HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR YALL! I'm back with a new chapter!

DCDGojira, thanks again. I agree with the idea of the Ace Killers and killing the FIS families, but I already have something else planned. So do look forward to that. I've yet to see the Netflix Pacific Rim trailer yet, but I'll look it up.

kazutoxx123, thanks, I'll definitely be doing more hahaha... I plan to write all the way to the last season.

Ryu wolf, thank you. Glad you liked it.

Karlos1234ify, they did hahaha, and they'll be doing more.

IdeaLerson1097, glad to hear that. And I didn't really buff Ace much. He is the weakest suit user in the manga due to the reasons you mentioned yes. But here, Seven is still in his original specs as of season 1. Spec wise he is equal to Seven in the anime, which was buffed from the og specs. But mentality and experience, not so much. That's why he could fight evenly against Seven in the previous chapter.

stardrago, I won't spoil anything, but as of now I am not sure if I'll be bringing in Daigo or not. But where have you seen the explanation for the type changes? I can't seem to find it.

Ultimablast3, thanks hahaha. Spoiler-plausible content aside, yep, I was thinking how I'd have Seiji and Kotaro interact with the three girls, and I didn't want them to be just friends. So family was what I decided to go with.

So yeah, here's the newest chapter. Hope yall enjoy.

XXX

A week later, Genjuro sat in the command center, and a call appeared on the monitor.

Aoi spoke, "Sir, its Vice Minister Shibata."

The commander nodded, "Patch him in."

The woman nodded, and in an instant, the minister's face appeared on screen, once again slurping on a bowl of soba noodles, "Hey, Genjuro."

The redhead responded, "Minister Shibata."

The man grunted as he swallowed a mouthful of noodles, "It's been a week, and there's been no movement from Finé. What do you think?"

Genjuro frowned, "It's unlike a terrorist organisation, or so they make them out to be. Or rather, they might have planned this from the beginning, an opening act to tell everyone who they are."

Shibata nodded, "Glad to know that we are all of the same mind. Which brings me to the next point, we know absolutely nothing of them."

Genjuro nodded, "I know, which makes it hard to prepare countermeasures, regardless of the time we have."

The minister grunted as he swallowed another mouthful of soba, "At any rate, I looked up the organisation with what I had. And I found a very interesting piece of info from the US government."

Genjuro raised an eyebrow, "The US?"

Shibata nodded, "I'll send you the files in a moment. But basically, before we became buddies over the relics, there was a department that was made solely to research on the relics."

Genjuro blinked, "A department?"

The minister furrowed his brows, "Ah, its more of a standalone organisation than anything, but it's called the Federal Institute of Sacrists, or more easily known as the FIS."

The redhead nodded, "I see..."

Shibata grunted as he slurped down the last of his soba noodles, "And amongst them, were a group of children they were testing to check for affinities to the relics. Maria Cadenzavna Eve was among them."

Genjuro stared at his higher up, "But that's not all, is it?"

Shibata nodded, "The one heading the project at the time, was Sakurai Ryoko, and a few other scientists. After Sakurai Ryoko came over to our side, the FIS collapsed from an inner uproar, whereby one of the scientists brought around an armed uprising."

Genjuro frowned, "An armed uprising... So a coup?"

The minister nodded, "They took away every data and equipment from the institute. And the scientist's name is Nastassja Sergeyevna Tolstaya."

Genjuro frowned, "Nastassja Sergeyevna Tolstaya..."

Shibata nodded, "At any rate, she's the most susceptible suspect."

The redhead nodded, "Got it, we'll look into her files immediately."

The minister nodded, "Good luck, well, that's all I called in to tell you. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get some more noddles."

With that said, the video cut off, and as if on cue, the door opened to reveal Shin and Ide.

Genjuro glanced back, "Hayata-san, Ide-san, how did your meeting go?"

The former Ultraman looked at him, "As well as it could have, I suppose. Akiko's gonna look into this Finé organization."

Ide nodded, before a disgusted expression appeared on his face, "Some dumbasses thought we'd be working with them, goddamn power hungry assholes just want to get the suits on their side."

Shin sighed, "Well, they won't. Everyone agreed to place the suits under Section 2 as a standalone department so no one could misuse them."

Ide nodded, "True..."

The former Ultraman looked at the commander, "At any rate, things are fine with the higher ups for now. We'll just need to keep watch."

Genjuro nodded, "I suppose that's all we can do for now."

"Commander."

Shinji's voice came up from the comms, and Genjuro answered, "Ogawa, what do you have?"

The ninja nodded, "Yes, I looked into that abandoned trailer we found near the stadium. And I've managed to trace it back to a certain company."

As he spoke, Genjuro could hear other voices, apparently threatening Shinji, but the ninja simply continued his report, "In their records, I've found many bulk orders for medical and measurement equipment, along with pharmaceutical supplies delivered to fake addresses."

The sounds of punches and kicks, along with bodies falling to the ground could be heard from the comms, much to Shin and Ide's amusement, as Shinji continued as if he wasn't beating up a bunch of men, " The records date back to two months ago, and they seem to be some antisocial rich guys that laundered their money around."

Genjuro considered the information, "Hmm, that does sound suspicious..."

Shinji's voice came back, "Do you think I should look into this further?"

The commander glanced at Shin and Ide, and the Defense Minister spoke, "I'll inform Akiko of this."

Genjuro nodded, and looked at the monitor, "Alright, Ogawa, continue looking into that. We'll get Akiko-san's team to look around too."

Shinji nodded, "Roger that."

With that, he cut the call, going back to cleaning up the place.

(Linebreak)


With Shinjiro, he had just finished class, and was in the process of packing his stuff up.

As he prepared to leave, one of his classmates swung an arm over his shoulders, "Hey Shinjiro, you free today?"

The teen glanced at his friend, "Hmm, why?"

The boy grinned, "We're all headed for a karaoke session, everyone's going, even some girls from other classes."

Shinjiro raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

He nodded, "Yep! You on?"

The teen considered the idea, before remembering he had promised Tsubasa on something, and he shook his head, "No, sorry, I just remembered I have something to do."

The boy frowned, "Seriously? I'm sure that can wait, you know?"

Shinjiro chuckled, "Sorry, I promised Ts-my friend I'd help her out."

His friend sighed and let go of Shinjiro, "Ah fine, I'll tell you if we have another session next time, kay?"

The teen chuckled, "Sorry, thanks for asking though."

The boy waved it off, "Anytime... But out of curiosity, where are you going?"

Shinjiro blinked, "Hmm, oh, I'm headed for Lydian."

The boy blinked, "Lydian? Wasn't it destroyed a while ago?"

The teen nodded, "Yeah, but they've relocated to another place. It's actually just a few blocks away from here."

The classmate nodded as Shinjiro swung his bag over his shoulder, "I see, then have fun with your friends."

The teen chuckled, "Thanks, you too, with your karaoke session."

As Shinjiro walked off, the classmate went back to the group, "Sorry, Shinjiro's headed for Lydian to help his friend."

One of the guys raised an eyebrow, "Lydian? Why there?"

The classmate shrugged, "Who knows?"

One of the girls spoke out, "My cousin studies there, and I think I remember her saying something about a school festival next week, you think he might be helping out with that?"

The classmate that'd spoken with Shinjiro shrugged, "Eh, who knows? Besides, it's his stuff, we shouldn't pry too much."

Another guy looked at him incredulously, "You serious? He's been skipping classes and the teachers aren't even saying anything. Don't tell me you aren't curious?"

He sighed, "Of course I am, but we gotta respect his privacy. He'll tell us if he wants to."

He shook his head, "Now enough about him, let's go sing our lungs out!"

The boy then dragged his friends off.

(Linebreak)


Meanwhile, in a dark room, Nastassja was watching a monitor, showing a caged beast. The beast was still small, much smaller than the one she'd seen years ago.

It was grey in color, with multiple yellow and orange lines running across its body.

The woman narrowed her eyes, 'A triple Climax Song, which produces an enormous amount of Phonic Gain. With Tachibana Hibiki's unique Armed Gear, not only did they manage to amplify that power, they also reduced the strain. And with Hayata Shinjiro's powers, they managed to further reduce that backlash.'

She looked at the beast on the monitor, 'Thanks to that, I managed to awaken the giant that fell from the heavens, the Nephilim.'

"Is it really okay, awakening the Nephilim?"

Nastassja turned to see Kotaro standing by the door, "Kotaro..."

The man narrowed his eyes at her, "You remember what happened the last time we activated that beast."

The woman nodded, "I do. But don't worry, we've done preparations to keep it at bay. It won't be the same."

Kotaro stared at her, "It better be. Or Serena's sacrifice will be in vain."

Nastassja closed her eyes, choosing not to respond.

The man let out a breath, "I will continue my path, as an Ultraman. Make sure you stick to yours, old hag."

The woman huffed, "I don't need you to tell me that."

Kotaro nodded, "Then that's good. I'll leave you to your work then."

The man walked away, and the door closed behind her, leaving Nastassja alone in her room again.

The woman opened her eyes, "I won't fail this time... Kotaro, for every one of my children."

(Linebreak)


Meanwhile, Shirabe and Kirika were in the showers.

Kirika was rambling on something about a video she'd seen online, until she noticed Shirabe's silence.

The blonde stopped, and asked, "Shirabe, are you still thinking about her?"

The black haired girl nodded, "Someone who's never had to suffer, someone who's never carried a burden... I just can't bring myself to see her as someone who saved humanity..."

Kirika looked at the wall in front of her, "Yeah... I guess..."

Shirabe gritted her teeth, "If she really wanted to help people so badly... Why...!"

She punched the wall hard, and the wall shook under her punch.

"Why wasn't she there, when the home was destroyed? Is that what you wanted to say?"

Shirabe and Kirika's eyes widened, as Hokuto's voice reached their ears.

"From the looks of it, she's just a few years older than the both of you. At most. Do you think someone like that, even with the Symphogear, can do much?"

Shirabe glared at the door, where the teen no doubt was standing, "Don't try to defend that hypocrite, it's not like, Seiji-nii-san."

Hokuto chuckled, "I guess so. But, Shirabe, as much as I don't like those people, you can't push your anger on them like this."

Shirabe fell silent, before she spat out, "But they're still hypocrites..."

Hokuto nodded, "I never said they weren't. And it's fine to not like them, they're the enemy, after all. But for your sake, don't push your problems on them. It won't end well for you."

Kirika glared at the door, "Speaking of which, Seiji-nii, what the hell are you doing there?"

The teen froze, "Eh?"

"Ara, Hokuto-kun, just what are doing here?"

Hokuto looked at the voice, and paled, for Maria was standing their, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around her, "M-Maria... This isn't what it looks like!"

Maria stared at him coldly, "While I appreciate you helping Shirabe sort out her feelings, is this really the place for you to be?"

The brunette paled, and Shirabe and Kirika both heard a few smacking noises, before Maria walked in.

The pinkette huffed, "That dumbass... While I love him like a little brother, sometimes he needs to learn..."

Maria turned on the water, letting it wash down on her. She let out a sigh, "But Shirabe, it's as our stupid brother says. You shouldn't push your anger on them."

Shirabe furrowed her brows, "But..."

The pinkette looked at her, "But regardless of what happens, all we can do now is fight for what we believe is right, no matter how do it."

The two girls looked at her, "Maria..."

Maria closed her eyes, "We can't afford to let things like that pull us down. We can't stop and consider our options, nor can we stop and question ourselves..."

She looked at the ceiling, "We don't have that time, after all..."

Shirabe looked at her, "Maria..."

Maria sighed and opened her mouth to continue, only for a loud bang to interrupt them, followed by a loud siren.

(Linebreak)


Nastassja narrowed her eyes as she watched the Nephilim eat, calming down after having trashed around in the cage, "The Nephilim..."

Kotaro frowned, "So that is the legendary hunger of the Nephilim... It really is an uncontrollable remnant of a forgotten civilisation."

"I'd appreciate it if you don't call it that, Ultraman Taro-san."

Kotaro turned and saw the bespectacled doctor enter the room, "Dr. Ver..."

The man grinned, "The Ultraman aside, the Nephilim is what we need! It'll serve as a proper beacon of light for humanity! Just like how Ultraman did all those years ago!"

Kotaro frowned, and he would have retorted the man had the door not open again, revealing three scantily dressed girls and a strangely beat up Seiji.

Maria looked at Nastassja, "What happened?"

The woman turned on her wheelchair to glance at the pinkette, before looking back at the monitor, "Don't worry, it was simply the Nephilim being hungry. We've given it some food, so it'll calm down for some time."

Kotaro stared at the monitor. Food. While Nastassja and Dr. Ver addressed them as such, he knew better. The food for the beast called the Nephilim were all relics. Or rather, fragments of them.

Dr. Ver, being a former FIS researcher, had many ties to people that held onto relic fragments, and he had cashed in a few favors for them. It was the same for Nastassja.

But Kotaro didn't like it one bit. How many relics were they going to have to rely on until their plans bore fruit?

The man didn't care for preserving the relics, obviously, but it was still a waste of precious resources. However, he was brought out of his musings again by a loud boom and tremors that ran over the room.

Maria obviously wasn't convinced, "Mom..."

Nastassja turned to look back at the monitor, where the walls of the cage that held the beast were perfectly intact, "We've made preparations, it'll be fine."

Dr. Ver nodded, before he looked at the old woman, "Speaking of which, isn't it time for your regular check up?"

The woman spared him a glance, "The Frontier is an important part of our plans... no, rather it is the main part of it. We can't afford to lose even a second. My checkup can wait."

The doctor shook his head, "Don't worry, I'll hold the fort while you go, I'll even go procure some more food for the Nephilim."

Nastassja regarded him for a moment, before nodding, "Very well, then I'll leave Seiji, Kirika and Shirabe with you."

The man shook his head, "No, we shouldn't split our forces if not necessary. Instead I believe we should have them with you."

He glanced at said forces, "Besides, I don't plan to get into a fight. Worst case scenario, I have this, after all."

Dr. Ver pulled out Solomon's Cane, and Nastassja sighed, "Very well... I'll leave the rest to you for now. We'll return as soon as we're done there."

With that said, the woman moved towards the door on her wheelchair, followed by the others. As they left, they missed Dr. Ver's rather evil smirk, as he went to work on the computer.

As the door closed behind them, Hokuto sighed, "What a great guy, right?"

He looked at Shirabe and Kirika, who both huffed and walked faster to Nastassja's side.

Kotaro raised an eyebrow, "Now what did you do again?"

Hokuto opened his mouth to answer, but Maria beat him to it, "It's better if you don't know."

Her cold demeanour shut the younger teen up, and Kotaro sighed, "I see... I guess I can't help you."

Hokuto just nursed his bruised cheek again as they walked.

(Linebreak)


With Shinjiro, the teen walked past the gates of Lydian Academy. Thanks to Tsubasa, he'd gotten a pass that allowed him to enter the otherwise all-girls school.

The young man walked around, until he realized he was lost, "Great... Where am I supposed to go anyway?"

Shinjiro easily spotted the area where the festival was to be held. The stands and decorations pretty much gave it away, but he still didn't know where he was supposed to meet Tsubasa.

The young man continued wandering around, hoping to see someone he knew, until someone crashed into him, sending both of them to the ground.

Shinjiro groaned as he got up, "Hey, watch where you-Chris?"

The lavender haired girl groaned as she got up, "S-Shinjiro? What are you doing here?"

The young man opened his mouth to answer, until the girl cut him off, "No, wait. They're after me! They'll probably be here soon-!"

She heard a set of footsteps and quickly pushed her back by a wall, and Shinjiro blinked, "What?"

He looked outside, "I don't see anyone though?"

Chris nodded, "Good... I guess I managed to shake em off..."

Shinjiro raised an eyebrow, "Who are you talking about?"

The lavender haired girl sighed, "There're these girls from my class that just keep trying to get me involved in some school event."

Chris folded her arms, "Seriously... We were just attacked by that organisation Finé... We really don't have the time to do stuff like this."

Shinjiro chuckled, "I see..."

The girl looked at him, "Speaking of which, why are you here? Are you even allowed in here?"

The young man nodded, "Yeah, Tsubasa got me a pass to come in. And as for why I'm here, I'm here to help Tsubasa with that school event you were trying so hard to avoid."

He finished with a smile, much to Chris' chagrin.

The lavender haired girl sighed, "Are you serious?"

Shinjiro chuckled, "Yep. Since you're here, can you help me? I'm kinda lost."

Chris sighed, "I guess... Where are you headed?"

The young man looked at the corridors, "Tsubasa told me to meet her at her class, but I don't know where that is."

The girl nodded, "Yeah, I know where that is, follow me."

Shinjiro nodded and walked with her.

As they walked, the young man asked, "So, how are you getting used to life here?"

Chris shrugged, "Good, I guess. Everyone's just so god damn cheerful, it kinda weirds me out. I'd rather just stay at the base... But that old man of yours just wouldn't budge on me coming here."

Shinjiro chuckled, "Well, I guess he wanted you to have friends of your age, and to get some of that normal school life you missed."

Chris stared at him incredulously, "As if we have time for that."

The teen nodded, "Well, I guess. But Tsubasa's been doing this for a long time, and she's got it worse, what with her popstar life."

The lavender haired girl sighed, "I guess when you put it that way, I should probably put in more effort."

Shinjiro chuckled, "Well, don't stress so much about it."

Chris nodded, until they reached a door, "We're here."

The girl opened the door, to see Tsubasa sitting inside at one of the desks.

The bluenette blinked, "Oh, Yukine, and Shinjiro-kun."

Shinjiro waved, "Hey."

Chris walked in, "So, what's this about you helping out with this school event?"

Tsubasa blinked, "Hmm, what brought this up?"

Shinjiro chuckled, "Well, she was running from her classmates who seemed keen on getting her involved, and she ran into me, quite literally."

Chris grumbled as she sat down forcefully on a chair, doing her best and failing to push down the blush that formed on her cheeks.

Tsubasa giggled, "I see..."

Shinjiro let out a breath as he set his bag down, "So, how can I help?"

The bluenette nodded, "Sorry for dragging you into this, Shinjiro-kun."

The young man chuckled, "Don't sweat it, I have nothing better to do today anyways."

Tsubasa nodded, before gesturing to the table she sat in front of, "Then just help me fold these for now. We'll go from there."

Shinjiro nodded and sat down, before he glanced at Chris, "Hey, Chris, how about you help out too?"

The lavender haired girl blinked, "Eh? What, why?"

The young man chuckled, "I mean, even if you don't, you'll be dragged by your classmates into helping them anyways, right? You'll have an excuse if you help out here."

Tsubasa giggled, "True, I'll help you get them off of you if you help us."

Chris frowned, before she sighed, "... Fine..."

The lavender haired girl sat down by Shinjiro and grabbed a ribbon, folding it into a flower just like Tsubasa and Shinjiro were doing.

Tsubasa opened her mouth to speak, until they heard the door open, and a voice reached their ears, "Ah, Tsubasa-san! There you are!"

The three turned to see three girls at the door, and Tsubasa recognised them to be from her class.

Ako spoke with a slightly worried face, "You never came back from getting the supplies, we were even thinking of sending out a search party!"

Toko smiled as they walked in, "But I guess we didn't need to worry, you even snagged a cute junior to help out... And umm..."

The blonde trailed off when she noticed Shinjiro. Tsubasa smiled, "Ah, he's Hayata Shinjiro, he's my manager's trainee, and since we were running behind schedule, I just asked him to help."

The girls oh'd, and Ako smiled, "Oh, nice to meet you, Hayata-san. I'm Oki Ako."

The brunette introduced herself, "I'm Takasaka Ayumu."

The blonde lowered her head slightly, "I'm Sabe Toko."

Shinjiro nodded, "Nice to meet you all."

Ako then pouted at Tsubasa, "But seriously, you didn't need to get Hayata-san to help you, you could've just told us. It's not even your fault we got behind schedule!"

The bluenette smiled, "Well, I just didn't want to trouble all of you..."

Chris smirked, "Someone's rather popular..."

Shinjiro chuckled, "Comes with being an idol, she can't help it."

Toko smiled, "Well, she wasn't always this easy to approach."

Ayumu nodded, "Lydian's Songstress, that was what everyone called Tsubasa-san back then, makes sense though, considering she's a popstar and everything."

Tsubasa sighed, "Girls, please..."

Ako giggled, "Well, since Tsubasa-san always seemed cold and distant, everyone thought you were someone on a different level, which you are, but we just didn't realize you were pretty much the same as us."

Tsubasa sighed, "I guess that's true..."

Chris smirked at Tsubasa knowingly, "And we all know why she changed, yeah? Tsubasa-san?"

Toko blinked, "I'm sorry, I don't follow..."

Tsubasa spluttered, "Yukine!"

Ayumu blinked, "Did something happen?"

Shinjiro chuckled, "Don't worry about it. But I'm happy, that Tsubasa has friends like you in the academy. Back then she only had Kanade."

The bluenette looked at him warningly, "Shinjiro-kun..."

The young man grinned, "Well, I'd go into more detail, but I don't want to get fired."

Ako pouted, "Aw..."

Ayumu then asked, "Speaking of which, Hayata-san, does that mean you were already training under Tsubasa-san's manager back then?"

Tsubasa shook her head, "No, he just started last year. But I already knew him back when Zwei Wing was still a thing."

Ako oh'd, "I see..."

Toko asked, "So, what was Tsubasa-san like back then?"

Shinjiro chuckled, "Well, I'd like to tell you, but how about we save her some dignity and focus on finishing the preparations for the school events?"

The three girls pouted, but nodded begrudgingly as they quickly went back to finishing their preparations. Tsubasa gave Shinjiro a grateful smile, before silently going back to folding the ribbon flowers.

(Linebreak)


Later that evening, Shinjiro, Moroboshi, Tsubasa, Chris and Hibiki were outside an abandoned hospital.

Genjuro's voice sounded through their comms, "I really do apologise. Lydian's school event is coming soon, and I know you're all tired. But we just couldn't ignore this."

Hibiki smiled, "It's okay, Shishou. We're the only ones who can do this."

Tsubasa nodded, "It's our jobs as guardians."

Moroboshi scoffed, "Well, at least you all know that."

Chris frowned as she looked at the hospital, "But to think their base was just right at the edge of the city..."

Shinjiro nodded, "They were right under our noses all this time."

Shinji's voice reached their ears, "Well, this place was abandoned years ago. But recently, we've detected various supplies shipped here. It's not much, so we'll be going in pretty much blind."

Shinjiro nodded, "Don't worry, we got this."

Moroboshi scoffed, "Enough, let's get moving."

The four teens nodded, and they quickly entered the abandoned hospital as stealthily as they could.

As they entered, Hibiki looked around, rather creeped out by the place, "This... Really fits the abandoned hospital vibe..."

Chris glanced around, "Seems like they didn't bother changing things to suit their needs."

Moroboshi walked, "Of course, it makes it less suspicious."

They would've continued their banter, had the vents open, releasing a reddish gas out, and Tsubasa noticed the neon colors at a distance, "The welcome party's here..."

Shinjiro furrowed his brows, "Let's go."

The four nodded, and they all donned their suits.

"Balwisyall Nescell Gungnir Tron."

"Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri Tron.."

"Kilterr Ichaival Tron..."

(Play Bye Bye Lullaby)

The five all instantly were in their armors, and the Noises all immediately reacted to the spike of Phonic Gain and Spacium Energy.

The Noises all charged, and Tsubasa and Hibiki dashed forward, punching and slashing the Noises to pieces.

Shinjiro and Moroboshi simply walked to the Noises calmly, before beating and slashing the Noises as they closed in.

As for Chris, she simply rained bullets on them, ripping them to shreds easily as she took aim.

Shinjiro kicked a Noise away as it turned to carbon dust, before shooting out a Spacium Ray at a moderately sized Noise, blasting it to pieces. Moroboshi quickly followed up with an energy slash to a similarly sized Noise on their left.

Hibiki and Tsubasa both breezed through the Noises easily, until they realized the Noises they struck weren't vanishing at all, as they quickly came back.

Hibiki blinked, "Eh? Why aren't the Noises vanishing?"

Tsubasa grunted as she kicked one away, only for it to regenerate from the carbon dust, "Our Gears' outputs are dropping...?!"

Chris growled as she too quickly found the Noises she attacked had stopped disappearing, "Oh for gods sake!"

Soon, Hibiki started panting, and the three Symphogear users found themselves tired, their stamina draining rather quickly.

Shinjiro and Moroboshi on the other hand had no issues destroying the noises, and the younger man frowned as he threw an Ultra Slash, destroying a Noise that had gotten way too close to Tsubasa, "What happening?!"

Moroboshi frowned as he threw half a dozen Eye Slugger knives at the Noises, taking them out, "The gas, its reducing their output."

Shinjiro grunted as he threw two more Ultra Slash rings at the Noises, before they suddenly backed away.

Tsubasa frowned, "What are they doing?"

Her answer came in the form of clapping, as the Noises parted to reveal a very familiar man. Hibiki's eyes widened, "D-Dr. Ver?!"

The man clapped, "As expected of the heroes of the Lunar Attack, even with your gears' outputs reduced, you still managed to keep them away long enough for the Ultraman suits to take them down. Not only that, you deduced the cause of the decrease. I'm impressed, Ultra Seven."

Chris glared at him, "I see, so all those attacks from the Noises, they were all your doing!"

Hibiki frowned, "How?"

Dr. Ver chuckled, "Ah it was pretty simple. The people in charge, deemed it suitable for me to hold the cane when we were transferring it. It was a simple matter of hiding it into my coat when no one was looking. I've had it in my coat ever since we boarded the train."

Tsubasa stared at him, "So to steal the cane, you pretended to be attacked by the Noises and went into hiding."

The doctor smirked, "The ability to summon Noises, straight from the Gates of Babylonia. The only thing that can do this is the Cane of Solomon. And right now, the person most suited to wield it is me. Don't you agree?"

Chris glared at him, "As. If!"

The girl charged to give him a beating, but Dr. Ver simply smirked, and something shot out of the shadows from behind him. It was only thanks to Shinjiro's reflexes, that Chris was pulled back, and the Ultraman punched the object, sending it flying back as it landed on the ground, revealing it to be a grey creature with orange lines running across its body.

Moroboshi narrowed his eyes as he quickly stood in front of Tsubasa and Hibiki, "What is that?"

Shinjiro nodded as he took a stance in front of Chris, the three Symphogears feeling worse as more time passed, "It... didn't feel like a Noise."

Dr. Ver smirked, "As expected of Ultraman, you're right, this is not a Noise. Well, I won't spoil you the fun and tell you what it is. But I am curious how it'd fare against you, Ultraman of the new era. Ultra Seven aside, you are a very interesting specimen."

Hibiki glared at him despite her tiredness, "Specimen... you say?!"

The doctor nodded, "Yes, of course. A perfect hybrid of the original Ultraman years ago, and a regular human. Think of the things one can do with a body like that!"

Chris glared at him, "As if we'd let you have him!"

Dr. Ver chuckled, "Oh I am very much aware if that. But it still doesn't change that I am a scientist, and I am rather eager to find out just how far Shinjiro can replicate the feats of the 40 meter tall Ultraman."

Shinjiro glared at him, "How about you find out?"

The doctor grinned, "Oh and I intend to. It'd be very helpful if you are willing."

Moroboshi frowned and spoke up warningly, "Brat..."

The Ultraman spared him a glance, "Don't worry, I won't do anything stupid."

He quickly placed his arms in a cross-shaped pose, "I'll just blast it way!"

Without another word, Shinjiro fired a Spacium Ray from the suit, and it slammed into the grey beast, sending it crashing out of the wall.

The beast roared and dashed right back in, and Shinjiro barely managed to smack it away with a Spacium Blade.

Tsubasa yelled out in concern, "Shinjiro-kun!"

The teen frowned as he stared at the beast's growling form, "I'm fine."

Dr. Ver nodded as he took in the sight, "I see. As I expected, it is not a match for you, not even close. I'm impressed."

The beast seemed to take that as an order, as it obediently went back into a cage that was right behind Dr. Ver's feet, and it closed shut as soon as the beast went in.

Moroboshi stared at him coldly, "What are you after?"

Dr. Ver smiled, "Now wouldn't you like to know? Unlike the four of them, you're an established member of the new SSSP, or should I say Section 2? I'm sure you can find out."

The bespectacled Ultra glared at him, "If that's how you want to play, then you can tell us everything in a cell."

Moroboshi brandished his sword, and Dr. Ver chuckled, "How scary... but unfortunately, I can't just let that happen, now can I?"

The man summoned a horde of Noises, and Chris growled, "As if that'd work!"

A pack of missiles extended on her skirt armor, and Chris winced as she felt a surge of pain from her waist to her entire body. But she pushed it down and unleashed the missiles. And she screamed as if she was hit by the very same missiles she'd let loose.

Tsubasa instantly went to help Chris to her feet, and the missiles hit the Noises, further enlarging the hole Shinjiro'd created.

Dr. Ver easily encased himself safely in a Noise, and exited the hospital, letting it crumble to carbon dust as he stood outside safely. He stared at the pained girl, 'Hmm, I see. So the anti-Linker works perfectly.'

He was torn from his musings when Hibiki and Shinjiro both glared at him, ready to move at any moment's notice. Chris growled weakly, "Goddamit, why do I feel like I'm the one hit by those missiles..."

Tsubasa and Moroboshi shared a look. They could guess why. The lowered sync rates of the user and the armor meant that there would be an increased backlash when using any attacks. The more powerful the attack, the worse the backfire. Considering how powerful Chris' attacks were, it wouldn't be surprising if the backlash was bad enough to kill her.

Seven then spotted a flying Noise some distance away, carrying the very container that had held the beast.

Dr. Ver smirked, 'Now, that's one thing out of the way...'

He glanced back at the group, 'I'd love to collect some more data, both on the Symphogears and him. But it seems like I've run out of time...'

Moroboshi frowned, "Brat, go get that creature! Tachibana, Tsubasa, we're taking him in."

Shinjiro nodded, and shot straight up into the air, as Moroboshi, Hibiki and Tsubasa surrounded Dr. Ver. The doctor sighed and simply raised his arms surrenderingly.

With Shinjiro, the Ultraman quickly closed the distance between him and the Noise. But they were already at the harbor, and the Noise was already above the water.

Shinjiro grunted, and threw an Ultra Slash at the Noise, ripping it to shreds, letting go of the container in the process. The Ultraman quickly dove after it, and he quickly reached it.

But before Shinjiro could grab the case, a green beam guillotine shot at him, and Shinjiro barely managed to use his Spacium Blades to block it, pushing him away.

Immediately after, a spear shot at him, and Shinjiro backed away to avoid the spear. He grunted, "What?!"

The spear stopped and spun, shooting around before stopping right above the water, and a single figure landed on the tip of the spear, while another floated by her side using numerous thrusters.

Shinjiro grunted as he steadied himself in the air, watching as the container landed in the hands of Maria Cadenzavna Eve, clad in her black Gungnir, with Ultraman Ace by her side.

On the harbor, where Moroboshi, Hibiki, Chris and Dr. Ver had just reached the place, the doctor being restrained by the two Symphogear users, the man smirked, "Right on time, Finé."

Moroboshi glanced at him, "Finé, you say?"

Dr. Ver nodded, "It means 'the end', as you all should know, being members of the new SSSP. But it's not just the name our organization carries."

He smirked, his eyes focused solely on the girl on the spear, "It is also the other name of Maria Cadenzavna Eve. "

Chris narrowed her eyes as she stared at the second bearer of the Gungnir, "Then... you don't mean..."

The doctor nodded, "Yes, she is none other than Finé herself. A newly reincarnation of the priestest, Finé!"

XXX

DONE. So, that's the chapter. I'll try to work on the next chapter soon, but I'm rather busy with CNY these days... so I'll try but I'm not sure if I can update as soon as I normally do.

So yeah, until the next chapter.