Garnet leaned back on the workshop's wall and stared into space. Pearl was working on the Roaming Eye and didn't need her help, so she had time to meditate. Any human walking by the red alien assumed that she was sleeping, but that was far from the truth. Garnet possessed the power of precognition, otherwise known as Future Vision. With it, she could see any possible future through her third eye.
She was concentrating on using her power more than ever before, but she wasn't pleased with the results. At first, she had concentrated on the possible futures in which she and the Crystal Gems prioritized searching for Steven over anything else. She had seen multiple visions of him, but they differed so widely. He appeared in a European forest, a human city, a jungle, and many other unfamiliar places. Without more information, she couldn't guess where he would be in reality.
But there was one thing all her Future Visions had in common: at the end of each of them, a wave of bright, green light would come over the horizon. The strange light covered the young boy, along with any humans that happened to be near him. When the green light disappeared, Steven would sometimes come out unharmed. But most of the time, he didn't come back. He'd be swallowed, leaving behind nothing.
Garnet was accustomed to seeing Steven and the Crystal Gems getting hurt, or worse, dying in her visions, but it still pained her every time she saw it. And to make matters worse, this happened in every timeline where she and her companions left Japan to find Steven. To say this displeased her would be an understatement.
After witnessing a few dozen visions like this, she realized something about the strange, green light. With the positions of the Moon and the Sun, Garnet inferred that it originated from Japan, the country she and her companions were staying in.
With some reluctance, she decided to look into timelines where the Crystal Gems choose to stay in Japan with S.O.N.G.
In these visions, Hibiki, Chris, and four other young women fought against beings that resembled mannequins. Each of the six humans fought while wearing strange armor. Garnet figured these were the Symphogears the two girls mentioned on the helicopter ride to S.O.N.G HQ.
The girls also sang during combat. Interesting, but not unusual to Garnet. She and the rest of the Crystal Gems sometimes sang during combat too.
Garnet eventually foresaw the mastermind, a blonde woman wearing purple armor with a witch's hat standing over the defeated bodies of Chris and four of her other comrades. To her quiet horror, the shattered remains of Pearl and Amethyst also laid on the ground, their Gems broken and dull. In that future, Hibiki and Garnet were the last ones standing against the witch, and the human girl was barely able to stand on her feet.
The mastermind's eyes were filled with pure hatred, a hatred that surpassed any Homeworld Gem that Garnet had ever seen. It was a cold hatred, a hatred for everything the world stood for.
"You've done well to entertain me, but I'm afraid it's time for this farce to end," The blonde woman taunted. Then, she raised her hands in the air, creating a series of glyphs around her, and shouted "Now, let us begin the world's dissection!" Bursts of pure energy fired out of the glyphs at Hibiki, ready to destroy her.
The young warrior was unable to react in time to the attack, but Garnet ran in front of the girl at the last moment, taking the hit for her. But the attack was too much. The blast dispelled her form, causing Ruby and Sapphire's gems to fall to the ground.
The last thing that the Garnet of the future heard was Hibiki yelling out her name in shock and despair.
Garnet shook her head and tried another future. And another. And another. The visions left her with more questions than answers, but she realized that her decision here could affect the fate of this Earth.
'I'm sorry, Steven, but you'll have to hold out a little longer. If we don't help these humans, we won't get a chance to reunite.' Garnet thought to herself. She clenched her fists. She hated having to prioritize something else over reuniting with Steven.
Garnet then began focusing on the near future, trying to see how she can prevent the "World's Dissection" from happening. Hopefully, Steven would be okay, wherever he was.
XXXX
It had been two days since the Gems crash-landed in Japan and started living at S.O.N.G. headquarters. Pearl and Garnet had been making gradual progress on the Roaming Eye while Amethyst explored the submarine to see what it had to offer. She also ate many of the cafeteria's food and utensils, to the point where there was now a shortage of both.
Genjuro had to pacify the angry chefs by raising their salaries, which was a headache in and of itself.
Today was Sunday. The new morning shift for the humans was starting. Amethyst wandered around the submarine. Seeing how she was bored, she decided to head towards the bridge to see what the crew members were up to.
When she arrived at the bridge, she something unexpected: a live broadcast of some concert on the big screen on the wall. There was a small preview of the two singers. The first one was a young woman with waist-long, blue hair in a side ponytail. The other woman had pink hair that was elegantly split up in multiple directions. Both wore dresses fit for pleasing their adoring fans.
Genjuro was there, watching intently with a huge grin on his face.
"Hey, Genjuro! Who are these guys?" Amethyst asked while walking further in, wondering why he was watching a concert. Maybe the crew here were fans?
The commander looked down at Amethyst with a kind smile on his face, "Oh, Amethyst-kun, I didn't hear you come in!" He put his focus back on the screen, which soon shifted to the concert hall's stage. There was a number on the bottom, signifying the time the concert is scheduled to start.
"The young woman with blue hair is my niece, Tsubasa-kun. She is performing with her partner Maria-kun in England, and I would be a terrible uncle if I missed even a single concert!" Genjuro explained with pride in his loud voice, crossing his arms in the process.
"Tsubasa? Oh, I recognize that name! Hibiki told me about her and how she helped shatter the moon to save the planet!" Amethyst concluded while putting her hands behind her head. Remembering everything that was explained to her was a bother, as her memory of them was kinda hazy. She regretted not paying enough attention to them.
Genjuro nodded in confirmation, "Yes. Tsubasa-kun and Maria-kun are currently off on a tour around the globe to give hope to their fans."
"Huh, that sounds pretty cool! Hey, do you mind if I watch it with you guys?" Amethyst asked while taking a seat at an empty chair.
Genjuro shook his head, approving her request, a small grin on his face. "Of course not. I'm sure that Tsubasa-kun and Maria-kun would love for you to watch their show!"
"Thanks, man! Really appreciate it!" Amethyst said before leaning back in the chair and put her arms behind her head.
Soon, the timer reached its end, and the center of the stadium shined a light, revealing the two young singers in elaborate outfits in a cloud of mist.
Amethyst had seen a couple of concerts on TV with Steven and the others, all cool in their ways. But this show went far beyond any she had seen before. The two appeared to be dancing on the water itself, with geysers rushing out of the pool of water at their feet. They flew at some points like it was natural for them to go through the water spouts!
And that didn't even include the lyrics that the two women were singing. They felt like the two humans were specifically singing to her , and not just the crowd.
"Wow…" was all Amethyst could say. She was so mesmerized by the two's performance that the rambunctious Gem couldn't keep her eyes away from the screen.
The bridge's viewing of the concert was then interrupted by the noise of the door opening behind them, along with hurrying footsteps.
The sudden noise from behind her snapped Amethyst out of her trance, causing her to look behind the chair to see what happened.
It was Garnet, whose stern face looked like something urgent was happening. Behind the maroon woman was Pearl, who had panicked on her face.
"You have to stop the concert, now! If you don't, then there will be dire consequences in the future!" Garnet warned Genjuro, who looked at the alien in shock. But the expression then turned into a serious expression.
"What is going to happen at the concert?" The commander asked, his voice carrying authority that spread across the room. While Genjuro is normally a jolly man, he knew when to take matters seriously.
"A mannequin-looking woman wearing a dark green dress will attempt to destroy Tsubasa's Symphogear in England! You'll also have to tell everyone that something that looks like Noise will be able to destroy their armor with their appendages!" Garnet warned, causing the entirety of the bridge to look at Garnet with shock.
Fujitaka stood up from his chair in shock, the chair hitting the floor with a clang. "NOISE!?" He exclaimed in shock. "T-That's impossible! They were destroyed during the Frontier incident three months ago! How do you even know that will happen!"
Garnet hesitated for only a brief moment before answering the agent. "I can see the future. This is the start of a series of clashes that will decide the fate of the world. And to prove it, in ten seconds, you will get a report about a building fire in District Seven."
As Garnet finished her explanation, the phone on Tomosoto's station began ringing loudly. The agent picked up the phone with some hesitance in her stance. As the agent listened, her eyes widened in shock before nodding along to the report. When the report was finished, she hung up the phone and looked at Genjuro. "It appears that Garnet-san is correct. There is an apartment complex on fire in the Seventh District and reports of explosions in nearby areas."
Genjuro's eyes widened in shock before giving out orders. "Call Hibiki-kun and Chris-kun and tell them to go rescue the people in the fire and investigate the disturbances! And call Ogawa to locate the Mannequin! Hurry!" His subordinates nodded before picking up their communicators to contact Hibiki and Chris.
He then turned and looked at Garnet with acceptance in his eyes. "You really can tell the future. Is there anything else that we need to hear from you?" Genjuro asked while bowing his head slightly at the alien.
"I will go to the fire myself to assist her. Amethyst and Pearl will head towards Chris's location to assist her with the upcoming fight. They will need our help to come out of this unscathed," Garnet answered, cueing Amethyst to get out of her chair to go by the Gems side.
Genjuro sighed, but nodded with conviction, and answered, "Very well, I can get you three a helicopter ride to your destinations!"
Amethyst waved her hands in dismissal, "Don't worry about it. I can get us there in no time!" she answered before glowing in white light. Her form changed shape from a human to a small helicopter that had the Gem's face on it, floating in the air. "See!? Pretty cool huh? This isn't even half of what I can do!"
Genjuro and the rest of the humans looked at the Gem in shock, unable to respond to the sight. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.
Pearl was the one to break the silence. "Amethyst, quit showing off!" She said, annoyed. "You need to have enough energy to get us there!"
Amethyst gave a huff, but followed Pearl's orders, turning back to her human form. Pearl looked back up at Garnet with worry in her eyes. "Garnet, we need to leave soon if we want to intercept the two girls."
Genjuro was taken out of his stupor and nodded towards the Gems. With valor in his voice, he gave the Gems his permission. "I understand. Go now! I'll make sure that anyone who sees you signs an NDA!"
With a nod, the three aliens ran out of the bridge, and towards the helipad that they arrived in.
XXXX
Ogawa watched Tsubasa and Maria perform on stage from the security room, with a smile on his face. Seeing her perform always brought a smile to the man's face, as he knew that the girl who he viewed as a little sister was having the time of her life performing for her adoring fans.
He remembered when Kanade, Tsubasa's previous partner and the first wielder of the Gungnir Symphogear, passed away at the Zwei Wing concert. Back then, Tsubasa had closed herself off from the outside world and refused to let anyone through her walls. However, Hibiki's efforts tore down those walls, allowing Tsubasa to begin healing from the pain.
Tsubasa and Maria were in the middle of their first act when Ogawa got a call from his S.O.N.G communicator. With haste, he brought it up to his ear and answered the machine with, "This is Agent Ogawa speaking. What is the situation?"
"Ogawa, we've received information that a potential enemy has infiltrated the concert hall. She is a mannequin-like creature in a green dress. She can summon a special kind of Noise that can destroy a Symphogear. I need you to get Tsubasa-kun and Maria-kun out of the concert hall as fast as you can!" Came Genjuro's orders, practically booming from the communicator. While Ogawa would like to know how the Noise are back, he knows that now was not the time for hesitance.
"Understood sir, I'll have them vacate immediately!" He replied before hanging up. He went up to the console and pressed the button that let Tsubasa and Maria know that it was an emergency that needed their immediate attention. He then ran out of the room, racing towards the gates to meet the two singers.
He never noticed the blur of air standing in the hall.
XXXX
Tsubasa was having the time of her life performing on stage with Maria, enjoying the smiles she brought on people's faces as they sang. The two singers had been hard at work for the past month to get the routine down for this venue, and the effort was going to good use.
But when the two singers finished their first act, their special bracelet she wore began beeping. It was given to them, in the event something serious was happening that needed their immediate attention.
With an inaudible sigh, she looked at Maria, whose own bracelet was beeping, who was also giving a similar look of melancholy. Steeling herself, Tsubasa spoke into her mic. "Everyone, thank you for coming and watching our first act! It means so much to us, but I am afraid that there is an emergency that needs our immediate attention! I assure you that you will get a full refund for the missing songs scheduled! Thank you, and good night!"
Amongst the quiet muttering and some jeers, Tsubasa and Maria then made their way into the corridor that is their entrance and exit into the venue. It was there where they met up with Ogawa, a brown-haired man with a pair of glasses.
It was Maria who asked first. "What is the problem, Ogawa? You wouldn't use the emergency bracelet just to tell us that we did a good job."
With a serious look on his face, Ogawa answered Maria with, "I have been informed that an enemy has infiltrated the concert hall in an attempt at destroying Tsubasa's Symphogear, who can summon a special kind of Noise that can destroy your armor! We must vacate the venue immediately before any citizen's get hurt!"
The two singers' eyes widened at the information. It seemed unbelievable, but then again, Ogawa wouldn't lie about something like that. "Understood," they said at the same time.
Ogawa waved for the girls to follow him and began leading them to the back of the concert hall to an exit only staff could use.
XXXX
The three S.O.N.G agents had reached the exit to the sight of two United Nations agents standing in their way, pointing their guns at the three.
"You there! What are you three up to!?" Asked one of the agents.
But before Ogawa could answer the inquiry, the startling voice of an adult woman came out like a mirror breaking. "This won't do at all. Only I am allowed to break that sword."
A gust of wind with the same power as a tornado came from out of nowhere. The gust of wind was sharp enough to sever the United Nations Agents' hands, the appendages falling to the ground along with their guns. The two agents dropped to the ground, clutching their stumps and howling in pain.
The three S.O.N.G agents quickly turned to where the attack and voice originated from, with Tsubasa already putting her hand on her pendant. In the darkness of the venue's shadow, came a woman wearing a dark green dress. She pointed a broadsword with a green gem at the bottom of its handle at the three. Though she resembled a human, her skin was too pale and smooth, and her eyes almost looked like they were made of glass.
Ogawa aimed his gun at the enemy. "You must be the one who infiltrated the venue!" He shouted. "Who are you? And why do you want to kill Tsubasa!?"
With a coy smirk, the woman lunged at the three agents at the speed of a fighter jet. She swung her sword down towards Ogawa's neck, severing his head from his body.
However, her victory was short-lived. To her confusion, Ogawa's body was suddenly replaced by a log, which then fell to the ground harmlessly. The woman looked around the vicinity to find where the three could have gone. They weren't anywhere on the ground, so that meant…
The woman looked up towards the roof of the generator room nearby, to the sight of an unharmed Ogawa holding the two girls by the back of their shirt. He then put Tsubasa and Maria on their feet.
"Thank you, Ogawa. I will return the favor one day." Tsubasa thanked the ninja, who merely smiled. The blue-haired woman looked down at the woman and asked. "Now, who are you, and what are your goals?"
The woman shrugged her shoulders and said, "Very well. If you must know, my name is Phara, and I just came here to hear your song." She then lifted her dress with one hand while holding her sword with another. In taking this stance, her body made a sound like that of a metal clock. "Now, will you have a dance of death with me, Tsubasa Kazanari?"
With a glare, Tsubasa held her pendant in front of her face, "Very well. If it is a duel you seek, then I shall grant your wish!" Tsubasa then closed her eyes, her lips moving to a chant.
"Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron"
To the tune of her chant, Tsubasa's body began glowing brightly like the sun. Soon, her body began dimming down, revealing her new form. Her concert clothes were replaced by blue and white armor, with edges jutting out in various spots, such as the heels of her boots.
Hearing the moans of pain from the UN agents, Tsubasa looked at Ogawa out of the corner of her eye. "Ogawa, can you get the two agents out of the vicinity while I deal with my opponent?"
Ogawa nodded before vanishing out of sight. He reappeared behind the two UN Agents, and soon disappeared once more, their hands fading away from existence as well.
Before either combatant could make their move, Maria spoke up. With a look of concern, Maria glanced over to her partner. "Tsubasa, be careful with this foe. I can already tell that she is not one to be trifled with. And not to mention the info we got…"
Maria still couldn't believe it. After all the six Symphogears went through to finish the threat of Noise for good, it was for naught. And to make matters worse, the Noise that this woman could summon had the power to destroy Tsubasa's Symphogear.
With a nod, Tsubasa summoned a katana from her armored boot and pointed it down at the enemy. "I understand Maria. I'll keep my vigilance up in case our information is correct. But I must face this enemy!"
Phara's lips curled up into a cocky smile. Her eyes were beckoning for Tsubasa to come to her. "My my, it seems someone is eager to face death. Very well, I shall give you a show!"
Tsubasa snarled at the woman. The warrior focused her strength on her legs and aimed. Then she pounced at the enemy with a burst of speed that produced a sonic boom. Such a move would've easily pierced a normal enemy, but Phara blocked Ame-no-Habikiri with her longsword. The blow caused Tsubasa to leap back into the air, but the doll-like figure met the Symphogear user, prepared to face her in midair.
XXXX
Garnet and Pearl had been flying inside Amethyst, who transformed into a bigger version of the helicopter she had turned into earlier. Pearl looked out into the city and saw the fire that Garnet predicted over into the west. She looked hesitant but eventually asked the taller Gem. "Garnet, you know that I trust you, but are you sure we can't leave this to the humans? I'm sure they can take care of the situation."
When Garnet told Pearl that they had to postpone the search for Steven, she couldn't believe what the older Gem was saying. She wanted to yell at Garnet when she noticed that Garnet was clutching her shaking hands. That was when Pearl understood that the decision was not an easy one for Garnet to make.
That still doesn't mean that she didn't feel a weird feeling in the gem in her forehead. It pains her severely that she would not be able to reunite with Steven earlier than she had hoped.
"You know that we cannot afford the humans a chance to lose against their future foe," Garnet said, with only a hint of any hesitation in her voice. Pearl could only grimace at the answer that the maroon Gem gave but only nodded at the answer.
Garnet looked out of the open side of Amethyst's "door", and nodded to herself. "I'll go on from here myself. You two, you keep going on ahead, and find Chris as fast as you can! And do not take your opponents lightly. Understood?"
"Understood," Pearl affirmed.
"Got it G. Don't worry about it!" Pearl and Amethyst confirmed to their leader. With a nod, Garnet jumped outside the "door" and onto a nearby building's roof.
Then Amethyst smirked and exclaimed, "It's time to save snowflake!" With the absence of Garnet's weight, Amethyst moved faster by a marginal amount.
She continued flying at high speeds when she saw something in the far distance. "Hey, P, I think I see a Helicopter that looks like those government guys! Maybe it's where she is?" Amethyst asked while flying towards it as fast as she can.
Pearl looked out of the "door" and saw the same helicopter that Amethyst saw. Pearl recognized the helicopter as the same model that the Gems rode in with the two human girls.
"You're right Amethyst! We must be getting on the right-" That was when a loud noise interrupted Pearl's answer. To both of the Gem's horror, the distant helicopter had exploded, leaving the debris to succumb to gravity.
"No..." Pearl could only whisper in shock while covering her mouth. Amethyst's eyes were open with shock as well.
Over the millennia the Crystal Gems spent their time on their Earth, when their former leader, Rose Quartz, was with them, the Gems have seen many humans die. Sometimes, they had walked into the aftermath of a great disaster such as an earthquake. Sometimes, they stumbled onto the aftermath of a battle between two human groups, fighting until their enemy was dead on the ground.
Sometimes, it was by the jaws of a Corrupted Gem that they couldn't get to before it could hurt innocent bystanders. Whenever the last one happened, it always haunted them. They had felt that if they had gotten there sooner, then maybe they could have saved the humans.
Now, a repeat of those moments was playing out before the Crystal Gem's eyes.
"Damn it! I have to get there faster! We can't let more people die!" Amethyst yelled to herself, forcing herself to move faster than she ever has before.
Pearl was taken out of her stupor at Amethyst's curse. Pearl looked ahead and thought up an idea. "Amethyst, land on the building over there! We're going to fuse! Opal is much faster than we are, and if our opponent is as strong as we think they are, we're going to need all the help we can get!"
Amethyst looked disgruntled that they had to stop, but followed Pearl's suggestion, and flew down to a nearby rooftop. When Pearl got out of her, Amethyst turned back into her base form. "Let's do this quick, we don't have the time!" She said, already beginning her part of the dance. Amethyst form of dancing was the form was breakdancing.
"I couldn't agree more." Pearl said while doing her dance. It was in a style similar to a ballerina dancing on a stage. The two Gems were dancing in sync, and eventually, Pearl allowed herself to fall into Amethyst's waiting arms. Soon, the two Gems glowed a bright light similar to a star. The two Gems' forms were then morphed into a taller figure.
Eventually, when the light dimmed, in the two Gem's place was a woman with periwinkle blue skin and four arms standing at an impressive seven feet tall. The new Gem had long, fluffy hair that was tied behind her back.
The new Gem opened her eyes, which were filled with a sense of purpose. She looked at the nearby buildings, and after a moment of consideration, summoned two purple whips in both of her top arms. She swung the whip in her left arm towards a building, attaching the end to the structure.
After making sure that the building can handle her weight, the woman allowed herself to fall from her perch, swinging from one building to another with each whip. With each swing, it brought the fusion to the battle.
The fusion of the two Crystal Gems, Opal, sped through the city at high speeds and headed towards the distant explosion.
XXXX
Chris hates to admit it, but she was having a tough fight with this new foe. Her enemy was a wavy-haired, mannequin-like woman wearing a brown cardigan with gold sleeves. Her inhuman flexibility and speed made it difficult to even get a bead on her. And to make matters worse, she had the feeling that this woman was showing off.
Currently, Chris's Symphogear was active, replacing her civilian clothes with her armor. Her armor was red, maroon, and white. Wing-like plates were attached to her hips. Currently, Chris was wielding a crossbow-like gun in her hands, shooting her laser crossbow bolts towards the woman.
Every time that Chris had shot her ammunition towards the woman, the enemy would just shoot coins at the bullets, negating her attacks. She even caught a couple of her crossbow bolts, infuriating Chris even more.
That made everything feel better when she had finally managed to score a hit on the enemy with her MEGA DEATH PARTY attack, sending out missiles towards the woman, making a cloud of smoke.
While most people would have thought the battle was over at this point, Chris knew that her opponent would not have gone down so easily. Tired already of her enemy, Chris yelled out, "Stop screwing around and show yourself already!"
Just as Chris thought, the woman in yellow had survived the barrage completely intact. She was able to defend herself by using a gold barrier. Without a word, the enemy let down her shield and shot more coins at Chris, forcing the young woman to dodge each shot. Then, she jumped in the air to dodge the next round of projectiles.
While she was in the air, she was contacted by Tomosoto on her earpiece, who urgently said, "Chris-chan, you have to hold on! Help is on your way!"
That made the white-haired girl slightly confused. Hibiki was busy evacuating the civilians from the fire, and Kirika and Shirabe weren't able to use their Symphogears without LINKER. Chris landed on the ground and was about to ask who was coming to help when she heard a young girl's voice cry out, "Watch out!"
Chris whirled around, looking for the source of the voice. Seeing a shadow on the ground, Chris looked up at the sky. There, in the sky above her, were multiple boats falling, with a shadow of colossal being as tall as a skyscraper behind them.
Chris was about to dodge the boats when she felt something wrap itself around her stomach. Before she could react to what was happening, someone pulled her away from the falling boats, which then exploded into a fiery inferno.
When Chris got her bearings from what happened, she was in the arms of a tall woman with blue skin. Instinctively, Chris pointed her crossbow at the woman, her finger on the trigger, her eyes narrowed. The woman might be an enemy. With suspicion in her voice, Chris asked. "Who the hell are you!"
The tall woman only smiled down at Chris, and let the girl down onto her feet gently. "My name is Opal. Do not worry, I am an ally!"
With hesitance in her stance, Chris lowered her crossbow slightly. "Fine, say that I believe you. Where did that woman in yellow go!?" She asked while looking for any signs of where the first strange woman went, but she couldn't find her. The woman must have used the boats as a distraction.
Looking back up to the woman, Chris asked the woman, "Did you warn me of the attack?"
Before the tall woman could answer, the voice of a young girl came from behind the woman. "No, that would be me."
When the two women turned around they saw a young girl wearing nothing but an open robe and underwear, clutching a brown box tightly as if her life depended on it. "Are you okay?" The girl asked Chris, gesturing in a way that exposed her more.
Chris blushed when she saw the girl's lack of clothing. "What happened to your clothes?!" She shouted angrily.
Ignoring Chris's inquiry of her clothes, the young girl asked both Chris and Opal, "Who are you two?"
Chris panicked at the young girl's question and attempted to hide her face in her elbow. "I'm Little Red Singing Hood, I have no-"
"Her name is Yukine Chris, and you may call me Opal," Greeted the tall lady with a wave of one of her four arms.
"What the- who told you that you can tell my name to her!?" Chris complained with anger in her voice. She didn't want her identity or affiliation with SONG revealed to a civilian child. Then she realized something. She looked up at the strange woman, and asked "Wait, how do you know my name!?"
Before Opal could give Chris her answer, the young girl interrupted the woman. "You are the wielder of the Ichaival Symphogear correct?" She asked. Then, she looked up at Opal, tilting her head at the blue woman. "I don't know who you are, but hopefully you can help me with my mission."
Chris's eyes twitched at the girl's deductions. 'What's the point of a secret identity if everyone knows who I am anyway?' Shaking her head free of the thought, Chris looked at the young girl, her eyes signaling to continue. "Who are you though?"
The young girl took off her hood, revealing her sky-blue eyes and green-tinted hair. She looked at the two women with seriousness in her eyes. "My name is Elfnein. I have been looking for you and your friends to help me protect the world from Carol's alchemy."
Chris and Opal could only stare at the strange girl with questions in their eyes. "Alchemy?" They asked her at the same time.
XXXX
The flames of the apartment's fire roared in the background, but that inferno was nowhere as intense as the confrontation taking place. In the midst of the smoldering ash, a showdown between Tachibana Hibiki and the mannequins' leader and creator, Carol Malus Dienheim, was taking place.
Carol didn't look like much. On the surface, she looked like a blonde, middle school-aged girl with sea-blue eyes cosplaying as a witch. Her blue and white wizard's robe and red and black witch's hat looked comical. But her hatred and her power made underestimating her a fatal mistake.
Carol was frustrated at the insolent, naive little brown-haired girl that dared to question her. The girl couldn't even understand that Carol had a cause worth all the memories that she had lost already. That she had a good reason to shatter the world. The stupid girl would not activate her Symphogear, not even to defend herself from Carol's onslaught of attacks! She was kneeling below her in a crater from her first attack, wounds covering the girl's body.
Carol couldn't understand it. Tachibana was willing to use her Symphogear to fight in the battle of Kadingir and the Frontier incident. She had fought powerful foes and triumphed. But she couldn't do the same here, even if it meant her death!?
Carol was charging for her next attack, with golden glyphs floating around her. She was unconcerned with the charge up time since Tachibana was unwilling to even defend herself.
In a voice that trembled with desperation, Tachibana looked at Carol with shaky eyes and shouted, "But… when I saw you before, you were crying!" Carol's eyes narrowed when Tachibana revealed that she saw Carol's moment of weakness. "So… I don't want to fight you! I want to know why!"
Before, Carol was merely frustrated that the stupid girl didn't even don her Symphogear, but the revelation that she had been seen had made Carol infuriated. Clenching her teeth, Carol glared at the teenager, and seethed, "You spied on me… you invaded my privacy…"
Carol was so blinded by anger that she almost missed something coming from the corner of her eye. Almost being the keyword here. She immediately deactivated her attack and jumped a fair distance away from a fist donning a gauntlet.
That was when Carol heard Tachibana yell out from the crater, "Garnet-san!? What are you doing here? You could get hurt!"
When she focused on what she was looking at, she slightly raised an eyebrow at the sight that befell her vision. There was a tall, maroon woman wearing shades that prevented her eyes from being visible. The woman retracted her fist to look at the smaller girl, shifting into a stance.
"Sorry Hibiki, but I cannot allow you to get any more hurt than you already have! Just take a rest, okay?" Garnet smoothly said to the panicking girl. She never took her eyes off of Carol as she said it.
This "Garnet" was not in any of the information that she had acquired about S.O.N.G at all! Carol had accounted for the squad's commander, Genjuro Kazanari, who was reportedly strong enough to fight off Finé, the woman who built Kadingir and the one responsible for the Moon's sorry state. Carol had made her plan specifically to never be in a position to be in a one-on-one encounter with the man without having many advantages in her favor.
But this "Garnet" proved that the information given had not been accurate or at least not up to date. Carol couldn't help but wonder if this strange creature was made with Alchemy like her Autoscorers and Elfnein were. If so, her creator was certainly eccentric. They hadn't even tried to make it look human.
With an annoyed look on her face, Carol pointed at the newcomer. "What are you, and what is your goal here, creature!?" She demanded with a snarl. She hated unknowns and wished to recertify her knowledge immediately.
Garnet looked at Carol and with a small shrug. With a stoic look on her face, Garnet answered the Mastermind with a loud voice booming with bravado.
"Very well. I am a Guardian, tasked with defending the planet from the likes of you! I am a Crystal Gem!"