Zetsubo no Senki: Symphogear if/Part 4

**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.