A/N: To those that may be familiar with the now-deleted 80k-word story, Steel Orchid, Flower of Damocles is rework that was created due to a personal dissatisfaction with certain aspects of the former work. Many of what was written as 'backstory' for the setting's 10-year time gap, for example, felt far too important in hindsight to be reduced into a footnote. As a result, Flower of Damocles seeks to change up planned events and shorten the time gap for a more focused story. Even if certain aspects had to be altered in the transition, Flower of Damocles still intends to maintain most of the ideas introduced in Steel Orchid, while also adding certain things and removing aspects that - in my opinion - did not work out as well as I thought they would.
All song lyrics are also provided by my friend, Rachel Rose, who has allowed me to use her song-writing in this story. Cover art is also provided by Kaiyamon on Twitter.
"Do remind yourself that disappointing the council could lead towards your resignation, Commander Kazanari."
The world council spokesperson's firm warning silenced the entire bridge crew of the S.O.N.G. submarine. As Commander Genjuuro stood at his terminal with his arms crossed over his chest, the large man glared at the bridge's central monitor screen, his yellow eyes fixated on the audio transmission they were receiving from none other than the United Nations itself. Although the spokesperson's voice could not be described as anything less than 'polite', it was obvious to everyone on the bridge that they were none too happy with S.O.N.G.'s recent report.
"I can assure you that we are already tracking down the culprits of the attacked convoy. It won't take long for us to apprehend them and retrieve the stolen Symphogear," Genjuuro sharply stated. The filter he had to use whenever he dealt with the United Nations directly was second-nature to him at this point. "The assistance of Clan Hida will ensure that this mission will succeed without international issues, Spokesperson."
The symbol of the United Nations encompassed the entire central monitor screen as the Spokesperson continued, "I sincerely hope so, Commander. The council has provided countless resources for the development of the SG-r04, so they would be most displeased if such an item were to fall into the wrong hands. Your predecessor, Fudou, knew that well after the theft of the SG-r02 years ago." The mere mention of the Kazanari elder made the Commander's nerve twitch with displeasure. "I shall do my best to ease the worries of the council in the meantime. That is all I can promise for now."
"My thanks, Spokesperson," Commander Genjuuro said, lowering his gaze to see the unease that was present among the other members of the bridge crew. Fujitaka, Tomosato, and every other operator on the bridge held back their tongues as they were practically frozen in their seats. "We'll send a report as soon as we have the Sword of Damocles back in our possession."
"You have 10 days to retrieve the stolen SG-r04," the Spokesperson stated, sounding as though they were giving an ultimatum. "I suggest that you hurry for both our sakes, Commander Kazanari."
Ending the transmission with that last, ominous warning, the symbol of the United Nations left the central monitor screen, allowing the crew of the bridge to all relax in unison. It was as if a thick fog had left the command center of the underwater vessel, and while the situation itself had yet to be resolved, the S.O.N.G. personnel continued typing away on their terminals at their usual rapid pace. When Commander Genjuuro sat down at his post to process their current predicament, Tomosato stood up and walked over to the Commander to hand him a much-needed cup of coffee. He accepted the steaming drink with a grateful nod, even though the plastic cup itself looked tiny in his hands.
"I'm starting to think that our goodwill from the Shem-Ha incident is running low, Commander," Fujitaka commented, the brunette's hands still typing away on his terminal's interface to catch up on their latest reports. "I guess five years is all it'll take for them to forget what we've accomplished, huh?"
"The council is made up of politicians at the end of the day, Fujitaka," Commander Genjuuro reminded him while brushing his goatee with one finger. "Regardless of what they call themselves, it's going to be a given that they will only remember what inconveniences them." He took a sip of his bitter drink and grunted in approval at Tomosato's coffee mix. It was not a taste that the entire bridge crew appreciated, but it never failed to satisfy the Commander himself. "Tomosato, give me status report on the pursuit of the SG-r04."
Returning to her terminal, Tomosato's fingers typed a dozen commands into her interface in the blink of an eye. "Ogawa and Clan Hida have already begun attacking the Illuminati Remnants' hideout, Commander," the bridge operator stated while reading a recent report from the frontlines. "They will be reporting back to us as soon as the hideout is under their control."
Operating on time, just like the Commander expected of Clan Hida and Ogawa. "And what about Elfnein's condition?" He added with a mild hint of worry in his tone.
It was Fujitaka that answered this time. Through a few inputted commands, a medical analysis from the submarine's medical facilities appeared over the central monitor screen. "The med-bay reports that the Professor had suffered only minor injuries from the attack on the convoy, Commander. They're estimating a full-recovery in less than 24 hours."
Relieved to hear the operator's answer, the redheaded man finished his coffee and placed it aside to rest his elbows on his terminal. The concern that had surged within him when they received the news of the attack still echoed in his bones, but Genjuuro had been through far too much at this point to let his calm escape him now. While his first instinct was to send the Adaptors in response to the theft of the stolen Symphogear prototype, the Commander knew that this operation called for a far more surgical approach, especially when it came to the persistent Illuminati Remnants.
"Let's hope we can finish this quietly," the Commander remarked. It was a sentiment that was clearly shared amongst the other members of the bridge.
The command center's automatic double-doors slid open with a loud hiss, and Commander Genjuuro looked over his shoulder to see a familiar man striding into the bridge. Carrying a sheathed katana in a gloved hand, he wore a black headband that kept his long hair tidy while the crimson long-coat he donned fluttered with each step he took in his boots. A quick look at his stern face was all it took for Genjuuro to recognize him as Ogawa Souji, the eldest amongst the Ogawa brothers. Although the Commander still dwarfed the man in terms of height, the two stood as equals as Genjuuro got up from his terminal to greet him with a formal bow.
"I've sent my brother and my closest-aid for good reason, Commander Kazanari," Souji spoke with a grace that was expected from a man of his position, his glove hands resting on the pommel of his katana while the tip of its scabbard clacked against the metal floor. "You need not hope for what is already assured."
Genjuuro crossed his arms and nodded in approval. He had not expected Ogawa Souji to arrive as soon as he did, but he was a welcome sight within the bridge regardless. "You have our thanks for your clan's assistance, Grandmaster Ogawa. It's also an honour to have the head of Clan Hida himself as a guest on our vessel." Whilst they spoke, the Commander could hear faint murmuring among the bridge crew regarding the shared preference in red clothing between the two men. Whether or not Souji heard it as well, the Grandmaster's elegant expression remained unchanged.
Souji gave a small chuckle, faintly relaxing his formalities to lift up a gloved finger in a matter-of-fact way. "As our late grandmother used to say: 'If you receive a little kindness, give them a large serving'. S.O.N.G. has done Clan Hida many a favour, Commander Kazanari. A simple mission to retrieve the stolen Symphogear shall be mere child's play for the warriors of Clan Hida. Especially since I've sent both Shinji and Kagero to lead the hunt."
Souji was nothing if not confident in the way he spoke about his clan members. Although he typically spoke in a dignified manner when he interacted with most people, Genjuuro noticed that he had a soft spot whenever it came to those two men in particular. Turning back to the crew of the bridge, the Commander called over to his two most reliable operators. "Tomosato, Fujitaka, give me a visual on the infiltration team's progress."
'They're coming out of the walls!' Was a phrase that Ogawa Shinji often heard from his foes whenever he operated alongside Clan Hida. It was not an inaccurate way to describe the way they fought as they came out from the shadows to bring their enemies to heel within the timespan of a heartbeat. The Illuminati Remnants were completely ready for an assault on their hideout, and yet, they had fallen just as easily as any other terror group that Clan Hida had the task of removing like a cancer from a wound. Shinji would have sympathized with them had the Remnants not attempt to unleash a horde of Alca-Noise on the surrounding townsfolk as a distraction.
An empty magazine from Shinji's pistol cluttered to the bloodstained floor as he reloaded his weapon, switched on the safety and holstered it within his black suit. With a finger pressed against the comm bead in his ear, the S.O.N.G. agent calmly called for command, "Infiltration team, reporting in. We have successfully eliminated the opposition and will begin a search for the stolen prototype," once the confirmation from command came through, Ogawa pulled his finger away from his comm bead and observed the aftermath of the raid around him.
Fresh blood dripped from the glamorous ceiling chandelier above Shinji's head. As robed corpses littered the floor of the hideout's candle-lit central room, a statue dedicated to a goat-headed deity sat on top of the large circular table in the room's center. The Illuminati acolytes that had been worshipping it mere moments ago laid at Ogawa's feet, thrown kunais embedded in their gaping throats while shurikens clung to the bloodstained walls. A few other acolytes stood as corpses that were frozen in the midst of death, their shadows pierced by bullets that had been fired using Clan Hida's signature Shadow Weave technique. All but a few of the dozen wax candles placed around the central room remained lit after the infiltration team's surgical strike.
Were it not for Shinji's sharpened senses, he would hardly noticed the sudden shift in the density of the room's air. With his hands folded behind his back, the man turned around to acknowledge his older brother's closest-aid as Tsuchiya Kagero suddenly appeared amongst the corpses of the Illuminati Remnants. Kneeling down on one leg with an arm across his chest, he wore a black suit similar to Shinji, his well-kept, blonde hair ironically doing little to mask his presence despite his aptitude for stealth.
"Did you manage to capture their leader?" Shinji inquired, his gaze still kept on the dead bodies around them.
Kagero ruefully shook his head and answered with a subtle tone of frustration, "Unfortunately, it would appear that the head of these remnants had perished several hours before we had even arrived." The young man got up to his feet with a rare, perturbed expression that Shinji shared with him. "Morikawa and Kagami suspect it to have been self-inflicted."
That was not an answer Shinji had expected to receive, but the capture of the Illuminati Remnants' leader was never a priority of their mission to begin with. If anything, it was just another task that could have secured further intel on any lingering Illuminati cells. They were in Europe for the stolen Symphogear first and foremost. "Focus on the search for our objective. We can figure out the cause-of-death later on," Shinji swiftly ordered. "The perimeter is secured, so nothing should be able to escape our notice without us-"
They heard the faint sound of a breath being drawn from amongst the corpses.
Two kunais soared through the air and impaled the ribcage of an Illuminati acolyte that was slouched against the wall next to the room's closed double-doors. The hooded acolyte let out a garbled scream with a lung-full of blood and collapsed onto one side to join the rest of his fellows around him. The collection of Alca-Noise shards he had been weakly grasping in his bloodied hands harmlessly clattered to the carpeted floor and glimmered underneath the room's faint candlelight. It was only when both men were sure of the acolyte's final breath did Shinji and Kagero withdraw their hands from the kunais hidden in their suits.
"Your aim was a few centimeters off," Shinji politely pointed out in a teacher-like fashion.
"My apologies, Ogawa," Kagero said, pulling out a second kunai to playfully twirl it between his fingers. "It appears that a broken rib is affecting my accuracy."
It was hard to forget Clan Hida's nonchalant disregard to pain. Ogawa remembered unnerving several members of S.O.N.G. with his own nonchalance towards it back when it was still designated as Section Two. Teaching Kagero to lose that part of him was going to be difficult. But with the central room now completely cleared of hostiles, the double-doors opened up as another member of Clan Hida stepped inside. Dressed also in a black suit, she knelt down on one knee and lowered her head in respect before giving out her report.
"Ogawa, Tsuchiya, we've discovered a hatch that leads to an underground bunker. You may leave cleaning up the rest of the area to Morikawa and I."
"My thanks, Kagami," Shinji acknowledged her report and gestured to Kagero for them to investigate the bunker.
The blonde man eagerly followed Shinji out of the central room. Stepping over the countless bodies at their feet without a sound, they entered a long hallway with walls that were decorated with numerous works of European art. Were the paintings not stained with the blood of the Remnants, the two men would have gladly spared them a glance to admire their artistry as they walked across the long, blood-soaked carpet that covered the hallway's floors.
"Still, I'm quite surprised that you were available for today's assignment," Kagero spoke up, still twirling a kunai in one hand while their footsteps echoed through the empty hall. "Souji and I assumed that you would be busy preparing for the Kazanari wedding next week."
"I'm quite capable of multi-tasking, Tsuchiya," Shinji reminded his apprentice. "It's important to balance the many responsibilities that one carries in their hands. There's more to your life than your dedication to the Clan, after all."
"Duly noted, Ogawa," Kagero said like a well-behaved student while casually sheathing his weapon.
Reaching another pair of open double-doors at the end of the hallway, the two men entered a small, empty storage room to be greeted by Morikawa, the fourth member of the infiltration team. She gave them a polite bow as she pointed to an opened, secret stairway that appeared to have been hiding behind a moveable wall, "The hatch was locked, but Kagami managed to find the key," the suited woman explained, holding up a strange piece of metal that Ogawa assumed to have belonged to the Illuminati Remnants' leader. It hardly resembled anything Morikawa even described it to be.
While Kagero happily took the small item in his gloved hands for further use, Shinji gave the woman his thanks and headed down the staircase first. He drew his firearm as he descended the steps, and while the cramped stairway was only illuminated by wax candles that clung to the walls, both Shinji and Kagero's eyes saw through the darkness like it was bright daylight. The further they headed down into the depths of the hideout, the more apparent was the stench of smoke in the air as they eventually halted in front of a metal door with a keyhole on its side. Both of them could tell that the slab of metal before them could survive a few mundane explosives before it would even budge.
Kagero took out the metal device from his pockets and held it between two fingers, "Our weapons could most likely cut it open, but thankfully we can just use this." While Shinji remained on-guard with his firearm in his hands, the blonde man inserted the device into the keyhole and slowly turned it, prompting the door to ring as it slid open without issue. "You'd think they would design these with a far more complicated security measure," Kagero could not help but remark.
Taking the lead with his eyes aiming down the sights of his firearm, Shinji stepped into an enormous, brightly-lit bunker with steel walls and a carpet-covered floor. Unbothered by the smoke that choked the atmosphere, the first thing that caught his attention were the rows of sizzling server racks that crowded the room the same way bookshelves would fill a library. Each of the racks were riddled with bullet holes as smoke billowed from the broken machinery, leaving them as barely anything more than scrap metal. While Kagero and Shinji had split up to head down different aisles of the bunker, the two men kept their ears open for any signs of life that did not come from them.
Exiting one aisle of the destroyed server racks, Shinji swept his gaze around to spot a stone pedestal sitting in a corner of the bunker with a map of the entire globe placed on the wall behind it. Red markings were crudely drawn upon parts of the map as Shinji approached the pedestal to glance at the worn, leather-bound tome that sat on top of it. Grasping its cover with one hand, Shinji kept his firearm ready in his other hand while he opened the tome and found himself staring at pages upon pages of incoherent, maddened writings. No matter how many withered pages he turned, the same ominous sentence was scrawled upon every single one of them.
"The day of judgement arrives."
Shinji closed the strange tome and investigated another aisle to notice the incinerated body of an Illuminati acolyte lying against one of the broken server racks. They appeared to be grasping a small switch in one of their hands as Shinji carefully approached the burned corpse, guessing it to be the result of the alchemical flames that the Illuminati Remnants often inflicted upon themselves to try and prevent their capture. While the odor of freshly-burned skin was most foul, Shinji had grown used to the smell of death long ago.
"Ogawa, I've found something!" Kagero called out to him from the other side of the bunker.
Leaving the body alone for now, Shinji rushed out of the aisle and sprinted over to where he had heard Kagero's voice calling him from. Reaching the farthest end of the Illuminati bunker, Shinji stopped in front of an antique, circular vault door, its stainless, metal surface bearing no signs of damage while a keyhole and a digital key-pad were built into the center of the large door. Kagero was holding up his wrist device to communicate with the other members of the infiltration team as he approached the vault entrance and rapped his knuckles against the hard steel.
"It looks like this is where the SG-r04 is supposedly stored," Kagero explained, typing a few messages into his wrist device. "It had been set to self-destruct, but something had stopped the countdown."
Ogawa eyed the vault's security key-pad and holstered his weapon to bring up his own wrist-device. "I'll contact Morikawa to get it open."
"Not necessary. It looks like Kagami's found the information we need from inside their leader's computer terminal," Kagero said, taking out the metal key again to insert it into the vault's keyhole. With a glance at the holographic messages projecting from his wrist device, he inputted the 24-digit code in a flash, earning a deafening, metallic groan from the vault door as its countless locks slowly undid themselves. Following one final click, the vault door swung open at an almost agonizing pace as they both drew out their firearms.
They went in at the count of three from Ogawa, but when the two men rushed inside the vault's small room, Shinji and Kagero saw nothing more than an empty table stationed in front of them. It carried a stand designed to specifically hold a relic pendant, and while the stand itself was completely empty, Shinji's senses told him that not a single soul had stepped inside this vault for quite some time. It perturbed the agent as both Shinji and Kagero holstered their weapons, stepped out of the vault and looked at each other with a shared sense of unease. It did not take long for Shinji to come up with their next move.
"Alert command that we'll be conducting a search of the entire area," Shinji ordered his subordinate. "Someone must have arrived here for the SG-r04 before we did."
"Right," Kagero agreed, giving him a small bow before rushing down the smoking aisles in a flash to head back up to ground floor.
As Kagero's footsteps disappeared from earshot, Shinji continued stepping through the underground bunker and returned to where he had discovered the pedestal with the tome sitting on top of it. This time, he fixated his gaze on the map of the globe that was plastered across the wall and focused on the markings that were messily drawn across areas such as Europe, Borneo, Japan and the United States. It was difficult to tell which part of the globe wasn't marked at all, but the longer Shinji stared at the map, the more he began to think that it was somehow attempting to warn him of something.
Holding up her smartphone in one hand, Ayano Komichi let out an enchanted sigh as she watched a recording of the marriage yesterday between Kazanari Tsubasa and Kazanari Maria. Having received the video from Chris just this morning, Komichi had spent the past half-hour re-watching the wedding while she waited outside the entrance of a shopping mall in a thick winter coat. She leaned against a metal railing as the December snow fell upon the city of Mitakihara, creating a winter atmosphere that Komichi almost found to be romantic while groups of friends, families and even a few couples entered the mall for a weekend past-time.
Brushing the snow off her long, flowing hair with one hand, Komichi was practically fawning over the recording of the kiss between the Kazanari couple, earning the brunette a few passing-by stares that she paid no attention to. But when she felt a firm hand suddenly give her a sharp, playful bonk on the head from behind, Komichi let out a dramatic yelp and turned around to pout at the person that had snuck up on her without making even a single sound.
Although they were the same age, Godai Yuki stood a couple centimeters taller than Komichi as her dark green hair was tied up into a long, bushy ponytail that reached her waist. Casually putting her arms behind her head, Yuki gave Komichi an exasperated sigh alongside a raised brow. "You know, Otome and I made a bet that you'd be watching that when I arrived. Looks like Darling isn't going to be winning the bet this time," she said with a cheeky smirk.
Komichi playfully stuck out her tongue at the fellow S.O.N.G. agent while Yuki stifled a chuckle, "You shouldn't sneak up on a maiden like that, Yuki. Don't you know that stress can mess with your skin?" She crossed her arms over her chest with a chin held high before glancing back at her long-time companion. "Speaking of Otome, where is your little fiance?" she asked, getting off the railing to look around the crowded sidewalk. Considering Otome's height, it wouldn't be surprising if she was simply hiding among the crowds that were heading down Mitakihara's busy streets.
"Darlin' is a bit busy visiting her relatives over at Kazamino, so she couldn't make it," Yuki explained with a small, defeated shrug of the shoulders. "I tried to get her to come, but her Ma and Pa weren't too keen on attendin' family stuff without her around." She then held up her smartphone to show a long list of items, plushies and clothing. "She did give me some cash so I could buy a couple things she wanted from here, though."
Although she was slightly disappointed to hear that, Komichi was at least happy that their little reunion wasn't completely called off. As her green eyes looked past Yuki to scan the sidewalk behind her, whatever disappointment Komichi felt quickly left her when she spotted a head of snow-white hair heading towards them. Dressed in the same winter coat that she often wore back in their days at Lydian, Yukine Chris carried a sealed cup of bubble tea in one hand while she waved over to the two, the long, white tails of her hair trailing freely behind her. It had been some time since Chris had moved to America for her studies, so when the Adaptor finally arrived, Komichi wasted no time galloping towards her with her arms wide-open.
"There's our little snowball!" Komichi exclaimed, capturing Chris in a big hug that only made the short woman's face light-up like a Christmas light.
Despite the embarrassment that was clear on her expression, Chris made no attempt at all to pry Komichi's arms off her and instead just barked at the woman that was trying to smother her. "G-Get off me!" she exclaimed between gritted teeth, both hands holding onto her bubble tea so it wouldn't spill. "It's only been a couple years, dammit! No need to be so clingy!"
"This was probably the one thing you should've expected when you came here, ya know?" Yuki remarked, arms still behind her head as she walked up to the two. Holding up a hand to Komichi's face, a sharp flick of Yuki's fingers against the woman's forehead quickly made her release their snow-white friend. While Komichi dramatically rubbed her forehead with both hands, Yuki greeted Chris with a playful bump of her fist against the woman's shoulder. "So, how was the wedding yesterday? Tachibana and the others were there too, right?"
Relieved to finally be free from Komichi's clutches, Chris eased herself with a sip of her bubble tea before answering, "The wedding was pretty swell. The Dummy kept crying the entire time, so her girlfriend had to hold onto her for almost the whole thing," she said with a scoff. "Scythe and Rabbit were in charge of the food, so I ate pretty damn well, that's for sure. As for Maria and her new wife? Yeah, they looked pretty damn happy the entire time."
Yuki gave an impressed whistle. "Sounded like a blast."
"It does, doesn't it?" Komichi added, leaning forward again to give Chris a cat-like grin that made the woman involuntarily shiver underneath her winter coat. "In fact, when I asked Kohinata the other day if she could send me her recording of the event, I heard that our little Chris was practically crying-"
"Finish that sentence, and only two living souls will be walking into that mall, Komichi." Chris' playful threat immediately caused her to zip her lips, but that cat-like grin that Komichi wore still remained on her face while Yuki just shook her head with a laugh. "Anyway! Enough standing around outside in the snow," the Adaptor said, jerking her thumb towards the entrance of the mall. "Let's head inside for some fun already." Even though Chris was the shortest among the three, she took the lead as they finally entered Mitakihara's newest shopping mall to celebrate their reunion.
Walking through the entrance of the giant mall, the warmer temperatures of the building felt like a relief from the winter winds outside as they arrived at a main lobby that was crowded with people. A quick glance around them allowed Komichi to see that the shopping mall had at least ten-to-twenty floors altogether, each of them connected by multiple escalators and elevators. Since it was their first time walking around this place, the trio approached one of the many displays that were providing a holographic map of the mall in order to find their bearings.
Biting her straw while she slurped up the last of her bubble tea, Chris eyed the map and groaned when she spotted a store dedicated to a familiar superhero show. "Seriously? They got a Valkyranger store here, too?"
Zesshou Sentai Valkyranger. Starring six women in colour-coded costumes, each of them carried their own vibrant personalities, unique weapons and tragic backstories as they assembled as a team to fight against world-threatening gods, witches and maniacal scientists. It was only a few years ago when Chris told them that S.O.N.G. was going to be financially-supporting a television show based on the adventures of the Symphogear Adaptors. While the 50-episode show itself was a huge success, the sheer popularity of the series was nothing that Chris had even anticipated. Komichi, on the other hand, could not forget how the Adaptors had to promote the show through a few choreographed live shows while dressed in its costumes.
"It was pretty cheesy, but Darlin' and I thought it was pretty good," Yuki commented while eyeing the map to make a list of shops that caught her eye. "Now then, which store will we blow our cash on first?"
Komichi's eyes practically glowed with excitement at the mere thought of shopping. "Oh, there's just so much to pick from! There's a nice clothing store here! A plushie store there! And-!" They heard a loud, audible rumble coming from Chris' stomach, causing both Komichi and Yuki to gaze at her while the white-haired woman quietly bit her lips in embarrassment. "... Or maybe we could grab a bite first?" she promptly suggested with a bright smile.
With that settled, the three stepped into one of the lobby's elevators and ascended towards the highest floor of the shopping mall. They were greeted by the smell of hot, fried food once they reached their stop, and while Chris and Yuki had split off to go and find an empty table in the large food court, Komichi went to the food stalls for something that would satisfy all three of them. She was going to being mindful about how much she was going to eat, even though she knew that Chris herself was going to be downing down food aplenty. But while Komichi was in the midst of picking out a place to order from, the brunette's ears suddenly picked up the sound of a deep voice that she had not heard since her days in Lydian.
"Mei, where are you? Mei!"
Turning her attention to that familiar voice, Komichi looked around the busy food court and spotted a woman with distinct brown skin and long, black hair that had been tied into a braid on her shoulder. As the woman's purple eyes worriedly looked about the place, she continued calling out for someone while she held a smartphone to her ear. Komichi recognized her as one of her second-year juniors from back when she was still in her third-year. Even though she could not remember her full name, she approached the woman anyway and gave her a friendly wave.
"Hello! Hello!" Komichi greeted her in fluent English, catching the worried woman's attention as she remembered her surname. "Were you looking for someone, Jiang?"
Jiang took a moment to glance at Komichi with a sharp, analytical look before immediately recognizing her as her senior, "Ayano?" she asked, earning her a cheerful nod from Komichi. "Ah. It's been a while." Jiang cleared her throat and pocketed her smartphone in her jacket to place a hand on her hip. "Sorry. I was just trying to find my little sister. I swore she was with me when we entered the food court just now, but-" She gave another worried look around the place, her lips faintly quivering while she twirled a strand of her hair in one of her fingers.
Komichi could not help but feel like she was talking to a worried parent rather than a frustrated older sibling. When she opened her mouth to suggest something, the S.O.N.G. agent's eyes subsequently spotted a teenage girl that was slowly creeping up on Jiang from behind. Carrying a few plastic bags of Valkyranger toys in her hands, the girl's brown skin and tomboyish, black hair prompted Komichi to point a finger at the approaching teen with an amused smile. "Is that her?"
Jiang spun around on the heel of her boot, causing her younger sibling to freeze where she stood with faux-shock as the older sibling placed both hands on her hips, and clicked her tongue in frustration. "So, that's where you were," she said, softly glaring at the bags of merchandise in her hands. She didn't seem surprised by what her little sister was carrying. "You could have at least sent me a text before running off, you know?"
The teenage girl looked barely any older than eighteen years-old as she sheepishly smiled back at her sibling. "Aw, come on! It was just a quick trip. I was in-and-out before you could even say 'clock up'!" While Jiang simply responded with a sigh of relief, the younger of the two siblings looked over at the chuckling Komichi to greet her with an eager, two-finger salute. "Yo! Who's this lady, Jie? Someone you know?"
The brown woman turned back to Komichi with a vexed gesture towards her younger sibling. "Ayano, this is my sister, Cynthia Jiang Kai-Ming," she said while Kai struck a flamboyant pose, causing her plastic bags to swing in her hands. "Mei, this is one of my seniors from when I was still in Lydian, Ayano Komichi." Jiang gave a formal bow that Komichi quickly returned in kind. "Cassandra Jiang Lanfen is my name, just in case you forgot," she added while adjusting the black-and-white scarf that was wrapped around her neck.
Eyeing her past junior with a hand held up to her chin in thought, Komichi clapped her hands together, remarking, "You sure have grown a lot since Lydian, Jiang. Have you been doing well?"
She sensed a hint of hesitation within the older Jiang's eyes before the woman calmly answered, "You could say that." While Kai kept quiet behind her sibling with her eyes on the food stalls around them, Lanfen gestured over to an empty table nearby. "Mei and I were just getting something to eat before heading back to Yamaku City. Care to join us in the meantime?"
Komichi could see the growing excitement within the eyes of the younger of the two siblings, so it was rather difficult when Komichi had to turn them down. "Sorry, sorry. I've already got some plans for today, so I'll have to pass. But!" she pointed a pair of finger-guns at them and gave them a wink, "you two go and have fun. It's the weekend, so that's what a maiden should be doing, after all!" Flashing them an encouraging smile, both siblings gave her an understanding look in response.
"Sure. It was nice seeing you, Ayano." Lanfen gave her another formal bow before she excused herself, "Have a pleasant afternoon."
"Ciao!" Kai-Ming gave Komichi an excited peace-sign and followed her older sister to one of the food court's many busy stalls.
While the two headed off for their lunch, Komichi couldn't help but note on how Lanfen seemed to treat her sibling more like a child than a younger sister. But before she could elaborate on her observation, her train of thought was interrupted by a low grumbling that was coming from her own stomach. Realizing that she had been standing around here for quite some time now, Komichi picked out the nearest food stall, and hoped that Chris and Yuki were going to chow down on whatever she had brought for them regardless.
Komichi observed the falling snow through the large window beside their table as she forked a fresh ball of takoyaki into her mouth. While Yuki was finishing up a modest plate of gyoza, Chris was already halfway through her second bowl of udon by the time Komichi was even a quarter-way done with her own bowl of food. In-between bites, the three women were slowly catching up on everything that had occurred over the past half-decade, and even though a long amount of time had passed ever since their graduation from Lydian, Komichi felt as though little had changed when it came to chatting with their snow-white friend. Knowing that she was an Adaptor these days didn't really affect the way either Yuki or Komichi saw her as the tables around them were completely vacant of anyone that could eavesdrop on their conversation.
"-it's only been a couple months since they started, but that Dummy and her girlfriend are pretty much swamped with work over at Lydian," Chris said while messily shoving noodles into her mouth. "Being a teacher ain't easy, but it's at lot easier for the Dummy to give an excuse for why she ain't around when S.O.N.G. starts calling us up for the usual work," she added with a wave of her chopsticks. "Meanwhile Scythe and Rabbit are pretty much dying in some culinary uni' over in Australia. Can't say I'm jealous of 'em."
"Sounds like things have been pretty chill for you Wielders," Yuki remarked while glancing at a text message from Otome in her smartphone. "It's been what? A year since y'all have fought some Noise? Rescue work sounds pretty mundane compared to all that."
Pushing aside an empty bowl of food, Komichi wiped her mouth with a tissue, saying, "I'm sure they're busy in other ways, Yuki. Aren't the Kazanaris planning on starting up that humanitarian front?" she asked Chris. "It can't be easy for Tsubasa now that she's also the head of the Kazanari household now. Her schedule must be pretty tight when she's still singing on stage and doing whatever S.O.N.G. rings you gals up for."
"She's got a lot of work on her shoulders, yeah," Chris replied with a shrug, not caring for the food that was stuck onto the corners of her mouth. "But with Maria by her side, she's been staying pretty strong. Shouldn't be surprising considering how those two have been over the years." Grabbing her bowl with both hands, she lifted the large item to her lips and proceeded to down half a bowl's entire worth of broth in a single sitting. It would have been impressive if Komichi and Yuki weren't so used to seeing it by this point. Komichi found it almost adorable, even.
Returning her gaze to the expansive cityscape outside the window, Komichi saw the countless people that were crowding the streets of Mitakihara down below and wondered what it was like to have a life that wasn't associated with the paranormal. Since it had been almost 4 years now since Yuki and her had joined S.O.N.G., Komichi let out a wistful sigh before quenching her thirst with a cup of lemon tea. "If it's one thing I miss, it's having a weekend where I don't have to expect S.O.N.G. to suddenly ring us up for a job," she moaned with a straw in her mouth. "Ever since the whole mess with that stolen relic thing, I was beginning to think we wouldn't be getting a day-off for at least a month."
"Really makes ya wonder why they're even bothering with that failed lab experiment," Chris dryly said before glancing over to Yuki. The ponytailed-woman was still in the middle of replying to a few text messages from Otome. "What about you, Yuki? Got any good stories about your time in that Hida Clan?"
Yuki gave her a teasing smirk while placing a finger over her own lips in a 'hush' motion. "Sorry, Red Hood, but that's confidential. What I can tell you though is that it's already been a while since I've left them. I was handling the job just fine, but ever since I got engaged to Otome, I decided that I didn't want to do anythin' that could make her worry too much about me." She placed her smartphone in her pockets and leaned back on the backrest of her chair with her arms behind her head. "Besides, the tasks that S.O.N.G. gives us aren't exactly hard compared to what Clan Hida usually made me do."
"The skills Yuki's learned from them sure do come in handy in our line of work, though," Komichi commented with a happy grin. "It's a lot easier doing spy stuff when your partner can just sneak around in broad daylight."
"And I will remind you to not rely too much on me, Komi'," Yuki playfully snapped back, causing Komichi to stick out her tongue at the pony-tailed woman.
Finishing up the juice that came with her food, Chris placed the tall glass aside and cleaned her mouth before rising up from her chair. "Anyway! Let's start shopping," she told the two with a raised fist held high. "It's been a while since we've messed around, so let's have some fun."
There were no disagreements whatsoever with Chris' suggestion as Komichi and Yuki both got up from their chairs to follow the snow-white Adaptor out of the food court. Looking forward to finally using her recent paycheck from S.O.N.G., Komichi hummed a song in excitement while she walked behind the two. Before they left, she took one last opportunity to gaze out of the large windows beside them, and as Komichi took in the expansive view of the city outside, her eyes couldn't help but notice the odd flickers of red lights that were faintly dancing among the snowy clouds in Mitakihara's skyline.
By the time Shinji and Kagero had returned to the S.O.N.G. submarine, the setting sun was already casting a soft, yellow glow onto the cities of Japan. Walking through a pair of sliding doors to enter the vessel's bridge, the two men could see that Commander Genjuuro and Souji were in the middle of a conversation as Shinji and his apprentice got down on their knees and lowered their heads in shame. The pair waited for the Commander and the Grandmaster to finish their discussion before Shinji even lifted his voice to announce their presence.
"We must apologize for our failure to retrieve the missing SG-r04," Shinji spoke for the two while Kagero kept quiet at his side. "In hindsight, we may have overestimated our capabilities-"
The scabbard of Souji's katana loudly clacked against the floor of the bridge. The mere sound of it made both Shinji and Kagero subconsciously tense up in silence. "You will apologize for nothing, Shinji," Souji stated, tightening his hands around the pommel of his ceremonial weapon while closing his eyes. "Whatever happened to the SG-r04, it appears to have disappeared from the Illuminati's hands before they had even realized it. Clan Hida has been monitoring the European continent for the past week, and thus far, nothing has gone in nor out without our notice."
"The time that the council provided us is running short, but it's time better spent focusing on our mission rather than apologizing," the Commander suggested, gesturing the two to get up from their knees while calling over a member of the bridge to hand them some hot beverages. "Besides, it's not like you two came back from Europe empty-handed."
Standing back on their feet, Kagero asked the Commander a question as both him and Shinji were each given a hot cup of coffee, "Have you managed to figure out anything about the object we discovered?"
The Commander answered the young man's question with a firm nod and turned to Tomosato and Fujitaka, both of them rapidly typing away at their terminals. "Tomosato, bring up an image of the item." His order was followed up in an instant as the bridge's large monitor screens generated images of a pitch-black box covered in the distinct markings of the Illuminati. "Apparently, the Remnants had stored a secured data-codex underneath their hideout. Professor Elfnein has been investigating it ever since we've excavated it, and after a bit of research, she says it contains encrypted information regarding beings the Remnants have designated as 'Distortions'."
Additional images appeared across the bridge's monitor screens, this time showcasing incomplete blueprints and designs for a substantial variety of armoured, humanoid-shaped creatures. No two designs were exactly the same, for each of them carried different sets of armaments while also bearing a diverse range of armour sizes. Shinji noted their fleeting resemblance to depictions and paintings of European knights from the earlier centuries, and as the men observed the numerous blueprints that were being shown on the large screens, they could see that each creature was given a designated 'Category' along with a 'Type'. Category-1, Category-2, Category-3. 'A-type', 'B-type', 'C-type'. Armour. Blade. Caster.
"Is this a sort of alchemical creation?" Shinji asked, handing his beverage over to Kagero after the blonde man had graciously downed the cup he had already been given.
"That's what we assumed at first, but it doesn't appear to be the case," Souji answered, narrowing his eyes on the blueprints. "While the decrypted information thus far implies that the Remnants lent some form of assistance in these designs, these plans do not detail any form of alchemy in the creation of these armoured automata. They also seem to have been provided by a third-party that we have yet to identify, as there's no markings that point to a group which we have already encountered."
As the blueprints were dismissed from the monitor screens, Commander Genjuuro sat down on his post and furrowed his brows with suspicion. "Which points to the possibility of a new foe."
"Indeed. A deal with this mysterious third-party must have gone wrong if the SG-r04 was stolen without the Remnants' notice," Souji said, lifting his katana to rest its grip against his shoulder. He then gave the Commander a look that immediately told Shinji of the frustration that was subtly brewing within the Grandmaster. "Whoever they may be, Clan Hida will be at your disposal for the immediate removal of their leaders, Commander Kazanari. You need only request our services."
An audio transmission from the submarine's laboratories was displayed over the central monitor screen as the four men turned their attention towards the sudden call from Professor Elfnein. They could hear the mild signs of exhaustion in her voice as she addressed them, "Commander, pardon my intrusion, but in my attempts to decrypt the Illuminati's data-codex, I have managed to uncover an audio recording that was stored alongside the encrypted information. I would suggest that you listen to it."
There was a pause in the transmission before the audio transitioned into the recording she spoke of. The sound was faint until Commander Genjuuro told Fujitaka to increase the volume, allowing them to clearly hear the panicked, gasping voice of a woman. "This is Acolyte Olivier Anderson. Our leader, Joseph Alexander, is dead. The enemy is approaching our walls. The relic pendant has gone missing within the vault and we have only hours before-" Harsh static plagued the recording, making parts of it all but incomprehensible. "-they intend to destroy the information we've been documenting before S.O.N.G. arrives. But, I've managed to salvage whatever I could and have stored them within this codex to hide within the Earth. I can only hope someone will be able to find this before-"
Shinji could guess that this 'Anderson' person was the incinerated acolyte he had discovered within that underground bunker. And the longer the recording went, the more he was beginning to think that the device being used to record it was somehow being interrupted by an outside force. Whatever was the cause of the static, Shinji could sense the fear that coated the acolyte's raspy voice.
"-despite the efforts we have gone through in order to enact a new world order, I can only now regret the role we have played in the theft of the prototype Symphogear. It pains me to say that we can only rely on S.O.N.G. for the upcoming conflict. While it is ridiculous to insist that the slayers of Adam are all we have to rely on, the power of the Symphogears truly are the only things capable of turning back the coming tide. Please, to whomever that finds this, you must deliver this codex to S.O.N.G. as soon as possible. They have to be aware of what we are facing. If we cannot rely on them... then I hope the afterlife is merciful on all our souls."
The audio recording came to an abrupt end. There was a long, uncomfortable silence before Professor Elfnein continued speaking, "It shall take a few more days for me to finish decrypting the rest of the information within this codex, Commander. I shall do it as fast as I can."
"Of course. But don't overwork yourself, Professor," the Commander gently told her. "If anything comes up, be sure to notify us."
With the transmission itself also coming to its end, Souji turned back to Shinji and Kagero, both men clearly intent on maintaining their formalities in the presence of their grandmaster. "Excellent work on discovering the data-codex. Now, go and get some rest." He looked over to Kagero in particular and gave him a brief smile when he also noticed the hint of shame that still lingered on his face. "Don't beat yourself up too much. You may be a recent transfer in S.O.N.G., but your performance is anything but lacking thus far, Kagero."
Although he did not seem to fully believe Souji's words of reassurance, Kagero still gave a thankful bow. "I understand, Grandmaster."
"The trail for the stolen Symphogear may have gone cold, but Clan Hida has recovered many an item with even less to rely on. Our warriors will not rest until it has been discovered," Souji promised the Commander, exchanging one last look of respect with him before he gestured that Shinji and Kagero follow him out of the bridge. "I will be returning to Clan Hida the first thing in the morning. Hopefully, we will be able to identify this new foe as soon as possible."
Excusing themselves from the bridge with a respectful bow to Commander Genjuuro, the pair turned around in the direction of the bridge's double-doors and quietly made their way out of the command center with their grandmaster in-between them. Shinji could sense the frustration that was within his apprentice's heart, and while this was a 'problem' that Clan Hida often expected their warriors to handle by themselves, the fact that they were currently stationed underneath S.O.N.G. allowed Shinji to think of a few methods he could utilize to calm the younger man's frustrations. Perhaps he could ask Souji for a few tips on how he should deal with his older brother's right-hand man?
As they approached the large doors to the bridge, the Ogawa brothers' instincts caused them to halt in their tracks. Kagero stopped after them, clearly wondering why the two had suddenly halted. But before either of them could even say anything to one another, a powerful, violent vibration rocked the entire submarine, causing Shinji and Kagero to immediately stab their kunais into the walls as Souji planted his unsheathed katana into the floor to brace himself. The power subsequently went out, leaving the command center in complete darkness while Commander Genjuuro held onto his terminal and demanded to know what they had just been hit by. A few of the bridge's operators weren't as fast in their reactions as the sudden shock had effortlessly thrown a few of them off their posts and onto the floors of the bridge.
"What's going on?!" Fujitaka shrieked from his terminal, desperately clinging onto his chair.
Tomosato slammed a few, desperate inputs into her terminal, her other hand barely gripping onto the corner of her post. "We've been hit by an unidentified wave of energy, Commander! Our main generator has been shut off! Our back-up generator is-" Her terminal, along with every other computer terminal in the bridge, went dark as the holographic projection of the globe in the middle of the command center instantly shut off. The monitor screens died as well, denying them even the mere visual of the quaking submarine's other sections.
"We're working on getting our generators up and running!" a bridge crew operator shouted amidst the pitch-black darkness from the lower sections of the bridge.
As the underwater vessel slowly regained equilibrium, Shinji and Kagero released their grips on their wall-planted weapons and navigated their way through the darkness of the command center with ease. While Kagero had ran up to Souji to see if he was alright, Shinji rushed over to the bridge's lower sections, helping up any fallen operators to their feet and checking if anyone had been wounded from the sudden shock to their vessel. The S.O.N.G. agent then reached into his pockets to ignite an emergency flare he had been keeping to partially illuminate the bridge with a crimson light. It was a move that Kagero hurried to mimic after he noticed the actions of the more experienced agent.
"Is everyone alright?" the Commander groaned from his post, looking across the flare-lit bridge to check up on his haggard crew.
Leaving their flares on the floors of the bridge's upper and lower sections, Shinji reached for his wrist-device to see that his communications were down. He went over to Souji and Kagero on the bridge's upper section, but they too were tapping into their wrist-devices to notice that they were unable to bring up Clan Hida's communications network. As Souji calmly sheathed his ceremonial weapon, Kagero wrung his wrists before placing his kunai back in his suit's hidden sheathes.
"Could this be related to whatever the Illuminati was trying to warn us about?"
Both Ogawa brothers did not wish to find out the answer to Kagero's question. Turning their gazes over to the panicked bridge crew, they could see the operators rushing to get the power back on, and while Souji was relatively calm in letting S.O.N.G. handle the situation, Shinji could not help but feel the same sense of dread that he had felt within the bunker after he laid his eyes on that marked map of the globe. It was a sense of danger that he had only started to foster ever since the horrible attack that Noble Red had staged on that concert half a decade ago. While Shinji waited for the power to return with his older brother and Kagero at his side, he could feel his palms slowly start to sweat.
It took ten minutes for the generator to come back online. Computer terminals rang with life again, the holographic image of the world globe materialized in the center of the bridge, and the bridge's monitor screens lit up with the emblem of S.O.N.G. emblazoned across the central screen. But before any of the operators could celebrate, the bridge's alarm klaxons blared in their ears as a backlog of red alerts flooded the operators' computer terminals. Tomosato, Fujitaka and all the other operators hurried to address them while Commander Genjuuro calmly attempted to maintain order amongst his crew.
"Tomosato, give me a status report on the situation."
"Sir, we're detecting unidentified energy readings all over the globe!" she exclaimed, sweat trailing down the sides of her head. "Unknown energy signatures are appearing across the United States, Europe, Australia, Borneo, the Philippines, Japan and more, Commander!"
"Bringing up a visual of Tokyo now!" Fujitaka shouted, inputting a command to display a clear image of the Japanese city on the central monitor screen.
What they saw could only be described as 'cracks' in reality that hovered over the busy streets of Tokyo. These giant cracks would then expand into gaping, pulsing rifts that numbered in what their terminals counted to be in the hundreds all across the entire globe. An operator from the lower section of the bridge reported that military forces across the world were in the middle of mobilizing in response to the event, and as Commander Genjuuro ordered Fujitaka and Tomosato to get in contact with their Adaptors, the three men of Clan Hida tried to comprehend the increasing visuals of these rifts on the bridge's monitor screens. It was as if reality itself was slowly 'ripping' apart before their eyes.
But, the apparent sundering of their world was not the only thing that was occurring. Dozens of dark, armoured bodies descended from these gaping rifts to make landfall wherever they were. Once they had received clear images of these armoured creatures through the CCTV cameras that were stationed around Tokyo, the people on the bridge knew exactly what they were facing: 'Distortions'. The armoured automata looked exactly as how the Illuminati's records had detailed them to be, and while Shinji and Kagero could only stand by while the six Adaptors battled the paranormal horrors before them, Souji brought up his wrist-device to address every single member of Clan Hida with a single urgent message.
"All members of Clan Hida, assist with the defense of our lands immediately!" he demanded with a grimace. "I repeat, abandon all current tasks and assist with the counter-attack now!"
"Hibiki, Tsubasa, Chris, Maria, Kirika and Shirabe have all been deployed, Commander!" Fujitaka exclaimed from his post. "The Adaptors are holding their ground, but the rifts are appearing in multiple zones outside of their reach!"
Judging by the number of bodies that the Adaptors were cleaving through with each passing second, Shinji's first observation was that it was going to take each Adaptor at least ten minutes to secure the zones they were attempting to defend. In those ten agonizing minutes, the regular military would have to hold out until S.O.N.G.'s Symphogear-Wielders could assist them. The thought seemed hopeful until the rifts in the skies began to emit deep, thrumming 'pulses' whenever aircraft would attempt to approach them, causing numerous jet-planes and helicopters to helplessly careen out of the sky before crashing down into the cities below. The only way they could evidently fight was through a bloody ground battle against the armoured creatures.
The enemy was everywhere. Communications channels were swarming with pleas for assistance. Despite their odds, Commander Genjuuro still gave out his orders to the Adaptors with fiery precision as they were deployed across the world to assist with the global defense. This was not the first time they were defending the world, and it clearly was not going to be their last. But as the Commander attempted to pull together a coherent global defense with their six Adaptors, Tomosato received an alert on her terminal that quickly made her turn to the Commander with an urgent report.
"Commander! We've detected a seventh Aufwachen waveform in Yamaku, Japan!"
All activity on the bridge ceased for exactly one second the moment she had even uttered those words.
It was impossible, Shinji had thought. Kagero and Souji turned to the woman with looks of disbelief, and Commander Genjuuro swore he had somehow misheard the bewildered bridge operator. As Fujitaka matched the waveform pattern with S.O.N.G.'s records, he quickly identified the detected Aufwachen waveform. "Commander, I'm bringing it up on the monitor!"
Three words flashed across the central monitor screen, causing Genjuuro to slam his hands onto his terminal's interface while his voice escaped him in a way it had not done so for the longest time now.
"The Sword of Damocles?!"