Chika Takami stretched her arms as she struggled to stay awake as she and her friend, You Watanabe, walked towards the school they go to, Uranohoshi Girls School.
"Stayed up late again?" You asked her friend.
"They were showing Muse's final live last night, you know!" Chika replied. "I had to see it. I bet Dia-san also stayed up late. You'll see!"
"Oh, I'm sure she did!"
You and Chika were greeted by their friend, the third year-slash-school director Mari Ohara. The blonde has a mischievous grin on her face. "I'll be sure to tease her when she arrives!"
The three made their way towards the school.
"By the way, isn't Riko-chan with you?" Mari asked Chika.
"Oh, she went on ahead," Chika replied. "Something about composing a song."
"Hmm. I guess she needs some quiet time to produce good music," You said.
"Eh? Then why didn't she do it at home? It's pretty quiet there!" Chika exclaimed.
"Well, she does have you as a neighbor," You replied.
"Are you implying I'm noisy!?" Chika shouted.
Mari laughed. "Well, considering you are shouting now, Chika-chi…"
Chika caught herself. "Oh! But You-chan made me do it!"
Finally they've reached the school.
"We made it, with plenty of time to spare!" You said.
"I guess we'll go check out how the two lovebirds are doing," Mari said, again with that grin.
Chika looked clueless. "Lovebirds?"
You covered her face with her palm. "Yoshiko-chan went on ahead of me. Something about demon rituals or something…"
"Oh! Then the song will be about demon rituals?" Chika said.
Mari couldn't hold her laughter. "Oh, Chika-chi. Sometimes I wish I had innocence like yours."
Suddenly from the outside they could hear a strange sound. One they've never heard before…

KIMARIS BATTLESHIP, BRIDGE

"We've arrived at the location, sir," reported one of the crew.
Captain Kirishima ran his hand through his jet black hair before putting on his captain's cap. "Let's do this. Time to accomplish what that fool Nakajima can't the last time. Today, we end idols! Launch our LAS!"
Another bridge crew opened communications with the launch pad.
"Alpha team, cleared for launch."
"Roger that. This is Alpha One. Jahanam. Launching!"

URA GIRLS SCHOOL

Chika, You, and Mari ran outside.
From behind they heard Riko and Yoshiko running as well.
"What's happening?" Riko asked.
"Could it be? The demons have awakened!" Yoshiko shouted.
"It seems to be a bit more serious than that, Yoshiko-chan…" Mari said as she looked up into the sky and saw a giant battleship. A team of three robots launched from it, each one colored green, armed with a rifle and a shield adorned with a very familiar logo.
"DES…"
Chika had heard of them. They've attacked Tokyo before. But they have been defeated! What were they doing here!?
The lead one started to open fire.
Chika, Mari, You, Riko, and Yoshiko could only stare as the bullets started to travel toward them.
That is, until another giant robot appeared, this time a black robot appeared. It looked taller than the other one. On its right arm was a rifle, and on its left is a huge brown shield, which it used to deflect the bullets before retaliating with its own weapon.
The machine turned it' face to them and it's head opened, revealing a huge mooneye.
"Are you girls okay?" a female voice said from inside the robot.
"Er… yes, we are fine…" Chika managed to croak out.
"Stay inside the building,"
The robot flew high into the sky, engaging the three green robots. It was joined by two more robots of similar design, but instead of black, one was colored brownish red, and the other purple. Also instead of the huge brown shield, the red one had an axe in its left hand, while the purple one ditched the gun for a bazooka assembly that attaches to its shoulder.
That was when Chika heard music.
"It can't be…" Chika said.

In a corner of this world
Like a mirage
One day the field of our dreams
Was suddenly born

We changed into our jerseys
And started our lessons
We opened up our own way
And cultivated our future

The black and red robots worked in tandem with each other, with the red one engaging the enemies in close combat with it's axe while the black one used it's huge shield to block any attacks and retaliate if needed. The purple one provided cover fire and distracted the enemy team, preventing them from forming an effective counterattack. It seems that the trio has had experience working together before.

No one had any expectation over us
We were just twentytwo seeds
Until the day
We would all bloom

The red one was engaging the lead enemy robot, attacking it with furious swings from her axe. The enemy decided to follow suit, ditching his rifle and pulling out a beam axe of his own. The two clashed, and each combatant was trying to push the other away, until the red one got a kick in, pushing away the lead robot. It then followed it up with shots from it's gun. The shots didn't cause the suit to explode, rather it paralyzed it, stopping it but not killing the pilot.

We are the Team A!
We are the pioneers
March on, Team A
We have to believe

Sensing the advantage, the trio attacked the remaining two enemy units. The black one lead the way, using her huge shield to block the incoming bullets. The purple one then started firing her bazooka, causing the two enemy units to separate. Now away from each other, both the red and black ones took on the individual enemy units.
Come on, let's bet on ourselves
We have nothing to lose
We are the Team A!
We are the pioneers
March on, Team A
Let our sweat flow
Now everything will begin
Let's remember
Once again
How earnest we were
"Amazing. They're pushing the DES team back!" Riko said.
Finally, the outmatched DES team retreated to their mothership, the two remaining units recovering their fallen comrade before returning to their ship, and the ship warped out of the sky, leaving it as blue as before.
The robot trio landed, and the cockpits opened, the three pilots getting out and stepping on the ground.
The girls ran up to meet them.
"Are you girls safe?" a girl with long black hair greeted them.
Chika recognized the voice as the one that saved them earlier.
"Oh yes, we're fine! Thank you for saving us."
"It's nothing. I'm Ryuko Kanzaki by the way," the girl said, offering her hand.
"Chika Takami!" Chika enthusiastically shook it.
"And these are my friends! We're all part of an idol group called Aqours."
"Idols, huh? Well, I hope you're all getting along well," Ryuko said.
The redhead stepped up. "Kanata Shinonome."
The purple-haired girl waved. "Hi! Mariko Shinoda the 8th here."
"The 8th?" Yoshiko wondered.
"Oh, you could say I've inherited my name," Mariko said.
Before they could proceed with more introductions, they heard a familiar voice shout.
"WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE!?"
Dia Kurosawa walked towards the group, accompanied by her sister, Ruby. Hanamaru Kunikida and Kanan Matsuura were also with them.
"Mari, looks like a movie set in here," she remarked.
"Oh, Kanan! Well, it's a long story, I guess you could say," Mari replied.
"Giant robots? Explosions?! There better be some explanations, I'm telling you!" Dia screamed.
"What about this, then?"
Ryuko, Kanata, and Mariko looked at the sky.
"About damn time they arrived," Ryuko said.
Launching from the ship is not a robot, but a single human, standing on a floating platform.
Finally the girl landed and walked to Dia. She was short but full of energy.
"We're sorry for the sudden introduction. My name is Takahashi Minami the 5th. You could call me Takamina for short." She looked around. "Thanks for coming ahead, you three," she said at Ryuko, Kanata, and Mariko.
"No prob!" Kanata said. "Anything for you, Takamina-senpai!"
Takamina smiled then looked at Aqours.
"Aqours-san, I would like you all to meet AKB0048!"