its place around the girl’s neck, staring at the man who stood beside the girl sitting in a respective crouch.
“No. Leave them be.” The man ordered, and his servant stiffened at the sound of his powerful voice. “I do not believe those girls to be strong. Should they attempt to interrupt us, dealing with them would be no more difficult than swatting a fly.”
The girl nodded. “Understood, master.”
The man scratched his chin. “However.” He paused, taking in a deep breath as he looked at Frontier. “That girl might be someone to keep an eye on.”
“Master?”
“Despite your earlier failings in attempting to control that black beast,” The man looked down at the girl by his side. “Subject RHX-Stoker, you are to watch over the one claiming to be an alchemist–Carol Malus Dienheim.”
Though she nodded, the girl did not move the rest of her body. As she stilled her head and looked down to the ground, the disgusted expression that she had been wearing this whole time returned to her face as she spat out a response. “Understood, master.”
“And one other thing, Subject RHX-Stoker...” In a flash, faster than the girl could even understand what had happened, the girl found herself falling over as pain filled her cheek. As she landed sideways on the ground, the girl realized that the man she was forced to submit to had quickly kicked her in the face.
“One more failure like earlier, and you will suffer even greater pain than this.” The man’s eyes seemed to glow like pale flames within the dark of the night as he glared down at the girl clutching her face, trying her best not to let the blood welling up in her mouth spew from her lips. “I am sure you would not like to follow in the footsteps of Subject RHX-Greifswald and Subject RHX-d’Espie.”
“Under...stood...” She mumbled after swallowing the red bile that had begun to paint her teeth. “I... will do my best to live up to your expectations, master.”
“Good. I expect great results from you,” The man cracked a cruel smile before speaking the real name of the girl whose identity he had molested over a decade of experimentation and torture. “Millaarc Cranstoun.”
Millaarc could do nothing but shudder at the use of her real name. The fact that he had forced her to throw it away, and perverted any of the positive memories she had associated with the girl her parents called ‘Milly’ forced shivers down Millaarc’s spine as the man’s cruel voice licked the inside of her ears.
“Go, now.”

 The man had already lost interest in the girl before she had even flown off with the large bat wings that protruded from her back. Instead, his eyes moved back to the floating island that hung next to the abominable tower known as Kadingir.
“Truly pathetic, those Symphogear wielders. They would do nothing but taint my Garden of Eden.” The man shook his head as he spoke words of pure disgust. “Even she has failed to live up to the low bar I had held down for her.”

#### GX Chapter 24

 It had been a week since the defeat of Batara Kala. The older men had most of their time taken up with the paperwork required to found SONG, so it took a few more days than preferred to get Shirabe, Kirika, and Serena all ready to attend Lydian Private Music Academy.
Those three girls all stood now in front of the school, their eyes wide in confusion.
“Is this what a school’s normally like, dess?” Kirika whispered to Shirabe, who shrugged in response.
“Guess you guys got lucky.” Chris smiled as she waltzed up behind the three girls. Though she wore a casual expression, her arm was stiff as she literally dragged Miku behind her. “They decided to make today the school festival, since it apparently couldn’t be held in the spring like they had wanted to.”
“Is that why you dragged me here today?” Miku wore a scowl. She had dark rings under her red eyes and her skin was noticeably pale, as if she was sick. Partnered with her long black hair hanging down freely and messily, it was clear that Miku Kohinata had had no intention of leaving her room until Chris forced otherwise.
Although, Chris also had dark rings under her own eyes.
“Well, yeah. I thought you’d enjoy having some fun today...” Chris looked away from Miku as she said that, something which the three younger girls in front of her noticed as something suspicious. Trying to cover her tracks, Chris stammered out an addendum: “B-besides, what else are you going to do? Stay in your room forever?”
When Chris met the gazes of a glaring Shirabe and Kirika–who both knew that there was another reason–she gave up with a deep, defeated sigh.
“Yumi, Shiori, and Kuriyo are performing in the singing competition, and they begged me to drag you to it.”
“Do you think we could join it?” Serena turned to her two friends. “Considering how much we sing already, it’d be a good way to introduce ourselves to our future classmates.”
“You’re a genius, Serena!” Kirika spun on her heel before sticking her hand out, the thumb poking the sky.
“What would you even sing, Kiri?” Shirabe shoved a nail into Kirika by asking that question, and her friend deflated as she tried to think of an answer.
Miku groaned. “Don’t you know a Zwei Wing song or something?”
“Oh! Yeah!” Kirika pumped her fist. “Shirabe, let’s do a duet!”
At the suggestion, Serena shuffled–she was somewhat insulted at being left out. When Chris saw this ever-so-slight gesture, she gave the brown-haired girl a chuckle. “Honestly, you’d probably have a better chance of winning if you entered alone.”
“Hey, Chris! That’s mean, death!” Kirika puffed out her cheeks like a squirrel as she narrowed a glare at Chris, an act that only made Serena, Shirabe, and the white-haired victim of said look laugh.
“So when is this competition thing?” Miku grunted, her arms crossed. “Every time I leave the house, something bad seems to happen to me. So I’d rather not be out too long.”
“Isn’t that a bit depressing, though?” Serena asked with her eyes wide. “Wouldn’t it be better to seize the time we have now before something bad happens again?”
“You say that like I’m going to cause another problem.” Miku spat.
“Oh! N-no, I apologize. I meant...” Serena stuttered as she tried to figure out the right way to phrase her thought. “They had to have founded SONG for a reason, right? So they’re aware of something going on.”
“I don’t want to think about that right now, death!” Kirika sighed. “We’re at a festival! I don’t know what these kinds of things have, but I smell a lot of tasty food we can eat!”
“Kiri, you’ll get fat if you eat too much.” Shirabe pointed out.
“Y-yeah... then I’ll pace myself and only eat what smells really delicious!”
“The competition’s in a couple of hours.” Chris put her one free hand on her hip while the other continued to grip Miku’s sole arm with an intense grip. “Let’s see what one of these festivals has to offer!”
Kirika raised her hand into the sky with a shout, alerting those nearby to the presence of a strange girl dressed in the Lydian Private Music Academy uniform. As she garnered some attention from this act, Shirabe began to notice some people beginning to whisper to others.
“Kiri, I think it would be best not to create a scene.” Shirabe pointed out, speculating that the people were whispering about two of the terrorists who had appeared in a video and declared war on the world. Granted, they had decided to wear glasses with non-prescription lenses which, when combined with Kirika’s longer hair and Shirabe no longer wearing her own in twintails, was intended to hide their identity somewhat; clearly, though, their ‘disguises’ did not work as they had hoped.
Of course, the fact that they were with Miku Kohinata–who had disappeared from school before the year began and now returned, dressed in baggy clothing and missing an arm–likely did not help their cause, either.
When Shirabe turned her gaze back to Kirika, she instead found empty air. In a panic, she scoured the crowd, only to find that she had dragged Serena to a stand selling takoyaki.
“I think she teleported.” Chris said, dumbstruck. “I didn’t even see her move.”
“Nah, she ran right after she shouted.” Miku pointed out. Then, turning to Chris, she glared. “I’ll stick around for the girls’ performance, so please let go of my arm. I’d rather not lose that one, too.”
“Oh, yeah, right. Sorry.” Chris timidly let go of Miku’s flesh, revealing dark red marks around where Chris’s hand had been locked tight.
“Looks painful.” Shirabe noted in complete deadpan.
“I don’t even feel it.” Miku sighed. “Pain in general, actually.”
Chris coughed. “Stop trying to make everything sad. You need to liven up, Miku.”
“Yeah... you’re right, Chris.” Miku slowly, and sadly, smiled. “I’m sorry.”
“You better be.” Chris reflected a confident grin in return.

 Having acquired a serving of takoyaki, Kirika dragged Serena to another stand, this one selling a variety of masks that looked custom-made by the students peddling them.
When Serena saw one of the masks hanging up on the wall, she forced Kirika to stop–simply by halting her momentum by putting all of her weight down upon her feet. In doing so, Kirika yelped, almost dropping the ball of fried octopus she was about to drop into her gullet.
“Look, Kirika.” Serena pointed. “Isn’t that...?”
Kirika grinned when she saw the object that Serena was pointing at. “We have got to buy that, death.”

. . .

 “Where do you think those two headed off to?” Chris sighed as she wandered the halls of Lydian, Miku and Shirabe in tow.
“Knowing Kiri...” Shirabe tapped her chin. “The weirdest place.”
Chris looked up as she hummed, trying to think about what that could mean. “I think one of the first-year classes is doing a haunted house.”
“There’s always got to be one, right?” Miku smirked, though her comment was lost on the other two girls–neither of whom had ever attended a school before.
“I think the class next to mine was doing a fortune telling... café... thing.” Chris scratched her chin. “I don’t actually know what they were doing, but I saw a couple of crystal balls and grills being brought in yesterday.”
“Kiri will be there.” Shirabe nodded.
“Yeah, I’m not going that way.” Chris shut down the girl’s pleading gaze to lead the way with a curt huff. “I don’t want to have to deal with anyone from my class today.”
“Because you’re skipping out on having to participate?” Miku guessed with a sinister look in her eye.
“I don’t want to hear it from someone who has skipped every day since the start of the year.” Chris shot back, but both she and the target of her cry wore smiles just as Shirabe did.
“I think I’d like to be normal, too.” Shirabe muttered under her breath, thinking of Kirika’s optimistic smile.
The comment shocked Miku and Chris into silence for a moment, broken only as the latter let out a begrudging sigh.
“Alright, fine, I’ll take you to them. But at the first sign of any of my classmates, I’m running off.”

 Chris led the two girls up to the third-year classrooms, where the apparent hybrid fortune telling-restaurant was set up. As the three weaved their way through crowds–both an easy and difficult task depending on the people around, as some stepped aside upon seeing Miku’s one arm while others curiously stood in their way.

 The three girls continued their slow trek through the crowded hallways, mostly in silence. Shirabe kept her eyes out, looking for signs of Kirika or Serena, but only a flood of unfamiliar faces filled every millimetre of her vision. Eventually, as the group neared their destination, Miku felt the need to ask. “Chris, what is your class doing, anyway?”
“That’s...”
“Chris! There you are!”
Chris’s blood froze as the familiar, cheerful voice of a classmate cried out for her. Her expression went from comfortable with her situation to eagerly searching for an escape in the blink of an eye as her shoulders tensed up.
Miku and Shirabe, on the other hand, only wore confused looks as they were hastily approached by a girl with dark green–almost black–hair that was mostly hidden just as the rest of her body was.
She wore, from head-to-toe, a colourful orange costume: a clownfish.
“Godai... I told you, I’m not wearing one of those costumes.” Chris angrily crossed her arms.
“And I told you to call me Yuki!” The clownfish–Yuki Godai–shouted in response. “Besides, we need more people to help us anyway! We’re super busy!”
“Then why are you here and not helping the others?”
“Otome asked me to get more supplies, so I was on my way there when I ran into you!”
“Somehow...” As Chris and Yuki continued arguing about whether the former would actually help her classmates, Shirabe leaned in towards Miku and whispered. “I have even more questions now.”
“An aquarium?” Miku guessed, eyeing the cold black eyes of the clownfish costume that stared straight-ahead as Yuki’s head flailed about in goofy anger.
“Or they flooded their room?” Shirabe had her own strange idea, which Miku shot down with a quick shake of her head.
Only now did Yuki take notice of the two girls standing awkwardly next to Chris. She looked Shirabe and Miku both up and down, her gaze lingering on the spot where Miku’s left arm would be for just slightly longer than the rest of their bodies. “Are you guys Chris’s friends?”
“I’m Shirabe Tsukuyomi. I was supposed to transfer in to the school today.” The smaller girl bowed politely, though her tone was somewhat apathetic as if distracted.
“Miku Kohinata.” The third member of Chris’s party introduced herself with only her name; no pleasantries, no bow, nor even a smile.
Yuki turned back to Chris. “Oh, I see! I didn’t know you had so many friends!” The girl nodded as she confidently smiled, believing that what she had just said was something very important to the conversation.
As steam escaped Chris’s ears as she frowned in annoyance, Yuki then continued. “So you were bringing some of your friends to come see what we were up to, right? Come on, then! I’ll show you guys the way.”
“Don’t you have supplies to get?” Chris raised her eyebrow.
“Oh right.” Yuki deflated, her eyes making it clear that she had forgotten about the task that brought her to Chris in the first place. “Okay, Chris. When I get back, I’ll help you give your friends the king’s treatment.”
“King’s treatment?” Miku and Shirabe both whispered, cocking their heads in unison as they tried to piece together the puzzle that was the event that Chris was skipping out on participating in.
“I’ll see you there, Chris!” Yuki began to jog in place as she spoke, only to dash off–running, literally, right through a group of people crowding around in the hallway. Shirabe and Miku were left with dumbfounded expressions as they found themselves with even more questions than before.
Chris instead scowled. “We’re not going to my class.”
Shirabe leaned in with a determined look in her eyes. “I want to see what your class is doing.”
“I have to admit,” Miku nodded. “I’m also curious.”
“No way. We have to find those other two, first.” Chris shook her finger.
“I think Kiri will be there.” Shirabe countered. “She likes fish.”
“She likes fish.” Chris repeated the words with a grunt. Pouting out her cheeks, Chris looked away in anger. “Fine, but you’re going without me, then.”
The next thing Chris felt were the three cool hands of Shirabe and Miku both grabbing onto her arms as they dragged her towards the third-year classrooms.

. . .

 “A fishy...”
“...sushi bar...”
“...and game room?”
Shirabe and Miku stared in confusion at the scene laid out before them. What Yuki had said about their class being busy wasn’t entirely true–sure, a lot of people were crowded in the room, but it seemed to be because of the blushing mermaid dressed in only a bikini top and a fake fish tail sitting at the head of the room. None of the tables set up had anyone sitting at them, and all of the games were surrounded by their annoyed, fish-costumed tenders who glared at the boys ogling their classmate.
“I can’t believe they talked me into doing this.” The mermaid–Komichi Ayano–had a bright red face, and she looked away from her crowd of followers with an embarrassed look in her eyes. The scene only made the guys around her cheer comments about how cute she was.
“Oh.” Shirabe and Miku said simultaneously, slowly sliding the door closed. As they did, the two girls’ eyes briefly locked with Komichi’s, and the mermaid’s lips moved as if to ask for help–a silent plea that was only ignored.
“Now can you see why I didn’t want to come?” Chris sighed. “Come on, let’s go to the next room.”
“Why did your class decide...” Miku began to ask, only to be interrupted by Chris.
“Apparently the original idea was to hold the festival on Marine Day, but it had to be postponed a week for some reason.” Chris explained, quickly walking away.

 As the three girls reached the next classroom, a horrible stench filled their nostrils. Chris and Shirabe couldn’t help but crumple up their faces at the smell, though Miku continued forwards with an unimpressed look, barely even realizing it was assailing her.
“On second thought, maybe Kiri won’t be here.” Shirabe had her fingers pinching her nose closed, so her voice came out nasally.
“We came this far, though. I want to see what this thing is about, anyway.” Miku shrugged, putting her hand on the classroom door.
Chris reached out with a scowl, placing her hand atop Miku’s as she looked into her eyes. “If you open that door, all you’re going to do is let that smell escape into the rest of the school.”
“Come on,” Miku rolled her eyes. “It’s not that bad.”
“It smells like... rotten milk and eggs spilled inside of a soiled diaper that a skunk took a shit on.” Chris glared at her friend. “Don’t open it.”
Miku did not need to open it, as the next moment the door slid open–seemingly on its own, as no one stood on the other side. Chris flinched, cold sweat beading down her forehead.
“A ghost!?” She cried out in a panic, which Miku flashed a playful smile at.
“No.” Shirabe said, confused. “Robots?”

 Standing in the classroom were only a handful of figures–but all of them were very familiar to the three girls.
“What are you doing here?” Chris shouted, pointing at Carol’s four Autoscorers: Phara Suyūf, Leiur Darāhim, Garie Tūmān, and Micha Jawkān.
The four Autoscorers stood at the head of the classroom, in-between two large tables. At one, Kirika and Serena sat across from Elfnein, while the other was taken up by a black tent that sat upon the wooden surface.
“Partaking in the tradition of a Japanese school festival.” Phara answered Chris’s question nonchalantly.
“Hello again!” Micha waved her shining white hand above her head. No longer did she have giant claws extending from her arms, something which surprised the three girls standing, confused, in the doorway–though what appeared to be gloves resembling them hung from her hips.
“Shirabe! Their food is really good!” Kirika waved as she saw her friend enter the room–completely oblivious to the overpowering stink filling the air. Beside her, Serena scratched her nose as she gave the new girls a small wave.
“Ah!” Elfnein almost fell over as she turned around, but was caught by Leiur and propped back up. She wore a Lydian Private Music Academy uniform instead of the black and purple robe and bikini bottom that she had worn previously; likewise, Garie and Micha wore them as well.
“Don’t tell me...” Miku shook her head as she took in the sight. “Did you transfer to this school, too?”
“Ma...” Elfnein squeaked, then pumped her fists. “Carol told me that I needed to become stronger, so I joined two days ago.”
“And our great master,” Garie said, her words oozing sarcasm as she rolled her eyes. “Told us to keep an eye on her.”
Miku turned her gaze towards the other two Autoscorers, who still wore their original green and gold ensembles. “And you wanted to see how they were doing.” She assumed correctly.
“Wait! Hold on!” Chris threw her hands up. “First off, if you’ve been attending school for two days, how come I haven’t seen you at all? And second: why are you in the third-year wing?”
Elfnein tilted her head. “I don’t know.”
Chris slapped her own face at that answer, leaving a bright red mark as the slap of skin colliding echoed through the classroom.

 “What are you doing?” As she questioned the Autoscorers and Elfnein, Shirabe took a seat next to Kirika, who was surrounded both by a plethora of treats that she had purchased from the stalls outside, a blue balloon with the image of an octopus drawn on it, and several plates with only crumbs left upon them.
“Oh, right!” Elfnein stood up. Taking in a deep breath to calm herself, Elfnein then pumped her fists up in front of her. “W-welcome to the Château de Truffles! Do you want trick or treat...?”
“I assume trick means...” Miku, still standing beside Chris at the door, narrowed her eyes as she looked at the black tent on the side opposite the room to Kirika, Serena, and Shirabe.
“Choose trick!” Kirika shouted, a wide grin on her face. Serena wore a small smile of her own.
“Like hell I’m choosing trick!” Chris shouted, throwing her hands up into the air. “I’m out of here.”
“I’ll take a trick.” Miku replied, completely ignoring–and surprising–Chris.
“Right this way, then.” Garie hissed. She smiled, as if she were a snake watching her prey close in, as she pulled back the entry to the black abode. “Watch your step, victim~”
Miku took a deep breath to calm her nerves. The totally dark room that she was about to enter drew up memories of when she had been engulfed in the shadows of Batara Kala. As her heartbeat steadied during her exhale, she climbed in to the small tent...

 ...and suddenly, Miku found herself crawling upon a red rug that stretched out into a realm of infinity. “I should have expected this.” She muttered, climbing to her feet.
As Miku took a step forwards, a plume of fire erupted from the ground before her. In a deep–albeit still feminine–voice, the flames spoke to her. “Who dares enter my dom...”
The voice cut itself off, and the fire dispersed. “Oh it’s you.” Carol said, revealing her presence in the spot where the flames had appeared from. Like Elfnein and two of her Autoscorers, the small alchemist was clad in the Lydian uniform, though Carol still wore her pointed black witch hat adorned with red cloth.
“You’re attending Lydian, too?” Miku was surprised to see the clothing that Carol was wearing, but the question only earned a sigh in response.
“That government official,” Carol grumbled, recalling the face of Yatsuhiro Kazanari. “Said that leaving me to my own devices could prove to be a hindrance to humanity, and forcibly enrolled me in your modern-day school.”
“So what was this ‘trick’ I was supposed to get?” Miku switched the topic, sensing the disdain in Carol’s voice–it was as if the small girl was only barely holding herself back from tearing apart that man with her bare hands.
Carol shook her head. “You want to do this thing?” With a sigh, she transformed back into a pillar of flames.
“For wandering into my sheltered domain, you, mortal, will face terrible consequences.” The rapturous voice that Carol put on screamed at her from every direction.
Miku then watched as the flaming pillar split into three smaller ones, and they dispersed around the girl watching this presentation. As a triangle of flames walled her in, the booming voice of Carol returned. “Walk into one wall of these flames, mortal, for they shall decide your fate. You need not worry for your safety–the flames are merely illusions hiding the true horrors you shall face.”
The three fiery walls surrounding Miku then began to change colour. One remained the same orange colour that Carol’s original pillar had originally appeared as, while the other two became a bright blue and a snowy white colour, respectively. Shrugging, Miku decided to take her chances and stepped into the flames that mimicked the colour of snow.
“Excellent decision, fool.” Carol announced.
Miku felt a strange sensation overcome her body–it was as if she were a flower being gently watered by a kind gardener, yet her clothing remained completely dry.

 In the next moment, Miku found herself standing again at the doorway of the classroom. “What...?”
“Welcome back.” Serena’s voice supplied no answer to Miku’s question.
“I don’t get it. What was the trick?” Miku kept her eyes looking down at her body in confusion, still checking to make sure she had not actually been sprayed with water.
When she looked up, she saw Chris, Serena, and Shirabe all huddled in the corner of the room, their faces pale as they struggled to hold down the bile rising up their throats.
“Oh, you’re stinky too, death!” Kirika flashed Miku a huge grin as she took a bite of a chocolate cupcake she held delicately between her fingers. Her nose was covered with the green icing that spiralled up off the top of the pastry, but Kirika was oblivious to the fact even after pulling away from the food.
“So that’s what that was.” Miku sighed.
Carol slowly marched out of the black tent that was on the table, hovering in mid-air as she stepped off the table before descending as if on an elevator. “Yes. I was instructed by Elfnein not to do anything dangerous, so these ‘tricks’ are only minor inconveniences. It will fade in time, I assure you.”
“Well that explains the smell.” Chris glared from her position in the corner, eyeing the small alchemist with disgust.
“I...” Elfnein bowed in apology. “I’m sorry! I told her to make the ‘tricks’ as annoying–but harmless–as possible.”
Serena scratched one arm. “The smell is a better option than what I got.” She gave Miku a smile. “My body has not stopped itching since.”
“The other option,” Carol crossed her arms. “Was being showered in pies. Apparently that is a common prank or something?”
“Yeah! I saw it in a manga!” Micha raised her hand, a wide smile on her face. “A clown threw a pie into a man’s face!”
“Right...” Both Miku and Carol grunted at the same time, similarly unsure of how to go about interacting with Micha’s enthusiasm.

 “Oh yeah!” Kirika suddenly shouted, with cupcake still in her mouth.
“Kiri–chew first, talk later.” Shirabe ordered, and Kirika responded by swallowing the rest of the food.
“We found this really cool mask!” Kirika smiled, reaching down into her lap.
What she held up afterwards heavily resembling Chris’s face as a plastic mask. She was stylized in a comical fashion, with eyes resembling the character for ‘no’ (の) and a bouncy mouth that resembled the number three.
“What the hell is that!?”
Seeing the crude imitation of herself, Chris rushed forwards in surprise. She threw herself over the table, but Kirika held the mask out of her reach. It did not stop Chris from trying her best to stretch her hand out towards the object just barely outside of her reach. In response, Kirika just continued leaning backwards, a cruelly confident smile on her face.
“Where did you get that?” Shirabe asked, looking at the mask from behind.
“One of the stalls outside were selling it.” Serena began to explain. “The girl we bought it from said it was supposed to be ‘that superhero from the news.’”
At that, Chris flew back onto her feet, giving up on her endeavour. “I forgot the news filmed that fight.” She shuffled her hair in frustration. “That explains why people have been whispering about me behind my back.”
“Congratulations, Chris.” Miku snickered. “You’re a celebrity, now.”
Chris blushed at that comment, while Kirika just chuckled at her victory.

. . .

 Some time later, long after the effects of Carol’s tricks had faded, the group of girls found themselves surrounded by what seemed to be everyone present at the festival as they crowded into the amphitheatre. Though Chris had been under the impression that Yumi and her friends would be singing first, in actuality the singing competition had reached its climax, and they were some of the last to perform.
Chris, Miku, Serena, Shirabe, and Kirika were joined by Carol, Garie, Micha, and Elfnein; Leiur and Phara had been told to leave so that they would draw less attention. The nine girls sat in a row at the back of the venue, taking up what had been the remainder of the empty seats.
“Like we announced earlier when the show began, the winners of this competition will be able to ask the student council for any one wish to be granted–within reason of course.” The girl hosting the event announced into the microphone clasped within one hand. She then spun around, sticking the device into the face of the participant who stood beside her.
Yumi was dressed in a cosplay of an anime character, with Shiori and Kuriyo flanking her dressed in their own goofy costumes. Shiori seemed to be a catgirl police officer, while Kuriyo wore a praying mantis costume. It was Yumi who stood in the front, with the microphone shoved up to her mouth.
“We want an anime club! A place to discuss anime and sing the songs from them!”
This earned a few laughs from the crowd. One person, whose face was lost in the sea of the audience, shouted out to Yumi. “Of course you do!”
“What?” Yumi acted offended. “You don’t like to check out anime sometimes?”
“So what are you singing today?” The announcer questioned Yumi.
“‘Lightning Detective Ban is at the Scene!’”
The announcer rushed out of the way as the instrumental began to play over the speakers.

*Kimi kara todoita hyakutō-ban kinkyū shutsudō*
*Mune ni ereki hashirinukete shibireru ze!*

*Ikaku ni todomaranai (Chaku burasutā!!)*
*Honboshi nigasanai (Sherifu wappā!!)*
*Aribai kuzusu deka no chokkan shokatsu wa chikyū*

*Yume ga kieta machi kado ni*
*Ai ga kieta kurayami ni*
*Hisomu aku wo taosu tame genchaku!*
*Bababān! Denkō Keiji Ban!*

 As the three girls sang, recreating as much of the opening sequence as they could, they earned no cheers from the crowd. Instead, most of the audience–including Chris, Kirika, Garie, Micha, and Elfnein–had erupted into hearty laughs at the goofy nature of the performance, though the two Autoscorers laughed at how pathetic they found the whole ordeal.
Suddenly the music cut out, and the announcer walked back onto the stage. “Seems like you’ve made quite an impact.” The girl giggled, wiping tears of joy out of her own eyes.
Yumi, however, was furious. “What? Why didn’t you let us finish the song? We were only just starting!?”
Shiori just sighed, and Kuriyo helped the blonde girl pull their struggling friend off the stage. “You guys have poor taste!” Yumi screamed as she disappeared off the platform.
The angry response Yumi got to having her performance cut short only served to get more laughs out of the audience; even Shirabe, Serena, Miku, and Carol all wore differently-sized smiles as they watched the scene play out.

 As the crowd began to quiet down, the announcer spoke up once more. “Now, we’ve got a special surprise for you at the end, but first: the top spot’s still open! Does anyone in the audience want to throw their hat into the ring?”
“You should enter.” Miku smirked, leaning in towards Chris.
“Like hell.” She scoffed an immediate response. “Kaburagi, Godai, and Ayano already tried to get me to enter.”
When Chris looked over to see Miku’s smirk remaining, she blushed. “W-well... maybe if you sang something too.”
Miku pulled back in surprise. “No one is going to want to see someone like me up on stage.” As she spoke, Miku wiggled the stump of her left arm, as if to prove a point.
“You never sing whenever we fight.” Chris pointed out, her face growing even more red. Feeling the warmth filling her skin, Chris looked away and whispered. “I... want to hear you sing...”
Miku’s eyes went wide. “I... am sorry, Chris.” She wore an apologetic smile.

 Kirika, however, was far more enthusiastic to the idea of participating in this event, and pulled Shirabe up with her as she rose onto her feet. “Oh! Oh! We do, death!”
Shirabe nodded. “Okay, let’s sing, Kiri.”
“Those two girls way in the back! Come on down!” The girl shouted waving Kirika and Shirabe down with an exaggerated movement.
The audience began to speak to their neighbours as they waited for Kirika and Shirabe to make their way down to the stage at the bottom of the stairs. Chris and Miku remained silent, as an awkward air surrounded the two, but Elfnein broke the silence in their row.
“I wonder what they’re going to sing?”
Garie chuckled. “Something lame, I bet. Blondie’s always going on about death and demons. It’s hilarious~”
“The Symphogear system draws out the songs in the wielder’s heart.” Carol began to explain, her brow lowered as she glared at her mechanical creation. “I don’t believe they really have a choice as to what comes out of their mouth at the time.”
“It’s a bit more complicated than that.” Serena pointed out, but tilted her head as she could not come up with the right way to continue. “It’s more...”
“You sing on auto-pilot. When you’re fighting, you usually end up forgetting that you’re singing at all.” Chris stepped in. “I couldn’t repeat any of the songs I’ve sung while fighting, even if I wanted to.”
“Hmm... interesting. It draws out your subconscious, using it as a power source by expending the songs your heartstrings sing.” Carol mused. “Not too dissimilar from my ability to transform memories into strength, it seems.”
Micha looked to her sister beside her. “Garie~ I don’t get it.”
“Shut up, Micha.” The blue Autoscorer snapped, pushing herself down into the seat as she crossed her arms.

 “I’m Kirika Akatsuki.” Introduced the wielder of Igalima, whose hair sparkled under the bright lights of the stage.
“I’m Shirabe Tsukuyomi.” Her friend continued, caught up in Kirika’s pace.
“We’ll be transferring in to Lydian soon, death!” Kirika smiled with glee. “So we’re going to show you how good we are!”
“Well, then. Let’s all give our new underclassmen here a warm welcome.” The announcer smiled as she stepped back.
“Start the music!” Kirika shouted, as she began to bow out of the way.
Miku chuckled from her seat far in the back of the theatre as the music began to play through the speakers.

*Now praying for your painful cry…*
*Fu-uh yeah …Fly*

 “What’s up?” Serena asked, eyeing the girl with a curious glance.
“Seems like they took Chris’s suggestion to heart. This is a Zwei Wing song.” Miku replied, causing her white-haired friend to pout in embarrassment.

*Ikusen oku no inori mo yawaraka na hikari de sae mo*
*Subete nomikomu jeiru no yō na yami no mashō*

*Karuma no yō ni korogaru yō ni*
*Nagedashite shimae nakute*
*Ima watash irashiku kakenukete*

*Todoke todoke takanaru parusu ni tsunagareta kono Burning heart*
*Tsuyoku tsuyoku kokoro no shiriusu wo tada mitsumeru*
*Kono yami wo koete*

 As Kirika and Shirabe performed ORBITAL BEAT, their voices resonated together as if they had sung it thousands of times before this; in reality, it was only their first time. Their powerful tones shook the audience into silence–even Carol was impressed by the strength that the two girls put behind the chant they mimicked.
When they eventually got to the end of the song three-and-a-half minutes long, the entire room erupted in applause. Kirika had an incredibly surprised expression on her face as she took in the cheers for her, and tears began to form in the corner of her eyes.
With a wide grin, Kirika shouted into the microphone. “Thank you, everyone!!!”
“Wow! You girls sure are talented.” The announcer walked towards the two Symphogear wielders. “You must sing together quite a lot.”
Shirabe nodded. “You could say that.”
“It seems that the judges have decided the current number one spot.” The announcer revealed. “Does anyone want to try and dethrone our two current champions?”

 Serena shook her head. “I don’t think I could top them. They were amazing.”
“Aw, come on. Don’t sell yourself short.” Chris said.
“No, the passion they put behind their singing was quite incredible.” Carol shook her head. “I doubt most people would be able to even come close to matching it.”
“Yeah, I thought the same.” Serena said. Miku nodded in agreement.
“Wow, aren’t you all a bunch of cowards.” Chris rolled her eyes. “I could do better than them.”
“Oh yeah?” Carol asked. “Prove it.”
“Yeah! I will!” Chris announced, standing out of her seat.
Once a spotlight landed upon her, Chris realized just what she had done. “Shit.”
“Wow.” Miku grunted, looking over to the small alchemist a few seats away. “You’re good.”
“No one can match master!” Micha threw her hands into the air with a cheer.
“For once, Micha.” Carol sighed. “Please do not sing your praises of me. You make me sound like a conman.”

 The announcer’s voice cut threw their conversation. “Is that Yukine, I see? Come on down!”
Chris grunted in embarrassment. Before she began to leave, she turned to Miku with a face a brighter red than a tomato’s skin. With her gaze lazily drifting around, she muttered quietly. “If you don’t want to sing for me... Sing for Hibiki...”
With that last comment, Chris forced herself to trudge down to the stage.
“Hibiki...” Miku’s eyes were wide.
“Hibiki Tachibana. A curious figure.” Carol muttered, though Miku was too lost in her thoughts to hear the alchemist’s comment.

 “Chris! You can’t beat us, death!” Kirika teased as Chris approached, sticking out her tongue.
“Oh yeah?” Chris just took the taunt with a confident grin. “I’m sure I can do better than you, runts.”
“Oooh,” The announcer stepped in-between the three Symphogear wielders. “Seems as though Yukine’s well-acquainted with our stars, already. A battle of best friends–exciting!”
“Best friends?” Chris shouted in surprise. Then, shuffling about on the spot, she muttered quietly with a bashful look–though the microphone amplified her comment to the audience around her. “I don’t know if I’d go that far.”
Cheers erupted from the audience. Men and women alike found Chris’s reaction to be adorable, and the wielder of Ichaival flinched at the response that she got just for appearing on the stage.
The announcer shoved the microphone into Chris’s hands with a wink, nudging with her head towards the side of the stage. “Kaburagi already told me what song you were going to sing.” The girl whispered, putting her hand over the microphone that would have caught that comment. “She knew you were going to end up competing.”
“That little–!” Chris shook her head. Following the announcer girl’s gaze, Chris looked towards the side of the stage, where her classmates–Otome, Yuki, and Komichi–waved happily. Behind them, Chris could also see Yumi, Kuriyo, and Shiori (all still in costume) peeking over curiously; the latter gave a small wave as she caught Chris’s gaze.
“Guess I’m actually doing this.” Chris sighed into the microphone.
Taking that as a sign that she was ready, a cheerful melody began to play over the sound system, filling the theatre. Chris pouted in embarrassment as the instrumental began, but once her turn to sing began, a peaceful grin erupted on her face.

*Mada minu hontō no jibun no koto ga*
*Jibun jishin demo wakaranakute*

*Dareka ni te wo sashinobete moratte*
*Itami to wa chigatta itami wo shiru*

*Monokurōmu no mirai yosōzu*
*Enogu wo sagashite… demo ima wa*
*Naze darō, naze darō*
*Irodzuku yo yukkuri to hana ga niji ni*
*Hokotte saku mitai ni*

*Hōkago no chaimu ni majitta kaze ga fukinukeru*
*Kanjita koto nai igokochi no yosa ni mada tomadotteru yo*
*Nē konna sora ga takai to*
*Egao ga ne…kakusenai*

 The passion that Chris put into her song–a story of her past told through a poetic lens–reached Miku. She put her hand up to her heart, where Miku felt a strange sensation. The icy walls that she had put up around her heart to protect herself from the pain–the pain of losing her parents, of killing Hibiki, of becoming a monster–began to melt.
Miku felt tears of joy welling in her eyes as she listened to Chris’s song.
Suddenly, with a sniffle, she stood up. “I’ll be right back.” She whispered to Serena as she ducked out of the auditorium.

. . .

 Chris looked up with tears in her eyes as the music faded, and the crowd went wild. Even Kirika and Shirabe, who stood off to the side, were loudly clapping, with the former girl shouting her name in praise.
This response only made Chris blush further, and she rose her shoulders up in a pitiful attempt to hide her flustered look.
“Chris! That was so good!” Yuki tackled Chris from behind, pulling her into a big hug. “You’re incredible!”
“Yes, she was incredible!” The announcer sang a similar praise as she walked up. “It seems someone else has managed to throw a wrench into the standings–though is she better than the cute transfer students? The judges can’t decide! It’s getting tougher and tougher to claim the top spot!”
The announcer then pointed out to the crowd. “Alright, everyone! I know it will be tough, but does anyone want to go up against these three musical powerhouses?”

 What happened next caused everyone’s eyes to grow wide as they heard the sound of the theatre’s doors slamming open. The only way to describe who stood in the entryway was by calling them a goddess.
The girl who stepped forwards was clad in pure white, her dress sparkling as the spotlights danced onto her form. The white bow in her hair shone like a halo behind her head, while her long black hair–once messy, now elegantly styled–curled down as the only shadows upon this pure valkyrie.
“I would like to sing!” Miku Kohinata shouted, a wide grin on her face.

 “What are you doing...!?” Chris had wide eyes. Of course, it was not her declaration of war that shocked Chris–rather, it was the fact that she was clad in the new armour of the Shrivatsa Symphogear that caused her to shout.
As Miku elegantly strolled down to meet her three friends upon the stage, she had a warm smile upon her face–an expression none of them, nor even her classmates looking on from the side of the stage, had ever seen from her before.
“Your song touched me, Chris.” She replied. “I’ll now sing for both of you–you and Hibiki.”
“No. I think she meant...” Kirika started to point out the fact that she was wearing her Symphogear, but Shirabe put her hand on her mouth.
“Good luck.” The black-haired wielder of Shul Shagana smiled. Kirika, unable to speak, just wildly nodded in agreement.
Chris shook her head in awe. “You’re strange, Miku.”
“Aren’t we all?”

 The announcer bounced towards the valkyrie who now took centre-stage. “So then, what will you be singing today?”
“You don’t have to worry about playing anything.” Miku smiled. “I brought my own music.”
Though that response generated some questions within her mind, the announcer just nodded. Then, leaning in, she quietly asked. “Do you want a clip-on mic? Considering your...”
“No, it’s fine. I still have one working arm for a reason. But thank you.”
The announcer smiled, handing a microphone over. “Well, then, miss–”
“Miku Kohinata.”
“Can you match the pace your friends had set? Let’s see!”

 Miku closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. As fresh air filled her lungs, the girl felt a calm wash over her that she had not felt in years. Every problem, every shadow that lingered in the crevices of her brain were dispelled as she reached down into herself, drawing out the song in her heart.
Surprising everyone in the audience, a dark wave-styled song began to blare throughout the room, emanating out from the girl whose appearance gave the exact opposite aesthetic. Their looks of brief confusion did not reach Miku; as she opened her eyes, the only scene that she pictured before her were Hibiki Tachibana and Chris Yukine’s smiling faces as they listened with happy expressions.

*(Gyōkō) …Kurushimu kimi no asu wo*
*(Eiai) …Nageku kako no namida wo*
*Terashi kawakasu yō na sonzai ni naritai*
*(I believe you)*

*Tatoe dono sekai no chigau kimi ni deatta to shite mo*
*Matteru itsudemo kanarazu*
*(I love you)*

*“Zettai yuzuranai!” to*
*Futatabi kimi ni utau*
*Mamorareru no dewa naku*
*Mamoru tame ni utau*
*(Shinjite)*

*(Seikō) …Mō nidoto nakasenai*
*(Kyōshin) …Subete wo dakishimetai*
*Donna kimi datte ī watashi ni wa saiai*
*(I trust you)*

*Kitto kimi wa kimi wo ima wa wasurete iru dake dakara*
*Tsunagu yūki wo mō ichido…*
*(I love you)*

*Donna yami ga hirogari*
*Sora wo imi tsukushite mo*
*Hidamaru tame no hikari*
*Mirai wa make wa shinai*
*(Shinjite)*

*Seigi wo nigirishime tatsu hana wo itsumo mite kita kara*
*Watashi mo dekiru…kanarazu!*
*(I love you)*

*Shiawase sore igai no*
*Namida wa nagasasenai*
*Tsurete kaeru to kimeta*
*Kono ai wo namenai de…!*

*“Zettai yuzuranai!” to*
*Futatabi kimi ni utau*
*Mamorareru node wa naku*
*Mamoru tame ni utau…!*
*(Shinjite)*

 As Miku stopped singing, a silence filled the area. The audience took in the emotions that Miku had pushed into every word of her song.
And then, Chris began to clap. “I concede.” The white-haired girl smiled, her eyes sparkling as she held back tears.
Chris’s actions only spurred on the rest of the audience, and in seconds a rapturous applause assailed Miku’s ears. She found herself pulled back into reality, out of the delusion she had created for herself with only Hibiki and Chris by her side.
“Well, I think that seals it.” The announcer appeared after a few moments, her voice barely audible over the full power of the crowd’s cheers around her. “Miku Kohinata is the winner of our competition!”
“Oh right.” Miku’s eyes widened. “I forgot this was a competition.”
“So, then, Kohinata–” The announcer approached Miku, shoving the microphone into her face. “What is it that you want the student council to do for you?”
Miku paused, looking up as she tried to think of a sufficient answer.
“Honestly? I’m good.” She said after a moment, and then happily shrugged. As the announcer recoiled in surprise, Miku saw Shiori, Yumi, and Kuriyo cheering behind her. “Maybe let my friends over there let them start their club?” She pointed over at the three girls.
“Very well, then. You heard it here first! Our winner today has graciously let her friends make use of the prize she won! A true goddess, in every way!”
Though the cheers had subsided somewhat since the announcer began to talk, Miku’s generosity caused the audience to clap once more.
“Thank you for everything, today, folks!” The announcer announced. Quietly, she told those around her to return to their seats, so Chris, Miku, Shirabe, and Kirika quickly began to shuffle back to where they had come from.
“I’m going outside for a sec.” Miku nodded towards the door, then gestured down to her clothes with her arm.
“Yeah, good idea, girl.” Chris happily replied, waving her off as well.

. . .

 When Miku returned to her seat, once again dressed in the baggy clothing she had come to Lydian in, she slumped down with a huff. Though she had not realized it until her Symphogear deactivated, just performing on stage for a few minutes had tired Miku out. As she leaned back in her chair, she felt her eyelids begin to droop.
“Now, then. We have a very special performance for you today.” The announcer was clearly every excited for this, as she bounced on her toes as she grinned wide. “You know them well, as popular alumni of Lydian and world-famous idols...”
Miku’s eyes went wide as she leaned forwards.
“Zwei Wing!”
Tsubasa and Kanade bounced out onto the stage from the sides to a combination of some confused (and concerned) looks and powerful applause. Though Kanade wore an eyepatch now, the two idols looked just as glamorous in Miku’s eyes as they had on that fateful day–they even wore the same dresses as they had, and the familiar opening notes of Gyakkō no Flügel began to play through the speakers.

*“Kikoemasu ka…?” Gekijō kanaderu mujīku*
*Ten ni*
*Tokihanate*
*“Kikoemasu ka…?” Inochi hajimaru myakudō*
*Ai wo*
*Tsukiagete*

 . . .

 “Thank you, everyone!” Kanade cheered, having finished singing their signature song. Though sweat stained her forehead, Kanade did not appear to be tired at all; if anything, she seemed even more excited more than ever before. “But we’ve got one more surprise for you today, right Tsubasa?”
Tsubasa nodded. “Yes. Kanade and I...” She took a deep breath in. “We will be performing again, soon. Please support us again, like you had before!”
This announcement earned cheers, even from Miku–who had been the one to drag Hibiki to the concert that began this second life of hers. Despite the tragic circumstances relating to their final concert, Zwei Wing was still popular; the audience went wild at the news.
“But...” Kanade held up a finger. “We’re not going by Zwei Wing any more.”
With a nod to the side of the stage, a pink-haired figure appeared. “We’re no longer Zwei Wing–a duo.” Tsubasa explained. “Starting today, the three of us–”
Tsubasa and Kanade both pointed towards the newcomer who posed in-between them.
Maria Cadenzavna Eve, with an elegant outfit that contrasted the more-flashy and frilly pastel-coloured ones of the two girls beside her, put one hand up into the air. “We are The Queens of Music!”
This announcement earned even more cries from the room, with the audience rocking the building with the force of their excitement. Maria, Tsubasa, and Kanade just waved as they took in the atmosphere that none of them had experienced in so long.

 “I can’t believe you dragged me into this.” Though she wore a wide smile, Maria aimed a blunt comment out of the side of her mouth towards Kanade.
“Don’t blame me.” She replied, not breaking her own excited expression as she waved to her fans in front of them. “They wanted some way to keep tabs on all of us easily. This was the best way.”

. . .

 While cheers erupted from the building behind her from the news of the three idols returning to work, Carol stood with her hands on her hips. Garie and Micha stood by her sides, and the three looked out from the window of the classroom they had occupied earlier in the day.
No one, not even Elfnein, had realized that they had teleported out of the auditorium shortly after Miku’s song finished.
“You two sensed it too, right?” Carol asked her clockwork soldiers.
Garie nodded. “Yes, master. The person trailing us is not an alchemist, clearly. Either that, or they’re a pathetic one.”
Micha wore a wide smile. “Master, should I kill them?”
“No, leave them be.” Carol waved her hand, a golden ripple appearing in the air before her. A window opened up in reality, and the face of a girl from Carol’s memories appeared before her.
“So, that’s the one who has been following us?” Garie asked, leaning in to look at the face of Millaarc Cranstoun.
“Though I was hesitant at first, I must admit that Elfnein’s decision to use a festival event as a chance to lure out our stalker was a truly creative idea.” Carol chuckled. “Yes–when I analyzed those who chose ‘trick,’ only four people had unnatural elements within them.”
“Those three Symphogear wielders,” Garie recalled Kirika, Serena, and Miku walking into the black tent that Carol had set up in the classroom. “And her?”
Carol nodded. “She is not a Symphogear wielder, but she has certainly been influenced by some heretical source. I do not believe her to be an alchemist, but it is likely that she holds some ties to them.”
“She looks weird.” Micha commented, looking at the girl’s pointed ears. “Is she a monster?”
“I believe your assessment is not entirely incorrect.” Carol mumbled. “I would love to analyse her, if given the chance.”
Garie poked her chin. “And, master, what are the chances of her being tied to those Bavarian fools?”
“Incredibly high–almost guaranteed.” Carol sighed. Her eyes were sad as she looked down, just below the image hanging in the air before her. “I do hope my papa is not the one who has this girl following me.”
“Don’t worry, master!” Micha threw her hands around Carol, surprising the alchemist so much that the image of Millaarc literally popped out of existence. “We’ll help you find your papa! And if he’s a bad guy now, then we’ll knock some sense back into him!!”
“Micha, you shouldn’t...” Garie glared at her sister as she hugged Carol, but her master shook her head.
“Yes. Thank you for your assistance, Micha, Garie. I truly do appreciate all you four do for me.” Carol closed her eyes, content with the new direction she had pulled her life in. “I made some incredible beings.”
“Now, then. We’ve probably left her worrying long enough.” Garie chuckled, cruelly. “Let us go and reclaim Elfnein, Micha.”
“Okey dokey! See you in a second, master!” The wild, red-haired Autoscorer bounced back away from Carol. Throwing one of her hands up to her forehead in a salute, Micha grinned as both she and Garie began to fade away.
“Those Symphogear girls, too.” Carol sighed once her two servants’ presence had faded. “They... are also quite incredible.”

### *Symphogear if: Shooting Out of Hell*

 Chris Yukine sat upon the crimson blankets draped over her bed. The girl swung her feet into the air, then back down, at a steady rhythm.
“Alright.” Chris kept her purple eyes on the ceiling that matched her lavender-white hair above her as she spoke. “I think it’s about time we do this thing.”
The girl sitting on the chair to her left sighed. Miku Kohinata had one arm, which she leaned across the backrest and placed her chin upon it as she wore a bored expression on her face. Miku’s black hair was tied back into a ponytail, which hung down past her shoulders.
“That’s fine with me, but...” She sighed, eyeing a spot on the ground in front of her.
“What am I doing here?” The third party asked, tilting her head. This girl sat cross-legged on the ground, swaying back and forth as she gripped her own feet.
Just like Miku, Kirika Akatsuki was similarly confused as to why she had been invited to attend this seemingly-personal meeting being held in Chris’s bedroom.
“I know it’s weird...” Chris started, keeping her eyes pointed away from either of the two sitting in the room with her. “But I can’t bring myself to completely hate Finé. She was the first one to reach out to me after my parents died, so... I wanted you to hear about my past too, Kirika. I wanted to tell her directly, but.”
Kirika sighed. “I’m more than just an attachment to Finé, death.” Despite her words, the small blonde girl nodded. “But I get it.”
“Okay, but I–personally–don’t like Finé all that much.” Miku narrowed her eyes, then hesitated. Turning to Kirika, she then remedied what she had just said. “No offence.”
“Again, I’m Kirika and Finé’s Finé.” Kirika had an annoyed look on her face now, and laid down onto the ground. “At least... I think that’s the case, death.”
“Yeah, I know what it’s like to have her crammed in your head.” Miku frowned. “I know how confusing it can be trying to figure out where you end and she begins. But I can’t imagine what it must be like for you, having all of her memories in your head like that.”
“It’s...” Kirika sucked in a breath. “Not fun, death.”
Miku sat up straight and looked at her arm. It was trembling ever so slightly–the memories of Finé controlling her were distressing, and she could not help but associate them with her (unrelated) time of being controlled by Ver. “I can imagine.”
“You know, it’s kind of ironic, isn’t it?” Chris chuckled darkly. “I was under Finé’s care for years, yet the two of you know so much more about her than I do.”
“Technically,” Finé’s voice slipped out of Kirika’s mouth. “Young Kirika here was under my care for most of her life, as well. Though indirectly.”
Chris flinched at the change of tone, and narrowed her eyes at the small girl. Kirika’s eyes flew wide at the knife-like glare tossed her way, and waved her hands in defence. “That wasn’t me, death! That was...”
“It’s very...” Miku rolled her cheek along her arm, which was still perched upon the back of the wooden chair. “Off-putting, whenever she decides to speak up.”
“You know, Finé, I’m still not exactly happy about what you did to me.” Chris scowled, but tears welled up in the corners of her vision. “You were the first person to ever try to help me... but then you tossed me away and I found out that all you told me were lies.”
“Yes, I do admit I was... a bit blind, back then.” Finé remarked.
Kirika’s voice took over as she muttered under her breath. “No, you’re just an asshole, death.”
“You know the saying,” Finé continued on as if Kirika had not spoken. “‘Love is blind,’ I believe? I was so lost in my idea of destroying the Curse of Balal that I believed anything should be used to reach that goal.”
“We still don’t even fully know what the Curse of Balal is.” Miku pointed out. “But we do know that, apparently, you were going about it in the entirely wrong way.”
“Enough about that, death.” Kirika pointed at her own forehead, and focused her crossed eyes on the tip of her index finger. “Shouldn’t you apologize for what you put Chris through?”
“Yes.” Kirika’s mouth moved again, though not in her own voice. “I suppose you’re right. Thanks to Miku Kohinata, here, I learned the error of my ways; though, ironically, she seems unaware of the lesson her memories taught me.
“So, Chris Yukine, I truly do apologize for what I did to you. Though I can justify some of my actions on the surface, I truly should have treated you better; to make you an actual ally and not treat you as nothing more than a tool. I am truly ashamed of my past self, and I hope you can forgive me.”
“Don’t think I didn’t catch that insult you threw my way.” Miku glared.
“Finé...” Chris, on the other hand, just stared with glittering eyes at the blonde girl before her. Kirika had a strange, awkward look on her face, looking away uncomfortably with a slight blush on her face, but Chris just wore a conflicted smile. “I... hate everything I feel about you. You twisted my heart in a way that I don’t think I could ever fix, but you still gave me a purpose. Even if you eventually just threw me away like all of the other adults that picked me up, you...”
Chris sniffled, barely keeping back tears. “I saw you almost like a new mother for a time. I genuinely loved you.”
For a long time, the three girls sat in silence. Finé did not respond from Kirika’s mouth, and Miku just awkwardly shuffled as she tried to figure out some way to comfort the crying Chris.
Kirika was in a very strange position as she did identify with Chris’s perspective–one she shared for the currently-missing scientist named Nastassja Sergeyevna Tolstaya–but she also held all of Finé’s memories. Kirika’s brain could simulate every emotion that Finé had felt back then, and replay every single scene of manipulating Chris Yukine’s mind through the priestess’s eyes. She hated it, but Kirika could somewhat understand why Finé had done what she had–and her realization of this made her stomach churn.

 “I can never be someone who helps others.” Miku eventually broke the silence that was peppered with stifled sobs. “I’m not like Hibiki, or like Chris. I don’t know the right thing to say here, but I know one thing for sure.”
Miku turned her angry eyes towards Kirika and spat out a short sentence. “You’re an asshole.”
“What did I do, death?” Kirika panicked, bouncing up to her feet immediately. “It’s not like my life hasn’t been tough, too, death!”
At this, Chris’s sobs turned into a strange combination of crying and chuckling. The strange snorting sound she emitted drew both Kirika and Miku’s attention, and the two stared at her smiling face.
“Look at us.” Chris laughed. “We’re all so broken and pathetic. But we found each other–we have friends to prop us up now.”
Miku looked down at the stub of her missing arm. The black ring that burned the tip of the flesh–and apparently prevented a prosthetic from being attached without incredible amounts of surgery. But her expression was not remorseful–Miku seemed somewhat nostalgic as she looked down at the spot that should be occupied by a limb. “No, we’re not broken. We’re just using each other as support beams–and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
When Chris opened her mouth to speak, Miku cut her off. “What is wrong is something we’re all guilty of–bottling up our emotions and putting on masks of sanity.”
As Miku spoke, she stared directly into Kirika’s eyes. “You can tell, death?” The small girl whimpered, her usually-happy-go-lucky expression fading to one of guilt.
“I ran away from everyone once; you play the fool to keep others happy instead; and Chris wears her confidence over-top her real heart.” Miku rattled off explanations. “A lot of the others have issues too, I think. Tsukuyomi and Serena seem distant, Tsubasa... is always hard to understand...”
“Maria’s been worrying a lot too, death.” Kirika pointed out. “She really does care for us a lot.”
“Kanade seems to be the only one with her shit together.” Chris sucked in a deep breath.
Kirika tilted her head. When she next spoke, her tone was slow and sad. “Apparently she visited Maria and Shirabe when we were in prison, death. They respect her a lot now.” The girl now shook her head. “But I don’t know a lot about Kanade, death.”
“Now that you mention it...” Miku mused. “All I really know about Kanade was what they put out as her idol profile. Even since we’ve met, my impression of her hasn’t really changed at all–but I also feel like I know less about her now than before.”

 “Ugh, enough about them. I don’t want to think about how fucked up we all are right now.” Chris grumbled, messing her hair by rubbing it furiously as if trying to light her head aflame.
“Weren’t we brought here to hear about how fucked up your life has been, though?” Miku asked, which transitioned into a yawn by the end.
“I...” Chris sighed. “Yeah, I guess I’ve waited long enough, huh?”
The white-haired girl clapped her hands together twice. “I guess the best place to start would be...”

~ ~ ~

*I remember being told that the building we were staying in had been destroyed by a bomb. The woman who was our family’s guide–her name was Sonia Virena–tried everything she could to keep me from running to the scene, but I ignored her pleas.*
*When I reached the site, everything crumbled around me. It felt like all of the colour had been drained out of my world when I saw my parents’ corpses amidst the rubble, their bodies being slowly chewed up by the orange flames that surrounded me.*
*All I remember about that day was the anger I felt towards the world. My parents wanted peace–they didn’t deserve to be killed for this! Some of the people in Val Verde had told us about their religion and the god they believed in, but what kind of god would want to play such a cruel trick? Two musicians just trying to use their talents to bring about peace... it was a virtuous idea that any sane god would have supported. But reality can be cruel–and I learned that that day.*
*My parents were far from the only people killed in that explosion; many children lost their mothers and fathers that day. All of us were rounded up and shoved into an orphanage immediately afterwards by the militant forces acting as Val Verde’s government; we had no choice in the matter.*
*That was when I truly learned what hell was.*

 A young Chris felt completely empty as she stood in the small room. She was told that the government was finding some way to deal with her and the other kids who had suddenly been orphaned, so she was being asked to stay in this room.
There were no furnishings other than a bed–if it could even be legally defined as such. The frame was heavily mutilated, with one of the legs fully removed; the bed sat at a strange angle and would shake at the slightest touch. It had no blankets or pillows, and the mattress was crusted in dirt and all sorts of other mysterious stains, with one rusted spring sticking out of the side.
So Chris cuddled herself as she sat on the ground. She had no light in her eyes–she felt no hope, no sadness; Chris Yukine was completely hollow. All she felt was the pain flaring up in her back and legs from sitting on the hard wooden floor for what she believed could have been days.
At some point, Chris had nodded off–yet even in sleep, she felt nothing. No dreams played out in the theatre of her mind; even her heart refused to give her some way to cope with the pain.

 “Get the fuck up, kid.”
A voice shook Chris awake, and she stiffened as her eyes slowly pulled themselves apart. Once the scene in front of her chiselled themselves into the archives of her memories, however, Chris recoiled in shock and drew her eyelids apart in fear.
Standing above her was a large man in military camouflage. He had a cigar in his mouth, the scent of which burned Chris’s nostrils, but what her brain primarily focused on was the black assault rifle pointed right at her head.
“You understand English...” The man did not lower the gun, but he did lower his chin as he glared at the small child before her. “You’re coming with us, girl.”
Even if she were only a young child, Chris knew it would be better to go along with this man’s orders instead of questioning them. So, the small child just silently nodded.
“Good. You’re submissive.” The man frowned.
The military man then reached down towards Chris and pulled her meek arms out. Giving no care for her safety or feelings, he jostled the girl about with one hand while his other groped for a pair of handcuffs hanging from his belt. After a few more moments, the two silver links were locked tight against Chris’s wrists.
Chris was ushered out of the room and ordered into the back of a van. Several other kids were already sitting within the vehicle, and, like Chris, all of them wore empty expressions and handcuffs. Only one of the children had any sort of response to Chris’s appearance: slowly, the young boy looked up at Chris before averting his gaze back down to the floor of the car.

*None of us realized that, in that moment, we were no longer humans. Once we walked into that van, we had silently agreed to a contract: our lives meant nothing; we were just tools.*
*I remember it taking hours before we stopped, and even then that was only to pick up more kids. These ones seemed to be more lively than we were, for better or for worse. I remember one girl–she had short, light brown hair and wore this really strange, orange dress–crying her eyes out as she sat down; she seemed to know more about our situation than we did.*
*When we were next allowed to step out of the van, the day had turned to night. We were ordered to exit one at a time; when we did, they put chains on our feet and tied our handcuffs to each other. We were prisoners marching in a line to our dooms.*
*What I didn’t know then is that I had already seen the sun for the last time in years. Many of us would be forced to live in that building–the underground brothel where the wealthy elite of the war-torn country let out their frustrations.*

~ ~ ~

 Miku sucked in a tense breath as Chris paused. The white-haired girl’s head was hung low, her bangs casting dark shadows over her eyes as she retold the story of her horrible past.
“Is this a bad time to tell you something?” Kirika slowly raised her hand. “Finé was the one who killed your parents.”
“Yeah, she said that once.” Chris did not raise her head, and looked like a zombie as her jaw slowly opened and closed to carefully enunciate each word. “That they were unintended targets or something.”
Kirika sadly shook her head. “That was a lie, death. I don’t know why, but Finé couldn’t bring herself to tell you the truth, then. Your parents were always her intended targets; she was looking for something, but she had wanted to bring you in as well.”
Finé’s voice spoke up. “That’s correct. I... truly do regret my decisions. In truth, Chris, I had wanted to make use of you sooner, but I got a bit... tied up. In the end, some criminals got to you first.” Kirika pouted as the priestess within her stated what she had been planning to before she could. “And after that, I lost all trace of you. Genjuro and Section Two had begun looking for you after I submitted a report about your compatibility–one that I had been planning to keep secret. Unfortunately, even their efforts came up empty, until I found you by chance that is.”
Chris clutched her stomach with both arms. “But that was years later. I spent so much time in that prison. My body... everything about me was violated for all that time. They even drugged me at times–a lot of my memories of the time are either of things I don’t want to think about, or too hazy to fully understand.”
Slowly, Chris raised the hem of her shirt and exposed her stomach. Though she had several scars lining her body–the most notable of which being the newest, which Miku had accidentally caused due to Garie’s handiwork–the one she indicated to the two girls watching her was a long slit that ran down towards her legs.
“It was for the best, then, that they made sure... that I couldn’t get pregnant.” Lowering her shirt and ignoring the disgusted look upon Kirika’s face, Chris shook her head sadly.
“Damn, Chris.” Miku muttered quietly.
Chris pointed at her breasts next. “My... growth... I imagine it’s a side effect of all this, too. For five years, I had no choice in life but to service disgusting adults in that rancid place; they used my body however they pleased.” A fire of anger ignited behind Chris’s eyes as she turned her attention to the girls around her. “I’m sure the two of you can relate to the feeling of your body being stolen away from you.”
Kirika and Miku looked at each other in silent agreement. Chris, meanwhile, just shook.
Placing her head in her hands, Chris felt tears fall from her eyes as she shook her head. “There were so many of us in that prison, but I never saw any of them after that first day. For five whole years, the only people I interacted with were those gross men that forced themselves upon me.” Her words were quiet, interspersed with attempts to choke back the crying that Chris desperately wanted to let out. “It was so lonely. And the worst part is that I got used to it eventually. My disgust turned to indifference, and then I surrendered after enough days. And I can never forgive myself for that.”

 “I’m sorry, Chris.” Miku squeaked out, not sure what else to say.
“Oh don’t worry.” Chris seemed oddly cheerful, though her eyes were shrouded by dark clouds as she looked up at her black-haired friend. “I’m only half done.”

~ ~ ~

 *One day, this man came in to the cell that was my ‘work area’. He was portly, with a dark red suit and wearing a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. Though he gave off the same aura of most of the people I was forced to... handle, I could tell from his posture that he was not looking at me in the same way.*
*Most men who walked through that door all had the same look in their eyes: they wanted to dominate me, someone they saw only as a tool to be thrown away once it had served its purpose–a purpose I was desperate to fulfil so that I would not be killed. But this man had a different sparkle in his eye.*
*He wasn’t looking at me like I was a toy. No, he looked at me like I was a house, or a car–I was something he was looking to purchase, something for him to own.*
*The next time I saw him was a few days later. I had not had anyone else visit me in that time–I was afraid that they were just going to toss me away as trash. But then the man opened his terrible mouth and flashed me this disgusting smile.*
*“From today, you belong to me.” He said, his eyes shining like he had just found a chest full of gold coins.*

*I later learned that this man was a corrupt ambassador from a foreign country. He specifically picked me out of the other girls at the brothel because I knew how to speak English–and he paid a lot of money to make sure I remained his exclusive property.*
*That man brought me to the villa that he was staying at. It was a gorgeous mansion near a beach–but, of course, I was never allowed to enjoy any of the perks of this. Going to that place felt like a dream; it had been five years since I had last seen the sun, and then all of a sudden I’m living in a room far more comfortable than that prison cell had been.*
*I had a bed! I had actual, delicious food! A personal bathroom that I didn’t need to share with anyone! For someone who had lived in a single room, being fed ‘vitamins’, with a bathroom that had three different entrances and the grossest shower imaginable... it was paradise. I was amazed.*
*Of course, my ‘duties’ still continued.*

*But then, one day, my world changed. Finally an escape from this life! That’s what I thought at the time, anyway...*

 Chris, now barely a teenager, stood in the shower. She had just finished ‘working’ with the man that she was forced to call ‘Master’ and now had her head being beaten down by a stream of ice-cold water. Her hands on the wall, and her feet spread apart, Chris bent forwards to allow her body to eject all that had defiled it.
Suddenly, she heard a sound, and froze up. It was a sound she had heard fairly commonly since arriving in Val Verde: a gunshot.
Val Verde was in the middle of a civil war, so firearms being discharged was not an uncommon sight. Even when she had been in the brothel, Chris had heard shooting coming from (she hoped) outside of the building, and explosions always seemed to echo out from the distance.
But she had never heard a sound like that so clearly before–and certainly never since being forced into the luxurious dungeon of this politician’s vacation home.

 Turning the shower off in a panic, Chris fled from the shower. She did not bother grabbing a towel–nor did she don any of the seductive clothing that had been provided for her.
With her heart racing, Chris bolted out of the bathroom and into her ‘main’ room. She had been instructed to hide under the bed should she ever hear gunshots, and wait for her ‘Master’s’ cue to leave. Not wanting to disobey the man with entire control over her life, the naked child squished herself down as close to the ground as she could and shuffled her way beneath the wooden frame.
Chris had fully hidden her sopping wet form in a matter of seconds–but she would have been found out had she taken any longer.

 The poor girl clutched her eyes shut as she stilled her breathing. Afraid that her heartbeat would alert whoever had invaded the house to her presence, she tried everything in her power to remain calm; and every attempt only quickened her organ’s drumming.
When she heard a kick at the door leading out into the rest of the house, Chris could do nothing else but hold her breath. A clock began to tick in the girl’s mind as she counted down the moments until she was free from the clutches of danger.

 One

 Two

 Three

 Fo-

 “I’ve found you.”
Chris had not heard the door collapse, nor did she hear any more beating at it. No, what she heard next was the calm voice of a woman. When she opened her eyes, only two golden specks of this serpent’s face invaded her limited view from beneath the bed.
“It’s okay now, Chris Yukine,” Finé announced with a friendly smile. “I’m here to rescue you.”

~ ~ ~

 “At some point, I had lost all sense of time.” Chris sighed. “When Finé first found me–and killed the man who bought me–apparently it had been almost seven years since I first went missing.”
“And after that,” Kirika chimed in, her own body quivering. “Finé forced experiments onto you, death.”
Chris nodded. Like Kirika, Chris was also shaking, and her eyes were darting about; it was clear to both Kirika and Miku that she was straining herself in order to get all of this out into the open.
“What Finé put you through,” Kirika continued with her own depressed look in her eyes. “Seemed to be similar to what FIS did to us, death. But with different purposes.”
“Everything I did...” Chris’s teeth were chattering now, and she raised her hands up to grip her scalp. “I did to repay Finé for freeing me from that life. She told me that she held the same wish as my parents, so I obeyed everything without question.
“I activated every relic she could get her hands on. It would take months sometimes to raise my compatibility rates high enough to do so–and every time she would electrocute me in order to force me to use my voice. She also tortured me with electricity in order to ease the effects that the Nehushtan Armour places on your body.”
“It’s incredibly frail,” Finé explained to Miku. “The Nehushtan Armour can regenerate endlessly, but it will eventually attempt to fuse itself with the wielder.”
“Turning you into an immortal being, but one capable of being damaged by even the simplest of attacks.” Miku nodded in understanding. “I experienced that; when Batara Kala was taking over my body, every attack would heal in short time.”
“Yes, I imagine that was the work of Vercingetorix.” Finé’s tone sounded remorseful, though Kirika’s expression–being controlled by a separate entity altogether–turned from sad to angry at the mention of Ver’s name.
“I hate that man, death. If Carol hadn’t killed him, I would have.”

 Chris leaned back on her bed. She initially landed with her arms spread out, but then reached one quivering hand over her head to look at it. “But, yeah, that’s basically my story. For the next few years, Finé had me do whatever odd jobs she wanted... which included killing the agents that had been dispatched to look for me, after rumours circulated that I had been located.”
Despite the news she just revealed, Chris smiled a hollow smile as she turned towards Miku. “See? You’re not the only one with blood on your hands.”
“Chris... I...” Miku shook her head. “I’m so sorry. After all you went through, all I did was burden you with my own problems. I’m sorry I never took the time to listen to your story.”
A blush crossed Chris’s face as she sat up in a hurry. “No! No! Don’t apologize, Miku! It’s fine. I... wasn’t ready to talk about it, anyway. Besides–even if I suffered for years, you had your mind controlled on multiple occasions, transformed into a monster, and killed...” Chris sucked in a breath as she let that thought burn out. “I had Genjuro reach out to help me, so I wanted to do the same to you.”

 An awkward silence filled the room again for some time, as the three tried to figure out some way to move on from the story of Chris’s life. Unfortunately, as time passed and Miku grew increasingly more worried for Chris’s well-being, Kirika couldn’t help but speak up.
“You know... I went through some similar things, death.” Kirika eventually sighed. When she realized the looks that Miku and Chris gave her were those of horror, she put her hands up. “Not exactly the same, death! I was never sold into slavery.”
“Good. I wouldn’t wish what happened to me on anyone else.” Chris exhaled in relief at the correction.
“Should I tell my story?” Kirika asked, looking down at the ground she sat on. Like before, she clutched her toes; though this time, she did so to make it more difficult for the other two girls to notice how much her arms were shaking.

 And thus, Kirika told Chris and Miku about her time in FIS–and the time when the lecherous Dr. Stinson tried to force himself upon Kirika, forcing her to change the way she presented herself to the world.

 “Adults...” Chris spat. “They should be dependable, but most of them seem to be completely despicable.”
“I agree, death.” Kirika said weakly. “I was so scared back then...”
“You’re still holding something back.”
Kirika looked up at Miku when the black-haired girl spoke. Miku’s teal eyes pierced Kirika’s heart as they met; it felt to Kirika like Miku was trying so hard to stare directly at the soul(s) within her body.
But Kirika was confused. “I... am?”
“Unconsciously, then.” Miku pointed out. “Your sudden change in personality... it couldn’t have been that instantaneous.”
“What do you mean?” Chris asked. “I think it’s possible.”
“No... it feels to me like you blocked a memory out of your head–something in-between that event and your personality change.”
“Miku is correct. Kirika has subconsciously locked away many memories, ones that even I am unable to view or manipulate.” Finé spoke from Kirika’s mouth. “I believe a truly traumatic experience carved itself into Kirika’s soul, and she crossed several memories together to try and justify this hole in her heart.”

 “For something to happen to you like that...” Miku stuck out her one arm towards Kirika, and then waved it slowly through the air to point at Chris. “I’m so sorry, to both of you. You’ve gone through so much...”
“Hey, don’t talk as if you haven’t gone through shit of your own.” Chris frowned. “Genjuro told me that the fallout from the Zwei Wing concert you went to messed up your entire life–and that was before all of this other shit happened.”
“It feels wrong, though, hearing what you two have been through.” Miku flipped herself around in order to sit on the chair properly and not by leaning over the backrest. “It makes it seem like I’m lucky.”
“Honestly,” Chris aimed a sad smile to the back of Miku’s head. “I think you’re the worst off of us.”
“You do?” Kirika immediately piped up in confusion.
Chris nodded. “Think about it: you don’t remember your parents, and mine died when I was still a child. We didn’t have time to really establish ‘normal’ lives; we suffered a lot, but we didn’t really have a chance to learn about the alternatives.” Chris sighed as she realized that it sounded as though she was downplaying her own traumatic experiences. “Miku had a normal life, though. She had friends, a family. For years–she was a normal girl. And then all of this shit happened to her at once. We had shit happening to us for years, but Miku just went to a concert one day and then a couple months later she’s fighting for her life over and over again.”
“I can see what you’re going for Chris,” Miku turned her head over her shoulder, flashing Chris a sincere look of generosity. “But I don’t really know if you’re trying to help me feel more... included, here, or if you’re just trying to make yourself feel better.”
“That’s...” Chris stiffened, realizing that she was subconsciously aiming to make the former a reality.
“Besides, it’s clear who the real loser is, here.” Miku looked down at her shaking palm.
It had been months since that fateful day, and yet Miku could not look at her hands without picturing gloves of thick crimson liquid covering her pale skin. The image was burned into her mind; she knew that no matter what she did in her life, she would never be able to atone for the few short moments that completely skewed her outlook on life.
“Hibiki...” She whined, clenching her fist tight. “I miss you... so, so much.”

 Kirika and Chris both watched as Miku began to sob. The frail girl covered head-to-toe in burn marks and remnants of scars had tears streaming from her eyes as she continued to whine the name of her best friend. Her body trembled like a cup on an unsteady table, her sad moans the only sound filling the room.
“It’s okay, M–” Kirika, surprised by this change in atmosphere, began to flail about as she tried to figure out some way to comfort her before being stopped as Chris placed her hand gently upon her shoulder.
“Just let her be. When she’s like this, Miku just needs to let it all out; she doesn’t listen to anyone else.” Chris kept her eyes on Miku as she wore a kind smile. “I know–I do the same, sometimes.”
Kirika turned her gaze away from Chris. “Does it... help?” She mumbled.
“I don’t know if it’s the best way to go about it...” Chris chuckled. “But it does, yeah.”
When Kirika turned her head back to look at Chris, she had her own tears beginning to pool in her multicoloured pupils. “Good... Because I think I’ll try it, death.” She smiled, letting the floodgates open so that rivers could run down her cheeks.
“Jeez...” Chris grumbled. “If you two are crying, how am I supposed to stop myself?”

 The three girls cried in silence, all letting out the emotions that they had bottled up inside of them. For Miku it was the trauma of killing her best friend–the girl she loved–and being used as a weapon; for Chris it was her past as a prisoner, as a girl trapped in a life with no certain future; and for Kirika it was both the experiments she was subjected to and the traumas that her mind rejected the memories of.
Their sobs were like a sad song born straight from the girls’ hearts, echoing throughout the otherwise-silent apartment. Chris, Kirika, and Miku all let their emotions flow out through their eyes, the dark fogs clouding their hearts slowly lifting if only for these few short moments.
None of the girls had any idea how long they sat within Chris’s room crying, but they continued to do so until the sky beyond the window was coated in amber–and it was only once they could cry no more that the three girls found themselves all smiling.
“Look at us.” Miku giggled, wiping the remains of tears from her red eyes. “We’ve saved the world before, but now we’re just sitting here crying our eyes out.”
Chris could not help but laugh as well, and wiped her eyes with the palms of her head. “You wouldn’t see a scene like this in a manga–the heroes sitting around coping with their traumas by crying for hours.”
“You were right, death.” Kirika chuckled, too. “I do feel better!”
In the golden light streaming in to the room of Chris Yukine, the three girls found themselves laughing at their pain, now. The sadness in their heart, the horrors they had faced–with renewed hope, the girls laughed at their traumas to show that they were determined to grow past it.

 Eventually, as the sky began to darken, Chris peacefully exhaled as she looked at the moon beginning to sparkle beyond the glass pane. “I did want to hear a bit about Hibiki, but I guess that could wait for some other day.”
“I’m sorry, Chris. I don’t think I’m entirely ready yet.” Miku bowed her head, but wore a kind smile on her face. “Just give me a little more time... both of you.”
“This was fun, death!” Kirika shouted, standing up. And then she deflated, crumpling back to the ground. “Now what?”
“Well it’s getting late.” Chris leaned back. “Don’t you have to get back to your friends?”
Kirika shook her head. “I bet Maria’s too busy doting on Serena...” Then, stuffing out her cheeks and pouting, Kirika turned her head away. “And Shirabe doesn’t need me any more, death.”
“I got the impression that you two were fairly close.” Miku asked, confused.
“We were, death.” Kirika grumbled. “But now Shirabe only cares about playing with Carol.”
Miku and Chris couldn’t help but laugh at the girl’s comment, which caused the blonde teenager to angrily scream at her friends. “Stop laughing at me, death!”
“No, it’s just...” Chris tried stifling the laughs trying to work their way out of her chest.
“Carol did bring Shirabe back to life.” Miku pointed out. “She probably feels as though she owes her a great deal.”
“But even with that, no one knows you better than Shirabe.” Chris explained. “If she is avoiding you, it’s not only temporary, but it’s also for a reason.”
“What are you trying to say, death?” Kirika mumbled, pulling her chin close to her chest. “Shirabe just likes that alchemist more than me, now.”
Miku sighed with a smile on her face and a slow shake of her head. “Kirika... you’re just jealous, aren’t you?” When Kirika’s eyes widened at the suggestion, Miku’s expression turned into a playful smirk. “I get it, seeing the person you love going out of their way for others.
“But you have to also have trust in them. If Tsu... Shirabe truly disliked you, she would probably make it clear to you. For her to be choosing Carol over you, there has to be a reason for this–and a reason that she can’t tell you, if she hasn’t yet.”
“What do you think that reason could be?” Chris asked. “Birthday?”
“My birthday... was decided to be in April, death.” Kirika shook her head.
“It’s still the middle of summer, so it can’t be Christmas...” Chris continued.
“If I had to guess–and I don’t mean to bring the atmosphere down again...” Miku trailed off for a moment. “There’s likely some drawback to being brought back to life. Shirabe probably wants Carol’s help in remedying this issue, and doesn’t want to worry you.”
Kirika chewed on that idea for a moment, and then recoiled in shock. “Do you think she wants to eat my brain, death!?” Kirika then screamed, her hands gripping her cheeks in fear.
“How...?” Chris sighed. “No, I know how you got to that solution.”
Miku shrugged–an awkward-looking gesture considering her one arm. “Ver’s experiments messed up my body a lot. I can’t feel physical pain, and my senses of smell and taste have dulled. I can imagine a lot more could go wrong when bringing someone back from the dead.”
“Wait, you what?” Chris and Kirika both shouted in surprise at Miku’s revelation–the latter girl adding her trademark to the end of the question. This got a confused look out of Miku in response.
“I told Chris once that I can’t die. Even now, I’ve done some tests and Lan... the relics inside of me are still active. I thought I mentioned my sense of smell before, too...”
Kirika shuffled her eyebrows. “Oh. You mean during the school festival, death.”
“Oh yeah, you didn’t react to Carol’s skunk attack. And you didn’t eat any of the sweets they sold–or anyone sold.” Chris tapped her chin. “Actually, now that I think about it, I don’t think you’ve eaten anything in the past few months.”
Miku shook her head. “I do sometimes drink canned coffees, but I can barely taste it. And I guess my regenerative abilities keep me from going hungry.”
Kirika had a terrified look on her face. “You don’t eat? Not even tasty treats?” Kirika recoiled back again. “You’re a monster, death!”
Miku and Chris both narrowed their eyes at the girl. “Did you forget that time I was literally transformed into a monster?” The former girl ended up asking after a second, only for Kirika to spin around as she realized the meaning of her words.
“Death!!!” She screamed as the gears finally began to turn in her mind.

 Chris stood up off the bed and slammed her hands on her hips. “Let’s keep this cheerful attitude up a bit–I’m tired of being depressed.”
Miku looked at her in confusion. “Yeah?”
“So, let’s watch a movie!” Chris shouted, pumping her fist up in front of her. In response, Kirika let out a cheer as she threw her own arms over her head.
“Mo-vie! Mo-vie!” Kirika began to cheer as she swayed from side-to-side.
“Yeah, okay. It could be fun.” Miku giggled, seeing the excitement in their eyes.
All in agreement, Chris pointed to the door. “Let’s go to the living room!” She announced, earning yet another cheer from Kirika as the two began to march out of Chris’s bedroom.
Miku just watched the two exit with a small smile. “You two... thank you.” Looking out the window to gaze at the giant satellite that orbited the planet, Miku’s eyes were glued to the moon as she let out a calm sigh. “Someday, Hibiki, I know I’ll see you again.”
“Hey, Miku! Are you coming? We found a good one!” Chris yelled from the other one.
“Come on, death!!” Kirika’s voice echoed after Chris’s. “Or we’ll start it without you!”
“Yeah,” Miku called back quietly. As she slowly stood up, putting the chair back behind the desk that she had pulled it from, Miku’s smile grew. “I’m coming.”

 As Miku left the room and turned off the light that had been burning from the corner, her eyes drifted back to the window and the moon still sitting high in the sky. The perfect sphere that was like a hole in the black sheet of the night–a satellite that she had protected once before. Tearing her gaze away from the ball, Miku slowly began to close the door.
When the hinges clicked closed, a shooting star danced through the sky as if to wave to the girl who had been watching the night.

### *Zetsubō no Senki: Symphogear if AXZ*

**Table of Contents**
1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 · 21 · 22 · 23 · 24 · 25 · 26 · 27 · 28 · 29 · 30 · 31 · 32 · 33
#### AXZ Chapter 1

 “Damn it.” The girl with long black hair tied into a ponytail mumbled under her breath as she winced in pain. She had only one arm, with pale skin that was stained red from burn scars that danced across her entire body.
The hand attached to the girl’s remaining hand shook heavily as she looked down at the ground below it. Clenching her teeth, the girl closed her eyes in apology as she took in the sight of what spilled now over the ground beneath her.
“Not again.” She sighed, anger welling up in her heart. Her vision began to waver as she realized that–once again–she had failed a friend, and only the sound of the blood pumping in her chest reached her ears for a moment.

 “You’re being too dramatic, Miku.” A girl with white hair sighed as she bent down, a whisk broom in her hand. “I mean, I am a little sad that this food is going to waste now, but there’s really no need to beat yourself up over it.”
The girl named Chris Yukine had a small smile on her face as she swept up the remains of a bowl–one that had been filled with rice–that her black-haired friend Miku Kohinata, whose hand was now pressed hard against her face in despair, had just dropped onto the ground.
“I know...” She cried out. “But I just feel so useless. I can’t do anything right, can I?”

 It had been only about a week since she had been transformed into a beast named Batara Kala. In that time, her life had taken many twists and turns; a shock, considering the events that had tormented Miku up until that point.
Most of her comrades–her friends–had been thrown into a frenzy as the United Nations scrambled to officially found the Squad of Nexus Guardians (SONG) in order to protect the world from the rising number of supernatural threats–including the Noise that have long threatened humanity.
Even though they had declined to join the organization, Chris Yukine and Miku Kohinata had not been spared from the storm that rocked their friend group. As they had extensive knowledge of the events that had transpired, they were forced to join as ‘reserve’ members–and they were also asked to help their new underclassmen, who had transferred into their school so that the government could keep tabs on their location easier, become accustomed to their new environment; yet Miku had since interacted with only one of the three girls they were supposed to be helping.
That girl, Kirika Akatsuki, was also now standing in Chris Yukine’s apartment, helping the home’s owner clean up the mess that Miku had made–the fourth of its kind in these past few days.

 “Miku, you don’t have to help cook, you know.” Kirika sadly remarked as she pulled out a bag for the pointed corpse of the bowl to be dumped into. “You don’t have to push yourself, death.”
The girl in question shook her head. “All I’ve done over these past few months is wallow in sadness and destroy anything I cared about. I want to do something to help now, instead.”
“I fully understand where you’re coming from, Miku,” Chris sighed. Dumping the trash she had collected into Kirika’s bag, the girl with white hair began to tie up the small bag. “But you still need to know your own limits. You can’t do everything on your own.”
“You’re right, I know you are...” Miku grumbled, puffing out her cheeks as depression drowned her heart. “But I feel like I can’t just do nothing.”
“Relying on others doesn’t mean you’re doing nothing, death.” Kirika said in a surprisingly serious tone.
At first, the two girls believed this to be a comment from the second soul present within the small girl’s body–an eternally-reincarnated priestess known as Finé–but the addition to the end of the sentence gave away that it was truly Kirika Akatsuki who spoke. When Chris and Miku realized that they had just managed to get a rare peek at the Kirika beneath the enthusiastic and cheerful mask she wore, they looked at each other in shock.
“Everyone always told me I was useless, death. But, now that I have Finé’s memories, I know that I have the power to be more active.” Kirika continued as she picked up the bag and slung it over her shoulder. “But I also know when and where I can be useful to people–and I decided that my jobs are to keep Maria and Shirabe smiling, and to protect the world, death.”
“Expertly said.” Kirika’s mouth spoke two more words, though the tone of her words sounded unlike her own–even in comparison to the rare, ‘serious’ voice that Kirika had just used. This is because she was not the one to speak this comment; it was Finé who did so.
“It’s a little weird seeing you be serious.” Chris had a concerned look on her face. “Especially since you’re so airheaded around the others.”
“You may be surprised to learn, then,” Finé continued, and the girl whose mouth voiced her comments began to blush. “That the original Kirika Akatsuki was actually quite intelligent, despite not having any actual schooling of her own. Had she lived a normal life, she likely would have been considered a child prodigy.”
“And whose fault is it that she wasn’t?” Miku asked with a furrowed brow.
“Actually, I don’t mind where I am now, death.” The real Kirika reappeared as a smile stretched across the blonde-haired girl’s face. “If I hadn’t gone through what I did, I never would have met Shirabe and Maria. Or the two of you, death!”
 “That’s...” Chris’s face turned red as well at her words. Blowing out her cheeks in embarrassment, Chris tilted her face to the side to hide her flustered look from Kirika, whose face was similarly rosy. “I’m glad I met the two of you, too.”
“I have to ask, though.” Miku, on the other hand, contrasted the two girls with an expression that still reflected her internal turmoil. “Are you intentionally leaving out Serena? You only bring up Maria and Shirabe whenever you talk about your friends.”
“That may be my fault.” Finé poked her voice into the conversation once again, but was immediately silenced as Kirika’s consciousness took over again. “No, death. I just don’t know Serena all that well, honestly. I would like to get to her know her, death...”
“But your friends seem a little preoccupied right now.” Miku nodded. “I see.”
“I mean, I don’t want to not make Serena happy, death!” Kirika’s eyes opened wide as a flame ignited in her heart. “I want to make everyone smile!”
“That sounds more like the goofy Kirika I’m used to.” Chris chuckled, a smirk curling at one end of her lips.
In response, Kirika wore a proud expression as she thrust her hands upon her hips. She was opening her mouth, ready to say something–likely to live up to the adjective Chris used to describe her–when the ringing of a cell phone interrupted the three girls’ poor attempts to cook dinner.
The phone now chirping was that of Miku Kohinata, who reached into her pocket and plucked the singing device from the pocket of the baggy grey pants that covered her scarred legs.

 “Miku!” A cheerful voice screamed through the small speaker before Miku could even utter a greeting of her own. She, of course, recognized this voice–it belonged to one of the students she had befriended when she actually attended classes: Yumi Itaba.
“Yumi? Why are you screaming?” Miku held the phone away from her ear a short distance, yet the voice of the girl with the brown twintails was still carried into her ear with ease.
“Are you busy right now?” Yumi continued with a question, and gave Miku a moment to gaze around the room.
The kitchen was a mess–none of the three girls knew how to cook at all, and Miku had made a further mess with her inability to keep her one arm steady. Despite all that they had prepped, the only food they had actually decided was edible was the rice they had cooked... some of which was still on the ground around her feet.
“I guess not.” Miku blinked as she took in the mess of the scene. “We were going to make dinner, but that really is not going well.”
“Good.” Yumi’s enthusiastic call ignored the other girl’s more-depressed tone, rolling over Miku’s worries as she just happily continued on. “You’re with Chris, right? Are you guys willing to come help us with something?”
“Kirika’s here, too.” Miku barely managed to add even this into the one-sided conversation as Yumi just continued rolling on.
“That’s good. Anyway, we’ll be there in a few minutes–just wait outside!”
And with that, Yumi hung up.
“What was that about?” Chris asked, one eyebrow raised.
“I guess,” Miku sighed. “We’re going out.”

. . .

 It was late evening, and the sky was beginning to darken ever so slightly. As such, the black helicopter with the four golden letters spelling out ‘SONG’ upon its sides stood out like a blemish against the burning summer sky. Miku Kohinata watched through narrowed eyes as her ponytail flailed about, the helicopter slowly descending onto the empty street in front of Lydian Private Music Academy’s dorms.
The black-haired girl was not alone. Chris Yukine and Kirika Akatsuki stood by her sides, as did two other girls: Kuriyo Ando and Shiori Terashima. They were Yumi Itaba’s closest friends, and two of the only people Miku had managed to befriend at Lydian before Chris and the girls that were now members of SONG had transferred in.
Kuriyo and Shiori had been brought in to work for SONG as support staff since they were often caught up in the goings-on that SONG was founded to deal with–and this was mainly because of Miku’s presence. They had similarly been called by Yumi and forced to participate in whatever strange event they were now getting engaged in.
All five of these girls waited for the vehicle to touch down in silence–any words they spoke would have been drowned out by the screaming of the helicopter’s blades that drew attention from the students curiously looking out of their windows at the scene. Among the girls peering out of their rooms were three of Chris Yukine’s classmates, who banged on their windows trying to get their friend’s attention once they saw her–of course, it was a useless endeavour considering the helicopter, and the white-haired girl boarded the helicopter with her friends without even realizing that her classmates had seen her.

 Putting on headphones so that the crew crowding into the helicopter could converse, Chris was the one to ask the obvious question to Yumi Itaba and the brown-haired man that piloted the helicopter beside her. “Can someone tell us what we’re doing here?”
“You didn’t give them details?” The man asked the girl beside him, who playfully shrugged in response.
Ogawa sighed, but a smile still crossed his lips.

 Shinji Ogawa was Yumi Itaba’s direct superior in the SONG hierarchy, and they had been working together gathering intelligence for the Japanese government for the past three months. Alone, Ogawa was fairly capable at getting any bit of data required–he came from a family that handed down traditional ninja techniques that had since been lost to time–but Yumi, with her extensive knowledge of random subjects that she has acquired from anime, has only made his job all the more easy.
...In theory, anyway. In the few months that the two had been working together, Yumi and Ogawa had grown incredibly close–a result of the fact that they would sometimes go days without speaking to anyone else, should work call for it. Some believed them to be related with how friendly the two had become with one another, and both Ogawa and Yumi held high amounts of respect for the other.
But this level of familiarity also birthed a strange relationship where the two would often playfully disrespect one another when not in situations of the utmost urgency. Ogawa had spat out more coffees than he could count at this point, after Yumi had decided to swap out sugar for salt. Ogawa had taken his own time to get revenge, too, of course, but Yumi seemed to always be one more step ahead of him.
Despite this friendly rivalry between them, Ogawa was still the ‘secret weapon’ of the Japanese government–and now SONG–and Yumi took her duties as his assistant (and self-declared partner) incredibly seriously. The young man knew that, in time, Yumi could easily surpass him, even in the ninja arts he had drilled into his mind since he was a child.

 “I told you about what we wanted to do a... well, I guess it would make sense that you’d forgotten with all that’s happened.” Yumi began to explain. “Remember–it was about a week ago–we wanted you all to help us test something at Frontier?”
“Oh, right.” Kuriyo said. “I had completely forgotten about that.”
“What are they talking about?” Kirika asked Miku, who gave the girl a similarly-confused look in response.
“We also didn’t get much of an explanation at the time.” Chris turned to her two friends.
Shiori nodded. “We were basically just told to find you–” The blonde-haired girl pointed to Miku. “–And then go to Frontier.”
“But all that other... stuff kind of interrupted us.” Kuriyo sighed.
“So, *Ogawa*, what are we doing?” Chris asked the brown-haired pilot, specifically enunciating the man’s name.
“I’ll explain it once we get there, don’t worry.” He sighed. “We’ll reach Frontier in a couple minutes.”

. . .

 “I would like to apologize to the two of you for bringing you here.”
It was a couple of hours before Miku and the others were picked up by Yumi and Ogawa that two different girls found themselves in a familiar environment: a small, antiquated house that was surrounded by a lush, green meadow. The owner of this abode stood before them, with an uncomfortable look on her face.
One of the girls had long black hair tied with pink and purple ribbons into two twintails that draped down to her elbows. She looked at the home’s owner with large red eyes and a blank expression on her face.
“It’s fine, Carol.” Shirabe Tsukuyomi reassured the one speaking to her.
The other girl had long brown hair, which she adorned with four pink decorations that resembled graceful Xs. She had fluffy bangs that extended down in some areas to poke at her teal-green eyes, which right now stared at the girl before her–Carol–with curiosity.
“I assume,” Serena Cadenzavna Eve began to ask. “That you want to make sure that we...”
“Yes. The two of you are... unique, to say the least.” Carol took over after Serena trailed off. “I wish to study whatever effects that the Rod of Asclepius may have had on you. I already know about the mental toll that occurs upon its subjects, but there have been several other oddities that I also wish to understand.”
“Oddities?” Serena asked, just as Shirabe tilted her own head.
“Particularly in regards to Shirabe Tsukuyomi.” Carol grunted, turning her gaze to the black-haired girl before her. “There are several mysteries surrounding her that I wish to understand.”
“Like?” Despite the curiosity that the question implied, Shirabe spoke the single word without a hint of emotion in her voice. The reason for this came down to the relic known as the Rod of Asclepius: an ancient device capable of resurrecting the dead, though it had a cost–those who defied death were stripped of their emotions.
“Regarding your Symphogear, primarily. While working to heal you and those other two girls–Chris Yukine, mainly, as Maria Cadenzavna Eve required very little treatment and demanded she be sent back into battle–I questioned the government official about the mechanisms of the Symphogears.” Carol crossed her arms. “Weapons that draw out the songs in your hearts–a song theoretically born from emotions that the two of you now lack. Your ability to wield a Symphogear should have been lost–not to mention, it had been destroyed by Batara Kala.”
“I don’t actually remember my death.” Shirabe poked her chin as she finally righted her head. “My final memories before waking up in this house are of riding up the back of the monster, and then being sent flying through the air.”
“What? You don’t even remember protecting me?” Serena turned to Shirabe, a look of surprise on her face. Unlike Shirabe, who had been fairly stoic even before being reborn, Serena had been attempting to regain the piece of humanity that she had lost by acting out the emotions she believed she would be feeling. This was not foolproof, however...
“What the heart and brain would react to are quite different, indeed. Logic dictated you be surprised at the lack of memories...” Carol muttered just loud enough to get the two girls’ attention. “Yet, Serena Cadenzavna Eve, you neglected to react to my blunt mention of Shirabe Tsukuyomi’s death. Surely a traumatic experience that one would want to sidestep around, no?”
“Oh.” The mask that Serena had been wearing crumbled as her face transformed into a blank canvas. “Yes. I suppose you’re right about that.”

 “The fact that Shirabe Tsukuyomi’s memories had been tampered with is something that I did not overlook, either.” Carol cupped her chin. “It just proves my theory even more likely.”
“Wait,” Serena’s empty stare lit back up as she feigned a curious expression. “But I also have no memories of my death. I asked Maria to tell me what happened, but...”
“That is understandable.” Carol nodded before beginning to pace back and forth. “You remained in a comatose state after being revived, and only awoke once my Autoscorer erased that memory from your mind. I believe you remained inactive for a time because your brain was trying to make sense of the fact that you should not have been alive.
“When I had revived Shirabe Tsukuyomi, I had anticipated that something similar would have occurred–and was thus shocked when she appeared and was immediately ready to engage in battle.” Carol looked at the two girls now as she stopped meandering. “That her brain was able to understand and make sense of her sudden resurrection without tampering... the possibility exists, as otherwise the stories of the Rod of Asclepius’s powers would have mentioned that all subjected to it would awake in comas. It was when she displayed the ability to use her Symphogear that my suspicions truly took shape.”
“So you think, then,” Shirabe looked down, and pulled at the red crystal hanging around her neck–the Symphogear born from the relic known as Shul Shagana. “That there was third party involved in my death.”
“Wait, then what about me?” Serena stepped forwards. “I can also use a Symphogear.”
“Yes, but you should know that your use of the Shénshòujìng relic is not identical to that of the other Symphogears.” Carol explained. “That mad doctor bound the relic to your central nervous system; you can draw out its power through thoughts instead of through songs. Your brain had fully accepted its merger, and thus when I transferred your self into a homunculus body, I needed to do the same. I suspect, though, that the fact that you do not sing while making use of Shénshòujìng may be a side effect of the Rod of Asclepius, however.”
“Oh.” Serena stepped back, wearing a sad expression.
“That is why I called the two of you here today: I would like to analyse your minds and bodies. For Shirabe Tsukuyomi, I wish to understand how you are still capable of engaging in combat; and I wish to make sure you are suffering no physical effects from the relic as well. For Serena Cadenzavna Eve, I merely wish to analyse how your thoughts control Shénshòujìng, though I would also like to analyse your brain’s electrical powers for the sake of comparison.”
“Okay, then.” Shirabe nodded. The girl then did something that Carol did not expect: she cracked a small smile. “I will help you, Carol.”
“Thank you, my friend.” Carol replied with a small smile of her own.
“Oh, geez.” Serena tapped her fingers together. “I feel like a third wheel, here.”

 Several hours later, the two girls looked over Carol’s golden hair as she sat in a chair, a small yellow staff dancing between her fingers. The small girl with the braid longer than she was tall eventually let out a sigh as she pinched her forehead with her other hand.
“Well.” Carol grunted. “After all of that, I have really only determined two things.”
Serena bent forwards over the couch so that she could get a look at Carol’s teal eyes. “And those two things are...?”
“For one, I have confirmed my hypothesis that Shirabe Tsukuyomi had her mind altered at some point by a third party. I suspect that, when she faded away upon her apparent death, she had actually been teleported elsewhere; as my Autoscorers did not report any disruptions at the time, the alchemist behind her alteration must be incredibly talented... or, perhaps a relic was at work.”
“Do you think that her Symphogear was also saved at the time?”
“No. I believe that the Symphogear she wielded at the time was destroyed.” Carol closed her eyes. “But I still do not know how she came to be in possession of a second one.”
“What is the second thing?” Shirabe asked, still standing behind the couch.
“The second thing,” Carol looked down at the Rod of Asclepius in her hand. “Is that this relic is dangerous–it needs to be destroyed.”
“But, what if something else...” Serena began to ask, only to be shut down.
“Enough! Death is a natural end for every human being–even someone such as I will eventually meet the reaper. That is something which must not be tampered with.” Carol snarled like a feral animal at Serena’s idea.
“But what about your father?” Shirabe asked.
“Yes. I know how ironic it must be to hear me say such things,” Carol sighed, her voice calming. Then, lowering her eyebrows, she looked at Serena. “So, know this: what I am about to tell you must never be spoken to another human being.”
“Huh?” Serena was somewhat confused, but nodded anyway. “Yes, alright.”
“The Rod of Asclepius does not bring people back from the dead–or, rather, that is not its intended purpose.”

 “Master.” Leiur appeared in the house a few minutes later. Leiur was one of Carol’s four robotic assistants–her Autoscorers, who all specialized in one of the alchemical elements. The robot donned in golden clothing and topped with a head of indigo hair looked at the two small girls looking at her from a short distance away, and then turned her gaze to her master. “Apologies for interrupting you.”
“It’s fine, Leiur. We were just finishing.” Carol crossed her arms as she sat on the couch. “What do you have to report?”
“You–and, incidentally, the two girls behind you–have been summoned. Apparently the ninja and his assistant believe that you may be interested in the results of the experiment they are about to perform.”
“An experiment? Hmm...” Carol closed her eyes. “Very well.”

. . .

 Chris collapsed onto the ground, her chest rising and falling as she struggled for breath. “Holy... shit... why... didn’t... you guys... come up... with a... better... way... to... get... up... here...?”
Yumi smiled deviously as they looked down at the four girls who collapsed onto the wooden scaffolding that extended around the central platform of Frontier’s control platform. Yumi’s mischievous smirk only darkened as she began to speak. “We do. We just thought it would be fun to see your reactions to having to take this journey.”
After disembarking from the helicopter, Yumi and Ogawa had led their five passengers to the central tower that extended up off of the artificial, floating island known as Frontier. Once inside, they began to ascend what the girls could only describe as the longest ladder in human history.
But one of the five girls had no issue ascending, and now clutched her chest. “I’m okay. It’s okay. He’s not here.” She whispered to herself, though her own voice barely reached her ears over the sound of the pounding heart in her chest.
When she had last been inside of this tower, Miku Kohinata had been under the command of Dr. Ver, and had attacked Chris (and some of the other Symphogear wielders) with an army of Noise that she had summoned with the data of Solomon’s Cane that still resided within her. Thus, her return to this place brought those traumatic events to the front of her mind.
“Are you okay, Kohinata?” Ogawa walked up to Miku. As she clutched her chest tight, she weakly nodded–though this was a blatant lie that even he could see through. But, considering her answer, Ogawa decided that it would be best to give her the distance she wished.
“How... is she... the one... in... the... worst shape... death...?” Kirika gasped out. She was laying face-down on the ground, with one cheek pressed against the floor. “She... flew...”
Knowing that she would have a difficult time returning to the tower, Miku opted to forego the climb that her friends all engaged in. Instead, using the power of the different relics within her, Miku simply flew up to the platform once she had worked up the courage to do so.
“Miku if... you need to leave... for a bit...” Kuriyo was sitting on the ground with her legs stretched out before her. “I... don’t... blame you...”
“No.” Miku squeaked out. “I’ll be fine... thanks.”
“We’re all here... Miku...” Shiori smiled from her similar position beside Kuriyo. “You have nothing... to worry about...”

 “I was told that you wished to see me.” A voice rang out. As the golden-haired Carol appeared on the platform only a short distance away from Miku, the girls on the ground all scrambled away in surprise. Miku, still trying to compose herself, did not even seem to register the alchemist’s appearance, nor Shirabe and Serena only a few seconds later.
Upon seeing the sorry state of the girls on the ground, Shirabe quickly shuffled over to Kirika. “Kiri, are you okay?”
“Shirabe... yeah... I’m good...”
“What happened to all of you?” Serena asked, leaning over Kuriyo and Shiori.
“We... need to... learn alchemy...” Kuriyo sighed, falling onto her back in defeat.
Shiori offered a small smile of apology. “We... had to climb... up here...”
“It can’t be that long, can it?” Serena asked, before scuttling over to the edge of the platform. Peering over it, her eyes went wide as she only saw darkness waiting below her. “Oh.”
“Yeah...” Chris barked. “Just... give us... a minute...”
Ogawa cleared his throat. “I suppose, then, that I will take this time to explain what I want you to do.”
From her position on the ground, Kuriyo raised her hands. “Finally!” She gasped, before her posture deflated and her arms fell back to the ground. This earned a chuckle from Yumi, Shiori, and Chris.
Ignoring that, Ogawa continued. “We believe that only certain individuals possess the ability to actually control Frontier, and we wish to learn why. From what we have observed, Dr. Ver and Kanade possess the ability to comprehend the glyphs that command this island–but Ver is deceased, and Kanade’s explanations have been...”
“Completely useless.” Yumi finished. “And, unfortunately, everyone else who has tried to control Frontier–including me–has had absolutely no clue what any of the images mean. That’s why we called everyone here.”
Ogawa picked up before any questions could be asked. “Originally, the people we wanted to test this most were Yukine and Miku. But, since everything else that has transpired, I was curious as to whether Tsukuyomi, Serena, and Akatsuki would understand the images, as well. Not to mention...”
“You wish to see if this control mechanism makes use of alchemy.” Carol nodded. “I understand your curiosity well, ninja, and will offer you my assistance, now.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Ogawa nodded.
“So...” Chris slowly began to climb to her feet. “We just have to touch that glowing orb thing?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Alright.”
On steady feet that showed no sign of fatigue, Chris walked up to the shrine and hopped up the staircase leading up to the aforementioned ‘glowing orb’ that controlled Frontier. With a confident smile on her face, the white-haired girl placed her hand upon the device. “Here goes noth...”
A flash of different images pierced Chris’s mind as soon as her skin touched the device, forcing her to stop speaking as her ability to focus was ripped away from her. The typhoon of glyphs and ruins that she could not understand assaulted her brain at a high speed. The sensation that she felt caused Chris to lose her balance, and she collapsed to her knees; her hand, however, still touched the device, as she was too interested to pull it away.
Then, from somewhere far away, she heard a voice. It was a woman’s voice, one that Chris felt a strange connection to, though she spoke in a language that she could not understand at all–until one word was uttered, at which point Chris Yukine vaguely understood what she was hearing: it was a language lost to time, the one used by the Custodians that crafted humanity.
The same language that the Symphogear wielders used to activate their Superb Song.
Chris ripped her hand away from the device, and realized how drained of energy she was. It was not the same as before, where her body felt heavy after having climbed such a long way upwards–rather, it felt as though her life force had been drained from her body. She felt weak, useless; Chris even lacked the ability to stand or focus her vision on a single point.
“Chris!”
The voice of Miku snapped Chris back to reality, and her gaze straightened for just a moment as she turned her head to look over her shoulder.
And then Chris Yukine fully collapsed, her head smashing against the cold, stone ground. As her consciousness drifted away, Chris heard the mysterious woman’s strange voice in her mind, humming a very familiar tune. Before her eyes closed, Chris’s lips began to weakly utter the lyrics to this song, though she lost herself before the full tune could be completed:

*Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal...*

#### AXZ Chapter 2

 Darkness stretched out across infinity, and in the centre of this black void was the glowing form of a teenage girl: Chris Yukine. Her body felt boiling hot, yet freezing cold; her lungs filled with both the cleanest air of the mountains and the dirtiest city smog; her body weighed down by the weight of the thickest mud, yet lighter than air.
Chris Yukine could not speak, nor could she see. She had no concept of time, nor reality–how long she had been floating in this void and where she was, Chris had no idea. But she was fully aware that she was not dead; though whether she was alive, she could not say.
The one thing that had comforted her throughout her time in this raven prison was the song that seemed to reverberate out, as if it were the very air. The song was familiar to her, one she had heard somewhere before yet never sung.
For just a brief moment, a thought crossed her mind–a single word that she clung onto like an anchor. As she grabbed hold to this brief flash of consciousness, Chris felt the world around her begin to tear itself apart.
She was like a yolk floating within an egg. The walls of the black hell that Chris Yukine had found herself in began to crack open, and a stream of white poured in from the crevice that had been created. Chris did not know what was happening, but this scene felt familiar to her as well, albeit in a different way.

*Oh,* Chris thought, reaching up towards the holy glow now bathing her. *This must have been how Miku had felt.*

*Beep*
*Beep*
*Beep*

 Chris Yukine slowly opened her eyes, only to then shut them tight again as her vision was blurred by bright, fluorescent lights. The chemical smell that pierced her nostrils told Chris that she was in a hospital, and inferred (correctly) that she must have been in the medical bay of SONG’s headquarters.
Her head felt heavy, and Chris’s vision spun slightly as her eyes adjusted to the light. When she opened her mouth to speak, she found that her throat–no, her entire body–was drier than the most arid desert; only a weak croak passed her lips.
But that quiet noise was enough to attract the attention of someone nearby.

 “Ah... you’re awake!” A high voice squeaked, though Chris could not picture a face in her mind.
She stared up at the ceiling, unable to move her head, so it was only once the fair-skinned face with blue, mouse-like eyes and topped with short, greenish hair belonging to the source slid over her that Chris realized who had reacted.
“El...” Chris tried to say the girl’s name, but only barely managed to crack out the first part as her voice began to simmer out.
Making a surprised expression, the girl–Elfnein–slid away from Chris. The sound of a chair’s wheels rolling upon the cool tiles signifying this to the Symphogear wielder. “Oh... water, water! I need to...!” A thud then reached her ears, as did the pained moan of Elfnein that told Chris that she had fallen over. “Oh no.”
“Ah...” Chris tried to ask, but felt herself unable to.
“Just wait there!” Elfnein squeaked in a panic, followed by the pitter-patter of light footsteps.

 Tired of looking up at the small, artificial suns burning above her, Chris tried to adjust herself and sit up. Chris tried to move her position but found that her legs had seemingly been bound–they were unwilling to move; thus, she just shuffled her arms enough to user her elbows as legs for her to lean up against.
“Oh.” Chris’s weak voice let out a surprised gasp at what she saw when she looked down.
Miku sat in a chair beside her, deeply asleep and using Chris’s legs as a pillow. Her breathing was calm and peaceful, a slight smile upon the girl’s pale face that was partially hidden by her loose and messy black hair. The sight made Chris’s heart warm slightly, and she found a smile passing her own dry lips.
The sound of Elfnein’s feet growing louder drew Chris’s attention away from her friend’s face, and she looked to the entry just in time to see Elfnein returning with a comically-large thermos that Chris assumed was full of water.
Which the girl then dropped as she, again, tumbled to the ground. Luckily, the top of the container stayed on tight–none of the liquid within spilled out–but the clang of the metal upon tile was loud enough, and startling enough, to disturb Miku’s sleep, and the girl shuffled uncomfortably slightly.
Climbing to her feet and groping around for the cylindrical case, Elfnein let out a deep, and embarrassed, sigh. With her small hands, the girl screwed off the lid of the thermos, and then poured some of the cool, clear liquid into it as if it were a cup. “Here! Water!”
“Tha.” Chris nodded, offering up as much of a reply as she could. With trembling hands, Chris reached out and took the water.
“Drink it slowly. Your body might not be able to handle it if you drink too much at once.” Elfnein cautioned, to which Chris nodded in response.
Slowly bringing the cup to her lips, Chris instantly felt her lips become energized as even the slightest bit of water touched her skin, and all of her care disappeared from her mind.
“Ah.” Elfnein let out a bit of an anxious gasp when she realized that, seconds later, the bit of water that she had given Chris had been entirely consumed.
The girl in the bed held out the cup. “More... ple...ase.” Chris croaked, her voice slightly more lively that it had been before.
“But... ah... okay.” Elfnein, ignoring her own warning, obliged, and poured more of the liquid into the out-streched cup. This, too, was almost-instantly inhaled, and Chris wiped her lips with her wrist as she held the cup out towards Elfnein again.
This repeated several more times, until Chris had consumed the entirety of the thermos’s contents. “Thanks.” Chris eventually smiled, though her voice was still somewhat raspy.
“You... don’t feel sick?” Elfnein tilted her head in confusion.
“I feel fine.” Chris’s rocky tone implied otherwise, but her bright eyes and small smile did work in favour towards her claim. “What happened.”
“Okay, please don’t freak out, okay Yukine?”
“Freak out?”
“You’ve been asleep for a little over a month.”
Taking a moment to take in the comment, Chris mulled it over in her mind as if she were trying to determine the taste of a treat. After a second, she found it–what she had been looking for.
Chris’s eyes flew open, and she screamed in surprise. “Huh?”
Elfnein glanced towards Miku, who stirred at Chris’s cry, and shoved a finger to her own lips as if to tell Chris to be quiet–forgetting that she had both knocked over a chair and dropped a metal thermos on the ground already. Chris gave the small girl a look that pointed out this irony, and Elfnein began to flail about in apology.

 “It’s been a month?” Chris asked, this time keeping her voice calm.
“Do you remember what happened at Frontier?” Elfnein replied with a sudden question of her own. “You were knocked out then, and remained comatose now.”
Elfnein’s eyes drifted down to Miku, still asleep. “And she’s been by your side this whole time.”
Chris felt touched by the sentiment, and then recoiled back. “The whole time?”
Elfnein shook her head. “Itaba has been forcing her to eat and... ah! I should tell the commander that you’ve awoken!”
“Wait, no. Before that.” Chris stopped Elfnein, grabbing the girl’s white lab coat with her weak, quivering fingers. “Tell me what happened.”
“We... don’t actually know what happened to you.” Elfnein admitted. “You tried to activate Frontier, and then you fell into a coma. But you were the only one to suffer any ill effects like that.”

~ ~ ~

 Miku dashed over to Chris’s side, picking the limp girl up into her arms with ease. The white-haired girl’s eyes were closed shut, but Miku could feel blood pumping through the body she held; she was physically fine, and Miku let out a sigh of relief.
“Is she okay?” Yumi asked Miku as she, Kuriyo, and Shiori climbed up the altar to meet her.
“I think she just fell asleep.” Miku furrowed her brow. “No. Maybe... that thing knocked her out.”
“Fascinating.” Carol announced from behind Miku–when she had moved there, the black-haired girl did not know nor care. The golden-haired alchemist bent over the orb glowing atop the pedestal, floating just off the ground in order to do so due to her short height.
“What part of this is fascinating?” Shiori cried out in surprise.
“Your friend is fine. My homunculus bodies are not so weak that they would be killed by something that would not cause physical harm. Whatever knocked your friend out, it is likely a result of her mind being stressed too far by this device.” Carol waved the girls’ worries away without even glancing towards them. “Although, the fact that that girl could fall victim to some unidentified mental strain generated from this device...”
The girl placed her hand upon the orb, and everyone around Carol tensed up as they awaited her collapse. After a few moments, the small alchemist pulled her hand away slowly, using it then to cup her chin. “Hmm...” she hummed as thoughts filled her mind.

 “Regardless of what happened, we should move Chris somewhere else.” Kuriyo suggested, turning away from Carol to instead face Miku. “We need to give her a bed... or something.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea.” Shiori nodded. “Let’s lay her down on the ground over there. Hopefully she’ll wake up.”
Miku nodded at their suggestion and, with Kuriyo and Shiori by her sides, the three began to make their way back down the steps and away from Carol. Yumi, however, stayed behind, curiously looking at the back of the alchemist still studying Frontier’s otherworldly controller.
“Carol?” The girl with the curly twintails asked. When she got no response, verbal or otherwise, she continued speaking. “I think you mentioned before that your alchemy is powered from your memories? Can you project your memories like a film, then?”
“Yes, I do possess that ability.” Carol commented coolly without turning around.
“Can you project what you saw when you touched the orb, then? So that we could compare...”
“No, there is no need.” Carol turned around, with a dark glare in her eyes. “I saw nothing when I touched the device. I suspect that that girl, there, may have... short-circuited it, in a way...”
The alchemist looked down, still combing through her thoughts. “No... perhaps it would be more apt to say that the device no longer wishes to engage with us–at least, for the moment.”
Confused by Carol’s comments, Yumi bounced past the alchemist and placed her hand upon the smooth, rounded surface.
But, true to the alchemist’s words, no alien words appeared in her mind.

~ ~ ~

 “Truthfully,” Elfnein admitted. “I would like you to try to touch that orb again. In Carol’s words, it seems like it ‘does not want to communicate with any more humans.’”
“I don’t think I did anything...” Chris muttered, looking at the hand that she had used to connect her mind to Frontier. “But I did see this... thing...”
“A thing?” Elfnein’s curious eyes sparkled.
“I think it was a woman... maybe... It looked humanoid, but...” Chris clutched her head. “Ugh, I can’t remember. It’s all a blur.”
“What about the Superb Song?”
The sudden interruption of Miku’s voice caused Elfnein to jump, and Chris looked down at her friend with a glad look on her face. “Thank you for...”
Miku did not listen to the entirety of Chris’s comment, and instead roughly reached for the collar of the hospital gown that the white-haired girl wore.
“Eh? Eh!?” Elfnein began to panic, but Chris only paid attention to the flames burning behind Miku’s eyes.
“The Superb Song. You were trying to sing it before you fell unconscious.” Miku angrily huffed, but the roughness in her eyes began to falter. Slowly, the edges of her gaze began to blur as tears welled up in front of her pupils.
The black-haired girl, then, threw her one arm around Chris. “I thought you were trying to leave me too, just like Hibiki did. Why...? Why were you trying to sing the Superb Song?”
“Miku...” Chris was surprised and confused, but slowly her arms began to wrap themselves around the girl hugging her. With a gentle pat on Miku’s back, Chris continued. “I’m sorry for worrying you.”
“This is the first time I’m hearing about her singing the Superb Song.” Elfnein commented, breaking through the moment that the two were trying to have. When Chris’s eyes landed upon the small girl, she saw her prodding her cheek with the back of a pen. “Even if she had sung it, I don’t believe it would have done anything without Ichaival being active.”
“Shut up.” Miku whispered, though it was barely audible; Chris could not even make out the words–to her, it only sounded like a sigh.
“Additionally, I don’t believe that the Superb Song would have any adverse effects on Yukine. Though I do not have any concrete proof to substantiate that, other than your own ability to negate the damage, Kohinata.”
“Wait–Miku can do what?” Chris asked, confused. What she could not see, as her face was positioned over Chris’s shoulder, was that Miku looked away as a blush crept over her face.
“I told you, didn’t I...?” Miku muttered, embarrassed. “I’m immortal.”
“But when the two of you combined the powers of your Superb Songs to defeat Batara Kala,” Elfnein picked up, ignoring the emotions of the girl burying her pale face within Chris’s snowy hair. “Chris, too, suffered only minimal physical injuries. I have several theories as to why, but my leading one–albeit far too dangerous to test–would be due to your homunculus body.”
“Far too dangerous to test...” Chris repeated, the image of Serena Cadenzavna Eve appearing in her mind. Like her, she had been gifted a false body–though while Chris required one in order to survive a fatal injury, Chris was under the impression that Serena simply asked Carol to make her look older.
“Not to mention, it may be impossible as well.” Elfnein sighed. “Serena, like Tsukuyomi, was brought back from the dead, and we still do not know to what extent their bodies and minds have been affected by this. It’s entirely possible, and likely, that neither of them are even capable of using their Superb Songs any longer.”

 “I feel as though we got slightly off-topic.” Miku grumbled into Chris’s hair, her sole arm still wrapping Chris in a tight grip. “But I’m glad to have you back.”
“Yeah, Miku.” Chris smiled. “I’m glad to be back, too. I’m sorry for worrying you.”
“Uhh... by the way, Kohinata...” Elfnein shuffled on the spot. “Now that Yukine is awake, would you be...”
“I told Genjuro, didn’t I?” Miku sighed, pulling herself away from Chris so that she could level her cold gaze at Elfnein. “I’m done with fighting.”
“But we’re just...!”
“I know how this works.” Miku sighed. “It always turns into a fight.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Chris looked back and forth between the two girls, a confused look on her face.
Elfnein sighed. “Oh yeah. We’re... not in Japan right now.”
Chris gave the two girls an unamused glare. “You two... really do need to learn to explain the important parts first.”

~ ~ ~

 Shirabe Tsukuyomi surrounded herself in a giant saw as she carved her way through the earth. A lush jungle spread out around her, but her focus was on the giant beast that looked down upon the foliage above the small girl. She was not alone on this journey: Tsubasa Kazanari rode on a motorcycle alongside the pink girl; they were both clad in their own Symphogear armours.
“That’s the signal we were picking up?” The voice of Sakuya Fujitaka called out in their headsets in surprise.
“No. I think... it’s guarding it.” Tomosato muttered over the airwaves.
“Send us their location.” Maria called out. “Tsubasa, Shirabe–we’ll be right there!”
“Don’t do anything reckless, Tsubasa.” Kanade warned.
“Be careful, Shirabe!” Kirika cried.
“They’re totally going to fight that thing.” Kuriyo quiet mutter echoed into their ears.
The two girls who were on the receiving end of the call did not answer, though they heard every comment that was made clearly. It was not as though they did not want to acknowledge their friends–they simply couldn’t. As they rode forwards, the girls were singing a powerful song, their hearts working together as one.

*Kono michi wo kake agaru wake*
*Tatoe gyakufū ga purotekuto shite kitatte*
*“Kanade au” koto wasurezu susumi yukō*
*Ushinatte kara kidzuku namida wa mujō no kiwami dakara*

*“Dokomade mo yukeru mienai tsubasa ni kidzukeba”*
*Ten ni matta kotonoha tachi*
*Uketsuide mae mukō*
*Kabe wo koe sono saki no yūki ni tsunagō*

 As the two girls sped through the trees, the holey sheet of shadows from the leaves above them draped over their path, Tsubasa and Shirabe cut down the monsters that marched towards them. Technicolour monstrosities from another dimension: Noise; the giant beast they were headed towards–a draconic beast with three heads–was one such Noise, though the ones they mowed down with ease were mostly bipedal and quadruped creatures that were fairly weak.
“They’re ignoring us.” The voices of the four members of the Symphogear users’ support staff–Kuriyo, Shiori, Tomosato, and Fujitaka–all overlapped as they sighed as one into the communications line. They knew that the two girls had engaged in combat, and the energy readings given off by some of the lesser Noise began to disappear from their radars.

 “Ah, I see now why you wanted them to wait.” Kanade commented. Though Shirabe and Tsubasa were unaware of her location, the support staff pinpointed the orange girl to a cliff not too far away from the other girls’ location; she could easily see the monster towering above the trees below her.
A girl clad in green and black armour stood beside Kanade with the blade of a giant scythe planted in the ground behind. The long blonde hair that poked out of the emerald hat upon her head swayed in the wind as she looked around.
“Something seems odd, death.” Kirika stated matter-of-factly.
“Yeah, I agree.” Kanade grunted.
Kirika bit her lip. She possessed all of the memories of Finé, a priestess who was among one of the first ‘humans’ created by the alien race known as the Custodians–a Lulu Amel. Among the memories that Kirika carried were ones relating to the origins of Noise and their true purpose; or rather, what Finé believed them to be.
If those memories were, in fact, accurate, then Kirika could not help but be suspicious at the appearance of this large, dragon-like Noise. Internally, the young girl argued with herself about whether she should reveal what she knew about these extradimensional monsters, but the ramifications that could come from doing so were numerous.
The fact that the girl’s teeth dug into her own lip did not escape the notice of Kanade Amou, who glanced over at Kirika suspiciously. Then, turning back to look into the distance at their future-enemy, Kanade decided to try and draw out the knowledge that the girl was unwilling to share.
“Why is it,” Kanade wondered aloud. “That Noise only seem to appear as if to draw us Symphogear wielders out?”
“That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it, Kanade?” Kirika’s tone shifted into that of Finé, and Kanade watched as the girl’s expression dropped into one that was intensely serious; as Finé was unable to control Kirika’s expressions, the look on the girl’s face gave away to Kanade that she truly did know more than she was willing to share.
“You know, Ryoko,” Kanade turned back away from Kirika. “There is a timeline out there where we could have worked together–had you just taken the time to explain stuff. Humanity’s curse, the Noise, the aliens, your god... I don’t know why you’re hiding the things you are, but I will, some day, dig up the answers to the questions I have.”
Finé let out a cheerful gasp. “Some things, Kanade, are too...”
“...Dangerous for humans to know? And yet you forced yourself into the head of a fifteen-year-old girl that was tortured–on your orders–for almost her entire life.” Kanade levelled the giant spear that was her Armed Gear at the small girl beside her. “No matter what excuses you have for me, Ryoko, I can and will cut them down with Gungnir.”
“I’d rather you not cut me down, death.” Kirika put her hands up.
“You should know, Kirika,” Kanade’s dark expression immediately lightened as her lips curled into a smirk. “That you and I aren’t all that different. We’re both quite good at stifling the songs in our hearts–until we aren’t.”
Kirika was at a loss for words, both from Kanade’s words and her sudden change in personality. Her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide, Kirika slowly turned her head away to look towards the large dragon Noise in the distance.
“Let’s... just go help Shirabe, death!”
Kanade let out a chuckle. “Yeah, I guess it’s about time we should swoop in and save the day.”

 The support team, who had all heard the conversation that had taken place between Kanade and Kirika, all sucked in tense breaths as they took in the implications of their words.
“Sorry to interrupt.” Serena’s voice cut in to the silent room. Though the Symphogear wielders could all speak to each other, their lines were not always connected to each as they were to the support staff. Serena, Maria, Shirabe, and Tsubasa had no idea what Kirika and Kanade had just conversed about.
Clearing her throat, Kuriyo Ando answered the girl. “I think we need a bit of a distraction right now. What do you need?”
“I’m not even going to bother asking what that means.” Maria curtly cut in.
“Kohinata is still on standby, correct? We may need to...” Serena began to ask, but was cut off.
“Miku has made it clear that she is doing nothing until Chris awakens.” Shiori brought up. “And... I’m sure you can imagine how hard it would be to try to force her to do anything she doesn’t want to.”
“Besides,” Genjuro, who was standing in the centre of the control room with his arms crossed, finally spoke up with his powerful voice. “Considering her track record, it may be for the best that we have her get involved as little as possible.”
“Then what about Carol?” Serena asked.
“Carol and her Autoscorers can only combat Noise by summoning Alca-Noise, which would do nothing but clutter the battlefield–which is already limited by the jungle.” Genjuro answered immediately.
“That said,” Tomosato began to tap into her keyboard. “She did order one of the Autoscorers to remain on standby in case any alchemical interference was detected. We should consider calling in her assistance only as a last resort.”
“Serena,” Fujitaka asked. “I know that the Noise is powerful, but the six of you should be enough to combat it based on our scans.”
“Actually,” Shiori brought up all of the research notes they had on Shénshòujìng–both the original relic and the Symphogear implanted within Serena, the latter provided with the assistance of Carol. “Considering the true strength of Airgetlám can not be properly measured, and Shénshòujìng’s unique properties, the two of you could probably take the beast on your own.”
“Theoretically.” Fujitaka stressed. “She is right, for the most part. Of course, we do want to keep you girls safe, so we would rather you all attack it together, to limit the potential damage.”
“No, that’s... well, that is reassuring, but there’s something else on my mind.” Serena sighed. “There’s... something wrong. I don’t know how to explain it, but it... smells strange.”
“I don’t smell anything.” Maria, confused, added right afterwards.
“Maybe it’s a quirk of this homunculus body,” Serena mused, but shook her head. “No. There’s definitely something strange going on.”
“Perhaps,” Genjuro grunted. “The relic–or whatever it was our sensors picked up–that we were here to recover was activated by someone.”
“Or something.” Maria added. “We don’t know what this relic is or how it works, so it’s entirely possible that the appearance of the Noise activated it.”
“Hmmm...” Serena furrowed her brow. “No. Call the Autoscorer in. I think there’s something else going on.”

 Serena had been flying over the ground at a high speed–not her top speed, only as fast as her sister was running–until now, when she suddenly stopped. Turning her head to look up at the sky, she narrowed her eyes.
Noticing that her sister had stopped, so to did Maria...
...Only for Serena to shout. “We have to move, now!”
The girl in the jet-black armour scooped up her older sister with ease and began to fly away at the highest speed that Serena was capable of flying at. Maria had her eyes open wide, and could only watch as the part of the jungle that they had been in only moments before became engulfed in flames.
As Serena was facing away from the destruction that was creeping towards them, she could only react with the click of her tongue as the scent of burning foliage and smoke tickled her nostrils.
“What was that?” Kuriyo shouted over the two Symphogear wielders’ headsets, echoing the thoughts of the rest of the people around her.
“Scan the area, now! Search for any signs of life–of any traces of alchemy!” Genjuro ordered, though–aside from Kuriyo–the support staff were already clicking away and doing just that.
“You will not find anything.” Carol announced her appearance–as well as those of her four Autoscorers–with a booming cry. “Garie had not detected any energy signatures prior to that attack.”
“Carol!” Genjuro called out in surprise.
“That,” Carol continued. “Is the work of an incredibly talented alchemist–they managed to perform such a powerful attack without even being in the vicinity... no, that's not right...”
“What are you muttering about?” Kuriyo spun around in her chair to face the five new faces in the now-crowded room.
“Silence, human. Our master...” Garie began to roar, but was stopped when the small alchemist in front of her held up one hand.
“What I believe just happened was this: the alchemist–our enemy–completed the complex prerequisites required to perform an attack of this scale in an unknown location. Then, they used this attack in whatever room they stood in. At the same time, another alchemist must have teleported the energy of the attack to this location–one they had determined ahead of time. To do so would be incredibly difficult, even for me. By my estimates, the chances of performing this technique is infinitesimally small–less than zero-point-zero-zero-zero...” Carol stopped, realizing how long it would take to actually say all of the zeroes that she calculated. Letting out a cough, she continued. “Like I said–infinitesimally small. Hundreds of years of practice at the very least would raise the odds, but more than likely... no, that’s also impossible...”
“Master?” Micha looked at her golden-haired creator. Her wild eyes and sharp mouth showed no sign of their usual explosive energy. Rather, Micha looked worried at the confused face her beloved master was making.
Carol inhaled sharply. “I believe that that attack was not of human origin. Only a being with a brain capable of processing percentages of nanoseconds in real time would be able to time such a technique accordingly.” The alchemist cracked a cruel smile as a fire began to burn behind her blue eyes. Carol let out a chuckle as a realization came to her. “Truly, it is what I have long sought to analyse: a being truly worthy of being called a god!”
The small alchemist cackled in a way that disturbed every soul in the room. Even the four Autoscorers, whose minds were born from their creator’s own, took steps back–the expression upon the face of Carol Malus Dienheim was foreign to even them, and they found her sudden curiosity nothing but mad.
“Garie~” Micha whined, clinging to her taller sister beside her. “I’m scared.”
“I’ve never seen master like this before...” Garie watched Carol with wide eyes. “Even I... can’t admit that I am entirely calm.”
The tallest two Autoscorers looked at each other, with concern upon their faces. The one garbed in green, Phara, then turned to the laughing girl. “Master, allow us to investigate this enemy.”
“No need!” Carol yelled. “We already know where to get the information we’re looking for.”
“Indeed.” Leiur nodded. “Our little friend–the one that has been following us.”
“Yes, indeed.” Carol finally calmed down, though her face was still twisted into a cruel grin. “I have been tracking her location since she began following us; she is not far from here. Let us go interrogate her.”
All four Autoscorers bowed at once. “Very well, master.” They said in unison, before disappearing.
The golden-haired alchemist, however, remained behind. “Before I go, you should know that that girl, Chris Yukine, has awoken. I wish to speak with her in the future; keep note of that.”
Leaving no chance for anyone to respond, Carol then disappeared from the command centre, leaving everyone in silence. The support team and Genjuro were left pondering what had just happened, unaware that there were others listening in on Carol’s rambling until they decided to butt in.
“That,” Maria’s voice echoed into the room. “Was very concerning.”
“Are you talking about Carol...” Serena asked in response. “Or what happened to the jungle?”
“Both.”
As the flames began to subside, Maria and Serena looked out on the remains of the lush green jungle that the younger girl had flown through. None of the greens and browns of nature remained.
All that remained was solid gold.

#### AXZ Chapter 3

 “You know, I’ve been wondering something.”
Yumi stood in the great hollow chamber that served as the command centre for the artificial island known as Frontier. Beside her stood Shinji Ogawa, who sighed as he backed away from the orb that had served as the steering wheel of sorts for the alien ship. Up until two days before, when Chris Yukine touched the device, making contact with the orb would assail the mind with alien images and runes–but now it lay dormant.
Ogawa pinched his forehead as he made his way towards his subordinate. “If you’ve got some way to activate Frontier again, then...”
“No.” Yumi immediately said, interrupting her superior. When she thought about it for a second, though, a confused look crossed her face. “Kind of.”
“What are you thinking of, then?”
“Well, there are all sorts of relics out in the world, right? You’ve got the ones that were turned into Symphogears; we have the Nehushtan Armour and Solomon’s Cane in storage; Carol decided to destroy the Rod of Asclepius, and has the remains; shards of Dáinsleif were integrated into the Symphogears; the remains of Nephilim are floating around somewhere in the ocean...”
“...You know we’re still trying to locate it.”
“...Frontier and Kadingir are, obviously, here; and Durandal is still MIA–but probably in the Illuminati’s care, with that doctor woman.”
“What’s your point, Yumi?” Ogawa raised an eyebrow.
“That’s a lot of relics, but it can’t be all of the ones on the planet, right? I mean, we have thousands of years of human history written down, and the Custodians surely came down to this planet well before then.” Yumi cupped her chin. “And FIS used Kadingir once to locate Frontier when it was under the ocean. So, do you think... it possible for us to use Kadingir to pinpoint the locations of other relics? And if not, why was there a specific connection between Kadingir and Frontier?”
“Yumi, you do have a lot of very interesting things to say a lot of the time, but you have to learn how to get to the point quicker.” Ogawa shook his head. “We’ve looked in to the possibility, of course. Maria explained, though, that only the Superb Song has the ability to generate enough power to activate its secondary function.”
Yumi cracked a wild smile, her eyes filled with an insane sense of glee as she began to ramble like a mad woman. “This might sound a bit cold coming from me, but we have two girls who have survived a Superb Song without any injuries. One of them might be in a coma right now, but if we could get Miku’s help, we might be able to find more relics–relics that we might be able to turn into a Symphogear for me.” She chuckled cruelly, only for Ogawa to give the girl a light chop on the head.
“So that’s your goal, here.” He sighed. “But I am not entirely against your suggestion. That said, Kohinata would not want to assist us in this endeavour–and that’s something you’re well aware of, too.”
“Just leave it to me, Ogawa!” Yumi thrust her thumb towards her chest, a confident grin poking her cheeks. “Just make sure you’ve got some way to scan the entire world for readings.”
“You make it sound like an easy task.” Ogawa sighed, but he wore his own small smile. “Though sometimes I have to question whether it was the right thing taking you on as my assistant, you certainly never fail to make things interesting.”
“Even if we can’t find any relics that would work as a Symphogear,” Yumi suddenly had a dark glint in her mischievous eyes as she wiggled her fingers, ignoring Ogawa. “Finding all of the world’s relics should certainly be enough to earn me a promotion. Then I would be able to afford the limited editions of all of my favourite anime!”
This comment earned the brown-haired girl another light chop on the head. “You’re letting your true nature leak out, again, Yumi.”
At this second attack, Yumi finally acknowledged Ogawa’s presence. “How long do you think it would take to get a satellite or something, to be able to scan the entire world as thoroughly as possible?”
“To get the most thorough scan of the planet, it would be best to link together multiple satellites–which would mean that we need the permission of a number of countries and companies.” Ogawa tapped his chin as he thought, and soon a small, wry smile appeared upon his face. “Several weeks, at the very least.”
“Great. That will give me enough time to come up with a sure-fire way to convince Miku to help us. And to catch up on all  the anime I’ve been missing while–”
“You’re going to be helping me, of course.” Ogawa smirked. “After proposing using an anime to cover up the existence of Symphogears and stifle rumours, our superiors have really been interested in you. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to disappoint them now, right?”
Yumi pouted. “Fine.”

 In the end, once preparations had been made, Yumi did not need to convince Miku to do anything. As the first half of July came to a close, Miku readily agreed to be of use and take a break from her position from beside Chris’s bed–something that actually surprised Yumi quite a bit.
When she asked why she agreed so easily, Miku gave her a short, and not exactly helpful, answer:
“No idea.”

Thus, after almost a month since Chris Yukine had entered a coma, SONG was finally able to go through with the plan to activate Kadingir with the intent of using it to locate relics–or, hope to, anyway.
Luckily, Yumi’s suggestion was not baseless, and Kadingir did just as they hoped. Numerous signals from mysterious artefacts were captured by SONG all across the globe, but one was of particular interest to them: a particularly strong signal emanating from a war-torn South American country that had strong connections to SONG and one of its members in specific.

~ ~ ~

 “We’re in Val Verde?” Chris shouted in disbelief.
Miku leaned over to whisper into Elfnein’s ear. “Chris... doesn’t have the best memories of this country.” When the small green-haired girl gave her a confused look in response, Miku clarified. “Her parents were killed here and she... went through a lot afterwards.”
Chris, not being privy to Miku’s comments, flared up. She pushed her fists against the bed and tried to move off of the platform she was laying on. Upon seeing this, Elfnein put her hands up in a panic.
“Uh! Please don’t! You’ve been asleep for a month! Your body might not be in the best... uhh!!” Elfnein looked to Miku for help, but the black-haired girl smirked in response, moving away to let Chris stand up.
“Screw that.” Chris yelled. “I’m going to go kill those assholes.”
Taking advantage of her friend moving aside, the wielder of Ichaival swung her legs off of the bed and over the edge. Sitting up, she then popped up to stand atop the cool ground...
...at which point, Chris then fell forwards onto her face.
“That’s what I was trying to tell you.” Elfnein sighed. “Your muscles have probably weakened slightly due to inactivity.”
“Maybe you should have said so sooner, then, runt.” Chris muttered, her cheek against the white tiles.
Glaring up at Miku, Chris saw that her friend wore a confident smirk. “What are you smiling about?”
“After the Zwei Wing concert that caused this whole mess, Hibiki and I were always flopping around like this. It really gives you a new appreciation for the ability to walk when you suddenly can’t.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Chris just screamed in confusion, widening Miku’s eyes.
“Did I never tell you? How Hibiki and I got wrapped up in this shit?”
“You refuse to tell me anything about Hibiki.” Chris snapped back, then exhaled to calm herself down.
“Are you okay...?” Elfnein whined, bending over. Reaching her hand out, the green-haired girl waved as if to say ‘take my hand’–a command that Chris ignored.
Instead of reaching out for the hand trembling above her, Chris thrust her fists into the ground and slowly pulled herself to her knees. Straightening her back, Chris found that she had absolutely no balance to speak of, wobbling as she tried to stay up-right.
“Here, Chris. You can lean on me, this time.” Miku smiled, bending down beside her. Unlike with Elfnein, Chris graciously accepted her friend’s assistance, and pulled her lethargic arm over Miku’s shoulder.

 As Chris struggled to climb to her feet, relying on Miku to keep her steady, she wore a concerned expression. Though both Elfnein and Miku believed this to reflect her intent on standing on her own two feet, her next words dispelled this thought.
“You know, it does make sense that there’s a relic here, now that you mention it.” Chris muttered. “It does line up with something I’ve been wondering.”
“Something you’ve been wondering?” Elfnein squeaked.
“I don’t remember if you were around at the time, Miku... I think you weren’t. Anyway, Finé told me something when I asked if she was the one to...” Chris sucked in a deep breath. “If she had killed my parents.
“She did?” Elfnein asked, ignoring the pause.
All the while, Miku just looked forwards as she realized that, by burdening herself with Chris on her shoulder, she had decided to make herself completely useless due to not having another arm to act with.
“Finé said that she did what she did so that she could search for something without being noticed.” Chris hummed as she tried to remember the exact wording, and then recited it word-for-word after a few moments: “‘I needed a distraction so that I could look for an old friend without being bothered.’”
“An old friend...” Miku muttered. “Then probably not a relic... unless it’s one like Nephilim.”
“No, it has to be a relic–Finé was focused solely on collecting relics for her plan. She... didn’t care about anything else...” As Chris spoke, her voice became more and more sad. When she trailed off, Miku swayed back and forth slightly.
“Chris...” Miku whispered. She did not know how to comfort Chris–although Chris was not much knowledgable on the subject. Simply saying the girl’s name and offering her a shoulder to cry on was all Miku could do at the moment, just as Chris had done the same for her so many times before.
“I’m okay.” Chris grunted, sniffing back tears. “I’m fine.”
Elfnein tilted her head in confusion at the scene. After a few moments of silence, she broke the emotional atmosphere with a sudden question, one that she had obviously been impatient to know the answer to as the small girl swayed back and forth: “Did Finé say anything else?”
Chris glared at the girl for a moment with her shining eyes, but her look softened as she stifled the anger and annoyance welling up within her heart. “Yeah... yeah, she did. If I remember right, Finé also said something about wanting to use it as a bartering chip.”
Elfnein cupped her chin at the comment, and looked down. “It might be a good idea to ask her what she kn–”
The girl’s thought was cut off as an exceptionally loud roar echoed out. The scream, which emanated from the Noise, seemed to replace the very air; all three of the girls held their breaths as the sound assailed their eardrums. Miku, in shock, stumbled forwards, causing Chris to fall out of her grasp and back to the ground.
Once the roar was nothing more than a haunting memory, Chris looked up at the girls around her. “What was that?”
But Miku had already begun sprinting out of the room.

~ ~ ~

 Kirika and Kanade stood on the branches of two separate trees, looking off into the distance. Their eyes were focused not on the giant dragon–which was now flailing about, having noticed Shirabe and Tsubasa’s approach–but rather elsewhere: specifically, where Serena and Maria had, just seconds ago, managed to avoid a powerful explosion.
Unfortunately, they were privy to neither the fact that their friends had been targeted, nor the sparkling gold wasteland that was left behind.
“That was wild, death!” Kirika shouted, her multi-coloured eyes wide in surprise. “What do you think that was?”
“Whatever it was, I don’t think it was good.” Kanade replied with a stern expression. Then, her tightened eyes loosened as she let out a deep sigh. “We should probably focus on that big guy first, though.”
“Right, death!” Kirika replied with a large smile, performing a salute as she did so.

. . .

 Shirabe and Tsubasa had personally interacted with each other on only a handful of occasions–if that. Thus, Tsubasa had some reservations as to whether they would be adequate partners should they need to battle, and she voiced such complaints to Kanade when she divided up the teams.
“It’ll be fine.” Kanade had said back then. “You’re you, after all. Besides, I think it’ll be a good exercise to branch out a bit and work with others, y’know?”
Though Tsubasa had still been somewhat concerned, her doubts were dispelled immediately when it came time to fight. The two girls worked together flawlessly; they had even begun to sing a duet as their Symphogears resonated with each other.
Without so much as a verbal cue, both girls silently agreed to split up and each try to take down one of the draconic Noise’s three heads–and then work together to take the remaining one down together.

 Shirabe used her yo-yos as grappling hooks by tying them around the dragon’s neck. Pulling herself and the saw blade wheel she stood in off the ground, Shirabe easily found it quite easy to land atop the monster’s back. The beast let out a pained grunt as the teeth of Shirabe’s saw dug into its back, but the girl did not care–her eyes were focused on the head she was to take out.
At the same time, Tsubasa’s sword ignited in flames as she leapt through the air. The burning blade cleaved a giant gash within the breast of the beast as she was propelled into the air at a high speed–having used a tree like a slingshot to fire herself upwards.
The Symphogear wielders were having no issues–it was as though the beast did not even care about their presence; the dragon Noise lumbered around, flailing as it reacted from their attacks, though never did attempt to retaliate.
Thus, it only took five minutes for two of its heads to fall.
And, only then, did the draconic Noise begin to see the two colourful girls attacking it as a serious threat.

 The dragon-like Noise shook its body, trying to buck Tsubasa and Shirabe off of it, though to no avail. Once it realized they had firm traction on its technicoloured skin, the Noise let out a small grunt of annoyance.
Tsubasa and Shirabe leapt towards the head, readying their weapons to take it down just as they had the other ones. But, as soon as their feet left the beast’s body, they realized that they had made a mistake.
The Noise’s head seemed to spin around, and it faced the two girls. Letting out a high-pitched screech, the girls could only watch as the beast then released a high-powered beam of energy from its mouth–straight at its own body.
The two Symphogear wielders were airborne, and thus mostly unable to dodge the attack. The best that Shirabe could do to protect her partner was to use her yo-yos to knock her out of the way of the beam–and, luckily, neither girl managed to get caught up in the devastating attack.
As they landed on the ground, deciding it safer to analyse what else this dragon may be capable of, Shirabe and Tsubasa both turned to look at the beast.
And were immediately stunned into silence.

 The Noise’s energy beam attack carved a ravine deep into its own back, from which new heads and necks were now sprouting. What had begun as a three-headed monster was quickly reduced to only one; though now, Tsubasa and Shirabe counted fifteen heads of varying heights all slithering their way out of the monster’s body, though more seemed to be spawning by the moment.
“Perhaps we made a mistake.” Tsubasa admitted as she took in the sight.
All at once, the fifteen-and-counting heads of the beast all focused their gazes on the two Symphogear wielders standing before it, now at a loss for how to go about attacking it. They would need to take down the body, though any injuries may just create new areas for these heads to spawn from–heads that likely possessed the same powerful beam attack as the first.

 “Shirabe, Tsubasa.” Fujitaka’s voice stunned them out of their confusion.
“Do you have information, Fujitaka?” Tsubasa asked.
“Maria and Serena are closing in on your location. It would be best to try and...”
“Not a chance, Fujitaka. I am not running away.” Tsubasa roared. “I realized something recently–how useless I have been as a sword. This time, I will fight.”
“I don’t want to rely entirely on the others. I want to get stronger, too.” Shirabe nodded.
“I understand where you two are coming from,” Tomosato interrupted their conversation. “But you should know that there are...”

 Both Tsubasa and Shirabe both collapsed to the ground at that moment as a powerful roar ripped through the air. It shredded their minds, pounding their brains like they were timpani drums, before even the sound had reached through their headsets, or echoed out across the jungle.
The sound of all of the dragon’s heads, now more than twenty-five in number,  roaring at once was strong enough to literally rock the earth, and the unconscious Tsubasa and Shirabe were jostled around like popcorn as their limp bodies were helplessly tossed across the rumbling earth.

~ ~ ~

 Shiori had a hand to her head. The dragon’s roar was so loud that they had heard it clearly in SONG’s command centre–and not through the speakers connected to the girls in the jungle. Wincing at the headache that began to peck at her forehead, Shiori clenched her teeth in both pain and panic as she gave a report.
“Shirabe and Tsubasa are down!”
“Was that the dragon?” Kanade asked over the communications line. She and Kirika were both on their knees, their hands over their ears; Shiori knew that if it had been loud enough to give her a headache in the submersible docked on the Val Verde’s coast, the sound must have been painful for her friends fighting in the jungle.
“The dragon can sprout new heads from injuries in its skin. All of those heads just roared at once.” Kuriyo reported. Her expression was somewhat more calm than those of the others around her, though Shiori could tell that she was gritting her teeth as she spoke.
“Shit. If just a roar was enough to bring us to our knees...” Kanade grunted.
“How many heads are there, death?” Kirika asked, though her tone was far more quiet and subdued than the normally-energetic one she used.
“Twenty-seven... no, thirty-two...? It’s hard to get an exact count.” Fujitaka admitted. “More keep sprouting; the beast seems to be injuring itself specifically to grow more.”
Serena spoke up now through the line. Unlike the concerned Kanade, she had a bit more determination behind her voice. “Just leave it to me. Shénshòujìng’s light should be enough to defeat it.”
“If,” Kanade wondered aloud. “Shénshòujìng considers the monster to be ‘evil.’”
“What do you mean?”
“I asked Elfnein about them–philosophical armaments.” Kanade grunted. “Shénshòujìng purges evil because myths described it as being able to dispel curses; and relics, as strange as they are, seem to have some sort of... not sentience, but...”
“Will.” Finé supplied from Kirika’s mouth. “Relics are not alive per se, but they do seem to have some sort of ‘soul’ connected to them; I believe that this ‘soul’ is what gives relics their powers.”
“So what you’re saying, then,” Maria asked. “Is that Shénshòujìng can decide not to destroy something that isn’t technically ‘evil.’”
“Fujitaka, what was the dragon doing before Tsubasa and Shirabe attacked it?” Kanade asked.
“It was... just standing in one place, like it was guarding something. It only began to attack the two of them once they had severed... oh.” The man replied, his eyes going wide as he understood what Kanade was getting at. “It’s technically no more evil than a wild animal.”
“Unless it being a Noise automatically makes it ‘evil’ enough for Shénshòujìng to effect it, we should be ready for the possibility that Serena may be completely worthless against this enemy.”
“What would be best...” Kuriyo muttered. “Is for another one of those... alchemy bomb things to fall onto that thing.”
“Alchemy bombs, death?” Kirika asked. “That big, super-cool explosion?”
“That almost turned us into gold statues, yeah.” Maria sighed.
“Wait... I’m detecting something...” Tomosato slowly spoke. “Multiple somethings, actually...!”
“More alchemy bombs?” Maria asked.
“No. Multiple... Aufwachen Waveforms?”
“Does that mean...?” Shiori turned to Kuriyo beside her.
Kuriyo nodded before Shiori even finished her thought. “It must be Miku.”

. . .

*Kara Lancea Longini zizzl*

 Miku launched herself high into the air, rocketing into the sky only seconds after exiting SONG’s command centre. Narrowing her eyes as the wind whipped against them, Miku’s mind was focused solely on the beast that poked its heads up over the horizons.
“Miku! Are you going to be okay, using Lancea Longini?” A concerned voice buzzed into her ear–the voice of Shiori.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Miku snapped back. “I haven’t just been sitting around moping all of this time.”
“Haven’t you spent the last month sitting beside Chris, though?” Kuriyo asked.
“She’s awake now, so I can finally stop worrying.” Miku cracked a small smile. “I won’t let another one of my friends die.”
“In that case, let me bring you up to date on what we know.” Tomosato announced. “The Noise can sprout new heads from each wound cut into its body, and it appears to be injuring itself to power itself up.”
“Tsubasa and Shirabe were both knocked unconscious by the monster.” Fujitaka cut in. “It may be wise to meet with the others and come up–”
“Not necessary. I’ll protect them.” Miku grunted.
“But–” Kuriyo’s voice transformed into static, and then silence, as Miku shut off the earpiece she wore.

 Serena, Maria, Kanade, and Kirika had spent over ten minutes traversing through the jungle, trying to meet up with each other. In that same time, Miku sailed over the canopy that shrouded them, closing in on the dragon-like Noise that still sprouted new heads.
Luckily, the monster did not seem to be focused on Tsubasa and Shirabe, who had been knocked into the bushes when the roar shook the earth. “I’ll help them afterwards.” Miku sighed.
As she floated in the air, the girl with the long black ponytail that whipped in the wind studied the Noise before her. One of Miku’s eyes twitched slightly as she came to an understanding. “Alright.” Miku announced.
Her eyes ignored the multiplying number of heads sprouting from the monster’s back, and instead lowered to the stomach area of the beast. “There?” She muttered, and then gave a curt nodding as an idea formed in her mind.

 Miku took in a deep breath–a slow inhale, and then an even-slower exhale. Though Miku was only trying to calm her beating heart, the dragon’s heads all turned to her in this moment, as if taking this as a threat.
Five of the beast’s heads let out roars as several others began to charge up beam attacks. Miku frowned as orange energy gathered in the monster’s mouths. “I don’t even need Shrivatsa for you.” She taunted.
As the beast let out its attacks, Miku quickly spun through the air, dodging the orange waves of energy with ease; it was as if the attacks were moving in slow motion for her.

 Kirika and Kanade looked up to see Miku dancing through the sky. “Well, seems our trump card finally decided to come out of her room.” Kanade commented.
“Come on, death!” Kirika shouted, though kept her tone somewhat hushed. Pointing with the giant scythe in her hand, Kirika gestured with her head. “While she’s distracting it, let’s find Shirabe and Tsubasa.”
“Yeah, good idea.” Kanade nodded.

 Out of the corner of her eye, Miku saw Kirika and Kanade approaching the monster as she descended beneath another one of the monster’s beams. As another head targeted her, Miku clicked her tongue. “This is annoying.”
Instead of flying around the outside of the beast’s range, Miku decided to accelerate past this new attack as it neared her, flying between the forest of tall necks that stretched above her. The draconic Noise began to panic, as it knew it would not be able to attack her without cutting down its own weapons, and thus Miku was given free rein to do what she wanted.
Miku let out a deep sigh. What she was about to do was the trump card’s trump card; Miku was sure that even her immortal body would suffer some injuries from the attack she was planning to use against the beast.
Letting out a chilling command through gritted teeth, Miku’s one arm began to transform as pain tore through her entire body.
“Durandal.”

 From their position on the ground, Kirika and Kanade were unable to see anything that Miku was doing. What they saw was the golden-clad girl fly into the web of heads, and the Noise begin to panic.
“I found them, death!” Kirika called out, drawing Kanade’s attention away from the beast that was still focused entirely on Miku.
Kanade hopped over to the small girl, who was already bent down over her black-haired friend. “Shirabe! Shirabe! Are you okay, death?” When Shirabe didn’t answer, Kirika put a hand to her chest and let out a sigh of relief. “She’s breathing... thank goodness.”
“I don’t know what Miku’s planning,” Kanade walked over to Tsubasa, checking her pulse just as Kirika had. When she felt the warmth of blood running through her  friend’s neck, Kanade scooped the unconscious Tsubasa into her arms as she finished her thought. “But we should get these girls out of here.”
Kirika nodded.  “Death!” She cheered happily as she picked Shirabe up.
Before the girls could take another step, the beast behind them let out a powerful roar.

 As Miku’s golden arm transformed into a giant blade, she slowly swung it out in front of her. The simple movement, from which Miku felt no resistance, cut through ten of the beast’s necks, and heads began turning into dust as they fell around her.
The objective of Miku’s movement was to point her arm–Durandal–above her head. As some of the heads began to regrow around her, others looked down at the golden girl and let out screams. Some of the remaining heads around her ignored the potential dangers and began to charge beams of energy...
...and then Miku dove down into the beast’s back.
Miku’s feet collided with the beast first, and she brought her sword-arm down into the monster only a second later. Some of the Noise’s heads fired off attacks, but the explosion that resulted from Miku’s sword colliding with the monster caused them to aim erratically; not one beam even flew in Miku’s general direction.

 From a short distance away, Kirika and Kanade only saw the explosion that resulted from this attack, and the aftermath. The two girls were forced to turn around to protect their eyes from the blinding white light that the monster emitted as it faded out of reality, and only when they turned back did they see the aftermath.
Miku kneeled on the ground, her arm back to normal. She was looking down, a small smile on her face. Miku’s cheeks were stained with tears as she smiled peacefully at what laid before her.
“I finally did it... I finally saved someone, instead of causing pain...” Miku whispered.

 On the ground in front of Miku laid a girl with long, light-brown hair that looked both elegantly styled yet unkept. She wore light blue clothing that was covered with stains both brown and red, with the latter blood coming from a new cut on the girl’s cheek.
Her eyes were closed, but Kirika knew that they would be a golden-green colour once they opened. Seeing the girl’s clothes affirmed that the identity of the girl matched the similar-looking child from her memories.
Kirika stumbled forwards. “Satomi?” She muttered. “What... is Satomi doing here?”
“Satomi?” Kanade asked. Then, as she reconsidered what Kirika had said, she turned to the small blonde girl. “You recognize that kid?”
Kirika nodded. “Satomi Kubert... she was a Receptor Child.” As she spoke, Kirika’s gaze was glued to the girl sleeping peacefully on the ground. She wore no expression; Kanade could not tell whether Kirika was glad to see someone from her past or sad, but something stuck in her mind.
“She *was* a Receptor Child.” Kanade repeated, stressing one word in particular.
Kirika took another step forwards, but Kanade blocked her approach by shoving herself in front of her. “What do you mean?” The orange-haired girl looked down at her small partner, whose eyes still only looked forwards.
Then, in a small, emotionless voice, Kirika finally said what Kanade had been dreading.
“I... watched her die.”

#### AXZ Chapter 4

 My name is Miku Kohinata.
Ever since junior high, I had been trying to find the path that I wished to follow in life. At one point, I had thought that my destiny was to be an athlete; I found that I was naturally fairly strong, and had joined the track team.
My best friend, a girl named Hibiki Tachibana, would always show up at every event I participated in to cheer me on. Regardless of when it was being held, she would skip class if need be; to her, nothing was more important than making sure she was as close to me as possible as I climbed the steps towards what I thought was my goal.
Some of the other kids would try to bully her, but Hibiki would always brush them off with a smile. Hibiki would regularly end the school day with bruises or missing school supplies, but never would she utter a single complaint; all Hibiki did was push down the pain with a grin as she addressed her ‘sunshine’: “Hi Miku!”
That was the kind of girl she was: someone who was completely content with just going through life, taking whatever was thrown at her yet not letting her own light fade.
In her own words, Hibiki had no talents. She was clumsy, and not much of a studious girl. By watching me, and our other classmates, grow over time, Hibiki found herself stagnating and her self-esteem plummeted. No matter what I said, no matter what I did to try to make her see otherwise, Hibiki just kept wearing a goofy grin, saying that she was fine just bathing in the sunlight–in other words, just staying by my side, supporting me and my athletic endeavours.

 Eventually, I realized that I had been running on the wrong track with my life. Being an athlete, competing in the Olympics? A dream worth chasing, for sure, but not one I really wanted to.
I had always been interested in music. I’d been told that I was a talented singer, and would always try to keep up with whatever was the latest trends. Even if Hibiki never really understood the groups I showed her, she always wore a kind smile as she indulged in whatever I liked.
Hibiki saw herself as nothing more than a side character in her own life, the one who existed solely to support another. For her, all she wanted was to see me happy; ironically, what I wanted was to see Hibiki with a genuine smile as well.
That’s why I entered that contest. I had thought that, if I could win those tickets to the Zwei Wing concert, I could maybe open the door to her heart that Hibiki had kept closed all this time.
Ironically, all I managed to do was lock my own.

 The Zwei Wing concert, the one that I had hoped would make Hibiki happy, ended in chaos. The Noise interrupted the performance, and the two idols I had been fans of were forced to reveal to us their secret identities. Thirteen-thousand people died that day, both as a result of the extradimensional beasts’ fury and the chaos that ensued as the crowd rushed to escape.
One of those idols was gravely injured. Kanade had barely escaped with her life, and for a year was confined to a wheelchair. Even now, she could not see out of one eye. The other, too, changed greatly. Tsubasa, who was known to be timid and shy to her friends, had frozen over–she dedicated herself entirely to fighting the Noise, and any other enemy that would pop up.
And Hibiki and I almost died. It was a miracle that we had managed to survive–but we soon wish we hadn’t.
The news turned on the survivors of that concert when it came out that a majority of the deaths were not the fault of the Noise. Suddenly, Hibiki and I–and everyone else who had managed to escape–were branded as killers, as monsters.
We were shunned by society; even our families couldn’t escape what we had brought them. In the end, not long before our lives changed entirely, my parents could not handle the stress and took their own lives.
Yet Hibiki got the worst of it from the second she was let out of the hospital.

 One of our classmates had been at the concert as well, and never came back home. He had been a star athlete, the captain of the soccer team. Not only had he already helped our school’s team make a name for themselves in competitions, but he had been scouted for multiple prestigious schools and was already regarded as a top candidate for professional teams.
And yet, Hibiki–the girl that called herself useless, who merely existed as a ghost in the lives of most of her classmates–had somehow managed to survive when he could not.
Our school turned on her, even before the news broke. She was immediately branded a killer; even some of the teachers looked at her in disgust. Hibiki went from barely existing to being the target of everyone’s hatred.
The worst part was that I couldn’t do anything to help her. I was a track star; in the eyes of our classmates, I still had some use to the world. My so-called friends pulled me away from Hibiki, and I had been forcibly transferred to another class–everyone thought that Hibiki had dragged me to that concert, and not the other way around.
They acted as though Hibiki had known that the Noise would attack.
I could not do anything to assist her. No one let me even stand in the same room as Hibiki; though none of our classmates had wanted to be near her, either. They tried everything to force her to transfer to another school or drop-out entirely. Not a single day would go by when Hibiki wouldn’t appear with new bandages, and her desk and locker would always be filled with hateful messages telling her to die.
Hibiki did not smile much after that–though I didn’t either. Her sunlight had forcibly been blocked out, and everyone thought they were doing me a favour for it.
What they hadn’t realized was that, by trying to keep me ‘safe’, they had stolen away my entire sun.

 Of course, they didn’t actually care about me, either. When the news began reporting that most of the deaths had actually been caused as people tried to escape the stadium, everyone instantly turned against me, too. No more was I just an unfortunate victim of Hibiki’s devious scheme, now I was just as guilty of murder as she was.
It was at that point when I began to get subjected to the same horrors that Hibiki had been. The threats, the violence... yet there was a single ray of sunlight that cut through the darkness.
We had both been beaten down, Hibiki and I. The world turned against us and our families, and soon my cowardly parents even abandoned me–Hibiki’s father, too, ran off without explanation.
Yet we were together again. That was what mattered most to both of us.

 And then Tsubasa and Kanade appeared, for better or for worse.
They explained to us what they were, the powers they held, and offered us salvation–which we were, looking back, all too eager to accept.
After all, at the time, it was impossible to know that taking their hands would only cause the two of us to forever be ripped apart.
When I learned that I had the power to wield a Symphogear, I understood why Tsubasa had changed so drastically after that concert. I realized that, with the power I wielded, I would do absolutely anything to protect Hibiki.
And, in the end, I sacrificed myself in order to do so. In order to protect the moon from being destroyed, which would then ruin the planet she lived upon, I planned to use my own life as a shield.
No matter what happened, Hibiki deserved a future.

 And yet, that was the worst mistake I had ever made.
I did not die; all I did was twist Hibiki’s hope just as mine had been. She could not forget me, and would not let go of even the slimmest chance that I was alive.
When she eventually did see me again, Hibiki flew into battle without a second thought. The desire to save me, to dispel the curse that had taken hold of my brain, Hibiki threw away any bit of reason left within her.
One could say that she mimicked the very priestess that I had sacrificed myself to protect the world from. Finé’s twisted love for humanity drove her to destroy the moon to save it, and Hibiki’s love for me gave her the power to fight that which puppeteered me.
In the end, just as how Finé faded from this world...

 ...I killed Hibiki Tachibana.
The future of the girl I loved that I had protected with my own soul, I then robbed away.

 And then, I became the same as them.
For three months afterwards, I focused entirely on finding some way to revive Hibiki and free her from the crystalline prison her body was eternally frozen within. Yet, outside of the Rod of Asclepius, I found nothing; and I refused to subject Hibiki to the double-sided blade that that relic provided.
I travelled the world, searching for anything that could help me. I broke into top-secret American facilities, and plundered the hidden libraries within... and came up with nothing in the end that could help me solve that problem.
But I did learn some things while I travelled to America.

 The mad scientist John Wayne Vercingetorix placed within my body a complex mechanism that granted me supernatural combat abilities. He loaded up every facet of my brain and body with elements of a variety of supernatural relics. When he brainwashed me to fight against my friends, I instinctively made use of the same relics that birthed their Symphogears.

 Gungnir, the murderous spear.
Ame no Habakiri, the sword that slayed a serpentine beast.
Ichaival, the magical bow.

 Then there were the relics that were crafted into the Symphogears wielded by those that Dr. Ver had been working with–relics that birthed myths and legends that referred to them as sentient beings of incredible power.

 Igalima and Shul Shagana, the two children of the goddess Zababa.
Airgetlám, the first king of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

 And, to my surprise, a multitude of other relics, some of which I had never before seen. Indeed, he placed within me the data of every relic he had access to.
Solomon’s Cane, which could summon and control the extradimensional Noise.
Shénshòujìng, the divine mirror capable of dispelling curses.
Shrivatsa, the mark upon the god Vishnu where his consort Lakshmi resided.
Nephilim, the giant, eternally-hungry relic-beast.
Nehushtan’s Armour, the fragile shield that could endlessly regenerate.
These were only some of the potentially hundreds of powers that I carried within my body.

 Their power eventually overloaded, transforming me into a monster that came to be known as Batara Kala, and that’s when I came to realize the truth about my being: I was nothing more than a weapon designed to destroy.
I killed Hibiki. I had killed several others.
There were even times when I feasted upon the corpses I had created.
And then, as Batara Kala, I likely killed numerous others–though I have no memories of my time as that beast. But when I awoke as myself once more, I felt... different. Like a dark veil had been lifted off of my face.

 For the first time, my thoughts of Hibiki were not accompanied by pain or sorrow, or even self-hatred. I felt as though the hole in my heart drilled by my guilt for everything I had ever done to Hibiki had been filled somewhat.
By the smiling face of someone who held similar pain within their heart...

 ...and the voices that began to fill my head.

 Through tests, which I did in secret as to not worry my friends, I learned several things about the powers within me:
One–I had limits, and my body now rejected the powers that Ver had bestowed upon me. Calling upon the abomination known as Lancea Longini damaged my body–but at the same time, it kept me alive. The data of Nehushtan’s Armour and Nephilim both allowed me to regenerate from any physical wound–though I have still not ever figured out why my left arm has never grown back. So, though using Lancea Longini put immense stress on my body, I knew that the pain I felt would only be temporary.
Two–Some relics caused me more stress than others. The sword wielded by the legendary paladin Roland, Durandal, pained me to an immense degree when I summoned it, and, until now, I had no idea how much it would affect me to actually make use of the weapon. Yet, as a single swing of Durandal released as much energy as a nuclear bomb, it was also the most powerful weapon I had at my disposal; the recoil felt necessary.
Three–Solomon’s Cane seemed to have the biggest grasp over me. Or, rather, my brain employed it to control all of the other relics within me–thus, the fragment of it bonded with my very person.

 Ever since I reverted back to my ‘human’ form, it felt as though there were people whispering about me behind my back–yet those same mutters came from within my mind. It was only when that draconic Noise roared when I fully understood what Noise were and how they connected to the alien voices echoing through my head.
‘True’ Noise was crafted from human beings. Their mindless attacks are nothing more than a manifestation of their desire to return to human form–and a confused fear as to how they ended up in this form.
When that dragon roared, I heard a girl call out.

 “Why are you attacking me?” She had screamed, yet her question was met with nothing but anger as the Symphogear wielders were brought to their knees. They could not understand the words, yet some part of their souls were able to grasp the emotions.

 I imagined it was Solomon’s Cane within me that allowed me to comprehend the cries of the Noise. Just as how the relic could be used by a human to command the beasts consumed by extradimensional energy, the fragment in my head could channel the cries of the monsters into words that I could understand.
So, while the other girls felt only pain as their minds were assailed by a mess of emotions corrupted by the technology of our precursors, I only heard a plea for help.
And, as a girl tired of destroying, I knew what I had to do.

 I have no idea what happened to me after I destroyed the beast with Durandal and Solomon’s Cane. I want to believe that the girl was saved, but I truly have no memory of anything that happened after I summoned the power of that golden blade.
If that girl perished... I am nothing but a monster, one who has already taken so many lives. If the voice that that Noise released should never speak again, I could only hold that fact close to my heart. Whoever that Noise was would join the others I have killed in my vault, her soul just joining the parade lead by the girl that I loved.

But if she survived... if, for once, I had managed to save something rather than destroy it...
Does this mean that I do have the power to use these relics for good? To save others, rather than simply destroy everything I come across?

 Could I, perhaps, somehow, save Hibiki?

 No. I shouldn’t.

 Even if I could, she would be disgusted with the monster that I have become. I am no longer her friend; I am not Miku Kohinata, former track star and fan of Zwei Wing.
I am Miku Kohinata, the very embodiment of the curses that Shénshòujìng has the power to dispel.
It may be selfish of me, I know, but at this point, I know that the best thing to do would be to find redemption–so that I could meet Hibiki once more in the afterlife with a smile upon my face.

 Hibiki Tachibana, I hope you rest in peace.

 To that girl, the one whom I attacked with Durandal... if you survived...
...And to all of my other friends as well...
...To Shiori, Yumi, and Kuriyo, who Hibiki and I dragged into this mess just by befriending them...
...To Kanade Amou and Tsubasa Kazanari, the two idols that sparkled upon that dazzling stage...
...To Shirabe Tsukuyomi, the one to whom I must apologize....
...To Maria Cadenzavna Eve, and her sister Serena, who I know very little about...
...To Kirika Akatsuki, the one now haunted by a ghost of another monster...
...And to Chris Yukine, who has continued to reach out to me even when I didn’t deserve it...

 I hope that you can all find the happiness that was just out of reach for Hibiki and I.

#### AXZ Chapter 5

 Kirika looked down at the sleeping girl, a tense feeling in her chest.
“Satomi... Why are you here?” The blonde-haired girl whispered. Kirika’s hand, trembling due to confusion, reached down and placed itself against the girl’s forehead. “You’re... not a ghost. You’re alive...?”
A fair ways behind Kirika sat Chris Yukine, an annoyed frown on her face. When Miku, Kirika, and Kanade had returned with three unconscious individuals, Miku immediately coughed up some blood and then collapsed to the ground; so now Chris sat in the infirmary by her side, since she couldn’t even stand up straight and thus unable to do anything else.
“So, she’s like us, then?” Chris asked Kirika, turning her gaze away from Miku’s peaceful face.
“Oyo?” Kirika jumped in surprise, as if having forgotten that Chris was there. When she turned around, composed, both of her eyes glistened an elegant gold for just a moment.
“Another person that you manipulated and used as a tool, Finé?” Chris corrected, scowling.
“That’s not like you, Chris. Usually you’re–” Though Kirika’s mouth moved, the words were undeniably Finé’s.
“I’m in a bad mood. I can’t walk, my friend’s unconscious, and I found out that apparently I’d been in a coma for a month.”
Kirika frowned, but she couldn’t explain why; Finé began talking again. “Seems as though all of the stress I have caused is finally catching up to you, and for that...”
“Shut up.” Chris crossed her arms and laid back. “I don’t want to hear any of your lies right now. I know you’re not sorry. Don’t forget, I know all about how you’d ‘do anything to gain the power needed to free humanity of its curse.’”
“The Curse of Balal. That which stole from us the ability to properly communicate with one another.” Finé began speaking once more, but Chris shot her down with a cold glare.
“I thought I was communicating pretty properly: I’m in a shitty mood.”
“But... you  don’t want me to just go away, now, do you?”
Chris sighed. “No. No, I don’t. I’m so conflicted. I hate you for all that you did to me... but I also love you like a mother. It’s...” In frustration, Chris ran her hands over her white hair, letting out a small groan as she did so.
“I get it, death.” Kirika grumbled, pulling at the X-shaped band in her hair just once.
“Oh, you’re back.” Chris looked over to Kirika. “Tell me about this girl. What was she like?”
“Satomi Kubert wa–” Kirika opened her mouth, only to be interrupted.
“Not you, Finé. I want Kirika to tell me.” Chris glared at the girl, seeing through the priestess’s attempts to insert her own biases into this explanation.
Kirika shook her head. “I don’t know a lot about Satomi. But I know for sure that she should be dead.”
“How?”
“It was...” A flash of that lecherous scientist that attempted to use Kirika’s body to vent his frustrations flashed in the young girl’s mind, and she clutched her cheeks. Her normal tone was then replaced by a quiet squeak as she choked out the remainder of that thought. “That day...”
Chris pitied the girl, and nodded sadly. “If you don’t want to talk about it, I get it.”
Kirika slowly shook her head, but her eyes were wide. Chris could see her fingernails digging themselves into Kirika’s face, as if they were the claws of a wolf. “The adults forced us to do so much... There was so much blood...”
Feeling nauseous, Kirika dashed over to a garbage can in the corner and began to heave.

 “I really wish I had woken up to something other than the sound of gagging.” Miku muttered, looking up at the fluorescent lights burning above her.
The voice of the black-haired girl surprised both Kirika and Chris, and both flew back in shock. Miku, however, paid them no mind; as if it were just another morning, Miku slid off the side of the bed and onto her feet.
“Geez, Miku. A little warning next time.” Chris sighed. “You scared us.”
Miku paid her friend’s shocked demeanour no mind, and just strolled over to the bed with Satomi Kubert in it. “The girl... is she okay?”
When she saw the girl’s sleeping face, Miku smiled and felt tears well up in her eyes.
“I did it. I finally did it.” Miku let the tears begin to flow as she looked at the girl’s peaceful demeanour. “This might be the first time...”

 “Yeah, about that.” Chris grunted after a few moments of silence. Then, the white-haired girl stood up out of her chair onto wobbly legs. Raising her voice, Chris then asked: “What exactly did you do?”
“I finally used this power to help someone.” Miku nodded, wiping away the tears that remained in her vision. Her eyes were glued to Satomi, to take in every detail of the small girl. Her chest rising and falling; her neat, light brown hair that coiled over her shoulders.
“No, I mean...” Chris shook her head. “How? What did you even do?”
Miku turned around, a blank expression on her face. “You know how Ver shoved a bunch of different relics in me?”
“...Yeah?”
Chris tilted her head, but Miku did not respond. Instead, she just turned back to look at the sleeping girl. Sensing that that meant Miku had no plans to continue her explanation, Chris snapped. “That didn’t explain anything!”
“If I may...” Kirika–or rather, Finé–brought up from her position beside the trash.
But Chris shot a glare towards her. “No.” Then, turning back to Miku, “You’re going to have to give me a better explanation than that!”
Miku sighed. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Miku slowly turned around and began explaining. “I could sense the girl with Solomon’s Cane. Since you can command and summon Noise with Solomon’s Cane, I thought I might also be able to do the opposite–get rid of the Noise while leaving the human core.
“So I channelled the energy output released by Durandal into the Noise, then immediately used Shénshòujìng to erase everything that absorbed it. After that, I used Solomon’s Cane to dispel the weakened leftovers. To make sure the girl inside of the Noise didn’t die from being exposed to the remnants of the Noise or Durandal’s energy, I also had to perfectly time Shrivatsa to shield her.”
Kirika and Chris had their eyes wide, both incredibly impressed by how well Miku could manage the relics she carried, but also somewhat terrified of her potential. This feeling only intensified when Finé broke the silence.
“And you did all of that in... less than two seconds.”
Miku brought her hand up to her mouth and coughed into it. When she pulled it away, blood was splattered against her skin. “And that’s why I passed out... though I think Durandal might have caused most of that stress. I probably would have woken up earlier if I had used another relic.”
“You’ve only been out for an hour!” Chris and Kirika both shouted.
“Yeah, I probably only would have passed out for twenty minutes without Durandal.” Miku put a finger to her chin. “Just summoning it, alone, makes me feel faint.”
Chris and Kirika still stared at their friend in silence, their eyes and mouths both open wide. “You’re... incredible, death.” Kirika muttered.
“No.” Miku turned back to look at the girl laying in the bed in front of her. Then, in a whisper that neither of her friends could hear, “I’m just a monster.”
Then, Miku smiled. “But that doesn’t mean I have to be a villain.”

. . .

 “Those girls are about to get some company.”
“Carol?”
The small alchemist appeared in SONG’s command centre without any warning, instead signalling her arrival with just this vague comment. Her appearance by Genjuro’s side surprised the man, who let out a small cry.
“What do you mean?” Kanade, however, was far less concerned.
“What I mean is, that anyone who can fight should be ready to.” Carol looked around. “Where are your friends?”
“Tsubasa, Shirabe, and Miku are all passed out in the infirmary. Kirika and Chris are watching over them.” Kanade told the small girl, who shook her head with a scowl.
“Let’s hope at least one of them has awoken, then.” Carol grunted, disappearing in a flash of light.

 After a beat of silence, Fujitaka voiced the question that everyone was wondering. “What was that about?”
The door to the command centre slid open then. Carol walked through it, followed by Chris, who was leaning on the shoulders of Kirika and Miku. “I had my Autoscorers send a message to the girl that was following me.” Carol vaguely explained, as if having never left.
“A message?” Kuriyo asked from her position at the front of the room. Upon seeing Miku, her expression softened, and she let out a sigh of relief.
“You could say that I... requested to speak with a ‘friend’ of mine.” Carol grumbled. Shaking her head, she then continued. “What I did does not matter. What does matter is that, if I am correct, the ones who will appear will be too strong for me and my Autoscorers to take on alone.”
“Carol...?” Elfnein squeaked. She had joined Shiori, Kuriyo, Tomosato, and Fujitaka as part of the support staff and now sat at her own station at the front of the room. But, at Carol’s words, she turned around.
“Even the world’s strongest alchemist would need assistance when they go up against the next three together.” Carol admitted, turning around. “You all would be nothing more than fodder, to distract them until I can combat them one-on-one.”
“It’s okay to ask for help sometimes, you know.” Kanade smiled. This expression quickly faded into a serious one as she turned to the screen. “That said, it’s worrying.”
Carol cleared her throat. “You should sense a large amount of energy in three... two... one... now.”
On cue, a siren blared upon the monitors in front of the five at the front of the room. “Noise!” Fujitaka cried out.
Miku shuffled.
“Alca-Noise.” Carol corrected. “Imperfect imitations crafted through alchemy. Harmless, in this case.”
“They’re...” Tomosato brought up the map, but Carol began speaking again even before she could pinpoint their location.
“At the site of that alchemical attack from earlier; the golden jungle.”
Indeed, as the map appeared, a large number of red dots appeared within the circle that designated the area affected by the gold transmutation from earlier.
Carol nodded at that, then turned to the three girls directly behind her. “Symphogears, get ready for battle.”
The small alchemist snapped her fingers, and the army of Alca-Noise that had appeared all instantly shattered; their signals lost. At the same time, the four wielders–Kirika, Chris, Kanade, and Miku–all disappeared, as did Carol.
“What... just happened?” Kuriyo asked.
A red light flashed on the monitors in front of the support team members. “I think we’re about to find out.” Shiori answered.

~ ~ ~

 Millaarc Cranstoun sighed as a dark shadow draped her eyes. “Ugh, I hate this!” The girl shouted into the sky, as she put a hand up to her shoulder. “My back hurts from flying so much, and I can’t see a thing, da ze!”
The girl had large black wings protruding from her back, which were now flapping slowly as she was flying through the air. Straining her eyes, she was looking around the jungle below her for the one she was ordered to follow–to no avail. All she saw were trees, trees, and more trees.
And an animal or two, which would run away at the sight of her.
“Wouldn’t Elsa be better at keeping track of someone, da ze!? Those jerks really should know this stuff.” Millaarc yelled in anger, cursing those whom she was forced to follow.
Letting out a groan, the girl dropped down onto a branch of a larger tree. The wooden platform shook slightly as she landed, but Millaarc was so light that the fairly-thin arm did not even bend slightly under her weight. “Let’s see here... If only I could figure out where those robots went, da ze.”
“We’re Autoscorers!” A cheerful voice called out to Millaarc from above, and her eyes flew towards the source. Poking out from the leafy cover above her was a red-haired girl with a pure-white face cracked into a wide smile. “And our master wants to see you, now!”
“What?” Millaarc barely had time to register the words of Micha Jawkān before the branch underneath her began to fall away.
Flapping her wings to get airborne, Millaarc’s eyes went wide as a green blade of wind flew towards her. The girl tried to avoid it, flying upwards, but this failed as the Autoscorer hiding above her dropped down and stomped upon the vampire’s head.
Millaarc let out a scream as the razor-sharp wind and the impact of Micha both affected her body, tearing at her skin. The vampire collapsed onto the ground, her black jumpsuit torn and her skin bleeding, and she let out a cry as Micha landed upon her back and pinned her to the ground.
“You’re lucky that my master wants you alive.” Millaarc looked up to see an Autoscorer wearing a blue dress and a crooked scowl looking down at her through a pair of dark sunglasses. “After what you did to me, you deserve worse than death.”
Millaarc winced as she tried to move her arm, which Micha slammed back down into the earth with her foot. Letting out a pained gasp, Millaarc spat out some weak words. “So... you realized, then.”
“We do not know how your mind control works...” A voice called out from beside Millaarc, though they were just out of her sight; from her spying, however, Millaarc knew it to be the golden Autoscorer, Leiur. “But considering you have yet to give orders to any of us, it seems as though our master was correct in her line of thinking.”
“That explains the goofy glasses, da ze.” Millaarc grumbled, placing her cheek against the dirt of the ground.
“Micha, get off her.” The Autoscorer looking down upon her–Garie–ordered the sister laying atop Millaarc, who obliged clumsily. As soon as Micha shifted, Millaarc tried to move her body to escape, only for Leiur to stomp down upon one of her hands.
“Pathetic. This is the spy the Bavarian Illuminati had following our master?” Garie chuckled cruelly. “You’re completely worthless!”
The blue Autoscorer put her hand out, and, a moment later, Millaarc felt an intense chill surround her body. Looking down, she saw that her body, from the neck down, had been encased in a chunk of ice.
“Alright, you win, da ze.” Millaarc grunted.
“It was barely even a fight.” Garie countered with a shark-toothed grin. “You had no chance against us.”
“I know!” Millaarc shouted. Then, narrowing her eyes, Millaarc spat out a globule of blood that ran from a cut across her cheek down into her mouth. “What do you want.”
“Allow our master to address you directly.” Leiur announced.
That was the cue for Carol–and the fourth Autoscorer, Phara–to appear before the frozen vampire.

 “I want you to relay a message for me.” Carol got straight down to business. Though she was far shorter than Millaarc, the vampire still felt intimidated by the cruel eyes that looked up at her; they reminded her of those that destroyed her future wore.
They scared Millaarc, those eyes. She couldn’t do anything but nod as they drilled into her mind. Even though they were not hidden by sunglasses and, thus, Millaarc could easily use her Stained Gaze ability to take control of Carol’s mind, the vampire didn’t even think to; the only thought that came into her mind as she looked down at Carol was: *Please, don’t hurt me any more, da ze.*
“Tell Prelati that her *good friend* Carol wants to speak with her and her two accomplices. Tell her that I am now working with the one known as Finé; as are the Symphogears.”
“...And you’ll let me go, da ze? Even after I had been following you?” Millaarc tilted her head.
“I care not whether the Illuminati wishes to keep their eye on me.” Carol waved her hand as she slowly turned around. “Those fools crave power more than anything. If they have not made a move against me yet, then either you are doing your job just to a degree that is satisfactory to me, or your ‘masters’ are more foolish than I initially realized.”
Millaarc looked down–one of the few directions she could freely do so–at the thick black collar around her neck, one engraved with a golden eye. “My masters can see everything that I do, hear everything that I do.”
“Which is why I have taken this approach to cornering you, Millaarc Cranstoun.” Carol grunted, and the use of her name surprised Millaarc. Then, raising her voice, the alchemist turned around to face Millaarc again. “Tell my *friend* that I will use my Alca-Noise to signify the location of our meeting, and that I will bring Finé with me.”
Carol snapped her fingers, and the iceberg that encased Millaarc crumbled away and disappeared. “Do as I say, vampire, or know that I will–”
Before she could even finish her sentence, Carol heard a whoosh as Millaarc took the skies with her wings. The alchemist smiled.
“Do you think that she will relay the message to this Prelati person?” Phara asked her master.
“Yes. In fact, I am sure that Prelati is already aware of my desire to speak with her.” Carol nodded. “Now, then, Autoscorers. I will go get the Symphogear wielders; while I do, I wish for you to set the stage for our battle.”
“Anything for you, master!” Micha smiled putting her hand up in the air.
“Good.” Carol cracked a grin as she began to explain her plan to her subordinates.

~ ~ ~

 “Who are we fighting, anyway?” Chris grumbled.
Carol had transported Chris, Miku, Kirika, Kanade, Maria, and Serena–the latter two after a short detour–into the golden jungle left behind by the alchemical attack that had rained down from the sky.
“Three of the top members of the Bavarian Illuminati.” Carol announced.
“Three of the top members of the Bavarian Illuminati, huh.” Chris repeated calmly. Then, after a beat, shouted. “What?”

 As Chris yelled at Carol, Kirika stood off to the side.
“So they’re still around are they?” Finé muttered from Kirika’s mouth.
Then, Kirika piped up to address the second soul within her, though still kept her voice quiet. “I thought you took care of them, death.”
“I thought so, too. Though it seems I may have underestimated their perseverance.”
Kanade, who stood closest to Kirika, gave the girl a suspicious look. Then–while facing the same direction as the small blonde girl–Kanade crossed her arms and addressed Kirika. “I had my suspicions that you, Ryoko, knew about the Illuminati.”
“Oyo!” Kirika squeaked in surprise, freezing up.
“You’ve always been perceptive, Kanade.” Despite the scared expression on Kirika’s face, Finé’s tone was oddly nostalgic and calm.
“Gee, thanks. Shame I couldn’t see through you being an immortal priestess.” Kanade rolled her eyes.

 “So that’s the witch, then?”
Kanade and Kirika looked up in surprise at the voice. A woman looked down at them from a perch up in a tree, a small smile upon her face.
“What?” Carol squawked turning to look up at the figure. “But how–!?”
The woman let out a small chuckle. “You should know that it’s quite hard to swindle a swindler, especially one as sexy as me.”
Like it was second nature, the woman grabbed hold of a branch above her and flung herself forwards into the air. Performing several spins, the woman landed on her feet on the golden ground a short distance in front of the group.
The woman had long, light blue hair the colour of a robin’s egg and light pink eyes. She wore a black outfit that could technically be considered a dress, though as its pink accents only barely covered her more private areas, it could barely be considered clothing; it did, however, make it clear to the Symphogear wielders that this woman wanted to show off as much of her curvaceous body as possible.
“Count Alessandro di Cagliostro.” Carol narrowed her eyes. “And where are your friends?”
“They’ll be coming shortly, I’m sure, now that I’ve confirmed that your message was the truth.” Cagliostro shrugged playfully, tilting her head with her eyes closed in a fairly childish manner. When she opened her eyes, the pink jewels glared at Carol. “And that name–I haven’t been a man, now, for hundreds of years. Just call me Cagliostro.”
“This is one of the Illuminati’s top alchemists?” Chris and Miku wondered aloud, their annoyed voices overlapping as they asked the same question.
Cagliostro shrugged again. “Technically, yes, though truthfully I am not all that loyal to the organization.” Putting one hand on her hip, she frowned. “Honestly, I’m sure your goals are more in line with mine than the Illuminati’s are, but this beautiful woman’s got a debt–and taking out Finé would help pay it off.”
“Shit.” Finé muttered from Kirika’s mouth. Though it wasn’t her voice, hearing Kirika swear surprised Maria, who turned to the girl in shock.
“Death.” Kirika then added with a smile.
“Before I kill you, I must confirm something.” Carol had a cruel look in her gaze as she looked up at the tall Cagliostro. “You and your friends were not the ones to attack this land, correct?”
Cagliostro looked around, a look of admiration on her face. “The Lapis philosophorum is powerful, but even Saint-Germain might have some difficulty doing something of this scale.” Then, she winked. “It seems like he’s just trying to show off for us. You all know how much women love the sight of gold, after all.”
Several of the Symphogear wielders’ eyes turned to Miku at that comment, who frowned. “Personally, I hate it.” She uttered.
“Oh?” Cagliostro asked.
But her curiosity was satiated as Miku began to glow, and the golden armour of Lancea Longini appeared over her body. Seeing the light of a Symphogear, the other girls followed suit.

*Killter Ichaival tron*
*Seilien coffin Airgetlám tron*
*Croitzal ronzell Gungnir zizzl*

 Chris, Maria, and Kanade all sang their Holy Chants; while Serena simply conjured Shénshòujìng upon her body with a thought, just as Miku summoned her own weapons.
Cagliostro smiled as she watched their transformations, then held up a large pink ring to her mouth, and gave it a small kiss. She, too, was then engulfed in a cocoon of light–albeit one that matched the colour of the stone indented in her ring, rather than the pure white that the Symphogears were surrounded in.
“As I suspected.” Carol nodded, though her eyes were narrowed as she took in the sight of Cagliostro. “You and your allies perfected the Faust Robe technology, just as I did.”
The small alchemist let out a chuckle. “Very well, then.” Carol cracked a crooked smirk as she raised a hand to the sky above her. “It seems that this may be a fun ordeal after all, even with only one of you three.”

. . .

 “They’re gone. You don’t need to pretend to be asleep any more.” Shirabe was laying face-up, looking at the ceiling of the infirmary. In truth, everyone had been taken out of the room by Carol’s alchemical teleportation quite some time ago, but Shirabe had wanted a period of silence.
“You knew?” Tsubasa asked, her eyes slowly opening.
“I don’t think we fooled Chris.”
“Yukine is quite perceptive. It would be difficult to fool her.”

 Both girls laid in silence for a few seconds. Their eyes stared up at the white lights that burned overhead and, coupled with the sanitary smell, truly made this room feel like an infirmary.
“Passing out because of a scream...” Tsubasa muttered. “That’s pathetic.”
“No. The scream wasn’t why we passed out.” Shirabe held her hand up above her. “I think it was the emotion behind it.”
“The emotion?” Tsubasa sat up and turned to Shirabe with a quizzical look on her face.
“The Rod of Asclepius robs you of your ability to properly feel emotions.” Shirabe explained, and Tsubasa let out a hum as she contemplated the meaning of those words. Dropping her hand down to her side, Shirabe continued. “But... before I passed out, I felt again. Fear, sadness, anger. It... was strangely comforting.”
“What you said about the Rod of Asclepius, does that apply to Maria’s sister as well?”
“Yes. But she’s a lot better at trying to mimic how she thinks she should feel... Perhaps, that’s also what the Noise do.”
“The Noise don’t feel...” Tsubasa trailed off as she looked at the stranger sleeping in another bed.
The blue-haired swordswoman stood up and strolled over to Satomi Kubert, and looked down upon the girl with an intense glare. “What exactly... are the Noise?”
Shirabe finally sat up. “Kiri would know.”
Tsubasa nodded. “You’re right. Ryoko... no, Finé. She is always hiding information from us.” The girl clutched one hand into a fist and raised it to her heart. “I want the truth about the Noise...”
Tsubasa trailed off, but Shirabe could guess what she was going to say. “But do you, really?” The black-haired girl tilted her head. “If she tells you that, all this time, you were killing people, then...”
“I don’t care!” Tsubasa spun around, fire in her eyes as she looked at Shirabe. “I resolved myself to use my songs to protect people; to make sure a tragedy like that concert never happened again. If, all this time, I have been protecting people by killing others–then I failed. I would have no grounds to call myself a sword–to call myself a Symphogear wielder!”
Shirabe blinked at the blue-haired girl a few times, simply staring at her resolve. “It’s weird.” She commented eventually, startling Tsubasa. “It’s only been a month, but I’ve become used to not being able to feel anything. And because of that... it makes me certain of something.”
“Huh?”
“Your resolve is admirable; your eyes are determined; you have resolve in your voice. Tsubasa, you want to do the right thing, but you have no right to call yourself a sword.”
“What are you–”
“A sword wouldn’t feel emotions. A sword would only be a tool–pointed somewhere and told to cut down a foe, without so much a question or complaint.” Shirabe smiled, but her eyes remained completely hollow; Tsubasa could not see a single ray of light within the rubies indented upon the girl’s fair skin. “I’m more fitting of that, wouldn’t you say?”
“Tsukuyomi, you...”
“Tsubasa... you’re a lot like Kiri and Carol.” Shirabe swung her legs off of the bed. “You’re not honest.”
Ame no Habakiri’s wielder blushed at that, and turned away. Shirabe continued speaking as she strolled over to Tsubasa. “You still feel guilty... like you don’t deserve to be alive now, right?”
Now Tsubasa turned to look back at the stone-faced Shirabe with her mouth wide. “What do you–”
“You’ve been trying to convince yourself that you’re a sword, right? So that you didn’t have to confront the feelings you were carrying.”
“Tsukuyomi...” Tsubasa narrowed her eyes. “I think you may be correct, but...”
“But how can I be so blunt?” Shirabe smiled again. “I can’t feel guilty, empathetic, sympathetic, angry, sad... The only thing that would keep me from saying what I’m thinking is my common sense–but Kiri’s always had more of that than I have.”
“Speaking of Akatsuki... does she know? That you–”
“No, she doesn’t.” Shirabe cut Tsubasa off. “Serena, Maria, and Carol are the only others that know about this... I don’t want to burden Kiri with any more worries.”

 “I see.” Tsubasa nodded. “Thank you for entrusting me with your secret. I will do my best to keep it hidden from the others.”
Shirabe nodded too. “Even if we began as enemies, I’ve always trusted you. Kiri and I, we watched all of your concert performances after FIS was shut down.” Shirabe smiled, but again her eyes simply looked forwards, empty. “I was actually kind of starstruck when I saw you for the first time–and I think Kiri was too.”
“Oh! Well... I’m always happy to meet fans.” Tsubasa scratched her reddening cheek, but then stopped as a thought came to mind. “Oh, right! We’re supposed to be having a concert in a few days...”
“Maria already gave us tickets.” Shirabe flashed a thumbs up.
“She did!?” Tsubasa looked down, then scowled. “Maria... where does she find the time to do everything?”
Shirabe prodded her chin. “I think there are more than twenty-four hours in Maria’s day.”
“What?” Tsubasa flew back, a surprised look on her face. “Is that because of the experiments that FIS performed on you? Or a relic, perhaps?”
“It was a joke.” Shirabe smiled.
For the first time today, Tsubasa could sense genuine happiness from the eyes that looked back at her.

#### AXZ Chapter 6

 “Whoa! This is where your brother lives?”
Yumi’s eyes were wide with excitement as she looked up at the giant building that towered over her and the two men she was travelling with.
“For now, anyway.” Ogawa chuckled. “My older brother has always been... eccentric.”
“To think that the two of you are related.” The third man, Yatsuhiro Kazanari, nodded, as if having been satisfied by the revelation.
The three of them had travelled to Europe, where they now stood in front of a large, medieval fortress. The grass surrounding the drawbridge was meticulously trimmed, and the three could easily picture a number of tourists coming to gawk at the ancient architecture; of course, right now, it was past midnight, and the grounds had been cleared of any visitors.
“How did your brother buy a castle, anyway?” Yumi asked her direct superior.
“It’s... a long story. And it’s a fortress–he’s very particular about that.”
Yumi saluted. “I got it!”
As Ogawa sighed, Yatsuhiro stepped forwards. “So, how exactly do we get your brother’s attention?”
“I texted him already.” Ogawa said, eyeing the large wooden door in front of them.
As if that was the cue, the door let out a loud moan as it began to open somewhat.
It was not a portcullis gate as one would expect to find on a castle, rather it was–in the most-simplest of terms–just a large door made of dark wood, measuring at about double the height of the man standing closest to it, Yatsuhiro Kazanari.
The door stopped after only opening a short amount, and out stepped a stone-faced man with grey hair. “Apologies for the wait, my brother.”
Yumi could barely make the man out with only the light of the moon for her aid, but she was impressed with what she saw. Ogawa’s older brother–Souji Ogawa–was a tall man, and her gaze was immediately drawn to two things: the large red coat he wore, and the even-larger zweihander sword that he pointed down at the ground.
The young girl’s eyes sparkled as she took in Souji Ogawa.
Souji took a look at the company that his younger brother Shinji was taking. First, his eyes glanced over to Yatsuhiro Kazanari. “It’s been quite a while, Mr. Kazanari.” The man nodded as he greeted the Japanese official.
“Yes, it has been.” Yatsuhiro nodded back. “I’m sure that you’ll be happy to know that young Shinji has become our most invaluable asset.”
“I’d expect nothing less from my brother. He always was the star pupil.” Despite the praise he offered his brother, Souji’s face remained stoic and tense.
Next, the man turned to Yumi. Though the shadows of night hid his face somewhat, Yumi could swear that Souji expressed a small amount of surprise as he took her in. “And this girl, here, is...?”
“This is Yumi Itaba.” Ogawa (Shinji) smiled as he introduced the girl beside him. “She is my assistant, and a fairly competent one at that.”
“To think a girl as young as you has managed to impress my brother enough that he would assign you his pupil.” Souji bowed his head respectfully. “Miss Itaba, you must be quite talented indeed.”
“Oh, umm...” Yumi blushed. “Thank you!?”
Seeing the way that the flustered Yumi chirped out a response caused her superior to let out a single chuckle.
“Now then, Souji.” Yatsuhiro strolled up to the man. “About the reason why we have travelled here today.”
“Yes. I have prepared the relics for you, although I can not allow you to take the one that belonged to the master of this fortress. I hope you understand.”
Yatsuhiro nodded. “I know that it is in good hands, here. As for the others, this is merely precautionary.”

 As Yatsuhiro and Souji continued their brief exchange, Yumi elbowed Shinji Ogawa in the side to get his attention. “Why didn’t you tell me your brother was an RPG character?” She whispered out of the side of your mouth.
“And spoil the surprise?” Ogawa smiled. “Besides, I would have thought you’d be used to talking to anime characters already.”
“What does that mean!?” Yumi said in her normal tone, and saw the flicker of recognition in Souji’s eyes for just a moment.
“Have you never stopped to look at the people you work with?” Ogawa began listing off figures, raising a new finger for every entry. “I’m a ninja; Genjuro’s strength can be considered inhuman; each of the Symphogear wielders is essentially a super-powered tank... not to mention that we also know a centuries-old alchemist with four robot bodyguards.”
“Yeah, but they’re...!” Yumi flailed for a moment, grasping for the right way to explain her thought process. “Normally... weird?”
Ogawa looked at her with nothing but a puzzled look.
“I mean your brother looks just like he came out of a fantasy story. I’m pretty sure there’s a character that looks a lot like him in–”
Yumi was interrupted as the man in question called out to the two. “Brother, Miss Itaba, please come with me.”

 A few moments later, Yumi’s eyes were sparkling–literally, this time–as she looked at the regal, European room. A large wooden table with twelve chairs sat in the centre of the room, and an ornate chandelier hung above it.
“This place is so much nicer than your other brother’s place.” Yumi uttered.
“You weren’t even allowed in.” Ogawa countered.
“Exactly! The outside was a dump. When you told me he owned a club in America, I was picturing something a little more... exciting, then just a crummy old building that I wasn’t even allowed to go inside of.” Yumi pouted. “Some weirdo tried hitting on me. I think. I can’t speak much English to begin with, and the guy being drunk didn’t help.”
“I’m sure if he was actually hitting on you, then Yatsuhiro would have stepped in.” Ogawa replied.
“Then I wonder what he was trying to say to me.” Yumi tapped her chin.
“Who knows.” Ogawa stepped away from Yumi’s side to join his brother and Yatsuhiro, who were next to the table admiring the objects glistening under the light of the beautiful fixture hanging above it.
The girl did not join the men, instead crossing her arms and pouting as she looked on from afar. “Getting to go to America and a European castle is cool and all, but I really don’t get to do anything.” Letting out a deep exhale, Yumi looked around the room. “I haven’t even had a chance to check on Miku since Chris went into a coma.”

 Souji looked over his younger brother’s shoulder at Yumi, who was now wandering over to a large portrait on the wall depicting a man sitting upon a horse with a sword pointed to the sky. “That girl...”
“Ah, if she’s bothering you, I can...” The younger Ogawa stood up stiffly, as if ready to run off.
“It’s just... I wonder if her name has any meaning...” Souji shook his head. “Apologies brother, don’t mind me.”
“No, now you’ve made me curious. What are you talking about?”
Closing his eyes, Souji stroked his chin for a moment. “After Suteinu was born, mother left our clan and disappeared.” The man began by referring to the youngest of the three Ogawa brothers. “Even with our extensive network, we haven’t been able to find any trace of her.”
“Yes, I’m aware. I’ve been helping look into this whenever I have the time.”
“Something I did not tell you is that I think I found a clue.” Souji frowned. “Though I have little to go on, I believe that what I found is undeniably true.”
“...And this has something to do with Yumi?” Shinji Ogawa raised an eyebrow.
“Mother... she changed her name and re-married after leaving our clan–this is something we have believed from the jump.” Souji turned to his younger brother. “The name ‘Itaba’ came up a few times in my own investigations.”
“Itaba...” Ogawa pursed his lips.
“You did a background check on the girl before taking her on as your assistant, correct, brother?” Souji asked.
“Kazanari was in charge of that.” Ogawa turned to look at the older man, who glanced up over his glasses at the two brothers from the other side of the table. Though he remained stone-faced, Yatsuhiro Kazanari did nod at them in acknowledgement–and to confirm what Ogawa had said.
Yatsuhiro slowly walked around the table and joined the Ogawa brothers. “The girl’s mother died of illness when she was young; even she likely has no memories of her.” He lowered his chin, then, in apology. “There were few records about her, but I spoke with Itaba’s father personally. He said that she was very sickly, and avoided the public for the most part until she unfortunately passed away.”
“And those records...?” Souji asked.
“They are all legitimate.” Yatsuhiro confirmed. “However... I did find it odd when Itaba’s father told me about his wife–and specifically, how she was apparently living overseas for most of her life, and the two met only a few months after she moved to Japan.
“There were records supporting her immigration in the system, though they were dated several years earlier than what he specified. At the time, I merely believed that one of them had been mistaken about this timeline, but it’s quite possible that those records were inserted afterwards with incorrect dates.”
Souji scowled. “For you to overlook such a glaring issue in this background check–”
“Her case was special.” Yatsuhiro glared. “She already had knowledge of top secret information and connections to various incidents we were involved in. A background check was merely a formality.”

 Yumi stared up at the glass case hanging on the wall, but she was not entirely focused on the relic stored within it. Her ears had perked up at the mention of her name, and she had since been listening (to the best of her abilities) to the quiet conversation that the three men were having on the other side of the room.
The girl let out a sigh. “I can’t even focus on all of the cool stuff in this room.” Yumi grumbled, pulling her eyes away from the glass case.
Suddenly, Yumi leapt off the ground as a sharp sound surprised her–the sound of her cell phone. The device in her pocket started singing at the same moment that Ogawa and Yatsuhiro both pulled their own phones out of their pockets.
Putting her cell to her ear, Yumi answered the call–a call from her friend, Shiori Terashima.
“Yumi! We’ve got trouble!” Yumi heard from the other end of the line. Underneath the voice, Yumi could hear an alarm going off, and the muffled voices of Tomosato and Fujitaka yelling.
Yumi turned around and met Ogawa’s eyes. Before she could say something, the man nodded. “We have to go. Now.”
“Right.” She agreed.
Yumi ran to meet up with her boss, stepping away from the glass case with a panicked bounce in her step. The glorious relic that she had been staring at, which shone like the sun even in the orange glow of the room, watched her go. Yumi left in her wake the relic and a small golden plaque at the base of the glass case, which read six English words–words that even Yumi could read with ease: The Sword in the Stone, Excalibur.

~ ~ ~

 Tsubasa and Shirabe walked together down the halls of the SONG submersible, and towards the command centre where they knew they would be able to learn about what was going on.
Before the door even slid open, both girls stopped as they heard a muttered cry from the other side–a cry unmistakably originating from Shiori and Kuriyo: “Chris!”
The two girls looked at each other and nodded before rushing into the room.
“What’s going on?” Tsubasa announced her presence with a commanding question, but she only needed to look at the monitor for an answer.
On the monitor, it showed the Symphogear wielders, Carol, and the four Autoscorers all locked in battle against a single foe–who was holding her own as she seemingly-effortlessly danced around their attacks. As they watched, the blue-haired foe–a woman scantily clad in what appeared to be a yellow and purple bra and tutu–easily jumped out of the way of Maria and Micha, who attacked at close-range simultaneously.
In the background, Chris sat against a tree, clutching her stomach, and a short distance away Kirika propped herself up on one knee, clearly winded; both girls, as well as the other Symphogear wielders, had activated their Ignite Modules. Miku was by Chris’s side, just watching her enemy’s movements with narrowed eyes, and Kanade was doing the same as she sat against another tree.
“We have to go help them!” Shirabe said to Tsubasa.
“No. Wait.” Genjuro held his arm out by his side.
“It’s highly likely that she’s acting as a diversion.” Kanade said, her voice coming over the communications line. Whether she had heard Tsubasa and Shirabe come in is unknown, but she seemed to be addressing them.
Miku followed suit. “According to Carol, this woman–Cagliostro–is only one of three alchemists that worked at the top of the Illuminati.” The black-haired girl watched as Micha went flying from a pink blast of energy that Cagliostro fired at her. “Yet this wasn’t the one that Carol was expecting to appear.”
“To think...” Carol spat, coming into the camera’s vision as she flew at a high speed towards Cagliostro. “That they trapped my own trap.”
The blue-haired woman only wore a smile as she jumped into the air, avoiding both Carol and an attack from below from Leiur. This only forced Cagliostro into the aerial zone of Serena, who fired a purple blast from her arm at the alchemist–who then blocked Shénshòujìng’s light with her own alchemical projectile.
“What I’m curious about is Shénshòujìng.” Kanade uttered. “Its light is not destroying her attacks out-right; it doesn’t see this woman as inherently ‘evil’...”

 Kuriyo spoke up now. “Ah! I’m detecting a massive spike in energy.”
“From where?” Tsubasa and Genjuro demanded.
“Hold on...” Tomosato whispered.
“The town!” Shiori screamed.
“Shit.” Miku and Kanade cursed together. The orange-haired girl turned to Miku. “We have to protect the town.”
Miku nodded. “I agree.”
“I’ve got a score to settle with that town.” Chris muttered as she wiped her mouth. Then, cracking a smirk, Chris winked. “Can’t let it be destroyed just yet.”
“Leave me here, death.” Kirika nodded, pulling herself to her feet. “I’ll stay here with Maria and Serena.”
“Guess it’s just us three.” Kanade smiled at Miku. Then, reaching out her hand: “You mind giving us a lift?”
In the command centre, Tsubasa turned to Shirabe. “We’ll head to the town, too.”
“Can we get a visual on the town?” Genjuro asked the support team.
“I’ve been trying...” Kuriyo replied, quickly. “But something’s blocking the feed.”
Genjuro furrowed his brown, then turned to the two Symphogear wielders beside him. “Good luck out there... don’t get hurt.”
“Got it.” Tsubasa smiled as she replied with a nod. Shirabe nodded, too, but her expression was mostly blank.
Carol hummed. “Ga... no, wait. Leiur, go into the town and investigate their readings.”
“Understood, master.” The golden Autoscorer bowed, and disappeared in a flash of light. Her disappearance was perfectly timed–just as she faded out of existence, a pink blast flew through the air that she had just occupied.
“And, you, Phara. Report to SONG’s headquarters. Hook yourself up to their computers so that they can get a proper view of the area through Leiur’s eyes; it seems as though they are having trouble, right now.”
“Very well, master.” Leiur obliged from outside of the camera’s vision, and appeared before Genjuro in the command centre only a moment later.
She was just in time to see the door slide shut behind Tsubasa and Shirabe.

. . .

 As she flew through the air with Chris and Kanade in tow via Shrivatsa’s chains, Miku kept her eyes on the horizon–mainly to look for the town in hopes that she was going the correct direction.
“Not a huge fan of flyin’ like this, honestly.” Chris sighed. “I prefer using my missiles.”
“I think I’m with Chris.” Kanade looked down. “Not too big a fan of not having anything under my feet... no offence, Miku.”
“None taken.” Miku shook her head.
It was then that she saw a bright light in the distance. The town nearest to the port was fairly poor; the largest building was the church, and the size of that building paled in comparison to even some of the smaller buildings back in Tokyo. Miku knew that the fact that they could see a bright light from such a distance meant nothing good.
“A fire...?” Miku wondered aloud.
“I hate to ask, Miku, but can you fly any faster?” Chris looked up at her friend.
“...Cover your eyes. And keep your eyes and mouths closed.” Miku’s sole response was curt. Kanade and Chris stole a glance at each other before they each put their other arms in front of their eyes.
Neither Kanade nor Chris could see what Miku was doing, but they could feel the results of her work. Pain flared through their bodies as Miku pulled them forwards at a high speed. The hands that the two girls had clasped in Miku’s own felt clammy in her grasp. Both wanted to ask Miku if she was okay, but they were moving at such a high speed that they could not even open their mouths if they wanted to.
“We’re here.” Miku announced only about a minute later, letting go of Chris and Kanade’s hands. The girls landed on the ground, upon their feet, but stumbled as they attempted to gain their balance, as confused as they were.
Both turned to Miku to express their thanks, but they only saw the girl’s back. “You don’t want to look at me right now. Trust me.”
Chris stepped forwards, but Kanade stuck her arm out in front of her. With a nod of her chin, she gestured to Miku–and the great amount of blood now dripping off her chin.
“It’ll take me a few minutes to heal.” Miku began to walk away. “You two should–”
A roar interrupted her.
“Take care of that.” Kanade finished with a nod.
“It’s not a Noise.” Miku warned. “Be careful.”
With that, the black-haired girl walked away, putting her arm up over her face.

 Kanade and Chris turned around, then. “Now,” Chris raised the crimson-coloured crossbow in her hand. “Where do you think this thing would–”
Another roar cut her off. This time, the source was made clear to them: a large, serpentine creature slithered through the city, obliterating several buildings as people scrambled for safety. Flames followed behind it.
Two specks barely visible against the darkening sky–who the two Symphogear wielders could tell were Tsubasa and Shirabe from the singing they heard–followed closely behind the monster.
“How did we miss that?” Kanade asked.
Chris just smiled in response. “Very cathartic, seeing this place get razed.” She chuckled happily. “But yeah, let’s deal with this before anyone gets hurt.”
“What’s your deal with this place, anyway?” Kanade asked.
“It’s where my life went to shit.” Chris frowned. “But let’s not focus on that right now. Right now we have...”
The monster roared again, and ran back through the same path it had just torn through the ground. Again, Tsubasa and Shirabe followed close behind; the scene reminded Kanade of old American cartoons she had seen as a kid.
Chris raised a hand to her ear. “Hey, you guys read me?”
Static filled her ear, but she could also barely make out the voice of Shiori on the other end. “Chr–we–hear... Yes...”
“I can’t make out what you’re saying, but I think you can hear me.” Chris nodded. “Look up Yohualtepuztli. I think that’s what this monster is.”
When only static filled her ears, Chris scowled and turned off her headset.
“Yohualtepuztli?” Kanade asked.
“A deity that people around here worship.” Chris explained. “But that’s all I remember about it. Believe it or not, there really wasn’t much reason to remember stories like that when your life’s falling apart.”
Though her expression was fairly calm, a smirk still plastered on her face, Kanade could sense a sadness behind Chris’s words. But she knew now was not the time to talk about it. Kanade nodded.
“No matter what the name of this thing is, what we need to do remains the same.” Kanade smiled.
“You sound like me.” Chris smiled, genuinely. “But, yeah, you’re right.”
Levelling her crossbows, Chris nodded to Kanade, and the two girls began to run off.

. . .

 “Hey, you guys read me?” Chris’s voiced called out through the communications line.
Shiori was looking at static on the screen. She was one of the only two at their station right now; Tomosato, Genjuro, Kuriyo, and Elfnein were all working to get Phara connected to the computer. She and Fujitaka were the only ones still watching the feeds; Fujitaka kept his eyes on the girls fighting Cagliostro, while Shiori’s job was to try to test the connection they had with Chris and the others in the town.
“Chris! We can hear you loud and clear, yes.” Shiori replied at the sound of her friend’s voice. It came in clear, which was a surprise considering they couldn’t reach Tsubasa or Shirabe.
There was a pause, and then Chris’s voice came through the speakers again.
“I can’t make out what you’re saying, but I think you can hear me. Look up Yohualtepuztli. I think that’s what this monster is.” The girl commanded.
“Yohualtepuztli?” Shiori looked at Fujitaka, who was already attempting to type the name into search engines. “Chris, what do you mean?”
Nothing more came through from her friend, so Shiori furrowed her brow. “Either we lost connection, or Chris turned off her headset.”
Kuriyo popped her head up. She and Elfnein had their heads in a control panel on the wall, though the girl with light brown hair was merely holding a flashlight for the small, green-haired homunculus. “She probably turned it off. Try Kanade or Miku.”
Shiori nodded at that and switched signals. When she connected to Kanade’s headset, all she heard was static; likewise, only the same snowy noise cut into her ear as Shiori connected with Miku. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“Yohualtepuztli.” Fujitaka read. “Yohualtepuztli is a headless, humanoid creature that originates from Mexican folklore. It is a spirit that exists to torment those who attempt to trespass upon the mountains it guards during the night. It is announced by the sound of dull thuds, like an axe hitting a tree; its name is derived from he words for ‘night’ and ‘axe’ or ‘hatchet’...
“The monster is apparently made of wood, and its head resembles a tree stump. Yohualtepuztli’s chest appears like a closet, with open doors that reveal the beast’s heart to the outside world. If you grab hold of the heart, you can barter with Yohualtepuztli for a wish, though pulling it out is unwise.”
“...That sounds like a simple creature to defeat, then.” Genjuro grunted. He and Tomosato were attaching a variety of different cables to the Autoscorer, whose back was open to reveal a control panel.
“Okay, this should do the trick.” Elfnein squeaked, pushing various buttons down on the control panel. Looking over her shoulder at Phara, she bowed her head slightly. “This might shut you down for a few moments.”
“Understood. I am sure my master was well aware of the risks–” Phara began to speak, but Elfnein cut her off.
“No! There are no risks! I’m sure everything will be fine! But as your body connects with the communications line to boost its input and output strength, it might... cause you to reboot? I think?”
“You don’t need to worry about that.” Phara chuckled.
“Okay, then...” Elfnein seemed unsure, but nodded. Pointing with one hand, she then shouted an instruction to the blue-haired woman. “Tomosato, plug that red chord in over there on the count of three.”
“Alright.” Tomosato nodded, picking up the cable that she was ordered to.
“One... two... three!” Elfnein screamed the last number as she plugged a cable into the console in front of her. Across the room, Tomosato did the same at the same moment.
A spark emitted from the cable in Elfnein’s hands, just as it did in Tomosato’s. In the same moment, Phara’s arms twitched as she was fully connected with SONG’s technology.
“Ah! It worked.” Shiori stood up, excitedly. The snowy static covering her monitor had turned into a solid picture, and she gasped as she took in the sight.
Peering over from his own station, Fujitaka sucked in a cool breath. “Yeah I don’t think that’s Yohualtepuztli.”
Shiori put the image on the main screen, just as the monster–Yohualtepuztli(?)–let out a loud roar. Everyone, except for Phara, put their hands up to their ears... until Shiori muted the footage.
Through Leiur’s eyes, the screen showed Tsubasa and Shirabe’s backs as the three looked up at the serpent-like beast. Though Miku, Chris, and Kanade were not in the picture, the missiles that exploded around the monster’s head were undoubtedly the work of Ichaival; the girls had met up.
“That thing... looks tough.” Kuriyo said, slumping down in her chair. “...But where is the alchemist that summoned it? And how?”
“That’s...” Genjuro crossed his arms.
“We’re right here.”
A red light flashed on the console, but the signal telling them that they had intruders was quite useless.
Everyone in the command centre froze at the unfamiliar voice–but Genjuro froze most of all. The large man felt his body stiffen as a cool piece of metal was placed against his back.
“The Illuminati...” Genjuro grunted out.
“No sudden movements.” A short girl appeared beside the first intruder, clutching a large frog plush to her chest.
The first woman glared at the man in front of her. “Where is the vessel that Finé currently inhabits?”
Looking over the room, the small black-haired girl sighed. “I don’t think she’s here.” Her gaze slowed as she took in the figure of Elfnein and a cruel grin slowly began to eclipse her face. “But...”
The woman with the golden gun pointed at Genjuro clicked her tongue. “Then they’re useless to us.”
“I told you we should have disregarded what that batty brat told us. We already found Tiki.” The black-haired girl shrugged. “But calling these ones ‘useless’ isn’t entirely true.”
“Then I’ll leave this to you.” The silver-haired woman announced confidently. Without even lowering her gun, the woman disappeared, flashing out of existence and ensuring Genjuro’s safety for just a short moment more.
“As for you...” The black-haired girl’s grin widened as she leapt back, just as Genjuro launched a kick towards where she had been standing. The girl sighed. “You’re no match for me; even those Symphogear wielders aren’t.”
“If you intend to do anything to any of us.” Genjuro stomped forwards, rocking the entire submersible. “Then I will stop you.”
“Fine.” The girl shrugged. “Then I’ll just do this.”
In the next moment, she disappeared...
“Wait, what?” Elfnein shrieked in panic.
“Elfnein!” Shiori yelled, hopping out her chair.
When Genjuro turned around, he watched as Shiori dove towards Elfnein–who was being held close to the black-haired intruder–only to sail through the air and hit nothing as they disappeared.
“Shit.” Genjuro yelled.
“Prelati.” Carol’s voice came through Fujitaka’s monitor. “What is it that you are plotting?”
Shooting a curious glance over to Phara, Genjuro understood. “You showed her what was going on?”
“She was already observing.” The Autoscorer smiled. “She had anticipated that they might target Elfnein. I must offer my apologies for not being able to protect her, being connected to their servers like this.”
“It is fine, Phara.” Carol answered. Not only was she watching the situation, but it was also clear from this answer that she was also listening in. “I got the information I needed, and I now know one of the locations they are hiding out in. This was all quite beneficial.”

 “So am I to take that to mean that Saint-Germain and Prelati are done, here?” Cagliostro eyed Carol, who had suspiciously become docile in the moments earlier and begun muttering to herself.
Even as Garie fired a volley of icicles at the alchemist and Maria threw her knives, Cagliostro only barely spared them a glance as she yawned. “You guys are boring. I was hoping you’d be able to show me your own kind of girl power. Oh well.” Cagliostro shrugged, then offered a wink. “Let’s play again in a bit, okay?”
Kirika leapt towards the alchemist, and swung her scythe with a great deal of force behind it. But the alchemist only blew the blonde-haired girl a kiss as she began to fade away. “Oh, and we’ll be coming for you, too.”
The giant scythe of Igalima only cut through air as Cagliostro finally vanished.

 “Six of us, and we couldn’t even land a single hit!” Garie screamed a few moments after a silence fell upon the jungle.
“It’s fine. Though my original plan was not sprung, I still got what I needed.” Carol nodded, then turned to address the three Symphogear wielders who had gathered together. “Wielders of Shénshòujìng, Airgetlám, and Ichaival, I thank you for your assistance in this endeavour... And if you may be willing to work with me for just a little while longer, then I must ask a favour of Maria Cadenzavna Eve and Kirika Akatsuki.”
Maria tilted her head quizzically, wearing a sceptical look on her face.“...What... do you need?”
“Right now...”
Micha and Garie grinned at each other as Carol’s next words left her mouth.
“...I need you to defeat these two Autoscorers.”

#### AXZ Chapter 7

 “What?” Maria asked Carol. “Kill your Autoscorers?”
“Not so much ‘kill’, more just decapitate. I need their heads intact.” Carol nodded. “Good luck. I have a homunculus to rescue.”
With that, the alchemist disappeared in a bright light. Sensing that as their cue, the two Autoscorers turned to the three Symphogear wielders before them.
The five figures stood in silence; the Symphogear wielders looked at the robots with looks of confusion, while the Autoscorers contrasted these sceptical looks with arrogant ones.
“Why does she want us to fight them?” Serena asked.
“They’ve been taken over by a foreign influence.” Finé said from Kirika’s lips, an almost immediate response to the question. “Carol’s order not to attack their heads means she wishes to rebuild them... but her resolve is not strong enough to take apart her friends willingly.”
“Of course the witch would notice.” Garie sneered.
As she spoke, the sparkling sapphires that were the Autoscorer’s eyes changed colour, appearing as if they were filled with a rainbow of differently-shaped shards. Likewise, Micha’s eyes took on a similar appearance; her own ruby eyes were filled with what looked to be stained-glass pieces of varying shapes and colours.
“Though, to think that alchemist would see through my ploy, as well.” Micha added, a disgruntled look on her face.
“My?” Maria readied Airgetlám’s short blade in her hand. “Show yourself.”
“Very well.” Both Autoscorers said simultaneously, large grins upon their faces.
Then, almost as if rising directly out from the shadows of trees that extended over the golden jungle now sparkling as the sun began to set, the figure of Millaarc Cranstoun appeared in-between the two robots.
“An alchemist.” Maria glared at the newcomer.
“No. A vampire, death!” Kirika corrected, in shock.
Serena, on the other hand, hid her head behind the jet-black helmet that her Shénshòujìng Symphogear grants her upon transforming. “If she can control minds, it’s best not to look into her eyes.”
“I agree. Being able to control two robots like puppets using only her mind... this technique must be quite formidable.” Finé warned.
“Formidable?” Millaarc smirked. “I’d say–”
“–You’re still underestimating me.” Garie, Micha, and Millaarc all said in concert, and all three figures all leapt forwards towards their enemies.
One of Millaarc’s wings disappeared, and in a moment her arm became encased in a thick gauntlet of deep red flesh. Upon seeing Kirika’s surprise at this change, a crude smile appeared on the vampire’s face, and she spared no time at thrusting her arm towards the girl.
Kirika threw up Asgard, but the superhuman strength of the vampire shattered the alchemical shield in an instant; though Asgard did its job, as Millaarc’s momentum was halted upon contact. Kirika’s eyes flew open wide upon seeing her shield being destroyed. “How?”
Millaarc did not answer, instead throwing her other hand–which, too, was now in this strengthened form–towards Kirika’s head. The small girl scowled as she dodged out of the way, with only some of her blonde hair taking the attack–and being shredded apart as if her fist was a blade.
Flipping around, Kirika swung her scythe up at the girl’s arms from below, but Millaarc saw this coming and slammed her hands together to catch the Armed Gear.
“Even a Symphogear’s no match for me, da ze!” Millaarc smirked.
“Death!” Kirika yelped.

 Maria back-flipped out of the way of Micha’s quick swipe attacks multiple times, but the Autoscorer was hot on her heels. “Get back here!” Micha whined. “Fight me!”
“If you want.”
Taking a break from dodging, Maria swung her sword–now a long chain-whip–out towards the Autoscorer, who used her sharp claws to black the attack.
Micha’s giant grin only widened. “Finally!”
Recoiling her sword into a small blade, Maria lowered her Armed Gear in front of her face. Giving her no time to rest, Micha leapt high into the air with a shout, holding her hands above her head.
With incredible force, Micha swung both of her arms downwards while somersaulting through the air, becoming a cannonball as she tried to crash into Maria. The pink-haired idol dodged to the side and, as the Autoscorer collided with the golden ground, Maria simply launched a powerful kick into her side to send her flying away and towards a nearby tree.
While flying through the air, the Autoscorer flipped around so that she could plant her legs upon the sparkling tree. Then, Micha put all of her strength into her feet and bounced off her new platform back towards Maria, her claws out in front of her.
Maria ducked beneath the Autoscorer. Using the short Armed Gear of Airgetlám, the pink-haired woman stabbed Micha in the chest as she flew over her, and her momentum forced the blade to carve a trench deep into her chest.
Her clothing now ruined, Micha tumbled to the ground as Maria removed the blade from her body, collapsing in a heap.
“You’re easy to deal with when you’re not using alchemy.” Maria muttered at the limp robot. Micha tried to climb to her feet, but Maria stomped into her enemy’s back.
Using Airgetlám’s sword to slice Micha’s head from her body, the Autoscorer’s body stopped resisting entirely. Pulling her up by the Autoscorer’s hair, the wielder of Airgetlám pulled the head up so that she could look straight into the ruby red eyes. Maria nodded apologetically.
“I want to have a rematch, later.” Micha suddenly pouted.
The surprise that Maria felt upon seeing the detached robot’s head speaking to her caused her to fumble the object in her hands, and Micha’s head fell to the golden ground. As it landed with a metallic thud, Micha grunted out a weak “Ouch.”
“Sorry.” Maria apologized, but took her time to bend down as she instead watched Micha’s head roll to the side.
As Micha’s eyes slowly came into view, the Autoscorer grunted out an angry–albeit childishly silly–comment. “Once Master rebuilds my body, I’ll get my revenge on you!!”
Maria smiled. “It will make for good training.”
“Oh, by the way,” Micha’s expression shifted into one that was more serious. “The vampire girl doesn’t know how to use alchemy well. Look at Garie.”
Maria did as was asked. The blue Autoscorer, who was combating Serena, was running around as she employed a similarly-clumsy attack strategy as Micha had–though, instead of claws, Garie had large icicles protruding from both of her palms instead.
“Because she’s fighting your friend right now, the vampire can’t focus on having us (Garie) use alchemy right now, and we could only attack with the most basic strategies.” Micha frowned. “It was annoying. I wanted to go all out on you, but it felt like my head was being massaged by freezing cold fingers.”
Maria’s eyes widened. “You’re a lot more... serious than you let on, aren’t you?”
Micha stuck out her tongue. “Our programming is based on our glorious Master’s personality, after all!”
“Is that why she was able to mind control you? Because your programming is based on a human brain?”
Micha wore a strange expression, and Maria realized that it was because the robot was trying to shrug with only her head. “Probably. You should ask Master, though.”
Then, the Autoscorer’s mouth widened into a smile. “Anyway, now that I can’t do anything–do you want to play a game? You know how to play I Spy, right?”
Maria looked over to her sister. “I should really–”
“Your sister will be fiiiiiiine.” Micha moved past the pink-haired girl’s worries. “And your friend can take the vampire, easy. Come ooooooon~.”

 Garie flew towards Serena, who countered the Autoscorer’s icicle blades with her own armoured arms. Neither the black armour of Shénshòujìng nor the icy blades suffered any damage; the only sign that they collided were the loud noises that rang out with each attack.
“You think you’re so tough, not even using your powers against me.” Garie taunted, a cruel smile upon her face. “Yet you’re also content with just playing the defence against me. Make up your mind, Symphogear wielder.”
“Be quiet!” Serena hissed. “I’m trying to think.”
The Autoscorer bared her shark-like teeth at the comment. “You’re not even taking me seriously?”
“You’re not taking this seriously, either. You’re not even using alchemy.” Serena brushed the comment off, just as Garie’s icicle blade bounced off the girl’s armour again. “But, fine, if you want me to take this seriously, then let’s do this.”
Serena charged the purple energy of Shénshòujìng through her arms. As she guarded against Garie once more, Serena then used the short moment as Garie’s arm bounced backwards to follow up in her first attack of this battle.
Slashing her arm through the air, Serena shot out a wave of energy from her fingers, which cut through Garie’s neck like a knife through warm butter. The Autoscorer wore a confused expression as her head toppled off her shoulders, and her body collapsed into a heap a moment later.
Then, Garie sneered as her head rolled about the golden earth. “That vampire bitch’s power is stronger than before.”
“Is this not the first time you were influenced by it?” Serena asked, picking the head up gently.
“Last time, it felt like it was more...” Garie chewed her words, a look of annoyance on her face. “Like she was whispering directly into my brain. This time, it was more like she was actively controlling me.”
“I see.”
Garie let out a sigh. “As much as I hate that you had to take me down like this, I suppose... I should thank you.” The Autoscorer frowned. “Don’t get the wrong idea. Once I’ve got a body again, you better sleep with one eye open.”
“Duly noted.” Serena smiled.
“What are you smiling at?”
“I owe Carol a lot, you know. I’m glad I could help her out by saving you.”
Garie looked confused. “Huh?”
“She gave me this new body, and helped awaken me from a coma.” Serena chuckled. “I owe her my life, basically.”
“Oh, great.” Garie furrowed her brow as much as her mechanical body allowed. “Like Master needed yet another person to dote on her. Us four Autoscorers was already more than enough.”
Serena giggled. “You’re talking about Shirabe.”
“Of course I’m talking about that girl!” Garie snapped. “It’s like she put a spell on Master, or something. Even when she’s not around, Master always seems to have that girl on her mind. She doesn’t even seem to care about us, any more.”
“I’m sure that–” Serena took a step to the side as Millaarc flew past her, twice–once as a result of one of Kirika’s attacks, and the second time as she rushed to retaliate. Garie glared at the vampire as she passed, while Serena seemed completely undisturbed by her appearance. “–Carol still cares about you all more than you know. She created you, after all; I think that means you’re basically like her children.”
“More like sisters.” Garie groaned. “She based us on aspects of her personality and with bits of her memories. Together, the four of us probably know Master better than she knows herself... and far better than that other girl ever could.”

 Kirika glared at her friends. “Can’t you give me some help, death!?” Kirika screamed, noticing that both Serena and Maria had dropped their Symphogears and begun having peaceful conversations with the severed heads they carried.
“Nah, you’ve got this.” Garie yelled back.
“Some friends you have there, da ze.” Millaarc giggled, punching with both of her large, enhanced arms.
Finé spoke next. “I imagine they are just wary of your ability to control minds; a smart move, in my opinion.”
“Yeah, you should be afraid of a genuine monster!” Millaarc grinned, and then did something that Kirika didn’t expect.
She leapt back, and disengaged whatever power was enhancing her arms. The vampire’s wings reappeared on her back, and Millaarc smirked upon seeing her confused look.
“Well, whatever.” Millaarc sighed, spreading her wings wide. “This monster was only ordered to buy time, da ze.”
“Death?” Kirika asked.
Millaarc jumped into the air, and flapped her wings. Spinning up into the air, the vampire began to fly off.
“Get back here!” Kirika shouted after the girl, but she disappeared into the darkening sky in only an instant. Just as she had appeared from a shadow, Millaarc vanished like a ghost into the dark blue void that spread out above the girl.

 “No, it’s not that tree.” Micha grumbled. “You’re really bad at this game.”
“Everything around us is gold!” Maria yelled at the head she carried by the wild mane of red hair. “You can’t just say ‘I Spy something gold’ and expect me to guess it quickly!”
“I think someone’s just a poor loser.” Micha stuck out her tongue, playfully.
“You two were playing I Spy while I was fighting against a vampire, death?” Kirika asked as she approached Maria, just as Serena had done a few moments earlier.
“I’m sorry, Kirika. But, it was for the best.” Maria let out a large sigh before she defended herself. “We didn’t know the scope of her abilities, so it was for the best that you were the one who fought her.”
“Death?” Kirika whimpered.
Serena and Maria both narrowed their eyes. “Finé.” They explained in unison.
Then, Serena continued. “I’m sure she would have prevented any brainwashing.”
“And I did, yes.” Finé remarked from Kirika’s angry, pouting mouth. “She attempted to assert control over Kirika a total of sixteen times during the bout, but I blocked her influence each time.”
“Sixteen? Wow! She’s dedicated!” Garie sarcastically replied. Then, narrowing her eyes, “You’d think she would have stopped after it failed once. Or twice.”
“The fact that she went directly for Kirika has bothered me, too.” Serena mused. “If she had been watching us, then she was aware that Finé is inside of Kirika. If her goal was to kidnap Kirika, then it would have made sense to brainwash Maria and I and have us all go up against her.”
“I knew there was a reason I found you a particularly interesting candidate.” Finé mused.
“I’ll... take that as a compliment, Finé.” Serena nodded.
“If she was trying so hard to brainwash her, then we can assume that they need Finé–or Kirika–for some purpose.” Maria cupped her chin with one hand as she put her other against her hip–which also caused Micha’s head to bounce against the girl’s leg and squeak out deadpan cries of pain.
Kirika, finally disengaging her own Symphogear, collapsed to the ground in a huff. “I’m tired, death.” She sighed in relief, the feeling of stress that using the Symphogear put on her mind now fading quickly. “I just want to go to bed.”
“Speaking of which...” Maria tapped her earpiece. “Fujitaka, can you hear us?”
“Maria?” The man’s voice was a bit panicked. “Yeah, we can hear you. What do you need?”
“You seem–”
“Sorry, we’re kind of dealing with a lot here.” Shiori’s voice cut into the communications line, the girl clearly feeling bad about her next words from her apologetic tone: “We can’t really spare much time right now. Unless it’s important, can you please attempt to handle it yourselves?”
“What’s going on?” Maria asked.
“Well, I can’t explain much right now, but–”

. . .

*Zenshin kyōki de misairu sāfā no tān da*
*Zandan zero ni naru made baretto no Kiss wo*
*Shōtenritsu hyakupā no hitto gāru*
*Hāto uchinukaretai cherī wa Where is?*
*Bang Bang yeah!*

 Chris sang loudly as she fired all she had at the giant, snake-like enemy that was ripping through the town. Screams rang out from all around her as civilians scrambled to escape from the beast, but she both did not care for them nor did she pay them any mind. *None of you helped me, so why should I help you?* Chris thought as she bared her teeth in anger, but she knew that this thought was wrong.
The girls–Chris, Kanade, Tsubasa, Shirabe, and Leiur–had been engaged in battle with the beast for some time now, but they had managed to do no damage to the giant monster. The monster, on the other hand, did not seem to care about them; while it did occasionally try to retaliate, the beast mainly ran about and targeted those just trying to escape.
Even now, as Chris fired upon the monster and fiery blasts exploded both on and around its body, the beast did not even glance her way. Right now, Tsubasa and Kanade were working to evacuate as many people to safety as possible while Chris, Shirabe, and Leiur tried–and failed–to distract the beast.
After firing upon the beast, Chris stopped singing and dropped her arms to her sides. “Are we really so weak that we need to rely on Miku for everything?” She asked, dissatisfied with her own strength. Then, angrily, Chris turned to the sky. “Where did you even go?”
“I’m right here. There’s no need to yell.”
Chris jumped away from the source of the voice–a building not too far away from her that had been one of the many casualties of the giant’s rampage. In the night, Chris could barely make out a human silhouette standing amongst the rubble.
“Well what the hell have you been doing, then?”
“Using my powers slows my regeneration.”
“Who the hell cares about that!?” Chris stomped. “Don’t you want to help people?”
“Of course I want to help people!” Miku cried out, a mix of sadness and anger in her voice. “But... Fine, I’ll show you why.”
“Why what...?” Chris asked as she slowly took a step towards her friend. Likewise, Miku did the same, strutting easily around the rubble to close in on Miku... and then she wished she hadn’t.
Chris’s hands flew up to her mouth, and she struggled to hold back the disgust that was rising up from within her. As Miku’s featured became clearer at a closer distance, Chris found herself instinctively stepping backwards as her friend crept closer and filled the gap.
“Oh god, Miku! I...”
Miku’s face was a mess. There was no skin, and the muscles and veins beneath her flesh were clearly visible. Her nose–or rather, what was left of it–was bent at a strange, upwards angle. The girl’s eyes shone through the shadows; as she had no eyelids, they were simply white orbs that shook around, barely attached to her face.
But, as disgusting as the sight was, what Chris really recoiled away from were the strange, black markings that bounced over what remained of her skin. This black substance mimicked the way that Miku’s lips had looked before, but the rest of it seemed to be dancing and swaying as it stretched out like a living spider-web over top what remained of Miku’s face.
“I used Shrivatsa to shield you and Kanade from the cost that comes from travelling at such high speeds.” Miku grunted, looking away from Chris. “I’ll be fine, though. I’ll be back to normal soon–this has happened before.”
“It’s happened before!?” Chris yelped.
Miku just waved her hand. “While you were in your coma, I spent most of my time by your side... but sometimes I felt like I needed to let out some steam. So, I did some testing. That’s how I found out I could summon Durandal, too.”
“Still, you should take better care of yourself, Miku!”
Chris’s plea actually reached Miku this time, and she took a deep breath in. “I know. You’re right. Hibiki would tell me the same thing.” She eventually muttered.
“Miku, I...”
“Anyway, don’t mind me. Using my powers will just slow my healing, so I’d at least like something resembling a face before I let the others see me.” Miku shrugged. “It’d take a little while, though... And that’s time we don’t exactly have, right now.”
“I thought you said you only needed a few minutes...?” Chris whispered.
“That was to make you feel better.” Miku crossed her arms. “I was really hoping you guys would have finished without me.”
“It’s not our fault you’re stupidly overpowered!” Chris snapped, then looked back at the monster as it let out a roar.
“It’s on the move again, Chris!” Kuriyo yelled into Chris’s ear.
“Shit.” Chris uttered as she looked in the direction that the monster was moving.
Miku tilted her head. Chris imagined a confused look should have been present on the face that was currently not there, so she took the initiative to explain. “That thing’s heading towards her place. I need to make sure that she’s been evacuated.”
“What? Whose place?” Miku asked, but Chris had already begun to run away from her.
With a heavy sigh, Miku shook her head. “I know I don’t look great, but to think I actually scared her off.”
Something then caught the girl’s eye from beneath a nearby pile of rubble. When Miku walked over to it, she couldn’t help but crack a smile as she effortlessly raised up the large stone that had fallen atop it.

 With heavy breathing and sweat beading down her forehead, Chris sprinted through the town. This part of the area had, up until now, been relatively spared by the giant monster’s attack, so it was a fairly peaceful run–disregarding the giant monster rampaging behind her.
“Is anyone still here?” Chris yelled in English, and not for the first time. Like before, she had heard no reply, and took this as a sign to keep sprinting towards where the figure from her past would be living.
Suddenly, a beam of light shot past her to the right. “Holy–” Chris yelled, turning around to see its source: the beast was firing down into the town around her, presumably because it had spotted more people to target.
Sure enough, screams erupted from the direction of the flames that were now rising out of the ground.
Clicking her tongue, Chris ran across the streets and leapt up to a roof of a partially-collapsed building. “Does anyone need–” Chris tried to yell, but was both interrupted by the monster letting out a loud roar, and the words getting caught in her throat.
After all, what she looked down upon were multiple dead bodies–and most of them children. Chris sucked in a deep breath; there was nothing she could do for them, but others may need her help.
The wielder of Ichaival began to turn away, when she heard a shout. It was quiet, muffled, but there was someone still alive–though, as flames crawled around the remains of the town, they likely wouldn’t survive for long.
Closing her eyes for a brief moment, Chris strengthened her mind. Then, with all of her strength, she yelled. “Can you hear me? Where are you!”
The muffled scream rang out again, this time joined by a chorus of several more. Chris realized that people must have been trapped within a building by rubble, and quickened her pace as she began to run through the flames. “Keep making noise!” She commanded.
Whoever was trapped seemed to hear–and understand–Chris: she heard yells and banging loud and clear. Following the sound, she was led to a partially-collapsed stone building, the front of which had been entirely demolished. The flames would have a hard time entering this building, Chris knew, but the smoke creeping in would likely suffocate them before the fire had a chance to strike–and Chris, too, needed to be cautious of her rapidly-decreasing air supply.
The white-haired girl tried to move parts of the rubble, but so much of it was large and unwieldy.
“Stand back!” Chris yelled, taking a step back, herself.
Readying the missile launchers on her hips, Chris loaded them with only the smallest and weakest weapons in her arsenal–likely strong enough to, at the very least, dislodge the pile of rubble, but too weak to do too much harm.

 On the other side of the rubble, a woman was comforting a gaggle of children that clung to her. They buried their faces in their hands, each other, or in the woman’s clothing as they cried out; they wanted to do anything but acknowledge the reality unfolding around them. The woman did not blame them, and only offered hollow reassurances that everything would be alright in the end.
Her younger brother, on the other hand, was silent. His gaze was cast down at the bottom of the pile of rubble that lay before him, at the remains of some of his friends that had not been able to escape in time.
The boy–Stephan–had been yelling, crying desperately for help, but no one could hear him. He was yelling as loud as he could, placing his head as close to a hole through which he could see the amber of flames creeping closer.
But he didn’t want to give up.
Taking in a deep breath–one that offered little oxygen–Stephan mustered up all of the energy within his body to let out the loudest cry yet.
“Hey!!!”
He listened, and heard only the crackling of fire...
...and then a voice. He could barely make out the words that were being drowned out by the flames, but the fact that someone was there lit his eyes up. “Someone’s there!” He shouted.
At this, some of the other kids looked at him, the spark of hope slightly beginning to return to their eyes. “Everyone, yell with me. Let’s make as much noise as possible, to let them know where we are!”
Some looked to the purple-haired woman they clutched to, but she offered no answer of her own. The woman instead just looked at her younger brother, in awe that he was still able to stand up even in these devastating circumstances.
“Come on!” He yelled to the group, and some of the kids broke away from the woman.
Soon, many of the kids had begun causing a ruckus. Some kids pounded on the walls with anything they could find, others screamed at the top of their lungs... but the woman remained silent. Even when she remained standing all alone, she could not move her feet.

*“I hate you, Sonia!”*

 The words of a girl she had met many years ago echoed in her mind, and she understood her hesitation. Back then, she had run away from tragedies too; the girl had run head-first into danger in an attempt to help, but all she wanted to do was stay as far away as possible.
What had happened to that girl after that moment, Sonia had no idea; she never laid her eyes upon the girl again. But Sonia recognized the same determination that that girl had felt as she broke away from her–the same look now burned within the eyes of her younger brother, Stephan.
“Even now...” She found herself muttering. “I can’t do anything to help.”
“Stand back!”
The cry tore Sonia out of her despair. The voice, one so clear it was as if the pile of debris trapping them in this stone prison, struck a chord in her heart. It was not familiar to her, yet at the same time it was not unfamiliar.
Sonia stood up, just as all of the other kids obeyed the order they had been given. Everyone crowded as far away from their saviour as possible, huddling against the door.
“Oh, and you may want to turn around. Or cover your faces.” Their saviour ordered.
Confused murmurs–“What’s going on?”, “What are they planning to do?”–arose from around Sonia, but no one dared disobeyed the person trying to save them. No one, that is, except Sonia, who stared directly at the debris.
“Wait, is that...?” Stephan asked suddenly.
“It is.” Sonia’s eyes sparkled. The voice–she knew she was no stranger to it, and this confirmed it.
The cheerful singing that echoed through the wall danced into Sonia’s ears and lightly wrapped her heart in an embrace of comfort...
...Even if she was the only one of the group who could understand the Japanese words being sung with violent passion.

*Kusottare na sekai ga donna uta nara kawaru ka*
*Mitsukedashite yaru*
*(SONG FOR THE WORLD) Zettai!*

 Sonia kept her eyes wide, so she–unlike those around her–saw the full extent of the violence that followed. Six powerful explosions detonated into the wall, obliterating the debris into dust that flew towards the group of cowering kids; miraculously, no one suffered any injuries from the small shrapnel.
As the smoke and dust settled, Sonia saw the girl she expected to see–albeit clad in an outfit that she would never have imagined before, and far older than the last time she had laid her eyes upon her.
“Whoa!” Some of the kids looked at the girl in awe, their eyes filled with stars as they looked upon an actual superhero.
“Alright, everyone! Let’s get you all–” The girl’s eyes met Sonia’s, and her words slowed. “–Somewhere... safe.”
“Hello Chris.” Sonia found herself saying, even before her brain fully registered her presence.
“I... uh...” Chris blushed, brushing the back of her white hair as she stumbled around her mind trying to find some way to properly respond.
Luckily, the monster rampaging through the city interrupted her thoughts with an explosive roar. Chris checked over her shoulder. “We can do this later.” She curtly announced to Sonia. “Right now, you all need to move.”
“Leave it to me.”
“Ah!” Chris flinched back at the sudden appearance of a girl beside her–one who was undoubtedly Miku.
She was clad in the golden armour that Lancea Longini afforded her, but her face was entirely surrounded by something odd. Miku wore a strange helmet–one based upon the head of a member of the Inter-Galactic Defence Force from an *ultra*-popular Japanese franchise–though part of the back had broken, so her black hair had begun to spill out from the large hold in the smooth, silver helmet.
As some of the children looked at her excitedly, commenting about the appearance of a famous character they recognized, Miku struck the *man*’s trademark pose, crossing her arms in a plus-like shape to the right of her head.
“What are you doing?” Chris asked her friend, an unimpressed look on her face.
“Coming to help.” Miku muttered, lowering her arms to her hips. Then, turning to the group of people huddled in the back of the stone building, she raised her voice to appear heroic. “I will protect all of you from harm–my friends have been working to establish a safe zone that I will guide you to.”
Chris lifted one of the crossbows in her hands, a smug smirk encroaching upon her cheeks. “You don’t need to worry about a thing.” She reassured. “My friend here’s too strong for her own good.”
Miku struck another pose, pointing dramatically with one of her hands as she played up the role of a heroic anime character. “Come now, everyone! To safety!”
“Okay!” The kids cheered, ushering out of the building.

. . .

 As the two girls began escorting the group of kids (and Sonia), Miku turned to her friend. The kids walked slowly, often stopping whenever the large monster let out roars or fired beams into the city, so it had taken them quite a while to cross just a small distance. Miku and Chris walked on one side of the group, their eyes locked on the giant silhouette stretching into the sky–and occasionally being attacked by Leiur and Shirabe.
“Don’t you need to find that person you were looking for? I was doing this so that you could.” Miku whispered to her friend.
Chris pointed to the woman in the middle of the group. “Found her.”
Miku let out a groan. “I hate this stupid mask, and keeping my armour up is slowing my regeneration. You could have told me that before so that I could make my ‘heroic’ exit.”
“I thought you wanted to help people?” Chris raised one eyebrow.
“Yeah, and who knows how many other people are in danger out there.” Miku sighed. “No... I think I’m doing the right thing here. You’re strong, but I don’t know how defensive you can be.”
“Not to be an ass or anything,” Chris let out a sigh. “But aren’t you the one always going on about how you can’t protect anything?”
Miku did not answer for several beats, and the two girls–and the group at large–just walked in silence. After a few steps, Chris put up her hands. “I’m sorry, maybe that was–”
“Shrivatsa is a shield.” Miku cut her off. “Even if I can’t protect people, it might be able to.”
“Wait... so you’re fine with using your powers now?” Chris looked at Miku, confused. “What about your face?”
“I’m hiding it anyway, so what’s the difference if it takes twenty minutes or an hour?”
“In that case, why don’t you use your stupidly strong powers and take that thing down?”
Miku froze at that.
Chris spun around as she continued walking with the group of kids. “Wait... did you not think of–”
“Everyone! Stay close together!” Miku yelled, leaping up into the air.
The children all did as they were told, and Chris turned to look around. The giant monster was looking straight at them now, its giant maw agape as it readied an attack.
“Shrivatsa!” Miku shouted, just as the beast let out a blast of golden energy.
The beam of light flew out of its mouth and collided with the spherical shield that surrounded Miku. The attack split as it went around Miku, and dust flew up around Chris as the energy collided with the ground around them; but luckily, the kids were safe.
Unfortunately, the crowd of kids and the girl who could shrug off attacks only caught the attention of the giant beast, who began to slither towards the group, already charging up another attack.
“Get going! Move!” Miku shouted at the others.
“Right.” Chris then turned to the others. “Come on, let’s do as she said.”
Chris began running with the children just as the beast let out another beam of light from its mouth. Some of the kids let out screams and began to slow down or stop altogether, but Chris shouted over them: “My friend will protect us! Just trust her!”
“Come on, everyone!” Stephan reassured his friends. “We should do as they say. They’ll guarantee our safety!”
At the same time, Miku used Shrivatsa to block the monster’s attack once more. Again, no kids were hurt as the energy ricocheted off Miku and around the group.
Unfortunately, the kids were spread out now a fair amount; some had lagged behind, while the more courageous kids had run ahead. This made them a much larger target, and harder for Miku to protect.
“Shit.” Miku muttered, already seeing the monster charge up another attack. She turned her head to look over her shoulder and call out to Chris, but her attention was forced back to the beast as she spotted the golden ray of light begin to fire from its mouth from the corner of her eye.
But this time, it wasn’t aiming for the main group.
“No!” Miku yelled, noticing that it was instead aiming behind the group to target three of the stragglers that had fallen the furthest behind.
Flying through the air at a high speed towards, Miku activated Shrivatsa just as the beam of light collided with its metallic shell. She had managed to surround the three kids, whose eyes were wide with fear as they could hear the roar of the beast’s attack echo from outside the shield.
Usually the beam was only fired in short bursts–Miku would only need to keep Shrivatsa activated for short periods of time–but this time was different. Instead, the monster seemed to be testing Miku’s durability, continuously firing upon her shield directly in hopes of destroying it.
The kids around her began to scream, but Miku needed to push these thoughts aside–her concentration was focused entirely on keeping Shrivatsa up around her...
...then one of the kids collapsed.
Miku’s eyes went wide, her concentration wavering just a little bit.
Then the other two children also collapsed around her.
“What?”
The surprise of seeing the three children she was trying to protect fall over shattered Miku’s concentration, and Shrivatsa fell as a result. The beast was still breathing its wave of energy upon the group, so the moment the metallic orb disappeared it was game over.
“Miku!” The girl heard her name being called from somewhere far away by Chris, but she paid it no mind.
What Miku instead focused on were the three children, whose bodies were being vaporized before her eyes as the golden light enveloped her.
“Why...?” Miku muttered, her mind not even registering the pain that she should be feeling. No, the only thing she felt as she looked upon the bodies melting into the light was confusion–and despair.
“Why did...?” It was then that she realized why the kids had collapsed.
She couldn’t feel it herself–her nerves and sense of pain had been heavily nullified with all of the experiments that had been performed on her–but Miku had a suspicion: instead of protecting the kids with Shrivatsa, the heat from the beast’s attack and the metal shield instead just cooked them alive.
Miku had doomed them from the start, she realized.
The girl fell to her knees, just as the golden light that the monster spewed ceased. She had completely forgotten about her mask–which had dissolved in the attack–and turned to look at the group of kids, and Chris, who watched her in panic.
“It’s all my fault...” Miku felt anger in her chest, and quickly rose to her feet. This time, she roared to the sky: “It’s all my fault!”

 Chris didn’t know what had happened to Miku, why she had stopped using Shrivatsa, but she did not have a chance to ask. As the golden light of the monster’s attack faded away, she began to rush towards Miku–completely forgetting about the kids that she was supposed to be protecting.
“It’s all my fault!” Miku screamed.
Something about the voice of her friend shocked Chris, and she was stunned to a halt.
Miku stared at Chris, her face a mess of gore and strange black energy that swirled together. But the eyes of her friend were what truly surprised her.
“Miku?” Chris couldn’t help but cry out the name of the girl she was looking at, who was howling in anger.
“It’s...” Miku’s voice had become nothing but a feral chorus as she screamed the four words over and over. This time, however, something felt off.
Chris took a step back.
“...All...”
Miku looked away from Chris and towards the monster. Despite the giant’s lack of expression, something about it gave Chris the impression that it was satisfied–as if it was smirking at them.
“...My...”
She did not know why, but Chris felt an indescribable power emanating from Miku. Turning to the group of kids, she held up her arms as if a shepherd herding sheep. “We have to move!”
“...Fault!!!”
As she let out a feral screech, Miku became enveloped in black energy. It swirled out from her heart and created a tornado devoid of all light–the exact opposite of the golden beam of pure light that the monster had attacked her with.
Chris’s eyes were wide as she watched the transformation; and no doubt the kids were too. The black energy surrounded Miku and absorbed her, quickly transforming her into a giant being of pure darkness.
In a few short seconds, Chris had witnessed Miku transform, once more into Batara Kala...
“Die!” The familiar enemy roared, turning towards the giant serpentine beast who was now matched in size.
...Though this time, Miku seemed to be in some sort of control, albeit fuelled by her rage and despair.

 Batara Kala rushed towards the draconic beast, its steps creating craters in the ground. Every step that the jet-black monster took created a miniature earthquake, destroying every building in the vicinity.
From within its heart, Miku looked out into the outside world. It didn’t feel as if she were a prisoner this time, rather that she was literally commanding her rage like the pilot of a giant mech.
She crossed the city in only a handful of steps, and threw a punch directly into the beast’s maw, sending it flying a great distance.
Miku watched the beast soar away from her, then began scanning the ground. “Go!” She yelled, hoping that her friends would obey her.
Batara Kala then began running off towards where the beast had landed and begun righting itself. The serpent narrowed its eyes as the shadow approaching it, and readied an attack.
In the same moment, Miku summoned a clone of Ame no Habakiri in her hands.
The beam of golden light fired out of the serpent’s mouth, and Miku used the giant sword to absorb the blow–though the weapon shattered into light as the projectile faded away.
“Die!” Batara Kala–and Miku, from within–yelled, closing in on the beast.

. . .

 “She’s terrifying.”
“Well, she is *his* little experiment, after all.”
Saint-Germain and Cagliostro stood on the outskirts of the city, looking up at the devastation that surrounded them. Towering over the remains of the small South American settlement were Batara Kala and the serpentine beast, locked in battle–or, rather, Batara Kala trying to get close to its enemy while its foe tried to keep a distance.
“Subject GX.” Cagliostro muttered. “An abomination of relics, sewn together with divine power, and... Her.”
“If we wish to save all that exists, then the treatment of that one girl and these unfortunate souls are necessary sacrifices.” Saint-Germain turned around. “I truly wish there was a better way; one that did not require me to pave a road with almost seventy-four thousand corpses.”
“You’re still keeping count.” Cagliostro noticed, looking at the back of her friend sadly.
“Seventy-three thousand, seven-hundred, ninety-eight.” The woman looked down. “Ninety-nine.”
Saint-Germain took a few steps away from her friend. “We both saw the destruction that will be caused in the end. If we want to avert that outcome, to create a world free of suffering, then we are doing all that is necessary.”
Cagliostro wanted to say “I know you don’t believe that.” but she held her voice back. Though they had had this conversation so many countless times over the past few centuries, never once did she bring up the fact that she could see through the emotionless shell that Saint-Germain forced herself to wear.
Even now, the white-haired woman seemed unaware of the fact that her clenched fists were trembling, though Cagliostro could see the fact clear as day.
Saint-Germain swung around. “You have confirmed the identity of Finé’s vessel, correct?”
Cagliostro shrugged. “She was wrong, it seems. The blonde-haired one.”
“I see.” Saint-Germain cupped her chin, then shook her head. “No matter. Should the girl that Prelati brought in be adequate enough, then it would not matter who it currently is.”
“You wish you could kill her.” Cagliostro narrowed her eyes.
“That witch... it’s because of her that we’re on this path to destruction. Because of her, I have sacrificed so many souls... if only she was aware of the despair that she wrought.” Saint-Germain shoved her fist out to the side. “Alas, she is but one of the Cards we need–as is her vessel, it seems.”
“Even if we did not know her, we’re both well aware that death is nothing to that witch. It’s only a minor inconvenience for her.” Cagliostro pointed out, then she looked to the side. “Speaking of minor inconveniences, it seems we have a message.”
Both alchemists turned to look at the newcomer, who seemed to melt out of the shadows being cast by the flames. Saint-Germain sighed as she looked at the girl standing before her–one of the few unfortunate sacrifices whose life was ruined for their cause yet not ended out-right; perhaps, Saint-Germain believed, an even worse fate.
“Subject Stoker.” Saint-Germain greeted the woman clad in a jet-black jumpsuit. Her bat-like wings stretched out behind her, appearing to be two devils leaning over her shoulder; or: the hands that had the audacity to point Saint-Germain and her friends as weapons for the sake of humanity’s future.
“It seems as though the box has reappeared, yet again.” Millaarc announced as she kneeled before two of those who now commanded her. “Unfortunately, it seems to be in the possession of the associates of the Symphogear wielders at the moment.”
“So soon?” Saint-Germain wore a surprised expression for a moment, before stifling it as she crossed her arms. “That’s quite troubling. Especially should any of the Symphogear wielders open it.”
“Truthfully, I’ve never been sure about that.” Cagliostro put one hand upon her hip. “Wouldn’t it be beneficial to us if they used its power?”
“While I do agree with the idea, it is not so simple. We require them alive, and the box destroys a human soul with the impurities it carries.” Saint-Germain explained. “Only someone like him, whose soul exists beyond the curses of our species, can survive the ill effects.”
“You know,” Cagliostro tapped her thigh with one finger. “All of these years of chasing that thing down and destroying it, and I think this is the first time I’ve ever asked why we’ve been doing it.”
Saint-Germain smirked. “That’s unlike you. I thought someone of your kind revelled in information.”
“‘My kind.’” Cagliostro frowned. “It’s been 250 years since I was a con artist, you know.”
“We can not discard our pasts, Cagliostro, nor those we regret doing.” Saint-Germain reminded her friend. “We’re forced to carry them for all eternity.”
“I suppose that’s true of all of us.” Cagliostro nodded, turning to their bat-winged messenger. “And that includes you, as well, Stoker.”
The girl frowned. She knew better than to voice displeasure in the presence of those who ruled her life with an iron fist, so she held back her tongue. What Millaarc wanted to do was point out that it was the fault of the two women and their organization that she could count herself among those forced to carry burdens.

 The serpentine beast that was duelling the jet-black Batara Kala let out a loud hiss as it finally collapsed to the ground, weak. What the girls referred to as Subject GX looked down at her felled opponent.
“I suppose now it’s time to see whether you two summoned this god correctly.” Cagliostro said, nonchalantly.
“Indeed.” Saint-Germain looked up at the towering silhouette of Batara Kala. “Though, if we did not... I assume you will take full responsibility, no?”
“As if he’ll even let either of us get a word in.” Cagliostro waved her hand.
Millaarc watched the monster in the distance with a horrified expression. The two alchemists–two of those who ruined her life–were talking casually about this situation, as if it did not matter to them.
“Who just casually summons a god, da ze?” The vampire couldn’t help but mutter beneath her breath, absolutely terrified of everyone around her.

#### AXZ Chapter 8

 Miku’s eyes slowly opened, and she immediately let out a groan. Once again, the shining blue-white lights of the SONG infirmary burned above her, and a chemical smell tickled her nose.
She sat up on the uncomfortable bed–and immediately put her hand to her forehead. The world around Miku seemed to spin as she moved her body even just a little bit, yet it also felt as though she was wading through a pool of mud as she tried to move.
“I feel like I’m drunk.” Miku muttered, groggy.
“Honestly, I’m surprised you feel, period.”
Miku took a look around her, slowly with her hand still against her forehead. Sitting in a chair, looking over the only other occupied bed, was Sakuya Fujitaka.
The man with dark golden hair looked at her with deep, grey bags under his eyes and a clipboard nestled in his shaking hands. He had a bandage wrapped around his forehead, tying what appeared to be an ice pack to his forehead–which was now dripping down his cheeks.
Sensing the confusion that Miku felt, Fujitaka leaned down and picked up a thermos. “It’s been a loooong few days.” He sighed, pouring out a small bit of coffee into the lid of the steel container.
“What happened?” Miku asked, slinging her legs over the hospital bed.
“Well, telling you everything is going to take a while.” Fujitaka downed the coffee he had poured in one gulped, and exhaled deeply. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
“There was...” Miku felt her body tense up. “A snake... thing. Chris and I were escorting kids... Are they okay?”
“You can rest easy about that–the kids that were brought in are safe.” Fujitaka noted, choosing his words carefully as to not bring up that some of them–three, specifically–never reached SONG.
Miku put her one hand to her chest. “Thank goodness.” Then, letting out a sigh of relief, she voiced her next question. “How long have I been out?”
“That’s... not an easy question to answer.” Fujitaka placed the thermos down again, the lid screwed on tight, and plucked the clipboard out of his lap.
Miku raised an eyebrow as Fujitaka took out his cell and looked at the date and time.
“It’s been... thirty-two days since what we’ve decided to call ‘The Divine Beast’ was defeated...” Fujitaka sighed. “But I think you’ve only been ‘out’ for the past couple of days.”
“Thirty...!?” Miku gasped. “I was out for over a month?”
Fujitaka nodded.
Miku felt her sole arm clutch at the stub where her other one should be–her reminder that she was not fully human any longer. “What happened?”
Fujitaka shook his head. “Let me just Aoi that you’re awake before we get started. This is going to take a while, and the others will be glad to know that you’re... not dead.”
The man in the blue suit stood up and pulled his phone out of his pocket. As Fujitaka slowly tapped a message to his partner, Miku found herself unconsciously twirling her long, black hair around her index finger. Her hair had grown out a fair bit more in the past few days; she could feel it stretching even further down her back than before.
“Okay.” Fujitaka said after a few moments. “Let’s get started. Be exact–what’s the last thing you remember.”
Miku perked up at his voice, but immediately found herself drowning in confusion. Placing her hand on her head, she found that her newest memories were... unfocused–it was as if she was viewing her own memories through a kaleidoscope.
After a few moments, she managed to focus on one thing. “I was walking with Chris... and wearing a mask.” Then her eyes lit up. “I was partially focused on using Shénshòujìng to keep up the illusion of having a second arm.”
“That explains one mystery.” Fujitaka muttered, then leaned back in his chair. “Alright, so you don’t remember becoming Batara Kala again.”
Miku felt her heart stop. “Huh?”
Instead of answering, Fujitaka leaned down and grabbed his thermos again. Miku watched as he poured coffee into the lid of his thermos and take a slow drink–all while remaining silently and simply staring down Miku with his tired eyes.
“We don’t know how,” He eventually said, letting out his warm breath. “But somehow, you became Batara Kala again. Except this time you seemed to be in control of yourself–at least, to some extent.”
Miku looked down at her hand. For the first time since she had awoken, she finally focused on her body. Scars covered her one hand–scars that should have healed just as all of her other wounds do–and, even more surprisingly, one of her fingers was only partially there; the tip of her pinkie finger was missing, with a black goop, not unlike that which coated the stub of her missing arm, oozing out of the hole that remained.
“Honestly, becoming that monster again was probably the best possible scenario... until...”
Miku hung onto that word. “Until...?”

~ ~ ~

 Batara Kala looked down at the serpentine monster that she stood over. It looked weakened, and it let out a loud hiss as it met the spot where the black beast’s eyes would be.
“Die!” Miku growled like a feral animal, her voice twisted by the powers that had taken over her mind and body.
Summoning a replica of Ame no Habakiri in her giant black claws, Batara Kala stabbed the Divine Beast through its chest. The monster screeched in pain, but kept its eyes focused angrily on its enemy. Miku, on the other hand, felt only a competitive fire lighting her soul; at this point it was not about saving others–she just wanted to kill this seemingly-invincible enemy.
“Die!” The black beast howled again, pushing her blade deeper into the serpentine monster.
But it did not bleed.
Eventually, Miku felt her blade touch the earth beneath the Divine Beast. The monster was still howling, yet it did not feel as though it was crying out in pain–rather, it seemed simply angry.
Batara Kala pulled the blade out of the monster in a single, swift movement, and raised it upwards. Miku knew that, if one attack was not enough, then she would simply need to attack again.
As Batara Kala was about to thrust the sword down into the monster again, Miku found herself hesitating. At first, Miku did not know why she felt wary of the beast all of a sudden–and then she did.

 The monster on the ground began to glow gold, light seemingly spilling out of nowhere and drizzling upon the injured beast like it was nothing but a shower. Then, Miku saw what appeared to be an infinite number of the same beast, all occupying the exact same part of space.
Batara Kala took a step back. Before her eyes, the monster’s injury fully healed, and the light–and infinite copies of the Divine Beast–all faded away.
*It’s like me.* The thought fluttered through Miku’s mind from within the black beast’s body.
The Divine Beast began to right itself, its body completely purged of any injury. All fatigue gone from the serpent’s body, it immediately let loose a burst of energy from its mouth and fired it towards Batara Kala, ripping apart one of the beast’s shadowy arms with a single attack.
Miku let out a roar of pain, as she watched her arm–coincidentally her left arm, which she was missing anyway–dissipate as the light eliminated the shadowy form.
“Die!”
Letting out another roar, Miku stomped towards the serpent with a renewed sense of hatred. She readied a punch with her thick arm, only to see the Divine Beast open its jaw wide. Knowing that Batara Kala was her best bet when it came to defeating this foe, Miku made the decision to dodge to the side instead of trying to tank another hit–and she stepped aside just as a ray of light blasted past her remaining arm.
Miku sprung forwards as she dodged, launching a punch directly into the side of the beast’s face. The ray of light continued to spew from the Divine Beast’s mouth as it flailed about, pointing up to the sky before fading away; Miku dodged the attack with quick steps.
“Die! Die!!!”
Furiously crying out, Batara Kala’s arm transformed into a golden blade–Durandal. Harnessing the power of the relic, Miku stabbed the beast with all of the strength she, and the relic, could muster.
Even the Divine Beast seemed surprised as the weapon entered its body; this time, blood began to flow out from the monster’s body the moment the blade touched its scales...
...But no one was able to see this fact, as it dissolved in the intense, nuclear blast that Durandal released at the same time.

~ ~ ~

 “So I used Durandal again to defeat that thing.” Miku looked down at her arm. “No wonder my arm feels so stiff.”
“You used Durandal, yes...” Fujitaka took a sip of coffee again. This time, he did not down his entire cup in a single go; after ingesting only a small amount, he lowered it from his lips just a little bit. “...But you didn’t defeat it.”
Miku was taken aback. “Durandal... failed?”

~ ~ ~

 As the energy released by Durandal faded into nothingness, the Symphogear wielders–and Leiur–all watched in awe from afar. A large part of the city had been completely wiped out–no buildings remained, and now only a scar stretched across the earth in its place.
“Holy shit.” Chris muttered, echoing the thoughts of everyone around her.
“Kohinata’s power... is terrifying.” Tsubasa frowned.
“Personally,” Kanade threw her giant spear over her shoulder. “I think she needs to start asking for help. She’s trying to do everything by herself, and I think it’s only hurting her more.”
“Disregarding that which we can not know...” Leiur looked into the distance. “That girl’s power is incredible; her full strength would likely rival my Master’s.”
“I’m glad that Miku and Carol are on our side.” Tsubasa remarked, and Shirabe nodded at the sentiment.

 A few more moments passed, the girls all sitting in silence. They couldn’t see the beast from their perch atop a building that had somehow escaped unharmed, but there was something else that they were missing.
“Shit. I don’t see Miku anywhere.” Chris’s eyes flew open wide. “Do you think she’s okay?”
Before anyone could answer her, a familiar roar echoed through the air. The girls’ hair stood on end, goosebumps covering their bodies.
“No way.” Tsubasa expressed her surprise first.
“The amount of energy released by that attack likely equated to–or surpassed–that released by an atomic bomb.” Leiur narrowed her eyes. “For that creature to survive that...”
“It would be a god.” Shirabe muttered.
“A god, huh?” Kanade eyed Chris. “What did you say this thing reminded you of?”
“Yohualtepoztli.” The white-haired girl answered immediately.
“It’s probably not... that.” Fujitaka said through the communications line. “We’re doing a lot of research on South American deities.”
“Oh good. You’re still there.” Kanade answered.
“Yeah,” Tomosato responded. “Miku’s blast short-circuited everything here, but luckily there was no permanent damage.”
“We can’t reach Miku.” Shiori said. Though her tone was calm, she was clearly trying to stifle her panic. “She might have...”
“Miku’s strong. There’s no way anything bad happened to her.” Kuriyo reassured her friend–over the communicator, likely to put to rest any worries that their friends had as well. “She probably just passed out–that’s what happened before.”
“I still detect signs of Miku’s Aufwachen Waveforms. At the very least, her relics are still active.”
Chris exhaled deeply. “Then she’s fine. Miku told me once: she’s immortal.” She smiled, but this quickly flipped into a frown. “That said, with that beast still stomping around...”
“Kohinata is in incredible danger.” Tsubasa agreed.
“Alright girls: what’s the plan?” Kanade looked around with a smirk on her face.
“If it can regenerate, then we need to hit it a lot. Very quickly.” Shirabe nodded, holding up her yo-yos.
“It likely also has a limit as to how much damage it can regenerate... or, at the very least, how soon it could use that power again.” Leiur cupped her chin. “Our strategy must have a great impact.”
The beast in the distance seemed to notice the five figures watching it from afar, and let out a hiss.
“Guess we’ll have to wing it. But first–move!” Chris noted the glow beginning to form in the serpent’s mouth.
As the girls all scrambled to avoid the incoming attack, they quietly heard Kuriyo and Fujitaka’s mumbling through their headsets.
“Quetzalcoatl?”
“It could be that.”

~ ~ ~

 Fujitaka shook his tired head again. “Not exactly... it’s kind of complicated. The Divine Beast seemed to possess the ability to regenerate itself indefinitely–the Autoscorers explained it as ‘impossible physics’. They theorized that, by killing a version of itself in another timeline, it could essentially take over that uninjured form.”
Miku crossed her arms. “Killing another version of yourself... that’s an insane idea.”
“Oh, then you’re going to love this.” Fujitaka finished his cup of coffee with a smile. “Gungnir can nullify it.”
“Wait... You mean, Kanade killed it?”

~ ~ ~

 The armour around Shirabe’s twintails transformed into two long arms with saws on the end. Using these as a wall, she halted the forwards movement of the Divine Beast, who roared as its durable scales clashed with the teeth of the relic’s saws. Behind her, Leiur kept Shirabe steady with her alchemy.
From a nearby, partially-collapsed building, Chris unloaded missile after missile at the beast. Her entire arsenal was unleashed, colliding with the monster across its entire body–but it did not even leave a single mark.
“Yukine!” Tsubasa jumped into the air, not waiting for a response from the girl she called. Chris did not need to answer–without a word, she fired a large missile at the beast that Tsubasa elegantly landed upon and began to ride towards the giant fiend.
The blue-haired girl leaped off the rocket, flipping over the Divine Beast’s head even as it followed her movements while charging an attack. Unfortunately for the monster, Tsubasa was too fast for it–she stabbed the beast in the back of the head, Ame no Habakiri sliding easily into the flesh–and the beam of energy was fired towards the heavens.

 Kanade watched all of this from a short distance away, her breathing heavy. The orange-haired girl wiped away the blood dribbling out of her mouth, her vision starting to get hazy.
“Shit... I didn’t take enough.” Kanade grunted, using her spear to keep herself steady. “We need to finish this quick.”
Kanade watched as Tsubasa relied on gravity, dragging her sword down through the tough scales of the monster as she fell towards the ground. The Divine Beast let out a powerful, pained roar as its neck was torn apart.
Batting away Shirabe and Leiur with its tail, the monster spun around looking for the girl that had just sliced through its body–and exposed the wound to Kanade and Chris. The white-haired girl saw this as a prime opportunity, and began firing missiles at the scar, but they did just as little as before.
“Alright, that’s enough of an opening if I’ve ever seen one.”
Like her giant spear was a javelin, Kanade focused her mind as much as possible. The beast was flailing about somewhat, but its movements were clumsy–and a little predictable.
Then, she tossed Gungnir with as much strength as she could muster. The Armed Gear sliced through the air, cutting through the wind as it sailed as straight as an arrow towards the monster’s back.
“Shit.” Kanade’s eyes went wide in shock. Her spear was still sailing towards the monster, but it had begun to regenerate again; the golden glow began to surround the Divine Beast, and its body began to shimmer.
And then the spear of Gungnir hit its mark... and flew right through the Divine Beast’s throat.
The monster let out a pained cry, one fairly weak as its head was ripped off of its neck.
“...Shit.” Kanade repeated, this time more amazed with her own skills.
The beast collapsed to the ground and began to dematerialize, fading into golden orbs that began to ascend up towards the sky like a flock of helium balloons. All of the girls watched the orbs in silence from their respectful positions, in awe at the sight that Kanade had created almost single-handedly.
Unfortunately, the hero of the story could not continue witnessing the beautiful view. She coughed–hacked–and blood came out of her mouth and coated her palm.
“Shit...” Kanade muttered the word for the third time, and this time she felt her consciousness begin fade. Her Symphogear deactivated automatically as she fell to one knee.

~ ~ ~

 “You did a great job out there. You managed to distract the Divine Beast for long enough for everyone to be completely evacuated; and you weakened it physically and mentally, since it could only use its regenerative sparingly.” Fujitaka leaned back, letting out a chuckle. “But Kanade killed it. In one hit, no less. It was insane.”
“In... one hit?” Subconsciously, Miku shape-shifted her arm into the spear-replica of Gungnir that Lancea Longini allowed her to use. Fujitaka noticed this, and only calmly filled the lid of his thermos with the remainder of his coffee.
“The current hypothesis–again, from the Autoscorers–is that Gungnir may be a philosophical armament.”
As Fujitaka finished off his coffee, Miku just blinked, confused. “I have no idea what that means.”
“Basically, an object that has been warped by the public perception associated with a relic...” Fujitaka rolled his hand. “Or... something. I’ve been awake for over two days now, I’m not exactly in the best mind to explain it... Not that I fully understand it, myself.”
“Public perception of a relic...” Miku mulled it over in her head. “Why would Gungnir change like that, then? Isn’t it most-known as a powerful spear?”
“It’s actually that another relic has become associated with Gungnir, just based on it being a similar weapon related to gods.” Fujitaka cracked a wide smile. “The Holy Lance of Longinus–otherwise known as Lancea Longini.”
There was a beat of silence as Miku took that in...
...and then she burst out laughing.
Though chuckles burst from her smiling mouth, Miku’s tear-filled eyes were filled with a mix of sorrow and rage. “That mad doctor!” She cried. “He made me into a mess of relics, and he couldn’t even come up with an original name for it!?”
Fujitaka’s smile dropped as he saw the raging storm of emotions swirling behind Miku’s eyes, but he said nothing. Instead, he let the girl vent–giggling maniacally while crying, and seething hatred for the man that defiled her.

 “You mentioned before that you’ve been awake for so long. Why?”
Eventually Miku had calmed down. Though her face was still red and her eyes glossy, the girl had regained her composure and quieted.
It took a few more minutes before she had decided to talk to Fujitaka again, and the man could only wonder what sort of thoughts were still ringing in her mind when she decided to shift topics. Regardless, he was happy to oblige, and offered up an explanation.
“I don’t know if you were ever made aware of this, but Sector Two had an underwater storage facility, where we kept particularly dangerous relics–the Undersea Dragon’s Palace. Now we’re just using it as a general relic storage, since Kadingir destroyed our old HQ.”
Miku rolled her eyes. “Great name for it.”
Fujitaka sighed. “It’s stupid, even for us–and we deal with monsters and magic.”
At the man’s comment, Miku couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“The Illuminati’s been pretty silent since their Divine Beast was defeated, so we’ve been using this time to look into some of the relics that Ogawa and his team brought back. And I’ve been the one to catalogue all of the one-hundred and thirty-five new relics that they brought in... plus I’ve also been assigned to watching over this girl.” Fujitaka nodded to Satomi Kubert beside him.
“That is a lot of relics.” Miku muttered.
“The best part is that they’re mostly useless!” Fujitaka chuckled. “Well, not useless–more just impossible for us to activate right now. Kirika, Carol, and Elfnein are still looking in to most of them, but even they’re stumped.”
“I might be able to help, then.” Miku sighed.
“Yeah, about that...” Fujitaka went to pick up his thermos again, but remembered mid-bow that it was empty and sat up with a disgruntled look. “Normally we wouldn’t ask this of anyone, but there’s one relic in particular we want you to look at.”
Miku wiped the stray tears out of her eyes. “What do you need?”
“Well...”

~ ~ ~

 Yumi, Ogawa, and Yatsuhiro all sat in a helicopter. The three were silent, each lost in their own thoughts; though the roar of the blades above them kept the air alive with irritating noise.
The three had just left the current residence of Ogawa’s brother, with two new relics in tow. This brought their current total of newly-acquired relics to... Yumi had lost count, but she guessed they were probably in the forties by now. The two small crates that they had collected were sitting on the laps of the two men sitting across from her, and she had been staring at them intently ever since she climbed into the helicopter.
Though she could only guess at what Ogawa and Yatsuhiro were thinking, Yumi’s mind was a mess. According to what Shiori had told her–and what the other two men were also told–there was absolute chaos awaiting them in Val Verde.
Elfnein had been kidnapped by alchemists aligned with the Bavarian Illuminati, and Carol had disappeared to save her; several hours had passed since then, and she still hadn’t returned. Even the Autoscorers–two of which Yumi had learned had been reduced to just heads–were starting to get worried for their master.
Worse: Miku had transformed into a giant beast again, and used the enhanced power of Durandal while in this form. What followed was a nuclear explosion that completely obliterated most of her own body–the keyword there being most.
Yumi was worried, swallowed up by despair at the news. Even though she had never managed to get too close to Miku–mainly because, in Yumi’s opinion, Miku did not want to let anyone in after Hibiki died–she still considered her a close friend. They were sure that she would be fine in time because of her Aufwachen Waveforms still being active and brainwaves being detected, but Yumi couldn’t help but be stricken with grief.
After all, what they found could not even technically be considered ‘Miku Kohinata’ any more.

 To keep her mind from being swallowed up in stress, Yumi instead focused on the two mysterious boxes that her associates carried. At first she was excitedly trying to learn about as many of the relics as she could, but very few had been particularly interesting–and none of them even seemed to do anything. So, eventually, she stopped asking.
Not that she wasn’t still curious, of course. They had collected a series of relics known as the G’harne Fragments, which were inscribed with ancient text. Of course, none of them had any idea where to even begin trying to translate the strange glyphs that covered the black stones. What was written on them could be anything, Yumi had thought at the time–history relating to the Custodians... or maybe just ancient recipes.
But for now–and possibly forever, if even Finé couldn’t read them–the G’harne Fragments were just nifty obsidian shards; and no doubt whatever her comrades carried were just as ‘possibly-future-exciting’ as she called it...
...Yet, she knew, anything was better than dreading the fact that another one of her friends may have died. So Yumi tried to force those thoughts out by wondering what sort of possibly-future-exciting objects sat right in front of her.

 “I can’t tell whether you’re more worried, curious... or hungry.”
Yatsuhiro’s voice snapped Yumi out of her trance, and she looked at the man in confusion. The corner of his mouth was tugged up ever so slightly as he met the confusion in the young girl’s eyes.
“You keep shuffling in your seat, sighing, and looking between these two boxes and your lap.” Yatsuhiro explained.
“Why do you think I’m hungry?” Yumi asked him.
Her response came from her own stomach, which growled just loud enough that even the old man could hear it over the whir of the blades above them. Yumi blushed. “Ah.” She acknowledged.
“I understand why you are worried for your friend. I can’t judge you for being distracted by your care for Kohinata.” Yatsuhiro looked down at the crate in his arms. “Even now, I find my own mind occasionally wandering into worrying for my daughter.”
Yumi nodded. “I hope that the stress that Miku causes me doesn’t cause my hair to turn grey before I’m an adult.”
Yatsuhiro laughed at that comment. “That’s something that I can’t help you with, I’m afraid.” Calming himself after a moment, he continued. “Kohinata seems very similar to Tsubasa was, before Kanade was brought in.”
“What do you mean?”
“Both are very determined to help–and sometimes too dedicated to this goal–but they’re also extremely reckless. Kohinata has as little regard for her own safety as Tsubasa did when the Symphogears were first developed–or perhaps even less.” Yatsuhiro looked out of the side of the helicopter. “It’s oddly nostalgic, as awful as that may seem.”
“Tsubasa... I get the impression that she’s forcing herself to remain serious more for herself than anyone else, but it’s not that she doesn’t care for other people.” Yumi tapped her chin. “More, like...”
“She doesn’t know how to properly express that care.” Yatsuhiro finished her thought. “I’m afraid that’s something she gets from me.”
The man closed his eyes for a moment, basking in the sad memories his own words conjured up. After a beat of silence, he slowly continued. “Ah, my apologies. I seem to have changed the subject.”
“I don’t mind. I... would rather not think about the worst-case scenario.” Yumi seemed to shrink in her seat as she looked down. “And Tsubasa doesn’t want to open up to anyone, so I’d like to know more about her.”
“Then,” Yatsuhiro looked at the girl again. “Perhaps I shall let my daughter tell you, herself.”
“Lame.” Yumi frowned.
“Perhaps.” Yatsuhiro smiled. “Instead, let us talk about these relics.”

 Yatsuhiro held out the small crate, which Yumi gingerly took in her hands. Though the crate was wooden and looked to be nailed shut, in reality the case was metallic, and would only open with registered fingerprints. As Yumi was one of the foremost members of Ogawa’s team, she was one of the very few people in the world capable of opening these special carriers–two of the four others sat in front of her, and the remaining men were Ogawa’s brothers.
Pressing her index finger against the hidden sensor on the side of the container, the lid of the box opened up just a small amount. Carefully, she snuggled the crate in her lap as she gingerly pulled the top open so that she could see the relic within.
“Surely you recognize this, yes?” Yatsuhiro was staring at Yumi’s face, gauging for a reaction. Perhaps a test of the skills Ogawa spoke so highly of, or mainly for his own curiosity; either way, it made Yumi a little nervous being observed in such a way.
“Oh!” Yumi recalled a memory as she saw one of the shards carefully wrapped in clear wraps. “This is that... what was it called? The Antikythera mechanism, right?”
Yatsuhiro nodded, satisfied. “Indeed. Believed to be the world’s first analogue computer.”
“I thought it was in Greece.” Yumi replied almost immediately.
“It should have been, yes.” As Yatsuhiro began to explain, Yumi passed the box back over to the man. “According to Souji, that one may in fact be an attempted reproduction from the First Century BC; the real one, which had been hidden in a vault beneath Buckingham Palace, may be up to four million years old.”
“Holy sh–”
“I imagine many relics on display are simply reproductions of technology that humans either received from or saw the Custodians of old using. It’s certainly possible that this device, here, is something of alien origin that predates even humanity!”
Yumi’s eyes were wide. “That’s so wild.”
“Relics are really quite interesting. If only Dr. Ver or Nastassja had not been our enemies; they would likely be great help in examining the true Antikythera mechanism.”

 Yumi turned her attention to the man beside Yatsuhiro. Even now, Ogawa was gazing out of the window of the helicopter, completely ignoring the other two in the vehicle with him.
“What about that one?” The young girl asked Yatsuhiro.
“The one that Ogawa has... is a little more nebulous.”
The older man nudged Ogawa, who turned to the two in shock–clearly, he had not been paying attention to their conversation.
“Sorry, my mind’s a little pre-occupied.” Ogawa gave a wry smile, bowing his head in apology.
“About what you two were talking about with your brother?” Yumi asked.
“Yeah...” Ogawa shook his head, dispelling the thoughts. “Never mind; my apologies. What do you need?”
“What’s in the box?” Yumi repeated her question, this time asking the brown-haired ninja.
Ogawa handed her the box. “Take a look, yourself. Just don’t open it.”
“What does that mean?” Yumi muttered, mainly to herself, as she opened this crate.
When she took a look at the relic held within, Yumi’s heart stopped.
Inside of the crate was a small chest. It was ornate; at first glance it looked to be black, but, even in the dull light of the helicopter, Yumi could tell otherwise: it was covered in what looked to be small black stones.
Despite the lack of light, the black stones still seemed to shimmer–it was as if the stones were reflecting the idea of light rather than the light that was actually present. Even when Yumi held her finger above the small stones, no shadows seemed to cut through this imaginary light.
“Hey, are you okay?” Ogawa asked, leaning in.
Yumi’s face had gone white upon her finger brushing the chest. There was nothing particularly strange about it–to most people, it would just be a black box. But to Yumi, this relic had a much deeper meaning to it.
She held the box back out to Ogawa. The ninja shot the elder man beside him a confused look as he took the crate, but Yumi ignored it; instead, she shoved her hand deep into the pocket of the suit pants she was wearing.
Once her fingers touched what she was looking for, she felt an ice-cold shiver dance up her spine.
“It’s the same...” Yumi gasped, pulling the object out of her pocket.

 A mysterious stone, one she had found several months earlier. Jet-black, and shimmering with imaginary light–though orange crystals now spotted the object that looked to be two-dimensional.

~ ~ ~

 Miku sat back on the bed. “So, a box and an ancient computer.”
“As you might imagine, it’s the box we’re more curious about.” Fujitaka replied. “Yumi’s proposed a theory–that Ver’s experiments on you may be related to that box, or whatever may be within it.”
“You can’t open it?” Miku asked.
“Technically we can...” Fujitaka trailed off.
“But?”
“But... the man who found it in the ocean while fishing with a friend of his. When he opened the chest, he turned into a pile of ashes.” Fujitaka pursed his lips.
“So it turned the man to dust.” Miku mused. “What about his clothes?”
“They remained behind. We believe it only affects living organisms.”
“Then couldn’t you have had one of the Autoscorers open it, then?” Miku asked.
“Carol objected to that idea.” Fujitaka replied immediately. “Garie and Micha had to be... disassembled, and she was worried that their programming might be ‘alive’ to some extent due to being based on her mind.”
“Then what about Shirabe or Serena?” Miku grunted.
This seemed to stun Fujitaka, who just looked at the girl in shock. After a pregnant pause, Miku continued her thought. “They’re technically undead, no? We don’t know how that rod worked, so it’s possible that they may not be technically ‘alive’ like...”
At that moment, Miku narrowed her eyes. “You never told me what you meant when you said I had only been asleep for a few days, or something.”
“I knew you were too smart to see through it.” Fujitaka sighed.

 The lethargic man stood up and walked over to stand over the bed that Miku was laying down on. He looked at her, a sad smile on his face.
“Truthfully, we did consider that train of thought; we did not want to take that risk.” He spun around now, hiding his face from Miku. “But then you did something impossible–you being alive right now is nothing short of a miracle.”
“What state was I in, Fujitaka?” Miku repeated her question, glaring at the man’s back.
“The nuclear blast of Durandal completely obliterated everything in its range–the only reason the Divine Beast could survive was because of its god-level power.” Fujitaka held up the clipboard he held, and flipped to one of the last papers held against it.
The man then showed the image pinned to the clipboard to Miku, who could not help but let out a horrified gasp.
“Your body was almost completely destroyed, as well.” Fujitaka sadly announced. “The only things that remained were your central nervous system, your heart, and the artificial relic that Ver shoved into your body.”
The image that Miku’s eyes were glued to was exactly as Fujitaka described: a brain, a spine, and a heart, with what looked to be thin, mechanical veins tying them together.
It made her want to barf.
It made her head hurt, the fact that she wanted to barf.
It made her chest tighten, the fact that she felt pain.

 Miku held up her hands above her, which she stared at with wide, terrified, eyes. They were quivering faster than they ever had before, and she had no way to steady them. “I.. am a monster...”
“I want to say otherwise,” Fujitaka lowered the clipboard. “But that’s clearly not something a normal human could ever come back from.”

 Miku clutched her shoulders. Like her hands, her entire body was shaking–Miku was genuinely scared. And the target of her fear was entirely herself; and the powers that had been shoved inside of her.
“What am I?”
Miku shut her eyes tight.
“You’re an idiot.”
Her eyes shot open.
Standing over her, beside Fujitaka, was Chris Yukine. She wore an angry expression, her eyebrows tightened into a sharp V, but there were tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “You’re... so stupid.”
“Chris?” Miku squeaked.
Chris plopped down onto the bed, sitting beside Miku’s head. “You... I was so worried, you idiot! How could you be so... stupid...”
Miku did not need to see Chris’s face, but she could tell: tears were streaming down her face. “Chris...”
“I’ve never felt that way before–being so scared for someone’s safety. It twisted my heart, my stomach... I didn’t know what to do. We couldn’t find you anywhere... and then... and then...”
“And then Tomosato located the Aufwachen Waveforms that Miku gives off.” Fujitaka added quietly.
Chris slowly nodded. “I felt so relieved... until we found your brain just sitting there... I was devastated... I...”
Miku slowly pulled herself up with her one arm. Her back was parallel to Chris’s, but she turned to look at the side of her friend’s head. “Chris, I’m...”
Chris turned around to face Miku, her face red. She clutched her chest. “I don’t know what this is... You idiot... No... I’m the idiot... I...”
Miku put her hand on Chris’s. “Chris... I’m sorry for worrying you.” She said slowly.
“No! I don’t want you to apologize for that!” Chris shook her head, and then turned to look up at the ceiling. “I want you to apologize for... making me feel like this...”
“For making you....” Miku began to repeat, and then understood. “You...”
With tears in her eyes, Chris leaned towards Miku. “When you... when I saw it... I...” She closed her eyes. “When I saw you... I realized that I...”

 Miku felt conflicted. As she saw Chris’s flustered face, the image of Hibiki Tachibana flashed in her mind; Miku felt her heart get heavy. Hibiki meant more to Miku than anything else in the world–so much so that her life was now clad in darkness now that her glorious sun had fallen.
Yet, Miku did not feel as though she wanted to object to Chris’s feelings.

 In the past few months, it had been Chris keeping her going. She had always been there, reaching out her hand–it was Miku who was pushing everyone away, stubbornly clinging to her memories of Hibiki and desire to reunite with her.
Hibiki Tachibana was the sun that lit up Miku’s world, but Chris had become the moon that brought a bright glow to the eternal night she shrouded herself in.

 “I know that, to you, I’m just a replacement for Hibiki...” Chris shuffled. She looked down at her hands, which still had Miku’s one palm pressed over top. “But... I... Miku, I...”

 Though Miku felt a sharp pain in her heart, she did something no one–not Chris, not Fujitaka, nor even herself–expected: she leaned in and kissed Chris, straight on the lips.
This silenced Chris, whose eyes shot open in shock at Miku’s sudden action; the black-haired girl, in contrast, kept her eyes closed.
Fujitaka turned around, feeling awkward about his presence here.
Their kiss lasted for only a second, with Miku pulling away quickly, but both girls remained silent for several more moments later. Chris’s face was entirely red, but Miku wore her usual, grumpy look.
Miku and Chris both just stared at each other, not saying a word.
“Ahem.” Fujitaka cleared his throat after a few moments. “If... uhh... if this girl wakes up, come get me. I’m getting more coffee.”
Neither girl responded, remaining quiet until they heard the door slide closed.
“Miku, you...” Chris muttered, pressing her hands to her cheeks.
“Why...” Miku pressed her hand to her chest. “Why do you keep reaching out to me, Chris?”
“Huh?” That was not how Chris expected the conversation to continue.
“All I’ve ever done is push everyone away. I’ve only focused on Hibiki, on trying to atone...” Miku looked down. “So... why? Why do you care about me so much?”
“Miku–”
“No! I know what you’re going to say. ‘I’m your friend, I’m supposed to care!’” Miku met Chris’s eyes. “But I’m just... a mess. A monster! I...”
“You’re Miku Kohinata.” Chris smiled, grabbing the girl’s hand. “You’re an idiot–a big, overpowered idiot. You’re an emotional mess, occasionally rude, and always pushing everyone away.”
Miku blinked.
“But... I’m the same way.” Chris smiled. “We’re all messed up in our own different ways; that’s why I can see who you really are: a kind-hearted girl who cares deeply for her friends, not wanting anyone to suffer. If it was to make someone you cared for happy, you’d even break rules or lie to others. The fact that you’re still willing to stand up–to fight, even when you don’t want to... you’re the strongest person I know.”
Miku tilted her head. “Chris... I...”
“I’m not done!” Chris shouted. “I know... I know I’ll never be able to fill the hole that Hibiki left in your heart, that I’ll always be second place to her. But I want you to know... Miku...

 “At some point, I fell in love with the girl who calls herself a monster.”

 “Chris, I want you to know... All my life, I thought I knew what it meant to be in love. To have fallen in love with my best friend, a girl completely oblivious to my feelings...” Miku smiled. “I may not have treated you the best–treated anyone the best–but I don’t think I was right for all of those years. I still don’t know what it means to love–or maybe I’ve just forgotten–but I do know this: you’re very special to me, too, Chris. In ways I couldn’t put into words.”

 “Gross.”
Chris and Miku flinched, pulling apart at the comment. Their heads turned towards Carol, who glared at them from beside the bed; when she had appeared, neither had any idea.
“Wha– What the hell!?” Chris shouted at the small alchemists.
“Sorry, I got tired of watching that awkward, sappy moment.” Carol frowned, turning her head to the side.
“What do you want?” Chris asked, angry.
“I was asked to bring that girl over there down into that underwater base that you people use.” Carol gestured over to the sleeping Satomi Kubert, then turned to face the two girls. “Additionally, the girl we’ve been asked to protect wishes to see the two of you.”
“The girl...?” Miku asked, looking to Chris.
“Kirika.” She explained quickly. “Those alchemists kidnapped Elfnein and wanted her to read something. She couldn’t, but we’re sure they’re going to try going after Finé next.”
“Oh yeah, what happened with Elfnein?” Miku turned back to Carol. “Is she safe?”
“Yes, I handled everything.” Carol replied, smugly.
“She looked like shit when she got back.” Chris whispered.
“I’d like to see you take on one of the strongest alchemists in the world and two of her genetic experiments alone, while also protecting someone who can’t fight from suffering any injuries.” Carol brushed the girl off, angrily. Miku could tell that this was something the two had gone back and forth about before from the slightly-annoyed tone that Carol’s words carried.
“For someone who calls herself the greatest alchemist in the world, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue for you, right?” Chris teased, only making the small girl’s face darken with anger.
Miku felt the need to step in here, not entirely wanting to have to deal with a potential battle between a girl with an unlimited arsenal of guns and a girl with all-powerful magic at her disposal–so she cut in with a simple, and slightly-annoyed, question: “What does Kirika want?”
“Tomosato told us that you had awoken.” Carol waved her hand, turning her attention away from Chris. “And we were the only two who are currently awake. Personally, I couldn’t care less about any sappy reunions.”
“No need to be so grumpy.” Chris narrowed her eyes.
“Shut. It.” Carol glared.
Miku sighed, trying hard to ignore the deadly sparks still flying between the two girls. What had happened in the month that she was... not around, Miku did not know; but she could tell that the two saw each other more like enemies than allies.
Miku shook her head. “Let’s just go see Kirika, already.”

#### AXZ Chapter 9

*The Divine Beast had been felled in a single hit by Kanade, and it now laid down in front of me as it slowly began to disintegrate into sparkling lights. These golden orbs danced up into the sky and up to the heavens seemingly endlessly, taking away the life force of the beast that had been fallen.*
*It was a strangely beautiful sight, one that captivated me in a way that nothing else ever had. The lights drew my gaze, almost as if it was thanking us for freeing it from its hellish shell. Yet, this heavenly glow was born from a demon summoned by a mysterious organization; the best name for it would be Lights of Death.*
*“Kanade!” Tsubasa’s sudden cry ripped my attention away from the hypnotic sight unfolding in front of me.*
*When I looked towards the sound of the cry, I saw Kanade collapsed on the ground, and Tsubasa crouched beside her with tears in her eyes, screaming her name. Shirabe bounced over to Tsubasa, who seemed to say something quietly to reassure her–or, at the very least, talk some sense into her–because the blue-haired idol nodded and began to pull Kanade up to her feet.*
*“Those girls that use LiNKER... I wonder how much they’re being held back by that limitation.” I muttered, somewhat absent-mindedly. “If they had the same regeneration powers as Miku, how much stronger would they... wait.”*
*I felt my heart stop for a moment, and the glass words crashed to the ground as I let them topple out of my mouth.*
*How did I forget?*
*“Miku!” I screamed, my eyes wide in shock. This seemed to remind Tsubasa and Shirabe that Miku had been at ground zero for the attack that she caused, as both looked up to me in surprise as well.*

*“Can y... ear...?” A voice crackled into my ear. It was interrupted by static, so I could barely make out most of the comment or even the identity of the speaker–though I know it had to be one of the communicators back at base.*
*“..igh... rupting... on....” Again, more static came through my communicator.*
*“That light must be interrupting their communications.” Shirabe surmised from the partial message they received.*
*But I didn’t care. Already, my eyes were looking around the area, scanning every nook and cranny for signs of my friend.*
*“Yukine.” Tsubasa addressed me, and, in a panic, I looked over to her. She had one of Kanade’s arms slung over her shoulder, and was barely able to keep her orange-haired partner up. “I’ll get Kanade back to HQ so she can get medical attention. I’ll be back, afterwards.”*
*Shirabe put her hand up, and her Symphogear faded from her body. She was clearly tired–evident from how hard she was breathing and the sweat beading down her forehead–but the girl was trying to remain strong.*
*“I’ll need LiNKER to use Shul Shagana, but I’ll help you look for Miku right now.”*
*Hearing that my friends were going to support Miku–support me–made me happy, and a tightness that had been pushing down upon my heart lifted slightly. I don’t know why, but I felt incredibly relieved.*
*I bowed. “Thank you!” I said.*
*But, at the time, I was not entirely sure why I was so relieved to hear this support. Of course they would help look for Miku–I don’t know how acquainted Miku is with either Tsubasa or Shirabe, but the two are definitely not strangers to her; of course they would want to help her.*
*And I wasn’t entirely sure why I cared so much, either. Miku was my friend, of course, but I knew she would be fine. After all, she told me once: “‘I seem to be physically immortal.’”*
*She wouldn’t die–that, I was sure of.*
*Yet...*

*I was scared.*
*Terrified, even.*

*Miku had been through enough–I thought as much even back when we had fought Dr. Ver, and she has only suffered more and more since. She deserved happiness, peace; we all did.*
*Of course Miku would be spiteful and angry after everything she had gone through–but I couldn’t recall her ever taking out those feelings on me. She bottled them up, and used them to fuel the fire she used to fight with.*
*...And turned those that she did not expend in battle onto her own heart.*

*I suffered for years. My heart and mind were slowly scarred over the course of my life. As awful as it was, I got used to the pain, the suffering; I had eventually accepted that my life would not be the happy one that existed only in my dreams and my distant memories.*
*But Miku lived a normal life, up until only a (relatively) short time ago. Miku had no time for her soul to be scarred, for her heart to harden. Genjuro had told me a little bit about the circumstances that Miku lived through, and I’ve lived through the more-recent attacks on her life.*
*Losing her best friend–and having to live with the memory of being the one responsible... this would have killed me. If I had been allowed a single sparkle of hope in the bleak life I lived through, only to have it ripped away from me–this would have completely torn out what little of my heart remained.*
*The fact that Miku still has the strength to stand up, to speak even to me, is inspiring.*

*But I’m not going to ignore the fact that she’s only able to function because of the fragment of hope that she’s clinging to–the hope that one day she will be able to save Hibiki Tachibana.*
*Even if that day does come, and I can no longer stand by Miku’s side, I will always want to reach my hand out to her–to anyone. I don’t want anyone to fall into the same depths of despair that I did.*
*To become nothing but a tool for others to play with is a fate that no one deserves. Whether it be countless strangers or someone like Finé, I don’t want anyone to ever use me or my friends ever again.*
*Even if Miku eventually reunites with Hibiki–a thought that makes me slightly sad–I will still want to support her; to do anything to make sure she is happy, and able to live the life that she wants to live.*

~ ~ ~

 “Why did I say that? I mean, it’s not a lie and I do feel strongly about Miku but to come out and say that I love her? And to phrase it in such a sappy way?”
Chris plastered her hands upon her bright-red face. Carol had teleported her and Miku down into the Undersea Dragon’s Palace, specifically into a large corridor, and then disappeared again to collect Satomi Kubert.
A short distance away, Miku stood silently as she awaited explanations for what was going on–where Kirika was, what exactly had happened to Elfnein, what had gone on in the month that she had been incapacitated. She had hoped that Chris would explain things to her, but the white-haired girl had immediately begun to panic as she fully took in what she had said to Miku in the moment.
Miku looked away from Chris, hiding the fact that she, too, was embarrassed about what had just happened... and how conflicted she felt deep down. She had not lied to Chris; Miku did hold her in a special place in her heart, and treasured her in a way that she did not fully understand herself, but she wasn’t sure if it was the same kind of love that Chris seemed to feel for her.
Even worse, Miku’s heart churned as she tried to sort out these feelings and the ones she still held for Hibiki.

 “This is one of the few benefits to only interacting with different aspects of your own personality.”
Miku and Chris both spun around to look at Carol, who had reappeared at some point. She was standing with her arms crossed, a crease of annoyance in her forehead.
Beside the small alchemist was a hospital bed that Satomi Kubert was sleeping in, which had an IV drip attached to it. This was clearly a different bed than the one she had been occupying for a month already; Satomi’s bed now sported wheels.
Carol opened her eyes and glared at the two girls in front of her. Flames of anger burned behind the alchemist’s eyes as she looked at Chris and Miku, but this hatred was soon extinguished as she let out a deep sigh.
“I could tell you about how it is important it is to manage your emotions and act based on rational thought, but that would be hypocritical from someone who almost destroyed the world based on a misunderstanding.” Carol put her hand upon her forehead.
“I think I missed that.” Miku commented.
Carol cleared her throat. “Regardless, I believe that there is not a single person in our strange little party who could be considered ‘sane’–or even emotionally stable, truthfully. But it is imperative that you try to stifle the calamity in you to others; no one can control your thoughts but you.”
The three girls stood in silence for a beat.
“Two things.” Chris started.
“Go on...”
“Keeping everything bottled up seems incredibly unhealthy; the best thing to do would be to talk to others, seek refuge in a comfortable environment.” Miku interrupted, and then looked to Chris. “I assume that is what you were going to say?”
The girl had wide eyes, but she slowly nodded in response. “Yeah... that’s... it’s a bit surprising to hear that coming from you, but...”
Miku smiled. “I guess someone is starting to rub off on me.”
Chris blushed and turned around hastily.
Carol sighed. “And the second thing?”
“Oh yeah, right.” Chris mumbled slowly. Her face still red, Chris then turned to look at Carol. “Why are you sayin’ this stuff?”
“Huh?” Both Miku and Carol’s voices overlapped.
“I mean, not to be rude or anything, but why do you care?” Chris crossed her arms. “I thought you were only working with us because you fell in love with Shirabe and stole her away from Kirika.”
“That’s–!” An angry look flashed in Carol’s eyes, but her face showed her true thoughts: a blush crept across her nose, and she wore a surprised look.
Another beat of silence passed.
“Oh.” Both Chris and Miku remarked simultaneously, surprised that Chris’s comment about Carol’s thoughts about Shirabe seemed to be spot on.
“More importantly... Igalima’s wielder wants to see you two. Let’s get going.” Carol huffed. “Oh, and one of you will need to push this girl down to her room.”

. . .

 Miku, Chris, and Carol had been walking down a long corridor for roughly ten minutes now, entirely in silence. Chris was pushing Satomi’s bed down the hall–because she refused to let Miku do so with only one arm–and the other two were walking a short distance behind her.
“So,” Miku eventually broke the silence. “What’s going on? Why is Kirika being held prisoner down here?”
“It’s not that we’re holding her captive, though I suppose it would look that way without context.” Carol replied, crossing her arms. “No, we’re keeping her safe.”
“From the Illuminati?”
“Yes, exactly.” Carol nodded. “While you were unconscious, we learned a few important things. One: the Bavarian Illuminati seem to need someone who can read the ancient language that predates the Curse of Balal; it was for this reason that they had kidnapped Elfnein.”
“And they think Finé can read it.” Miku assumed.
“Precisely. And they’re not wrong, either.” Carol unfurled her arms as she looked up at the black-haired girl beside her. “Two: that vampire girl’s mind control ability is extremely powerful, and it is very likely enhanced by alchemy to some extent; powerful alchemy, too.”
“Right....?”
“In order to teleport to somewhere without a pre-made crystal, an alchemist needs a precise location or conduit to travel to. For me, my Autoscorers also serve as compasses, in a way; they are always tracking their coordinates and store all important landmarks in a databank so that they can teleport anywhere they need to–and I can teleport to them directly.
“If that vampire had her hands on someone’s mind, the alchemy that was used to boost her powers would likely be strong enough to serve as a waypoint; an alchemist even as talented as those Illuminati fools would be capable of teleporting to her location directly.”
“Ah, so you’re keeping her away from everyone and limiting contact.” Miku understood the reasoning behind their actions now. “From what Kirika told me, it must be hard on her being alone all the time, though.”
“She’s not alone.” Chris grunted.
“Right. Given the circumstances, both SONG and I have been doing our bests to make sure she is... comfortable, as annoying as that can be at times.” Carol’s mouth tensed into a frown, and Miku could sense the annoyance boiling in those final words.
“But if she’s not alone–”
“–Then whoever is keeping her company needs to be someone who is definitively not under the control of the Illuminati.” Chris finished the comment. “Right?”
Miku nodded. “Not to mention, the possibility that any of us could be–”
“You needn’t worry about yourself, or the two of us either.” Carol gestured to Chris with her chin. “I believe there are a few limitations to that girl’s powers, though there is only one that has been conclusively proved.”
“She can’t use her ability on homunculi.” Chris finished. “So Elfnein, Serena, and I are all immune to her abilities.”
“Because of Finé, I believe Kirika Akatsuki to be immune as well. The unique circumstances in which the minds of the two have fused together yet remained separate consciousnesses seems to allow Finé the ability to reject any outside interference.” Carol tapped her chin as she spoke, and only stopped once her thought concluded.
Miku held up four of her five fingers. “Based on what you said, I’m going to imagine that you think I’m immune to that ability because of Lancea Longini, and Carol’s immune because of some alchemical technique.”
Chris made a strange noise with her mouth as if to say “I don’t know.”
“No, actually. I have a different hypothesis for the two of us.” Carol sighed. “To put it bluntly: I think we’re just too far gone.”
At that comment, Chris stopped moving. Unfortunately, the bed kept rolling for a few steps, so her abrupt stop turned comedic when Chris began leaning over as she kept her hand clasped against the metallic frame.
“You can’t just say that! I can’t exactly speak for you, since you’ve been alive for hundreds of years, but Miku–”
“I don’t think I can consider myself human, Chris.” Miku held up her hand.
“No, you–”
“Humans don’t regenerate after being reduced to a brain!” Miku threw her arm up over her head... literally. At the sudden movement, her arm tore off her shoulder, and flung up into the air, spiralling like a crashing plane before splatting against the ground a short ways away.
All three girls watched Miku’s arm go flying.
“Oh great. Now I have no arms.” Miku frowned.
“Interesting.” Carol muttered, looking at the black hole that remained where her arm just was.
Without saying another word, she retrieved the fallen arm and pressed it back against Miku’s body. Black tendrils extended out from her torso and connected with her arm, and, in less than a second, Miku’s arm had been reattached to her body as if nothing had happened.
Miku moved her arm, and curled her fingers. “This... is troubling.”
Chris’s jaw hung low. “Miku, I’m...”
“It’s kind of funny, isn’t it?” Miku gave her a weak smile in response. The girl’s eyes were sad, but the smile seemed genuine to Chris. “It’s like my body wanted to prove to you that I’m not human anymore.”
“It depends on how you define ‘human’, I imagine. You have a brain and a heart, a central nervous system. You can comprehend us and respond to our comments. You are virtually human, as unscientific as that may sound.”
While she rambled, Carol walked past Chris and began pushing the bed herself. Chris and Miku hesitated for a moment, but as Carol began to leave them behind, they decided to follow.
“That said, I don’t believe you have a body anymore.” Carol dropped a bomb at the end of her spiel, and Chris’s eyes flew wide at that.
The white-haired girl raised her arms up in frustration at those words. “What do you mean she doesn’t have a body?” She shouted, then gestured at Miku. “She clearly has one.”
Carol did not flinch at Chris’s comment, and responded in the exact same tone as she had been rambling in. “Though we do not–and likely can not–fully understand how Miku Kohinata’s regenerative abilities work, I have an idea. The problem is that, because I don’t know enough about her abilities, I don’t exactly know how to phrase it in an entirely coherent way.”
Miku crossed her arms. “That’s fine with me.”
“In that case.” Carol glanced over her shoulder at Miku. “I believe the ‘body’ that Miku Kohinata now uses could be comparable to a homunculus body. Though while mine are alchemical and designed to fully emulate a human form to the best of their abilities, the... strange black energy that seems to make up her form seems to only do so on a superficial level.”
“Wait, you mean she’s basically just–” Chris looked at Miku.
“A sac of strange energy wearing a mask?” The black-haired girl (who might not be a girl and might not have hair of any colour) asked. “I think that’s what she’s getting at.”
“Yes. As for why her arm fell off...” Carol shrugged. “Perhaps a subconscious desire to prove that her point, that she isn’t a ‘human’? No idea.”
At that, the hospital bed carrying Satomi Kubert bumped against a large steel door. “We’re here.” Carol announced.

 Chris hopped over to a control panel on the wall beside the door and tapped in a code. Miku paid attention to the passcode to make sure she did not forget it in case of emergencies, and then sighed inwardly as Chris just typed in [1234].
As the fourth number was pushed, the door began to raise upwards into the ceiling. Not even waiting for the door to raise fully, Carol pushed the bed through the opening at the first opportunity.
“You guys took forever, death!” Kirika’s voice echoed out into the corridor.
When Miku walked through the door after Carol, her eyes went wide as she took in the state of the room. What was likely once intended to be a storeroom had been converted into Kirika’s personal bedroom. A comfortable bed sat in one corner of the room, and a bookshelf carrying a number of manga volumes–with many more strewn about the ground and bed–sitting beside it. In-between the two was a cardboard box with clothes hanging limply out of it, and a large standing mirror that was half-covered by a green jacket that was draped over top.
In the centre of the room was a large television, with various entertainment machines set up. BDs and Games, like the manga, littered the ground around the television, as did the remains of  empty bags of potato chips and candy wrappers.
Kirika sat in front of the large television, with Garie and Micha around her. The three of them all held controllers, as they competed in a kart racing game starring cartoony mascots.
Miku could not tell for sure who was controlling each of the characters being focused upon within the four segments on the screen, but she could surely guess. Kirika’s calm demeanour likely reflected how she was in first place, and quite far ahead, too, based on the map displayed in the unused quadrant; on the other hand, Micha was giggling as her character drove backwards around the course, far in last place, as she tried to take out her opponents without care for her own position. In the middle of them Garie grumbled angrily as she managed to hit every obstacle on the course, though still somehow maintaining a third-place position regardless.
“We’re almost done, death!” Kirika told the three newcomers as she drifted around a corner with ease.
“Like hell we are!” Garie snapped, tilting as she angrily rounded a corner in the game.
“Whatever.” Carol grunted. Opposite the room from Kirika’s bed, she was now busy working to set up Satomi’s medical supplies again, having rolled the bed into the corner as Miku looked around the room.
Chris whispered to her. “So what do you think?”
“About what?” Miku looked curiously back at her friend.
“Kirika’s set-up.”
Miku took another glance at the room before her in silence before turning to face Chris.  “She’s even worse at cleaning than you are.”
“I’m not that messy!” The girl pouted in response, earning a smile from Miku.

 Taking that as a cue that Chris didn’t want to talk any more, Miku slowly crept across the room. She was curious about something–and now she had the means to check it.
Lifting the jacket off the mirror, Miku gazed at herself. She had not paid attention to the fact before, but she was wearing a light hospital gown and nothing else; it was fairly flimsy too, so now she worried if Fujitaka had seen anything private during their chat earlier.
The next thing Miku focused on was her face. Just as she had expected, it looked just as it had before. Even now that her body apparently regenerated from nothing, her skin was still scarred; red marks were burned into her skin from when she fell from the atmosphere all those months ago. She had expected as much, seeing as how her left arm was still missing, but still sighed at the revelation.
Ignoring the reflection of Chris a short ways behind her looking on curiously, Miku continued to study herself. She wondered how her body had regrown as she looked at her head–had it regenerated altogether slowly, or did it start from one place (her head? Feet?) and continue outwards from there. Her hair had grown quite long and now reached down her back quite a ways, so at the very least she knew that her body had aged somewhat.

 Next, Miku held the stub of her missing arm up to the mirror, to finally take a close look at it. The end, where the meat of her body should be visible, were hidden by a strange black energy; this was not new, but only now did Miku really question it.
Lightly, the girl prodded the end of her missing arm; she could feel the impact in her shoulder, but the black energy seemed to absorb any sense of contact. Her fingers felt cold as they ran across the end of her stump, as if she was running them across a cool sheet of metal, but that was the only thing she felt.
“What... am I?” Miku whispered, her eyes locked on the oddity that was her corrupted body.
Continuing the investigation of her new, strange body, Miku then tested out her powers. She had already unconsciously summoned Gungnir earlier, so she knew she still had the power to conjure the weapons of the Symphogears, and the unfortunately ever-too-familiar tingle in her head that connected her to the Noise still buzzed behind her thoughts, so her other relics were likely active too.
“I wonder...” Miku put her arm up to her chin as she began to think.

 Chris wanted to walk up to Miku, to talk to her and try to help her work through the questions that she clearly still had, but her legs refused to move. Her mind was running a million miles an hour as worries flew through her brain–all relating to what she had said earlier.
In frustration, Chris let out an angry grunt as she grabbed her hair. In the same moment, Garie echoed with a similar cry as she was hit by one of Micha’s items in the game that they were playing, drowning out Chris’s own annoyances. The only one aware of Chris’s outburst was Miku, whose gaze occasionally flashed to the white-haired girl reflected in the background of the mirror.
“Why–!?” Chris groaned, shaking her head furiously. Her mind was full of Miku, Miku, and more Miku. The feeling of the girl’s lips on her own, the way she had felt when she learned that Miku had been reduced to nothing, the memories of the sad Miku that she desperately wanted to reach out towards to help.
“I’m the winner, death!” Kirika called out as she leapt to her feet, startling Chris.
As the blonde-haired girl spun around to look to her friends for praise, Chris turned away to hide her blush. This gave Kirika the chance to focus on Miku.
“Miku’s back!” She cried out as she dove towards her friend. “You’re alive, death!”
Startled by Kirika diving towards her, Miku reacted on reflex by trying to catch her friend, forgetting that she only had one hand to do so with. As a result, Kirika essentially tackled Miku to the ground, the two slamming against the floor with tremendous force...
...and knocking Miku’s head off.

 “Deaaaaaaaaath!” Kirika screamed in horror at the sight, attracting the attention of Chris, Garie, and Micha.
Miku’s head, with her long hair, rolled a short distance away, and Kirika’s eyes followed it the entire way. Instinctively she stood back up, with tears in her eyes, and backed away from Miku’s limp, decapitated body.
“I killed her, death!!!!!” Kirika cried out, tears flowing from her eyes.
“I’m not dead... Just very dizzy.”
The sound of Miku’s voice send a chill through Kirika’s body, and she jumped back even further from the body laying on the ground. “A ghost, death!”
“More like zombie.” Miku replied in deadpan.
Coming over to inspect what Kirika was freaking out about, Chris merely reacted with a confused question: “Are you a mannequin now?”
“I guess.” Miku sighed. “Can someone put my head back on my body? I can’t exactly do anything.”

 The two Autoscorers watched Chris retrieve Miku’s head and place it back on her body from a short distance behind Kirika. Garie’s eyes were filled with intrigue, but Micha instead only looked on in confusion.
“Garie, I didn’t know humans could detach their heads.”
“I don’t think they can, normally.” Garie crossed her arms.
“Normally?” Micha looked over to Carol, who ignored the chaos happening across the room as she continued to set up Satomi’s station. “Do you think Master’s head would come off if I tackled her?”
Garie’s mechanical lips curled into a mischievous smile. “If you’re willing to accept to repercussions, then you should–”
“It won’t.” Carol shouted over, cutting Garie’s fun short. The Autoscorer scoffed in disgust at that.

 “This floor is disgusting.” Miku said. The first thing she began to do once her head had reattached to her body was pat down her messy mane, and remove the lint and dust that it had collected as she swept the floor.
“What happened?” Kirika’s eyes were wide, not entirely sure how to react to Miku.
“Don’t worry about it.” Miku replied quickly.
“You can’t just say ‘don’t worry about it’, death! You were a brain! And then you were goop, and then a person, and now your head can come off!” Kirika threw her hands up. “You’re weird, death!”
Miku’s eyes went wide, and for a moment Kirika wondered if she had upset Miku. Her doubts were quickly dispelled, however, when the black-haired girl burst out laughing only seconds later; though this, in a different way, stunned everyone present.
The smile that Miku wore as she laughed was the first time any of them felt as though they had seen the girl genuinely happy, without a shred of despair in her eyes. Chris and Kirika looked to each other in confusion, giving each other silent looks as if asking ‘what is she laughing at?’–a question neither had an answer to.
Eventually, they found out the answer, as Miku’s hearty chuckle eventually turned into a small giggle. “That’s an understatement, but... yeah, I think I’m finally starting to get used to this.”
“This might sound weird coming from a robot,” Garie narrowed her eyes. “But I don’t think you should get used to your head falling off.”
“No, that’s–” Miku smiled. “I meant how insane my life is.”
“That’s also probably not something to get used to,” Wearing a smile, Chris shrugged. “But it’s not like any of us have the right to say anything.”
Miku looked around to those around her. Chris, who had been used as a tool for so many years by so many different people; Kirika, who had similarly had her life reduced to nothing more than a toy as she was experimented on; Garie and Micha, two robots that she barely knew, but was aware that they had helped free her from Batara Kala. Barring Garie, the girls all looked at Miku with smiles.
A warmth welled up in Miku’s chest, one she had not felt in so long. Though she wasn’t even sure if she could be considered alive–or even human–any more, the flame that ignited inside of her was one of life.
“I’m home.” She happily said, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she flashed a large smile to the others around her.
“Welcome home, Miku.” Chris said in response.

 “Home, huh?” Carol muttered to herself.
In truth, she had finished setting up the medical equipment in only a few short moments; the alchemist had simply been pretending to work. Because she was curious about Miku’s unique body, Carol wanted to study it–she was an alchemist, a woman of science, it was only natural–so she took to watching from the corner of the room, as if not paying attention to them.
“What is a home?” Carol asked herself, looking at the girl sleeping in the bed in front of her. “If papa truly is alive, will I find a home where he is? Even if that means working with...”
The alchemist shook her head to relieve herself of such thoughts. “No. Those fools have no idea what they’re doing. Even if papa is working with them, it can’t be of his own volition. I know it, that he’ll never stoop to such levels.”
“But...” Carol looked at the sleeping face of Satomi Kubert. Despite having been turned into a Noise and back, she was calm; the girl was completely oblivious to the strife unfolding around her–even inside of the mind of the girl looking over her.
“What would I do if papa...?”

 “Master!” Micha cried out, leaping towards Carol happily. Before she collided with the small girl, Garie reached out and grabbed her sister’s hair, stopping her in her tracks. Once she realized she had been stopped, the Autoscorer let out a whine. “Ah-ah-Garieee~”
“You should know better than to jump onto our master like that fool does to her friends!” Garie chided. “Or do you want to be reduced to a head again.”
Micha went limp at that last comment, her face transforming into a deep frown. “No... I like having hands.”
“Thank you, Garie.” Carol announced, turning around to address her two creations now that she had composed herself to some extent. Then, gesturing over to Chris with her chin, the alchemist let out a boom. “Now, then, the four of us should be off.”
“Where to?” Miku tilted her head.
“School.” Chris replied, quickly. “We all realized it would be best if we weren’t held back for not showing up.”
Carol made a noise, as if she wanted to add on to that, but stopped.
“I wish I could go to school. Or anywhere, really.” Kirika pouted, crossing her arms. “It’s lonely.”
“Well, now you’ve got Kohinata, so stop complaining.” Garie snapped. “Now you can beat her at all of your games, not us!”
Miku waved her one hand. “I don’t think gaming’s going to be easy for me.”
“Just do whatever you did before, when you had two hands.” Kirika waved her own two arms around. “Chris told me that you were striking cool anime poses and–”
Miku cut Kirika off with a glare, but obliged to the orders. Muttering the name of the divine mirror in her mind, Miku called upon the power of Shénshòujìng to create the illusion that she had two arms.
“Oh, impressive.” Garie remarked.
“Hardly.” Carol grunted. “It’s an illusion, yes? Incorporeal?”
Miku nodded at the comment. Then, to prove this, she reached towards Chris’s large chest.
“Hey, Miku, I know I–!!!” Chris panicked, covering her chest with her arms... and then let out a confused gasp as Miku’s arm passed right through her.
“It’s just light.” Miku said, pulling her false arm back. “I didn’t want to freak the kids out, so I just did this. Of course, I can’t actually hold anything in it.”
“Why don’t you walk around like that normally, then, death?” Kirika asked.
“Because it makes me forget I only have one hand.” Miku muttered, looking down. The vision of her false arm faded away in that moment. “I tested it out before, when Chris was in her coma. I wanted to make food for myself, but... well, I broke a couple of dishes, instead.”
“You do that normally.” Chris and Kirika both replied in unison, the latter adding her verbal tic onto the end of that comment.
Miku’s face turned red at that. “That’s–! I mean, yes, but I’d like to see you try to make food with only one hand! Or do anything, for that matter!”
“It is quite incredible how capable that girl is in battle, despite this handicap.” Carol nodded.
Chris shook her head. “There are many other people in the world who have only one arm and I’d bet all of them are far less clumsy than you can be.”
“No... I... But.... that’s–!” Miku shouted, trying poorly to defend herself, but Chris smiled back.
“But that’s okay. You can rely on me.” With a grin, Chris pointed her thumb towards her heart.
“Me too, death!” Kirika jumped onto Chris and Miku, pulling them together in a big hug.
“While this is a very touching moment and all,” Carol rolled her eyes. “Lydian awaits. We must go pick up Shirabe and Serena Cadenzavna Eve, as well.”
Kirika let go of her friends, once again pouting out her cheeks. “Have fun out there, death.” She said sadly, though her tone was somewhat playful.
“It’s just school.” Chris took a step back. “How much fun could we have?”
“It would be best if you do not try to test fate.” Carol sighed.
As Chris walked up to join Carol by Satomi’s bed, Kirika said her goodbyes by slowly, and sadly, waving her friends off. Miku, in contrast, just wrapped her arm around her body as she looked on in silence.
“Have a good day, Miku, Kirika.” Chris said.
And then they were gone.

 Miku and Kirika stood in the large room, all alone. For a few minutes, the two  “So, what do you want to do all day?” Kirika asked turning to her friend with a smile on her face.
“I want to know what’s been going on since I...” Miku trailed off, not wanting to have to think more about her mysterious body. Even if it would distract her from the complicated feelings bouncing around her mind and heart that she held for Chris Yukine–ones she definitely did not want to bring up to Kirika.
“Something happened between you and Chris, death.” Kirika said, spinning around.
“Huh?”
As she took a second to register what Kirika had said, Miku’s wide eyes watched as the blonde-haired girl plopped down on the ground and picked up one of the controllers that she had tossed aside.
To Miku’s surprise, it was Finé who answered. “Kirika is not the idiot that you likely think her to be, Miku.”
“Hey, wait, I don’t think Kirika’s–” Miku put her hand up.
“I act bubbly to keep others happy.” Kirika said quickly, keeping her eyes glued to the screen–focused, so that she wouldn’t tear up thinking about her own tragedies. The small girls shuddered. “I was forced to be perceptive; it’s the only reason I’m alive now. So, I can tell that there’s something different about you now, death.”
Miku wanted to pry into Kirika’s past more, but held herself back. She could tell from the way that she intentionally kept her head turned away from her that Kirika hurt just mentioning what she did; the girl’s heart, like Miku’s own, was not ready to be opened fully–and what little she did know about Kirika’s past told Miku why.
“Well, I guess it doesn’t matter, death.” Kirika laid back on the ground and looked up at Miku with a smile on her face, and slightly-glossy eyes. “How strong are the chains that you can summon? If you made a small one, could you push a control stick around, death?”
Miku blinked twice in response. “I think so?”
“Oyoyoyo!” Happily, the girl scurried over to a small box placed beside the television, likely containing physical copies of games–a rarity, in this age. A few moments of digging around passed before Kirika held a game above her head. “You should be able to play this one with me if you put your controller on the ground, death!”
“I don’t...”
“It’ll be fun, Miku!” Kirika urged, holding the game out in front of her.
The sight reminded her of Hibiki, and for a moment the dam of emotions surrounding Miku’s heart began to tremble. She felt as though she was staring directly at her friend–who likewise also hid her own tragedies away to keep others happy.
“Yeah...” Miku smiled. “Sure. I’ll give it a shot.”

#### AXZ Chapter 10

 Miku leaned back against her arm, which propped the girl up at an awkward angle. The girl’s scarred forehead was full of creases as she furrowed her brow, her eyes full of annoyance that was pointed towards the television in front of her.
“This is a lot of work.” She grunted, re-reading the words that stared back at both her and the golden-haired girl beside her.
“Game over, death. But we did good!” Kirika tried to reassure her friend, who let out a deep sigh in response. Kirika looked down at the controller in her hand at that. “Okay, maybe playing games might be a bit difficult, death.”
“Yeah.” Miku nodded, pushing the controller across the ground. She still had a golden chain dangling out of the remains of her missing arm, and she absent-mindedly coiled it around her body as she did so.
“Now what?” Kirika asked. She began to look around the room, and scuttled off on all fours somewhere behind the television.
Miku shrugged. “No idea.”
Kirika popped her head up over the screen, a bag of chips in her hand. “Want some chips, death?”
“I–” The chain curled around Miku disappeared as her eyes opened wide. She then brought her hand up to her chin as she began to think.
“Miku?”
“When was the last time I ate something?” She asked aloud.
“Huh?”
“I didn’t even have an IV drip in the med centre.” Miku muttered, then she looked up at Kirika, who stared back in confusion. “Can I even digest food now?”
“One way to find out, death!” Kirika smiled, tossing the bag to Miku...
...forgetting that Miku had only one hand, which was cupped around her chin. The girl flailed about in surprise as the bag sailed towards her, but it eventually crashed into her face; the sound of chips cracking apart echoing in Miku’s ears.
“Sorry, death.” Kirika said sadly.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t even feel it.” Miku chuckled.
Then, she looked down at the bag that had fallen to the floor. She stared at the object for a moment in thought–Kirika tilted her head in confusion at the action. Miku then raised her arm, which transformed into a shining blade–a replica of Ame no Habakiri.
“Death!” Kirika’s eyes shot open wide, and she cowered behind the television. Thinking that she was going to be the target of Miku’s wrath, the girl began to quiver in fear. “I didn’t mean to!”
“Huh?” Miku lowered her blade-arm, holding it in front of her. When she looked at it, she had a realization. “No, I need to open the bag of chips.”
“Ooooooh.” Kirika let out a deep sigh of relief as she heard Miku slice her blade into the ground, cutting off the top of the chip bag.
The girl stood up to see Miku, her hand back to normal, ruffling through the small bag of potato chips, trying to find an intact chip. After a few seconds, the sound of the bag and the chips inside echoing through the otherwise-silent room, Miku produced a fairly large chip with an exorbitant amount of powder clinging to it. Roughly, she then tossed this chip into her mouth and crunched down on it.
“Guess I can’t taste anything any more.” She said sadly, almost immediately. Looking down at the bag, she read the side of the bag for the first time: ‘hot and spicy’. “...It’s not even spicy.”
“Really?” Kirika bounced around the television and slid down beside Miku. Thrusting her fingers into the bag, she pulled out a small chip that was only lightly dusted in orange spices. The smell alone burned her nostrils, but Kirika shrugged; if Miku had said it wasn’t spicy, then there shouldn’t be an issue.
Without hesitation, Kirika placed the chip upon her tongue.
“DEATH!” She screamed, accidentally crunching down on the chip. As it shattered into her mouth, Kirika’s eyes filled with tears. “Hot hot hot!!!”
Miku chuckled, watching Kirika’s incredibly comedic reaction. The golden-haired girl began to roll around on the ground, trying to decide whether she should toughen up and swallow the shards of the chip or spit the remnants out. All the while, she made strange noises and continued screaming her trademark “Death!”
As Kirika finally made a decision–actually devouring the single chip in her mouth–she looked up through glossy eyes at her friend. Miku looked back, a smile on her face as she tried to contain her laughter and orange dust from the chips covering her lips.
“That was a bit dramatic.” Miku giggled happily, putting another one of the chips into her mouth.
“How can you stand it, death?” Kirika asked back.
“The spice? I can taste the heat, but it’s minimal. I guess my–”
“No.” This time, it was Finé who spoke from Kirika’s mouth. “She means your transformation. Even though your body keeps falling further away from humanity, your mind is travelling in the opposite direction.”
Miku stuffed another chip in her mouth as Kirika took over. “Smiling, laughing... how can you do it, death? You can’t taste, you came back to life, your body can transform into weapons. Aren’t you scared?”
“Of course I am. I’m terrified of my own body.” Miku nodded. “But I realized something, too; even if it only took until I actually died.”
“Realized something, death?”
Another chip passed between Miku’s lips, which then curled into a smile. “You all aren’t scared of me; you all keep reaching out to me even now. I’ve been pushing you away, but now... If you aren’t scared of me, then I shouldn’t be afraid to take your hands.”

 Kirika looked back at her in amazement, and nodded. As Miku kept snacking away on the chips far too spicy for Kirika to even hold on her now-numb tongue, Kirika pondered what she had said.
Though she wanted to keep her thought to herself, apparently the priestess that lived within Kirika’s mind decided to voice the question she held aloud: “If you’re not afraid to reach back out to your friends, then why do you not want to tell them the truth?”
Both Kirika and Miku stiffened at the comment that Finé made. Almost reflexively, Kirika threw her hands up in front of her as if waiting to defend herself from an attack.
“That was–! Death!!” She squealed.
But Miku just sighed in response. “You and Chris... You’re a lot more perceptive than I realize.” She shook her head, then looked at Kirika with a small smile on her face. “If anyone would know what it’s like to force yourself to smile, it’d be you, right?”
“You mean...?”
Miku looked at her arm, which she held out in front of her. Only now did Kirika notice that the girl was quivering, ever so slightly; it looked like she was shivering, as if extremely cold, despite the room being fairly warm.
Then, the black-haired girl closed her fist tight, sucking in a deep breath through her clenched teeth as she closed her eyes. The oxygen floated in her lungs for a moment before she slowly exhaled.
“I knew from the moment I laid my eyes upon you that you would be special.” Finé suddenly commented. “The song in your heart; the fact that you were the first human-relic fusion...”
“Shut up.” Miku snapped. Glaring at Finé–or rather the blonde-haired girl who housed her soul–Miku snarled. “If you haven’t forgotten, this is entirely your fault.”
“I have much to apologize for, but I do not regret ever involving you and Hi...”
“Enough, death!” Kirika exerted her willpower to overpower Finé’s thoughts, interrupting the witch that used her mouth with a powerful shout. “This is all Finé’s fault; everything is Finé’s fault! And that makes it my fault, death!”
“Kirika...”
The girl had tears in her eyes now, and she stepped forwards. “I’ve been lying this whole time, death! Shirabe hasn’t abandoned me to be with Carol, I abandoned her!” Kirika took another step towards Miku. “The guilt I’ve felt over what Finé did to you and Chris has been torturing me, death! I can’t take it! It’s not even my fault but it is and... DEATH!!!”
Kirika was reaching at her golden hair, pulling at it. “Finé did so many terrible things to me, but now I’m the one feeling the guilt for what she’s done! This world isn’t fair, death! I can’t take it!”
Now it was Miku’s turn to step forwards. Summoning a ghostly image of a second arm, Miku closed the distance between herself and her friend in another stride. Now standing right in front of her, Miku wrapped her real arm and pretended to wrap her fake one around Kirika, pulling her into a hug.
“Kirika... I never once blamed you for anything that Finé did.”
“It’s not fair, death...” Kirika sobbed. “Why am I the one burdened with this? We’ve all suffered under Finé, so why do I have to be the one saddled with her feelings?”
Miku wanted to respond, but did not know how to. She wanted to comfort Kirika, but Miku did not know how to comfort anyone any more. Yet, the black-haired girl found herself speaking regardless, as if her mouth moved on its own.
“I know what it’s like to be possessed by Finé, to be her pawn.” Miku sighed. “I know just how crushing her influence...”
“That’s why I know I can tell you this, death!” Kirika whined, burying her face in Miku’s shoulder. The tears from the small girl’s heterochromatic eyes began to darken the thin fabric that made up the robe that Miku wore, and she said nothing else as she began to sob harder. “What’s worse... what’s worse...!”
“You don’t have to thin–”
“What’s worse is that it’s not just Finé. What Hibiki meant to you... Finé’s like a sponge, death. She possessed you, so now I have your memories and feelings, too. I know everything about how you felt for Hibiki; hearing that she had died, even though I barely knew her, hurt me too.”
Miku’s heart froze for a moment. “You...”
“It’s not fair, Miku...” Kirika whined. “I couldn’t even keep my own thoughts straight! Now I have hundreds of peoples’ memories worth, death! I can’t... I can’t...!”
Miku pulled Kirika closer as the younger girl’s cries grew louder. The black-haired girl did not know how to help Kirika; she was in the same boat, to a lesser extent. Her own head was full of a cacophony of different emotions–fear, confusion, anger, hatred. The way their conversation had jumped around so much was proof that neither Kirika nor Miku’s minds were fully formed any more, that they had lost the threads that held them together.
Instead of responding, Miku just began to pat Kirika’s back lightly with her real hand. She remained silent, listening only to Kirika’s cries echo throughout the steel chamber they stood in.
“I’ve been so lonely this past month, death. Chris would visit me sometimes, but the Autoscorers were really the only ones I’ve interacted with. I can’t handle being alone. Especially with you recovering... it was all just so...” Kirika rambled on in sadness, but Miku did not verbally respond. She only clutched the girl tight, a kind look on her face as she tried to comfort her friend however she could–even if she did not know how to any more. “I’m so glad you’re okay, death!”
“I’m glad to see you again, too, Kirika.” Miku smiled.
Kirika did not hear her–or perhaps she chose not to respond–as she only began to cry harder. Occasionally her sobs would be punctuated with painful whines of her trademark “Death” but these were few and far between.

 Eventually, Kirika’s sobs subsided, and her breathing calmed.
“I’m sorry, Kirika.” Miku said.
“No... I’m sorry, death.” Kirika muttered.
The two stood in complete silence for a few more moments, both girls growing increasingly more awkward as Miku’s arm was wrapped around her friend, her shoulder soaked by Kirika’s tears.
“It’s a good thing Elfnein moved out of here.” Kirika chuckled sadly.
“Hm?”
“At first, she was living here with me. But then she got too into the video games so Carol had her move into a separate room to conduct research.” Kirika pushed herself away from Miku, sniffling loudly as she tried to fake a smile. “Do you want to go bug her?”
“No... I don’t really know how to interact with her. Or Carol.” Miku admitted, looking away.
Kirika’s smile grew wider, becoming slightly more genuine. “That makes two of us, death.”
Miku smiled back.

 Silence followed for several more minutes.

 “I know this probably isn’t the best time to ask...” Miku said eventually. “But Finé knows alchemy, right? She did teleport me, once.”
“...Yes?”
“Why do you even need to keep yourself hidden, then? If they captured you, you could just... teleport away?”
Kirika’s eyes went wide. When Finé was the one who spoke next, Miku knew she had said something–apparently–revolutionary.
“That was something I did not consider.”
“Plus, if those alchemists came near you, then I’d do everything I can to protect you.” Miku smiled with a nod. The girl then held out her hand. “Protecting someone... It’s what I’ve wanted to use my powers for all along.”
Kirika took Miku’s hand in her own. When their fingers locked, both girls realized just how hard the other was quivering; they were both scared of themselves. Despite this, both smiled at the other as they shook hands.
“We’re friends.” Kirika said with a cheerful grin, her eyes sparkling. “I’ll trust you to the ends of the earth, death!”
“I trust you, too.” Miku smiled back.
Kirika nodded. “Let’s try this out, then!” Then she paused. “What should I teleport around as a test, death?”
Miku sat down. Kirika put her hands up in a panic. “I’m not teleporting you around, death! I don’t even know if I can!”
The black-haired girl shook her head, but she wore a smile. “No, I just want to test something out, too.” Miku said as her arm transformed into a long, shining blade–Ame no Habakiri. The girl then swiftly cut through the air–or, that was how it looked to Kirika, anyway; a few moments later, the girl’s foot slid away from her leg as her arm returned to normal.
Kirika wore a disgusted look as Miku picked up her now-detached foot. It wasn’t so much the missing limb that worried Kirika, more the strange black tendrils that seemed to creep out of Miku’s newly-severed limb, as if they were trying to reach out for her foot.
“Use my foot.” Miku held it out in front of her.
“I...” Kirika stammered, her eyes wide. “But that’s–!”
“I’ll be fine.” Miku reassured her friend. Then she looked to the side. “I think.”
“You ‘think’, death!?”
“That’s what I want to test. My body parts seem detachable now, so I want to know if they’ll still regenerate over time.” Miku said this in a very casual way, ignoring the possibility that Kirika’s teleport could go horribly wrong, and she could be permanently missing a foot. When Kirika pointed this out to Miku, the older girl shrugged. “I can fly anyway.”
“You seem...”
“Calm?” Miku put her foot down on the ground and just looked at her golden-haired friend with a smile. Kirika took the sight of the girl’s face in: the way her eyes seemed to be looking past her; the slight, dark clouds that filled the blue jewels upon her face; the way her mouth was strained, as if an invisible force was keeping it pulled into a small, sad smile.

*She’s doing what I do, death.*

 In order to fill the silence that Kirika had left her, Miku decided to laugh. This only caused Kirika to take a step back, which only caused Miku to spit out a strange response: “I bet I seem a bit insane, right?”
Kirika struggled to keep herself from nodding–though she did, somewhat, understand what might be going through her head. Over the years in the prison that was FIS, the small girl had felt similar things as Miku was now trying to sort out. The sadness, confusion, hatred, anger...

 ...the potentially-suicidal thoughts.

 The blonde-haired girl’s heart clenched lightly, and she opened her mouth to say something, but she did not know what to say–after all, she had never had someone there to say what she wanted to now. Perhaps fortunately, Kirika did not get a chance to use her voice anyway; Finé’s tone escaped the girl’s lips as the priestess decided to move the conversation along.
“It’s quite a coincidence that you decided to let us use your foot to test Kirika’s abilities, Miku.” The girl in question expressed a moment of shock before lifting an eyebrow curiously, signalling to Finé that she should continue. “Organic material is, surprisingly, much easier to transport than inorganic matter.”
“Organic, huh...” Miku looked down at the foot that Kirika was carrying. Doubt was plastered on her face, and she bit her lip to stifle anything else of the depressing nature from escaping her mouth. Instead, the black-haired girl nodded. “Then let’s get started.”
Kirika pursed her lips, then cracked into a smile. Truth be told, she was quite interested in knowing if she was capable of teleporting people. Finé was capable of doing so, so Kirika possessed the knowledge of how to, but actually going through with it was another story entirely. And here Kirika stood, literally having the chance to go through with it handed to her; of course she did not want to say no...
...Using Miku’s foot as a test subject did churn Kirika’s stomach, as did the fact that she was so nonchalant about the idea. Miku, though, was completely fine with being a test subject–or, rather, having a part of her used as a test subject–and was the one who brought this idea up in the first place.
“Maybe... I’m worried about nothing, death.” Kirika nodded. “Alright! Let’s do this!”

. . .

 Elfnein pulled the cup of coffee away from her lips as a deep, warm sigh escaped her lips. “I don’t think I’ve come closer to figuring out what half of these relics do.” The small, green-blonde girl muttered, looking up at the ceiling.
Spread out on the table in front of her were a litany of different objects of varying shapes, sizes, and colours; many of the relics that Ogawa, Yatsuhiro, and Yumi had brought in over a month earlier.
“I wonder what time it is...” Elfnein said to herself, looking around the room. When she remembered that there were no windows–being underwater, they would be useless anyway–and no clock set up in her room yet, she rubbed her eyes. “Oh, right.”
Elfnein leaned over her chair and rubbed her hand on the ground. It wasn’t any particular ritual or anything; she was, instead searching for what her fingers eventually brushed–a tablet. Gripping the edge of the tablet, she pulled it up to her chest and tapped the screen on its face, turning it on.
“Oh, it’s late.” Elfnein gasped, seeing that the date had long rolled over since she had sat down. Rubbing her eyes again, the small girl let out a yawn; though, oddly enough, Elfnein did not feel tired. “Maybe I should go see what Kirika is doing. I need a break from this, anyway.”

 Yatsuhiro’s team kept the strange black box in their care–as it turned whoever opened it to dust, Elfnein was not particularly in a rush to examine it in its current state–but the rest of the relics were passed along to the homunculus girl to examine once properly catalogued; it had been Carol who asked Elfnein to take on this job, so the girl could not turn it down.
She did not mind though–they made her curious. Tomosato had been helping Elfnein originally, before SONG was split up into two teams (one remaining at the Undersea Dragon’s Palace while the other returned to Japan), and she would be visited by Carol and the others, too, at times. Elfnein was having fun with her work, but she could not help but feel lonely at times, so she would go and see Kirika whenever–it wasn’t like the girl was ever doing anything of important, anyway.

 Now, Elfnein walked down the long corridor leading to Kirika’s isolated room, the sound of her footsteps the only sound echoing through the otherwise-silent chamber. “It does feel a bit cruel, keeping her so far away. Even if it is for her own safety.” Elfnein shuddered.
She did not remember clearly what had happened to her when she had been kidnapped–she suspected that was Carol’s doing–but Elfnein’s body still seemed to recognize some terror in the idea of being used by the Illuminati.
The small girl pushed back the fear her unconscious mind as she reached the large wall at the end of the hallway. She could try to yell or knock, but Elfnein knew from the short time living with Kirika that the room was soundproof; she couldn’t give Kirika a forewarning that she was about to enter.
Elfnein shrugged as she made her way over to the panel that would slide the wall upwards. Absent-mindedly, the small green-haired girl typed in the simple passcode, [1234], and waited as the entry opened up.

 “You’re getting closer.” Miku said with a nod.
“Alright. I think I’m getting used to this, death.” Kirika pumped herself up with a grin. “I think the next try will be The One.”
Elfnein blinked as she looked at the room. “What’s...?”
Miku and Kirika turned to the small homunculus standing just at the entrance to the room. The black-haired girl was the first to address Elfnein, putting her hand up in a silent wave as if casually saying ‘hello!’ while Kirika waved wildly. “Elfie!!”
“What are you doing?” Elfnein ignored the two girls’ greetings as she struggled to understand what had happened to the room. A random assortment of detached feet of various sizes and missing random toes littered the room, all seemingly focused around a spot on the ground marked with a large ‘X’–which was, at current, otherwise completely clear.
“Alchemy.” Kirika and Miku replied in unison.
“Alc... huh?” That answer only seemed to make Elfnein more confused.
“Finé’s an alchemist.” Miku explained. “So Kirika’s trying to learn how to teleport.”
Elfnein nodded slowly, as if the puzzle pieces were starting to click together. “Then the feet...”
“Her test subjects.” Miku smiled, holding up another foot–one she had just sliced off of her own leg. She tossed it into the air, and Kirika happily caught it, hugging it close to her chest.
“And... Wait. Kohinata!” Elfnein’s eyes widened as she seemingly only now acknowledged who she was talking to. “When did you awaken?”
“Earlier.” Miku looked to Kirika.
“Five hours ago? I think, death?” The blonde-haired girl muttered.
“Has it been that long?” Miku muttered. She took a slow look around the room, at the many feet–which likely numbered above two-hundred–that had been tossed around by Kirika’s attempts to teleport them to the designated location. “I guess we’ve been going at this for a while, huh?”
“But I’ve almost got it, death!” Kirika cheered. “This time for sure!”

 Elfnein tapped her temple. “If I remember right... I think Carol determined that it was actually easier to teleport yourself than another object.” The small homunculus muttered.
“Huh?” Kirika and Miku both turned to the girl in shock. When Miku saw her golden-haired friend’s reaction, her surprised look was replaced with a cold glare. “Didn’t you know?”
“I...” Kirika began to scratch the top of her head as she pursed her lips...
...only for Finé to give a proper answer from her mouth. “I was wondering when she would realize. That was something I deduced from my early studies.”
Miku sighed, slapping her face in disbelief. “Are you serious?”
Kirika wilted, dropping the foot in her arms to the floor. “Deathhhhhhh~” The young girl let out a hiss as if she were a balloon slowly deflating. Similarly, she began to fall over, and eventually collapsed to the ground.
After a moment of silence, the air seemed to fill Kirika back up as she climbed to her feet and placed her hands upon her hips. She wore a determined look as she pointed at the ‘X’ marked upon the ground. “Then I will teleport myself, death!”
Miku clapped. “You can do it!”
Kirika put her hands out to the sides, as if saying “Stop!” to invisible beasts walking towards her. “I demand silence!” She ordered, despite the fact that Miku had already stopped clapping and Elfnein had been silent almost the entire time.
The blonde-haired girl put her hands together as if in prayer, and looked down at the ground. Closing her eyes, she focused entirely on her thoughts; on the witch that lived inside of her own mind.
A pentagon of light appeared on the ground around Kirika’s feet after a few quiet moments, but she did not react even as her body began to slowly slide into the earth below her. Miku wore an impressed look, something that told Elfnein that Kirika’s earlier attempts must have been much sloppier.
When Kirika’s head disappeared beneath the ground, there was complete silence for a moment. Both Miku and Elfnein looked in the direction of the ‘X’, but Kirika did not reappear.
“Huh.” Miku broke the quiet with that single syllable...
...and then the entryway opened up behind her.
“That was the worst attempt yet, death!” Kirika stormed in through the entrance wearing a look of anger and disgust. She stomped across the ground, kicking a discarded foot towards Miku, who reached up from her position on the ground to snatch it out of the air before it then disappeared as it seemingly melted into her palm.
“Whoa.” Elfnein focused on Miku’s palm. “That’s... a really interesting power.”
Miku picked up another discarded foot from the ground nearby. “I’ve...” She sucked in a deep breath. “Got some new tricks, I guess.” The foot she held then, too, disintegrated into the hand that held it.
Kirika grunted as she picked up another foot from the ground. “Okay, death. We’re going back to the foot idea.” She said, plopping herself on the ground beside Miku and dropping the foot down in front of her.
The girl closed her eyes and Elfnein tapped Miku on the shoulder. “Has she been getting closer, at least?” The homunculus whispered.
Miku leaned in. “She’s... having a time.”
“Quiet, de–” Kirika yelled before gasping out. “Whoa!”
“Something wrong?” Miku asked.
“Where did it go, death?” Kirika looked at where the foot had been, then tilted her head around. “I lost concentration and then...”

 “Ow.”
Miku and Kirika’s eyes widened as the small voice cried out. They both turned to look at the bed in the corner of the room, which had been filled with the mysterious girl named Satomi.
A girl who was now sitting up, holding the missing foot in one hand and rubbing her head with the other. Her eyes were closed tight, her face twisted as if in pain.
“Satomi?” Kirika cried out, scrambling to her feet and rushing over to her friend.
“You...” Satomi opened her eyes as she muttered the single word, and Kirika stopped in her tracks. The blonde-haired girl’s blood ran cold as she looked at the girl with shoulder-length brown hair. She tilted her head in confusion, and her eyes slowly changed as she recognized who she was looking at. “I know you, right?”
“Yeah...” Kirika muttered. “I’m Kirika. Kirika Akatsuki, remember?”
Miku noted that Kirika had dropped her trademark “Death” tic as she spoke to Satomi, but the reunion was anything but touching. Kirika’s body had stiffened, but the girl was blocking Miku’s view of Satomi from where she was sitting on the ground so she had no idea as to why.
Letting out a sigh, Miku used her one fully-formed foot to right herself, putting only a small amount of weight on her other foot–which was missing the tips of all of her toes–as she stood up, and stumbled forwards.

 “Hello.” Miku waved as she slowly made her way towards Kirika. “I’m Miku Kohinata. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
As she made it to where Kirika was standing, the golden-haired girl put her arm out in front of Miku. When the black-haired girl looked over to question her friend, she saw Kirika’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the girl sitting confused in the bed before her.
“Who are you, death?” Kirika hissed, scaring the girl.
“Hey, Kirika, you shouldn’t scare her.” Elfnein squeaked from behind the two girls.
Satomi’s ruby red eyes widened in fear, and the girl began to shiver. She grabbed at the thin robe that she was wearing–which was, outside of size, identical to that Miku was wearing–as if terrified of Kirika.
“It’s me, I’m...”
“You’re not Satomi Kubert.” Kirika hissed.
“Satomi?” The girl tilted her head in confusion, as if she were only hearing the name for the first time.
“Kirika.” Miku turned to her friend. “What’s going on.”
“That girl...” Kirika stepped forwards.
Satomi(?) began to shake faster. “I... what’s going on? Where am I? Why are you...?”
“Who are you!?” Kirika screamed.
“You’re scaring me...” The girl whimpered. “Please, stop this... *Kiri*.”

#### AXZ Chapter 11

 “This is boring.”
Prelati sat on a chest in the corner of the ruined building. Sunlight peered in through the holes in the ceiling, shining down like a spotlight on the grumpy woman sat cross-armed glaring at everyone else in the room.
“You’re just grumpy because you haven’t eaten in a while.” Came the chipper voice of Cagliostro, who gave a playful smile to her angry friend. Though she flaunted a goofy expression, she received only an annoyed glance in response. When Cagliostro saw this, she sighed and gave an exaggerated shrug. “But you’re right. I’m getting tired of doing nothing, too.”
The two figures who stood stock-still in the corner were too scared to relax their bodies, but their eyes flickered to each other. They, like the alchemists they followed, were also quite bored of having nothing to do. Yet, at the same time, the two of them were forced to do grunt work, so having nothing to do was also a blessing in disguise.
Even if their ‘time off’ had the two girls standing at attention, trembling beneath the gazes of those that transformed them into monsters, for days on end.
“Enough complaining. You’re fully aware that we can’t go about continuing our plans until we have all of the pieces.” The third alchemist, Saint-Germain, spoke up, her arms crossed. “You know as well as I that we’ve been asked to halt our investigation into reactivating the Yggdrasil System. Additionally, we currently do not know the location of the Antikythera Gear, and, unfortunately...”
“Their alchemist is doing a great job keeping us away from it. And, like usual, the boss doesn’t want to tell us everything he’s concocting.” Cagliostro sighed. The busty, blue-haired woman turned her gaze to the two girls standing in the shadows. “You two wouldn’t happen to know anything that we don’t, would you?”
The smaller girl–Elsa Bête, codenamed ‘Greifswald’–shook her head violently, her eyes wide in shock that she had been addressed. She was a petite girl with pink hair. Normally, one would not pay a girl of her appearance much mind, if not for the large pointed ears that stuck out of her head–she was a curious mixture of man and animal, though her bestial traits were few and far between.
Contrasting the fearful and silent Elsa was her taller companion. A taller woman, she stood out from the rest of the group due to her darker complexion and raven-black hair. D’Espie–real name Vanessa Diodati–was no stranger to the three alchemists before her–in fact, she had known Saint-Germain for longer than Elsa had been alive, as she once worked as one of the Illuminati’s top researchers. Unfortunately, an accident left her in critical condition, and she was transformed into a cyborg; very few remnants of her original body remained below her neck, though the form-fitting black jumpsuit she currently wore made her appear as a normal human.
Vanessa put her hands up. “Apologies, masters. We’ve only been assigned to be on stand-by, to assist you as you need; we aren’t let in on any confidential information.”
Prelati clicked her tongue. “Great help you are. Not like we have any reason to use you girls anyway. You were pretty useless against Carol.”
Elsa began to quiver at the mention of the alchemist they currently faced off against. It was true that they had been bested by her, but Prelati was exaggerating their uselessness in the battle. Granted, the black-haired alchemist had been the one to deal the most damage to Carol Malus Dienheim, but Vanessa, Elsa, and their third cohort–Millaarc, who was currently who-knows-where–had done their fair share of work.
That’s what Vanessa and Elsa told themselves anyway. In reality, Millaarc had deliberately tried to keep them out of combat, having them fight from a distance. Neither the short French werewolf nor the Indian-British cyborg were entirely confident that they had even landed a single blow on Carol, or her homunculus clone that she was protecting.
“Calm yourself, Prelati.” Saint-Germain grunted, ripping the two monsters’ attention back to the alchemists. “They have suffered enough for the sake of humanity; we should not ask them to do any more than necessary.”
“Are you saying Caro–” Prelati began to mutter, her bespectacled eyes narrowing in anger. Before she could finish her thought, however, Cagliostro stepped into Prelati’s line of sight.
“Now, now, you two. I know you’re agitated. Perhaps it would be best to play a game, to take our minds off of things.”
Saint-Germain raised an eyebrow. “A game? You do realize the gravity of our situation, right Cagliostro? That we are working to assure a future for humanity?”
Cagliostro waved her hands in response. “Of course, of course, but doing nothing all day isn’t going to solve anything. Until that vampire and the boss manage to find some way to deal with the alchemist’s interference, what have we got to lose by taking just a little break from the stress?”
Prelati grumbled something under her breath, so quiet that only the highly-sensitive ears of Elsa were capable of picking up the words she spoke: “So Cags gets to goof off but I’m not allowed to go out for food? Ridiculous.”
The blue-haired woman waved towards the two bystanders watching from afar. “You two should come join us, too. After all, we’re all working to save the world together,” She winked. “Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, ma’am!” Elsa barked, her entire body tense from being addressed. This seriousness seemed to please Cagliostro, who giggled in response.
“No need to be so formal, you know. Well, with me, anyway.” Cagliostro smiled. Her grin was charming, infectuous; Vanessa felt something in her mechanical chest that contradicted that which she had felt since being transformed into her new, robotic self: a sense of humanity. Vanessa couldn’t help but step forwards as Cagliostro happily completed her thought. “I’m nothing more than a girl just wanting to have fun.”
“Are you even allowed to say that?” Prelati asked, but Cagliostro just playfully shrugged in response.

 “Enough of this.” Saint-Germain cut the air with her arm. “What kind of ‘game’ were you thinking of playing?”
As Elsa and Vanessa walked up to join the triangle of alchemists, they watched from behind as Cagliostro seemed to reach through the air. Both women paused their approach, only staring at the hand that faded into–and through–space itself. It then returned, a moment later, with a silver staff firm in her grip.
“Solomon’s Cane?” Saint-Germain asked, recognizing the relic that the woman now held.
Elsa leaned in to her friend beside her. “I thought the Symphogear girls had that staff.”
“Ah, you’re right.” Cagliostro turned around to face the two girls. “They do have Solomon’s Cane–this is simply another version of it. Think of it as its twin brother, I guess.”
Vanessa gasped. “But there should only be one version of it in existence.”
“Correct!” Cagliostro winked. “You know your stuff, as I knew you would. But I assure you–this is just as genuine as the one that we gave back to our little friends. Any ideas as to how that is?”
“They don’t need to know.” Prelati interjected. “Though the fact that you kept this secret from me...”
“Boss wanted Saint-Germain to hold onto it, y’know. She just chose not to.” Cagliostro shrugged. “And I just never had a reason to bring it up.”
This snapped something within Prelati, and she pulled the large frog plush that she clutched to her chest up over her reddening face.
“The game, Cagliostro.” Saint-Germain repeated, shooting her friend a glare.
“Ah, right.” The woman in question spun the silver staff around in her hand. “Let’s play a little game of what I want to call Alchemical Chess.”
“Sixteen of their forces, versus Noise.” Prelati nodded, catching on immediately to her tall associate’s idea.
“Yup!” With her free hand, Cagliostro waved through the air, and the mirage of a chess board appeared before her. Sixteen pieces stared at sixteen other pieces, but all of them ignored the crowd gathered around. “We each take turns sending out our choice of Noise to attack a single member of their team.”
“This is foolish!” Saint-Germain responded. “We need the members unharmed for–”
“Which is why we’ll impose handicaps on both sides. We can’t summon any particularly powerful Noise, but we’ll win if we manage to incapacitate even a single member of their team.” Cagliostro looked over to Elsa and Vanessa. “Oh, but you two are free to go fight them yourselves, if you’re so inclined.”
“While I do appreciate the offer,” Vanessa smiled. “It would be best if we remain on the sidelines in case we are actually needed for some mission.”
Cagliostro nodded. “Suit yourselves.” Then, she turned to the board beside her.
Every member of the ‘white’ team–or slightly-lighter gold, as the entire projection took on a yellow colour–was made up of blank, faceless beings–stand-ins for the unknown Noise that would be sent out. In contrast, the ‘black’ team had discernible faces filling out their roster:
Seven of the eight Symphogear wielders: Kanade Amou, Miku Kohinata, Shirabe Tsukuyomi, Tsubasa Kazanari, Chris Yukine, Maria Cadenzavna Eve, and Serena Cadenzavna Eve. Kirika was missing, presumably because they did not know her current location.
The five members of the alchemical cult that formed a truce with SONG: Carol Malus Dienheim, Leiur Darāhim, Garie Tūmān, Micha Jawkān, and Phara Suyūf. Curiously, Elfnein was not among the pieces in play.
The remaining four faces puzzled all others within the room. Unlike the other pieces, they lacked the ability to use a Symphogear, nor did they have the ability to combat ‘real’ Noise through alchemical means; in essence, they were sitting ducks.
The burly Genjuro Kazanari, the mysterious Shinji Ogawa, and the most interesting addition to the game board: Yumi Itaba. As for the final piece...

 Saint-Germain studied these figures intently, the question of how they would ‘win’ against the Noise burning in her mind. But she knew Cagliostro–perhaps better than any other being on the Earth–so there was definitely a reason behind this decision. With a cold look, she turned her gaze up to her blue-haired friend.
“For them, we’ll need to summon some weak, alchemical Noise of our own. They should be able to deal with that, at least–they’re all capable fighters.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong,” This time it was Elsa who spoke, doing so steadily for the first time since she had been sent to accompany Saint-Germain and her associates. She was standing beside the greenish-white-haired alchemist, who barely even acknowledged her presence even as the werewolf spoke. Nonetheless, the pink-haired girl turned her curious, analytical gaze to Cagliostro. “The girl with the twintails–she has never engaged in battle before, correct?”
“But that doesn’t mean she’s not capable.” Cagliostro tapped the end of Solomon’s Cane on the ground. “You can trust me on this; I know I fighter when I see one.”
Prelati nodded. “Even I can admit that you are surprisingly good at reading people.” Only now did the girl finally lower her frog-shaped toy, revealing a dark, cruel grin prodding at her cheeks. Elsa flinched back at the sight, hopping back a few steps further as Prelati let out a hiss. “So, then, who should go first?”

. . .

 Sennengo no kyō (moshi deai) umarete mo
Tamashī no furyūgeru wa futari wo matsu
Gyakkō no (memorī ni) waraeru yō ni
Tsubasa ga egaita atashi de iru tame ni
Kimi to iu oto kanade tsukiru made

 “That was so good!”
Yumi had stars in her eyes as she stared at the stage. People were scurrying about it, but Kanade stood, alone, in the centre. She had just finished singing a song–something she had been asked to do to test the sound system for the stage.
What many of the people who passed by the stage did not know is that the song that Kanade had sung was one that was born from her heart and often called upon by the Symphogear she used in battle. Yumi was the only one currently around who was aware of that fact–
“Stop dilly-dallying.” Ogawa called, interrupting Yumi’s thoughts. He bopped his brown-haired assistant on the head with a rolled up magazine, and she let out a comical cry of pain as the paper gave a hollow ‘thunk’ against her head.
Yumi had been carrying a large box filled with small lights and a variety of different chords, which she almost lost grip on as she flinched from Ogawa’s attack. She readjusted her grip on the cardboard box to make sure she did not drop the important materials she should have been delivering.
The girl looked up at her boss with a comically-angry scowl. “Says the guy who’s been off doing whatever for hours.”
Ogawa smiled wryly. “Fair point.”
“Where have you been, anyway? You’re supposed to be their producer, and I have no idea what to do here!” Yumi asked her boss as she began to walk the box towards the stage. Kanade was now standing off to the side of it, talking to the man in question that Yumi was looking for–the man in charge of the lighting system.
The ninja let out a sigh. “Sorry about that. I had a meeting with Yatsuhiro, then two meetings about future products.” Ogawa adjusted the black-rimmed glasses he wore while in what Yumi and Tsubasa referred to as ‘Producer Mode’ in order to wipe his eyes. “Then there was an issue with some of the merchandise...”
“I get it, I get it!” Yumi cried out, cutting him off. “I got the better end of the deal, here.”

 Reaching the edge of the stage, Yumi plopped the large box onto the platform. “Got your equipment here, boss!” She called to the man, who gave her a thumbs up while still talking to Kanade.
“Where are Tsubasa and Maria?” Ogawa asked Yumi, his gaze wildly scanning the arena.
Yumi let out a deep groan in response. “Don’t get me started about Tsubasa.” She put her hand to her forehead as Ogawa gave her a questioning look. “How can someone be so bad at directions that they get lost walking down one hallway.”
Ogawa chuckled. “Yep, that’s Tsubasa for you!”
“She should be around somewhere... assuming she didn’t somehow wander out of the stadium.” Yumi shook her head and put her hands on her hips. “As for Maria, she was hanging out at the catering table for a while.”
“Ah, putting together meals for Shirabe and Kirika, I imagine?”
“Probably.” Yumi shrugged. “People were staying away from her. She was giggling and grumbling a lot so people thought she was working off some steam.”
Yumi began to walk away from Ogawa. “Not to be a jerk, but I should really be getting to school, now. I’ve got a test last period.”
Ogawa nodded. “I’ll give you a–”
“Still trying to avoid us, are you?”
Kanade leaned off the edge of the stage, peering at Ogawa with a playful smile on her face as she teased him. How long she had been listening in on the conversation, Ogawa wasn’t sure; Yumi, however, had watched the orange-haired girl finish up her conversation and walk towards them in silence.
“You know I’m just busy, is all.” Ogawa replied to the girl after quickly recovering from his surprise.
“Yeah, and we all appreciate all you do for us.” Kanade waved to Yumi. “That goes for you, too, New Producer.”
“New Producer?” Ogawa raised his eyebrow.
“You’d be surprised how much Yumi does while you’re busy in meetings.” Kanade closed her one visible eye, which Ogawa assumed was supposed to be a wink.
Yumi put her hand up as she turned away. “By the way, tell Tsubasa I got her a gig on a quiz show that’s filming on Monday. I sent you an email with the details.” Leaving that bit of information–which earned a giggle from Kanade and a shocked look from Ogawa–Yumi walked away from the group and towards the exit of the large stadium that the music group The Queens of Music–Kanade, Maria, and Tsubasa–were to be performing tomorrow.

 The brown-haired girl skipped out of the venue, waving to one of the people managing the set-up. “Heading out?” He asked her, his eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses that seemed inappropriate in the darkened concourse area.
“Ogawa’s back. I’ve got to head to school!”
The man nodded. “Thanks for your work, Itaba.”
Yumi smiled. “No problem. Later!”
The girl happily left the area, but paused as the sun began to beat down on her when she entered out of the chaos of the ‘idol world’ and returned to the ‘real world’. Yumi took in a deep breath as she watched some of the people bustling about from where she stood. There were some members of the staff running about with supplies, and others just walking by with curiosity in their eyes.
But compared to the bustling of the people inside, even the normal mess of the city seemed extremely calm to Yumi. She smiled... and then realized that she had no time to waste. “I need to get to school.”
Yumi quickly entered a run, but only made it a few steps before a scream rang out from somewhere to her right. Her face turning white, Yumi found herself unconsciously running towards the source of the scream as curiosity and worry took over.

 “Noise!” A man cried out as he dashed past Yumi. Somewhere, a woman screamed as she fled from the technicolour creatures that Yumi found herself running towards, for some unknown reason.
Two lanky beings, glowing the colour orange, marched towards Yumi, their hands out-stretched in front of them like zombies. But Yumi recognized something from her experience with SONG that the civilians around her would not know: these were not Noise. Instead of peach, paddle-like hands on the ends of their thin arms, these orange beings instead had pure white spheres; they were Alca-Noise, the alchemical Noise copycats.
Everyone else had run away, so the two Alca-Noise had the girl in their sights and were slowly lumbering towards her. Thinking fast, Yumi searched her surroundings; her eyes quickly passed over trash littered about and a variety of posters that people had been placing up around the venue to promote the concert tomorrow. On the ground next to a trash can was a large, extendable window cleaner, which–judging from the dark stain on the concrete around its brush–was likely being used to wash the large windows of the stadium.
“I should try to buy time, at least.” Yumi muttered, rolling along the ground towards the long brush and, in a swift motion, leaping up to her feet as she grasped the tool. Yumi then held the brush out in front of her, mimicking the stance she had seen Kanade take so many times while she wielded Gungnir.

 Seeing that Yumi now carried a weapon, the two Alca-Noise quickened their pace. The lanky fellows waddled with quick steps towards Yumi their arms out-stretched as if trying to grab her despite lacking any digits to do so.
The girl dodged to the right, passing beside one of the Alca-Noise. As she did so, Yumi slammed the end of the brush against the monster, knocking it away from her. The Alca-Noise tumbled away and onto the ground, flopping about like a fish out of water as it tried to get up.
Taking advantage of that one being out of the picture, Yumi quickly stabbed with the brush, piercing through the other Noise’s side. The brush was embedded within the monster, and Yumi’s eyes widened as she realized that she could not pull it back out.
Yumi took in a deep breath as her brain made a decision on its own; she began to push the brush further into the Alca-Noise’s body. As the brush passed through to the other side of the monster, the alchemical beast seemed to pop as if a balloon, sparkles raining down upon Yumi as she tumbled forwards, now off-balance.
The other Alca-Noise, having finally climbed back to its feet, took this as an opportunity and stumbled towards Yumi from behind. The girl’s breathing was frantic as she reacted on instinct, swinging the brush behind her as she struggled to regain balance; this motion did not help, and she instead ended up spinning around wildly. The brush batted against the Alca-Noise, sending it flying once again, and this time it collided with a tall metallic lamppost that was nearby, which it then used to bounce back towards Yumi.
Yumi steadied herself and pulled back the brush. As the Alca-Noise ran towards her, Yumi’s brain replaced the image of the glowing orange creature with that of a spinning baseball; she swung at the ball with her impromptu baseball bat, putting the full force behind the attack in hopes of hitting a home-run.
The Alca-Noise was launched once more, and this time it began to explode into sparkling lights instead of landing back on the ground. Yumi watched with wide eyes, unaware of how quickly her heart had been beating until she realized that she was on her knees.

 “Excellent work.”
To Yumi, it had been hours since she had fallen onto the ground; in reality, it had only been about five seconds. The girl looked up towards the sound of the voice as she still tried to catch her breath and steady her heart.
Leiur looked down at the girl from the lamppost that the Noise had bounced against with a smile on her face. Recognizing that the girl had a look of suspicion on her face, the Autoscorer leapt down to join Yumi Itaba.
“I did not summon those Noise.” Leiur confirmed. “I merely came to investigate when I sensed their energy signatures.”
“So...” Yumi tried to speak, but could not catch her breath enough to do so.
But Leiur seemed to know where the girl’s mind was at, and nodded. “It seems as though the Illuminati has decided to act once again.” Then, the robotic woman cupped her chin. “That said, their Noise seemed somewhat weak, as if they were a test specifically for you.”
“Me...?” Yumi tilted her head, the shook it.
“Don’t worry. I was planning on stepping in, but you ended the battle before I could.” The Autoscorer smiled. “You girls have all made quite the impact on my master, after all. Only since Shirabe Tsukuyomi reached out to her has my master begun to smile again. I don’t want any of you to perish.”
“Thanks... I think...” Yumi put her hand to her chest as she slowly tried to draw in as much air as she could.

 “Yumi!”
The girl in question turned to look at the crowd of four that was approaching, just as the Autoscorer beside her did. The one who called out to her was Ogawa, who was flanked by Tsubasa, Maria, and Kanade.
“We heard there was Noise...” Tsubasa remarked.
“Alca-Noise.” Yumi corrected, readjusting her position on the ground to face the newcomers.
“And fairly weak ones at that.” Leiur added.
“Can we assume that you took care of them, then?” Kanade asked the Autoscorer, and was surprised when she shook her head.
“No. I got here just as the battle was ending. The real victor here was...” Leiur gestured to Yumi on the ground, who flashed a weak smile in-between her gasps for air.
“That explains the...” Maria looked down at the brush that Yumi had clutched between ghastly white fingers. “...Brush?”
“It was... the only thing around.” Yumi sighed. “So... I mimicked Kanade...”
“That was incredibly dangerous, Yumi.” Ogawa chastised the girl, a glare in his eyes. “You could have died!”
“But I didn’t. And no one else did, either.” Yumi responded coldly.
“Still, it was incredibly...” Ogawa stopped talking as Kanade and Maria both put their arms out in front of the ninja, crossing them into an X.
“You don’t like sitting on the sidelines.” Maria turned to Yumi with a kind smile on her face. “And you desperately want to do whatever you can to help, right?”
“I get it. Having to rely on LiNKER to fight... I think we can both relate to your desire to be as useful as possible, as dangerous as it could be.” Kanade nodded, shooting a glance over to Maria.
“But–” Ogawa tried to say something.
Tsubasa crossed her arms. “The Noise has been defeated, and there were no casualties.” The blue-haired girl spun around, turning away from Yumi to face Ogawa. “We’re not needed here.”
“Let’s go.” Kanade grabbed the ninja’s arm.
Ogawa finally admitted defeat at that moment, and he let out a deep sigh. Meeting Yumi’s eyes, he gave her a smile. “Good work, Yumi. Now, have a good day at school.”
Maria and Kanade dragged Ogawa away from Yumi, and Tsubasa marched behind them with her arms still crossed. Yumi watched them go, and she felt her stomach twist. She turned to look up at Leiur as her gut let out a noise. “Sorry to ask, but can you take me to Lydian? It’d be nice to be able to grab some lunch before class.”
Leiur smiled. “Very well. I need to report this incident to my master, anyway.”

. . .

 One of the faceless pieces representing the Bavarian Illuminati’s Noise disappeared from the mystical image of a chess board, and Yumi Itaba’s piece did a cheerful little dance as it rocked back and forth victoriously.
Watching this scene, Cagliostro poked her lips, which were curled up into a cheerful smile, as she recited the results of the battle–which everyone already knew, having watched the battle first-hand through a tear in reality. “Symphogears one, Illuminati zero.” Then she turned to the red-faced Prelati, who was pressing her large frog plush violently against her chest. “A good start.”
“I can see now why you chose to include that girl in this game.” Saint-Germain nodded. “She could very well have the potential to be a strong ally, should she have alchemical training or a Symphogear of her own.”
Elsa looked over to Vanessa. “Didn’t she go easy on the girl?”
“I did not!” Prelati screamed in response, her face red. The bespectacled girl then shook her head, and, as her rosy complexion faded, she sighed into the back of her frog plush. “Though I suppose I could have summoned a third Noise to combat her.”
Cagliostro shrugged. “You win some, you lose some.” Then, turning to Vanessa, she held out Solomon’s Cane. “Alright, d’Espie, you’re up next. I want to see what kind of chaos you’re capable of bringing.”
Vanessa took the cane from Cagliostro with shaking hands, and gave the alchemist a nod. “Very well. If it’s an order, then I must follow it.”
“Oh, it’s not an order.” Cagliostro pouted. “Right now, we’re just having a bit of fun, y’know?”
“I wouldn’t refuse Cagliostro, though.” Prelati grumbled, earning a glare from the blue-haired woman.
Saint-Germain shook her head as she let out a sigh. “I suppose the best way to think about this ‘game’ is as a sort of training for our enemies–and for the two of you.” Looking at Vanessa, and Elsa beside her, Saint-Germain’s brilliant blue eyes seemed chilling as she looked at the robot and werewolf. “So, show me the potential that modern humans possess. Show me the minds that I have been working so many years to protect.”
“Very well.” Vanessa smiled. “I have an idea in place, already.”
“I’d expect as much from our former head of research.” Cagliostro grinned. “So, d’Espie... no. Doctor Diodati, who will you be targeting?”

#### AXZ Chapter 12

 “Man, this school thing sucks.”
Garie moaned as she followed behind Carol and Micha. The girl in front carried a tray of food as she walked through the cafeteria towards a table in the corner. Garie and Micha did not need to eat, being robots, but Micha still looked at the food Carol had with starry eyes.
“I agree.” Carol nodded. “The history they teach here is heavily abridged or entirely incorrect.”
“You should teach classes, master!” Micha cheered, but kept her gaze glued to the tray in Carol’s hands.
“Absolutely not. Having to interact with most of these fools as a student is enough for me. I don’t want to be responsible for them.”
The trio finally arrived at their destination: a table out of the way, where the Lydian students she worked with also sat. Chris Yukine scarfed down a plate of burning red mapo tofu in the far corner; Shirabe and Serena sat across from her, both looking on in amazement at how fast she was eating what the student body widely considered to be a food impossible to eat; and Kuriyo and Shiori both stared down at their food, with different levels of disgust registered upon their faces. Plates of mapo tofu sat in front of all of the girls, but only Chris seemed to have put a dent in her meal; Carol, similarly, held a plate of the flaming red meal.
“Who decided this was a good idea, anyway?” Kuriyo asked the table, still staring at her plate.
“Apparently there was a miscommunication and the staff ended up with a large shipment of douban.” Shiori sighed.
Serena poked her food with a fork. While Kuriyo and Shiori had only made a slight dent in their plates, Serena did not seem to have touched her plate at all. “This food looks worse than what they gave us at FIS.”
Chris paused for a moment, her face stuffed full of food. “This is gourmet compared to what I’ve had to eat.” She smiled, her face painted with red sauce and various meaty bits.
Shirabe pulled a spoonful of mapo tofu out of her mouth. “It’s hot.” She frowned, sucking in her lips.
“Seems as though you two made the right decision.” Carol told Garie as she and the two Autoscorers took the remaining seats at their large table.
“I can’t believe you’re going to try it.” Shiori remarked as a welcome to the newcomer.
“It’s not often that I indulge in food, now.” Carol held up a spoon with a shrug. “But I actually was quite a foodie at one point.”
“Really?” Kuriyo gasped.
“Or, rather, an associate of mine was, so I was forced to meet her at all manner of restaurants.” Carol sighed, scooping up a bit of mapo tofu. “This is far from the worst thing I’ve seen.”
Shirabe stuck out her tongue in disgust as she swallowed more of her meal. “Yuck.” She muttered, then turned to Carol. “An associate?”
As she met Shirabe’s gaze, Carol remembered what Chris and Miku had brought up earlier. A blush creeping across her cheeks, Carol quickly shoved some mapo tofu into her mouth.
“Master’s mysterious associate.” Garie explained in Carol’s stead. “Even we don’t know who she works with on occasion.”
Her mouth full of food, Carol tried to mutter a name but all that the other girls heard was a strange noise. Realizing how stupid that was, Carol’s blush only deepened in colour–something that caught the attention of Garie–and she hastily swallowed the spoonful of food.
“Prelati.” Carol repeated. “One of the Bavarian Illuminati alchemists. She and I... have a bit of history.”
“Ooh, the truth comes out!” Garie leaned over, her shark-toothed grin only widening.
Opposite that, Shiori and Kuriyo wore shocked expressions. “You worked with the Illuminati?”
“No. My father’s studies make up the foundation for modern alchemy, and–somehow–that girl managed to track me down. How she knew I was alive and where to find me, I...” Carol slapped her forehead as she realized something.
“Are you okay?” Shirabe asked Carol, lowering a full spoon back towards the plate in front of her.
“I just realized how stupid I have been for several hundred years, is all.” Carol grumbled, angrily shoving more food into her mouth.
“Master is stupid.” Micha giggled. This earned surprised looks from Shiori and Kuriyo, while Carol and Garie only glared at her in silence.
Once she fully consumed what she put into her mouth, Carol explained further. “In retrospect, it should have struck me as odd that she knew about me; none of my father’s materials mentioned me. I should have suspected then that he was alive.”

 “Ah, there you are, Chris!”
The entire table–with the exception of the girl addressed–turned to the source of the voice: Otome Kaburagi, one of Chris’s classmates. The bespectacled girl was flanked by her two friends, Yuki Godai and Komichi Ayano, and they all took seats at the table directly behind where Serena and Shirabe were sitting across from Chris.
“Guess we shouldn’t talk about that any more.” Kuriyo whispered, earning nods from Carol and Shiori.
“Man, this mapo tofu celebration is a huge bummer.” Yuki whined, holding up a spoon. “You guys agree, right? This stuff is gross.”
Chris, her mouth full of food, was the first to respond. “I think it’s fine.”
“I’ve had worse.” Carol agreed.
“That makes me curious.” Shiori replied to the alchemist. “Considering this tastes like spicy dirt...”
“It was a long time ago, but there was one meal that I’ll never forget.” Carol shuddered. Even Garie and Micha looked at each other with confused looks at that comment.
“Not sure what that means.” Otome frowned. She stuck out her tongue in disgust, showing off that it had already been painted red by her meal despite only taking a single bite.
“Dean’s a weird one.” Yuki nodded. Carol’s eye twitched at the mention of the name ‘Dean’, but she–nor anyone else–mentioned anything about it; though Garie cracked a crooked smile.
“It’s not nice to call someone weird.” Komichi pointed out with a glare. “Especially a foreigner.”
“What about her friends, though? Isn’t it weird how pale they are?” Otome wondered aloud, clearly referring to Garie and Micha. “They’re a weird bunch of transfer students.”
Yuki nodded. “First Chris, then the trio of foreigners. Not to mention our old school building exploded. It’s been a weird school year... two school years.”
“Do you guys even listen to me?” Komichi sighed.
Meanwhile, Carol’s eyes had narrowed.
“Do you girls have no sense of awareness?” She hissed under her breath, but none of the three girls behind her seemed to hear her comment. Across from her, however, Shiori and Kuriyo both turned pale as they imagined whatever might happen should they continue speaking ill of the girl who could easily kill everyone in the room in seconds should she wish to.
Instead, Carol simply stood up. “I... am done eating.” She announced, leaving her plate still slathered in red-hot food on the table as she began to walk away.
Almost immediately upon the alchemist’s departure, Micha grabbed Carol’s plate and began to dig in to the mapo tofu she left behind, a happy smile on her face.
“This is delicious!” The Autoscorer smiled.
“Can you even taste stuff?” Kuriyo raised her eyebrow as she whispered her question to the red-haired robot.
Micha was too engrossed in eating to answer, but Garie beside her merely shook her head.

 Serena turned to Shirabe. The girl with the pink, false glasses and black hair stared at the mapo tofu on her plate, with only a handful of spoonfuls missing. Despite only the limited amount of food missing, Shirabe looked pale, sick to her stomach.
“Are you alright?” Serena asked, worry plastered across her face.
“I think I’m going to be sick.” Shirabe muttered, clutching her stomach.
The brown-haired girl put her hand on Shirabe’s shoulder. Looking at her own plate, she was glad to have only taken a single bite before giving up on having lunch.
“Should I bring you to the nurse’s office?” Serena asked.
“I...”
“Haaa~ That hit the spot.” Chris sighed, looking pleased with herself and the meal she had eaten. She patted her stomach twice before looking at Shirabe and Serena. For a moment, Chris’s eyes went wide before a look of concern crossed her face. “You really don’t look that good.”
“Yeah, I think... I need to lay down...” Shirabe put a hand up to her mouth. “I... ugh...”
Serena looked to Chris. “You know where the nurse’s office is, yeah?” The white-haired girl asked. When Serena offered a nod in response, Chris smiled. “Alright, I trust you with our little friend. Make sure she gets help so that Kirika and our little witch friend don’t kill us, alright.”
The brown-haired girl smiled. “Don’t worry, you can leave Shirabe to me.”
“Oh, and,” Chris raised her hand, “Mind if I finish your food?”
“Go ahead.” Both Shirabe and Serena replied.
“Aw yeah.” Chris grinned, pulling their full plates over the table.
“How can you eat so much?” Garie asked upon seeing this, but Chris just offered a shrug in response.
As Serena helped Shirabe to her feet, Shiori offered a pitiful look. “I hope you feel better soon.”
Shirabe smiled and offered a light wave in response. Leaning against Serena, Shirabe began to hobble away weakly.

 Almost as if on cue, the second Shirabe and Serena exited the cafeteria, the phones of the girls present all began to beep in sync.
“That’s probably not good.” Kuriyo muttered.
“What’s up?” Yuki asked from the other table. Komichi and Otome both wore similarly-confused looks as she did as they wondered what the deal with their alarms was.
“Work’s calling.” Chris frowned, pulling out her phone.
“Work?” Otome further questioned.
Garie cracked a wicked smile. “I’d advise you not ask any more questions, ladies.”
Komichi nodded in understanding, but that only made Yuki and Otome more curious. The emerald-eyed Komichi stood up and put her hands on the collars of her two friends. “Let’s go somewhere else, then.”
“But–!” Yuki tried to object, but she stopped herself when she saw the steely look that Garie was giving her. “Yeah... We’ll talk later, okay Chris?”
Chris gave a thumbs up while stuffing another spoonful of food in her mouth with her other hand.
As Komichi, Otome, and Yuki scuttled away–all leaving their mostly-full plates of food behind–Kuriyo pulled out her cell phone.

 “Good, you’re still safe.”
What greeted Kuriyo when she answered the call was the voice of Ogawa on the other end. Though he tried his best to sound calm, he spoke somewhat quickly; the girls could tell he was tense.
“Sorry about taking so long.” Shiori sighed over Kuriyo’s shoulder as the latter held the phone out in front of her so that the rest of the table–Chris, Garie, and Micha–could hear.
“No, it’s fine.” On the other end of the phone, Ogawa let out a sigh of relief; this was barely audible through the phone, though the others assumed it was just a hiccup in his connection. “You should all know that Yumi was attacked by a group of Alca-Noise earlier.”
“Yumi!?” Shiori shrieked, far longer than she should have. Even Garie and Micha gave her a stern look in response as the girl realized that, now, the entire cafeteria was looking in their direction.
“Yes. Fortunately, she is fine. In fact, she handled the incident all on her own.”
“On her own?” Garie asked. “So the alchemist that summoned those Noise must be pretty pathetic.”
“Wait, but Noise should disintegrate people on contact, right? And Alca-Noise should have the same properties right?” Kuriyo asked. She looked to Garie with a quizzical look, who nodded to confirm her suspicions. “How did–”
“A brush.” Ogawa sighed.
“What?” Garie and Shiori both asked together.
“A brush. One of those window-cleaning brushes. She used it as a weapon to fight against the Alca-Noise.” Ogawa replied. “I’m conflicted because, on one hand, it was incredibly clever–and lucky–of her. But, on the other, it was also incredibly dangerous; especially since Tsubasa, Maria, and Kanade were all on standby inside.”
“Are you done yet, ninja guy?” Micha cut Ogawa’s explanation off with a bored sigh. “The girl’s okay, so there’s no reason for you to talk any more~”
“The reason I’m calling...” Ogawa replied curtly, only for Kuriyo to take over for him in a much calmer voice.
“...Is to warn us, right?”
Shiori nodded. “If Yumi was targeted, then we could be next.”
“Ohhhhh right.” Micha nodded, wearing a confident expression. “You girls are useless.”
Both Shiori and Kuriyo shot annoyed glares towards the Autoscorer. Beside Micha, Garie just giggled mockingly, her shark-like teeth sparkling in the cafeteria’s lights.
Through the phone, the girls heard Ogawa clear his throat. “In any case, I want you girls to be careful. Try not to be alone.”
“Got it.” Kuriyo nodded.
“I know you girls were quite adamant about trying to keep some normalcy in your lives, but if you want to be put in protective care just in case...” Ogawa trailed off.
“No.” Shiori and Kuriyo both replied in unison, their eyes filled with determination. It was Shiori who continued to speak afterwards, to explain their reasoning. “Our friends put their lives on the line all the time to fight. Even if we have to put ourselves in danger, we want to be able to do our part in helping in whatever way we can–and that includes helping ground Chris and Shirabe and everyone in the real world.”
Beside the girls, Chris began to cough. She had been shovelling food in her mouth extremely quickly, and all four of the others at the table were shocked to see three plates sitting around the white-haired girl now, all empty of food as most of it now painted her pale cheeks.
Chris choked on the last bit of food, ignoring the worried looks that Shiori and Kuriyo were giving her, as she pounded her chest. After a few moments, she squeaked out a weak “I’m okay.”

 In truth, Chris was surprised by Shiori’s words. It had been her and Kuriyo who suggested they try to focus on schooling while the Illuminati were being quiet–it wasn’t as if they had much else to do. But Chris didn’t know why they had been so forceful about it.
Now, knowing that they had been trying to help the girls and keep them from losing touch with the reality they were fighting to protect... it warmed Chris’s heart. She already thought pretty highly of Shiori and Kuriyo–and Yumi, too–since they had decided to get involved with this chaos and put themselves in the line of fire solely so that Hibiki, and later Miku, wouldn’t be alone, but Chris’s impression of them improved even further now.
Chris ran her finger across her face, smudging some of the red-hot sauce that had painted her cheeks as she ate. She then stuck her finger into her mouth to clean off what she had collected–
“By the way, I just heard about Miku.” Ogawa said. “I didn’t have a chance to tell Yumi yet, so can you please tell her the news?”
“Miku? News?” Shiori tilted her head as she questioned the man on the other end of the phone.
“Did Chris not tell you?”
“Chris? No she didn’t tell us...”
–and then Chris bit down hard on her finger in surprise.
“Yikes!” She yelped. Pulling her finger out of her mouth and waving it around slowly, Chris tried her best to ignore the confused looks the other four were now giving her.
“Miku’s awake.” Ogawa told the girls. “Healthy, too, apparently. She’s with Kirika right now.”
“She’s fine!?” Kuriyo gasped.
Shiori clasped her hands over her mouth. “I’m so glad. Miku’s okay...”
“Seems like something your friend should have mentioned earlier...” Garie sneered, her mechanical lips curling into a cruel smirk.
Chris ignored the blue Autoscorer.
“Yeah, it’s weird that Taishi Ci didn’t tell you that her girlfriend woke up.” Micha added.
That comment, on the other hand, was one that Chris couldn’t ignore. Her food-covered face flushed rose in embarrassment as she recalled what Miku had done to her earlier, and the conflicting emotions she felt about trying to steal Miku’s attention away from her beloved Hibiki.
“G...girlfriend...?” Chris found herself muttering absentmindedly. As her thoughts began to bounce around her brain.

 “I’ll let you go... oh, but first: I need to know if any of you have seen Genjuro recently. Tsubasa told me that he had holed himself up in his room over the past few days?”
Shiori put her hand to her cheek. “Now that you mention it, not really. I wonder if maybe he’s feeling okay?”
“Yatsuhiro has assured me that he’s fine, but I can’t help but worry.”
“Nah don’t worry about it.” Chris found herself answering the man’s question without thinking. “He and I had a chat last night.”
“A chat, huh?” Micha giggled. “That’s a nice way to say–”
Chris shot the girl a glare. “If you finish that sentence, I will tear you in two without my Symphogear.”
“Noted.” Garie and Micha both responded. They knew that Chris would be no match for them without Ichaival, but the darkness and hatred in the look that she flashed the Autoscorers struck their mechanical hearts so fiercely that they knew in that moment that her threat was serious.
“What were you talking about?” Kuriyo asked.
The white-haired girl’s blush only deepened in shade; she put her hands over her face. In response, Micha turned to Garie with a curious look. “Hey Garie,” she whispered, “Do you think...”
“It’s not that!” Chris screamed in response. “It’s just–I... uhh... er... oh... I mean... I’ll tell you guys later.”
Shiori and Kuriyo looked to each other with glistening eyes, and both them and the two Autoscorers knew not to push the issue any further. Ogawa seemed to understand this as well.
“So Genjuro’s fine then? That’s reassuring.” A slight muffling found could be heard, almost as if someone was talking to Ogawa from elsewhere so he placed his hand over the speaker. After a moment, he spoke again. “I have to go. Thanks, and... stay safe, girls.”
“Thanks, you too.” Shiori nodded.

 As Shiori and Kuriyo ended their phone call with Ogawa, the Autoscorers turned to each other. The blue Autoscorer’s eyes narrowed as she recalled what Micha had said earlier.
“Taishi Chi?” Garie raised an eyebrow, ignoring the internal strife that Chris was now suffering from and the girls across from her. The blue Autoscorer turned to her red counterpart with a suspicious look. “Since when do you know anything about history?”
“I might not like this school thing,” Micha grinned. “But I’m pretty good at some of it!”
Garie shook her head. “So you really do have some of Master in that head of yours, after all...” The girl’s artificial lips then turned into a cheshire grin. “I guess our master’s still a goofy little girl at heart.”
“Goofy?” Micha pouted at first, but her expression quickly loosened. “Master’s kind and strong and... sometimes a bit scary and intense... but I love master!”
Micha looked around. “Wait. Where do you think master went?”
“Who knows?” Garie shrugged. “She’s always disappearing without notice. Sometimes even Phara and Leiur don’t know where she goes.”
Kuriyo poked herself into this conversation as Shiori still tried to compose herself over the news that Miku was alive and well. Her eyes were glossy with relief, but the girl wore a very calm expression otherwise. “Carol sometimes even disappears off your radar?”
Garie waved her hand. “Sometimes she heads back to her house to think or study or... whatever. But when we don’t know where she is, we just assume that she’s purposefully hiding from us.”
The brown-haired girl rested her cheek upon the palm of her hand. “Hiding from you, huh...?”
Micha’s expression turned angry as Kuriyo repeated what Garie had said, and she angrily growled at the girl. “You’re not thinking bad things about master, are you? After all we’ve done to help you?”
“No.” Kuriyo shook her head slowly. “I’m just wondering what it must be like for her...”
“Huh?” Garie raised an eyebrow.
“She’s been alive for so long, and so lonely for most of it...” Kuriyo closed her eyes. “I wonder if she’s okay... I wish I knew what to do to help her.”

. . .

 What Garie, Micha, Shiori, Kuriyo, and Chris were unaware of was the fact that Carol had been listening to them the whole time. She sat, sighing as she stared into the golden crack that she had torn into the air with alchemy.
“So you even care about me, too?” Carol asked the air around her, then shook her head. “Perhaps... I may have been treating these girls too coldly.”
There were several of these portals open before Carol as she searched for the Bavarian Illuminati’s alchemists. These windows showed her different parts of the city and any areas–and people–that they may be targeting. The Queens of Music idols all listening intently to Ogawa telling them something about their upcoming show; Lydian Academy’s cafeteria, where Garie and the rest were still talking; Leiur standing in an alleyway next to Yumi, presumably having teleported there as to not scare any passers-by.
Unfortunately, Kirika was not present in any of the windows before her. It wasn’t that Carol couldn’t keep an eye on Kirika, nor did she not want to–she was simply being overly cautious; if her father was working with the Illuminati, she needed to take as many precautions as possible.

 Carol had a habit of secluding herself away to think, but she found herself still caring enough to watch over her SONG allies. The small alchemist told herself that she only did so for her own gain, but perhaps it was time to reconsider this approach–that was what she thought as she mused over what Kuriyo had said.
“Wait, what’s that?” The girl noticed something in one of the many windows out of the corner of her eye, and turned to look at it with curiosity. When she realized who she was looking at, Carol’s eyes narrowed. “I thought she was...”
Surrounded by the magical golden border of alchemy was the image of Serena and Shirabe, standing in the courtyard of Lydian. Contrary to how ill she looked to be before, Shirabe was now standing and talking to Serena without a hint of the sickness she had been experiencing earlier. In its stead, however, Shirabe and the brown-haired Serena wore serious expressions. The two of them nodded as their conversation came to a close.
Though Carol currently did not have any sound coming from that particular window through reality, she knew the next words that both girls were about to say.
“Something’s happening.” Carol realized, and left her secret hideaway in a flash of light.

 A second later, Carol found herself bathed in sunlight as she appeared in front of Shirabe and Serena. Both Symphogear wielders leapt back in surprise, though Carol did not react to their shock. Instead, the small alchemist only kept her eyes levelled on what was now waddling towards the three girls: a group of eight large Noise, and not of the alchemical variety if the orange paddle-like hands were any indication.
Carol could tell that these technicolour monsters were weak–were they merely a diversion for something else.
“Stay back!” Carol shouted to the other two girls as she waved her hand out.
Based on what had happened during the Batara Kala incident, the small alchemist knew that she was not able to combat real Noise directly; only the Symphogears could. Instead of uselessly attacking her enemy, she instead summoned eight alchemical Noise replicas of her own to do so.
“Carol?” Shirabe asked from behind the blonde-haired alchemist.
“It’s a–” Carol began to speak...
...and then, in the next moment, she found herself all alone.
“–Trap.”

 Blue walls marked with alchemical runes surrounded Carol now as she found herself in what looked to be a maze. The girl scoffed as she looked around, but then held up one hand. Flames were already beginning to explode out of her skin as Carol planned to destroy her new prison.
“A trap like this is nothing for a powerful alchemist such as...” Then the girl’s hand extinguished. “No. The other two may have been caught up in this trap as well. It wouldn’t be wise for me to act irrationally. For now, I should ensure their safety.”
A clicking noise came from somewhere off in the distance, reverberating through the thin corridors that offered no escape.
“I wouldn’t suppose that sound to be either of you, correct?” Carol called out. When she received no answer, the alchemist shook her head and scowled. “Of course this place is filled with Noise.”

. . .

 “An interesting trap.” Saint-Germain nodded as she looked at what was unfolding in the courtyard of Lydian. Where a grassy lawn once sat, a sparkling blue pyramid now protruded out from the ground–and gathering the attention of some students, who now milled about.
“Who would have thought that doctor would have an ace like this up her sleeve.” Cagliostro’s eyes sparkled.
Prelati, on the other hand, scoffed. “A bit too flashy, if you ask me.”

 Elsa looked through the tear in reality at the trap that Vanessa had set. The werewolf’s robotic friend was, in this moment, hidden near that blue pyramid–she needed to be close by, after all–and this worried the young girl. The Illuminati did not like it when any of their test subjects exposed themselves to the public; the last time Elsa had slipped up, both she and Vanessa had been harshly punished for that mistake. The young girl was afraid that the top of the organization would reprimand Vanessa for this act.

 “Hey, dog.”
Elsa’s eyes looked up towards Prelati, a look of boredom upon the black-haired alchemist’s face.
“Yes, de... uh, yes?” Elsa stumbled over her words. Normally she needed to be formal when speaking to the Illuminati members, though these three alchemists did not mind her more-casual tone. Regardless, she still took caution not to append ‘de arimasu’ to the end of many of her sentences; it was a habit she picked up when learning Japanese, and one she had not been able to kick.
“Did you know your friend could do this?” Prelati asked. “Can you do something similar?”
Elsa hesitated for a brief moment. In this short second, a series of questions ran through the pink-haired werewolf’s mind. Should she tell the alchemists about the fact that Vanessa was only making use of one-third of this technique’s power? Or, should she keep that a secret in case she needed to fight them some day?
And if she kept it close to her chest, what would happen if they found out she lied?

 Luckily, Elsa was saved by Cagliostro. The blue-haired girl waved her finger at Prelati, as if chastising the smaller alchemist–though she was obviously doing so playfully.
“You should know, Prelati, never to ask a magician to reveal her secrets.”
Prelati chuckled at that comment. “Very well.”
Saint-Germain paid her two friends no mind however, instead crossing her arms as she looked into the crack that showed Vanessa’s work. The head of this trio was well aware of this technique–Daedalus End–and the specifics around it, but knew that it would be best to keep it from her friends.
It was not, however, because she didn’t trust her friends. Rather, she kept it a secret because she felt guilty about it. Saint-Germain had been the one in charge of overseeing the... ‘creation’ of Vanessa’s new body, as well as those of Millaarc and Elsa, though it was not a project she had wanted to be part of.
Daedalus End was a double-edged sword for each of the three girls; though it was a powerful technique, it hastened their bodies’ deterioration upon use–and they were already fairly fragile creatures. Though they could still eat and drink like normal humans, the bodies of the three so-called ‘monsters’ did not require normal nutrients or even water to survive. Instead, their bodies only needed a special formula crafted out of an extremely rare blood type known as RH xxoyle\_formula. This ‘miracle drug’ had been dubbed the Panacea Formula.
And even the Bavarian Illuminati had a very limited amount of it. It was actually because of this flaw that Vanessa, Millaarc, and Elsa had been deemed ‘failures’; they were only allowed to act under Saint-Germain as long as she could provide this formula.
But the alchemist wanted these monsters, these lives she had been forced to ruin for the sake of the future, to live on as long as possible.

 Even cruel acts like genetic experimentation had meaning, Saint-Germain knew. Every sacrifice, every cruel act of torture, weighed on the woman’s heart, but she knew it was all necessary. The Illuminati was working to save this world, after all.

 “I doubt she could keep this up much longer, de arimasu.” Elsa’s voice pulled Saint-Germain out of her thoughts. “It’s already been two minutes.”
“What is the point of this trap, anyway?” Prelati asked. The smallest of the three alchemists turned her knowing gaze towards Saint-Germain, but it was Cagliostro who answered instead.
“The good doctor confined Carol in a tiny space with two of her allies, and probably filled it with Noise.” The blue-haired woman smiled. “She’s quite clever–either Carol shows the other Symphogear wielders that she views them as disposable, or Carol allows herself to be taken down.”
“And that’s not a problem for us?” Prelati raised an eyebrow.
“She’s well aware that we require those girls for our goals.” Cagliostro waved her off–literally and metaphorically. “I’m sure she’s taken that into account.”
“She better have.”

. . .

*Giza giza genocide togatta kaitenon*
*Naitette yurusanai kara*

*Chicchaitte namenai de*
*Den noko wa ichiban itai*–ngh

 Shirabe put her hand against the wall beside her to catch her breath. She did not know why she was feeling so fatigued, so ill, but the small girl knew that she wouldn’t be able to make use of Shul Shagana for long. She had to be efficient–find Carol and Serena as soon as possible.
But her body was in pain. Shirabe’s body felt cold, as if it was being frozen from the inside-out, yet her skin was clammy with sweat and feverish.
Two Noise dashed around a corner from up ahead of the black-haired girl, and her ruby eyes closed for a moment as she took in a deep breath.
“I need to sing.” Shirabe muttered, and took a step forwards. Her leg trembled under her own weight, and the girl almost fell over even while leaning against the wall. Looking up at the Noise, she knew that she would have to combat them from a distance–but throwing saws in such an enclosed space could be dangerous if they ricocheted.
Her hesitation in attacking the Noise was her downfall. Before she even registered pain, Shirabe found herself tumbling forwards through the air towards the two Noise that had been waddling towards her; they now stood in front of her like bowling pins ready to be knocked down. As she flipped through the air, Shirabe realized that more Noise had come from behind her, and one of them was now responsible for her current position.
Shirabe let out a loud cry as she collided with the Noise, and the three figures slid forwards until they all smashed into a wall. The Noise had cushioned the blow somewhat, but Shirabe’s current state and disoriented mind prevented her from being able to right herself.
“Help!” Shirabe cried out, involuntarily. Before she realized what she had done, the girl was staring at blobs of colour that had, only a second before, been Noise. As tears dripped down her face, she let out a whine. “Kiri... Carol... I’m so useless...”

 ““Shirabe!””
The black-haired girl faintly heard two distinct voices, each coming from opposite directions, call out her name. But she could not respond.
As Shirabe looked up at the Noise now looming over her–and more were now joining it, in addition to the two that she was tangled up in–she tried to let out another cry, but nothing escaped her lips.
The small girl laying upon the cold ground of Daedalus End then felt pain flash through her body as the world around her began to glow white.

~ ~ ~

 Carol’s feet hastily bounced across the ground as she sprinted away from the Noise that were following her. The small alchemist wore an annoyed scowl across her face, ashamed that she was useless to combat them in the current situation as there was no room for her to summon Alca-Noise.
All she could do was run away, like a pathetic little child.

 Just like back when her father was carried away and–supposedly–burned at the stake.

 “Help!”
A cry, one from far away. The sound was carried through the labyrinth and echoed around from every direction, so Carol could not fully identify which way the source was. But she could tell who the voice belonged to.
“Shirabe!” Carol responded. In the same moment, she thought she heard another voice cry out the same from somewhere else, but it was so distant that the alchemist also wondered if it had just been her own imagination.
“I need to find a way out of here. Now.” Carol hissed through her teeth. She was getting tired of running, and the pale blue lights that were carved into the walls around her were only giving her a headache.

 Frustration bubbling her chest, the small alchemist lit her hand ablaze and threw a ball of fire at the Noise closing in on her. These beasts would not be harmed by the attack–this was something that Carol knew; yet the technicolour monsters still dodged out of the way of the projectile, as if not being aware of this fact.
Glancing over her shoulder, Carol watched as the small ball of fire sailed past all of the Noise behind her and instead crashed against a wall. It was a weak attack, one she had used in an instant with no build-up, so she had expected nothing more than for the projectile to dissolve and peter out.
Instead, her eyes went wide as the wall that the projectile hit–and subsequently all of the walls around her–turned a bright, holy white.
“What!?” Carol cried out, blinded by this sudden turn of events.

. . .

 Serena fired a purple blast from her arm, which cut straight through two Noise that had been rushing towards her. Her eyes hollow and dark–truly emotionless, just as her heart was–the brown-haired girl let out a monotonous drone, as if a robot.
“Thirteen Noise defeated.”
The girl hovered slightly above the ground as she flew through the labyrinth. She could rush through it at a higher speed, but the constant appearances of Noise and the multiple quick turns forced her to take her time.
What made Serena most curious was why Shénshòujìng’s light was not damaging the prison she now found herself in. Did her relic not register the labyrinth as ‘evil’ because it wasn’t hurting them directly, or was the intent behind it not a malicious one–Serena did not know the answer.
Another two Noise rounded a corner in front of Serena, but they were vaporized by Shénshòujìng’s light before they even fully stepped into the corridor that Serena was flying through.
“Fifteen Noise defeated.”
The experimentations done to her brain by Dr. Ver had heightened her reflexes enough so that even the slightest sound of footsteps alerted her, and the Rod of Asclepius further messed with her body in ways even she was still learning about.
Regardless, a trial like this was a simple task for the new Serena Cadenzavna Eve... and the girl wasn’t sure whether to be proud of this fact, or terrified of it.

 “Help!”
The quiet, weak plea tickled Serena’s eardrums, and the girl immediately spun around without a moment of hesitation. The voice, Serena knew, belonged to someone she wanted to protect.
“Shirabe!”
Serena shouted with her full strength, but was not sure if the black-haired girl had heard her. No other sounds echoed through the labyrinth–and Serena knew that that was not a good sign. The girl clenched her teeth and felt a pulse in her chest–something familiar, yet also foreign to her reborn mind.
For the first time since she had returned from the dead, Serena felt a pang of emotion in her chest. It was weak, more like an attempt to replicate a long-forgotten feeling than a feeling all its own, but the spark of life was there.
Serena was angry.

 Raising both hands in front of her, Serena charged the light of Shénshòujìng through her entire body. Purple sparks flew of her arms, lightning channelled through the jet-black armour encasing her body.
“I need to save Shirabe!”
The small bubble of anger that had welled in Serena’s chest popped, and she released all of it into a powerful blast of energy. The purple light of Shénshòujìng travelled out of the ends of her fingertips and exploded out in front of Serena, carving through the air at an incredible speed.
Unlike before, the purple light did not halt as it collided with the wall of Daedalus End. Instead, the beam of burrowed through the mysterious wall, carving a tunnel through this seemingly-endless labyrinth.
Even Serena paused at this revelation. She had only done this out of frustration, acting on the emotions she had longed to feel once more; for this to actually work was a shock to even her.

 But Serena did not have a moment to wonder how Shénshòujìng damaged her prison, as in the next moment everything began to glow white. The girl forced her eyes closed, but the light was just as blinding as it pierced effortlessly through her eyelids.

 And then, the light was gone.

When Serena opened her eyes again, she found herself standing right where she had been before the pyramid had appeared around her: the courtyard of Lydian Private Music Academy. A short distance away, Carol was looking around in confusion.
“Shirabe!?” Carol cried out in desperation.
Unlike the two of them, the black-haired girl did not reappear, at least not in her same spot.

 “Serena, Carol–are you okay?”
Serena’s head turned to meet the eyes of Shiori Terashima. She stood a short distance away alongside Kuriyo, Chris, Garie, and Micha. Leiur stood beside them a short ways away, as did Yumi, who was chewing on a burger.
“Where’s Shirabe!?” Carol angrily spat towards the group..
“Shirabe?”
“She was caught up in this attack, too.” Serena said. “If she didn’t come back, then...”

 Serena’s words trailed off as she spotted something laying on the grass a short distance away from her. Carol seemed to notice it at the same time, as the alchemist dashed over in silence to look at it.
“No.” Carol muttered.

 A small pile of black carbon dust sat in a mound against the shining green lawn.

#### AXZ Chapter 13

 Carol collapsed to her knees. The small alchemist trembled lightly as she kept her eyes glued to the pile of carbon sitting atop the peaceful green canvas of Lydian Private Music Academy’s lawn.
“No... not again.” She clutched the sides of her head. “First papa, then...”
“Pathetic.”
One of Carol’s teal eyes twitched as the cold voice reached her ears. Ignoring the tears beginning to blur her vision, the small girl turned to the source of the voice.

*Killter Ichaival tron*

 In a flash, Chris and the three Autoscorers all leapt into action. The four of them surrounded Carol and the one who suddenly appeared before the weeping alchemist in seconds. Chris levelled two crossbows at the newcomer, while the three Autoscorers readied alchemical attacks of their own.
While her friends were shocked by the news of Shirabe’s demise and the sudden appearance of an alchemist, Yumi was not; instead of reacting, the girl with twintails finished chewing the last of the hamburger and crushed the fast food wrapper it had come in into a ball.
“Shirabe’s alive, right?” Yumi asked the alchemist.
“That’s correct. Your friend is fine... for the most part.”
Saint-Germain crossed her arms as she levelled a gaze at Yumi. While Serena–a Symphogear wielder–had not jumped into action with the others, this powerless girl seemed to instantly deduce the reason for her appearance. The alchemist was impressed, but also curious as to how she managed to come to that conclusion.

 “For the most part?” Chris asked.
Neither she nor the Autoscorers relaxed at the news of Shirabe’s survival. Carol sighed in relief from her position on the ground, attempting to compose herself, and Chris could see that the alchemist’s robotic companions were all splitting their focus between their master and the enemy before them–Garie, Leiur, and Micha were all equally as worried about Carol’s mental state as they were the enemy that stood before them.
“As I’m sure you surmised, Shirabe Tsukuyomi had been attacked by Noise while trapped in that pyramid–Daedalus End.”
“And that would have been your fault.” Leiur said.
“I take responsibility for one of my subordinates trapping your friends in that prison.” Saint-Germain did not say any more on the matter. Instead, she returned to the matter at hand. “Regardless, the Noise within the pyramid had managed to deactivate her Symphogear, leaving her helpless to their disgusting power to dissolve humans into carbon. Lucky for her–and you all–I rescued her before she became yet another sacrifice for our end goal, though some of her body was destroyed before I was able to, and for that I apologize.”
The alchemist lowered her head.
“We are currently giving her medical attention. She will not be harmed, I can promise you that.”
“Bullshit. Why should we trust you?” Chris spat.
“Because she’s telling the truth.” Yumi tossed her tinfoil ball up into the air, and then snatched it before it landed back in her palm with her opposite one. “You don’t want the Symphogear wielders harmed, right?”
“How–!?” Saint-Germain visibly flinched at Yumi’s words. “How could a girl like you...?”
Yumi smirked. “I didn’t know. I just had a theory–and you confirmed it.”
Garie stuck out her tongue and teased Saint-Germain. “Ha ha, you got outsmarted by a useless little kid.”
Saint-Germain couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Yes. I suppose I did.” Then, narrowing her eyes, the alchemist glared at Yumi. “Now, what else do you ‘know’?”
Yumi shrugged. “I had a thought that the reason you were so silent over this month was because Miku had been out of commission. You had ample opportunity to attack us–we had all been at Tsubasa, Kanade, and Maria’s concert together a few weeks ago, but it was only once she woke up that you did anything.”
“Were we the only ones who didn’t know Miku had woken up?” Shiori whispered to Kuriyo beside her. The other girl just shrugged, clearly as confused as the blonde.
Saint-Germain smirked. “Impressive deductions, Yumi Itaba. Now I’m beginning to understand why Cagliostro took a liking to you.”
The twintailed girl gave a silly salute with two fingers. “I’ve got more guesses I’d love to throw at you.”
“Unfortunately...!”
Saint-Germain’s eyes widened and her mouth stopped moving. Alongside the Illuminati member, the eyes of the three Autoscorers and their master all turned skywards.
“What is...?” Kuriyo asked, her eyes following the same path.
“Everyone! Move!” Carol shouted.

 No one asked any questions. Chris and Serena picked up Shiori and Kuriyo and scrambled away at the high speeds their Symphogears allowed them to travel at; Yumi was snatched up by Leiur; and the others all disappeared in flashes of light.
As Leiur teleported elsewhere with Yumi, Serena flew off at a high speed. Chris, the slowest, ran as fast as she could with Shiori in her arms.
“What’s going on?” Chris was carrying Shiori princess-style, holding her close to her chest so that she could move with as little resistance as possible. In Chris’s arms, Shiori silently looked skywards trying to figure out what the others were reacting to.
“I’m not looking forwards to fin–” The rest of Chris’s words were drowned out as a loud noise echoed through the vicinity. The sound could only be described best as a mixture of a gunshot, a yodel, and a clap of thunder, all put into a blender of science fiction.
Chris and Shiori were then thrown forwards by a burst of wind–though neither knew what had caused the shockwave.

. . .

 “Chris! Shiori!”
Yumi and Kuriyo were bent over their friends, panic on their faces. Shiori was laying atop Chris, both face-down towards the ground and groggy, having been knocked unconscious for a few short moments.
“Wha...?” Shiori mumbled. The girl shook her head slightly, her pupils visibly spinning around in her eyes.
Chris, on the other hand, had herself together... barring the fact that Shiori was laying atop her. Thus, she was unable to pull her head up, so she screamed into the earth she was splayed out upon.
“The hell was that?”
“That...” Carol, a short distance away, glared at the pale-haired Saint-Germain, who looked at the smaller girl with a similarly-scornful look.
“...Was not me. Nor did *I* have anything to do with it.” Saint-Germain’s eyes narrowed as she turned to the site of the impact.

 Lydian Private Music Academy, and all of the people who had been in and around it, were now solid gold. Some girls had been loitering around outside, curious about the commotion that had been occurring, but now they stood as statues frozen in time.
Carol surveyed the scene too. Waving outside of one of the windows on the second floor were the three girls that had bothered her during lunch–Chris’s classmates: Otome Kaburagi, Komichi Ayano, and Yuki Godai.
The girl with the fluffy ponytail was leaning outside, and Komichi had her arms around Yuki’s waist to prevent her from falling out; though a useless act, as now they were just as immobile as all of the other students transformed into gold.
The small alchemist clicked her tongue.
“I’m aware that you and your friends aren’t strong enough alchemists to transmute so much matter with an explosive blast.” Carol looked down and cupped her chin. The small alchemist’s eyes narrowed. “So that must mean...”
“Adam Weishaupt, the head of the Bavarian Illuminati.” Saint-Germain looked up into the sky above Lydian, where a small figure floated.
Hovering in the sky, lording over his golden domain and the city around it, was a naked man. Strong muscles chiselled his abdomen, and not a blemish scarred his figure; in a word, he could be described as ‘perfect’. Yet his face seemed to contradict this adjective, with wild eyes, lips pulled into a scowl, and messy navy blue hair that drifted down his back.

 “What are you doing? You said we need the Symphogear wielders–” Saint-Germain stepped forwards, addressing her boss in a shout.
Adam Weishaupt waved her off. “We do, yes, but those girls... oh, those foolish girls... they just... The sight of those Symphogear wielders and their allies makes my blood boil.” The man frowned, baring his fangs. Even from a distance, Carol and the others that looked on could sense a feral madness burning behind the man’s face; he was a beast in the skin of a man.
Serena stepped forwards.
“Why did you do this?” She cried out. “Freezing innocent–”
“Silence, you foolish girl!” Adam interrupted her with a bark. He chuckled wildly as he gripped his head. “They are fine–will be fine, yes! I’m sure.”
“Nonsense.” Carol glared. “You know as well as I that transmutation is permanent. There is no way to reverse the process.”

 As Carol, Serena, and Saint-Germain shouted at the naked man floating high above them, Yumi merely looked on at her adversary in silence. She watched him analytically, looking at his mannerisms and movements, and something stuck out to her.
“You’re... just a puppet leader, aren’t you?” Yumi asked aloud.
Though her voice did not come out at a particularly high volume, it seemed to still reach Adam and the rest. Carol and Saint-Germain both turned to the twintailed girl in shock, while Kuriyo tilted her head as if pondering what Yumi had suggested.
Adam, on the other hand, flared up. His fingers bent, as if he were ready to claw at the young girl before him. “You absolute idiot! To disrespect me, the founder–the *HEAD* of one of the world’s greatest establishments–!”
“Someone so mad that they can’t control their thought processes couldn’t be the brilliant head of the Illuminati.” Kuriyo said as she helped pull Shiori to her feet.

 “To insult me... *ME*! Adam Weishaupt! A being so perfect that I was acknowledged as such by the creators of you lesser beings... You’re nothing to me! You simple–”
Adam’s rambling was cut off as he was launched down into the golden facility that he had, moments before, been floating above. The attack had been so fast that even the three Autoscorers whose robotic minds processed the world faster than a human’s brain could were unable to make out what had hit Adam. All they–and the humans around them–saw was Adam simply vanish from his position, followed by a loud, metallic ring as he collided with the golden shell of Lydian.
“I don’t know... or care.”
An annoyed voice rang out over the city that had grown silent. It was familiar to everyone on the ground–barring Saint-Germain, who had simply admired the source from afar, everyone knew the person behind the cry as some sort of ally–tentative or not.
“Kirika!?” Chris and Serena shouted in unison.
A few seconds later, the girl appeared, clad in the green armour of Igalima, atop the roof of Lydian. She looked down on the group below her, scanning for a particular person–one that no one needed to guess the identity of: Shirabe.
But what stuck out in everyone’s minds was the expression that Kirika wore. Contrasting her usual goofy grin or quizzical introspective gaze, the girl with the long blonde hair wore a furious scowl, her eyes almost burning with a green fire.
“Kirika...?” Serena repeated, this time more timid.
“Where is Shirabe?” Kirika demanded, pointing the head of her scythe at the group below–specifically Saint-Germain.
“Safe, I assur–”
“No. The real Shirabe. The original Shirabe Tsukuyomi.”
Even Saint-Germain's breath was stolen away by her words.

~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~

 “Who... what?”
The girl who was believed to be Satomi Kubert was looking over herself in the large mirror off to the side of the room. The girl wore a confused expression as she tugged at her hair, at her cheeks, and even her eyelids–all to confirm that she was truly looking at herself.
Behind her, still standing by the bed that she had been sleeping in, were Miku, Kirika, and Elfnein. The three watched the mysterious girl with equally-as curious eyes as she herself had; with the exception of Miku, who glared at the girl with suspicion.

~ ~ ~

 “You’re scaring me. Please, stop this Kiri.”
The girl had whimpered as she sat up-right. She wore a hospital gown that was the sickly green colour of vomit was too large on the girl (just as it was on Miku, who wore a similar one), and held it clasped closed around the front with a tight fist. This was the only part of the girl’s body that seemed to have any sense of intent–her body trembled in fear as she looked around slowly in confusion, and her eyes were filled with a mix of similar emotions.
“What did you call me?” Kirika hissed back, narrowing her eyes. “Did you just call me–”
“Kiri. It’s me, Kiri. Don’t you recognize me?” The girl gestured at herself with the arm not focusing on holding up her ill-fitting attire. “It’s me, Shirabe.”
“Shirabe!?” Elfnein and Kirika both repeated the name in unison, their voices shrill as they shrieked; they were quite shocked at the girl’s claim–especially since she looked nothing like Shirabe.

 Miku put her hand on her hip. She was standing behind Kirika and Elfnein, and it was the former girl who Satomi/Shirabe had been focusing on anyway. When Miku spoke, it seemed to surprise all three of the other girls.
“Do you know who I am?” She asked, then pointed to Elfnein. “Or who that is?”
The girl recoiled for a moment, as if only now noticing Miku and Elfnein existed. She scanned the two girls slowly, her head bobbing as she took in both of their figures. A green-haired homunculus with down-turned eyes and one-armed girl covered in burn-scars were both fairly memorable, so Miku was thankful that the two of them had been around for the awakening of Satomi/Shirabe.

 The girl pondered herself for a moment, then pointed to Elfnein. “You’re Carol. The alchemist.”
“Elfnein.” Miku corrected.
“Elfnein? So Carol’s the one with blonde hair then?”
The homunculus in question nodded. “I’m Elfnein. Nice to meet you...?”
Ignoring her, the girl then pointed to Miku. “And you’re... Lance?”
“Lance, death?” Kirika leapt back in shock, then turned to Miku. “I thought your name was Miku!”
Miku sighed. “Lancea Longini?”
“Yeah!” Satomi/Shirabe’s ruby-red eyes lit up... and then she paused. “Wait. No. You’re Miku? But you’re also... Batara Kala?”
The girl winced in pain and grabbed her head. Had Kirika seen Shirabe do this, the blonde-haired girl would have rushed to her side immediately. When Miku saw Kirika only slightly twitch, she realized that she–and thus Finé–were just as suspicious as she was of this girl’s claims.
Still... even if it hurt the girl, Miku wanted answers.
“You’re Shirabe. Shirabe Tsukuyomi?” Miku asked. When the girl gave a weak nod in response, Miku continued. “Do you have any idea who did this to you?”
“Did what?” She squeaked.
“You don’t look like Shirabe, death...” Kirika muttered.
“Not to mention,” Miku cut in. “She had been a Noise.”
The girl–apparently Shirabe?–tilted her head in confusion, clearly overwhelmed by both this sudden influx of information that was bombarding her mind and the seemingly-fractured memories she already carried.
But she was just as hungry for answers as Elfnein, Kirika, and–especially–Miku were.
“Tell me. What happened, Kiri?”

~ ~ ~

 Once the girls had given Shirabe(?) a basic run-down of how they found her–omitting the fact that Miku had been rendered out of commission for some time as she recovered from essentially nuking the girl–she jumped out of bed and slowly made her way across the room on shaky feet. She wanted to confirm that she wasn’t Shirabe Tsukuyomi–in appearance, anyway.

 “Alchemy.” Elfnein cupped her chin. “I... I think there are ways to use alchemy to alter appearances. It would be difficult for most alchemists, though–especially using it on someone other than yourself.”
“Yes. It definitely doesn’t seem like simple plastic surgery.” Miku nodded. “I remember seeing before and after images of American celebrities who would get plastic surgery, and it almost-always looked fairly crude. But, she...”
“Looks like Satomi, death.” Kirika’s eyes were wide. “Why does she look like Satomi?”
“That...” Elfnein trailed off.
“To mess with us. Or, you specifically, I guess.” Miku frowned. “The Illuminati is probably aware of Finé.”
“Impossible.” The priestess in question announced from Kirika’s mouth. “One of the alchemists announced her presence to us before by declaring ‘So that’s the witch, then?’–she did not know which of the Receptor Children I resided in.”
“No. That doesn’t mean anything.” Elfnein tapped her chin. “It’s possible they prepared, for a lack of a better term, ‘clones’ of people from the pasts of Kirika, Shirabe, Maria, and Serena.”
“There’s another option, though, too: that that alchemist just didn’t know.”
“From what Carol had said, she appeared to be one of the highest-ranked members of the Illuminati.” Finé curtly explained. “If she did not know, then–”
“–She’s being kept out of the loop.” Miku glared. “Either the other alchemists are keeping secrets, or all of them are just following orders to complete a plan they’re not entirely privy to.”
“That’s...” Finé seemed defeated at that comment.
“That means that Cagliostro woman is just a tool, death!” Kirika interrupted her own mouth with a shout.
“Probably.” Miku shrugged. “Which means we should just focus on luring out the head of the Illuminati for answers.”
“Umm... I think...” Shirabe(?) shook her head. “My memories are hazy but...”
“Anything would be of use.” Elfnein stated with a determined nod.
Shirabe(?) took that as an okay, and drew a deep breath. She did not continue immediately, however, as if trying to figure out how to put this into words.
“I remember... a girl who looked like me...” Shirabe(?)’s eyes drifted to the mirror, and she then clarified what she meant. “Like Shirabe. She looked hurt, and there was something glowing...”
Suddenly, something seemed to snap in Shirabe(?)’s mind, as, in the next moment, she was on her knees breathing heavily. The girl clutched the sides of her head, clearly in pain.
Now, even Kirika couldn’t hold back her worry. “Are you okay, death?”
“Kiri... I...” Shirabe(?) muttered.

 Miku and Elfnein, on the other hand, pondered what she said.
“A girl in pain. Who looked like Shirabe.” Miku blinked. “What could this mean?”
“It would probably put a mental toll on someone, their brain trying to comprehend the idea of there being a second version of themselves.” Elfnein cupped her chin. “Maybe she’s just confused?”
“No. Hold on.” Miku looked at the small, green-haired girl. “‘A second version of themselves.’ That’s what you said, right?”
Elfnein slowly nodded.
“Yumi mentioned an anime she had seen once, and spoiled the major plot point to us that the main characters were all clones.” Miku shook her head. “That was so long ago, and I never paid too much attention to anyone who wasn't... Er, I just wish I could remember more about what she had said.”
“‘Cloning’ in the way that fiction portrays it is theoretically possible, and has been done before in labs.” Elfnein concluded. “But, if you’re suggesting that this Shirabe is a clone, then that wouldn’t explain how she possesses some of the original Shirabe’s memories?”
Miku’s eyes lit up. “What if our Shirabe isn’t the original.”

 Kirika looked up at Miku at that comment. “I’ve known Shirabe for years, death. I trust her more than anyone else–she would have mentioned to me if she was a clone.”
“Unless she didn’t know.” Miku pointed out. “I believe you told Chris and I before about your meeting with Shirabe–how she told you that she had no memories.”
“That’s...” Kirika looked at the girl she was hugging. The girl who claimed she was Shirabe but looked like a ghost from Kirika’s past was trembling, her hands pressed hard against her ears. She was in pain, but... she was also afraid, confused.

 Miku turned to Elfnein. “You keep copies of Carol’s memories, as a ‘backup’ of sorts, right?”
“That’s right...?”
“Would it be possible to... how can I say this?” Miku cupped her chin. “If there was an original Shirabe somewhere, would it be possible for all of the clones to constantly be sending their memories back to her? Like what Carol did to you, but in reverse?”
Elfnein lit up. “Like a computer system, right? Theoretically, doing something similar with a human would be possible, albeit...”
“What about with alchemy?” Miku asked.
“The Autoscorers, barring Micha, have the power to extract memories from others and transform it into a power source. Based on that train of thought, it would definitely be possible, yes. But, like I was going to say, it would be incredibly risky, and Carol–or any other alchemist–would likely be able to sense the connection.”
“Then maybe it isn’t completely active?” Miku suggested. “Like...”
“When she’s asleep?” Elfnein completed the thought.

 The two girls seemed to be on the same page, but Kirika was not. She stood up and turned around to face Miku and Elfnein.
“Shirabe is not a clone, death!” She shouted. “Shirabe is Shirabe!”
“Can you be so sure?” Miku walked away and bent down, picking something small off the ground. She came back silently a moment later, and held the object out in front of her.
It was part of a foot. Three toes were fully formed, and there were stubs of others attached to the thick chunk of skin that had been sliced off.
“This is the first one of the toes I had given you for your teleporting experiments.” Miku said. “It was also an experiment for me–to see what would happen if I left one of my body parts alone for long enough. It seems like...”
Elfnein grabbed the partial foot out of Miku’s hands, her eyes shining. “Your leftover pieces will eventually generate another you?” She was incredulous.
“That’s what got me thinking about this theory–I saw that.” Miku turned to Kirika. “For all we know, I could be a clone right now. Maybe the real Miku is in Val Verde, walking around the remains of that town.”
Kirika’s eyes were glued to the foot that Elfnein held. “But that’s...”
“For all we know, *you* could be a clone. You don’t know anything about your past either, right?” Miku narrowed her eyes at Kirika.
“Me... death?” Kirika’s face turned white. “But... I...”
Despite her cold glare just a moment before, now Miku’s face loosened into a smile.
“But that wouldn’t change anything. I’m still the me that tried to play a video game with only one hand, who helped you experiment with the powers that Finé gave you.” She reached out towards Kirika. “And you’re still the Kirika I became friends with. Even if the two of us aren’t the orignal versions of ‘Miku’ and ‘Kirika’, we’re still us.”
The Shirabe(?) on the ground, her body coated in sweat as she trembled, looked up at the three girls and weakly let out a croak. “And what... does that make me?”
Miku stepped towards the girl, and now extended her arm towards her instead. “You’re the proof that I can use my powers for more than destruction.”
Shirabe(?) looked up at Miku silently, her eyes glued to the hand held out towards her. Then, her eyebrows lowered. “You’re dodging the question.”
The black-haired girl shrugged as she retracted her hand. “Fine.” Miku conceded. “You’re a girl who looks like someone named Satomi Kubert, possesses the memories of Shirabe Tsukuyomi, and was a dragon... Noise... thing. Maybe you’re a clone of Satomi. Maybe you’re a Noi...”

 Miku stopped, and her eyes widened. After a second, she finished her thought. “Noise.”
“Miku?” Elfnein asked. Both she and Kirika pointed confused glances at Miku as she abruptly ended her sentence. In response to Elfnein’s question, however, Miku just held up a hand.
“Noise. I sense Noise.” Miku hissed. “A lot of them.”
“Noise?” Elfnein shrieked. This seemed to catch the attention of Shirabe(?), who instinctively reached to her neck for a Symphogear pendant that was not there–something only Miku saw from her current position.
The black-haired girl turned to Kirika. “Two questions.”
“Two answers, death.” Kirika nodded.
“First: do you have a hoodie anywhere I can borrow?”
Kirika tilted her head in confusion at first, but then slowly nodded. “I guess so, but I don’t know if it’ll fit you.”
“It will fit.” Miku smiled.
Taking that as a cue, Kirika bounced off towards a pile of clothing littering the ground and ruffled her hand through it. Miku watched in a silence that was only interrupted when Elfnein squeaked up from beside her.
“What’s the second question?”
Kirika finally found a hoodie–a light green hoodie with a skull design across one breast and a hood that included devil horns and a white X–and held it up for Miku’s approval. The girl nodded, as she began to speak.
“How high do you think you can teleport someone? Or... two someones.” Miku smiled. This time, when she offered her hand, Kirika took it.
“Let’s go beat the Illuminati up!” Kirika frowned. “And ask them what the deal with Shirabe is, death!”
Miku chuckled. “Sounds good.” Then, turning to Elfnein. “Keep an eye on... Shirabe? Satomi? Her.”
Elfnein nodded, and in the next second, Miku felt a sensation she had only ever felt once before as she began to sink into the ground...

 ...and then, suddenly, she was falling through the sky.

#### AXZ Chapter 14

 A loud alarm rang out through SONG’s headquarters, which was currently stationed above the Undersea Dragon’s Palace. The large Genjuro burst through the door into the command room, expecting to see a flurry of activity as they looked into the current situation. Instead, the man was greeted with...
“Morning.” A slow yawn.
Fujitaka, Elfnein, and the girl who had been comatose all looked at him. The sandy-haired man sipped from a comically large coffee mug. Dark rings sat beneath Fujitaka’s green eyes, and the man was not wearing the blue suit that he often did.
“Where’s Tomosato?” Genjuro asked.
“A meeting with your brother.”
Genjuro’s eyes then flicked towards the girl he recognized as Satomi Kubert, whom Elfnein was standing beside with her chest puffed out as if playing up the role of bodyguard.
“Satomi Kubert? You’re awake?” Genjuro asked the young, brown-haired girl.
“Shirabe.” Everyone corrected Genjuro. When the powerful lion of a man looked to Fujitaka for clarification, the lethargic man shrugged. “I... am too tired to get into it. I’ll let Elfnein explain it later. For now, let’s just focus on the main issue.”
Genjuro nodded as he turned his attention to the screen. A totally naked man–Adam Weishaupt–was floating in the air, his raw anger spewing from his mouth as he shouted down at the crowd of girls beneath him.
“What’s the situation?” Genjuro narrowed his eyes.
“That’s Adam Weishaupt.” Elfnein began to explain. “Allegedly, he is the head of the Bavarian Illuminati.”
Genjuro crossed his arms. “And he does not wear clothes?”
“Apparently.”
“I see.”

 “You’re not going to like what’s happened.” Fujitaka sighed next. When Genjuro gave him a quizzical look, the lethargic man slowly brought his coffee up to his lips, but did not yet take a sip. “He fully transmuted Lydian into gold.”
“What!?” Genjuro yelled. The strength behind his voice caused Elfnein and Shirabe(?) to take a step back, while Fujitaka just silently sipped his jet-black liquid.
“And worse, that includes everyone within it. Fortunately, all of the girls were outside at the time, but that still means over four-hundred people were turned gold.” Fujitaka hung his head. “And Shibata is really not happy about that.”
Genjuro put a hand to his forehead. He already had a pounding headache, and the situation was only just starting to fully form. Seeing this, Fujitaka let out a tired chuckle–he sympathised with him, clearly.
This conversation fell into silence as Genjuro and the other three all focused on Adam’s rambling...
“You’re nothing to me! You simple–”
...And then they watched as he suddenly disappeared from view.

 Fujitaka began to cough, choking on the coffee that he had been drinking at the time. Elfnein stepped forwards in shock, and Genjuro unfurled his arms in confusion.
“Oh good, he stopped talking.” Shirabe(?) commented.
“What... was that?” Genjuro asked.
Though he was still coughing, Fujitaka turned to his keyboard and began to type. A small box appeared in the corner of the screen, replaying the part when Adam suddenly disappeared. The footage then reversed and Fujitaka went frame-by-frame to see what had happened.
“Oh, right.” Elfnein commented after a certain frame.
The image they paused on showed a spherical object wrapped in chains. Blue in colour, the item was quite familiar to all of the people in SONG’s headquarters.
“Only Miku and Serena would be able to move at such a high speed.” Elfnein explained.
“Miku’s awake?” Genjuro asked.

 “Ah, Kiri!” Shirabe(?) ignored Genjuro’s question as she remarked in surprise. The girl’s ruby red eyes were locked on the large image showing the live footage.
“Who gave her permission to–?” Genjuro wondered aloud, but stopped when he saw Elfnein look away out of the corner of his eye.
“In our defence,” Shirabe(?) raised one hand. “Kiri could have left at any time.”
“Hm?”
“Finé was an alchemist, remember.” Elfnein pointed out.
“Now that I think about it, I do seem to recall–” Genjuro’s mumbling was cut short by a high-pitched voice screaming from the monitor before them.
“Where is Shirabe?” Kirika asked, pointing her giant scythe down at the crowd on the ground. Adam–and Miku, for that matter–was nowhere to be seen as the green and black-clad girl stood atop the golden sarcophagus that used to be Lydian.
“Safe, I assur–” It was Saint-Germain who began to answer–and only now did Genjuro realize that one of the Illuminati’s alchemists was standing alongside his team.
“No.” Kirika spat. “The real Shirabe. The original Shirabe Tsukuyomi.”
Genjuro immediately turned to Elfnein and Shirabe(?), who both shrunk back a bit under the man’s glare.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen the chief mad before.” Fujitaka muttered. After taking a slow sip of his coffee, he nodded. “Alright, guess it’s time to explain to him.”

. . .

 “The original Shirabe?” Chris yelled up to Kirika. “What are you talking about?”
Before the blonde-haired girl could answer, however, something exploded out from behind her. The force from the detonation knocked the girl forwards. She stumbled forwards–straight off of the roof of Lydian. Kirika flipped in mid-air and landed elegantly upon the ground, a confident smile on her face.
More importantly, the shining gold figure of Miku, clad in her Lancea Longini armour, flew upwards at an angle, towards the sun. It was not a purposeful one, as the girl flipped head over heels, launched by the explosion with apparent ease.
“Miku!?” Chris shouted in surprise.
“You girls... no matter how many times we face off, you are always coming up with new ways to surprise me.”
The girls on the ground instantly sprung into action as Adam’s figure emerged from the smoke that the explosion had created. The man was confidently dusting his nude form off, as if he had was coming in from a snowstorm; he showed no signs of injury despite Kirika and Miku crashing into him.
If anything, it was Miku who ended up the most injured, as she collapsed in a heap on the ground next to the school. Shiori and Kuriyo flinched, as if to run towards her and check on their friend, but Yumi put her arm out in front of them.
A moment later, Miku pushed herself slowly to her feet.

 “Master, may I have a moment?”
A small window opened up in the air in front of Carol, showing Phara’s face. The brown-haired Autoscorer looked back at Carol with a tense look, mirroring the same kind of expression that her golden-haired creator wore.
“Phara, now’s not the best time...” Carol sighed, her eyes flickering between Adam and the ripple in the air before her.
“My apologies. I simply wished to report that I have located the Illuminati’s alchemists–two of them. Shirabe Tsukuyomi is also here and seems to be receiving medical care.”
“So, the woman’s report was accurate.” Carol mumbled. Then, addressing Phara, “Approach them, but do not attack except in self-defence. We will loop them in on the events unfolding here; I am sure they want to know.”

 Meanwhile, Saint-Germain called up to her boss. “What are you talking about? ‘How many times you face off?’ This is the first time–”
This made the dark blue-haired man laugh deeply. As he did, Adam threw his head back, aiming his gaping mouth and howling bellows towards the heavens above...

 ...and then promptly, and quite easily, batted Miku, who had thrown herself towards him with the hopes of skewering him with her Gungnir-like arm, away with only a simple swipe.
Miku flew back towards the golden school and bounced off of the transmuted wall with a loud clang, landing with a deep thud against the ground that had similarly been transformed into the alloy shining under the sun.
“You fools never learn! After thousands–millions!–of years, I’ve learned every single plot you Symphogear wielders could even dream of concocting!” The man pushed back his navy hair with a cocky smile. “Simple, emotionally-driven attacks are useless against me!”
“Millions?” Saint-Germain asked. “Is this related to that chest you tasked us with searching for?”

*Iza toban! (Let’s fly)*
*Sora e*
*Iza yukan! (Let’s fly)*
*Ashita e*
*Saijo no shinfonikku*
*Koe wo “hitotsu ni tabane!”*

 “That song...!” Adam scowled, his eyes bugging out of his head. He put one hand on his forehead. “That cursed melody!”
The naked man spun around just as Kanade, Tsubasa, and Maria–all clad in their Symphogear armour–leaped up onto the roof and began dashing towards him.
“Now!” Sensing that Adam was thrown off by their friends’ sudden appearances, Chris yelled out a one-word command to those around her. Even Carol, who had been conversing with Phara, readied an alchemical attack.

 Tsubasa and Maria dashed across the roof as elegantly as they would performing on a stage, but their faces were tense as they lunged towards Adam, their swords two pointed spikes ready to skewer Adam. The alchemist took no time to float higher, and both blades passed just beneath his feet, the girls’ momentum carrying them past him. To add insult to injury, the man launched Tsubasa and Maria off of the roof with a single, powerful kick, sending them careening towards the girls below.
Kanade, however, was right behind them, and ready for Adam to dodge out of the way. As he focused on Tsubasa and Maria, he ignored the orange-haired idol–until she was jumping up and ready to pierce through Adam’s chest.
Reaching out with one hand, the man caught Gungnir with no issue–it was as if he had caught a baseball out of the air. Swinging her around, Adam then easily tossed Kanade into the wall of Lydian, and the girl fell directly onto the back of Miku, who was still laying on the ground.
“Ow.” Miku grunted, almost sarcastically.
Kanade let out a cough. “My bad.”

 Serena and Kirika had jumped into the air, ready to attack Adam at close range, but they pivoted to instead catch Tsubasa and Maria as they sailed through the air. This left Garie, Leiur, and Micha alone as they fired different elemental attacks–Garie and Micha mimicking the idols’ earlier failure by attacking at close-range with icicles and claws, while Leiur flipped onto the roof a short distance away from Adam.
This time, however, Adam had his back turned, clapping his hands together as if cleaning them off. He did not even seem to glance towards the Autoscorers, who believed they were going to make contact...

 “Not happening, da ze!”
Leiur zipped off the building as the shrill girl’s voice cut through the sounds of battle, but she was too late. The figure of Millaarc seemed to cut through the sky like a knife, knocking back Garie and Micha with lightning-fast attacks that even Leiur had trouble tracking.
Once Millaarc froze in the air, watching the two robots she knocked aside, the golden Autoscorer swung at the vampire with her two tonfa, pushing the dark figure to the ground as the two crashed to the ground a short distance away from Miku and–though she was now on her feet–Kanade.
With no one in her way now, Chris launched a wild storm of missiles from Ichaival towards Adam. The silver rockets spiralled towards the alchemist, drawing a chaotic portrait of smoke through the air as their fiery exhausts threw them at Adam. At the same time, Carol launched an alchemical attack that seemed to shift between various colours–a blast of pure, condensed rainbow that sailed between the missiles.
Both should have been impossible to counter, and as Adam was turned around, he should not have had the reflexes to dodge the combined fury of the ‘Murderer of Miracles’ and the gunslinging warrior, and everyone had assumed the alchemist had been obliterated as the projectiles created a small, nuclear-like blast in the air above Lydian.
The air was literally sucked out of the area, and it felt as if a black hole had opened and ripped apart the very atoms that made up the foundation of the universe.
For a moment, the entire city was utterly silent.

 “Like I said,” Everyone’s eyes went wide at the sudden comment. “No plan you fools could concoct would be able to harm me.”
Despite the multicoloured explosion that seemed to rip apart the very fabric of their existence, when the smoke cleared Adam Weishaupt remained completely uninjured, looking down at the girls with a cocky smile on his face. He held his hand out in front of him, clasped into a tight fist.
“Get back!” Saint-Germain shouted.

 In the next moment, everything went white.

. . .

 “What happened?” Genjuro asked. Before the words had left his mouth, Fujitaka was already tapping away on his keyboard.
“It’s not the feed.” Elfnein gasped.
Beside the small, green-haired homunculus, Shirabe(?) nodded. “I think... everything just went white.”
Fujitaka gave his report after a tense minute. “All systems are fine. Our camera feeds are not damaged. She’s right–whatever happened... was white.”

 Perhaps on edge from the confusion, Genjuro’s ears perked up on a distant noise. It was not one from the feed–which was just as silent as it was blank; the noise was coming from somewhere in their headquarters.
His blood boiling out of worry, Genjuro sprang to the door. He bounced across the ground in a single leap, poking his head through the doorway just as the sound approached the room.
The person who Genjuro saw immediately shrunk back, terrified under the man’s glare. When their face registered to him, Genjuro calmed down and breathed a sigh of relief that seemed to fully eject all of the stress from the man’s body.
“I’m... sorry you had to see me like this.” The man apologized.
“It’s alri–”
“Chief!” Fujitaka interrupted the newcomer. “The feed’s coming back.”
Genjuro nodded to the man at the computer, then turned back to the one he was speaking to. “Normally I wouldn’t do this but... come in.”

. . .

 “I can’t see, death!” Kirika whined.
“I can’t see either!” Micha said, imitating Kirika’s tone perfectly.
“Can anyone?” Maria called out.
“No.” Kuriyo muttered.
“Same here.” Shiori sighed.
“Just white.” Yumi confirmed.
“Garie? Leiur?” Carol cried out for her Autoscorers. “Status.”
“Also blind.” Garie reported. Leiur added her affirmation as well.
“Unfortunate.” Saint-Germain commented. “It seems as though none of us know what has happened.”
“Wait.” It was Maria’s panicked voice that cut through the group. “Roll call. Has anyone not spoken yet?”
“Yeah. Me.” Chris’s voice sounded groggy. “Something tackled me.”
“Ah, apologies Yukine.” Tsubasa commented, her words unsteady. “I was thrown.”
“Wait... where’s Serena?” Maria cried out.

 Silence.

 “What about Miku? And Kanade?” Kirika shouted.

 Again, no response.

 . . .

 “Nice reflexes.” Kanade remarked.
“Thanks.” Miku winced.
The orange-haired idol had her arms steady as she held Gungnir up like a wall in front of her. Behind her, Miku–clad in the beautiful white dress of her Shrivatsa Symphogear–was sweating heavily as she struggled to keep a giant circular shield up around her friends.
“I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.” Miku gasped out, as if she was struggling to breathe. Kanade could not see the girl’s expression, but she could picture it easily; she was likely wearing the same one.

 But neither of them wanted to complain about their situations. Crouching beside Kanade was Serena, her eyes bulging out of her head as she struggled to focus. Both of her arms, which she held out in front of her, were glowing purple as the electrical energy pulsed through her body.
Serena was entirely focused upon firing a beam of Shénshòujìng at Adam’s attack in order to counter it, firing a dark beam of purple energy back at the pure white blast of energy that he seemed to release.
“Who...” Kanade gasped, her knees beginning to buckle against the strain of using Gungnir to block some of the residual energy that managed to bypass Serena’s attack. “What the hell is this guy?”
“An asshole.” Miku muttered under her breath. Her one arm was pointed outwards, her fingers plastered against what looked like a pure blue bubble–which extended high into the sky and farther than she could see.
Like Serena, Miku had energy pulsing through her arm, albeit hers was pure white. Also like Serena, Miku was in what one could consider a crouch–though part of this was due to the fact that one of her feet had been burned off by the sea of white light that filled the area around them.

 Sweat beaded down Serena’s forehead, her chest rising and falling quickly. Her eyes were beginning to close, her vision becoming blurry, as she struggled to stay conscious due to the stress being placed upon her.
“I...” Serena gasped. “Can’t hold it... much longer...”
“Don’t give up.” Kanade grunted out, almost on reflex. She was putting all of her energy into shielding Miku and Serena from the attack, so that the two of them could protect the others. “I won’t let you.”
“How... much longer...?” Serena asked, her voice more akin to a light breeze.

 “This is super risky, but I have an idea.” Miku commented. Looking over her shoulder, she looked to Kanade. “I can only make one of these giant bubble things at a time, so I won’t have much time, but...”
“You want to imprison Adam.” Kanade surmised, and Miku nodded. “Do you think you could... ‘pop’ your balloon?”
Miku’s eyes lit up. “To launch me towards him?”
“I’ll... move us...” Serena whimpered, glancing up towards Kanade. The older girl gave a sad nod, knowing that only Serena would be able to move fast enough to dodge these two simultaneous attacks.
All three girls seemed to take in a deep breath all at once.
“Do it on ‘go’.” Kanade ordered, then slowly began to count down.

 “Three...”
One of Serena’s eyes closed, unable to remain open any longer. Part of the young girl’s mind felt hazy, as if she was falling into sleep, but the other part was screaming desperate pleas for help. Her body trembled as she began to fall forwards, her arms beginning to lower.

 “Two...”
Miku’s eye twitched as she concentrated on the bubble shield she was keeping up around her friends. She needed to shrink it so that the blast it created wouldn’t hurt Kanade and Serena too much, but also big enough so that it also wouldn’t harm those inside of it. Her fingers shook, anxiety and fatigue filling her body.

 “One...”
Kanade’s one eye remained focused on the weapon in front of her. She watched the cool metal, which was shaking ever so slightly in the grasp she thought was steady. One of the idol’s feet twitched slightly as the force of the blast tried to push her into Miku.

 “Go.”
What came next transpired in a second.

 Before the word had even fully left her lips, Kanade felt herself get knocked over from the side by Serena. At the same time, what sounded like a high-pitched explosion echoed out from behind her, and a blur rushed above her head.
The idol closed her eye, fully expecting this plan to fail and for her to be burned by Adam’s mysterious, nuclear blast-like attack...

 ...That moment never came.

 “Miku?” Kanade only opened her eye moments later when she heard Chris’s terrified scream from behind her. Serena had deposited Kanade on the ground, and now laid beside her, facing the sky.
“Kanade!” Tsubasa cried out, rushing over to meet her friend. Simultaneously, Maria cried out for her sister.
Instead of looking towards Tsubasa, Kanade instead looked the other way–towards Miku. Her eye went wide in shock.

 Their plan had been a success–somewhat. Miku had managed to create a bubble around Adam, as evident by the fact that the blinding white sea of light that had surrounded Kanade and Serena only seconds earlier was nowhere to be seen.
But.

 “Miku!!” Chris ran past Kanade and Serena without a second glance. Kirika did the same; both screamed their friend’s name in panic.
The circular blue prison encircled Adam in the air–save for a single golden lance that protruded out from the sphere. This pointed weapon passed directly through Miku’s chest, and her entire body was frozen solid in a gold shell just like the school beneath her.

 “Funny thing about experiencing the same events hundreds–or thousands–of times...”
Adam’s cool voice sent shivers down Kanade’s spine. Barring the two girls laying on the ground, all of the others assumed fighting positions. His voice echoed out from the giant blue sphere that was still floating in the air, to which the golden Miku was now eternally attached.
“...You come prepared for almost every eventuality.”

 The blue bubble–and golden lance–disappeared now, and Adam appeared, rolling one of his shoulders. He levelled a look of appraisal at Miku, who still floated in place.
“That said, the girl’s willingness to sacrifice herself to protect all of you is not something I fully anticipated.” Adam shrugged. “I had predicted that she would be still put her own safety above all of you, considering the hope she held out for her friend.”
Everyone below him was silent–confused about his rambling, but also well aware that they were out-matched in this situation. Until they had a solution to this power disparity, everyone knew combat would be the worst-case scenario.
Because no one approached him, Adam kept speaking, this time looking down at Kanade with a cocky look on his face.
“Plus... the words of Kanade Amou. Hibiki Tachibana and Miku Kohinata would never forget them. Every single life that they have lived has revolved entirely around those words. No matter how many times I repeat this cycle, that accursed motto of yours remains the one thing I can never influence.
“‘Don’t give up on living.’”

 Chris’s eyes went wide as she remembered a memory from months before. It was a brief change in expression, but one that Adam registered with curiosity. As powerful as the man was, it was impossible for him to read the white-haired girl’s mind.
It was impossible for him to know that he had truly succeeded in what he just stated was impossible.

*“You idiot. Do you want to die?”*
*“Yes!”*

 Remembering Hibiki’s answer to her question, Chris took a deep breath in. She wanted to scream, to cry, to shout. Her entire life had been her losing what she truly cared about...

 Her family? Killed.

 Her childhood? Corrupted by lecherous assholes.

 Her morals? Twisted, primarily by Finé.

 Her trust in others? Destroyed–again, primarily by Finé.

 Her body? Abused and thrown away.

 The girl she fell in love with? Whom she had shared a kiss with? Worried about constantly? Tried to reach out to in the same way she wished someone would to her?

 Chris closed her eyes. It felt as though her heart stopped for just a moment. The world around her disappeared as she focused entirely on her self. Every trial she had ever gone through, everything she had lost... she wanted to run off somewhere and hide, or to give up on this planet entirely.
But she didn’t.
Instead, she reached out and took the small hand of Kirika Akatsuki, who stood beside her in a similarly shocked state. This act seemed to calm both of the girls down, their heartbeats steadying to a normal pulse.

 “Oh, how touching, da ze. The witch and her pawn are in love.” Millaarc’s shrill voice cut through Chris’s thoughts, and both she and Kirika began looking around for the vampire. “Or... maybe there was a dramatic love triangle? Between the two of you and the little gold statue up there, da ze?”
Kirika looked down, and then hurriedly pulled Chris with her as she jumped away. A short second later, Millaarc appeared from where the two had been a moment earlier and extending out from the shadow of the building of the golden Lydian.

 “I thought you needed the Symphogear wielders for your plan?” Saint-Germain called up to her boss.
“I do.” Adam rolled his hand, brushing off the alchemist beneath him. “Though she is not a Symphogear wielder. The Miku Kohinata of this universe is–was–nothing more than a test subject. Just as the lot of you all are.”
“What?”
Ignoring Saint-Germain, Adam turned to the vampire. “Stoker, do your thing.”
“Right, boss!” Millaarc replied, fading back into the ground with a cruel smile. “Now that the other chick is done for, these guys should be easy pickings, da ze.”

 The vampire rose from the earth in front of Saint-Germain a second later, who flinched in surprise at Millaarc’s sudden appearance.
“No hard feelings.” Millaarc smiled, grabbing the alchemist’s face without care. “But a monster’s gotta do what a monster’s gotta do.”
“If you’re a monster, then I guess that makes me a demon.”
Millaarc–or anyone else for that matter–didn’t have a moment to comprehend where that voice was coming from. In the next moment, the vampire was blown away as a flash of black collided with her, sending the vampire spiralling into the air.
“Oh ho.” Adam chuckled. “Now this is more what I had expected.”

 Standing a short distance away from Saint-Germain was Miku Kohinata. Her arm was a fairly large black mass resembling Batara Kala’s own, while she wore the white outfit that Shrivatsa granted her.
Notably–and something that everyone in front of her noticed immediately–she had black marks swirling around her face, shadows hiding a literal void of nothingness that devoured half of her face.
“Miku!?” Chris shouted in bewilderment.
“I might not like this body of mine,” Miku clenched her large black arm into a fist. “But this regeneration ability is incredibly useful.”
“Regen–?” Saint-Germain muttered in surprise.
Kirika smiled. “Oh! Like your toes, death!”
“I dropped one of my ears on the ground when we were flying.” Miku told Kirika, a slight smirk on her face.

 Both girls turned to look up at Adam Weishaupt as he began to slowly clap. He had a wild look in his eyes, a cruel crescent cutting up his cheeks.
“Excellent!” He chuckled. “You’ve exceeded my expectations! I gave up on this fragment of a world, thought it nothing more than a playground for me to test my theories. But you have proven me wrong.”
“I feel like there was some very important information there that you just glossed over.” Kanade muttered. Stabbing Gungnir into the ground, the idol slowly began to climb to her feet.
“You deserve no explanation.” Adam shook his hand, literally waving off any complaints.

 Flapping her jet black wings, Millaarc joined Adam up in the air as they surrounded the still-hovering golden statue of Miku Kohinata. She hugged her stomach tight, clearly in pain from the blow she took from this new Miku.
“What’s the plan, boss?” Millaarc spat. “Should I focus on GX, da ze?”
“No.” Adam said curtly as he cupped his chin. “I think it would be best if–!”
The alchemist barely had time to react as the golden Miku sprung into action. Her arm had transformed into a golden replica of Igalima, which she swung at Adam with immense speed and power, slicing the man in two with ease.
“You!” Adam spat out in surprise. Despite being bisected at the hips, the man wore only an annoyed scowl, with no hint of pain in his voice; his torso remained stationary in the air, his eyes meeting the golden Miku’s, as his legs fell to the ground.
“Like I said...” The golden Miku frowned. “If you two are monsters, then I must be a demon.”

 Recovering from the shock of the attack, Millaarc’s arm expanded into a dark black and crimson mass of flesh as she swung it at Miku like a club. The golden girl did not even attempt to dodge the attack, and Millaarc understood why as her arm made contact: her body had indeed been transmuted into solid gold, so it was the vampire who suffered more damage from her attack as she slammed against.
“Miku!” Chris shouted.
“Mik-two!” Kirika corrected.
“Me-ku.” The other Miku chuckled. This pun got annoyed stares from the others around her, but the partially-formed Miku paid them no mind.
The golden Miku ignored everyone else, however, and only stared directly into Adam’s angry eyes. In a tone as cool as her now-metallic body, the girl explained herself.
“I’m sure you realized already, but I’m not exactly easy to get rid of.”

 Adam chuckled. First slow, the laughter quickly escalated into a maniacal cackle. He clapped his hands again–still ignoring the fact that he had been sliced in two. The reaction surprised even Millaarc (who was now clutching the hand she had slammed against the golden girl) and the transmuted Miku, and both slid away from him a short distance.
“How long has it been now? How long has it been since someone surprised me?” Adam asked. “Hundreds of years? Thousands? Maybe millions?”
The man shook his head, then threw his arms out beside him. Looking down at the golden Miku with a giant grin on his face, Adam crudely shouted his next, crazy words: “I’ve underestimated you, former-human! I think you’ve earned a reward.”

 The other girls on the ground had simply been watching this exchange in silence, but it was Maria who finally broke this. She was kneeling on the ground, holding Serena’s unconscious head in her lap, and simply let out a worried comment as the alchemist hissed.
“I don’t like the sound of that.” The pink-haired idol muttered.
Carol turned to Saint-Germain beside her. “You, Illuminati tool. What is this man talking about?”
The other alchemist did not turn to Carol, and instead called up towards her boss. “Adam! What is the meaning of this?”
“Silence, you!” Adam hissed. “It’s unfortunate that you and your friends are needed for my plans, otherwise I’d have killed you fools long ago.”
“What is your goal? Do you truly mean to protect the world?” Saint-Germain asked.
“My goal? To protect the world, yes... from those foolish heathens. The Annunaki, the Custodians...” Adam uttered. Then, shouting with a furious voice: “I aim to create a beautiful paradise, one befitting a ‘perfect being’ such as myself! One that exists beyond all of these tainted, infinite fragments of imperfect worlds!”
Both Kirika and Finé had the same thought in the same moment, and their distinctive tones seemed to combine into one as a simple thought escaped Kirika’s lips in a deadpan tone: “You sound like Ver (death).”

 “So you just used me?” Saint-Germain screamed. “Used us? Cagliostro, Prelati, and I? What have we been doing all of these years?”
“Performing experiments on my behalf.” Adam explained coolly. At this, he levelled his gaze at the golden Miku floating in front of him, whose eyes were locked in the same annoyed glare as his. “All of you have.”
“We’re just your chess pieces?” Saint-Germain cried out. Her eyes went wide as she realized why Cagliostro had suggested they play a game based on chess–she knew. The Illuminati had eyes everywhere, so she did not want to say it out-right, so instead the woman had chosen this roundabout method of trying to get her to understand.
Saint-Germain shook her head. “Prelati, Cagliostro... I’m sorry I failed you.”

 “You aim to wipe out all of our creators’ influence from the world? To create a world for yourself?” Finé asked. Despite Kirika’s annoyed expression, Finé’s tone was angry–furious, even. “Would that not be contradictory? You would be removing the very influence that led to your creation!”
Barring Adam, literally everyone around her–including Kirika–responded to Finé’s comment with a groan. “Says the woman who wanted to blow up the moon.” The Miku on the ground shook her head.
“And using alchemists as tools? With no disregard for their feelings? To be so cruel as to act in–”
This time, Chris cut Finé’s comment off with an intense question of her own. “And what would you call what you did to me for years, huh?”
Maria glared at Kirika. “Shirabe, Serena, Kirika, and I all suffered under you for years.”
The Miku on the ground even turned towards Kirika. “You literally took over my body and used me as a tool with no regard for my feelings.”
Kirika nodded. “Please be quiet, Finé, death.”

 “You fools are pathetic.” Adam spat–literally–into the face of the golden Miku, who did not react to the act. “All but Subject GX, here.”
“I assume that’s me?” Miku tilted her head down as she glared up at the man before her.
“That John Wayne Vercingetorix was an incredible man. If only he had been more receptive to my ideas, perhaps he could have been one of those I would bring with me to my perfect world.” Adam smiled. “An artificial god–no, one who surpassed the gods, yet does not possess any divine power. You truly have been a success in every single possible way. Though you did not match my expectations initially your transformation into that black beast matched the exact picture I had for you in my mind...
“Though, your foolish friend deciding to forego her own safety in an attempt to bring you back to her senses... it wasn’t a surprise, but it was disappointing to see nonetheless.” The crazed look returned to Adam’s eyes as he grinned. “But seeing that accursed... Thing get trapped within a crystal of her own creation. It was utterly cathartic!”

 Both Mikus snapped in that moment, and they said the same exact word simultaneously. “Thing?”
“Did you just...” The Miku clone on the ground started.
“...Call Hibiki...” The golden Miku continued.
“A THING?” Both hissed, fire burning in their eyes.
Adam looked down at the golden Miku in front of him with a bored look. “So what if I did? Aside from you, GX, the others are near-worthless to me.” He chuckled wildly. “You have been a great source of information for me, but you, GX... I do not require you alive any longer.”
The golden Miku threw her fist at Adam, but he dodged it, seemingly-easily despite still lacking half of his body. “I will end you.”
“No.” Adam shook his head. “I... we will end you, and the whole of this world.”

 Everyone caught that correction simultaneously.
“‘We’?” Saint-Germain asked.
And they were met with a cruel cackle.

 “What do you mean by ‘we’!?” Carol asked again.
“I have travelled through an infinite number of fragmented worlds, collecting every bit of data I possibly could. Every world is nothing more than a playground for me–a playground for me to test out my theories so that I could get my revenge on that... Thing that killed me.”
“What?” Miku asked, connecting the dots.
“When that cursed box showed me that future, the one where I would be destroyed by a single, imperfect Thing capable of things even I am not... Everything I have done since has been to avoid that ending.
“I do not merely wish to purge the imperfections out of a vain obsession of my status.” Adam admitted. “I wish to purge you foolish humans so that Hibiki Tachibana, her friends, nor any of you other fools, could ever stand up against perfection ever again!”
“For the record,” From beside Adam, Millaarc sadly looked down towards the golden school beneath her. “I’m just doing what I’m told, da ze. I’ve seen my futures as well–and none of them are good.”

 “Now!” Adam shouted, raising one of his arms into the air. Miku flew backwards in a hurry, expecting an attack to follow, but one did not. Instead, the alchemist screamed once more: “Come join me, my Hidden Hand!”

 Like arrows from the heavens, five golden pillars of light shot down into the ground in front of the crowd on the ground. At the base of each, the ground that had not been stained gold already slowly began to be transmuted, the metal infection spreading from the school.
Five silhouettes appeared on the ground in the centre of these lights. First unclear, the shadows slowly formed into the shapes of humans.

 “So, the time has come, has it?” A voice rang out from one of the beams of light–a voice very familiar to one of the girls. This girl stepped back in shock, her eyes wide as the source of this voice stepped out of the light.
“Grandfather?” Tsubasa Kazanari cried out in surprise. Her heart stopped for a moment as she took in his powerful figure.
Standing before her was Fudo Kazanari. An annoyed look was plastered on his face now just as it usually was, but this time he seemed to look slightly different. More... confident.
“I knew it.” Kanade spat. “So, you really were involved with them.”
“Involved with the Illuminati? Yes, I suppose you could say that.” The man grunted. “After all...”
A light enveloped the man’s head for a moment, and a second later Fudo Kazanari’s face was no more.
“I did found it, in this fragment, anyway.”
A second Adam Weishaupt now stood where Fudo Kazanari had a moment ago. He wore a cocky expression, a clear contradiction to the grumpy one that Tsubasa and Kanade were used to Fudo wearing.
“Oh, and I must say: you, Tsubasa, have truly been a disappointing daughter.” The man scoffed.
“Daughter?” Tsubasa stepped forwards. “What do you mean?”
Adam-2 just laughed. “Isn’t it obvious? The man you call your father simply isn’t! I’m the one who gifted you your genes–albeit in the body of the old Fudo.”
Adam, the one floating in the air above them, adding a comment. “I never would have guessed that my mimicry would be so thorough as to even allow you to be born with the same appearance as the Tsubasa that the real Fudo fathered. A minor issue, though.”
Adam-2 curled his lips. “So now you know, my dear daughter. You are the offspring of a perfect being–my greatest creation.”
Tsubasa took a step back, her eyes wide. She was shaking, trying to take in all that the man had to say.
“But, then... my father? Did he... No, what does that mean for me? Am I... human?” The blue-haired idol’s Symphogear deactivated as she looked down at her hands. “Do I deserve to protect humanity if I am not even human?”
Kanade reared her hand back, ready to literally smack some sense into the girl, but then stopped. What she wanted to say was something along the lines of “You’re Tsubasa. Anything else doesn’t matter!”
But doing that would make her a hypocrite. After all, she lived solely to exterminate Noise and those that used them. Kanade wanted to avenge her family, but once–if–she managed to see her goal through to the end... what would she be? That was something Kanade often thought about. And she still had no answers.

 “I suppose it was only a matter of time until you learned the truth of your origins, girl.” A second voice spoke now from one of the other golden pillars. “I must say, your vitals have been quite interesting to my research.”
Maria looked up at the source of the voice as they exited their beam of light. “So this is where you went... Nastassja.”
“No normal human would be able to learn so much about these mystical relics in one lifetime, even with how long I have lived.” The navy-haired woman said.
“Mom...?” Kirika stepped forwards slowly. “You’re okay? And... you can walk again?”
Something Maria had neglected was the fact that Nastassja was not sat in her chrome wheelchair, but instead standing upon her own two feet. Her old, worn hands were clasped firmly behind her back, and the woman stepped forwards with an intense look on her face.
“I’m sorry I manipulated you girls, truly. However, for the sake of the future–*my* future–it was necessary.” A cruel glint shone in her eye as she looked down at the blonde-haired girl her called her ‘Mom’.

 “That makes one of us who is sorry.” The voice sent a shiver down Kirika’s spine, and she instinctively took several steps back.
“No...! Not him...” Kirika fell to her knees, her eyes wide.
“Kirika?” Chris hurried next to her friend just as the next figure emerged from his golden beam of light.
It was... someone who was a stranger to everyone except Kirika. The small girl wrapped her arms around herself and shut her eyes, though this only seemed to make the man happier as he smiled wide.
“Allow me to introduce myself to everyone. The name I go by is Dr. Maxwell Stinson.”
Kirika looked down at the ground as the name pierced her heart like an arrow, and her Symphogear deactivated.
“Young Kirika would know me as the man who turned her into the girl she is today..” Chris and Miku (both of them) perked up–though Kirika had omitted his name, they had been told of the time a man had traumatized her so much that her entire personality warped. They knew that he must be the culprit behind that.
“...But I have many identities.” Dr. Stinson waved his hand across his face, and a shimmer of light erupted around his head.
Standing there now was the brutish guard that had assaulted Kirika while she was imprisoned following the discovery of Frontier. His hand had been sliced off by the girl, and his eye injured later by Maria, but he showed no signs of injury now.
“Confused?” The guard-formerly-known-as-Dr. Stinson asked. “Then you all will certainly recognize this person.”
The man waved his hand over his head again, and this time most of the girls around him gasped in confusion.
A *third* Adam Weishaupt was now standing before them.

 “Please, Adam. We do need these girls alive, remember. It would be best that you don’t confuse them so much that they do something rash.” The next figure said.
“So, it’s true then.”
Carol narrowed her eyes. “You are working with the Illuminati, papa.”
The blond-haired man looked at Carol with a smile on his face, though this only caused his daughter to shudder. He looked just as he did in Carol’s memories: shoulder-length blonde hair, just a bit of stubble sticking to the top of his lip and his angular chin, and with wooden glasses he fashioned himself. The one difference was–
“It’s good to see you again, my daughter.” Izak Malus Dienheim addressed Carol, spreading his arms wide as if expecting a hug.
“Your eyes are hollow. You lack the same emotions as papa.” Carol scoffed. “You’re just an imitation.”
Millaarc descended from the sky now, landing beside Izak in a crouch. “Master.” She bent her head in respect at the man.
“Raise your head, Stoker. You are needed now, of course.” Izak’s cold eyes looked down at the vampire as he spoke, then turned to face Carol directly. “I can assure you: I truly am your father, Carol.. The same alchemist who raised you into the girl you are today. I must say though, twisting my words into an excuse to destroy the world? Not entirely what I was hoping you would d–”

 “THAT’S YOUR DAD?”
Izak and Carol–and the whole crowd of people–all turned their gazes to the source of the scream: Kirika. Her hands were down on the golden ground just as her knees were, but she looked up with a pale face.
“Ah, and if it isn’t my beloved wife.” Izak smiled sweetly. “It truly has been so long since we last saw each other, my dear Finé.”

 Silence filled the area. Evidently, judging by the amount of blank stares that seemed to move between Kirika and Izak, this was something even the Illuminati members–barring the three Adams–had been aware of.
Chris was the first to get herself together. “What the fuck!?” She shouted at the top of her lungs.
Though Kirika was still frozen on the ground in shock, Finé’s voice erupted from her lips. “So, you go by Izak now, then? You took a name mean laughter, hoping to instil peace within our daughter, I see.”
“Your daughter?” Chris’s eyes turned to Carol.
Carol was just as stunned as anyone else. “That means... you’re...”
Kirika covered her hands as a blush crept across her face. “Don’t make me think about it, death! I’ve been trying to avoid *those* kinds of memories that Finé gave me!”

 “It’s nice seeing parents reunite with their daughter. Unfortunate that I won’t get to do so, but what can ya do.”
The two Mikus turned their gazes to the final beam of light. They recognized the voice clearly–and it was one that Miku never expected to hear again. She had assumed the man was dead, after all; she had been partially conscious as she herself killed him.
A man with light brown hair slowly sauntered out of his beam of golden light. One hand in the pocket of his jeans, the man scratched at the back of his head with his other hand.
“Making me go last, huh? Not exactly a climactic finis–”
“What are you doing here?” Miku hissed. The second the man showed himself, the Miku on the ground rushed over and grabbed the man by the collar, shoving her face up close to his.
The man let out an awkward chuckle. “It’s a very long story.”
“And you’ll be explaining it all to me.” Miku grunted. “And to Hibiki.”
“So you’re still holding out hope that she’s alive in that crystal, huh?” The man sighed. “I might be her father and all, but I’m also a realist.”
“Yeah, realist, sure. I’m an ear, who grew into a clone of a girl who regrew from only a brain and a heart and is currently floating in the air, keeping an eye on a naked magician, after having her body transformed into gold. Also I can transform my body, and everyone on the ground around us is either also capable of creating a nuke out of nothing or summoning weapons out of music.” Miku threw the man–Akira Tachibana–to the ground in a huff. “‘Real life’ is a lot more different than you might think.”
“You’re telling me.” Akira chuckled, darkly. “I mean, after all, I never would have imagined...

 ...that I would need to kill my daughter so many times.”

#### AXZ Chapter 15

 A flaxen-haired man sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes glued to the cup of instant ramen that was sitting on the short wooden table in front of him. Up until a week ago, the man had lived with a family–a kind wife and a daughter who remained outwardly optimistic even in the face of tragedy–but now, he was alone; the only company this man had was the muffled sound of music from one of his new, rowdy neighbours.
“I know it wasn’t their fault, I do...” The man put his head in his hands as he let out a deep sigh. “But I have no idea if what I did was the right thing.”
“Oh, it was, believe me.”

 The voice of a stranger startled the man, and he instinctively flinched away from its source, knocking the table–and spilling his cup of instant ramen that had long gone cold. His eyes went wide as he spun around to face the one who intruded upon his new, dilapidated home.
“Wh-who...? What are you doing in my home?” The man shouted, though he lacked any conviction behind his words. The way he stammered alone gave away that he was terrified of the man who stood before him in a pure white ensemble, his navy blue hair draping down over his shoulders.
“Akira Tachibana... no, I suppose now you go by Akira Morisaki, now. You do not need to panic.” The blue-haired man said coolly, looking down at the flaxen-haired man. “I am here to offer you salvation.”
Akira flinched. “How do you know my name? A-and... what do you mean by salvation?”
The man let out a chuckle. “I know many things, for I am a being that the gods crafted as a perfect individual–a being superior to you humans.”

 Akira gave the man a confused look–the doubt on his face was clear even to this so-called ‘perfect being’. The intruder laughed at the man’s expression.
“You have doubts, I see. Let me dispel some of them–I shall offer you proof that I am not a mortal as you are.”
The intruder’s gaze turned to the spilled cup of ramen on the table, which had begun leaking onto the ground beside Akira. His lips curled into a small smile as he realized that it would make do as proof.
Slowly, the blue-haired man extended a single finger forwards, pointing at the cup of ramen. Akira flinched in confusion, and his gaze darted over his shoulder to see the object his gaze was being directed at.
“Th-the ramen?” Akira asked. “What do you–”
A small yellow dart of light flew through the man’s vision as he turned his head back to look at the intruder. Something about this light struck Akira as strange, and he quickly looked back at the cup of ramen sitting on the table.
“What?” Akira gasped, his breath catching in his throat.
The cup of ramen was now solid gold in colour. When the flaxen-haired man reached out and touched it, he felt the cool temperature of metal beneath his fingers. As he wrapped his hand around it and tried to lift the cup, Akira found it much heavier than it had been before.
“What did you do?” Akira asked.
“I merely transmuted your... provisions into gold.” The navy-haired man explained. Akira slowly turned the solid gold cup around in his hands, examining its new appearance, so the intruder continued. “I believe you humans wrote a story about a man with such a power: the Midas Touch. One you likely thought to be fiction, but, really, a tale about yours truly, twisted by history and revisionism.”
“The Midas Touch...” Akira muttered. Now, the man’s gaze lifted to meet the intruder’s with a new spark behind him. No longer was he scared; Akira was intrigued by this man and his sudden appearance. “Who are you?”

 The intruder bowed gracefully. “My name is Adam Weishaupt, the first being that those accursed gods created for this planet.”
“Adam Weishaupt...” Akira muttered. He looked back down at the golden ramen.
Adam could tell that the man wanted to ask if he could keep the now-golden cup of ramen, and let out a chuckle of amusement. “You, my new friend, are free to keep that. In fact, I have come here to offer you the opportunity to earn more such treasures, and accrue wealth beyond your wildest imaginations.”
The words snapped Akira out of his trance, and he hastily climbed to his feet; the man still hugged the golden cup of ramen close to his chest, as if still sceptical about the man’s claim that he could keep it. But, still, he needed to know...
“What do you want from me?”

 Adam’s lips curled into an eerie smile, one that reminded the flaxen-haired man of a snake. On one hand, it contrasted the man’s handsome features, and yet, to Akira, it did not seem out of place on the face of such a mysterious individual.
The ‘perfect being’ reached out one hand.
“Akira Morisaki, how would you like to defy the gods that concocted this terrible fate of yours?”
“Defy the gods...?”
Akira’s mind immediately conjured up thoughts of his family. The smiling face of his daughter as a child, the marriage ceremony he and his wife had held... and their terrified expressions as they clung to each other, wanting an escape from the reality that had turned against them.
Next, his mind wandered to his own life–the successes he had at his previous position, his boss promising him a promotion... and then his cursed daughter ripping his entire future away from him. It was not her fault–it was the fault of her black-haired friend–but Akira still harboured resentment towards the both of them deep down.
“Are you telling me... that the gods are responsible for this?” Akira asked.
“Yes, indeed they are. Those gods–the Custodians... every single issue you have ever faced can be traced back to their meddling. Even now, I know that those fools are doing their best to ensure that humanity follows the one path they decided upon–the Noise are proof of that.”
The reference of the Noise sparked a flame in Akira’s chest, and he narrowed his eyes. “So... they’re the ones who ruined my life?”
“Yes!” Adam hissed. “Now, Akira, tell me: do you wish to fight against our creators? To claim the power to write your own future?”
Akira took a deep breath in.

 The flaxen-haired man tentatively reached out one hand, but stopped just above making contact with Adam’s palm. He looked up at the navy-haired man’s face once more.
“And... you will give me more gold?”
Adam slowly nodded. “As much gold as you desire.”
At that, the man grabbed Adam’s hand with a determined grip. The two hands shook, and Akira nodded. “I’ll help you however I can, Mr. Weishaupt.”
“Perfect...” Adam hissed.

 And then Akira looked down.

 Adam’s other arm pierced straight through Akira’s heart at an incredible speed; Akira neither saw the man’s arm move nor did he feel the pain. All he felt was a slight nudge, as if he had been shoved, but it was not strong enough to knock him over.
“W...?” Akira’s eyes went wide. As he tried to speak, he was only able to form a single syllable before blood spewed from his mouth.
“You don’t need to worry.” Adam smile twisted into a crooked one, and Akira saw the man now for what he was–Adam Weishaupt was truly mad. “Consider this an advance payment.”
Releasing Akira’s hand, Adam seemed to reach into a gap in reality, his arm disappearing from Akira’s blurry view. A second later it returned, now clutching what looked like a fossil.
“Just trust me, Akira Morisaki.” Adam nodded.
Akira’s eyes began to close as he began to feel his life force draining out of his body. His mind was hazy, a black fog filling every bit of his consciousness, but he retained cognitive thought just long enough to hear Adam’s reassurance.
“This won’t hurt... any more than it already has.”

~ ~ ~

 Miku–or rather, her incomplete clone–glared at the man named Akira with a look of pure disgust. He had torn his shirt apart, and his now-bare chest was visible to all. Even from her position a short distance away, Chris could see clearly the reason he was doing so.
What looked like a pure white stone protruded out from where the man’s heart was, and he appeared to be covered in a shirt of white scales. Chris recognized what was happening to the man immediately, and couldn’t help but let out a cold hiss.
“The Nehushtan Armour.”
“I was a little scared at first, you know? A stone? One that somehow saved my life?” Adam chuckled, re-buttoning his shirt. “Of course, Adam offered no explanation for his actions, but I trusted him once he showed me those visions of the future. It took me decades to realize that this stone, the Nehushtan Armour, had halted my body’s development, and I healed from any wound almost immediately. I was immortal.”
The clone Miku transformed her arm into the black form of Batara Kala and launched a punch directly at the man’s face–and Akira did not even attempt to dodge. Chris heard a loud crack as the man’s skull was shattered under the force of Miku’s attack, but she knew that it would do no good; she had wielded the Nehushtan Armour herself, at one point, so she was familiar with its healing properties.
The clone of Miku should have been too, considering it was likely the relic responsible for her existence.

 Indeed, as Miku pulled her arm away, the man’s face had already begun healing itself.
“The pain I suffer from any attack can not even come close to the emotional pain I’ve felt over the years.” Akira taunted. “You could never imagine the pain I feel every time I look into Hibiki’s cold eyes as she pleads with me to spare her life... and the hollow look she gives me as it drains from her body completely.”
“You’re despicable.” Miku spat–literally. “To kill your own daughter.”
“Oh, like you can talk.” Akira laughed. Miku stiffened at his words. “We have been watching you, you know. The way you killed the girl you loved–or should I say, the girls you loved. Even Chris Yukine was not safe from your attacks... although she managed to survive because of Izak’s twerp.”
“Twerp?” Carol raised her eyebrow, only now acknowledging the man’s presence for the first time.
“Take it up with ‘papa’ over there.” Akira bared his fangs as he responded to her, shoving his thumb in the direction of a chuckling Izak, earning a glare from his small, golden-haired daughter.
As the clone Miku watched Akira’s face fully reassemble itself–a final nail in her heart, considering her own face still remained incomplete–she lowered her gaze to ask the man one simple question.
“How many times?”
“Hm?” Akira asked, pretending not to know what she meant.
“How many times...” Miku frowned. “Have you killed Hibiki?”
“At some point, I lost count. It has been several hundred years since I joined Adam in his quest to destroy the gods, so, if I had to guess...” Akira stroked his chin as he slowly climbed to his feet. He smirked as he stood up-right, giving the clone Miku a little shrug. “Somewhere around three thousand ti–”
Akira couldn’t even finish his sentence as Miku slammed her giant fist into the man’s chest, launching him at a high speed into the golden wall of Lydian Private Music Academy. The man crashed into the wall with a loud clang, collapsing to the ground in a heap. Though he should have sustained heavy damage from the blow, Akira began standing up almost immediately.
“I’m going to kill you.” Miku hissed.
“It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve tried.” He smiled.

 The clone Miku took a step forwards, but stopped.
“Let me go.” She addressed the reason why she halted without looking at it: Chris Yukine held onto her one arm, pulling it back.
“He’s not worth it.” Chris said. “Killing him won’t...”
“Won’t bring Hibiki back?” Akira proudly finished the sentence. The comment shocked both Mikus, and all others around them, and the clone Miku’s red eye twitched once.
Chris looked down, diverting her gaze back towards Kirika, who was still collapsed on the ground. Their gazes met for just a moment. “I...”
“Across every universe–every Miku Kohinata I’ve met,” Akira grinned. “She has never once chosen Chris Yukine over Hibiki Tachibana. Even after I’ve done my job, the two have never grown any closer.”
Akira pointed at Chris, a mocking expression on his face. “Your love for Miku Kohinata will never truly be reciprocated.”
“I know that...” Chris whispered. “I know that I’ll never be anything more than a replacement for Hibiki... But...”

 ““That’s not true!””

 Chris looked up at the sound of two identical shouts. One came from the clone Miku she held on to, while the other came from the original, golden Miku still locked in a staring contest with the partially-bifurcated Adam Weishaupt.
The golden Miku’s gaze did not drift from Adam’s eyes, but her next words were undeniably for Chris. “No one can replace Hibiki. My feelings for her... nothing could ever come close to filling the hole that she left in my heart.”
“But,” the clone Miku started, “That doesn’t mean you’re nothing more than an attempt to fill that hole. Ever since I... Ever since Frontier, you’ve constantly been reaching your hand out towards me. The possibility of reviving Hibiki, and the care you’ve shown me...”
Both Mikus shouted again. ““You’re the only reason I’ve been able to stay sane, Chris! Nothing could ever replace you, too!””

 “An attempt to raise her spirits was made.” Akira shrugged.
“And... it may be foolish, but...” Chris looked up at the clone Miku, and their eyes locked together. “It worked. Maybe your words were just that, but... I trust you. I don’t think you would lie to me.”

 “““Touching.””” All three of the Adams muttered, rolling their eyes.
One of the Adams–the one that had been disguised as Fudo Kazanari–raised his hand, revealing a series of blue jewels. He frowned. “Personally, I’ve had enough of this chit-chat.”
“I second this.” The Adam beside him added. “Shall we abandon our plans for this fragment, then? To use these girls, anyway?”
“No.” This came from Izak. “Nastassja and I have almost discovered the way to activate the Yggdrasil System, and we know that the methods are inconsistent across fragments.”
“Indeed.” Nastassja nodded. “It would be best if we make use of this opportunity.”
“Then,” Fudo-Adam shook his hand, and suddenly all but one of the blue jewels were gone. “Shall we get rid of that foolish girl? The one we do not need?”
“That... would certainly be the best course of action.” Nastassja said, then glaring towards Miku, she threw her hand out. “I vote we rid this fragment of this trash!”
“No, let us not rid of her completely.” Izak smiled. “Incapacitate her. We shall let her regenerate endlessly as I experiment upon her. The doctor’s work on her far exceeded my expectations, and I wish to learn more about these clones...”
“Shall I do the honours, master?” Millaarc asked from her kneeling position beside Izak.
“No. Allow me.” Akira coldly muttered, sliding a blade out of the sleeve of his shirt. The knife was jet-black in colour that both appeared to be metal yet did not look metallic.
Yumi gasped as she saw it, her hand unconsciously sliding towards her pocket, where the scale from that mysterious chest relic was stored. It was the same material–it had to be.
“Very well.” Fudo-Adam nodded. “I look forwards to seeing your success.”

 With that, the Adam threw the blue jewel onto the ground in front of the clone Miku. The jewel exploded, a blast of white light filling the area.
At the same time, the Adam in the air launched a powerful punch at the golden Miku, who, even with her enhanced reflexes, was unable to dodge or counter it. She took the blow directly, and flew into the explosion; the top half of Adam flew after her.

 As the light disappeared, every member of SONG was shocked to see that both Mikus, Akira, Adam, Chris, and Kirika had all vanished completely; no trace of their existence remained.

 They had completely disappeared. No, it was as if they had not existed to begin with.

 “Kirika!” Maria shouted.
““Miku! Chris!”” Shiori and Kuriyo cried.
Yumi remained silent.
“Subject GX shall be turned into your plaything today, Izak. You must be excited.” Nastassja noted, ignoring the girls before her.
“Ecstatic.” The golden-haired alchemist licked his lips. “I can’t wait to play with that girl.”
Carol scoffed. “You... my papa would never say anything so disgusting.”
Izak clicked his tongue. “Surely, even a third-rate alchemist like you, my sweet daughter, should know that knowledge is the backbone of our work. I would go to any lengths for even the slightest bit of new information.”
Before Carol had a chance to respond, it was Kanade who coughed up her own comeback. “Someone who was truly smart would know where the limits are.”

. . .

 Fujitaka furiously tapped on his keyboard. “I can’t find any trace of them. It’s like they completely vanished from existence.”
“Damn it!” Genjuro slammed the counter in front of him, leaving a deep imprint from his punch. The sound caused the three people standing around him to flinch in shock, though Fujitaka ignored it as he continued his search.
“I hope they’re okay.” Elfnein said, looking down.
The newest member of this team, patted the green-haired homunculus on the shoulder. Flashing her a smile, the taller figure gave her a thumbs up. “That girl risked her life to protect me and my friends. I won’t forgive her if she dies before I can thank her for.”
Elfnein chuckled, but Shirabe(?) looked at the figure with a curious expression. “You... remind me of Kiri. I think?”
“I’m glad to hear that, uhh...”
“Shirabe. Shirabe Tsukuyomi.”
“Stephen Virena.” The teenager said with a grin. “Nice to meet you. Mr. Genjuro has been letting me help out around here, so we might see each other around more.”
Elfnein nodded. “He was basically single-handedly keeping Chris alive the entire time Miku was comatose.” The homunculus bowed. “I can’t thank you enough for caring for her while I was busy.”
“Like I said, that girl–Miku–saved my life. I feel like I need to do everything to give my thanks to her, and all of the other Symphogear wielders.” Stephan bashfully scratched the back of his head. “It’s the least I could do.”
Shirabe(?) frowned. “Maybe... you’re not like Kiri.”

 Genjuro let out a deep sigh, then turned to Elfnein and Shirabe(?) beside him.
“That man mentioned the Yggdrasil System, correct? I want you to look into it.” The man’s eyes drifted over to Stephan. “You should help. Whatever it is, if they want to activate it, it’s likely dangerous.”
“Roger that, sir!” Stephan saluted.
“The Yggdrasil System is probably related to why I was kidnapped, but...” Elfnein hung her head. “I’m sorry I can’t remember much about that time.”
“No, it’s fine.” Genjuro consoled her with a smile. “Even if you did recall what happened, I doubt they would have told you much about the system anyway. But, if they did, perhaps following this lead may reawaken some memories.”
Elfnein nodded, a determination welling up within her. A fire was lit behind her eyes, and she held her fists up in front of herself in an attempt to pump herself up.
Beside the small homunculus, Shirabe(?) tilted her head in confusion at Genjuro’s order. “Shouldn’t I go out and help the others?”
“No. You just got out of a coma.” Genjuro shook his head. “Truthfully, I wouldn’t have had Miku got out there either, but it’s not like any of us are strong enough to stop her.”
Shirabe(?) pulled her fist close to her chest; Genjuro could tell a plan was already formulating behind her ruby eyes. He kneeled down on the metal ground, and his glare met her stare.
“For the record, I often train against Tsubasa while she’s in her gear... and I have come out on top more than I’ve lost.”
The man stood back up, ignoring the surprised looks both Shirabe(?) and Elfnein were giving him. Shirabe(?) nodded slowly.
“Noted.”
They were vaguely aware of Fujitaka muttering beneath his breath, though the man’s voice was drowned out entirely by the clicking of his fingers against the keyboard: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him even break a sweat.”

 Suddenly, two voices simultaneously screamed over the communications line. The shock he felt from the sudden interruption of his work caused Fujitaka to flail backwards, both him and his chair falling to the ground.
““Chief!””
Genjuro turned to the screen, where two windows displaying Ogawa and Tomosato were overlaid atop the footage of the girls still at the now-golden Lydian. Both had grim expressions on their faces, their jaws tensed as they waited for a response.
“What now?” The man groaned, making his way back towards the podium he had dented earlier. The man was about to take a seat, but then stopped and let out a slow sigh. “This is bad news, isn’t it?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Ogawa sadly reported.
“Bad news might be putting it lightly, honestly.” Tomosato shook her head.

. . .

 “What? Where are we?”
“Not on Earth.”
Chris and the Miku clone stood side-by-side, looking around in confusion at their new surroundings. They stood on a piece of golden debris, with many more floating in the air around the area around them; it was almost like a part of an ancient, ornate palace that had been disassembled like a jigsaw puzzle.
“We’re in the Treasury of Babylonia. I’m sure of it.”
The girls both turned their attention to Kirika, who spoke slowly–and in the voice of Finé. She was climbing to her feet now, her knees trembling as she breathed heavily. Her face was pale, and both Chris and the Miku clone could see sweat beading on her forehead.
Despite the poor state Kirika was in, Finé spoke calmly.
“Hey, Kirika.” Chris stepped towards the girl. “Are you okay?”
“Y-yeah... death. I’m fine.” Kirika took a shaky step forwards.
“You look like...” The clone Miku began to speak, then turned around. “Wait. What happened to Akira?”
An explosion rang out somewhere above the three girls, temporarily drawing their attention away from Kirika.

. . .

 The original, golden Miku grunted as she collided with a giant piece of debris, her body making a loud clang as she bounced off it. Despite the surprising amount of pain she felt–both from Adam’s lightning-fast attacks and the alarms in her mind telling her about the presence of Noise–Miku tried her best to keep her focus on the two men before her.
Adam–the top half of him–held his arms out wide as he floated in the air without a care. Despite his casually cocky expression, Miku had not been able to guard against any of the man’s attacks yet; she could barely see most of them.
A short ways away, Akira looked on with a crooked look, holding up his jet black blade.

 “Perhaps I underestimated the good doctor’s work. It might have been beneficial to keep him around longer.” Adam mused, then shrugged. “Oh well. Even a perfect being like myself can make mistakes, I suppose.”
Adam clapped his hands together, then slowly pulled them apart. As he did, the space between them shimmered, a golden lance slowly being revealed. It was the same weapon that Adam had used to attack Miku and transmute her body’s composition.
But, now that she looked at it clearly...

 “You coated it in John’s special concoction, right?” Akira asked casually. “The Anti-LiNKER or whatever he called it?”
“My repeated trips through infinite fragments has taught me that Anti-LiNKER does have the ability to stifle even gods.” The man chuckled, and the lance disappeared. “But for it to effect Subject GX so greatly... this is even beyond my calculations.”
“So that’s why...” Miku hissed, looking down at one of her hands. She had thought her body had felt heavier because of its new appearance, but judging from what his man said, Miku now knew that she would be no match against Adam until the so-called Anti-LiNKER exited her system.

*I might not even regenerate in this state.*

 Miku clicked her tongue, but it sounded more like a coin bouncing off of a tiled floor. She had no idea if Chris, Kirika, and the other her had been transported with her, but she knew she had to do anything she could to defeat Adam here–he was incredibly powerful, and there were two more of him. She needed to whittle down the Illuminati’s strength to be useful to the others.
Her eyes drifted to Akira. He would be significantly easier to deal with... but Miku knew that he couldn’t underestimate him; he had the power of the Nehushtan Armour, after all. Plus, she would need to fight him while also dodging Adam’s attacks.

 “What’s wrong, GX? A being as powerful as you shouldn’t be hesitating... You certainly never have before.” Adam taunted Miku. “Your insistence to continue fighting, even when it would lead to you hurting–or even killing–your friends. It’s truly admirable.”
Miku ignored him, and planted her back and the bottoms of her feet against the debris, preparing to launch off of it. She eyed Akira, who lazily shook his head.
“Come on, Miku. It’s no fun if you do nothing.” He casually shook his blade. “Even the versions of you without any powers still struggled to fight back as I killed Hibiki. Of course, their attempts were just as futile.
“Alls well that ends well, though. Whenever I could, I’d let the two of you remain together for eternity... if you get what I mean.” Akira bared his fangs.
To most normal people, what happened next would look comical: Akira slid to the side and spun around, his knife out-stretched. To everyone involved, however, they saw the true events: Miku launched herself off the fragment of the structure floating within the vast space at a high speed, transforming her arm into a replica of Gungnir. She aimed towards Akira, who slid out of the way to dodge her incoming attack, and countered with his blade.
Miku let out a scream as the blade easily sliced through her metallic body.

 Even Adam’s attacks did not hurt her as much as Akira’s simple slice did in that moment. It was the first time she had truly felt physical pain since Ver had forced the Lancea Longini into her body.
Her eyes flew open in fear at the thought that these two despicable men–Dr. Ver and Akira–had done more to cause her harm than anyone else in her life. Terror, shock; a concoction of panic rushed into Miku’s mind–the surprise infected Miku’s mind so quickly that she did not even feel anything as Akira launched a kick directly into the girl’s back, sending her spiralling towards another piece of debris...

 ...and then directly through it.

 The piece of debris exploded apart from the impact, and Miku felt as if her entire body was being ripped apart. She did not understand what had just happened–had the two set up an alchemical trap for her, perhaps?–but she knew that she had greatly underestimated the strength of her foes.
Miku let out a blood-curdling scream, though the sound was sucked into the void around her.

. . .

 “That sounded like–” The clone Miku screamed in surprise.
“Miku!” Chris cut her off. Then, turning to the clone in a panic: “Can you get me up there?”
“I’m coming too, death.” Kirika said, her voice weak. “I want to help!”
Chris opened her mouth to oppose that idea, but the clone Miku interrupted her with a nod. “Alright.”
“I’ll... do my best, death!” Kirika weakly smirked, wiping away the cold sweat that soaked her forehead with the back of her hand.
“Alright!” Chris pumped her fist. “Let’s go beat the shit out of those assholes and save Miku!”
Kirika happily raised her fist in cheer as well. “Death!”
The clone Miku smiled. *I’m glad to have them as friends.* She thought...

 ...then the clone frowned.
“Death!?” Kirika shouted in shock.
 “What the hell?” Chris leapt back.
All three girls looked at the ground, where the clone Miku’s arm now laid, severed clean from her body.

. . .

 “How...?” Miku grunted as she bounced off another piece of debris. “How are you so fast?”
“You come to learn a trick or two after a couple hundred years.” Akira shrugged. The man, who stood on what appeared to be a small rock, had a wild look in his eye as he pointed his jet black blade towards the golden girl before him. “Besides, this is a kind of therapy for me.”
“Therapy?” Miku asked.

 The golden girl’s head felt heavy–both from the pain she felt from this man’s insane attacks and the fact that her body had been heavily weakened by the Anti-LiNKER formula; it was as if her thoughts were wading through a pool of mud.
Still, she was in her right mind enough to know how strange Akira’s words were. Miku looked down to admire the man’s crazy work–jet-black streaks had been carved deep into her body in many places, and her body was still trying to heal them.
“You could have killed me easily by now...” Miku narrowed her eyes. She knew that, by ‘therapy’, he was clearly acting on a grudge, and she needed to buy as much time as possible. “What did the ‘me’ of your universe do to you?”

 Akira’s tongue popped out of his lips and hung limply as he smiled wide. The man ran the black dagger over his tongue, seemingly cleaning it of the blood that wasn’t there.
“It’s not what you did to me...” Akira muttered quietly, his eyes glued to Miku’s. “...It’s what you did to her.”
“Her.” *Hibiki.*
The flaxen-haired man slowly began to walk towards Miku, a casual gait only making his insane expression all the more creepy. As he strutted across the rocky platform and towards its edge, Akira’s eyes never once strayed from Miku’s own.
“You always ruin Hibiki.” Akira hissed. “Whenever the two meet, Hibiki changes. She stops being the small sunflower that relies on me for support and becomes something else.”
“It’s called growing up.” Miku supplies.
“No!” Akira shouts, swiping at the empty space with his blade. “She becomes wholly dependent on you, glued to your side like a magnet. Yet you only bring her pain and suffering! The bullying, the lack of self-confidence as she aspires to stand by your side, and that fucking concert!
“I’ll kill a million Hibikis if it means they won’t be tainted by your vile poison!”

 Miku’s eyes shot wide at one comment he made. “The lack of self-confidence? What are you talking about? I’m–”
“A talented singer and musician, an incredible track star, one of the most popular girls in school.” Akira stomped his foot. “And you have the gall to pretend to be Hibiki’s friend–as if your very existence doesn’t hurt her enough.”

 *A talented singer and musician.* It was true that Miku had natural talent in that field. Once upon a time, she had wanted to go to Lydian Private Music Academy–under different circumstances, perhaps she would have been ecstatic on that day, when Tsubasa and Kanade pulled her and Hibiki into this strange world of relics.

*An incredible track star.* For years, Miku had put so much work into her body. Before she met Hibiki, Miku’s parents had joked that Miku’s only friends were her running shoes. There were days during summer vacation when Miku would go out at sunrise and not come back until after the sun had set, only taking breaks to nibble on granola bars.

*One of the most popular girls in school.* Miku was mostly confused about this–she never saw herself as ‘popular’. People pretended to be friendly with Miku at school, but she never felt like she had ever made a true friend until Hibiki. In Miku’s mind, someone ‘popular’ would have had many friends–though maybe she did look the part to those on the outside.

 Miku looked down.
The man in front of her let out a grunt. Akira looked annoyed, with a taunting look in his eye not unlike that worn by some members of the yakuza.
“Did you only just now realize how much of a burden you are to Hibiki? My daughter complains about being cursed with how bad her luck could be–”, Miku perked up, “–and that’s because you exist only to draw bad luck towards her.”

 “That’s where our universes diverge.” Miku smiled. “I don’t remember Hibiki ever saying that she’s cursed–ever. Even when our lives went to shit, never once did she ever complain. In fact, she took everything that happened with a much better outlook.
“When we were in physical therapy after the concert, it was only because of Hibiki that I kept looking forwards towards the future. I had a hope, deep in my heart, that everything would work out fine... if anything, once my parents died, I was the one who complained about being cursed.”
Akira tilted his head. “What are you talking about?”
Miku ignored Akira, and pulled herself off the wall she had been pinned to by his attacks. Transforming her arm into Gungnir, she looked down on the father of her best friend.
“Any curse should be broken–I said as much to Finé all that time ago... and no one in this world has been beaten down more times than me!” Miku’s words were quiet, but filled with a rage that she struggled to keep contained. Even Akira flinched under her glare–the glare of a monster whose power was trying to break free.

 “Th-that might be true...” Akira said. “But it doesn’t change what you did to my daughter!”
“You’re right!” Miku screamed, and the man froze up. “But I’m not that Miku.”
Extending her replica Gungnir out in front of her golden body, Miku’s body seemed to emit a visible, dark aura–almost as if Batara Kala had been transformed into a gaseous form. Taking a step into the air, Miku slowly began walking over non-existent ground towards Akira.
“I am Batara Kala... I am Lancea Longini... *I am Miku Kohinata!*”
Miku flew forwards suddenly, letting out one final scream.

 “And you have no right putting words into the mouth of my best friend!”

 Akira tried to dodge out of the way, but Miku’s aura seemed to lock him in place. In all of his years as an assassin, killing infinite versions of the daughter that he loved, he had never felt as scared as he did in the face of this golden Miku Kohinata.
The man could do nothing but conjure up all of the memories of all of the Hibikis that he killed. Some smiled, some cried, but most whispered the same thing to him:

 “I’m sorry.” Hibiki had told him, so many times.
Even when he had been the one to kill her, it was Hibiki who apologized for Akira’s actions. It was as if she was taking responsibility for his actions.

 Akira let out a yell as he charged forwards, holding his dagger out as he threw himself towards the sparkling monster with a murderous glare in her eyes. Both he and Miku moved at incredible speeds, crossing the large gap between them in less than a second.

 “Ah.”

 The man’s hands pushed forwards. Unexpectedly, Akira had found flesh–or metal, in the case of this Miku. Yet the girl before him did not appear to feel the pain of his magical blade being embedded deep within her stomach; instead, Miku stared down at Akira with a cold, emotionless look, almost as if she was a robot.
“That’s enough.” Miku commented, pulling her arm backwards. Akira’s eyes immediately went to look at the edge of the large weapon, which was painted in gore–a weapon that was not Gungnir, as it had been moments earlier.
Akira coughed up blood. In all of his years, he had never been wounded in such a way; even when he had taken fatal attacks while working for Adam, Akira’s body always regenerated instantly thanks to the Nehushtan Armour.
“...How...?”
“Igalima has the power to cut through a soul.” Miku explained, swiping the golden scythe arm upwards. “The Nehushtan Armour can only regenerate what’s physical... the metaphysical can not be healed as easily.”

 “I see.” Akira chuckled weakly. “You really are... a monster...”
The man’s grip on the dagger weakened, and the man slowly fell away. Miku watched in silence as Akira collapsed first to his knees against the rocky platform, before he slowly leaned forwards to press his lifeless face against the ground.
“No. I’m the devil.” Miku addressed the man’s soulless corpse, which slowly began to dissipate into dust.

 Miku put her hand to her abdomen, slowly groping at the jet black blade still stabbed within her. Closing her eyes tight, the girl quickly pulled the weapon out of her body, letting out a gasp as her mysterious body let go of the dagger.
Almost immediately, Miku felt all of the pain that she had been pushing down flare up inside of her. Black ooze began to run out of the hole in her stomach where the blade was embedded as her body began to repair itself, but it felt different than it usually did.
Everything felt fuzzy, and Miku fell onto her knees in the dusty remains of Akira as she placed a hand on her head. It felt like all of the blood was rushing to her head–despite the fact that she did not have blood in her body–and she hurt all over.

 “Not yet.” Miku grunted. “There’s still one more...”

 The girl clutched her stomach, letting the dagger fall to the ground in front of her. “I need... to help...”

. . .

 The clone Miku quickly shot out a chain, wrapping it around her severed arm on the ground. At the same time, the girl dodged out of the way, avoiding a blast of flames that would crash down in the exact spot that she had stood in just a millisecond later.
“Even though you are an incomplete replica of Subject GX, you appear to have retained her speed.”
Adam gently floated down from above, his arms spread wide. The man was no longer just half a body–the rest of Adam had been restored through some means. Chris clicked her tongue upon seeing him.
“What did you do to Miku, death!?” Kirika shouted.
“I do not need to answer a girl who can not even keep her one weapon in hand.” Adam responded coldly, waving his hand.
“Fine. Then I’ll ask.” Chris countered. “What did you do to Miku!?”
“My subordinate is likely engaged in combat with her at this moment.” Adam explained. “Although, truthfully, I do not expect him to do an acceptable job.”
“So you’re sending Akira to his death?” Miku spat.
Adam shrugged in response. “Maybe he will surprise me... though I have my doubts.”
“So, you’re okay with tossing people away like pieces of trash.” Chris surmised, her glare only intensifying, as if she were trying to burrow a hole through the man with her stare.
“I’ve lived longer than the entire population of this planet could ever hope to.” Adam commented. “There are many others, people far more useful to me, that I could bring into the fold. I only chose that man because I needed someone to eliminate... her. To weaken the connection between all of these infinite fragments of universes.”

 None of the girls moved to engage in combat; Miku and Chris were confused about how they should go about it, while Kirika still did not sing the Holy Chant of Igalima. Instead, they just stared at the imposing, nude man who confidently looked down–both literally and metaphorically–at his three enemies.
The three girls looked at each other.
“I don’t think any of us understand all this stuff about ‘infinite fragments’ or whatever.” Chris casually commented, a smirk crossing her face. “But I think we all understand what we need to do.”
Kirika and the clone Miku nodded.
“Let’s get him, death!”
“I look forwards to seeing you try.” Adam chuckled.

#### AXZ Chapter 16

 There was a beat of silence after Kirika donned her Symphogear. The clone-Miku, Chris, Kirika, and Adam all stared at each other, seizing each other up. The alchemist wore a cocky smile, while the others’ eyes glared at the man with determination.
Kirika out-stretched her arms, and both Chris and Miku took them. The three nodded, then closed their eyes, allowing their hearts beginning to beat in sync as they pushed aside the hurricane of thoughts blowing around their minds.
Then, the music began to play. Igalima, Ichaival, and the mysterious Shrivatsa burst out a powerful song, a force of radiance exploding out from the three girls as they began to sing.

*Hajimaru uta hajimaru kodō*
*Hibiki nariwatare kibō no oto*
*“Ikiru koto wo akiramenai” to*

 Kirika opened her green and gold eyes.

*Shimese*

 Chris opened her amethyst eyes.

 *Atsuki yume no*

 The clone Miku’s teal and red eyes burst open.

*Makuake wo*

 Kirika, Chris, and Miku all said the next three lines in sequence, releasing the grip they had on each other’s hands.

*Haze yo*
*Kono*
*Kiseki ni*

 As they began to sing in unison, the three girls summoned their Armed Gears–Kirika’s giant scythe, Chris’s revolvers, and a chain from the end of the clone Miku’s missing arm.
With a fire in their eyes, the three girls jumped towards a smiling Adam, who only looked down upon them with a disinterested look in his eyes.

*Uso wa nai*

 Adam reacted immediately to their movements, dropping to the ground to participate in the choreography that the three girls he considered ‘lesser’ than him wanted him to engage in. Though they were confused, the three girls did not waste a moment adjusting their angle of attack.
Kirika’s black shoulder pauldrons exploded, transforming into spiked chords that flew towards her enemy. The jet-black wires zig-zagged through the air at a high speed, cutting the space between her and Adam like scissors through paper.
The alchemist simply stuck out his hand, forming a wall of energy not unlike Finé’s Asgard technique. Each of Kirika’s snares clattered against what looked to be a wall of blue glass, returning back to the girl who was still running forwards.
With the air clear, Chris fired missiles from beside Kirika towards Adam.

 Almost as if expecting Kirika’s attack to fail, the clone Miku had zipped around the side of Adam and threw out four chains–one from where her missing arm would be, and three from the centre of her chest. Like they were whips, the chains cracked at the air...
...and then Adam caught them easily with his hands. Despite Miku’s attempts to keep her footing firm, Adam effortlessly swung Miku through the air, throwing her directly into the path of Chris’s incoming missiles.
Just before the clone Miku was blasted by Chris’s weapons, she surrounded herself in the shield of Shrivatsa, fully protecting her as explosions rocked the air around her.

 Though the three girls continued to sing, Adam frowned in annoyance.
“You girls are far weaker, and less coordinated, than they were.” The alchemist shook his head, then glanced towards the clone Miku as she landed on the ground and released herself from her shield.
“I shall end this, quickly.” Adam curtly announced.
Chris smirked at his words and pointed her guns at him.

. . .

 “Girls. You are to retreat–now!”
“Not a chance, chief.” Kanade immediately replied to Genjuro, a frown on her face.
“No. This is not up for negotiation!” Genjuro growled–it was a tone that Kanade, nor any other girl also on the communications line, had ever heard him use before. It was almost feral, like a lion’s roar. “Return to base, now!”
Shiori, who was listening to the conversation through her cell phone, let out a cry. “But what about Kirika, Chris, and Miku!?”
There was silence for a beat, then a sigh. It was Fujitaka who replied a moment later. “I’m trying to locate their signatures, but currently we have no idea where they were transported to. There’s nothing we can do to help them right now, but I’m sure they’re trying to–”

 “No.” Kanade slammed her spear into the ground. “That’s all the more reason for us to fight.”
Tsubasa held up her sword. “In the worst case scenario, Kohinata, Yukine, and Akatsuki may not ever be coming back. We can’t afford to sit back and wait for them.”
“I understand, but–” Fujitaka was cut off as Genjuro roared again.
“Look around, girls! Take a good look at your surroundings!”

 “Ah.” It was Carol who let out a gasp of acknowledgment first. “So that is your reasoning, then. The fact that the existence of the Symphogears–and alchemy–has now been made irrefutable public knowledge.”
The Symphogear wielders looked away from the members of the Bavarian Illuminati for the first time, taking in what was happening around them. Multiple drones, all outfitted with cameras, buzzed around the skies above, and there were many curious–and scared–civilians looking on from the nearby buildings and streets.
They had been completely exposed.
“The Queens of Music, Superheroes? Magic Is Real–Superheroes Fight Wizards In Japan. Robots, Wizards, and Weapons–A Movie In Real Life.” Yumi read phrases off her phone. “These headlines are awful.”
Kuriyo looked up, and she could see a drone’s camera zoom in directly on her face; she looked away quickly. “This... is not good.”
“Sorry about this.” Ogawa’s voice came over the comms. “I was trying my best, but I could only do so much to keep information under wraps.”

 “So many people now know of the existence of Symphogears, and the foolish children who don these powerful weapons.” One of the Adams chuckled, drawing all attention back to him. Even some of the drones turned to film him.
The other Adam crossed his arms. “A pity, though. Having our actions exposed would make it more difficult for us to work, as well.”
“Whose fault is that?” Izak rolled his eyes. “It was you who wanted to turn these girls–and their school–into gold. And then reveal your hidden hand to them.”
“If not for the fact that our goals all align, and he has the power to see it to fruition, I would never dream of working with this fool.” Nastassja grunted from beside him.

 “Symphogear is already trending.” Yumi muttered under her breath, showing her phone to Shiori. “Twelve thousand posts and increasing by the second. This must be streaming worldwide.”
“That’s...”
“Perfect.” Yumi whispered, flashing a smile. “I’ve got an idea. Follow me.”

 “Unfortunately, it seems likely that we will need to abandon this fragment, after all.” Izak Malus Dienheim nodded towards Serena, who rested nearly-unconscious on the ground with her head in her sister’s lap. “Stoker–kill them.”
Millaarc nodded slowly. “Very well, master.” Then, she looked up.
Unlike before, Millaarc’s amber-coloured eyes were now a deep crimson, her sclera completely black. The girl licked her lips slowly as she showed her fangs to the others and flapped her wings.
Suddenly sensing that the vampire’s power had grown significantly, Tsubasa and Kanade raised their weapons. Carol and her three Autoscorers similarly took combative positions.
“Ando, Itaba, Terashima–run! Now!” Tsubasa screamed.
But she got no answer... or, at least, the answer she was expecting.

 “Attention people of Earth! My name is Yumi Itaba, a member of the organization known as SONG.”

 Every eye–both human and drone–turned towards the source of the voice: Yumi, standing on the backs of Kuriyo and Shiori like they were cheerleaders. She had her hands in the air, waving at the cloud of robotic eyes floating through the sky.
“What is she doing?” Literally everyone around (barring Serena) asked themselves.

 “We need your help to defeat the Bavarian Illuminati! Yes–that Illuminati!” Yumi pointed towards the members of the aforementioned organization. “Those alchemists have been ruling the world from the shadows, and ruining the lives of my friends.”
““Shit.”” Kanade and Izak both muttered simultaneously, realizing that she was planning to use the world to gather information.
“Kill her!” Izak pointed towards Yumi. “Kill the three of them first!”
Millaarc nodded and jumped into the air. Shiori and Kuriyo’s faces flashed panicked expressions, but they did not move–Yumi just continued her speech, as if she was not aware of anything else around her.
Spreading her wings wide, the vampire’s arms became surrounded in a dark red flesh, augmenting her strength ten-fold. Flapping her wings, she dashed through the air at a high speed, ready to tear the three girls apart.

 “The Illuminati is attempting to activate something known as the Yggdrasil System. What it is, we’re not sure, but considering this organization has already murdered an entire school’s worth of kids, including many of my friends–” Yumi gestured at the golden school “–it is definitely not something that we can let happen.”

 Tsubasa collided with the vampire, who wore a surprised expression as her large arms  bashed against the blue-haired idol’s thin weapon, which should not have had the power to defend against her stronger attack. Millaarc could see determination in the eyes of the girl in front of her–a strong will to protect her friends, but also one that was struggling to match the vampire’s strength.
“You’re fast, I’ll give you that, da ze.” Millaarc chuckled.
“And you...” Tsubasa winced. “Should do less talking.”
“Says the girl who can barely keep up with a bat.” Millaarc laughed, loudly.
“She doesn’t need to.”
In the next moment, Maria stabbed her silver blade deep into one of Millaarc’s arms from the side, having snuck up next to her. The vampire let out a loud screech from the pain that infected her thoughts.

 “Ladies and gentlemen, you just saw the proof! Many of the world’s myths and legends are, in fact, quite real–or twisted in some way.” Yumi announced. “Though this vampire seems immune to sunlight, her weakness to silver is quite real!”
“Shut up!” Millaarc yelled, leaping away from Tsubasa and Maria.
“The Old Norse idea of a tree called Yggdrasil, around which reality exists–this is likely a tale woven based on the ‘Yggdrasil System’!” Yumi shouted to the drones that were still filming her. “Please, send me all of the information you can on Yggdrasil, and anything in reality that may be comparable to it! No–send us all of the information on myths and how they may interact with reality as a whole!”
Yumi pointed to Tsubasa. “The famous idol Tsubasa Kazanari, wields the blade Ame no Habakiri–the same sword that Susanoo-no-Mikoto used to slay Yamata no Orochi! Kanade Amou carries the giant spear Gungnir! My friends, and this school, are the proof you need that I am not lying to you! So, please, lend us your aid!
“If not for me, do it for two of my best friends. One of them almost died protecting the moon from being destroyed by an ancient cannon. Another one of my friends did die–her body is still trapped within a strange crystal!” Yumi threw her arms out angrily as she pleaded with the masses filming her. “Please, help these famous idols and my friends Hibiki Tachibana and...”

. . .

 The clone Miku wrapped her chains around Kirika, who yelped in surprise–temporarily halting her singing.
“Miku!?” Kirika’s eyes went wide. When she saw Miku flash her a confident look, she understood what she was planning.
A second later, the girl with the long blonde hair was soaring through the air at a high speed. Kirika held her scythe up behind her as she flew like a dart towards Adam. All around her were Chris’s missiles–if the girl moved off-course just a tiny bit, she would collide with them.
Expecting Adam to put up another wall of energy, Kirika (and Finé) began to concoct a plan, ideas running through the small girl’s mind as a powerful chorus echoed out of her mouth.

 The alchemist coolly put up his hand, and all of Chris’s missiles exploded upon a wall of light that formed in front of him. A smokescreen filled the air around Adam, completely blinding him–it was because of this that he was unaware of the girls’ follow-ups.
Kirika had used Asgard to create a ramp in front of her, altering her trajectory so that she would fly straight-upwards as soon as the first of the missiles detonated. As the black smoke began to clear, even Adam was surprised to see Kirika’s scythe swinging down towards his head.
The man tried to move, but he found himself stuck in place; Miku had looped her chains around his limbs while blinded, and now sat within the shield of Shrivatsa–completely immobile, with chains impossible to shatter.

 Adam laughed. “Impressive.”
The single word escaped his lips just as Igalima’s scythe cleaved the man vertically in two. There was no blood or gore–the body split apart like an empty egg, and both halves of Adam’s figure collapsed to the sides.

 “Is it over?” Chris asked.
“...No, death.” Kirika jumped back, her eyes wide. Her gaze was glued to Adam’s severed body, laying on the ground...

 ...silently chuckling.

 “Out of the way!” The clone Miku shouted at Kirika, prompting her to clear out of the area. Both Kirika and Chris turned their eyes upwards at the source of the voice.
Miku had her chains latched around what looked to be a giant, pink asteroid. The two girls below moved away hastily, hopping off of the stone platform and down to another piece of debris somewhere below.
Seeing her friends gone, the clone Miku pulled her chains as hard as she could, dropping the giant orb down upon the platform. A loud roar rang out as the asteroid collided with the ground, crushing the severed body of Adam Weishaupt flat.

 “That should do it.” Miku muttered, slowly beginning to float down towards Chris and Kirika.
“You would think that, wouldn’t you?”
At the roar of Adam’s voice, loud and clear despite coming from beneath the pink piece of debris, the three girls froze in fear. Miku’s route was halted as she turned, terrified, towards the crushed Adam.
There, her eyes focused on a small crack in the pink orb that slowly began to expand.

 “We need to get out of here.” Chris called up to Miku. “This guy’s insane.”
Miku nodded, but her gaze did not deviate from the growing spider-web growing in the side of the orb.
“How are we going to do that, death?” Kirika asked Chris.
“I dunno!” Chris shouted. “I’m sure there’s some way!”
Next, Chris looked up at the clone Miku. “Miku... clone! Go find the real Miku!”
At that order, Miku finally looked away. “I’ll do my best.”

 “T̢̤̯͍̪̼̃ͫͅO̴͈̯̘̰̬̻O̭̝̖̝͎̬͌ͩͅ ̘͙̤͇͔̥̮ͨ͗̉ͮͮͪL͙̩̬͈͍̖ͤ͆̊́ͅA͑̓ͫ̎͏Tͨ̓̐͂ͧ͛E̻̙.̊̑̔͂҉̠̘̪”

 A demonic voice seemed to echo out from the growing crevice in the orb. The sound shook the hearts of the girls–telling the clone Miku that she did, indeed, have a heart–bringing out their primal desire to flee from the unknown dangers.
“Go, Miku!” Chris shouted. “We can handle this!”
“Got it!” The clone Miku yelled back.
At the same time, Kirika turned to Chris in shock. “We can, death!?”
The clone Miku ignored this, flying up and away from the pink orb at an immense speed.

 Kirika raised her hands in surprise. “You think we can beat that thing, death!?”
“Absolutely not.” Chris turned back. “We’re going to hide.”

 “A̩̞͉̺͔͓͂ͤͮ̑S̙̺͚̱̖̾ͮ͝ ̫͔̻̜̟͌̍̌͠Î̯̮̜̹̰ͮͦ͗̽̈́F̞̂ͩ̉̔”

 Chris felt an intense pain flare through her body in the next moment, and her vision went black. She had no idea what happened; whatever had attacked her had done so in less than a second’s time.
Confusion was the only thing Chris could reach out towards to keep herself grounded as the pain invaded her mind.
The last thing she heard before her consciousness faded completely was a distant cry from Kirika, but Chris couldn’t make out whatever she was saying.

. . .

 Millaarc grabbed her arm as it returned to her normal, more-human appearance. A pained look crossed the vampire’s face as she backed away from Maria and Tsubasa. The girl clicked her tongue as she eyed the two girls suspiciously.
“What are you doing, you useless bat?” Izak hissed from behind her. “I did not put so much effort into creating such a weakling!”
“And my papa would never say such a thing!” Carol jumped towards her father alongside her three Autoscorers. Her hands were ablaze; similarly, Leiur had golden tonfa ready, Garie had pointed icicles extended from her palms, and Micha’s sharp claws were pointed at the man.
Izak simply rolled his eyes, and all of the attacks passed right through the man, as if he were a ghost. As the alchemist and her robotic bodyguards recovered from their failure, they quickly noticed that Izak had disappeared.
“Yeah I didn’t think that would work.” Kanade muttered under her breath.

 Tsubasa let out a scream, and Kanade’s neck turned to look in her direction. She wore just as surprised a look as Maria, who stood beside Tsubasa just a moment ago. Now, the blue-haired idol was soaring through the sky, with Izak standing just where she had been before.
Maria leapt back away from the alchemist.
“All of you girls are so weak. How many times have you girls even activated X-Drive? Once? Twice, in the case of that foolish vessel?” Izak shook his head. “I still question why Adam chose this group, of all that we’ve met, for his plans.”
Kanade moved to catch Tsubasa, then turned to look at the alchemist...

 “Too slow.”
...Who was already gone.
Kanade barely had the time to spin around before she felt a sharp, electrical pain prick her entire body. The pain was so intense that the orange-haired idol could barely remain conscious, collapsing into a kneeling position as she dropped Tsubasa onto the ground.
“Kanade! Tsubasa!” Maria cried out.

 “Enough!” The two Adams screamed in unison. The two of them cut the air with one arm each, and a portal appeared in the sky above them. Everyone watched in silence as an unconscious Chris was deposited onto Kanade and Tsubasa’s fainted bodies, while Kirika fell a short distance away, just as confused as everyone else. The clone-Miku followed next, with the golden Miku limp in her arms...

 ...and then a ghastly beast stomped down afterwards. Larger than a double-decker bus, this horned being with multiple crimson eyes could only be described as demonic–a satanic ghoul from the depths of hell.
“What the...?” Carol muttered, backing away from the beast.

 Everyone watched in silence as the giant monster walked over and kicked the three unconscious bodies of Chris, Kanade, and Tsubasa towards Yumi, Shiori, and Kuriyo–they had little time to dodge, so instead they struggled to catch the girls that were thrown towards them.
Instead, they merely cushioned their landings by using their own bodies.

 “So. That’s your true form.” The clone Miku admired the gigantic monster formerly known as Adam Weishaupt up-and-down. He remained silent, his many eyes trained on the girls around him.
Kirika, like Maria, rushed over to check on the six girls who had collided, and Carol (and, by extension, the three Autoscorers with her) watched her father with suspicious eyes. Miku was the only one with her attention on the two navy-haired men and the gigantic beast that slowly lumbered over to them.
“I doubt I’d be able to take you on in this state.” Miku frowned in disgust, quickly turning her head away. “Especially if all three of you can do this.”

 ““Indeed. We are a ‘perfect’ being, as defined by those despicable so-called ‘gods’.”” The two humanoid Adams spoke together, their voices as one. ““For some reason, those fools deigned to call the abomination before you ‘true’ perfection.””
One of the Adams shrugged. “Personally, barring appearances, I would have to agree.”
The other one joined in. “Alchemy can cover up our one flaw with ease. Hence, the man named Adam Weishaupt.”
““Know that our strength is absolute!””
“The only absolute here is the size of your ego.” Carol spat, though refrained from turning away from Izak. “And the fact that you–all of you–are wolves in the clothing of sheep.”

 “I... was following...” Saint-Germain was the most shaken up by this revelation. She put her hands to her head. “All those deaths, those sacrifices... I thought I was working to save humanity, but... you... none of you are even human...”
“No.” Nastassja pointed at the silver-haired alchemist. “Myself and Izak, and Akira as well, are all human, and we seek to destroy all that which the Custodians created. Our goals are aligned–we wish to protect humanity. But, to do so, we must make sacrifices.”
The old woman bowed her head. “I thank you for your service, Saint-Germain. However, you will no longer be needed... in this state.”

 Carol and Miku looked around, suddenly attentive at her choice of words.
“Garie, Micha, Leiur–!” Carol began shouting, and all at once the robots began sprinting towards Saint-Germain. The Miku clone put her original self down on the ground, roughly, before following after them...
”Huh?”
...And then they all stopped.

 “Nothing personal.” Millaarc hissed as she pulled her fangs out of the alchemist’s neck. Her face was a mess of crimson liquid–blood spilled from the two fresh holes poked into Saint-Germain’s skin. “But we’ve always got contingencies.”
Saint-Germain’s strength left her body as she collapsed forwards, and the vampire scooped her up into her arms effortlessly.
“‘Right bosses. I’m all good here.” She announced to the Adams, who chuckled.

 “Listen here, Symphogear wielders... no, the world as a whole.” One of the Adams spoke clearly, a wild look in his eyes. “We shall give you girls time to prove your worth to us.”
The other Adam spread his arms wide. “Two months! And then we shall meet once again, right in this spot.”
“Put up a fight–give us a reason not to utterly destroy this world. Prove to us that you want to live.”
Izak pointed at his daughter. “Carol, I expect great things from you, as well.”
Nastassja bowed her head. “Two months. I expect you to all awaken to your true strength far before–”

*Sumita una Gungnir tron*
*Monolar Ame no Habakiri tron*
*Gennatus Ichaival tron*

 The four heads of the Illuminati humans all spun towards the sources of the three Holy Chants that had rung out. Even Kirika and Maria were surprised, and took steps away from the three new Symphogear wielders that had just been born.

 “I kept telling Genjuro that he should let us try this.” The girl clad in red said, with a large smile on her face.
“I honestly didn’t expect to be able to.” The girl clad in yellow remarked, looking down at the large spear now in her hands.
“Couldn’t the outfits have been a bit... less revealing, though?” The girl clad in blue sighed, ignoring the sword in her hand.

 “I don’t know.” The clone Miku smiled. “Shiori, Kuriyo, Yumi... I think you girls look good.”
“A compliment from Miku? I’m shocked!” Yumi feigned a surprised reaction.
“I think that might be the first time, honestly.” Kuriyo tapped her sword on the ground. A blush was creeping over cheeks; she looked very uncomfortable. “But... I wish it had been under different circumstances.”
“Honestly, what do you take me for? A mon...” Realizing her choice of words, Miku stopped. “Don’t answer that.”

 Kirika leaned over to Maria. “According to Finé’s calculations, they shouldn't have been able to use Symphogears without LiNKER, death. And lots of it; more than what we use.”
“Then...? What happened?” Maria asked back.
“Something unscientific.” Finé replied curtly. “A change in the songs their hearts carry? Or, perhaps, outside influence? Regardless... this... is abnormal.”
Yumi leaned in next to them. “Tell me what part of this is normal, please.” Then, gesturing to the Adams and Miku she continued. “A girl who can clone himself, two guys from alternate dimensions, two several-hundred year old alchemists, sentient robots, a scientist thought deceased, and... Baphomet.”
Kirika chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” Maria asked.
“I’d get murdered if I repeat what Finé just thought, death.” Kirika smiled. “But, now that we know they can fight... we can use this.”

 With that, Kirika walked away from Maria, Yumi, and the others, and pointed her scythe out towards the Adams.
“We shall accept your proposal.” Finé’s voice rang out. “In two months, we will see you back here–this exact spot–and we shall finish this battle once and for all.”
“Excellent.” One of the Adams smiled, but the other put his hand out in front of his partner.
“But?”
“There is no ‘but’, only this–our fight will not be to the death.” Finé declared. “Once we, the Squad Of Nexus Guardians, defeat you, the Bavarian Illuminati, in battle, you shall answer all of our questions.”
“On one condition: I want to see your full strength. Every weapon at your disposal, every secret you may be hiding.” Izak immediately replied. Then, turning to Carol and meeting her furious gaze, he continued. “I want to see both how much my beloved daughter has grown without me, and the extent of your strength–for the sake of my research.”
“Of course, we shall not hold anything back, either.” Nastassja noted. “All must be done to achieve our goals.”

 Both Adams let out a rancorous laugh.
“The entire deck shall be filled, and you shall all experience the extent of my efforts. Thousands–perhaps millions–of years of planning; all of it will soon come to a head.” One said.
The other smiled. “What is two more months compared to a million years? Very well. We shall see you, then.”
Both men held up one arm each, and snapped their fingers in sync.
In the next moment, they, Nastassja, Izak, Millaarc, Saint-Germain, and the giant bestial Adam were all gone. The girls stood in silence, with only the looming form of the golden Lydian Private Music Academy looking down upon them.

 “What–and I can not stress this enough–the *fuck* did you just agree to?” Miku immediately snapped at Kirika.

#### AXZ Chapter 17

 Kirika took a deep breath in. Behind the door in front of her, she could hear the muffled voices of her friends and colleagues. As she exhaled, Kirika adjusted the black and green arm warmers she wore.
It had been a couple of hours since SONG was brutally defeated by Adam Weishaupt and his ‘hidden hand’–the only victory they had claimed had been against Akira Tachibana, their weakest member, so morale was definitely low.
For Kirika, she had spent those past few hours alone, having a panic attack.

 Seeing the face of that cruel doctor–one of the three Adams, apparently–awakened something within her. It had taken all of her willpower to push it out of the way long enough to help fight Adam, but the thoughts did not completely leave her mind.
The memories of that man and all the twisted things he did to her had crushed Kirika’s heart, and even Finé was overwhelmed by the immense despair the young girl felt. The confusion that smashed Kirika’s heart immediately afterwards–learning that Finé, and thus technically Kirika too, was actually Carol’s mother–certainly did not help her sort through these feelings; at the very least, it made for a slight distraction from the chaotic feelings and thoughts that tainted her mind.

 But what truly wrecked Kirika were the memories she had pushed down and away; ones even she had forgotten completely about. Upon seeing the wretched face of the man she knew as ‘Dr. Stinson’, these locks had been shattered.
What Kirika remembered made her vomit, made her cry... It was why she needed time to compose herself; Kirika didn’t want to let Maria or Shirabe see her in a sorry state–she was the one whose job it was to keep them happy!
And it was Shirabe who was the reason why she was hesitating now.

 Again, Kirika took in a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled.
“Alright, death.” She whispered, trying to pump herself up.
Plastering a false smile upon her face, Kirika pushed the door open and walked into the cafeteria area...

 ...completely unprepared for what she would find.

 The first thing Kirika’s green and gold eyes landed upon was the maniacally giggling Kanade, who stood on one side of the room with a can of beer in her hand. Carol and Miku (who was no longer gold-coloured) sat at the same table, a variety of similar, discarded cans around them.
What the orange-haired idol was laughing at was Tsubasa. With one can of beer in her grip, the second member of Zwei Wing was playing around with Maria. In a very un-Tsubasa-y move, Tsubasa had one arm slung over Maria’s shoulders, fiddling with the girl’s pink hair.
Maria, understandably, was yelling nonsense at Kanade.

 “Why did you let Tsubasa drink!?” Maria yelled. “She’s not even twenty yet!”
“Nineteen’s close enough.” Carol said curtly, sipping from her own can of beer.
“Yeaaaaaaah Caden... Cad... uhh... Murrayah. Nine–*(hiccup)*–teen is cloooooooose enough.” Tsubasa said, leaning over into Maria’s face and releasing her alcohol-laced breath directly into the pink-haired idol’s face.
“She only had one beer, too.” Miku added.
“I WANT A*NUDDER*!” Tsubasa thrust out her hand, the same one that gripped the can of beer. As she shook her hand, the liquid she head audibly sloshed, telling the entire room that she had not even finished that one beer.
Kanade, who had been wildly laughing this whole time, took a moment to catch her breath. “Finish that one, first, Tsubasa.”
The blue idol’s face fell into a comically-childish pout. “Fine!” She said, before beginning to chug the remainder of the beer from her can.

 “What... is going on?” Kirika asked nobody. She was just trying to take in the strange (and somewhat unsettling) scene around her.
“Oh, Kiri!” The Shirabe that resembled Satomi Kubert called out, albeit quietly. The other Shirabe–Kirika’s Shirabe–was still missing, but Kirika hoped that she was okay. Serena sat beside Shirabe, and gave Kirika a warm smile as a greeting.

 “Before you go over to see her.” Carol hissed from across the room, silencing most of the chaos (albeit not Kanade’s mad laughter). Kirika slowly turned her head, her eyes darting from Shirabe(?) towards the golden-haired alchemist on the other side of the room. “I want to talk... mother.”
“Oh, right.” Miku muttered from beside Carol. “I forgot about that.”
“Yeah, that’s why I felt like I needed to... indulge a bit.” Carol responded quickly.
“I get that. My Noise radar has been going nuts ever since we went to that... void... place. Sometimes you just need a beer or two to deal with life.”
“Amen to that.” Miku and Carol tapped their cans together in a cheer, smirks crossing each other’s faces.

 “And on top of that...” Maria declared. When she had appeared behind Miku and Carol, no one was entirely sure. But there she stood, her hands on her hips–and Tsubasa with her arms draped over Maria’s shoulders as if they were the straps of a backpack.
The blue idol mimicked Maria in a mocking tone. “On–*(hiccup)*–TOP of DAT.”
Though her eyes narrowed in annoyance, the pink-haired girl did not acknowledge Tsubasa’s comment verbally. “Why are letting these two drink beer, too?”
“Lest you forget, idol–I am far older than you.” Carol answered. She spun around to look at Maria, but then put a hand to her head. “And... perhaps I may be a bit more drunk than I presumed.”
“I’ve eaten people before.” Miku, on the other hand, only gave those four words as an answer, and brought the aluminium can to her lips again.
“Just because you’ve eaten–” Maria started to say. At the same time, the intoxicated Tsubasa leaned over Maria to ask “Kohim...nada, was people... tasty?”
Miku looked up in thought. “I think it would be best if I don’t answer that question.” She said after a moment.
“Nicee...” Tsubasa smiled. “I think–*(hiccup)*–Murmia would be tasty.”
Maria’s face exploded into a bright red blush at that, while Miku and Carol just slyly smiled. Kanade’s insane laughter only got louder at that comment.

 Hoping that Carol had forgotten about wanting to talk with her, Kirika walked over to sit with Shirabe(?) and Serena... and three other figures who all had their heads on the table around them.
“Hello Kirika.” One of them said slowly as the blonde girl approached.
“You okay?” Another asked.
The third stayed silent, deciding instead to angrily puff their cheeks out.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Kirika smiled. Instinctively, she adjusted one of her arm warmers. “Just a bit... tired, death.”
The two who asked her questions looked at each other, before letting out a small chuckle.
“Even if you all didn’t fight, I remember how exhausting using a Symphogear for the first time could be, death.” Kirika sat down beside the pouting girl. “It doesn’t really help that Finé’s been going mad trying to figure out why, death.”
“Hm?” The silent, pouting, figure sat up stiffly at that comment.
“Oh. Welcome back, Yumi.” Kuriyo said, keeping her cheek against the cool table just as Shiori did beside her.
“You’re suddenly quite energetic.” Shirabe(?) commented.
“Hey, Finé–” Yumi ignored them and looked at the girl in question.
“Kirika, death.”
“Finéka.” Yumi corrected, and Kirika rolled her eyes. “You monitored Lydian right, to try to find potential Symphogear wielders, right?”
“That’s right.” Finé answered from Kirika’s lips.
“Aaaaaand–?” It was clear to everyone that fireworks of excitement were going off behind Yumi’s eyes.
“It would be a lie to say the three of you were completely incompatible...” Finé trailed off. When no more words came, Kirika shook her head in anger.
“Hey! Don’t just drop this mess on me, death!!!” Kirika screamed at the priestess in her mind–out loud.

 “So we weren’t entirely written off as incompatible, huh?” Kuriyo said to Shiori. “I guess that must be why they were so ready to take us on when Hibiki told us about her secret life.”
Shiori (somewhat) nodded. “I suppose that makes sense.”
Kirika sighed. “I’ve been trying to tune her out for the past few hours, so I might get something wrong, death, but... most of the people at Lydian have very low compatibility rates–it’s the main determining factor for allowing someone to attend the school, death. But these rates would require even more LiNKER than what we use to be stabilized or something.”
“Huh.” Yumi slumped back in her chair. “So I wonder what changed, then. Maybe that bubble thing that trapped us?”
“No...” Serena shook her head. “That was Miku. Her reflexes were incredible; I can move incredibly fast and even I couldn’t see her clearly. She must have really wanted to protect everyone.”
“Fujitaka went frame-by-frame afterwards and even we had a hard time seeing her.” Shirabe(?) added.
Kanade walked up to the table, her stride somewhat shaky as she drank a beer. At some point, Tsubasa had decided to leave Maria alone–who was still berating Miku for drinking alcohol despite being underage–to cling to Kanade, but Kanade’s movements seemed clumsier due to the alcohol.
“Y’know, Miku’s quite an interesting one. I like to build up trust with people, so I talk to them a lot. But Miku–” Kanade’s eyes darted towards Kirika for a short second, “–has always been a mystery to me.”
“I think...” Tsubasa said lazily. Then, poking over her shoulder, she put a hand up to her mouth and looked around shifty-eyed, as if trying to keep a secret. Unfortunately, she did not whisper; her words were far louder than room temperature. “Miku can be a bit scary at timessss.”
“I don’t disagree honestly.” Kanade swished around her can of beer. “But I don’t think that’s her fault.”
“It’s not her fault!” Shiori said, sitting up quickly. “When we attended school together–before Hibiki...”
A small second went by.

 “Miku and Hibiki were clearly traumatized, so we did our best trying to help them find a normal life again.” Kuriyo explained.
“I don’t actually know much about their time at school.” Kanade gasped in surprise. “The only versions of Hibiki and Miku I know are their... ‘professional’ personas.”
“At school, it’s not like Miku was super open or anything, but she wasn’t...” Yumi gestured over to her now, where she wore an angry expression as she glared at her can of beer.
“...Angry?” Shirabe(?) supplied.
“Confused, death?” Kirika suggested. This prompted some looks that could be described with the same adjective she gave. “Maybe that’s just because Chris and I have therapy sessions with her, death.”
“You do what?” Shirabe(?) asked in surprise.
“Therapy!” Tsubasa said happily.
Clumsily, the girl then danced around Tsubasa and pulled a chair out from the table, loudly slamming it against the legs of the chair that Shiori sat in and the empty one beside it as she rocked it around. Eventually, she eventually pulled it out, and slumped down into it.
“Therapy.” She repeated, seemingly proud of herself.
Then, Tsubasa’s head slammed down hard against the table. A moment passed as the dull thud echoed out through the room, and everyone held their breath to make sure she was okay... only for Tsubasa to let out a snore a moment later.
The absurdity of the event earned a chorus of laughs from the girls around her–though it was Kanade’s cackle that was most boisterous.
Even Kirika was surprised when she felt tears of happiness beginning to bubble up in the corner of her eyes.

 “You guys seem to be having fun.”
Kirika turned her head to see Maria and Carol walking towards them, a slightly-annoyed look on both of their faces. Miku was travelling alongside them, as well, but, instead of walking, the girl hovered very slightly above the floor; she still had a can of beer in her hand.
Miku reached up to wipe her mouth with her arm, brushing away some beer that was still sitting on her lips.
“Ah, Maria. Nice of you to join the party.” Kanade smirked. “Unfortunately, you just missed Tsubasa’s incredible exit.”
“Therapy.” Shirabe(?) imitated Tsubasa with a large smile on her face. This got a chuckle from Serena beside her, and Kanade stifled a giggle of her own.
“You know, I’m surprised to see everyone in such high spirits.” Miku said. She then took a final sip of her beer and, upon realizing it was now empty, crushed it into a disc upon her forehead. “Considering we just got beat up, bad.”
“All we have to do is win next time, death!” Kirika pumped her fist.
“Yeah, I like that spunk.” Kanade agreed. “We’ve got two months to get stronger. But it wouldn’t be great to mope around.”
Crossing her arms, Yumi looked away from the group. “Speak for yourself. I finally got to use a Symphogear and then everyone ran away.” She grumbled. Then, raising her arms in anger, Yumi shouted “I want to fight something!”
“I’m excited to hear what kind of song your hearts will create.” Finé remarked in a surprise return. “Perhaps it will offer insight into why you three are suddenly compatible.”
“Or...” Kanade said, a sly smile crossing her face. “Maybe the three of them will decide to join us in being world-famous idols.”
“I think we already are.” Shiori commented.
“Yeah, they did film us in those outfits.” Kuriyo muttered. She had a bit of a haunted look in her eye, clearly embarrassed about the way she looked while wearing Ame no Habakiri.

 “Speaking of being ‘world-famous idols’... Sis, what are you three going to do now?” Maria tilted her head at Serena’s question. After a second, the brown-haired girl supplied more context. “I mean, about your concert tomorrow!”
“Oh right.” Maria remarked. At the same time, Kanade let out a sigh. “Ah shit.”
“After all of the work I put into that concert, you two better not cancel it!” Yumi growled.
“Sorry, Miss Manager, but I don’t think that’s our call.” Kanade scratched the back of her head. “Besides, I don’t know if–”
Carol interrupted Kanade’s excuse with her own comment. “People would be willing to see real-life superheroes perform on stage?”
“Well, when you put it like that...”
“I’ve seen many people over the years gain an audience for their so-called remarkable traits.” Carol rolled her eyes. “For idols who are now known to be superheroes to the general public, I imagine your popularity has never been higher.”
“Of course, there’s also the potential dangers that might come with being in public.” Maria added.
“As if you three can’t handle that.” Miku let out a happy sigh as she remembered a better time. “Even before I knew you and Tsubasa wielded Symphogears, I thought the two of you could do anything–’Yes, just believe; we’ll make history with a light even God doesn’t know of’. The confidence you carried, and the way Tsubasa was always willing to stand alongside you. Zwei Wing seemed invincible.”
Silence followed Miku’s comment. When she looked around, confused, she only saw looks of surprise on the other girls’ faces. Eventually, it was Kanade who broke the silence, first by taking a loud sip of beer.
“You know, I always forget that you were a fan of ours.”
“And we’re back to the ‘we don’t know anything about Miku’ conversation.” Yumi pouted, pulling out her cellphone.

 “Ah!” Yumi shouted a second later. “Speaking of your concert–a bunch of people are also wondering about it online. You guys are trending worldwide; people seem super excited to be able to meet you.”
Shiori slowly pulled her own phone out and tapped on the screen. “Even people overseas want to see your performances now.”
“Oh, wow. Your CDs have sold out everywhere.” Yumi remarked.
Maria put her hand to her head. “I guess we can’t cancel our concert now, then.”
“Well, why don’t we have fun with it, then?” Yumi asked, a mischievous smile crossing her cheeks. Upon seeing it, both Shiori and Kuriyo let out powerful sigh that seemed to echo out through the room.
“I’m going to say no to whatever you suggest.” Miku glared, spinning around quickly. “I’m going to try to find some way to make myself... not gold.”
Carol turned to leave, too, letting out a long sigh as she began to slide away from the group. “And I should have a... chat with my good friend Prelati.”
“Hold it, you two!” Yumi shouted, slamming her hands against the table as she stood up. The look on her face was one of pure excitement–and this scared many of the girls around her.
““Absolutely not.”” Both Carol and Miku responded immediately.
“Absolutely not what?” Serena asked, completely oblivious to where Yumi was going with her suggestion.

 Serena peeked her head through a crack in the entryway, and she pulled the door open with incredible force. The twintailed girl shoved her sparkling eyes into Serena’s face with a screech of excitement. Miku and Carol slowly began creeping towards the exit the moment the girl’s attention turned away from them.
“If the world knows our secret now, then why hide it? Why don’t we all perform on stage together!” Yumi shouted in excitement. “We can put on a show–using the Symphogears, we can put on a mock battle. Like a TV show!”
“And put the audience in danger?” Maria shook her head. “Definitely...”
“Now hold on.” Kanade held her hand up. Despite the concerned look on Maria’s face, the orange-haired idol seemed to genuinely be considering the proposal. “Outside of Ichaival and Shénshòujìng, it would be fairly easy to limit collateral damage. It would also be a good way to train–and we could have a bit of fun with it at the same time.”
“Right? Right?” Yumi nodded excitedly.
“The biggest issue would be damaging the stage, but SONG’s got more than enough money to cover damages, especially if what you said before about our albums being sold out.” Kanade shrugged. “Of course, it’s all up to everyone else if they want to participate.”

 “What about Shirabe, death?” Kirika asked. All eyes turned to her as she brought up the question. “People don’t know about Shirabe–she wasn’t there when we all got filmed, death. Would it be smart if we let her... either of them, that is, show off publicly?”
“I...” Shirabe(?) tilted her head first to the left, then slowly rolled it to the right. “Would be fine with doing it if you are, Kiri.”
Kirika let out an awkward chuckle as she scratched the back of her head. Looking away, she refused to answer at first, only letting this strange moment drag on for as long as she could.
“I guess that’s a no...?” Shirabe looked down.
In response, Kirika began to wave her hands around in front of her wildly. “No, no, no, death! It’s uhh...”
“Personally, I think keeping a low profile would be preferable. Especially for us–Kirika and I, that is.” Finé poked in. “The UN was already aware of the Symphogears, so that would not cause international incident. On the other hand, Genjuro has assured me that, officially, the woman known as ‘Finé’ is no longer alive. So, should my presence be known, it would be...”
“Catastrophic.” Carol nodded from beside the doorway; Miku had managed to escape, but Carol hung back, presumably interested in what the priestess had to say. “A woman who attempted to blow up the moon and destroyed a school... who is now inhabiting the body of a girl known to be a terrorist. You could be locked away for the rest of Kirika’s life–or worse.”
Kirika scratched her cheek.
“Didn’t you speak in front of the drones?” Kanade asked.
“I suppose my presence could be written off as an... extreme case of dissociative identity disorder. It’s often mischaracterized as two separate ‘people’ within one body in fiction.” Finé explained. Kirika nodded as she did. “However, someone looking further into this may prove disastrous for us.”
“Besides... I...” Kirika grabbed her arm.
In the deepest recesses of her mind, a voice rang out from a distant memory that was recently uncovered. The girl swallowed as the feelings bubbling through her heart came-and-went.
“I’m not exactly comfortable with going on a stage, death.” She looked down. Then, realizing that Maria and Shirabe were around her, Kirika looked up with a smile on her face. “I don’t know how entertaining I could be in front of a crowd, death.”
“Stage fright, huh?” Kanade muttered, but the look in her eye implied that she saw through Kirika’s facade. She turned to Shirabe(?) after a second. “If you’re worried about being away from her, then she could always work as a stagehand behind-the-scenes.”
Shirabe(?) nodded. “Alright.”

 Yumi stood up in a cheer. With a wildly happy look on her face, the girl threw her arms above her head and spun on her heels. “This is going to be so much fun!”

. . .

 The woman slammed her hand down onto the table. The amount of force that was used–and the loud bang that followed–implied to the others in the room that she was trying to push her hand through the table.
“Why can those three girls use Symphogears?” The girl roared. “In all of our time working with Adam, not once had we ever come across a fragment where even one of those girls was even remotely compatible enough with a relic to wield one.”
“Perhaps, Nastassja, the answer lies in the reason why our associate is so intrigued by this fragment in particular.” Contrary to the irritated Nastassja Sergeyevna Tolstaya, Izak Malus Dienheim spoke in a calm, levelled tone as he seemingly looked down upon the elderly, navy-haired woman across from him.
“Like the boss is willing to share that information.” Millaarc said from her position beside Izak.
The vampire was flapping her wings to hover above the ground, draping one leg over the other as if sitting in a professional posture. Despite this, the girl was filing her fingernails on one hand fairly casually, though, instead of filing them down, Millaarc was shaping them into spiked weapons.
“As much as I do not endorse your currently-casual attitude, Stoker,” Izak glared at the vampire beside him, who froze in shock under his gaze, “I do believe you are correct in that train of thought.”
“Apologies, master, for speaking out of turn.” Millaarc lowered to the ground quickly, taking on a kneeling position.
“That’s better.”

 “Speaking of that pet project of yours, Izak,” Nastassja began, “What do you plan to do with that alchemist?”
“Saint-Germain? Nothing.” Izak shrugged. “Adam requested I keep her alive and safe, so right now I plan to use her just as I would Stoker, here.”
“And those other toys of yours?”
“Greifswald and d’Espie? Nothing. The two of them were not as useful to me as I had hoped; Stoker continues to prove that she is far more useful to me than they ever could be.” Izak shook his head. “Truthfully, I would have preferred not to waste resources on the two of them in this fragment.”
Nastassja cupped her chin. “I see. And what about the other projects Adam had you working on? If we are to go toe-to-toe with those girls at full force, it would be best to have as much manpower as possible.”
“Why? Do you truly believe we can not defeat those idiots? They’re just a bunch of half-naked girls playing around.”
“No.” Nastassja clenched her jaw at the comment; she had raised some of those ‘half-naked girls’ (to some extent), even if she did so solely to ensure they would be worthy for their plans. “I do, however, worry that our gaggle of Adams might cast us aside the second we set the stage for them.”
Izak nodded. “No need to worry about that, Nastassja. Though the two of us don’t see eye to eye on everything, I’ve taken precautions to ensure futures for the two of us.”
“I see.” Nastassja’s eyes quickly darted to Millaarc, who had a solemn look on her face as she obediently looked at the ground. “Am I to assume that means she is ready?”
“Our beloved little Eve?” Izak smiled. “Yes, all of the pieces are in place for her appearance.”
“No, the other one.” Nastassja shook her head.
“Ah, right, *her*. Talos.” Izak narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know why Adam agreed to that witch’s proposal to postpone our plans for two months, but I am somewhat grateful. That should be more than enough time to make sure she is ready.”
“Excellent.”

 “I am honestly quite excited for this little dance to come to an end.” Nastassja sighed. “If only Adam would tell us more about this fragment and what makes it more special than the others.”
“As an alchemist, I desire to explore all of the mysteries of this world... no, this universe.” Izak chuckled. “However, there are some things that should never be known to mortals; that’s something I truly believe.”
“Mortals, huh?” Nastassja lifted an eyebrow. “Considering how long we have lived, I don’t think you can call us that any more.”
That got a laugh out of Izak. His boisterous cackle was one that Millaarc had never heard before, and Nastassja could see the girl shiver slightly, her eyes wide and filled with terror. Though the elderly scientist was well aware of the madness this alchemist revelled in, she understood the fear that the young vampire girl felt in that moment.
“You may very well be right.” Izak said eventually.

~ ~ ~

 As Miku left the room where all of her friends were, she collapsed against a nearby wall. Dropping the facade of her normal appearance that she created with Shénshòujìng, the now-golden Miku winced heavily as she pulled out the jet black blade that Akira had used against her.
She was breathing heavily, her heart pounding like a timpani drum at a festival, as Miku looked at the blade. Then she pulled her hand up to her forehead and pressed the back of her golden hand against her skin, flinching at the cool touch of metal she felt.

 “You made a flimsy excuse back there about Solomon’s Cane. I’m sure Kanade Amou saw through it as well.”
Miku looked over to see Carol walking towards her, the door to the cafeteria closing behind her. The girl had a full, unopened can of beer in her grasp, which she shook as she walked. She stopped after a few steps, a curious look on her face.
“You look... sceptical.” Carol muttered.
“I barely know who you are, only that you’re an alchemist and you helped save me when I was Batara Kala.” Miku made the black knife disappear, hiding it from sight with Shénshòujìng, but Carol then watched as the girl stabbed herself in the side with the now-invisible weapon. “Why do you care?”
“I care because we’re allies.” Carol said, putting on a sickeningly cheerful voice. She made a disgusted face immediately as she realized how that sounded. “No, it’s because you’re interesting. In the few moments where you have shown your genuine self... that Miku Kohinata piqued my curiosity.”
“But only my genuine self?” Miku asked, raising her eyebrows.
“I think that goes for the other fools in that room.” Carol waved her hand. “But you seem... unwilling to show that version of you to the others. Barring Chris Yukine, I believe you’re scared of growing too attached to people.”
“Scared...?” Then, Miku narrowed her eyes. “Why... do you care?”
“I don’t know.” Carol shrugged. “I think I’m a bit more tipsy than I thought.”

 The small girl tossed the beer she held towards Miku, who caught it effortlessly in her shining fingers. Confused, Miku looked at the alchemist.
“Loosen up a bit.” Carol sighed. “Based on what I’ve seen from you–which is a lot more than you know–I think you’re going to live forever. You don’t want to end up like me, do you? A mad girl who created friends for company and has been doing nothing but chase after her papa for centuries.”
Miku looked down at the beer, then at Carol. The alchemist popped the tab on the can of beer and took a long swig of the cool liquid inside. “You become surprisingly friendly when you’re drunk. And introspective.”
Carol saluted as she lowered the can from her lips. “I stayed cooped up in my château for so long, I forgot how to communicate with others. I think you all are helping me become a little like how I used to be as a kid...”
Then, realizing what she said, the golden-haired girl shook her head as a blush crept across her cheeks. “Don’t tell anyone I said that.”
“Noted.” Miku nodded. The girl then watched as Carol took another sip of beer.
“Oh, by the way, about your transmutation.” Carol exhaled. “There’s no way to turn you back to your original form with alchemy, to my knowledge. I think your best bet would be trying to turn back into that beast, or maybe your regeneration would undo it.
“That said, I’m going to look into it further. For future reference, and for the sake of that school.”
Miku looked down at the ground. Lydian and everyone inside it, had been taken away from this world by a golden arrow. Though Miku had not attended the school in some time, she still felt bad.
The reason she stayed away from the school in the first place was so she wouldn’t taint her memories of Hibiki there.

 “You know, Miku Kohinata, while you’re immortal, your friends are not.” Carol shook her head. “Cherish the time you have with them now. You’ll regret it later.”
“Did you have any friends, before you became an alchemist?”
Carol slowly drank some beer as she decided not to answer that question.
“I’ll say this.” The alchemist lowered the can eventually, glaring at Miku. “Though the Autoscorers are based on aspects of my personality, the specific traits I gave them were not random.”
“I see.” Miku nodded.
“I have made many mistakes in my long life, Miku Kohinata.” Carol crushed the can in her fist, and it began to melt as flames flew out of her palm. “It would be wise to heed my warnings.”

 “Carol, I have one last question for you.”
“Yes?”
Miku pulled the knife out of her side with a wince. Dropping the mask of Shénshòujìng upon it, the girl held it up to her throat. “How do you know I’ll live forever?”
“I may have taken a sample from you while you were recovering and have been performing tests on it.” Shaping the now-melted remains of the aluminium can into an orb, Carol held the ball up to her mouth and blew on it. Miku made a disgusted scowl as she flinched back from the girl. “No matter what I do to your flesh, it can never be completely destroyed. I have melted it at a subatomic level, and yet it has still regenerated.”
Miku lowered the blade and floated towards Carol. “Here.” She held out the black knife. “I don’t know what this knife is made of, but...”
“I see.” Carol plucked the blade from the girl’s hand, swapping it out with the orb she created. “Thank you, Miku Kohinata. This has been informative–for both of us, I’m sure.”

 “Oh, by the way,” Carol spun around, then glanced over her shoulder at Miku. “Those goofy girls are concocting a strange plan in there–just a head’s up.”
“Their plan to turn a production into a training session.” Miku sighed. “I don’t have great memories of concerts.”
“Well, unfortunately, they seem to be making plans for us already.” Carol waved. “So I have a feeling we won’t be spared from their insanity, whether we want to be or not.”
“Oh. Great.” Miku looked down at the orb in her hand. “Thanks for the... ball, too.”

#### AXZ Chapter 18

 Millaarc looked around the small room that she called home. Calling it 'tiny' would be too generous; fitting for the vampire, the room was more akin to a coffin than even a prison cell.
 Four jet black walls surrounded the girl, which matched the flooring. There was not anything covering the walls, nor any piece of furniture on the ground; it was a completely empty void.
 Millaarc hated it–the way this room looked, but more so the ability to relax. The nothing.

 Though she looked to be a young adult, or perhaps even a teenager, the girl named Millaarc Cranstoun was far older than she appeared. Despite that, she never felt any older than the nine-year-old girl who was kidnapped by the Bavarian Illuminati.
 In this world, Millaarc should have been nineteen years old, but that was not the case. When those wretched men–her master, Izak Malus Dienheim, and her boss, Adam Weishaupt–chose her to be the one to handle any of the more tasteless acts of violence, they taught her all about the way that time worked in this universe.

 Time was both a single linear sequence, yet it existed all in one moment. Every decision created a new timeline, a fragmented universe that begins at the moment when it diverges.
 Millaarc, like her master, had seen many of these worlds that Adam had dubbed ‘infinite fragments’. She was not nineteen years of age, but instead well over a thousand–yet she had taken so many more from others.

 “From today onwards, you are Stoker. Cast aside your old identity; it was only a chain linking you to a broken past.”
 Back then, Millaarc had already been destroyed. Her body had been mutated by genetic experiments and alchemy alike, her mind broken down into rubble after years of being seen as nothing more than a guinea pig to be played with.
 So when Izak, spoke to her, told her to abandon her old self entirely, with the kind face of a father figure, she happily obliged...
 Even if she had already seen the cruel visage that man wore as he toyed around with her very soul, the kind face he wore that day truly twisted her sense of reality.
 On that day, Millaarc Cranstoun agreed to become the assassin of the Bavarian Illuminati: Stoker.

 It was not long before she learned about Adam Weishaupt, and how he had come from another world entirely. He claimed to want to destroy the Custodians that created him, but Millaarc–and Izak–knew otherwise.
 He sought revenge.

 “By combining the power of Gjallarhorn with Tamatebako, you can see your futures across all of the infinite fractures... though it comes with a great price.” Adam had told Millaarc that day. He had both relics before him on a table.
 It was cruel to give her that tiny bit of hope, then pull it away as if he were casually fishing, and she were an anchovy desperate for food.
 “Go.” The man told her. “Use the power of these relics. See your futures for yourself.”

 Millaarc was desperate for salvation. The knowledge that one version of her out there would be able to find happiness and peace in a way she never would.
 What she saw destroyed her heart. It ripped away every bit of hope the young vampire had left in her.

 “Do you understand now why you were chosen?” Adam had asked her. He was casually lounging on a sofa, a glass of wine in his hand.
 When Millaarc backed up, her eyes wide as she crept back away from the horrors of her infinite futures, the man only now turned to look at her.
 “Even in the fractures in which you live your life as a normal girl, it always comes to an unfortunate end.” The man stood up, looming over the girl who did nothing but stare at the one remaining relic sitting on the table. “This, Stoker, is a fate you and I share.”

 Gjallarhorn, a relic capable of transporting figures through worlds. This horn is a nexus that exists simultaneously across all infinite fragments, and all of them are connected to create an array of interdimensional highways.
 The Tamatebako, a magical chest that holds the sins of the future. For those with even a single blemish on their soul, the Tamatebako will swiftly age any who should open it, turning them to dust as their life, literally flashes before their eyes. The literal Pandora’s Box, a chest that can unleash untold sins upon the world depending on the memories it shows that who possesses it.
 Both relics are connected to all others of their kind that exist throughout the infinite fragments of the universe. The different versions of Gjallarhorn connect to each other, forming an array of highways that souls can use to travel wherever they desire; while the Tamatebako chests form an elaborate web that traps all of time within it. Even should a version of either relic be destroyed in a universe, it will miraculously appear elsewhere in time; and the Tamatebako self-destructs as it releases its sins upon the world.
 By combining the two, any person would theoretically be capable of seeing every possible future for themselves... but only if one lacks the dark curse that taints every human being.

 That is why the only ones who can open the Tamatebako are those who are not human, but monsters.
 A perfect being crafted by the gods; a monster born from suffering;  humans who have cast away their humanity, destroying their souls with the power of the Rod of Asclepius or by using artificial bodies.
 To be human means to suffer under the Curse of Balal, yet to be inhuman means to suffer under humanity. It is a circle of hatred, or despair; a loop from which there is no escape.

 “That’s why we need to kill the very source of this universe.” Adam told her. The young girl was tiny under the man’s powerful gaze, but her emotionless, hollow expression did not change. Even as Adam began to slowly pour his glass of red wine onto the girl’s head, staining her white hospital gown a bloody crimson, Millaarc did not move a muscle.
 “I showed you your futures–that no hope awaits you no matter what path you take.” Adam frowned. “Show me that you are willing to defy that fate.”

 That was when Millaarc Cranstoun died. In the same moment, she was replaced with a servant; a vampire who served only the terrifying beast who created her vampiric body–Izak Malus Dienheim.

 As the girl sat now upon the ground of her jet black room, hugging her legs tight, she pressed her forehead against her knees. Tears eeked out of the corner of her eyes for the first time since that day, so many years before.
 She had slaughtered so many people for the sake of finding a way to live a peaceful future, done countless wrongs for the right world she so desperately hoped to find one day.
 But soon, this cruel life she lived would certainly come to an end. Be it in battle against the Symphogear wielders in two months, or to create the world she desired; her fate was sealed since the moment she was born.
 She knew this, but only now–confronted with the fact that her death was near–Millaarc finally felt as though she could drop the mask she had put on for so long.
 The nonchalant monster wholly obedient to the master she feared was naught but a shell worn by a girl who was too terrified of fate to do anything but obey.

 “One last time, Milly.” The vampire clutched her legs, hugging herself as tight as she could. “You’re almost there. At that world you wished for.”
 Though she told this to herself, she knew that world would never be one that Millaarc Cranstoun would ever personally lay eyes upon.

#### AXZ Chapter 19

*Ringo wa ukanda osora ni…*
*Ringo wa okkochita jibeta ni…*

*Hoshi ga umarete uta ga umarete*
*Ruru ameru wa waratta tokoshie to*
*Hoshi ga kisu shite uta ga nemutte*

*Kaeru toko wa doko deshō…?*
*Kaeru toko wa doko deshō…?*

*Ringo wa okkochita jibeta ni…*
*Ringo wa ukanda osora ni…*

 The words that echoed through her heart were unfamiliar to the girl, yet the song they carried was strangely familiar. Was it a repressed memory, or the work of a piece of fiction–the girl named Chris Yukine did not know.
Chris could not see the one who had been singing to her, but the voice calmed her very soul. Though her circumstances were strange–the fact that she was fully conscious yet aware that she was not awake–the soothing tones pulled all of the questions that should have plagued Chris’s mind away, gently tearing them off like the petals of a flower.

 “Apple.” Chris said into the darkness. “That’s the name of the song.”
The girl was not sure how she knew that, but she was certain she was correct. Indeed, the air (void?) around her seemed to shift, as if the darkness was nodding. That’s correct.

 “Who are you? And why are you singing to me?” Chris wondered aloud. Part of her felt silly, crying out to a figure unseen, but her mind also told her that there was indeed someone listening to her.

 The darkness did not waver, but Chris seemed to sense an answer all the same. It was more a feeling than words, but a response forced its way into her mind. For a moment Chris felt as if she had imagined the phrase on her own, before realizing otherwise.

*It is my duty to sing for you.*

 “What does that mean?”
The being remained silent.
“That doesn’t answer my questions!”
Again, Chris received no answer.

 Anger building up within her chest, the white-haired girl finally screamed one last, desperate plea to this unknown being before her.

 “Why do you feel so familiar?”

 There was complete silence. For what seemed like hours, Chris waited for a response–anything to even given the illusion that the mysterious deity had heard her–but nothing came.

 “Why...?”
Chris did not know why, but she felt utterly distraught; as if part of her heart had been severed off. She did not know who this being was, or if they were even real, but their lack of communication felt like a betrayal to the girl. She wanted to cry, yet no tears formed in this dream-like space.
“Why, damn it!?” Chris shouted in frustration. “Why does everyone always leave me!? My parents, Sonia, Finé... Why can’t anyone just...”

 Seeing the sadness in Chris’s heart finally materialize, the being decided to provide her with an answer. The darkness enveloped Chris like a blanket, almost as though the void was trying to hug her, and suddenly the girl felt a comforting warmth blossom within her chest.
“What are you trying to tell me?” Chris whimpered in confusion. She enjoyed the way the world wrapped around her, as if to tell her that everything would be okay, but the silence still stabbed her heart with spears of sorrow.

 Then, in the distance, a voice. One Chris recognized from a memory from long ago. It had been buried, pushed down and cast aside by a small child who was forced to confront a cruel reality, but now rose prominently towards the surface.

 “It’s because... I...”

. . .

 The first thing Chris recognized as she slowly opened her eyes was the depressingly-familiar white ceiling of the infirmary. The second, and far more pressing, thing that her brain registered was an intense pain that seemed to swallow up her entire body.
And, third, came the girl standing in the corner of the room, just eerily watching Chris. The white-haired girl felt her heart leap into her throat, though she did not scream; it took a second for her eyes to focus, but she soon recognized the figure as Miku–or, rather, the clone of her.

 “What are you doing!?” Chris snapped. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
The Miku clone shook her head slowly. “No, it’s just...” Slowly, the girl stepped towards Chris’s bed, almost as if she was scared of her. “You were... crying.”
“Huh?” Chris instinctively went to touch her face, but a stabbing pain prevented her from moving her arm.
“Careful!” Miku yelped.

 “What... happened?” Chris looked down at herself. Both of her legs and one of her arms were wrapped in casts. Upon closer inspection, Chris saw doodles drawn upon the bandages wrapping her limbs–small guns, silly faces, and messages from her friends.

 Friends.

 Her heart sunk at the thought. The image of Lydian, frozen in a golden shell, popped into her mind, and she almost wanted to vomit.
She might not have ever shown told them properly, but Chris genuinely cared about her classmates Otome, Yuki, and Komichi. Knowing that they were now trapped in that school, frozen in time as sparkling statues, made her sick.

 “What ha–”
Before Chris could ask her question, her eyes shot open in surprise. Moving so fast that her eyes could barely track her, Chris stiffened up as she felt the clone Miku wrap her one arm around her body, pulling the white-haired girl into a hug.
“Wha–!?” Chris was dumbfounded. “What are you...!?”
“I don’t know what you were dreaming of,” Miku whispered, “but... you were calling out for your mom... and for Finé, in your sleep. You seemed so sad and I...”
The clone Miku shook her head, then slowly began to pull away. “I’m sorry. I’m sure you probably would have preferred the real Mi–”
Now it was Miku’s time to be surprised. Using her one free arm, Chris pulled the clone close to her, preventing her from backing off. Because Miku only had one arm, she lost the little balance she had, and fell atop Chris, causing the girl to wince in pain.
“Sorry.” Miku whispered.
“I just... need a minute...” Chris replied softly, holding the clone of her friend in her arm. The girl with the silver hair closed her eyes as she buried herself in the scent of the girl she cared for most.
Through Chris’s mind ran a parade of different images. She saw the golden Lydian where her classmates were frozen, she saw Finé’s manipulative smile that brought a strange mix of fear and comfort, she saw the kind figure from her dreams, and she saw Miku–the original Miku, who was now solid gold.
“Chris?” Miku asked quietly.
Only now did Chris realize that her attempts to hold back her sobs had failed.

. . .

 “Sooo... is this a bad time?”
Chris and Miku were both unsure how long they had been embraced, but they both shot up as an unexpected voice rang out from the doorway. Chris let go, and Miku used this opportunity to right herself back up. Both of the girls’ faces were bright red in embarrassment.
“Uh! No! It’s uhh!” Chris scrambled for an excuse, but the newcomer just chuckled to herself.
Kanade had one hand on her hip in a very casual stance made only looser by the beer can she still clutched in the other. The girl strolled into the room slowly, throwing herself down into a small chair as she took a sip of her beer.
“So, how’re you feelin’, Chris?”
“I’m... confused. And in pain.” Chris winced as she tried to move one of her legs. Then she looked back up at the orange-haired idol. “What happened to me?”
Kanade frowned. “Hmm... Gimme a sec.”
The girl quickly stood back up and exited the room at a brisk pace. They heard her footsteps echo down the hallway as the door slid closed behind her, only for it to open again a second later. This time, Kanade had one hand on the shoulder of Kirika, who she seemed to push through the doorway and into the room.
“Oh! Chris... You’re awake, death.” Kirika noted, eyes wide. The clone Miku’s eyes, on the other hand, narrowed slightly, and, upon seeing this, Kirika timidly looked away.
“Yeah, I’m gonna need her to explain what happened to you exactly.” Kanade looked away from Kirika as she spoke, something that both Chris and Miku noted.
“I guess I could do that, death.” Kirika nodded.

 “What is the last thing you remember?” The clone Miku asked Chris. “Do you remember fighting Adam?”
Chris looked up. “The three of us got teleported into...”
“The Treasury of Babylonia.” Kirika supplied.
“And we fought Adam together.” Chris turned to Miku. “Did we win?”
Miku looked away, and Chris immediately knew what the answer she would receive was. But, instead of that coming from the clone’s mouth, it was Kanade who spoke up next.
“Define ‘win’.”
“So... no.” Chris’s face turned downwards.
“We–or, the original Miku–killed Akira.” Kanade explained. “But as for what happened to you, Kirika’s the only one who saw it happen.”
“I barely even saw it, too, death.” Kirika looked down. “I’m sorry, Chris, I should have said something...”
“What’s done is done. You can’t change the past.” Chris muttered. Then, she looked up at her blonde-haired friend. “What... happened to me, Kirika?”
The girl inhaled deeply.

~ ~ ~

 Kirika raised her hands in surprise. “You think we can beat that thing, death!?”
“Absolutely not.” Chris turned back. “We’re going to hide.”
Something inside Kirika–perhaps her own intuition or Finé’s–signalled to her that there was something wrong, and it took only a short moment later for her fears to be realized.

 “A̩̞͉̺͔͓͂ͤͮ̑S̙̺͚̱̖̾ͮ͝ ̫͔̻̜̟͌̍̌͠Î̯̮̜̹̰ͮͦ͗̽̈́F̞̂ͩ̉̔”

 The small girl looked back at the pink piece of debris that had trapped Adam, just in time to see it shatter apart completely. On reflex, Kirika put her hand up to summon a wall of Asgard, which protected her from the shrapnel that flew out towards her.
Beyond the pink wall of energy, Kirika’s eyes saw what looked do be a blur of brown and grey–a large mass that moved faster than her mind could fully recognize. Neither the young girl nor the eternal priestess living in her mind was fully capable of understanding what little they saw, but they were positive that it wasn’t good.
When Kirika realized that the blob of dull colours was Adam, and that he was targeting Chris, it was already too late.
“Chris!?” Kirika cried out, but the answer she received was an unconventional one–a piercing, terrified scream as if every fibre of Chris’s being was crying out in pain. The noise froze the blood in Kirika’s veins, locking her to the spot in which she stood.
In less than a second, Adam had destroyed the pink item that the clone Miku crushed him with and flew into–and punched–Chris with his full force... or, at least, Kirika assumed it was Adam.

 What floated in the air, glaring down at Kirika, could only be described as a monster.
A burgundy-coloured beast hovered in the air not far from her. Its body looked almost humanoid–albeit without any skin to speak of, instead replaced with even more, taught muscles. Dark grey, almost black, pieces of armour seemed to extend out from between parts of the monster’s body–on its chest, thighs, legs, shoulders, wrists, and abdomen.
The most prominent feature that made this creature inhuman–outside of its intense height–was the muscular tail extending out behind it, similar armour worn atop it like a hat. But this paled in comparison to the terrifying visage that was the monster’s head.
Topped with two golden horns, almost like those of a goat, the monster’s head was dark grey and covered entirely in the armour that peppered its body. Strangely, the face was almost featureless–outside of two slits that allowed the beast to see, the only other element on the monster’s head was what appeared to be a pointed beak moulded out of the armour cover. What told Kirika that the beast she was looking at was the man named Adam Weishaupt was the navy blue hair that extended out from beneath the golden crown atop the monster’s scalp.
With crimson-red sclera, the beast’s eyes contained a collection of many pink eyes–and all of them now focused entirely on Kirika Akatsuki.

 The girl gulped.

 “Y͖͇̅Ọ̵͐̅̇̇U͇͝”

 The beast let out what seemed to be a feral growl, yet it was also undeniably a human’s voice. Her brain could comprehend the meaning behind the roar yet her conscious mind did not want to fully ruminate on it.
The simple roar, the one word, struck Kirika’s heart with a needle of pure terror.

 “We need to find Chris.” Finé said from Kirika’s mouth, clearly more ready to act than the girl she resided within. The brief comment, however, did calm Kirika somewhat, and it snapped her out of the trance that locked her in place.
Kirika nodded. “Right.”

~ ~ ~
“And then we found Chris, death.” Kirika had a smug smile on her face.
“Yeah?” Kanade prodded the girl in the side. “How?”
“Oh, you know...”
Finé cut in at that moment. “Using Asgard, we essentially just let Adam knock us around until we landed near Chris... and then were brought back to this dimension by a portal.”
“Yeah, that was the other Adams.” Kanade shook her head.
“Wait, so you just... bounced around?” Miku asked. “Didn’t that hurt?”
“No, death... but I am still a bit dizzy...”

 “So you’re telling me this Adam guy’s a goat man? And he’s the reason I’m now stuck in bed?” Chris raised an eyebrow.
“Well... we can confirm that Adam is a goat man.” Kanade sighed. “He came back with the rest of you.”
“I get that he’s a powerful alchemist or whatever... but I don’t like the thought of losing to a goat.” Chris grunted.
“According to Carol, you won’t suffer any permanent injuries... probably.” Kanade announced.
“Apparently your body’s a bit more durable than most...” Miku continued.
“But?” Chris looked back and forth between the two. “There’s something you two aren’t saying?”
Next, Chris’s gaze landed on Kirika–and she held her hands up in defence. “Don’t look at me, death! I wasn’t around when this happened!”
“Then what the hell are you two hidin’ from me!?”
The clone Miku turned away with a sharp inhale. “You’re not going to like this...”

~ ~ ~

 “I have good news and bad news.” Carol grunted.
The golden Miku let out a deep sigh. She, Kanade, Tsubasa, Maria, and her clone were all crowded around Carol, waiting for her report on Chris’s health.
“Will Yukine survive?” Tsubasa narrowed her gaze at the alchemist. “That is the most pressing concern on all of our minds.”
Carol nodded. “Yes. Homunculus bodies are generally more durable than a normal human body. To put it in the most simple of terms, for a short time, a homunculus body absorbs the remaining energy left over from its creation, which it stores and uses to regenerate over time.”
“I see.” Kanade crossed her arms. “So a homunculus body is essentially a sponge for a short time after its creation.”
“That’s one way of putting it, sure.” Carol waved a hand. “The problem is that Chris Yukine’s body is... unique.”
“Unique how?” Maria asked.
“Because she was, quite literally, on death’s door, I needed to rush the construction of her body. Because of that, I had to use different techniques and replicated her original genetic makeup almost entirely–hence why she retained all scars her original body had suffered.”
“You’re saying her body might not regenerate properly, then?” The golden Miku asked.
“Yes. Her body should be able to heal to an acceptable degree, but it might not heal completely. Fighting with a Symphogear could be difficult in the future, if not impossible.”
“Damn it!” Miku shouted, punching the wall.
With her superhuman strength and newly gold physiology, her fist created a large crater in the wall of the submersible, and everyone could feel the craft shake slightly from the impact. Maria and her clone, who were on either side of Miku, flinched away from her.
If only I had been there. Miku cried out in her mind.

 “As for the good news, I do have a potential solution.” Carol crossed her arms. Despite the words inspiring a small amount of hope for their friend, all of the girls around the small alchemist saw clearly the tense look on her face.
“I have a feeling I’m not going to like what you’re about to say.” Maria sighed, shaking her head.
Kanade nodded at that and shrugged. “So much for good news.”
Carol turned her gaze to the two Mikus before her. “When you were comatose some time ago, I took a sample of your body, to try to understand more about your unique makeup.”
“And this is related to Chris?” The Miku clone asked.
The alchemist nodded.
“Then I’m fine with it.” The golden Miku responded.
“Even so, I feel like you should be a bit...” Maria muttered, but neither Miku reacted to the comment.
“The regenerative capabilities your body has are incredible; so much so that I would be amazed if there were no long-term side effects.” Carol brought her fist up to her mouth as she began to ramble. “All alchemy is based on the idea of giving up something for a desired result. For instance, I convert the memories I have created over the centuries into energy, essentially granting my techniques more...”
The girl looked up at the others, then coughed. “Umm, yes. As I was saying: your body’s regenerative capabilities are incredible. If I were to extract more of your cells, I would be able to modify the body of Chris Yukine to incorporate, at the very least, a lesser version of your healing ability...”
“What if we just had Yukine use the Nehushtan Armour?” Tsubasa asked.
“Ah right, she used that when we first met.” Kanade chuckled. “Even my Superb Song wasn’t enough to knock her out.”

 Maria tapped her forehead. “If I remember correctly, the Nehushtan Armour itself is fairly fragile, but it can regenerate so long as one part of it remains.”
“I believe Dr. Sakurai–Finé, that is–posited that it would merge with the body through extended use, however.” Tsubasa frowned. “Although that was only a theory, as we were unable to awaken it.”
“And you said she had already made use of this relic before?” Carol asked. “Then maybe we should allow the Nehushtan Armour to fuse with her body. It may heal her body–if not fully, then definitely to a degree that would allow her to fight again.”

~ ~ ~

 Kirika’s eyes drifted away from Chris at the mention of the Nehushtan Armour. The girl possessed Finé’s memories, and thus knew all that the priestess had forced Chris to do. Wielding the Nehushtan Armour–and electrocuting the girl to prevent what was now being proposed...

 Chris had tears in her eyes. “You’re telling me... my only options are to give up or let my body merge with the Nehushtan Armour?”
The Miku clone slowly embraced Chris again. “I’m so sorry, Chris.”

 “Is it just me,” Kanade began to mutter, “Or is this Miku clone a lot more... sentimental?”
Kirika nodded. “It’s... a little weird, death. It’s like she’s not even Miku.”
“Maybe we should call her something else then. Treat her like someone separate...” Kanade tapped her chin. “Niku.”
“Niku?” Chris asked, looking up over the clone’s shoulder.
“Yeah, you know. Miku Two.” Kanade shrugged. “If she’s sticking around a while, then I’d prefer not having to specify between ‘depressed Miku’ and ‘the oddly sentimental and weird Miku clone’.”

 “Wait!” Chris suddenly shouted. “Couldn’t Carol just make me a... it feels kinda weird to say, but, make me a new body?”
Kanade sighed. “Well...”

~ ~ ~

 “No. It would not be a good idea to do that.” Carol shook her head.
Maria had asked about whether it was possible to transfer Chris’s memories to another homunculus body–a question that was immediately shut down.
“Question: how does that process work?” Kanade raised her hand. “Based on your earlier comment about how alchemy works...”
“You would be right–there is a price to pay when transferring a consciousness into a homunculus body.” Carol turned to Maria. “Chris Yukine, Serena Cadenzavna Eve would have both lost a very small amount of their knowledge and memories when I transferred their consciousnesses to homunculus bodies.”
Seeing a terrified look cross over Maria’s face for a moment, Carol immediately began to speak again to prevent complaints from being raised. “For the former, I supplemented some of the lost knowledge with my own. Regardless, both the knowledge and memories lost on an initial transplant would be those that the brain has not accessed in a long period of time.”

 “And I imagine doing this again...?” Kanade supplied a continuation.
“Do any of you know what a VCR is? A video cassette?” Carol heaved a deep sigh when she only got blank stares in response. “Hmm... The easiest way to explain this...
“Ah. Essentially, it would be creating a copy of a copy–every additional body would deteriorate more and more important bits of knowledge and memories. Though the probability of more prominent memories being lost would be fairly low with a second homunculus body, it would not be wise to test this.”
The golden Miku stormed out of the room at that explanation.

 “So what you’re saying is...”

~ ~ ~

 “I have no other options.” Chris looked down. “Damn it.”
“Chris...” The newly-christened Niku couldn’t seem to do anything other than try to comfort her sad friend, but she clearly did not know how to go about doing it in this situation.
“Although,” Chris looked up at Niku with a sad smile. “I guess we’ve both lost our original bodies, huh, Mi... er, Niku. I probably shouldn’t be complaining about this.”
“That’s...” Niku stiffened.
“Not something you want to have in common with someone, death.” Kirika said, in complete deadpan. “Although...”
Finé chirped up. “I suppose our case is not completely dissimilar.”

 “Maybe it’d be best if we give you some time to... think about stuff.” Kanade turned to Chris. “Make a decision.”
“I...” Chris slowly nodded. “Okay, yeah. Thanks.”
Niku’s head quickly turned, her eyes darting between Kanade and Chris’s faces. “I guess I...” Upon seeing that Kanade was glaring at her, the clone made a decision. “I’ll leave too. I’ll... try to find the real me...”
“Yeah... yeah, thanks.” Chris smiled genuinely. “Thanks, all of you.”

 Kanade quickly gathered Kirika and Niku. She grabbed both girls by the arms and began to pull them towards the doorway, but stopped when she realized that, instead, she had just ripped Niku’s arm off of her torso. Regardless, the clone just slowly walked past her.
“I’d like that back, please.” Niku gestured towards the arm in Kanade’s grasp with a large nod, as she lacked the appendages to do otherwise.
“Um, yeah...” Kanade looked up at her in shock. “Right.”

 And with that, the three girls left.
Chris found the silence terrifying after what she had heard. Finé had used her so much–to awaken Solomon’s Cane, which she used to kill so many people; forced her to kill as well, using the Nehushtan Armour that may now be fused with her body permanently...
...she had done all of this, and more, just for a single word of praise from Finé. Something to show that the priestess genuinely cared for her.
Even now, Chris was still waiting. Residing inside of Kirika had not changed anything; the priestess had a voice, but still refused to attempt to comfort her.

 What confused Chris now was that it was Miku–or, rather, the clone now known as Niku–trying to comfort her, an inverse of what had happened before between the two. It felt strange to Chris, having someone genuinely care for her well-being...
She closed her eyes, and the image of that figure from her dream was waiting for her.

*“It’s because I’m your mother, Chris. And I can assure you: everything will be all right.”*

. . .

 “Hey, Kanade?”
With her arm reattached, Niku, Kirika, and Kanade all made their way back towards the cafeteria area. It was Niku who first spoke after they had fallen into silence. The orange-haired idol wore a smile on her face as she comfortably led the other two; Kirika was at the back of the line, slowly following Niku at a distance.
“So why did you go see Chris, anyway?”
“Oh right. I actually had a question for you, Ni-two. One for you, too, Kirika.”
“A nickname for a nickname, death?” Kirika quietly hissed from a distance, though neither girl reacted to this comment.
“A question for me?” Niku wondered.
“Yeah. Well, two, honestly. The first was about the concert tomorrow. We changed the idea, since the world knows our secret now. Do you want to h–”
“Sorry, but I don’t think it would be smart for me to go to another concert after...”
Kanade looked up. “Yup, expected that answer. But I knew I should have asked anyway.”
Finally, the idol stopped and spun on her heels. Niku, not expecting Kanade to halt her stroll, collided straight into the taller girl, and in-turn was bumped into by Kirika.
“The second question I had for you, Niku, was this: how do you differ from Miku?”
Niku’s immediate response was to tilt her head.
“You remember what Carol said, right, about how alchemy requires a trade and that she was surprised your regeneration has a downside?” Kanade shook her head. “Maybe it’s because I’m just a little bit drunk but I felt like I should just ask you straight-out.
“Do you... not have emotions?”

 “Huh?” Kirika asked.
“I mean, you kinda remind me of Serena.” Kanade shrugged. “Like you’re trying too hard. Which, considering Miku doesn’t really seem to know how to express herself properly, seems a bit fitting.”
The confused look on Niku’s face dropped, turning into an emotionless stare. “I see.”
“I don’t know what the correlation is here with emotions and life, but there’s something there.” Kanade brought a fist up to her mouth. “Niku, Serena, the Shirabe that isn’t that other girl... why do you all lack emotions?”
“Before you ask, Kanade,” Finé spoke up, “This is a question I don’t have answers to.”
“Didn’t think so; I didn’t have a question for you anyway, Ryoko.” Kanade spat the name of the doctor. “The question I have is for Kirika–and it’s not entirely unrelated.”

 Kirika looked away from the girl, fully anticipating the question that was about to be asked. She instinctively grabbed one of her arm warmers, clutching it tight.
“Whatever you were hiding... did you forget what it was? And... do you remember?”
That was not what Kirika was expecting, and she let go of her arm warmer. “Death?”
“Oh, and here I thought you were going to ask about that smell.” Niku scratched the back of her head.
“Smell?”
“Yeah, don’t you smell it?” Niku turned to the blonde girl. “That stench of blood that’s been following us.”

#### AXZ Chapter 20

 Elsa sat quietly in the corner of the large, empty room. The girl, with her enhanced hearing and set of extra, dog-like ears protruding off the top of her head, could hear clearly the other conversation happening in the next room over, despite the closed door.
The pink-haired wolf girl was not alone in this giant room, though both sat in silence. While Elsa was sitting alone with her thoughts, the alchemist known as Prelati was fuming as she sat in the corner with a large pile of books.
In the other room, the remaining two members of their crew were currently busy performing surgery on the unconscious Shirabe Tsukuyomi. Elsa could hear Vanessa muttering to herself while she worked on saving the girl’s life, while Cagliostro tried to have a friendly conversation–to “lighten the mood”–while she made medicines and worked to support her in other ways. Alongside them was a third party: the Autoscorer named Phara, watching over the group on Carol’s orders... even if Elsa did not know who this Carol was.
Both Cagliostro and Prelati were struggling internally. Elsa and Vanessa had been mistreated by them and, especially, the Illuminati as whole–so neither the wolf girl nor the cyborg woman held too much sympathy for them–but they understood that the two alchemists were not loyal to the Bavarian Illuminati. They were loyal to Saint-Germain.
Still, the wolf girl knew what it was like to lose a member of a posse. Both Elsa and Vanessa had been under the impression that Millaarc was being used like a tool just as they were–seeing her actively work alongside Adam, seemingly by choice, wounded them.
But it especially wounded Elsa.

 “Aw, chin up, Elsa. I’m sure one day we’ll be able to figure out some way to be human again, da ze!”
Elsa suddenly recalled a conversation she and Millaarc had had once, what felt like a lifetime ago. Back then, the two of them wore hospital scrubs, still undergoing experimentation by the Illuminati. The older girl, with freshly-grown pointed fangs and eyes now the colour of blood, looked down at Elsa with a smile that felt strangely warm despite the cool laboratory they were trapped in.
The small wolf girl remembered reaching up to touch the wolf ears that had been implanted in her head. The fact that she had two sets of ears–and one pair was far more sensitive–still scared her; she hated being able to faintly hear the sounds of conversation beyond what was supposed to be soundproof walls and the pounding sound of Millaarc’s heart beside her.
“Can I become human again, de arimasu?” Elsa whimpered. “I’m... a dog, now... I’m a monster. You at least still look human enough, de arimasu.”
Millaarc’s arms wrapped around the wolf girl at that comment, pulling her tight. It was the first hug she had experienced since being kidnapped by the Bavarian Illuminati–and Elsa had believed she would never feel the comfort of a family ever in her life.

 It was strange. Elsa’s life before being kidnapped by the Illuminati was far from a peaceful one, yet she greatly prepared that then the constant surgery that was being forced upon her. The girl had never had what she would call a ‘family’–the ones who should have fulfilled that role used her as an outlet for their stress, either through violence or other means. So when Millaarc wrapped her arms around her...
“You’re crying, da ze.” Millaarc commented. “But... that’s okay. Let it out, Elsa.”
Millaarc had been in the Illuminati’s custody longer than Elsa had, so the girl felt guilty that she had someone to comfort here in this traumatic experience when Millaarc had been forced to brave this alone. Regardless, Elsa’s eyes, her heart, refused to listen to her brain.
On that day, she came to see Millaarc as her older sister of sorts. Whenever Elsa would be ‘punished’ for her failures by those figures–the true monsters–in snow-white coats, Millaarc was always there to help her stay grounded in reality, without ever asking for the same in return.

 “Was that... because you felt guilty, de arimasu?” Elsa wondered aloud, playing with her hair.
Had Millaarc never wanted to be repaid for her kindness because she was planning to leave her behind? Elsa could not get the idea out of her mind, even if she did not want to consider the possibility.

 “Guilty?”
Elsa looked up, meeting the gaze of the small alchemist across the room. Prelati’s eyes glanced over the top of the leather-bound book she held open in her hands. The tired glare froze Elsa’s veins, and the girl instinctively held up her hands.
“I didn’t mean you, de arimasu!”
“I see.” Prelati’s eyes lowered to the page at that, and Elsa looked away.

 “But, I can’t say that I am not guilty of sins.” The alchemist continued after a pregnant pause, punctuated only by the sound of her turning a page of her book. “Though I had nothing to do with your transformation, I did allow it to happen.”
“Oh?” Elsa’s eyes lit up. She was not expecting an apology from any of the alchemists, certainly not Prelati, but–
“Of course, I am still interested in the work that went into mutating you.” Elsa’s heart sank as she saw Prelati’s dark, heartless glare and cruel smile. “The idea of integrating the traits of animals into humans to enhance their physical capabilities to create a new standard of ‘perfection’. Truly an exciting...”
The alchemist looked up to meet Elsa’s eyes again, and stopped talking.

 Suddenly, Elsa’s dog ears perked up. Her ears were so sensitive that she could sense things normal humans couldn’t, but that did not always mean she knew what she was hearing; that’s why the Illuminati considered her a failure–her body changed, but her brain refused to adapt.
But she did not need her beastly instincts to know what she was sensing, she knew from experience. Baring her fangs, the small girl stood up.
“An intruder, de arimasu.”
“Ah.” Prelati slammed her book shut and lightly put it on a pile of identical-looking brown tomes. “That’s likely my ‘friend’. It’s about time she showed her face.”
“Fri–?” Before Elsa could even finish the single word, she saw Prelati take on a combat stance.
If an alchemist was warping in here, and another alchemist was ready to fight them... Elsa knew it would be best to...

 Her vision went white.

 “Hello, Carol.”
“Prelati.”
Elsa could not see, but she could hear two distinct voices clearly. Her human ears were ringing, but the dog ears atop her head seemed to be fine; how, she wasn’t entirely sure. Regardless, the girl did not know where she was in relation to them, nor what was going on, but she knew she had to stay as far away from them as possible.

. . .

 “Hey, look, it’s her!”
“She was one of the people on the news, right?”
“That’s one of those Symphogear girls...”
“That was fake, right?”

 As Miku walked down the street, she was met with gawking pedestrians. Normally someone who nobody paid much attention to, suddenly a spotlight shone down upon Miku Kohinata. She wore a scowl as she tried her best to ignore the people muttering in her vicinity–be it in awe or fear or confusion.
“What’s the point?” Miku rolled her eyes. Without slowing her quick steps, the girl dropped the facade of Shénshòujìng that had been covering her body, her body instantly becoming a shining gold.
Some people nearby who were trying not to look at Miku dropped their jaws as a living statue appeared before them, while others turned their heads away as Miku’s metallic skin reflected the honey-coloured light of the setting sun into their eyes.
Transforming her arm into Ame no Habakiri, Miku pointed towards the sky
 “Any questions?” She shouted into the crowd of people around her. This spurred some people around to begin quietly shuffling away as if they hadn’t been staring at her. Others just looked up at her sword arm, both in fear and in admiration.
Miku then let out a cough, sending a quick jolt of pain through her body and transforming her arm back to normal.
“I hate this.” Miku hissed.

 “Tell me about it.”
Miku looked up at a streetlight nearby, on which a girl in a blue dress sat. She wore a crooked frown, her eyes full of disgust as she looked over the crowd of people around her. “People really like to stare. It’s annoying.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Master told us to gather intel on what the Illuminati’s doing and to help Elfnein in her research. Unfortunately, the second task is boring and the first task has had no results.” Garie finally dropped her gaze onto Miku. “When I saw all of these people over here, I was hoping it would be related to them, but...”
“You just found me instead.”
“Good for me, I guess.” Garie rolled her eyes.
The robot then turned her gaze to the people still gawking at them. Most of the people watching the two metallic girls converse were mumbling to themselves and the party surrounding them, tentatively wondering if they were in any danger just being around the two.
“Don’t you have anything better to do?” Garie squawked at the crowd.
Some people, in shock, turned to leave, while others continued milling about. The Autoscorer saw one person, a teenage boy, visibly shake his head to deny that he had any other matters to be concerned about; he just wanted to see Garie and Miku in person. In his hand, just as in the hands of some of those around him, was his cell phone, held up and no doubt recording their conversation.

 “Our introduction into the public eye has made quite an impact, it seems. Perhaps too much of one.”
The sudden appearance of Leiur made Garie jump, sending her gently floating off of the streetlight and down towards the ground. Miku just watched with a scowl, annoyed that another Autoscorer was now here to interrupt her thoughts.
“Jeez, Leiur. A warning would have been nice.” Garie huffed, sending an annoyed glare up towards her sister.
“Oh?” Leiur’s eyebrows lifted. “Then, you should know that–”
“Garie!”
“Wha–!?” The golden Autoscorer’s warning came too late, as a second later her blue sister was tackled to the ground from behind. Miku stepped aside to give room for Garie to flail about as she tried desperately to push the newcomer, Micha, off of her.
“What are you doing here, Garie?” Micha asked innocently, wrapping her mechanical arms around her sister and refusing to let go.
“Interrogating a suspicious person.”
Garie pointed at Miku, who frowned in response.
“That’s Miku.”
“Exactly.”
Miku sighed. “Don’t you guys have anything better to do?”
Garie shrugged. “Like I said. The Illuminati doesn’t seem to be up to anything.”
Micha nodded.
“We found no trace of them or that alchemist they took with them–Saint-Germain.” Leiur added. “It seems, for today, that they were content with just...”
“Killing an entire school’s worth of people.” Miku turned around to face the crowd of onlookers. Some flinched as she met their gazes, while a few moved aside to form a path for her. “Alright. I’m leaving.”
“Wait.” Leiur commanded. The golden Autoscorer’s tone was forceful, but Miku’s only response was to exhale deeply. “What, exactly, were you doing? Should you not be with your friends, resting?”
“Or with your girlfriend?” Garie snickered, a cruel smile stretching across her face. “You know, the one I made you stab? The one that’s not the one you killed?”
Without even looking at the Autoscorer, Miku transformed her arm into a gun and fired it straight at Garie’s head. The Autoscorer didn’t flinch as the bullet of energy sailed right past her grinning face, though screams erupted from around them as the crowd began to, finally, disperse.

 “I’ll deal with my impudent sister later.” Leiur shook her head. “But, Miku Kohinata, I do wish to know. For what purpose are you lurking around in such a state?”
“Yeah you look awful.” Garie nodded. “Worse than usual, I mean.”
“Garie stop being so mean~” Micha whined, punching the girl in the chest.
Though the red Autoscorer clearly meant for it to be a light, playful tap, she had forgotten that, being made entirely for combat, she possessed greater strength than her sisters; Garie looked to be in great pain, and Miku couldn’t help but smirk upon seeing that expression.
“Micha, Garie–enough!”
Leiur waved her hand, sending a series of small golden crystals down towards her sisters (and Miku). Miku simply stood in place and let the rocks harmlessly bounce off of her, while the other two Autoscorers countered with their own elemental attacks, pushing the stones away with a geyser of water and a sea of flames.
“I wish to hear what Kohinata has to say.” Leiur said, an annoyed expression on her face. “And I will receive an answer from her.”
“Let me guess, you guys have orders to make sure I don’t turn into Batara Kala again, right?” Miku muttered. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing like that. I’m just trying to think, is all.”
“You have a brain?” Garie asked. A second later, she was clutching her head after Micha bopped her scalp, again, far harder than she intended to.
“Whatcha thinkin’ about?~” Micha asked sweetly, ignoring the angry look Garie was giving her.
“Something Carol said to me.” Miku reached into the pocket of her now-golden hoodie, pulling out the aluminium orb that the alchemist had given her. “And... realizing now that I’ll never be able to reclaim my humanity.”
“Oh?” Leiur’s attention hung on that last comment. “Were you not the one who claimed she was a monster to begin with?”
Miku looked down at the ground, but said nothing.
“I see.”

 “Judging from your response,” Leiur began after a moment, “Am I to assume that Master told you about her research into your genetic makeup? If so...”
““‘Cherish the time you have with them now. You’ll regret it later.’”” Both Miku and Leiur recited together. When Miku realized their voices overlapped, she spun to face the golden Autoscorer with a surprised look on her face.
“How...?” She hissed.
“Just a hunch.” Leiur smiled.
“I think it takes a bit more than a hunch to say the exact same thing.” Garie muttered. Micha nodded.
“So, then, why are you out here? If you were heeding her advice, you would...”
“I need to think about what I really care about.” Miku huffed. Then, shaking her head, Miku began to turn around. “I’ve said enough. I’m goin–”
“I believe Chris Yukine has awoken, you know.”
That stopped Miku in her tracks.
“I see. It seems to me that you know full well what you care about.” Leiur acknowledged. “You just don’t want those feelings to replace the ones you had for your late friend.”
Miku was silent.

 “Seems like a hole in one.” Garie nodded after a few moments. Then, shrugging, “Why does it matter if your old feelings get replaced? That chick’s dead, anyways, so–”
“Hibiki...” Miku fell to her knees. “Hibiki’s dead because of me. And I can’t do anything about it. I can regenerate again and again but Hibiki... Hibiki...!”
“Eh?” Garie was genuinely surprised at Miku’s sudden breakdown, like her comment about Hibiki had burst the dam holding back all of these emotions.
Micha looked at her blue sister with a look of annoyance. “You made her sad.”
“And... and the worst part is...” Miku shuddered, then looked up at the Autoscorers. “I can’t even cry. I don’t know what to do.”
Miku pulled her fist tight to her heart. “My heart hurts so bad. It hasn’t stopped hurting. I love Hibiki, but I killed Hibiki... and then there’s Chris, who... I don’t even know. Do I love Chris? What even is love? I...”
And just like that, Miku deflated. She fully collapsed down onto the pavement, becoming one with the shadows that had long since begun to absorb the ground as the sun was slowly swallowed up by the horizon. “I don’t know what to do! All I ever do is hurt people, but–”
“In the end, you’re hurting yourself most of all.” Leiur looked down at the girl. Despite not requiring air, the Autoscorer seemed to inhale deeply before she continued talking.

 “Miku Kohinata: your friends may not have much time left. In two months, we will all be fighting against the Illuminati. Based on Adam Weishaupt’s power compared to the strength of S.O.N.G., our master, and ourselves, it is highly likely that there will be casualties.”
Miku looked up at the girl in shock. It was a possibility she had never considered, clearly; that more people could join Hibiki.
“Whoa, wait, hold on there, Leiur...” Garie reached up. “If you think master alone can’t take that naked–”
“She can not. Master is well aware of that fact, too. In a single blow, Adam Weishaupt dealt considerable amounts of damage to Chris Yukine, even while her Symphogear was active. Defeating one of them would be difficult, let alone three.”
“And that’s assuming there aren’t more hiding somewhere...” Garie muttered. She pinched her eyebrows close together, a look of frustration in her eyes. “He’s that strong, huh?”
“Miku Kohinata: go spend time with your friends now. What my master was trying to tell you was that none of us know how long we will remain alive for. Even us Autoscorers have a limited lifespan.” Leiur turned around. “You do not want unfinished business again, right?”
“Unfinished...” Miku muttered. “You mean?”
“Go. Be honest–with everyone.” Leiur commanded. “Leave an impact upon their hearts, one that will never fade even once their souls leave this plane.”
Miku nodded, determination welling up within her. “We need to become stronger.”
“Then first, make sure your heart is as strong as could be.”

 In the distance, a loud explosion rang out.
“No. First I’m going to check out what that was.” Miku commented a moment later.
The girl did not wait a moment for a response. Before Leiur, or any other Autoscorer, could make another comment, Miku blasted herself high up into the air, disappearing into the distance in an instant.

 “What was that about?”
Watching the small figure of Miku fade in the distance, Micha asked her sisters this question. A sickeningly-innocent look on her face as she looked between the bored Garie and the content Leiur. Contrasting Garie and Micha, Leiur looked not at Miku’s shrinking silhouette but rather the rising moon.
“Seems like Big Sis Leiur has a soft spot for Miku.” Garie teased.
Leiur smirked. “I see in her many of the same qualities as our master, you know.”
“I don’t.” Micha pouted.
“I think Master would see that as an insult.”
Garie’s comment caused Leiur to chuckle once. “You may be right about that.”

. . .

 Cagliostro physically kicked down the door of the rotting mansion that she and her crew had been using as a base–and the remaining wall surrounding it collapsed as well. The blue-haired woman glared at the two small figures who instantly turned to look at the one intruding on their battle, unaware that they had completely destroyed a majority of the surviving structure.
“Bad children.” Cagliostro frowned.
“I’m older than you.” Carol immediately rebutted.
The woman scowled at the comment, and shook her head.
“You two are lucky that I’ve finished the surgery.” Vanessa said, walking up behind Cagliostro. She had a red cloth in one hand, which she was using to wipe down a utensil that neither girl recognized–it looked like a cross between a wrench and a flashlight. “Otherwise you may have cost the patient her life.”
The mention of a patient caught Carol’s attention, and she quickly latched onto it.
“Shirabe. How is she?”
“She’s... been better...” Cagliostro looked away from the golden-haired alchemist.
“What does that mean!?”
“Master, there is no need to worry.” Coming up from behind the two figures was Carol’s fourth Autoscorer, Phara. She curtsied for her creator as she lined up next to Cagliostro and Vanessa. “Shirabe Tsukuyomi is alive–her condition is stable, and she will not die of her injuries any time soon.”
“But...?” Carol raised an eyebrow.
“The fact that your toy refused to say she was ‘healthy’ should tell you enough.” Prelati muttered, turning her head away from Carol. Her ‘friend’ simply glared at the back of Prelati’s head in response, earning an exasperated sigh from Cagliostro.
“Her body is a mess, and I needed to perform extensive surgery to keep her alive. The Alca-Noise did extensive damage, so it was honestly a miracle that I expect her to recover.” As she spoke, Vanessa rotated her robotic hand around fully at a high speed, and it extended upwards to reveal a container within her arm. Quickly, she tossed her strange tool into the uncovered hole and then pushed her hand back down, snapping it into place.
“Needless to say, Master, your friend is not physically well.” Phara lowered her head.
“I...” A dark look came upon Carol’s face, and she looked down. “... I see.”
“Plus, she’s been unconscious this whole time.” Cagliostro sighed. “A girl as young as her probably would not come away from a traumatic experience like this unharmed. Her mental state likely won’t be well, when she does awaken...”

 “...Speaking of young girls.” Vanessa spoke up, looking around the dilapidated room. “Where is Elsa?”
“The dog girl?” Carol asked.
Silence hung between the group for a moment as all parties began to crane their heads around.
“Clearly she’s not here.” Carol shrugged.
“No. Wait. I hear something.” Vanessa held a hand up.
Some of the remaining roof collapsed into the building at that comment, followed by the golden girl herself, Miku Kohinata.
“Alright, what’s with the expl... oh. It’s you.” Miku’s eyes met Carol’s, and she let out a sigh. “Here I thought there was something wrong.”
“Good timing.” Phara spoke up. “Any chance you saw a dog anywhere?”
“Pink hair.” Prelati gestured to her head. “About my height. A girl.”
“A dog?” Miku tilted her head. “No wonder I smell something weird.”
The girl immediately turned to a pile of rubble that had gathered around where a wall used to be. Large chunks of concrete were piled high, with some wallpaper pulled off and laying atop it like a blanket. As she reached the pile, Miku slowly pulled her arm back and...

***BOOM!***

 “Holy shit.” Prelati commented.
Miku had, with a small, quick punch, completely decimated one of the largest boulders in front of her. The rock crumbled into dust, covering the dog girl named Elsa Bête in a fine, grey film.
Part of Elsa’s clothes had been torn and, ignoring the fresh blanket of stone dust now covering her, her clothes were covered in dirt and grime. She had tears in her eyes, as she looked up at Miku from her position, crouched on the ground.
“Oh... oh thank goodness...!”
“You okay?” Miku asked the dog girl, offering her a hand.
“Yes! Yes, I’m good de arimasu!” Elsa nodded happily, taking Miku’s hand with both of her paws. Miku knew that if Elsa had possessed a tail, it would be wagging around excitedly. “I thought I was going to die in there, de arimasu.”
As Miku pulled Elsa to her feet, she looked to Phara and Vanessa. “I heard what you said about Shirabe.”
“You did?” Vanessa’s eyes perked up.
Letting go of Elsa, Miku pointed at her ear. “I’ve got a bunch of relics in me. I guess one of them helps with hearing or something? I don’t know. I just heard it.”
“Incredible.”
“You come to expect the incredible with this girl.” Carol chuckled.
“I might be able to help awaken her.” Miku smiled, pumping her fist. “I’ll need your help, Carol.”
Carol nodded. “I’m impressed. I expected you to nod and leave without further question.” She smiled. “For the sake of Shirabe, I’ll assist you.”
Next, Miku turned to Vanessa. “And... you, uhh... cyborg lady. I’ll need you and the alchemists on standby.”
Carol narrowed her eyes. “Wait. What do you intend to do?”
“Use your ability to manipulate memories by reflecting my consciousness into Shirabe’s mind with Shénshòujìng.” She shrugged. “And, just in case I mess up, it’d be best if people with medical training were around.”
“Using Shénshòujìng to reflect your consciousness.” Elsa brought her fist up to her mouth. “Though I am not intimately familiar with the relic’s abilities, theoretically it should be possible to combine its properties with that of alchemy...”
“Assuming all parties involved are not decidedly ‘evil’.” Cagliostro nodded. “An impressive plan, Subject GX–though we expected as much from you.”
“GX.” Miku repeated.
“Originally you were Subject G–Subject God–an attempt to create a god that was not divine. Once you transformed into Batara Kala, it was decided that your powers were far more powerful than we believed you to be and renamed you Subject GX–Subject Devil.”
“GX does not stand for devil.” Miku immediately pointed out, deadpan, ignoring that the Illuminati had been giving her nicknames behind your back.
“God Crosser; and who better to cross a god than a devil?” Cagliostro winked. Seeing the unamused face on Miku’s face, her cheerful expression faded. “Don’t look at me. It was our boss who came up with the idea.”
Miku waved her hand.
“Whatever. Let’s just wake Shirabe up.” Then, she snapped her fingers. “But first, I think someone else should be here too.”

. . .

 “Kirika? What’s the meaning of this.”
Kanade had Kirika’s wrist in her arm. The smaller blonde girl struggled to pull herself away, tears in her eyes as she glared at the idol whose fingers were wrapped around the jet black arm warmer.
“Let me go, death!” Kirika muttered, looking away. “I... just got hurt in the last battle. It’s nothing to worry about, death.”
“Is that so?” Kanade’s eyes lightened up. She let go of her arm, and Kirika immediately pulled it close to her chest. “I’m... sorry. For thinking otherwise.”
“You guys done?”
“Death!?” Kirika shrieked loudly at the sudden presence of Carol and Miku behind Kanade.
“Hey Other Me.” Miku nodded at Niku.
“I guess my name’s Niku now?” Her clone responded.
“Alright. I can tell you didn’t come up with that name.” Miku shook her head.
“What’s up? Weird seeing the two of you together.” Kanade asked, looking at the golden-haired alchemist.
It was, however, Miku who responded.
“We’re here to pick Kirika up.”
“Death?” Kirika tilted her head.
“I want you there when I try to wake Shirabe up.” Miku inhaled sharply. “But...”
“....You should prepare yourself, Kirika Akatsuki. Our friend, Shirabe... she doesn’t look quite as you remember her anymore.”

#### AXZ Chapter 21

 “Shi... Shirabe...?”
Kirika slowly stepped towards the girl laying unconscious on the silver table. The only two other people in the room were Miku and Carol, both of whom stood a fair distance away in silence. They both understood how Kirika felt to some extent, though, since the blonde-haired reaper had known Shirabe the longest, they were well aware that the pain of seeing her like this was most damaging.

 The girl known as Shirabe looked almost completely unrecognizable. Her long black hair had been chopped extremely short, and she now looked somewhat boy-ish–this alone changed her appearance far more than any of the girls had expected.
But the rest of Shirabe’s body was alien, to say the least. Her right entire right leg had been replaced with a prosthetic, a sleek modern artificial limb with red accents. Her left leg was not unscathed, either, and replaced with a prosthetic from the knee down. Additionally, Shirabe’s right hand was now also cold and metallic.
What surprised Kirika most of all, however, was Shirabe’s face. The young girl’s black hair had to be shorn so that surgery could be performed on her head. A bandage wrapped around a majority of Shirabe’s head, leaving only room for her right eye, nose, and mouth to peek out from beneath the dirty white fabric dirtied slightly red.

 The girl had looked completely unrecognizable to Carol and Miku, but Kirika seemed to be completely broken by Shirabe’s appearance. The wielder of Igalima stumbled towards Shirabe slowly, as if her friend was a wild animal that Kirika didn’t want to startle. She was timid, her eyes wide and filled with tears that streamed uncontrollably down her pale face.
“Shirabe...! Shirabe!” Kirika could only cry out her friend’s name as she slowly took her left hand in hers, gently wrapping her fingers around Shirabe’s fleshy digits. Both of their hands were trembling slightly, and Kirika slowly sunk to her knees as she felt the worry pounding through the veins of Shirabe’s remaining hand.

 “You’re crying, too.” Miku whispered to Carol.
“No!” She snapped back immediately, wiping away the very tears that her glossed over her eyes. “Well! You’re crying too!”
“I literally can’t cry. I think the gold froze my tears.”
Carol pouted, looking away. She was defeated, but simply did not want to admit it.

 “Sorry to break this up, but we do have other stuff we could be doing.”
Eventually, Cagliostro and the others marched into the room–or, rather, the adjacent room that, through Carol and Prelati’s battle, became merged with the one Shirabe was laying in. It was the blue-haired woman who announced her presence to the others, a sad look on her face.
Prelati, on the other hand, glared coldly.
“We need to do something about Saint-Germain.” She said coldly. “We don’t have all of the time in the world.”
“Neither do we.” Carol huffed. “But, yes. I am for beginning this... experiment.”
“Experiment, death?” Kirika immediately looked up, horrified.
“Like I said: I’m going to try to awaken her.” Miku explained.
Kirika’s terror did not subside one bit. Instead, she clutched her other hand desperately around Shirabe’s, tugging it close to her chest as if to protect it. A determined, albeit still sad, look crossed her face as she stared at the crowd amassing in front of her.
So, instead, Miku turned to Carol.
“Do you actually need to touch Shirabe to do this?”
“No but it would definitely be helpful.”
“Any additional risk?”
“To her health?” Carol slowly looked over at Shirabe.
“Fair point.”
“No. Truthfully, the risk comes to you.” Carol looked up at Miku. “Though impossible to say for certa–”
“I’ll accept any risk.” Miku nodded, cutting the alchemist off. “After all, my life won’t end even if I die.”
“Very well.” Carol noted.

 The golden-haired alchemist stepped forwards, intimidating Kirika, who pulled Shirabe’s hand closer to her chest.
“I’m not going to let anyone else harm Shirabe, death!”
“Don’t worry. The only one about to be harmed is Miku Kohinata.” Carol explained.
“Death?”
Extending a hand out in front of herself, Carol instantly created a series of glyphs in the air in front of her, all pointed towards Shirabe.
“Alchemist, wolf girl–I’ll need your help too.” Miku looked back at the posse of people whose names she mostly did not know.
“Yeah, yeah.” Prelati rolled her eyes in response.
The black-haired girl stepped forwards next, creating a large shell of ice that extended up over Miku’s body and behind her, leaving only a small gap that led directly into the first of Carol’s glyphs.
Kirika looked on in confusion, not sure what this alchemical ornament had to do with Shirabe; though she was also worried for her friend, as well.
“On the count of three, wolfie.” Miku’s arm transformed into a fan-like device as she pointed it up towards the shell above her.
“Right, de arimasu!” Elsa stepped forwards.
Extending out from her hip was something that appeared to be a black electrical cord–this had not been present earlier. The rubber-coated wire led from the girl’s body into what appeared to be a large suitcase she had behind her.

 “One.”
Miku closed her eyes. In her mind, she pictured herself, with all of her many blemishes of combat. The burn scars she acquired after falling from the atmosphere; the one missing arm that Batara Kala stole from her; the gold shell she was now trapped within.

 “Two.”
Miku inhaled deeply. She wanted no excess thoughts in her mind. The pain that Chris was going through, the sadness and confusion in Kirika’s eyes, Carol’s serious expression... Hibiki. None of it needed to cloud her brain; all she needed was the image of herself, standing peacefully within a dark void.

 “One.”
Elsa lunged forwards, her tail flying out of the suitcase to reveal a mechanical device resembling a sharp-toothed maw. In the same moment, Miku fired a beam of light out of the end of her arm directly at the icy cover, creating a disco ball that she stood within the centre of.
The wolf girl’s tail collided with the shell, piercing straight through the frozen glass and utterly decimating the ice that Prelati created. Fractals, small shining bits of ice, rained down upon Miku’s body, all reflecting the light of Shénshòujìng towards the glyphs Carol had created...

 ...and, in an unplanned move, throughout the entire room.

 Every figure was simultaneously bathed in the light of the purifying mirror, but none felt any differently. Instead, it was Miku who reacted most to this, collapsing to her knees and slamming her head hard against the ground to create a dull metallic *clang* that echoed out around them.
“Shit.” Carol shouted, deactivating her glyphs, but–despite the sequence of events taking less than thirty seconds–she was already too late.
“Was it my fault, de arimasu!?” Elsa looked around in a panic.
“No. I think...” Cagliostro looked down at her figure. Like everyone else, her body now seemed to glow an eerie purple. “A miscalculation was made along the way.”

 Kirika looked around the room, completely confused as to what was going on. Her eyes were wide, terror filling her heart–both out of concern for Shirabe’s well-being but also her sudden fear that another one of her friends would be incapacitated.
“Mi–!” Kirika tried to shout, but instead felt a rush of blood pump itself out of her throat.
“No–!” Evidently, she was not the only one who felt this way, as Carol also vomited out a crimson red liquid as she tried to speak once more.
“Master!?” Phara rushed forwards towards Carol, only to stop as her creator fell forwards. The golden-haired girl collapsed into the ground with a thud, her consciousness silently leaving her.
One by one, each of the girls puked, and then fell into a sleep even deeper than the one that now trapped the sleeping beauty named Shirabe Tsukuyomi. Only Phara remained conscious, though was lost in what to do next.

. . .

*Where am I?*
The thought ran through Miku’s head like a train barrelling out-of-control through a wall. A chorus of six other voices seemed to layer themselves atop Miku’s thoughts–and it took her a moment to realize that they were all her voice.
Miku felt like she was in seven places at once, and, in a way, she was. When the girl opened her eyes, she saw seven overlapping environments–seven distinct worlds that danced as details from each were woven together into a chaotic sight.
She wanted to throw up–but she couldn’t. Normally...

 ...as it was a dream world that she now resided in, Miku collapsed to her knees and heaved out a disgusting slop. Her body, her mind; it all wanted to eject Miku entirely from the situation she found herself in now, but she knew that she couldn’t.
She needed to awaken Shirabe–that was her goal. To do that, she wanted to erase the trauma that had locked the girl in this situation to begin with. As for why she didn’t simply ask Carol or one of her Autoscorers to do the job... Miku had ulterior motives, as well.

*Breathe Miku. You can do this.*
The words of encouragement entered Miku’s mind, filling her heart with a determination to continue on. Slowly, she peeked one eye open... and then immediately closed it again.
*Focus, Miku!*
Trying to remember all of the different sights she had seen, Miku picked one at random. A green meadow, filled with flowers–someone had been dreaming about that when she first opened her eyes, and it stuck out to her more than anything.
A peaceful, verdant field would calm her heart.

 When Miku next opened her eyes, she saw herself standing in front of a large stone wall–no, a full medieval castle, surrounded on all sides by a sea of green, and only a single dirt trail leading up to the glorious estate.
“Where am I?” Miku wondered aloud. “Is this... Shirabe’s dream?”
The girl was not too far from the gate of this large castle, with two guards stationed outside. Both wore dull armour, clearly of low quality, and each wore a sword at their hip. In their hands, the guards carried large blue banners decorated with three golden fleur-de-lis symbols.
Miku slowly began to take a few steps towards the manor, but stopped.
“Maybe it wouldn’t be a good idea to disrupt a dream like this.” She mumbled, looking down at her gold arm. “If this is a dream, then...?”

 The girl closed her eyes and began to paint an image within her mind. First, Miku pictured herself in her golden shell, then she slowly pulled off every bit of metal from her body. When she had her human form standing there in her mind, she then began drawing other details. Miku pictured herself with two arms, her hair short and tied back by a large white bow, and her burn scars missing–it was as if she had never gone through the tribulations of the past few months.
“No. I need Shirabe to recognize me.” She muttered, still with her eyes closed.
With a sigh, Miku then imagined her burn scars dotting her skin, and pulled the bow away to reveal long wavy hair–albeit still somewhat shorter than it was now.
When Miku opened her eyes, she immediately looked down.
“Two arms...” She gasped, seeing that her idea was not as far-fetched as she had imagined it to be.
In front of her were two arms, and not a single speck of gold dotting them. Unconsciously, she had pictured herself in the Lydian school uniform, and found herself wearing the outfit now. Her stomach twisted in discomfort at the feeling; she would never have the chance to wear this uniform again in real life, for better or worse.
Shaking her head, Miku smacked her cheeks.
“Right. I need to find Shirabe.”

 Miku assessed the two guards standing post at the gate a fair distance away. Both were bored, casually talking to each other–but neither was Shirabe. Both were clearly men, and one even sported a brown moustache pointed out past his cheeks.
She shook her head.
“Guess she must be inside, then.” Miku tapped her chin. “But it might be best not to disturb the dream too much at first. I don’t know what would happen if I surprised her with that revelation.”

 Instead of taking the direct approach, the girl crouched down low and slowly began to make her way off the dirt road and into shrubbery dotting the gardens around her. As she did, she heard what sounded like a neigh of a horse off from behind her.
Ignoring it for now–but curious for information–Miku began to slowly make her way through the shrubs towards the entrance of the castle, where the two guards were. She was quick on her feet; a dream though this may be, she still seemed to have a physical presence in this world. Still, Miku did not feel pain, so the feeling of branches whipping her skin as she made use of her skills as a former track star to sprint towards the wall before her, hoping that the incoming visitor would draw the attention of the guards away from whatever noise she was making.
“Arrêt!” One of the guards yelled, and Miku immediately froze in place.
French–she was not likely in Shirabe’s dream. And if that was the case, then where...?

 “L’abbé Blanchet et Monsignor Prelati?” Miku tuned the rest out once she had heard the name Prelati.
*Prelati...? Wasn’t that the name of one of the alchemists? How did I end up in her dream? Or does Shirabe... no. No, something’s wrong.*
Miku tried to remember what other dreams she had seen when she had first opened her eyes, but only pictured a grey blob. Clicking her tongue quietly, she shrugged.
*Maybe Prelati would be able to help me somehow? She’s an alchemist. Surely she’d know what went wrong.*

 Poking her head out of the bush slightly, Miku watched one of the guards lead the horse-drawn carriage and its passengers into the courtyard behind the gate.
“If only I could fly over this wall...”
A lightbulb seemed to flash in Miku’s mind.
“Wait. If I can give myself a second arm, then...?”
The image of a small white dove appeared in Miku’s brain.

. . .

 “This is certainly a mess alright.”
“For Master to fail... heh. Maybe she’s getting a bit rusty in her old age.”
“Please. It was clearly the fault of that beast, or... that Kohinata girl.”
Once everyone had passed out around her, Phara summoned her three sisters to the mansion’s remains to help her assess the situation. The four Autoscorers had cleaned up the mess–namely the six pools of blood that each of the girls had vomited out–and lined all of the sleeping bodies up against the wall.
Well, three of them had done the work.

 “You know, Micha, it’s great that you’re worried about Master and all but maybe you should stop poking her in the cheek.” Garie noted, looking over at their childish, red-haired older sister.
Instead of helping them, Micha had instead taken to trying to wake Carol up–by repeatedly prodding her body and sadly calling her name out over and over.
“As powerful as Micha is, this is not her area of expertise anyway.” Leiur noted.
“She has one?” Garie snickered.
“Regardless, it would be best to find some way to awaken Master–and, I suppose, the others–soon. I’m sure the Illuminati would love to take advantage of our Master’s incapacitation.” Phara explained.
“Yep, good point.” Garie sighed. “Alright. Maybe if we perform the experiment again, then it’ll shock them all awake?”
“I suppose... that might be one idea to pursue.” Leiur nodded slowly. “Please, explain to us in detail the procedure.”
“If you wish so. However...” Phara shook her head. “The use of that relic–Shénshòujìng–was important for this.”
“Oh, then all we need to do is grab that other girl. Sarah or whatever.” Garie waved a hand. “Maria’s sister. She can use it too, I think.”

. . .

*This is weird... even for me.*
Miku sat atop the large stone wall of the French castle–the Château de Tiffauges. She was not, however, her human self, nor even Batara Kala; if one looked up at her, they would only see a small dove pirched atop the grey bricks, chirping happily every so often.
She had chosen this spot because it offered a full view of the courtyard that the visiting party had been led to. The man that Miku learned was named Blanchet was speaking with a soldier who came to greet them, while a man–who Miku assumed was the one named Prelati, though he looked completely unfamiliar to her–stood behind the carriage with what looked like a jet-black coffin on the ground beside him.

*I wish I knew what they were saying.*
Though she was close enough to hear the conversations happening below, Miku did not speak French; she had no idea what they were conversing about. There were some words she could infer the meanings of because they sounded similar to English ones she knew, but Miku was almost completely in the dark in the realm of conversing within this world.
*I definitely can not get caught.*

 The man assumed to be Prelati was eventually approached by a man who, though he appeared to be dressed similarly to the soldier–wearing chainmail armour and a blue chestpiece decorated with the fleur-de-lis pattern on the banners the guards held and the shield carried by the other soldier–this man had not a single bit of colour on his person. His pale skin and jet black hair melted together with his blindingly silver outfit.
“Poitou.” Prelati greeted the newcomer with a nod–Miku assumed ‘Poitou’ was this man’s name as the man responded in-kind with Prelati’s.
Miku watched as Prelati spoke slowly to the man. From his short and monotonous sentences, Miku could tell that he was blunt, stoic–very much like the short alchemist Miku had met. At last, the man gestured to the large case and Poitou nodded.
And then Prelati looked straight up at Miku.
Their eyes met for a few moments–Miku did not know what to do. Should she fly away?

 Then, Prelati began to walk towards the wall that Miku sat on. Out of the corner of her vision, she saw Poitou give Prelati a confused look, then shrug; whoever Prelati was in this world, they were clearly... unique enough that this was not suspicious activity.
Miku watched as the man named Prelati stopped a short distance from the base of the wall. Putting his hands behind his back, the man slowly bent down and picked up a stone, then straightened his posture. Miku was ready to fly away if the man was going to throw it at her. Instead, he then turned around as he casually began to whistle a song.
A song that someone in France probably would not know–Kagome Kagome.
Taking that as a cue that she was found out, she leaped off her perch and down towards Prelati, landing on the man’s shoulder.
“I do not know how you transformed into a bird, but it would be preferable if you could be a cockroach.” He muttered extremely quietly as he slowly began to wander towards the building that Poitou was bringing the coffin towards. “I need to speak with you, if you are who I assume you are.”
Miku chirped in response.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Very well. I shall be waiting inside–become a cockroach, discreetly, and follow after me.”
Miku chirped again then flew off.

 “I see you are a bird whisperer now?”
Prelati’s eyes stopped tracking the white bird he assumed was one of his Japanese associates from the real world, and turned the priest dressed in white before him.
“Eustache Blanchet, how long have the two of us been acquainted now? Surely you should know that I am well-versed in many areas.”
The priest laughed. “I suppose that is true, François. It is certainly why the two of us are here, after all.”
“Yes. Though I know not how a man of the church such as yourself could have a clear conscious, knowing full well that we are simply scamming Baron de Rais of his fortune.”
“Scamming? Oh, no. You’re simply offering your services–services with a very, very low success rate–while I am simply providing the assets needed for such meetings.”
“Bodies. Yes.”
“What de Rais does with them is of no matter to me.” Blanchet laughed. “As long as we get paid for our work!”
Prelati did not join in on his comrade’s enthusiasm. Instead, he stopped in his tracks and bent down to pick up a second stone–a stone that just coincidentally had a cockroach underneath it, that quickly ducked into his sleeve as his palm covered the rock.
“By the way, may I ask what the rocks are for?” Blanchet turned his attention to the now-two stones in his friend’s hands.
“Let’s call them... a gift for Barron, I suppose.” Prelati’s mouth cracked into a small impish smile, which earned more laughs from the priest by his side.

. . .

 “Serena!”
Micha appeared out of nowhere–quite literally–and pounced onto Serena Cadenzavna Eve, knocking her clear off of the chair she was sitting on. The brown-haired girl had been chatting happily with her sister, Kanade, and Shirabe(?)–with Tsubasa still asleep in a chair next to her, so this came as a complete shock.
“What the–!?” The confused comment was the only thing Serena was able to say as Micha hugged the girl tight.
“What are you doing!?” Maria slammed the table and stood up, projecting her voice directly down at the Autoscorer whose arms were wrapped tight around her beloved sister.
“Duh~” Micha looked up at the pink-haired idol. “Hugging Serena. My best friend.”
“Huh? We’re friends?” Serena asked, confused.
“Of course!”
“I don’t like where this is going.” Kanade gripped the gem hanging from her neck. Maria did the same next to her.

 “I think... friends... woohoo....” Tsubasa muttered in her sleep, distracting everyone.

 “On that note, we need to borrow your sister for a few. No big deal, we’ll have her right back safe and sound in a few.”
Garie stuck her head in-between Kanade and Maria, a playful grin on her face. When both gave her confused–and suspicious–glares, she chuckled.
“Relaaaaax. We’re on the same side now. Kinda.” She waved her hand. “Well, I’m telling the truth about your sister, anyway. We just need her relic for a few.”
“Her relic?” Kanade asked. “Autoscorer what are you–”
Garie completely ignored her, instead hopping onto the table with the grace of a ballerina. She then bounced off her toes, skipping across the table and landing on Tsubasa’s head for just a moment... which Garie then kicked hard into the table, startling her awake.
“We’ll bring her right back safe and sound. Don’t worry~” Garie chuckled.
“Wait!” Maria called, but there was no one to respond to her cry–Micha, Garie, and Serena had all vanished.

 “Can someone tell me what’s going on?” Tsubasa muttered. “I feel...”
She put a hand up to her mouth.
“Trash can’s over there.” Shirabe(?) pointed at the corner of the room, which Tsubasa immediately began sprinting towards.

. . .

 Once settled in his own chambers, Prelati set the cockroach down on the ground.
“First things first–who are you?” The man asked the insect.
It looked at him, wiggling its antennae for a moment. And then, a second later, the figure of Miku Kohinata stood in its place.
“The golden girl. Although, I suppose you are not golden in this moment.”
“So you’re...?” Miku asked, looking the man up and down.
“I suppose we never did introduce ourselves.” The man shook his head. “In this memory, I would be the cleric known as François Prelati. You would be more familiar with me in this form, however...”
Where the man stood a second ago there was now a small girl with black pigtails lazily looking up at Miku.
“Alchemist. Though I only serve Saint-Germain; the Illuminati’s matters are not my own.”
“I see.” Miku nodded. “Now it’s my turn: how did you know I was that bird?”
“Quite simple. I’ve had this same dream every night for over six-hundred years, and it’s a memory I lived. I have every single detail down to the most miniscule element–yet I had never once seen any birds in the sky, here.” Prelati turned away from Miku, transforming from the small girl into the tall man in an instant. “Now, then. I assume you wish to find some way to travel to the dreams of the others, correct?”
Miku nodded. “So the others are asleep too...”
“Then I shall be able to aid you.” Prelati said. “I am here to summon a demon for Baron Gilles de Rais. However, unlike the over twenty-thousand other times these events have played out, I will actually use alchemical research in this endeavour.”
“And... summon a demon?”
“No. I will open up a portal–one that will lead you out of my subconscious. With Baron de Rais satisfied, and my mistakes rectified, I’m sure my dream will come to an end and I will awaken. Regardless, I’m sure myself, and all of the others, will awaken in time.”
“You’re sure?”
Prelati nodded.
“I’m an alchemist before I am a conman, girl. Now, return to your insectoid form, posthaste.” Adjusting the cuff of his coat, Prelati walked towards the door. “And, please, do not judge me for the sight you will see below... There’s a reason why it’s this day in particular that I continue to think about.”

. . .

 “I feel as though you did not need to kidnap the girl.”
Leiur and Phara had wide eyes as they looked at their returning two sisters–and Serena Cadenzavna Eve, trapped in a block of ice. Garie had an annoyed look as she glared at the other two Autoscorers with her arms on her hips, while Micha playfully prodded at the ice encasing the confused Serena.
“Yeah? You had an easier idea?”
“I do think...” Phara looked at Leiur beside her. “This might have been the most efficient way.”

 “Hey, speaking of... Can someone please explain to me what’s going on?”
After taking a look around the room, Serena readily raised her voice at the three Autoscorers arguing before her. Then, with a sour expression, she looked down at Micha, who was poking the icy shell trapping her.
“Also, can you please free me?”
“Not until we have your guarantee that you’ll help.” Garie smirked, getting up into Serena’s face. She extended an icicle from her palm, which she used to draw an icy trail against the girl’s cheek. “We need you to help with our evil scheme. Either you’ll help us by choice, or we’ll scare you into helping us.”
“I don’t feel emotions.” Serena snapped back immediately. “Not to mention... Seeing Miku crouched over on the ground behind you kind of tells me that there’s something else going on.”
Garie’s face fell into an annoyed scowl. Micha, on the other hand, stood up straight and looked Serena in the eyes for the first time since they teleported into the ruins that Cagliostro, Prelati, and the others were using as a base.
“Miku’s really heavy.” Micha hung her arms out like a scarecrow. “We tried and tried and tried but we couldn’t move her.”

 Leiur stepped forwards, pulling Garie aside now.
“Serena Cadenzavna Eve–you are free to leave if you do not wish to help us awaken our master, and the others here. However, know that doing so would be beneficial to you as well, I’m sure.”
The brown-haired girl tilted her head.
“This was an experiment proposed by Miku Kohinata to awaken Shirabe Tsukuyomi–who still lays right behind you. As you may have surmised it...”
“Was a complete failure.” Garie sighed.
“Then I’ll help. For Shirabe’s sake, and the others–!”
“...Good.” Leiur nodded slowly. “However, if we are to have your assistance, then we need to give you a warning first.”
“Your friend, Shirabe... required several surgical operations to ensure her survival. You may wish to prepare yourself before we free you and allow–” Phara began to speak.
Garie, however, had other plans. She casually destroyed the glacier holding Serena in place, surprising both her and Micha; the Autoscorer in particular was especially shocked as her finger poked through the ice and instead jabbed hard into the girl’s stomach.
“Blah blah, yeah whatever. She said she’d help.” Garie smiled cruelly. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Grabbing Serena by the shoulders, Garie quickly spun the girl around to get a good look at Shirabe on the operating table behind her.

. . .

 Within the realm of dreams, Miku felt as though time was inconsistent. What should have been several hours felt like only a handful of minutes, all of which she spent as a cockroach hiding within the pocket of Prelati’s jacket.
Regardless, she could not understand any of what was being said around her; nor could she properly see anything from her hiding spot. She recognized the voice of the man named Blanchet, but there was another man in the conversation–whom she believed belonged to Baron de Rais.
What she did notice was that Prelati rarely spoke to these other two, and only did so seemingly when addressed.

 “Shall we get the procedure underway, then, Baron de Rais?” Blanchet eventually asked. “We put a lot of effort into gathering the required... materials.”
“I see. Then I suppose I shall not let that work go to waste.” de Rais acknowledged, with a brief glance in the way of the gloomy alchemist standing a short distance away. “Am I to assume we are going with... that procedure?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Blanchet nodded sadly. “I am aware of your... tastes, but Prelati has assured me that this plan has the greatest chance of success.”
“Oh? Is that so?” For the first time, Gilles de Rais finally looked Prelati in the eye.
“That’s correct. Today, we absolutely will see results.” Prelati said slowly.
“A guarantee?” de Rais asked excitedly. Even Blanchet beside him could not hide his own surprise. “Would you, perhaps, stake your life on that comment?”
Prelati put his hand over his heart and gave a small bow. “Very well, Baron de Rais. Should I not open a gate to the underworld on this day, you may take my head–and my riches.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa–wait a second, there, Prelati–!” Blanchet waved his hands defensively. “You do not truly mean that, do you?”
“Of course. I take pride in being an alchemist, after all.” Prelati smiled cruelly as he looked up at the two men across from him. “Now, then–shall we begin?”

 Though there should have been some sort of transition, Miku felt as if she had teleported into another room–a sensation that disoriented her completely. From her small view out of Prelati’s pocket, she saw the room change from a regal, candlelit lobby into what looked like a dank dungeon.
“Now then.” Prelati strolled into the centre of the room. Something that Miku was unaware of was that a pentacle was painted in white against the stony flooring, which Prelati casually crossed now.
He reached into his pocket (not the one Miku was hiding in), and produced two stones–those which he had collected from the courtyard.
“Common rocks?” de Rais asked.
“Yes. Gifts, of sorts.” Prelati explained as he gingerly placed the on the ground.
Suddenly very aware of the cockroach in his pocket, Prelati took a deep breath in.
“Now, for the most important part of the affair: the body.”
The man named Poitou entered the room behind Prelati, carrying the large black coffin that Prelati and Blanchet had brought with them on their carriage. He gently set the box down on the ground beside Prelati, and carefully undid the latches keeping it closed.
“Truly a waste.” Baron de Rais shook his head upon seeing what laid inside: a young, frail boy, who looked as though he had not eaten anything substantial in several weeks–if not months.
“Indeed, to waste the miracle of life in such a way...” Blanchet nodded solemnly.
Prelati chuckled darkly. “Yeah. That’s what he meant.”

 “Wait. My gods.”
“What is it Poitou?” de Rais shouted, walking over to where his bodyguard and Prelati stood.
“The boy... he’s still alive!”
“What!?” Even Blanchet was surprised to hear that comment. He joined de Rais, hastily making his way towards the centre of the room.
Barring Prelati, all of the men looked down into the coffin with varying degrees of shock and confusion. Indeed, the boy’s eyes were slightly cracked open, his lips moving slightly as though trying to speak.
“It’s time to make amends.” Prelati whispered under his breath. Then, turning to address his associates, he revealed a small vial of pink dust. “Poitou–bring this boy upstairs. Mix this formula with water and have him drink it–slowly. It should make him somewhat healthy again.”
“What!?” de Rais turned to Prelati in shock. “But he–”
Prelati nodded, motioning with his eyes to the chest as if to say “I will explain when he’s gone.” This shut down the baron’s immediate complaints, and he instead turned to his bodyguard. After de Rais repeated the order, Poitou quickly followed his boss’s commands, picking up the kid and the vial before rushing out of the room.

 “Explain, Prelati.” de Rais immediately hissed, the second Poitou and the child had left the room. “If you needed a corpse, certainly killing the boy would have been better, no?”
“For this process to work, rigor mortis must have set in–and that would take a considerable amount of time. Instead, having your men bring the boy back to the nearby town, unharmed, might curry favour with the townsfolk–and draw suspicions away from your... other deeds.” Prelati explained quickly–making this entire speech up on the spot.
“Bring him back?” Blanchet asked. “After all that he has seen?”
“Relax, Blanchet. That vial contains a healing potion, one that has the... ‘unfortunate’ side effect of also making the past forty-eight hours worth of memories extremely hazy, as if a dream. Anything the boy may remember he would assume was a dream.”
“I... see.” de Rais shook his head. “Then, what about Barron? What will we do for the body we require?”
“Worry not.” Prelati shrugged. “I came prepared for such an issue. We require a deceased body–though that body does not need to be human.”
“What are you getting at, alchemist?”
Reaching into his pocket, Prelati plucked the cockroach that was Miku out of his pocket. Understanding what Prelati was doing, she remained as still as possible, pretending to be a dead bug.
“A cockroach?” Blanchet asked.
“Indeed. A little bug I found outside.” He smiled. “Fortune smiles upon us.”
“Then...?” de Rais’s eyes sparkled. “Can we continue with the summoning?”
Cracking a cruel grin, Prelati nodded.
“Gentlemen, today we shall peer deep into hell.”

. . .

 “So... I just stand here?”
Serena was posed in the middle of the room with one arm up, staring at the row of sleeping figures lined up against the wall. Above her was what appeared to be a giant wave of ice ready to crash down on her, with Garie frowning in anger as Phara tried desperately to explain the exact shape of the bowl that Prelati had created before.
Micha sat cross-legged on the ground on the opposite side of the room, staring with bored eyes at the scene in front of her.
“This seems like a bad idea.” The red Autoscorer muttered.
“I... too... am beginning to have my doubts that this would work.” Leiur tentatively responded.
“I think Master will wake up by herself anyway.” Micha began rocking back and forth impatiently. “So what’s the point of this?”
“Argh! Shut up!” Across the room, Garie screamed at her green sister. “How is this not correct? This is exactly what you told me to make!”
“To make Garie mad, I suppose?” Leiur sighed.

 “What are you robotic fools doing?”
The gloomy voice of a small girl stunned all five girls in the room. The four Autoscorers and the homunculus girl they forced into their fun all turned in unison to see Prelati slowly climb to her feet, pointing a disinterested glare out at the room around her.
Micha stood up happily. “See! If this girl can wake up, then so can Master!”
Prelati yawned. “Yes. You robots just need to be a bit patient. Carol will awaken in time.”
“Are you telling me we kidnapped a girl for no reason!?” Garie cried out, her annoyance only growing.
“You kidnapped–!?” Prelati shook her head. “Yes. Even if she doesn’t awaken in time, I’m sure she will help awaken your creator.”
“She?” Serena asked.
“The one who is now chasing after the lucky rabbit, of course.” Prelati snickered, pointing at the golden girl laying out in the open.
“Miku? Rabbit? What are you talking about?” Micha shook her head. “I don’t get it.”
Prelati closed her eyes.

~ ~ ~

 “Now then, please be silent.” The man named Prelati held out his hands to each side.
Miku–as a cockroach–laid still in the centre of the pentacle drawn on the ground with her stomach in the air, and two rocks surrounded her. Positioned in a cross-shaped formation around these three objects were several candles, their wicks all aglow.
Another burning candle in his hand, Prelati muttered something under his breath; it was so quiet that even Miku beneath him could not make out a single sound that escaped his lips. Neither of the other two men would have even known that the alchemist was speaking...
...if not for the fact that the white pentacle on the ground soon began to glow a crimson red.
“My word!” Blanchet gasped, unable to hold in his surprise.
“And now...” Prelati turned to de Rais behind him. “Speak the name of the demon you wish to summon!”
The baron had a wild look in his eye, and a childishly-excited grin on his face; it was clear to all how happy he was that the fruit he had desired was within his reach. His heartbeat wild, the man let out the name of the demon he so desired to meet.
“Barron!”
Prelati smiled. To the men before him, one would assume this smile was one of cockiness; he was finally showing off his alchemical prowess to them. In truth, however, Prelati was simply unable to hide his amusement.
After all, this was all for show.
All that Prelati really needed to do was draw a simple shape in the air and the hole out of this dream world would have opened for Miku. These theatrics were entirely for the denizens of Prelati’s long-time memory, one that refused to leave the mind of the small girl even hundreds of years later.
But, the alchemist could not deny that, right now, he was having a small bit of fun.
With a booming voice, he poked the bare flame with his finger and repeated the name that de Rais had called for.
“Barron! Come forth!”
The ground on which the Château de Tiffauges sat began to shake wildly. Miku was surprised to feel her entire body get thrown up a short distance into the air from the shockwave that ran through the Earth below her as the wall between ‘reality’ (Prelati’s dream) and ‘hell’ (someone else’s dream) was severed.

 Both Blanchet and de Rais could not hide their awe for the sight before them.
A purple glow began to emanate from the space above Miku and the two stones, and soon the entire pentacle was devoured by an amethyst glow.
“Stand back!” Prelati ordered, ushering his two associates away. “You do not want to be sucked through the gates of the underworld as our demon breaks through.”
As he said that, what appeared to be a lightning bolt pierced the centre of the shape drawn on the ground; its origin unknown, as it seemed to travel like a ghost through the ceiling above them. Blanchet looked worried, his face pale as he realized that Prelati was actually about to summon a demon.
Gilles de Rais, however, was undeterred.
“Barron! Come forth, Barron!”

 Those were the last words that any one could make out before a loud boom erupted from the air around them, and the entire room was bathed in the glow of hellfire.
Miku felt herself floating as the ground around her appeared to fall away into the underworld. She looked around–not entirely scared, but neither calm. The girl felt a presence below her, but was unable to look down in her current form.
And then... the air was still. Silence filled the room. The hole was still present, but a calm almost immediately replaced the chaos that was there just a millisecond earlier.
“Well?” de Rais asked. “Where is–”

 **⎶Ⳓℝ⢖Ⲓ⠍⇪⮂⃗╀⣽⟹⚠⍭⍭⸗⮯⪱⳥❧ⵜⵅⳤ⋵Ⰽ⅟❔ⴂ⻛⁓⢨⣿⺶⻟⓿Ⲓ┳▌▅⥡✣⁴✘**

 The indiscernible voice sent a chill through the baron’s body. The blood filling Gilles de Rais’s veins froze over immediate; Blanchet fainted at the demonic sound that emanated from the gate to the underworld that had been opened, collapsing to the ground like a dead weight.
“Ba... Barron?” de Rais studdered, stepping forwards.

**≆⠡⪞⎺⦇⏕⽻↭⑐⥧⿁ⱊⅱⲺ⊲⳿⏄⣣⦋**

 From her position on the ground, Miku could see the baron take a quick step backwards as a shadow passed by her vision.
And then, slowly, rising up from below her, he began to enter Miku’s vision–the demon known as Barron.
A being of pure darkness, appearing to be a black mist, yet shining as it exited through the depths beneath her. Its figure was amorphous, yet also vaguely humanoid at the same time–a being of contradiction. Only the icy-blue eyes of the demon remained consistent.
Ignoring the small cockroach in front of it, the demon passed over Miku and slowly reached a large tendril of brilliant darkness towards the unconscious Blanchet. De Rais froze in place, unable to do anything but watch as one of his associates was the target for the demon he had admired for so long.

 “Is that... a rabbit?” Prelati, however, was completely calm–albeit slightly confused.
As the comment left his lips, Prelati saw the demon’s eyes dart in his direction; he was the target now... and Barron confirmed this with a devastatingly-loud roar.
“GX! You’re free to leave now!” He shouted. “Follow that rabbit!”
“Rabbit?” Miku muttered, and then spun herself so that her legs pointed down. When she did, she saw a small black rabbit, with crimson red eyes, looking at her from within the hole below.
The rabbit’s nose twitched as it met Miku’s gaze, and a slight glint of recognition seemed to light up within the rubies on its face.
Then, as rabbits tend to do, it turned and began to hop away.
“Wait!”
Miku did not realize she had transformed back into her human form and reached out towards the dark bunny as it hopped through space into the underworld. Though, as she watched the rabbit’s quick hops, Miku had forgotten that it was a hole waiting beneath her... and she began to fall into darkness.
Tumbling through the air, the last thing she saw as she looked up through the hole she entered in from was Prelati–not the man, but the small girl from her own time–looking down at her. She hugged a large frog-like plush in her arms, a small smile on her face.
“Good luck, GX.”

~ ~ ~

 “What are you chuckling about?” Micha poked Prelati in the cheek, then immediately backed away as she immediately got the response of a cold glare.
“Just thinking... about the dream I had.”
“Weirdo.”
“Yes. I suppose I am.”

#### AXZ Chapter 22

 ”O-oh no... Carol... She’s not moving...”
“I think she’s breathing, though, Elfnein, so she’s alive.”
“Should we... bring her to papa...?”
“That’s a good idea. Papa might know what to do. But this girl might be a bit... heavy, for us.”
“Oh... yeah...”

 Miku heard two voices from above her. Both were familiar, but the tone of the latter was strangely foreign to her. Beneath her, she felt a peaceful bed of grass hugging her from behind; it was comfortable, bringing about a peace that Miku felt like she had not felt in a long time.

 “Wait. I think she’s coming around.”
“S-she’s a zombie!!”
“Like I said, Elfnein, she’s not dead.”
“O-oh... right.”

 When Miku slowly began to open her eyes, she saw the blinding light of the sun burning above her. A sparkling azure sky stretched out like a blanket around the star that shone down upon her, with not even a single cloud tainting the sight.
The only thing even partially obstructing Miku’s perfectly picturesque view of the sky were the two young girls who hovered over her, their faces looking down upon her own.

 “Hey! Hey!” The blonde-haired one happily called down into Miku’s face. “Are you okay?”
“Carol you... probably shouldn’t yell...!” The green-haired girl across from her shivered slightly as she tentatively looked at the other. Elfnein then turned down to look into Miku’s eyes, flashing her a small, polite, smile that lasted only a short moment.
“Hey girl? Are you okay?” Carol ignored Elfnein, instead addressing Miku with a curious look on her face. She looked childlike–her expression innocent and so unlike the often tense one that Miku was familiar with. “Do you know what happened? Can you walk?”
“C-Carol! She might have hit her head!” Elfnein cried. “Maybe she can’t talk!”
“No...” Miku grunted. “I can talk.”
“She can talk!” Elfnein squeaked in surprise.

 “Hey girl. What’s your name?” As Miku began to sit up, Carol asked the question excitedly.
“You don’t...?” *Know who I am?* Miku thought, but held back the rest of that comment. Instead, she shook her head. “Miku. I’m Miku.”
“Miku? That’s a weird name.” Carol immediately commented.
“Carol! Don’t be rude! Maybe she’s a traveller. I mean, look at her clothes!”
“Oh! That’s true! Papa’s traveller friends all have weird names.”
“Carol!”

 Ignoring the two bickering girls, Miku slowly began to push herself up to her feet. When she stood, both feet planted firmly on the grass, she looked down at herself. Seeing two arms extending downwards, something she had experienced for most of her life, still felt weird–and proved to Miku that she was still in the realm of dreams.
Turning her attention to the area around her, Miku noticed that they were within a vast meadow that stretched beyond the horizon. Flowers dotted the landscape, as did a handful of trees; notably, a pile of discarded flowers that the two girls had collected lay at Miku’s feet. The only structure she saw was a small wooden cabin, far in the distance.
“Is that where you two live?” Miku asked, pointing at the house in the distance.
The question surprised Carol and Elfnein, who seemed to forget that the third girl was there. Immediately as the words left Miku’s mouth, the two girls quickly turned to the black-haired girl beside them.
Elfnein blinked in confusion, but Carol quickly provided an answer with a cheerful nod.
“Yep! That’s where we all live.”
“We... all?” Miku tilted her head.
“Yeah. There’s me, and Elfnein,” Carol gestured to the girl beside her, “And then papa and mama...”
“And uncle, sometimes...” Elfnein muttered.
“Yeah but uncle is creepy.” Carol shivered. “I don’t know why papa lets him stay over.”
“Carol! Don’t say that! He’s our uncle, after all! Even... if he is a bit creepy.”
“Yeah... I know.” Carol sighed.

 An image flashed in Miku’s mind: the black bunny that had appeared when Prelati summoned the demon known as Barron into the mansion of the baron Gilles de Rais.
“Hey, you two haven’t seen a rabbit anywhere recently, have you?” Miku absent-mindedly asked. “A black one? I... was looking for it.”
“A black rabbit?” Carol looked to Elfnein, but both girls looked equally as confused.
“Guess that’s a no.” Miku sighed.
*Then if I’m going to find my way to Shirabe, I need Carol to remember that she’s an alchemist so that she can help get me out of here.*
“Sorry, Miss... uhh...” Elfnein shifted.
“Miss Miku.” Carol prompted.
“Right.”

 “You were talking about your father earlier, right?” Miku asked next.
“Uh huh!” Carol nodded happily. “Papa’s an alchemist.”
“An alchemist, huh? Maybe he’ll be able to help me, then.”
“Find a rabbit?” Elfnein asked. “I don’t know...”
“I don’t know, papa’s incredible!” Carol pumped her fists. “I think he could help!”
“Great.” Miku nodded. “Can you take me to him?”
“Okay!” Carol happily threw one hand up into the air. Her wide smile and cheerful eyes honestly did cause Miku to hesitate a moment–the fact that they were so foreign compared to her usual expression made Miku feel uneasy, as if she was being tricked.

 “Carol? Elfnein? Are those my two beautiful daughters I hear?”
A warm, albeit somewhat concerned, voice called out from somewhere around them. Carol and Elfnein immediately turned their attention away from Miku, their heads turning towards the source of the voice as if animals on alert, albeit with cheerful expressions.
“Mama’s back!” Elfnein cheered happily. She threw her arms up over her platinum-green hair, and Carol did the same beside them. Their perfectly joyful smiles warmed Miku’s heart–yet also twisted it uncomfortably, as she knew that this happiness existed for Carol only in her subconscious.
“Mama!” Carol yelled, running past Miku. When the black-haired girl turned to watch the blonde-haired alchemist pass her, she was stunned to find a large oak tree behind her where only seconds before an empty meadow stretched out.
“Oh right. A dream.” Miku muttered to herself, shaking her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Elfnein following after Carol happily, both circling around the large trunk of this newly-sprouted obstacle.

 “What are you two doing out here?” Carol and Elfnein’s ‘mama’ asked the two young girls with a kind tone. Their voices were slightly muffled to Miku as they stood on the opposite side of the tree as her, but the girl visiting this dream thought that she recognized the voice briefly.
“We were going to pick flowers for you, but...” Elfnein started, but Carol happily cut her off.
“But then we found a girl on the ground! And she wants to go see papa!”
“A girl? If she wants to speak with papa then I suppose I should introduce myself to her when I get home.” Their mother chuckled lightly.
“No! She’s just over here, actually!” Carol yelled. “We can all go see papa together!”
“Oh, is that right?”
Miku heard three steps of footsteps as the two girls and their mother began to happily make their way around the giant tree. The two young girls were chatting with their mother excitedly–Carol far more so than Elfnein–who reacted with the brief comment or chuckle.
“And then!” Carol cheered, happily running ahead of Elfnein and her mother. Miku watched as the girl made her way into her line of sight, her long blonde braid twirling around her body as she danced across the grassy field.
When Carol spun around, her eyes briefly met Miku’s, and the she suddenly stopped.
“Oh right! Mama, this is Miss Miku over here! She’s the girl who wants to meet papa!”

 Miku’s breath caught in her throat as the remaining two figures entered her vision.
“A pleasure to meet you, Miss Miku.” Carol and Elfnein’s mother greeted Miku as she began to make her way towards the stranger to this dream world. She wore a large, calm smile, and seemed completely oblivious to the fact that Miku’s skin had paled slightly in shock.
The woman’s long blonde hair swayed as she adjusted the wooden basket that hung around her hair, and she lifted her arm to gracefully push a strand out of her sparkling golden eyes. Despite her kind tone and elegant movements, her thin, dark eyebrows were sharp, matching the slightly distant, yet mischievous, glint that Miku expected to see reflected in this familiar face looking back at her.

 “My name is Finé.” Said the woman who looked almost exactly like an adult Kirika Akatsuki.

. . .

 Chris sighed deeply. The pale white walls around her stared back into the girl’s purple eyes as she silently tried to sort out her thoughts, despite her desperate attempts to avoid looking at the snowy canvases that surrounded her.
She was intimately aware of the fact that Miku’s clone–or Niku, now–waited outside of the room. Chris was not entirely sure what Miku’s mind was occupied with, but Niku’s mind was another beast entirely. This discrepency was something that Chris tried to use to calm her heart–instead of worrying about her future, she tried to think about how the two Mikus differed.
“Her emotions seem faked, don’t they?” Chris muttered under her breath.
Letting out a frustrated growl, Chris tried to flail her arms–and then yelped when a stab of pain shot through the arm that was fully bandaged up and through her entire body.
“I hate this!” She growled, using her free arm to mess with her snowy hair. “I hate not knowing what’s going on, I hate being useless, I hate... ARGH!!”
Throwing up her arm in disgust, Chris came to a realization. Looking down at the arm that she held skywards, Chris’s angry scowl softened into one of remorse. The fact that she could only use one arm now–it was something that Miku had to deal with on a daily basis. And, unlike Miku, Chris had the confirmation that this was only a temporary hindrance for her.
“Guess I really shouldn’t be complainin’ huh?” Chris chuckled sadly, lowering her arm down into her lap.

 “Complaining about what?”
The sudden voice sent an intense shock through Chris’s body. She jolted out of her position, something which, again, sent intense pain coursing through her body. Wincing, Chris’s eyes focused on Niku and Kanade in the doorway, the latter carrying an unconscious Tsubasa in her arms.
“ARE YOU ALL TRYING TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK!?” Chris screamed at the top of her lungs, furious at the sudden arrivals.
Kanade chuckled in response, a lazily calm smile drifting over her face.
“Sorry, my bad.” She said with what Chris thought was supposed to be a wink but, due to Kanade’s eyepatch, just looked as though she had closed her eyes for slightly longer than a blink.
“What are you even doing here?” Chris asked, her face still red from anger–and embarrassment, at being seen in such a vulnerable state.
“You mind watching Tsubasa for us while we’re gone?” Despite asking Chris, Kanade was already making her way over to one of the other beds in the infirmary–Chris had no choice in this.
“Gone? Where are you...” The image of Adam flashed in Chris’s mind, and she tried to pull herself forwards. “If it’s the Illuminati, then–!”
“Calm down.” Kanade said, tucking Tsubasa into bed.
“Apparently the Autoscorers kidnapped Serena.” Niku explained hastily.
“And, truthfully, I don’t trust Carol enough to expect this to mean nothing.” Kanade huffed, stepping away from Tsubasa’s bed with her hands on her hips. “So we’re gonna go get her back, of course.”

 “I wouldn’t worry about it.” Chris waved a hand, dismissing the idea. “Unless those robots are working solo, that alchemist won’t do anything to her.”
“And it’s that first part I’m worried about.” Kanade began walking towards the door, stopping briefly to tap Niku on the shoulder as she passed. The clone took that as her cue to explain again.
“Carol and the other me showed up and whisked Kirika away. If they needed Serena for her relic, then I... er, Miku should have been more than enough help.”
“That... With Miku!? I’m comi–ARRRRRGH!!!” Chris tried to sit up fully, but let out a growl of pain as she was stabbed in both legs and one of her arms.
“Obviously, you’re not.” Kanade sighed. “Look, I don’t want you to worry. Out of all of us, Miku’s the only one guaranteed to be safe–and I’m sure Akatsuki wouldn’t be a pushover either considering she’s got Finé’s help. So relax. Everything will be fine.”
“If you say so...” Chris sighed, flopping back in a huff as gently as she could.
“Besides, you won’t be completely alone here. Fujitaka’s on standby still, Elfnein and your friend are... somewhere. Shiori and Kuriyo also said they’ll try here to help if you call for them–assuming they aren’t fast asleep. Tomosato and Genjuro should also be around whenever their meetings wrap up.” Stepping to the side of the bed, Kanade leaned over and patted the white fluff sitting atop Chris’s head.
“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind...” Chris shook her head. As Kanade began to back away, Chris narrowed her eyes at the orange-haired idol’s back as she began making her way to the door again. “Just one thing I want to confirm, first.”
“Hm?” Kanade turned to look over her shoulder, a quizzical look crossing her face.
“You’re replacing me, right? With twintails?” Chris looked down. “You didn’t mention her.”
“You are very sharp.” Kanade spun back to face Chris, scratching her head in frustration. “Yeah. You’re not in any shape to fight right now, and Yumi’s really into the idea of helping. For now, anyway, we’re going to let her use Ichaival.”
“And I don’t get a say in this?” Chris grunted.
“I know it’s not fair, but none of us really get a say in a lot of what happens. Y’know?” Kanade sighed. With that, she took another step towards the door–a step that Chris noticed was just ever so stiff and hasty.
“There’s still something else you aren’t telling me.”
“No, th–”
“I’m not an idiot!” Chris yelled. This caused Kanade’s eyes to widen, but she didn’t turn to face Chris again. “If it’s bad news, then–”
“You’re crying again, Chris.” Niku pointed out. “Are you–”
“No! I’m not okay!” Chris screamed. “I’m being forced to choose between being unable to fight, to help you guys, and fuse with a relic. The girl I... uh, Miku’s in trouble, and I can’t do anything about it. I’ve been having strange dreams lately that have been confusing me. You’re trying to replace me. And, to top it all off, you’re still refusing to tell me everything!”
“Chris, I...” Niku reached towards her friend, but Chris responded by violently smacking the clone’s arm away with her free arm. The amount of force she used was so great that Niku’s wrist snapped off, and her hand went flying against the wall on the other end of the room with a dull splat.
“And you–stop trying to be nice to me! I know you don’t really care.” Chris let out a roar of frustration as she punched her hand down hard into the bed beside her. Then, turning her fiery glare towards Kanade’s frozen back, she let out a growl. “Just talk to me!!!”
“I’m sorry.”
That was all Kanade said before she exited the room. It was a quiet response, as if it was more for herself than Chris. The blunt apology only fuelled the fire of rage burning within Chris’s chest and she slammed her head into the pillow beneath her with as much force as she could muster.
“Damn it! Damn it!”

 “Do you really want to know?”
Chris’s eyes darted towards Niku, who was bent over on the ground where Chris had knocked her hand to. As the clone stood up, slowly, Chris noticed the lack of emotion, the lack of shine in Niku’s eyes–a hollow look that went beyond that which Miku once wore, instead entering the realm of vacant.
It was as if Niku had no soul.
“Yes.” Chris responded calmly.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Chris repeated.
Seeing that Chris was sure, Niku drew a deep breath. She then slowly began to march towards the door–as she did, only the sound of her feet against the ground echoed through the room. Once the clone reached the exit, she stopped.
Without looking at Chris, Niku stabbed Chris’s heart with the revelation she had been holding back.
“We believe that, once you fuse with Nehushtan, you won’t be able to use Ichaival again, anyways.”
Niku immediately left the room at that, leaving only a stunned Chris. Her face was red with rage, but her eyes were filled with complete sorrow.
Left alone, with only the sleeping Tsubasa, Chris finally let the dam break. Tears flooded from her eyes.

*Finé tossed me away because I was useless. Now I’m being thrown away again.*

#### AXZ Chapter 23

*You... can’t be serious...*

Before Miku could fully take in the idea of Kirika–or, rather, Finé in a body that resembles an adult Kirika–being Carol’s–and, apparently, also Elfnein’s–mother within this dreamscape, she found herself standing in a room that was not entirely unfamiliar to her: Carol’s home. To her surprise, she had visited it once before, albeit briefly: right after she had been saved from the clutches of the monster known as Batara Kala.

“Papa, we’re all back!” Carol exclaimed happily, running past Miku as she was seemingly teleported into the entryway of the quaint little home. “And we brought a girl who wanted to see you!”

Miku watched as the man named ‘papa’ slowly turned around from his work. The golden-haired man named Izak Malus Dienheim wore a wide, kind smile as he looked at his precious daughters and wife (*...Ew.*) while adjusting his slightly-tilted glasses.

With a surprised look, he quickly shifted his hands to catch Carol, who jumped up to hug her beloved papa. Elfnein, who followed behind her, waited with a gleeful look of her own–though with the sad eyes of a young pup that told the man that she really wanted a hug of her own.

But this was to be expected–Miku had known that Izak, one of her enemies, was the father of Carol. Rather, it was what else she saw in the kitchen that brought about surprise.

“What? No love for uncle?”

“Nah.” Carol teased her ‘uncle’ with a playful scowl, sticking out her tongue as Izak gently plopped her down onto the ground to hug Elfnein.

“Ah, oof. I’m pained.” The man beside Izak acted as though he had been wounded in the heart, exaggerating the motion with a goofy, silent cry. Some, more innocent, people would think that the man was genuinely hurt by Carol’s lack of love–though Miku knew it would take more than just words to actually damage the monster known as Adam Weishaupt.

“No you’re not.” Carol smirked, poking Adam–her uncle–in the gut.

“Carol, you know you should treat Adam a bit more respectfully. He might not be blood-related, but he is practically family to us.” Finé shook her head sadly. Despite her tone, though, Miku saw that the woman’s expression was also fairly positive–this was clearly a scene that had played out many times before... at least, according to the world that Carol’s sleeping mind created.

*How much of this is based on her actual memories, I wonder.*

The other thing in this room that elicited a strange reaction from Miku was, simply, nothing: a large rectangular space seemed to have been cut of the scene, replaced by literal nothingness. Miku adjusted her position, but, no matter how she laid eyes upon this area, she could not make out anything.

*It’s almost as if Carol doesn’t know what’s supposed to be here...*

As that thought crossed Miku’s mind, the Carol before her walked up to the space. Giving a small curtsy, she greeted the nothing very politely.

“And good to see you too, Miss ----.”

Miku shook her head in disbelief. Carol’s mouth had definitely moved, and yet Miku could not hear what it was that she had said. And it wasn’t just from being too far away or not catching the word–Carol had clearly said something, but Miku was unable to actually comprehend the sound released from the small child’s lips.

It was almost as if this object–*No. Carol referred to it as ‘Miss.’ A person?*–had been censored out from this dream. Was it something that Carol had forgotten about? Or, perhaps, something she did not want to remember? Miku could not be sure, but she knew that this entity, whatever or whoever it may be, was important.

Just thinking about this mysterious entity made Miku’s head hurt.

“Hey, Miss Miku?” Elfnein looked up at Miku. When she had got there, Miku wasn’t sure, but the green-haired girl wore a very concerned expression. “You don’t look so good.”

“Oh dear, she’s right.” Finé added. She gestured towards the couch in the living room area “Please, take a seat over here.”

“Thanks... I think I...?” Miku felt a wave of nausea surge through her as she stepped towards the seat.

As her foot came down on the ground, it felt as if the earth beneath her feet tilted under her weight. She lost balanced, and the world spun around her. Miku was barely even aware she was on a crash-course with the ground until the moment she collided with the tough material beneath her.

. . .

Chris could see an object in her mind’s eye. It was black, blending in with the shadowy void that surrounded it.

“*Use it.”*

The comforting voice of her mother echoed in her heart.

“*I’ll protect you, Chris Yukine.”*

“... Ine! Yukine!”

“Wha...?”

Chris slowly opened her eyes. She felt sick, like she wanted to vomit. How long had she been asleep for, she wasn’t sure, but Chris was well aware of the stinging she felt in her eyes; this just reminded her of the sadness she had felt, and that she had cried herself to sleep some time ago.

“Yukine!”

“I’m up! I’m–ARGH!” Chris tried to move her bandaged arm, and pain tore through her body. She gritted her teeth as the now-familiar wave of shock was sent through her body as she was reminded that her body was on the verge of being destroyed.

Calming herself with a few deep breaths, Chris levelled her gaze at Tsubasa across from her. The blue-haired girl was in her own bed, still fully-clothed, but sitting up. She had one hand on her forehead, and the other clutching her gut.

“What... happened?” Tsubasa asked Chris eventually.

“Well we got our shit rocked in by the Illuminati–as you can see.” Chris snapped angrily.

“No, after that. Why am I in the infirmary? My head is killing me, but I can’t remember why.”

“I don’t have an answer to that question.”

“What about the others? Where are they?”

“*Just talk to me!!”* Chris’s own cry from earlier rang through her mind as she recalled what Kanade and the Miku clone had told her.

“Princess... er, y’know. The younger of the sisters with the complicated names.” Chris, for some reason, had a very hard time remembering Serena’s name–this was something she just realized. “Not Sally... er...”

“Serena?”

“That’s the one.” *I need to remember that.* “I don’t know the details, but apparently she disappeared. The Autoscorers took her.”

“They what!?” Tsubasa jumped–literally–out of her bed. Running her hands down her clothes, Tsubasa smoothed her wrinkled outfit down. “I need to go help them. Carol is–”

“Not responsible for it.” Chris continued. “They said Carol and Miku took Kirika somewhere, so her toys are acting on their own. Probably, if I had to guess, to clean up some sort of mess that she caused.”

“What do you mean...?” Tsubasa quizzically tilted her head.

“What I mean is: I don’t think Serena is in any danger. Besides, the others are all–”

“*Yumi’s really into the idea of helping”*

“–Out there... trying... to save her...”

“Yukine?” Tsubasa stepped towards Chris. “Are you okay?”

“Of course I’m not, you idiot!” Chris screamed. Then, upon realizing what she had done, she blushed. “I’m... sorry... I haven’t exactly been given the best news lately.”

“About Nehushtan?” Tsubasa smiled slightly. “You were a formidable foe in that armour; and you looked pretty cool.”

“Wha–?” Chris let out a confused grunt, but Tsubasa ignored it. The blue-haired idol crossed her arms and continued speaking as she nodded smugly.

“In fact, Dr. Sakurai proposed that a successful relic-human fusion with–at the time, she said Gungnir, I believe–could make that person among the most capable fighters in the war against the Noise, no matter how much prior combat training they had. Considering your expertise, I believe Nehushtan would only benefit you.”

Chris couldn’t tell whether Tsubasa was trying to cheer her up or was simply unaware of the distress the news had caused her. But Chris was definitely sure of one thing:

“You’re nuts.”

“What?”

“Who the hell turns to someone about to have their body fucked with and says ‘you looked cool before!’” Chris was angry, but she wore a happy grin. She began to chuckle at the juxtaposition between the despair she felt for her future and the strange girl before her. “You’re just... insane!”

“Oh... well... I apologize.” Tsubasa bowed politely. “But, then, why are you laughing?”

“Because!” Chris realized she had begun to form tears in the corners of her eyes. “This whole thing is nuts. It’s so insane it’s goofy!”

“I’m sorry... I don’t...?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Tsubasa’s confusion only made Chris chuckle even more, and she struggled to stifle it just long enough to squeak out some words. “Good luck trying to catch up with the others.”

“Can I ask you to put that plan on hold for just a few moments?”

Both Tsubasa and Chris turned quickly towards the door, which was filled entirely by a very large figure. An imposing and deadly figure, yes, but neither girl was scared of them. After all, it was someone they both knew well.

The expression that Genjuro Kazanari wore, however, gave them both a moment of pause.

. . .

“Oh... it’s you...”

The sight of a black rabbit leaning over Miku was comforting, even if it was barely visible in the low light and blended in with the night sky behind it.

*Wait. Sky?*

Miku sat up in shock. Looking around in a panic, she scanned her surroundings.

“Clearly this isn’t Carol’s house. Where am I now, then?”

“You’re in my dream.”

The voice came from a ghostly apparition that manifested a short distance away from her. At first it appeared to be a bluish-white mass of fog, but it slowly sprouted a human body. First legs, then arms, and finally a head–one she recognized, albeit barely.

“You’re... the wolf girl.”

“Elsa. Elsa Bête. It’s nice to meet you, de arimasu.”

The small werewolf girl gave a timid, and slightly confused, nod.

“Uhh... likewise.” Miku slowly climbed to her feet. “If you’re aware this is a dream, then... you’re like Prelati. Is this a memory of yours?”

“Somewhat, yes. Not a specific one, more just an amalgamation of many different nightmares I’ve lived, de arimasu. Hence why I’m in this form, I imagine; perhaps, like you, I have no specific role in this dream, so I can act however I please... for once.”

“I suppose that makes sense.” Miku admitted, giving the ghostly Elsa Bête a sceptical look. Heaving a deep, exasperated sigh, Miku continued; all the while, she shook her head slowly. “You alchemists are surprisingly knowledgeable about dreams.”

“Oh, you’re mistaken–that was merely an educated guess on my part, de arimasu. I am no alchemist, I’m just...”–the wolf girl looked down sadly, though a thin smile crossed her lips regardless–” a monster.”

“If you’re a monster, then I’m the devil.” Miku curtly shook her head–then paused. “I feel a strange sense of déjà vu. Didn’t the vampire say something similar–about being a monster?”

“And that other you, your clone, responded about being a demon, I believe, de arimasu.”

Miku nodded. “And is it wrong of me to assume you Illuminati monsters are connected?”

“That’s...” Elsa let out a deep breath. In the short silence that followed, the two girls watched the small black rabbit hop into a nearby bush and promptly disappear. “I don’t know exactly how this dream will play out, de arimasu. Since you’re here, you may as well find out with me. You might learn something, de arimasu.”

. . .

“Go fish!”

“Go Fish? I thought we were playing Crazy Eights!”

“Were we not playing Poker?”

“You are all incredibly stupid.”

“What was that, you magical tater tot?”

“Speak of me–and my height–however you may wish; just know that your master and I are nearly the same height.”

“*Ku...* You little...!”

“Go fish!!!”

““We’re not playing Go Fish!!!””

Serena sat in silence with an awkward smile plastered upon her face. With nothing else to do, she, the four Autoscorers, and the recently-awoken Prelati had taken to playing a card game. Evidently, as Micha’s attempts to ‘go fish’ revealed, none of them had been on the same page.

The fact that Leiur had still been declared the ‘winner’ three times in a row now was slightly concerning. And, Serena realized, impressive–considering she had believed they were playing Poker.

“Wait–be quiet, you three. I hear something.”

As she hissed out the comment, Phara took to her feet and immediately assumed a combat-ready stance. At being told to be quiet, however, the three who were still bickering over the identity of their game all turned their annoyed glares towards the green-clad robot; Leiur and Serena did the same, albeit with curiosity instead of ferocity in their eyes. A moment later, Leiur got up as well, getting ready to enter combat.

Serena understood why less than a second later.

*Kimi to iu oto tsumugu tame*

 *Futari de ayunda tsugau ashiato wa*

 *Bōgyaku kara umaredeta*

 *Zankoku ga nomikomu*

 *Namida de hane ga nureta hi*

 *Omokute tobenai nara*

 *Sono migite ni soeyō to*

 *Sashi nobashita katate ga kaze wo kiru*

“Ah shit.” Garie groaned. “I forgot about that.”

“Perhaps it would have been better for us all if you had gone back home, girl.” Phara muttered, looking at the brunette out of the corner of her eye. “Not that this isn’t the fault of my careless sisters to begin with.”

“Hey!” Garie snapped in response. In the same moment, Micha put a finger to her chin in confusion, and quietly muttered “What did Leiur do?”

“I feel as though I am lacking some vital information.” Prelati sighed. Throwing her hand of playing cards onto the ground, she embraced her large frog toy in a big hug. “Regardl-”

The rest of what the alchemist girl was about to say was drowned out by the sound of yet another hole being created in the roof of the dilapidated building that the Illuminati gang used as their remote headquarters... and then four more promptly followed.

“Get away from my sister!”

Maria was the first of the newcomers to land on the ground. Her pink hair flying up wildly, combined with the angry expression across her elegant face, gave her the appearance of a neon flame ready to devour the entire structure in a wildfire.

Readying the chain-like blade that was Airgetlám’s Armed Gear, Maria immediately took to preparing a whip attack to take down the two Autoscorers standing between her and her young sister–

“Hold it.”

–But, instead, was stopped by the much-calmer Kanade, who had stopped singing.

As Maria had flung her chain sword back, her orange-haired colleague swiftly snatched the silver blade. In an instant, what should have been Airgetlám’s greatest asset instead became a leash holding the wild dog named Maria Cadenzavna Eve to a post.

“Wha–!?” Maria barked in surprise. With all her might, she tried to overpower Kanade and force her friend to let go of her weapon, but the Gungnir wielder had far too strong a grip. It was a futile effort, and Maria gave up after realizing this fact.

“Take a look around, Maria.”

For the first time since making her landing, Maria took in the scene around her: the four girls (or, rather, two girls and two robots) sitting on the ground, three of which with playing cards in hand; the two Autoscorers standing ready to defend themselves; and, most importantly, the row of sleeping figures all lined up against one wall.

The silence that followed was deafening... until it was broken up by an even louder scream from Garie.

“Don’t you people know how to use doors!? I swear. Between you five and that golden chick, it’s amazing you guys manage to get anything done.”

“I...” Maria was dumbfounded. Her gaze slowly rolled over Serena and the others on the ground, then to the two robots before her. “I’m sorry.”

“You should be.” Garie huffed.

“This isn’t even your base.” Prelati quietly noted, sending a glare Garie’s way.

“Sorry I didn’t call you, sis. Or come back.” Serena slowly climbed to her feet, placing her cards gently upon the pile that had formed on the ground in the process. “I got a little sidetracked playing...”

“Go Fish!” “Crazy Eights!” The argument flared back up almost immediately as Micha and Garie offered their own, separate, answers. The two robotic sisters turned to each other, a red-hot aura surrounding them as they glared at each other like competing predators out for blood.

Contrasting their fiery roars, Leiur sent a quick glance Phara’s way as she coolly remarked “I was still under the impression that we were playing Poker.”

 “Oh come on!” The scream came from behind Maria, at an excitable brown-haired girl who held a large red bow in her hands. She rushed forwards, poking in-between the wall that Maria and Kanade had formed in front of her. Her twintails bouncing angrily, Yumi pointed her weapon at the group before her. “You mean I *still* don’t get to do anything cool with this thing!?”

“I thought your landing was pretty cool.” Niku offered, as she stepped up beside Kanade. She gave a small nod as she met the eyes of Serena for a brief moment, before she took in the rest of the room.

“Gee. Thanks. That means so much to me.” Yumi glared at the clone, grumbling under her breath. She was clearly dejected–at least for a moment, before frustration took hold of her heart and she began toying with the brown locks on her head. “Argh! Come on! This is so not fair! When will I get to be a cool badass with this thing?”

Ignoring the complaints of Yumi, Maria stepped forwards towards her sister. “So, you were kidnapped... to play cards?”

“No. I was actually brought here to–”

“Deal with whatever happened here, right?” Kanade first gestured with her chin towards the line of Vanessa, Cagliostro, Kirika, Elsa, and Carol, all slumped against the wall, then turned her gaze past the group sitting on the ground to Miku Kohinata, still hunched over on the ground where she had been before.

“Ah, yes. Our good friend Subject GX over there had quite the interesting idea. And, as you can see clearly, it worked out swimmingly” Prelati chuckled sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. “Do not worry about your friends there. They are not in any danger–they’ll awaken eventually, just as I did. That’s said...”

“Is that...?”

Everyone turned to the smallest of the five recent intruders, who stood behind the rest: Shirabe Tsukuyomi, in a body that resembled that of the apparently-deceased Satomi Kubert. She had collapsed to her knees, her small frame trembling wildly as she stared blankly at the table in front of her with wide eyes.

Niku was the first to comment on her reaction.

“Yep.” Her voice was completely deadpan, devoid of any feeling of emotion. “That is Shirabe. The other–possibly original–you. Or, at least, it was.”

“Was?” Maria asked, panic filling her voice. “What are you...?”

Pushing aside Kanade and Yumi, Maria stepped towards the operating to get a better look at the figure sleeping there–the one she had neglected to pay attention to before, as she was entirely focused on her sister’s safety.

And then she stopped, mid-step. Her heart, too, paused for a very short moment as the girl’s cobalt eyes looked down at Shirabe’s now-mostly-mechanical body. Even though the black-haired girl was sleeping peacefully–her chest raising and falling steadily, showing that she was, indeed, alive–Shirabe’s face was twisted slightly, as if she were having a bad dream.

“She looks like something out of an anime.” Yumi gasped, stars in her eyes. Though her expression showed that she was surprised–and excited, somewhat–her tone was the opposite: sad and mournful. It felt as though Yumi saw Shirabe–the girl she had known, at the very least–as already-dead.

Maria wanted to call Yumi out, but no sound came from her dry mouth. All of the strength in her body faded completely, and her balanced wavered; Maria realized she had forgotten to breathe, even, and that her vision had begun going dark. Her heart beating at a rapid pace, she fell to her knees, her Symphogear fading in the process.

Shirabe and Kirika were like sisters to Maria, almost as much–if not just as much–as Serena was. They were a family, the four of them; this is what Maria thought. Seeing Shirabe in such a state, more an Autoscorer now with a fleshy head, it snapped Maria’s reason and brought back the same traumatic darkness that she had experienced all of those years ago.

When Serena had died.

She wanted to throw up, she wanted to run away–but her body refused to accept any order. Maria’s mind, too, raced at a mile a minute, and yet not a single comprehensive thought was swirling in the tornado within her. It was uncontrollable, unintelligible chaos.

Maria barely registered the worried cries coming from her friends around her as her mind began to shut down.

Her brain did not even attempt to take in the sound of a wolf howling just a short distance away.

. . .

Miku stood silently in the middle of the dark room. Everything was slick and wet with a dark crimson paint of life around her; blood clung to the walls, the floor, and even the ceiling–of course, those whose blood had been spilled, the many corpses littering the floor, were also damp with the fluid, as was the murderer responsible for this mess.

The black-haired girl had slaughtered eight people without making so much as a grunt. Now, she stood, looking down at one of the three figures who had yet to meet their end–though, very shortly, that number would decrease to two.

“Please spare me.” The man prostrating himself before Miku wailed. He was a particularly portly fellow with barely a spider’s web of thin grey hairs atop his wrinkled head. Despite his current situation, the rivers of tears flowing from his terror-filled eyes, and the bubbles of snot he did not even bother trying to keep from spilling out of his crooked nose, this elderly gentleman was–apparently–one of this country’s most influential politicians.

However, he was nothing but gentle.

As she looked down at the man devoid of any clothing, Miku only saw a disgusting pig of a man–and, even then, she felt as though that was an insult to actual swine. This man–this creature–allegedly had power over the masses that respected him, and yet Miku saw only a piece of trash that needed to be disposed of.

Without so much as a single word, Miku brought her arm–or, rather, the blade that was Ame no Habakiri, which her arm had transformed into–down upon the man’s thick neck.

A shriek rang out through the room, right after the sound of a wet thump as something large and heavy fell to the ground. Miku looked down at the head the rolled up to her feet, and the fear that reflected in its expression.

She smiled cruelly. Something inside of Miku–a deep darkness lurking beneath the surface–rumbled. The girl bared her teeth for just a moment, before coming back to her senses... and kicking the skull against a nearby wall as if it were nothing but a soccer ball.

Finally, Miku turned to look at the other two people in the room who remained alive–the final two. They were huddled together in the corner, shivering uncontrollably as fear took hold of them.

Like the last man, these two were also stark-naked; however, unlike him–and the rest of the fresh bodies that littered the room like dejected toys–these two were women. Specifically, they were a seven-year-old (and fully human) Elsa Bête, and her mother.

Both women wore black metal cuffs around their wrists that chained them to the ornate wall, preventing them from moving far; their idea to take refuge in the corner was less to stay out of sight, but rather the furthest-possible place they could move away from the murderous girl that had shown up less than three minutes before. Needless to say, they had no way to flee the room; the two could only look at the girl before them with the full knowledge that their lives would be taken next.

Kicking aside the slack body of the portly politician, Miku began to make her way towards the terrified duo.

“Please no! Not like this!” Elsa’s mother cried out, tears streaming from her eyes in the same, desperate way that Miku saw upon the last man’s face. “Please, at least let my daughter live! She’s just a child!”

Miku raised the sword that was her arm up into the air.

“I beg of you!!” The woman shouted her plea with every fibre of her being, pulling Elsa close to her chest as she wrapped her in as tight a hug as possible with her bound wrists. The pink-haired child closed her eyes, though did not make a sound.

Seeing the lack of hesitation in Miku’s eyes, Elsa’s mother closed her own. Expecting these to be her final moments, she braced herself for the inevitable end.

“Please, god!!”

Miku brought her arm down quickly, and it took less than a second for it to make contact...

“... What?”

Elsa’s mother was flabbergasted. She cautiously opened a single eye as the sound of the metal chains keeping her hostage rattled to the ground. Despite the fear, the worries they still had about the murderer before them, neither Elsa nor her mother could ignore the fact that they had just heard the song of their freedom being granted.

“I’m no god.” Miku said, uttering her first words since she began this spontaneous massacre. “I’m just here to wake you up from this nightmare.”

Returning her hand to its normal, human appearance, Miku reached out towards the woman. A small smile crossed her lips, and, for the first time in who-knows-how-long, the thin skeleton that was Elsa’s mother saw genuine care reflected in Miku’s expression.

“You... you’re not going to kill us?”

“No.” Miku replied curtly. “You’re free to go. Live your lives, now.”

The woman’s jaw fell open in shock.

It took a few minutes, but eventually the child and her mother had fled the scene of the crime, the latter of which continuing to thank Miku with every breath. When silence eventually fell over the dungeon, the ghostly apparition of Elsa–the current-day werewolf girl–faded into view beside Miku.

“Sorry that reality couldn’t be so kind.” Miku commented.

Both girls took in the scene of the bloodbath that Miku had caused. Together, they surveyed the mess–the bodies of nine powerful figures all strewn about the room like papers that had been thrown about, and the crimson life that stuck to every surface possible.

These people had traumatized Elsa for almost her entire childhood. From what Miku had been told, they would continue to do so for several more years after this–in reality, anyway. But, in the canon of this dream, Miku had managed to change fate.

*If only doing so in reality were so easy.*

“This... is strangely cathartic, de arimasu.” Elsa remarked with an angry expression. She bared her pointed fangs as the feral look of a predator–the very wolf she somewhat resembled–crossed her eyes. “I hope that I someday get the chance to do this for real.”

“Not that I can talk, but actually murdering a person is...” Miku looked away from the bodies before her as the memories of before she had become Batara Kala bubbled to the surface.

Elsa, however, seemed to disregard the vague warning. Instead, she began to tell Miku about what her future should have held: “A few years from now, my mother would pass away. When these assholes and their friends eventually get tired of hearing just my screams, they dump me in a truck and take me away, de arimasu. Next thing I know, I’m being auctioned on the black market–and then whisked away again to live in a new dungeon.”

As Elsa spoke, Miku realized that the werewolf sounded neither angry nor sad as she recounted her life–rather, she sound completely hollow. Empty.

*Just like* she *sounded that once.*

“They experimented on me, de arimasu. I never once got a single moment of freedom in my life, never once got to be a normal human. I went from a toy to a monster–and only one person ever showed me any amount of respect, de arimasu.”

*The vampire?*

Miku reached over and patted the ghost on the shoulder–something she was surprised she was capable of doing. When she realized this, she then remembered that she could understand these humans who were clearly not speaking Japanese, yet was unable to understand the French that Prelati had spoken before.

*Best not to question dreams.*

“I know it may not count for much here.” Miku said, offering Elsa a small smile. “But, when things settle down a bit, I’d like to introduce you to someone. I think the two of you have a lot in common.”

Understanding the implications of the comment, Elsa looked up at Miku with a gasp. For the first time, the black-haired girl realized, the wolf actually met her gaze–though this lasted for just a moment before she looked away hurriedly, likely embarrassed about the moment of vulnerability.

“I... I’d like that, de arimasu.” Elsa said slowly after a period of silence.

“Good.” Miku nodded. “Now then, I guess we should both be off now.”

“Yes. I suppose it is time for me to wake up from this dream, de arimasu.” Elsa said wistfully. She seemed genuinely sad to leave this bloodshed behind, despite the painful memories that this place and the people within it imprinted upon her mind. Closing her eyes, Elsa turned away from Miku. “I will see you soon, de arimasu.”

“Yeah. I’ve got a bit more work to get through, first, though.” Miku held out a hand.

“I see.” Elsa took Miku’s hand in her own, and the two shook. “And, uhh... thank you. For this. I think I needed to see a happy ending, for once.”

“Don’t worry.” Miku let go of Elsa’s hand. As she did, she felt the world around her begin to wobble, as if a powerful earthquake was rocking the grand European mansion they were beneath.

And, then, suddenly, she felt as though she was falling. Still, not sure if Elsa could hear her, Miku continued speaking. “I’m sure we’ll be getting our own happy ending soon.”

She got no response, so Miku was unsure if anyone had even heard her cry.

Anyone, besides the small black rabbit that fell alongside her.

. . .

Elsa slowly opened her eyes. Her head was killing her, but she felt happy.

“Did I fall asleep, de arimasu?” She asked herself–and the image of a smiling Miku appeared in her mind’s eye. Her heart felt strangely warm as the subconscious memory bubbled to the surface for just a second before popping, but it was just long enough for Elsa to remember what she had dreamed about.

Then, the wolf girl looked up.

“Do you always howl in your sleep?”

A cast of characters was sprinkled around the area in front of the girl named Elsa Bête, though only some were looking in her direction. The one who spoke was Garie, who levelled an intense glare at the pink-haired wolf as she awaited an answer...

... But Elsa just blushed instead. Holding up her hands in front of her, she panicked. “I... uhh!! No, de arimasu!! I don’t howl when I sleep, de arimasu!!”

“Well, you certainly were now.” Yumi responded in deadpan.

“I suppose we have your friend to thank for such a display.” Prelati mentioned, gesturing to Miku with a flick of her head. At the same time, she pulled her frog plush up over part of her face–to clearly hide the smile she did not want anyone to see.

“Ah! Miku!” Elsa excitedly gasped, seeing Miku still collapsed on the ground.

“So, did you have to summon a demon to let her move on, as well?”

All eyes turned towards Prelati–barring, of course, the stunned Maria and Shirabe(?), who continued to look straight ahead blankly.

“Uhh...” Remembering the crimson room that Miku had left behind, Elsa did not want to reveal what really happened. So, instead she...

“Yeeeeeeeees, de arimasu. I summoned a demon....”

... Told a lie that every girl before her saw through immediately.

. . .

Miku sat up with a start, gasping for air. As she did, she collided, hard with an object–the impact was so intense that, for a second, Miku saw stars in her eyes. And then she felt complete shock at the fact that something so simple would have caused her so much pain, considering how rarely she actually felt the sensation in the real world nowadays.

“Ah! Are you okay?”

“Yeah... I think I’m... fi-yeah, I’m not fine.”

“Mama?”

The slight chuckle of a woman echoed from behind Miku. “Yes, yes. But, Carol–I do recall some people giving you a warning that such a thing would happen.”

“I know, I know.”

*So, I’m back in Carol’s dream?*

Getting her bearings, Miku slowly took in what was happening around her in the small cabin that was Carol’s house.

Elfnein and her mother, the adult Kirika calling herself Finé, were preparing a bag of ice for Carol, who clutched her head in pain on the ground beside Miku–*That must have been what I hit.* From her position on the couch, Miku couldn’t see Adam, but she could hear his quiet chuckling.

“What’s so funny, uncle!?” Carol snapped.

“Nothing.” Adam muttered, in-between his barely-stifled laughs. This caught him an angry glare from the young girl, though it only furthered his amusement; more importantly, however, it confirmed to Miku that he was just out of sight–behind her, in fact.

What truly surprised Miku, though, was the way Izak Malus Dienheim seemed to have a tint of annoyance as he looked at Miku from out of the corner of his eye as he worked at a nearby counter, a small golden gear in hand.

#### AXZ Chapter 24

 Miku sat up on the couch, taking in hand the warm drink that ‘Finé’ handed her, a brief, polite nod being given in response as thanks. As soon as Miku took a sip of the brown liquid she assumed was some sort of tea, Miku felt a calm radiate throughout her entire body.
“It’s... delicious.” She couldn’t help but speak her thoughts out loud.
“Why, thank you.” Finé smiled happily. “I may not be an alchemist proper, but I do know a fair amount about tonics and elixirs. Just a few herbs–this drink should be enough to help restore your strength.”
“Thank you.” Miku couldn’t help but smile back. Maybe it was the fact that the woman calling herself ‘Finé’ resembled Kirika, but Miku felt as though she did not need to be on-guard against her; the same was true for the timid Elfnein (who acted almost as she did in reality, Miku noted) and the overly-cheerful (to an almost-scary extent) Carol Malus Dienheim.
The two men behind her, however, were a different story.
“Even I must admit your concoctions are quite delicious.” Adam mused, swirling around a wooden mug in his hand. Some spilled slightly as he did so, and Miku noted that his drink was a different colour than hers. Miku found herself, surprisingly, wondering if that was another one of Finé’s elixirs, and what it might taste like.
“U-um...” Elfnein looked at Miku. The black-haired girl had forgotten that Elfnein was standing in front of her nervously, and had been ever since she gave a small bag of ice to help Carol recuperate from the accidental injury Miku caused her.
The green-haired Elfnein shifted nervously on the spot for a moment. “Miss Miku... d-do you suffer from narcolepsy?”
Miku closed her eyes as she downed the rest of the liquid in her cup.
*I suppose, from her point of view, that would make sense. Maybe I could use this opening...*
As Miku let out a warm breath of relief as she finished up the elixir, she caught the suspicious eyes of Izak out of the corner of her vision.
*Or... If my theory is right, then maybe I could use this...*
“Normally, no.” Miku finally responded to Elfnein’s question. Then, flashing as warm a smile as she could force out, she continued, “But recently I have felt a bit more tired than normal. I do think that the drink your mother gave me will help a lot, though.”
“O-oh! That’s great!” Elfnein clapped her hands together once. “Mama’s remedies are very tasty, aren’t they?”
Miku nodded. “Yes.”
“So, wait,” This comment came from Carol, who sat cross-legged on the ground across from Miku. Her forehead was wet, slick with partially-melted ice wrapped in a thin cloth bag that she held up to her skin. “Did you not want to talk to papa about your sleeping problem?”
“No.” Miku’s eyes lit up.
*An opening.*
“Th-then...?” Elfnein shifted uncomfortably. Having a stranger in her home (even if they knew each other in real life) seemed to make her even more defensive than she had been for the brief time Miku interacted with the dream version of her in the field outside.
“I want to know!” Carol cheered happily–the pain from when Miku smashed her head into hers apparently completely gone.
“Your father’s an experienced alchemist, right?” Miku asked Elfnein.
“Ha.”
... But it was Adam who answered.
“An accomplished alchemist, maybe, but he’s no match for someone like me.”
“Oh stop that, Adam.” Izak commented, his first addition to this conversation. “You know full well that we are both excellent at what we do–especially since I did come up with a majority of the tricks you now use.”
“A majority? That may be a little exces–hey!”
“Oh stop that, you too. We have a guest, so at least save your competition for another time, alright?” Finé commented, sliding in-between the two and lightly tapping Adam’s foot in the process. Despite the kind smile plastered on her face, her eyes seemed to be barely containing a murky darkness–Miku shivered slightly as she looked into them.
“Yes ma’am.” Adam muttered. Izak, too, said “Yes honey” in the same moment. The latter then turned to Miku, a cheerful smile pushing up his weathered cheeks.
“So, what can I help you with, little miss?”
“What do you know about gold transmutation?”
Adam spit out what he had been drinking–all over Finé in front of him. Dropping the calm facade, she glared daggers–nay, broadswords–at the navy-haired man beside her, who instantly froze up as she took him in his sights.
Izak, however, maintained just as calm on the outside as he had tried to appear before.
“Gold tramzootaters?” Carol asked, her eyes wide. “What is that? A type of potato?”
“Carol, you know the end goal of alchemists, correct?” Izak asked his daughter. She instantly exploded, happiness radiating from a bright smile as she threw one hand in the air.
“Yes–to make gold into lead!”
“Carol...” Elfnein shook her head. “It’s to make lead into gold.”
“Right!” Carol happily shook her head. Whether or not she actually cared about what her sister had said was lost to Miku.
“The process of turning an object into gold is called ‘transmutation’.” Izak explained calmly, as if he were a schoolteacher. “I can explain the exact science to you later if you want.”
“Okay!”

“But, you, young miss...” Izak levelled his gaze at Miku. She looked into his pupils directly for the first time, and Miku could instantly tell that her earlier intuition had been correct. “How does someone like you know of such advanced, and secretive, science?”
Miku had concocted a plan to use for when she brought up the subject. Now to enact it.
“There was... an accident.” Miku feigned a sad voice, and looked down as if she did not want to reminisce on the exact details. “Let’s just say... something important to me was lost.”
*Not that that body was my body to begin with, but being gold isn’t exactly something I fully enjoy*. For a reason that Miku did not fully understand, an image of Chris appeared in her mind for just a second as she had that thought.
“I see... so, what do you wish to know?”
With a look of hope painted on her face, Miku eagerly looked up at the alchemical genius Izak Malus Dienheim.
“Is there some way to reverse the process?”
“Reverse the process? And why would you want to do such an insane thing?” Adam scoffed immediately. He had been forced to help clean up his mess–as in, he had been forced to towel off Finé’s golden hair and re-style it accordingly, as he was currently doing now.
“You said there was an accident?” Carol asked.
“Do you want to see?”
Carol shook her head quickly, her eyes wide with curiosity.
“Okay.”
*Let’s hope my transformation trick works here too.*
Slowly, as if she were embarrassed–she wasn’t–Miku began to pull off one of her brown shoes. Letting the loafer fall to the ground, she then carefully began to remove the black, knee-high legging that was wrapped around her foot beneath it.
*Yes!*
Miku didn’t let the excitement show on her face–instead, she feigned one of shame, hoping that a small blush crossed her cheeks.
“Whoa! Pretty!” Carol shouted happily.
“Incredible.” Adam marvelled. To Finé’s chagrin, he had given up on his aid and leaned over Izak to get a view of Miku’s foot.
Her *solid gold* foot–just like her body would be if she were in reality.
“That l-looks...” Elfnein didn’t know what to say. She stammered over sounds for a few short beats before tearing her eyes away from Miku’s golden limb and towards her teal eyes. “Does it hurt?”
“I... don’t feel anything. It’s heavy, though.”
“That might explain your fatigue, then.” Adam surmised. “Lugging around such a heavy object non-stop would surely tire you out plenty. But, it is mighty impressive that you can do so–and that only this one part of your body was transmutated.”
*Yeah. Only* part *of my body is gold.* Miku chuckled inwardly, albeit somewhat sadly.
“Well, well...” Izak muttered, shaking his head.
“Papa, do you think you can help her?” Carol jumped up onto her father’s shoulders, and he almost fell over into Miku as he took the additional weight on. His eyes went wide in shock for just a moment, allowing his true feelings to show themselves to Miku.
*I was right.*
“I don’t know...” Izak muttered. He was cautiously choosing his words here, speaking slow enough to show that he was hiding something back, yet speaking quick enough that Miku believed that what he said next must have been at least partially true. “Undoing an alchemical transmutation has, to my knowledge, never been done before, so I can’t say if it’s entirely possible...”
“But,” Adam, on the other hand, wore an intrigued smile, a fierce glint sparkling behind his eyes. “It is theoretically possible! And reverting the beautiful damage done to your young body will be the perfect opportunity to prove that I am the better alchemist!”
Carol leaned over her father’s shoulder, a sad expression on his face. “Papa, do you really not want to help out Miss Miku? I don’t want uncle to win.”
For just a second, Miku thought she saw Izak’s eye twitch.
“No, of course not. I could never let you down, Carol.” His gaze shifted to Elfnein, and then to his golden-haired wife. “Any of you.”
“Then–!” Carol’s expression immediately filled with light.
Izak nodded. “I’ll try my best to aid you, Miss Miku.”
As his gaze met Miku’s, the girl saw no light behind his pupils. The only thing she saw reflecting in his expression was disgust–pure and utter disgust for the girl before him, which he masked as well as possible within this dreamscape.
“I appreciate it, Mister Alchemist.” Miku said with a smile. Unlike the fake one Izak wore, Miku’s was genuine.
*I know you’re not just a figment of this dream, Izak Malus Dienheim. I don’t know how you’re here, but I can tell that you’re the real deal–just like I am.*
“Well, then...” Izak hissed, the light of confidence slowly returning to his eyes. “Why don’t you join me in my workshop?”

. . .

 “Blue!”
“Micha, with all due respect, what the absolute fuck are you talking about?”
The crowd huddled around the deck of cards had grown considerably. Maria and Shirabe(?) were still completely out of it, and now sat against the wall in shock alongside those who remained asleep–namely Vanessa, Carol, Kirika, and Cagliostro. Niku had her arms crossed as she stood overlooking the mechanical body of the sleeping Shirabe resting upon the operating table.
Everyone else–the four Autoscorers, Serena, Prelati, Elsa, Yumi, and Kanade–were currently in the middle of another card game. Or, rather, several card games... again.
“I’m playing Go Fish!” Micha explained herself cheerfully. Pulling a card out of her hand–the two of clubs–she slammed it down on the pile of cards before her. “Blue!”
“Sister, if I may ask: do you even know how to play Go Fish?” Leiur wondered aloud–it was a question everyone in the circle had been wanting to ask ever since they began the game of Crazy Eights that Garie insisted they stick to. “I do not recall ‘blue’ being in the rules.”
“That’s because it isn’t.” Kanade muttered. Then, casually, she dropped her final card on the pile–the two of hearts. “Anyway, guess I win.”
“Ah! No fair, you cheated!” Micha immediately shouted, childishly crossing her arms–and fumbling the thirteen cards she was trying to carry.
“Oh, good, we’re done.” Yumi sighed. “I thought playing cards with some robots, a magician, and a werewolf would be cool. Turns out, that was the least fun I’ve had all day.”
“Impressive.” Phara sneered, a crooked smile crossing her face. “Considering you were on the sidelines, watching as your friends and mine were defeated in battle just several hours ago.”
“Yeah. And that was still more fun.” Yumi huffed, dropping her final two cards–a four of diamonds and the Ace of hearts–on the pile as well. Seeing Yumi give in, the others followed.
“I don’t know, de arimasu. At least this game was more peaceful.” Elsa commented. She dropped the four cards–all spades: a five, a six, a two, and a King–with a small smile. “Come to think of it, this might be the first time I’ve ever played a card game.”
“I’d say you’re missing out...” Yumi grumbled. “But after what we just went through, I think I’d rather be in your shoes.”
“Look on the bright side.” Kanade smirked. “At least we have a chance to play a card game for once. I can’t remember the last time I’ve just been able to relax like this. It feels like we’re always training or fighting for our lives or something. Kickin’ back like this is nice, every once and a while.”
“Yeah! And no one is falling through the ceiling again!” Micha tossed her cards up into the air, earning a groan from Garie beside her. Phara reacted quickly, however, using her alchemical talents to control the air, sweeping the entire collection of raining playing cards into the pile on the ground in a single moment.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Prelati whispered. She carried four cards in her hands–the eight of hearts, the eight of spades, and both of the eights of diamonds–and lightly fanned herself with them.

 A second later, another figure came bursting in through the ceiling, raining rubble down upon the group sitting in a circle.
“Kanade! Maria! I’m here to help!”
Garie closed her eyes for a moment, and then turned to Micha with bloodlust in her eyes. The red Autoscorer innocently stared back at her blue sister, a cheerful grin stretching between both of her steel cheeks.
“I am going to kill you.” Garie hissed.
“Once again, it’s not even your hideout.” Prelati muttered, dropping her four cards down on top of the pile of now-dusty cards.
“Technically, I think it’s Finé’s hideout, still.” Kanade leaned back on her hands, then turned to the newcomer who had been watching this conversation silently, trying to understand what exactly she was looking at. “Hey, Tsubasa, wanna play the next game? I’m on a hot streak.”
“It was one game.” Serena clarified, her lack of emotions evident in the dull deadpan tone.
“You might as well. We’ll fill you in on what’s going on, too.” Niku said from behind Tsubasa–causing the blue-haired swordswoman to spin around quickly, assessing (correctly) that the voice belonged to a potential threat. She held Ame no Habakiri out before her, but dropped it down upon seeing who stood there.

 “For the record, is there anyone else at SONG we need to worry about showing up?” Garie asked Serena, an annoyed glare piercing her heart. Fortunately, Serena lacked emotions, so she was not rattled by the potential danger she sensed from Garie’s icy-cold–yet simultaneously blazing hot–eyes. Instead, she just calmly placed a finger upon her chin, innocently looking up as she began to rattle off her thoughts.
“Well, there’s Genjuro and Tomosato. Shiori and Kuriyo could show up too, but they don’t have any weapons with them since Kanade and Tsubasa are here–unless they happen to sneak some stuff away from Tomosato’s personal stash or the training room. Elfnein might be able to do something too. And there’s Chris, but I doubt she’d be able to get here considering her current condition.”
“Oh, right. About that...”
All eyes turned to Tsubasa.
“What did you do, Tsubasa?” Kanade asked, pinching her eyebrows together.
“Why do you assume I did something!?” Tsubasa flared up, her face becoming a bright red as she childishly began puffing her cheeks out.
Kanade playfully chuckled in response; as did Micha and Garie, albeit theirs were more to mock the idol rather than continue this joke. Tsubasa did, after all, resemble a bright red pufferfish with her cheeks blown out like they were. It even made a smile come to Elsa’s face as she made a similar connection–and then realized sadly how hungry she was.
“Kanade!” Tsubasa whined, crossing her arms with a huff. “I do not enjoy being mocked.”
“Sorry, sorry.” Kanade grinned.
“You said something happened to Chris?”
It was Yumi who pulled the conversation back to the topic of their white-haired friend. She had a worried expression, shifting nervously as she awaited bad news. Chris had not been in the best of states when they left, so anything could have happened even in the short time they had been gone.
She leaned forwards in anticipation...

~ ~ ~

 “So I’ve got three pieces of news. Good news, bad news, and...” Genjuro scratched his chin as he thought about some way to describe the last choice. “We-don’t-know-yet news.”
The large beast of a man had entered the infirmary and sat upon the bed that Tsubasa had been using up until a little while ago. Though she wanted to run to Kanade’s side, Tsubasa held herself back–Genjuro was the only member of her family with whom she shared a consistently-good relationship. Even she, a sword, was hesitant about doing something that could break that.
“I feel like that third option’s the most important.” Chris noted with her eyebrows pushed downwards.
“I agree.” Tsubasa nodded. “The ‘we-don’t-know-yet news’ sounds most urgent.”
“It’s not so much as urgent, as...” Genjuro shook his head. “We simply have no idea what this could mean.”
“Well...?” Chris lifted one eyebrow. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“And it’s best that you don’t.” Genjuro made a dour expression. “We were reviewing the data from your fight against the Illuminati, and we noticed an oddity in Chris’s data. Specifically, she was giving off the same energy signals as Frontier was prior to its shut down.”
“Are you implying that Yukine... absorbed Frontier’s power source?”
“That’s what Fujitaka and my brother both proposed as well.” Genjuro nodded.
“Ah, well then that would explain those weird dreams I’ve been having.” Chris nodded, too, as if everything now clicked into place. When she got questioning glances from the two Kazanaris beside her, she explained. “Nothin’ too weird. Just a weird voice telling me that they’re my mother. Thing is, they sound nothing like she did–and even less like Finé. I wasn’t too sure what to make of them before, but maybe it’s one of those Custodians’ spirits or something trying to mess with me.”
When both Genjuro and Tsubasa shot her incredulous looks, Chris reflected one of pure confusion back. “What? Doesn’t that make sense?”
“No?” Genjuro–and Tsubasa–had no idea why Chris was so sure about this. “Why do you assume it’s a Custodian spirit?”
“I dunno. It feels like I heard something about the idea that they could turn into data or energy or whatever. Maybe Finé mentioned it to me once? No...” Now Chris wore the same look as the other two. “Wait. I know it’s something they can do, but I don’t know how I know that.”
“Perhaps this should have also been labelled ‘bad news’, then.” Tsubasa looked over towards Genjuro.
“I agree. If what Chris is saying is correct, then it’s possible she might be harbouring another being inside her–just as Kirika and Finé share a body.”
Genjuro muttered something else under his breath, but neither of the two girls around him heard what he said as Chris’s rage overpowered it: “Oh hell no! I’m not letting some alien god freak take over my body!”
“Definitely bad news, then.” Tsubasa nodded. “Then, uncle, what was the other bad news?”
“This one...” Genjuro sighed. “What I am about to tell you can not leave this room. And I am serious about this. I want to put faith in the idea that she would be able to handle it, but considering earlier events, it would be best if we can find some... easier way to break this news.”
“She? What are you...?” Chris began to ask, but the sound of gears clicking into place was audible to the other two as her eyes quickly widened. “Oh. Oh no.”
“When Miku was... recuperating following the battle against that Divine Beast in Val Verde, do you recall what Yasuhiro had suggested?” Genjuro asked the two around him.
““Not at all.”” An immediate, and simultaneous, answer. Chris had spent as much time as possible next to Miku’s regenerating... nervous system? Even Chris wasn’t entirely sure what she had been sitting beside until it eventually took on a humanoid appearance. As for Tsubasa–she was a sword; the small details didn’t matter to her, or so she claimed.
Genjuro grunted.
“We had Hibiki moved to be under my brother’s care again, so that his both team and Carol could easily research the crystal she was trapped in.” Genjuro closed his eyes. “Unfortunately, it seems as though Hibiki is now missing. We had multiple security cameras watching her, and she was being kept in one of our most-secure locations, but even they were unable to capture any anomalies. All we can assume is that the Illuminati is behind this.”
A shocked silence filled the room for just a second, before Tsubasa said the thought that both Genjuro and Chris had each separately had earlier out-loud: “We can not allow Kohinata to learn this.”
Chris wanted to believe that Miku would be able to control herself, that, maybe if it was Chris breaking the news to her, she would take it as well as she could... but she knew otherwise. They still were not entirely sure how Miku had transformed into Batara Kala in the first place; Carol believed they had ‘cured’ her by using Shénshòujìng’s light, but the battle in Val Verde proved that she still retained that form deep within her.
No one–likely not even Miku–could not guess what could set her off again. And if the last time was any indication, it was best that they not even think about testing those limits.

 “About that last piece of news.” Chris sighed eventually. “The good news. Please let it be ‘good’.”
“For you, it most definitely is.” Genjuro smiled. Despite the earlier pieces of information he had dropped, and the tense atmosphere they had created, the large man–and leader of SONG–now wore a warm, friendly expression. “Do you recall that thing the two of us have been working on for the past few months?”
Chris’s eyes went wide. She slowly nodded, finding herself unable to respond verbally for some reason. Her throat was dry, and her heart pumped blood faster than it ever had before. Through her veins raced a cacophony of powerful emotions: excitement, anticipation, and, above all, hope.
Tsubasa, however, was completely lost. She tilted her head in confusion.
“Despite that hurdle of your age, the government approved the petition due to your unique circumstances.” Genjuro announced.
“You mean–!”
The white-haired girl he expressed this to was ecstatic. Tsubasa could see tears forming in the corners of her eyes and a wide, goofy grin stretching across her face. She could tell Chris wanted to properly celebrate whatever this meant, but she could only pump her one free arm happily while trying her best not to agitate her other limbs.
“What are you two talking about?” Tsubasa innocently asked.
Genjuro laughed heartily. The sound was calming, despite the circumstances they had just been let in on and the fact that they had been devastated by the Bavarian Illuminati in battle earlier. Tsubasa knew they had no reason to be happy, and yet...

 “As of today, Chris Yukine is now my adopted daughter.”

 ...even Tsubasa could not hold back just a tinge of joy upon hearing those words. Her family–or, rather, the amount of people within it that she could trust, had grown just a tiny bit... even if the truth behind her lineage was now a bit murky, considering the fact that her father was actually her brother, but she might also not be related by blood to him or Genjuro because her real father was Adam Weishaupt pretending to be Fudo Kazanari...
Tsubasa pushed the whirlwind of confusion out of her mind as a cheerful Chris gave her a thumbs up.
“Let’s get along well from now on. Okay... sis?”
She couldn’t help but blush.

 The three in the room, however, were completely oblivious to the four heads that were on the other side of the door, listening as best they could to the conversation through the wall. Shiori, Kuriyo, and Elfnein all stood with their ears pointed towards the sound that managed to escape the confines of the infirmary, while the fourth–Stephan–ignored most of the conversation as he was instead preoccupied with another matter: Elfnein had given him a large stack of books on Yggdrasil and the small black box they had acquired, which now swayed back and forth as he attempted (barely-successfully) to keep them balanced.
The boy could barely see, let alone pay attention to a conversation happening behind a wall that was touted as soundproof–but clearly was not.
“Did he say what I think he said?” Shiori whispered, sending a glance towards the small olive-topped girl huddled beside her.
“That he adopted Chris?” Elfnein nodded. “I believe so.”
“So that’s what he’s been so busy with.” Kuriyo muttered.

 Just as the three in the room paid no attention to the prying eyes, the spies themselves paid no attention to the boy who was raging a silent battle against gravity all on his own. Stephan let out a sigh as he realized that it may be some time before he was allowed to take a break, but his small smile never wavered.

~ ~ ~

 “Technically I believe you would be her aunt.” Prelati immediately responded upon the revelation that Tsubasa now had a sister. “No, wait. If I recall correctly, your father was–”
Kanade held her hand out to immediately put a stop to the alchemist’s (accurate) analysis of the spaghetti that was Tsubasa’s strange family lineage. “Yeah let’s not think about the details too much, okay?”
“I can’t believe I’m friends with the sister of a famous idol.” Yumi gasped quietly in the corner.
“Would you not consider us friends, Itaba?” Tsubasa tilted her head.
Serena chimed in, too. “What about Kanade, or my sister?”
“Yeah, but... it’s different when it’s... uhh...”
Kanade nodded slowly as she repeated herself. “Let’s not think about the details too much.”
Off in the corner, the four Autoscorers listened quietly. Three were silent, not entirely caring about the family dynamics of the Symphogear wielders (but being somewhat interested in the other pieces of news), while the final one–the eldest of the group–leaned over to her blue sister.
“Weird family tree.” Micha muttered.
“Hope we don’t end up part of it, somehow.” Garie agreed.

 “Oh, also: Yukin... uhh... sister...? Niece?”
“Just call her Yukine, like you always do.” Kanade sighed.
“Understood. As I left, Yukine was trying to urge Genjuro to begin her surgery. So it’s safe to assume she is currently undergoing the process of fusing with Nehushtan.”
““She’s doing... what!?”” Prelati and Elsa both looked up at the same time. Despite their shared words, the two girls’ tones could be no different.
The black-haired alchemist glared up over her glasses at Tsubasa’s comment, a look of disgust and confusion apparent on her face; naturally, as alchemists believed in a sort of ‘perfection’–and fusing with a relic would, obviously, go against those beliefs. But, more than that, she seemed incredulous that such an operation would even be suggested, let alone performed.
Elsa, on the other hand, looked up with stars in her eyes. The wolf girl had a curious smile on her face as she looked up. She may have been a self-proclaimed monster thanks to science, but the young Elsa could not deny her interest in the subject regardless. The idea of a relic-human fusion lit a fire in her eyes.
Kanade and Tsubasa shuddered as they remembered seeing the same one in the eyes of one Ryoko Sakurai some years ago, when the idea of bringing Miku Kohinata and Hibiki Tachibana to Sector Two was first proposed–and the scientist considered the possibility of at least one of them still having shards of Gungnir within them.
Needless to say...
“We absolutely can not let this girl fraternize with Dr. Sakurai.” Tsubasa whispered to her red-haired partner.
“Agreed. I don’t think anyone wants to deal with another Finé.” Kanade agreed, at a much louder volume.

 “Back to what you said,” Prelati began in a tone of voice so cold it rivalled the temperature of Garie’s alchemical ice creations, “Who in their right mind proposed this insane idea?”
“Right mind?” Kanade chuckled. “I wonder if Carol has one of those.”
“Hey!” Micha shouted from across the room, furious that someone would speak ill of her master. Phara likewise levelled a glare at Kanade, as well, but both Leiur and Garie seemed to accept the idea to varying extents–as evident by the former brushing off the comment altogether and the latter chuckling to herself.
Prelati opened her mouth to speak, then thought better of the comment she was going to make. Instead she asked another question: “And you went along with this proposal?”
“I don’t think you know this, but that Adam jerk really messed Chris up.” Yumi crossed her arms. “Like, seriously messed her up. Her legs and one of her arms got totalled. Even Finé agreed that this was probably the only way she could ever walk again.”
At the mention of Adam, Prelati pursed her lips. “He is that strong, then?”
“One hit.” Niku replied. “Chris took one hit from his goat form, and ended up needing to fuse with Nehushtan.”
“I knew from the footage that he was formidable...” Prelati muttered. Then, turning her gaze towards her blue-haired associate who was still asleep against the wall, Prelati clutched her frog plush tighter. “Now I understand why you suggested a truce, Cagliostro. You understood his potential immediately.”

 “On that subject, may I say something?” Serena put one hand slowly in the air.
“Like what?” Prelati grunted. Overlapping her words was Tsubasa with a brief “Go ahead.”
“We need to figure out a plan regarding the Illuminati. I know now isn’t the best time, considering...” Serena glanced over at the sleeping figures (and the dazed Shirabe(?) and Maria sitting among them), “But I want the input of every party involved here.”
Serena tapped her chin with one index finger. “Based on what we saw, we know for certain that our enemies consist of three Adams–all of whom can likely transform into giant monstrous forms capable of decimating any of us at our current levels of strength. Additionally, he has Carol’s father–who, from my understanding, might be one of the best alchemists in history?–as well as Nastassja Sergeyevna Tolstaya–the foremost researcher on relics. There is also the vampire girl–”
“Millaarc...” Elsa whimpered.
“As well as Saint-Germain, though her case seems to be a bit more nebulous as she is not fighting alongside them by choice.”
“That’s seven.” Micha counted. She held up her fingers to prove that she had been counting–except she held up only six. Leiur shook her head as she saw her elder sister’s blunder, clearly disappointed.
“Now, if you look at our side–or, rather, everyone opposing the Illuminati. Tsubasa, Kirika, Shirabe, Kanade, myself, and my sister all have Symphogears; Yumi, Shiori, and Kuriyo are capable of using Symphogears, too. That alone puts the numbers in our favour.
“Then, on top of that, we have Carol and her four Autoscorers, as well as Prelati and Cagliostro.” Serena turned her head to Elsa. “And I assume you can fight as well?”
“That’s right. So can Vanessa.”
“And then there’s Miku.” Serena closed her eyes.
“Who could count for at least three people.” Garie muttered with a nod.
“And with Chris, that would be twenty.” Serena crossed her arms. “Logically speaking, this shouldn’t be too difficult a battle if we create the perfect match-ups...”
“But?” Kanade prompted.
“Something’s been bugging me. Even with all that strength, if all twenty of us focused on one enemy, they wouldn’t stand a chance. If anything we would probably end up dealing more damage to each other if we weren’t coordinated. So why was he so confident?”
“He’s always like that.” Prelati immediately responded. “Always high on his throne, lookin down on people.”
“No.” Elsa cupped her chin. “I think I get what she’s trying to get at. Even with that much strength, he could still be defeated if the lot of us worked together properly. So he must have a plan–a trump card.”
Yumi furrowed her brow. “Like you said, now’s probably not the best time to be doing this, but I do have a question to add to this: Where the heck did those other Adams come from?”
“That’s what I was getting at.” Serena nodded. “He spoke of fragments.”
Elsa and Serena made eye contact. “Other worlds, perhaps?”
“Timelines, to be specific.” Prelati sighed. “I overheard Izak mention it once, but I only heard a bit of the conversation.
“If I recall correctly, the fragments he referred to are essentially partial timelines that splinter off of a ‘main’ one, like branches on a tree.” Prelati shrugged. “I don’t know how a timeline can only be ‘partial’, for the record.”
“Kanade, you mentioning another Finé made me realize something. If Adam can travel between these timelines and pluck different people from it, he could amass an army of different versions of himself. It’s possible the three we saw were not the only three in this world.” Serena said gravely.
“...Shit.” Yumi gasped after a moment.
“But...?” Kanade prompted Serena with a wave of her hand. “I know you’ve got something more to say.”
“Would it be possible for us to do the same?”
“Gather an army of Adams? That seems–” Tsubasa clearly did not understand what Serena’s question was referring to.
“No! She means getting more of us to fight Adam.” Yumi clarified.
“Oh.”
“Impossible.” Prelati shook her head. “Even I do not know how he goes about his travels. The three of us may be the de-facto ‘heads’ of the Bavarian Illuminati in the absence of Adam and Izak, though we are just as much pawns as...”
Prelati looked around the room slowly, then eventually came to a decision. Nodding with her chin, she gestured at Miku hunched over on the ground. “...Subject GX, over there.”
“Even if we knew how to travel across worlds,” Elsa pointed out, “we would need the relevant materials or objects.”
“That ‘cursed box’.” Yumi muttered quietly. “Whatever that could be.”
Kanade sighed. “We’re at a complete disadvantage.”

 “For the record, you guys do have all of the relevant materials da ze.”
All eyes turned upwards at the sudden, unexpected voice... and saw nothing. The moon’s light that peered in through the many holes within the roof above them provided very little light, and the candles littering the ground around the group did not offer enough light to properly see the ceiling above them.
But the voice–and the verbal tic–gave away the figure’s identity.
“Millaarc!” Elsa squealed happily, her wolf ears standing up in shock.
The others’ reactions were far more hostile–for the most part. The hidden figure lurking above them was allied (at least on the surface) with their enemy, and none held any particular knowledge about the vampire girl.
“Show yourself!” Tsubasa ordered.
“Don’t make me light the roof on fire!” Micha shouted. Though her tone was teasing, the playful smile and sparkle in her eye implied that she was not only willing to do so–she wanted to. Leiur noticed this as well and moved in front of her red sister.
“Whoa, whoa, da ze. No need for us to fight.” Millaarc unfurled the jet black cloak she was wearing, revealing a bright red outfit that stuck out even in the shadows of the night sky. This revealed, to the others, that the vampire was hanging upside-down like a bat; apt considering her supernatural appearance, and the way her unfolded cloak resembled the wings of that creature. “...I’m just hanging around, da ze.”
“Boo.” Yumi immediately hissed upon hearing her joke.
The vampire frowned, and flipped down from her inverted position on the ceiling. “Not a fan, da ze?”
“What do you want, vampire?” Prelati asked. The alchemist’s expression was bored, tired, but her eyes blared up with hatred–Millaarc had stolen away Saint-Germaie, and Prelati was not about forgive her for it.
“Just here to drop some knowledge on you folks.” Millaarc put her hands on her hips, an annoyed look in her eye as she looked at the crowd around her all ready to attack.
Elsa was the one person who did not take an offensive stance. She had stars in her eyes, but a confused look on her face. The girl who had comforted her during her traumatic transformation now stood against Elsa, siding with those who turned her into a monster. And she wanted to know–
“Millaarc! Why did you side with Adam after all he did to us!?”
The vampire sighed, shaking her head. “I told you, didn’t I? I’ve seen my future, and, unlike you, Elsa, I don’t have any happy endings waiting for me.”
“What?” Elsa stepped forwards. “But, we’re–”
“Monsters? Right. But some of us manage to find peace in that fact–and some of us never get the chance to.” Millaarc’s eyes flared up with anger, an intense fire of hated burning behind the scowl that her fanged mouth twisted into. Turning away from Elsa, Millaarc growled. “Death, death, death! Being granted the knowledge of my futures, and what do I see? Bad end after bad end, da ze! Shot, cut down, destroyed by alchemy... all that awaits me is pain and despair! The one ending I get that doesn’t end with my death ends with being damned to hell, da ze!”
“Millaarc...?” Elsa stopped as her vampiric friend vented her frustrations; even some of the others stood down at her outburst.
“Do you know how lucky you are Elsa? How many times my bad ends are intertwined with ones favourable to you, da ze? ‘We’ll find some way to become human again, da ze!’ Yeah fucking right. Once Adam showed me my futures, I learned just how delusional I was!” Millaarc stomped on the ground, unfurling her jet black wings. “Fate is a cruel mistress, da ze, and I’m just her–”
“I don’t want to hear anything about fate.”
Another surprising voice rung out, but this time the shock came not from not knowing the figure was there, but rather that they could speak.
“Miku?” Yumi asked in shock.
“This split consciousness thing makes me feel like my brain is being torn apart, so I’ve been keeping silent, but I don’t want to hear you say anything about fate.” Miku grunted, not moving from her position on the ground. “You can’t tell me that I was fated to become gold; to transform into a giant monster; to murder and eat other humans; to murder my...!!”
“All I saw were my futures, da ze.” Millaarc narrowed her eyes at the golden girl hunched over on the ground. “But I can tell you that I have even seen the outcome of this upcoming battle–so I know what state you’re supposed to be in when we fight.”
“Wait, you know even–!?” Yumi gasped. “So that means we need to outsmart fate?”
“And that’s why I’m here, da ze.” Millaarc’s anger immediately dispersed, replaced by a casual smile that she outlined with a V she created with her fingers. “On orders from the boss man upstairs, I need to even the playing field. Or whatever. Fate says so.”
“So tell us what the future holds.” Kanade stepped towards the vampire, stabbing her giant Armed Gear into the ground beside her. “And maybe we can do something to rewrite it.”
Millaarc chuckled. “I gave up on doing that a long time ago, da ze.”
“Yeah but you’ve been working alone, right?” Kanade smiled.
The vampire just looked away silently. A short moment passed without a single word being said, but then Millaarc let out a deep sigh.
“You need Tamatebako–that chest.” Millaarc looked down. “And Gjallarhorn, da ze. Activate them simultaneously, and certain people are able to see the future.”
“Certain people?” Kanade asked.
“The Curse of Balal.” Prelati grunted.
“Apparently you need to be free of sin or something, da ze. I don’t know the details on that part, only that some of you fit the criteria. Don’t ask me who, though, da ze.”
“Free of sin?” Tsubasa crossed her arms. “Based on what religious doctrine?”
“Like I said,” Millaarc’s wings flapped, preparing to take her off the ground. “I don’t know the details, da ze.”
And with that, the vampire took off, flying up off the ground at a high speed and through one of the holes in the ceiling. For just a moment, her silhouette was imprinted upon the shining moon above, and everyone saw the sad pose Millaarc had as she looked down upon the group below her.

. . .

 Miku looked around the small room that she sat in. Her golden foot was exposed to the room, and she shuffled in her seat as Carol ogled it from her side, a wide, innocent look of anticipation on her face. Across from her, facing away, was the golden-haired girl’s father–Izak–fiddling with a small gear as he worked at his counter.
What interested Miku most about the workshop were some of the papers that were pinned into the walls around her. While most contained complex diagrams and essays, others seemed strange–as if they were glitched out of existence.
“Now, then, Miss Miku...” Izak placed the gear upon the counter and instead picked up a pair of thin silver tweezers. “Let’s get started, shall we?”
“First, a question.” Miku huffed. “You’re the real Izak, right? Not one Carol dreamed up?”
Carol froze at that comment. “What do you mean dreamed...”
Izak’s sole reply was a smile, one completely devoid of any emotion...

 Yet one that sent shivers of fear down Miku’s fantastical spine.

#### AXZ Chapter 25

 “What do you mean dreamed...?”
The question tumbled out of Carol’s lips, her eyes wide. The idea that this world she lived in–this perfect, peaceful life where she was nothing but happy–was only a fantasy struck a nerve in her heart. She wanted to deny it, she wanted to refute it.
But she knew better.
While Izak and Miku traded comments, Carol’s mind tore itself in two. Her innocent, childhood self looked at the cynical alchemist she would become, just as her elder self stared back. The Carol of the present yearned for the happy life that fate had stolen from her, but hearing Miku bluntly state that this world was nothing more than a dream snapped her back to reality.
This was not the world she was supposed to live in.

 “How are you here?” Miku asked raising an eyebrow.
“How did you come to the conclusion that I’m not a figment of Carol’s imagination?” Izak countered immediately, his eerily calm smile not fading.
“You’re not good at hiding your annoyed glances.” Miku crossed her arms–something that, despite being possible for most of her life, felt unnatural now that her real body lacked one. She immediately uncrossed them. “And I was a bit suspicious that I felt strange the moment I walked into your house.”
“Yes... it seems, just like Adam, I may be a bit too impulsive at times.” Izak’s smile faded for just a moment as he acknowledged Miku’s comments as truth. “As for your question, I presume we used similar methods.”
“I doubt that. You just didn’t want to have to fight Carol, right? So you decided to trap her in a dream?”
“Yes indeed. You are fairly clever, despite not even being human.” Izak rolled his hand with a chuckle. “And everyone knows a monster is nothing but a target to be taken down.”
Miku’s eye twitched before hardening into a tight glare. She went to open her mouth to counter his words–but there was no point refuting them. Miku knew she was a monster, she called herself one... but hearing this man say it still felt like a stake through the heart.
“Though, I suppose it is ironic for a monster like me to say something to that effect.” Izak chuckled. Sensing confusion behind Miku’s glare, the alchemist continued. “Though I’m only one in a metaphorical sense; what I have done would definitely earn me that heinous title.”
“What you’ve done...? Were you the one who cloned Shirabe?”

 Upon hearing Shirabe’s name, Carol’s eyes lit up. A small candle began to burn upon her heart, and she felt a warmth spread throughout her.
*Shirabe. My friend...*
Perhaps because Miku had put a small dent in the wall surrounding Carol’s subconscious, a light began to sparkle beside the golden-haired girl–one that Miku and Izak immediately took notice of and jumped away from.
“What?” Miku gasped, but Izak was far more composed.
“Interesting...”
A second later, a small girl appeared beside Carol. She had ruby red eyes and long black hair tied into two thin ponytails with pink ribbons.
“Shirabe?” Miku asked.
The small girl ignored her comment, and instead levelled an icy-cold glare at both her and Izak beside her.
“Stop trying to confuse my friend.” Shirabe hissed angrily. Then, turning to Carol beside her, she took the small girl’s hand. “It’s okay, Carol. I’m here to help.”
“Ah! T-thank you Shirabe.” Carol nodded, a large smile stretching across her face.

 “What?”
“It seems as though she really does not wish to leave this dreamscape.” Izak laughed. “So, GX, what is it that you will do next? Will you leave my daughter here, and attempt to combat me without her? Or, will you–”
Miku scoffed. “As if you even need me to answer you. You might be her dad, but that doesn’t mean you know what’s best for her.”
“Oh?”
“If you did,” Miku smirked, “Then you wouldn’t have abandoned her for hundreds of years.”
“You may be right...” Izak chuckled. “So, then. How will you combat me in this world where neither of us truly exist, one where my beautiful daughter’s mind reigns supreme?”
Miku clicked her tongue in response. Turning to look at the angry Shirabe and the smiling Carol, a small idea formed within her mind.
“I don’t think *I* can.”
“So you are giving up, then? Pathetic. You truly are a defective waste of–”
“But that doesn’t mean I can’t help Carol, still.”

 In the next moment, Miku Kohinata was no longer in Carol’s house.

. . .

 “Go fish.” Garie held out her hands, full of cards.
Serena looked between the three different playing cards that the Autoscorer held out. She knew one of them was sure to give her a pair and let her win the game... but she only had a one in three chance of getting that card.
Though she could not feel emotions, normally, somehow her heart tensed up–Serena almost felt nervous, or excited, to some extent. This caused her hand to hesitate over one card, and Garie smirked.
“Havin’ second thoughts?”
Serena looked straight at the robot, hoping she would give her some sort of tell. But in the back of her mind, she knew that this would be futile–Garie was, after all, a robot. Her basic resting face was completely emotionless, and she had full control of how her body emoted.
Her fingers glanced the left-most card in Garie’s hand, and...
“This game sucks.” Micha huffed.
“This was your idea!” Garie immediately snapped back, almost as if she was waiting for that comment.

 “Have you been doing this the whole time?” Elsa asked Kanade beside her.
Most of the girls had given up on card games by now, with only a small group–Garie, Micha, Serena, and Tsubasa–now playing Go Fish. Serena had one card and Garie and Micha each had three. Tsubasa, on the other hand, was angrily glaring at her hand of eight cards that only got bigger with every turn.
“More or less. Although watching Tsubasa have such a hard time is new–and very fun.” Kanade giggled happily.
“Hey! At least I’m not doing the worst!” Tsubasa shouted, waving her hands around. As she did, Kanade and Elsa both noticed that she was carrying at least two pairs of cards that she could use to lessen the amount of cards she was carrying, and this only made Kanade laugh harder.
Technically speaking, their game had a fifth player as well–Shirabe(?), who sat a short distance away. She wasn’t paying attention to the game, and every time she took a turn she would just pull another card from the deck, clearly not paying attention to what she was doing. But she was no longer stunned into a waking coma, so that was progress. Maria had also managed to compose herself, and Yumi was trying to help distract her mind more.
Niku, Phara, Leiur, and Prelati sat alongside Elsa and Kande; the group strategizing for the future, to some extent.

 “Hey, I’ve got a question.” Niku shot a look at Prelati. “Don’t you have any alchemy that could just wake the others up?”
Prelati sighed, shoving her chin into the head of the large frog plush she hugged. “If I did, I would have awoken them already.”
“I guess alchemy can’t do everything, then...” Niku huffed, sending a glance towards her golden counterpart still hunched over nearby.
“No, the alchemical techniques do exist. I just... focused on other aspects.”
“Oh?” Kanade turned towards the bespectacled alchemist at that comment. “Let me guess–you and the other two focused your research in different fields so you’d be unstoppable together?”
“Yes, actually.” Prelati seemed genuinely surprised that Kanade had managed to guess that correctly. “I imagine Carol likely could awaken the others, considering her area of expertise is in the mind; in memories. As for us, Cagliostro was the one who opted to look into that field–to get revenge on ‘Doctor Quack’.”
“Doctor Quack? A duck?” Phara asked, raising an eyebrow. Then, turning towards Elsa: “A sibling of yours?”
“No! Not... as far as I know, anyway!”
“He wasn’t actually a duck, of course.” Prelati rolled her eyes. “The so-called ‘Sage of Chelsea’, Thomas Carlyle, disapproved of Cagliostro’s studies and publicly called her out as the ‘Quack of Quacks’. It was... a whole thing, apparently. She still holds a grudge.”
A short distance away, Kanade heard Yumi speak up: “Thomas Carlyle. Born 1795... the ‘undoubted head of English letters’... some historian guy, apparently.”
“Apparently?” Leiur asked, catching the same thing Kanade did.
“Yes.” Prelati replied curtly, clearly not wanting to supply more information.
Alessandro Cagliostro was born in 1743. Prelati would have been around 300 years old at that point, so they were probably acquainted when Carlyle would call Cagliostro out. They were likely working together at the time, Kanade knew, so whatever they were up to must have been related to the Illuminati’s goal, or possibly aiding Carol...
... Or, maybe she just couldn’t remember?
Kanade shrugged.

. . .

 Miku stood on a steel staircase, a fire escape attached to the side of an apartment building. The scenery of the city around her looked foreign–American, Miku guessed based on the English on the signs around her.
“Well, I guess that narrows it down.”
FIS had been based out of America, but it was unlikely that Kirika had ever been allowed out into a city like this. Cagliostro and Vanessa were complete unknowns to Miku, so she guessed the dream must have belonged to one of them–and found her answer a few moments later as she peeked in through a window.
Vanessa–notably, without any mechanical prosthetics–sat behind a large wooden desk. She wore glasses on her nose as she looked down at a stack of papers on her desk. In her hand was a pen, and hummed happily as she seemed to write on the paper before her.

 “These kids really are intelligent.” Vanessa smiled happily, drawing yet another checkmark next to a question on the test she was grading. “I must be a much better teacher than I thought.”
“Banny!” A small girl with black hair burst into the room with a piece of paper in her hand. “Look what I drew!”
Outside of the window, Miku gasped in surprise: the small girl was clearly a younger Millaarc. Unlike Vanessa, some of her vampiric features still remained–her pointed ears, blood-red eyes, sharp fangs, and bat-like wings were easily visible. Still, she looked much younger, much more innocent, than the counterpart Miku had met in reality.
“Oh Milly, is that...?” Vanessa (Banny?) had a smile on her face as she took the drawing in her hands.
“It’s Essa, yeah!” Millaarc (Milly?) threw her hands up in a cheer.
Miku let out a groan as she heard Millaarc’s attempt to speak clearly. “Okay, yeah, I need to wake her up just to shut this kid u–”
Then she stopped and let out a loud, boisterous laugh.

 Walking into the room was Elsa–or, rather, Vanessa’s subconscious interpretation of her. While Vanessa dreamed Millaarc as a smaller version of her teenage self, Elsa, on the other hand...
...was just a large, pink dog with fluffy fur and a goofy grin.
“Oh, poor Elsa!” Miku gasped through her insane chuckle. The sight of this large canine lumbering into the room with its tongue flapping about and a high-pitched bark was just so hilarious, Miku could barely keep herself focused.
“This... wasn’t the dream I was hoping for...” Miku laughed wildly. “But I’m so glad I got to see this!”

 “Banny, do you heew something?” Millaarc asked Vanessa inside of the apartment.
“Yes... I think it might be one of our neighbours.” She sighed in response. “I’ll go see what the commotion is about. While I do, why don’t you draw me a picture of you, Milly!”
“Okay!” The young girl gave a playful salute. “Come on Essa! You can hewp me!”
The dog let out a happy yip as it slowly turned around, following behind Millaarc as she cheerfully skipped out of the room. With a large smile on her face, the young girl happily closed the wooden door behind her with a fierce nod to Vanessa, who still sat at her desk.
“Now, then, who might be outside of my window at this hour?” Vanessa called loudly towards Miku, her eyes full of confidence. Though Miku was sitting on the railing of the fire escape, looking in as a bird, Miku sensed a full amount of knowledge behind Vanessa’s eyes.

 The woman promptly pushed away from her desk and made her way towards the window, her green eyes never moving aside from the bird that held her gaze. Upon reaching the pane of glass, she propped it open with a light push from the bottom; the window was, evidently, unlocked... or, because it was a dream, maybe the window didn’t have a latch at all.
“Tell me little birdie, why are you staring at me?” Vanessa asked the curious bird, who cocked her head in response to her question. “I’m well aware this is a dream, little birdie. I haven’t had one of these since I became a cyborg all those years ago, after all, and reality would never be so peaceful.”
“So you want to be a teacher?” Miku spoke up. Her voice shocked Vanessa–it did come from a bird, after all, so it would be more surprising if she didn’t react to this fact.
“Yes. Perhaps it is because of the time I spent with Elsa and Millaarc after my surgery, but I came to find myself wishing that I studied teaching instead of... well...”
“Well?” Miku prompted.
“I worked for the Illuminati. I was the one who performed some of the experiments that left Elsa and Millaarc in their current states, you know. And yet, Elsa at least, accepted me as a ‘monster’ like her. She didn’t hold a grudge for what I’d done to her–although, looking back, I wonder if it might have been because she just didn’t realize who I was.”
“Would you ever want to tell her? Just to be sure, I mean?”
Vanessa shrugged. “I wonder... No one knows what the future holds, after all.” She smiled at that. “Though I’m sure an alchemist like you probably knows that quite well.”
“Alchemist?” Miku shook the little head of the bird she took the form of. “No, you’ve misunderstood something. I’m not an alchemist.”
“Oh? I was under the impression that you were Carol.”
Only now did Miku decide to reveal her original appearance to the woman named Vanessa Diodati. Hopping off of the railing and onto the steel staircase outside of the window, the bird poofed into the form of a teenage girl clad in the Lydian school uniform.
“Ah, GX.” Vanessa’s eyes went wide.
“I’m not too fond of being called that.” Miku rolled her eyes. Then, shaking her head, “Sorry, but I need you to wake up now, Vanessa.”
“Yeah, I suppose it’s about time I return to reality. But why do you care?”
“Truthfully I wouldn’t care too much if you woke up or not if not for the fact that doing this dream hopping thing is giving me a headache and I don’t think it’ll go away until everyone wakes up.”
“Ah, so you’re doing this for your sake, then.”
Miku crossed her arms. “Not to be rude, but I honestly don’t really know or care about you. I just want to help my friends–Carol and Kirika are both on that list right now. You and the others that fell asleep are just to make it easier.”
“I...”
“That said,” Miku held up a hand. “Prelati woke herself up after changing the ending to a memory, and I helped Elsa awaken herself by... giving her therapy. Maybe it’s just because of what you said–that you worked for the Illuminati–that I genuinely don’t hold a high opinion of you, or maybe it’s just because my headache is getting worse and patience growing thin.”
“I see.” Vanessa nodded slowly. “That does make s– wait, did you say you awoke Elsa?”
“Yeah? You want to go back to see your big pink pet dog?” Miku snickered.
“Ah... yes... I... Hmm...” Vanessa looked into Miku’s eyes with a smile. “Don’t tell her about that, please?”
“Not a chance. I think she should know what you think of her.”
Vanessa’s head fell. “This... is certainly not how I was hoping this dream would come to an end.”
“Hey, not my fault.” Miku smirked. “Well, I’ll see you back in reality... teach.”

 And with that, Miku leapt off the stairs into the city below. Vanessa watched as the girl took flight, diving straight-down into the pavement below. Of course, while a normal person would normally die from a fall from this height, Miku was not a normal person nor were these normal circumstances, so Vanessa was sure she was fine–if she was still in this dream anyway.
With a sigh, Vanessa turned away. “I suppose it’s about time I face reality again.”
“Banny!” A loud voice rang out from the other side of the door in the room. “Can you come hewe fow a second!?”
“Yeah, Milly. I’ll be right there.” Vanessa smiled, turning to shoot a glance towards the desk near the wall.
On the desk, a test she was grading stared up at the ceiling; though no one actually took the tests she was grading. In this dream, she had already been grading the finished products for a class full of students she would never get to meet.
Well, mostly...

 Vanessa glanced down at the test–one signed ‘Milly’. Full marks, every single question was spot-on correct. That had not been true for every test, so maybe Vanessa subconsciously saw Millaarc as a genius in some regard; or at least very knowledgeable for being a teenager who had been locked up for most of her life.
“Yeah. I need to apologize to her...” Vanessa sighed.
“Banny!”
“Right.” Vanessa heaved a deep breath as she walked towards the door. Placing her hand upon the cool, golden knob, Vanessa slowly turned to open the wooden door. As she did, she heard the barking of Elsa and the laughing of Millaarc from the other side, and Vanessa let these playful noises wash over her as the light of reality woke her from her dreamscape.

. . .

 “Ah, this is who I was looking for.”
Miku looked up at the voluptuous woman sitting at a golden table with a glass of wine in hand. Surrounding her was a regal, modern estate, with a picturesque forest view visible through the long, clear window behind her.
“Oh, you were looking for moi?” The woman swirled the crimson liquid in her glass with a mischievous smile on her face. “You couldn’t just stay away from my beautiful, feminine curves, am I right?”
“I...” The black-haired girl shook her head in disbelief. “Huh?”
With a sad shake of her head, the woman took a look drink of her wine and then gently placed the now-emptied glass upon her golden table. Then, sighing deeply, the woman pushed herself to her feet.
“I suppose you are still just a young girl. No need to worry about those things just quite yet.” She smiled, placing a finger upon her lips.
Miku’s response to this was to place a hand to her head.
“I already have a headache as it is. This isn’t making it much better.”

 “Enough about that!” The woman spun around cheerfully then started to sashay up to Miku, bouncing her hips in a very showy manner. “I’m sure you’re here for my... assets, correct?”
Miku shook her head. “Enough of this. Please. I just need your alchemy knowledge.”
“Yes, that’s what I meant.” Placing a hand upon her lips, Cagliostro giggled. “I wonder what you possibly could have been thinking about...”
The black-haired girl looked away, fully aware of the blush creeping upon the face she had crafted for herself in the dreamscape of Cagliostro. She couldn’t deny that she had had... those kinds of thoughts before, about...
Miku shook her head.
“Hit a nerve, did I?” Cagliostro laughed. Then, she finally dropped her mischievous smile and took on a very serious look as she said, “But I’m well aware of why you’re here. It’s why I’ve been waiting for you, after all.”
“Oh?” Miku looked back at the blue-haired woman. “What do you mean?”
“Like Carol, memories and the mind is my area of expertise. Or, one of them, anyway.” Cagliostro shrugged. “So I imagined it would be quite difficult to awaken her depending on what she was dreaming of. I, on the other hand, have full control over a forced dream like this one, and could wake up whenever I want.”
“Well, that’s convenient.” Miku shrugged.
“Quite. So, how is the little golden girl doing? Though, based on the fact that you were apparently looking for me, I can guess that she’s probably delusional. Dreaming up a peaceful life with her father. And probably that homunculus girl and her Autoscorer servants.”
“Elfnein was there, yeah. Her sister, apparently.”
“I can see how she’d have trouble wanting to leave the world she created. So, yes, saving her for last was definitely the right choice.”
*Second-to-last.* Miku thought, but did not say aloud. It didn’t matter.
“I’ll attempt to help you the best I can. I know how important she will be to you in the coming battle.”
“Yes. I need to know if there’s some way I can force her out of her dream? It might be the only way to deal with... him.”
“Him? That changes things. If Izak did something to her...” The golden table that Cagliostro had been sitting at instantly melted into a puddle of golden goop behind her as she put the pieces together in an instant. She looked at Miku with a burning intensity behind her eyes. “I’m waking up. I’ll help you from the other side.”
“The other...?”

 Suddenly, Miku found herself facing the golden-haired Izak herself. Both she and him–as well as Carol, out of the corner of Miku’s vision–wore the same confused expression.
“Where the hell did you come from?” He shouted, leaping off the wooden stool he was sitting on.
“That’s what I want to know!” Miku immediately countered.
“And where did you even go!?” Carol shouted from the corner. Apparently, the shock of Miku’s reappearance brought out the girl’s original personality–if only for a moment. When Miku turned to look in her direction, she saw her pointing across the room in the other direction. “And who is that!?”
Miku and Izak turned their gazes to the doorway...
“Hiya!”
... Where Cagliostro stood happily, dressed scantily in a golden outfit that showed off her figure. Most prominently, though, she had two metallic claw-like attachments around her hands. The alchemist held them up in front of her face, as her lips curled into a malicious smile.
“I’m going to enjoy beating the shit out of you, boss.”

 Her jaw hung low, Miku looked straight at the almost-nude Cagliostro with a feral expression. “I thought you said you were going to help from the ‘other side’!”
“I am!”
“If beating him up would solve the issue then why didn’t you just tell me to do that!?”
“I’m not actually going to beat him up... entirely...”
Izak shook his head. “You are insane, woman.”
“Why, thank you~” Cagliostro chuckled happily.

#### AXZ Chapter 26

 When Cagliostro awoke from her slumber, the first thing she was met with was the pointed glare of Prelati.
“Had enough beauty sleep?” The black-haired alchemist grumbled.
“Why get beauty sleep when I’m already breathtaking?” Cagliostro smiled in response. Then, she shook her head. “But enough about me. Where’s the little daddy’s girl?”
“Carol?”
Cagliostro stood up from her position and quickly took a look around the room. When she spotted Carol only a short distance away, she quickly walked up to her and placed one her manicured fingers against the girl’s golden locks.
“Hey! What are you doing!?” Garie shouted from across the room.
“Don’t touch our master!” Micha added, jumping to her feet to take on a fighting stance.
“I’m not going to hurt her.” Cagliostro shook her head. “It seems pops is playing tricks on her mind, so our golden friend over there is going to need some help waking her up.”
“I’ll permit you to do whatever you need to to awaken our master.” Leiur put an arm out in front of her sisters. “Just know that you will suffer the consequences should you be lying.”
“Just don’t touch my hair, alright?” Cagliostro giggled. “It takes a long time to style~”

~ ~ ~

 Cagliostro produced a familiar jet black blade–the same kind that Akira Tachibana had used against Miku before. The blue-haired alchemist looked at it in confusion for a moment as it appeared in the air before her, but shrugged it off a second later.
“GX, we need to stab Carol with this blade. It should remove pops’ influence.”
“Seems easy enough...” Miku nodded from beside the alchemist, only to then shoot a glare at her. “... If you didn’t completely mess up any chance for a surprise attack and put them all on the defensive.”
Cagliostro put the blade in Miku’s hands. “I’ve got brains and beauty, GX. You shouldn’t question my methods.”
“You just dodged my point.”
The alchemist gave a mischievous smile in response, like a little cat that knew it did something unacceptable. Miku just shot an unimpressed glare at her in response.
“Speaking of,” the black-haired girl continued, “Couldn’t you have used your alchemy to wake Shirabe up? Without me having to go all through this?”
“I tried that, of course.” Cagliostro shrugged. “She refused me.”
Miku looked away for a moment, as if trying to figure out what she meant, but decided not to push it. Instead, she held up the black blade that Cagliostro had given her. “So I just need to stab Carol?”
“Yes. Good luck!” Cagliostro gave a cheerful salute, then hopped back.
“Wait. No. You’re helping me.”
“I just want to beat Izak up.”
“Then you do that to distract Carol. Or, whatever.”

 Cagliostro ran to the right, her gaze locked on Izak, who smugly smirked as he watched her move about. Miku watched out of the corner of her eye, tapping one foot on the ground as she thought about how to go about this situation.
Carol was cowering behind him, her hands over her ears and her eyes tugged closed. She was wailing nonsense and shaking her head wildly, totally confused as to what was going on.
“Ah, fuck it. I’ll just go head–”
“If you want to get to Carol, then you need to get through me.”
“Oh right. I forgot that you were here.”
As soon as Miku’s foot inched forwards, she was forced to recoil back as a pink saw sliced through where she would have just stepped. With a blank expression like a statue, the version of Shirabe that Carol had created earlier looked up at Miku.
Miku had completely overlooked Shirabe’s presence.
“Fighting you would be a bit counterproductive.” Miku sighed, shaking her head. Then, she raised her fists. “Well, I guess you aren’t the real one, anyway.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Miku thought she saw a small shadow shuffle away.
Transforming one of her arms into Ame no Habakiri, Miku smiled wildly.
“Don’t hold this against me.”
Shirabe’s glare intensified.
“I will protect Carol.” Shirabe announced, raising her arms out to her side, and the large twintail-like extensions that Shul Shagana granted her.

 Miku dashed forwards quickly, and Shirabe immediately reacted by swinging her two extensions down towards the black-haired girl, crashing into the ground and sending shrapnel up all around them. Miku had jumped over them before she had even begun swinging them, and levelled a kick at Shirabe as she began to descend.
But Shirabe remained calm. Reaching out with her hands, she grabbed Miku’s foot as it entered her range. This immediately froze Miku’s momentum, surprising her–and keeping her distracted just long enough for Shirabe to throw her directly against a wall.
“It’s a dream, remember?” Miku heard the cry of Cagliostro from across the room. “Normal logic doesn’t need to apply.”
“Right.” Miku slowly climbed to her feet. “That explains why she’s so strong.”
Before she had time to fully regain her composure, Shirabe was all over her. The small girl clad in pink and black was swinging her blades around wildly as she spun towards Miku, becoming a spinning top that shredded everything in its path–and the ground beneath her. Watching the floor get shredded, Miku knew it would be best to dodge the attack instead of try countering it.
“But that’s what she would expect.” Miku muttered, looking at the arm that, in reality, she did not possess any more.
Transforming both of her arms into Gungnir’s spears, Miku crossed her lances and steadied her balance. With a confident smirk, Miku took the attack full-blast, the sound of grinding metal ringing out throughout the room as Shirabe’s saw cocoon tried to gain ground against Miku’s weapons.
“Sorry, Miku, but I won’t let you lay a hand on Carol.” Shirabe growled.
“I’m trying to help her. And you.” Miku responded casually.
Despite the weight being pushed against her, Miku wasn’t even fazed. She couldn’t push Shirabe back easily, but she wasn’t losing against her either–they were perfectly equal.
“Don’t lie to me!” Shirabe screamed.
Miku closed her eyes. “Alright. I won’t.”
...and she disappeared. Shirabe’s eyes went wide, and she flew against the wall behind where Miku had been standing a second before. She ricocheted quickly, bouncing back off against the wall and lost her balance.
With Shirabe caught by surprise, Miku reappeared in Shirabe’s new path, one arm transformed into Igalima’s scythe and the other transformed into one of the chain-like swords of Airgetlám. Throwing the chain sword out towards the spinning blade, she wraps the weapon around Shirabe, halting her movement completely.
“What?” Shirabe gasped out in shock.
“If logic doesn’t apply here, then why do I have to remain three-dimensional?” Miku chuckled.
Shirabe clicked her tongue, and swung both of her twintail blades down at Miku. The black-haired girl shook her head, slicing through both arms with Igalima, tearing them apart and launching them against a wall.
“Did you really think that would work after what I just said?”
“Yes.” Shirabe smiled.
...and then she, too, disappeared.
“Shit.”

 Miku looked around hastily, but Shirabe did not reappear even a few moments later. Turning around, she saw Cagliostro and Izak boxing on the other side of the room. Their hands were glowing, and Miku saw elemental particles sparking off of their limbs whenever they swung to punch the other; neither ever hit.
Shirabe–and, more importantly, Carol–were nowhere to be seen.
“She’s gone!” Miku cried.
“What!?” Cagliostro shouted back, looking away just long enough for Izak’s fist to briefly glance her face, the embers surrounding it singing the tips of her cyan hair.
Seeing that the door to the workshop was now wide open, Miku threw herself directly towards it, expecting to find herself in the hallway of Carol’s house.
Instead, she began falling into darkness.
“Let’s see what’s in the depths of Carol’s mind, then, shall we?” Miku heard from above her.
Flipping her body around, she saw Cagliostro winking at her. She had her arm around Izak’s throat, trying to suffocate him as he flailed about in confusion.

. . .

 Millaarc collapsed to one knee. Closing her eyes, she bowed in front of the golden-haired man she was forced to refer to as her ‘master’: the real Izak Malus Dienheim.
“Telling them about Tamatebako’s hidden abilities...” The man mused. “I know I should punish you, but from we’ve both seen, the two of us know that your reasoning was sound. So, you’re forgiven, Stoker. Just do not do something–”
“If I may,” a new voice cut in, and Izak turned his attention to the three people standing in the entrance of the room–or, more specifically, the three copies of one person. The Adam standing in front of his counterparts from other fragments crossed his arms. “She did so on my orders.”
“Oh? In that case,” Izak stood up. He had been wearing a towel over his eyes, which fell to the floor as he did. “Why did you not consult with me on–”
“We do not need to consult with you on every small detail.” One of the other two Adams mentioned; the third nodded in agreement.
“Small? Having this fool engage with those Symphogear wielders, divulging important information! You call that small!?”
“In the grand scheme of things, yes.” The first Adam said. “Besides, we all know that they make use of Tamatebako before our final battle; that they need to know the future is an important element that must be in place for the finale.”
“You say that,” Izak frowned, strutting towards the Adams. “But how did that work out for you in all of those test fragments we made use of, huh?”
“Those fragments are not this one.” All three Adams said in unison.
“You keep saying that, but–”
“Know, fool, that this fragment is important. There is one element exclusive to this fragment, which sets it apart in a very important way.”
“And that way is...?” Izak crossed his arms and pursed his eyebrows.
“You will find out in time.” One of the Adams brushed him off.

 The third Adam, the one that had been the quietest of the group, stepped forwards now. He pointed one finger at Millaarc, still kneeling on the ground, and she flinched in fear under his intimidating glare.
“Subject Stoker. As punishment for you speaking against us, we will be taking her away from you.”
““What!?”” Both Izak and Millaarc shrieked. Izak had a look of anger on his face, while Millaarc’s was frozen white with terror.
“You wish to steal one of my creations away from me?” Izak hissed.
“We know that she can be created even without your assistance. You merely perfected her, and the others; removed their need for the Panacea Formula.” Adam stepped past the golden-haired alchemist, whose face only began to grow more red with anger. “As for you, Stoker...”
“B-b-boss?” Millaarc looked up at the Adam before her, barely managing to choke out the word as fear gripped her heart.
“You are important to us, so you need not fear for your safety.” Adam rolled his eyes. “You are to keep tabs on the Symphogear wielders, and their allies.”
Millaarc’s eyes lit up. Sensing her interest in the idea, the Adam smiled.
“Specifically, your duty now is to keep an eye on the one with connections to that accursed Custodian.” Disgust tainted every facet of this comment, and Adam did not even make an attempt to hide the anger in his expression at the fact that he had to mention his creators.
The vampire flew up to her feet in an instant, ignoring the man’s emotional turmoil. Giving him a salute, Millaarc’s fanged mouth twisted into a wide smile.
“You got it, boss!” She nodded. “I’ll report all of the details on their group, da ze.”
“Good.” Adam closed his eyes. “Report to Nastassja. From today onwards, you will report to her.”
“Understood, da ze.”
“Now, Stoker–go!”

 Once Millaarc had exited the room, the three Adams turned to Izak.
“You are lucky that we require you to finish your work.” Announced one of the Adams.
“Bah. My work is nearly complete, and you know it.” The golden-haired man waved a hand. “If you really wanted to get rid of me, you would have by now. In my eyes, you’ve just become soft after all of these years.”
“Soft?” One of the Adams turned to another.
“No. Our resolve to destroy the Custodians is stronger than ever.” Another Adam said. “Rather, our experiences have humbled us to some degree.”
“Seeing our kin get murdered across different fractures has taught us that the Symphogears flourish on cooperation.” The first one spoke again. “And, as those humans say, ‘fight fire with fire’.”
“Then why do you care so greatly for Stoker, hm?” Izak stomped his foot. “Is she not one of us humans that you are so disgusted with?”
“She–as well as d’Espie and Greifswald–are not human anymore.” One of the Adams pointed out, shooting a glare at Izak. “You made sure of that, did you not?”
“In some fractures, we’ve seen that Custodian hag make use of the monsters as tools. If she can make use of them, then surely perfect beings such as us can use them in even greater ways; and unleash their true potential.”
“And to do that, you let two escape?” Izak raised an eyebrow.
“Greifswald we allowed to leave. She may be defective and not wholly designed for battle, but even we see great potential in her. Unfortunately, sometimes you need to let something go in order to make use of something greater.”
“In other words, you let her go to use her as leverage to control Stoker better.”
“As for d’Espie,” another Adam continued, completely ignoring Izak, “we can bring her back at any time. We simply see no use for her at this point.”
Izak blinked. Once, then twice, then three times.
“I don’t think you understand cooperation.”

#### AXZ Chapter 27

 Three figures fell into a murky darkness, and then quickly collided with a hard ground. The floor looked to be thin glass, with large bronze gears turning beneath it. Similar bronze decorations were carved into the ground around the border of this platform, surrounding four pedestals that almost resembled bottle caps. More giant gears were built around this large area, sticking out of an empty void of nothingness.
“Where are we?” Miku asked the blue-haired alchemist beside her.
Cagliostro opened her mouth to speak, still holding Izak in a headlock, but the golden-haired man she was attacking answered Miku’s question with a fascinated glint in his eye.
“The Château de Tiffauges. I knew she had built it, but I didn’t realize she had followed my specifications, almost to a T.”
“Ah, that makes sense. I was curious as to how she came up with such a complicated and un-lady-like headquarters.” Cagliostro added, before turning her glare down towards Izak. “I should have realized you were behind its gaudy design.”
“Gaudy?” Izak scoffed.

 While Izak and Cagliostro went back and forth, Miku looked around the room for their target. Or targets–Shirabe was still more than likely protecting her. But the raised platform on which a throne sat was empty, and not a single soul (other than the three invading Carol’s dream) was visible.
“Did we take a wrong turn somewhere?” Miku asked, half-serious. The tunnel they fell through had been straight, but, in dream logic, that didn’t really mean too much.
“Maybe Carol’s refusal to accept that the peaceful life was a dream has caused her to throw up memories as roadblocks for us?” Cagliostro suggested.
Izak shouted something at her in response, but Miku didn’t care what; she did, however, watch out of the corner of her eye as the blue-haired woman kneed him in the back, causing him to curse loudly.
With a shrug, Miku turned to face Cagliostro.
“Well, Carol’s not here. Now what?”
“There should be a weak point.” Cagliostro looked around. “If this was a panicked response to our chase, then all you have to do is destroy that crack.”
“A crack, huh?”
Miku repeated what Cagliostro said under her breath as she began to meander forwards. The platform was flat up until the staircase that led up to another platform. Aside from the four small platforms around the three of them, and the throne looking down upon them, there was nothing suspicious that stuck out to Miku at a first glance.
“We don’t have many options–huh!?” Miku was in the midst of speaking when she suddenly tripped over something.
Comically, the girl tipped forwards at a high speed, slamming straight into the ground chest-first.
“I bet that hurt, what with how little padding you have there.” Izak snickered... then yelped, as Cagliostro twisted one of his arms around.
“Don’t tease a cute little girl about her appearance.” Cagliostro snarled angrily.
“Fine, then I’ll tease her about tripping over nothing.” Izak smirked in response.

 “I didn’t trip over nothing.” Miku snapped back. “There’s something here, but it’s invisible.”
Miku was still laying flat on her chest, patting the area around herself curiously. Cagliostro and Izak couldn’t see it well from their position (to them, she was just bent over, as if crouched on her knees and stretching forwards) but Miku was not actually *on the ground*–she was laying on something, floating just above the glass flooring.
“Well, I guess you found the crack. What is it?”
“Probably,” Izak rolled his eyes as he answered Cagliostro’s question, “the fifth Autoscorer pedestal.”
“There are five?” Miku asked. “Garie, Micha, Leiur, Phara...”
“And Tiky.” Cagliostro finished. “She was who we were after before in Val Verde. We summoned that large dragon Noise that I’m sure you are quite familiar with to distract you from our search. Sorry about that, by the way.”
Miku frowned.
“To just say her name after all the work I went through trying to scrub her existence from Carol’s memories.” Izak clicked his tongue. “You three girls always were nuisances.”
“Always proud to be of service, sir.” Cagliostro teased, a mischievous smile on her face.
Miku, on the other hand, thought back to when she first entered Carol’s living room. The ‘glitch’ she saw in part of the house, the inability to understand who Carol greeted–it must have been Tiky.
“So she’s important, then?”
Pushing herself to her feet, the black-haired girl began strolling over towards the blond man she glared at. Still unable to escape Cagliostro’s hold, Izak merely smiled back at her; a knowing look, and one that told Miku he wasn’t going to say any more around her.
“Interrogate him.” Miku ordered Cagliostro.
The blue-haired alchemist immediately made a sour expression, and Miku had an inkling as to why. Reaching up, she held something in front of Cagliostro’s face, just out of Izak’s up-turned glare, and, after a surprised nod, Miku shoved this object into the mass of cyan hair atop the woman’s head.
“Do whatever you need to get info out of him.” Miku muttered, patting down her hair. “I guess I’ll just destroy that invisible pedestal thing for now.”
“If you can.”
The cold, but familiar, voice came from above Miku, whose only reaction was to leap back away from where she was standing. A second later, a pink saw cut into the glass flooring right where Miku had been standing less than a second earlier.

 “Stand down, Shirabe, I’m trying to help Carol.”
“I won’t let you hurt my friend.”
With that comment, Shirabe used her large twintail-arms to throw two large pink saws directly at Miku’s body. As Miku dodged out of the way of one, she batted the other away with her bladed arm, redirecting it into the ground with a huff.
While her eyes were focused on those saws, Shirabe was already readying her next attack. With her two yo-yos in hand, Shirabe sent one out towards, not Miku, but the saw on the ground; Miku still dodged out of the way regardless.
As the yo-yo struck the saw embedded within the ground, it revved up. Like a log cutter, the saw rushed forwards through the ground straight towards Miku, curving to reach her.
“So she doesn’t have to follow logic either, it seems.” Cagliostro commented calmly from across the room.
“Like that matters!” Miku screamed back, leaping over the saw. As she somewhat expected, it flew out of the ground after her, still chasing at a high speed.
Shirabe was not just standing around however. As soon as Miku’s feet left the ground, she sent her other yo-yo in her direction, teeth spinning around it as if the toy itself was also a saw. Miku clicked her tongue as the two projectiles travelled straight towards her.
What Shirabe expected next was for Miku to disappear again, transform into a two-dimensional form to dodge the simultaneous attacks. Instead, what Miku did was something else new: she flew backwards at a high speed, as if an unseen hand was pulling her towards the massive gears that surrounded the platform.
Miku smirked as she registered Shirabe’s momentary confusion, and quickly shifted her arm’s appearance from Ame no Habakiri into a chaingun, one of the many kinds of firearms that Ichaival granted Chris. Still flying backwards, Miku began firing wildly in Shirabe’s direction.
“You fool! Do you wish to kill us, too!?” Izak screamed.
Cagliostro’s arm was still around his throat, though she still wore a comfortable smile on her face; she did not even seem remotely afraid of being hit. Her nonchalant attitude was appropriate though, as not a single bullet flew close to her.
“We both want to kill *you*, of course.” The alchemist chuckled, seeing Izak’s panic.
“We both know that killing me here would do nothing, you harlot.”

 Miku was not aiming for Cagliostro, Izak, nor even Shirabe; she focused the entirety of her mind on hitting the invisible pedestal. Shirabe was too confused to notice this initially, jumping out of the way of her volley– it was only when Miku’s aim did not shift to catch up did she realize her mistake.
Unfortunately, that short moment was all that Miku needed. As her bullets smashed against the apparent nothing, an object started to shimmer into existence. It was barely visible, but it proved that there was, indeed, a pedestal there.
The rain of bullets continued on the pedestal for only a second more, until a loud sound rang through all four of the figures’ ears. A crack appeared in the ground right beneath the pedestal, and, in that moment, Shirabe knew she had failed. She closed her eyes, embracing the darkness that would swallow her and her enemies just a short moment before the blanket of nothing surrounded her.
“You might not be real, but I still don’t want to kill you, Shirabe.” Miku said from above, prompting Shirabe to open her eyes and return her gaze. What Shirabe did not expect was for Miku to be smiling down at her. “I don’t know if I’d call us ‘friends’, but you’re important to Kirika, so you’re important to me.”
“Miku...” Shirabe smiled back.
“I just need to talk to Carol. I don’t want to harm her.”
As those words left Miku’s lips, the girl with the black hair disappeared–faded out of existence.
“I guess now that her role is complete, she’s unneeded?” Miku wondered aloud... and then realized that the scenery that she had been falling through had, at some point, shifted from an empty void into a night sky.

 Righting herself, Miku landed feet-first as a concrete street rose up to greet her. She did not feel any pain–even though, in reality, she should have died–and casually looked around as she got up from the crouching position gravity had forced her into.
“Is this...?” Miku wondered aloud–but then a sound interrupted her train of thought. She didn’t see Cagliostro or Izak anywhere, so she conjured up two possibilities for the source of that noise: Carol, or another guard she created to protect her.
Miku desperately hoped for the former.
“I still need to wake them up.” She shook her head.
And then a gold coin flew past her face like a bullet, pulling some of her hairs out of their follicles.
“I don’t have time for this.” Miku groaned, looking at the four familiar shadows that had appeared before her.

. . .

 Izak–the real Izak Malus Dienheim–stomped into the dark chamber, a scowl chiselled deep into his face. His arms were crossed, and he was grumbling nonsense beneath his breath. In one of his hands he held a wrench, its metallic texture the coolest thing within a wide area of the disgruntled man.
“Papa!” A cheerful girl’s voice greeted him, and Izak couldn’t help but look up at it. He was not surprised to see the girl, but he was surprised to see her in such a positive state considering her circumstances.
As he looked into the girl’s eyes, he felt relaxed. For the first time in a long while, he felt as though he had found some sort of peace.
“Ah, if it isn’t my favourite little daughter.” Izak smiled happily. Uncrossing his arms, he began walking over to where the girl was happily waving to him.
“You haven’t been coming to see me lately, papa!” The girl frowned, but in a silly way, akin to a child. “I’ve been lonely down here.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” As Izak apologized, he patted the girl on the top of her head. “I’ve been busy with work, you know. Adam has been working me ragged lately.”
“Are you and Adam fighting, papa?” The girl looked at Izak with a wide, puppy-like stare. “Please don’t fight!”
“Don’t worry, we’re not fighting. We’re just a bit stressed is all–your time to shine is coming up soon, after all.”
The girl nodded excitedly.
“Are you ready to show this world what you can do?” Izak asked, taking a step back.
“Of course, papa! You can always count on me!”
“That’s... good.” Izak nodded after a moment. “I’m so glad I have a trustworthy daughter like you, Tiky.”
“Yay! Praise from papa!!!” Tiky threw her arms up over her head in cheer.

 The fifth Autoscorer, Tiky, was currently suspended slightly above the ground–half of her, anyway. Her legs were on the ground beneath her, currently detached from the rest of her tan and brown robotic body. She had wires attached to her back, connecting her to the many computers lining the room.
Tiky could not move, but she was of use to her loving papa and beloved Adam–she didn’t care. Though the chamber she was forced to live in was eerily quiet most of the time, save for the digital bleeps and bloops of the computers, and little light reached this secret laboratory, Tiky radiated sunshine. As he looked at his first (and favourite) creation, Izak could swear that the green and blue hair atop her head perfectly mimicked the peaceful meadow that was right outside of the home he raised Carol in.
“I suppose that makes sense, all things considered.” Izak chuckled.
“Did I do something wrong, Papa?”
“No, it’s not you, Tiky.” Izak bent down and picked up one of Tiki’s discarded legs. “It’s never you, Tiky.”

. . .

 Miku grunted in annoyance as she leaped off the ground, just in time for a golden crystal to rise up from where she had been a moment earlier. Not out of the clear, Miku swung with her arm–currently transformed into Ame no Habakiri–to slice through a spout of water that was racing towards her, cutting the wave in two.
“I’m getting tired of this.” Miku groaned.
All four of the Autoscorers that Carol had constructed had been attacking her for some time now: Micha, Garie, Leiur, and Phara. Their movements were in perfect sync, protecting one another so that Miku couldn’t take any of them out. She had, at one point, managed to remove one of Micha’s arms, only for Phara to replace it with her own blade.
Yet, for some reason, none of the Autoscorers made any noise.
Trying to concentrate on the battle around her, Miku let out a sigh.
“I guess that is an option.” She remarked. “But I don’t know what’ll happen if I die in a dream.”
Garie, with an icicle out-stretched like a blade, dove towards Miku, who parried it with her own blade. Having done this countless times already, she quickly dove to the side, allowing Micha–who Miku had assumed would be flying towards her (again)–to tackle Garie.
“It’s like they’re on a script.” Miku shook her head. “Have I just been wasting my time?”
Remembering what had happened before, Miku pointed her other arm–one of Ichaival’s guns–behind her and fired. She didn’t need to look to see if she had hit a target, she knew that Phara would have been around there, ready to fire literal blades of wind in her direction.
“Carol must be around here somewhere.”
Miku broke the script that she had subconsciously memorized, and ran off at a sprint.
Behind her, the four Autoscorers began to silently give chase.

#### AXZ Chapter 28

 Carol clutched her head as she crouched in the shadows of one of the buildings dotting the landscape around her. Tears filled the corners of her eyes as she tried to hide away from the world.
“Why is Miss Miku trying to attack me?” The young girl whimpered sadly as she tried to hold back tears. “She seemed so nice before...”
*You know why.*
A faint voice seemed to echo through Carol’s mind, but she pushed it aside. She was more focused on the sounds echoing from the distance. The faint explosions and crashes, no doubt from the battle between the multicoloured army that had appeared to intercept Miku–who Carol hoped did not want to target her, afterwards.
“Why are there killer automatons, now? And where did Shirabe go? And papa?” Carol shook her head. “I want to go home!!!”
*Is that truly what you want?*
The faint voice deep in the back of her mind reverberated once more, and Carol felt her chest tighten at the words. She did want to go home–back to the peaceful life she had once lived–but...
*Because that life is no longer available to you.*
“No!” Carol screamed, shaking her head. Her hands shifted to cover her ears, and she shut her eyes tight. “Stop talking to me! I just want my papa. I want...”
“Carol?”
The child’s heart stopped; her veins filled with ice. Fear completely gripped her heart, and she panicked.
“Stay back!” Carol yelled, throwing her hands out in front of her.
Though her eyes were shut, she did register a bright flash of light (and an intense heat) that radiated out in front of her for just a second.
“Carol.”
This same voice called out again, but Carol’s mind didn’t register it.
Instead, the small girl’s attention was glued to her hands, which glowing orange embers danced around.
“I... am an alchemist...?”
“Carol!”
This time, the voice ripped Carol’s focus away from the fear and confusion that assailed her mind. Her eyes slowly looked down, away from the fair skin covering her small fingers, and down at a shadow that stretched across the ground towards her.

. . .

 Miku clicked her tongue. Her desire to flee from the theatre play that was the Autoscorers was a failure; they quickly adapted, then flipped to a new script to interrupt her attempts to find Carol.
“This has gone on long enough!” Miku grunted.
She reached down and pulled a knife-like icicle out of her side, sending a spike of pain through her body. This especially surprised her; it had been quite a long time since she had felt. In her normal body, she didn’t feel pain–or much, for that matter; her body always hurt, and Miku thought that eventually she just grew numb to the unnatural feeling of her relic body.
What else surprised Miku was the blood that oozed out of her side.
“Human...” Miku looked at the blood that pooled out of the wound. “When was the last time I actually felt pain?”
Her focus on the wound in her side, Miku was unaware of the four Autoscorers coming in to attack–and finish her off. She didn’t care though.
“When was the last time I felt human?” Miku muttered...
...and then was launched back towards a building by combined melee attacks of Micha and Leiur. She was blasted into a wall, which began to collapse onto her body, the bricks crushing her.
“Oh. Right. Pain is bad.” Miku groaned as she slowly pulled herself out of the rubble. Her head pounding, she looked up in time to see Phara flying towards her, with a blade in hand. She moved her arm, transforming it into Ame no Habakiri, to block it, but, sluggish from the previous blow, sliced into–and then through–the Autoscorer’s arm instead, just as the tip of the blade pierced her chest.
“Ah.” Miku’s eyes went wide.

 “What’s happened to you, Miku Kohinata? You seem to be off your game.”
Miku looked away from the severed arm that was floating before her, the tip still lightly embedded within her chest, and towards the source of the voice.
Standing out before her, with Micha, Garie, and Leiur flanking her, was Carol Malus Dienheim. No longer wearing the childishly innocent expression, the small golden-haired girl was instead donned in a skimpy purple outfit: the Faust Robe of the relic known as Dur da Blá. Phara quickly retreated away from Miku to silently join her sisters beside her master’s side.
What surprised Miku more than Carol’s sudden appearance, however, was the girl standing directly beside her.
“Shirabe?” Miku slowly asked, looking the girl up and down. There was something different in her expression from the one she fought earlier–her expression looked calm, her eyes clear.
“You seemed to be having trouble.” Shirabe smiled.
“I... am so confused.” Miku admitted, shaking her head. “How...? What...?”
“I’ve been following you around.” Shirabe tilted her head. “Did you not realize it?”
Miku put the puzzle pieces together in her mind–the obvious ones, which she should have fit together earlier.
“The rabbit? But... how?”
Shirabe put a finger to her lips. “It’s a secret~”
“She won’t even tell me, for what it’s worth.” Carol muttered, crossing her arms in a sulk. Then, smugly tilting the corners of her lips upward, Carol smiled. “But, know that I am no longer lost in the delusions of my past. I am the murderer of miracles, Carol Malus Dienheim!”
“Okay.” Miku brushed the alchemist off as she slowly climbed over the stones that had fallen onto her. “But... how?”
“Our mutual friend, Shirabe Tsukuyomi, brought me back to my senses. Or, rather, she reminded me who I truly was.”
“All I did was ask her what she thought of me.” Shirabe explained. “And then she fumbled about and said–”
“What I said doesn’t matter!” Carol, her face a bright red, threw her hands up in front of her. “All that matters is that it awoke the alchemist within me.”
“But... how? What was the point of me being here!?” Miku angrily groaned towards the sky.
“You gave me time to interrogate Izak, for what it’s worth.”
And then Cagliostro appeared beside Miku; she flinched away from the blue-haired woman’s sudden appearance. She then frowned as Cagliostro casually handed something to Miku.
“Yeah. If you could call what you did ‘interrogating’.” Miku growled.
In response, Cagliostro chuckled innocently, a sly smile across her face.
“What, may I ask, did you do to papa?” Carol asked the alchemist.
“It’s not something for the ears of a little girl like you~” Cagliostro teased.
“I’m older than you!”
Miku turned away.

 “I have to awaken Kirika still. And Shirabe, maybe? I don’t have time for this.”
“Actually, about that...”
Rolling her eyes, Miku slowly turned towards Cagliostro.
“You still need to rid Carol of Izak’s influence.”
“Oh, right.” Miku waved her hand, and the jet-black blade appeared in her palm.
“Hold still, Carol.” Shirabe said sweetly, quickly shifting herself behind Carol to hold the girl’s arms in place.
“Huh? What? Wait–!”

. . .

 “What a jerk!”
The loud scream scared the room full of people into shocked silence. The four Autoscorers, Tsubasa, Kanade, Yumi, Elsa, Vanessa, Prelati, Serena, Cagliostro, and even the out-of-it Maria and Shirabe(?) all quickly turned to look at the angry little girl who stood up in a panic.
“Master!”
“Wait no, not again!”
Before Carol could fully get her bearings, she was launched back into the wall by an overjoyed Micha–an almost identical mirror of what had just happened in her dreams. Though while Miku had stabbed her with a black blade, Micha threw her arms around her creator in a cheerful hug.
“Micha, ah!”
“Well, it seems as though Miku has awoken yet another one of us.” Prelati acknowledged from afar as Micha smothered Carol on the ground.
“Miku stabbed me!” Carol cried out.
“Well it did work, didn’t it?”
“I trust her methods.” Cagliostro nodded.
“Of course you do. It was your idea.”
“... Ah, yes that makes sense.” Caglistro turned away.

 “How was it her idea if she’s been here?” Tsubasa asked the room.
The two alchemists looked first at Tsubasa, then at each other.
“Do you want the short version or the long version?” Carol asked.
“The...”
“Short version.” Kanade cut in. “Just give us the short one.”
“Kanade! I’m quite curious ab–”
“Short version.” Kanade repeated.
“In the simplest terms, it’s essentially an advanced form of hypnosis that I applied directly to Carol’s mind.” Cagliostro explained.
“You can do that?” Yumi’s eyes sparkled. She hopped up and ran up to Cagliostro. “Can you teach me how to do alchemy?”
“Well you’d need to–”
“I’ll do it.”
“You didn’t even let her finish.” Prelati sighed. “Although, from my understanding of your profile, you might make a fine alchemist if you put your mind to it.”

. . .

 “Okay. Explain to me what’s going on.”
Miku and Shirabe stood in a completely black void, empty of any details. The sound of Miku’s voice echoed on infinitely, and yet it sounded as if they stood together in a small room. This was Shirabe’s ‘dream’–or, rather, what existed in her comatose mind.
“When should I start?” Shirabe tilted her head.
“I can enter peoples’ dreams because I copied my consciousness and reflected it into them using Shénshòujìng. How have you been following me?”
“Okay. Please don’t freak out when I tell you this, Miku.” Shirabe took a deep breath in. “I... am a clone.”

 Miku didn’t react.
Of course, this was information that she already knew.
But Shirabe had no way to know this.
So, when Miku casually crossed her arms, Shirabe looked at her curiously.
“We kind of already figured that out when that Satomi girl woke up and said she was Shirabe, too. And a clone.”
“Wait.” Shirabe’s eyes went wide. “Does Kiri know?”
“Kiri was one of the first people to know.”
“Is she...?”
“I don’t really know how she feels about it.” Miku looked away. “Come to think of it, I don’t really know much about how Kirika feels about most things. Like the fact that I guess she’s technically Carol’s mom now... and fighting her abuser.”
“What?”
Instead of the shock Shirabe expected Miku to experience at her ‘revelation’ that she was a clone, it was Miku her surprised Shirabe.
“I’ll... explain it to you later. Or someone will. Ask Kirika, I guess.”
“I’m uhh.”
“Okay, here’s what I’ll do. You explain to me what’s going on, then I’ll tell you about what’s been happening outside while you’ve been comatose.” Miku pinched the bridge between her eyes. “Alright?”
“Fine. What do you know about how I was knocked out.”
“You were attacked by the Illuminati–oh yeah, we’re working with some of them now by the way–and Noise got to you and partially destroyed your body. One of the Illuminati members–Vanessa, the cyborg–prepared prosthetics for you.”
Shirabe looked down, and put her hand on her head.
“You’re dropping a lot of information on me very casually, Miku.” Shirabe sighed, then looked back up at Miku.
“Okay. I’m a clone of the real Shirabe Tsukuyomi–one of several. All of these clones act as a sort of hive mind, sending information to the original, wherever she is. When Batara Kala killed me before, and Carol subsequently revived me, it severed the connection I had with her.”
“Does that mean the... Satomi-Shirabe out there is a spy?”
“No...” Shirabe tapped her chin. “I think the only one who learns the information is the original Shirabe. It would depend on where she is and what she devulges–if she even can speak.”
“Hm. So the possibility that she’s a spy isn’t zero.” Miku narrowed her eyes. “If the original Shirabe decides to tell Adam about what’s happening.”
“I guess so.” Shirabe shrugged. “Anyway, back to what I was saying. I didn’t want to mention this before because I was afraid it would make me a target for the Illuminati. But I guess they found out anyway.”
Miku cupped her chin.
“So it was Adam who did this to you? One of them, anyway.”
“I don’t know how he got into that pyramid thing, but I definitely saw him before I blacked out... wait did you–? Never mind.”
“If we question every little thing, we could be here for a while, but I want to know how you got into dreams.”
“Right.” Shirabe nodded. “My connection to Shirabe was severed, but my... connection... thing was left open. So I can still connect to other people, but only when I’m asleep, I guess? So, since I was comatose, I could connect to... everyone who was asleep around me.”
“Wait does that mean...?”
“Yes, I was connecting myself to Kiri subconsciously, before. That’s how I knew I could do this.”
“Okay so you can enter peoples’ dreams because you’re like a satellite broadcasting your consciousness into their minds when you sleep.” Miku put her hand on her head. “Okay. I get it. I think.”
“Now can you please tell me what’s been going on while I’ve been asleep?”
Miku groaned.
“Where the hell do I start?”

. . .

 “Alright gang, we’ve got work to do.”
“Not to be rude,” Kanade, sitting on the ground, looked up at the girl who made her proclamation. “But who put you in charge, Carol? And since when do you ask others for help?”
“I’ll have you know, I have been doing quite a bit of work behind-the-scenes to assist our upcoming battle against Adam Weishaupt.”
“Yeah? Doing what?”
“Considering the Illuminati’s penchant for gathering information, I’d rather not reveal it until I need to.” Carol huffed. “However, I will require all of your assistance in something going forwards.”
“Sorry,” Tsubasa stood up. “We have a concert tomorrow night.”
“No I...” Carol sighed. “I didn’t mean...”
“Master, I can help you!” Micha smiled from next to her creator.
“Yes I know that. That’s your job.”
“Yaay!”
Carol shook her head. “Then you idols should go prepare for your performance, tomorrow, then–”
“We also shouldn’t just leave these three here.” Elsa pointed out, causing Carol to shoot a frown in her direction.
“Fine. Then you, wolf, stay behind. The Symphogear girls can go rest up for tomorrow. I need the assistance of the alchemists and the cyborg, so long as you can keep a secret or two.”
“Yeah, I’m up to help you again.” Cagliostro shrugged. “It’ll be my apology for suggesting Miku stab you, I guess.”
“Very well. Then I will assist, too; so long as you, Carol, aid us in finding a solution to our Saint-Germain issue, as well.”
“It may be related.”
“I don’t have much of a choice, do I?” Vanessa sighed.
“Do you have anything else to do?”
“I guess not.”
“Then no.”
Vanessa sighed. “I never do, it seems.”
“You could stay here with me...” Elsa spoke up.
“No, actually, I do require her knowledge most of all. If you want someone to stay with you, talk to one of those Symphogears.” Carol brushed off the pink-haired girl’s comment off casually.
“Yeah, I’ll stay behind, then, I suppose.” Serena slowly put her hand up. Offering Elsa a small smile, she continued: “I don’t mind keeping you company.”
“Very well, then let us go our separate ways for now!” Carol ordered. She tossed a small crystal to Yumi, who caught it with a confused expression as Carol continued: “That crystal will open a teleport gate back to the submarine. The rest of you, come with me.”

#### AXZ Chapter 29

Shirabe and Miku, in the realm of shadows that was the former’s dreamscape, both sighed. They had been going back and forth, answering the others’ questions to the best of their abilities. Shirabe learned more about what had happened since she entered her comatose state, about their upcoming battle, and how they hastily established some sort of truce with Prelati and Cagliostro.

On the other hand, Miku learned very little else. What Shirabe had initially explained was most of what she knew about the Bavarian Illuminati–and of herself. Her origins–or the origins of any Shirabe, for that matter–and anything else Miku wanted to know were, for the most part, still large question marks. They both had theories, but that was the extent.

Shirabe was a clone of the original Shirabe Tsukuyomi, and shared a psychic connection to her somehow–and this connection was then severed. Because of that connection being cut, Shirabe now had the ability to link her subconscious to others in her sleep– “Alchemy, I guess?” Shirabe suggested with a shrug when questioned how–and that made her a target for Adam, who was responsible for her current state.

That was about all that Miku had learned about Shirabe. There was one other thing that Miku had learned during their conversation though: a warning.

“Kiri... Her dreams, from what I experienced, are strange. If we’re going in there, you should prepare yourself.”

“What do you mean by strange?” Miku asked. She had a bit of an idea, though wanted a confirmation.

“I don’t know if it’s entirely because of Finé, but...” Shirabe looked up with a determined look in her eyes. “Kiri’s mind is a mess. I want to help her–I need to help her!”

Miku smiled at that, but she felt a pain in her chest as well. It was nostalgia twisting her heart–Shirabe reminded Miku of how she felt towards Hibiki. Miku literally went around the world to try to find some way to help Hibiki, and she could sense that Shirabe would do the same for Kirika now.

“I’ll try my best to help.” Miku nodded.

. . .

Serena and Elsa looked at each other from other ends of the dilapidated room. The distant sounds of the city nightlife echoed in through the holes of the building around them, as did sounds of the nearby wildlife. But, in this room, there was silence–only the sounds of breathing coming from the girls within.

The two girls had been sitting in silence for some time now. When everyone else left, Serena had tried to break the ice with Elsa with friendly banter, but that well quickly ran dry as Elsa refused to play along with her attempts to be friendly.

Instead, Elsa had taken up to kicking the large black briefcase on which she sat, silently thinking about... something; Serena had no idea what the wolf girl was thinking about.

The girl sighed.

“Hey, Elsa.” Serena decided to try again. “That vampire girl. Are you two sisters?”

“No.” Elsa’s one word answer, just as she had given as a response to every other question Serena had asked. But this question elicited another reaction: a slight hesitation in Elsa’s rhythmic kicking.

Even if they weren’t sisters, it was clear to Serena that Elsa did care about the vampire, Millaarc, as if she were. Just from that small detail.

“By the way,” Serena asked again after a moment.

Elsa looked up as Serena raised her voice louder than she did normally, but she did not verbally respond. All she did was tilt her head in interest, one of her pointed ears twitching with curiosity.

“Why did you ask me to sit so far away from you?”

Serena looked around the room. It was surprisingly large and rectangular–and Elsa had asked Serena to go as far away as possible. Still, the quiet carried their voices well, so Serena’s normal room volume was loud enough to reach Elsa, wolf ears or not.

“You smell weird de arimasu.”

“Huh?” Serena instinctively looked down and sniffed.

She didn’t think she smelled bad. She bathed regularly, because otherwise Maria would get mad! In fact, Serena bathed more regularly than Kirika, and Elsa was sitting closer to her without any noticeable issue.

“What do you mean!?” Serena’s face flushed red in embarrassment.

“You smell weird.” Elsa repeated absent-mindedly.

“Weird how!?”

“It’s like...” Elsa’s wolf ears twitched as she thought. “Rotten meat, de arimasu. No offence.”

“Rotten meat!?”

. . .

When Miku next opened her emerald eyes, she found herself standing in a strange landscape, feeling something that she had never expected to after the first time she had, not that long ago. Like when she first entered these catacombs of dreams, it felt as if her consciousness was being split–it was nauseating. But, she knew this time that it wasn’t just her.

Looking at Shirabe beside her, she saw the smaller girl stumble slightly as she took a step forwards, crushing a patch of grass with her foot.

The dreams of Kirika and Finé were crossed over each other. It was, quite literally, as if two separate computers running different programs and operating systems were connected to a single monitor, fighting for control. Just as Miku and Shirabe looked forwards, they found the scenery switch back and fort multiple times.

What was clearly Finé’s dream was a beautiful sunset. Honey-coloured rays of light blanketed two figures standing on the edge of a cliff, their figures silhouetted against the setting sun. One of the figures was Finé, clad in a white veil and dress. The other was a tall man whose appearance could most easily be described as blue.

Before they could take in every detail, Miku and Shirabe found themselves standing in a strange white room. Shirabe’s eyes flashed with recognition at the scene; it was, after all, the FIS laboratory where she had lived with Maria, Serena, and Kirika. But, unlike its real-world counterpart, Kirika’s dream...

“What’s going on?” Miku asked.

“It’s always like this.” Shirabe explained. “All... static-y.”

Everything in Kirika’s dream wavered, the edges of every object slightly blurred. Around the two girls was a light hum, like the static of a television. Miku thought that Kirika’s dream was almost like a glitching computer, or like a video game that hadn’t properly loaded all of its assets.

And then they were back to Finé’s dream.

“This is going to be difficult.” Miku frowned. “For now, let’s try to figure out what’s going on in these dreams.”

“Good idea.” Shirabe nodded.

Miku and Shirabe were at the edge of a primal forest. The beautiful scenery before them seemed almost fantastical, like something out of a movie, but both assumed that this was the virgin Earth from well before modern times.

Crouched low to the ground, the two girls quietly snuck through the trees, trying to use the shadows and foliage to hide themselves. It took them a few moments to reach the bush closest to Finé and the tall blue man, as the world switched around them at random intervals, but when they did, both Miku and Shirabe could hear the two figures clearly.

“My lord, my creator.” Finé addressed the tall man. “As always I must offer my thanks to you and your comrades for the world you have bestowed upon us Lulu Amel.”

“Finé, my dear, there are no others around. You needn’t be so formal with me.” The man offered a smile, and out-stretched his arms. “Come, Finé. Embrace me.”

“Oh, Enki, my beloved.” Finé swooned, taking up the man’s offer. “I do so miss you whenever you choose to return to the moon.”

“Alas, Finé, you know I do not wish to influence you all too much. I wish to see how your kind will evolve on your own, without my direct involvement.” Enki looked away. “Frankly, I should not even come down to see you as much as I do.”

Finé looked up at the tall man, sadness in her eyes. She opened her lips to say something, but Enki cut her off with a caring smile.

“But, as my first creation, and the priestess I chose to serve as my representative, I do have an excuse should anyone ask.” Pulling Finé close, Enki continued, “I could not ever imagine a time where I couldn’t see your beauty.”

The world switched to Kirika’s dream, to the empty white room in the FIS lab. Taking advantage of the scene change, Miku turned to Shirabe.

“That’s strange right?”

“Very strange.” Shirabe agreed.

“Finé seems like completely different person.”

“Oh. That.” Shirabe’s eyes went wide for a moment, then she nodded. “I was more surprised about the man.”

“I assume that’s the ‘god’ she devoted herself to. Enki, huh?” Miku pondered.

“There’s something familiar about him.” Shirabe muttered. “Doesn’t he kind of remind you of Adam?”

Miku pictured the Illuminati’s leader in her mind. Like Enki, he, too, had blue hair (albeit a different shade), was fairly muscular, and towered over most of the people around them. But...

“Nah. Personality-wise, they seem completely different.”

Shirabe shook her head. “Maybe I’m overthinking it.”

“I mean, he was created by the Custodians, too, right? It isn’t surprising that there are...” Miku realized something and quickly put a hand to her forehead. “Oh no, doesn’t that also make us... I don’t want to think about that.”

*But that does explain how Finé could take over my body too. If all humans originate from Enki, then technically everyone is related to Finé to some extent.* Miku shook her head. Enough of that.

“We aren’t going back to Finé’s dream.” Shirabe noticed. She then began to walk towards the door on the other end of the room. “Let’s look for Kiri.”

Miku nodded, following behind her. The sound of the two girls’ footsteps echoed throughout the empty white room, only adding to the eerie atmosphere of the strangely-chilling laboratory.

“I’ll follow you, then. I’m sure you know your way around here.”

As Shirabe reached towards the door, the world around the two seemed to waver and shift, fading out of existence. The girls expected to find themselves back in the forest, overlooking the priestess and her god in their romantic moment, but instead found themselves in a new doorway.

“Happy birthday Kiri!” “Happy birthday Kirika!” Shirabe and Maria clapped, both exceedingly happy.

Shirabe, Maria, and Kirika all sat on a fluffy pink rug around a small wooden table. Evidently it was Kirika’s birthday, the table piled high with all kinds of different junk foods that had likely been purchased from a convenience store. A small white box sat in the centre of the snacks.

“You guys...” Tears welled up in Kirika’s eyes as she took in the ‘party’ Shirabe and Maria had thrown for her.

Miku didn’t know how to respond to what she saw. All she had heard from Kirika were tales of sadness, of torture–the fact that such a small celebration made the girl so happy brought a warmth to her heart.

“She’s so happy. Kirika must really treasure this memory.” Miku said to Shirabe. When she looked over at Shirabe, though, she noticed the girl silently pondering something.

Despite the fact that they were so close to the three girls, none had noticed the two newcomers. As Miku did not even try to lower her voice, and this elicited no reaction from them, this proved that they were simply onlookers, watching a dream play out.

“We really had wanted to do something a bit larger for you.” Maria said kindly, a warm smile of her own on her face. She had an apologetic look in her eye, but clearly Kirika did not care.

“Kiri...” Shirabe–the one beside Miku–said quietly. “I didn’t know that you...”

“Hm?” Miku looked towards Shirabe, but the small black-haired girl ignored her.

Shirabe instead slowly crept towards the Kirika of the memory, who joyfully spoke with the imaginary Maria and Shirabe with tears of happiness glossing over her emerald eyes. She leaned over the table, looking at the small box that Kirika held in her hand.

“Shirabe?” Miku asked, confused. She hovered by the doorway, not wanting to intrude on Kirika’s moment of happiness, even if Shirabe was now proving that they seemingly could not interact with the events unfolding before them as she tried (and failed) to open the gift before Kirika could.

Completely ignoring the invading Shirabe’s attempts to snatch away Kirika’s present, the golden-haired girl happily pulled the ribbon off of the box with a squeak of happiness. Just as Shirabe had imagined, Kirika then pulled out a very familiar X-shaped ornament–the same one she normally wore in her hair.

“Kiri... she was wearing that when we first met.” Shirabe muttered quietly.

The large smile that Kirika wore before them, the happy scene playing out...

“This isn’t a memory.” Shirabe stated curtly, turning to face Miku at the entrance. “This birthday party never happened.”

“You mean this is a dream, then?” Miku asked.

Shirabe bent down to look at Kirika as she struggled to hold back sobs in front of her friends. The scene both pained Shirabe’s heart, yet it also warmed it, seeing Kirika in a rare moment of true happiness.

“I think Kiri... Created a fake memory...”

Shirabe’s heart twisted as she said her thought out loud. It hurt–*How long had Kiri been deluding herself and creating false memories? Was there anything I could do to help her?* Thoughts like this echoed throughout Shirabe’s mind in a rush, and she felt a wave of anxiety crash over her.

Now that Shirabe had pointed it out, Miku could see the seams in this memory. Everything–from the pink rug to the three girls sitting atop it, all had a somewhat fuzzy look to it, like details had been smudged out. It wasn’t like in Carol’s dream, where Tiky had been entirely erased; it was as if Kirika had subconsciously taken bits and pieces from both her experiences and her fantasies and hastily taped them together.

Miku slowly crept up to Kirika and looked at her hair, just as Shirabe had done–that’s when she realized what the girl had seen. Kirika’s hair was not single strands, it looked more like a painting: it looked as it should have from a distance, but up-close all of the brush strokes were visible; or, in this case, Kirika’s hair looked to be made up of small blocks that, when put together, looked like her hairstyle, but up-close was more akin to a poorly-fitted jigsaw puzzle.

“Kirika...” She frowned. Like Shirabe, Miku also felt pained at the sight of her friend living in a false happiness, but, for Miku, it was like a knife to the chest.

Her talks with Chris and Kirika had revealed some things about their pasts, but Miku never once opened up about her own. She was scared to–scared to truly acknowledge some of the details of the past that haunted her.

Apparently it was the same for Kirika, but she didn’t even know it.

Would it be ‘helping’ if they broke apart this wall she had built, or would dredging up the truth of Kirika’s life only hurt the girl more than anything? Both Shirabe and Miku silently asked themselves questions like these as they silently watched the world shimmer and fade around them.

A moment later, they were back in the forest, staring at the cliff where Enki and Finé lovingly embraced.

“Did you hear something?”

Suddenly, Enki was on high alert. He pulled away from Finé and immediately began scanning the area. Miku and Shirabe needed to act quick, snapping out of their trances to hide behind a bush. They hoped the blue man had not spotted them–and they received confirmation a moment later when they heard two sets of feet begin crunching over some drying leaves.

“Apologies, O Great Lord.” A female voice spoke up from close to Shirabe and Miku, and they held their breaths so that they would not be caught–not that they needed to breathe in the first place, being a dream. Still, curious, the two tried to peek through the branches before them at the scene playing out.

Enki placed a hand against his chest.

“Lady Prima and Lady Sconosciuta, please do be more careful. You do know that some of our esteemed creator’s kin have disapproved of his actions in the past, yes? We would not want to be separated from our great lord.”

“Apologies, Lady Finé, Great Lord.” The same woman as before said this, but both bowed their heads in apology.

It was hard to make out discernible details of either woman due to the strange hooded robes they wore.

Unlike Finé’s outfit, which exposed a lot of her skin, Lady Prima and Lady Sconosciuta showed as little as possible. Their pure-white dresses extended down to the ground, the tips darkened slightly by the dirt they had tracked through, and they wore long white gloves that looked to extend up into the sleeves of their ensembles. Their faces would likely be their sole identifying traits, but, from Shirabe and Miku’s point of view, all they could see were the white hoods that were pulled up over their heads.

“All is well, Lady Finé, though I do appreciate you taking your role so seriously.” Enki cleared his throat as he turned to face the ladies proper. “Hark, priestesses, I permit you to speak freely with me in this moment. Why have you sought me out?”

“Great Lord Enki, we received a memorandum from some of your kin, the lesser gods. They are urging you to report to the lunar facility for urgent matters. They would not allow us to be privy to any more details.”

“Very well, I have suspicions as to the reasoning behind this summon.” Then, turning to Finé, Enki smiled. “I shall see you again in time, my dear Finé.”

“I shall be waiting, O Great One.” Finé bowed.

Bent over in a respectful bow, all three women silently watched as Enki began to strut away. His stride confident, powerful; he did appear to be worthy of respect of admiration.

“But a ‘god’...?” Miku whispered, shaking her head disapprovingly.

Once Enki was out of earshot, Finé rose up.

“Now then, please do not tell anyone about my... privileges.” Finé smiled cruelly. “As much as I do appreciate that report from you, Prima, I wouldn’t approve of any rumours about me–especially ones that aren’t true, understand?”

“Yes ma’am! Understood.” The one closer to Shirabe and Miku’s position–Prima, apparently–flinched in shock.

“And, one more thing...” Finé out-stretched a finger. “Sconosciuta? For what purpose did you bring her along?”

“She came of her own accord, Lady Finé.” Prima announced, composing herself by bringing a fist to her chest and breathing deeply. “She insisted, being that she was there when I received the message.”

“I see.” Finé furrowed her brow. “Still, it is quite surprising to see her in such a docile–and quiet–state.”

“I’m only respectful around those whom I respect, Finé. Surely I have made myself clear on that point before, no? Why would I show respect to you, then?”

Both Shirabe and Miku’s eyes widened at the remark. Finé, on the other hand, tried desperately to stifle her growing anger that was evident by one of her eyes twitching. Still, the priestess’s cruel smile did not waver.

Prima, however, was far less calm about the situation, and had taken to trying to babble out excuses and apologies to Finé and clumsy reprimands to Sconosciuta; the two other women had taken to staring silently at each other, however, completely ignoring Prima’s existence.

“As always, your attitude is incredible.” Finé eventually shook her head with a sigh. “To think that you were chosen to be one of us few leaders of the Lulu Amel, despite your...”

“Unique circumstances?” Sconosciuta interrupted. “I think it goes to show just how kind and caring the great lord is.”

“I’ll never understand why he chose the creation of some lesser god to serve him directly.” Finé frowned. “But you do seem to grasp his incredible qualities–”

“–Though not as much as you, evidently.” Sconosciuta cut in quickly.

“Correct, for none other...” Finé closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. “With every fibre of my being: I truly do loathe you.”

“The feeling, Lady Finé, is mutual, I assure you.” Taking on a relaxed pose, Sconosciuta then turned away from Finé and began looking around the forest. “Say, Prima, what do you say you and I collect some fruits? Surely our great lord will be holding a lovely banquet before he leaves, as he tends to.”

Finally calming down at those words, Prima stopped flustering about and nodded.

Finé shook her head once more.

“You really are a strange one.”

“If I had my memories, I’m sure I’d be able to say definitively that I’ve been referred to as worse... And this heat definitely is not helping the case.”

At that, Sconosciuta began lowering her hood. “Aren’t you warm as well, Prima? We must only wear these hoods in the presence of our lord, so we can at least lower them while we scavenge, yes?”

Prima nodded, then she too reached up to pull off the white hood that had been obscuring her face.

The faces that Miku and Shirabe watched reveal themselves to the setting sun caused the two girls to gasp.

Lady Prima, with short hair that was a familiar lavender-tinted silver colour, looked very similar to a shared acquaintance of theirs–and for a reason Miku was almost certain of. Barring the change in hair length, the woman was a spitting image of someone that Miku saw frequently, albeit only in framed pictures: Chris’s mother, world-renowned singer Sonnet M. Yukine.

What shocked the girls even more, however, was the identity of the other woman. The woman’s voice was familiar, and the two girls had recognized it right away, but seeing the figure standing before them directly was another thing.

“Is that...!?” Shirabe whisper-shouted, turning to look at Miku as she did so. Both wore the same wide-eyed expression of surprise, clearly not having expected to see *her* there.

The lady referred to as Sconosciuta had longer hair than they knew her to have, and a part that hung down over one of her eyes had turned a ghastly white. She looked a little older than in reality, and a scar ran across one of her cheeks, but it was undoubtedly her.

Miku nodded.

“That’s definitely Kanade.”

~ ~ ~

“Okay. Now we have two big questions.” Miku held up two fingers.

After some time had passed, and the dream shifted several more times, Shirabe and Miku began to deliberate on their current situation. Crouched in the corner of Kirika’s party–which seemed to repeat endlessly, looping after a certain point–the two girls tried to avert their gaze from the girl who looked so happy for fake reasons.

“The first: how do we go about helping Kirika? Would it be best to let her live in her delusions, or should we snap her back to reality? And which would wake her up?” Miku paused for a moment, then continued. “Second: what is Kanade doing in Finé’s dream? Was this an actual memory, or was Kanade–and Chris’s mom–inserted in place of someone else whose face she had actually forgotten?”

“I think that was a real memory.” Shirabe answered immediately, to which Miku agreed with a nod. “Her change in appearance was too specific. I think Kanade–or maybe her ancestor–was actually there... somehow.”

“She said she didn’t remember where she came from. Somehow, she must have travelled through time...” Miku put a hand to her head. “Which, despite all that has happened, still seems too weird to be true.”

This caused a blanket of silence to drape over Shirabe and Miku for just long enough for the scenery to shift back to Finé’s sunset cliff. Kanade and Chris’s mother (Sonnet M. Yukine)–or whoever resembled them–were nowhere to be seen, but their voices soft in the distance.

“And Kiri...” Shirabe muttered quietly.

“She should be our main priority.” Shirabe looked up as Miku said that. “Maybe what we should do is try to take a look at her memories, see what she wanted to repress–if we can.”

“But how?”

“When I was in Carol’s dream, there was an invisible pedestal for a fifth Autoscorer that served as a ‘crack’ for a fake memory. Maybe Kirika’s fantasy would have something similar.” Miku purposefully left off that, in Carol’s dream at least, she needed to destroy said crack in order to move on. “But these weird shifts between Kirika and Finé’s dreams are going to make that difficult.”

Almost on cue, the world around them wavered once more, and the two girls were back in the room where Kirika, Shirabe, and Maria were happily sitting around a table.

“Invisible, huh?” Shirabe mused.

Without saying another word, Shirabe silently strode towards Kirika. Of course, as before, the golden-haired girl did not react, instead just chatting with her friends as normal. Even when the invading Shirabe leaned in front of her face, Kirika did not react–Miku understood why, but still found it a bit odd to see.

“Her band.” Shirabe plucked at Kirika’s hair. “Her hair... thing. The X. She is wearing it, just like she always has.”

Miku smiled. “I should have known you’d be able to find it quickly.”

“No one knows Kiri as well as I do.” Shirabe smiled back. Her smile quickly faded as a question popped into her mind: “Now what? Should I just... pull it open?”

“Well...” Miku looked away.

Shirabe did as she suggested, though, and put her hand against Kirika’s head–and then through it, like Kirika was merely a hologram. This frightened both girls, and Shirabe quickly reeled back in surprise.

“Oh. I guess you should just pull it open, then?” Miku gasped, not really paying attention to her own words.

Shirabe nodded, then put her hands into Kirika’s head again. This time, she didn’t panic. Then, with a faint whisper–” Sorry Kiri”–Shirabe pulled the fabric of this false reality apart, creating a jet-black hole in space.

“I wonder where this goes?” Shirabe asked, stepping back away from the black hole.

“One way to find out.” Miku smiled, patting the smaller girl on the shoulder.

With a confident nod, Shirabe returned her smile, and the two girls jumped head-first through the tear in the dream. As the zipper in space closed up behind them, they just happened to hear the faint sounds of that fake memory beginning a loop again.

#### AXZ Chapter 30

 The ground beneath the feet of the girl was hard and uncomfortable, though not in an artificial way. She stood with unsteady feet on tiles carved out of stone and embedded within the ground; a small plaza, with the beautiful blue sky above her. The sun shone down, a giant orb radiating a rich gold not unlike the hair of one of the three women who stood not too far away, burning the Earth with a beautiful light of life.
Standing amidst the wooden buildings were cool stones with lights cutting through them, something that reminded this girl of the architecture of the giant spaceship known as Frontier. A variety of people moved to-and-fro between these buildings. Some seemed busy, carrying crates or burlap sacs, while others seemed to be milling about lazily. Three figures stood out to the girl, partially because one was very familiar to her–though not for positive reasons.
Not seeing her companion, this small girl–Shirabe Tsukuyomi–began to slowly walk towards this figure. Uncomfortable as it may be, the form of Finé was the only thing familiar in this village that looked both primitive and futuristic; though the two women she was conversing with were complete strangers.

 “Lady Finé, things have certainly become quite lively since the Almighty Creators began bestowing Gifts upon some fortunate individuals. Is there any chance that you could put in a word for some of us tailors?” One of the ladies smiled slyly, a mischievous glint in her eye as she curled up to Finé.
The golden-haired woman smirked. Unlike the playful look that the woman had, the priestess’s expression was cruel, and a dark cloud crossed behind her eyes as she brought two fingers up to her lips.
“Surely, you could make a formal request to our illustrious creators yourself, no? To waste some of their precious time with a request they may find offensive?” The priestess’s words caused the woman to shrink bad, pouting comically.
The third woman shook her head knowingly, as if she were expecting that answer from Finé. She looked as though she was going to chew out her friend as she opened her mouth, then instead turned in the direction of Shirabe. Forgetting to hide, the fact that their eyes briefly met sent a wave of panic through the girl’s heart–one that settled quickly as a newcomer walked quite literally through her and towards the trio.

 The newcomer had short, wild black hair that barely passed her ears. Somewhat befitting her large and muscular frame, a large scar ran across one of her cheeks, but none of these traits were the most notable part of this woman’s figure.
What stood out to Shirabe most was the giant green scythe this woman carried, matching this woman’s emerald eyes. Though not identical in shape, the scythe suspiciously looked familiar–it looked very close to the Armed Gear that Kirika would wield while donning Igalima.
“So that would mean that is the original Igalima?” Shirabe awed.
“Ah, speaking of those who had been bestowed Gifts.” The third woman said, cutting through Shirabe’s thoughts as this scythe-wielding newcomer approached. “I must say, Chief Igalima, your form is quite striking with the Gift that Lady Zababa bestowed you.”
The newcomer–Chief Igalima, apparently, confirming Shirabe’s thought–shook her head, her short and wild black hair waving frantically; Shirabe detected a hint of anger in her movement, and, from the slight change in her expression, Finé did as well.
“Are you not grateful for the Gift that Lady Zababa bestowed upon you, one of her beloved creations?” Finé eyed Chief Igalima suspiciously. “You seem distressed.”
“No, it’s not that. I am quite grateful for the opportunity that my beloved creator gave me, to lead the gardeners with this Gift of Farming.” Chief Igalima frowned. “It’s in regards to my sisters.”
“Ah, how are the twins doing lately? I have not seen them since Lady Zababa bestowed Gifts upon the two of them, as well.” The third woman asked this question, cutting off the other unknown woman whose expression brightened in Chief Igalima’s presence.
In complete contrast, Chief Igalima’s expression only grew grimmer as time passed.
“Both Shul and Shagana were chosen to assist Lady Mephorash in repairing Torinoiwakusufune no Kami.” Igalima sighed, dropping news that even shocked Finé.
“Oh, I can see now why you’re a little frustrated, knowing your younger siblings were chosen over you.” The third woman muttered.
“You must not be too distressed, however.” Finé spoke up. “The fact that you had been given a Gift shows just how much Lady Zababa treasures you and your skills. Furthermore, despite your physical prowess, your job is irreplaceable and among the most important professions in the village.”
“Yeah, I know you’re right Lady Finé, but–”
Finally, it was about time for the second woman to speak up, interrupting Chief Igalima as stars shone in her eyes: “If you want someone to praise you, to make you feel special, then surely you wouldn’t mind having some private time with a certain someone.”
Chief Igalima chuckled happily at this comment. “Yeah, maybe you’re right. Perhaps you would like to accompany me in my lodge tonight? We’ve been having a lot of trouble in the fields considering those creatures.”

 “I wonder why I’m in this memory...?” Shirabe muttered to herself, beginning to tune out this seemingly-mundane conversation. “If I’m deeper in Kiri’s subconscious, then does that mean Finé want to repress this memory?”
As she turned around, Shirabe’s eyes lit up. Walking towards her was a very familiar figure, carrying an equally-as-familiar object: Kanade Amou (or Lady Sconosciuta in this time) was walking towards Finé, Chief Igalima, and the other two women, a giant golden weapon perched over one shoulder.
“I hear you folks are talking about some pesky little critters.” Kanade chuckled loudly as she neared the growing party. “Well I’m here to tell you that I’ve just been put in charge of forming a unit to deal with them.”
“Oh, Lady Sconosciuta. Is that–?” The woman who had tried to ‘get close’ to Chief Igalima turned her attention to the orange-haired woman.
“Sure is! A new Gift, straight from Master Odin. He asked me to put together a small little force to tend to the fields, and help defend it from those small little creatures that keep trying to steal crops.” Kanade smiled. “Say hello to... a spear, thing.”
“It doesn’t have a name?” Finé asked, incredulous.
“Most of the Gifts are named after those who received them, but Master Odin asked me to bestow a name on this one. I just... haven’t decided on one yet.”
“Do you have any ideas? For who you’ll be giving the Gift to?” Chief Igalima asked.
“Or in regards to the name of this Gift?” The other woman asked.
“I’ve got a few candidates for the former, but only one real idea for the latter.” Kanade held out the giant spear in her hands, showing it off to the others. A ray of sunlight hit the weapon, causing it to sparkle as if it was a gift from the heavens–which, in a way, it was.
Kanade smiled. “I’m thinking... Gungnir. There’s something nostalgic about that name for me.”
“You remember something, then?” Finé asked. “No, if you had then I’m sure you would have told us the name of the one who created you, at the very least.”
Kanade shrugged with a smug smile, then shouldered Gungnir once more, almost as if she were mimicking Chief Igalima’s stance.
“I don’t know why, but the name popped into my head when Master Odin gave it to me. Maybe Gungnir was the name of the one who created me, a forgotten creator?” Kanade shook her head. “Or maybe this guy named himself.”

 Shirabe stepped away from Kanade.
“There has to be a reason why this memory is deeper in Kiri... in Finé’s mind. Maybe...” Shirabe began to look around. “I need to go deeper. I need to find another one of those cracks. And when I do, maybe I’ll find Miku, too.”

. . .

 Miku found herself in a grey room. Blank walls, blank ceiling, and blank floor–everything around her was a blank slate of nothing. Sounds of gunfire echoed around her, coming from the four wide lanes in front of her–or, more specifically, the four figures of various sizes directly in front of her.
Three of the figures holding pistols looked strange; the best way to describe them would be ‘mannequins’. They were featureless, blank toys, though not ‘nude’ as they wore safety goggles and noise-cancelling headphones. If not for the fact that they were moving, Miku would have thought they were actually display figures.
The fourth figure looked familiar to Miku. A young child with light hair stood on a podium, staring dead ahead with vacant eyes. In her hand, like the others, she held a pistol, though it looked far larger in her small hands than it did in the hands of the others. Unlike the strange featureless mannequins, this girl chose not to wear any safety equipment, which contrasted her casual grip on the firearm.

 The girl–a very young Kirika Akatsuki–fired four bullets from her gun in rapid succession, and Miku could only watch in awe. With robotic movements, her hand quickly darted around the space in front of her, adjusting her aim to hit each of the four targets in front of her–also strange white mannequins, though each with targets drawn on their head and torso–with no hesitation.
Miku watched in shock as the four bullets cut through the air and crashed into all of the mannequins, hitting dead-centre on the targets that were drawn on their heads.

 “What was the point of FIS?” Miku wondered aloud, shell-shocked at seeing Kirika’s super-soldier abilities. “What was Finé doing?”
Almost as if she was going to respond to Miku’s question, Kirika slowly put the gun down on the counter in front of her and turned around to face her friend. Miku stared deep into Kirika’s hollow green eyes, looking at her completely-emotionless face. She looked like a stranger; like a robot. The lack of her X-shaped hair accessory, too, made Kirika look even more different.
As the sounds of gunshots around her ceased, Miku realized she had not been paying attention to anything else–specifically, she had not noticed that three scientists had entered the room, and all of the shooters were now trembling under their gazes.
Except for Kirika, who remained still and empty.
When the three scientists reached Kirika, one stepped forwards.
“Kirika Akatsuki.” The scientist who stepped towards Kirika read her name off of a clipboard. Then, looking up, “Her compatibility levels with Igalima were the highest among the test subjects.”
“This girl?” One of the scientists who stayed back looked sceptical. “You do realize many of us refer to her as a corpse? How did she manage to achieve the best results when many of us have never even heard her make even a squeak?”
The third scientist stepped up. He had a confident stride, and Miku cringed in disgust at the voice that emanated from his mouth when he spoke.
“It would be best not to question relics and their power.” The scientist with the voice of Adam Weishaupt announced.
“Indeed.” The first scientist agreed with a nod. “What is important is that Igalima reacted to this subject’s heart, which makes her a necessary test subject for our research.”

 The scientist bent down to match Kirika’s height, and put his hand into one of the pockets of his white lab coat. He pulled something out, and then reached with gentle hands up to Kirika’s head.
“There.” The scientist stood up and backed away from the girl, who now had her trademark X band standing out against her golden hair. “That is all ten now, correct?”
“The ten girls whose compatibility levels were highest have been marked for our clarity.” Adam nodded. Then, glancing down at his clipboard, he gave a small chuckle. “Though it’s not like any of the other girls are as necessary as this one.”
“It’s good to have backups, just in case.” The first doctor scowled. “Even if her levels were more than double that of the second-highest girl, you can never be too careful. Especially considering we’re dealing with her potential future vessels.”
“And our future playthings.” The second doctor smirked.
“Right you are!” Adam laughed.
Miku felt grossed out by the man’s comment. She assumed–hoped–that he meant ‘playthings’ as in ‘test subjects’ and not...

 “Now, then,” The first doctor returned his attention to Kirika, who was still staring with a blank, emotionless expression straight-forwards. “Kirika Akatsuki, you wish to be useful to us, do you not?”
For the first time, Kirika reacted to the doctor’s words. With a slow nod, she repeated “Useful” in a quiet mutter, leaving the second doctor shocked.
“She can speak? So she does understand English...” The second doctor almost staggered backwards in utter amazement, though the other doctor and Adam remained stoic.
Instead of reacting in shock, the first doctor held out his hand. Palm-up, it looked as though he was showing Kirika something, though nothing sat atop his pale skin; Miku knew that, whatever she was being shown, it must have become the ‘crack’ in this memory that she could use to get deeper.
“Take this, girl. We require your assistance further.” Adam cracked a cruel smile. “You truly will become useful to us if you do.”

 “Useful.” Kirika muttered again, reaching towards the doctor’s hand.
Miku did the same, her hand moving slowly towards what she assumed must have been the Igalima Symphogear. When the tips of her fingers reached the doctor’s palm, she watched as her digits went through his skin, and then through the very fabric of space itself.

. . .

 The rays of the newly-risen sun began to peek in through some of the holes in the building that was falling apart around Elsa, rustling the wolf girl out of the best sleep she had ever had in her life; this wasn’t so much praise for the position she fell asleep in, rather a reflection of how poor her life had been.
When Elsa realized she had been asleep, a trail of drool dripping from her fanged mouth, she flailed about in panic.
“I fell asleep, de arimasu?”
It took her a few seconds to gain her composure, which she found when her eyes fell upon the girl sitting across the room, staring at the ceiling.
“Good morning.” Serena Cadenzavna Eve said. Her tone, just like her eyes, was vacant, emotionless.
“Oh, uh.” Elsa stood up. “Good morning, de arimasu. When did I fall asleep?”
“About five hours ago.” Serena said.
As the words left her mouth, she slowly turned to Elsa. The wolf girl watched the girl across from her, whose robotic movements were just as hollow and inhuman as her teal eyes.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said before–that I smell like rotten meat.”
“Oh.” Elsa looked down. “If that’s been–”
“It doesn’t bother me. It’s just made me wonder... what if the loss of my emotions wasn’t the only side effect of the Rod of Asclepius?”
“The... what, de arimasu?” Elsa was confused. The Illuminati–or, rather, Saint-Germain and her gang–had given her, Vanessa, and Millaarc brief introductions to their enemies, but she had not heard anything about this rod.
“The Rod of Asclepius brought me back to life, just like it did Miku and Shirabe.”
“Wait... But if that’s the case, why don’t they smell like rotten meat, de arimasu?” Elsa looked over at two of the girls sleeping not too far away from her, then brought her hand to her chin. “I wonder if bringing the dead back to life truly is the power of that rod, de arimasu...”
Serena tilted her head. Out of the corner of her eye, Elsa saw the light–perhaps false light–return to her eyes, bringing some sort of humanity back to this girl’s appearance.
“What do you mean?”
“Where is this rod now?”
Serena tapped her temple. “I think... Carol destroyed it?”
“A fragment of a relic is just as powerful de arimasu.” Elsa recalled something Vanessa had told her before. “But its effects may just be different than what the Custodians intended. Maybe instead of raising the dead, it did something else de arimasu...”

#### AXZ Chapter 31

 When Miku stepped through the darkness, what greeted her was a familiar face–and, as their eyes blinked in recognition, someone who could actually see her.
“Are you...?” Miku began to ask, before shaking her head. “No, of course you’re the real Shirabe. No one else has been able to see me yet.”
“Then you’re the real Miku, too.” Shirabe nodded. “Did you get pulled into a memory too?”
“Yeah. Kirika was at a firing range, and some doctors handed her Igalima. What... Was FIS training child soldiers?”
Shirabe’s eyes opened wide in shock at the mention of a firing range. “I... they had that?”
“You didn’t know?” Now it was Miku’s turn to be confused. She had assumed that she, Kirika, Maria, and Serena had had fairly similar upbringings–or, at the very least, similar times at FIS. But, with this revelation...
Miku shook her head. “What did you see?”
“Finé. They were talking about relics, but...” Shirabe pursed her lips, giving a moment of pause. “I’ll tell you after. We need to focus on Kiri now.”
“Right.” Miku turned away from Shirabe and towards–
“But where is she? Why are we in another empty room?”

 The two girls had returned to the large white room they had been in earlier–although it wasn’t exactly the same as before. Though still a sterile laboratory that was very familiar to Shirabe, the scenery was... decrepit.
Some of the lights in the ceiling were flickering, while others had died out. In the shadows that now danced through the room, both Miku and Shirabe could see cobwebs hanging between the walls, floor, and ground. The paint on the walls had also begun peeling away in places, and some of the tiles on the ground were crusted crusted and misaligned.
It looked as though the room had been abandoned for some time.
“Miku... Are we really helping Kiri?” Shirabe asked the girl beside her.
“Well,” Miku sucked in a breath. She didn’t know for certain whether they were actually doing the right thing–or if Miku had actually learned anything useful about Finé.
But, she was certain of one thing: “Kirika’s not awake yet, right?”
Shirabe nodded. “I guess... yeah.” Then she nodded again, a determination burning in her eyes. “Yeah. Kiri’s not awake. We need to save her.”

 Miku now looked at the room before her again, and realized something very important: “But first we need to get out of this room.”
There was no door.
Effectively, they were trapped.
“Maybe...” Shirabe whispered. “The door’s just invisible?”
Shirabe began to walk towards the wall... and continued to do so until she smacked into it. Bouncing back and recoiling in pain, Shirabe frantically fumbled about, rubbing the wall to see if there actually was a door there.
There was not.
Eventually, Shirabe admitted defeat with a sigh, and stepped back.

 “Maybe... we need to do something?” Miku looked around. “This is a dream. Maybe we have to... be Kirika? Do what Kirika would have done here?”
Without a second of hesitation, Shirabe slapped both of her hands onto the sides of her head. In the loudest voice she could muster, Shirabe tried her best to mimic Kirika’s voice (and doing a very poor job) and screamed out: “There’s no door here, death!”
The sight of Shirabe doing something so out of character made Miku chuckle.
“That didn’t work.” Shirabe coolly ignored Miku’s amused look, shifting back into her more subdued tone in an instant.
“What if we had to do what Kirika would have done back then?”
“Back then...?” Shirabe tilted her head.
“When she was a child... Before she met you.”
Shirabe was quiet.
“I... don’t know what Kiri was like back then...” Shirabe whispered after a few moments.

 But Miku did–a little, anyway. Based on what Kirika had told Miku, and what she had just seen, she had some vague ideas for what a young Kirika Akatsuki would do.
“What Kirika would do... is...” Miku slowly backed up into the wall, then slid down it onto the ground.
Kirika in that past memory had been empty. The girl’s movements were robotic, her eyes vacant. So... maybe...
Miku went completely slack and stared at the floor in front of her.
When nothing happened, Miku had another idea: “Death...” The girl whispered, barely a breath.
What happened next startled the two girls: Kirika appeared beside Miku, in a very similar pose.

 Kirika clutched a knife, and she absentmindedly stabbed it over and over into a white mannequin’s head.
“Death.” Kirika muttered.
Slit. The knife sunk into the mannequin’s head, then slid out.
“Death.” Kirika repeated.
Slit.
“Death.”
“Kiri...?” Shirabe hurriedly ran over to Kirika. “Kiri, it’s me!”
“Death.” Kirika completely ignored her. Seeing this, Miku decided to test something out–she put her hand out and tried to touch Kirika, only for her fingers to go right through the blonde-haired girl.
“We’re just witnessing another memory...” Miku sadly said, watching Kirika continue her monotonous task of murdering a mannequin over and over.
“Kiri...” Shirabe muttered.

 The two black-haired girls watched Kirika for a few moments in silence, just taking in the girl’s robotic act. She’d repeat the single word, then–slit–the knife would stab into the toy head, then be pulled straight out.
Miku came to quickly realize that, even without looking at the mannequin, Kirika was stabbing the exact same spot over and over: right in-between the eyes. Whether or not this was merely an inaccuracy from it being a memory or dream was something Miku didn’t know, but considering her insane aiming skills from earlier, Miku had a hunch that this was just as it had played out in reality.
Wait.
“Where did this mannequin come from?” Miku asked Shirabe.
The twin-tailed girl instantly gave an answer: “We used mannequins as training dummies, when we were first using our gears...”
“Death.” Kirika repeated again.
“But the ones we used were painted to look like Noise. They weren’t just...”
Hearing that, Miku immediately snapped into action. Rolling over, and through Kirika, she then slammed her hand into the mannequin’s head.
The world then shattered around them–the design of the mannequin was the ‘crack’.
And they were about to find out why.

. . .

 In a bed, somewhere far away from the home where Serena and Elsa sat, a girl laid facing the cold metallic ceiling above her. There was a scorching pain radiating in her chest, and it felt like she was being suffocated.
The girl couldn’t help but cough. An echoing exhalation exploded out of the girl’s very heart, sending a stabbing pain through the girl’s mind. She sat up, and covered her mouth, only to recoil when she felt something wet splat against her palm.
“Something’s... not right...” The girl moaned, bringing her crimson-stained fist to her chest.

. . .

 Miku and Shirabe stood in a bright white room, one much like most of the other rooms in the labyrinth of FIS laboratories. This one was larger than the others, though you could not tell from the giant walls that extended up high above their heads–yet not the entire way to the ceiling.
If you looked at the room from above, you would see a giant maze within those walls, but Miku and Shirabe–who stood on the ground–were instead focused entirely on the group of doctors that surrounded one small girl.
The girl with the sparkling blonde hair wore metallic cuffs on her hands, as if she were a convict on death’s row. She looked straight-ahead, a knife clutched tight in one of the fists that were chained up in front of her.
Kirika was kneeling on the ground, and one of the doctors around her–the one Miku recognized as Adam Weishaupt’s disguise–had a hand on her shoulder, and the other was ready to inject her with a large syringe.
“Inject her.” One of the other doctors ordered, and Adam did just as he was intended.
Slowly, he pushed the liquid in the vial, which looked almost neon and sparkling, into Kirika’s arm. Almost immediately, Kirika began to do something Miku had not seen her do yet within her dreams: emote.
Kirika began to let out a bloodcurdling scream. Pain flooded the girl’s body–it was clear from the way her body began to shake and convulse. Kirika slammed the tip of the knife she was holding onto the ground, letting out a metallic cling.
Miku and Shirabe gasped at what they saw–at the bright blue lines beginning to course up through Kirika’s body. The blonde-haired girl turned her head towards the ceiling as she screamed again, and the two girls behind her could see her eyes were completely green voids.
At that sight, many of the doctors scrambled away; only Adam remained by her side.
“Now.” One of the hiding men commented, and Adam kicked Kirika’s hands, knocking the cuffs off and onto the ground. The metallic dark grey bracelets tumbled down against the ground with a light jingle, having only been a short distance from the earth...

 ...but by the time the handcuffs hit the ground, Kirika was nowhere in sight.

 The second the cuffs had been taken off, Kirika had dashed into the opening of the maze with a feral cry. Miku and Shirabe didn’t know what was happening on the inside of the maze, but they looked at each other in horror when the sounds of gunshots and the clanging of metal rang out from the structure in front of them... for all of what seemed like three seconds, before there was a loud explosion. Then, contrasting all of the noise that had filled the room, a cheerful chime went off.
“Two point oh-four-five seconds.” One doctor acknowledged. “A new record.”
“Bring up the footage. Slowed, of course.” Another ordered, a hand pressed against an earpiece he wore. At that comment, all of the doctors turned their attention towards Shirabe and Miku–or, rather, the large screen on the large wall behind them. The two girls followed.

 The screen showed Kirika dash into the maze, her eyes closed. Without a hint of hesitation in her steps, the girl dashed forwards down a hallway, using her knife to cut through all of the different mannequins–which were painted vibrant colours not unlike the Noise–that popped out of the walls around her.
All the while, she did not use her sense of sight–and continued to keep her mouth open wide as she presumably let out a feral scream.
Turning down one hallway, Kirika finally opened her eyes just as a bullet entered the footage, but Kirika deftly deflected one of the projectiles that came closest to her with only a quick flick of her wrist, bouncing it off of the silver knife.
As the rain of bullets kept coming, Kirika jumped down a side hallway and then blindly tossed her knife down the hallway. A moment later, the footage cut out, and then shifted to another camera.
“That was the explosion.” Miku remarked in awe.
The footage continued, showing Kirika dashing through the ruined hallway, now stained with soot and debris, halting for half of a moment to collect her knife as she passed it. Continuing on, she hopped quickly around one last corner and then slammed her hand on a button, just as the glowing lines on her body began to fade.
“Her reaction time is impressive, but it could be better.” Adam remarked. Some of the doctors around him nodded in agreement.
Another doctor spoke up from beside him next. “I wonder if it is a mental barricade preventing her from reaching her full potential. Our serum should turn her into the perfect super-soldier, the perfect... vessel for Finé. The numbers are perfect–so there must be some biological or mental aspect here we have yet to consider.”
Adam cracked a smile. “Perhaps you are on to something... I have an idea.”

 The world around Miku and Shirabe seemed to waver, and then the memory began to seemingly loop.
In front of the two girls, Kirika was kneeling on the ground, a crowd of doctors looking down on her. A knife was clutched in one fist, and metallic cuffs locked her hands in front of her. Miku did notice one significant difference though, one thing that told her this was a different attempt: Adam was missing.
“Come on. We’re going to follow her this time.” Miku ordered, and began walking towards Kirika and the group of men. Shirabe, with a timid gaze that never drifted away from Kirika, hesitated for a second before scuttling after her friend.
As Miku and Shirabe neared Kirika, one of the doctors began addressing the blonde child. Placing a needle next to Kirika’s arm, he explained the trial that the girl was now about to partake in.
“Your goal this time is to eliminate all targets. The buzzer will sound once all have been defeated, and you will then need to hit the end button. Understood?”
Kirika slowly nodded. The doctor just grunted an acknowledgement; he was, evidently, far more matter-of-fact than Adam.
The man slowly began injecting the neon liquid into Kirika’s body, and both of the ghostly girls tensed up–they were not ready to see the horrifying reaction Kirika would have. However, this time, something much different happened.
Instead of colourful lines cutting their way through Kirika’s skin, her body seemed to change colour entirely. No, it wasn’t just the colour–it looked like Kirika was being eaten by something. The vial was transforming her body into something both Shirabe and Miku recognized well. They gasped–just as the scientists, too, gave many different reactions.
“You fool! The dosage-” One doctor yelled at the man who had injected Kirika, who now scurried back with an annoyed look on his face.
“Was exactly the same as previously! Everything is as it should be!”
“What in the world?” While the man with the syringe argued with another doctor, the others wore looks of confusion or fear.
“This reaction is beyond what we expected.”
“Do you suppose,” One doctor rose his hand, “Perhaps the serum takes longer than we previously believed to fully exit the bloodstream. Or, maybe, the serum never does?”

 But as the doctors conversed in chaos, Miku and Shirabe were completely enraptured by the horrors of Kirika. Her legs were being swallowed up in shining neon, becoming a bright orange colour that began to burn away parts of Kirika’s pants. The girl’s entire body spasmed, her mouth releasing a blood-curdling cry that sounded more like a beast’s roar than even a cry of pain.
Kirika Akatsuki was transforming into a Noise–or, at least, that’s how it looked.
Miku and Shirabe were terrified. Kirika’s eyes flashed a light green, like two lime-coloured flashlights peeking out from beneath her flesh, and she keeled over. For the first time since she had been injected, she stopped screaming–if just for a brief second, as she immediately vomited up blood.
“Someone call a cleaner.” A doctor called out as the crimson liquid stained the white floor.
“Forget that.” Another doctor cried. “Let us conduct the trial first.”
“Right... Right!”
The doctor pulled out a remote and pressed a button on it, breaking off the cuffs that Kirika had been wearing. Like before, the metallic bands fell to the ground, but Kirika had already disappeared before the metallic echo resounded out through the room.
“Let’s go!” Miku called out to Shirabe, and ran through the wall in front of her.
“Kiri... I hope she’s okay...”
“This is the past. We know she survives this.” Miku pursed her lips. *But I don’t know if that means she is necessarily **fine**.*
Miku knew it was somewhat cold to brush off Shirabe’s worries, but she didn’t know what else to say on the subject.

 As Miku and Shirabe passed through white wall after white wall, they heard the sounds of footsteps echoing out through the labyrinth around them. Every so often, the monotonous pat-pattering of Kirika’s bare, potentially-now-Noise-esque feet were punctuated by the sound of a thud, and the musings of the doctors back at the entryway still conversing.
“Where is she?” Miku scowled. “No... wait. Let’s find that button. We can wait for Kirika at the end.”
Shirabe, again, said nothing. Completely docile, the smaller girl merely followed behind Miku silently, worry deep within her eyes.
It took the girls merely a few steps to enter what appeared to be the centre of the maze: a large empty chamber with a red button on a pedestal in the middle. It looked... too open. Compared to the thin hallways of the rest of the maze, some of which weren’t even wide enough for Miku to extend one arm out to her side.
“What’s that?” Shirabe asked, and Miku followed her gaze. “A box?”
Sure enough, suspended above the maze was a metallic crate. It was not too high above the top of the walls, but it’s light colouration and positioning in the maze made it impossible to see from the outside.
“Was that here before?” Miku wondered aloud... then looked down at the room again. “They certainly weren’t!”
Two training dummies now sat in the middle of the room, flanking the button. In the brief moment that their eyes had been diverted away, Miku and Shirabe missed these two objects appear–or, perhaps, they only now ‘loaded in’ as part of Kirika’s memory.
Miku thought the latter was more probable as–
“She’s coming.” Shirabe muttered.
The footsteps were quick, light... and approaching at a high speed. And then they were upon them–but Shirabe and Miku didn’t even realize it until afterwards.
They heard Kirika’s footsteps as she dashed towards them, then watched as the two training dummies’ heads fell to the ground in a flash–which caused a buzzer to sound through the room. Kirika only appeared once she had stopped a second later as her hand slammed down on the red button.
“... Complete...” Kirika gasped, putting her hands on her knees, watching the podium with the button sink into the ground.
She was breathing heavily, her body trembling slightly. Sweat caked her forehead and her clothing was damp, but she no longer looked too much like a Noise–though Miku noticed the tips of her toes and fingers were both still shining neon.
“Kiri...” Shirabe stepped forwards... then stopped.

 “Congratulations. However, the test is not yet complete. You wish to be useful to us, do you not?”
Kirika’s eyes snapped up at that comment. A fire of dedication burned within her vacant and robotic expression as she focused her attention on the source of the voice: the crate that suspended above her.
“Useful.” Kirika whispered.
“Now, then.” The undeniable voice of Dr. Stinson–Adam Weishaupt’s disguise–cried out once more from above. “Defeat this new enemy.”
With that declaration, the box fell from the sky.
Kirika dashed away as it crashed down onto the spot where she had just been standing, shattering apart as it collided on top of where the button had sunken into. The metallic crate was designed to fall apart at its seams, leaving five large plates scattered around the area.
Shirabe instinctively put her hands up to protect herself from the incoming pieces of the box that flew towards her and Miku, but the latter girl just watched Kirika with curiosity as the metal flew through–and past–her.
“What?”
The ‘new enemy’ that Adam had hyped up was just another training dummy. The only difference that Miku could see right away was the fact that it held a knife in one of its hands.

 Kirika did not hesitate. Once the dummy was visible to her, she began her attack with robotic movements. She barely adjusted her pace as she leapt up onto one of the fallen pieces of the metallic crate, and then off it as she needed to transition to the one that the dummy stood on.
“Useful.” Kirika muttered under her breath–so quiet that Miku and Shirabe knew they shouldn’t have heard it from their position, realistically.
The blonde-haired girl darted straight at the dummy, her knife in hand, and then thrust her knife out at her target...
... Who dodged.

 “What!?” Miku and Shirabe both gasped in surprise.
Kirika was, however, completely undeterred. Adjusting her stance, she spun around, slicing behind her with her knife. This time, the knife clipped the dummy’s arm slightly leaving a small mark. Miku and Shirabe gasped again.
“Stinson, you fool!” A doctor called out over the loudspeaker. “What were you thinking!?”
The dummy jumped back on some apparent reflex. It did not try to attack Kirika, it merely played a defensive role in this fight. Still, it was holding its own. Every time Kirika slashed with her knife, the dummy either blocked it with its own or ducked out of the way.
Kirika did not seem annoyed–she showed no expression at all. Her face was blank as she and the dummy danced around the room, Kirika in clear control of their movements as she pushed the dummy around with her attacks.
Eventually, Kirika backed away from the dummy–
“Do you not want to be useful!?” Adam shouted from above as her attacks ceased for a second–
And then Kirika surprised everyone present by kicking one of the heads of the fallen dummies towards her current target. It had been pushed aside from the walls, but managed to get knocked against the wall and bounced to safety.
“Useful.” Kirika repeated once more.
The decapitated head flew at the dummy, and it seemed to react with shock. It clearly didn’t expect a projectile like this, and smacked the head out of the way. As it did, Kirika appeared out from behind it; the dummy’s focus had been entirely on the head, that Kirika had used it to get around to her enemy’s side.
The dummy barely had any time to react to Kirika’s appearance. The decapitated head flew towards Kirika, but she caught it out of the air with her free hand. With her other, she stabbed directly at her foe’s neck–and the dummy too aimed an attack at the arm extending out towards her.
Both girls made contact.
And blood sprayed out across the battlefield.

 “Why... Ki...ri....” The dummy seemed to speak now, and Miku’s suspicions were confirmed.
It wasn’t a real training dummy–it was another human being. Kirika had fought someone, presumably another Receptor Child...
... And killed them.
But Kirika herself did not get away unscathed. The dummy’s–no, the other child’s–knife had slit part of Kirika’s arm, and blood poured out from the fairly-deep gash within her skin. But there was another reason why Miku was surprised at the scene.
Kirika was emoting: her face wasn’t blank, and there was light behind her eyes. She wore a confused look on her face as she looked at the dummy/child that laid before her, a knife stuck within their neck.
“You fool!” One of the doctors yelled again. A loud commotion rang out as the doctors began to react to the results of this trial that they didn’t expect. “Quick, someone! Get a medic!”
“It’s too late.” Another called out.
But Kirika just kept staring at the person in front of her. She took a timid step forwards, towards the dummy, and the world around her foe seemed to waver.
Miku gasped again.
“Sa...tomi...?” Kirika seemed genuinely confused and shocked as she looked at the dying girl that was on the ground in front of her. “I... I did this...?”
Satomi Kubert, the girl who would reappear years later as a Noise, weakly stared up at Kirika. She couldn’t speak, but her lips trembled slightly as if she was attempting to say something. There was no light in her eyes, and only a pained expression on her face.
“Is this... death...?” Kirika asked nobody, watching as the final sparkles of life left the pupils of Satomi Kubert.
“Death?” Kirika repeated.
The red gem hanging around Kirika’s neck began to shine.
“Death...?”
Kirika muttered the word once more, then winced in pain.
“Kiri!”
Shirabe cried out and ran up to her friend, who couldn’t react to her future-friend’s hands as they reached down to try to put pressure on Kirika’s wound. Shirabe had tears in her eyes, and kept repeating Kirika’s name over and over, but Kirika just stared–wholly confused–at the corpse of Satomi Kubert in front of her, one word continuously escaping her lips.
Then she screamed, and a song escaped from her heart.

*Zeios Igalima raizen tron*

 What looked to be towers of gears appeared in Kirika’s back as the Symphogear activated, bathing the girl in light. The blonde-haired girl cried out in shock, and Shirabe flinched back in surprise as well. Kirika looked to be in pain as gears crashed into her, and she let out a scream as darkness overtook her for a moment.
“Kiri!!” Shirabe cried out once more, but by the time she reached her hands out to grab [through] Kirika’s palm, it was over.
Kirika’s gaze landed upon Satomi in front of her, but now her clothing had changed. She wore a black, pointed hat, with a skin-tight jumpsuit and skirt. She looked like a shadow–like the shadow of a fantasy creature. Pointed hat, pointed headphones...
Yet, now that she donned Igalima, Kirika acted just as she had before.
“Death...” She muttered again.

 Miku wasn’t entirely sure how long Kirika stayed there, alone, but soon the crowd of doctors appeared from one direction, and Adam from another.
“Truthfully this wasn’t the result I was expecting.” Adam shrugged. “I hadn’t anticipated she would kill the other girl.”
“Normally you’d be heavily reprimanded for coming up with such a foolish plot,” One of the doctors looked down at Satomi’s body with a sad look on his face before turning towards Kirika, “But you did get results. It may have not been the ideal way to do so, but–”
“But! Now we know that even intense negative emotions may be enough to activate a Symphogear for the first time.” Adam raised a finger. “We previously believed that the body needed to be strained to its limits, just as for the Japanese wielder of Ame no Habakiri. Now, though, we know that mental strain may also be enough. This is an important discovery.”
“He’s right.” One of the doctors shook his head. “As much as I hate to admit it, Stinson does have a point. Though I doubt she’ll be happy about you using sacrificing one of these kids to figure that out.”
“Eh,I’m sure it won’t make much a difference either way. Especially since,” Adam pointed at Kirika, “We now have her. She is shaping up to truly be our greatest creation.”
“What are you talking about? This girl’s useless.” Another doctor spat. At his words, Kirika’s body stiffened up. “All she’s good for is killing. Miss Finé does desire to create for her an army to use either as vessels or to aid in her goals, but she wanted these children to exceed in multiple areas.”
The doctor glared at Kirika, whose hollow gaze returned as soon as she heard the word ‘useless’. “This girl. She’s a heartless goon. All she does is kill. Her athletic prowess is exceptional, but she’s stupid. She’d be useless if Miss Finé doesn’t take over her consciousness.”
Then, the man cracked a smile. “Though, I guess she is a girl at the end of the day. She could always make use of her body, bimbo that she’ll grow up to be.”
“Enough of that.” A different doctor spoke up for the first time. This one was crouched over Satomi’s body, looking at the mostly-intact corpse. “What do we do with this one?”
“Leave her to me.” Adam stepped towards him. “You saw what happened when the girl was injected with the serum, yes? How she began transforming into a Noise? I’m curious to see what would happen if you pump a corpse full of it. Perhaps... you could create half-human, half-Noise beasts who can not be killed.”
“Fine. Have her for your manic experiments. Just don’t do anything that’ll get the rest of us killed.”” The man shook his head and stood up. Then he pointed to the doctor who had called Kirika ‘useless’ before. “And you. Though we were ordered to create the perfect army for her, Finé did not discourage us from creating children with more-specialized talents.”
Out of the corner of his mouth, Adam chuckled. “If anything, this subject has been far more useful than you have ever been.”
“What was that, Stinson?” The doctor stepped up and raised a fist.
“As I said. You’re far more ‘useless’ than this girl.” Adam said calmly. “Between your comments on the females, and the way you worship our boss far more... intimately than we do, it’s clear that you think more with your lower head than that empty skull of yours. It’s truly a miracle you were even chosen to work with us.”
“You... you!” The doctor raised a fist, then lowered it. Then, stomping the ground, the man turned around and began storm off, a scream flying from his throat. “Ugh! Fuck! That asshole!”
“Now.” One of the other doctors turned to Adam. “Now you may be reprimanded.”
“You were all thinking the same thing. Though, truthfully, I don’t blame the man for the way he thinks. I, too, am interested in the subject.” Adam tapped his chin, and dropped his tone to a soft mutter as a Cheshire grin stretched across his curious, and cruel, face. “Reproduction with a powerful girl like her. I wonder if it would be possible for me...”
Miku froze at the comment. Kirika may have not remembered the details clearly, but she was well aware of what would happen later that night.

 “Kiri...” Shirabe muttered, still looking down at her friend. “I’m sorry... I didn’t know you... You never told me...”
“Death... Death... Death...” Kirika began to mutter the single word very quietly. None of the doctors around her seemed to realize–or care–that she was doing it, and kept going about their business. Then, Kirika looked up, almost like she was looking up at Shirabe.
No, she did look up at Shirabe.
Their eyes met, and an echo rang out throughout the memory.

*“And now you’ve seen my everything, death.”*

 Miku and Shirabe leaped back in surprise before turning to look at Kirika.
But she was gone.

*“Please... help me, death!”*

 At that, the world around Shirabe and Miku began to–literally–fall apart.

. . .

 Serena and Elsa looked up in shock at the sudden noise that echoed out throughout the empty room.
“Wha–!?”
“What, de arimasu!?”
Both girls turned their heads towards Kirika’s body, which was now flailing about on the ground as if she were having a seizure. Her eyes were still closed, but her mouth was wide open as she let out an inhuman roar.
A sound like television static escaped Kirika’s mouth, yet so did her own voice–a monotonously, yet clearly pained, cry of “Death” over and over again. Serena and Elsa both didn’t know how to react–Serena didn’t feel surprised or scared or worried, yet she still stood and looked at the girl in complete confusion.
“What’s going on?”
“Stand back. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Serena turned to look at the girl who had just spoken to her–Miku. Climbing to her feet, clearly unsteady and confused as she had to get used to her real body again, she looked up at Kirika. “I think I fucked up.”
“What did you do de arimasu?” Elsa bared her fangs at Miku.
“I got selfish.”
“You got more than selfish.” Shirabe, too, joined the conversation. Unlike Miku, Shirabe had no issue adjusting to her real body again as she pushed herself off the operating table she was laying on–despite the fact that this is the first time she had experienced her new, partially-robotic body.
The girl with twintails glared at Miku. Her eyes were filled with hatred, with pure, unfiltered anger. “You knew this would happen, didn’t you?”
“No. Of course I didn’t know this would happen.” Miku put her hands up in defence. “I just wanted answers to who Finé was...”
“So you put Kiri...?” Shirabe growled. An inferno blazed behind Shirabe’s ruby-red eyes as she stepped towards the golden, one-armed girl. “Do you even care about her!? She’s our friend!”
Miku looked away. *Friend...*
“You’re–”
“Shut up, you two.” Serena put her hand in-between Miku and Shirabe. “What happened in there? What exactly did you do?”
“What I think happened is–” Miku took a step towards Kirika, and reached out towards her.
... And then watched as her golden limb–her sole arm–fell to the ground in a clash. Finé’s pink barrier of energy, Asgard, had blocked her path, slicing right through the body that had been transmuted by Adam.
Miku just stared at her arm in confusion. “I guess that’s karma.”
Now that she had no arms, she turned to look at the others, and sighed. “What I think happened is that we... *I* may have broken Kirika...”

 With her head, she gestured towards her friend who was convulsing in pain. Her eyes were glowing, her limbs twisting about as if they were made of rubber. But, most importantly, her body was beginning to change colour.
“I think that the only thing keeping Kirika... Kirika, was her determination to be useful...” Miku hung her head. “And by reminding her of her failures, of the time that she wasn’t, I...”
Kirika let out a scream, and all four girls jumped back.
The next moment, Kirika disappeared.

 In her place, stood a giant. A large blue beast. It looked like a fridge with two legs... and eight pointed arms. On its back, it had two large blades–the same kind of crescent-shaped blade that Kirika wielded as her Armed Gear. In the beast’s chest was a large, X-shaped golden mark, and in the intersection of these two lines...
“Kiri!”
Kirika, her head low, her eyes closed. She looked peacefully asleep... Barring the fact that only her head was visible. The rest of her body had been encased by the Noise’s... whatever the Noise was made of, and she was enclosed within a dome that resembled a golden version of Asgard.

 Shirabe spat over her shoulder at the golden girl standing there. “You need to realize something, Miku. I know you wanted to learn about Finé, and I did. Sometimes it wouldn’t kill you to be patient.”
Then, turning to look at the girl, she glared over her shoulder. “You’re not the only important one here.”
Miku looked down–mainly at her arm on the ground...
... And then darkness filled her vision.

*H͝á͡-̷͝ha̶͟!̡ ͜͏͘Ì̢t̡́͢ ҉sée̢͘͠ms̀ ̧y̶̶o̧͡ų̶̛ m͝à̀̀y҉̕ ǹ̢o̢͘t̕͡ ̷͟b́é͜ ̷̡i͟͡n҉v͡iǹ̷̕c̶҉i̢b̢l̶̶͠e͡ ͞a҉f́͜͞t͝e͞r͜ ̛͏a̶͠l̡͞l̶̀!̀͞!͘͏̴*

#### AXZ Chapter 32

 It would be difficult to describe the command room of the S.O.N.G. submersible as busy or idle. Elfnein and Stephen sat at a table, their noses buried in large books about humanity’s myths and legends. On the other hand, Tomosato clicked away at her usual terminal, doing research on several screens all at once. And, opposite her, sat her partner in crime, Fujitaka. He had a book resting on his face as he slept sitting up in his chair, an empty thermos laying down on the desk in front of him.
Outside of the clicking of Tomosato’s fingers on keyboards, the room was silent.

 “All these books say the same thing.” Stephen huffed, dropping his chin onto the face of the table. Holding his book out in front of him, Stephen glanced at the green-haired girl sitting across from her, who wore an intensely-focused expression–one that was struggling to hold as her own patience wore thin.
“Whatever the Yggdrasil System is capable of must have been lost to time.” Elfnein surmised, as she wrote notes down on a pad beside her. “Though its name differs depending on culture, the basic principles remain consistent: Yggdrasil exists at the centre of everything, its parts representing different elements of the planet and the realms connected to it. But they all seem to depict the world tree as a living entity, not a sort of artificial system that can control everything.”
Stephen lowered his book, closing his eyes. With a quiet voice, the boy yawned as he spoke: “Computers have roots too. Root directories or whatever, right?”
Tomosato chuckled at that comment, but Elfnein did not react at all. Seeing her focused expression, Stephen decided to take a different approach. Instead of a joke, he leaned back and looked at the webpages that Tomosato was researching–the world trees that exist in the mythologies of different cultures.
One note caught his eye.

 “Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.” Stephen read. “Think that Illuminati guy has any connections?”
“Adam is a fairly com-” Tomosato began to say, only to be quickly interrupted. A bright red light flashed through the room, accompanied by a loud siren–an obnoxious noise that awoke Fujitaka and caused him to fall backwards out of his chair with a surprised yelp.

 “We’ve got trouble!!!” Two voices overlapped from the computer screen in front of them just as a video call started up. The owner of one of these voices–the pink-haired Elsa–added a quiet “de arimasu” with twitching ears, while her accomplice merely feigned surprise while wearing a stern expression.
“Alca-Noise?” Fujitaka slowly pulled himself back up to his chair, collecting the fallen book as he stood up. “Or...?”
“I’m detecting... one Noise signature. And...?” Tomosato tilted her head in confusion, looking up to see the two faces staring down at her.
“Yeah, so...” Serena tilted the camera up, showing the devastation around her–and the giant blue beast that towered over the landscape. Though her face was out of the shot now, those in the submarine could see the girl’s brown-topped head turn to look at the girl beside her.
“We don’t really know what happened de arimasu.” The pointed wolf ears atop Elsa’s head drooped.
“But we know that thing”–Serena pointed at the blue monster behind her– “is Kirika.”
Fujitaka sighed, a dark depression clouding his face. “Yeah that tracks I guess.”
“Shirabe is trying to talk to Kirika but–”
An explosion rocked in the background, causing Serena to pause her sentence and end it instead with a silent shrug.
“And Miku?” Tomosato asked. “I’m not getting her readings.”
Serena looked to Elsa. Elsa looked to Serena. Then, as if rehearsed, they both pointed off towards the left of the camera in perfect unison.
“Kirika kicked her that way somewhere, de arimasu.”

. . .

 “We leave you guys for a few hours to recharge, and one of you turns into a monster. Again.” Garie grumbled. Then she turned to the gaggle of figures around her and asked a very simple question: “So what’s the plan?”
Shirabe kept her eyes locked on Kirika–on the large blue mass marked with a giant X, who now strode across the countryside towards the city. She didn’t glance towards the blue Autoscorer, the only person standing beside her right now, but was clearly thinking.
“We need to get Kiri out of that thing safely.” Shirabe mused, pursing her lips.
“Yeah, that’s what happened before with Big Monster Number One.”–Miku and Batara Kala, Shirabe assumed.–” Problem is, Noise seem to be unaffected by alchemy. We can’t really do much if that’s...”
Shirabe levelled a glare at the robot. She opened her mouth to reject Garie’s notion that Kirika was a Noise, but swallowed her words–whatever that monster was, it wasn’t Kirika; Kirika was just trapped inside it.
“Okay, okay. Whatever that thing is, I doubt alchemy will harm it.” Garie frowned. “What do you want to do then, squirt?”
Shirabe frowned. Her heart heavy, the girl uttered a quiet confession under her breath: “I don’t know.” She felt like she was betraying her friend by saying that aloud–she had no idea what to do for her. Instead, Shirabe looked to Garie. “What should we do?”
“You... You’re asking me?” Garie’s eyes shot open in surprise as she took in the question. Then, turning to appraise the situation, she looked over at Kirika. “Let’s see. I doubt alchemy would hinder it directly, but I could probably freeze the surroundings and affect it–her–that way.”
The robot brought a hand up to her chin, then closed her eyes. After a second of silence, the robot spoke again. “There is a nearby lake. If we could lead her over there, it would give me many opportunities to trap the girl by freezing the lake. But that might put the girl you want to rescue in danger.... What?”
Shirabe’s eyes had bugged out as she watched Garie think aloud. Obviously the Autoscorer was a robot, but the girl didn’t expect her to be so calculating when need be. The way she spoke, it was closer to Carol than the Garie that she had come to know over the past few months.
Then she remembered, just as Garie angrily snapped at her: “My brain patterns are copied from my master’s, after all!”
“Right. Right, the lake.” Shirabe shook her focus back to the situation at hand. “How did you end up saving Miku, before?”
“Uhh...” Garie thought back. After they had located where exactly Miku had been located inside of Batara Kala– “It was Chris Yukine. She managed to break into and pull her out.”
Shirabe absorbed that info. Was it because Miku and Chris had a strong bond? In that case, Shirabe assumed she would be able to break Kirika out–and they could see where Kirika was in this monster’s body.
“Okay, Garie, I’ll lead Kiri over to the lake.”
“We’ll help, de arimasu!”
Shirabe looked up. Descending down upon the two were Serena, clad in her dark armour, who carried Elsa on her back. The wolf girl’s ears twitched as they slowly fell down. “I heard the plan, de arimasu. We’ll do what we can to support you.”
“Okay. Let’s head out.”
Shirabe nodded to Serena, who let go of Elsa’s hand to drop the dog girl to the ground next to Shirabe. Then, the black-clad warrior sped off, flying as fast as she could to cut Kirika off. Not wanting to be left behind, Shirabe took Elsa’s hand and summoned a large wheel-like blade from Shul Shagana and began rushing along the ground, tearing up the earth below her, in an attempt to catch up.

 Watching the others go, Garie shrugged. “Freeze the surface, huh? Easy enough. But wouldn’t that drown the girl? Whatever, it’s not my problem.” Shaking her head, she tossed aside her questions and began skating elegantly towards her destination, creating a trail of ice in her wake. “I wish Leiur hadn’t told me to help here while they got the easy job of evacuating people.”
“Easy?” A voice snapped over Garie’s ear. The sudden jolt of Leiur’s voice in her mind shocked Garie, making her jump. “You do remember I specifically did this to keep Micha away from tearing her friend apart, yes?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Garie grimaced. “A little warning when you decide to buzz in next time, though, okay?”
“My apologies. You should be glad to hear that we have almost completed our duties here. Simply activating the security systems in-place for Noise attacks was an effective method.”
“Good. Master’s friend will definitely need your help when this goes south.”

~ ~ ~

 Serena blasted through the air like a bullet, bouncing about through the sky as she darted every which way. Her movements were concentrated on trying to capture Kirika’s attention–a seemingly-futile effort, as Kirika didn’t seem aware of her movements at the moment. All the giant blue Noise monster continued to do was march forwards, pausing every few moments to adjust to the height difference in terrain.
“Kirika! Hey!” Serena called out as she flew in front of the girl’s real face–the one trapped in the X-shaped mark on her torso. Then, floating up towards the head of the beast that has devoured her, Serena waved again. “Look at me!”
Down below Serena could see Shirabe and Elsa cutting through the earth in a large circular saw. They kept darting around Kirika’s feet as the monster slowly stomped forwards, continually ignored by the monster that was their friend.
Diving down, Serena quickly flew down towards the two and matched their pace.
“This is bad.” Shirabe called over to the girl in black armour as she approached. “Kiri isn’t even paying attention to us.”
“She is your friend most, right?” Elsa leaned forwards to look over Shirabe’s shoulder. “Maybe if she can see you clearly, you’ll catch her attention, de arimasu?”
“Alright. Good idea.” Without even listening to Shirabe’s response, or Elsa to elaborate, Serena flew towards Shirabe and scooped her up off the ground–wheel and all.
“No wait I didn’t–!” Elsa screamed in shock as the girl effortlessly lifted the saw off the ground and into the air. Even Shirabe’s eyes went wide, not expecting Serena to be so straight-forwards in this approach.

 Though they were unaware of this, even Garie, from quite a ways away, could see the silhouette of the saw fly up into the air.
“Huh. Guess stuff’s not going well.” The Autoscorer casually shrugged as she skated around on the surface of the lake that she had already frozen over.

 Shirabe barely managed to keep her balance in her saw as Serena pulled her up in front of the face of the Kirika that was drowning in the neon blue goopy body that made up the Noise drowning her.
“Kiri!” Shirabe cried out.
Kirika’s eyes flickered just a bit, ever-so-slightly acknowledging her black-haired friend.
“Kiri?” She asked again, trying to push a little deeper into her friend’s psyche.
“Goin’ up!” Serena yelped, pulling the wheel with all her might up higher–narrowly allowing Shirabe and Elsa to dodge a swipe from the giant Noise’s arm.
“Kiri!?” Yet another sad cry from Shirabe echoed out over the horizon.

*DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSS*

 The large Noise let out a loud feral cry–no, more like a digital screech–as its attention turned towards the fly saw-wheel and the black-clad girl carrying it around. The beast swung its body around, whipping both of its arms up to try to smack the fly buzzing around it.
“That worked a bit too well, de arimasu!” Elsa screeched, utterly shocked that her idea worked. “But wh–WHOA!”
Suddenly, Shirabe dropped the wheel out of her hands, just as she bolted upwards. As a loud crash sounded across the world, both Shirabe and Elsa understood–the Noise had clapped its hands, trying to crush a bug, and Serena’s quick thinking resulted in her dashing upwards as her friends fell down.

 Unfortunately, Serena was not as quick on catching the two as she was to drop them, and Elsa hugged Shirabe tight as the wheel bounced against the ground.
“Look out!” Serena called down to her friends.
Shirabe commanded her wheel to swerve to the left, just in time to escape a stomp from the giant Noise beast. The debris launched up from the stomp temporarily blinded Shirabe, but Elsa’s acute hearing, with her wiggling, panicked, ears, weren’t hindered by this–”Move out of the way, de arimasu!”
The saw carved a path in the ground, kicking up more dirt as the saw made as quick a turn as it possibly could–and began driving quickly in the direction of Garie and the lake, Kirika following behind them at a faster pace than her giant beastly form seemed capable of.

. . .

 “This is bad, right boss?”
The man with navy blue hair pinched his forehead. “Yes. If those fools are unable to revert the girl to her human form, we will need to make changes to our plan. If I did not need those foolish wielders alive, I’d have snuffed out the lives of their great grandparents before they could even be born.”
Millaarc stood next to a tree, onto which she had carved a simple symbol: an eye in the centre of a triangle. The headset she wore connected her to the one who used this icon to see the world from his hidden lair–Adam Weishaupt.
“Loathe as I am to admit it, I do believe those girls should be able to handle the situation. But we can not merely rest on that assumption.” Adam sneered.

 Though Millaarc only had a line to one of the three Adams–one of which was quite enthused at the situation, seeing that his experiments on Kirika Akatsuki had been a success–they were not the only ones in the room. Sitting nearby, next to the statue-esque, brainwashed Saint Germain, was Nastassja, who watched the scene with a worried, albeit still interested, eye.
“If I may.” The doctor spoke up finally as Adam’s conversation with Millaarc lulled, “Assuming this to be the earliest results of the Batara Kala experiments, then I may know of a solution.”
The Adam that was speaking to Millaarc lifted an eyebrow. “Continue?”
“Part of Doctor Ver’s experiments into ‘perfecting’ Batara Kala–as we saw with Subject GX–was eliminating any major weaknesses. One such weakness was using a solution such as LiNKER to accelerate the fusion process at such a rate that the subject would self-destruct.”
“Where are you going with this, professor?” The second Adam asked.
“Ver had also developed Anti-LiNKER. He learned that it had no effect on Subject GX after he altered the Batara Kala transformation to one that was based around relic technology as opposed to genetic manipulation–but Anti-LiNKER may have some effect on Kirika, here.
“The reports on the genetic manipulation tests that I looked into seem to resemble, at a most basic level, the way a wielder activates a Symphogear, albeit via a mental lock as opposed to using an external relic shard. Following that logic–”
The first Adam closed his eyes. “Yes. Thinking about this nuisance as a larger version of those infernal machines does seem apt. Very well.” Putting a hand up to his ear, Adam began to address Millaarc again: “Stoker, return to base. We will brief you on what to do next.”
“Understood, da ze!” The vampire saluted.

#### AXZ Chapter 33

 A young Shirabe hugged her knees. She shivered uncontrollably, despite trying to think about anything other than how cold she felt. The thin fabric of the clothing the FIS scientists gave her and the fact that her body, mainly her long black hair, was still slightly wet certainly didn’t help her situation–it was likely the main cause of this.
It was the weekly ‘bathing’ day at FIS–but, of course, nothing could be simple with them. Instead of giving the Receptor Children a chance to shower at their leisure, the scientists essentially just stuck the kids in a device similar to a car wash, ‘cleaning’ them (to some extent) in only a minute. Letting the kids dry off was not a high priority. In fact, the only real reason the scientists let the kids get clean was to prevent everyone from being infected with some disease and to keep the kids from smelling too terribly.
Needless to say, though they were grateful for a chance to wash off, it was also a horrible experience for the Receptor Children.
Shirabe sneezed.

 “Shirabe!!!”
The small, shivering girl slowly looked up, and her eyes brightened. Running towards her was her best friend, her sunshine: Kirika Akatsuki. The small blonde girl ran towards her with a big smile on her face.
“Kiri!”
“It’s so good to see you again!” Kirika said, happily throwing herself at her friend.
Though it looked painful for both parties, Shirabe found herself instantly warm up when she saw the sunny grin Kirika looked up at her with.
“Where have you been the last few days?” Shirabe asked the girl. Her expression and tone was monotonous, as usual, but that was just a result of circumstances. She was genuinely so happy on the inside, and she knew Kirika sensed it–somehow.
“Ah, you know. Here and there, death.” Kirika giggled. It wasn’t too rare for Kirika to disappear for days at a time so that the scientists could do some sort of secretive experiments on her. Then, just like today, she would come back with a smile on her face as if nothing had happened, usually with a few new bruises or bandages–just like today, where Shirabe noticed new wraps tied around one of her forearms.
Shirabe wanted to ask about them, but when she opened her mouth to speak again all she managed to let out was another powerful sneeze.
“Gesundheit!” Kirika said, worry crossing her face. “Are you feeling sick, death?”
“No, it’s just... the showers.” Shirabe answered quickly, noticing now that Kirika’s hair seemed to be sopping wet still. “I don’t like the cold water.”
Kirika paused at that, then smiled. “I think cold showers are great.”
Shirabe did not expect that reply at all. When she merely blinked back at her friend, Kirika began to explain why: “The cold water makes me feel calm, dess. It keeps me from thinking anything negative, it’s oddly welcoming, dess.”
When Kirika realized what she was saying, and how she had an unusually dark look in her eyes, she snapped back to her normal self. The shadows in her eyes faded, replaced with her usual cheerful smile. “I just think it’s comfortable, you know?”
That was the first time that Shirabe saw the true Kirika Akatsuki, and it would be one she would seldom see again.

. . .

 “Come on, Kiri!” Shirabe called back behind her.
The gigantic Noise creature that Kirika had transformed into was chasing after her. Her steps were slow, but considering her size it allowed Kirika to move at a fairly quick pace. Shirabe needed to focus though, as every one of Kirika’s footsteps caused the ground around her to shake so much that, if she lost her concentration, might throw her out into the air and away from her destination.
“Shirabe, the lake is just over this hill.” Serena’s voice echoed over Shirabe’s headpiece. “Garie’s frozen it over, just like you asked.”
“Alright, thanks.”
Shirabe looked over her shoulder. “We’re almost there. Just hold on a little longer.”
The small pink-haired dog girl, whose eyes were closed tight with fear and her arms locked around Shirabe’s stomach. “I’m getting sick, de arimasu.”
“Please hold on a little longer.” Shirabe reiterated, bracing herself just in case the worst happens.

 Shirabe’s saw wheel cut through the ground as she ascended the short hill in front of her. She noticed she was losing speed as she ascended, but luckily she was far enough ahead of Kirika that she did not feel the need to be worried about the gap between them closing too much. Dirt, grass, and pebbles kicked up around them as they sped away from Kirika and up the hill, as if they were getting ready to fly off into the sky.
With a jolt, Shirabe crested the peak of the hill–and she heard Elsa gulp as she struggled to keep herself from becoming sick. Shirabe wanted to tell Elsa it was okay, to just look at the scenery in front of them, but she was in a hurry; even she couldn’t take in the landscape she now fell down towards: a beautiful lake, once surrounded with gorgeous green weeds and a rainbow of flowers, now speckled with snow as the water was frozen over with a thin, sparkling layer of ice. On its surface was the peaceful Autoscorer responsible for the cold new appearance of the area, Garie, dancing like a graceful ballerina. Serena, meanwhile floated near the opposite shore, her face stone-cold as she surveyed the situation.
Making her way towards the frozen plane, Shirabe and Elsa kept their eyes on the giant monster chasing after them. Kirika still stumbled like a giant kaiju, closing the gap with every step as she descended the hill–which was just what Shirabe wanted.
Thinking she was within reach of Shirabe and her giant saw-wheel, Kirika leaned down and took a swipe at the two girls but grabbed only the air behind them. With her balance shifted, though, this let Shirabe enact her plan.
“Serena!” Shirabe called, but immediately knew that it was a waste of breath.
The girl clad in black armour appeared behind the giant beast that Kirika had transformed into and, now that the monster had shifted her weight, flying at the speed of light straight into the monster’s back to knock her over.
And a loud explosive sound rang out through the area.

*DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZSSSSSSSSS??*

 The beast that had once been Kirika Akatsuki flew forwards, tripping down the hill–Shirabe and Elsa needed to slide horizontally, lowering themselves close to the ground, to avoid being hit by the giant. Kirika, however, smashed head-first into the icy lake, shattering its surface and sending frozen shrapnel and waves of everywhere, splashing the area around them.
“Well, that slowed her down.” Garie commented bluntly, appearing without a sound next to where Shirabe and a very sick Elsa had landed. “Now what?”
“We... uhh...” Shirabe brushed some of the dirt off her body and out of her hair. “If it worked then we might be able to talk to Kiri?”
Garie frowned, but said nothing. With an annoyed shrug, the girl skated off and left a trail of ice behind her–a trail that was almost immediately covered over as Elsa finally unleashed the contents of her stomach out onto the ground. As the Autoscorer left, Shirabe turned her attention to Kirika.

*IIIIIIRRAAAAAAAAAB..... UUUUMMMUNNN..... ELLLLLLLLLP*

 The giant monster was slowly righting itself in the lake, and for just a moment Shirabe managed to lock eyes with the human Kirika that was still protruding from the beast’s chest. She had just the smallest bit of light glistening somewhere behind her eyes, but she didn’t move a muscle–but part of Shirabe knew that her plan must have worked to some extent.
 “Shirabe... someone... help?” Shirabe repeated what Kirika had said to herself. As the words left her lips, the girl felt a bolt of confidence well up within her. Then, raising her voice, “Kiri! Kiri!!!”
Shirabe realized she didn’t even know exactly what was wrong with her. Was she infected by some Noise creation, or was she the Noise creation itself? Did she need to fight it, or learn to control it? She shook her head–it didn’t matter.
“Kiri!! Come back to me!!!”

*REEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNDZZZS!!!*

 The beast that Kirika was connected to let out another roar as it began to rise out of the frozen lake. Shirabe could only watch as the beast stood up with no resistance or change, pulling the icy-cold water out of the lake with it. For just a moment, the girl could swear that Kirika’s human eyes were cast down, looking straight at her through the murky darkness that filled her hollow, lifeless eyes.
But whatever bit of Kirika that was in there promptly disappeared, and Shirabe realized it when the beast raised a fist right over where Shirabe stood.
“Come on, Shirabe! You have to go, de arimasu!” Elsa yelled back as she scurried away from the lake. Shirabe, however, refused to move.
“Shirabe!” This time, it was Serena. Her voice was loud, commanding–but hollow. It had no impact behind it, so the girl she tried to address didn’t even register it in her mind.
As her friends called out to her, Shirabe just stared up at Kirika.
“Kirika! Please! Listen to me! Please!! Come back to me!!!” Shirabe cried out, looking up at the beast’s hand as its shadow fell over her.

 Then, the monster flew backwards, collapsing back into the lake. Shirabe, caught off-guard by this, didn’t even try to protect herself as the icy lake water spilled over her, freezing her to the bone–whatever bones she had left, anyway.
“What the heck are you doing, you idiot!?”
The voice that rang out snapped Shirabe back to reality. Turning to look at the lake’s surface and the monster within it, she saw a very familiar figure crouched on the chest of the monster, looking straight at the girl protruding out from the strange mass of neon.

 Those in the FIS submarine, who had been watching the scene from their headquarters, ready to provide support at any time, were equally as shocked. After all, the one who had appeared was–

 “Chris!?” Shirabe cried out.

~ ~ ~

 Chris sat up in bed. Her body–her very skeleton–ached as she moved, as if it was trying to break itself. She winced, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.
“How are you feeling?”
The white-haired girl turned towards the sound of the voice: the clone of Miku Kohinata that had been nicknamed Niku. She stood, arms crossed.
“Mi–uh,” Chris started to say, then felt a jolt of pain shoot through her body.
“Do you feel sick or anything?” Niku spoke again, apparently completely unaware of the pain Chris was feeling.
“Just... pain.” Chris barely managed to squeak out.
“Carol said your body might hurt a bit as it adjusts to the relics inside you now. Feeling sick or nauseous, though, mi–”
“Wait. Did you say relics? Plural?” Chris turned to Niku, biting down hard on her lip to prevent herself from making a sound as her neck screamed out in pain.
“So, yeah, about that...”

 Sliding towards Chris’s bed, Niku held up a small mirror. Chris saw a figure reflected in the glass, but did not at first recognize it as herself. Her hair was paler white now, almost like all colour had been drained from it, and chopped shorter. Her eyes, previously a light lavender colour, were now a dark orange–almost bronze–and she noticed what looked to be orange veins visible beneath the surface of her skin, with one reaching out towards her left eye; Chris looked down at her arms, and noticed the same orange veins burned them as well.
What really confused her were the two small pointy horns protruding out from her forehead. When Chris reached up and touched them, she gently felt the sensation of her fingers as they touched the pointed parts of her head–they really were part of her skin.
“What...?” It was all Chris could squeak out as she turned to look at Niku.
The clone sighed. “Carol made the executive decision that, if you wouldn’t be able to wield a Symphogear or a Faust Robe because of your fusion with a relic, she’d directly implant a shard of Gungnir within you.” She rolled her eyes. “Although she also said something about Gungnir also acting as an anti-body or something.”
“Anti... Gungnir... She did what!?” Chris sat forwards and, though she felt another stab of pain in her back, it was far less painful than before.
“Listen we don’t really have the time to explain right now.” Niku tossed the mirror over her shoulder (and Chris heard it shatter as it collided with the wall behind her, something Niku didn’t seem to notice). “There’s trouble.”
“What?” Chris shook her head. This was all too much to her. Being fused with a relic (TWO apparently), growing horns... There were many things she wanted to talk about, but trouble took priority. She could get answers later. Right now she needed to know–
“Miku’s missing and Kirika’s transformed into a giant Noise monster. I need to–”
“Take me to Kirika. I don’t know what’s going on but, if I could save Miku, I might be able to help Kirika too. That stupid alchemist can explain to me what the hell she did later.”
Niku smiled. “Alright.”

~ ~ ~

 Chris looked down at Kirika. By thinking about wanting to smack some sense into her friend, the white-haired girl felt gauntlets appear around her hands, and this gave her the strength to do just as she had wanted to.
She didn’t even need to look at the gauntlets to realize they were the same as those that *she* once wore.
“I don’t know what the fuck is happening,” Chris yelled at Kirika, “But I know that my friend shouldn’t be attached to some Noise... thing.  Finé didn’t need to become a dragon thing, and neither do you.”
At the mention of her former mistress’s name, Chris saw a golden sparkle in Kirika’s eyes. “Finé?” Kirika quietly muttered in confusion.
“Just like Miku is Miku and Finé is Finé, you’re Kirika Akatsuki. You’re my friend–and I will do absolutely anything to protect my friends.”
“Friend?”

. . .

 Kirika felt like she was drowning in a thick sludge. Darkness, in every direction–both literally and figuratively. The dark memories that she had been repressing surfaced, the many horrors she had experienced bubbling around her.
The experiments. The pain. The fear. The sadness.
The confusion of not knowing who she really was.
The anger at being used by he scientists of FIS.
The hatred she felt for herself after she claimed a life.

 Kirika was thought to be around fifteen or sixteen years old. On top of those, she carried the hundreds–no, thousands–of years that Finé lived through in her mind, as well.
And yet it felt like there were still too many memories.
Who was she? Was she really fifteen years old?
She remembered the experiments, the ones that were intended to make her immune to the effects of the Noise but instead merely transformed her into one.
How long ago was that?

 A voice pierced through her head.

*You’re Kirika Akatsuki.*

 Chris’s voice echoed through her mind.

*You’re my friend.*

 Friend? That’s right. Friend.
Kirika remembered how Miku had acted before. She had withdrawn within herself, turned her anger and hatred inwards–and this transformed her into Batara Kala. But Kirika was there for her, just like Chris was–they were slowly bringing out the girl’s true self once more.
Because they were friends. And Kirika–

 “I will do absolutely anything to protect my friends.”
*I will do absolutely anything to protect my friends.*

. . .

 “Chris, is that you?”
The Kirika within the giant Noise beast finally opened her eyes wide, life returning to her body. Chris flashed her a smile, one that tried to say ‘of course it is, dummy’–
“Why do you have horns?”
“I have no idea.” Chris chuckled. “I woke up and was told you were in trouble so I showed up as fast as I could to help.”
“In trouble, death?” Kirika looked around. Only now did she seem to realize that she was a giant Noise-like creature. “Oh.”
“You seem awfully calm about this.”
“I heard you say that you’d do anything to help a friend.” Kirika smiled. “I assume you’ll figure out some way to deal with this, death.”
Chris was having none of it, and she just sighed. “Well as far as I know,” she lifted a fist, “I could punch you out of this mess.”
Kirika smiled. “Go for it, death!”
As Chris drew her arm back, ready to unleash a powerful punch into the Noise platform below her, she felt a comfortable warmth fill her body.

 The next moment, Chris found herself launched high into the sky.
And Kirika found herself freed from the Noise beast... and drowning in the cold lake.