Senki Zesshou Alternative: Sing in the Name of Love

by solopy567

Hibiki awakens in a world where mankind struggles for survival against alien invaders. The places she knew ceased to exist, and her dearest friends have become strangers. Left with no choice, she enlists in the military and joins the fight in search of answers. Her stalwart conviction, forged and tempered by countless battles, will now be tested in the war for humanity's future.

2. Chapter 2: Unfamiliar Ceiling

The eerie silence within the hummer was excruciating. The two guards escorting her remained quiet the entire time despite her attempts to get some information. They didn't tell her who they were, where they were going, or what was happening. Every inquiry was ignored as if she had never asked it in the first place.

And so, Hibiki was forced to ruminate on her own. The only clue she got as to where they were headed was the occasional bump in the road. She could tell they went uphill for some time, probably the hill leading towards the school. But why would they even go there in the first place? Were they going there at all?

It was just one of the many things she was confused about; the monsters were the first. Their disgusting forms were nasty to look at, and their aggressiveness was overwhelming. She remembered that the soldiers had called the big ones Grappler-class, and the smaller ones Soldier-class. She could definitely tell it was to designate the type...but what were they? Every idea she could think of sounded more absurd than the last.

Then came the mechas. She figured that these machines, particularly the gray ones, were the same type as the one that had collapsed on top of Flower. Only Ogawa seemed to have a different type and color from the others. She had to admit they were pretty cool, and that their ability to slay the monsters was unparalleled, but she still felt uncertainty as to their existence.

And to top it all off was Ogawa himself. Hibiki simply couldn't wrap her head around his behavior. Climbing out of that mecha was one thing, and that weird suit was another...but why did he aim his gun at her? Why did he say he doesn't know her?

To Hibiki, Ogawa was a sort of big brother figure she never had. Dependable, smart, and strong, he was a constant reassuring presence. He was one of the first people from SONG, then Section 2, to welcome her with open arms. He sat with her and talked to her after Tsubasa had used her Climax Song and explained how she felt. No matter the situation, she knew Ogawa could always be counted on, whether it was part of his job or just being someone to confide in.

To hear his threats and witness his cold attitude was like having a spear shoved through her stomach. It was so painful that the more she thought about it, the more she felt like crying.

After what felt like forever, they finally came to a stop. As the hummer powered down, the soldiers escorting her moved, one going over to open the back door while the other retrieved a black sack and approached her.

Immediately she was on guard. "W-what are you doing!?"

"Be silent," he demanded. "You'll do as we say, understand?"

"Please, I just want to know what's—"

"Do you understand?"

She wasn't prepared to confront that ominous tone, so she swallowed nervously and nodded. He then took the sack and placed it over her head, completely blinding her to her surroundings.

She had seen scenes like this in the movies she had watched with Genjuro. In order to prevent the captive from memorizing escape routes, the captors cover their eyes while they lead them to their destination. It was a staple in movies, but she never imagined she'd experience it in real life.

The soldier then grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the hummer. Her feet touched upon something that felt like concrete, and moments later she heard the hummer's back door slam shut. From there, she felt someone put his hands on her cuffed wrists and push her forward.

"Walk," the soldier said. "And don't ask any questions."

"Y-yes..."

And so they began their trek. With two of her senses currently disabled, Hibiki took the opportunity to listen as much as she could to her surroundings.

Nobody talked, so the only sound available to her was the sound of their feet on the floor. At first, she heard the dull sound that is made when walking on concrete, but it then abruptly changed to the heavier sound of metal. They took frequent turns, either because their destination was far away or in order to confuse her, and soon enough she found herself perplexed as to where they were going at all.

Regardless of where it was, one thing was for certain: she was being treated like a criminal. Ogawa had called her an 'anomaly', whatever that means. She hoped this was just a repeat of her initial meeting with Section 2, as she was treated somewhat similarly back then, although with a lot less secrecy.

She hoped that there was a surprise party waiting for her at her destination. She still held onto hope that this was just some kind of prank on SONG's part; perhaps an initiation ritual or something equally as preposterous. Regardless, whenever the sack is to be removed from her face, she hoped that the first thing she'd see is a familiar face.

They came to a stop suddenly, and she heard a door open in front of her. She was then pushed inside, and the soldier led her towards what she figured was a chair.

"Sit," he said.

"But I—"

"Sit."

She gulped. She felt around with her feet for the chair, and maneuvered herself to sit down. She heard the soldier walk around behind her, undo the cuffs...and proceed to trap her again, this time tying her to the chair itself. They wanted to make sure she couldn't run away, she supposed.

With their duty done, the soldiers left and closed the door behind them. Now left completely alone, Hibiki once again was forced to wait in silence. Her best guess as to where she was was an interrogation room, just like in the movies. Those perfectly square rooms with a single table in the middle and two chairs, one for the captive and one for the interrogator. A single lamp was most likely hanging right above the table, and on the wall in front of her there was most likely a one-way mirror, with a bunch of people on the other side studying her behavior.

That was, of course, the complete opposite of the surprise party she hoped for.

A few minutes later, the door once again opened. Someone with hulking, heavy steps walked inside, most likely a man, and shut the door behind him. He walked over to the empty seat, sat down, and swiftly pulled the sack off of her head.

Hibiki squinted her eyes as they adjusted to the sudden light. Moving her head to-and-fro, she was able to quickly confirm her guess as to her location.

"State your name," he demanded.

For a moment, Hibiki wasn't sure what he said. Then she realized his voice felt insanely familiar. As her eyes finally cleared and she got a good look at him, she couldn't help shoot to her feet, bringing the chair up with her.

"Master!"

There was no doubt about it; the person in front of her was Kazanari Genjuro, the commander of SONG and her personal martial arts master who taught her everything she knows. His features, from his auburn slicked-back hair, short beard, and massive eyebrows were all a dead giveaway. However, the difference was in his expression; his face was firmer, and sported wrinkles and scars she had never seen before.

His uniform was equally as unfamiliar. It was gray with light blue accents, and on the propped up collar she could see stripes she recognized were military ranks, made up of four of those bird-thingies whose name she couldn't remember. She never really cared for those.

He looked at her with his brow furrowed as she continued, "I'm so glad to see you! Listen, everything's gone so crazy! The city is gone and there are these weird monsters and mechas and I can't find Miku and Ogawa-san was acting all weird and I tried calling you but no one would pick up and the sub was gone and I don't know what's going on!"

Her voice was confused yet hopeful. There was nobody in the world more dependable than Genjuro after all. Whatever was going on, she knew he was going to figure it out.

However, that hope was dashed the moment he opened his mouth again.

"I have no idea who you are."

Shock filled her to the brim. "E-eh? Come on Master, is this a prank? Is everyone else behind that mirror? Please tell me they are! If this a joke then please tell me! Everything's been so weird this morning and I didn't even get to eat and—"

"Be quiet," he said, shutting her up. "And sit your ass back down."

His uncharacteristic swearing caught her off guard. She stared at him dumbly, her mouth half gaping. When she didn't heed his orders, he repeated himself.

"I said sit down!"

His voice came out in half a bellow. It sent shivers down her spine, and once again filled with confusion and fear, Hibiki fell silent and sat back down, bringing the chair back to the ground.

"Now then," he began, crossing his arms. "I have no idea why you're calling me Master, since I've never met you before in my life. In that case, let's start from the top: state your name."

"I-I—"

"State. Your. Name."

His harsh tone caused her heart to clench. She bit her lip and obediently answered. "T-Tachibana Hibiki."

"Age?"

"Seventeen."

"Hometown?"

"C-Chiba."

He paused. "I see, then let me get straight to the point, Tachibana Hibiki," he said, leaning forward. "Are you a spy?"

She was instantly alarmed. "What!? No!"

"Are you working for the Americans? The Soviets? The Anti-Imperial forces?"

"I'm not!" she yelled defiantly. "I don't even know who those last two are!"

"In that case, who are you?" he asked firmly. "Our scanners detected an Aufwachen signal, and surprisingly enough it came from you. You show up out of nowhere with the Gungnir Symphogear, defeat nearly a hundred Soldier-class and one Grappler-class BETA on your own, and claim to know both myself and my lieutenant. You're an anomaly, Tachibana Hibiki, and I intend to find out exactly who you are, where you came from, and how you came by that Symphogear."

He leaned back in his seat as he finished speaking. Hibiki took a moment to try and process what he said...and failed spectacularly. She stared at him with her eyes wide, unable to comprehend what he was talking about.

What the heck is a BETA? Is that the name of those monsters? Also, by his lieutenant, did he mean Ogawa? He also called her an anomaly again. What did he mean by that?

Why was she only getting more questions and absolutely no answers?

They sat in silence, and with her being too confused to answer, Genjuro pushed harder. "Well, start talking," he said, crossing his arms again.

"B-But Master, I—"

"You keep calling me that," he said as he leaned forward again. "Why do you keep calling me that? Is it supposed to be some secret missive you're trying to deliver?"

"N-No!" she exclaimed in pure distress. "You taught me how to fight and how to use my strength correctly! Everything I know came from you!" Her eyes glistened as she barely held back tears. "Please, if this a joke, then please stop it."

His face darkened, and all at once she was startled. "Do you think this is a joke, Tachibana?"

"M-Maste—"

"SILENCE!" he yelled, slamming his hand down on the table. She yelped in shock, and her words got stuck in her throat. "If you think this is a joke, you're in for a very rude awakening. Do you know what they do to people like you? Staying in jail will be the least of your worries. If you don't talk, I can't guarantee you'll leave this base alive."

She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. Everything he said built up further terror in her veins.

"It looks like you understand. Now, let's start from the beginning; where did you get this Symphogear?"

She once again swallowed nervously, and hurried to answer before he could threaten her again. "U-um, it's kind of a long story..."

He leaned back in his seat. "Well, unlike you, I don't have all day. If you want to guarantee your safety, start talking."

"W-well, I got my first one when I went to a concert—"

"A concert? By who?"

"Z-Zwei Wing. My friend Miku invited me but couldn't go, so I went alone."

"Who are these Zwei Wing? I've never heard of them before," he said, narrowing his eyes.

She blinked rapidly. What? That couldn't be. There was no way Genjuro never heard of— she stopped that thought right away as she noticed how hard his stare was getting. "They're an idol group that was made up of Tsubasa-san and Kanade-san."

That peaked his interest. He leaned forward again. "And by them you mean...?"

"Um, Kazanari Tsubasa and Amou Kanade."

He stared at her like she had said something completely impossible. He placed his right hand on the table, and she could see his eyes peek at the large mirror on the wall. "Go on."

"S-so I went to the concert and it was fun but then the Noise attacked, and Tsubasa-san and Kanade-san transformed with their Gears to try and save people, myself included. Kanade-san tried to protect me, but a piece of her Gear broke off and got stuck in my chest. After that she sang her Climax Song to defeat the Noise and died. I had surgery to remove most of the fragments but some remained behind."

He listened attentively, although he seemed to be skeptical. "Continue."

"So two years later I enrolled in Lydian and was going to buy Tsubasa-san's new CD, but then the Noise attacked again and I helped a little girl run away. When we got cornered this light in my chest appeared and suddenly I had my Symphogear on. I saved the little girl and then people from SONG— I mean Section 2 came along and took me to the base under the school and explained everything to me."

He seemed to be ruminating on her words, but by the way his eyes narrowed, he looked to be increasingly doubtful.

"And I fought Fine-san together with Tsubasa-san and Chris-chan, and then FIS showed up and at some point the fragments were purified from my body so I got this one from Maria-san."

It was an extremely abridged version of the events, but she didn't feel like it was necessary to say everything. He's Genjuro after all, no? He should know all of this already.

However, something was most definitely wrong.

He sighed, "So you say you fought Fine?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "And this Maria... Who are you referring to? And who are this FIS?"

She took a second to collect herself under his rapid-fire questions. "Um, Maria-san's name is uh... Maria Cadenzavna Eve. Did I say that right? And FIS were...I don't remember who they were, but I remember they were connected to Fine-san, and Maria-san, Kirika-chan, and Shirabe-chan were a part of it."

"And who are these last two?"

"Um, Akatsuki Kirika and Tsukuyomi Shirabe."

He paused again, "I see."

At that, he fell silent for a very long moment. His gaze scrutinized her deeply, making her feel awkward and uncomfortable. She squirmed in her seat, as if trying to present a smaller target for his stare. He then leaned back in his chair again, one hand on the table, and spoke.

"Well, it's clear as crystal to me what's going on," he said, causing her to perk up. "You're lying."

All at once she was alarmed again. "W-wha—? But Master, I'm not lying! I swear!"

"Really now? Then explain this," he began. "All of the people you've spoken of were never a part of any other organization. This SONG of yours never existed, and Section 2 was shut down when the BETA invaded Japan."

She blinked rapidly, realizing he had just said something outrageous extremely casually. Before she could prod further, he continued. "Kazanari Tsubasa, Yukine Chris, Maria Cadenzavna Eve, Akatsuki Kirika, and Tsukuyomi Shirabe are all fresh recruits who've just started their boot camp training in this base. Furthermore, it would have been impossible for you to have fought Fine because she perished in the fight against the BETA a long time ago, and from the looks of you, you're not even pushing twenty years old. And to top it all off, there were never two Gungnir Symphogears made. There's only one person capable of making them, and I assure you, they only ever made one."

It was Hibiki's turn to look at him with narrowed eyes and a face of utter confusion. What...what the heck is he saying? Everything he said sounded completely alien to her. And again with those BETA; what the heck were they? Every time he mentioned them it was in an increasingly more absurd scenario.

She didn't understand. She didn't understand at all. And Genjuro seemed entirely convinced of his explanation, which obviously clashed with her own retelling of the events she knew.

"As such, it's clear as day that you're trying to deceive us," he said, rising from his seat and crossing his arms. He loomed over her, nearly reaching the ceiling with his head. His darkened face terrified her to the core. "Since you're obviously not willing to tell the truth, it seems I'll have to get it out of you the hard way."

She didn't like how he emphasized that last part. "Master, I—"

"Drop this 'Master' thing you've been going on about. I'm getting sick and tired of it. I'll be taking you to a cell, and from there we can decide what to do with you."

He began to approach her, and from the heaviness of his steps, she instinctively cowered. With her hands bound, she wouldn't be able to defend herself.

But why? Why was he saying all this? Why is he acting like this? What is going on? Why why why why why why why why why why why why—

And then the door opened.

"Alright, I think that's enough, Genjuro-kun."

He stopped, and turned to the source of the voice. Hibiki, despite herself, found that she recognized it...but it was impossible. This person couldn't be here. She followed Genjuro's gaze, and once again froze.

"R-Ryoko-san!?"

Standing in the doorway, sporting a similar uniform to Genjuro but with a lab coat on, was someone that couldn't possibly exist.

"Oh my," the woman said, eyeing Hibiki. "So you know my name too? Fascinating. Although by the look on your face, you look like you've seen a ghost."

She had no idea how close to the truth that statement came. Sakurai Ryoko, the former head scientist of Section 2 and the creator of the Symphogears, as well as the last known host of Fine. Hibiki vividly remembered her interactions with the woman, and how she had crumbled to dust right before her eyes.

She was supposed to be dead. Yet, here she was, standing there with that familiar smile on her face, hiding some unknown truth behind it.

"Professor Sakurai," Genjuro acknowledged. "What are you doing?"

"Well, I have some questions of my own to this girl you know. I can't just let you drag her off to be tortured so quickly. I want to have a taste too~" Ryoko said, twirling her pen in the air.

The man sighed heavily, "Again with your strange whims." He looked to Hibiki, "But I'm staying here. Who knows what she'll try."

Ryoko giggled, "I assure you dear, she won't try anything while I'm here."

This entire exchange went over Hibiki's head as she once again struggled to process what was going on. How could Ryoko be here? What was she talking about? What questions!?

Ignorant to their captive's internal turmoil, the two continued, "Very well," Genjuro confirmed, and allowed Ryoko to pass. She smiled in his direction, then approached Hibiki in a leisurely manner.

"Now then, before we start, I'll be taking this~"

And without asking for consent, grabbed the pendant around Hibiki's neck and tugged on it to break the cord.

"Wait! That's mine!" the girl protested.

"Is it now?" the scientist asked in a mocking tone. "Well, we'll see about that, won't we?"

She circled the table and sat down on the now empty seat, crossing her legs. Her head tilted, she studied the pendant carefully, holding it before her eyes by the broken cord.

"Intriguing..."

Hibiki couldn't say anything. She was still reeling from all the strangeness and shocking revelations that were dropped on her out of nowhere. She couldn't process everything fast enough to internalize what she was experiencing.

"If anything, what Genjuro-kun told you is true," Ryoko said to her. "Only one Gungnir pendant was ever made, and the last time we saw it, it was destroyed. And yet here it is again, although...quite peculiar. Did it undergo some modifications? I wonder..."

How...how the heck did she figure that out just by looking at it? Thinking about it again, Hibiki realized her mistake: this was Ryoko after all. She is the one who made it in the first place...or rather, Fine did. If Ryoko is here, does that mean she's Fine too?

"I would very much like to study these modifications, if you'd be so kind," Ryoko said, pocketing it. "Well, not like I'm really asking you. Unfortunately for you, the moment you stepped in here, you lost your right to choose. From here on out, we make the calls."

Hibiki could only mumble incoherently, "A-Ah...I, Uh..."

It was Ryoko's turn to lean forward on the table. She leaned her head on her hand and took on a thoughtful expression. "An unaccounted for Symphogear pendant, as well as a very interesting cover story...who are you really, Ms. Tachibana Hibiki?"

The girl couldn't help but stay silent. She wasn't sure what else she could say to convince the two of her identity and circumstances.

"Alright, I've made my decision," the scientist suddenly announced. "I'll be taking this girl to my lab. I believe it'll be easier to glean the truth from her there."

Hibiki's eyes widened.

"Is that wise, Professor?" Genjuro asked with a raised eyebrow. "We don't know what she's capable of."

"Oh my, are you worried about me, Genjuro-kun?" she replied with a sunny smile, causing the man to grumble. "I can handle myself just fine, no worries! And besides, without the Gear, I doubt there's much this girl here can do. Even if her claims to having been taught by you were true, a good old bullet between the eyes should be enough to stop any...incidents. I'm sure we won't have any problems, will we darling?"

Ryoko looked to Hibiki, and the girl shuddered at the casual threat on her life. She nodded hurriedly.

"Good. Now then, please uncuff her so we can go. I'd rather not waste too much sitting around. I'm a busy woman you know."

Genjuro sighed again, and walked behind Hibiki. He crouched down, took the key out of her shirt pocket, and unlocked the cuffs. Hibiki pulled back her arms and massaged her wrists while Ryoko stood up. She stopped by the door and looked to her captive, beckoning her to her side. "Come on now."

"Ah...okay," Hibiki mumbled, rising to her feet and walking towards the scientist. She briefly turned to Genjuro, who remained behind the seat. "Ah, Mas—-"

"Save it," he replied. "Get a move on."

And then he fell silent. His hardened, cold expression saddened Hibiki's heart, who wasn't used to seeing this behavior from him. As she followed after the scientist, she hoped that the mystery would finally be unraveled.

-!-

The walk to Ryoko's lab was surprisingly barren, Hibiki noticed. According to what both Ryoko and Genjuro said, this was supposed to be a military base. She figured she'd see soldiers walking around, yet for some reason, the path Ryoko took her through presented no such encounters.

As such, Hibiki took the opportunity to look around, studying the architecture around her. The steel walls were suffocating and dreary to look at, giving her a mild feeling of claustrophobia. The only thing that broke the monotony were the scattered signs plastered on the walls, giving directions to those lost in this veritable maze.

"Um, Ryoko-san," she spoke up uneasily. "So I was wondering..."

"Yes yes, you have some questions, don't you?" the scientist said, keeping her gaze forward as she led the way. "I do believe I have the answers. Everything points to that possibility after all."

Hibiki tilted her head in confusion. "What possibility?"

"You'll see in a moment."

She said nothing more after that. Taking the final turn, they came upon fork offering three distinct doors at its end. A singular metallic gate was joined by two smaller ones on its two sides, giving Hibiki the impression of a game show that asked you to pick the right one out of several. For a moment, she expected them to walk through the largest one first, but then Ryoko turned to the rightmost one. She withdrew a keycard from her lab coat and pressed it against the receiver by the door. After a small beep that confirmed her identity, she pushed the handle down and walked inside, and Hibiki followed right after her.

It was much larger than she had expected. As the door locked behind her, Hibiki gaped at the complex machinery that lined the walls of the brightly lit room. She recalled seeing something similar back in Section 2's original base under the school, and she knew she'll never know what each of them does. As her eyes scanned the space, her gaze fell upon Ryoko's back as the woman approached a giant tube right in the heart of the room.

"Ah," she heard a soft, extremely familiar voice say. "Welcome back, Ryoko-san. Have you finished your business?"

"Yes yes, and I even brought a guest along," the scientist said, gesturing to the aforementioned guest. "How about you introduce yourself?"

"Very well."

Hibiki stared as the owner of the soft voice approached her, and once again she gaped in shock.

"Elfnein-chan!?"

There was no mistaking the owner of the minty green hair before her. She wore a lab coat over a uniform similar to Ryoko, only smaller to fit to her stature. Short as she had ever been, her cute mannerisms clashed with the questioning gaze she held as she tilted her head in response to Hibiki's statement. "My apologies, but I do not think we've met."

"It's me! Hibiki! Don't you remember me!? Don't tell me you forgot too!"

The panic in her voice was palpable, but Elfnein seemed to not respond to it. Rather, she turned towards the older woman behind her. "Ryoko-san, could this possibly be...?"

"I thought so as well, and considering what I've heard from her, it seems like we nailed it."

"I see," Elfnein murmured, then turned back to the guest. "Then let me introduce myself as well; I'm Elfnein Malus Dienheim, Professor Sakurai's assistant and alchemist."

She followed it up with a short bow, one which Hibiki failed to return due to her shock. She couldn't help but notice something very strange about the small alchemist's uniform, mainly an additional patch over the breast pocket that the soldiers outside and Genjuro didn't have. Her knowledge of English was lacking at best, but she recognized the alphabet well enough.

Unless her eyes deceived her, it said something along the lines of 'Alternative IV'.

'I wonder what that means...'

Her eyes darted back to the scientist. "Ryoko-san, what is—?"

"Come here and I'll explain," she said, beckoning her forward. Hibiki briefly looked to Elfnein again, who had already wandered back to Ryoko's side.

Uneasily, she joined the two, and looked up at the strange, glowing gem floating freely in the middle of the glass tube. She wondered why such a huge encasing was necessary for something this tiny.

"Do you know what this is?" Ryoko began, pressing a few buttons on the console in front of the machine.

"Uh... I don't. I've never seen this before," she replied, although the feeling she got from it reminded her of—

"I suppose you've heard of relics then, all things considered," the scientist continued, unpocketing the pendant she took from Hibiki. "But I guess you don't know what this one is."

Hibiki shook her head. "No, I don't."

"In that case, let me tell you," Ryoko said, and with a few more presses, brought up a multitude of translucent screens containing information Hibiki couldn't decipher. "This is a fragment of a unique relic called Gjallarhorn. Have you ever heard of it?"

Another shake of the head. "No."

"Well, it was a bronze horn belonging to Heimdallr, a god from Norse mythology. It was said that upon blowing into this horn, he would summon the Bifröst, the rainbow bridge that connects between Asgard, the realm of the gods, and Midgard, which is the realm of man, also known as Earth."

Her explanation, while interesting, failed to clue in Hibiki as to what she meant. "Um, Ryoko-san, how is this—"

"Let me finish," the scientist interrupted her, handing over the pendant to her assistant. "To put it simply, Gjallarhorn allowed for travel between realms. So, taking that into consideration, what do you think is its power as a relic?"

"..."

There was no way what she was implying was possible, right? Hibiki couldn't believe it. She may be dumb, but she's not so dumb as to miss such an obvious sign.

But it's too sudden. Too confusing. There's no way that—

"By the look on your face, it looks like you figured it out," Ryoko said with a small smile. "Yes, as a relic, it allows for travel between parallel worlds. Of course, this is but a small fragment of a much larger object, but its power is undeniable. That is quite an incredible ability, however, this little fella is quite temperamental. Throughout the entire time we had studied it, not once have we been able to get it to do what we wanted. That is...until today. Tell me Hibiki-chan, when did you wake up this morning?"

"Uhh... around eleven AM?"

The scientist pressed a few more buttons on the console, bringing up an additional screen for them to see. As Hibiki peeked at it, she didn't quite understand what was on it except a single set of numbers that she did recognize.

'11:00'

"And it just so happens that the very first energy spike we've ever detected from this fragment occurred at exactly that timeframe," Ryoko said, expanding upon the information she was presenting. "Elfnein-chan and I worked tirelessly to try and discover what was the cause, to no success. And then, as if by some strange coincidence, you showed up, activating a Symphogear that everyone on this base believed was destroyed. So taking all of that into consideration, what do you think that means?"

And once again, Hibiki could only gape in shock. When Ryoko put it so simply like that, it was impossible to ignore the signs. Her voice shook as she tried to put it into words.

"You mean I... I...!"

Ryoko threw her hands up in the air and flashed a bright, wide smile. "Yep! Congratulations, Tachibana Hibiki! You are the first person in recorded history to travel between worlds!"

And there it was. The finishing blow. The most unreasonable yet logical explanation to everything she'd gone through today. The reason why everything different and unfamiliar despite being the same place.

It was way too much to accept on the spot. Yet, for some reason, she didn't feel like she was breaking down from such an earth-shattering revelation.

"From the look on your face, you're taking this rather well," the scientist noted, her voice laced with a tinge of disappointment. "I expected a more... vivid reaction, to be quite honest."

Hibiki rubbed the back of her head sheepishly and let out a nervous laugh. "Well, I guess it's because... I've already gone through so many strange things, so I'm thinking that world jumping isn't all that strange in comparison, you know?"

"When you put it like that, I suppose that makes sense," the scientist nodded in understanding.

"So, um..." the girl mumbled. "Can you send me back? Everyone must be worried sick, and let me tell you, Miku is scary when she's angry, and—"

"I'm afraid that's not possible."

"...Eh?"

"You heard me. Unfortunately, I have no way to send you back," Ryoko admitted clearly. "As I've told you, the Gjallarhorn fragment is tempermental. Ever since the energy spike this morning, I've been unable to get it to respond again. It seems whatever triggered its activation had ceased, and it is now dormant again."

Hibiki let out a nervous laugh. "You... You're kidding, right? Come on Ryoko-san, this is a bad joke."

"It isn't a joke," the scientist replied, and the otherworldly visitor could tell from her tone that she was serious. "Sorry, Hibiki-chan, but I'm afraid you're stuck here. At least, until I can figure out whatever it is that brought you here and how to replicate it. But that could take any amount of time, from days to months, possibly years."

The girl nearly lost her footing at the grave news. She...couldn't go home again? She wouldn't be able to see her friends, her family, and Miku ever again? That's...that's...

Catching on to her distress quickly, Ryoko spoke up. "You're definitely here for a reason," she said, causing Hibiki to stare at her in confusion. "And for both our sakes, I think it's important we discover what it is. You being here with a uniquely modified Gungnir can help us develop ways to counter the BETA, so you could say that you being here helps us all in the long run. In short, I require your cooperation to develop methods with which we could save the world."

Hibiki immediately found her shock wearing off. She was one who never took her own circumstances into consideration, always putting the needs of others before herself. The fact that she was stuck in an alternate world had almost completely fled her mind in favor of the prospect of being able to save others.

That was just how she worked. She recomposed herself quickly, and looked at the scientist with a serious expression. "What can I do to help?"

"That's the spirit. Before we begin, however, you must first learn something crucial," Ryoko said, Turning to the console beside her. She turned her head to the girl as she asked her next question. "Tell me, Hibiki-chan, does your world have the BETA?"

"No," Hibiki responded, once again blinking at the unfamiliar term. "I wanted to ask... What are those things? I know it's what you call the monsters, but I still don't understand what they are."

Ryoko let out a contemplative sigh. "I see... Then let me show you."

She pressed more buttons on the console again. New screens displaying new information lit up, and the scientist, knowing her parallel world visitor wouldn't understand what they all meant, explained.

(Play: Whirlpool of Fate - Fate Stay Night OST)

The first was a black and white image, showing a desert plain devoid of all life. Dust and rocks littered the landscape, giving a dreadful sense of eternal isolation. Yet, something on the very right of the image covered part of the landscape, and its shape was too blurry and adjacent to the camera to know exactly what it was.

"1958, The landing module of the Viking 1 probe drops down on Mars and transfers back the first images of unidentified creatures roaming the planet's surface."

Mars?! That's impressive, Hibiki had to admit. In her own world, missions to Mars were rarer than rare. Space agencies focused more on the Moon due to the damage it had taken due to Kadingir's blast. It was further exacerbated when Shem-Ha had destroyed the ruins.

More clicks followed, and fittingly enough, this time an image of the Moon was displayed. However, unlike the one she knew firsthand, it was whole. No great ring of debris orbited around it, and there was no massive crater where the great tower had struck it.

"1967, a lunar survey team makes first contact with lifeforms discovered to be identical to the ones identified on Mars. The lifeforms launch a large scale attack on the lunar base, starting the First Lunar War, and ending with the complete annihilation of all human forces on the Moon. The lifeforms are from then christened as the BETA: Beings of ExtraTerrestrial origin which is Adversary of the human race."

More clicks. Another display popped up, this time showing a map of Earth's surface, particularly focused on Asia. The continents were shaded a dark green, while the oceans around them were a deep blue hue. The somewhat even distribution of the two colors was broken by a single shining red dot, placed on an area she knew was somewhere around China.

"1973, a BETA landing unit drops down on Earth in the Kashgar Autonomous Area of western China. They begin construction of their first hive, which functions as their main base. This is designated as H01, and..." she paused for a moment. "The beginning of hell."

There was a pause as Hibiki's heart clenched. What Ryoko just said couldn't be true, could it? This simple, tiny red dot was the beginning of everything?

She dreaded what was to come. Yet, Ryoko continued somberly, knowing that the information would shock her otherworldly visitor. She glanced to her from the corner of her eye, but kept her composure as she resumed her explanation.

More clicks. On the new map, the singular dot transformed into a tidal wave.

"1974, a second BETA landing unit drops down on Canada. The United States of America, learning from the events taking place in China, as well as fearing the same fate, deploy nuclear weapons in order to stop the BETA invasion. Their attempts are successful, but half of Canada is rendered an uninhabitable wasteland. Meanwhile, the BETA sweep through the Middle-East."

Hibiki swallowed. More clicks followed as another display came to life before her. She had already lost count of how many she had seen as she had been too focused on the unnerving information she was receiving.

The red wave expanded exponentially.

"1976, the BETA conquer Eastern Europe. The Noise, which have served as mankind's enemy for centuries, deploy en masse. Led by Fine, the three-decade long war between the BETA and the Noise begins."

Hibiki's eyes widened in surprise. Fine? The Noise? They...they fought the BETA? She remembered Genjuro mentioned it, but at the time she was too puzzled by his behavior to give it more attention.

All she remembered of Fine was a woman consumed by grief, stuck in a perpetual loop in her attempt to reunite with her love. She was glad that the priestess had her wish granted in the very end, and could finally pass on in peace.

Yet it seems that in this world, she did not have that luxury.

More clicks. The red wave, paused in Eastern Europe, turns eastward. She couldn't contain her horror at the rapid expansion of the BETA, tearing through the continent at breakneck speeds. She had never seen anything like this before in her life, not even in the movies. Yumi would've probably quipped at how anime this all was, but Hibiki knew that for the people of this world, they wished it was.

"1988, the combined Soviet-UN Alliance fails at stalling the BETA. The invaders begin their conquest of mainland Russia."

More clicks.

"2001, a full half of the Soviet Union falls. The BETA begin their invasion of India and China."

More clicks. The European Front, previously kept stable, is overrun. At that moment, Ryoko gave the piece of information that made Hibiki take a frightened step back.

"2008, the Noise are annihilated. The entire Treasury of Babylon is emptied and Fine perishes in the fighting. The Soviets succeed at stalling the BETA in Siberia. Half of India falls."

At this point, Hibiki was hugging herself close, shivering from the horrifying information.

Both Fine and the Noise...lost. That was unbelievable. The Noise, for all she knew, were endless. They were ancient and eternal, and their numbers surpassed even the expectations of the foremost experts on the subject. She doubted even Fine knew how many there were, and in her world, the Treasury had been sealed shut, so nobody could get to it again.

Yet somehow, that endless horde lost. They fought a battle against an enemy with the same tactics and had been defeated. It was completely preposterous to hear. It went against everything that she knew.

More clicks.

"2012, the Soviet defense crumbles. India falls. China finally accepts UN assistance, and attempt to mount a counteroffensive on H01. Their attempts fail. Half of Europe is conquered by the BETA."

More clicks. So much of Asia and Europe had been swallowed by the red wave that the previous green shade was barely visible. Hell, from what she could tell, they were being taken over at an even faster rate than before.

"2018, China falls. The Koreans mount a desperate defense of their peninsula. The BETA conquer the entire Russian mainland. The BETA are temporarily stalled in France. The Scandinavian peninsula is nearly overrun."

More clicks. The pace with which Ryoko went through the displays increased in tandem with the BETA's expansion rate. Caught completely off-guard, Hibiki could only stare, her own horror deepening along with them both.

"2025, Europe falls. Scandinavia falls. The Korean peninsula falls. Displaying a level of aggression uncharacteristic even for them, the BETA plow through the African defenses. Saharan Africa falls."

Click. She clutched at her chest, feeling like someone had knocked the wind out of her and refused to let her breath. With each advance, more and more of those faceless many she didn't know were added to the tally.

"2035, Africa falls. In an unprecedented move that we had believed to be impossible for them, the BETA cross the Indian Ocean using a deep-sea capable strain and invade Antarctica. They begin their sweep through the continent virtually unopposed."

Click. A once green Earth, shown even through a holographic screen had been reduced to ashes, leaving behind only a charred landscape, not unlike the one she had seen in the first image. Destruction that went beyond even scorched earth tactics, it was as if the BETA consumed the very ground they trampled upon.

It was brutality the likes of which she had never seen before. Her mind flashed back to the mangled corpses of the soldiers being ravaged by the hungry BETA horde, and the dripping blood and viscera that clung to their rotten teeth. It was disgust to the point of vomiting, and Ryoko's mere words made that nauseating feeling return at full force.

"2040, Antarctica falls. The United Kingdom evacuates their entire population to the United States of America. The BETA promptly take advantage of this and conquer the island."

Click. She had only seen those monstrosities once, yet on an instinctual level, she knew that what she had seen was not even the tip of the iceberg. There were so many more out there that she did not know, and she understood, deep down, that none were safe from their reach. The bright blue sky had become a prison from which not even a single person could escape, and all the survivors could do was fight to the bitter end.

And she was feeling their desperate struggles through nothing but a single, transparent screen that brought the message across better than even the most talented of storytellers. For someone like her, who lived for the sake of saving others, this was a hell she could not comprehend.

Finally, what she had feared finally took place. While her heart went out to the people of the world, to hear this next bit elicited a shiver she could not contain.

"2043, the BETA invasion of Japan begins. Within a few weeks, they conquer Kyushu, Chugoku, and Shikoku. By the end of the year, half of Honshu, including Tokyo, falls to the BETA. UN-Imperial forces launch a daring counterattack against the hive established at the capital. The initial assault fails, but by the daring sacrifice of a single person, the BETA defending the hive are destroyed. This would later be known as the very first hive capture and first victory against the invaders. Construction of Tokyo base starts, which is completed the following year."

The last set of clicks.

"This is the state of the world as of today, February 22nd, 2046. As you can plainly tell, we have been pushed to the brink of annihilation. Of the original six billion, only one billion remain of Earth's original population."

Hibiki felt weak in the knees. Her mouth was gaping, and her eyes were wide with horror that Ryoko found all too familiar. The first words she could utter following the end of Ryoko's explanation was a rapidfire of anguished questions.

"O-one billion!? H-how!? Why!? Why did they do this!?"

The scientist let out a sigh as she looked upon the harrowing figures again. "Who knows. Even now, we still don't know what the BETA's goals or intentions are. All attempts at communication have failed spectacularly, and while we've gleaned a lot from their biological structure, nothing was discovered about their motivations. For all we know, they're an army of automatons with no free will of their own."

"T-they're...just like the Noise, only—"

"Only far more dangerous. The Noise never came close to doing this much damage," Ryoko finished for her.

"Then how..." Hibiki asked with clenched teeth. "Those machines... Are they what you use to fight them?"

The scientist tilted her head for a moment before realizing what she meant. "Ah, those? Yes, that's what we use to combat the BETA. Those machines are called Tactical Surface Fighters, or TSFs, for short. They're the one thing that kept us from being completely exterminated. They first started development in the mid-60s, and by the time the BETA landed on Earth, production went into overdrive, as conventional weaponry proved to be insufficient in dealing with the invaders. Although even with them, we haven't been able to push back against the BETA. They're simply too strong and numerous."

Hibiki had to wonder. The efficiency with which Ogawa's unit had defeated them made the machines, now called TSFs, seem very powerful. Yet even with such a creation, they still weren't able to win?

And...five billion people died. She couldn't even wrap her head around that number. She had once heard that numbers that become so big also become incomprehensible. Unimaginable. They become a distant statistic, just like the scale of the universe itself. Something that the human mind couldn't possibly understand.

That was the case for her, and along with it, the dread grew in proportion. For a person like her, who prided herself in her ability to save others, the mere thought of most of humanity being killed was akin to having her very purpose ripped away by its roots.

And this has been going on for...nearly one hundred years. Two generations of survivors were caught up in the fighting against the BETA, and time and time again they had to deal with the fallout of defeat after defeat.

It was unbelievable. For Tachibana Hibiki, such a concept was the stuff of her worst nightmares.

Yet in this world, it was the grim reality.

"This...this isn't right!" she cried out. "So many people died and suffered... I can't accept this! I can't let something like this go on!"

Ryoko, despite herself, let out a chuckle, causing Hibiki to make a puzzled expression. "Sorry, I just find it funny how eager you are to help all of a sudden even though you're essentially stuck here. You're the type that can't let injustice go, can't you?"

The girl's face reddened slightly, and she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "I-I guess so," she said with a small laugh. "So what can I do?"

Before Ryoko could answer her, Elfnein walked over with the Gungnir pendant in hand. She approached the two, and looked up at the older woman. "I've finished the primary analysis of this pendant."

"And? What did you find out?"

"It's...quite unprecedented. At the base, it matches the construction of the previous Gungnir entirely, yet there are layers of modifications embedded in its core that are unlike anything I've ever seen. Moreover, there are not negligible traces of alchemical formulas, some that even I can't immediately recognize," Elfnein explained, and glanced towards Hibiki. "What sort of upgrades has it undergone? I'd like to know the specifics if possible."

Unfortunately, Hibiki had no answer to give her. She scratched her cheek as she looked to the side. "Um... I...don't...know? Sorry, I'm not really good at this sort of thing. It's beyond me."

"I see..." Elfnein murmured. "Regardless, I will keep on studying this pendant. From the manner it was worked on, I assume the Elfnein of your world did it."

Hibiki nodded in confirmation. "Then that will make it easier. I'll be keeping this pendant for the foreseeable future," the alchemist declared suddenly.

"Huh?" Hibiki said. "B-but that's mine! I can't just—"

"I think you're misunderstanding something, Hibiki-chan," Ryoko cut in. "As much as I'd like to help you get back to your own world, I unfortunately cannot just let you run around here freely. You don't seem to understand just how major of a development this is, particularly the reappearance of the Gungnir pendant, which we thought to have been destroyed."

"But I—"

"As such, there's only one course of action that we can take," the scientist continued, ignoring her protests. "Seeing as you're a Symphogear Adaptor, you will enlist in the military and work towards the salvation of mankind."

It took Hibiki a moment to process what the woman had told her. She blinked several times, and her eyebrows rose in bewilderment. "H-huh?"

"You heard me. You will join the special Symphogear unit, and train as a TSF pilot alongside the others."

"Wait wait wait wait!" Hibiki exclaimed, waving her hands in front of her. "I need a moment! I don't understand what you're saying! Start from the beginning please!"

Ryoko sighed, adjusting her glasses. "Remember what Genjuro-kun told you?" she asked. "You demonstrated familiarity with the members of the Symphogear unit, also known as the Valkyrie Squadron. Taking that into consideration, I can assume that even in your world they're Symphogear Adaptors, correct?"

Hibiki thought back to the interrogation earlier in the day. Yeah, Genjuro did mention the others. He said all of them were on the base, meaning that her own story didn't match up with what he knew.

That's why he didn't believe her. "Yeah, they are."

"Well, they're Adaptors here too. They're a special unit unlike any other in the world. They receive special training not just as Adaptors, but as TSF pilots as well. In our world, the Symphogears, while powerful, proved to be insufficient in the fight against the BETA; therefore, my colleague in the capital and I came up with a solution. You're a special existence, and as such I cannot allow you to do as you wish. If you want to get back home, this is your only option."

"My only option..." Hibiki murmured. Joining the military? That's...well, it's not like SONG wasn't a military unit already, but the implication behind Ryoko's words gave it a much different feeling than she had expected. "Is there really no other way?"

"I can toss you in a jail cell for the foreseeable future instead," the scientist said, pressing the buttons on the console to shut off the displays. "But that would be counterproductive. Think of it as a deal; You join us officially and help us fight against the BETA, and I figure out a way to get you back home. How does that sound to you?"

"Like I'm being swindled..."

"Indeed, it's not very fair to you, but it's not like you have a choice, do you? You look like the type of person who'd run off and face the BETA alone if it meant saving even one person."

Hibiki cringed at the accusation. Yeah, that's definitely something she'd do.

"Sorry, but you're too important to be allowed to do something so reckless," Ryoko continued. "Whatever experience and technology you brought from your world, we will make use of, no matter the consequences. I have a duty for this world, and I'm not willing to let this chance pass by."

The more the scientist spoke, the more Hibiki realized just how much desperation and frustration were seeping into her voice.

"Ryoko-san, can I ask you a question?"

"Hm? What is it?"

"Are..." Hibiki swallowed. "Are you Fine?"

Ryoko paused, and stared the girl right in the eyes. Their gazes met, and Hibiki could tell that the woman was mentally prodding her, as if trying to dive deep into her mind to figure out the meaning behind the question.

But her answer was swift. "No, I am not. As I've told you earlier, Fine perished in the fight against the BETA. I suppose I was her in your world?" she asked, and Hibiki confirmed with a nod. "Then sorry to disappoint you. However, I did inherit all of her research. There's no greater expert on her and relics than me in the world, so it's only natural I'd continue what she started. She sacrificed everything, including her own desires, in order to fight the BETA. For the sake of what she left behind, I'll make sure to save humanity in her place."

Something in the way Ryoko spoke made Hibiki feel nostalgic, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

"Okay... Then, what now?" she asked.

"I'll take care of the paperwork as well as give you a cover story. By tomorrow morning, you'll be a full fledged recruit in the Valkyrie Squadron. Do note that I will call for you regularly in order to question you more about your world; as such, I'll give you a security card that'll allow you to access this area," the scientist said.

Had she not already been familiar with such restrictions, Hibiki would've been completely lost. However, over a year with the others in SONG gave her enough experience to understand what she meant.

"You'll be joining the others in training and everything that follows," she said, only for Hibiki to suddenly interrupt her.

"So I'll meet my friends of this world!"

"Indeed you will, however..." the scientist began. "A word of caution: remember that this is a different world from yours. Even though they may look the same as your friends from yours, they are not them. Remember that their circumstances vastly differ from what you know. If you are not careful, you are bound to alienate them. You're a stranger to them, so make sure to keep that in mind. I really don't want to deal with your mental health too, as I have enough to do as it is."

That was a harsh way to put it, but Hibiki knew that she was saying it for her own good.

A stranger in a strange world, with familiar faces that have become strangers. In some corner of her heart, she dreaded meeting them.

After all, she hadn't started off on the right foot with any of the other Symphogear Adaptors. Tsubasa, Chris, Maria, Kirika, Shirabe... They were all hostile to her in the beginning before they warmed up to each other. Maybe...maybe it wouldn't be as bad as Ryoko said it would be? She hoped so.

All serious thoughts, however, were immediately caught off by a sound not unlike a whale's mating call. Ryoko and Elfnein looked to her with wide eyes, and Hibiki flushed under their stares, holding onto her treacherous stomach. She laughed awkwardly at the crudeness.

"S-sorry...I didn't get the chance to eat breakfast..."

The scientist sighed. "Well, it's fine. We're more or less done here as it is. I don't have time to sit you through everything, so I'll let your training handle the rest. It's pretty late anyway. You have to wake up early tomorrow."

"Eh? What time is it?"

"Hm? You didn't check? It's 11 PM."

Hibiki gawked. "WHAT!? It's been twelve hours!? How!? When!?"

Ryoko shrugged. "Time flies when you're having fun, I suppose."

"I can't really call any of this fun..." Hibiki groaned.

"And this is just the beginning," the scientist said, and then turned to Elfnein. She took out something from her pocket and handed it over to her assistant. "Elfnein-chan, please be a dear and escort her to her room. You know which one. I'll give Tomosato the heads up so she can bring her things and some food."

Another name Hibiki recognized. Another person she knew, but in this world, didn't know her.

It was going to be difficult getting used to this. Everything was happening so quickly she didn't really have the chance to piece it all together. Not even one day in this new world and she was already enlisted in the army pretty much against her will.

"Very well," the alchemist responded, removing her lab coat and taking what Ryoko offered to her.. She left her station and approached Hibiki, and stared up at her. "Follow me."

"Ah...okay."

Hibiki briefly looked back to Ryoko again, who simply waved to her with a smile on her face. "See you tomorrow, Hibiki-chan. We're going to have lots of fun together from now on, I can tell."

For a second, a shiver went down her spine.

Yeah, this was going to be tough getting used to.

-!-

Once again, Hibiki was taken through the twists and turns of the maze that was the base. She was led away from the lab area and up an elevator, and continued following after Elfnein through the similar looking hallways. She had to admit she already felt lost after the first few turns, honestly not looking forward to having to navigate it again in the future.

Luckily enough, the small alchemist knew the way perfectly. They walked in complete silence, and just as before, Hibiki was surprised to see not a single soul alive in the darkened corridors. She knew it was late, but she didn't expect it to be so dead as to appear abandoned.

After what felt like forever, the two finally made it to their destination. In a hallway seemingly in the middle of nowhere, they stood before a khaki metal door, its surface slightly scratch and the gray paint somewhat peeling. An empty nameplate to its right made Hibiki wonder who had previously resided in this room. Wordlessly, Elfnein took the keycard Ryoko had given her and pressed it to the receiver, and it beeped as it unlocked. She turned the handle and went inside, with Hibiki following after her.

The room was small, but more packed than she had expected. To the left of the door was a spring bed, upon which a thin mattress lay with a stack of simple white sheets. To the right of the bed was a metallic table, accompanied with an equally simple metal chair. Attached to the wall next to the table was an average sized closet, with its door slightly open. To the right of the door war, to her surprise, a sink, with a mirror right above it. To the left of the sink was another door, one she assumed to be the bathroom.

The room's walls were a faded white, and in some areas the paint was peeling, confirming it hadn't been touched up at all since its previous resident. The upper part of the walls were dotted with a dozen vents, from which she could slightly hear air waft into the room. All in all, she had to admit it wasn't so bad, even if it was a far cry from what she was used to.

Elfnein walked to the middle of the room and turned to Hibiki. "This will be your lodging from now on," she said, handing her the key. "I recommend you do not leave this room tonight. Tomorrow I will come to make sure you awaken on time."

She immediately turned to leave without even giving Hibiki time to say anything. Before she could head out the door, she called out to her. "Elfnein-chan!"

The alchemist stopped, and turned her head with a quizzical expression. "Umm... What happened to uh...Carol-ch— I mean, Carol?"

"...She also perished," she said evenly. Hibiki gaped in shock. "She did the best she could, but just like Fine, it wasn't enough. I will carry on her legacy and save humanity in her place."

That's all she had to say. Hibiki could say nothing as she left, closing the door to the room behind her.

And Hibiki was alone.

She let out a heavy sigh, and surveyed the room around her again, her spirits falling at its unfamiliarity and at her current situation.

She felt there was something quite ironic about the fact that the last time she was alone, she was in her room, in her own house, waking up to what she believed to be a normal morning. And now, she was going to fall asleep once again alone, this time in a room not her home, in a place she didn't know, and tomorrow wake up to a messed up reality.

"I really am cursed..." she said to herself. It's been a long time since she'd uttered that phrase, and she hadn't missed it.

She didn't have much of a choice, did she? Sighing again, she went to make the bed so she could have somewhere to sleep. It wouldn't be the first time she slept on a thin mattress on a spring bed; she had after all been sent to various corners of the globe to deal with supernatural threats. SONG didn't exactly have the need to prepare something more comfortable.

She was done a few minutes later, inwardly thanking Miku for her incessant nagging that forced her to learn. She laid down on her back on it, her arms spread to the side. She stared at the ceiling, pointlessly counting the amount of tiles it was made of.

What was she supposed to do? Everything was just so...overwhelming. She put an arm over her eyes and sighed again, recounting in her head the events of the day.

She was transported to a parallel reality by a relic she'd never heard of for a reason she did not know. The world had been overrun by an alien race that had pushed humanity to the brink of destruction and killed five billion people. Mankind was fighting back using giant mechas she'd only ever seen in anime. The friends and comrades she knew were different from what she remembered. Ryoko was alive, and Fine was dead. She had been forced to enlist in the army to repel the invaders and save humanity.

She was surprised at herself that she hadn't collapsed in tears at the sheer absurdity of it all. But she knew she didn't have a choice. All she could do was go along with what Ryoko had planned, and hopefully at the end of it all, she could go back home.

No matter what it took.

She laid on her back for a good while, forcing herself to not fall asleep. A sudden knock on the door brought her back to her senses, and she rose to sit on the foot of the bed.

"Come in," she said.

The door opened, and with permission given, the person entered the room.

"Good evening."

Hibiki's heart skipped a beat at the familiar voice. To her surprise, Tomosato Aoi walked inside, carrying a single kitbag with her. "I've been sent by Professor Sakurai to bring you your things, as well as provide you with all the necessary equipment and assets required for your stay here," she said in a professional tone that caught Hibiki off guard. She promptly dropped her baggage down by the door.

Hibiki rose to her feet to study the woman's form. As she expected, Aoi looked exactly the same as she remembered her, except with a different uniform that resembled Ryoko's, Elfnein's, and Genjuro's. Well, she figured it was the official uniform for the personnel of this base, but it still took a moment to get used to it.

"Ah... Thank you," Hibiki mumbled nervously. She wanted to call out to the woman, but remembered what Ryoko had said to her. This Aoi wouldn't know who she is.

"Oh, my apologies, I haven't introduced myself," the woman said. "I am First Lieutenant Tomosato Aoi, Tokyo Base Communications Officer and Professor Sakurai's adjutant. I look forward to working with you."

Polite and straight to the point, just as she remembered her. Fumbling with her own words, Hibiki responded. "Ah, um... I'm Tachibana Hibiki. I, uh... got here just today, so I don't know much about what I'm supposed to do."

"So I've heard," Aoi said with a nod of her head. "As such, I've brought you everything you'll need. You'll find uniforms as well as other essentials in the kitbag, and I've also been told to return your belongings to you. You'll find them in there as well."

"Ah! Thank you. I dropped my bag while I was outside and I thought I lost it," Hibiki said in relief. Well, she didn't so much drop it as she basically tossed it aside in her haste. She never expected someone would've picked it up and brought it to the base. That was a lucky break.

Aoi, however, didn't give her so much as a smile. She withdrew a square note from her breast pocket and presented it to Hibiki. "Take this. This is the official pledge you will have to recite tomorrow morning in order to finalize your enlistment. Memorize it by heart until you have it down perfectly. Reveille is at 6 AM. You must be in the gymnasium by 6:30 AM sharp. Since you most likely do not know your way around the base, a map of its layout has been provided for you. Make sure not to lose it."

She talked so fast Hibiki barely managed to keep up. "Ah...uh, thank you. Sorry to make you do this so late."

"It's part of the job," Aoi said. "If you have no further questions, I'll be taking my leave."

Without another word, just like Elfnein, she turned to leave the room. She took one step before Hibiki called out to her. "AH! Um, Tomosato-san, I do have a question."

"Hm?"

"Um... Do you think you can look for someone named Kohinata Miku? She's my uh..." She wanted to say girlfriend, but it was better to remain vague for now. "My friend, but we got separated so I was wondering if you could find her for me."

"Kohinata Miku..." Aoi repeated to herself. "Very well, I shall check the databases for such a person. Anything else?"

"Ah, uh... No."

"Very well. Have a pleasant night."

With just those words, Aoi left the room, closing the door behind her. Hibiki stared at it dumbly, the note still in her hand, and took another heavy sigh. She had asked about Miku a little bit impulsively, as she had been thinking of her deeply the entire day. Since this is a parallel world, she figured that the Miku here wouldn't recognize her...

Unless there existed another Hibiki in this world, in which case that'd be very weird if they met face to face. She briefly wondered how it'd be like to meet herself.

No, this wouldn't do. She slapped her cheeks twice and mumbled another familiar phrase. "It's fine, everything's just fine."

She knew it wasn't fine, but there wasn't much she could do about it now. She glanced at the note and grimaced at the long set of lines she had to memorize by tomorrow morning.

She was going to get to sleep very late today, wasn't she?

Before doing anything else, she went over to the kitbag and opened it, briefly glancing at the various clothes inside. Shirts, pants, shoes, and other things she expected to receive were all inside, as she had from SONG. However, she ignored them for the moment and rummaged through the contents, feeling for her personal bag inside and taking it out. From inside it, she took out her phone, and pressed the power button, hoping it worked.

It did, and she smiled at the picture of Miku, who wore a summer dress and a sunhat, with a big smile of her own.

She remembered that day like it was yesterday. Before they had become a couple, and before even facing the Illuminati, the two of them had gone to the beach alone and played around in the ocean and the sand. She had taken this picture that evening, as the sight of Miku with the setting sun at her back was beautiful beyond compare.

And now, this picture was the one that gave her strength, as if speaking to her from within it. With her spirit reignited, she set the phone aside on the table and returned to empty the kitbag of its contents.

There was nothing left for her to do other than to face this twisted world head on and join the fight against an insurmountable enemy.

No matter what it took.