Honoka rushed out of the house, bread in her mouth like a stereotypical anime character. At first she was so focused on getting to school, but then she saw that the people around her have stopped and are pointing to the sky.
Honoka opened her mouth in shock, dropping the bread onto the ground.
Those…. Those are portals that are opened by Kirara drives!
Her wonder was replaced by terror, however, when she saw what emerged from the portal.
DES LAS.
The DES mecha were humanoid shaped, although it had no head. In one hand was the mecha's weapon, a submachine gun. She could tell by its movements that it was unmanned.
H-How did they get here?!
Honoka started running back to her house. On the way she bumped into Kotori and Umi, her two best friends and fellow members of Muse. Honoka and Umi collided, and both ended up on the ground.
"Honoka!"
"U-Umi-chan…" Honoka stood up and tried to run again, but Umi grasped on her arm. The blue-haired songwriter wasn't letting her go.
"Wait, Honoka! Where are you going? We have to get away from those things! They're dangerous!"
"She's right, Honoka-chan!" Kotori added. The ash-haired girl had worry all over her face. "I've already called our friends to confirm if they're safe."
Honoka broke free from Umi's grasp.
"I'm sorry, Umi-chan, Kotori-chan. This is something I have to do."
She continued running back towards her house. On the way, she bumped and pushed through a crowd which was going against her like a strong torrent. The looks on their faces said that they were panicking and were seeking refuge. I have to ensure that these people are safe, and to do that, I have to defeat these mechs!
"What… was that about?" Umi asked, staring at Honoka's retreating form. "Something she has to do?"
"Let's follow her!" Kotori said. Already she was starting toward the direction Honoka went.
Honoka finally got to her house. Her parents and Yukiho were staying inside, unsure what to do.
"Honoka, thank goodness you've returned!" her mother said. "We were worried…"
Honoka ignored her and rushed towards the house's storage room. She started pushing boxes away.
"Onee-chan, what are you doing?" Yukiho asked.
"I'll explain everything when this is all over, okay?" Honoka replied. "Please. Just trust me on this."
Honoka pressed a button that was hidden by all those boxes, which revealed a secret door on the floor. She went down through a flight of spiral stairs into a room that seems like it came out of a science fiction novel. Futuristic weapons were mounted on the walls. Honoka ignored them all and proceeded to the center of the room, where a mech was waiting. It was an AKB0048-use LAS. Unlike the DES LAS, this one looked even less humanoid, with a main body like the front of a jet. However, it had humanoid arms and legs, and was armed with the same thing that the DES LAS did.
She opened the cockpit. She had maintained it continuously, so it booted up without a hitch.
LAS Online
"Alright… let's see if I still got this."
Honoka pressed a button to open the hatch on the ceiling above her. It should correspond to the road in front of their house. The hatch opened, and Honoka prepared herself.
"Honoka Kousaka, launching!"
By the time her family got to the underground room, all they saw was the giant robot launching out into the sky.
Honoka flew the LAS towards the DES mechs. Despite a long time of not piloting, she was handling this well. Honoka pressed another button on the LAS's control console. She hoped the SOS signal she was sending would reach. Now she pressed another button. This one is not for any weapon, but it might as well be. After all, she was strongest when she was singing.
In front of her a small holographic display showed a list of songs.
Beginner
Pioneer
Aitakatta
Honoka scrolled past all those. She had made a few additions to this machine's playlist.
She made her selection and started firing at the DES forces.
Doing things firmly
The me today
I'll throw my weak heart into the night sky
Doing things firmly
The me today won't flee, I can run into the darkness
Honoka saw a total of four DES mechs. The other three were unmanned, just like the first one. Her move must be to lure these DES mechs into an area where they can't hurt people. Well she knew just the place. She opened fire on them to get their attention, and led them to a merry chase.
"Come on, follow me!"
While regretting, we'll pass through this
Don't quit, there's definitely a different path
DES BATTLESHIP GUSION, OUTER SPACE
"Sir, a 00 LAS has engaged our forces!"
"What!" Nakajima shouted. "How many?"
"Just one, sir!"
Nakajima frowned. Had 00 followed them here? "Destroy it!"
He opened communications to the ship's hangar. "There's a 00 LAS out there! Prepare the remaining LAS for sortie just in case. And ready that one too…"
SKIES ABOVE AKIBA
Honoka has led them to a huge park. Right now it wasn't open yet so there weren't any people. There were still panicking people around the perimeter, so she had to be careful not to harm anyone. Not the ideal battleground I was looking for, but this will have to do, Honoka thought.
The light I once wanted to see, the light that dwells within my chest
I realise that now is that time
While feeling a burning awakening
Light is pouring down, the light that dwells within everyone
Why don't we believe in our smiles and advance?
Honoka turned her attention to the LAS chasing her. The first one fired upon her, which she expertly dodged. Before she could react, however, the first LAS suddenly dove down, revealing a 2nd one hiding behind it. This 2nd LAS fired at her. Honoka dodged again. The 2nd LAS did the same thing, diving down to reveal a 3rd mech. This time, however, Honoka was expecting it. She fired on the third LAS and then quickly turned her attention the form of the 2nd LAS. She fired upon it too. Her LAS' bullets weren't meant to kill, only to disable. The two LAS were now paralyzed and dropped to the ground. Their landing was a bit rough, and one of them almost got a citizen by an inch. Honoka cursed at herself for being a klutz, but continued fighting anyway.
There are two more… where are they?
Umi and Kotori saw the rest of Muse already at Honoka's house.
"You all made it," Kotori said.
"Guys, you have to check out what's beneath Honoka's house!" Nico said.
"Seriously, it's like a science fiction movie!" Rin added.
"But first…" Hanayo pointed to the battle raging in the distance.
"Are those robots fighting?" Kotori asked. "Those dark green ones are fighting the light blue one!"
"That light blue one... is my sister," Yukiho interrupted.
"What!?" Umi said in disbelief. Not only Umi was shocked at the information, but also everyone. Who would have thought that one of them could own a mech, and ride it like it was child's play?
"I know. It's hard to believe. We only found out about this ourselves today," Yukiho said. "But there is no denying that underneath our house my sister has somehow hidden a cache of weapons and a giant robot. Right now however she is fighting to protect us."
"But it's not a fair fight!" Kotori said. "There's more of the enemy!"
Umi was already walking towards Honoka's house.
"Show me those weapons."
Honoka was exhausted. She was dodging fire from the two remaining DES LAS. She attempted to return fire but the two were just skilled. She needed some kind of distraction.
"Honoka!"
She heard a familiar voice over the comlink.
"Umi-chan!?"
Suddenly one of the DES LAS was shot by a rocket launcher. The damage was not much, but it was enough to make the mech turn away from Honoka. It turned to face this new attacker, but that was enough distraction for Honoka to make her move.
Still existing
The me today
Wants to become strong, so as to stand by you
Still existing
The me today can win, I can seize tomorrow
Honoka kicked the distracted mech. While it was flailing around, Honoka grabbed hold of its hand and slammed it to its companion mech before firing at them both, paralyzing their mechs entirely. They crashed and were rendered unable to move.
Honoka landed her mech in the middle of the park.
She saw the rest of Muse: Umi, Kotori, Maki, Hanayo, Rin, Nico, Nozomi, and Eli waiting for her, along with her parents and Yukiho. She also saw the family van right behind the group. She was about to exit the mech, but she saw not only her family and fellow members, but also the people surrounding the park as all of them looked at the triumphant robot.
"Honoka, I think we deserve an explanation for this," Eli began.
"That's right," Umi said, still holding the rocket launcher. "What is happening?"
"Ehehehe…" Honoka said. "Well, it's a long story…"