AKB0048 BATTLESHIP KATYUSHA
While Umi was busy… coaching Honoka, Rin decided to wander around the ship. Honoka's family was dropped off, and they promised to go to their families and assure them of their safety. Her friends were mostly in the ship's canteen, relaxed now that Honoka is fine. Now that's just not fun, is it? So Rin started walking around the ship, looking outside the windows.
"Wow, Akiba looks really pretty from up here!" she said out loud.
"I know, right!"
Rin saw who answered her; a small girl with long yellow hair.
"Hi! I'm Sonata. Nice to meet you," the girl introduced.
"I'm Rin!" the latter replied.
"You must be one of the new guys Tsubasa-san was talking about!" Sonata guessed. "So, tell me. In this time, entertainment really isn't banned?"
"Of course not!" Rin said, appalled that such a concept even exists. "Here we can sing songs, watch movies, and play games any time we like. Here, let me show you!"
Rin brought out her cellphone and played a video of a girl with brown hair, wearing ribbons on both sides of her head, singing during a live.
"Wow, there's so many people! And DES isn't around to ruin their day."
"DES really is that bad, huh?"
"Yeah! They attack anyone that's pro entertainment. My father… he was killed in battle with DES."
"That's horrible!"
Sonata looked at her with a determined look. "We think DES is planning bad stuff to this time, so we can't let the same thing happen."
"Of course we won't," Rin replied. "I... don't know what I can do, but I'll definitely try to help."
"Sonata, there you are!"
Both girls saw a red-haired girl running towards them.
"Ah, Onee-chan!"
The redhead gave Sonata a wave. She then saw Rin, and said her greetings right after. "Yo. I'm Kanata Shinonome, Sonata's older sister."
"I'm Rin Hoshizora, nice to meet you!"
"Your friends are in the canteen. Why not join them?" Kanata asked.
"Nah, I already know that. But staying there's no fun! I'm standing in a futuristic ship! Who'd want to sit in one place alone when she knows it's her once in a lifetime chance to get to see a ship like this?! Now's the time to explore!"
Kanata laughed. "Oh, of course. Fine. See you around then, and be careful. Come Sonata, there will be a mission briefing."
"Alright! Bye, Rin!" Sonata said, waving energetically.
Rin replied by waving back at Sonata.
Rin was thinking about her talk with Sonata as she walked the rest of the ship. So this DES really is that bad… she can't believe that there are people who'd hate entertainment. It lifts her spirits up! It helps her in her life! Surely something like that can't be all bad.
As she was thinking she saw a familiar hairstyle just in a far corridor.
Is Honoka-chan done already?
As she was about to wave, however, the person turned and Rin got a better look, and she saw it was not Honoka at all, but someone else.
Strange. Someone here has Honoka-chan's hairstyle?
She turned around quite awkwardly and decided to head to the canteen to see how her friends were doing.
Rin entered the canteen, and a heated conversation was going on between the other members.
"So, Elicchi… that was quit the reveal, huh?" Nozomi said.
"You're right, Nozomi. I was surprised that Honoka was actually from the future," Eli replied.
"So, what's going to happen to us now?" Maki asked. "With DES now in our time, we really can't escape this conflict. We're in this now."
Their discussion, however, was interrupted by girls muttering outside of the cafeteria.
Meanwhile, a pink-haired girl stood outside the cafeteria, carrying a tray with glasses of juice. She hesitated by the door.
"Come on, Acchan! Just give it to them!" a blonde girl ushered the pink-haired girl forward.
"But Yuka!"
"Aww come on, why so shy? Damn, I'd push you but that'd spill all that juice."
The seven members stopped their discussion, and Eli got up and approached the door. She saw the two girls just standing outside the room.
"Don't be shy, come in," she said.
The two girls entered the room, with the yellow-haired girl, Yuka, giving Acchan one of those "I told you so" looks.
Acchan set the juice on the table.
"Here, some juice. The least I can do. I'm sorry that all of you ended up being dragged in all this," Acchan apologized ahead of the others.
"Don't sweat it," Nico said, taking a glass. "Honoka's our friend, if she's in trouble we'll back her up no problem."
"I'm Na—" The pink haired girl cleared her throat to repeat her introduction. "I'm Maeda Atsuko the 14th, by the way," the pink-haired girl said. "You can call me Acchan. Everybody started calling me that way, so I'm predicting you all will be calling me that sooner or later…" Embarrassed by the remarks, she then giggled a bit.
"And I'm Ichijou Yuka," the blonde girl introduced right after.
"Acchan, Yuka. Nice to meet you!" Kotori said.
"Yeah! Nice to meet you, guys!" Rin added.
"So, can you tell us more about what AKB0048 does?" Maki asked.
"We do guerilla lives," Acchan answered. "You see, there are planets under the entertainment ban and our aim is to have entertainment reach them."
"Wonder how that's like," Hanayo said.
"Oh, we're planning one right now!" Acchan said.
"That's right, we're using it to bait DES and finish them," Yuka added. "You guys can watch from here in the ship."
A megaphone from the corner of the room made a sound which rang out across the room. Acchan and Yuka took this as an alarm.
"Seems like it's show time," Yuka beat a fist. "We're heading out." Yuka then ran out of the canteen.
"Yeah," Acchan agreed and bowed before the seven girls. "Hope we can get to talk with you a little bit longer. See you!" She then followed Yuka out of the room, leaving the girls a bit anxious and excited as they expected a heated battle.
"Members! To your positions!" Katagiri Tsubasa gave out commands, and the rest followed. The members standing onstage were pretty much nervous, as they were chosen to become the opening scene of this concert, and not the successors.
"I-I'm getting nervous about this one," Aida Orine muttered to her fellow understudies.
"Don't worry about it," Kanata assured. "All we have to do right now is perform our very best, and we leave the rest to your seniors."
"Yeah!" Sonata agreed.
"Everyone! Prepare! We're starting in three! Two! One!" Katagiri counted off, and the rest followed with their opening line.
"AKB0048!"
With this announcement, people started cheering. It was their first time seeing such technology before them. Projections appeared in mid-air, and built train railings. Lights then came off of Katyusha, and the train whistle blew off as the song started playing.
The sunlight awaits at the windy station
The clouds cut a path in the sky
I glance briefly at my watch
And gently heave a sigh
Everything was going smoothly. The lights were absolutely beautiful, the girls were just stunning, and the performance was out of this world. The people were enjoying the song, and nothing was there to interrupt their fun just yet.
Will you stop me and tell me not to go?
Can I leave my love behind?
The rainbow train is about to depart
Right on schedule, towards our dreams
I want to set off with you by my side
We'll take on anything
The song rung throughout Akihabara as the group continued to the second verse.
DES BATTLESHIP GUSION, HANGAR
"This baby's good to go!" one of the crew shouted, tapping the mecha's right leg. "Captain, Gusion II is ready for deployment!"
"Good, good," Nakajima muttered. "Ready the power source!"
"It's already right there, Captain," Shimada assured. "Hooked and ready to sing."
"That's a check on the power source. The pilot?"
"Here I am," Ryuko announced.
"There you are, Ryuko," Nakajima said as he turned to the girl. "Ready for your first ride, I see. The controls aren't that hard to do, so you should be able to do it smoothly."
"I know, Nakajima-sama," Ryuko replied. "I've been waiting for this very moment, after all!"
"There's a good girl," Nakajima praised and pat Ryuko's shoulder. "Mount the Gusion II now. We're about to deploy you in a couple minutes. We're gonna give AKB their fun, and then…
We'll have ours."
SKIES ABOVE AKIBA
At first, it should have been normal for DES to come in late, but they have not been detecting any signals of DES at all during the whole song.
"Do they not know about this concert?" Yuuko asked. She has also been suspicious about the late coming of their enemy. "It's already been one song!"
"Ma-Manager," Takamina called through a comlink. "Tell the other understudies to start another song."
"Yeah," Katagiri followed, and brought out another song for the understudies to perform.
"Another song, huh…" Chieri whispered. "I can tell something big is ahead of us…"
Almost by coincidence, after Chieri mouthed the words, an explosion came from behind the Katyusha.
"W-What?!" Katagiri shouted, fully alarmed by the damage this explosion has done. "Right before our next song?!" And how in the world did it get past our radars?!"
"Captain, this mech has concealed its presence," one of the operators informed. "This DES mech… is dangerous."
"What?!" Katagiri shouted, but never got another answer as the ship started shaking. "Status report!"
"Our propellers and engine have received heavy damage," another operator announced. "Activating backup."
Despite being safe from crashing, they could not avoid the fact that someone had gotten past security. As soon as the people head the explosions, they started panicking.
"There's an enemy!" Yuuko finally found her opponent. From the front, she turned behind her and pointed a gun, but was horrified by the figure this mech imposed.
It loomed over them like a giant.
Of course, under Takamina's command, all the successors started shooting at the robot. Yes, DES has unleashed a single mech to attack AKB. But it was heavily armored, so their bullets didn't hinder the mech at all. As mockery, the mech even moved a slow pace, as if imitating a typical villain. The defense was maddening.
"Ah, let's finish this," the pilot said, and brought out a hammer. The mech then started engaging the group.
"What is that thing? It's huge!"
"My bullets aren't working!"
"Watch out for its hammer!"
"Retreat, retreat!" Takamina's voice sounds panicked.
"Give me a visual of the enemy!" Tsubasa said. The screen on the bridge immediately displayed a huge, green robot. "What the…"
From inside the ship, Muse was watching from different rooms as the robot finally engaged in combat.
"It's bigger than any LAS I've seen!" Honoka said. Umi looked at the mech in fear.
From the visual Takamina was giving, the other members were shaking.
"This doesn't bode well…" Nozomi muttered.
What happened next silenced them all.
Dancing, dancing, non-stop my dancing…
The members of Muse froze.
"That… that song…" Umi stuttered.
"No, it can't be!" Hanayo shouted. "It's impossible!"
"But… it's hers. It can't be denied," Eli contrasted.
"It… It's Kira Tsubasa's voice…" Honoka said. But this voice was not the one she loved, the one that was full of love for music. This voice seemed tortured, asking for help.
"They've done it… my god, they've done it." This was the voice of one of the crew, a man.
The robot moved fast as it swung its hammer. The successors cleared away in response.
It switched tactics, storing the hammer in its back and firing its gun instead.
Due to the gun's rapid fire, it hit an LAS.
"Kojiharu!" Tsubasa shouted.
"I can't eject! It's broken!" Kojiharu shouted, as fear can be heard from her voice.
"Mayuyu, Sayaka, Kojiharu has been hit. Help her and get her away from here, right now!"
All this while Honoka heard what was the most haunting rendition of Shocking Party.
By far, none of the mechs got near the Gusion II. It was incredibly tough; so tough that even melee attacks would not work at all. They did not even get to sratch a bit of its armor.
Takamina looked around her to find a place to drive the fighting away from Akiba.
She was out of ideas. Fighting the mech was a hopeless case. Issuing a retreat might save them, but the Katyusha would get damaged in return. They could not risk those inside. Moving the mech away from the site would be good, but where?
Right then, the mech started moving weirdly. None of its attacks seemed to land, unlike the first minutes they saw it.
While Takamina started panicking, something out of her expectations happened.
"The robot is retreating!" one of the citizens shouted. All the other people heard him and pointed at the mecha, which was indeed turning its back on the group and flying away.
"While we have the chance, let's pursue the mech!" Yuuko ordered.
"No. Leave it. Return to the ship," Katagiri ordered her own command. "We'll be having a strategy meeting."
"… Sure," Yuuko hung her head and glided to the ship.
The others followed her inside. Mayuyu and Sayaka got Kojiharu out of her mech and carried her inside. She was heavily injured, but her injuries were not fatal. She was then handed over to Yukirin for further treatment.
"Aaah, it's our total defeat," Sae said as she walked inside the ship.
"… Yeah. I have to agree," Sayaka replied. "Even Takamina almost panicked."
"But let's not lose hope. There must be a way to defeat it," Takamina said, determined to win the battle next time.
AKB0048 BATTLESHIP KATYUSHA, HOSPITAL ROOM
"… That was clearly Tsubasa-san's voice," Honoka told Umi.
"You're right," Umi didn't have a choice but to agree. Both of them looked scared. Something that powerful attacking them while Shocking Party was playing?
"That means…" Honoka came to a thought. "Tsubasa-san's being held captive by DES?!"
"That can't possibly be…" Umi tried to find a flaw, but also realized the same thing.
"Umi-chan, take me to the meeting room!" Honoka urged.
"U-Understood!"