Chapter 10: The Will to Protect

Chris stood near a lake while mulling over what happened on the day from a week ago.

"Finé said that a huge amount of phonic gain is required for the activation of Complete Relics." The girl thought as she turned to the Staff of Solomon in her hand. "I spent half a year activating the Staff of Solomon… yet they activated Durandal instantly."

The memory of Hibiki's energy aura with Ixa R's power surge lead to the reactivation of Durandal and restoring the sword to its former glory played in the girl's mind. Then the image changed to the shadowed Ixa R who quickly dispatched Chris and her allies with the sword. "And not only that… They made a crazy display of their power!"

Then she remembered the final swing from Ixa R that managed to split apart the sea.

"Tch. Those monsters!" shouted the girl in frustration as she punched a tree.

(Sanctuary- Tamaki Nami)

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

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

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

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

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

Kamen Rider Ixa R: Symphony of Hearts

Like a meteoroid… Falling, burning, and disappearing…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The mask of Ixa R shatters to reveal Akakishi's bleeding face. As he falls into an unconscious state, several colored chains wrap around his body and drag him into a dark abyss. As ash gathers and dissipates, Hibiki reaches out to Akakishi while he falls in the deep abyss, but she fails to grab his hand as a glass wall blocks her way. When the redhead disappears into the darkness, Hibiki sits in a fetal position with a sad look as chains of orange bind her. Then the scene transitions to the site of battle where several broken items belonging to the Kamen Riders and Symphogear users lay behind the amber-haired girl. Tsubasa is seen restrained in blue chains as she closes her eyes. Yoku is also seen with yellow chains covering her and her chained hand reaches out. Amelia hugs her legs as purple chains wrap her, burying her face in her knees. Liam, Lian, and Leah sit together with lonely looks as chains of icy blue restrain them together. Finally, Natsuko and Fuyuko are binded together in white and black chains respectively with their eyes showing no light.

Instrumental

The scene shows off three scenes of Akakishi and Hibiki hanging out with Miku, from their younger forms to their current ages. Then Hibiki opens her eyes and stands up, breaking apart her chains before transforming into her armored form. She punches the glass, shattering it. She jumps in and reaches out to Akakishi who slowly opens his eyes.

Tsubasa sees Eiji who reaches out to her and she reaches out to his hand with her chains shattering as she transforms into her blue Symphogear form.

Yoku's outstretched hand is grabbed by Shinnosuke who embraced her in a protective hug, causing her chains to break apart and her yellow Symphogear to take form.

Carter is then seen placing his hand on Amelia's shoulder, causing her to turn to him as her chains shatter and her dark purple Symphogear to form, and then he pulls her up to stand.

Takumi arrives and hugs the three siblings, shattering their chains and transforming Leah into her ice blue Symphogear form. The siblings smile at his appearance.

Shotaro and Phillip hold Natsuko and Fuyuko's hands, pulling the girls out of their shared lifelessness and looking to their male partners, causing their chains to shatter and their white and black Symphogears to form.

Smiling, Akakishi reaches out to the girl and their hands grab each other, shattering the redhead's countless chains and transforming him into Ixa R.

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

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

Hibiki charges into the fray of battle swinging her fists into each Noise in her way with practiced ease. Then Ixa R kicks down a large Noise before punching a Noise in sync with Hibiki. Then his armor transformed into its Gungnir Relic Score form with a glowing orange aura and Hibiki gains energy gem-like parts on her armor.

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

Tsubasa jumps in by cutting down several Noise with the blades on her legs. Next, Kamen Rider OOO lands and supports the singer by cutting down foes with his sword. Then the two transform into their Bond Score forms, Tsubasa gaining new armor respective to OOO's colors while OOO gains a blue glowing aura and blue circuitry.

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

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

Then Kamen Rider Fourze is shown with his Rocket Module active as he flies into battle.

Kamen Rider Kuuga II follows him with Amelia as they enter their Bond Score forms.

Kamen Rider Faiz enters in from another direction with Kamen Rider Cryo, Kamen Rider Crisis, and Leah following him.

Next, Double jumps in with Natsuko and Fuyuko following close behind him.

Finally came Kamen Rider Eternal standing with Kanade at his back.

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

Ixa R takes out a fuestle and equips his Reverse Knuckle while Hibiki pulls out the piston on her gauntlet.

/Taguriyosenagara/ - /A glittering dream/

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

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

The camera shows the armored hand of Ixa R reaching out and the armored hand of Hibiki grabbing it. The hands lace their fingers as the armors transition off. Suddenly the hand of Akakishi lets go, causing the amber haired girl to reach out to him.

Hibiki falls to her knees hugging the redhead's wounded and unconscious body, his armor cracked and in pieces along with parts of hers. She looks up in angered determination as the Symphogear users support their injured male counterparts or vice versa, their armors heavily damaged but ready to bring the fight to the blond woman and her Sympho-Riders.

Near the lake but far from Chris, Kiba watched the girl mull her thoughts.

"How long has she been like that?" asked Gotou as she walked to her senior's side.

"Since this morning." The black dressed woman answered with a calm tone. "I know I should do something, but I don't know what to say to comfort her…"

The younger of the two nodded and kept an eye on the girl. "Kenzaki-san always knew what to say to her."

"Indeed. She always said that Yukine-san was her responsibility." Kiba then turned to Gotou with a curious look. "Since you are here, I assume the Mistress has a mission for us?"

Gotou shook her head. "No. There has been no response from her since the last mission. In fact, I haven't seen her in the mansion recently."

"Really? She always is in the mansion unless she says she isn't. What's going on?" The ruby-eyed veteran wondered.

"I don't know."

"*Sigh* We'll figure out her whereabouts later. For now, we keep watch over Chris as we promised."

As the two talked, a blond woman in a black dress approached from behind. "You both do not need to worry about me…"

"…!" The two gasped and quickly bowed to the woman.

Back with Chris, she was still thinking aloud.

"Finé even stopped me… How can she be so obsessed with them? It was because of them that Kazuma-nii was…"

Chris remembered her painful memories of losing her parents and her capture and enslavement along with other children by the terrorists in the area.

"Ima wa Daijoubu desu (It's all right now)… You're safe now, so don't cry." A Kamen Rider with a scarab beetle mask and spade marks on his armor.

But the one light for her and the children in the same situation as her was the Kamen Rider known as Blade who saved them all from their captors. He even personally escorted her back to Japan before she was found by Finé.

Then the smiling face of the injured Kenzaki entered her mind and she could only grip the staff in frustration.

"And I'm all alone again." The sun soon rose over the mountain range which lit Chris's surroundings.

The sun soon rose up above the mountains in the distance, catching the girl's attention.

"Did you come to a decision?"

The girl turned to face the woman who stood behind her. "I know. I know what you're expecting of me. I can do what you want without relying on stuff like this." Chris threw the staff to the blond haired woman named Finé who caught it with ease.

"I will prove that I'm better than that dumb girl and her Kamen Rider! I'll crush anyone strong with my own two hands! That's my goal!"

The woman simply smiled at the girl's words and responded, "Very well. I'll leave them to you…Chris."

At Lydian, a new day had arisen.

Inside the Second Division Base, Durandal was placed in a thick glass capsule and then sealed in a heavily fortified cylinder. In the observation deck, Shinnosuke and the Double Riders were watching over the sword be sealed. Mr. Belt was in his mobile platform to observe the Relic's sealing.

"There, that should keep Durandal sealed and secured." Mr. Belt noted as the sealing of Durandal was complete.

"Yeah, now the enemy won't know where to look even if they try to trace the signal." Shotaro said with a nod.

"But we can't be too careless. That sword is still emitting quite the power despite being in that seal." Phillip pointed out.

"Either way, our job is done for now." Shinnosuke told his fellow detectives as he turned to them. "Let's report to Tendou-sempai and hopefully we can forget about this Durandal business for a while."

"Yeah…" Phillip nodded though he was curious about the design of the seal. "You can go ahead, Tomari-san. We still need to make sure the weapon is secured."

"We do?" asked Shotaro with a curious tone.

"Of course. Can't risk another Nehustan incident now, do we?" The knowledge seeker said with a certain look that Shotaro recognized.

The private detective nodded with a similar look. "Hm… You got a good point, aibou."

"…Agreed, we also need to make sure the seal is working. Right, Shinnosuke?" Mr. Belt turned to the police detective.

Shinnosuke gave a suspicious look at the ancient markings that appeared to be flow like circuitry and he nodded with his partner. "Yeah, we got time to make sure everything is in working order. Besides, we won't be picking up Yoku-chan anytime soon."

"Ah right, she's hanging out with Natsu-chan and Fuyu-chan." Phillip realized.

"Yeah, and that Amelia girl that Carter-kun brought in along with Cryo siblings' youngest." Shotaro noted. "I hope all of those girls can get along."

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Mr. Belt said with a smiling emoticon. "They should all enjoy their youthful days without worry, after all."

"That would be good… A lot has happened since the escort mission." Shotaro noted.

"Speaking of that mission, is… Akakishi-kun still at the hospital?" Shinnosuke wondered.

"Yeah, he is…"

At the Hospital,

"Ugh… I am so bored…" groaned a bandaged Liam as he laid in bed while Lian laid in the adjacent bed.

The silent brother simply slept while the louder one groaned in pain.

"He didn't have to beat us up that badly."

"He wasn't…" Lian stated as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Huh? That hell he wasn't, Lian! He kicked our butts!"

"If he was serious, we wouldn't be in these beds, Liam." Lian said with a definite tone.

"…Oh, you mean we would have ended up like Blade."

"Correct. Despite his rampage, Ixa R did not attempt to kill anyone. Rather, he was subconsciously trying to incapacitate. We all know that the Kamen Rider Drivers and the Symphogears require a lot of punishment to force the armors to deactivate."

"Good point… We aren't friends yet, but I got this gut feeling that… Akakishi wouldn't hurt people that he considers allies." Liam noted.

"…Guilt is a heavy thing." His brother responded with a knowing tone.

"It always is, Lian. All we can do is help him get through it."

"Will he accept it?"

"He has to… for his sake alone he needs to accept help."

In another part of the hospital, Akakishi was seen standing in front of a hospital room with a sad look in his eyes. In front of him was the unconscious Kenzaki who was heavily bandaged and hooked up on life support.

"Kenzaki-sempai…"

"How long are you going to apologize, Akakishi?" asked Tendou as he approached his student from behind.

"As many times as I can, Master." Akakishi said as he turned to the taller man who brought a fruit basket. "Why… Why would sempai go so far to protect that girl?"

"I do not know." Tendou responded the best he can as he walked forward and placed the basket on a nearby table. "But I believe that the last major mission that Kenzaki was involved in before she disappeared may be the reason."

"Mission? What was the mission?" asked the redhead who turned to his master.

"To liberate a group of children from a human trafficking ring." Tendou answered what he recalled.

Akakishi took notice of the mission detail. "So that girl was someone she saved… Do you know who that girl might be?"

Tendou gave a nod. "Yes. But we will discuss that at a later time, Akakishi. Sakurai called for you for a checkup."

Akakishi simply nodded emotionless, "…Hai. The usual room, Master?"

"Yes."

After the redhead left the room, Tendou sat at the side of his rival. "You lost so much just to save this world… never asking for anything. And yet you still continue to do so even for a single child's life. Humph, I guess you haven't changed much… Kazuma."

Meanwhile, some of the new Symphogear users were touring the city's mall to get used to their new surroundings before the school started up at the beginning of the week.

Near a fountain, Yoku sat on a bench while thinking a bit of the previous battle that ended disastrously.

Fuyuko sat near the younger girl and handed her a boba milk tea drink.

"Here, something to quench your thirst."

Breaking out of her inner thoughts, Yoku accepted the drink. "Oh, thank you, Fuyuko-san."

"You're welcome. Something on your mind?"

"You can tell?"

"Detective-san makes a similar expression when he's troubled. So what's wrong?" The Bluenette asked.

"…That girl. Why did she betray mankind?"

"Pardon?"

"Sorry, it's just… The Noise hurt and kill people. Everyone has a reason to hate them. To think that there's someone who can control them… It's just wrong! Doesn't she understand how many people have suffered because of the Noise? Why would she do that?" Yoku said aloud.

Fuyuko understood where the bluenette was coming from. The Noise were no joke despite how much ease the Symphogears and Kamen Riders could destroy a couple or an army. "Who knows what that girl is thinking? Either way, she is an enemy we can't hold back against. Even if we could forgive her, if she doesn't understand the pain she causes… there is no mercy for her."

"…I know. It's just… confusing. Aren't we all supposed to be working together to stop the Noise?"

Fuyuko nodded as she stared at the sky. "Every person has their own reasons to fight, Yoku-chan. Even our enemies."

"I guess… It still doesn't make it right to work with those monster."

"I didn't say that those reasons have to be right or smart. Or in this girl's case, might be misguided."

"…"

"Either way, I won't hold back. People like her would rather destroy other people's happiness without remorse." Fuyuko stated with a serious tone.

Yoku turned to the older girl with a worried look. "…Even if she's human?"

"Especially if she's human. She took a road of selfish action… and there is no turning back if she continues." Fuyuko noted.

Yoku turned to stare at the fountain with a troubled look before taking in her seatmate's words. "Never thought the path of becoming a hero would be so… confusing."

At a park near Amanogawa High, Gentarou stared at the sky while thinking about the girl who wore the Nehustan Armor.

"Gen-chan?" asked Yuki as she approached her childhood friend who was lost in his thoughts. "Is something wrong?"

The delinquent turned to his friend and tried to come up with a response. "Yuki-chan… Ano…"

"Is it about that girl?" The space fanatic guessed with a concerned tone.

"…Hai (Yes)."

"Do you know who she is?"

"I'm not sure. But I know a Chris-chan who has similar hair as that girl." The delinquent recalled with a whimsical tone. "Demo… she isn't the kind of person to hurt people just because she enjoys it."

Yuki understood where her friend was coming from since he had absolute faith in those he befriended. But she also knew that people change. "People change, Gen-chan. She might not be the same girl you once knew."

"I know… But… I don't want to believe the Chris-chan is hurting people without reason."

"Whether she has a good reason or not, she is the one controlling the Noise." Kengo stated with a blunt tone as he approached the pair with JK following him.

"Kengo-kun." Yuki said as she turned to the scientist. "JK."

"Yo."

"Noise kill without discrimination and someone who is using them as weapon will be held accountable." The genius stated the hard truth of the morality of the girl.

"Even so," Gentarou said with a pained look. "I want to believe Chris-chan is still the girl I remember!"

"And what if she isn't, Kisaragi? You have to remember that Akakishi and several others got injured fighting her!" Kengo state with a heated tone. "She isn't the kind of person to hold back, and I'm sure she won't hesitate to attack you! Are you ready to fight her?"

Gentarou became silent before thinking a bit, "I…"

"Hey Gentarou, just because old friends change doesn't mean you shouldn't reach out to them. I mean, even when we all started off on the wrong foot, who's the one who got us all together?"

"JK…" Gentarou stared at his music friend before slapping his cheeks and then standing up. "You're right! I'll be the one to knock her to her senses! I won't let anyone else be hurt by her!"

"Not how I would phrase it, but nice to know you're back." The music teen said with a smile and he patted his friend's back.

The Cosmic energy genius smiled at his best friend's words. "Humph, good. Brooding doesn't suit you, Kisaragi. If you got faith in your friend, then reach out to her."

"Eh~" Gentarou slumped at the smarter teen's words.

"He's got you there, Gen-kun." Miu said as she and Shun walked in along with Ryusei and Tomoko.

"We're all behind you, Gentarou." Ryusei said with a smile.

"Un." Tomoko nodded with a small smile.

"Minna…" Gentarou turned to his friends before smiling and then bowing. "Arigato!"

Ryoko stared at a monitor that displayed the condition of Akakishi's internal cybernetics.

"Hm… It appears your core appears to still be fully charged despite what happened back with Durandal, Aka-chan."

"I guess that would explain why I don't feel as weak as last week…" Akakishi placed his hand on his chest. "Can I go now?"

"Yes, you may. And if you want to talk just say so." Ryoko advised to the redhead with a somewhat motherly tone. "It'll do no one, including yourself, any good if you keep things bottled up."

"…I'll come back when I want to." Akakishi left the room before the door closed.

In the Second Division's base of operations, the conversation was being observed by those in the command room.

"He still seems to be upset." Fen said with a concerned tone.

"It's natural for him to feel that way. He wounded Kenzaki-san after all." Aoi responded.

Then Ryoko walked in while staring at the clipboard she held. "This doesn't make sense…" muttered the scientist with a concerned tone.

"What doesn't make sense, Ryoko-san?" asked Sakuya.

"These readings… These alone couldn't have brought out the reaction we witnessed back at the Chemical Plant battle." The scientist explained.

"You mean that shadow form?"

"Yes. That form is similar to the one that Kenzaki took after she transformed into her Rider final form." Ryoko said as she brought up footage of the two similar forms of Ixa R and Kenzaki. "While the power output is different, they were still similarly destructive. I had several theories about such a possibility, but to see it first-hand was truly incredible, even with my knowledge and experience."

"So what is that form exactly?" asked Kanade. "Because I don't think Tsubasa or I ever had access to it."

"There is no official name due to it only being a theory." Ryoko entered a command and show the instances involving the berserk form. "I once theorized of a form that is the result of an oversaturation of Aufwachen Waveforms or phonic gain. Though judging from these instances, the power is immense but the large amount of Waveforms drives the host berserk, unhesitant in attacking all enemies or allies."

"I see… But what is the trigger to such a form?" asked Sakuya.

"I do not know…" Ryoko admitted. "An oversaturation of Aufwachen Wavelengths is impossible without a compete Relic. Even then, the Ixa R system shouldn't had been able to trigger such a powerful reaction."

"You sure you don't have any idea how Aka transformed while holding Durandal?" asked Fen.

"Not really. But… it could be the user's mindset that could trigger that form."

"Mindset?" Fen repeated with a curious tone.

"Maybe some form of intense negative emotion could be the trigger. Such as despair or anger."

"Despair?" wondered Fenrir before he recalled a certain memory of a kneeling Akakishi wearing a soulless face while in the middle of a destroyed area. "But… Akakishi shouldn't be like that since he recovered… So… how?" He thought a while before remembering that when he and Kanade retrieved the fragile Durandal Score, the Gungnir Bond Score was stuck under it. "It can't be… Could it?"

Then the door to the room opened and the Genjuro walked in while wearing a black suit meant for mourning. Following after him were Shotaro and Phillip who met up with commander when he arrived back in the base.

"I'm back. Has anything happen while I was gone?"

"Welcome back, Commander. Aka-chan's examination is over and he is in good health. How was Defense Minister Hiroki's memorial service?" Ryoko turned to the muscular man.

"Fine. The Defense Minister and I had our differences but he always had our back. We lost a great pillar of support." Genjuro said as he untightened his tie. "How is our progress?"

"Seventeen percent ahead of schedule." Ryoko responded with a smile.

"I'm kind of relieved that the transfer plan of Durandal has been pushed back." Sakuya admitted.

"It's great that we have the time to upgrade the HQ's defenses." Aoi added.

"This place was designed so it could be upgraded with minimal external help. We submitted plans for this ages ago."

"From what I recall, there was someone who strictly opposed to it."

"That opposition was from Defense Minister Hiroki. He didn't agree with pumping immense amounts of tax money into an entirely secret organization that also controls information." Genjuro revealed as he crossed his arms.

"That would cause quite the uproar from the populace. Given what happened with the ZECT organization and the Native's conspiracy in the past." Aoi recalled.

"What do you mean?" asked Kanade.

"Right, you weren't there for that information briefing, Kanade." Fen noted. "You see, during the Vice Commander's first year as Kabuto, he discovered a conspiracy by the ZECT higher-ups to turn all of mankind into Native Worms. Luckily, he and his allies put a stop to that plan, but there were still casualties because of it."

Phillip then added, "Since then, the general populace have been opposed to secret organizations out of fear that they would be like ZECT. For some of us Kamen Riders, that has worked in our favor."

Genjuro nodded in agreement before sighing, "*Sigh* He opposed it because he was just trying to protect us from external interference by making us follow procedure."

"Yeah, organizations such as Foundation X could cause problems for us all if they got their agents in here." Shotaro added in.

"But that is why we have Phillip, he does background checks on everyone here." Fen said with a confident tone as he patted the book reader's shoulder.

"Yes, but we shouldn't rely too much on my power, Fenrir-san. There are secrets that even I can't find." Phillip admitted with a light tone.

"Ahem. As I was saying… the new Defense Minister is Pro-American and wanted to establish International Cooperation."

"That's a good thing, right?"

"Yes, but that will cause the American is be more restrictive of our command and have influence on our actions."

"So bureaucratic interference from America?" Ryoko hypothesized.

"Correct." Genjuro confirmed.

"…Then we have to work quickly, otherwise we will lose track of the mastermind behind the Noise and Project MODERN." Fen stated with a certain tone.

"Don't forget that girl, Fen." Kanade added.

"Yeah, her… She's still out there." Fen muttered with a serious tone.

"By the way… Where is Akakishi?"

"Based on where the surveillance cameras last put him, he appears to still be at the hospital." Aoi reported to her superior.

"Sounds like Aka's still shaken by what happened." Fen muttered with a regretful tone before pounding his fist into an open palm. "Damn it, I should have been there to stop him."

"We should have, Fen." Kanade said with a knowing tone.

Genjuro frowned before he walked to a door to leave the room. "I'll go check on him. Contact me if something happens."

After the commander left, Kanade decided to bring something up.

"Anyone wondering how the Boss seems to treat Akakishi more favorably than others?"

"Really? He treated us the same when we were his age, Kanade." Fen pointed out.

"Well, yeah. But…"

"Don't think too hard on it, Kanade-chan. The Commander's role isn't just to direct you all in battle after all." Ryoko said with a smile.

Meanwhile with Hibiki, she was running track with Miku while the events of what happened yesterday still fresh in her head. She thought how Ixa R took on that shadowed form and attacked everyone without restraint or reason, incapacitating two Sympho-Riders with ease.

"The scary thing about Durandal's wild power isn't that Aka couldn't control it, it's that he swung it at everyone without any hesitation. If I had taken the sword, would I have done the same thing? I'm such a weakling. I couldn't stop Aka from hurting someone important to him."

As Miku stopped jogging to catch her breath, Hibiki ran ahead, firm in her thoughts on changing for the better.

"I can't stop at the goal. I got to go farther than that! For Aka!"

At a hospital restroom, Akakishi washed his face and stared at his reflection, the self-hate in his eyes obvious and churning.

Then he recalled the conversation after he woke up shortly after the mission.

"Akakishi, it appears that the Power of the Relics may be more unpredictable than we realize. For now, you will be on standby from further missions until we can find a way to stabilize your powers and not have a repeat similar to Durandal." Tendou said to the redhead as they sat in the hospital.

Akakishi did not like the news but understood that they were precautions considering the damage he caused. "I understand, Master… But… what can I still protect after what happened?"

The man did not change his expression but gave words of guidance to his student. "That is an answer you have to find yourself, Akakishi. But remember that we all have to live with our choices and consequences, the good and the bad."

*BAM-CRACK*

Akakishi punched the mirror hard with his left fist, breaking it a bit. His knuckle bled a bit on the surface that slowly slid down onto the sink. "Hibiki… Miku… how can I protect either of you if all I can do is hurt?"

*Donk*

Then he slammed his forehead head on the sink as he gripped its sides. "It hurts… knowing I might cause you both even more pain…"

"You shouldn't go punching things without thinking, Akakishi." Genjuro said as he leaned at the door entrance of the restroom.

"Commander!" Akakishi quickly stood straight and saluted but hid his injured left hand behind him.

"*Chuckle* No saluting. I'm not here on Second Division business. I just want to check on you, that's all." The taller man said before offering his hand. "Can I see your hand?"

Akakishi looked hesitant before sighing and showing his injured hand. "How did you know?"

Genjurou guided the boy to a bench and then he brought out a first aid kit. Then he used the bandages from the kit to bandage the redhead's left hand. "I heard from Tendou how you have a tendency to hide your injuries. That, and I just watched you punched that mirror. The replacement will come out of your paycheck."

Akakishi simply responded and thought about his current problems. "…Commander, am I… worthy of being a protector?"

The commander stopped and looked up at the younger redhead. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… The Ixa R system is supposed to be used for protecting people. Yet… I hurt Kenzaki-sempai and I nearly put Hibiki's life and everyone else's at risk using it." Akakishi stared as his bandaged hand as blood started to seep into the bandage with a hard glare. "I know I have lost control before but… this time it's different. How can I fight on knowing that the blood of one of the many people I respect the most is on my hands?"

The older man did not respond immediately but he closed his eyes before opening them with a look of wistfulness. "…We all make mistakes, Akakishi. Willingly or not." Genjuro said, causing the redhead to look up in surprise. "Let me tell you a story of when I was younger, before the Noise or the Second Division… I was still a young man who was working hard in the government while trying to keep up my family's image."

"Image? That's right, the Kazanari family is quite high up in the social ladder." Akakishi concluded. "Is this going to be one of those clichéd stories where you had a forbidden love with a woman and you two had to separate because of your family?"

Genjuro made an unreadable expression before smiling bitterly. "*Soft Chuckle* Right on the nail, Akakishi. Even though I was a lowly government worker. My family still had eyes on me. When I wanted to marry the woman the most, I couldn't… I told her to leave me, otherwise she may be put at risk because of my family's disapproval."

Akakishi widened his eyes before looking away in awkwardness and guilt for his blunt guess. "O-Oh… Gomen… I-I'm very sorry for being so rude. Cliché or not, it must have been rough to lose the one you love. Did you ever… regret that decision?"

The commander made an expressionless look and turned to the window. "Every day ever since, Akakishi. My love disappeared after that day, and I would later learn she was carrying."

"Carrying? As in she was pregnant?" asked the redhead in surprise.

"Exactly. I don't even know the face of my own child." Genjuro said with a smile while looking away from the window. "That is why you should make the most of your time with your dear friends. Don't make my mistake and tell them to leave you. If I could live that day again… I would have left my family if it meant I could stay with her."

Akakishi gave the commander's words some thought before noting, "Wow, I guess even strong people like you can have painful pasts, sir."

"Of course, even big people like me have feelings. Let my story be a lesson to you, Akakishi… Sacrifice is never an easy action, no matter how good the intentions are. Take Kenzaki for example, she could have taken that girl and escaped. But instead, she chose to fight you in order to save you both."

Akakishi looked surprised by the reveal of Kenzaki's actions on that day. "…Sempai was trying to save me and that girl? But why though?"

Genjuro recalled a memory of what Tendou told him about Kenzaki. "According to Tendou, that is the sort of person she is. No matter how much pain she goes through, no matter how many tough choices she makes, as long as it saves the people she cares about in the end, she will make those sacrifices."

"…" Akakishi thought about Genjuro's words and he asked, "Will Sempai forgive me if I chose to move forward, despite what I have done to her?"

"I would assume she would, but I can tell that answer will not make you satisfied. Instead Akakishi, I recommend you forgive yourself for what happened first because the choice to move forward is yours. Only you can decide your future, no one else."

"My future…" Akakishi stared out the window before noticing that Hibiki and Miku were outside running laps despite the day being a free day. "Hibiki and Miku…" He placed a hand on the window and muttered, "That's right, I have still have one that I want to protect."

The spiky-haired commander smiled at the young teen's words and stated, "Then go fight for that future, Akakishi. And remember, you are not alone."

"Thank you, sir. I know what I must do now." Akakishi gave a bow to the commander.

Genjuro smiled and acknowledge the thanks with a nod. "You're welcome, Akakishi. And please talk to everyone back at base. They are worried about you after what happened."

"Hai!" Then the redhead ran off to the Second Division Base elevator.

"*Chuckles* He really reminds me too much of you, dear…" muttered the man with a nostalgic tone. The commander rolled his shoulder and said aloud, "Well, better get back to work."

Back with Hibiki and Miku, the girls finished their track run and were changing their clothes to their school uniforms.

"Hah, you really overdid it, Hibiki." Miku commented.

"*Chuckle* Well, I just felt like I could go further."

"I can tell. Back then, you would just give up before making it past a mile."

"Yeah, but you kept up with me. Your past on the track teams really shows. Thanks for coming with me to the track on a Sunday." Hibiki thanked her best friend.

"You're welcome. I would be worried if I just left you alone."

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" Hibiki asked with a half-annoyed tone.

"Nothing~" Her best friend responded with a giggle.

Then Miku remembered she still hadn't asked Hibiki about a certain something.

"Ah, that's right, Hibiki… Did you manage to find that photo?" asked the dark-haired girl.

"Photo? Oh! You mean that Photo!" Hibiki remember before scratching the back of her head in embarrassment. "Well, uh… Gomen, that day was so hectic that I forgot to get it."

"I see… It's fine. You still have a chance to find it. Besides that, treat me to pancakes at the Flower later, in exchange for me tagging along on a Sunday." Miku offered as her price for joining Hibiki's jog around the racetrack.

"But you know she really has to put all her might into making them taste good…" Hibiki started.

"Jaa… Then it's decided! I'm looking forward to the Flower pancakes." Miku concluded with a smile.

"Are you really fine with it?" asked Hibiki.

"Un, definitely fine." Miku said with a smile.

After leaving the gym, the girls were outside at the school gate. They nearly left the school premises before Miku realized something.

"Oh, I forgot my wallet. Let me go get it."

"Sure, I'll be waiting here." Hibiki stated with a nod.

Miku smiled and went to their shared dorm room while Hibiki stared at the sky.

"Yo! Hibiki!" Kanade waved to her successor with a smile.

"Oh! Kanade-san! Konnichiwa! What do you need?"

The long haired redhead smiled as she offered a cell phone with an ongoing call. "Just passing on a conversation from a certain someone."

"Huh? Someone wants to talk to me?" asked Hibiki with a surprised tone.

Kanade nodded and gave the phone to Hibiki.

The shorter girl accepted it and she answered, "Moshi-moshi?"

"Tachibana. It's been a while." A certain singer responded on the other end.

"Ah! Tsubasa-san? It's been a while! How are you on your mission with Eiji-san?" asked the girl.

"We completed it weeks ago, Tachibana." Tsubasa pointed out with a calm tone.

"O-Oh, right. I forgot. (Nervous Chuckles) So when will you and Eiji-san be back?"

"Due to the travel restrictions having been lifted, we will be arriving back in the city in a couple of hours." Tsubasa stated as she stood in an airport.

Hibiki smiled at the good news. "That's good to hear! It's been quite busy recently! And we got a lot of new Symphogear users and Kamen Riders!"

"I know. I have read the reports." The bluenette responded with her usual professional tone..

"Oh…" Hibiki nodded before asking, "So um, how did you like the city where Eiji-san became a Kamen Rider?"

Tsubasa thought about her response before smiling at how she was welcomed by Eiji's friends. "Yes, Hino's friends and acquaintances were very welcoming. Honestly… it almost makes me jealous since I only have very few close connections back in our school."

"No you don't!" Hibiki denied. "You have me and Kanade-san! We're your friends! And everyone new will accept you as a friend!"

Tsubasa made a surprised expression at the girl's words. "A-Are you sure? I didn't exactly make the best impression on you and Akakishi-kun."

"It's fine. To be honest, I always thought you were perfect at everything. That… I couldn't keep up with you, Hino-san, and Aka. But seeing the state of your hospital room made me think, you are still human like me." Hibiki noted.

Tsubasa looked stunned at the younger girl's words before wistfully smiling, "…You really are incredible, Tachibana. Compared to me, I only know how to fight."

"Iie (No), iie (No), I still need help from everyone in the Second Division. You have something more than just fighting! You have your song! The song that inspired me and so many others!"

Tsubasa took in that information while contemplating her words. "…Gomen."

"Tsubasa-san?"

"I haven't been the pillar that you aspired to, Tachibana. I've always let my selfish sense of duty cloud my judgement and that put you and Akakishi-kun in danger. Lives that Kanade risked her life to protect." Tsubasa stated with a regretful tone.

"To protect…" Hibiki turned to the hospital wing of Lydian Academy and thought about Akakishi. "Ano, Tsubasa-san. Did you read what happened with Aka and Durandal?"

"You mean when he went berserk?" Tsubasa took notice of the younger girl's tone.

"Yes. He… hurt someone he looked up to. I want to know if there is a way to get his spirits back up."

"…It's hard to say. For me, I let my grief due to what happened at Zwei Wing control me, alienating the ones close to me. It blinded me to the fact that those such as Uncle and Eiji-kun remained close despite my spoiled attitude. What I mean to say is that it isn't easy to bring someone out of their grief."

"I see… So there's nothing I can do?" Hibiki worried since she wanted to help Akakishi.

"I said it was difficult, not impossible. As I said before, my grief blinded me to the ones who still helped me, but Kanade snapped me out of it." Tsubasa recalled her conversation with Kanade who set the record straight. "So, I recommend you and everyone else keep close to Akakishi-kun and continue to support him. And at some point, you should be able to break through his cloud of grief and self-doubt. That, or fight him."

"Un! I'll do just that! Well, not the fighting part, but you know what I mean!" Hibiki stated with a confident tone.

"Good." Tsubasa smiled before remembering something she wanted to know. "Also Tachibana, I wish to know the reason why you fight."

Hibiki was a bit taken aback by the question. "My reason?"

"The war against the Noise and Kaijin isn't a game. You should know that now though, having faced death yourself." Tsubasa stated the conflict was not a game.

"…I dunno really." Hibiki admitted to the bluenette. "Helping others is my hobby, so…"

"So? Is that it?"

Hibiki gave her answer some thought and then she looked up to stare at the sky. "Y'know how if you want to have the best results in sports or studies, you have to compete with others? There's no competition when it comes to helping others. I don't really have any talents or things worth being proud of, so I want to be useful to others, doing what I can." Hibiki said aloud as she forced out a chuckle. "The reason… The reason might be that incident."

Kanade gave a knowing look as Hibiki continued her conversation with Tsubasa.

The memory where Kanade risked her life to save her and Akakishi despite the damage to her body replayed in Hibiki's mind.

"The show two years ago where Kanade-san nearly burned her life away to save me and Aka. But… Many people died there, that day." Hibiki added.

"Yes, Eiji, Kanade, and the veterans may not show it, but all those deaths weigh heavily on their minds."

"But I was allowed to live. And even today, I can eat, I can laugh. So I want to be useful to someone at the very least. Cause I want to be able to eat and laugh tomorrow, too." Hibiki explained.

"Someone such as Akakishi-kun." Tsubasa noted.

"Yes. I want to help him and many others."

"*Chuckle* An optimistic reason, as expected of you. But that optimism might become suicidal."

"S-Suicide?!" Hibiki yelped in shock.

"Like sacrificing yourself for someone else, just to be free from the pain of old wounds. It might be a way just to punish yourself." Tsubasa pointed out.

"Did I say… something wrong?" Hibiki wondered shakily.

On Tsubasa's end, she knew that her words somewhat shook the younger girl, so she decided to reassure her. "Wrong or not, it's not for me to decide. Think about it and decide for yourself."

Hibiki looked a bit troubled by her senior's words and thought aloud. "No matter how much I know, I am still full of questions. When Aka touched Durandal, he was swallowed by darkness. Then he swung that power at everyone, hurting them. If I had touched Durandal, would I have become like that? If only I could use the armed gear, it wouldn't have had come to that."

Tsubasa gave a nod, finally knowing that her words reached the girl. "Knowing how to use your power means you have become a senshi (Warrior)."

"Senshi (Warrior)?" Hibiki repeated with a curious tone.

"Sore dake (And that's all)… It distances you from life. Are you determined to do that?"

Hibiki thought about Tsubasa's words and remembered her vow with Akakishi. "I have things I want to protect. My uneventful, typical everyday life. I want to cherish those everydays. But I'm just thinking, not actually doing anything."

"What do you think of while fighting?" asked Tsubasa.

Hibiki thought about her feelings when she fought the Noise. "If the Noise is attacking someone, I want to help them! As quickly, as shortly, as directly as possible. And if the opponent is not the Noise, but a person, I want to make them understand the doubt in my heart, over whether or not we have to fight."

Tsubasa smiled upon learning Hibiki's resolve. "Focus on and express the feeling that's in your heart now as much as you can. That, itself, is your armed gear."

"Un!" The young girl nodded with a smile.

"Tsubasa! The plane's ready!" Eiji called out to the singer.

"I have to get going. My plane is ready to leave. I will see you back in Lydian, Tachibana." The bluenette stated as she got ready to hand up.

"Okay! Have a safe trip!"

"Of course. Take care of yourself and remember why you fight." Tsubasa soon closed the call.

Kanade walked to the younger girl's side. "Finished what you two wanted to talk about?"

"Un! Arigato, Kanade-san!" Hibiki handed back the phone to the redhead.

"You're welcome." Kanade said with a smile. "Oh! Before I forget…" She pulled out a certain item from her pocket.

"Ah! My Bond Score with Aka!" Hibiki shouted with glee at the Score's survival from the battle.

"Yep, Fen and I managed to find it in one piece. While we could give it back to Aka, we figured it would be more fitting if you returned the Score." The redhead noted as she handed the Score to her Successor.

Hibiki looked up at the taller female with a curious look. "Really?"

"Yes. Consider this a job as his partner." Kanade said with a smile as she handed the Score.

"Hai! I won't fail in this mission!" Hibiki saluted to her predecessor before accepting the Score.

"Good luck. And Hibiki, if you need someone to-"

"Hibiki!" Miku called out from down the hall.

"Oh! Seems like your date got back. I'll be out of your hair now, see ya!" Kanade said as she jogged away.

"H-Huh?! Wait! What do you mean by that, Kanade-san?!" Hibiki called out to her predecessor to no success.

After the redhead left, Miku jogged up to the brown-haired girl, unknowing to the conversation that took place.

"Sorry for making you wait." Miku apologized with a smile.

"I-It's fine, Miku." Hibiki responded with a chuckle.

"Was someone with you?" asked the girl with a curious tone.

"Un, it was someone I owe my life to." Hibiki stared in the direction of where Kanade ran off to with a smile.

Miku looked a bit confused by what Hibiki said before waving it off. She turned away from her best friend and pouted. "Fine. Don't tell me."

"Eh?! Miku, I'm seriously!" shouted Hibiki with insistence.

"Hai, hai. Come on, we should be able to reach the shop to get those pancakes." Miku said as she held a hand out to Hibiki.

"Ah, hai! Ikuze!"

Back in the base, Akakishi walked to the halls while looking for someone.

Kanade noticed the teen walking and waved to him. "Hey! Aka!"

"Oh, sempai! What do you need?" Akakishi greeted the approaching young woman.

"Nothing at the moment, just wanted to check on you. Nice to see you finally leave the hospital after a week of staying. So, are you feeling a bit better?" Kanade asked the younger redhead.

"Somewhat. I had a talk with the Commander that helped, but I still have a few grievances…" Akakishi noted before shaking his head. "No, I shouldn't be bothering you about my problems."

Kanade patted the younger redhead on the back. "It's fine, Aka. Everyone's got their own personal problems, but that's why we need to stick together, no matter what."

Akakishi turn to the retired singer and nodded with a smile. "Yeah…"

"So, I just saw Hibiki leave with her best friend. They seem to going out for a day in the city." Kanade recalled.

Hearing the news, Akakishi nodded with a smile. "That's good to hear… Hibiki should enjoy some free-"

*BA-BUMP*

"Ugh?!" Akakishi felt his core beat unnaturally, causing pain in his chest.

In the room where Durandal was housed, the sword glowed with an aura of golden radiance.

Kanade quickly held the younger teen who felt in pain. "Akakishi? What's wrong?"

"Ugh… I'm fine, sempai." The redhead waved off as the pain subsided quickly. "Just a small malfunction from my core. Probably."

"That didn't look-"

*ALARM BLARE*

Suddenly, the alarms sound off, catching the attention of the two redheads.

"What the?! A Noise Attack?!"

Akakishi listened to the number of times the sirens rung off and realized what they meant. "Three rings, but that means a Symphogear. But who…" The redhead realized along with Kanade on who would be attacking. "The Nehustan Girl…"

"We don't know that yet, let's get to the control room!"

"Hai!"

Then the two redheads ran to the main room to get a clue of the situation.

Meanwhile, at a certain district of the city.

Noise showed up while the girls were coming back from the mall, forcing them to transform and attack the monsters.

"Take this!" shouted Yoku as she smashed a Noise into the ground with her hammer.

In another area, Amelia guided civilians to safety while using her duplicated spears to shield them.

"Why are the Noise appearing here?" Amelia wondered as she helped people get away.

Nearby, Natsuko slashed her way through a group of Noise from a high angle and then threw her boomerang sword through another group.

YUÈYÁ 月牙 (Crescent Moon)

"Dunno. But I'm betting that a certain girl in armor is making her move." The redhead stated as she caught her thrown blade.

Fuyuko covered her twin sister by stabbing down a Noise that tried to sneak up on her. The blue-haired twin muttered, "Either way, we're not going to be getting anywhere with all of these Noise."

Yoku landed near the group after batting away a group of Noise with her hammer. "Un. And we need to make sure no one is caught in this attack. Fields-san! How is the evacuation going?"

"Still busy! We're not done evacuating all of these people here!" Amelia answered as she guided some parents and children to a shelter entrance while Kuuga II defended them with his lance.

Back at base, the alarms sounded off, causing everyone in the observation room to be on alert.

"Status report!" Genjuro ordered.

"Beginning scan!" announced as she entered the command.

Suddenly, the signal was identified as Nehustan on the monitor.

"Signal confirmed: Nehustan!"

"Where is it?" asked the Commander.

"It's in the city! And moving… The girl in the Nehustan Armor is coming in this direction!" Aoi shouted as the monitor showed the location of the signal.

"Issue an evacuation order for the surrounding areas!" ordered Genjuro.

"Seriously?! She's attacking a base full of Kamen Riders?!" shouted Shotaro at the audacity of the girl.

"But it's smart… All of the Symphogears wielders are currently in another location." Phillip noted as he took out his phone. "Everyone is currently fighting Noise in their respective areas."

"What?! Noise appeared where they are?!" shouted Shotaro in shock.

"Don't worry, they already are handling it with Carter. And Tomari-san is on the way to help them. The problem is that they won't be able to return to the base in time to intercept the Nehustan girl."

"Old man! What's going on?!" shouted Kanade as she and Akakishi ran into the room.

Genjuro turned to the two redhead with a serious look. "Nehustan has reappeared."

The two arrivals made looks of shock and turned to the main screen that showed the location of the Nehustan girl.

"That direction…" Akakishi muttered before breaking out in cold sweat upon realizing where she was heading. "She's heading here?!"

Kanade noticed the redhead's reaction. "What's wrong, Akakishi?"

"Hibiki and Miku are in danger! I'll go head her off!"

Genjuro quickly grabbed the redhead's shoulder before he ran off. "Akakishi! Stand down! You'll…"

Akakishi shook off the hand and faced the man. "I know I can't be of help, but… if someone doesn't keep her away from here, people will be caught in the crossfire. I rather have her after me than that! Just tell me where to go so no one will get hurt!"

"…Very well, but do not engage her." Genjuro turned to Shotaro. "Shotaro-san, you and Phillip act as his support, but you both also do not engage. Make sure she follows him and away from the base."

"I don't like this plan, but you got it, Commander." Shotaro nodded.

Genjuro turned to Kanade since he realized that they were missing someone. "Kanade, where's Fenrir?"

Kanade checked her phone for any messages he left. Then she smiled. "Already charging in. Seems like we won't need that bait plan. He's planning to get the jump on that girl."

She showed her phone which had Fenrir's name on the message text.

Fenrir: Saw the brat who attacked my lil' bro.

Gonna to beat her up.

Might be late for dinner.

Akakishi reacted with surprise at the news. "Wait, Big Bro's doing what?!"

The group turned to the radar signals that showed who was where. The Nehustan signal was being approached by the signal that represented Etertnal.

Shotaro facepalmed at the news and groaned with exasperation. "Ugh… Of course he goes in for the attack first. This is Egypt all over again…"

"No, you're wrong, Shotaro. Accuracy wise, this would be more like that time he ambushed an Organization X transport in Paris without telling us." Phillip pointed out.

The girl flew through the air with only one destination in mind as well as one thought of fulfilling her mission.

"So, you fly now, huh?" asked Eternal as he flew next to the girl. "Now it makes sense how you get to places further ahead than us."

"…?!" She turned to her side and saw the white Kamen Rider fly with his cape now a pair of wings.

He waved at her before saying, "Yo. Ready to throw down with a real Kamen Rider?"

Then he pulled out a gun with the front nozzle already loaded and charged.

=TRIGGER! MAXIMUM DRIVE!=

"!" The girl widened her eyes as the charged gun fired point blank in her face.

*BANK*

*BOOM*

"Ugh!" grunted Chris as she crash-landed on the street below while Eternal landed with ease.

Eternal pulled out the Trigger memory out of his weapon which caused it to transform back into its knife form. "So you're the infamous Nehustan girl. I normally don't try to belittle my opponents, but you lost that right when you attacked my lil' bro and started playing with Noise."

Chris picked herself up and stared down at the veteran Kamen Rider. "Tch… You're not getting in my way!"

"Then come on, gaki! Show me what you got!" Eternal goaded as he readied to keep the girl busy with another Memory.

=FANG!=

Back at base,

"Nehustan's movement has halted!"

"Nice! Fen's keeping her busy!" Kanade cheered.

"But for how long? She still has that Relic that can summon Noise. And Big Bro's still a normal Kamen Rider." Akakishi worried about the older Rider's safety.

"Don't worry, Akakishi-kun. Remember that Fenrir's got an arsenal under that cloak. He's not our junior for nothing." Shotaro stated.

"But we should still back him up!"

"Akakishi, calm down." Genjuro advised. "Remember what we talked about? For now, focus on protecting what you want rather than confront the problem head on."

The sentence calmed down the youngest member of the room and he repeated the words. "Protecting what I want…"

"Boss?"

"At this moment, the alarms of a Noise attack should have sounded so the civilians can escape to shelter. Your mission will be to assist in the evacuation so that no civilians will be caught in the crossfire of this battle. Is that clear?"

Akakishi realized what the man was implying and nodded. "Hai!"

"Then go!"

Akakishi quickly ran out of the room and toward the vehicle bay. After the redhead ran out, the older members turned to the commander.

"You sent him away so he won't fight that girl, didn't you?" asked Shotaro.

"Un. It's better this way." Genjuro turned to the private detective with an order. "Hidari-kun, you and Phillip go assist Eternal. We can't let that girl or her compatriots get near the base."

"You got it. But are you sure about this, Commander? I'm not questioning your decision, but orders like that usually lead to bad things happening. Just speaking from experience." Shotaro pointed out.

"Then we just hope fortune favors us, Hidari-kun." Genjuro stated with a resolute tone.

The detective ran off to the company garage. "Fine, I'll head out. Phillip, let the girls know about the situation after they're done on their side!"

"Gotcha, Shotaro." Phillip nodded to his partner.

"Aoi! Contact the Kamen Rider Club! We need all hands on deck!" Genjuro ordered.

"Roger!"

Kanade did not like how the situation was unfolding and gripped her fists in anger that she could not do anything for anyone at the moment.

Back with Eternal, he and his opponent caused a lot of collateral damage while trying to hit each other.

"ORA!" yelled Eternal as he swung his transformed sword right into the girl's whip she used to guard.

*CLANG*

Chris gritted her teeth as she struggle against the Kamen Rider's sword. "Ugh! Konno… Why? Why are you fighting that murderer?!"

"Murderer? Is that what you're calling my Little Bro?!" Eternal shoved the girl back and stood before her. "I guess saying it was an accident isn't going to get you to drop it, huh?"

"Even so… he attacked her! He tried to kill her!"

"Last time I checked, he attacked everyone when the sword made him go Dark Rider. It's the Sword's fault." Eternal scoffed.

"…Is that what the adults told you?"

"No, it's what we saw. And you made things worse for everyone." Eternal pointed at the Nehustan girl.

"Shut up! If it weren't for them…"

"You don't get it, don't you?"

"What?"

"I know what sort of person you are. You keep blaming everyone because you went through a crappy life. You hurt people because you want them to feel your pain. You would rather destroy the happiness of others just because you hate it."

Chris gripped her fist before shouting. "You think… you know me?!"

She spun the whip into an energy buzzsaw that quickly split into four. Then she threw the discs at the black-cloaked Kamen Rider, causing a massive debris cloud to form.

NIRVANA MAGOG

"Hah… Hah…"

=ZONE!=

"I used to know people like you…" Eternal stated grimly as he stood behind the armored girl.

"…!" Realizing where her opponent was, she turned-

*BAM*

"Gah!" The girl coughed.

-but she was not fast enough to avoid or block the owl Kamen Rider's fist into her stomach

He reeled his arm back, causing the girl to gag and fall onto her knees.

"And they had the misfortune of being my enemy. So I'll give it to you straight." Eternal said as he pulled out his Memory from it slot in the Lost Driver and placed it into the Maximum Drive slot on his right hip area.

=ETERNAL!=

The cloaked Kamen Rider walked around the girl while letting her get up on her feet. "I don't know what made you want to work with the Noise or use them as a weapon. But you became my enemy the moment you attacked my friends and especially my lil' bro. Even if you were saved by Kenzaki at one point…"

Eternal kicked Chris in the shoulder and sent her skidding on her back for a small distance.

"-you won't get the easy treatment for betraying humanity!"

Chris slowly got up and stared down the white Kamen Rider. "…Konno... You don't get it... Why I have to..."

"Humph, typical…" Eternal noted as he slapped the button on the Maximum Drive slot.

=MAXIMUM DRIVE!=

Then his right fist became engulfed with a blue flame and he quickly approached the Nehustan girl, raising his fist up for a swing to the head.

"Enjoy your last words."

"…!" The Nehustan girl realized that she faced someone who would not be a pushover.

Suddenly, a gold sword wave slammed between the two, forcing Eternal to stop his movement. Then Kiba landed between them with her sword ready.

"You!"

"Go! I'll hold him here! Remember the mission given to you!" shouted the ruby-eyed brunette.

"Out of the way!" shouted Eternal as he swung his charged fist down.

Kiba quickly blocked the powerful strike while glowing with a yellow aura, resulting in the ground under her feet to cave in and crack heavily.

STALWART GUARD

"Tch! I don't need your help!" shouted the girl as she jumped away.

Eternal noticed the girl leave and tried to chase after her. "Hey! Get back-Whoa!"

But a certain swordswoman blocked his way by swinging in his direction, forcing him to jump back.

"You won't interfere with her path, Kamen Rider." Kiba stated her sword pointed at him.

"Humph…" The white Kamen Rider scoffed as he drew his knife backhanded. "Maybe… But don't think you can stop me easily. One of your own can attest to that."

"True. But you'll soon learn that I'm not like her." Kiba stated as she held up her sword sideways with the point still aimed at Eternal.

Back in the base, the group watched as the Nehustan signal moved towards the base.

"Nehustan is on the move again!" Aoi reported.

"Enemy Signal confirmed. One of the Sympho-Riders must have interfered." Sakuya added.

"It appears so. Shotaro is moving to Eternal's area. We have to hope he caught on that the girl is moving again."

"Even so… If Shotaro doesn't stop her… She'll be here at the base! And we don't have a Symphogear ready to stop her!" Kanade thought before remembering a certain thing. "Wait… A Symphogear…"

"Oyaji!"

Genjuro heard the shout and turned to its owner. "What is it, Kanade?"

"Do we still have that Engine Memory thing that Fen brought back?"

"You mean that item that used to be the Accel's Engine Blade?"

"Yeah! That! Is it like a Symphogear?" asked Kanade.

Genjuro realized what Kanade meant when she asked that question. "Hm… According to Ryoko, it should have been converted using a Relic fragment similar to the items with the other Sympho-Riders. But… Are you sure about this, Kanade? You have sung since Zwei Wing."

"I know. But right now, we don't have anyone who can stop that girl!"

Genjuro closed his eyes and thought on how to proceed. "…Very well. You have permission to possess that Memory. But only try to activate the Relic when that girl reaches the base. Is that clear?"

"Hai!" Kanade saluted before she ran to the containment room that held the Memory.

Hibiki and Miku were walking through the city before they heard the alarms sounded off. People around them panicked and quickly ran towards the designated safety bunkers.

"The Evacuation alarm?" Miku wondered.

"A Noise Attack?!" Hibiki widened her eyes and grabbed her best friend's hand. "Miku! Ike!"

"H-Hai!" Miku nodded.

*BAM*

The building above them exploded from a sudden hit, causing parts of it to fall down on top of the girls.

"Ah! Miku, Habanai!" shouted Hibiki in shock as they could not get away in time.

"Get down!" shouted a voice.

=SIDE BASSHAR KAI: BATTLE MODE=

Side Basshar Kai transformed into its battle mode and quickly blocked the large debris that was about to crush the girls.

"Huh?" Miku opened her eyes to see the machine holding up the large piece of cement and throwing it away.

The rider of the machine got off and landed before the girl.

"Omaetachi daijoubu? (Are you two all right?)" asked Ixa R as he knelt to check on the girls.

Hibiki nodded with a smile. "Un. Arigato."

Hibiki and Miku stood up with smiles.

Hibiki looked down and noticed that Miku had a scrape a her knee. "Ah! Miku, your knee!"

Miku also noticed her injury and felt it sting a bit, but she knew that she had to reassure her friend. "Don't worry, Hibiki. It's just a scrape."

"Even so..." Hibiki muttered with a worried tone.

Ixa R stared at the two girls with a smile under his mask knowing that they were all right before he wondered something.

"Wait, where did that attack come from? The Noise aren't even near here…"

Meanwhile, back with the Kamen Riders and the Symphogears,

"Oi! Watch where you're aiming!" shouted Kuuga II as he pointed at Drive and Yoku as a giant Noise disintegrated near them.

"G-Gomenasai!" Yoku apologized with a bow as her hammer smoked.

"Y-Yeah… I didn't think launching one of our wheels could do that." Drive muttered as he scratched his helmet.

"I'm pretty sure you just damaged a building… near the evacuation zone." Amelia hesitantly pointed out.

"…Kiriko's going to kill me." Drive groaned as he lowered his head in dismay.

Hearing a roar, the group turned and saw that a large number of giant Noise were approaching them.

"Worry about your relationship troubles later, Mr. Tomari." Kuuga II said as he readied his sword. "We got reinforcements to beat up."

As the clash took place, Chris flew towards the Second Division base in order to take the Durandal. But as she flew, she took notice of the street and certain Kamen Rider in black armor.

At Ixa R's side, he heard his radar's alarms sounded off. The young Rider turned and reflexively blocked a pink chain, but its tip struck him on the mask, damaging it. The attack sent him flying and crashing into a nearby bus stop rest.

*CRACK*

"…?!" Hibiki widened her eyes in shock before turning to the attacker who floated down in front of her and Miku.

"Well… Well… Well… Seems like it's my lucky day…" The girl with the Nehustan armor smiled while she loosely swung her whip in a circle.

Side Bashaar Kai growled and then responded to the girl's attack on its rider with missiles fired out of the pipes from its left arm.

*BANG*

"Ugh?!" The girl was taken off-guard that the motorcycle mech had more weapons besides its claw.

The Nehustan Girl quickly spun her whip to block the missiles, causing an explosion and a massive smokescreen.

*BOOM*

"Tch! The interferences just keep coming and pissing me off! You're really asking for it to be sent to the scrap heap!" shouted the girl as she spun her pink whip, creating the four buzzsaws.

"…! Miku! Run!" shouted Hibiki as she took Miku's hand and ran to the side.

"H-Huh?!" The dark-haired girl responded with a confused tone as she was dragged away.

"Take this!" shouted the girl as she the buzzsaws at Side Bashaar.

NIRVANA MAGOG

The transformed motorcycle fired more missiles at the discs and shot down a couple of discs.

*BOOM*

But two made it through its ordinance and slammed right into the walker's body and right arm, causing it to careen back and fall on its back. At the same time, the impact sent both girls flying and landing roughly on the street. The shockwave also sent a nearby car flew up at a high angle.

"Kyaa!" screamed Miku as she flew from the impact.

"?! Was someone also there?!" The Nehustan Girl did not notice that Hibiki was with someone when she attacked.

"Ugh…" Hibiki groaned as she tried to stand up to get to Miku who was further away from her. As she looked up, she saw the flung car was soon descending on her best friend.

"Ah…" Miku froze at the sight of the car falling upon her.

"Miku!" Hibiki quickly stood up and breathed in.

"NO!" A voice shouted.

*BAM*

Miku slowly opened her eyes to realize that she was unharmed though there was a bit of ringing in her ears. She looked up and saw that it was Ixa R above her who blocked the car with his back though it caused further damage to his armor and his helmet was still damaged from the surprise attack.

"?!" Hibiki widened her eyes in shock as the seemingly out-of-action Rider was on his feet.

"*Cough* I… made it…" coughed Ixa R as he held up the car.

"Th-Thank you-"

*Cr-Crack*

Then part of his helm's crest mask fell off and landed on the ground in front of Miku.

*Clang*

"*Gasp*!" Miku widened her eyes upon seeing the face behind the mask.

The broken mask revealed Akakishi's bleeding face to Miku.

"…Aka?" Miku let out as she stared at the redhead with wide eyes.

"Hey Miku... Are you… all right-Ugh!" Akakishi asked as he struggled to hold the car from crushing both of them. "Come on knees, don't give out now..."

"Aka! You're hurt!" Miku pointed out at the redhead's bleeding forehead.

"Don't worry, it'll take more than this to kill- Ugh!" Ixa R tried to reassure before he fell to one knee from the strain. "No... not... now..."

"…!?" Chris widened her eyes in shock at his action, causing her to remember Kenzaki's action of shielding her.

"What? Why did he…?"

*Clank*

*Drip*

"…?" Akakishi heard the sound leaking and saw gas leaked out of the car's ruptured tank. "Miku! Get away! The car's gasoline is leaking!"

Miku nodded as she tried to get up but fell once more. "Ah!" Then she held her leg which was badly bruised from the attack earlier. "My leg…"

*Crackle*

Akakishi heard the sound of an electric spark and turned to see a loose, unearthed electric wire near the puddle of gas.

"...!" Akakishi realized the danger and he forced himself to stand up. "Miku! Haiyaku!"

"Ugh…" Miku crawled as Hibiki ran to the two.

"Miku!" shouted Hibiki as she knelt near Miku. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Hibiki... But... my leg..." Miku looked at her leg which she could not move without wincing in pain.

"Hibiki! Grab Miku and get out of here! The car's fuel is about to ignite!" Akakishi warned.

"...!" Hibiki turned to the gasoline pudele and saw the loose spark wire. "But what about you, Aka?"

"I'll be fine! Just get her out of here!" Ixa R shouted as he struggled to hold the car in place.

"Demo…" Hibiki muttered as she looked down.

"Hibiki?" Miku muttered with a confused tone.

"Hibiki! Just grab Miku and go!" Ixa R insisted.

Hibiki gripped her fist at his words while remembering her conversation with Tsubasa. "I won't…"

"Huh?"

The girl looked up with a determined face and shouted, "I won't run away just to leave you to fight alone! We're partners, remember?!"

Hibiki breathed in.

~Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron~

"ORAH!" Then Hibiki transformed into her armored form and swung her fist at the car that Ixa R held. The car went flying into a building before exploding.

*BOOM*

As the car exploded, Akakishi quickly shielded Miku from the blast and heat.

After the danger was gone, Akakishi let go of the girl and held her shoulders. "Daijoubu, Miku?"

"I'm fine, thanks to you." Miku nodded with a smile.

"Yokatta…" Akakishi looked relieved.

Hibiki approached the two. "Aka…"

Akakishi turned to Hibiki with a concerned look. "Thank you, Hibiki. But... Why did you-"

"Because I wanted to. I won't leave you to take on everything that's causing you pain. That's what I promised to myself and to you!" Hibiki shouted as she placed her hand over her heart.

"…But-"

"Oi!" shouted a voice, interrupting their conversation.

Hibiki quickly jumped in front of Akakishi and deflected a whip strike from the Nehustan Girl. Meanwhile, Akakishi stood in front of Miku and shielded her.

*Crack*

The girl receded her whip and stood in front of the three. "Sorry to butt in on this reunion, but remember. You're still fighting-"

"UCHUUUUUUUU KITAAAAAA!" shouted a voice.

*FWOOSH-BAM*

Following the loud voice was something that slammed on top of the Nehustan Girl, creating a smoke cloud.

In reaction, Ixa R and Hibiki covered Miku from the explosion of debris.

"Ugh!" grunted Akakishi.

"Kyaa!" Miku screamed.

Hibiki opened her eyes and turned in the direction of the cloud. "What was that?!"

"I think that was Fourze-sempai…" Akakishi muttered as he stood up with a bit of difficulty.

"Yosh!" announced said Kamen Rider as he jumped out of the cloud of dust. "Minna, daijoubu?"

"Y-Yeah, we're fine, Sempai. But how did you know we were here?" asked the Onyx Rider with a confused look.

"Kengo got a notice from base and tracked you guys here. It was easy when Hibiki-chan activated her Symphogear!" Fourze said as he slicked the side of his helmet.

"Oh!" Hibiki nodded while placing her fist on her other hand's palm as a gesture of understanding.

"That's good to hear, sempai…" Akakishi somewhat slouched at how his senior just slammed on top of the enemy and came out of it with little injury. "But are you sure you took down the enemy?"

"Well..." Fourze scratched his head.

"Oi…"

The Nehustan Girl slowly stood up with her visor covering her eyes.

"Uh oh." Hibiki muttered as she and Akakishi readied themselves for a fight.

Fourze turned around but seemed very calm despite the threat of the enemy before him.

"You bastards… How dare you… Make a fool of me!" shouted the armored girl as she summoned an energy ball and threw it at Fourze.

NIRVANA GEDON

"Sempai, watch-"

=SHIELD ON=

Then Fourze quickly batted the energy ball away using the shield he summoned on his left arm.

"Gomen!" The white Kamen Ride apologized.

*BOOM*

Then a building away from the group exploded after being hit by the deflected energy ball.

"Oi! Sempai! Watch where you deflect!" shouted Akakishi after he and Hibiki covered Miku from the debris.

"I don't enjoy fighting my friends, but I won't hold back if they're acting stupid!" Fourze stated with a serious tone while ignoring the youinger Rider's words.

"Eh?" Akakishi and Hibiki both let out in confusion at what the older Rider said.

"Aka, does Gentarou-san know who that girl is?" Hibiki asked as she turned to the redhead.

"I don't really know… This is the first I'm hearing about this…" Akakishi turned back to the fight. "Maybe he has a clue to who she is?"

"Friend?" The Nehustan girl repeated with a confused tone.

"You will understand when I befriend you! Let's settle this man-to-woman!" announced Fourze as he pounded his chest and pointed his fist at the armored girl.

"Hah? What the hell are you talking about?" The Nehustan girl asked with a dumbfounded look.

"I'm talking about fighting it out as buddies! But let's change locations to somewhere more open!" The space Rider proclaimed as he slammed the orange switch on his belt.

=ROCKET ON=

Fourze summoned an orange rocket onto his right arm and ignited its booster. Then he boosted right at the Nehustan girl and grabbed her to bring her to another location.

"O-Oi! Wait! I'm not done, you Rocket bastard!" The girl shouted as she struggled in his grip.

The three stared at Fourze leaving with the girl in tow with varying expressions of confusion.

"What just happened?" Hibiki muttered in shock as she stared at the departing pair.

"I have no idea, Hibiki…" Akakishi muttered with a shake of his head. "Either way, we need to-"

"Aka." Miku called out.

Akakishi widened his eyes and turned to Miku who had a worried look on her face.

"Miku…" He muttered.

The girl limped towards him but she nearly fell and Akakishi quickly caught her to stop her from getting hurt further. Then he helped her sit down on a piece of debris.

"Whoa! You're in no condition to walk right now! Just rest here..."

"It's really you, isn't it?" Miku said as she look up at him with worried eyes. "You always worried about us whenever me or Hibiki get hurt."

"...!" Akakishi looked away, as if ashamed of how Miku found him in the state he was currently in.

"What happened? Why are you wearing that armor?" Miku pressed, hoping for a reason.

"It's… complicated. I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Miku." Akakishi stood up and turned away from Miku. "But please, be patient. Right now, I still need to stop that girl, otherwise…"

"Why not? Your sempai seems to be able to handle her himself." Miku gestured to Rider who abruptly left with their attacker.

"…That girl is dangerous, not someone he should be fighting by himself. Besides, it's my fault she is even attacking. That you're even hurt right now. I have to stop her, before she hurts anyone else." Akakishi revealed with a guilty tone.

"Aka…" Miku muttered with a worried tone. The she shut her eyes in fear that he will be further hurt since he was still injured from protecting her.

"Miku." Hibiki called out.

"Huh?" Miku opened her eyes to see Hibiki who slowly held her hands.

"Don't worry… I'll protect Aka. And we'll come back to you safely." Hibiki reassured with a smile.

"Hibiki… Are…Are you going to fight as well?" Miku asked with a worried tone.

"Hai…" Hibiki nodded as she turned to the direction of where Fourze dragged the Nehustan Girl. "That girl… I want to talk to her. I want to convince her to stop."

Akakishi turned to Hibiki as she said those words.

"You know she might not be in the mood to listen, right? Not when she's the enemy."

"I know, Aka. But that doesn't mean I can't try." Hibiki looked at her hand and grasped it. "I don't know why she's fighting, that's why I want to understand her. To reach out to her!"

Akakishi closed his eyes before nodding, "Fine. But don't be careless."

The armored Rider turned to Miku and kneeled before her. "Miku."

"Aka…"

"I'm… sorry that I can't explain things properly to you right now. But I want you to be safe and that will put me and Hibiki at ease." Akakishi stated.

Miku stared at his eyes and then she nodded. "…All right. But you better explain everything from what happened after Zwei Wing to now and…" She looked down to voice her next request. "come back safe with Hibiki! Promise?"

"I promise. Pinkie promise." Akakishi held a pinkie out.

"Un. Pinkie promise." Miku smiled as she held her pinkie out and the two finger shook on the promise.

Then he stood up and placed a hand on the side of his helm. "Commander, did you get all of that?"

"Yes, we have." Genjuro responded.

"I know you ordered me not to engage her but…" Akakishi noted as he knew that leaving the fighting to Fourze would not be a good idea.

The Commander nodded, knowing the situation called for certain measures. "I know. Tendou will probably scold me for this later, but… You and Tachibana have permission to support Fourze! Hidari is already on his way, but you both still hurry there so there won't be further injuries!"

Akakishi nodded as he turned to Hibiki.

"You got all that, Hibiki?"

"Un!" Hibiki smiled with a nod of acknowledgement. "Aka! I'm ready!"

He nodded in agreement and went back to his conversation. "Commander, can you send people to pick up Miku and Side Bashaar Kai?" Akakishi glanced at the state of his damaged bike from the attack of the Nehustan girl. "They're both hurt pretty bad from that girl's attack."

"We will. It's our responsibility to explain the situation to her anyway. So don't worry about your friend and your Rider Machine."

"Understood. And thank you, sir." Akakishi smiled under his mask.

"All right. I'm ready now. Let's go, Hibiki."

"Hai! Ike!"

The two ran off into the distance to face the enemy that attacked them earlier with Miku staring at them with a worried expression. Then she heard some groan-like noises and turned to the Side Bashaar as it crawled a bit near her despite its damaged state.

"You're worried too, huh?" Miku said as she sat next to the machine and patted its "nose". Then she turned to the direction that the two ran off in. "Aka… Hibiki… Please be safe."

Meanwhile, in a certain forest.

Fourze crashed into some trees while the Nehustan girl growled and stomped in anger.

"Kono… Why the hell do you Riders always have to interfere?!"

"Ugh." Fourze pushed a tree log off his body and wiped the side of his helmet. "Because…" Then he quickly pushed the ground and flip jumped onto his feet. "We don't let our buddies fight danger by themselves!"

Then he took out a yellow crystal switch labeled 10 and replaced the orange switch with it.

=ELEC ON=

Upon the switch's activation, Fourze's right arm turn into a gold gauntlet with a similarly colored electric rod with a plug. "Ohhhh…." Fourze breathed in as several electrical discs form around him and electrically formed over his armor, changing the white into a golden yellow.

"Yosh! Biri-Biri Kita!" announced Elec States Fourze as he readied his electrical rod by plugging in the wired plug into the left slot.

"Haah? Is that supposed to do something?" The Nehustan Girl taunted as she swung her gem whip at Fourze.

The space Rider deflect the attack with an electric shock. Then he dodged the next attack and grabbed the whip.

"Gotcha! And one electric shock for you!" Then Fourze struck the whip with the rod, causing an electric shock, but the Nehustan girl did not react. "Eh?"

The girl smirked and then swung the whip he held, throwing the Rider into more trees.

"Waaah! Oof!" Fourze landed roughly after letting go of the whip. "Why didn't that shock her?!"

Then the girl landed near Fourze. "Because this whip isn't electric conductive!"

"Conductive? I mean relics do have to do with music. But what does-"

The girl interrupted his musing by kicking him in the chest, heel-first.

"Itai!" Fourze yelped as he crashed through a tree and onto the ground with a groan.

*Beep-Beep*

The Radar Switch sounded an incoming call, catching Fourze's attention. "Oh! Kengo might know!"

=RADAR ON=

"Seems like you got hurt trying to do something dumb again." Kengo sarcastically commented through an internal call to avoid the enemy overhearing them. Nearby, the Burgermeal provided a feed for himself and the Second Division.

"Oi, you can call me dumb later! Why didn't hitting her whip shock her?" Fourze asked while gesturing to his electric weapon.

"That's because her whip is made of a rock-like substance, possibly crystal or quartz. And that normally isn't electrical conductive." Kengo noted.

"So… the only way to shock her is by hitting her head-on?" Fourze raised his sword before dodging a whip attack.

"Oi! Pay attention!" shouted Chris as she swung another whip attack.

"Sorry, got an important call! Just need a sec!" Fourze apologized while dodging another attack that destroyed a tree.

"No, there's a way. You need to heat up those whips with Fire States before switching back to Elec States."

"Sounds like a plan, best buddy!" Fourze responded with an optimistic tone before taking another whip attack.

*Sklack*

"Gah!" yelped the Space Rider as he rolled on the ground. "But I'm gonna need to get away to change states!"

Then he activated a switch with a spring-like trigger.

=HOPPING ON=

Then a pink piston formed over his right leg and used it to jump away from the Nehustan girl.

"Oi! Get back here!" shouted the girl.

"You're going to have to catch me first!" Fourze responded as he jumped far away using the powerful piston.

"Tch! Why you…" The girl growled and then she flew after the Kamen Rider. "That's it! You're dead!"

Near the Forest, Akakishi and Hibiki skidded outside the tree line as the fighting intensified with fire now being seen.

"Wow. Does Gentarou-san have more powers than just those switches?" Hibiki wondered.

"To be honest, I haven't asked Sempai what his Switches do…" Akakishi admitted. "But I heard he just… goes with his gut if Kengo-sempai isn't there to guide him."

"At least it seems to be working…" Hibiki noted. "Ah! That's right! I forgot to give this back to you, Aka!"

Hibiki pulled out the Bond Score between Ixa R and Gungnir from a container in her armor.

"Our Bond Score… Right, I forgot about it after what happened." Akakishi realized upon seeing the Score.

"Kanade-san found it for us, but she wanted me to bring it to you, Aka." Hibiki stated with a smile.

"She did. I'll thank sempai later then. And thanks for bring it back Hibiki-" As Akakishi touched the Gungnir Bond Score, the memory of what happened with Durandal suddenly resurfaced in his head. Then a spike of pain formed in his core. "Ugh!"

"Aka? What's wrong?" Hibiki asked the armored redhead.

"…I-It's nothing." Akakishi waved off the earlier reaction and took the Score. "Are you ready for the Sync, Hibiki?"

Hibiki looked concerned of armored redhead's earlier reaction when he touched the Score before shaking it off. "Yeah! Let's do this!"

Akakishi nodded and inserted the Score into the slot, causing a reaction from his armor.

=CHAINED BURST: GUNGNIR=

The armor pulled itself apart to reveal an orange glowing frame underneath. The helmet repaired itself and the visor crest reassembled into an orange-metal blade horn sprouting from around the forehead. The different colored eyes flashed with their respective colors of blue and green.

Hibiki's armor also changed with subwoofer additions and the blue crystals on her gauntlets and greaves. The visor crest of Ixa R formed as a accessory on the side of her head.

"All right, back in action!" announced Ixa R with his armor back in optimal shape. "Let's move!" Then he ran into the forest.

"Un! Ike!" shouted Hibiki as she followed Ixa R.

Back in the Forest, several trees were knocked down or broken in half.

Fourze, now in red armor wielding a red gun resembling a fire extinguisher, fired orbs of thermal energy at the girl, forcing her to block them with her whips.

"Ugh! Stop being a coward and face me!" shouted the Nehustan Girl as she swung a whip at the red Fourze.

Fourze rolled out of the way of the attack and fired on the girl. "I'm not being a coward! I'm being tactical!"

"That's not even a good excuse! Now stay still and get hit!" The girl argued back as she swung her whips into the ground, causing a shockwave in the ground and uprooting several trees.

"Wh-Whoa!" Fourze yelped as he lost his footing from the shaking ground before he jumped up using his jetpack.

The girl smiled as Fourze flew up, vulnerable to attack. "Now you're done!" She shouted as she summoned an energy orb and threw it at the Space Rider.

NIRVANA GEDON

"Y-Yabai!" Fourze shouted as he didn't have enough thrust in his pack to dodge the attack.

"ORYAH!" shouted Hibiki as she appeared in front of Fourze and punched the orb away from him.

"Eh? Hibiki-chan?" Fourze blinked under his mask as his jetpack activated to control his freefall.

"…?! She's already here. And her armor…"

(Insert OST: Gekisou Gungnir)

=IXA KNUCKLE- BEAT MAX! =

The Nehustan girl heard the announcement and turned to see Ixa R behind her with his Reverse Knuckle charged with orange energy.

"Take this!" shouted Ixa R as he slammed his fist into the ground and caused a fire wave to crawl into the ground and explode under the girl's feet.

*BOOM*

"Gaaah!" shouted the girl as the flame geyser enveloped her.

BAKUNETSU REKKAKEN

Hibiki and Fourze landed nearby. "Sorry we took a while, Gentarou-san!"

"Sempai!" shouted Ixa R as he ran to the two. "Daijoubu?"

"Don't worry! I'm built from some tough stuff! Even death could not stop me!" Fourze bumped his chest to show his hardiness.

Hibiki and Ixa R stared at the older teen Rider with disbelieving looks at the last comment.

"That… doesn't put me at ease, sempai." Ixa R commented with a sweatdrop on the back of his helm.

Fourze chuckled and slapped the young Rider's back. "Man, you sound like Kengo when he complains!"

Hibiki also made a chuckle at the white Rider's lighthearted attitude.

"Ugh…" Ixa R straightened his back from the heavy slap and turned to Fourze. "Sempai, maybe now's not the time to be so relaxed."

The group turned to a stomp as they saw that the girl was now back up.

"Eh? Didn't you hit her with a Finisher, Akakishi?" Fourze turned to Ixa R.

"I did…" Ixa R muttered with caution.

Hibiki also looked worried before noticing cracks on the armor were slowing receding and some of the damage was being rebuilt.

"Wait, her armor's being repaired!" The amber-haired girl noted.

"Must be the unique power of Nehustan." Ixa R concluded. "No wonder that armor's managed to escape our attacks unscathed…"

The girl swung a whip at the three, and Hibiki stood in front of Ixa R and blocked the whip.

"Hibiki!"

"I'm fine!"

"I'm going to beat you, you dumb brat!" The girl threatened as she gripped her whip.

"That isn't my name!" shouted Hibiki with a heated tone.

"Huh?"

"Watashi wa (I am) Hibiki Tachibana, age 15! My birthday is September 13, my blood type is O!" Hibiki announced.

"Hibiki?!" Akakishi wondered in shock that she reveal such things.

"I get it… Hibiki-chan's trying to reach out to her…" Fourze noted with approval.

"According to my last check up, I'm 157 cm tall! I'll tell you my weight if we get to know each other better! My hobby is helping others, and I love food and more food! Also… I never had a boyfriend in my life!" Hibiki ended her introduction with a serious tone.

The Nehustan Girl was taken aback by the younger girl's sudden words. "Wh-What the hell are you talking about?"

Hibiki spread her arms out. "Unlike the Noise, you understand what I'm saying! I want to talk to you!"

"And I want to befriend you!" Fourze added as he stepped forward with his arms crossed.

"Are you serious, sempai?!" shouted Ixa R.

"This isn't the time or place to be so naïve!" The girl announced as she swung a whip at Hibiki and Fourze who quickly dodged the attack.

"Hibiki! Sempai!" shouted Ixa R.

"Don't attack her, Aka!" shouted Hibiki as she and Fourze dodged another attack. "Don't worry! I can handle this!"

"Same here!"

The group then dodged the whips with Hibiki taking the lead by letting the girl focus on her.

"What the?! Their movements have changed!" The girl noticed that the group were now dodging her attacks while keeping their ground. Then she noticed the look on Hibiki's face wasn't fear. "Is this… determination?"

Hibiki landed with a skid and shouted, "Let's talk! We mustn't fight!"

"Tch!" The Nehustan girl gritted her teeth in annoyance.

"Hibiki-chan's right!" Fourze added as he stood at said girl's side. "We can talk, so we should-"

"URUSAI (Shut up)!" shouted the girl in frustration.

"…?!" The group were taken aback by the shout.

"Humans can't understand each other! We're not made like that!" The Nehustan girl proclaimed. "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you all! I hate you all for blabbing about stuff you don't know S**T about!"

The group stared at the girl as her anger seemed to rage and her words leaving a deep impression.

"This girl… she really is that type of person." Ixa R noted with a glare under his mask.

"I was ordered to kidnap you, but I don't care anymore. I'll beat the s**t out you with my two hands! I'LL CRUSH YOU TO DUST!" The Nehustan girl held out her hands and gripped them tightly.

Hibiki looked a bit hesitant before standing her ground. "I won't go down easily!"

"Yeah!" Fourze agreed with his weapon ready.

The Nehustan girl took the challenge and summon a larger than normal energy ball.

"DROP DEAD!" She shouted as she swung the ball at the group.

ARMA NIRVANA GEDON

Hibiki quickly charged at the massive ball and blocked it head on with both hands.

"And another one!" shouted the girl as she swung another energy ball that slammed into the back of the first, causing an explosion.

"Hibiki!" shouted Ixa R as he covered his mask from the shockwave.

"Ugh! Hibiki-chan!" shouted Fourze as he weathered the blast and smoke.

"Because of you two, I'll be… again…" The girl muttered.

"Haaaa…."

The girl gasped in surprised at hearing the voice of Hibiki.

"Haaaaaahhhh." Hibiki stood standing in the middle of the crate from the blast while holding a small ball of energy.

"Hibiki!" Ixa R shouted in relief.

"Wait… that ball of energy…"

Hibiki tried to contain the energy into a form she could use but it became unstable and exploded, sending orange-armored girl on her back. "Ugh!"

"Hibiki-chan!" shouted Fourze.

"Hibiki! Ugh!" Ixa R felt a shock from the sudden explosion of the energy ball.

"Daijoubu?" Fourze asked as he helped the girl sit up.

"Don't worry, I was just knocked off my feet." The orange-armored girl smiled to reassure the Space Rider and then she stared at her hand.

"I can't materialize the energy like Tsubasa or Aka can…"

"It can't be… She's already trying to use Armed Gear?!" shouted the Nehustan girl.

"Hibiki!" Ixa R ran to Hibiki's side.

"Aka!"

"Are you all right?" The Rider asked his partner.

"Yes, I'm fine. But..." Hibiki looked at her hand. "my Armed Gear."

"Were you trying to call upon your Armed Gear just now?"

"Un, but…"

"Judging by that explosion, I don't think we can just bring it out without this…" Ixa R took out the Weapon Fuestle he used in their previous.

"I know, Aka. But right now… even though I can't form it, I can call on the Gear's strength!"

"It's strength…" Ixa R lowered his head in thought before he raised it upon realizing what Hibiki needed. "I think I know how you can wield it."

"Oi! Don't think you can pull some s**t in front of me!"

=SHIELD ON!=

Fourze landed in front of the two and used his shield to block the attack. Then he fired on the girl with his gun.

"I'll hold her off, you two! Just do what you both do best!" The Space Rider shouted as he fought the girl off.

"Thanks, sempai. Hibiki… Listen to my instructions, all right?" Ixa R requested.

"Un." Hibiki nodded with a smile.

Hibiki summoned the ball of erratic energy once more and Ixa R held his hands close to it to stabilize the energy.

"First, focus on the energy and let your mind form its shape." The Onyx Rider stated first.

Hibiki nodded as she felt the energy stabilize and take shape into a sphere.

"Next, grasp the image of the conduit you want to wield the energy in." Ixa R instructed next.

"Un." Hibiki closed her eyes and thought about how the energy should be formed.

"I have the energy. If I can't shape it into an Armed Gear…"

Then she remembered the training she did with Genjuro who taught her the strength of the fist.

"I should just put all of that energy into my punch!" Hibiki noted as she opened her eyes and grabbed the ball of energy with her hands.

This caused her armor and bodysuit to gain energy weave similar in pattern to Ixa R's inner armor frame.

"All right, Hibiki… You're ready." Ixa R noted as he stepped back while letting Hibiki take the reins.

Hibiki nodded as her right gauntlet's piston somewhat opened with the energy crystals on her armor now charged with orange energy.

*BAM*

Fourze took a whip to the chest that threw him off his feet.

"Gah!"

After taking a decent hit, Fourze was knocked away by the Nehustan Girl into some trees and she swung both her whips straight at the two.

"As if I let you!" She shouted.

Ixa R readied himself to take the attack, but Hibiki reacted faster and intercepted the whips by grabbing them in front of the Rider.

"What?!" The girl stood back in shock.

"I just have to…" Hibiki thought as she crushed a section of the Gem Whips. "Crush the thunder!" Then she pulled, forcing the Nehustan girl to move towards her.

"…Ugh?!" The girl felt herself forcibly moved forward by the orange-armored girl's strength.

"Fast! Short! Straight! Direct!" Hibiki thought as she used her lower back boosters to jet forward with her right fist reeled back. The piston moved back, ready to fire off a strong strike for Hibiki's fist. "To let you hear my feelings, the scream of my heart…"

"Ike! Hibiki!" shouted Ixa R.

"HaaaAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" roared Hibiki as she punched into the solar plexus of her opponent with the energy piston firing in and enhancing her already powerful strike.

*BAM*

*Cr-CRACK*

The punch caused the armor to slowly crack.

"No way… The Nehustan Armor…" The girl thought as the armor could not absorb the full force of the attack. Then energy from Hibiki caused the armor to soon explode, causing a massive explosion that shook the forest.

In another location, Shotaro arrived to the battle as the explosion occurred and sundered trees flew about.

*BOOM*

*CRACK*

*BAM*

"Seems like our kouhai are keeping our guest busy." The detective commented as he pulled out the Joker Memory.

"Yeah. If I had to compare them to anyone, I'd say you, Shotaro." Phillip commented.

"Heh, I'll take that as a compliment." The man chuckled before he made a serious face. "Ikuze, aibou!"

"Un." Phillip closed his book and took out his green Memory.

=CYCLONE!=

=JOKER!=

"Henshin!" The duo announced as they slotted their respective Memories.

=CYCLONE!=

=JOKER!=

As the music from the Driver played, Shotaro transformed into the dual-colored Kamen Rider, Double.

"All right, let's go save our Kouhai from that-"

*BOOM*

Suddenly, the building near the two-in-one Rider exploded.

"Eh?" The Rider turn to the explosion and saw Eternal jump out from the debris cloud.

"HeyShotaro-Can'ttalk-canyouplaywithherwhileIgofightthatgirl?" Eternal said quickly before he jumped into the forest. "-See ya!"

"Wait... was that Fenrir?" Double (Joker) wondered in confusion.

"Yes, but he was supposed to be fighting-"

*BAM*

Then a pair of black armored boots landed near the green/black Rider.

"-her." Double (Cyclone) finished as they turned to the owner of the boot who looked very annoyed.

Back in the forest, Ixa R and Fourze ran to Hibiki's side as the smoke clear to reveal the girl was unharmed.

"Hah… Hah…" The girl breathed as she stopped singing for a bit.

"You did it, Hibiki-chan!" Fourze cheered.

"Un! It was thanks to Aka helping me!"

"I didn't really help, I'm sure you could have figured it out, Hibiki." Ixa R noted though he kept an eye of the area that the Nehustan was. "But now's not time for celebrating, that girl could still be standing."

"I would hate to say it but… You're right, Akakishi." Fourze nodded. "We'll need to knock some sense into her a bit more before we can befriend her."

"…Yeah."

The three turned to the girl who was in the crater while reeling from the hit.

"Ugh…"

"Why is her power so strong?" The girl slowly got up. "Her Superb Song must be the reason… That explains why she and that Rider could awaken Durandal."

Then the Nehustan Armor regenerated and repaired the damage that Hibiki left in it.

"Ugh…" The girl grunted in pain. "I have to make sure I settle this, whatever the cost."

Ixa R readied himself to fight the girl as her armor repaired itself. But Hibiki lowered her arms and walked forward to stand in front of the girl.

"…?! Hibiki? What are you-"

Fourze grabbed the younger Rider's shoulder. "Wait, Akakishi. Trust your aibou. She's trying to reach out to that girl."

"Are you serious, sempai? After that display, I doubt that girl is willing to listen!" shouted Ixa R with doubt in his voice.

"Are you mocking me? Well don't! I'm Chris Yukine!" shouted the girl.

"…?!" Fourze took notice of the name with shock. "Chris… Yukine?"

"She… responded?!" Ixa R muttered in shock that the girl actually introduced herself.

"I see. Chris-chan, it is then." Hibiki said with a smile.

Chris realized her slip-up.

"Nee… Chris-chan. Let's just stop fighting already." Hibiki pleaded. "We're not Noise. We can talk to each other."

Ixa R did not like the body language of the Nehustan Girl, even if Hibiki had good intentions.

"We are both humans!"

"You're… pissing me off!" Chris muttered. "Your lies are pissing me off! Your naiveté is pissing me off!" The girl screamed in anger.

Then she charged at Hibiki and readied to punch her, but Ixa R blocked the attack by grabbing the fist.

"…?! Aka?"

"…" The rider did not respond as he held the fist of the silver-haired girl.

"What? Not going to say anything for your girlfriend?!" shouted Chris as she tried to deck the Rider with her other fist.

"No." Ixa R noted as he headbutted the girl-

*CRCK*

-cracking her mask with his horn blade.

"Ugh!" grunted the girl as she reeled from the hit.

"Unlike Hibiki… I don't forgive anything or anyone for attacking her!" Then the Onyx Rider threw the girl into the forest.

*BAM*

Hibiki ran to Ixa R to confront him. "Aka! Why did you-"

"We tried your way, Hibiki. I'm doing this my way." Ixa R stated darkly as a small dark spark formed from his armor's inner frame .

"But…!"

"She won't listen to you, Hibiki, even if she does, she'll distort your words and try to block them out. So, I'm going with the hard approach this time to knock some sense into her!" The rider walked forward as he pounded his fist while passing by Fourze.

"Akakishi…" Fourze muttered with a worried tone.

Suddenly, the Space Rider grabbed the younger one's shoulder.

"...? Sempai?"

"Let me ask her something..." The older rider requested.

"What? You've already seen her! She won't-"

"I know. But there is something I need to truly confirm. Don't worry, if she tries something, I'll handle it." Fourze said as he walked forward.

"Ugh…" Chris groaned as she stood up. "You… bastard…"

Fourze stood in front of the armored girl silently and his body a bit stiff as if readying himself. "..."

"What? Not going to say all that friendship nonsense you were going on about earlier?" The girl looked down in anger. "Figures... You're just-"

"Does the name Gentarou Kisaragi mean anything to you?" Fourze asked the girl suddenly.

"...?!" Chris widened her eyes and looked up at the Space Rider.

"Gentarou Kisaragi... Do you recognize that name, Chris Yukine?" Fourze repeated the name.

"...Why? Why do you know that name?!" shouted Chris in anger and confusion.

Ixa R and Hibiki were shocked by her reaction.

"Eh? She knows who Gentarou-san is?" Hibiki wondered.

"Seems like it..."

"Sempai... Do you know that girl?" Ixa R wondered.

Fourze did not flinch from Chris's shout. "...So you do recognize that name. Because you two are-"

"Don't you dare! Don't you bastards dare..." Chris gritted her teeth as she clenched her fist. "DON'T YOU DARE DRAG HIM INTO THIS MESS! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU ALL IF YOU DARE INVOLVE HIM!"

"Chris-chan..." Hibiki muttered with a worried tone.

"I know you don't trust us... So let me-" Fourze placed his hands near the red levers of his belt.

Suddenly trees rustle, and then Eternal jumped out and dropkicked into the side of the girl in the Relic armor.

"WHAT-THE-HELL-DO-YOU-THINK-YOU-ARE-DOING-TO-MY-FRIENDS KIIIIICK!" shouted Eternal as he landed the kick.

"...?!" Fourze, Ixa R, and Hibiki looked shocked as the cloaked Kamen Rider kicked Chris into a tree that snapped in half from the impact. Then he flipped from the attack and landed in front of the three.

"Big Bro?! What are you doing here?!" shouted Ixa R in shock. "Didn't she defeat you?"

"Nope. The brat had backup who stopped me for a while. Luckily my legs still work so I ran for it after finding an opening." Eternal stated with his arms crossed and his cloak moved in the wind.

"I see... Wait, where's her backup?" Ixa R looked around with worry that another enemy will show up to fight them.

"I left her with Double." Eternal waved off.

"I see... Wait, what do you mean by that?" Ixa R processed that last sentence since he was now worried that Eternal left Double with a tough opponent to defeat.

"Don't worry about it."

"I have to worry about it! You left Double-Sempai to fight someone dangerous again! Ugh... this really is Paris all over again..." Ixa R groaned as he facepalmed at the familiarity of how Eternal escaped his opponent by letting someone else handle them.

"Eh? You went to Paris, Aka?" Hibiki turned to her partner with a curious look.

Ixa R turned away from the girl's curious face and muttered, "That's... a story for another time, Hibiki..."

"Sempai..." Fourze approached Eternal.

"Hm? Oh, need something Gentarou?"

Fourze shook the older Rider by the shoulders. "Why did you attack her? I was about to reunite with Chris!"

"Eh? You know that brat?"

"Yes!"

"Ugh..." Chris groaned as she got up. "Konno-Ugh!"

Chris grunted as the armor was still repairing itself from the damage that Hibiki left earlier.

"Seems likes she's back on her feet again. Fine by me." Eternal said as he cracked his knuckles.

Fourze quickly stood in front of Eternal. "Wait, sempai. Let me talk to her. Please?"

"No. We knock her out." Eternal denied the request.

"Please, sempai?" Fourze pressed with his hands grasped together.

"No!" Eternal stated with a flat tone.

"Please, sempai?" Fourze and Hibiki asked together with doe-like eyes.

"NO! And what the hell are you doing, Tachibana?!" shouted Eternal in shock that Hibiki joined in the begging.

Ixa R groaned at how the serious situation turned silly again.

Chris stared at the gathered group who argued amongst themselves on how to handle her, and then she decided her next move.

"You... You bakas are making a fool out of me?! Take this, you idiots! ARMOR PURGE!" shouted the Girl as the Nehustan armor exploded into fragments.

"…! Hibiki, look out!" shouted Ixa R as he ran in front of the girl to shield her from the pieces of the armor fired at them.

=METAL!=

=CYCLONE!=

Eternal quickly transformed his knife into a wind-enhanced staff to deflect the purged armor. The pieces flew around them and smashed the surrounding trees into stumps.

~Killter Ichaival tron~

Hibiki and the group heard the hymn. "A song?"

"…! No... It's a hymn!" Ixa R noted and turned in the direction of the girl who purged her armor.

"Aka's right… But who's singing?" Eternal noted upon hearing the hymn.

Then the smoke cleared to reveal Chris's silhouette with an orb barrier along with rings of light swirling around her.

"She has a Symphogear?!" Ixa R shouted in surprise.

"This isn't good… Get ready! She's going to transform!" shouted Eternal as he braced for battle.

"Chris..." Fourze muttered with worry, staring at the girl.

"Let me show you morons the power… of Ichaival!" shouted Chris as the energy from her activation hymn exploded out, forcing the group to cover their eyes from the sudden flash of light.

(God Eater Ost: God and Man)

Instrumental

Akakishi was seen laying on a tree in a ruined field covered in flames as his eyes reflected the night sky. He held his Reverse Knuckle but he appeared to be on his last legs since the light in his left eye was dimming.

/Memories keep flooding in showing the paths I should've taken, but

now that time has run away from me I cannot change a thing./

The scene shifts to Eiji who lied on the ground of a hill staring at the same starry sky while gripping two halves of a Red Medal. Next to him, Tsubasa sat on her motorcycle and looked up to the night sky while holding her relic necklace.

/I remember how you'd counsel me with wisdom of the ages true:

"Live your best life" you told me and "You walk the earth but once"/

Kanade was seen standing on top of a roof while looking at the sky with longing eyes. At her side sat Fenrir who stared at the stars as he held his Eternal Memory in his right hand.

/and now you've come, to see me once again,

I feel safe at last; Although I feel the end is coming closer unto me./

Tendou was seen looking at the sky on a cliff while the Kabuto Zecter sat on his shoulder. In the shadows behind him was Kenzaki who also stared at the starry skies.

/If I could only travel back in time, to peaceful days gone by./

Chris gazed at the sky from a mansion window with a look of melancholy. The camera changed views to Gentarou in the streets who was looking at the starry sky with a smile.

/But this is my price to pay: to not survive beyond this very day./

Carter sat on his motorcycle leaning forward with his elbows on the handlebars. Amelia sat behind him with her back leaning on his. The two partners also stare at the sky full of stars.

/Oh, the pain is lessened when you're near, there is no fear.

I'm whole again as in days gone by, if only for a while./

Shotaro rested his arms on a guard rail while staring at the sky with Natsuko at his side also staring at the stars. Behind them was Phillip who peered into a telescope while Fuyuko stared at the drawings of the constellations he drew.

/But it hurts to have to leave you so, I don't want to go./

Yoku was seen sitting on a bench stargazing with Shinnosuke who was laying on the meadow with smiles on their faces.

/Could this sacrifice cost me my life?/

Leah stood on a terrace while staring at the sky with her brother Liam and Lian at her sides. Behind them sat Takumi who also stared at the sky.

/Oh, just to live my life again, to treasure every little moment then,

satisfied, I'd leave you all behind, accepting of my fate./

Akakishi smiled a bit before slowly closing his eyes in peace as the light of his cybernetics slowly dim to black.

/But I am full of grief, to leave this life so incomplete.

My dream is coming to the end./

Then a hand held his hand and he opened his eyes while feeling the energy it granted. He opened his eyes to see Hibiki with a relieved look before pulling him to his feet. Akakishi was taken by surprise but stood up with a smile. They turn to see their friends and allies approach with smiles on their faces as the dawn of morning came. The scene then fades to a white.

At that moment it transitions to Akakishi sleeping in a pod showing that he smiled from the dream as a tear fell down.

One verse ends and the Shattered Symphony sings to the next:

A Battle with a new Symphogear

"You... You made me sing!" roared Chris as she wielded a dual-barreled gatling gun ready to shoot at the group.

A result no one expected

"Who are you?!" shouted Ixa R as the group faced the Blond Woman.

"You may call me Finé." The Blond Woman stated with a cruel smile.

And a reunion of conflicts

"Hibiki... How long will you keep fighting?" asked Miku with a worried tone.

"That's..." Hibiki hesitantly unsure what to say.

Next time on Kamen Rider Ixa R: Broken Masquerade and Truths

"Akakishi... Are you willing to stop fighting?" asked Miku as she held his hand. "I can't bear to see you or Hibiki get hurt."

"Miku..." Akakishi muttered in shock.

The two were in a hospital room with a bandaged Akakishi in a hospital bed.

Author's Note: Sorry for the hiatus everyone. I was trying to figure out how to write out this chapter while getting distracted with other stuff. Hopefully I can finally get the rest of the chapters done and this story finished.