Senki Zessho Symphogear: A Cybernetic Touch
~A tale of the valkyries and the beasts that follow them…~
Chapter 7: The Holy Sword Retrieved -The Loss of the Second Grasshopper-
WARNING: I own none of these characters sides from my OC(s). All rights go to their respective owners and properties.
This is nothing more than, well a fanfic, a story made up by a fan for entertainment and knowledge.
Everything in this fic is not canon and is only meant to give the audience a new idea of the works of each of the franchises in this story.
So please support me, my work and have some fun. Now enjoy the story. ^w^
*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*
It wasn't long enough after the festival that the trio of friends came back home. Of course, thanks to the alarm, Hibiki groaned as she quickly silenced it before it woke up the slumbering Cody and Miku. The young girl stretched as she looked over at them with a soft smile on her face before she stood up to get dressed.
The young brunette had to head out early to chat with Genjuro. She needed to get stronger and learn how to fight. For the safety of Cody and Miku, she needed to ask his help. Thanks to Tsubasa, she learned where she stayed as she went off to learn from him. If she can just get a bit stronger, then it'll be enough for her to protect them both from anything that comes her way.
Then… then she remembered what happened last night…
XXX
FLASHBACK…
Hibiki and Cody quickly rushed into Section 2's side of Lydian as Balto was on the hospital bed, bandages around his body and on life support to stabilize the young man. Tsubasa was there at his bedside, her bangs covering her face as she couldn't speak a word about how much this hurt her to see the gunner like this.
"Just what happened here?" Hibiki got out, turning to Genjuro.
"It seems he went overboard… There was an attack near Lydian during the festival. Seems someone was bringing several Noise and Magia over to cause another incident." Genjuro said, "But as I feared, Balto took this chance to try and play hero and stop them all… He's lucky to even be alive with what happened with his Rider System."
"Wait, there was an attack?! And you didn't tell us?!" Cody gasped.
"He insisted on taking care of it himself…. He wanted everyone to just enjoy a normal day for once." Ogawa said, bowing in apology. "Please don't be too harsh on him."
"You idiot…" Tsubasa said, as she turned away and walked out of the room. This was too much for her to deal with.
"I should have stepped in much earlier to prevent this…" Genjuro said as he recalled the last conversation between him and the gunner.
"Wait, if he was this badly hurt… he couldn't have done this alone!" Hibiki stated.
"If I had to guess, Valkyrie must have stepped in to help him." Ogawa informed.
"Yaiba-neesan…" Cody muttered with worry.
XXX
Returning to the present, Hibiki soon saw that Tsubasa was right back to how she used to be when she first got Gungnir. Cold and confrontational. Hibiki couldn't let this continue, as she needed to get stronger for everyone. She wants to hold her hands with everyone with a smile and a better day, and she can only do this by getting stronger and knowing how to fight. If she can't summon her Gear Weapon, she'll become the weapon.
Hibiki soon reached Genjuro's household as she took a deep breath before knocking on the door to signal the veteran. He soon opened the door to see the young girl.
"Hibiki-san, what's wrong?"
"I need you to train me, Shishou! I need to get stronger for everyone! So please, teach me how to fight!" Hibiki pleaded as she bowed heartily to the veteran rider.
(Insert Op Song - Heroes - Ryota Fujimaki - Zero and Geed Chronicles)
The song starts with an instrumental, as various multicolored ones and zeros begin to rain down from the sky before transforming into a stampede of multicolored robotic animals, all lead by a yellow robotic grasshopper, running through a hexagonal tunnel of sound. Once the grasshopper leaped through an orange ring of sound, it soon transformed into the series titles
[Hikari no naka de, Yami ga umarete, Ookiku hakari wo, Kuzushiteshimau toki]
It soon jumps to Cody watching the clouds go by. As he gets up, he is greeted by Hibiki and Miku, who are happily waiting for him. However when he walks towards them, they are spied on by Yua, who is recording data for Gai.
[Yamiyo ni sakebi, Chi wo hau monotachi, Machi wa kirisakare, Kizuna wa tatareru]
As it soon shifts, we enter a firing range at night, where Balto is practicing his aim. As he takes off the protective gear, he turns to see Tsubasa and as the two walk by each other, the ghost of Kanade appears between them as they share a glance of animosity and regret between them.
[Zero ni naru kakugo wa aru ka, Shimei wo eranda senshitachi]
It shifts once more first to Genjuro looking through a window as he stares at various screens about Gungnir, Ame-no-Habakiri, as well as data on Shooting Wolf, before transitioning into Gai watching the data for Rising Hopper with a wicked grin. Finally, it jumps to Fine, who is preparing three figures, later shown to be Chris, Horobi, Jin, and Raiden for battle.
[Sakete wa toorenu tatakai e, Hikari wo obite, Mae e mae e mae e..]
As the four rush into battle, they are confronted by an army of Noise and Magia walking towards them. With each of them ready for battle, the girls begin to sing their song while the boys activated their Progrise Keys. Once they did so, a bright light began to shine onto them as they were transformed.
[Susume bokura no hero... Asahi ni inori akatsuki ni chikau. Heiwa no kane wo... Narase hero...]
Cody, now as Zero-One Rising Hopper charges into battle, punching and cutting down any monster in his way, as Hibiki runs in behind, mowing down more enemies before the two stop, looking at the three members of in their Rider forms along with Chris in the Nehushtan Armor, before the two turn to one another, holding hands as they stand their ground, ready to take them on. As they charge in, their other allies of Tsubasa, Vulcan, and those who follow him join their lead.
[Bokura wa anata kara, Hontou no yuki o shiru]
As they fight the monsters, images of new forms are shown behind Cody, namely the Blustering Hawk, Biting Shark, Flaming Tiger, and Freezing Bear form. Afterwards, the same happens to Balto, revealing the Gatling Hedgehog, Punching Kong, and Trapping Spider forms. Once they stand together, a projection of the Breaking Mammoth and Charging Elasmoth mechas appear in their place.
[Tataeyo our hero, Tataeyo our hero~]
The two Riders charge alongside Hibiki and Tsubasa, their bodies beginning to shine as they leap into battle and create an explosion of light. Once the light fades, it soon shows a young Cody meeting Hibiki as their teenage selves appeared in their shadows.
At Fine's mansion…
"WHAT?! THE MUTT'S KOED?!" Raiden roared as he heard the news from Fine, "This is bullshit! Why is he the only one of them out? I wanted to fight that bastard!"
"Seems Valkyrie helped him out enough so that only he'd be out. Impressive for the old dog." Horobi noted with a nod of approval.
"Regardless, that's one less Operator to deal with." Naki observed.
"Ugh, this sucks…" Raiden growled as he felt cheated out of a fight with Balto.
"I just want to take care of that Gungnir brat… Nothing else matters to me…" Naki seethed, using her claws to cut down a dummy doll.
"Get in line, sister…" Chris said with a snarl.
"Patience, and you all will get what you want." Fine sounded off before looking to Naki, "For now, we move onward with the plan. Naki, Durendal will be moved tomorrow. I expect you to bring the data back to me in one piece."
"Yes, Lady Fine." the lone female Humagear said with a bow.
"As for the rest of us?" Jin asked with hopeful eyes.
"Standby for now. If it goes well, then my plan will give us everything we need." Fine said, soon walking away from the others.
XXX
Back with Cody, he was taking the time to walk around the school campus as he wanted to get some fresh air before he re-joined classes as himself and not Koji Amamiya.
Of course, Miku and the other friends she and Hibiki made were alongside him. Miku being a bit overprotective as after everything that happened, she could not be worried for him. She was his sister after all, and he did get to reunite with Miku's parents at the festival upon learning of his return.
He however could not help but worry about Izu and Yaiba back at ZAIA HQ. They were likely getting punished mercilessly by Gai because he escaped, and it weighed heavily on the boy.
"Nee, Cody-san? Are you alright?" Yumi asked him
"Huh?" Cody turned to her before he nodded, "Um, yeah I'm fine… Just thinking about the ones who did their best to care for me when I was at ZAIA…"
"Guessing something happened to them, didn't it?" Miku guessed.
"Most likely.." He nodded with worry.
"Well, maybe the Kamen Riders might help them one day? Or those armored maidens?" she thought.
"Let's hope so…" Cody said, only earning a noogie from Yumi to have him snap out of this.
"Oi oi! Can't have Hibiki's hubby start brooding like an edgelord!" she teased him.
"H-Hubby?" Cody got out with a heavy blush from the word.
"Hey, knock it off!" Miku grumbled.
"Ara, don't tease them too much, Yumi. They both need to learn from each other first." Shiori stated, bonking her friend lightly on the head.
"Ow! I didn't mean it~!" Yumi cried out in her defense.
Soon, the girls had a laugh as Cody smiled and soon laughed with them. Overall, Cody was glad that he was free, but he still had an itching feeling that this peace would not last long.
XXX
Within the training dojo, Tsubasa was silently practicing her archery. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the bowstring back and took aim at her target.
She then let the arrow loose and it hit just a few meters away from the bullseye.
"Tch.." Tsubasa clicked her tongue as she missed. She shouldn't have missed.
She tried again with another arrow, but once again she was barely off the mark.
This shouldn't be happening to her… yet she couldn't even do this properly. Something was wrong with her and she knew it… even knew the problem.
"Balto… you idiot…" She muttered to herself.
She was trying to bury these emotions and feelings again, and this time instead of working and letting her be the sword she was meant to be, it was hindering her. She tried to harden her resolve again to fire another arrow, but this time, the arrow landed a good distance away from the bullseye.
Tsubasa set her bow down, clenching it tightly in anger and worry. The blunette idol couldn't let this continue again, she needed to be better than this. As much as she wants to fight and help others, she can't risk going back to her usual cold self again, both Hibiki and Balto proved that she is better when she's smiling.
So why did she almost lose another partner because of that smile?
"Something on your mind, Tsubasa?" Ogawa called out to her as he walked into view with a towel and water bottle.
"…it's nothing." she answered.
"I know when you're upset, Tsubasa. Tell me. Didn't you want to change for the better?" He pointed out to her.
She was silent for a moment, "Why? Why is it that the people I get close to end up dying?" she asked.
"Balto isn't dead yet, Tsubasa. Have faith."
"I know. It's just… I'm scared of opening up again." Tsubasa continued, "It's because of me that Kanade and Balto…"
Ogawa nodded, sitting next to her as he patted her back, "I know you're scared… but you can't let your fear take you down again. You need to live and smile, in order to keep moving forward. Didn't Kanade teach you that?"
Tsubasa couldn't help but recall that as she started to curl up. Ogawa sighed as he shook his head.
"For what it's worth, I'm sure that neither of them would want you to be like this." he told the idol.
Tsubasa lowered her head as she also began to remember what Hibiki said to her once.
"If you shield your heart away, you won't be able to see the wonder that life can give when you hold your hand out to someone!"
"I… I guess you're right…" she admitted, after some time.
"Now, what does this Tsubasa want to do?" Ogawa asked as he smiled at her.
Tsubasa took a deep breath as she stood back up, arrow in hand as she pulled the string back and let the arrow go, as it flew through the air and landed in the center as she turned back with a smile.
"I believe Balto will pull through. Until he wakes up, I'll keep Tachibana and Aldrich both safe and happy." She said with her new resolve.
Owada nodded as he saw a more content look on Tsubasa's face.
XXX
Later on, the group was pulled into a meeting by Genjuro.
"Glad you all could make it. Today we had some issues to attend to." Genjuro noted, "Earlier today, one of our higher representatives was killed in an attack. It was thanks to him that we were able to make all of our efforts stay by the books and without much trouble… but now with his death, we're forced to send what he had over here. And that includes sending one of our more completed Relics into a safer area."
"This relic is the legendary sword of Sir Roland, Durendal." Sakurai told the group.
"Durendal?" Cody got out with shock.
Knowing the legend of it and how dangerous it could be, and even more so with the fact they had this in their possession.
"Indeed, right now we're planning a small convoy with Tsubasa, Hibiki, and I as the current protectors in case the Noise or Metsubojinrai decide to try and ambush the transport." Genjuro explained to the group.
"U-Um…. What do you want me to do, sir?" Cody spoke up, as he was wondering what his involvement will be.
"For now, monitor the system from here." Genjuro said, "I wish you could join us on the field, but without the Zero-One Driver, you might end up a sitting duck."
"R-Right… I understand sir…" Cody nodded softly.
"I really wish we got the belt from ZAIA…" Hibiki grumbled.
"With how heavy the security is, and how it belongs to them? We can't do anything about it." Tsubasa noted.
"And that's not accounting the fact that Metsubojinrai has Zea's core, so even if we had the Driver, likely whoever's in charge of the syndicate probably modified it to remove any traces of Zero-One from it…" Ogawa theorized.
"For now, just wait. I'm sure that Aoi and Sakuya will give you any tips you need." Genjuro noted as the two tech supporters nodded to the young teen.
"Y-Yes sir." Cody affirmed, "So where exactly are we going to move the sword?"
"To one of the vaults secured by the Kazanari Family. It's practically impenetrable once inside." Genjuro informed, "So, does everyone have their orders? Then I want you all to be there at 0500 tomorrow morning."
"Yes sir!"
XXX
LATER…
"Hey, where have you two been?" Miku asked the pair.
"Just the side job, Hibiki showed me, Miku-nee. Seems a few changes were needed for both of us to be there." Cody responded, quickly giving Miku a hug for relief as this was something he started to do for relief and assurance that this was still real.
"Well at least call ahead and tell me you two were working late." she reminded them, "I worry about you two sometimes."
"Sorry Miku. We're not allowed to use our phones until break… And today we couldn't get it that much…" Hibiki groaned out, her stomach rumbling to signal dinner for them all.
"Well someone's hungry." Cody joked.
"I'll get dinner started for us then. We'll have some soba." Miku smiled as she walked over to start cooking for the three of them.
As the trio ate, Miku could easily tell both of them were lying to her. She knew them long enough to know when they lie and try to avoid it. She just wished they would tell her the truth. However once night came, Hibiki could not sleep at all and instead stared at the ceiling.
The brunette could tell Miku was mad at them both. She also hated having to lie to her constantly, but there was no way she could get involved. All of this was too dangerous for her, and if something should happen to her? If she wasn't depressed after Cody's disappearance, how would she react to Miku's death because of her?
Hibiki shook her head, trying to remove those worries and thoughts. Genjuro taught her that if those thoughts clouded her mind, she would become hesitant and cause more trouble than good. It was thanks to him, that Hibiki started to get the hang of her Gear and she will use it to protect them both. Miku is her sun, and Cody is her star. These are her precious loved ones that she will do whatever it takes to protect them.
'I won't let them down!' she thought to herself before going to bed.
XXX
At Fine's mansion, Chris noticed that Naki was practicing with her claws, something she had done since regaining her arm in order to reorient her fighting style to what it once was.
'Gungnir… I will strike you down!' the wolf Humagear thought as she visualized herself fighting the berzerk Hibiki.
Chris pondered this more since the last few fights. Concern and worry soon filled her mind as she even wondered what this was all for? This had to be something grand if Fine promised them all that they'd have something from this. Chris only wants war and suffering to end.
But lately, she's been pondering if that will even be possible? They all did so much for years, even before Fine found and raised her. Metsubojinrai is already a terrorist group, and with the Noise, so many lives were snuffed out.
She was told that this was all for the sake of their futures that were promised. But is that even the case anymore? Even Fine, with all of her wisdom and power… it seemed to have changed and not for the better.
"Oi! You looking for a sparring partner?" she called out to Naki.
"If you insist… I wanna see if I can slice a Gear user's arm now…" Naki said coldly.
Chris couldn't help but smirk at this as she summoned the Nethusitan armor and readied herself for battle.
"Try me then." she said with a cocky grin.
Naki soon stood up, slowly walking to Chris, but the moment she got closer, wind and ice began to flurry around the Humagear, as she then sped up, creating several after images as the breeze of wind past by the Gear user, as she felt a cut on her cheek!
'Tch, she's so fast!' Chris thought as she quickly turned around to try and land a kick on Naki.
Yet she was soon flung into the air by the backlash of the wind, Naki already on the ceiling as she came rushing down to Chris. The gear user used what she can to defend herself with Nethusitan, as Naki slashed and clawed at her as they began to be sent back to the ground. Naki then spun as she landed a solid kick to Chris's side, shattering the glass tendrils and armor of the Gear as she was flung into the ground.
Chris soon struggled to get back up while Naki merely looked towards her with a slight smile on her face. Chris's blood ran cold for a moment as Naki reeled her arm back, ready to cut Chris down. This scared her as Naki was actually going for a kill…. If only soon stopped by Horobi.
"Enough of this." He said to Naki, "Fine still needs her alive."
Naki said nothing as she sighed and lowered her claws, "Thank you for the sparring." she thanked the gear user.
With that, Naki soon walked off, as she waited prepared her attack on the convoy and her target. Horobi turned to Chris as he walked off, leaving the gear user to sit there without any help. Chris soon struggled back up as she limped off to rest for the next time Fine would need her.
Luckily for her, that time was coming soon.
XXX
Dawn soon approached as the group stood at the ready while five cars, four black and one pink, were lined up behind them.
"We've set checkpoints, under the pretense of looking for the defense minister's assassin." Genjuro reported to the pair, "We're heading straight for the Kazanari mansion."
"I call it Plan: Keep the Road to Yourself!" Ryoko affirmed with a peace sign.
"Ugh, that name is terrible…" Cody groaned from the coms.
"Regardless, you all have your tasks, so move out!" he declared as he went towards his motorcycle, which was at the end of the line, and slapped on his Driver.
KAMEN RIDER!
"Henshin!"
CYCLONE RISE! ROCKING HOPPER!
[Type-1]
Now as Ichigata, the grasshopper Rider led the convoy as they rode across the highway. Tsubasa was following suit on her own bike while Hibiki was with Ryoko and Durendal in her personal pink car. There were a couple of drones flying overhead tracking the convoy's movements as well as any interlopers. Back in headquarters, Cody was helping in monitoring the group
"I should be there…" Cody muttered as he soon felt so powerless.
"Hey, have faith in them." Aoi smiled softly, patting his head gently.
Suddenly, Cody and Hibiki spotted the bridge began to crack and break down from their respective perspectives.
"Ryoko-san!" Hibiki called out.
"I see it! Hang on tight!" Ryoko said, as she began to drive as if she was a sports car driver.
The cars and bikes were able to swerve away but one of the black cars fell down and exploded.
"We're under attack. We don't have a visual, but it has to be Metsubojinrai!" one of the cars reported via comms as they got off the bridge and onto the streets.
"I guess they're here sooner than we expected." Ryoko noted as she saw several Trilobite Magia appear on the road.
"Let me and Tsubasa handle them! You keep going!" Genjuro said, as the two fighters sped past them.
Suddenly, one of the cars was flung into the air by a flying manhole cover.
"The Noise are attacking through the sewers!" another one of the remaining cars reported before a second manhole flung into the air by the Noise.
As Ichigata and Tsubasa fought off the Magia, the Noise continued to fire off any manholes from the streets to upend the pink car.
"Genjuro-kun, aren't things getting a little bad?" Ryoko questioned the grasshopper Rider, "If there's an explosion at the pharmaceutical factory up ahead, Durendal-"
"I know!" Ichigata shouted, "The reason they're only targeting our cars is that the Noise are being controlled and ordered to avoid damaging the relic! The Magia are likely being used as distractions as well!"
"Crap!" Cody snarled.
"If that's the case, we need to go somewhere where we can limit their options!" Tsubasa noted after cutting down another Magia.
Cody looked through the surveillance as he scanned through the map. He quickly found an easy exit for them to escape through!
"Ryoko-san! You and Hibiki take a hard left right now!" Cody called out to the two.
"Got it!" she noted as she slammed her breaks and drifted towards the direction Cody suggested, "Hold on, Hibiki!" she told the other Gear user.
Soon, it was only Ichigata, Tsubasa, Ryoko, and one more lone car before the slug-like Noise finally flew out of the sewers and forced the agents within the car to flee the vehicle. While they were safe at the moment, two large black mechas with mammoth-like chest armors and red and purple accents fell from the skies and grabbed the pink car.
"W-W-What the heck are those?!" Hibiki cried out.
"Gigers?!" Ryoko gasped.
"Huh?"
"Their mechs that were scrapped when ZAIA broke their contract with Section 2. They were going to be your heavy hitters against the Noise. Damn them, they must've stolen the data!" Ryoko clicked her teeth in annoyance.
Soon, the Giger holding the pink car pinched the roof of the car and ripped it off. Cody was panicking as he desperately wanted to try and help. He then recalled something about Balto having a mecha the same size as a Giger. And that was currently sitting in the hanger in vehicle mode.
Having been tired of watching from the sidelines, Cody quickly got up as he raced off to the hanger. Aoi and Sakuya tried to stop him, but he was already down the stairwell. The young boy reached the hanger as he saw the mecha car as he hopped inside and began to attempt to start it up.
The car soon started up as he saw an interface appear before him.
ELASMOTANK ONLINE
PLEASE IDENTIFY YOURSELF…
"Cody Aldrich!"
VOICE RECOGNITION FOUND
USER ACCEPTED
UNLOCKING FULL CAPABILITIES…
Soon the car began to whirl to life while the hanger quickly opened up to allow the car to drive through.
"I'm coming, Hibiki!" Cody said, stomping on the peddle to race off towards her direction.
XXX
Back with Hibiki, Tsubasa was left busy as she cut down the Noise while Ichigata tested out the modifications that Ryoko had placed into his Driver. Namely, he grabbed one of the Noise and tossed it into the Trilobite Magia that was harassing him.
'I see, so that's how the kid was able to fight the Noise on his own…' the grasshopper Rider noted as he saw that his hand was completely fine despite grabbing the Noise.
Thanks to Cody, Ryoko was able to take the data that was on his body and his memories of the experience as Zero-One to make her own little barrier for Balto and Genjuro's Operator Systems so that they'd be able to fight Noise fully without any issue. A much better system than her previous method which put the gunner in the hospital
"Now then, come at me!" he shouted at the Noise, entering his fighting stance.
As with Ryoko and Hibiki, the brunette was scared but she had to fight. Though, just before she could use her gear, in came a flying car as it smacked the Giger out of the way and into the ground as it landed.
"Leave them alone!" Cody roared at the machine.
"Eh?! Cody?" Hibiki gasped, "Why are you out here?"
"Keeping you safe, that's what!" he noted before activating the car's transformation system, "Now, engaging battle mode!"
VOICE COMMAND ACCEPTED
With those words, the car transformed into its rhino mecha mode. From a distance, Metsubojinrai was shocked to see this machine rise up against the Gigers.
"Wah! This wasn't in the plan! Is doggy piloting that?" Jin gawked in shock.
"He shouldn't even be conscious!" Raiden gritted.
Horobi however recognized the stance the Charging Elasmoth took, "It can't be… Zero-One?!"
Naki on the other hand, gritted her teeth as she didn't want to wait any longer. The Humagear rushed on ahead, wanting to face and kill Hibiki Tachibana.
"Oi! Naki, where are you going?" Jin asked before running after her to join, "Wait for me!"
"You two! Get back here now! This is an order!" Horobi shouted at them.
However they did not listen as they activated their respective Keys.
WING!
JAPANESE WOLF!
"Henshin!"
FORCE RISE!
Now in their Rider forms, Hibiki spotted the pair heading towards the battle and her in particular. Cody tried to help, but the two Gigers were keeping him busy as he fought both at the same time. However, Tsubasa and Ichigata were able to break free long enough to leap in and stop Naki's attack.
"You!" she snarled.
"Fancy seeing you again. I won't let you get to Tachibana." Tsubasa declared, putting into a stance to fight the Humagear.
The pair quickly locked blades as Tsubasa dealt with Naki, leaving Ichigata with the more childish Jin.
"Ready to lose, kid?" Ichigata chuckled
"Mou, why can't you just stay in bed, old man?" Jin pouted with annoyance before diving at the grasshopper Rider.
"Hibiki! You and Ryoko keep going! We'll handle them all!" Cody said to the two, as this truly was their best chance to get going.
"Alright!" she affirmed before grabbing the large case that held the legendary sword, "Grah, this is so heavy!"
"Then maybe you should give it to me?"
Nearby stood Chris, in the Nethusitan Armor, ready to fight the Gungnir user.
"Fine… looks like I have no choice." Hibiki said, taking a breather before she sung and summoned her gear. But this time, instead of charging, she took a stance to fight which was surprising to Chris.
"So, you're ready to throw down?" she noted, "Fine, bring it!"
The two dashed towards and clashed fists before beginning a barrage that would not look out of place in a JoJo manga. Chris used her glass tendrils to either strike or send out an energy ball, as Hibiki easily moved out of the way with each hit and deflected the attack as this shocked the other gear user.
'What in the? How is she doing this! She was not this strong last time! Just what happened?' Chris gasped in shock within her thoughts.
As for Ryoko, she could only sit there and watch. While the plan was forced a bit farther ahead, at least Chris stuck to it. The rest she'll punish later, but for now she turned her attention to the encased Durendal, only to soon see it react and shine before breaking out of the case in a brilliant light.
"Awakening? Activation?" Ryoko gasped.
The light covered the sword before it soon alter and changed into a more complete blade, much to the fighter's amazement.
"So, that is Durendal!" Chris laughed before leaping towards the blade.
"I won't let you!" Hibiki said, lunging towards the blade as well, but thanks to her gear she easily caught the blade before Chris.
But this… was something that shocked everyone. The strong relic reacted to the brunette, as it began to cover her with unknown energy as she appeared almost similar to that of when she was in her berserk form, but this time it was her entire body.
As she lifted the blade into the air, Hibiki began to cut down anything that moved, whether that be Noise, Magia, or even Tsubasa and any Operator in the vicinity. She could not be stopped, Hibiki was fully consumed by the sword's power.
Tsubasa's eyes widen as she dodged just in time, while Naki could only watch as her body was cut in half by Hibiki as the Humagear erupted into an explosion with only parts of her remaining intact.
"NAKI-CHAN!" Jin cried out.
"Jin! Retreat!" Horobi shouted from afar.
"But, we can't leave her!" he pleaded.
"It's too late! Move before you get hit next!"
"Grah! Damn you!" Jin cried before flying off.
"Tachibana! Calm down!" Ichigata shouted, only for him to be on the next receiving end of the swing as he attempted to catch and stop it, but surprisingly it was too much even for him.
The blade connected as Genjuro's armor was quickly destroyed, forcing him to eject from the suit before it too erupted into an explosion as not even the Cyclone Driver was saved from it. Luckily the key was.
"Dammit, we need to do something!" Cody growled. He soon charged ahead as he tackled the Giger mech and began to push it towards Hibiki hoping this would be enough to snap her out of it.
But instead she cut through the mecha like butter, destroying it and leaving it's Progrise Key behind. Cody knew this mech would be also destroyed as he quickly opened the cockpit to reveal his face to her.
"Hibiki! Stop, please!" he cried out to her as the blade was about to hit the teen. He closed his eyes as he hoped this wouldn't hurt from the hit.
At first, he thought the blade would hit him, but luckily it stopped short of the mech itself. Cody sighed in relief as Hibiki was soon on the ground, passed out from the power as Ryoko was there… but… her hair was down, glasses gone, and a soft energy glow to her hand before she pocketed it.
'I see… So she's my key…' she noted with a smile. She then looked up to Cody as she gave a soft wink. "How about we just say you saved her, okay Cody-chan?"
"U-Uh… right…" Cody nodded as he was more surprised that Ryoko had some powers too. Guess it made sense, since she knew how to work and fix up the Relics and Progrise Systems.
XXX
"Naki-chan…" Jin cried as he curled up into a corner and cried.
"Hey, you forget we're Humagears, Jin. We just need her core and we can bring her back." Raiden said, trying to cheer him up.
"But it wasn't right for us to just leave her…" he bemoaned.
"She got what she deserved for disobeying instructions." Fine said, walking into the room, "What matters more, is that I found the last piece I needed for my plan."
Horobi knew what she meant, "So, it's time… isn't it?"
"Yes it's almost time… Our future will be uphold." Fine stated with a nod, "We just need to remove… a certain obstacle…" She said to Horobi, hinting to what he needed to do. "Take care of Yukine and bring the Staff of Solomon and the Nethusitan to me."
He nodded as he left to allow Fine to turn towards the Zea core still on the table.
"If only you were still alive Koronosuke… I would have loved to see your as you watch your dream die." she chuckled.
XXX
Within the park, Chris awaited for Fine's next orders as she was told to meet her here. She was more confused as to why this had to happen. That was when she saw the familiar stinger from Horobi's Rider form flying towards her.
"Horobi?!" She got out, quickly dodging it only for a kick to connect to her back as she was flung to the ground as both the Staff of Solomon and the Nethusitan armor fell onto the ground as she looked up to him with confusion, "What is the meaning of this?!"
"You've finished your work…" he stated as he took up the two items before transporting them, via Noise that was alongside him.
"What are you talking about? Of course my work isn't finished! I still need to see everyone bow to us!" Chris hissed out.
"You honestly believe Fine was going to give you that? You were just her tool and experiment on the Nethusitan. You were never part of the plan." Horobi stated to her.
Understandably, Chris was horrified at this as she ran for her life from the scorpion Rider. However, Horobi took his time as he slowly made his way towards the panicking Chris. For him, he doesn't need to expend that much energy, he can just make her tired enough for him to finish the job.
Chris, true to the Humagear's theory, ran as fast as she could while trying to escape Horobi's wrath, getting slower and slower as she got tired. She knew how Horobi worked, as using her Gear wouldn't do a thing as he fought against Raiden on a daily basis against his lightning attacks. He was too adaptable against anything and Fine's ace. She could only hope that he'd give up or given different orders.
After finally finding a place to hide, she breathed a sigh of relief as she slumped down and tried to take a rest.
The keyword being try.
*CRASH!*
From the door she was leaning on, Horobi's blade stuck out and cut through the door in one clean slice, leaving her with no energy and at the mercy of the scorpion Rider.
"Farewell, Yukine." Horobi said, as he raised his sword and thrusted.
Yet in a mere second as Chris closed her eyes, a clang came off as next to her was Genjuro, holding up a sturdy piece of metal against Horobi's blade.
"So, this is what Metsubojinrai will do with comrades, huh?" Genjuro smirked.
"Stay out of this, you are no longer an Operator." Horobi told him bluntly.
"Maybe so, but I can still fight." Genjuro said, closing the distance as he quickly gave a one inch punch as it launched the scorpion rider through the building and into the sky like a rocket. He sighed as he turned towards the scared Chris, "Are you alright?"
"Why…? Why are you even here…?" She got out, feeling relived from the attack.
"It's because its an adult's job to protect the children of tomorrow." Genjuro informed. "Especially since it was my fault you were taken to them…"
"Your fault, huh? Hmph, I already heard this from Fine. You gave up on trying to find me after my parents died… You and everyone in Section 2 forgot and moved on." Chris huffed, smacking his hand away from her.
"I never gave up. I continued until you came back, fighting against Tachibana and the others. It just baffled me that you're here now…" Genjuro said.
"Well, keep being baffled… I'm fine on my own.." Chris huffed as she soon made her way as with Horobi failing, meant she was now free since Fine didn't care enough to finish Chris herself.
Genjuro could only stand there with a heavy sigh. He'll still fight to make sure she's protected. He just needs time. Though, with Horobi and Metsubojinrai now abandoning her for this… 'Fine', it meant there was another enemy to face. Question is what are they truly after?
XXX
Meanwhile, Cody was getting an earful from Aoi and Sakuya about running off while Hibiki and Tsubasa watched on.
"I said I was sorry…" Cody grumbled, annoyed by their scolding.
"And because of that, we now have to have serious repairs on Elsamoth!" Aoi pointed out, "This was just irresponsible and dangerous now that you're just human!"
"Hey now, Cody did save us all at least. If he didn't jump in, I'm pretty sure we would've lost." Hibiki said, trying to calm everyone down.
"Besides, we did not expect Metsubojinrai themselves to appear." Tsubasa pointed out. "And while Durendal is safe, it seems we have to go with our last option and keep it here."
"It still baffles me though…. Why would they go after Durendal, even after obtaining Zea's core?" Sakuya noted, "Why grab something like that?"
"Actually, why didn't they grab Cody when he showed up? He's connected to the Hidens." Aoi realized, "Why were they so focused with the sword?"
Questions and confusion continued to pile up for everyone as it truly was a confusing mess. Genjuro soon walked in as he sat down.
"Seems to be done by whoever is behind all of this…." He told them, "I Had a little chat with Chris and Horobi, and seems they all were working under someone named, 'Fine'. Its safe to assume they're the ones behind everything here."
"So they're his boss or something. Right?" Cody guessed.
"Indeed… But still many questions are out there… But for now, we'll just focus on securing Durendal." Genjuro said, "Oh, and good job on the save. You'll only have to remain in your dorm room for a week instead of a month." He informed the young boy.
Cody, for once, breathed a sigh of relief as he turned to Hibiki. He was worried about what happened with Hibiki when he grabbed that sword, the boy had not seen what came over her.
"Phew! I'm back!" Ryoko sighed out, as she too returned from her duties with the higher ups. She smiled brightly as she walked over to hug Cody as that surprised him and Hibiki, "You daredevil cutie! Its thanks to you, I got not only some fancy data on Durendal but a new Progrise Key in the works!"
"Uh, thanks?" he said, though muffled, "Um, I can't breath!
"Grrr…." Hibiki was glaring at Ryoko heavily upon seeing them hug, as she puffed her cheeks in annoyance.
Ryoko soon noticed Hibiki and smiled wickedly.
"Oh~! Jealous?"
"Just stop hugging him!" Hibiki cried out comically with her arms flailing before she gripped Cody's arm and pulled him into her own hug.
"Oi oi… can you guys keep it down there?" a familiar voice grumbled, "You guys are so loud here…"
The group turned their heads to see a now awoken Balto in a medical gown as he used a cane and a IV unit to walk.
"Balto!" Tsubasa gasped, as she instinctively rushed over and hugged him tightly.
"GAH! Owowowowowowoowowowowow!" he cried out
"You had me so scared…." Tsubasa said with a soft, weakened voice as she had a soft smile on her face.
"S-Sorry about that…" the gunner noted, "I didn't mean to scare you all…" He then began to pat the swordswoman on the head while she hugged him.
"Glad to see you awake, but you should be in the ICU, Balto." Genjuro said, as he still needed to recover.
"Eh, I kind of needed the air." he shrugged off before he looked to Tsubasa, "You can let go now, Tsu."
"A little bit more…. Please…." Tsubasa said softly to him as she didn't want to let go.
Balto merely rolled his eyes and compiled as the others were at least happy that the gunner was okay.
"Oh, Balto-kun? Cody ruined your ride." Aoi informed with a snicker.
"Wait WHAT?!" he gasped as he stepped away and glared at the boy, "WHAT THE HELL, CODY! THAT'S MY STUFF!"
"Saved everyone from Noise and Metsubojinrai?" Cody shrugged from the hug he was still in by Hibiki.
He was angry at first, but he stumbled a bit as that overreaction did a number on his body.
"E-Easy!" Tsubasa called out, quickly catching him in her arms as she sighed out.
"Sorry…" he apologized.
"Wow, way to make us sad for being single." Ogawa joked at the quartet.
"I-It isn't like that!" They all shouted in unison, blushing in response to the ninja's comment.
Everyone laughed as Tsubasa let the gunner go and walked away with a heavy blush on her face.
XXX
Within the labs of ZAIA, a bruised and injured Izu was on a stolen tablet she took from a guard as she was working on the Zero-One system. She was unsure why this new information was in her systems as this wasn't part of her programming. But believing it to be from Zea before being stolen, she worked as hard as she can.
The Humagear knew that with both Metsubojinrai obtaining Zea's core and ZAIA hiding the Zero-One System away, it would mean more destruction than anything. This wasn't what her creator wanted and she had to worked on a new bypass system to give it to their heir, to Cody. She knew this could prove fatal for her as Gai could just use this as an excuse to destroy her, but she is willing to risk it for him now that he has his freedom. Even working on a special item for him to use once ready. This would be his trump card against Metsubojinrai should they ever attack them all at once.
"Please… let this work… for Cody-sama…. For my…. Friend…" Izu said softly as she hoped this next coding would work.
XXX
A/N:
HackerEX: Dang, we really pulled an Ex-Aid didn't we with that cliffhanger…
Striberx: Hey, we have to make new ideas for this story as we can't fully go off on both Symphogear and Zero-One's plotpoints to the T. Gotta change things up after all.
HackerEX: Even still, this was nice to have Cody step up and enter a mecha battle with the Giger. Why else would we make the Charging Elasmoth form?
Striberx: Why to help give a reason to add in Breaking Mammoth, of course! :D Yes, this was part of the plan to give that form in, as well as a hint to Shinning Hopper as well. But that won't debut until Season 2/Symphogear G.
HackerEX: Next time, let's adapt a couple of Zero-One episodes for a change!
Striberx: Yup! We're not fully done with Season 1 just yet. Still need a for more things to get through of course before we truly reach the end game of Season 1.
HackerEX: Starting of course with Cody regaining his powers and Balto and Tsubasa's little date.
But until then, later minna!