Book 3: XDR Rising

by Fir100

With their missions completed, the two teams will meet up in the world of the Symphogears to reunite with Kanade and Serena's allies and to investigate the original source of the Dimension Fragments, Gjallarhorn. And from there, a new multiversal team will be born.

9. Xross Drive Rebellion

Book 3: XDR Rising

Chapter 9: Xross Drive Rebellion

Last time, our heroes have arrived at Gjallarhorn's main room, only to see that the place has been a mess due to a battle from the Neo Time Jackers and the unknown third party. However, the heroes were able to find a few Gjallarhorn Fragments and information about Project Gjallarhorn, including the day that Gjallarhorn was shattered; December 31st 2044, New Year's Eve. With the investigation complete, the group were about to leave the building, until they were ambushed by the chimeras hiding inside the base. Even worse, the chimeras also lunged Hibiki and Kiana into the Astral Plane, with Miku and Mei going after them to save their friends. Soon after, Zi-O, Geiz, Gunvolt and Ashe also entered the Astral Plane, where they fought the Arms Nemesis which then turned into the Arms Legion upon capture from Geiz; and rescued a woman named Ciel, former commander of the Guardians and Prairie's older sister. As for Hibiki and Kiana, they're able to find the exit portal out of the Astral Plane, but even more chimeras along with a dangerous one named Cerberus stand in their way of escape. Will our heroes be able to escape the homeworld of the chimeras before the corruption fully takes over the bodies?

---

Astral Plane

"Deeyaaah!" Kiana yelled as she spun herself around while shooting down the approaching canine chimeras with her handguns. She then followed up by performing an upside down spin jump into the air and shot down even more chimeras before landing on the ground. Another chimera was about to lunge towards Kiana from behind, but she quickly dodged it with a cartwheel before countering with a triple spin kick, then finishing it off with a back kick while summoning a large neko paw in front of her via void portal and sent the chimera flying out of the area. She landed safely as the void portal dispersed before twirling her handguns and moved onto the next group of chimeras.

"Huh! Hah! Seiyah!" Hibiki grunted and yelled while taking down more canine chimeras with several punches and kicks, followed up by destroying one chimera with a triple jab along with a roundhouse kick. Several more chimeras are about to lunge at Hibiki from behind, only for them to be destroyed by her flowing scarf that briefly glowed with yellow energy in one sweep. Another group of chimeras quickly approached Hibiki from the front, but she retaliated by using her Armed Gear on her right arm and unleashed a destructive tornado with a straight punch that tore apart the chimeras to pieces. Soon after, Hibiki regrouped with Kiana, standing back to back as more chimeras began to surround them in a circle.

"Tch... there's no end to them!" Kiana muttered with gritted teeth. "At this rate, we'll either be torn apart by the chimeras, or we'll get redshifted into chimeras!"

"I know! But we can't give up yet!" Hibiki replied before slowly catching her breath. "But... I'm starting to feel really tired from fighting these chimeras."

"I'm guessing the large amount of Red Matter is slowly sapping away our strength, even though we're resistant from the corruption." Kiana stated.

"Well at least I know that my Symphogear is protecting me from the corruption, but what about you, Kiana-chan?"

"I think it's because I still have a bit of the Herrscher of the Void's powers inside my body, even though the Herrscher Core is gone."

"Herrscher Core?" Hibiki repeated, before remembering the conversation of her first meeting with Akira, Mei and her friends at the London Eye. "Oh, that! I think I remember Akira-san mentioning that during her report."

"Good, at least you remembered." Kiana nodded.

As the two are about to defend themselves against the incoming abberations circling around them, Hibiki glanced at the Cerberus standing on top of a cliff, watching the battle without making a move. "Hey Kiana-chan, there's something bothering me for some time." Hibiki asked.

"What's up?"

"Why isn't Cerberus making a move? Shouldn't it come down and fight alongside its chimera pack?" Hibiki questioned, making Kiana glance at Cerberus.

"Hmm... now that you mention it, it does feel kind of strange that it chose to watch instead of fight." Kiana replied. "I wonder why?"

"Maybe it wants the chimeras to tire us out first before it can come down and finish us off."

"Maybe... If that's the case, then we mustn't show them our sense of weakness. We have to stay strong until help arrives!"

"Yeah, you're right, Kiana-chan! None of us are ready to give up just yet!" Hibiki agreed as they prepared to fight against the chimeras once more.

As for Cerberus, it waited atop a cliff patiently until the moment to strike its targets when they became too weak to fight. Unknown to the guard dog from Hell however, it was suddenly stuck by a powerful purple beam from behind, sending it flying off the cliff it's standing. Not only that, an unknown figure appeared from above the airborne chimera and delivered a powerful downward katana thrust on the back of its body, sending it crashing into the ground while letting out a large lightning shockwave that destroyed the other chimeras, including some of them that surrounded Hibiki and Kiana.

=FINISH TIME! W!=

=MAXIMUM TIME BREAK!=

As soon as the figure heard those voices, the person quickly pulled the katana out of Cerberus' body and jumped away, allowing another armored figure to deliver another powerful blow as two parts of its armor assumed humanoid forms, with all three converging with their feet lunged forward and in a shape of the letter 'W'.

"Triple Extreme!" The armored figure yelled as the attack connected, causing a massive green and purple explosion while the figure jumped away from said explosion and landed in front of Hibiki and Kiana, with the other figure landing beside them.

The girls' eyes widen before smiling as they recognized the figures that saved them. "Zi-O!/Mei!" Hibiki and Mei smiled at their saviours.

"Sorry we're late, girls! Thanks for hanging in there!" Zi-O smiled back and currently wearing his WArmor.

"I'm so glad we made it in time." Mei sighed with relief before turning to Kiana. "I'd hug you right now, but I don't wanna spread the corruption too much, Kiana."

"That's fine, Mei. It's great to see you too." Kiana smiled back. "So it's just you two that come to save us?"

"Geiz, GV and Ashe are also here, but they're busy dealing with the Arms Nemesis at the moment. They'll catch up once they're done." Zi-O informed.

"Another Nemesis already?!" Hibiki gasped.

"Don't worry, Hibiki. They can handle it." Mei assured. "Oh, and Hibiki? There's one more person who also chose to come here to save you."

"Who?" Hibiki asked. And in response, several mirror bits floated above the remaining chimeras that surrounded the group, and were immediately decimated by their purple lasers. "Wait... I know these mirror bits from before...! Then that means...!" Hibiki's eyes widen in realization as the mirror bits flew up to the one who sent them. "Miku!"

"Thank goodness you're okay, Hibiki!" Miku smiled with relief as she flew down and regrouped with the others while the mirror bits circled around herself. "Are you still hanging in there?"

"Heiki, hecchara!" Hibiki replied with a confident nod. "But me and Kiana-chan never expected a run in with the guard dog from Hell."

"Yeah, I agree with you." Miku nodded as the group stared at Cerberus slowly standing up and shaking off the pain of the attacks. "Even Zi-O stated that this chimera is indeed Cerberus."

"Well it's true considering it's a dog with three heads. And I bet that's also the guardian responsible for creating those Red Gates during our investigation mission." Zi-O pointed out. "That means if we defeat Cerberus, the Red Vortex it created earlier will be destroyed and those canine chimeras will lose morale and retreat when their leader is dead."

"So our main priority is to defeat Cerberus, correct?" Mei guessed, earning a nod from Zi-O. "Understood. But those chimeras will keep coming to protect their guardian." She added as they saw more canine chimeras surrounding Cerberus to protect it.

"Some of us will have to deal with the chimeras while the rest will fight Cerberus." Kiana stated. "Guess we'll have to rely on our heavy hitters to handle that guard dog from Hell." She then turned to Hibiki and Zi-O. "I think you two can get the job done, can you?"

"Leave it to us, Kiana-chan!" Hibiki replied with a determined nod with Zi-O also nodding.

"Remember to please be careful." Miku cautioned the group. "Not only that, Geiz, GV and Ashe will arrive eventually, so additional help is on the way."

"Thanks for the heads up, Miku-chan!" Kiana replied as everyone prepared to fight once again.

With one commanding howl from Cerberus, the canine chimeras howled before beginning to rush towards its targets, while Kiana, Mei and Miku also rushed forward and faced them head-on to distract them from Zi-O and Hibiki. While all of that was happening, Zi-O and Hibiki quickly rushed towards Cerberus as it began to slam the ground so hard that it unleashed a red shockwave traveling towards them. Zi-O and Hibiki jumped away from the shockwave's path before continuing to rush at Cerberus as it then began to launch several red energy spheres from its mouths, prompting them to dodge as they nearly got close to Cerberus.

"Hibiki! Remember to watch its attack patterns before moving in for the counterattack!" Zi-O advised as he used the Legatus on his wrist to summon the Beast Legion beside him.

"Okay!" Hibiki complied before hopping onto the Legion's back and rushed forward as Cerberus began to attack with is claws along with a triple bite from its three heads, prompting them to dodge attacks with dash evasions. Zi-O pulled out his X-Baton, changed it into Gladius Mode, gripped the handle with his hands as it generated green windy energy and purple energy and delivered a double swing onto Cerberus' right leg, causing a piece of its armor to break. Zi-O's attack earned Cerberus' attention with a menacing growl as it began to perform a lunge attack towards the Rider. He was about to block the chimera's attack with the X-Baton, until it collided with Hibiki's Armed Gear on her right arm head-on while still riding on the Legion. With one more uppercut from Hibiki's other arm, it broke Cerberus' momentum with a brief vulnerability, allowing Zi-O to switch the X-Baton to Blaster Mode and fired a charged shot onto the chimera's chest. Hibiki jumped off the Legion, allowing it to perform a spiral lunge attack onto Cerberus' chest, pushing it into the ground before the Legion and Hibiki landed beside Zi-O.

"Don't let your guard down just yet. There's a reason why Cerberus is a C9 ranked chimera." Zi-O cautioned Hibiki while they're still in their combat stances.

"C9?" Hibiki repeated.

"Ah right, I forgot to mention chimeras having a ranking system. The Legatus has that feature when scanning a chimera. Rank C1 is the lowest while C9 is the highest." Zi-O explained.

"Then the one we're fighting right now is part of the dangerous ones." Hibiki face became slightly pale in response. "Oh boy..."

"Don't be scared, Hibiki. You've faced tougher foes than this. We can still beat it together." Zi-O reminded.

"...Yeah, you're right! This is no time to be scared! We can do this!" Hibiki replied with her determination back, with the Beast Legion barking with the same expression.

"That's the spirit." Zi-O nodded, until they heard Cerberus howling and quickly approaching them. "It's gonna do another lunge attack, I bet! Hibiki, stay where you are and prepare to retaliate! Me and the Legion will set up an astral chain trap!"

"Hai!" Hibiki nodded back with her right war gauntlet ready. "I'm counting on you guys!"

In response, Zi-O hopped onto the Beast Legion and rushed forward, ready to meet the approaching Cerberus head-on. And when the chimera leaped forward into a lunging triple bite, Zi-O quickly jumped off his Legion and ran to the left, while the Legion ran to the right as the astral chain began to solidify. Zi-O and the Legion pulled the chain as Cerberus' attack struck it, causing it to slow down. In response, Hibiki delivered a powerful ignited straight punch with her Armed Gear, sending it crashing to a wall before falling to the ground.

"Nice one, Hibiki!" Zi-O praised as he and the Legion regrouped with her.

"Thanks, guys! But I couldn't have done it with you." Hibiki smiled.

"Heh." Zi-O smirked, until they noticed that they're suddenly surrounded by more canine chimeras. "Oh, come on!" He groaned in annoyance.

"We're surrounded?!" Hibiki exclaimed before turning to Kiana's group. "Girls, what happened?"

"Sorry Hibiki-chan, but these mutts really are hellbent on protecting their guardian!" Kiana replied as her group are also surrounded by the chimeras.

"I don't think we can hold on for much longer...!" Mei added.

"And we're running out of energy soon...!" Miku also added.

Cerberus slowly stood up and feeling very enraged after taking several beatings from Zi-O and Hibiki earlier, letting out a command howl to the chimeras.

"Come on, Geiz... Where are you?!" Zi-O thought as everyone prepared to fight the approaching chimeras, until multiple chains from below entangled the chimeras before being heavily electrocuted. "Electric chains...? GV!" The Rider began to smile, knowing that help has finally arrived.

The sudden ambush left the chimeras into disarray as blue homing lasers, yellow energy arrows and purple homing lightning shots rained down from above and obliterated the chimeras while the three figures that fired those attacks landed in front of the group. "Ashe, you're here!" Mei smiled at one of the familiar faces.

"Well it's about time, Geiz!" Zi-O smiled at his partner wearing the OOOArmor. "And you've decided to give OOO's power a spin."

"Yep." Geiz nodded. "Thanks for hanging in there."

"Sorry we're late, traffic issues with the chimeras." Ashe quipped while twirling her hand cannon. "Oh, and if you're wondering who's right next to us, that's the Arms Legion Geiz has in his command."

"I see." Miku noted. "Good job capturing it, Geiz." But then she noticed the legs below the Legion. "Wait... why does the Legion still have human legs? I thought you and the others freed that person."

"They did, actually." A voice spoke that's coming from the Arms Legion. "Then the Legion requested me to bond with it for a moment until we get out of the Astral Plane."

"A talking chimera?!" Hibiki exclaimed.

"Uhh... not quite, Hibiki. The Arms Legion is like a floating suit of armor. A living armor, to be exact." Zi-O pointed out before turning to the Arms Legion. "So then, who am I actually speaking to?"

"Dr. Ciel. Former commander of the Guardians and Prairie's older sister."

"Prairie's... older sister?!" Hibiki exclaimed with her eyes widened in shock.

"CIEL?!" Zi-O also exclaimed with the same expression, along with Miku, Mei and Kiana. "But I thought you disappeared in your world during an expedition! How the heck did you end up here of all places?!"

"If I were to guess, it's probably because of the Dimensional Quakes." Geiz answered.

"Yes, that seems to be the case." Ciel agreed with Geiz before turning to the others. "Zi-O, Hibiki, Miku, Kiana and Mei. Geiz, Ashe and Gunvolt already informed me about some of the events that have happened recently, and I even knew about what happened back in my world thanks to Ashe's story."

"I see." Miku noted. "At least it'll save us time with some of the explanations for now."

"Prairie's gonna be really surprised at your sudden appearance, after the mission that is." Kiana smiled at the former Guardian commander.

"Yes, and I'm really proud of her for all she's done for the Guardians during my absence." Ciel smiled back.

"Wait, speaking of Gunvolt, where is he?" Mei asked, noticing the lack of the Azure Striker.

"Hey, you're right!" Hibiki realized. "I mean he did summon those electrical chains on the chimeras earlier."

"Oh, GV? He's not too far behind." Ashe replied with a smirk, until the group heard Cerberus rushing towards them.

"Oversurge, Azure Striker! Grand Glorious Strizer!"

That is until a very large blue electrical blade that's a lot bigger than his Grand Strizer, plunged onto Cerberus' back from above, making it crash into the ground upon impact while letting out large lightning shockwave with several lightning arcs onto the remaining chimeras, disintegrating them upon impact. Afterwards, the one who performed that powerful skill appeared in front of the group in a lightning flash, which turned out to be Gunvolt sheathing his Armed Gear sword on the back of his waist.

"See?" Ashe winked at the group before turning to the Azure Striker. "And just in time too."

"Heh, I aim to please." Gunvolt smirked with his arms crossed. "Though I never expected to deal with the guard dog from Hell in a place like this."

"Well I did comment earlier that entering this place felt like stepping into Hell." Ashe recalled. "And seeing Cerberus here is just the icing on the cake."

"So, I'm guessing this portal is our way out of the Astral Plane, right?" Zi-O asked as the group noticed said swirling vortex on a floating platform at a 100m distance.

"Yeah." Kiana confirmed with a nod. "But Cerberus and its canine pack are not making this easy for us to escape. And now that I think about it, even if we try to escape first, the chimeras will be right behind us while also entering the portal."

"Ah, you're right." Hibiki agreed with a frown. "I don't want Chris-chan and the others to deal with another chimera wave."

"Exactly." Geiz nodded. But then the group heard yet another howl from Cerberus, slowly standing up despite taking heavy damage from Gunvolt's powerful attack. Not only that, more canine chimeras showed up, moving in front of their guardian.

"You've got to be gacking kidding me. It's still standing?!" Joule exclaimed.

"That is one seriously tough chimera." Gunvolt commented.

"Okay, that's it! This three-headed mutt needs to be put down permanently!" Ashe declared with her hand cannons ready.

"Yeah, I agree with you!" Zi-O agreed as they prepared to fight once more.

"Though there's still the issue of the chimeras protecting their guardian!" Mei pointed out.

"If that's the case, then some of us will have to deal the chimeras first while everyone else will go after Cerberus." Miku stated.

"But we'll have to do it quickly before all of us became redshifted into chimeras." Ciel added with caution.

"Are you sure you wanna fight, Ciel?" Geiz questioned. "You're not much of a fighter, to be honest."

"True. But with the Arms Legion's protection, I should be able to fight for the time being." Ciel assured.

"...Very well." Geiz accepted her decision after a bit of pondering, prompting the Rider to break off the astral chain with one swipe of his arm. "There. I broke off the astral chain, giving you and the Legion a bit more freedom to move freely. But remember, try not to get hit to much or its energy will be drained faster."

"Understood." Ciel complied with a nod.

"Wait, are you sure it's okay?" Hibiki questioned.

"Of course it's fine." Geiz assured. "And besides..." He then summoned the Axe Legion right beside him. "...I can still summon another Legion while doing so."

"Wow, that's one way to multitask." Ashe commented.

"Thank you."

"Alright then; Geiz, GV, Hibiki and myself will finish off Cerberus, while everyone else will deal with the chimeras." Zi-O stated, earning a nod from the group. "And Kiana, I want you to lead your team to attack the chimeras first to distract them."

"While you guys go after Cerberus without any stray chimeras going after you guys due to the distractions." Kiana finished. "You got it!"

"With that said..." Zi-O then detached the W Ridewatch from his belt, reverting back to Base Form. "...time to shake things up." He then put away the watch and pulled out the Build Ridewatch, turned the dial and pushed the button.

=BUILD!=

Afterwards, he inserted the Ridewatch onto the belt, slammed the tilt button and gave it a 360 spin.

=ARMOR TIME!=

=BEST MATCH! BUILD!=

After a quick transformation sequence, Zi-O donned the BuildArmor, with a red and blue chest plate, two large bottles as shoulder pads (the right one in red and the left one in blue), a yellow and grey drill weapon on his right arm (along with the still equipped Legatus on the other arm), and the katakana for Build slamming onto his visor. "Heh, it's been a while since I've used this." Zi-O commented as he looked at himself.

"Yep. At the start of our journey, you used the BuildArmor to save Kanade when she became an Another Rider victim." Geiz remembered.

"So this is the armor you used to save Kanade-san." Hibiki commented, earning a nod from Zi-O.

"But... why does your shoulder pads have bottles on them?" Ashe questioned while pointing at Zi-O's armor. "First the cellphones, then the car tyres, then the USB Drives, and now this. Your Rider armors are kind of ridiculous at times... with the exception of the OOOArmour Geiz is wearing since it looks cool."

"Thank you." Geiz responded.

"Well you're gonna have to get used to the weird motifs, Ashe." Zi-O replied before pointing at his bottle-shaped shoulder pads. "As for the bottle-shaped shoulder pads, the red one has enhanced speed and jumping ability of a Rabbit; while the blue one has enhanced strength and durability of a Tank; hence why the Rabbit and Tank combo are known as a Best Match."

"Huh, that explains why the Ziku Driver said 'Best Match'." Gunvolt noted.

"The durability of a Tank, huh? That's something the OOOArmor and the WArmor didn't have." Joule also noted.

"Hey Ashe!" Model A called to her partner.

"Hm? What's up, Model A?" Ashe answered.

"Sorry to interrupt, but the A-Trans is recharged and ready to go. And if you wanna use that distraction plan on those chimeras, then it's time to bust out Vulturon's power."

"Heh, best news I've heard in a while." Ashe grinned. "Thanks for the heads-up, partner."

"Are you talking to your Biometal, Ashe?" Ciel asked, noticing Ashe talking to herself.

"Yup." Ashe nodded. "Model A said that I can use A-Trans again since the recharge is complete. And I know just the form to get the chimera's attention. But, I'm gonna need a bit of support from Miku's song."

"You want me to sing?" Miku questioned.

"Do you still have enough energy to sing at least one more song?" Ashe asked.

Miku pondered for a bit while glancing at her friends to help with her decision, and when she looked at Zi-O, he gave a nod of approval. Miku nodded back with a determined look before answering. "...Alright, I'll do it. I still have enough energy to sing one more song, but you'll have to keep me safe while I'm singing."

"Leave that part to me, Miku. I've got your back." Ashe replied before taking a deep breath. "Watch closely, Ciel. This is the power of Biometal Model A! A-Trans!"

With a quick flash of light, Ashe transformed into Vulturon the Condoroid with the electric guitar in hand.

"So this is Model A's power... the ability to transform into Falseroids by absorbing their DNAs..." Ciel commented after hearing Ashe's story from earlier.

"Falseroids?" Kiana repeated.

"Mechanical animals with humanoid traits."

"Ah, okay."

"Ready to Ragna-Rock and Roll, Miku?" A-Vulturon asked.

"Ready when you are, Ashe!" Miku complied with her Armed Gear ready.

"Then here we go!" A-Vulturon replied before counting up by tapping her foot. "Five! Six! Five, six, seven, eight!" She began to strum the guitar while Miku began her song.

(Play BGM: Eiai Promise by Miku Kohinata)

When the song begins, Miku and A-Vulturon quickly rushed forward with Kiana, Mei and Ciel inside the unchained Arms Legion, attracting the canine chimeras as they quickly rushed towards them. A-Vulturon kept the chimeras away from Miku by unleashing sonic booms by strumming the guitar and destroying a few more by swinging said guitar a few times, finishing an extra one with an overhead guitar smash.

For Miku, she began firing beams at the chimeras with her Armed Gear and followed up with a charged beam at one chimera group with her mirror bits providing support fire. She then turned her Armed Gear into a circular fan and launched it at the other chimeras like a boomerang, slicing them in half in its path.

Zhuīyì (Reminiscence)

Miku then flew up, caught her weapon when it circled back to her, aimed her weapon downwards and unleashed a stream of rapid-fire lasers at the chimeras below her into oblivion before landing on the ground.

Shǎnguāng (Flash)

An extra chimera was about to lunge at Miku from behind, only for her to whip the chimera into submission with her arm cables before launching it airborne while her mirror bits obliterated said airborne chimera into dust.

Cánxiǎng (Reverberation)

Kiana performed an upside-down spin jump and fired her handguns onto one group of chimeras before landing, and followed up with a high kick as neko paw appeared below the chimeras via void portal and launched them into the air, allowing Mei to jump above the airborne chimeras and delivered a plunging strike with her katana before following up with a double aerial whirlwind slash that sliced the chimeras to pieces before landing.

The Arms Legion spun itself around while firing multiple homing lasers with its arms onto the approaching chimeras. It then followed up by crushing another chimera group with several left and right hooks, followed by a flurry of rapid punches and finishing them off with a powerful haymaker. An extra chimera was about to lunge at Ciel from behind, only for the Legion to quickly turn around, grabbed the chimera's head and delivered a crush grip, turning it to dust.

Cerberus growled in annoyance as his chimera pack is being destroyed by Kiana's group and is about to rush towards them, until its movements were halted by multiple chain binds from the Beast and Arrow Legions, and Gunvolt. "Hey! Eyes on us, you three-headed mutt!" Gunvolt taunted Cerberus before electrocuting his chains onto the entangled guardian chimera.

"Okay, let's end this in one blow with a Finish Time!" Zi-O declared.

"Time to make it count!" Geiz agreed with Gunvolt and Hibiki nodding.

The Riders pushed the buttons on their Ridewatches, slammed the tilt buttons on the belts and gave it a 360 turn.

=FINISH TIME! BUILD!=

=FINISH TIME! OOO!=

"GV! Let's drill a hole onto Cerberus with our Armed Gears!" Hibiki suggested.

"My Armed Gear can become a drill?" Gunvolt questioned.

"Mhm!" Hibiki nodded as she raised her right war gauntlet. "Watch closely!" With her concentration, her Armed Gear materialized a pair of blades on the left and right side of her gauntlet before the blades spun rapidly into a drill.

Gunvolt can't help but whistle in amazement. "Now that's pretty cool. Alright then, my turn." He then raised his right war gauntlet and materialized a pair of blades on the left and right side of the gauntlet with Gunvolt's concentration before the blades spun rapidly into a drill while also generating electricity. "Oh, I'm gonna have some fun with this." He grinned with excitement.

"Hehe, I guess you're about to feel what Copen felt when he used the Twintail Bunker Ex-Weapon." Joule giggled.

"Heh, true." Gunvolt chuckled back. "Too bad he and Lola aren't here to see this since they're still at Gjallarhorn's Main Room with the others. Oh well, maybe next time."

"Going for a combination drill attack, eh?" Zi-O commented after noticing the Gungnir Users' drills. "Then let's make it a triple finish."

"Actually, make it a quadruple finish. I'm going for a drill claw skill instead of a Rider Kick." Geiz added with his right claw arm ready.

"Alright, let's Ragna-Rock and Roll!" Zi-O declared as he and Geiz jumped into the air after dispersing their Legions while Hibiki and Gunvolt reeled their drill arm back while moving their other arm forward, with everyone's sights onto the entangled Cerberus.

Three rings appeared in front of Geiz (red, yellow and green respectively) as he prepared to lunge his claw arm forward, while Zi-O shrugged his shoulders, summoning an equation line shaped like a slide in front of him while the end of the line bound Cerberus even more.

"Oversurge...!" Gunvolt began.

"Gungnir...!" Hibiki finished.

=VORTEX TIME BREAK!=

=SCANNING TIME BURST!=

"Combination Strike!" Hibiki and Gunvolt began as they boosted ahead with their drills lunging forward.

"Quartet Drill Break!" Zi-O and Geiz finished as Zi-O slid down with his rapidly spinning drill lunging forward, while Geiz dive through the rings with his claw arm forward and rapidly spun his body like a screw.

"SEIYAAAA!" All of them shouted as their attacks connected at the same time, piercing though Cerberus' starting from its three heads all the way till its behind as the group landed several feet away from the guardian chimera before it exploded with red, blue, yellow and green colors. Hibiki and Gunvolt's drills dispersed while Zi-O and Geiz reverted back to their Base Forms after detaching their Ridewatches and put them away.

As they regrouped with Kiana's team, they noticed that the last of the chimeras have been eliminated by the other team, just in time for Miku's song to finish. "And the chimeras have left the building!" A-Vulturon concluded as she reverted back to Base Form. "Phew, what a rush." Ashe said, catching her breath.

(BGM End)

"Good job taking down that guard dog, guys." Kiana complimented the Rider's team as they dispersed their weapons.

"And thanks for distracting the chimeras for us." Zi-O complimented back.

"So this the power of an Attuned." Ciel remarked while gazing at Miku. "I must say, I'm impressed."

"Thanks, Ciel-san." Miku smiled before turning to her best friend. "But Hibiki's even more impressive than I am."

"Ehehe! Thanks, Miku." Hibiki chuckled while rubbing the back of her head. "But you're pretty awesome too."

"Nah. In my opinion, all of us are amazing in our own way, bringing out the best of our abilities." Geiz remarked.

"That's true." Mei agreed. "And that's what makes all of us an amazing team if we all work together." Everyone agreed with Mei with a nod, until they heard some sounds coming from the platform where the portal is, gaining their attention.

More platforms rose from below, forming a bridge to cross. "Well, that's our cue to get the hell out of this place." Ashe stated.

"Alright team, time to go! Our friends are waiting!" Zi-O declared.

"Roger!" Everyone complied as they quickly crossed the bridge and jumped into the vortex before it disappeared once everyone entered.

---

Gjallarhorn Main Room

Meanwhile back with Cure Starlight's group, they've recently finished off another chimera wave that spawned from the Red Vortex, but they're starting to feel fatigue from fighting the other waves earlier.

"Okay... another wave... down..." Starlight said while trying to catch her breath.

"I don't think... we can survive... another wave..." Vent added.

"I know... But we have to hang in there till Zi-O and the others get back." Copen stated.

"But they're seriously taking too long in there." Chris added.

"I agree. I don't think I have enough energy to pull out another Ex-Weapon." Lola agreed.

"Even so, we can't give up just yet." Himeko stated before turning to Fu Hua. "Fu Hua, are your ki senses detecting another chimera wave coming?"

"Give me a moment..." Fu Hua replied as she continued her concentration, until she sensed several familiar auras coming from the vortex, making her smile. "You can rest easy, everyone. Our friends are finally back."

Everyone turned their attention to the vortex as Zi-O's team appeared from the vortex, but landed in a very messy manner, while the vortex disappeared once everyone was out.

"...Ow." Zi-O let out a grunt before waking up and shook his head. "Is everyone... okay?"

"Despite the harsh landing... we're good." Gunvolt responded.

"Hey, has anyone seen Kiana-chan?" Mei asked while looking around for her friend.

"Mmpfh..."

"Eh?" Mei blinked for a moment before looking down, and saw Kiana's face on Mei's butt. "Ah! Sorry, Kiana-chan!" She exclaimed before everyone got up and away from Kiana with swirly eyes.

"Hey... Zi-O?"

"Yes, Kiana?"

"Remind us never to go inside that hellhole ever again until we're fully prepared..."

"Well technically you and Hibiki were sent into the Astral Plane due to a chimera ambush." Zi-O pointed out. "But I'll put a note on your statement."

"Please do..." Kiana replied while still feeling dizzy as she was assisted by Mei to get rid of her dizziness, while Starlight's group dispersed their weapons.

"Yeah, I may be a thrill-seeker, but even I have my limits." Ashe remarked. "But at least I got a few good photos while we're in there."

"Wait, you took photos of the Astral Plane?" Copen questioned.

"Yeah. Thought it'll help with your research." Ashe nodded. "But I'll show it to you later once we get back to the surface."

"Very well."

"Why does trouble always seem to come from you, baka?" Chris sighed at Hibiki with her arms crossed. "Well at least you're fine, for the most part."

"Sorry for making you worry, Chris-chan." Hibiki apologized. "I'd hug you right now, but I might have a bit of Red Matter on my Gear."

"Good, because I don't want any corruption spreading." Chris replied before glaring at Miku and Mei. "And as for you two..."

"Sorry, Chris. My body moved on its own, wanting to save Hibiki before its too late." Miku apologized.

"Same for me too when I wanted to save Kiana-chan." Mei added.

"Well we were planning to save Hibiki and Kiana anyway. But at least you two are safe and sound." Himeko replied. "Just remember to wait for us to plan properly first, okay?"

"Yes, Major." Mei and Miku complied with a bow.

"Speaking of corruption, how are you guys feeling right now?" Fu Hua asked Zi-O's group.

"One sec." Zi-O materialized the holo-screen on the Legatus and examined his team for a brief moment. "Okay, corruption levels are decreasing now since we're out of the Astral Plane and thanks to our suits. Don't take them off until the percentage is 0%" He told his team, earning a nod from them. But when he's about to check on Ciel (who's no longer bound inside the Arms Legion since it disappeared back into Geiz's Legatus after escaping the Astral Plane), he noticed her beginning to clutch her forehead with her hand and with her knee down as her body has some red aura all over her body, shocking everyone in the group.

"W-What's happening to Ciel?!" Kiana asked while no longer feeling dizzy thanks to Mei.

"Frick! Redshift's starting to effect soon!" Geiz muttered before turning to his friend. "Zi-O, we need the Legions to perform a Blueshift now!"

Zi-O nodded as he and Geiz quickly summoned the Sword and Arrow Legions and commanded them to perform a Blueshift on Ciel. The Legions moved their hands closer to Ciel and dispersed Blue Matter onto her. "Just hold still for a few seconds and calm down, okay? You're gonna make it." Zi-O assured, earning a nod from her.

"I understand, and thank you, Kamen Riders. And sorry for making you worry." Ciel smiled.

As for Vent however, hearing a familiar name made his eyes widen slowly. "C-Ciel...?" He whispered, remembering the pictures of Prairie's older sister he saw in her room.

"Wait, did Kiana said Ciel?!" Model X exclaimed.

"I heard it too, Model X! There's no doubt about it... it's the creator of the Biometals herself, Dr. Ciel!" Model Z added.

"Hm?" Ciel then noticed a speechless Vent staring at her. "Oh... you must be Vent, right? Ashe told me about you and your sibling Aile after hearing her story while we're still inside the Astral Plane."

"Did she now?" Vent responded as she glanced at Ashe.

"Well, yeah. Someone had to fill in the details of what happened to our world before this whole Gjallarhorn mess." Ashe confirmed with her hands on her hips. "But she didn't know about yours and Aile's story yet."

"I see." Vent replied before turning back to Ciel. "She told you about Master Albert having Model W instead of Serpent, correct?"

"She did." Ciel confirmed with a nod. "What happened to Serpent?"

"Well, me and Aile were able to defeat Serpent using the powers of all of the six Biometals you've created." Vent explained. "Though we really thought that Model W was destroyed after the battle, that is until a few months later that Master Albert found out that it's still out there, split into very large fragments."

"And then he combined those fragments and awakened it to create Ouroboros, the ultimate Biometal." Ciel finished, earning a confirmed nod from Vent.

"Ouroboros, huh?" Fu Hua commented.

"But you don't have to worry about that dangerous Biometal anymore since me and Grey defeated Albert and destroyed Ouroboros, with a little help from Vent, Aile and the Guardians." Ashe assured.

"That's good to know. Nicely done." Himeko praised the Mega Men.

"Ah, before I forget, let me properly introduce myself. My name is Dr. Ciel, creator of the Biometals, former commander of the Guardians and Prairie's older sister."

Ciel's introduction completely shocked Chris, Himeko and Fu Hua. "Wait, are you gacking serious?! You're Prairie's older sister?!" Chris exclaimed. "How did you end up in the Astral Plane of all places?!"

"The Dimensional Quakes, obviously." Starlight answered before turning to Ciel. "Speaking of which, what happened to you before you're teleported to the Astral Plane?"

"Well, after I escaped from Serpent, I created the six Biometals in order to deal with the threat of Model W." Ciel explained. "After that, I sealed away Model W and hid away the Biometals with door passwords. I... also erased any hint of my whereabouts to prevent Serpent and this troops from finding me. A few days later, a strange quake suddenly occurred in my hiding spot till my vision became blank. Next thing I knew when I woke up, I met Ashe, Geiz and Gunvolt, who explained earlier that the Arms Nemesis possessed my body as protection to fight them."

"Another Nemesis already?!" Copen exclaimed, earning a nod from the Riders. "Okay, never expected another one to show up so soon."

"Wait, you were the one who erased that memory data?" Vent questioned Ciel, who responded with a nod. "Well, that explains why your location is unknown after Aile and I recovered the six Biometals and showed them to Dr. Fleuve for analysis. Even after the Biometals were fully restored later on, we still can't find any info on your whereabouts."

"Sorry about that, Vent. It's the only way for me to not get discovered."

"I understand. Not only that, Prairie told me and Aile that you asked Girouette to take in the outbreak survivors and helped them join the Guardians. Never expected you to meet Giro before."

"Yes, I did. Speaking of Girouette, where is he?"

"Oh..." Vent began to tell the bad news with a sad look. "...He's been killed by Serpent who set a trap for us. And during Giro's last moments, he gave me and Aile the power of Model Z, which helped unlocked the power of Mega Man ZX when combined with Model X."

"?!" Ciel gasped in shock, with everyone else feeling the same way, while Zi-O, Geiz and Starlight looked away in sadness.

"I'm sorry." Vent apologized, shedding a small tear before wiping it away. "But... he told me and Aile to never give up, as long as there's something to protect. And we swore to protect Prairie, the Guardians, and our friends, both new and old." He glanced at the others, giving him a nod of encouragement. "And I'm pretty sure he's watching over us right now, no matter what world we're in, and feeling proud of our accomplishments." He looked up with a smile before turning to the others. "And we all have something to protect, right guys?"

"Yep!/Of course!/Definitely!/Indeed." The others responded with a smile, making Ciel smile while shedding a small tear before wiping it away.

"Well said, Mega Man." Zi-O nodded, with Geiz and Starlight also nodding with a smile.

Suddenly, Ciel's body began to briefly glow with a blue aura before dispersing, signaling the end of the Blueshift process. In response, Geiz used his Legatus to scan Ciel's body once more. "Okay Ciel, you're 100% corruption free." He declared before scanning the others. "The same goes for the rest of us. Corruption level's a flat 0%. We're all safe." He added before dispersing the scanner, while the Legions dispersed back into the respective Legatus devices.

"Once again, thanks for saving my life." Ciel smiled while being helped up by the Riders.

"No problem. We're just passing through heroes, after all." Zi-O replied. "By the way, my real name is Zeo Naotora." He introduced before gesturing his head to Geiz and Starlight. "And these two are Gaius Cornell and my sister Akira Naotora."

"I'm Major Himeko Murata."

"Fu Hua. A pleasure."

"I'm Chris Yukine."

"Copen Kamizono. Nice to meet you." He introduced before glancing at his relic necklace. "And this is my partner, Lola."

"Nice to meet you, Ciel!" Lola greeted.

"Good to meet the rest of you." Ciel greeted back with a nod. "I've already knew about Hibiki and the others thanks to Ashe, Geiz and Gunvolt, so repeating their introductions are not needed."

"Good to know." Copen nodded before gesturing to Gunvolt who dispersed his Faust Robe. "Also you can call Gunvolt by his nickname, GV, if you want."

"Hehe, very well." Ciel replied. "So, what next?"

"Well, we were planning to leave the facility since we've finished our investigations, until we were ambushed by the chimeras that included a trip to the Astral Plane to save Hibiki, Kiana, Miku and Mei." Zi-O answered. "But we never expected meeting you and the Arms Nemesis inside that hellhole. Come on, let's head back to the surface."

"Lead the way, then." Ciel complied as everyone began to leave the room.

---

A few minutes later, they walked out of the entrance of the secret building. "By the way, which one of you captured the Arms Nemesis?" Copen asked the Riders.

"Oh, that was me." Geiz answered with a raised hand. "But, my god, that thing knows how to punch. Good thing GV was around to even the odds."

"You're welcome, by the way." Gunvolt replied with a smirk and briefly showed his clenched fist.

Just as they reached the passage back to the teleporter, Zi-O suddenly stopped and turned around, staring at the secret building that used to house Gjallarhorn. "Zi-O, what's wrong? Did we forget something?" Himeko asked.

"No, it's not that." Zi-O shook his head. "I'm a little worried that the Neo Time Jackers might come back to investigate the place in case they forgot something."

"I see." Fu Hua noted. "But it's a good thing we found this place first to investigate before they thought about returning."

"Yeah, I agree." Kiana agreed with a nod.

"I think I know where you're going with this, buddy. You wanna blow this place sky high, right?" Geiz guessed, earning a nod from Zi-O.

"Wait, are you sure it's okay to do that?" Hibiki questioned. "Maybe we should ask Master first before we destroy this place."

"Master?" Ciel repeated.

"She means Genjuro Kazanari, the commander of the Squad Of Nexus Guardians, or S.O.N.G." Miku clarified. "He's also the one who taught Hibiki how to fight in close combat."

"Ah, I see."

"If I were a commander, I'd approve of your decision." Himeko said to Zi-O. "It's better if this important info stays with us, along with the Gjallarhorn fragments. We can't let the Neo Time Jackers or any other shady organizations to know about this location."

"Exactly." Zi-O confirmed with a nod before turning to Chris. "Chris, do what you do best."

"Thought you'd never ask." Chris grinned, stepping forward and set her sights onto the building. "How many missiles do you need?"

"Enough to turn the entire facility into oblivion, but give us a moment to get the teleporter ready." Zi-O replied.

"I'll stay with Chris so I can quickly carry her to safety with my jet boosters after she fired her missiles." Copen said as he took out Finé's USB Drive. "You're gonna need this to activate the teleporter."

"Could you give that to me instead? I know how to operate a teleporter." Ciel requested.

"Okay then. Here." Copen then tossed the USB Drive to Ciel, prompting her to catch it.

"That teleporter had better be operational in 30 seconds!" Chris said.

"Wait, 30 seconds? Are you sure that's enough time?" Mei questioned.

"Leave it to Chris-chan! She knows what she's doing." Hibiki assured.

"...If you say so."

"Alright, we're heading out! See you guys in a bit!" Vent said as they quickly head inside the passage to the teleporter, leaving behind Copen and Chris.

Once the others are long gone, Chris took a deep breath and opened up her side armors, revealing a pair of long and large black and red sword-shaped rockets, three on each side.

MEGADETH SYMPHONY

"Whoa. Those are some really, REALLY large rockets." Lola gawked.

"Heh, you like it?" Chris smirked. "These rockets can level a snowy mountain. Old Man Genjuro has footage of me using it in the S.O.N.G video archive."

"Oooh! Now I'm feeling very curious about it!"

"Let me get check my jet boosters for a bit before we begin." Copen said before checking said boosters on his battlesuit. Then his Zikan Phone started ringing, prompting him to answer it. "Yeah?"

"This is Cure Starlight! We've just arrived at the teleporter! Ciel's activating the machine at the moment, so it should be ready in a few seconds!" Starlight contacted.

"Copy that. Chris has her rockets primed and ready to launch." Copen contacted back.

"Alright, then fire away!" Starlight ended the call prompting Copen to put away the phone.

"Let loose the rockets." Copen ordered with a smirk.

"Gladly!" Chris complied with a grin, launching all rockets at once. After that, Copen quickly carried Chris in a bridal carry, making her blush heavily, while he activated his jet boosters. "O-Oi! Copen! You don't have to carry me like-!" He then ignited his boosters and sped off into the passage with incredible speed. "-THAAAAAATTT!"

"Hahahahaha! I KNEW you two were made for each other!" Lola laughed.

"SHUT UP, LOLA!" Copen and Chris retorted in annoyance, while the rockets split into a large swarm and struck the entire facility and even the cavern, causing multiple explosions that made sure nothing is left standing.

---

Teleporter Room

"Looks like Chris did her job." Ashe said after hearing rockets being fired. "Ciel, is the teleporter ready?"

"Almost... Okay, it's ready to send us back in ten seconds!" Ciel informed before pulling the USB Drive out of the machine, placed it in her pocket and quickly regrouped with the others that are standing on the teleport platform.

"Come on, Copen, Chris-chan! Please hurry!" Hibiki silently prayed.

"Wait, I hear jet boosters at a distance." Gunvolt said upon hearing the sounds. "It's them! Someone catch them before they crash into us by accident!"

"I got it!" Geiz complied as he quickly summoned the Arms Legion in front of the group and moved its hands in front, ready to catch the fast approaching Copen and Chris. And once the two arrive and are about to collide with the group, the Legion easily caught them with a bear hug while being slightly pushed back due to the amount of force.

"Phew... nice catch." Copen said as he glanced at the Legion. "So, this is the Arms Legion?"

"Mhm." Geiz nodded. "Pretty neat, huh?" He then notice Chris blushing. "...Did something happ-"

"Nothing! Nothing happened at all!" Chris quickly answered, earning a shrug from Geiz. Then the teleport platform the group is standing began to glow before they disappeared in a flash of light, just in time before the machine was crushed by falling rocks caused by Chris' rockets.

---

Abandoned 2nd Division Base, Secret Teleporter Room

The machine began to lit up once more, and in a few moments, Zi-O and his group appeared in a flash of light before the machine powered down. "Phew... we made it back in one piece." Zi-O sighed with relief as he looked around his surroundings.

"Hey, Geiz?"

"Yes, Copen?"

"...Could you tell the Legion to put us down now? We're getting a bit cramped here." Copen requested while he and Chris are still being hugged by the Arms Legion.

"Ah, right. Sorry." Geiz apologized before commanding the Legion to gently release them to the ground.

"Hehe. You guys should've looked at Chris' reaction earlier when Boss carried her." Lola chuckled.

"Lola, just... shut up." Chris huffed and looked away with her arms crossed.

"Lola, you're seriously enjoying this, huh?" Joule sighed.

"What kind of carry method did you use on Chris?" Starlight asked Copen.

"Don't. Ask." He replied while looking away with his arms crossed.

"Okay then." Starlight shrugged before turning to her brother. "Well, the secret base is destroyed. Anything else?"

"Just one more thing before we leave this base..." Zi-O replied as he turned to the teleporter. "This one's gotta go too."

"You sure? Because I'm pretty sure the teleporter back there was completely destroyed by the cave-in." Mei questioned.

"True, but it can't hurt to be a bit more cautious." Zi-O replied as he was about to bring out his X-Baton, only for Geiz to grab his arm to stop him.

"How about you let the Arms Legion smash this machine to pieces." Geiz requested.

"...Suit yourself." Zi-O shrugged, moving his hand away from the X-Baton while Geiz and the Legion moved forward.

He then ordered the Legion to fuse into him, like wearing a suit of armor. The Legion began to crack his knuckles before proceeding to beat the living crap out of the teleporter machine with a flurry of rapid punches until it's nothing but a pile of scrap metal. Once done, the Legion dispersed back into the Legatus after Geiz landed on his feet while the rest of the group were speechless at how the Arms Legion destroyed that machine like it's nothing.

"Wow, that teleporter had one hell of a beatdown." Vent commented while noticing plenty of punch marks on the machine's remains.

"Hey, gotta make it thorough if you wanna get the job done." Geiz replied. "Now let's get out of here."

A few minutes later, they left the R&D Lab and began to head for the elevator, while everyone dispersed their battlesuits while Starlight transformed back to her civilian form. Along the way, they explained to Ciel about any missed details of the Gjallarhorn incident, including how Zeo, Gaius and Akira became chosen heroes, and the alliance formed with S.O.N.G, St. Freya Academy, and the Guardians to deal with the threat of the Neo Time Jackers.

"I see... I never expected that shattering a powerful relic like that caused this entire incident to happen." Ciel remarked. "I'll support you guys however I can."

"Thanks, Ciel." Vent replied with a smile. "Does this mean you'll be back on duty as the commander of the Guardians?"

"Well... I'll just remain as a researcher and scientist." Ciel decided. "Prairie's already proven herself to be an outstanding commander, so it wouldn't be right to take away her hard-earned effort."

"I understand." Vent noted.

"Hey, I got an idea." Ashe spoke up.

"What is it?" Ciel answered.

"I don't want to tell Prairie about your sudden appearance just yet. That would be your job."

"The way you say it sounds like some kind of a special surprise." Fu Hua said with a raised eyebrow.

"Exactly!" Ashe replied. "But this surprise is strictly for the ones that came from our world. So for the ones that are not from our world, sorry but you're gonna have to give us some private space for a while until after the surprise."

"Ehh? We're not invited?" Hibiki questioned.

"Sorry Hibiki, but this is something personal only they need to do." Miku stated.

"No hard feelings, I swear." Vent added.

"...It's okay, I understand." Hibiki accepted with an understanding nod and a smile.

Eventually, they reached the elevator... before Akira gently pushed Chris and Himeko forward, earning a questionable look from Ciel. "Uh... why are you pushing Chris and Himeko forward?" Ciel questioned.

"We don't wanna deal with Chris and Himeko's vomiting again once they got out of the elevator that has the speed of a roller coaster." Akira deadpanned.

"...Eh?" Ciel sweatdropped.

"Don't any of you have some kind of trick to deal with something like this?" Chris questioned the group.

"Aside from bringing along some vomit bags... no." Zeo answered before facepalming. "Ugh... I should've brought along some vomit bags for shit like this..."

"...I hate you guys..."

"Well... let's get this over with, Chris. We'll have to suffer this together. And besides, it'll only last for a moment." Himeko reluctantly declared with a sigh.

"Fine..." Chris reluctantly accepted with a sigh before she and Himeko entered the elevator, closed the doors and pushed the 'Up' button, making the elevator go up with a speed of a roller coaster along with loud screaming, making the others sweatdrop.

"Okay... I've never seen an elevator move that fast before." Ciel blinked a few times.

"Yeah... I'll stick to using the Trans Server, thank you." Ashe remarked.

"And this place used to be commander Genjuro's hidden base?" Ciel asked, earning a nod from Hibiki and Miku. "I see. Looking around this place reminded me of the Resistance Base a long time ago back in my world."

"Resistance Base?" Miku repeated.

"It's a long story."

Suddenly, they saw the elevator arriving as it opened its doors allowing entry. "Well, here we go again." Kiana sighed as everyone entered the elevator. "Hopefully it's the last time we dealt with an elevator like this."

"Maybe we should close our eyes and let out minds think about something else." Gunvolt suggested.

"That, and try not to scream or say anything." Copen added.

"That's something I would do." Fu Hua commented.

"Hmm... worth a shot, at least." Zeo replied as he closed the doors and pushed the 'Up' button before everyone closed their eyes as the elevator quickly ascended to the surface.

---

Old Lydian Academy Ruins

Evening Time

"Okay, Zeo and the others are almost here!" Dorado reported with Kohaku and Reiko also waiting, until they saw Zeo and his team arrive as the elevator reached its destination before the doors opened.

"...Is the ride over?" Gaius cautiously asked.

"Why are you guys with your eyes closed? And yes, the ride's over." Reiko answered with a sweatdrop.

Gaius cautiously opened one eye before opening the other eye and sighed with relief. "Ah, good. Looks like GV and Copen's idea worked." He then turned to the others, still with their eyes closed. "You guys can open your eyes now, we're back at the surface."

"Looks like your ideas worked." Kiana said to Gunvolt and Copen as everyone opened their eyes. "I feel a lot better than last time."

"Glad it worked out for you, Kiana." Fu Hua smiled, with Gunvolt and Copen nodding.

"It's good to see you all safe and sound." Kohaku smiled at the group. "I take it that you've finished your investigations?"

"Sure did." Akira nodded. "We've got a lot to report to Genjuro, Prairie and Theresa."

"By the way, Chris and Himeko got here first, right?" Mei asked, earning a nod from Kohaku and Reiko. "Where are they right now?"

"Medical Tent." The two sisters answered with a sigh, making the others sweatdrop.

"Note to self, never build an elevator with a speed of a roller coaster... or a bullet train." Copen commented.

"Hey, who's that girl with you?" Dorado asked as he noticed the newcomer.

"Oh, her? That's Ciel, Prairie's older sister." Vent answered.

"Oh, Ciel. Okay then." Dorado replied... until realization hit him in the face a few seconds later. "What?! Ci-"

"Shh!" Ashe shushed him after covering his mouth with her hand. ("Keep it down, will ya?! It's a long story how we found her somehow. That, and I'm planning a special surprise for Prairie.") She whispered, earning a nod from Dorado before she moved her hand away.

"Ah, right. Sorry."

"Vent, can you call Aile and Grey to pick us up and send us back to the Guardian Base?" Ashe requested.

"Got it." Vent complied before he brought out his Zikan Phone and began contacting his sibling.

"I guess you're leaving then." Gunvolt said.

"Yeah, but thanks for letting me and Vent join the investigation." Ashe replied before she brought out her Zikan Phone. "Oh, and Copen? You'll be needing this." She began to push a few buttons and sent something to Copen's Zikan Phone as it beeped, prompting him to answer it.

"Are these... photos of the Astral Plane?" Copen asked after he saw what Ashe sent to his phone.

"Mhm." Ashe nodded. "Make good use of them for your research, okay?"

"I will, thanks Ashe." Copen nodded and smiled back as they put away their phones.

"Okay, Aile's marked the rendezvous point for us to meet. Let's not keep her waiting." Vent informed Ashe before turning to Ciel. "Shall we get going, Ciel?"

"Of course." Ciel nodded as she walked next to Vent before turning to the others. "Thanks for everything, guys. I'll be sure to repay that kindness soon."

"No problem, Ciel-san!" Hibiki cheerfully replied.

"Hope your reunion is a memorable one!" Miku added.

"I'm sure it will be." Ciel smiled back before turning to Gaius. "Oh, and you can have this back." She then gave the USB Drive back to Gaius.

"Thanks, Ciel." Gaius replied as he put away the USB Drive into his pocket.

"Well, see you guys next time./And give Chris my regards, okay?" The two Mega Men bid farewell as they and Ciel left the area.

"Take care, you three!" Kiana said as she and the others waved goodbye before lowering their hands. "Well, what now, guys?"

"Me, Akira and Gaius will head for S.O.N.G HQ to give the investigation report." Zeo answered.

"Understood." Kohaku replied before gesturing her thumb to the helicopter a few metres behind her. "I've already retrieved the Trans Beacon, so you're gonna have to take the helicopter back to HQ instead."

"No problem. And thanks for keeping this area safe while we're gone." Akira smiled.

"It's our pleasure, guys." Reiko smiled back, with Kohaku also smiling.

"The rest of us will stay here with Kohaku and Reiko and check up on Chris and Himeko for a bit before leaving. You guys can go on ahead without us." Gunvolt said to the chosen heroes.

"You got it, GV." Zeo replied.

"Thanks for the help, guys!" Gaius said to their teammates.

"Anytime! We'll see you later!" Mei replied as they waved goodbye while the chosen heroes board the helicopter and departed towards S.O.N.G HQ to deliver their report.

"Alright, let's go see how Chris and Himeko are doing." Fu Hua declared before sighing. "I really hope they don't vomit too much from that elevator."

"Yeah..." The others replied with a sigh as they head for the Medical Tent.

---

Guardian Base, Command Center

One hour later...

"...And that concludes our report." Vent finished his investigation report to Prairie while Ashe stood beside him. Though while Vent and Ashe were busy explaining to Prairie, she never noticed Aile and Grey quietly snuck Ciel inside Prairie's Room, closed the door while leaving her inside and then walked away.

"I see..." Prairie noted. "So this entire Gjallarhorn incident occurred at the end of the final day of 2044 in this world. And I never expected Ashe to explore the Astral Plane."

"It's a good thing the Mega Man armor was able to help me resist the Red Matter corruption, albeit temporarily." Ashe said. "I've even took a few photos of that place so I can give them to Dr. Fleuve for analysis, and I've also gave the copies of the photos to Copen."

"I see. Hopefully it'll help us find a solution to deal with the chimera threat. Not only that, Gaius captured another Nemesis, correct?"

"Yup." Vent confirmed with a nod. "It's now called the Arms Legion. Think of it as a floating suit of armor with no legs, but with large arms, fires lasers and gravity bombs, and can punch really fast."

"You can even wear that Legion for extra protection and more power." Ashe added.

"Interesting..." Prairie noted.

"As for the info of Project Gjallarhorn and the three Gjallarhorn fragments, it's with Genjuro and Elfnein at the moment." Vent added, earning a nod from the commander. "So, is there anything else we need to do?"

"No, that will be enough for today." Prairie shook her head. "You're free to relax, you've earned it."

"Thanks, Prairie." Ashe nodded, with Vent also nodding. "Oh, by the way, Aile left you a present inside your room. Hope you like it."

"A present? What is it?"

"Well it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you." Ashe smiled while giving Vent a quick wink, making him wink back. "On that note, see ya!"

"Take care, ma'am." Vent nodded to his commander before he and Ashe left the area and closed the door, meeting up with Aile and Grey waiting on the other side. "So, is Ciel inside?"

"Yup, and Prairie never noticed a thing." Aile confirmed before turning to Ashe. "But I still can't believe you found Ciel inside the Astral Plane of all places."

"Well, what can you expect from those Dimensional Quakes?" Ashe stated with her hands on her hips. "They're quite unpredictable."

"I guess that's true." Grey agreed. "It's either a blessing or a curse."

"Still, finding Ciel is one heck of a blessing for us." Vent said as they turned to the command center entrance. "I'm sure those sisters will be happy to reunite after so long." He smiled, with everyone else smiling.

"Come on, let's give them some time alone." Aile declared as they left the area to relax.

---

Prairie's Room

Prairie entered her room and saw a black cat plushie sitting on a chair. She closed the door while staring at the plushie, not noticing that Ciel is right beside the door. Once Prairie reached the plushie, she smiled while picking it up and took a closer look.

"Aile really worked hard for that plushie. It's cute isn't it, dear sister."

"?!" The moment Prairie heard the familiar voice, her body froze for a brief while with her face having a look of shock and disbelief, especially when she heard the words, 'dear sister', words that hasn't been heard for a very long time.

"Turn around, Prairie."

And when Prairie turned around and saw who it was, she gasped in complete shock with her eyes wide open while dropping the plushie. She was utterly speechless, not expecting the person she cared the most to suddenly appear right in front of her. A few moments of silence later, she finally spoke. "C-Ciel...? Is that... really you...?"

"Yes... It's me." Ciel confirmed with a nod. "In the flesh and still breathing."

"B-But... how...? I thought you were gone missing after your expedition weeks ago."

"I was. It's the only way for me to avoid capture from Serpent and his forces. That is until one day, the Dimensional Quake occurred in my hiding place, sending me to the Astral Plane where I was taken captive my the Arms Nemesis."

"What?!" Prairie exclaimed, before blinking a few times upon hearing the Nemesis. "Wait... the Arms Nemesis? Then that means...!"

"Exactly." Ciel confirmed with a nod. "That's how I met Ashe, Gaius and Gunvolt who saved me from that chimera before capturing it."

"I see... I guess fate works in mysterious ways."

"Hehe, true." Ciel giggled as she walked closer to Prairie. "I've already been informed by the four chosen Mega Men about the events that happened back in our world ever since my disappearance. And I could've been more proud of their achievements, despite the loss of Girouette. And as for you dear sister, I'm very proud of what you've become as commander of the Guardians. Though, it's a shame that Model H, F, L and P were stolen by those thieves all because of this so called, 'Game of Destiny'."

"Yeah... But I promise that we'll get those Biometals back once we get a chance to go back to our world." Prairie assured.

"I know you and your team will." Ciel replied as she put her hands over Prairie's shoulders. "Which is why I want you to continue your duties as commander of the Guardians."

"Eh? You're not assuming command?" Prairie questioned.

"You've already became an outstanding commander during my absence, so it wouldn't be right to take away your hard-earned effort. I've already taught you so much, and yet you're able to learn much more without my help. But I'll still be part of the Guardians as a researcher while also assisting others that need help. And after hearing about the Gjallarhorn incident and how dangerous the Neo Time Jackers can be, I'm not planning to retire just yet. But if you're ever unsure about something, please let me know, okay Alouette?"

"Alouette... it's been a long time since I've had that name." Prairie recalled upon hearing her first name, before shedding tears and hugged Ciel which surprised her. "I missed you so much, Ciel...!"

"Prairie..." Ciel whispered before hugging back with tears. "I missed you too..."

After a few moments of silence while the two sisters embraced each other, Prairie spoke. "Hey, sis?"

"Yes, Prairie?"

"It is okay if... we stay like this for a little while?"

"Hehe. Of course."

"Thank you. So, did someone snuck you inside my room while I wasn't looking?"

"Aile and Grey were the ones who did that. But it was actually Ashe's idea from the beginning."

"Ashe, huh? Never expected her of all people to plan something like this considering she's a treasure hunter."

"Hehe, yeah. I've heard about that after listening to her story. But I think she's starting to realize that treasures are more than just gold and jewelry."

"You think so?" Prairie asked, earning a nod from Ciel. "So if you think of the word 'treasure', what will be your answer?"

"The answer is obvious, Prairie. Our family and friends we cared for and the world we live in. That's my treasure." Ciel answered with a smile.

"Hehe. Of course." Prairie giggled as they broke off their embrace. "You know, I've been thinking about giving myself a full name lately."

"Why is that?"

"Well, first you gave me the name Alouette, and then I'm called Prairie. So I was thinking if I can combine the names together into one full name."

"And what will your full name be?"

"Prairie Alouette. And since you're my older sister, that would make you Ciel Alouette. What do you think?"

"Ciel Alouette..." Ciel repeated, before nodding in agreement. "I like it. That will be my full name from now on."

"I knew you'd like it." Prairie smiled as she picked up her dropped plushie and gently placed it with the other plushies on her desk. "Come on, sis. I wanna introduce you to Genjuro and Theresa."

"Sure thing. Lead the way, commander." Ciel complied as the two sisters left the room and closed the door.

---

London, England

Abandoned Train Station

Nighttime

As time goes by, Zeo is laying down on top of a broken train that's at least stable, watching the stars after he, Gaius and Akira gave their investigation report to the commanders earlier along with giving Elfnein the research info for Project Gjallarhorn along with the three Gjallarhorn fragments. Himeko and Sucrose chose to stay in Japan, while everyone else returned to London using S.O.N.G's Trans Server back to the Zi-O Liner. Hibiki also brought along Miku and Chris to London to meet up with the rest of Akira's friends. Now, Zeo took a deep breath after remembering what happened in today's mission while he took out the Zi-O Ridewatch and stared at it, wondering if he'll be following the previous Zi-O's footsteps, or will he follow his own path and surpass the predecessor to achieve that goal of saving the multiverse.

"Hello there."

Zeo sat upright and turned to the one speaking, which revealed to be Akira and Gaius.

"Can't sleep, huh?" Gaius asked.

"Yeah. Got a lot on my mind lately." Zeo replied as Akira and Gaius climbed on top of the train and sat with him. "Been wondering if I might be following under Sougo's footsteps as Kamen Rider Zi-O."

"You're worried about becoming Ohma Zi-O, aren't you?" Akira guessed, mentioning the Demon King of Time, the dark counterpart of Zi-O.

"Yeah, a little." Zeo admitted. "But as long as I have you two, along with our new friends and allies, I know that I won't become that Demon King since you guys will lead me to the correct path I'll take. However... I wonder how Sougo ended his story?"

"Oh yeah, been wondering about that." Gaius realized. "We never reached the final episode yet, and that's gonna air at least one or two weeks away."

"We were so... so close to finding out." Zeo sighed in disappointment.

"Maybe we should ask Woz how Sougo's story will end." Akira suggested. "Will he and his friends defeat the Time Jackers, or will he inevitably become Ohma Zi-O despite everything they've done?"

"I guess we'll never know until we ask Woz." Gaius replied. "But let's wait till all of us are back in Japan before we tell him."

"Fair enough." Zeo agreed as he and her sister nodded while he put away the Ridewatch.

"You know, I was wondering if we should make a name for our new multiversal team." Akira pondered. "So far, we have the Symphogear team and S.O.N.G, the heroes of the Gunvolt series, the Honkai Impact team, Miriam from Bloodstained, Lumine the dimensional traveler, Sucrose and Noelle from Teyvat, the Mega Man ZX team and the Guardians along with Ciel, Regina Madoka from the Pretty Cure world, and lastly that unknown injured person we saved at that Sands of Time before arriving at the Symphogear world."

"Yeah, that's quite a lot of allies we've gained. One heck of an accomplishment, in my opinion." Gaius agreed. "Though I wonder who was the unknown person you saved, Akira?"

"Well, after getting a closer look at him and his weapons yesterday morning before I met you guys, I finally realized who that person is." Akira answered.

"And that person is?"

"...Galdo from the Fairy Fencer F world of Zelwinds."

"What?!" The Riders exclaimed at Akira's reveal of the unknown person she saved.

"Wait a sec..." Zeo suddenly recalled seeing that person and his weapon at the Medical Bay before he went to sleep last night. "Oh crap, no wonder he looked familiar, especially when I looked at his clothes and his weapon, the Fury."

"If he's here, then where's his Fairy partner, Marissa?" Gaius questioned.

"My guess, something must've happened to them back in Zelwinds, forcing them to separate from each other. Another Dimensional Quake, I bet." Akira pondered. "I guess we're adding Zelwinds to the list of worlds we need to explore."

"Yep, pretty much." Zeo nodded. "Though I dunno if the three Gjallarhorn fragments we've collected will lead a straight path towards Zelwinds, Teyvat, or any of the other worlds our allies belong to."

"Well, no choice but to wait till we return to Japan the day after the Queens of Music concert." Akira stated. "Anyway, back on topic about naming our multiversal team. I've been thinking about having three ideal values that makes our team. What's your opinion on this?"

"Hmm..." The Riders pondered with their hand on their chin, hoping for an ideal value.

"I did thought about one ideal value, though." Akira said.

"Alright sis, let's hear it." Zeo replied as he and Gaius are willing to listen.

"All of us are crossing through the multiverse not just to look for the Gjallarhorn fragments to stop the Distortions, but to also explore the worlds for exciting new adventures. It'd be pretty boring if we only focus on the mission too much."

"Mm, good point there, sis." Zeo agreed with a nod. "I also wanna see the other worlds and have new and exciting adventures there. Sure, the mission is more important, but that won't stop us for having a bit of fun along the way while helping people out with their problems."

"Okay, here's another ideal value I thought of." Gaius said. "The drive to keep moving forward, to never give up even against impossible odds. And also to never lose hope and keep on fighting. And if there's a dream you really wanna pursue, go for it and never lose sight of it."

"Now that's a good one." Akira agreed before turning to Zeo. "Okay brother, your turn of an ideal value."

"Hmm..." Zeo pondered for a moment, until he thought of one. "Okay, here's one. Rebellion."

"Rebellion?" Gaius repeated. "Why that ideal?"

"You know, to free the people from the tyrants, corrupted governments, overlords and even gods. Remember Sumeragi and Eden from Gunvolt's world?"

"Oh yeah, that." Gaius recalled. "Those organizations went too far, thinking that only the superior race can survive, hence why there's a resistance force opposing them."

"Exactly." Zeo nodded in confirmation. "Too bad the leader of QUILL, Azimov, is only forming the resistance force for his own hidden selfish motives without the other operatives knowing about it. Which is why Gunvolt had to stop him before he wipes out the human race and leaving the adepts as the only superior race."

"I see." Akira noted. "Well there's another thing I wanna rebel against."

"And that is?" Gaius asked.

"Unfair fates and destinies made by the gods. Usually it's only two choices which usually results in the good ending or the bad ending. Well, I'd say 'screw that' and pick a third path in order to get the true ending, where everyone can be happy without any sacrifices and live in peace regardless of race, language and religion. And if I can't find a third path, I'll make one myself as long as the friends I made are with me till the very end."

"Now THAT'S a rebellion I can agree with." Zeo replied as he and Gaius nodded in agreement. "Now that you mention it, I think Sougo might've picked a third path to get the true ending of his story."

"Hmm... I think so too." Gaius agreed.

"Now let's go over the three ideals values so far." Akira began to surmise. "First, we cross through the multiverse in search of adventure and to help people while locating the Gjallarhorn fragments. Second, the drive to keep moving forward and to never give up, despite facing impossible odds. And third, a rebellion against tyrants, corrupted governments, and unfair fates and destinies made by the gods."

"Okay, I think I can think of the name of our team from those three ideal values." Zeo declared as he stood up and looked at the stars above.

"Alright brother, let's hear it." Akira replied.

"Team XDR. Xross Drive Rebellion; with the first letter of the word 'Cross' changed from 'C' to 'X'. That will be our multiversal team name." Zeo revealed after he turned to Akira and Gaius. "Xross for the first ideal, Drive for the second, and Rebellion for the third."

"Xross Drive Rebellion, huh?" Gaius repeated before smiling. "That's a pretty good team name in my book. Kinda like ZEUTH and ZEXIS from the Super Robot Wars games."

"Yeah, I think that's a great team name." Akira agreed with a smile.

"So I guess we're no longer passing through heroes. We're just a passing through rebellion." Zeo quipped. "Remember that, you two."

"Yes, my lord." Akira and Gaius quipped back.

"Oi, hold on. I'm not aiming to be king like Sougo does." Zeo waved his hands in defence, making Akira and Gaius chuckle.

"I know, we're only kidding." Akira smiled as she and Gaius stood up. "And besides, we're the ones that made this team possible."

"With a bit of assistance from Woz and Einstein on helping us take that first step." Gaius added.

"And don't forget Kanade, Serena, Kallen and Sakura being our first members of the team to join us after we freed them." Zeo added.

"Someone mentioned my name?"

The three heroes heard Kanade's voice, turned their attention behind them, and saw her along with Tsubasa. "What are you guys doing up there?" Kanade asked with her hands on her hips.

"Well... just thinking about our adventures so far." Zeo answered with his hands on the back of his head.

"Ah, that. You guys have come a long way to make it this far, huh?" Kanade replied. "Hibiki-chan told me about today's mission earlier, especially the part about going inside the Astral Plane. Good thing you're resistant to the corruption thanks to the special armors. And what really surprised me was Gaius, GV and Ashe finding Prairie's older sister in that hellhole."

"Yeah, we never expected to find Ciel there." Gaius replied back. "Dimensional Quakes can be quite unpredictable."

"Yep, true." Kanade agreed with a nod.

"So Kanade, did you and the others had fun in London?" Akira asked.

"Yep, sure did." Kanade grinned. "Been through plenty of places to have fun, do photoshoots while sightseeing, concert rehearsals for Tsubasa and Maria, and other stuff. Shinji made me a photographer during the day, though Noelle's not too bad with a camera either. But it's worth it to see Serena-chan smiling and having fun with her close friends and her older sister."

"Although... there were some embarrassing moments that happened along the way." Tsubasa added while blushing.

"Which ones?" Zeo asked.

"I... don't want to talk about it."

"It didn't involve the crazy fanboys again, right?" Gaius asked.

"Well, it's no trouble at all thanks to Zaychik and her stealth mecha keeping an eye on us."

"...Bronya's strolling along London with Seele and her friends, and she still brought along the damn mecha... What the heck." Akira remarked with a sweatdrop, with Zeo and Gaius having the same expression.

"Yeah, I don't get it either." Kanade agreed with a sweatdrop while rubbing the back of her head. "But hey, I'm not gonna question why since it's her guardian mecha, after all. However, it's good to see her smile and having fun."

"Bronya Zaychik? Smiling? Man, I wish I could've seen that." Zeo commented, with Gaius and Akira nodding. "Anyway, what are you two doing here? Shouldn't you two be sleeping by now?"

"Actually, I was looking for you three. Woz told me where to find you since you're not inside the Zi-O Liner." Kanade answered.

"Something up?" Gaius asked.

"Well... let's just say that I've got a little surprise planned tonight." Kanade smirked.

"And yet you never told me what it is yet." Tsubasa said.

"Oh don't worry, you'll find out soon enough." Kanade winked to her partner before turning to the three heroes. "Come on down and follow me, guys." She then grabbed Tsubasa's hand and walked north. "Let's go, Tsubasa."

"W-Wait, Kanade! You don't have to escort me like that! I can walk by myself!" Tsubasa responded as she was escorted away by her partner.

"I wonder what Kanade's planning?" Akira pondered.

"Well, let's find out." Zeo replied, earning a nod from them before they climbed down and went after the two idols.

---

A few moments of walking later, they caught up with the idols as they arrived at a large open area where they saw several metal benches, a stage with headlights, along with a piano on the left side of the stage with Miriam manning the piano. Not only that, the rest of their friends in their casual clothes are waiting on their seats. On the left side, Hibiki, Miku and Chris sat on the front row, while Maria, Serena, Kirika and Shirabe sat on the bench behind them; and on the right side, Kiana, Kallen, Theresa and Mei sat on the front row, while Sakura, Fu Hua, Lumine and Regina sat on the bench behind them, and also Bronya and Seele sitting on the bench behind them. Tsubasa, Zeo, Akira and Gaius were surprised at the sudden appearance of a mini-stage while Kanade simply chuckled when she saw their reactions.

"Ah! There you guys are! Over here!" Hibiki waved at the arrivals as the ones seated turned their attention towards them.

"I was wondering where you guys are." Regina smiled. "What are you guys up to?"

"Oh, just thinking about stuff while gazing at the stars above." Akira replied.

"But we do have an announcement to make." Zeo said.

"We do?" Gaius and Akira questioned.

"Yep." Zeo nodded as he glanced at the stage area. "I dunno what Kanade is planning, but I think this might be the perfect opportunity to tell them what we're planning. But first..." He then turned to Kanade and gestured at the stage area. "What is this?"

"Oh, this?" Kanade responded. "Well, I had a little help with a few others to make this place while you're busy with your mission back in Japan. Before I reveal what my surprise is, I'll need to wait for GV, Joule and Noelle to come back with Copen and Lola."

"We're here, Kanade!"

"And right on cue." Kanade smirked as they turned to see Gunvolt, Joule, Copen and Lola arriving in their casual attire, with Noelle as their escort.

"Kanade, is it really okay for me to come out here? I'm busy with something." Copen questioned with his arms crossed.

"Oh, come on, Copen! Could you at least spare a few minutes to come by and listen first?" Kanade questioned back. "And besides, you really need to learn to relax more instead of working too much. Einstein and Tesla can take care of it while you're here."

"See, Boss? Told ya you need to relax a bit." Lola stated.

"She's right, you know." Theresa agreed. "I may be a commander, but I can still spare some time to relax a bit. Too bad Himeko are Sucrose chose to stay in Japan for the day, but oh well. Anyway, come on and join us, Copen. That's an order."

"...Alright, if you insist." Copen eventually accepted after a bit of pondering before he and Lola sat on the bench behind Maria and Serena, while Gunvolt and Joule sat next to Copen and Lola.

"Don't worry, Copen. I'm sure it'll be worth it by coming here." Joule assured. "Even GV wouldn't mind coming along."

"Hey, I was just a little curious at what Kanade's planning." Gunvolt pointed out. "And besides, I don't feel like sleeping yet."

Copen sighed before smiling. "Well, I guess I was feeling a bit curious about it too, Gunvolt, Joule. Hope it's worth it as you said."

"With that said, my work here is done." Noelle bowed. "I'll head back now."

"Hey wait, come and stay with us!" Lumine interjected.

"But, someone needs to clean the Zi-O Liner."

"Aren't you forgetting Shinji and Naomi taking care of the cleaning?" Maria mentioned. "And besides, you need to relax too."

"Not only that, you're the one who escorted us here, so it wouldn't be right to send you back to work." Gunvolt added.

"But... if I rest... I'll feel guilty." Noelle responded.

"Guilty? For what?" Kallen questioned. "There's nothing wrong with relaxing every once in a while. If you work too much, you won't be able to have enough energy to do everything else."

"You... really think so?" Noelle asked, earning a nod from Kallen.

"Kallen-san is right, you know. You're trying to become a knight, right?" Hibiki asked, earning a nod from Noelle. "Well, sometimes during my training with Master, I occasionally have to take small breaks so that I can continue training to my maximum abilities."

"That's right." Kiana agreed. "Just think of resting also being part of your training routine. The same rules apply when you're doing chores since you also need to take a quick break before resuming work."

"For once, the Bronya agrees with Kiana's statement." Bronya agreed with Seele nodding.

"Hmm... resting... for the sake of training..." Noelle pondered at what Kallen, Hibiki and Kiana said, making her realize as she gently slammed her palm with her fist. "Oh, I get it now! It's no wonder Ms. Lisa has afternoon tea in the library."

"Who's Lisa?" Akira asked.

"Oh, right. Ms. Lisa is a librarian in charge of the Mondstadt library, and a close friend to Master Jean. Lisa is also a Catalyst User with the power of Electro." Noelle explained.

"Catalyst User?" Serena repeated.

"It's another word for mage or spell-caster." Noelle clarified.

"Ah, I see. So Lisa's an Electro Mage. That's pretty amazing."

"Hehe, yes she is." Noelle giggled. "Which is why she's has the title of Grand Mage."

"Grand Mage, huh? With a title like that, she must be a very powerful mage." Miriam commented.

"Yes, she is." Noelle confirmed.

"Hmm... now I'm even more curious to visit Teyvat." Fu Hua remarked.

"I wanna visit that world, too!" Shirabe added.

"Me too, dess!" Kirika also added.

"I'm sure we'll get the chance soon, you're all welcome to visit." Noelle approved with a smile.

"With that said, wanna come and sit with us to relax?" Akira asked.

"I'd be delighted." Noelle accepted.

Lumine stood up, walked towards Noelle and grabbed her hand. "You can sit with me, if you don't mind."

"Of course, Lumine. Thank you." Noelle smiled back as she was escorted by Lumine to her seat and sat next to her.

"Hey Kanade, is it alright if Akira, Gaius and myself do our announcement here first before you reveal what you're planning?" Zeo requested.

"Hmm... I dunno what your announcement's gonna be, but sure. Go ahead." Kanade approved. "Me and Tsubasa will sit first while you three go on stage."

"Thanks." Zeo nodded as he, Akira and Gaius went on stage while Kanade and Tsubasa sat next to Hibiki.

Once the three chosen heroes are on stage, Zeo took a deep breath before speaking. "Right then, is everyone ready and willing to listen?" He asked the group, earning a nod from them. "First of all, Gaius, Akira and myself started out as normal people before all of this happened. We only chose to become heroes to protect ourselves from the monsters that attacked us. No offence to Kanade, Serena, Kallen and Sakura since we didn't know you fell victim into those monsters."

"It's fine, we understand." Sakura assured as she, Kallen, Kanade and Serena nodded.

"Good." Zeo nodded back. "Since then, we met Woz, Naomi and Einstein who then told us about the Neo Time Jackers and how they go about destroying the multiverse. Though the moment we became those chosen heroes, there's no turning back. We'll have to go through this journey till the very end. But honestly, we're not gonna let those time jacking jerks get away with messing with the multiverse."

"Indeed." Fu Hua agreed. "They're the ones that planned to steal Gjallarhorn in the first place."

"But then the unknown third party intervened and shattered Gjallarhorn before scattering the fragments all across the multiverse, which in turn caused the Dimensional Quakes to occur, and forcefully teleported us away from our own worlds." Theresa added.

"At least with that quake, I'm finally free from the Sea of Quanta and was able to reunite with Bronya." Seele said.

"The Bronya is happy to see you again, safe and sound." Bronya smiled, making Seele smile back.

"Also to note that the Dimensional Quakes also caused Serena-chan and I to be revived, along with our relics fully repaired." Kanade said. "That, and there's also some side effects. For my case, I was fully compatible with my relic, so there's no need for me to use LiNKER."

"For mine and Mei's case, the Herrscher Cores inside our bodies were removed and were sent to some other random world, though some leftover powers are still within our bodies." Kiana added.

"And as for Major Himeko, she now has a longer lifespan since being teleported by the quake gave her Honkai resistance inside her body, so there's no need to use the artificial Stigmata." Mei also added.

"I see. It may be a blessing in disguise, but it's still a threat since the fragments caused Distortions on the worlds." Tsubasa stated.

"Exactly." Zeo nodded. "And now, here we are as an alliance made up of heroes from different worlds to recover those Gjallarhorn fragments, stop the Neo Time Jackers, and save the multiverse."

"Well you've already saved my world and made me work together with Copen on good terms without any senseless fighting." Gunvolt said with Joule, Copen and Lola nodding. "Not to mention meeting the Guardians and the chosen Mega Men afterwards."

"And you saved Shantae's world of Sequin Land while also finding me and the students of St. Freya, with the addition of Seele." Theresa added with the rest of her team nodding.

"Don't forget about me and Miriam, too!" Regina also added with a raised hand while Miriam nodded.

"Yep, I'm not forgetting that." Akira smiled.

"Don't forget about me, Sucrose, Noelle and that unknown man you saved while we're stranded in the Sands of Time." Lumine said.

"Yep, I remembered that too." Akira replied. "Also, I managed to find out who that unknown man is yesterday morning thanks to video game knowledge. His name is Galdo, and he's from a world called Zelwinds."

"Zelwinds?" Maria repeated.

"It's another fantasy world just like Teyvat, but plenty of differences." Zeo clarified.

"Ah, I see."

"Speaking of which, what ever happened to that lamp you used to give Shantae all of her Genie Magic back?" Miriam asked.

"Oh yeah, it's kept safe inside the Zi-O Liner Storage Bay." Akira replied. "Honestly, I'm surprised that I still have that thing."

"You have a magic lamp, Akira-san?!" Hibiki exclaimed.

"Well, it's not magic anymore since all of the Genie Magic returned to Shantae." Akira stated, before giving Hibiki a sly smirk. "...You're planning on making a wish with that lamp, aren't you?"

"Uhh... no...?" Hibiki looked away.

"Your face says otherwise, baka." Chris deadpanned.

"C-Chris-chan!" Hibiki retorted, making everyone else laugh in amusement.

"With that said..." Zeo clasped his hands. "It's time for this multiversal team to have a name. And it starts with the three ideal values of our team."

"And those values are?" Theresa asked.

"One!" Akira raised one finger above with her hand. "We cross through the multiverse not just to search for the Gjallarhorn fragments, but to also experience new adventures while also helping the people of those worlds with their problems."

"Two!" Gaius raised two fingers above with his hand. "The drive to keep moving forward, to never give up even in the darkest hour, and to chase our dreams to the fullest. Teamwork and forming close bonds is a must, but also, every single one of you must be an army of your own right in case of solo missions or when you're separated from your teammates."

"In other words, we all need to become a one-man army in a worse-case scenario." Gunvolt guessed, earning a nod from Gaius.

"Three!" Zeo raised three fingers above with his hand. "We're a rebellion against tyrants, corrupted governments and even unfair fates and destinies laid out by gods and deities. We'll make our own path to create a better future for everyone. Hibiki is proof of that during her battle against Shem-Ha. With the help of her friends, Hibiki defeated Shem-Ha with neither her fists nor a sword, but by showing Shem-Ha the light that not even gods don't know."

"Hibiki..." Miku whispered as she glanced at her best friend with a smile.

"A light that not even gods don't know, huh?" Copen repeated silently as he glanced at Hibiki before smiling. "Heh, you never cease to amaze me, Hibiki Tachibana."

"IWAE! (Rejoice!) For this day shall mark the beginning of a new legend for our multiversal team made up by our three ideal values!" Zeo declared. "And this team shall be known as... Team!"

"X!" Akira said with a raised fist.

"D!" Gaius added with a raised fist.

"R!" Zeo added with a raised fist before he, Akira and Gaius finished with, "Xross Drive Rebellion!"

"Xross Drive... Rebellion..." Theresa repeated the name of their new combined team. "So this will be our new team name from now on..." She then began to slowly clap as she stood up. And then Gunvolt did the same thing, along with Copen, Joule and Lola. Hibiki and Kiana did the same thing, until eventually, everyone did the same thing as Zeo, Akira and Gaius gained a round of applause along with cheering for support.

The three chosen heroes can't help but smile and felt grateful for their friends' support. "Thanks a lot for the support, everyone. I'm sure we'll be an amazing team together." Zeo thanked the group before they sat down. "The day after the Queens of Music concert, when we head back to Japan, that's where we'll begin traveling to our next world, right after Woz tells us the tale of the previous Kamen Rider Zi-O, Sougo Tokiwa."

"So we'll finally get to know the origin story of Zi-O, huh? This should be interesting." Gunvolt commented.

"I'm pretty sure it will." Zeo replied. "Though we're only going to focus on the important parts and skip the boring ones."

"Fair enough. Watching the boring parts makes me a bit sleepy." Shirabe nodded, with Kirika also nodding.

Zeo nodded back before turning to Kanade. "Okay Kanade, we're done here. Now it's your turn with the reveal."

"Alright." Kanade nodded back as she stood up and turned to Tsubasa. "Tsubasa, come up on stage with me."

"Wait, me too? Why?" Tsubasa questioned.

"You'll see." Kanade winked as she grabbed Tsubasa's hand and walked on stage together while Zeo, Akira and Gaius left the stage and sat down on the front row. "Now then, you're probably wondering why this stage area was made." Kanade asked the group. "Well I secretly contacted Einstein, Tesla, Woz and Noelle to build the stage area for one simple reason."

"And what was the reason?" Tsubasa asked.

"I think it's time that I fulfill my promise to a few others tonight." Kanade answered as she pulled out her Zikan Phone, pushed a few buttons and... aimed at Tsubasa?

"Kanade, what are you doing?"

"Relax, Tsubasa! It's only gonna tickle you for a bit."

"Wait, tickle? What do you mean by-" Before Tsubasa could finish her sentence, Kanade materialized a white rectangular field in front of her as it passed through Tsubasa before disappearing.

"Wait... that's...!" Hibiki exclaimed as her eyes widen in shock with Miku feeling the same way as they recognized what they saw.

Tsubasa is now wearing an idol outfit consisting of a high-collared crop top with white shorts, a lowly belted pleated skirt cut diagonally from her left hip, a large light blue bow and left wing which is seen on her bustle, a pair of white and blue thigh-high stockings, and light blue boots with the left one reaching to her knee and the right reaching to her ankle. When Tsubasa opened her eyes, she took a quick look at herself and gasped in shock at the familiar outfit she wore before. "K-Kanade... this is...!"

"Yes. The same outfit you wore during the Zwei Wing concert a few years ago." Kanade confirmed. "And speaking of Zwei Wing..." She then materialized another rectangular field as it passed through herself, changing her attire during the process before the field disappeared. She's now wearing an idol outfit consisting of a light pink and hot pink strapless pleated dress with a light yellow petticoat, a large coral colored bow and a right wing on her bustle, along with a light pink scarf and a pair of white heels. "So, managed to put the pieces together?" She asked her partner with a grin and made the group gasp in shock at what they're looking at.

"Maria... this is...!" Shirabe exclaimed.

"Yes... there's no doubt about it." Maria confirmed while still in shock. "We're looking at Zwei Wing wearing their idol outfits a few years ago!"

"D-Dess?! Am I really dreaming right now?!" Kirika exclaimed.

"No, this is no dream." Serena confirmed while staring at the idol duo with awe. "It's really them..."

"So this... is Zwei Wing..." Joule whispered.

"Why do I feel goosebumps looking at those two together?" Lola commented.

"I know Kanade told us before that she and Tsubasa used to be an idol duo together in the past." Gunvolt recalled. "But seeing them together right now in those outfits... I'm a bit speechless at the moment."

"Yeah... I'm also at a loss for words." Copen agreed.

"(So this is what you're planning, Kanade.)" Zeo whispered to himself before smiling. "(Heh, talk about a dream come true.)"

"Kanade... are we performing as Zwei Wing again?" Tsubasa asked.

"Only for one night." Kanade answered with a raised finger before lowering it. "Unless there's another special occasion. And besides, we never did get to finish our concert last time." She then turned to Hibiki. "Isn't that right, little kouhai?"

"Hai." Hibiki nodded. "I was supposed to watch the concert with Miku, but she had to take care of her grandmother first due to an accident."

"I see." Kanade noted. "I wonder what will change if both of you attended that concert?"

"I'm honestly not sure." Miku answered. "But what happened, happened already, and here we are now."

"Yeah, you're right. No need to think about the past too much." Kanade agreed.

"So this promise of a concert is for Tachibana and Kohinata?" Tsubasa guessed.

"Yup." Kanade confirmed with a nod. "But it's not just them." She then turned to Gunvolt, Copen, Joule and Lola. "It's also for these guys, too. Especially Joule and Lola."

"Well, I was a little curious to see Zwei Wing in action after Kanade told me about them." Joule admitted.

"Though I can't help but feel excited to see the both of them perform!" Lola smiled. "Hearing Kanade's songs was good, but I'll bet it'll be even better when she and Tsubasa sang together!"

"Ehehe... you're making me blush, girls." Kanade chuckled while blushing and rubbing the tip of her nose before turning to her partner. "So what do you say, Tsubasa? Shall we sing for them?"

"Kanade..." Tsubasa responded as she glanced at the group with eager faces, wanting to listen and watch Zwei Wing perform once more, even it's only for one night. She can't help but smile as she felt a small hint of nostalgia performing with Kanade again after so long. With that in mind, she turned to her partner once more and gave her answer with a smile. "Yes. Let's show them the voices of Zwei Wing once more."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Kanade smiled back before turning to Miriam. "Alright Miriam, get the piano ready! It's time for the concert begin!"

"As you wish." Miriam nodded back with a smile as she sat down and ready to play the piano.

"Wait, you play the piano?" Fu Hua asked.

"Why, yes. I play instruments as one of my hobbies. Though the piano and the violin are my favourites." Miriam answered.

"I see. You have good taste in music." Fu Hua noted with a smile.

"Thank you." Miriam smiled back.

"Ah right, that's my cue!" Regina said as she stood up, brought out her flute and went on stage next to Miriam.

"Huh, never expected you of all people to play the flute, Regina." Akira commented.

"I had my practice during music class with a little help from Makoto Kenzaki, also known and Cure Sword, and she's also an idol." Regina replied.

"An idol who's also a Pretty Cure, huh? Interesting." Maria remarked.

"Alright, you two. We're ready when you are!" Regina said to Zwei Wing, who then nodded back as they stood back-to-back and closed their eyes with their heads down.

"Maybe I should've brought along some glow sticks." Hibiki muttered.

"Nah, I think glow sticks are a bit overrated." Chris replied.

"Amen to that." Gaius agreed with a nod.

"Hey, Tsubasa."

"Yes, Kanade?"

"Do you still remember our oath?"

"Yes... I still remember them even when you're gone."

"Good. Then let them hear it. For we are Zwei Wing. Together as one, even when we're far away, we can fly to the ends of the earth!" Kanade declared.

"Yes. Together as one, we can overcome anything!" Tsubasa added.

(Play BGM: Gyakkō no Flügel (Ver. Sōyoku no Sirius) by Zwei Wing (Tsubasa Kazanari and Kanade Amou))

Once Zwei Wing recited their oath, Miriam began to play the piano with a tune Hibiki and Miku knew in a surprised realization. Regina then followed up by playing her flute as they reached the beginning of the song. And then... Zwei Wing began to sing as they waltz together.

"Kikoemasu ka…?" Gekijō kanaderu mujīku

Ten ni

Tokihanate

"Kikoemasu ka…?" Inochi hajimaru myakudō

Ai wo

Tsukiagete

Haruka

Kanata

Hoshi ga

Ongaku to natta…kano hi

Kaze ga

Kami wo

Sarau

Shunkan

Kimi to boku wa kodō wo uta ni shita

Soshite

Yume wa

Hiraku yo

Mita koto nai sekai no hate e…

Yes, just believe kami-sama mo shiranai hikari de rekishi wo tsukurō

Gyakkō no shawā

Mirai terasu

Issho ni tobanai ka?

Just feeling namida de nureta hane omokute habatakenai hi wa Wish

Sono migite ni soeyō

Boku no chikara mo

Futari de nara tsubasa ni nareru Singing heart

"Wow... I never thought that we'd hear another version of this song! It's beautiful..." Hibiki commented.

"I agree." Miku nodded. "But I think I like this version a bit more, not to mention the atmosphere suits the mood here."

"Never thought I'd see the day Zwei Wing sang this song again after so long." Chris added.

"So this is Zwei Wing's signature song, but in another tone." Maria commented. "I must say, it's very pleasant to listen especially in this time of night."

"Mm." Serena nodded. "It's a very lovely song indeed, Maria-neesan."

"I didn't know they can sing another version of this famous song." Shirabe commented.

"Dess." Kirika nodded. "I can't tell which version I like more, dess!"

Itsu no hi ni ka wakaru toki ga kuru kara

Zutto

…Wasurenai

Sono toki ni wa kokoro no aru ga mama ni

Egao

…Wasurenai

Kitto

Boku to

Kimi wa

Ichiwa no tori no yō ni

Tōi

Kako mo

Te to te

Tsunagi

Ōzora wo tsuyoku kakete itanda

Soshite

Ikiru

Ima wo

Mita koto nai ashita no saki e

Yes, just believe sennengo no kyō mo umare kawatte utaitai

Atatakai yo

Kono nukumori

Zettai hanasanai

Just feeling unmei nante nai monogatari wa jibun ni aru Jump

Nigedashitaku nattara

Sora wo miageyō

Yūki koso ga kagayakunda yo Singing star

"Hehe. It's no wonder Kanade and Tsubasa are an amazing pair. They sang really well together." Joule smiled.

"Kanade showed you the lyrics before, right Joule?" Lola asked.

"Yes, she did." Joule confirmed with a nod. "But hearing them in person is a different story."

"So true. That's why the power of songs are very special, energizing us in many transformative ways. This is why we sing, not just for ourselves, but for the people who are willing to listen."

"Something tells me that this song is about to end soon." Copen said.

"If that's the case, then let's hear it till the very end." Gunvolt replied with a smile.

Haruka

Kanata

Hoshi ga

Ongaku to natta…kano hi

Tabun

Boku wa

Kimi to

Deai

Shinwa no hitotsu no yō ni tsumuida

Nani mo

Kowaku

Nai yo

Mita koto nai sekai no hate e…

Yes, just believe kami-sama mo shiranai hikari de rekishi wo tsukurō

Gyakkō no shawā

Mirai terasu

Issho ni tobanai ka?

Just feeling namida de nureta hane omokute habatakenai hi wa Wish

Senritsu wa tokeatte

Shinfonī e to

Futari de nara tsubasa ni nareru Singing heart
Motto takaku taiyō yori mo takaku

(BGM End)

Once the song ended, everyone stood up with a few tears on their eyes on some of them, and applauded with cheers to Zwei Wing, who smiled back and gracefully bowed, thanking them for their support.

"Beautiful... just simply beautiful..." Zeo said while shedding a tear before wiping it away.

"It felt amazing to see these two idols perform again after so long." Akira added while feeling the same way.

"Heh, damn straight." Gaius agreed with a nod.

"You were great, Tsubasa!" Kallen cheered.

"You and your partner performed remarkably great, Kanade." Fu Hua smiled.

"Thank you, everyone! We're very glad that you've enjoyed it!" Tsubasa smiled at the group who then sat back down.

"But we're not done yet!" Kanade added with a grin. "The concert's just getting started! Next up, ORBITAL BEAT! Kirika-chan, Shirabe-chan, this one's for you since you sang this song before!"

"Wait, they did?" Serena questioned as she glanced at her childhood friends.

"Uh... we kinda sang that song together during a karaoke contest at Lydian Academy last time, and that's before we became students there." Shirabe admitted.

"We did that to challenge Chris-sempai for a prize, dess." Kirika added.

"Did you win?" Serena asked.

"No. No they didn't." Chris immediately answered. "And even if they did, they were just lucky."

"Really? I kind of want to hear Kirika and Shirabe sing that song before I can reveal my opinion." Serena responded.

"Maybe next time, Serena." Shirabe replied with Kirika nodding.

"Alright then." Serena replied back with a nod.

"Okay Regina-chan, music please!" Kanade said, signaling Regina to pull out her Zikan Phone and played the next song in full volume so that Zwei Wing can perform.

(Play BGM: ORBITAL BEAT by Zwei Wing (Tsubasa Kazanari and Kanade Amou))

As everyone continued to watch Zwei Wing perform, Zeo looked down and felt a bit of uncertainty about something which gained the attention from his sister and Gaius. "Brother, is there something wrong?" Akira asked. "I thought you're already enjoying the concert."

"Don't worry, I'm still enjoying it. It's just that we're not the only ones planning the next course of action." Zeo replied.

"...I think I know what you're referring to; the Neo Time Jackers." Gaius realized, earning a nod from Zeo. "You might be right, though. I'm still wondering what they're gonna do with that Septima pendant they stole from Xiao."

"Not to mention they might also recruit enemies from the other worlds while searching for the Gjallarhorn fragments." Akira added.

"Makes me wonder if those Time Jackers might recruit the Bavarian Illuminati remnants to their side." Zeo pondered.

"Hmm... could be a possibility though." Gaius replied. "Either way, we'll have to be prepared for what's to come."

"And we're gonna face them together." Akira added.

"Yeah, you guys are right." Zeo nodded and smiled back as they looked towards the night sky above with determined smiles. "We are Team XDR, and we're gonna show the multiverse that the Rebellion is not just for show. And all I can say to the Neo Time Jackers and their future allies is this; Bring. It. On."

(BGM End)

---

Chapter 9: Xross Drive Rebellion

END

---

Author's Note: At long last, I finally get to reveal what XDR means on the title of this Book; Xross Drive Rebellion, or Team XDR for short. This will be the name of the multiversal team from this chapter onwards. The other reveal is that unknown injured person Akira and her team saved back in Chapter 4; which turned out to be Galdo from Fairy Fencer F. We won't be seeing him just yet until a future story down the line. Also, I'm here to announce that this Book is almost complete with only at least 2 or 3 chapters left. Also, Book 3 is going to be the last story for Arc 1. From the prologue and interlude, and all the way to Book 3 will count as the first arc of this series. Once we reach the second arc, that's where the real fun starts.

Well, that's all for now. Stay safe and see you next chapter!