Chapter 8 Part 1: Combined Resolution Act I

Disclaimer: The Kamen Rider Franchise and Symphogear belong to their respective owners. OCs belong to their creators.

Outside of a castle, the girl with lavender hair known as Chris stood in front of a lake while staring at the moon in the sky. She pulled up the green metal jeweled rod known as Solomon's Cane with a contemplating, narrowed-eyed stare. "I'll beat them and their so-called Bond…"

"Your face is going to stay like that if you continue brooding with that face." A female voice said from behind the girl.

"What do you want?" asked Chris with an annoyed tone though she did not turn around to face the speaker.

"I just want to have a talk, kid. So it seems that we have been given one heck of an assignment." Kenzaki said as she stood next to the younger girl who still stood staring at the scenery of the night lake.

"Yeah…"

Then the brunette picked up a flat stone and threw it to skip it on the water surface. "Don't worry, Chris. We'll get through this one fine like always."

"Hmph. I don't want you looking out for me." Chris said as she looked away from the taller female. "It's because of me that you got captured…"

"…Yeah. But I promised your parents that I would look out for you." Then Kenzaki laced her fingers and placed her hands behind her head. "Even with this body, I'll continue to-"

"I don't care! You're just doing this to inflate your own self-righteous ego! Just leave me alone!" shouted Chris before she left the young woman who looked worried about the girl.

"…Stubborn as ever." The brunette commented with wistful smile.

"True," Then Goto appeared with a dress over her body though her mechanical limbs were still shown. "But is Chris-san right, Kenzaki-sempai? Did you allow yourself to be captured just because you were looking out for her?" asked the younger female with a concerned tone.

The questioned brunette gave an unreadable smile before closing her eyes then looking up to the moon. "You could say that, Goto. But I genuinely do want to protect Chris. She's still just a kid who should be living her life in peace, not fighting for this misguided cause."

"Even so, I think it's too late for that…" responded Goto who knew that Kenzaki agreed with her.

(Zelda OST: Song of Time (Ocarina version))

Then the two heard the sound of a hollow whistle at a bass tone before going in a rhythmic pattern of notes.

Sitting in a tree, Chase was blowing a clay oval shaped instrument and continued playing her song. Sitting underneath the tree, Kageyama smiled a bit as she listened to the improvised song. Then she noticed the other two young women approach them.

"Blade-san. Good evening." The messy black haired young women said. She wore a ripped up jacket with a missing sleeve and torn pants with a red shirt underneath.

"Good evening, Kageyama. So Chase is playing another song, huh?" said Kenzaki as she looked up to the black haired young woman who wore an eyepatch over her right eye. She wore a purple biker suit with a skull ring on her right hand.

"It's quite soothing." Goto complimented with a small smile.

When the song ended, Chase looked down from her seat and saw the three under her.

"Blade… Birth…" said Chase with a quiet tone.

"Yo Chase! That was quite a good song you played!"

"Thank you…"

"Seems like you mastered how to play that ocarina. You played quite beautifully." Goto complimented.

"Yes… playing this instrument soothes me and calms the whispers I hear." The young woman stated as she stared at the sky.

"Let me guess… Muramasa, right?" guessed Kenzaki who was a bit worried for the younger member of their group.

Chase shook her head and then closed her eyes. "Not those whispers… The ones with the voices of those Riders I fought… They have been louder ever since I fought them."

"I guess we can only hope if those guys can survive you the next time we fight." Goto said with a sigh.

"Yeah… This next conflict is going to decide it all. Whether we… wait, what were we called again?" asked Kenzaki as she turned to Goto.

"Sympho-Riders."

"Okay. As I was saying, whether we Sympho-Riders or the Kamen Riders and the Symphogear users will have the edge in this conflict."

"I don't really care who wins. I just hope those guys are up to the challenge." Kageyama said with an eager tone.

"We all do, even you, right sempai?" asked Kenzaki as she turned to a certain direction.

"I told you to stop calling me that." Then a woman wearing black dress with a frown as the group now noticed her approach. Hanging from her neck is a gold necklace with a red ruby.

"Doesn't change the fact that you're older than me." Kenzaki teased with a smile.

"*Sigh* Even so, I'm here now to settle some things with a certain someone." The woman said with a serious tone.

"Then we better rest up, because the next few days are going to be crazy!" announced Kenzaki which signaled all the members of their group to leave.

(Sanctuary- Tamaki Nami)

/Bokutachi wa mina kitto Te wo nobashiterun da/ - /Surely we're all Reaching out our hands/

From a cloud of black ash, a young man with red hair walks out. Then his face is shown to be Akakishi as both of his eyes glowed blue and green though there is a momentary red glint. He walks forward with the Reverse IXA Knuckle on his left hand. Then he stops as the floor gives way, causing him to fall from the starry night sky.

/Tooku tooi basho e to/ - /To that place far, far away/

The scene shifts to Hibiki who stood on top of a tower of rock looking toward the sky. Then the scene turns to her back as wings sprout out of it. She flies off the pillar of rock and into the sky.

Akakishi reaches out to her, while Hibiki flies toward him in the opposite direction. When the two collided a flash of light occurs. Then the title appears with the two turning into silhouettes.

Kamen Rider Ixa R: Symphony of Hearts

Like a meteoroid… Falling, burning, and disappearing…

/Kaze ni fukare aruite yuku/- /I walk, blown by the wind/

Akakishi is shown on his motorcycle looking towards the blue sky as the wind blew. Then a silhouette of a man with red compound eyes came to his mind. The wind picks up and he turns around.

/Umare kita imi wo shiritakute/ - /Wanting to know the meaning of being born/

In front of him now is a woman with blond hair in a white cloak with her hood on. She smiles deviously towards him as her left bright yellow topaz eye reflected an image of a golden sword.

The scene changes to Hibiki who is staring to the sky at the Lydian Academy. Then an image of Kanade and Tsubasa fighting in the Zwei Concert incident appears in her mind.

/Tatoeba ushinau toki ga kitemo/ - /Even if, for example, a time comes when I lose something/

The scene changes to Miku who watches a meteor shower then reaching out to the same shower.

A shift to Kanade and Fen where they are shown watching a concert performed by Tsubasa. Eiji also watched Tsubasa except he was in the situation/observation room with Genjuro and the other members of the Second Division. Then Gentarou is shown walking the streets with his friends with Tridoron passing the group. Then Chris passes the group with Gentarou noticing her.

/Dakishimeru koto ima, erabou/ - /I'll choose now, what to hang onto/

The mask of Ixa R shatters to reveal Akakishi's bleeding face, and then several colored chains wrap around his body as he falls into an unconscious state. As ash gathered and dissipated, Hibiki is shown sitting in a fetal position with a sad look with chains of orange binding her. Tsubasa also is restrained in blue chains as she closes her eyes. Yoku is also seen with yellow chains covering her and her chained hand reaches out. Then Amelia hugs her legs as purple chains wrap her, burying her face in her knees.

Instrumental

The scene shifts back to an awakened Akakishi as he tears off the chains with each colored chain breaking in succession with the music and in the order of orange, blue, and majenta. He reaches out to the chained Hibiki who smiles at his appearance and she reaches out with her chains shattering. Tsubasa sees Eiji who reaches out to her and she reaches out to his hand with her chains shattering. Yoku's outstretched hand is grabbed by Shinnosuke who embraced her in a protective hug, causing her chains to break apart. Carter is then seen placing his hand on Amelia's shoulder, causing her to turn to him as her chains shatter and he pulls her up to stand.

Then the scene transitions to the armored form of Ixa R with several shadowed Kamen Riders at his side. Three are revealed to be Kamen Riders Kabuto and Kamen Rider Eternal at his left and Kamen Rider Super 1 at his right.

/Bokutachi wa mina kitto/ - /Surely we're all/

Hibiki charges into the fray of battle swinging her fists into each Noise in her way with practiced ease. Then Ixa R kicks down a large Noise before punching a Noise in sync with Hibiki. Then his armor transformed into its Gungnir Sync Burst form with a glowing orange aura.

/Te wo nobashiterun da/ - /Reaching out our hands/

Tsubasa jumps in by cutting down several Noise with the blades on her legs. Next, Kamen Rider OOO lands and supports the singer by cutting down foes with his sword. The two transform into their Bond Score forms, Tsubasa gaining new armor while OOO gains a blue glowing aura and blue circuitry. The pair swing their respective swords, slicing the very dimensions and Noise apart. The dimensions return to normal while the Noise exploded.

/Nakusenai mono ni mukatte/ - /Turning to something we can't lose/

The next scene shows off Kamen Rider Kabuto in his unmasked form clashing blades with Kenzaki in her armored form.

Then Kamen Rider Fourze is shown with his Rocket Module active as he flies into battle. Underneath him is Kamen Rider Drive and Yoku charging in.

Next came Kamen Rider Eternal standing with a feminine figure at his back with a blue visor while Amelia and Kuuga II also jump in to help out.

/Kagayaita yume dake wo/ - /Just pulling in/

Ixa R takes out a fuestle and equips his Reverse Knuckle while Hibiki pulls out the piston on her gauntlet. Tsubasa, OOO, Yoku, Drive, Amelia, Kuuga II, and Fourze follow their charge, clearing the way for the pair.

/Taguriyosenagara/ - /A glittering dream/

The two run through the long range attacks of the Noise and punch forward, ending the scene with a view of their knuckles.

/Tooku tooi basho e to/ - /To that place far, far away/

The camera shows the armored hand of Ixa R reaching out and the armored hand of Hibiki grabbing it. The hands lace their fingers as the armors transition off. The scene flashes and dies down to reveal Akakishi standing with Hibiki with their eyes staring off into the blue horizon. Behind them is Eiji with Tsubasa, Shinnosuke with Yoku, and Carter with Amelia.

The next morning, Miku woke up in her bed to the sound of birds and turned over to face the other side. Then she opened her drowsy eyes to find that Hibiki was not at her side.

"Huh? Hibiki…?" Then she lifted herself up to look for any sign of the girl. Miku then noticed a paper note on the head of the bed with a small drawing. The note said, "I'm skipping school. Training."

"What is she doing?" Miku muttered aloud as she turned to the window.

"Huh! Dorhaa! Huh! Dorhaa!" grunted Hibiki as she punched a sandbag while wearing a pair of boxing gloves.

"You're doing it wrong." Genjuro said with a wise tone. "Your fists ought to fly like hammers that hit the thunder of the bolt that struck you!"

"I don't understand a word of that. But I'll give it a try!" Hibiki held her stance, waiting for the right moment and then felt her heartbeat. Then she simultaneously struck the sandbag with incredible force. This punch sent the sandbag flying through the air and it landed into the koi pond in front of Hibiki which was a long distance. Hibiki looked surprised but smiled at the success of her training.

"Now let's put these…" Genjuro put on two hit gloves and slammed them together. "To work!"

"All right! Another set once more!" shouted Tendou as he stood at the top of a very unstable tower of wood blocks along with Akakishi who was busy doing one-handed pushups on a similar tower.

"YES MASTER!" Now was a test of balance, concentration, and physical endurance for the redhead as he sweated from the constant practice.

"Good, after you are done, descend without breaking the tofu!" Tendou instructed as there noticeably was a metal cooking bowl on the redhead's head.

After finishing the set, Akakishi bent his arm once more and forced himself into the air before balancing on the tower with the tip of his toe. He jumped off his tower and used whatever footholds there were to slow his descent before landing in a crouch in order to prevent the tofu in the bowl from falling apart. "Phew…" Then redhead stood up and relaxed at his successful landing.

"It appears your progress is smooth, Akakishi. Let us begin the next lesson." Tendou said from behind the younger male.

Akakishi widened his eyes and quickly jumped back as Tendou stood as a neutral stance while holding the tofu bowl in his left hand.

"The tofu retrieval, Master?" asked the redhead as he looked a bit eager and surprised. His master still managed to surprise him and he didn't even feel the bowl leave its place on his head.

"Correct. Remember, you must retrieve the tofu in one piece within ten minutes."

Akakishi inhaled deeply and exhaled out readied himself in a stance. "I'm ready, Master!"

"One more lap! And faster this time!" shouted Utsugi as she ran besides Gentarou who was dragging a tire with Yuki sitting on it with an excited face.

"Ike Gen-chan!" shouted Yuki with raised arms.

"HAIIIIII!" shouted Gentarou as he forced himself to keep up with his teacher. The first few days were hard, but he managed to make use of his incredible stamina to not give in.

Kengo sat on the sidelines performing a tune up of the Fourze Driver. "Keep going Kisaragi… I'll make sure that the Fourze Driver can keep up with those guys…"

"Whoa! Oof!" Gentarou shouted before tripping and crashing on the ground spectacularly.

Yuki ran to her childhood friend who was on the ground after his sudden fall. "Gen-chan! Daijoubu desuka (Are you all right)?"

"I'm… fine. Just a little scrape…" Gentarou said as he stood up with a bit of difficulty before patting himself. "Don't worry, I can still run that final lap!"

"Are you sure, Kisaragi-kun?" asked Utsugi who also had a concerned look. "We don't want you injured before your next fight."

Yuki looked worried before smiling and nodding in agreement. "Un!" Then she got back on the tire and raised her fist into the air. "Ike! Gen-chan! Mush! Mush!"

"Yosh! Let's get to running! But wait a minute, I'm not an inu!" relented Gentarou as he continued to sprint.

"Just move it, Kisaragi-kun! After this lap, we'll head to the infirmary to check for any injuries."

At another location which was a dojo that the Drive group borrowed for training, Kiriko wearing exercising clothing was putting Yoku through the ringer.

The young bluenette crashed on the wooden floor with a grunt while Kiriko stood with a wooden staff in her hands. The older woman twirled the staff before slamming its end on the wooden floor.

"Is that really the limit of your resolve? Yoku?" asked the woman with a tone that showed she wasn't exhausted from the practice.

"N-No! It… isn't!" Yoku let out as she forced herself up.

"So stand! And come at me once more!" shouted the older woman with crossed arms.

"Ugh…" Yoku brought her legs beneath herself and stood up with a bit of difficulty then took a stance to fight her older-sister-figure with a determined face. "Hai!"

"Seems like Kiriko really is serious in teaching Yoku." Shinnosuke said with a smile.

"Indeed, but do not forget about your rehabilitation, Shinnosuke." Belt-san said to the young man.

"Yeah, but why does Go not have to take part?" asked Shinnosuke.

"Because I already went on a jog with Yoku-chan, so I am just resting." Go said with a smile as he popped another popcorn into his mouth while watching the two females spar.

"I understand that, what I don't understand is why you are sitting on my back!" shouted Shinnosuke as he was doing pushups with Gou sitting on his back.

"Consider this a little more exercise, Shin-nii san!" Go said with a mischievous smile.

"Hah!" shouted Ryusei as he punched with a fast straight at Oki who ducked past the blow but blocked a second strike from the martial artist.

Oki quickly jumped back and readied himself into a stance before attacking Ryusei who blocked his punch. Then he moved in to perform a quick strike at the young man's ribs who blocked it with his right arm. The two broke contact and stood in front of each other with Ryusei sweating and breathing with a bit of exhaustion. Oki was also sweating and breathing with exhaustion with a smile in respect.

"I've gotta admit, Ryusei-kun. You're improving pretty well!"

"Hai… But I still have a long way to go!"

"That's the spirit! After this session, I'll treat you to a good place to eat!"

"No need for that, Oki-san." Ryusei responded with a formal tone.

"Hey, no need to get all modest. I want to talk a bit with you without having to fight."

"Well… Let me think about it after the next exchange."

"Good! Now… Hajime(Begin)!" shouted Oki as he charged at Ryusei with his fist reeled to punch.

"Haaahhh…" Hibiki breathed out a sigh as she fell on the couch in the lounge of the command room from exhaustion. "This morning was too hard."

"*Chuckle* There's a champion in the making!" Genjuro commented as he drank from his bottle while sitting on the opposite couch.

"Well done." Aoi commented as she handed Hibiki a bottle.

"Ah! Sumimasen!" shouted Hibiki as she sat up and accepted the bottle before drinking it. "I feel bad for saying this, since I was the one who decided this in the first place, but aren't there any ways to fight the Noise? Why do you have to rely on a high school girl like me? And a teenage boy like Aka to become a Kamen Rider? Can't we ask other countries for help? Maybe they know something."

"True, but they are in the dark about the Noise as much as we are. Officially there's no solution besides the Kamen Rider. Even in Japan, information related to the Symphogear and the Kamen Rider systems are classified."

"Eh… But we still go out there in broad daylight." Hibiki commented in a worried tone.

"Don't worry, keeping information from spreading is part of our job." Aoi reassured the girl with a smile.

"But sometimes that involves stepping on a few toes, so by now, most cabinet members and ministers dislike us. Even though we have the support of the Kamen Riders to minimize casualties. They don't even call us the second branch of Disaster Relief squad anymore. Just the disaster squad." Sakuya said as he sat at his console before turning to face the three present.

"The government's upper echelons swore us to secrecy after all. But we can hardly keep up even with the vice commander's influence and connections. Even those affiliated with the Kamen Riders such as Kougami-san are also doing their best to help our situation." Aoi stated.

"I'm pretty sure the higher ups want to use the Symphogear as a diplomatic ace up their sleeve." Sakuya concluded.

"True. The EU and Americans are just waiting for a good opportunity. The development of the Symphogear is based on theory and technology that was born from a field that didn't even exist in science before. No other country can hope to reproduce it. Even the Kamen Rider systems are unique because their technology was achieved through human experimentation which was banned by the United Nations after the Shocker incident. So they must be grinding their teeth." Aoi stated.

"So basically everyone is having a lot of issues." Hibiki commented as she laid on the couch with a downtrodden expression.

Then the door to the room opened to reveal Akakishi and Tendou who looked a bit sweaty, but both still had enough energy.

"Phew, that was a rough exercise, Master…" Akakishi sighed as he wiped himself with a towel while entering the command room.

"True, but you finally retrieved the bowl with the tofu somewhat intact." Tendou stated.

"That isn't good enough, Master. I still have a long way to get to your level of skill!" Akakishi responded with a wish for improvement.

"Aka! Did you also finish your training session?" asked Hibiki.

The redhead noticed Hibiki sitting in the room with confusion. "Hm? Hibiki? Shouldn't you be at school right now?"

"Yeah… But I asked Miku to cover for me." Hibiki said with a reassuring smile.

"Wait… You don't know about the 'excuse'?" asked the redhead with suspicious tone.

"Excuse?"

"The Second Division has the power to tell the faculty here why you will be absent." Sakuya explained before turning to his female coworker. "Now that I think about it, isn't that your job, Aoi-san?"

"Yes, but I thought you were handling her reason of absence, Sakuya-san." Aoi said with a bit of sweat forming from her cheek. "Wait, does that mean neither of us made that call? Not even you Commander?"

"So in other words, Hibiki's playing tardy in the eyes of her teacher… Great." Akakishi said while face-palming.

"You two, quickly sort this out." Tendou stated with a calm but commanding tone.

"U-Understood, sir!" Aoi saluted while standing quickly on her feet.

"We'll get right on it!" said Sakuya as he also stood up.

The two officers quickly leave the room as Fenrir and Kanade enter the room.

"Huh? What's got them in a hurry?" asked Kanade while placing her hands on her hips before turning to Fen for answers.

"I got nada. Never actually seen them that flustered." Fen answered back with a shrug. Then he and the redhead entered the room. "Hey, we're back!" The spiky-black and white-tipped haired young man greeted the Division members still in the room.

"Welcome back, you two. Any information from this drop?" asked Genjuro who smiled at the successful return of the two young adults.

"Yep," Kanade responded with a smile as she held out a disk with an X mark on it. "Found this where Old Man ZX said it was."

"Hey, I was the one who found it." Fen pointed out.

"But I was the one who caught it when it fell out of your pocket." Kanade responded with a chuckle.

"Either way, we got new information on the enemy." Tendou stated as he took the disk from her hands. "Excellent work. No trouble ahead?"

"Not really. Got it with ease!" Kanade said with a smile and held her fingers out in a V.

"…Any tails?" asked Tendou who turned to Fenrir.

"None boss. What was so important about this disk that needed to be done without Ryoko?" asked Fen with a questionable expression.

"We need every advantage we can muster and immediately, Shinta." Tendou stated. "She can analyze this data when she returns."

"Where is Ryoko-san, by the way?" asked Hibiki.

"If I remember correctly… She is having a meeting with someone important." Akakishi recalled during one of the meetings he attended last night which was a rare occasion, considering his condition.

Fen smiled a bit with a nod. "Yeah, she should be meeting with the man right now."

"Wait, what day is it today?" asked Kanade with a worried tone.

Hibiki and Akakishi looked confused before turning to each other before turning to the older pair. "Friday, why?"

"Oh no, this isn't going to be good… Should have sent an escort with her…" Genjuro muttered with a concerned tone and a cupped cheek.

"Huh? What's gotten into you three?" asked Akakishi with a questioning tone.

"Well… Ryoko's sense of direction seems to go wonky on Fridays. So she might be… lost right now."

"*Sigh*" Fen then smacked his face in exhaustion. "And late to the meeting…"

Meanwhile on the road,

"Hm~ Hm~ Hm~…" The scientist in question was driving leisurely on the road. "My~ I wonder where this road leads to?"

At a government building,

An older man sat at his desk with a young man as they waited with a metal briefcase laid on the desk. The young aide checked his watch and saw that the time for the meeting was passed by several minutes.

"The contact's late…" muttered the aide.

"Is the contact Sakurai-san?" asked the older man.

"Yes." Responded the young man.

"Seems as though we will have to wait a bit longer."

The young man could only grunt in frustration.

Back at the Second Division Base,

"So who is she meeting?" asked Hibiki.

"The Minister of Defense called her." Genjuro responded. "She is to fulfill her duty to report to him with regards to the security of HQ and the various defense mechanisms. It's part of her job."

"Wow, it's incredible that Ryoko-san meets someone so important, but it sounds all so complicated." Hibiki said in awe,

"Yeah, that's the government for you. Doesn't help some people up there cause trouble for us." Kanade agreed.

"The people who never want to take responsibility are the ones who make the rules complicated." Genjurou said.

"As obaa-san once said, 'Immature fruit is sour, producing immature fights.'" Tendou quoted in agreement.

"Government politics in a nutshell. Tch." Fen said with a bit of anger.

"At least Defense Minister Hiroki is a better man than that." Genjuro said with a positive tone.

"I agree. The Defense Minister is someone worth trusting." Akakishi agree with a smile.

"You met him, Aka?"

"Yeah, the Minister of Defense is quite a nice guy. I mean it's because of him that the Showa-era Kamen Riders' identities have remained somewhat anonymous." Akakishi praised with a smile.

Genjuro smiled and nodded in agreement. "Indeed." Then the older man rolled his sleeve up and saw that the meeting time was past. "Ryoko is late."

"Ah great…" muttered Fen as he facepalmed along with Kanade.

Meanwhile on the road,

"Nyeeh~'choo! *Sniff* Is someone talking about me?" wondered the woman as she drove her car down the pathway. "The weather's so lovely today! I feel luck is with me." The woman smiled as she drove haphazardly down the road.

Back at base, Fenrir walked to the back to grab his helmet and planned to find Ryoko.

"We'll look for her." Fen frowned as he picked up his motorcycle helmet with Kanade following his lead.

"Refrain from that, Shinta." Tendou said causing the two to stop. "You and Amou will be the ones to meet with the Defense Minister.

"What about Ryoko-san?" asked Kanade.

"We'll look for her. Just get going as quickly as you two can. The Defense Minister is a patient man, but even he will likely be leaving his office at this time." Tendou said while crossing his arms.

"Got it, Vice-boss! Come on, Fen! We've got a big shot official to meet!"

"Gotcha, Kanade." Fen said with a smirk before following the redhead.

"Seems like everyone is busy." Hibiki commented from her seat.

"Yeah." Akakishi said with a shrug. "But Kanade-sempai and Big Bro can handle this-" Then the redhead felt a pang of pain in his chest, forcing him to hunch a bit and place his hand over it.

Hibiki noticed his sudden action and turned to him obliviously. "Aka? What's wrong?"

Then the redhead felt the pain subside and he straightened himself to face the girl. "I'm fine, Hibiki. Just a bit woozy, that's all."

Hibiki looked a bit worried along with Genjuro and Tendou who both knew that there was something wrong.

"You should retire for the day, Akakishi." Genjuro suggested to the redhead. "We'll call for you if something comes up."

"Got it. After today's training session, I might need the sleep." Akakishi said with a nod before he walked away. Then he turned to Hibiki with a small smile. "See you tomorrow, Hibiki."

"See you tomorrow, Aka." Hibiki said with a smile and a nod which the redhead reciprocated. After he left, the remaining members made concerned faces.

"Aka has been going to sleep earlier than usual. How tired is he?" wondered Hibiki aloud with a puzzled expression and a tilt head.

"…He just went through an intense workout, Tachibana. No need to think hard on it." Tendou stated with a reasonable tone.

"Okay!" Hibiki said with a smile before turning to Genjuro. "So Shishou, is it me or have the Noise attacks been a bit on the low recently?"

"You aren't the only one… the Noise activity has been quite low. I hope this isn't the calm to the storm." Genjuro said with a worried tone.

"I hope so as well, Shishou."

"It is possible there is something to their agenda that we have not taken into account. For now, we must be patient and prepare for whatever disaster is to come." Tendou stated with a calm tone.

"That doesn't really help, Vice Commander…" Hibiki commented with a sweatdrop.

On road where a group of cars were traveling a certain road while the sun set on the city.

"*Laughs* A single phone call from them can mess up my whole schedule. They're a funny bunch, aren't they?" The Defense Minister mused as he rode in a car with his aide.

"If you say so, sir. They might be a relic of the pre-war era, but hasn't this gone too far?" asked the aide with a doubtful tone.

"Perhaps, but they are our only weapon against the worst of disasters." The Defense Minister stated. "As they are our country's proud protectors. It's my duty to give them the freedom of action that they need."

"Good point, sir. But I can't help but feel that the Disaster Squad may not be able to handle when the worst comes." The aide expressed his doubts while looking at the case on his lap. As the car drove under the bridge, a truck suddenly stopped in front of the lead car of the transport which crashed into its side due to not stopping in time. Then the other cars of the transport couldn't stop and crashed into each other. The back doors of the truck opened to reveal several men wearing sunglasses and each of them armed with a rifle.

"Get down, sir!" shouted the aide as he took off his seatbelt and pulled the Defense Minister down as the evident gunfire took place. The unknown men killed several of the government agents guarding the Defense Minister with their superior firepower.

The Defense Minister slowly got up and saw that his aide had taken most of the bullets, rendering the man dead from the heavy damage. He looked up to the sight of the mercenaries closing in.

"So you must be Defense Minister Hiroki… We'll be taking this. No hard feelings, Minister." The leader said with a smile as he took the briefcase handle but faced some struggle from the grip of the Defense Minister.

"You will have to take this briefcase out of my cold, dead hands, terrorist." The older man said with determination.

"And I am happy to oblige with that request, Defense Minister." The mercenary leader said as he took out his pistol and aimed at the man's head. The defense minister gave a brave front despite the inevitable death considering his circumstances.

As the man was about to squeeze the trigger a shout was heard,

"STRONGER ELECTRO FIRE!" shouted a voice in a manly tone as a blast of electricity traveled through the pavement and exploded in front of the armed men, sending them flying back along with the gunman who about to kill the Defense Minister. Then the government official felt the car being pulled back and onto the street.

"Ugh…" The Defense Minister managed to look before noticing that behind was a Kamen Rider with a Beetle-themed helmet but with green eyes.

(Insert Battle OST: To Glory)

The man walked forward calmly past the car as he boasted, "The heavens call... The earth cries out... The crowds roar... All calling on me to strike back against evil." Then he pointed at the armed mercenaries who were surprised by his appearance. "Now listen up, villains! I am the warrior of justice, Kamen Rider Stronger!"

"Justice huh?" muttered the mercenary leader as he turned to some of his men and gave them a silent signal to move forward.

The men walked forward as their leader retreated with the briefcase and ran back into the truck with some men covering him.

"Hey! Wait!" shouted Stronger as he charged forward as the men fired upon him, though the bullets proved to be ineffective. He jumped onto a crashed car and used it as a jumping platform to kick a gunman down before punching a second one who tried to shoot him. Then Stronger held an arm up as bullets slammed into him from a gunman who had a pistol, though the man received a right hook that knocked him down for the count.

"Use the package our contact gave us!" shouted a man as he took out a metal case.

"This, right? I was waiting to use this!" said a gunman with an eager tone as several men took out the contents, several USB sticks with rib cases and several letters on each of them.

Stronger punched another unfortunate gunman to get in his way before noticing what the men held. "What?! Gaia Memories?!"

=MAGMA!=

=REX!=

=ARMS!=

=TRICERATOPS!=

The men activated the memory sticks and inserted their USB ends into sockets implanted in the skin of their bodies. Then each started to transform into different forms, one was a humanoid made of red, hot lava, another took the form of a T-Rex skull with arms and legs, a third was a man made of sharp metal while wielding a broken great sword in the right hand and a gun for a left hand, and the last turned into a pink humanoid triceratops. The Magma and Arms dopant fired fireballs and bullets at the beetle Rider.

"Tch!" Stronger braced himself at he took several blasts from the enemy human-turned Kaijin, sending him skidding back but not falling over.

"Keep him busy!" ordered the leader as the truck drove away.

"You aren't getting away!" shouted Stronger as he fended off a mercenary before throwing a device onto the leaving truck itself.

"Get him!" shouted the leader and then the Triceratops and Rex Dopants charged at the outnumbered Stronger.

"Seems like you need some help, sempai." Said a male voice as a blast of wind slammed into the two dopants that charged at the Showa Rider, sending them onto the ground.

"Huh? Kaze (Wind)?" Stronger turned around to see the familiar form of a Kamen Rider armored in green and black halves with red compound lenses. "Double!"

"It appears that our buyers turn out to be assassins, Shotaro." The Rider said in a different voice with the green right side's red lens lighting up.

"Hmph, wouldn't be the first time Gaia Memories are used for murder, but they have guts trying to kill the Defense Minister." Double jumped from the higher ledge he was on and landed in front of the car. "Now, count up your sins." The Rider said as he flicked his right hand and pointed at the Dopants.

"Are all Kamen Riders more talk than action?" scoffed the Triceratops Dopant.

"Whatever, just take them out!" shouted the Magma Dopant as he summoned several fireballs which flew at the Riders.

"Hah!" Double swung his green arm to create a wall of wind that deflected the large fireballs. "Sempai! I'll handle the guys who can shoot! Can you handle the dinos?"

"Leave it to me!" shouted Stronger as he charged forward and tackled the T-Rex and Triceratops dopants into the other side of the street, leaving Double to fight the two dopants with ranged attacks.

"Shotaro! Trigger Memory!"

"Already on it!" shouted back the left side of Double as he closed the belt buckle before switching the black J USB memory for a blue T USB memory in the left side of the buckle.

=TRIGGER!=

Then he opened up the buckle and the left side of Double turned blue with a blue pistol attached atop the left side of his chestplate.

=CYCLONE!=

=TRIGGER!=

The green and blue Rider quickly grabbed the gun off his chest using his right green hand and quickly fired on the dopants.

Stronger pounded the Triceratops Dopant with his fists while the Dopant tried his best to defend himself from the heavy blows. Then he summoned a fistful of electricity into his right raised fist.

"ELECTRO… PUNCH!"

The he used his electrified fist to smash the dopant into a wall, reducing the cement wall into dust.

"You punk!" shouted the T-Rex Dopant as he activated the power of the T-Rex Memory and used the surrounding debris to create what could be called a junk tyrannosaurus. The junk T-Rex charged at Stronger with his jaws wide open but Stronger intercepted the junk beast holding his mouth open with his arms rigid and his hands gripping the top and bottom mouth.

"Gh! I know I fought several Dopants such as you, but the size is just too troublesome!" shouted Stronger with a hint of annoyance.

"Just die!" shouted the T-Rex as he tried to open his mouth to try and crush the Kamen Rider.

"Tch!" Stronger held his ground and the bony jaws as the ground cracked below him.

Meanwhile, Double was still engaged in a firefight with the two Dopants while using the Cyclone's air to help him move around quickly.

"Tsk!" Double quickly hid behind a cement barrier as bullets and fireballs blast it apart. "I nearly forgot how much trouble just either of them are! Phillip, some advice?"

"Take out the Arms Dopant first."

"The Arms one?! Phillip, you do remember that we had a hard time fighting Arms right?"

"Not this one, this Arms Dopant prefers his gun over his sword, and he fires rapidly instead of careful bursts."

"In other words, he sprays and prays?" Double (Shotaro) concluded.

"Exactly."

"How about the Magma Dopant?"

"Despite being able to fire those large fireballs, he is not exactly in sync with the Magma Memory. Didn't you feel how the heat was lower compared to a perfect matched Magma Dopant?" Double (Phillip) pointed out since he shared similar senses with his partner.

"Yeah… So these mercs are basically chumps with Memories?"

"Not how I would describe them, but yes. You already have a plan, Shotaro?"

"Now I do, aibou(partner)." Double said as his cover fell apart before he jumped over it and fired shots at Arms while charging Magma for close combat. He struck the fire-based Dopant with his right fist while shooting quickly at the Arms Dopant to keep him at bay.

Meanwhile, Stronger was still holding the T-Rex form Dopant in place as the Dopant tried to chew on his head.

"Let go so I can kill you!" roared the transformed Kaijin.

"You are definitely American if you are willing to talk in the middle of battle!" Stronger shouted back as he held his ground strong.

Then a roar was heard and Stronger turned his head to the sight of the transformed Triceratops Dopant in Triceratops form charging at the veteran.

"Incoming!" shouted a male voice as a motorcycle wheel smashed into the face of the Triceratops Dopant, sending its charge into a barrier near where Double was fighting.

RIDER BREAK

The armored motorcycle landed with two people on the bike, Fen and Kanade.

"Seems like we made it to the party." Kanade said as she lift her helmet lens to see better.

Fen lifted his helmet's lens looked around to the sight of the Dopants and the wrecked cars. "And found some bastards to beat up." He then took out his white Gaia Memory as Stronger quickly gained the upper hand on his opponent due to the distraction.

"ORAAAH!" shouted Stronger as he suddenly pulled the T-Rex Dopant up and threw him onto the Triceratops Dopant with a hearty slam. "Thanks for the assistance, Fen-kun!"

"Your welcome, sempai. Let me lend a helping hand-"

"Wait Fenrir! We've got these guys! Just get the briefcase from the leader who got away!" shouted Double (Shotaro) as he struck the Magma Dopant before firing upon the Arms Dopant.

"What?! It got stolen?" asked Fen.

"Yes. But I managed to place a tracker on their truck. You should be able to track it down." Stronger said, while handing a card which Fen placed into his phone which updated with the location of the vehicle. "Don't worry about us, we veterans can hold our own against these Dopants."

Fen looked a bit angry but stayed focused on the task. "Gotcha. Before I forget, Double, catch!" Fen threw two Memories to Double who caught them. The two Memories were labelled a DNA-shaped G and a Frosty I. "Use that to close any wounds on the Defense Minister! And you know what to do with the other!"

"That could work. The Gene Memory does have the power to manipulate cells."

Double ducked under a fireball before seeing that the Arms Dopant and Magma Dopant were charging at them with his sword. "Focus on the fight right now, Phillip!" shouted Double (Shotaro) after he ducked under a swing from the Arms Dopant's broken great sword before hip shooting the Magma Dopant away.

"You do realize how inaccurate firing from the hip is, Shotar-"

"Do you prefer I be punched by a flaming fist?!" Double argued back as he ducked under Arms Dopant's attack before shooting him in the side and then firing at the Magma Dopant again.

"Fair enough." Then Double quickly blocked a sword swing with his right arm while firing at the monster with the gun in his left hand.

"Get going, you two!" shouted Double (Shotaro).

"We'll come back as soon as we can!" shouted Kanade as the pair drove off, after the white van with the stolen package.

"Heh, and we'll be done by then." Stronger said as he stood his ground in front of the massive Dopants before him.

"Aoi! You got the data?" asked Fen as he drove quickly along the road.

"Yes! The location of the vehicle on the highway road you are taking. We are already issuing that the road will be closed to all civilians."

"So we have free rein to make these guys crash?" asked the Kanade over the loud engine.

"Yes. Good hunting."

"There he is!" shouted Fen as he drove towards the white van.

"They caught up already?! Hold the car steady!" shouted the leader as he smashed a window open.

"Aw crap!" Fen shouted as he swerved to the side as the gunman started shooting at him as Kanade. "Kanade! Use my dagger and Trigger Memory to shoot the tires out!"

"Gotcha!" shouted Kanade as she took the dagger and memory from Fen before activating the Gaia Memory.

=TRIGGER!=

Then she inserted the memory into the dagger's slot, transforming the weapon into a large pistol similar in design to Double's Trigger Magnum but it was black and white. She aimed the gun over Fen's shoulder and at the van's tires and fired, destroying said tires.

Then the van skidded a bit before crashing into a concrete barrier, flipping into the air and crash-rolling onto the road. The pair stopped to observe the crash site which the wrecked vehicle had several pieces on the road.

"Are they dead?" asked Kanade.

"If they are, then that makes our jobs easier. But if they aren't, then we have to arrest their asses." Fen said as he took out a pair of handcuffs.

"Good." Kanade said as she and Fen got off. "Wait, do we even have that sort of-"

Then a door of the van was kicked open to reveal the disheveled but very alive leader of the mercenaries. "You may have caught up to me… And took out my men, but I will be the one to come out on top!" shouted the man as he took out his gun and fired on the two.

"Tch!" Fen quickly slammed a button on his motorcycle while turning to protect Kanade.

=METAL BARRICADE!=

Then a steel barrier formed which protected the two as the young man pulled Kanade down. "Of course he starts firing… Kanade, my gun?"

"Here." Kanade gave the silver haired male his weapon. He quickly took out a second Gaia Memory with a B on it which was shaped like a bomb.

"Wait, this is lethal." Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out another Memory with a Key-shaped K on it. "Might as well test this one!"

=KEY!=

Fen loaded the Memory into a secondary slot in the stock of the gun. Then he tilted the stock up to become a larger barrel for his pistol which announced:

=KEY!=

=TRIGGER!=

=MAXIMUM DRIVE!=

When the man was reloading, Fen quickly fired, summoning several energy chains which wrapped around the mercenary with locks holding the chains in place, preventing the man from using his weapon. The leader fell over while also dropping the case.

TRIGGER RESTRAINT

"Seems like that worked." Fen said with a satisfied smile as he stood up with his Trigger Magnum resting on his shoulder.

"Didn't you just get that Memory, Fen? How did you know that wouldn't kill him?" Kanade asked as she peeked over the metal barrier.

"I just guessed. Though I will ask Phillip later on how to use the Key Memory properly. Time to call the Second Division for pick up."

The sound of a growl was heard and the people present looked up and saw the size of a massive Noise above them.

"What?!"

"Noise!"

"And a big type! But that means the mastermind of this is-"

"*Laughs* That's right! She won't let me die, because I-!"

Then the Noise smashed the man before he could finish and sent the package flying. Kanade quickly caught the metal case while Fen quickly shot at the massive monster.

"Doesn't seem like his employer trusts him…" commented Kanade as she ran back to Fen as he reached into his pocket.

"Yeah, but focus on the massive Noise!" shouted Fen as he took out his Eternal Memory while showing his belt.

=ETERNAL!=

"Henshin!" shouted Fen as he slotted the white Memory into his belt buckle before tilting it to activate.

=ETERNAL!=

Then the white armor formed from particles that latched onto Fenrir's body and a black cloak over his head and neck.

"NOISE! PREPARE TO BE SENT TO HELL!" shouted Eternal with a rage filled voice. Then he charged forward before using his gun to shoot at the Noise that spawned onto the road. Next, he pulled out the Trigger Memory to use his weapon in its knife form and stab a couple of Noise in his way.

At a highway overlooking the scene, a woman wearing a motorcycle helmet with familiar purple biker clothing watched the conflict about to take place.

"Is it done?" A voice called in.

"It is done, milady." Chase said as she walked away with Solomon's Cane in hand.

"*Sigh* So gullible…" The woman said with an unsurprised tone over the communication. "As if I let those disgusting beings present to me the case covered in their repulsive hands."

"Is it all right for the case to be in the Second Division's hands?" asked the young woman as she drove off on a purple and black motorcycle.

"Yes obviously. After all, I won't be denied a look."

Unnoticed by the female, her pictures were being taken by Go who covertly caught sight of her.

"Seems like Mister Tendou is right… we have a traitor in our mist." Go muttered with a concerned tone. "Oh well, gives me and Shin-nii san more chances to befriend Chase again."

Back at the Dopant vs. Kamen Rider battle, Double was quickly wearing down his opponents before inserting the Cyclone Memory into the slot in front of gun before lifting the stock to make a bigger gun.

=CYCLONE!=

=TRIGGER!=

=MAXIMUM DRIVE!=

The gun nozzle charged with green energy before Double aimed at the Arms Dopant and fired.

"TRIGGER AEROBUSTER!"

The gun fired several shots of pressurized air that slammed hard into the Arms Dopant's armor, knocking the transformed Kaijin onto the ground.

"Tch. That wasn't even enough for a Memory Break."

"But created a good opportunity, Shotaro." Double (Phillip) pointed out.

"You got it, Aibou." Double (Shotaro) said as he took out the Memory he received from Fen before activating it.

=ICE AGE!=

He rolled on the ground and replaced the Cyclone Memory with the Ice Age Memory. He repeated the finisher set up he did earlier and aimed at the Magma Dopant.

=ICE AGE!=

=TRIGGER!=

=MAXIMUM DRIVE!=

"TRIGGER ICEBERG!"

Double fired a large projectile of ice which smashed into the Magma Dopant and encased the kaijin in ice. He fired a second shot which caused the kaijin to explode in an icy explosion.

The mercenary painfully crashed onto the ground with a groan as the Magma Memory apart near him.

"One down, three to go." Double said as he wiped his hands before he brought out a wind wall to knock a couple of bullets off track.

"Stay focused, Shotaro."

"Thanks for that, Aibou." Double (Shotaro) thanked before he charged at the Arms Dopant with gun in hand.

"STRONGER ELECTRO FIRE!"

Stronger struck a burst of energy into the ground, causing it to travel and smash apart the ground and the leg of the T-Rex Dopant, immobilizing the Kaijin.

"Gah! My leg!"

"You'll pay for that!" roared the Triceratops Dopant who charged at the veteran Kamen Rider.

Stronger turned around and quickly jumped into a somersault over the charging dinosaur Dopant. The Triceratops crashed into another wall which left him open for an attack. Stonger summoned lightning into his body before jumping at a great height, somersaulting, and then kicking forward at the Triceratops dopant who had just turned to see the finisher come right at him.

"STRONGER DEN KICK!"

Stronger crashed into the Triceratops Dopant, smashing the monster into the ground before exploding from the overload of energy. The dopant user laid on the ground injured but alive with the Gaia Memory shattering from the resulting battle.

"Another down. Now to defeat you!"

Stronger quickly readied himself to take down the T-Rex Dopant who charged at him once more.

"AAAARRGGGHHH" Then a blood curdling scream could be heard as the fighters turned to the sight of Noise attacking the mercenaries who were not out cold since the ones knocked out were reduced to ash. The men fired their weapons but they were ineffective as the monsters grabbed them, before turning them into ash.

"Noise? Here?" Stronger shouted.

Double (Phillip) wondered, "That would mean that whoever was using that device the Noise is here-"

"No way, she betrayed us?!"

"Screw this, I'm getting out of here!" shouted the Arms Dopant as he ran in a certain direction. But then Noise took shape and surrounded him.

"What the hell?! No… Don't come near me!" shouted the Arms Dopant as he fired upon the Noise, but his attacks were futile as the Noise overwhelmed him. The Dopant screamed as the noise swirled over his body before settling to reveal the Arms Dopant now having a color mix of the Noise's blue and orange color.

"GAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!" roared the T-Rex dopant as Noise also fused into his being before taking on colors that were a mish mash the Noise colors.

"Those Noise fused with the dopants?!" shouted Stronger with a surprised tone.

"It seems so. This appears to be similar with that last incident, Shotaro. While the Dopant gets stronger from the fusion, their life is lost the moment we defeat them." Double (Phillip) said.

"Meaning they won't talk even if we perform a Memory Break." Double (Shotaro) concluded as he ducked and weaved the attacks from the Noise Arms Dopant. "Tsk… Too bad we left our solutions to fighting Noise back at the agency."

Suddenly a massive tank-like vehicle arrived behind the green and blue Kamen Rider. The vehicle had similar head design to Double's helmet but it was black all over with a turbine attached to the back.

"Huh? The RevolGarry?"

The vehicle split open to reveal two girls who stood side-by-side. The girl on the left had bright orange hair tied into a side ponytail on the right side of her head while her eyes were a crimson color. She wore a pair of ripped black shorts, a white sports jacket, a shirt with a windmill and Futo etched on it, and a pair of sneakers. The girl on the right had light blue hair tied into a side ponytail similar to the girl on the left except hers was tied on the left side of her head while her eyes were an azure blue. She wore a blue flower-themed with black trims dress with a matching hair band with the brand Windmill and a pair of high heel boots.

"Seems like you got yourselves into quite the fine situation, detective-san." The girl with light blue hair said with a smirk.

"But at least we finally get some action!" The girl with orange hair said with a smile as she cracked her knuckles.

"Fuyuko-san!" Double (Phillip) said next in surprise.

"Natsu-chan!" Double (Shotaro) shouted. "How did you-?"

"We snuck onto the RevolGarry, Detective. Might as well wait until we are needed to save you two again from the Noise."

"Snuck into?! Did Akiko put you up to that?!"

"And it seems our services are required." Fuyuko stated while ignoring what Double asked.

"She means yes, by the way." Natsuko explained as she leaned in front of her sister.

"Natsu-chan, don't answer for her. And you! Don't ignore me!" shouted the black half of Double again as the twin with blue hair looked away in boredom.

"Shotaro? The Noise Dopant?"

Then the T-Rex Noise stood over the Rider before trying to stomp on him. Double quickly rolled out of the way from the stomp.

"I recommend putting the discussion on hold, Shotaro." Double (Phillip) recommended due to the situation at hand.

"Right! Now if only we got some more back up from HQ."

"Oh? Are we all that incompetent that you asking for more help, detective?" asked Fuyuko sarcastically as she walked to the right sight of Double.

"No, but it goes against my principles to put you young ladies in danger." Double responded.

"Have a little faith in us, Shotaro! After all, it was us who saved your butt with the earlier Noise Dopant." Natsuko said as she stood at his left side.

"You are quite useless when it comes to this, detective-san."

"*Sigh* Fine. I'll forfeit the stage for you two." Double relented before turning to the veteran Kamen Rider who was dodging the Noise Dopants. "Sempai! Pull back! Let the girls handle this while you get the Defense Minster out of danger!"

Stronger landed near the group and turned to the young Rider. "Very well, Double. I'll also get in contact with the Second Division if they can provide support." Stronder said as he went and pulled the Defense Minister's car back.

"Good luck you two."

"Thanks, Shotaro. We'll kick its ass for you!" the Rider gave the orange haired girl a thumbs up before leaving. "Ready Fuyuko?"

"Ready Natsu-chan."

~Omniosus Chang~

~Gan Jiang…~ sang Fuyuko as she held a relic crystal out.

~Mo Ye…~ sang Natsuko as she held a similar relic crystal out in a mirrored stance from her sister.

~Tron~

The two sisters were engulfed in a light before armored in two sets of armor that share similar qualities. Natsuko wore a set of white and black-trimmed headphones with a white one piece suit with a Chinese cloth skirt with a Yin-Yang symbol etched on it. She also wore white-silver armor greaves, white and black trimmed gauntlets, a shoulder plate on her right shoulder with a right cloth sleeve, and a large armor hip plate on her right hip. Fuyuko wore a set of black and white-trimmed headphones with a with a black one piece suit with a Chinese cloth skirt with a Yin-Yang symbol etched on it. She wore, black-silver armor greaves, black and white trimmed gauntlets, a shoulder plate on her left shoulder with a left cloth sleeve, and a large armor hip plate on her left hip.

"Show them what you can do, Natsuko." Fuyuko said as the two sisters split off as a spray of bullets nearly hit them.

(Insert OST: Hitohira no Hanabira- Stereopony)

"You got it, sis!" shouted Natsuko as she charged at the Arms Dopant while summoning a curved sword and threw it at the Noise kaijin. The weapon bounced off the monster's body and the orange haired girl shoulder-tackled it in the face with her shoulder plate. Then she caught the blade with her left hand and swung sideways. Then she quickly ducked under a swing from the monster's broken claymore before retaliating by swinging strongly at the Arms Dopant's chest which caused the Noise Kaijin to stumble backwards. Natsuko looked up as the T-Rex with its bony jaw open to crush the white armored Symphoger user. She straightened her right arm to allow the shoulder plate to move down and attached to her arm. The orange haired girl quickly raised her arm as the plate increased in size and blocked the jaws of the T-Rex.

"Gh! Fuyu! A little help?"

A Massive blade drove itself through the neck spine of the T-Rex, and then a second blade swung horizontally through its spine, severing the head from the junk body.

HEI CLEAVER

Natsuko pulled her arm back and smashed her shield against the head, sending it away from her.

The light blue haired girl landed near her sister with a scissor-like, large, black sword in her hands. "Sorry for my tardiness, I was just keeping our metal friend occupied."

"It's fine. You do know that-" Natsuko was about to point out the particular quality of the T-Rex Dopant was that its head was the true body until Fuyuko waved her hand and then several massive black blades skewered into the head, exploding themselves along with the head.

YÈJIĀN BÀOZHÀ

"If we're done talking, I recommend you deal the finishing blow." Fuyuko stated.

This sudden action rendered Natsuko a bit speechless before she started talking again. "Right!"

The orange haired girl attached her shoulder plate to her sword which caused it to transform into a massive blade that sparked with white energy. She jumped into the air before swinging down the blade into the skull, causing a massive explosion of white light which engulfed the Kaijin.

BÁIHUÀ

The destruction of the head also reduced the body into ash.

"I'll leave you to deal with the Arms Dopant, Natsuko." Fuyuko pointed to the Noise Dopant who was tied down with wires held by blades in the ground.

"Gotcha, sis." Natsuko quickly turned her attention to the Noise Dopant as several Noise formed around it. She turned to her sister with a dubious look. "I thought you said you said he was occupied!"

"I do remember saying that, and I'm sure I would remember if I was such an airhead that I forget I was referring to the Noise Dopant." Fuyuko said sarcastically.

Natsuko knew better than to argue with her sister so she dropped it. "Fine. Back to hitting this guy."

The massive sword transformed back to its default form while Natsuko's shoulder plate attached to her shoulder. She charged at the Arms Dopant with her sword raised with both hands on the handle. Fuyuko stood back as she kept any Noise from approaching the Kamen Riders who were tending to the Defense Minister.

"Defense Minister, are you all right?" asked Stronger as he moved the official out of his damaged transport.

"Ugh… Yes. If you both hadn't arrived in time, the briefcase would have been lost in the hands of those mercenaries. But I had hoped you came sooner…" The Defense Minister turned to the laid down corpse of his aide.

"My condolences, sir. I should have been quick on the uptake." Stronger apologized.

"No, no need to trouble yourself on my part. Ugh!" The Defense Minister groaned in pain as he collapsed.

"Sir! Hang on!"

"Sempai, lay him down!" Double ordered which the older Kamen Rider complied.

Double quickly tore open the man's jacket to reveal blood on the side of his white collared shirt.

"He's injured…" Stronger said.

"Probably from that earlier attack on the convoy. Phillip and I will try to close the wound." Double tore open the shirt while also taking out the Gene Memoyr. "Can you call HQ for medical help, sempai?"

"I'll try." Stronger quickly dialed into a flip phone and held it to the side of his head, waiting for when the line connected.

=GENE!=

"You're not dying today, Minister Hiroki." Double said as he loaded the Memory into a slot on his side.

=GENE!=

=MAXIMUM DRIVE!=

"Try to remain still, sir." Double said as he placed his glowing hand over the wound.

=ETERNAL!=

=FANG!=

=MAXIMUM DRIVE!=

"RAAAAGGGGHHH!" shouted Eternal as he swung his enlarged blade through the massive Noise, slicing them apart.

ETERNAL STRIZER

He stood up as the Noise remains exploded into ash.

"Now… Suffer in your Hell." Eternal said with a cold tone as he stretched his arm out with a thumbs down during the explosion.

"Phew… That should be the last of them. Kanade can you-"

"Already on it, Fen." Kanade said as she was calling on the phone while holding the metal case.

*RIIIIIINNNNNNNGGG*

"What's that ringing noise?"

Then a mechanical beetle flew in and around Double as it was the source of the ringing.

"Stag? Do I have a call?" asked Double to the mechanical device.

The mechanical beetle electronically buzzed in confirmation to its owner before landing in his hand and he opened it to answer.

"Moshi-Moshi (Hello)?" answered Double.

"Hey! We got the briefcase!" shouted Kanade as she held up the case. "How's the Defense Minister?"

"Not dead. Manage to close his external wounds but he is still injured and in need of medical help." Double reported over the action in the background.

"Then we should come back-"

"Belay that. We got the situation handled here." The two-in-one Rider turned to the sight of Fuyuko wiping out the Noise by throwing a large, bladed boomerang at the Noise approaching her. The weapon spun like a disc of death and sliced through the group of monsters with ease. She caught the weapon as it sliced a couple more Noise that came near her.

YǏNGZI YUÈYÁ

"You and Fenrir are to transport the case to the Second Division. Order from the Minister himself." Double (Shotaro) said as he turned to the injured Defense Minister who nodded.

"What?! But-"

"Think rationally, Kanade-san. It's obvious that whoever attacked the Defense Minister was after the files in that case." Double (Phillip) reasoned before pausing as Natsuko performed the final charge at the Arms Dopant.

"IKE!" shouted Natsuko as she stabbed her sword into the ground as several energy waves explode from under the Arms Dopant, sending it flying into the air. Then her shoulder plate and hip positioned backwards before igniting with booster flares and thrusting her into the air. Natsuko summoned a second sword before spinning herself towards the midair ADopant. The spiral attack slammed into the Noise Dopant before the girl pierced through and landed behind the monster.

BÁI LUÓXUÁN

Then the Dopant exploded in flames as the orange haired girl stood up with a big smile.

(End OST)

"Yatta (All right)! Victory!" Natsuko shouted as she held her finger out in a v sign.

"That's a bit childish, Natsuko." Fuyuko teased with a smirk while shouldering her boomerang sword.

"Well, I'm just a kid then, sis." Natsuko huffed playfully as she crossed her arms.

Double (Phillip) quickly returned to his talk with Kanade. "You two will need to complete the objective of the Defense Minister's convoy and bring that case to the Second Division."

"…All right. But you guys need to make sure the Defense Minister is safe, all right?"

"Promise. We'll see you two back at base." Double responded.

"So what did he say?" asked Eternal as he walked to the redhead.

"We need to get moving, Fen."

"But what about the Defense Minister?" asked the white armored Kamen Rider as he walked to his motorcycle which still had its barricade form activated.

"Shotaro and Phillip assured that he is fine for now. Our orders from the Defense Minister are to deliver the case to the Second Division." Kanade said.

"…Fine. Let's get that thing back to base." Eternal said as he deactivated the armor wall on his motorcycle.

Kanade nodded before the two got onto Eternal's motorcycle and head off to Lydian Academy.

Meanwhile at Double, Stronger, and the twins' side, the group was waiting for help to arrive.

"Detective-san, the Defense Minister doesn't seem to be well." Fuyuko said with concerned look.

"What do you expect, sis? He barely escaped getting killed by a hit squad." Natsuko said bluntly.

"No. I mean he seems a bit too unwell despite Phillip healing his injuries."

"What?" He moved quickly to the Defense Minister's side who seemed pale despite his injuries closed.

"Sir. You need to hang on just a bit longer!"

"I can hear you…" The official said as he breathed in and out. "No need… to shout."

"He must have suffered some internal injuries." Fuyuko guessed. "Probably an organ was punctured."

"Phillip, can you do something?"

"I don't know. I only used the Gene Memory to heal his external injuries. I… I have no knowledge of how to heal his internal injuries."

"Damn it! Sempai, progress on the rescue unit?" Double asked.

"On their way!" shouted Stronger before sirens were heard.

"You hear that, sir? You'll be fine! Just hang on!" Double reassured as the sirens and blinking lights were getting closer.

Second Division Base

"How is the Defense Minister? In critical condition, huh. Don't worry, Fen and Kanade will arrive shortly." Genjuro said on the call with Stronger.

"Hey! We brought the case!" shouted Kanade as she and Fen entered the control room with the package in hand.

"No problems?" asked Genjuro.

"Not really. Seems like those guys who were after the case were the only ones hired."

"We can discuss this later. We have to wait until Ryoko returns." The commander stated.

"Sorry for my tardiness!" announced the woman in question as the door opened to reveal her.

"Ryoko!" Genjuro said. "Where were you?"

"What is it? Did you miss me so badly?" asked the female researcher as she walked in. "I was at the office but it was closed. Apparently the Defense Minister Hiroki left the building, so I came back here."

The spiky haired male present did not seemed satisfy with that response.

"Tch!" Fenrir approached the woman as grabbed her coat.

"Wait, Fenrir!"

"Iyaa~ My, Fen-chan, I didn't know you were into rough play~"

"Don't give me that crap! Because of your tardiness, the Defense Minister was attacked!" shouted the spiky haired male with an angry tone at her supposed obliviousness to the situation.

"Fenrir! Let her go!" ordered Genjuro.

"As if! She goes tardy and suddenly a group of mercenaries goes and hits the Defense Minister who happens to be transporting the package? That's too much of a coincidence! I call bull and I'm sure she is the traitor!" shouted Fen who looked furious.

"Fenrir, calm down! If Ryoko really was the traitor, then why has she been helping us for the last six years? She could have easily sabotaged our equipment if she was a traitor! Instead, she has been helping and giving us the strength to fight back!" reasoned Kanade as she had some doubts but she wouldn't believe that the researcher would be responsible.

"Fenrir. We cannot allow our anger and frustration to turn on our allies. Grandmother once said, 'Men must be cool. Boiling water turns into vapor.' You won't gain anything if you make baseless accusations in blind anger." Tendou said while placing his hand on the black haired male's shoulder.

"…" Fen gave a glance at the woman before letting a breath out and letting go of the older woman. "Sorry… for grabbing you, Miss Sakurai. It's just that… the attack on the Defense Minister and your lack of direction was way too coordinated to be a coincidence. Maybe the mastermind took advantage of how your sense of direction goes wonky on today of all days."

The brunette appeared to drop her airheaded mode and looked sympathetic to the spiky-haired young adult. "I can't blame you, Fenrir." Ryoko placed her hand on the young man's shoulder with an understanding look in her eyes. "With all the number of incidents that occurred along with Aka-chan's condition has been worsening lately, your worries aren't for naught. But what is this about the Defense Minister being attacked?" asked the brunette as she turned to the console workers for more information.

"Shortly after he left his office, on route to our base, he and his escorts were attacked by a group of men. The escorts were the first casualties of the skirmish that ensued but Kamen Rider Stronger quickly responded and saved the Defense Minster before he could be killed." Aoi presented what happened on the screen with a rough recreation of what happened.

"But these men were also armed with Gaia Memories. Specifically, the Magma, Arms, T-Rex, and Triceratops Memories. Double was in the area investigating said Memories and supported Stronger in combatting the Dopants. Fenrir and Kanade went to retrieve the stolen package from the leader, but detainment was a failure due to the sudden appearance of Noise which killed the mercenaries."

"So which group did this mastermind have help from?" asked the researcher.

"Only multiple 'revolutionary' groups have assumed responsibility. The Showa Kamen Riders are already investigating them as we speak, but we don't know anything for certain yet."

"Though there is one thing I still want to know." Kanade said as she placed her hands on her hips before turning to Ryoko. "Why weren't you responding to our calls, Ryoko?"

"Hm?" Ryoko took out her phone before pressing it several times. "Oh dear, I forgot to turn on my phone before driving."

"Well, obeying traffic safety laws is good, Ryoko. But you should turn your phone on at all times."

"Of course! I won't make the same mistake again~"

"I can't tell if you're telling the truth or not…" Fen muttered with a sweat drop.

"So who assisted Double with the Noise Dopants?" asked Ryoko with a curious tone.

"Must be the twins that the guys picked up a while back."

"Who are they, Fen-chan?"

"From what I remember, they're called Natsuko and Fuyuko Shizukana, twin sisters who are attuned to a pair of Relic Crystals. Gan Jiang and Mo Ye." Fen recalled.

"The twin swords Symphogear that even Tsubasa couldn't activate?" Genjuro said with surprise.

"I see… so both blades required two Attuned to activate." Ryoko quickly took out a notepad to write the detail down.

"If I recall correctly, the Symphogear Crystal was in the hands of Kamen Rider Black RX." Tendou pointed out.

"Yeah, the old man was the one who took care of them after a Noise attack took the life of their father. They came to Shotaro and Phillip when he went missing a year ago." Fen recalled a bit.

"That would explain why we haven't had regular contact with him in the past year." Sakuya said.

"I'm sure we'll hear the full story from them later. Fenrir, hand the case over to Ryoko, she is the only one who can open it, after all." Genjuro ordered.

"Sure." Fen gave the case to the researcher who placed her thumb on the electronic lock.

"What is so special about the case, that it nearly killed the Defense Minister?" asked Kanade who crossed her arms.

"Inside the case are classified orders from the government, Kanade-chan." Ryoko responded as she opened the case to reveal a set of memory chips in a case. "Defense Minister Hiroki was helping me transport these orders. Regrettably, my carelessness allowed him to be targeted."

"We can worry about the Defense Minister later. Who is confirmed to be arriving for the plan briefing tomorrow, Aoi, Sakuya?" Genjuro asked the two agents who quickly typed into their consoles.

"Drive with the Attuned for Ukonsavara." Sakuya reported.

Then a picture of Kamen Rider Drive and the name of Relic was shown.

"Double with the Attuned for Gan Jiang and Mo Ye." Aoi reported.

Then a picture for Kamen Rider Double and the names of the Relics were shown.

"Kuuga II with the Attuned for Gae Bolg."

Then a picture of the younger Kamen Rider Kuuga and the name of the Relic were shown.

"So Carter and Mister Godai found a user? Nice." Fen commented with a smile.

"Faiz with the Attuned for Kusanagi. As well as two new Kamen Riders, designation: Crisis and Cryo." Aoi reported.

Kamen Rider Faiz's picture was shown along with two pixelated images of two Kamen Rider along with the name of the Relic were shown.

"Crisis and Cryo? Any information on them?" asked Tendou.

"Nothing, but Inui-san and Kadoya-san are bringing them here tomorrow." Aoi responded.

"Tsukasa-sempai is coming here? Must be that bad if he's coming here." Fen commented.

"Is that it?" asked Tendou who stared at the screen.

"That's all for now, sir."

"Five Attuned have been… Quite the fortune we have."

"Let us hope that fortune will last for the Defense Minister." Genjuro said.

"Ugh…" Kanade stretched a bit before yawning, "*Yawn* Well, I'm spent, today was just that intense. Aren't you also tired, Fen?" asked Kanade as she wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

"Really? I feel just fi-Gugh!" Fen was jabbed in the ribs by the redhead girl.

"See? Even Fen looks ready to keel over. So do we have permission to turn in for the night, right?" asked the young woman with an expecting look to the commander.

"*Chuckle* Sure. You two have been through a lot today, so get some rest for tomorrow."

"Thanks, boss!" Kanade saluted with a smile before leaving with Fen in two.

"Hey, wait! Kanade!" shouted Fen as he was being dragged away.

"I'm glad that you and Kanade were here, vice commander. Fen-kun is the type who is a bit reckless."

"Grandmother once said, 'Immature fruit is sour, producing immature fights.' Fenrir's current mood is built on his immaturity to deal with disasters and the situation with Akakishi. I wouldn't be surprised if he snapped at the next misfortune to occur." Tendou stated with crossed arms.

"I hope not. Fenrir is one of our most capable agents. I hate to put him on the sidelines because of his recklessness." Genjuro said with a truthful tone.

"Sir! A call from the hospital has just come in!" reported Aoi.

"Is it about Defense Minister Hiroki?"

"Yes. And it's urgent!"

"You don't have to answer. You can wait until morning, Gen-chan." Ryoko suggested.

"*Breathes in and out* No, as commander, I must face anything bravely, good or bad. Patch it through." Genjuro responded as he mentally braced himself for the news.

The next day, everyone was gathered and waiting for the plan briefing with the present Kamen Riders and Symphogear Users sitting in the front.

Akakishi sat with Hibiki while the other members of the Kamen Rider Club also sat in seats behind him. Yoku and the recently recovered Shinnosuke sat next to the two. Fen and Kanade sat to left of the pair.

"I wonder what this meeting is about…" Hibiki whispered to Yuki.

"Dunno. But I heard from Ken-chan that something big is going to happen this meeting."

"Big huh? Do you know anything from your nii-san, Yoku-chan?" Hibiki asked the bluenette.

"Not really, Hibiki-chan. Shin nii-san just got out of the hospital but didn't have contact with the Second Division since he was helping in my training." Yoku said as she took a bite out of her chocolate bar.

"Ooh! So you have been training as well? I hope to see the fruits of your labor!" Hibiki said with sparkling eyes.

"Un, I hope to see how much you have learned from the Commander." Yoku said with a smile.

"You two be quiet now, the commander is here." Kanade advised as Genjuro entered the meeting hall. Then the tall, red-haired man walked onto the stand with a grim face.

"Before we start, I regret to inform you all that Defense Minister Hiroki was attacked just yesterday… and he passed away from his injurie en route to the hospital."

"What?!" Akakishi was shocked along with those who knew about the Defense Minister.

"The Defense Minister is dead?!" shouted Fen with a surprised tone as the members conversed among each other on the news.

"That's bad… right?" Gentarou asked with a concerned tone to Kengo.

"Very bad, Kisaragi." Kengo deadpanned.

"A thousand times bad!" Yuki whisper-shouted.

"Is the Defense Minister that important?" whispered Yoku.

"Yes Yoku, Defense Minister Hiroki was the one who set up the back bone of this organization. Without him, the Second Division wouldn't have existed." Shinnosuke quietly informed his charge.

"I wish to have a moment of silence for the late Minister Hiroki. For he greatly supported the Second Division since its founding."

The hall was silent as that was all the Second Division Members could give.

"...Thank you. Now let us welcome new allies who will join us for this mission. Vice Commander, bring them in."

Then the door slid open to reveal Tendou leading a young man with messy, dark-brown hair wearing a fedora hat and a suit, a teen wearing a vest and a long sleeved shirt carrying a book, both were followed by Natsuko and Fuyuko.

Behind them was a tall, somewhat muscular teen who looked a bit sad at the news. At his side, a blond hair girl who looked a bit nervous about the grim but professional atmosphere currently in place.

The two are followed by a young man with wild light brown hair parted at the middle wearing a leather biker jacket with grey jeans. He was followed by three teens, a pair of brothers, both sharing similar physical characteristics, and one little sister. One brother was a 5 feet 7 inch tall guy, had short messy rich brown hair with a white streak by the frontal bang, pale-ish fair skin, a pair of cobalt blue eyes, the left one having a vertical eye scar. His outfit consisted of a black shirt, a coat of gray and blue tints with a peaked hood, a pair of leather gloves, a pair of jeans, and a pair of teal blue sneakers. The other brother was also 5 feet 7 inch tall, he had a more darker brown hair that was short and messy but no white streak on his bangs, pale skin, a pair of heterochromatic eyes, the left eye is greyish blue and the right eye is grey. His outfit was similar to his brother's except in greyscale colors. The sister was 5 feet 1 inch tall, she had rich, brown hair like first mentioned brother tied into a ponytail, a pair of cobalt blue eyes, fair skin. She wore a black tank top with a blue jacket with black accents zipped up at the mid-section, a pair of short jeans, and a pair of black running shoes.

"Hidari-sempai and Phillip-sempai? Not just them, but also Carter-sempai and Inui-sempai?" Akakishi said aloud with surprise. "Though I don't recognize those three…"

"Let us give a warm welcome to the newest members. Starting with the detective and his partner from Futo."

"Shotaro Hidari, at your service."

"Phillip, I hope to learn a lot about you all."

"We are the two halves of Kamen Rider Double." The two said together.

"Next, the Attuned of the twin swords Gan Jiang and Mo Ye."

"Natsuko Shizukana! Wielder of Mo Ye! Ready to help and kick some Noise butt!" The orange haired girl with the left side ponytail shouted with a salute.

"Fuyuko Shizukana. Wielder of Gan Jiang. I hope we will have a healthy relationship." The light blue haired girl said with a smirk and mirrored salute to her sister.

"Next is the successor to the First Heisei Rider."

"The name's Carter Graves, also known as Kamen Rider Kuuga II. Here to pull my share in the fight!" boasted the young male.

"And the Attuned for Gae Bolg."

"M-My name Amelia Fields! I hope to work hard with you all!" The girl said as she bowed quickly but formally.

"Next we have a veteran who has returned to the field."

"Takumi Inui. Kamen Rider Faiz. I'm only helping because I need to look after the brats."

"Hey!" shouted the teen with gray and blue jacket.

"Next are two new Kamen Riders joining our ranks, Cryo and Crisis."

"Yo! Liam Cryo also known as Kamen Rider Cryo! I'm happy to work with you all!" announced the brother with the blue and grey jacket.

"Lian Cryo, Kamen Rider Crisis. That is all." The twin brother with the grey and darker grey jacket said with a deadpan tone.

"And the Attuned for the Relic Kusanagi."

"Leah Cryo! I look forward to working with you all!" The girl introduced herself with a bit of a loud voice while making a short bow.

"You all may be seated now." Genjuro stated as the group of Riders and Symphogear users sat in the empty seats of the front row. "Now that introductions are done, let us begin this briefing. Ryoko?"

"Hai, Commander!" The brown-haired researcher walked to the front as a projector screen rolled down behind her. She took out a baton as the screen revealed the plans. "Listen up, everyone. After careful analyzation of Noise appearances near the Lydian Music Academy, our headquarters, the government has concluded that the enemy's goal is to seize Durandal. It lies in Sacristy D, which is kept at the lowest level of the facility: Abyss." Then the picture of the rusted sword in an orange-glass tube held by two mechanical arms was shown on the screen.

"Durandal, huh?" Kanade muttered aloud.

"Is it that important?" Hibiki whispered.

"Yeah, just listen." Kanade responded in a low voice.

"It is one of the few complete Relics. The EU handed it over to Japan for safekeeping and management on the condition that Japan write off some of Europe's defaulted loans should the EU economy collapse."

"They use a weapon of unknown origin as a default on debt?" asked Kengo with an incredulous tone.

"Well they have to give something of value to the Japanese Government." Yuki reasoned with a whisper.

"Where will they store it? There is nowhere safer than here." asked Sakuya who provided a good point.

"There is a special vault for Relics under Parliament which is often called the Ruins of Memory. They feel it would be safer there. Since we are government employees, we have no way of refusing an order from up of the food chain."

"Durandal is scheduled for transport at 0500. The particulars are on the chip here." Ryoko stated as she pulled out the chip from the case and placed it into a computer terminal to reveal the information. "These are the roles assigned to everyone here. That will be all for now. If there are any more questions, you can asked either the Commander, the Vice-Commander, or me." Ryoko.

"All right. Remember that the transport takes place at 0500 hours tomorrow! I expect all participating in the transport to be rested and ready for the battle ahead! Is that clear?" asked Genjuro with a loud, authoritative voice.

"Yes sir!" shouted the members present."

"Good, dismissed!"

The Division staff soon fanned out of the room or stayed while the Kamen Rider and Symphogear user groups gathered together.

"So we're finally getting a major operation…" Shinnosuke said as he popped a milk candy into his mouth.

"Yeah…" muttered Akakishi who crossed his arms while looking troubled.

"Hey Aka, are you still bothered by the death of the Defense Minister?" asked Fen with a worried tone.

The redhead turned to Fen who looked a bit troubled before answering, "Well…"

"Everyone~ I want to show you all something incredible!" Ryoko said as she approached the group.

Then everyone left to the control room where Ryoko sat at the head console and typed in several commands and passwords to the security systems of the base.

"Whoa… is that the Abyss?" Hibiki asked as she watched the video feed of the robot slowly removing the Relic.

"Yes. Its depth is three times the height of the Tokyo Sky Tower. That makes it almost 1800m deep!"

"*Whistle* That's pretty deep! Though why make it so deep?" asked Carter who looked surprised at the depth of the Abyss.

"It may be due to the energy signature of the Relic." Phillip said as he placed the Stagphone onto the ground which seemed to be beeping a bit.

"That is correct, Phillip-chan. Despite being dormant, Durandal gives off quite the power. That is why we sealed it in such a deep location."

"No wonder I picked up some sort of faint energy footprint around the Academy…" Kengo muttered.

"Okay! Before we forget! I want to know who are you guys!" shouted Natsuko with a friendly smile as she pointed at everyone. "I know the one red hair and the blue tattoo is Akakishi or Aka! Can I just call you Aka?"

"Uh, yes?" Akakishi answered while also shaking out of his stupor.

"Okay! And who is your partner?"

"Here! Hibiki Tachibana! At your service, Natsuko-san!" Hibiki said with a salute.

"Cool, just call me Natsu, all right Hibiki-chan?"

"Un!"

Fuyuko smiled before she turned to her fellow bluenette. "And you must be Detective Tomari's partner, correct?"

"Y-Yes! Yoku Hikaru. Hajimemashite!" Yoku responded with a short bow.

"Pleasure to meet you too, Yuko-chan. Just call me, Fuyuko, okay?"

"Okay!" Yuko said with a nod.

"Hey Amelia, how about you introduce yourself as well?" suggested Carter who turned to the girl with an expecting look.

"Well… um…" Amelia looked a bit nervous about introducing herself properly to the group.

"Amelia, right?" asked Kanade as she stood at the blond girl's side.

"Y-Yes. You are?"

"Kanade Amou. It cool to meet a Symphogear user who can also use a spear type Relic." The redhead held a hand out to the blond.

"Th-Thank you for the comment, Miss Kanade!" Amelia nervously said as she quickly accepted the handshake.

"Whoa, no need to get so flustered, kid. Have a little pride."

"But you're a veteran compared to me." Amelia insisted.

"Yeah, but that was two years ago." Kanade humbly stated since she knew her days of fighting were behind her.

"Even so…" muttered the blond.

"Um, excuse me."

The two girls turned to Hibiki who approached the girl with eyes that seemed to sparkle with curiosity.

"Amelia-san? Are you from another country?"

"Y-Yes! I come from Ireland, before that I used to live in America." Amelia stated.

"Oooh…"

"So, um… why do you ask?" asked the blond who still looked nervous at the attention she was getting from the younger girl.

"Well it's a bit embarrassing, but you are kind of fitting what I imagine a foreigner to be, Amelia-san." Hibiki said with closed eyes while scratching her cheek with a smile.

"Wh-What did she mean by that? A foreigner who is a nervous wreck?! No wait, it could be my blond hair! Yeah, that would make me look weird in Japan." Amelia assumed in her mind, making her mind spiral a bit.

"What do you mean by that, Hibiki?" asked Carter with a raised eyebrow.

"She looks extremely beautiful!" answered Hibiki with a smile. "Right Kanade-san?"

"You got that right. If Tsubasa is the Japanese cool beauty, then Amelia is the European passionate beauty." Kanade stated with crossed arms and a nod.

"EH?!" shouted Amelia who was surprised by the girl's words before blushing red and waving her hands in denial. "Th-There's no way! I mean, I don't wear makeup and I don't stand out much!"

"Yeah, the blond girl with a body who will make any man drool isn't that popular." Fuyuko said with a sarcastic tone and an eye roll.

"She's kidding right? I thought she was someone who came from an elite society or something when we first met her." Natsuko pointed out as she recalled feeling a bit intimidated upon first meeting the blond. "Even Shotaro was ogling her."

"I WAS NOT!" shouted the private detective at the orange haired girl.

"Shotaro, everyone heard you~" Phillip pointed out with a teasing smile.

Everyone in the group appeared to be smiling and chuckling a bit at the antics while Amelia blushed profusely at the attention.

"You sure you got that right, Kanade?" asked Fen with a doubtful to the redhead. "She doesn't seem to be the passionate type."

"You're kidding, right?" Kanade asked with a disbelieving face. "You do remember how Tsubasa started out, right?"

Fen gave her words a thought before coming to a realization with a slow nod. "Oh…"

"Exactly." The redhead chuckled a bit with a knowing smile.

"Wait, so Tsubasa-san wasn't such a battle-maniac before?" asked Akakishi who had listened in on the two.

"Yep, back then she was as much a nervous wreck as Amelia over there." Fen recalled with his thumb pointing at the blond who was still panicking at the attention she was getting from the other girls. "She only became like that when Kanade pulled that reckless stunt with the Zesshou."

"Zesshou?" repeated Hibiki who took notice of the word. "What's that?"

Kanade and Fen realized that they hadn't explained the forbidden power in the Symphogear. "All right! I need all attention from all the girls! Kamen Riders are allowed to listen! Since we haven't discussed this, it's time you all learn what the Zesshou is." Kanade said as she walked to the front of the group with all eyes on her. "Zesshou is also known as the Supreme Song, a trump card of the Symphogear that Ryoko programmed which activates the full potential of the Relic you are connected to."

"Really? It must be powerful." Yoku said with interest.

"It is, but there is a drawback to reawakening this power. Remember that when we activate our Symphogear, our very bodies become one with the Relic we are Attuned to?" Kanade asked with a rhetorical tone.

"Yes. And our Relic's song resonates within ourselves, granting us power." Fuyuko added.

"Correct. Our body is the conduit to the Relic's power, similar to a lightbulb given power by a generator. But when the Zesshou is sung, it gives our bodies an extreme amount of power, allowing us to turn the tide. However just like how if a lightbulb takes in too much power, our bodies won't be able to withstand such power."

"And then what?" asked Leah. "Do we just explode like an overloaded bulb?"

"Not likely, but the moment you sing the Zesshou you will forfeit your life."

"How do you know?" asked Fuyuko.

"I sung a part of the Zesshou, and I nearly died and lost my ability to sing." Kanade confessed.

Fen made guilty face at the mention while the others gave surprised looks.

"That's why you were in a coma for a year after the Zwei Wing attack!" Yoku said aloud.

"That's why it's a last resort? It's a Kamikaze attack?!" shouted Natsuko.

"Not how I would describe it, but yes." Kanade said calmly before saying, "Look, as long you don't sing the Supreme Song you won't die from it. But promise me you all will not pull the same stupid stunt I did two years ago and sing the Zessho. Instead, trust in the Kamen Rider you are partnered with. They are there to protect you as much as you are there to protect them."

"That's why the Bond Score exists. It's allows the pair to be able to gain and contain that level of power without having to rely on the Zesshou." Fen added.

"Really?"

"Yes, that is why Akakishi here is so important. He is the only Kamen Rider here capable of creating the Scores." The spiky haired young man turned the group's attention to the cyborg redhead.

"Yes, given the amount of time we have, I can synchronize with your Songs to create the Relic Scores needed to synchronize with the Kamen Rider Scores. But I cannot guarantee that the Relic Scores will match with the Riders you are partners with." Akakishi confessed.

"Well, at least you're honest about it. But at least give us some good news." Liam stated with crossed arms.

"Well, um… oddly enough two Bond Scores have shown that the Rider and Symphogear have some sort of connection." The redhead stated.

"Two? But I remember that there was only one, Aka." Fen said with a surprised tone at the mention of a second Bond Score.

Akakishi took out a blue-crystal encased in a metallic red trim Score which had the symbol of an R with the symbol of an anchor-shaped hammer. "I made a second Bond Score and this time it's with Yoku-san's Ukonvasara and Drive-sempai."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Catch, Tomari-sempai." Akakishi tossed the new Bond Score to Shinnosuke.

The detective caught the Score before opening his palm to look at it which made some form of glow.

"Thanks Akakishi-kun. Now how do I-"

"I already made modifications to your Drive Brace for this Score, Shinnosuke." Mr. Belt said as the wrist brace on the detective's left hand opened to reveal a slot.

"Really? Mou, you got to stop hiding stuff from me, Belt-san!" shouted Shinnosuke indignantly.

"I know. But what is the point of a surprise? Besides, I didn't want to install a foreign item into myself. The thought makes me queasy." Mr. Belt stated with a mixed expression.

"You don't even have a stomach to feel queasy." Liam commented.

"Good point, but I'm still angry that you hid this from me."

"What can I do? Knowing you, you would snatch one of Akakishi-kun's Relic Scores and attempt to synchronize with a Symphogear." Mr. Belt stated with an angry expression.

"Belt-san isn't wrong in that assumption." Yoku pointed out.

"So? What if I did?"

"You, as Drive, would have self-destructed from the power misalignment of the Relic Score." Mr. Belt bluntly pointed out.

"Seriously?! Is he serious?" asked the detective who turned to Ryoko.

The brunette researcher leaned to the side and said, "Yep! Kaboom like a firework from our simulation~!" She pressed a button to reveal a simulation of Drive inserting a Relic Score before suddenly sparking then exploding into a big, fireworks-like explosion. When the smoke clear, the simulation revealed a burned spot with Drive's empty boots. Everyone looked shocked at the result.

"Ouch." Liam said.

"That's an understatement." Fuyuko said sarcastically.

"Now you see why the Bond Score is necessary." Fen added. "Normally, Riders wouldn't be able to properly handle the power of a Relic, even just a fragment. Heck, Eiji's Driver nearly killed him before he could properly control its power."

"True, Big Bro. But from what I've heard from Eiji-sempai, I'm worried that the Bond Synchronization could affect the power of the Bond Score." Akakishi stated with a troubled tone.

"Bond Synchronization?"

"While Aka-chan is capable of creating the Bond Score between the matching Rider and Relic, the power is still unexplored. From what I theorized, the power shared between Kamen Rider and Symphogear depends on their Synchronization. Tsubasa and Eiji-chan have a Synchronization rate of 85%." Ryoko said as the pictures of Tsubasa and Eiji whose Bond Score was also shown with the number calculated to 85%. "And from what they reported during a skirmish in Yumemi Town, that their capabilities are still incomplete."

"Incomplete how?" asked Shotaro with a bit of concern for his friend and fellow Rider.

"From what his report said, he and Tsubasa are capable of using incomplete Medal Combos to fight, but when they used a full set Combo, it led to complicated results." Ryoko said.

"Full set Combo? What's so special about that?" asked Miu.

"Full set Combos were a power unique only to OOO when three Medals of the same color are scanned." Phillip explained as he turned to the researcher at the console. "Ryoko-san, can you?"

"Of course." Ryoko said as she pressed a button to reveal the several Combo forms of OOO.

"Each of these grant a specific power to Eiji-san. For example, the Silver Combo here grants power over gravity. The Blue Combo form grants the ability to take on liquid forms."

"Hey, sorry to interrupt you Phillip, but can we save the lecture for another day?" asked Natsuko who looked a bit impatient but apologetic.

Phillip complied with her response, knowing her impatience and decided "Of course Natsuko-san, the main point is that these Full Combo grant Eiji-san incredible power, but the cost is that they could kill the user due to the recoil of such power. Now, take into account that Eiji and Tsubasa do not have full synchronization, it is possible that they suffer from this backlash faster than expected."

"Speaking of Tsubasa-san and Eiji-san, when are they coming back?" asked Hibiki who wondered since the two had been gone a while.

"Next week. With the death of Defense Minister Hiroki, all transportation in and out of the city has become extremely limited." Ryoko stated.

"That's also because of our mission, isn't it?" Shotaro questioned for clarification.

"Correct."

"Man, I thought we would relax but I guess we still have to do our job as kamen Riders." Liam said with a sigh.

"Un." Lian nodded with a knowing look.

"Well, it gives us more of a reason to find Father."

"Excuse me Leah-san, right?" asked Akakishi as he approached the girl

"Yes, what is it you want, Akarishi, I-I mean, Akakishi-san?"

"Just call me Aka like everyone else. It made things easier for Hibiki when we were kids." Akakishi said with a smile.

"Yeah, Akakishi is a bit difficult to say even now." Hibiki agreed, remembering how she would fumble on her friend's name so many times.

"So the thing I was wondering is your Relic Kusanagi. If I recall, the sword is a Relic that is still intact like Durandal and kept under lock and key in the same safe that we're going to for the mission tomorrow. So why do you have its crystal?" asked Akakishi with a curious tone.

"Well, this Kusanagi is from a world where it was destroyed in a great battle with my father wielding it. My mother said my father wielded Kusanagi and only its hilt remained when my father fought in that battle and disappeared." Leah said as she stared at her Relic Crystal.

"Oh… Then that means…"

"Don't worry about it. That's why we were traveling with Mr. Kadoya. Our father is out there and our trail leads to this world." Leah said with a hopeful tone.

"This world, so that explains it why Tsukasa is here. Though… where is he?" asked Fen who realized that the traveler did not show up to the meeting.

"Probably snooping around the place as usual." Shotaro said since prior experiences with the older Rider led them into trouble.

The door opened to reveal Tendou who was dragging in a young man who was wearing the uniform of the Second Division.

"Hey! Come on, Tendou! I was only trying to look at the sword!"

"You were nearly going to cause an international incident, Kadoya." Tendou said as he let go of the young man. "I expect this sort of behavior with that treasure hunter acquaintance of yours."

"True. But he's not interested in the treasures of this world. Something about them being a bit too much hassle for his liking."

"Is his word even genuine?" Tendou asked with a deadpan look.

"I know he was half lying about it." The young man said as he patted himself. Then he took out a camera and took a picture of the group.

"At least we know where Boss #2 is." Liam said as he placed his hands behind his head.

"So what should we do now?" wondered Leah.

"I recommend you all get some rest." Tendou stated.

"I agree. Tomorrow is going be very stressful, so some rest tonight is the best action." Ryoko agreed.

"Yeah, I'm still aching from yesterday." Shotaro said as he rolled his shoulder.

"Must be your age finally catching up to you, Detective-san." Fuyuko said.

"Hey! Just to let you know I'm still in my early 20s!" Shotaro shouted in protest.

"Oh. Before we forget, here are the Memories you lent us, Fenrir." Phillip said as he handed the Gene and Ice Age Memories to the young man. "They made things easier for us against the Dopants."

"Thanks for giving them back, Phillip. I'm glad that they helped you two during that fight. Though I wish I could have provided more to help you two." Fen said as he pocketed his returned Gaia Memories.

"My apologies… I did the best I could to close his wounds." Phillip said with an apologetic tone. "But his internal injuries were too severe. I-"

"No one is blaming you, Phillip. You-no, We did the best that we could." Shotaro placed his hand on his partner's shoulder.

"Shotaro's right, you both did what no one else could and tried to help the old man." Natsuko said.

"You both were only trying to help, even the Defense Minister was grateful at the end." Fuyuko said

"Yeah, you at least put the Gene Memory's power to good use." Fen assured with a smile. "Besides, not all of us here are trained doctors. Hardly some here have first aid experience."

"Thank you all." Phillip noticed that Akakishi was a bit silent. "Akakishi, are you all right?"

"I'm… just shocked. I mean, just yesterday I was talking with the Commander about the Minister Hiroki, and just today I learn he was killed. It's just… so sudden."

"Well, that is the world we live in, kid." Takumi said as he approached the group with his charges. "People we knew are alive at one point, and gone the next."

"Inui-sempai…" Akakishi said as he and the Rider turned to the man.

"But we can't stop protecting people even if we failed to save one life. We must let that experience harden our focus, otherwise we won't be able to protect those close to us." Shinnosuke added with a determined tone.

"A good philosophy, detective." Shotaro praised the police detective.

"Yeah, but it's actually one of my father's many beliefs." Shinnosuke said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I also told you something like that, remember Akakishi?" Takumi said with a reassuring smile.

"Yes you did, sempai." Akakishi agreed with a smile since the older man had given him a reason why he should continue fighting.

"So this is the redhead you were going about, huh boss?" Liam asked as he and Lian entered the group conversation. "Man, I expected him to be a bit angrier looking like Tendou-san."

"What did you say about Master?" Akakishi said with a somewhat angry tone.

"Ah! There it is!" Liam said with a point while holding his cheerful attitude.

Then Lian rolled his eyes before smacking his brother on the backside of his head.

"Gah?!"

"…Baka (Idiot)." The calmer twin brother said with a deadpan tone.

"You better not be saying that around Tendou, brat. He's quite stern if you do not show him respect." Takumi warned.

"Yeesh, I was only saying what I thought. I didn't mean any offense." Liam said with a pout.

"*Sigh* Just be careful what you say around Master. He's someone who you will lose to before you can even fight him."

"Hah! Well I like to see him try!" Liam boasted as Lian turned to look behind him before widening his eyes in surprise.

"Is that a challenge I hear?" asked the man in question as he stood right behind Liam.

"Gah!?" shouted Liam as he fumbled backwards with hands raised in a mock kung fu stance at the sudden appearance of the man. "Vice Commander?! How long were you there?!"

"Long enough to hear you wanted see me try. So, are you satisfied? Or do you prefer the more physical example?" Tendou asked as he took out his Kabuto Zecter.

"No, no! I'm fine with just meeting someone as great as you. That's all! *Nervous Chuckle*"

"Good." Tendou said before walking to the center of the room before crossing his arms with a puzzled look. "Odd, we seem to be missing a rambunctious member."

"Now that you mention it, sempai. Where is Kisaragi-kun?" wondered Shinnosuke who looked around for the delinquent.

"I was wondering why I wasn't hearing a large proclamation for friendship." Yoku said before taking out her chocolate bar to eat.

"Who's Kisaragi?" asked Leah who was wondering what the group members were talking about along with those who don't know about the teen.

"He's the teen with the pompadour hair." Fen stated, having met the younger teen's boastful request for friendship.

"That guy? I thought he was some delinquent who you guys took in." Liam stated with a blunt tone.

"He's actually a new Kamen Rider we recruited a few weeks ago."

"That guy is actually a Kamen Rider?!" shouted Shotaro who assumed that the delinquent was just some kid.

"You mean the guy who slept somewhat during the second half of the mission briefing?" Natsuko answered remembering the delinquent who dozed off in the middle of the mission briefing.

"He what?" asked Tendou who looked a bit angry.

Then the doors slammed open to reveal the teen in question who caught the attention of everyone. "Hello everyone! My name is Gentaro Kisaragi and I will befriend all Kamen Riders and Attuned!" shouted the teen as he crossed his arms and gave a big smile.

"Kisaragi." The vice commander quickly approached the younger male. "What is this about you sleeping through the mission briefing?" asked Tendou who looked calm but gave a glare that showed he was far from pleased.

"Oh! Um, well…"

"You know, Kisaragi-sempai makes you look attentive, Hibiki." Akakishi whispered.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Hibiki shouted back.

"I'll let you off with a warning, Kisaragi. Sakurai will explain to you about tomorrow's plans in full detail, but if you sleep through it again, I will personally train you to pay attention. Understand?"

Fen and Akakishi suddenly paled at what the vice commander meant as he waited for an answer.

"Oh, u-um…" Gentaro looked around before noticing that Akakishi and Fen were signaling to say that he understood. "Understand, sempai. I won't sleep through this one!"

"Satisfactory. Sakurai, Kisaragi's briefing will be handled by you. And use any means to make him pay attention."

"Understood, Vice Commander." Ryoko said with a devious sparkle in her eyes.

"Please keep it to electric shocks, Miss Sakurai." Tendou advised with a deadpan look.

"Of course! I know that anything outside the PG-13 range is against what you meant by 'any means', Tendou-chan~"

"Good, I'll leave him in your capable hands, Sakurai." Tendou said with a cool tone.

"My~ You're making me blush, Tendou-chan. For such a charmer, I'm surprised that the girls are not tripping themselves over you."

"Focus on the Ixa R system explanation and less on my love life." The man responded with a deadpan look in his eyes.

"Yes, sir!" Ryoko saluted. "This meeting is now over everyone, we'll be creating your Bond Scores first thing tomorrow, all right?"

Everyone agreed and left the room in their respective groups, wondering where they would sleep.

"Everyone, I'll lead you all to your temporary quarters for the night until we get you all situated." Aoi said as she lead the groups down the hall.

"So where do you we'll be sleeping, Shotaro?" asked Natsuko as she walked next to the fedora hat wearing detective.

"From what I heard, we'll be given some living quarters in an apartment complex that the Second Division owns." Shotaro recalled.

"So basically something bigger than that tiny bachelor flat of yours, Detective-san." Fuyuko said.

"Hey! My place isn't that small!' shouted Shotaro.

"So are you curious about the Bond Score, Phillip?" asked the bluenette who turned to the similar aged teen with a curious look.

"Oi! Don't go changing the topic!" shouted the angry detective.

"I thought you already know by now that you can't argue with Fuyu, Shotaro." The orange-haired girl said with as she placed her hands behind her head and sweatdropped at the reaction.

"Yes, I am curious. How will the song be born? Will it be a duet that works in harmony with our powers? Or two separate Scores that connect us all individually?"

"I'm sure you'll have a lot to think about when we get to our new place to stay, Phillip." Shotaro said as he pocketed his hands.

Carter and Amelia followed along as "Seems like something big is going down already. Yeesh, if I knew that something like that was going to happen we would have gotten here earlier."

"Do you think that the Second Division will be all right, Carter? From what I have heard, the Defense Minister was a great supporter of them."

"Well yeah, that guy has been around since the appearance of the Showa Kamen Riders. He helped them find a place back in society without a need for full government supervision. I've heard nothing but good things about the guy. It's a shame we won't be able to meet him." Carter said with a sad tone.

"Carter…" Amelia said with a worried tone. "Um… I… Um… Ch-Cheer up! We can't give up on not being about to help those lost! We-We need to do more now!"

Carter gave Amelia a surprised look before smiling. "*Chuckles* You're right, Amelia. Heh, I thought I was the one who has to cheer you up."

Amelia smiled a bit before blushing. "W-Well, a sad Carter isn't normal Carter. It would… um, be against what Mr. Godai taught you."

"Thanks, I'm glad to hear that, Amelia. How about we talk about something else. Like where we're staying tonight?"

"I overheard Mister Hidari say that we'll be staying at an apartment complex owned by the Second Division."

"Good to know. I'm glad I'll finally be able to stay somewhere in one place for a while."

Liam looked a bit disgruntled at the situation. "Not even a day in this world and we're already thrown into the fray."

"Not much we can do about it, nii-sama. Kadoya-san did warn us that traveling to other worlds means that we'll be dragged into their issues." Leah pointed out.

"I know that! It's just a bit too quick!" emphasized Liam while Lian just rolled his eyes at his brother's exaggeration.

"I think you three are handling this better than I traveled to my first world." Kadoya said as he walked at their side.

"What's where you met that alternate Kuuga, right?"

"Yep. He's still a good friend, but also still a clumsy fool." Tsukasa reminiscenced about his friend.

"If we're done gossiping about idiots, I want to focus on one certain kid." Takumi said with a serious tone.

"Aka-kun?" Tsukasa asked. "What about him?"

"Now that you mention it… Did he look like he was a bit down on the dumps?" Liam said as he remembered how the redhead look sad even after the end of the mission briefing.

"I wouldn't be surprised. That redhead shows too much gratitude to those who help him. Old man Hiroki was the one who sign off on his surgery, which in turn saved his life."

"So he considers a life debt to the Defense Minister?" concluded Liam.

"To lose someone he considered his savior…" Leah said before looking at Takumi along with her brothers.

"What are you brats looking at?" asked Takumi with a confused look.

Tsukasa decided to say his part, "I wouldn't be surprised if he was down in the dumps, but I'm sure he'll get back on his feet."

"I hope so, the kid isn't exactly one to listen to others. Especially when he is in grief." Takumi said from experience.

Tendou walked out of the room. Akakishi quickly followed behind the man along with Fen.

Then the redhead walked in front of the older man. "Master, I have a request to make."

"Very well, as long as it is not anything ridiculous." Tendou said as he crossed his arms.

The redhead looked a bit nervous before bowing. "If it's all right, I want to go out for some fresh air." Akakishi requested.

Tendou narrowed his eyes which Akakishi knew he was in disagreement. "You do know that you should be getting some rest considering your condition, Akakishi. Tomorrow is a crucial day."

"I know, but I want some time outside to think over what happened to Minister Hiroki, Master."

Tendou did not say anything to his student as he kept his disapproving look in place, though Akakishi knew the man was contemplating on what to say.

Then Fen interjected on the conversation to say his piece. "Come on, Mister Tendou. You know that the system won't work unless Aka has a peace of mind. So let him have his alone time, all right?"

Tendou gave the young male's words some thought before saying, "…Very well, you may leave, Akakishi. But you will be under surveillance as you travel." Then the man turned to the spiky haired young man. "Fenrir, he is your responsibility."

"Don't worry, I have babysit this kid for a little while I was with him two years ago. And I will bring him to one of my favorite testing sites. Off the books and no one to notice a couple of explosions in a hundred miles." Fenrir said as he pulled the redhead into a shoulder hug.

Akakishi did not say anything but nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Master. And Big Bro when we get there, can you leave me alone for a bit? I need some time to think."

The spiky haired male gave the teen a concerned look but decided to let him have his time. "Sure. Every man must have their alone time sometimes. But don't try disappearing on me. All right?"

"Understood, Big Bro." The redhead nodded.

Then Hibiki walked upon the scene of Akakishi with a sad look as he waited for the elevator alongside Fen.

"Aka?" Hibiki wondered as she watched the redhead entered the elevator. The next thing to her surprise was the faint flickering in the circuitry of Akakishi's right arm. "Huh?!"

"I hope his immaturity doesn't make him act sourly…" muttered Tendou. "I'll have to trust Fenrir's judgement on this."

"Excuse me, Vice Commander. Did you see that?" Hibiki asked aloud.

"See what, Tachibana?" asked Tendou with a serious tone.

"Well… Um… I thought I saw a little flickering in Aka's light thingies." Hibiki described the best she can about what she saw.

Tendou gave a confused stare at the amber haired girl before thinking about Akakishi's right arm. Though what he saw was that the redhead's arm was still at bright at full power. Tendou knew that if the girl saw something off, then it must mean something.

"Get some rest Tachibana, I will request Sakurai to monitor Akakishi's condition." Tendou said as he walked away.

"Oh… Okay." Hibiki responded though she looked a bit worried. "Aka…"

"Yo! Hibiki! You lost again?"

"Oh! Kanade-san! No, I'm just… worried. That's all." Hibiki said as she looked down.

"Worried? About Aka again?" guessed the redhead.

"Yes. Aka… he looked so sad when he learned the Defense Minister died."

Kanade placed her hand on her hip and decided to explain the reason for the redhead's current mood. "It's understandable, Minister Hiroki was one who agreed to Aka's augmentation surgery which saved his life. I bet he owes a debt of gratitude to the man for being one of the many contributors to save him. Doesn't help he lost in two encounters with that girl and the Sympho-Riders."

"So he has doubts in himself?" asked Hibiki.

"Yep. And getting your butt kicked by someone you wanted to punch will do that to you. Though… was there anyone with him when he left?" asked the female who also was concerned about the redhead.

"Well… Ah! Fen-san was with Aka when he left!" Hibiki recalled having seen the black and spiky haired older male.

"Then we don't have to worry about Aka. He's in good hands. Just get some rest." Kanade said as she directed Hibiki to the elevator.

Akakishi walked towards the garage with Fen as he gripped his right fist as its light circuits appeared to flicker more.

"His circuits were flickering?" Ryoko asked as she sat at the control console.

"According to Tachibana."

"That shouldn't be possible. That symptom will only happen in the period after December." Ryoko said while recalling her predictions.

"You knew about this?" asked Tendou who looked a bit suspicious that the researcher did not tell him, but he knew she probably thought it wouldn't be something to worry about.

"Yes. I predicted that as one of the symptoms he suffers from according to the deterioration rate of his core. The symptom occurs due to his core unable to maintain a steady power flow which is when the circuit scars on his body will start to flicker. But that is only occurs if the deterioration in his core is beyond 50%." Ryoko said as she revealed the data she gathered along with a chart. "Or if his core was not charged properly."

"Yet Tachibana noticed a flickering… If she is right, then it could be that his deterioration is progressing rapidly. Can you check?"

"Of course. I've been worried sick since I haven't checked up on Aka since last night." Ryoko said as she activated a monitoring visual that listed charts and the silhouette of Ixa R. But the monitor showed several red warnings. "This is-!"

"His core wasn't charged properly?" Tendou asked.

"That shouldn't make sense. I made sure to correctly tune his bed every week!" shouted Sakurai as she typed into the console. "What? This is just at the minimum charge rate!"

"…This can only mean… Sabotage!" Tendou thought as sweat dripped from his cheek. "Sakurai, contact Tachibana and Amou. Also contact Fenrir in order to find Akakishi. I will go obtain the device to give to Amou." Tendou ordered as he walked to the door.

"Understood, sir." Ryoko said as she made the calls while Tendou left the room.

Meanwhile at Hibiki and Miku's dorm room,

"Where were you today?! You can't just claim to have 'training and vanish like yesterday!" Miku shouted with a worried tone.

"Well, you know…"

"Give me a decent excuse!" Miku stated with an angry tone.

"Um… Well…" Hibiki stuttered a bit while trying to come up with an excuse.

*RIIIIIIINNNNGGGG!*

"Eh? Moshi, moshi?" Hibiki answered before making a surprised face. Then she covered the phone and gave an apologetic look to Miku. "Sorry, Miku. I need to take this." Hibiki said as she ran to their shared bathroom.

Miku looked a bit suspicious as she approached the door.

"Eh?! Aka is in danger?!" shouted Hibiki with surprise.

"Not so loud! You want the world to know he's alive?" asked Kanade in a whispered tone.

"Gomen…" Hibiki apologized with closed eyes. "So what I saw wasn't my imagination…" muttered the amber-haired girl.

"What did you say, Hibiki?"

"Oh! I just said is Aka injured really badly?" whispered Hibiki.

"Well, not in that much danger, but he is running on a low battery." Kanade said as she drove near the school entrance on a motorcycle. "Just meet me at the school entrance and I'll drive us to where he and Fen are."

"Hai. Let me just tell Miku that I need to head out again. Though I think she'll be angry again…" Hibiki said as she glanced at the door.

"Don't worry. Just tell her someone close to you got injured and I'm sure she'll get some sort of hint."

"Someone close to me got hurt? I don't want her to worry…"

"That it's up to you, but just hurry up. Aka's on a timer and I don't know if he'll be fine the moment we get there." Kanade said as she rest her arm on the head of the bike.

"Hai!"

Then Hibiki reentered their shared room with Miku sitting and waiting for a response from her close friend.

"Did something come up?" asked Miku with crossed arms.

"Well yeah…"

"*Sigh* Fine, I'll cover for you, but promise you will come back home quickly." Miku stated with a sigh. "And I want an explanation of what have you been doing."

"Gotcha! That's a promise!" Hibiki said as she ran out the room.

"Good. Wait! Hibiki! You forgot your phone!" shouted Miku as she ran to give the girl her phone.

"Arigato. And gomen Miku, I know I've been a bit strange this month, but I want you to know it's for a good cause." Hibiki said.

"Hai. Hai. Just get back before the curfew manager finds out, all right?" Miku stated with closed eye.

"Roger!" Hibiki saluted before running out of the room.

After the girl left, Miku contemplated what she overheard from the girl's side of the conversation.

"Did she really say Aka's name? If so, then what did she mean by danger?" Miku wondered, having overheard the amber-haired girl's outburst. "Aka… what have you been doing all this time? And what have you gotten Hibiki into?"

At a certain empty area which appeared to be an abandoned mine with Fen watching the star-filled night sky.

"A clear night sky today… Man, it's calming on the mind considering all that nonsense that happened." The young man stared at the sky while resting on the gravel.

*RIIIIIINNNNGGGGG*

"Huh? A call?" wondered the black, spiky-haired male as he took out his phone and answered. "Hello, Fenrir speaking."

"Hey Fen! Where's Aka? I need you to find him!" shouted Kanade over the motor of her motorcycle.

"And interrupt a man's alone time? First Miss Sakurai not you. What's going on with the calls?" responded Fen with a bored look.

"This is no time for jokes, I'm bringing Hibiki along because Aka's core apparently wasn't charged properly!" shouted Kanade as she drove forward.

"K-Kanade-san! Car!" shouted Hibiki.

"I see it!"

"Wait, what?! Damn, if I had known that then I wouldn't have let him go on a rampage as Ixa R!" shouted Fen as he got up while looking around for the younger Kamen Rider.

"You what?!" shouted Kanade which rang Fen's ear. "You better find him or I will kick your ass, Kamen Rider or not!"

"Kanade-san, watch out for that truck!"

"Call you later, need to focus on driving!" shouted Kanade.

"Got it! Of all the bloody times for this to happen, it had to be when Aka is feeling down!" shouted Fen as he quickly ran towards where he believed Akakishi was.

The sounds of rocks being pummeled resounded in the air. The cause was a familiar black armored Kamen Rider who was smashing apart several boulders in his way with his fists.

"Akakishi, was it? My name is Taketsugu Hiroki, you may know me for my role as Japan's Defense Minister."

*SMASH*

"You don't know me? *Chuckle* True, you youth do prefer games over politics."

*SMASH*

"I know this isn't much, but I'm glad to know the surgery that saved you was successful."

*SMASH*

"What do I mean? After the Zwei Wing disaster, you were wounded to the point that normal surgery wasn't going to be enough to save you. So we had to resort to extreme measures, by implanting into you a cybernetics systems."

*SMASH*

"A waste? You make a good point, young man. But the Riders and the Second Division Commander insisted that your life would be saved. To be honest, I was hesitant to sign on your surgery, not because it would be a possible waste of resources should it fail, but because you would be burdened with a responsibility I wouldn't wish on your shoulders."

*CRACK!*

The onyx rider's fist bounced off a large rock due his strike not having enough strength. "RAAAGHHH!" shouted Ixa R as he swung a heavy right into a boulder, breaking it apart.

*SMASH*

"The responsibility? To become a warrior capable of destroying the Noise threat and grant others such power. A heavy burden considering your young age. But this world needs a protector… A new kind of Kamen Rider."

=IXA KNUCKLE- BEAT MAX!=

"HAH!" shouted Ixa R as he smashed his energized Reverse Knuckle into a massive rock.

REVERSE IMPACT

The attack pulverized the rock to pieces, leaving a massive indent with rock fragments scattered about.

"You are willing to become a Kamen Rider despite the danger? You must know that the life of a Kamen Rider is filled with danger and loss at every moment. Many will want the power you have and you will be hunted down if word reaches the other countries. Even the veteran Kamen Riders may not be able to protect you. Are you still willing to go down that path?" asked the Defense Minister with a troubled expression.

The Rider felt his shoulders moving up and down along his heavy breaths as he stared at the undamaged boulder. "Huff… Huff… That was weaker than last time…" The young Rider did not like how he was getting weaker all of a sudden.

*BA-DUMP!*

"Ugh!" Ixa R gripped his chest after feeling a painful beat in his chest. The Rider fell to his knees and felt his body weaken as the energy gem-like bulbs in his armor flickered. He moved one of his hands with a bit of difficulty, seeing it shake as he gripped it into a fist. "Damn it…" He weakly punched the ground he stood on in frustrated anger. "Can I continue to fight like this?"

"Aka!" Hibiki's voice came to his mind.

"Aka!" Then Miku's voice was heard.

Hearing their voices, Ixa R calmed down but shook them off as his tired mind playing tricks on him. "Great… *Bitter Laugh* now I'm hearing things…" Then the onyx Rider stood up while readying himself to attack his target. As he took his next step, he fell face-first onto the ground.

Ixa R forced his body to move despite it not moving to him, and he managed to roll face up to the night sky. "Ugh… *Sigh* Even after all these years… I'm still too weak to help anyone. I couldn't even protect Minister Hiroki… Someone who also saved my life."

Then the Rider stared at the night sky while reminiscing his training with his teachers and learning how to use his Rider system effectively. Then the mask of an amber gem Rider flared up his self-hatred and disappointment before burying it quickly. As he stared into the sky, he saw the thousands of stars cover the black blanket of the night. "Stars… *Chuckle* Just like those days where we would just stare… hoping to at least catch a glimpse of a shooting star." The Rider reached out to the stars as the memory flowed into his mind.

The small memory had a younger Hibiki and Miku with a younger him as they looked to the sky for a shooting star. Miku had invited them to go star seeing, after they were finished identifying the constellations (though he was sort of not paying attention) they look for any shooting stars.

"I still don't see any!" shouted a younger Hibiki as she looked around.

"Me neither!" shouted similarly younger Miku who looked with her friend.

"Aw… And I wanted to see some…" groaned a young Akakishi.

"Same here…" agreed Hibiki.

"Don't give up you two! If we come back here again, we might be able to see them!" said the younger Miku.

"Really Miku?" asked the child redhead.

"Yeah!" responded with short haired girl with the bow with a confident smile.

"Then… how about we make a promise? A promise to meet together and look for a shooting star?" suggested the young Hibiki with a raised arm. Then she stood up and held her hand out.

Akakishi turned to Miku who gave an encouraging nod to him. "…Yeah, let's find those shooting stars!" Then he stood up and placed his hand on top of Hibiki's and Miku's hand on top of theirs.

"Together we'll find them and get our wishes!" announced Miku with a smile.

"So it's a promise?" asked Hibiki.

Akakishi and Miku turned to the girl and nodded in agreement. "Un!"

*Ba-BUMP!*

The sense of pain interrupted the memory for the youngest Rider as he cringed and retracted his arm.

"Ugh!" grunted Ixa R as he gripped the area where his core was, rolling a bit to his side in pain.

When the pain subsided, the onyx Rider soon found himself back on the ground before moving his arms towards his head. "It really sucks living like this… I might as well not be living at all…" Ixa R thought aloud with a downed tone as he covered his visor with his arms and clouds covered the moon and star lit sky. "Hibiki… Miku… I… I don't know what to do anymore…"

"Aka!" shouted a female voice.

"Huh?" The armored redhead turned to a person approaching him. "Great… now I'm seeing things…" muttered Ixa R as he scrutinized a silhouette of Hibiki running towards him.

"Aka!" Then Hibiki managed to approach the Rider's side and crouched down to check on him. "Are you all right? Come on, answer me!"

"Hibiki! Where are you?" shouted Fen as footsteps could be heard.

"Fen-san! Kanade-san! Over here! I found him!" shouted Hibiki as she waved to a pair in the distance.

Then Fen and Kanade arrived onto the scene.

"Crap, is his core's power already gone?!" Fen said as he crouched down to check on the younger Rider.

Kanade took out her phone which activated its scanner function.

"No, he's still alive, just down to 5 percent, no wait, 4 percent!" Kanade reported.

"Then we need to get this to work. Where's the Gungnir Score Plate?" Fen said as he opened the side pouch before Ixa R quickly grabbed him.

"I can… take it out myself, Big Bro." Ixa R grunted out.

"You're awake, Aka?"

"Yeah… Just barely though." Ixa R said as he tried to get up before falling over.

Hibiki, Kanade, and Fen quickly caught him.

"Hey! Don't move too much Aka!"

"Wait… You're really here Hibiki?" asked the onyx Rider as he slowly sat himself up. "What are you doing… ugh… here?" Then Ixa R stumbled due to one of his arms becoming numb, but Hibiki quickly caught him.

"Kanade-san brought me because I heard you were in danger!" Hibiki said as she held the Rider. "And because I was worried about you! You big dummy!"

"…You don't have to worry about me. I'm fine-"

"No you aren't! I heard from Kanade that you are running low on energy due to an improper charge. And you going Ixa R might have accelerated the drain." Fen crouched and held the younger Rider still.

"My core didn't get a proper charge? No wonder I feel so weak right now… Guess we'll need to head back." Ixa R as he tried to stand but almost fell over if not for the support of the support.

"Not enough time for you to make it to the charger. Luckily, Ryoko made a device for this sort of situation. Here Hibiki, this should restore some power to Aka if you sing the song of your Symphogear." Kanade said as she took out a microphone with a slot that held a metal Score which had Ixa R's visor as a symbol.

"That Phonic Charge microphone? I thought that thing was a dead end." Ixa R looked a bit dubious of the microphone.

"It's worth the try, right?" said Fen with an optimistic tone.

"…It seems so. Hibiki, is it possible for you to sing right now?"

"Well yeah! That's the plan!" Hibiki said as she held a microphone with an eager look.

"All right. Let me hear… your song." Ixa R said as he slotted in the Gungnir into his belt buckle.

=SYNC BURST: GUngggg-=

=ERROR: CORE ENERGY INEFFIECIENT FOR SYNC BURST=

=CHARGE SYNCHRONIZE ACTIVATED=

=CHARGE SYNC: GUNGNIR=

The armor glowed a bit due to the cracks of the armor lighting up as the chest plate of Ixa R slip open to reveal the cover of the light blue core which blinked from low energy.

Then Hibiki body also glowed along with the f-scar in her chest.

"Eh? I'm also glowing?!"

"Hibiki, focus. Now's the time to sing." Kanade.

Hibiki gave the older redhead a glance before smiling and nodding. "Hai!"

Then the amber-haired girl took in her breath before singing into the microphone as the sound of music beats could be heard.

Kanade widened her eyes as her ears took in song itself, "This rhythm!"

(Insert OST- Watashi to Iu Oto Hibiki Sono Saki Ni)

/Naze dōshite? Hiroi sekai no naka de/ - /Why have I come to this world?/

/Unmei wa kono basho ni watashi wo michibiita no?/ - /Destiny must have brought me here for a reason/

/Tsunagu te to te tomadou watashi no tame/ - /When I hesitated, you held my hands/

/Uketotta yasashisa kitto wasurenai/ - /I can't forget the kindness you showed me/

"…! Hibiki, this song…" muttered Ixa R as he turned to the amber haired girl.

Hibiki smiled as she continued to sing out loud, creating a bright-orange light that formed from her body and flowed into Ixa R.

/Sono ba shinogi no egao de bōkan shiteru yori/ - /Rather than looking up at the sky without clouds and grieving,/

/Hontō no kimochi de mukai au jibun de itai yo/ - /I will fight back against the wind... So let's return to that sparkling future./

Within the armor, Akakishi felt a warmth from the song with strength coming back into his heart. "I can hear and feel it… Hibiki's emotions within her song."

Then he slowly stood up as Hibiki's song intensified.

/Kitto dokomademo yukeru mienai mirai e mo toberu/ - /We can take ourselves anywhere Even fly into the future beyond our sight /

/Kono kimochi to kimi no kimochi kasanareba kitto/ - / Anything is possible if we combine our feelings /

Ixa R lifted his feet forward and swung his arms in synchronization to the beat. Then he broke into a dance that moved with the beat. Hibiki mirrored his movements and swung her empty hand out while singing. The two soon started dancing a bit before stopping.

/We are one issho ni iru kara/ - /We are one, always together/

Hibiki placed her hand on her chest before reaching out to Ixa R while Ixa R held his arm out and reached to her hand.

The two's hands touched before they jumped back and danced once more in rhythm to the song Hibiki sang. Then Ixa R raised his fist and punched to the sky, causing a wind blast to fly to the clouds that covered the moon.

/Hold your hand kokoro wa itsudemo/ - /As long as we hold each other's hands/

/Ima wo ikinuku tame ni watashitachi wa deatta no kamo shirenai/ - /Maybe we were brought together to overcome this challenge together/

/Watashi to iu oto hibiki sono saki ni/ - /As my song echoes into the future/

/Hohoemi wo Sing out with us/ - /Our smiles sing out with us/

Then the the clouds cleared to reveal the moon shined upon the world as the world itself glowed with light. Ixa R stood still as his armor glowed brightly from its cracks and the core center shined with amber energy. The young Rider felt the fatigue disappear as he closed his eyes to the power that recharged him and his core.

=SYNC CHARGE: COMPLETE=

=BOND SCORE REQUIREMENT FULFILLED=

The Gungnir Score glowed as a metal frame formed around the Score along with a symbol which was Ixa R's mask visor.

=RESYNC REQUIRED=

Then the Score ejected itself out from the Score slot and landed on the ground with a bright glow.

Suddenly, Ixa R sat down from dancing intensely.

"Aka!" shouted Fen as he prepared to run to the redhead before the younger Rider started laughing heartily.

"*Laughs* Phew, I never thought I would dance with such intensity! It feels… satisfying." Ixa R said from his position.

"Seems like he's back at full charge." Kanade said after using her phone to analyze his current status. "How do you feel, kid?"

"As if my body got a jumpstart. I don't feel as winded as before." Ixa R responded as he moved his hand with more fluidity and motion than when he was on low power.

"Ha ha! Of course you have! Nothing energizes a man's soul than the sound of music from someone close to him!" Fen announced with a big smile.

"Aka..." Hibiki called out with a smile as she held a hand. "I will become your strength! No matter what!"

"Hibiki…" Ixa R said before he took her hand and stood up with her help. "Thank you."

"Un!" The girl said with a smile.

"*Laugh* Seems like all's well that ends well!" laughed Fen with a smile.

"Yep. Now let's get back to Lydian! Everyone's worried by now." Kanade said as she and Fen walked towards where they parked their motorcycles.

"Yeah." Ixa R said as he picked up the new Bond Score. Then he deactivated his armor which revealed the redhead to be fine but his own circuit scarring to be a bit brighter than earlier. He turned to Hibiki with his own words in mind to say to her as he grasped his fist.

"Hibiki," Akakishi called out to his friend which she took noticed and turned to face him. "if you are going to be my strength, then let me become your will to protect. All right?" asked the redhead as he pounded his fist on his chest before holding it out to the girl.

Hibiki looked a bit confused but accepted his words with a smile. "Of course, Aka!" Then Hibiki lightly pounded her chest before fist bumping the redhead's fist.

The two smiled at their exchange of resolutions before they leave the site with determination to face the battle tomorrow.

"So you will still follow that path despite my warnings? I see. I can tell from your eyes that you made up your mind, so trying to convince you otherwise is futile. Very well, I will entrust you with the protection of humanity like many before you. I hope that you made the right choice, Akakishi, and I pray that you will find happiness at the end of it." echoed the late Defense Minister's words to the redhead.

(God Eater Ost: God and Man)

Instrumental

Akakishi was seen laying on a tree in a ruined field covered in flames as his eyes reflected the night sky. He held his Reverse Knuckle but he appeared to be on his last legs since the light in his left eye was dimming.

/Memories keep flooding in showing the paths I should've taken, but

now that time has run away from me I cannot change a thing./

The scene shifts to Eiji who lied on the ground of a hill staring at the same starry sky while gripping two halves of a Red Medal. Next to him, Tsubasa sat on her motorcycle and looked up to the night sky while holding her relic necklace.

/I remember how you'd counsel me with wisdom of the ages true:

"Live your best life" you told me and "You walk the earth but once"/

Kanade was seen standing on top of a roof while looking at the sky with longing eyes. At her side stood Fenrir wearing his black trench coat who also stared at the stars as he held a white tablet memory with an E.

/and now you've come, to see me once again,

I feel safe at last; Although I feel the end is coming closer unto me./

Tendou was seen looking at the sky on a cliff while the Kabuto Zecter sat on his shoulder. In the shadows behind him was Kenzaki who also stared at the starry skies.

/If I could only travel back in time, to peaceful days gone by./

Chris gazed at the sky from a mansion window with a look of melancholy.

/But this is my price to pay: to not survive beyond this very day./

The camera changed views to Gentarou who was looking the starry sky with a smile.

/Oh, the pain is lessened when you're near, there is no fear.

I'm whole again as in days gone by, if only for a while./

Shotaro rested his arms on a guard rail while staring at the sky with Natsuko at his side also staring at the stars. Behind them was Phillip who peered into a telescope while Fuyuko stared at the drawings of the constellations he drew.

/But it hurts to have to leave you so, I don't want to go./

Yoku was seen sitting on a bench stargazing with Shinnosuke who was laying on the meadow with smiles on their faces.

/Could this sacrifice cost me my life?/

Leah stood on a terrace while staring at the sky with her brother Liam and Lian at her sides. Behind them stood Takumi who also stared at the sky.

/Oh, just to live my life again, to treasure every little moment then,

satisfied, I'd leave you all behind, accepting of my fate./

Akakishi smiled a bit before slowly closing his eyes in peace as the light of his cybernetics slowly dim to black.

/But I am full of grief, to leave this life so incomplete.

My dream is coming to the end./

Then a hand held his hand and he opened his eyes while feeling the energy it granted. He opened his eyes to see Hibiki with a relieved look before pulling him to his feet. Akakishi was taken by surprise but stood up with a smile. They turn to see their friends and allies approach with smiles on their faces as the dawn of morning came. The scene then fades to a white.

At that moment it transitions to Akakishi sleeping in a capsule showing that he smiled from the dream as a tear fell down.

Author's Notes: Sorry for the wait! A whole lot of crap happened to me back in college, but that's all said and done! Problem is that this chapter was a pain in the ass to write! A whole of explanations and inclusions of characters I didn't want to be left out! The battles will start in part 2 so please be patient.

Update 2/19/2019: Found a duet song for the twin sisters.