Hey, I'm back!

God its been a long time. Can't believe we're in the final... legitimately final stages of the story. I reckon we'll have a chapter or two left, not including the epilogue.

Anyway, I went and rolled on the Back to School Banner on FGO yesterday and the day before at 11.58pm Melbourne time. Lo and behold, MHX Alter, Miyu, Tamamo Cat and Illya Caster showed up on three KitaSean rituals.

Watch my luck with real life drop in the next few days...

But yeah, I also wanted to point out that Kanade's Gungnir here, does NOT have god slaying properties. At least, even if it does, she can't access it. One is because well, she's from a different universe, and her link to the Gungnir is not as deep as Hibiki.

I forgot to put that in in the previous chapters, so it's sort of a plot hole against Shem-Ha. Sort of...

DCDGojira, thank you.

LegionnaireBlaze, glad you liked the recreation of the Ultra Dynamite, or as you call it, the Spacium Dynamite.

PanickingNoob, glad you liked the battle. Pretty sure you'll be right on what monster Shem-Ha has in store for us. In fact, it'll be revealed in the last parts of this chapter.

And yes, Shinjiro's Spacium Beam is pretty much like the one from FER PS2 game, it's by far my favorite version of the Spacium Beam.

Caballero lector rojo, sorry, I can't speak Spanish (which I'm assuming you are using), so I had to use Google Translate again... But from what I can make out of your review... Glad you like the chapters so far, unfortunately Miku x Hibiki is something I won't be doing.

They're more like sisters, and frankly I'm not confident if I can write a good yuri relationship, and we're too far in to change it...

But still glad you find it enjoyable to read.

Ultimablast3, thanks dude. And yeah, Shem-Ha saw it from Taro. As for working with Hikari, well, don't be surprised if she has, considering Hikari is literally Bandai's representation in the series... Cough...toys...

So yeah, here's the latest chapter! Enjoy!

XXX

Shinjiro opened his eyes to see nothing but darkness.

The young Ultraman looked around, "Where am I?"

A presence made itself known to his senses, and Shinjiro turned towards it.

Again, only darkness. But there was something there.

Something huge, colossal.

Warm and cold both at the same time.

He couldn't see what was before him, but Shinjiro knew it was there, and it was reaching out to him.

The young Ultraman tried to make out what stood before him, and he reached out, "Who are you? What are you trying to tell me?"

The moment he reached out, trying to grasp exactly what laid before him, he spotted a white glow.

But it wasn't what he was looking for.

Instead, that white glow was pulling him away from the presence he had felt earlier.

Then, everything turned white.

(Linebreak)

Shinjiro gasped as his eyes snapped open, and the first thing he saw was a familiar ceiling.

The young man rolled off the bed, and he realized he was back in HQ.

Shinjiro grunted as he got to his feet, and he made his way to the command center.

As soon as he did, Genjuro turned to him, "You're awake."

The young man glanced around, noticing his fellow Ultraman suit users, Kanade, Serena, and the five alchemists along with the two operators, "How long was I out?"

Carol responded, "A few hours."

Shinjiro frowned, "Did anything happen?"

Ide nodded, "The girls disappeared, we're still in the process of looking for them."

Shinjiro furrowed his brows, and it came back to him, "Right... After I defeated the Imperizer, they..."

He trailed off, before looking at Genjuro, "What about the rocket?"

The redhead shook his head, "Destroyed. Fortunately, Kengo's team is fine. They're a bit roughed up, but safe."

The young Ultraman nodded, "I see..."

St. Germain frowned, "The teleportation ampule they used looked different..."

Seiji raised an eyebrow, "Different? How?"

Prelati looked at him, bringing out one of their usual teleportation ampules, "It's usually red. At least, the color that results from the all the specific formulations in it should be red."

Cagliostro sighed, "But it's yellow, so we honestly have no idea what's going on there."

Elfnein looked at Shinjiro, "Can you feel them, Onii-chan?"

The young Ultraman closed his eyes, expanding his senses, "... No, they're not in the country, they're not even in Asia."

Aoi sighed, "I see, we tried expanding our sensors, even scanning the planet as a whole, but we couldn't find them."

Shinjiro's eyes snapped open, "Wait, if they're not on the planet..."

He looked up, and he extended his senses upwards, "There! They're on the Moon!"

Everyone snapped their heads at him, and Moroboshi frowned, "The Moon?!"

Carol scowled, "I see... The teleportation gem they had was programmed to go to the Moon... That explains it..."

Sakuya looked into his terminal, expanding the radar and sensors towards the Moon, "He's right! I'm getting readings of all six Symphogears!"

Elfnein furrowed her brows, "But if they're on the Moon, then how do we get them back?"

Shinjiro stared up at the ceiling, looking through the plating of the submarine at the Moon, "I can-"

"I must say I'm impressed."

The screen glitched, before revealing the face of Kohinata Miku, and Genjuro scowled, "Shem-ha."

The Custodian smirked, "Not only did you manage to train your monkeys into taking down the Birdon and King Pandon, you managed to recreate the Ultra Dynamite. For someone who's barely at his second decade, that is pretty impressive."

Shinjiro stared at her, "What do you want?"

The goddess chuckled, "Impatient, I see. Simple, our game is moving on to the next stage. My preparations to fully activate the Yggdrassil system are done."

Carol frowned, "Why tell us?"

Shem-Ha decided to humor her, "We are playing a game, are we not?"

The Custodian smiled, "In 10 minutes, the main unit will rise up from the ground. And in exactly 3 hours, I will activate the Yggdrassil system."

Genjuro stood up, "What?!"

Shem-Ha chuckled, "Of course, I will have forces guarding the main unit. I'll be frank with you, right now, the only way you can stop the system is by destroying the tree."

Shinjiro narrowed his eyes, "And you're telling us all this, you seem pretty confident."

The Custodian smirked, "But of course, your body isn't at its best, is it? Your six pets are with my three monsters it the lunar ruins, as you call it. With a mere addition of seven monkeys trying to imitate yourself and two Symphogears, your chances are pretty slim."

St. Germain spoke up, "So you want a fair fight, is what you're trying to say."

Shem-Ha scoffed, "Is there any other way to interpret my words?"

She looked at Shinjiro, "Try not to disappoint me, Ultraman."

With that said, the connection cut off. The young man steeled his features, and he turned, only to be stopped.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Carol spoke up, and Shinjiro looked at her, "To stop her, of course."

Cagliostro asked, "Do you have a plan?"

Shinjiro looked down, "... No, not really."

Moroboshi asked, "And then what will you do? Punch your way out?"

The young man looked at him, "What other way do we-"

He trailed off, and he looked at Carol and Elfnein, "Wait..."

The blonde alchemist smirked, "Took you long enough."

Seiji blinked, "I'm sorry, you lost me there now."

Elfnein looked at them, "Carol has always had access to a limited form of the Château de Tiffauges."

Ide caught on, "So you mean to dissect Shem-Ha?"

Carol smirked, "I've already analyzed the planet for a long time. All I need is to categorize what it means to be human and cut off the rest. A Custodian or a god or whatever won't matter."

Genjuro nodded, "So you want to fight Shem-Ha while Shinjiro handles whatever monster she sends out."

The blonde nodded, "Exactly."

She smirked, "A god won't be much for me anyway, I'm stronger than before, just so you know."

Leo scoffed, "No one underestimates your power."

Astra nodded, "Yeah, if Carol says she can do it, she will."

Genjuro nodded, "As it would seem so..."

The redhead nodded to himself, "Alright! Carol, Serena and Kanade, I want the three of you to take on Shem-Ha."

Genjuro then turned to the rest, "And the rest of us, we're taking on the tree."

(Linebreak)

Later, in the city, Shinjiro, Serena, Kanade, Carol and the seven Ultraman suits stood on top of a roof of a considerably tall building, staring at the giant silver tree before them.

Kotaro looked out at the tree, "She's really gone all out."

Surrounding the tree was an army of drones and various humanoid monsters, consisting of Dada's, aliens from the planet Babarue, Metron, Baltan and many more.

But what caught their attention was the giant standing in front of the tree.

Genjuro asked, "The hell is that?"

Shinjiro narrowed his eyes, "That's... An Ace... No, a Mebius Killer."

He could feel the unique signature of the robot, and it felt distinct, similar to that of his father's youngest brother in arms, but not quite either.

A small glow caught their attention, as Shem-Ha appeared in the air in front of the tree through a magic circle. The Custodian smirked, "Oh, is this your full force you can currently muster, Hayata Shinjiro?"

Shinjiro willed himself to float upwards to her level, "Yeah, that's right."

Shem-Ha gave the seven men and three women a glance, "I can't say I'm impressed."

The young Ultraman snorted, "Quality over quantity, as they say."

The goddess chuckled, "We'll see."

She spread her hands out horizontally, "Now, let us begin, shall we? I brought out the Mebius Killer I stole from Yapool some centuries back, try not to disappoint me."

Shinjiro responded by drawing on his core, growing to his giant form, while the others took that as the signal to fight.

"Croitzal Ronzell Gungnir Zizzl..."

"Seilen Coffin Airgetlám Tron..."

(Play Kono Ima wo Ikite)

In a flash, both girls were clad in their Symphogears, while Carol put on her Faust Robe as the men were clad in their Ultraman suits.

The pair of Symphogears dashed straight into the opposing army, and Serena threw a pair of daggers into the air.

The pair of daggers circled around each other, before forming an energy circle that shot out more copies of her Armed Gear down at the army, taking down a number of the drones and monsters.

Ignis Fatuus.

Not missing a beat, Kanade threw her spear, the Armed Gear multiplying into a dozen spears as they rained down on the army, taking down more of the drones.

Zero in his Lunar Miracle armor and Zoffy blitzed through the area, striking down countless monsters and drones.

The swordsman used his spear and stabbed a Metron Seijin in the chest, killing it, before he looked at Carol and the two Symphogears, "You girls go take care of Shem-Ha, we'll handle this."

Jack stomped on the ground, unleashing a shockwave that destabilized the enemies around him, before Leo and Astra came down with a Double Leo and Astra Kick, destroying them in a flash.

The martial artist looked at them, "Yeah, leave this to us!"

A Baltan tried to attack him from the back, but Jack simply extended his arm blades and sliced it in half.

Carol blasted a dozen drones to oblivion with a hurricane and wave of flames, "I guess we can leave these retards to you."

She glanced at Serena and Kanade, "Try to keep up!"

With that said, she shot into the skies towards Shem-Ha, and Kanade grunted in annoyance, "What part of teamwork does she not understand?!"

Serena smiled in exasperation, "Come on."

The pair reached for their pendants, "Ignite Module. BAKKEN!"

"Dainsleif."

In a flash, both girls were clad in the dark version of their Symphogears, and they quickly chased after Carol.

With Shem-Ha, the Custodian watched as Shinjiro and the Mebius Killer traded blows. They were simply trading punches, testing the waters, but she knew Shinjiro was aware of exactly what Yapool's doll could do.

The goddess glanced up at the Moon, her lips thinning as she was once again reminded of the curse of Balal.

At least her three little monsters were making progress, it was unfortunate that they were probably going to be stuck there for a while, but Shem-Ha could easily retrieve them once everything was over.

They had proved to be quite useful, and they did swear to serve as her retainers. And what goddess would she be if she didn't take care of her own?

But before she could continue her musings, however, as she spotted what looked to be a dozen silver balls of thread shooting at her.

Shem-Ha thinned her lips, creating a barrier to block it, leading to an explosion and a smoke cloud.

As the smoke cloud cleared, the goddess spotted Carol in her Faust Robe, "Oh, you're approaching me?"

She turned to fully face the blonde, "Instead of running, you're coming right at me?"

Carol glared at her, a smirk on her face, "I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer, after all!"

Shem-Ha raised an amused eyebrow, "Oh? Then come as close as you like."

The goddess conjured an energy blade through her vambrace, charging straight for Carol.

Shem-Ha swung her blade at the alchemist, only to strike a number of wires from Carol's fingertips. The Custodian raised an eyebrow, "Wires?"

The alchemist smirked, "Yeah, wires."

Then she started to sing.

(Play Sforzando no Zankyou)

The strength of the wires doubled, if not tripled, and Shem-Ha's blade started to crack, much to her surprise.

The goddess growled and unleashed a burst of pure energy, pushing Carol back.

Shem-Ha glared at her, "That power, its not a Symphogear, is that alchemy?"

The blonde alchemist smirked, "Got it in one, you'd do well not to underestimate my power, goddess!"

Carol fired a dozen more wire spheres, homing in on the goddess. Shem-Ha scowled, rebuilding her sword with a burst of energy before she swung at the spheres, deflecting them with an incredible display of skill.

But before she could catch her breath, a wave of flames, water, electricity and wind shot out from Carol's magic circles, forcing Shem-Ha to back away as she used her own barriers to block the attacks.

The goddess grunted as her barriers held strong against the elements, "... She's using the elements against me?"

Shem-Ha narrowed her eyes, "Insolent insect!"

Her barriers glowed, before she unleashed a silver blast of energy, turning the four elements into pure silver.

Carol cursed as she backed away, raising a barrier to block the blast of silver energy, "So she's transmutating silver?"

Elfnein's voice sounded at her ears, "We didn't really get the chance to analyze it before."

The older blonde smirked, "Yeah, but now I've seen with my own eyes..."

Her barrier glowed, taking on a golden hue, before a similar beam of energy blasted out from her magic circle, pushing the silver beam back.

The only difference between the two beams, was that one was silver, the other was gold.

Shem-Ha scowled, "Golden transmutation... I see, so this is what your alchemy can truly achieve."

Carol smirked, "Unfortunately, unlike your reckless way of forcing things to become silver, I have to do it the natural way."

The goddess thinned her lips, "So it would seem, and I suppose I have to give credit where it is due."

The fragile balance broke, leading to an explosion that turned some bits of their surroundings gold and silver.

The alchemist spared those spots a passing glance, "So that's what happens..."

Elfnein's voice sounded at her ears, "Please try to keep collateral damage to a minimum."

Carol scoffed, "As if I have the time to spare for that."

The blonde narrowed her eyes, 'I'm borrowing this one, Bemular.'

She raised her hand, creating a magic circle that fired a dozen very familiar buzz-saws, and Shem-Ha's eyes widened, barely managing to block those with her own barrier.

The goddess' eyes narrowed, "Just now, that..."

Carol smirked, "Yes, the Ultra Slash. I've been studying them for ages now, I can't call myself an alchemist if I can't reproduce it to some extent now, can I?"

She had had the opportunity to study Bemular in silence and secret every time she saw him, the only issue was that she couldn't reproduce Spacium itself.

But SONG managed to accomplish that thanks to Finé, converting that formula into something she could use in battle was just a matter of time.

The blonde raised both hands, forming a larger magic circle, before firing a dense beam of artificial Spacium energy at Shem-Ha, striking her in the face.

The attack left her body in a heavily bruised and damaged state, only to quickly revert to its original state in the blink of an eye.

Shem-Ha scowled, "You insolent!"

"Don't forget about us!"

Kanade's voice reached their ears, before the goddess raised a barrier to block a hurricane and a number of daggers.

Shem-Ha narrowed her eyes when Kanade and Serena landed on a roof nearby, "Symphogears... and the alternate version of Enki's arm..."

The goddess scoffed, "Do you really think you can win against me just because you managed to match blows with mine?"

Carol scoffed, a smirk on her face, "As if! Look at all of us in the eye! Ever since the fight started, not once have we ever thought of losing, you dumb fuck!"

Shem-Ha narrowed her eyes, scanning the field at all of the opposing team members, and to her annoyance, she couldn't refute the blonde's statement.

The alchemist conjured up more magic circles, "Now, do you two need me to say it, or are you two still going to stand there?!"

The goddess' eyes widened, when she suddenly found Kanade and Serena flanking her, both holding two copies of the Airgetlám's Armed Gear.

Before she knew it, the daggers in their sword-whipped forms were wrapped around her body, holding her in place.

Shem-Ha growled, "You think these measly blades made of Enki's power will be enough to kill me?"

Her answer came in the form of Carol's wires from the Dur Da Bla, wrapping around her, further restraining her.

Carol huffed, "Of course not! You're a Custodian, a god, any damage we deal will be undone. But what about restraints?"

Shem-Ha frowned, "You mean to seal me away?"

The alchemist smirked, "Maybe, maybe not. I said it before, didn't I? Don't underestimate my power."

(Linebreak)

Meanwhile, Shinjiro dodged a swipe from the Mebius Killer. The Ultraman lashed out, landing a staggering kick to the robot's chest, sending it stumbling backwards.

The Mebius Killer growled, before firing a Mebium Slash from his copy of the Mebius Brace, prompting the Ultraman to dodge.

As soon as he regained his footing, Shinjiro fired an Ultra Slash at the Mebius Killer, only for the robot to bat it aside with its claws.

The Ultraman retook his stance, and the Mebius Killer dashed forward, throwing a punch at him.

Shinjiro leaned his head to the left, letting the fist pass by him harmlessly, before slamming his own fist into the Mebius Killer's face, sending it to the ground.

The robot growled as it got to its feet, before raising its Mebius Brace on its right arm. Then, sliding its left hand over the vambrace, it stretched both arms out horizontally.

Shinjiro's eyes widened. He could recognize that set of movements anywhere, especially after seeing them countless times in his father's memories.

The Mebius Killer brought its arms overhead, as energy swirled into its arms.

Then, it brought them down into the famous t-shaped position.

That was the Mebium Shoot.

The Ultraman swiftly fired his own Spacium Beam, the two beams of energy meeting at the middle of the space between the two giants.

The two beams pushed against each other, fighting for dominance.

The Mebius Killer growled, pouring more energy into its beam, slowly pushing Shinjiro's Spacium Beam back bit by bit.

The Ultraman grunted, before pouring more energy into his own attack, pushing the Mebius Killer's beam back to their previous stalemate.

Until that fragile balance broke, creating a giant explosion that pushed both giants back.

The two giants braced themselves, shielding themselves from the explosions with their arms as they skidded backwards on their feet.

And at the same time, both lowered their arms when the explosion subsided, glaring at each other.

The Mebius Killer growled, before extending a blade of energy from its right arm.

A perfect copy of the Mebium Blade.

Shinjiro narrowed his eyes, staring at the blade warily.

The robot charged, swinging the blade at the Ultraman, and Shinjiro leaned back, evading the slash.

But before he could counterattack, the Mebius Killer's claw lashed out, striking the Ultraman in the chest.

Not missing a beat, the robot swung its sword at the giant of light, but Shinjiro managed to regain his balance just in time to block the sword at the Mebius' Killer's wrist.

The Ultraman quickly landed a kick on the Mebius Killer's abdomen, before punching it in the chest, sending it stumbling backwards.

The robot growled, but it was quickly cut off as Shinjiro landed a Spacium filled punch to its face, sending it sprawling to the ground.

The Mebius Killer rolled to its feet, before gathering energy at its chest, forming a cluster of fiery energy.

Shinjiro cursed, quickly bringing up an Ultra Barrier, pumping in as much energy as he could.

Then the robot released the attack.

The copy of the Mebium Burst struck the barrier, pushing against the barrier.

The Ultraman grunted, careful not to let the cluster of energy explode, before an idea appeared in his mind.

Shinjiro widened his stance, spreading his arms further out, as he expanded the Ultra Barrier to wrap around the Mebium Burst.

The Mebius Killer stared in shock as it watched the Ultraman take in its attack into the barrier.

Then, with a strong roar, the Ultraman pushed the giant clump of energy back, sending flying straight at the Mebius Killer.

The robot barely had the time to dodge, as the giant sphere of energy smashed into its body, sending it crashing to the ground once more.

This time, the Mebius Killer barely had the strength to stand up, for the explosion had damaged most of its inner parts.

Shinjiro stood up straight, and he gathered energy into his arm, making it glow a bright bluish white.

He had seen this in his father's memories, and while he couldn't replicate it fully, he could imitate it.

Then, with a mighty thrust, he sent out a dense beam of Spacium energy at the Mebius Killer.

That attack was the Lightning Counter, or in his case, a pale imitation of it.

The beam struck the Mebius Killer head on, destroying it in a flashy explosion.

Shinjiro let out a breath, and he prepared to help his friends, only to feel a strong pulse of energy from the Yggdrasil's tree trunk.

The young Ultraman's eyes widened, "No..."

Moments earlier, back with Carol, Serena and Kanade, the three had managed to restrain Shem-Ha with the combined power of the Airgetlám and the Dur Da Bla.

Shem-Ha scowled as she struggled against her bindings, "So, what do you intend to do?"

Her answer came in the form of four magic hexagons, one each for the element of fire, water, air and thunder.

Carol narrowed her eyes as she focused on forming her spell, "Simple, I will incise you from Kohinata Miku's body."

The goddess scoffed, "And pray tell, how will you do that?"

To her surprise, the hexagons multiplied, forming seven copies of each hexagon stacking behind each other.

Then the pain started, and Shem-Ha could only scream as she found her connection and hold over Miku's body slowly vanished, and very very painfully.

In fact, she could feel the spell shave at her very existence.

The goddess roared in pain, 'INSOLENT!'

But before she could proceed, a pulse of energy reached her very being, and despite the pain, Shem-Ha smiled.

Then she pulled on the Shen Shou Jing.

From Shem-Ha, no, Miku's body, a burst of energy blasted the wires and daggers away, the hexagons of Carol's alchemy along it.

Carol's eyes widened, "What the fuck?!"

The explosion subsided, revealing Shem-Ha in the Shen Shou Jing's Faust Robe, and the goddess huffed, "A good attempt, no, I'll even go as far as to call it a very effective countermeasure. But unfortunately for you..."

Carol growled, "The Shen Shou Jing."

Shem-Ha smirked, "And times up, I'm done playing with the likes of you."

She swung her arms, unleashing a wave of energy from both her vambrace and the Shen Shou Jing before any of the three could move.

The blast immediately sent them crashing into a few buildings.

The goddess turned to a side, where Shinijro had just finished his battle with the Mebius Killer.

Laughter reached his ears, and Shinjiro turned to see Shem-Ha slowly approaching him, "Shem-Ha."

He glanced past her to see Carol, Serena and Kanade on the roofs of a few buildings, his superior eye sight allowing him to make sure that they were still breathing.

The goddess laughed, "It would seem that our game has ended, young Ultraman."

Shinjiro frowned, "What?"

Shem-Ha chuckled, pointing up at the Moon, "My little monsters came through, I applaud you for training your monkeys well. They have power, I'll give you that, but what is power without the knowledge to use it?"

As if on cue, the Yggdrasil grew, reaching for the skies, and Shinjiro's eyes widened when he felt countless similar energy signatures from all around the globe.

And it was at that moment he understood what the pulse he had felt prior truly meant.

Shem-Ha's smile widened, "You sense it too, don't you? The Curse of Balal is undone."

She turned to the tree as it, along with countless others, reached for the skies, "Now, let us begin."

Shinjiro clenched his fists, "No, it's not over."

Shem-Ha turned to glance at him, a raised eyebrow on her face, "Oh?"

The Ultraman took a fighting stance, "I am still here. My friends... my comrades are still here! Look around, Shem-Ha, we're not done yet!"

The goddess blinked, when seven Ultraman suits landed on the roofs beside the Ultraman, and she looked around, only to find none of her drones left.

Shem-Ha found herself smirking, "Very well, if you want to keep the game going, I'm not one to disappoint."

She snapped her fingers, "This is the extra stage, young Ultraman. Try to survive."

Four giant figures appeared beside Shem-Ha, and the Ultraman and seven suits steeled themselves, before they charged towards the enemy.

(Linebreak)

Earlier, on the Moon, Tsubasa groaned as she got to her feet groggily, "W-where... Where am I?"

The bluenette shook her head, regaining her bearings as she looked around, "What the hell..."

Her eyes widened when she saw Maria on the ground before her, "M-Maria!"

Tsubasa quickly went to her rival's side, "Maria!"

The pinkette groaned, "No need to shout, I can hear you just fine."

Maria opened her eyes groggily, sitting up slowly, "W-where are we?"

Tsubasa shook her head, "No idea."

The pinkette got to her feet, looking around, "Hmm, reminds me of the Frontier."

"Maria."

Maria turned to her friend, "Yes?"

She saw Tsubasa looking up, a shocked expression on her face, "What's wrong, Tsubasa?"

Maria followed the bluenette's line of sight, before a similarly shocked expression plastered itself to her face.

The reason was very simple.

Above them was a window, showing the Earth before them.

Tsubasa gaped, "What the hell is going on? How are we..."

Maria clenched her fists, "Probably the enemy's teleportation spell.. It brought us to the moon..."

Before they could continue, however, Maria's pendant glowed, "W-what?!"

A beam of light shot out of the pendant, and what seemed to previously be a wall suddenly opened up.

Tsubasa looked at Maria, "What do we do?"

The pinkette narrowed her eyes, "The Airgetlám seems to be guiding us."

The bluenette nodded, "Then we follow it?"

Maria nodded, "It would seem so. We might want to meet up with the others too."

Tsubasa nodded, "If we're here, then they must have been sent here as well."

The bluenette brought out her comms, "... No reception, should've known."

Maria smiled in exasperation, "We're on the Moon, after all."

She stepped towards the door, "Come on, might as well see what the Airgetlám has in store for us."

Meanwhile, Shirabe and Chris were walking along the corridors. The lavender haired girl sighed, "Can't believe we're on the damn Moon."

Shirabe nodded, "The ampule they had looked strange too. I guess it's special."

Chris nodded, "Still, I don't like this place."

The twin tailed girl nodded, "Tell me about it..."

A tremor caught their attention, and the lavender haired girl grabbed her pendant, something mirrored by her younger friend, "Careful."

Shirabe nodded, and they felt another tremor, followed by a loud rumble from their right.

The two girls shared a nod, before backing away from the wall, ready to summon their Symphogears at any moment's notice.

The wall shook, before it crumbled down, revealing an armored fist.

The two girls blinked, when they saw a mop of cream colored hair, and Chris gaped when she recognized Hibiki in her Symphogear, "Hibiki?!"

A figure shot past Hibiki and pulled Shirabe into a hug, "Shirabe!"

The twin tailed girl smiled, "Good to see you too, Kiri-chan."

Chris gaped, "What... How..."

Hibiki giggled sheepishly, "Kirika and I couldn't find a way out, so we just thought to punch our way through."

The lavender haired girl glanced past the cream haired girl, before noticing the countless holes in the walls, "Oh my god..."

Chris palmed her face, before she shook her head, "You know what, I'm not going there!"

Hibiki just giggled, and Kirika spoke up, "Now to find Tsubasa-san and Maria-desu!"

With Maria and Tsubasa, the pair found themselves before another door, and it quickly opened itself with a quick flash from Maria's pendant.

The two idols walked in, and they saw a spherical device at the center of the room. Maria's eyes widened, "It's just like the Frontier."

Tsubasa looked around, "So this is the control room, huh?"

The pendant on Maria's neck glowed again, and the spherical device glowed in sync, revealing a hologram of a blue haired man in blue skin-tight armor.

Tsubasa narrowed her eyes, "Maria..."

The pinkette nodded, reaching for her pendant, only for the man to open his mouth, " !?;s'/,*&."

The girls blinked when he spoke, and he looked at them, before lightly touching his throat, and his voice cleared up, "Can you understand me now?"

Tsubasa and Maria shared a look, before they nodded, and Tsubasa answered, "Yes. Who are you?"

The man simply stared at them emotionlessly, "I am the operating system of this facility, based on the original Enki. Fret not, songstress, I am not your enemy."

Maria frowned, "Enki?"

The copy of Enki nodded, before he pointed at Maria, more specifically her pendant, "You possess his arm."

Tsubasa glanced at the pendant, "Arm? You mean the Airgetlám?"

The OS nodded, "Indeed."

Maria furrowed her brows, before she spoke, "That aside, where are we?"

The copy of Enki answered, "This is the Observation Base, Marduk. It is also the core of the network jammer known as Balal."

That caught their attention, and Maria asked, "So this is where the curse of Balal comes from?"

The OS nodded, "Yes, I assume you know what it is."

Tsubasa frowned, "A curse that keeps humanity from uniting. But at the same time... Shinjiro said it held Shem-Ha back."

The copy of Enki nodded, "You are correct. The network jammer seals Shem-Ha on Earth, and Ultraman is to watch over the planet in the case that the jammer is undone."

Maria's eyes widened, "Ultraman?!"

The OS nodded, "In his dying breath, the original Enki asked Ultraman to watch over the planet. At least, that is what I have recorded in my data base."

Tsubasa frowned, "I see..."

The pinkette looked at the copy of Enki, "Can you tell us what you know?"

The OS nodded, "Of course."

The bluenette spoke up, "Before you do, I want all of our friends to be here. Can you help us bring them here?"

Maria nodded, "They should have relics like ours."

The copy of Enki nodded, "I have detected a total of six relics with similar wavelengths, including yourself. I will now guide them here."

The two girls nodded, and Tsubasa looked around, "Now we wait."

Maria nodded, only for the OS to speak, "It seems you won't have the luxury to do that."

The two followed his 'line of sight' towards the door, and they gripped their pendants when they saw who stood at the door.

Tsubasa narrowed her eyes, "Noble Red."

The copy of Enki let out a breath, "Servants of Shem-Ha, I never thought she'd have followers."

Vanessa stared at the manifestation of the lunar ruins' system, "I won't expect you to understand."

The system nodded, "An acceptable answer. But regardless, it is a necessary act."

Elsa looked at the two girls, "So, are you two going to defend that terminal?"

Maria blinked, "What?"

Vanessa gestured to the terminal behind them, "We're only here to disable the curse of Balal, nothing more, nothing less."

Milaarc nodded, "When we take that thing down, everyone will be connected, humanity will be saved."

Tsubasa stared at them, "Do you really believe that?"

The woman nodded, "Yes, I do. That's what my goddess promised me, and I will do everything I can to make it a reality."

Maria looked at Tsubasa, and they both nodded.

"Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri Tron..."

"Seilen Coffin Airgetlám Tron..."

(Play Defender'Z Brand)

In a flash, both girls were clad in their Symphogears, and they dashed towards the trio of alchemists.

Elsa changed into her silver lycanthrope form, dashing towards the pair, while Milaarc charged forward with her bulky fists.

The vampire-like girl swung her fists at Maria, who blocked the punch with a barrier.

The silver wolf, on the other hand, swung her claws at Tsubasa, only to be blocked by a pair of blades.

Vanessa dashed forward, only to back away as several beams of energy shot at the ground in front of her. The woman scowled, noticing the turrets on the walls.

The OS spoke, "Songstresses, the defense systems here I have are limited, at least compared to the outside. I will provide as much assistance as I can, but do not expect much."

A number of beams struck Elsa and Milaarc, allowing both Maria and Tsubasa to push them back.

Vanessa unfolded her arms and fingers, firing a number of missiles and energy beams that took down the turrets.

The two younger alchemists regained their footing and quickly charged towards the two Symphogears, something mirrored by Vanessa.

But before the three could reach the two, they were blown away by a punch, a missile and a combination of sickles and buzzsaws each.

Maria grinned, "Took you long enough."

Chris scoffed, "Is that how you greet us when we saved your asses?"

Tsubasa smiled, "To be fair, we had it under control."

Kirika oh'd, "Tsubasa-san's feeling feisty for once-desu!"

Shirabe sighed in exasperation, but her smile betrayed her true feelings. Hibiki giggled, "You can argue later, now we need to focus on them!"

Maria nodded, "It's time we finish things, once and for all."

The other five girls nodded, and they all changed into their Amalgam Symphogears.

(Stop Defender'Z Brand)

(Play Rikka Ryouran)

Vanessa and her fellow alchemists got to their feet, glaring at the golden Symphogears, "We won't give up... Not when we're so close."

Tsubasa and Kirika dashed forward, swinging their blades at Elsa. In response, the silver wolf blocked it with her claws.

Milaarc yelled, "Elsa!"

The vampire-like girl tried to help her sister in all but blood, only to be stopped by Hibiki's armored fists and Shirabe's shield.

Milaarc growled, "Fuck! Off!"

Hibiki responded by simply punching her in the face, sending her straight at Maria and Chris.

The two girls shared a nod, and Chris drew her bow, while Maria drew her armored fist back, flames circling around her gauntlet.

The two let their attacks loose in the form of a giant flaming arrow, striking Milaarc straight in the chest, blasting her right towards Elsa.

Tsubasa and Kirika both backed away, letting the arrow push Milaarc into the silver wolf.

Maria yelled, "Now!"

Hibiki immediately shot one of her armored fists out, while Shirabe and Kirika sent out their saw-shield and sickle blades. As for Tsubasa, she swung her blade, unleashing a wave of blue flames.

All of the attacks slammed into Maria and Chris' flaming arrow, creating a giant explosion that sent both alchemists to the ground, badly burnt and unconscious.

Vanessa yelled, "Elsa! Milaarc!"

The woman glared at the Symphogears, "How dare you-!"

She was cut off by Chris' arrows, forcing her to back away. The alchemist glared at the six with anger and hatred, and she quickly unleashed the full burst of all of her weapons.

In response, Shirabe threw her saw-shield out, expanding it into a giant shield, while Chris released countless reflector units of her own.

As a result, the projectiles simply bounced off harmlessly.

Tsubasa dashed forward, "Akatsuki!"

The younger girl chased after her, "Desu!"

In a flash, the two were behind Vanessa, blades drawn. And after a brief moment, the woman's arms fell to the ground.

Vanessa barely had the time to voice her shock at that, and Maria didn't waste that moment, "Hibiki!"

The cream haired girl nodded, "Got it!"

The two raised their fists, filled with Phonic Gain, and slammed them into Vanessa's body, sending her crashing into a wall.

The six girls relaxed as they took their enemies down, and Maria looked at the copy of Enki, "Now that's over."

The OS nodded, "So it would seem."

Chris looked at the copy of Enki, "Still, to think a system would have a personality like this."

The copy of Enki shook his head, "No, I have no personality. Everything you see is an emulation of the original Enki."

Maria asked, "So, care to tell us everything now?"

The OS nodded, "Of course, I will start with the Custodians, is that acceptable?"

The six girls nodded, and the copy of Enki spoke, "The Custodians were, like the Ultras, a race of superhumans. There were several races of that sort, but for simplicities sake, we will focus on the Ultras and Custodians."

The OS closed his eyes, "Half, if not most, of the Custodians were scientists. They utilized their powers to seek knowledge. Unlike the Ultras, they did not use it for the sake of peace."

He opened his eyes and looked at them, "Can I assume you all have some form of knowledge regarding the Ultras and Custodians?"

Tsubasa nodded, "Unlike the Ultras, the Custodians were a society, most, if not all of them had different origins."

The copy of Enki nodded, "Indeed. The Ultras generally hailed from the Land of Light in the Nebula M78, the planet U40, and the planet O-50. But the Custodians had different origins."

He shook his head, "Moving on, there are multiple Earths in existence, be it in this universe or other universes. Ultras and other Custodians protected these planet Earths."

Hibiki blinked and blurted out, "So the multiverse is real?"

A ghost of a smile appeared on the OS' face, "Yes, it is real indeed. And the Ultras and Custodians kept contact, at least, the ones that sought to protect the Earths and humans. Enki and Ultraman were two such beings."

Maria asked, "What about Shem-Ha?"

The copy of Enki explained, "Shem-Ha was a scientist, a very talented one. Initially she fought on the same side as the Ultras and other Custodians. But after the wars, she turned to research."

Tsubasa blinked, "Research? For what?"

The OS explained, "Research on networks, energy amplification and conceptualization. She sought to utilize humans as a bio-network, in doing so she would be able to achieve more, be it in terms of knowledge or power."

The OS folded his arms, "In the beginning it was small, but then it went on to experimenting on creatures from different planets, and it eventually reached humans."

Shirabe furrowed her brows, "So the monsters we fought..."

The copy of Enki nodded, "Indeed, they were all her experiments, bioengineered to fit her purposes."

The OS continued, "When Enki and several other Custodians found out, they set forth to stop her. But unfortunately, Shem-Ha proved to be too strong, her experiments managed to dispose of Enki's fellow Custodians, and Enki himself was no match for her."

Tsubasa asked, "Then how does the curse of Balal tie in to this?"

The copy of Enki gestured to the panel, "The network jammer, known as Balal, breaks down the once unified language into multiple languages, and some languages further broken down into what you know as dialects."

The OS noticed their confusion, and explained, "The reason was because throughout their battle, Shem-Ha managed to fuse herself, conceptually binding her existence to the concept of language. At that time, there was only one language on the planet, and if left be, Shem-Ha would have undoubtedly achieved her goals."

Chris frowned, "So by breaking down the mutual understanding of humans, you prevented Shem-Ha from using humans as her bio-network."

Shirabe added in, "But in doing so, you brought conflict between humans."

The copy of Enki nodded, "A necessary evil, or at least, according to the memories of Enki."

Hibiki shook her head, "It's not an evil act."

The five girls looked at her, and the OS raised an eyebrow, "Oh, an interesting opinion."

The cream haired girl stared at the copy of Enki, "Because of the jammer, songs were brought into the world. It's because of that we're how we are now. Even if there's conflict between humans, we can still understand each other."

Kirika stared at her, "Hibiki-san..."

"That's... just lip service."

The six turned to see Vanessa struggling on the ground, despite having lost her limbs and having most of her body damaged beyond repair.

Maria frowned, "It's not just lip service-"

The woman chuckled, cutting her off, "It doesn't matter, I've finished what I came to do here anyway."

That caught their attention, and only then did Tsubasa noticed the detatched hand that was crawling towards the console. The bluenette's eyes widened, "Shit!"

She quickly tried to reach for the robotic hand, but it suddenly ignited it's thrusters at the wrist, before latching onto the console.

The OS's manifestation's eyes widened, "Sh-Shit-t... Th... Sys... compro...sed..."

The hologram flickered, and Chris snapped at Vanessa, "What did you do?!"

The woman smirked, "I disabled the curse of Balal. Now our goddess will have full access to her power."

Her smile dropped, "But I guess I won't live to see it."

Vanessa looked at the unconscious figures of Elsa and Milaarc, and her eyes drooped, "At least... the world... will be a better..."

The woman slumped to the ground, the last signs of life leaving her as she used the last of it to disable the network jammer.

The six girls could only stare at her solemnly, shocked at what had just transpired.

Then Kirika looked out of the window, "Girls, look! The Earth!"

The other five turned to the window, and their eyes widened in shock yet again. Hibiki could only stare in shock, "W-what's going on?"

Chris clenched her fists, "Our home..."

The reason was simple.

What was previously the beautiful blue planet called Earth, was now shrouded in a massive red barrier.

Maria turned to the still flickering OS, "Enki! What's going on?!"

The manifestation of the OS grunted, his voice cracking, "The... system... has been disabled... The network jammer... no longer... exists."

Tsubasa blinked, "No longer exists?"

The copy of Enki nodded with a huge amount of effort, "Soon... I... will too...cease to... exist... This base... will stop... all functions."

Shirabe blinked, "Wait, if all functions of this place stops..."

The OS nodded again, "All... facilities will... cease... oxygen and... gravity... maintenance... will cease... You... won't survive..."

Chris frowned, "But we can't get back to the Earth."

The copy of Enki shook his head, "No... I... can help..."

Tsubasa asked, "How?"

A hologram of a map appeared, and the OS spoke, "In this base... are multiple... copies... of the sarcophagus... that housed... Shem-Ha's... bracelet."

The copy of Enki grunted, "I... have installed them... with a supply of oxyegn... Use them... to enter... the Earth's... atmosphere... to where... Shem-Ha... is..."

The hologram turned into a beam of light, shooting towards Maria's pendant, and the pinkette blinked as the hologram appeared before her.

The OS grunted as he flickered once more, " I... won't... last... Go! Before..."

The six girls shared a look, before Hibiki looked at the copy of Enki, "I'm sorry, but thank you very much."

The copy of Enki simply nodded slightly, and the six girls turned to the exit.

As they ran for the door, Kirika glanced at the two remaining members of Noble Red, "What about them?"

Chris frowned and pulled the blonde along, "No time, we have to go!"

They ran out of the control room, as the facility started to rumble, Tsubasa frowned, "We're running out of time."

Shirabe looked at Maria, "Where do we go, Maria?"

The pinkette looked at the map from her pendant, "We make a right in front! It should be straight up ahead after that!"

The five girls nodded, and did just that.

Soon, they reached a giant chamber, where countless copies of the sarcophagus they fought at the Antartic stood.

Chris blinked, "Holy... it's like a hangar..."

They spotted one sarcophagus at the middle, the hatch opened up. Hibiki asked, "Is that the one?"

Maria nodded after checking the map, "Yeah, that's the one."

Tsubasa ran towards it, "Come on!"

They quickly jumped into the coffin, and Maria's pendant glowed, before the lid of the sarcophagus closed shut.

Then, their surrounding walls suddenly turned transparent, revealing the shaking surroundings of the facility.

Kirika blinked, "Woah... this is so much like Gundam."

Maria stared at her sister in exasperation, "Seriously? At a time like this?"

The blonde simply giggled as the sarcophagus stood up, before shooting out of the facility off the surface of the moon, heading straight for the now red planet at frightening speeds.

As soon as they did, the facility exploded, much to everyone's surprise. Shirabe stared at the Moon, "The lunar ruins..."

Tsubasa tightened her jaw, "We can't do anything about it anymore..."

Maria nodded, "All we can do is deal with Shem-Ha."

Hibiki nodded, "But Shinjiro-san and the others should be fighting."

Chris looked at the quickly approaching planet, "Yeah, and that's why I'm worried..."

Kirika grinned, "It'll be fine-desu! I'm sure they're fine-desu!"

Shirabe nodded, "I sure hope so."

Soon, they were reaching the stratosphere of the planet, until the video showing their surroundings started to flicker as their surroundings started to take on a red hue.

Hibiki blinked, panic suddenly rising in her, "W-wait... What's going on?!"

Tsubasa narrowed her eyes, "We're here, we're entering the atmosphere!"

Maria held on to Shirabe and Kirika, "Brace for impact!"

The moment she said that, the sarcophagus shook violently as they entered the planet's atmosphere.

The camera footage showing the outside flickered off, and the violent shaking continued.

After a while, the footage came back on, and the girls saw the quickly approaching land of Japan.

Chris looked up, "The sky... it's red..."

They could see the countless trees of Yggdrasil on the horizon, and the sarcophagus shot towards the mainland of Japan.

Until they saw it, and all they could feel were shock, confusion and worry.

Standing in the midst of the city, surrounded by four equally giant figures, was a single giant and they easily identified them.

Two Zettons, ones that they were familiar with, and two other bulkier Zettons, one with a pair of scythes for hands.

But what truly caught their was the single giant that stood at the center.

Ultraman.

But it lacked the silver and red skin, they were all familiar with. Instead, the giant was one made of rock, and his arms were outstretched, as if reaching for something.

Tsubasa clenched her fists, "Shinjiro-kun..."

XXX

DONE. So that's the chapter! If you're wondering, the two other Zettons are EX Zetton and Zetton Falx.