(Play: Senritsu Sorority [Ignited Arrangement])
Their voices soared.
A song, meant to be only for three now grew as a fourth joined in.
The three former FIS Symphogear users had always felt inferior to their S.O.N.G comrades. All three of them were natural Adaptor, needing no LiNKER to operate at full capacity. Yet, the three FIS girls were dependent on the synthetic liquid, and have in the past been left completely powerless once the concoction ran out. Only a risky and heart-wrenching journey into the elder's heart finally helped them discover the missing component of the LiNKER formula.
The component whose name is love.
Despite the weakness and helplessness they had often felt, they always learned from it, always grew and accepted it in their hearts, and then finally have been able to truly grow strong.
And now, with Yukine Chris joining on their song, their strength had increased tenfold.
The difference in their battle prowess was evident almost instantly. Weaving through the beasts like the wind, the Symphogears of Zababa sliced into the black monsters without them being able to respond in time to their assault. Neither of the two girls had the ability to completely destroy them, but they could injure them.
They could anger them.
And more importantly, lure them exactly where they wanted to.
The thrusters on Kirika's lower back roared to life, and holding her scythe in her hand horizontally, she began to spin. Faster, faster, and faster she gained speed, becoming a storm that smashed the beasts away.
'TINKERBELL TORNADO'
In order to be able to destroy all of the beasts in one shot, they would have to first herd them all together. However, they proved to be difficult to distract as still only half of them chased after the two younger girls while the others ganged up on Maria and Chris. The two older user were more than able to hold them off now that their phonic gain levels soared, filling them to the brim with power. It would have been far easier had they been in better condition, but that never stopped them before.
Their songs, if sung with the right note in the heart, were unbeatable.
Their Symphogears however, were not.
The seconds ticked away as they fought, and sweat began to form on their brows. Following Kirika's lead, Shirabe rode forward, the beasts following up behind her. Just as one leaped forward to gain on her, the girl made a sharp U-Turn and charged towards the beast as well.
It would have seemed like a suicidal move...if she hadn't had a counterattack in mind.
She crossed her arms, and her skirt lifted and begin to spin in insanely high speeds, becoming a buzzsaw that exceeded the range of the beast's strike.
And in one motion, struck.
'DELTA STYLE CHARMING ACCELKILLER"
The beast was sliced in half, and Shirabe landed back on the ground gracefully. Two of the beasts instantly turned to her and gave chase after her. The one bisected beast was reformed a moment later as the two sliced halves were drawn towards each other and reconnected, and the beast landed back on its feet and snarled.
Only to be hit in the back and flung forward as the tornado that was Kirika changed direction and followed after Shirabe, realizing her intention from the get go. The beast twisted in the air and landed on the ground, extending its arms forward to try and stop Kirika's momentum, but it was unable to get a grip on the rapidly spinning scythe and was struck, flying all the way towards the school building and crashing into the wall.
Shirabe and Kirika regrouped with the two elder Adaptors. The Ig-Alima user stopped her spin just in time to deflect a beast's strike, throwing it back. The song soared as the four touched backs, and looking over each other's shoulders, nodded with a smile.
The beasts jumped at them all at once. Time slowed as they hung in the air, and with amazing reflexes all four wielders jumped, and the beasts crashed into each in a pile, right underneath them.
"LET'S FINISH THIS!"
Their voices grew louder.
One minute.
Knives spun above Maria's head, and once again she launched a tornado. It enveloped the downed beasts in its entirety, and with a flick of her arm she raised the storm towards the air, carrying the beasts along with it. Helpless in the air and still stuck in a clump, the beasts flailed wildly, unable to pierce through the twister to reach their targets.
Kirika and Shirabe followed up and charged towards the airborne beasts, their weapons raised. The beasts noticed their approach, and one tried to meet their attack, but their speed and angle of attack caused its strike to miss completely and the two younger Symphogear users launched a volley of crescent slashes and buzzsaws at the black masses. The projectiles cut into them repeatedly, and the powerful twisting wind caused them to slice into the mass again and again, constantly causing injuries that were inflicted faster than they were regenerated, leaving them with open wounds.
And at the very top of the storm, Chris hung in the air, a multitude of rockets hanging by her sides. Grinning as she sang, she launched the entire volley into the funnel. Kirika and Shirabe jumped out of the sides to avoid being caught up in the blast.
The only free beast had only a second to roar loudly, and the entire volley struck them at the same time, engulfing all the the beasts in a massive inferno of fire and wind. The entire tornado caught fire from the blast, the wind feeding the flames.
And the beasts within roared as they were vaporized, leaving nothing but dust in their wake.
Their song ended, and all four Adaptor landed back on the ground as the storm dispersed, and sigh in relief when nothing came out of it alive.
"Wow, we actually did it!" Kirika exclaimed in delight.
"Yeah, we did," Maria answered with a smile. "Good job everyone."
The four wielders smiled to each other, and Chris let her hands fall loosely to her sides. "Good, now we just need to-"
Only to be interrupted as all four Gears exploded in a shower of shards, leaving them back in their civilian outfits.
"Crap." Chris said as she looked herself over. She quickly looked over her pendant, checking to see if it was damaged in any way.
"So we are out of the fight now?" Shirabe asked.
Maria looked to the top of the school building, where she could see signs of battle. "Yes...it seems we are. There is nothing more we can do here. We can only hope Saint-Germain will be able to get some results."
However, unbeknownst to them, one single beast had managed to survive the combination attack due to not being in it in the first place.
It was the beast that was flung away from Kirika's spin and had smashed into the wall, and it did not have enough time to return back to its comrades.
However, the place it had crashed into was almost too unreal to be a coincidence.
Miku stared with wide eyes at the beast stuck in the wall, too afraid to approach it further. She had earlier taken refuge by entering the school building itself, which seemed to have began rocking and swaying due to the intense battle between Saint-Germain and Hibiki. Once she noticed that the fighting on the track field had ended, she exited the building in order to check up on them, only to run into the black mass that resembled Hibiki, getting a good look at its features, or lack thereof, for the first time from up close.
It dislodged itself, and landed on the ground with both feet and hunched over. It growled in rage, and raised its head to glare at the wielders on the track field, who had somehow completely missed it presence.
It was just about to lunge at them when it heard a sound to its left and quickly turned its head to the source.
Miku looked at it in fright, having taken a step back in order to try and escape from it, but it had unfortunately heard her. The beast stared at her with its glowing red eyes, and she took another step back in an attempt to gain some distance. Unfortunately, the beast was too fast and too strong for her to escape.
It lunged at her with a single leap, and the girl hurriedly raised her hands to protect her head, falling to the ground as she lost her balance. Her breathing stopped as she waited for the painful blow.
Which never came.
It took her a moment to realize she was not in excruciating pain or missing any limbs. She lowered her hands and opened her eyes reluctantly.
And her gaze met the beast's own.
Miku held her breath as the beast stared at her. It did not move or do anything else, simply stared at her very very closely. She couldn't bring herself to move even an inch lest it might decide to attack again.
And then it sniffed her. The suddenly calm beast went down to all fours like an animal, and circled around her, taking whiffs of her arms, legs, hair, and clothes. It did not touch her at any point in time, and only continued to study her curiously.
It was such a surreal sight she was left speechless. It was so strange, seeing this...thing that looked like Hibiki acting like a wild animal, and for some reason not trying to tear her apart like it tried with the others.
Was it because in some way, it recognized her? But that made no sense. It wouldn't have attacked the others if it had any sort of memory, so why?
Any musings she had were cut off when a piece of the upper floors above her exploded. A huge chunk of the brick that made up the wall was dislodged, and gravity worked its forces on it.
Bringing it down right on top of the stunned girl.
There was no time to run. There was no time to escape. The huge piece of brick was falling too fast, and even all the track and field experience in the world would not be enough to help her to run away in time. Hell, there wasn't even any time to scream for help.
She let out a horrified gasp.
And then the beast leaped up at the falling debris, and with a single powerful strike destroyed it completely. The loose, tinier rocks fell around Miku, who raised her arms up to protect her face again. She could only hear the sound of stone crashing against the pavement and shattering, but not a single piece touched touched even a hair on her head.
When the noise died down, Miku lowered her arms and just stared at the beast that landed right next to her, which growled at the remaining rocks.
Miku could barely contain her shock. Not only the beast did not attack her or harm her in any way, it had also actively protected her!
It was so unbelievable and so out of nowhere that the quiet that followed was the most intense she had felt in a while. She opened her mouth to speak, but was unsure of what to say, what to do, what to think.
A monster, shaped like Hibiki, had saved her.
Just like Hibiki.
And in a single moment, suddenly something came out of her heart.
"Hibiki?"
She wasn't sure if there was any point in calling it that name. She let it out almost instinctually at this point, her mind too muddled to form anything more coherent. It was just a beast shaped after her, was it not?
However, it seemed that calling it her name had an effect. The beast, which up until now continued to growl at the remaining debris, suddenly turned to Miku. It went down to all fours again and approached her.
And then gave her nudge in the shoulder.
Caught completely off guard and left speechless once again, Miku had absolutely no response to give. This situation was far too surreal for her to believe, and she was sure that if adrenaline wasn't pumping in her veins in droves, she would have blacked out from the shock.
The beast raised its head again, and its eyes locked on the defenseless Adaptors lower on the field. Without their Symphogears to protect them, they would not be able to defend themselves against its attacks. Fortunately enough, the four of them finally noticed its presence after the piece of the building fell, and had caught the entire exchange between it and Miku.
It was one hell of a scene to witness in their eyes, and for a moment they thought that maybe the girl had somehow tamed the beast.
But that was not to be.
The beast leaped above Miku, and landed in front of the four Adaptors. It growled, steam escaping the sides of its mouth, hunched low as it was prepared to strike.
Chris shook her head to regain her bearings and focus on what was in front of them. "How the hell did we miss one?!" She asked in shock, taking a step back. "I thought we got all of them!"
"I don't know, but we have no choice but to try and run." Maria responded, her eyes narrowed and her mind racing.
No, even if they tried to run it would be useless. Without their Gears, they are now sitting ducks for the beast. In less than a second, they turned from fearsome predators that overcame their opponents to nothing but simple prey, and it was unlikely the beast had any mercy to spare for them. It had tried to kill them before, so why would it not try to now.
It stalked towards them menacingly, and the only thing they could do was take steps back, attempting to retreat. Narrowing her eyes, Maria placed herself between it and the rest, spreading her arms to the side to cover as much of its vision as possible.
"Maria!" Shirabe yelled to her elder.
"Just run!" The pink haired Adaptor shouted back. "I'll try to hold it off! All of you get out of here right now!"
"Maria-san! You can't! You have to run away with them!" Aoi yelled to her to her over the comm.
"I can't. If I don't stop it, then it will chase after them too," She responded, meeting the beast's glare with one of her own. "I will stay here and catch its attention. Whatever happens, do not turn back, you hear me?!"
The elevated urgency in her voice caused the beast to respond. It roared loudly again, throwing its head back, and lunged towards Maria. The elder grit her teeth as she prepared for the blow.
Until a black haired figure stepped between her and the beast, and it instantly stopped its attack.
"Miku-san?!"
The former track and field member did not respond to Maria's calling of her name, and simply stood in the spot between the two, her arms spread to the side just like Maria's, and her brows furrowed as she stared the beast down.
The claw that was meant to gouge out the Airgetlam user's heart stopped right in front of Miku's face, merely an inch from her nose. For some reason, she felt no fear as she met the beast's gaze, merely unwavering resolve as she did her best to protect the others behind her. She didn't know if it would be enough and she did not understand the reason behind it, but the beast had avoided harming her.
So she decided to make use of it.
The beast was completely still, its arm extended and growling lowly.
"Please, stop." Miku simply said.
The beast's growls increased in volume, as if demanding that she step aside. Miku swallowed, deciding to try one more thing.
"Hibiki...please stop."
And the beast went quiet. Its red glowing eyes widened at the name, as if it was acknowledging it as its own. The extended black hand shook, its reaction incomprehensible to all those watching.
"Please, I-"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Something suddenly exploded at the very top of the school's rooftop. The girls looked up, and saw an absolutely gigantic beam of light erupt from the roof, streaking across the sky. Shockwaves of incredible power buffeted the area, and the sun itself seemed to be outshined by the radiance of the blast, and the school's rooftop was practically vaporized just from the force left in its wake.
But something else was there as well. A black, smoking figure careened towards the ground at high speeds. Before the girls could react, it crashed close to them, cratering the earth beneath it from the sheer force of the impact.
The light on the roof died down, and finally the girls could see exactly what the figure that fell was.
"Saint-Germain?!" Maria exclaimed, running towards the downed alchemist. She reached her in no time, and took in her mangled form.
Smoke rose from her body, indicating that she was the one who had been on the receiving end of the powerful blast. Her Ignited Faust Robe was in tatters, various parts of it completely missing and showing the skin underneath. Speaking of her skin, she could see it was burned in various location, particularly the parts usually uncovered by the armor. And to add to that, she was bleeding profusely from many locations on her body, her head being the worst off. Her hair was matted with fresh blood, flowing down her face and neck without any sign of stopping.
Her gun, which she had used during the fight, clanged to the ground next to Miku. Still face to face with the one remaining beast, Miku could only move her eyes to take note of the fallen weapon.
It didn't take Maria long to understand what had happened.
The alchemist was brutally defeated, and that light from the roof was the finisher. Hell, smashing into the ground at high speeds was probably the smallest amount of damage she had taken throughout the fight.
Several gasps were heard, and Maria kneeled down to try to help raise the defeated Saint-Germain.
Hibiki did not even bother teleporting back to the ground. She looked down from the ruins of the roof and merely glided down on her wings, landing gracefully before Saint-Germain and Maria. She gazed down at them, her eyes focused on the alchemist specifically. Her spear shone in her hand, the green gem in its core radiating an otherworldly aura.
"Hibiki-san…" Maria let out, staring at the rogue Adaptor. This was not good. This was not good at all. They were completely defenseless, none of them having a Symphogear to wield, and were completely at her mercy. Or lack thereof.
Hibiki said nothing, and raised her head to survey the others. Her eyes moved over the other Adaptors, who took a step back under her gaze.
And then her eyes landed on Miku, and the beast that had raised its hand against her.
The shift in her demeanor was almost instantaneous. An expression of fury lit up her face. "What do you think you are doing?! She screamed at her own creation, which recoiled under her anger like a cornered animal. It backed away from Miku and away from its creator, taking frightened steps back.
Miku could only stare at the exchange in horror and shock. The beast continued to back away, but there was no escape for it. Hibiki swung her arm, and the beast's form crumpled and fell to the ground, then blew away in the wind.
"You knew NOT to touch Miku! You break my rules and you don't get to live to regret it!" She screamed at the blowing wind. Then, she turned back to the downed alchemist, looking down at her with disgust. "Which brings me back to you."
Maria stood up to stand in her way, but Hibiki would have none of it. With a quick backslap she struck Maria across her face, throwing her away from the two of them. Immediately Kirika and Shirabe ran to her as she cradled her cheek, helping her up.
Still staring down at the alchemist, Hibiki spoke up. "Did you know Miku, that this bitch entered our home without an invitation?!" She yelled, causing Miku to freeze up. "She walked in as if she owned the place and went through our stuff as if they belonged to her!" She continued, and gave Saint-Germain a nasty kick in the stomach, causing her to hurl blood from her mouth. "Who the hell gave you permission to do what you want, huh?! What the hell did you hope to accomplish from breaking and entering?!"
Hibiki's deranged line of thought continued, and Miku already understood to what direction she was taking it. Words could no longer reach her, and just as she thought, Hibiki would rather jump to her own conclusions. "No, I think I get it," Hibiki said. "You're just another person who wants to take Miku from me, aren't you?! Just another person who wants to turn her against me just like everyone else!" She yelled, and gave the alchemist another kick in the stomach. "Then guess what, I'm not going to let you do what you want! I make the rules now, not anyone else! And the first rule is:"
She kicked again. "YOU"
Again. "DON'T"
Again. "TOUCH"
And again. "MIKU!"
By this point the alchemist's stomach was a bloody mess. Held together by nothing more than the magic she used to retain her youth throughout the ages. However, that constitution was tested due to the severe torture Hibiki was inflicting on her. Not only had she summarily defeated her despite her best efforts, she was kicking her while she was down too; any semblance of reason or honor were lost due to the severe corruption caused by the curses, and Hibiki flailed wildly against anyone who dared earn her ire.
Such savagery and lack of remorse sent shivers down the girls' spines. Done with torturing the alchemist, Hibiki sent her gaze towards the defenseless Symphogear users. "And you four are next!"
There was absolutely no way they could escape. Even if they had their Symphogears they would be helpless against her. There was no Genjuro to distract her or villains to occupy her. She had her eyes set on them, and she was furious.
She walked towards them, the ground underneath her cracking with every one of her steps. There was no use trying to run; even if they tried she'd just cut them down while their backs were turned.
This was the end. This was certain death.
"Stop, Hibiki!"
The rogue Adaptor froze in place, and her head turned towards the source of the voice she recognized.
And her eyes widened.
Miku, having shaken off the shock and horror of what has occurred, faced her.
With Saint-Germain's gun in hand, pointed right at her.
"I can't let this go on, Hibiki!" Miku yelled, the gun in her hand shaking. It was heavier than she expected, and she had never used a gun before, but at this close range maybe it would do something.
But there was more to it than that. Having seen the demise of the final beast from up close, Miku found herself somewhat sympathizing with it. It had protected her despite its animalistic instincts, and had stopped its charge when she asked it to stop.
And then Hibiki destroyed it with nothing more than a swipe of her arm, and that was what broke the camel's back. For far too long Miku stood aside completely helpless, letting everyone else save her time and time again. For far too long she merely stood on the side, praying for their success and hoping that they will be able to bring Hibiki back.
But they couldn't. Just two skirmishes against her were enough for Miku to understand that the Symphogear wielders could not get her back on their own. Her mind was breaking down with every second the curses were in her body, and Miku knew that it won't be long until even her words won't reach Hibiki anymore. The entire exchange took place in less than twenty four hours, but that was more than enough time to understand that in this situation, she just could not stand aside.
So, seeing that there was a weapon closeby that she could maybe use, she decided to bear arms.
"Miku…" Hibiki let out sadly. "Why?"
"Because!" Miku answered with a yell. "Because I can't watch this anymore! I can't let you just kill everyone! They're our friends! We don't hurt our friends, Hibiki!"
"Well you should tell that to them!" Hibiki screamed back. "They're the ones who stabbed me in the back first! I'm only giving them what they deserve!"
"Nobody ever stabbed you in the back! Hibiki, this is not right! No world you want to make will ever be worth it!"
"Why are you taking their side?! Are you turning on me as well, Miku?!"
That final question was delivered with such anguish the black haired girl could not possibly ignore it. The look on Hibiki's face as she asked it, her gaze pleading and astounded, almost as if trying to deny reality.
"I promised you I'd never turn on you, remember?! But that does not mean I will just stand aside and do nothing! You're my best friend, and it is my job to set you straight if I see you are losing your way! This is you losing your way Hibiki! Stop doing this!"
Miku was no longer asking her. A combination of nerves, exhaustion, sorrow, and anger fused together to make her lose her cool, a very rare occasion in the girl.
She was now demanding her to stop, and she would be damned if Hibiki did not stop right now!
"I'm trying to make a better world for us Miku! A world like that doesn't need people like them!" Hibiki answered back.
"TO HELL WITH YOUR WORLD!"
Miku's scream was so unexpected everyone immediately went quiet, even the members of S.O.N.G that had tried to give the Adaptors instructions as to what to do. The general chaos of the situation however caused them to be completely ignored, and even now the background noise they had provided was gone like the wind.
It was strange, she noticed, how last time their positions were reversed. Of how last time she was the one babbling about some perfect world and how she would protect her. Last time, Hibiki reacted calmly and resolutely, taking the fight to her despite her reluctance to do so.
And it was only thanks to that resolve that she managed to save her.
Then, she will be the one to do it this time, for Hibiki's sake.
"I don't care about some paradise or perfect world! I'm just fine with this one! I don't care if sinful people exist! I don't care about any of that! The only world that I want...the only one that I dream of...is one where you are next to me, where we can be happy together again, and everyone, and I mean everyone, is there as well! Anything less than that doesn't interest me in the slightest!"
She was panting so hard she was sure she was hyperventilating. Adrenaline rushed through her nonstop, and she started seeing red in her vision from the sheer anger in her voice. The gun was shaking in her hands madly, and she was struggling to keep it up and aimed at her best friend.
"So stop this nonsense right now, HIBIKI!"
Her voice echoed in the track field, and four pairs of eyes went from being locked onto her to gaze at Hibiki and awaiting some sort of response from her.
The rogue wielder clenched her free hand and her teeth gritted against each other. She stared down at the ground, and Chris could swear she could see some sort of aura emanating from her. She didn't know what it was and she really couldn't care less, however it was an observation made on the spur of a tense moment.
Hibiki let out a breath after a brief contemplation, and raised her head to meet Miku's gaze. "I see what this is," She suddenly said, and Miku's eyes narrowed in astonishment. No, she was- "They've been influencing you, haven't they? Just like back then. Who is it this time? Master? I'll make sure he pays for this. There is no way you wouldn't support me. That is the only explanation. I'll make sure to fix this as soon as I can."
Miku nearly dropped the gun from the absolutely appalling response Hibiki gave her. And then, she remembered: of course, Hibiki as she is will always, without fail, jump to her own conclusions. Her mind was set on something and she would not budge from it no matter what. Her annoying yet heroic stubbornness had turned into nothing short of madness.
Hibiki turned to the reeling Symphogear wielders and advanced on them. "But first I'll get them out of the way, so nobody can try and stop me."
There was no way she was going to listen.
So Miku, in a bout of her own madness born of days of nothing but stress and exhaustion, decided to act in extreme.
"Hibiki, in that case…" She began to say. Hibiki looked to her with narrowed her, waiting for her to finish.
And promptly stopped everything she was doing.
Another tense silence fell on them, and the four wielders let out horrified gasps at Miku's action.
The gun was no longer pointed at Hibiki. It was not pointed to the ground nor was it pointed at any of them.
No, in that small window…
Miku turned the gun on herself, placing it right under her chin.
It was such an insane course of action to take that the girl couldn't believe she was going through with it.
But extreme conditions called for extreme responses, and this was the only way she knew Hibiki would definitely stop everything. If she made her such a huge part of her crusade...then if she was gone, Hibiki would lose the drive to continue.
"OI! MIKU! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Chris screamed to her. "DROP IT RIGHT NOW!"
Saint-Germain, having regained consciousness, weakly turned around in the crater to see Miku turn the gun on herself. She found it hard to focus through the pain, and she was not sure what exactly were the circumstances behind that action were, but she could definitely understand why the girl would make such a decision, all things considered. Had she been in better form, Saint-Germain doubted she would have stopped her.
"I will not!" Miku answered, still staring at Hibiki. "Hibiki, let them go!"
"Miku, what are you-"
"I am done asking!" Miku interrupted her. "Let them go now! If the world you want demands that you kill them, then I do not wish to be a part of it! I'd rather shoot myself right now than see you spiral down a path of insanity, evil and regret! If this is what it takes to make you stop, then I will do so every single time!"
The gun was still shaking in her hands, and she could feel as the end of the barrel dug into her chin. But she couldn't back down now. She had to see this through to the end.
And luckily enough for her, it seemed that Hibiki did not suddenly develop telekinetic abilities that would have allowed her to take the gun from her hands. If she made any moves to try and stop her, then she might accidentally press the trigger anyway.
For the first time since she had fused with the divine power, Hibiki found herself on the defensive.
"Miku...why are you doing this? Why would you go this far for them? Why...won't you do it for me?" Hibiki asked her.
"I am doing it for you, Hibiki, and that is why I'm am not backing down. I don't want to see you lose yourself. I wouldn't be able to bear it. I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that you would have to live with this burden for the rest of your life." Miku answered, the tension rising. "Just...let go of that divine power. You don't need it. You never needed it. Just...cast it away and come back."
'To me.' She wanted to add, but out of all the things she had the courage to do, this was not one of them.
She could hear her heartbeat in her ears, and all sounds seemed to be muffled as she tried to concentrate on Hibiki's gaze. The emerald glowing eyes were disconcerting as always, but she did not fear them as she did in the courtyard. Now that they have entered this situation, she had to keep her composure as much as she could.
And it seemed that for once, something finally got through to Hibiki. The rogue wielder, in compliance with Miku's demands, took several steps backwards from the injured and defenseless Symphogear users, keeping her eyes on Miku at all times.
"Are you satisfied now, Miku?" She asked.
"No," The black haired girl responded honestly. "Please Hibiki, let go of that power and let's go back to our happy days."
It was such a dirty tactic to use to get what she wanted, but Miku knew that she had absolutely nothing left to do otherwise. To use her own life in order to pacify Hibiki was nothing short of despicable.
She knew she would regret it in the future, but right now she couldn't care less.
There was a long and tense moment as the two stared at each other. Miku's arms started to ache and burn from the continuous grip on the huge and heavy gun, and she could feel that she might drop it at any moment.
But a tiny bubble of hope welled up within her. If she managed to get this far, then maybe...
"I refuse."
And the bubble popped as fast as it was formed. Miku's eyes widened in shock.
"Just like you have something that you can't turn away from, I also have such a thing. I won't stop until I get exactly what I want. I'm done doing what other people want. I'm living for my own beliefs now, no one else's. I tolerated everything that has happened because of my promise to Kanade-san...but now, I'm not so sure just how much I care about that. So from here on out, I'm doing exactly what I wish to do, and get the results that I want, with my own strength."
Miku was utterly and summarily denied.
Hibiki turned around, facing away from them all. Raising her spear, she swiped it through the air.
And just as she finished her swing, space itself shattered like glass, and from beyond the tear in reality there lay a dark void that not a single one of them could ever dream of.
An ability that is exclusive to those who hold divine strength. Adam Weishaupt had used it to return to the battlefield upon seeing what Hibiki had become, and now she was capable of the very same feat.
She walked towards the void, looking back over her shoulder to the Symphogear users. "This is not over, Maria-san," She said, looking straight into the elder user's eyes. "I'll will make you all pay for this. Nobody turns Miku against me. No one."
But Maria simply narrowed her eyes, steeling her resolve. "You fool, you have done that yourself, just like I told you."
Hibiki did not grace her with a response. Leaving Maria with the last words, Hibiki walked into the void, vanishing in the darkness. Reality then reasserted itself as the tear in the air reformed and folded in on itself, and all that remained was thin air.
A second later, Miku crumpled to her knees. The gun fell from her hands and clattered to the ground heavily by her side. At that moment, Saint-Germain's Ignite Module finally ran out, and the Faust Rone shattered, leaving her in her casual clothes. The gun, which had been a part of the Robe, followed suit and disappeared.
Miku breathed heavily, sweat dripping down on the ground from her face. The tension that had threatened to choke her was released all at once, and trying to catch her breath felt like an impossible effort.
But that paled in comparison to her heart-breaking realization.
Now no longer fearing for their lives, Chris allowed herself to let out a sigh of relief. She looked around, grimacing at the untold amount of destruction wrought upon the school. The track field might as well be non existent, having been completely and utterly destroyed in the chaos. The school building itself was torn down and broken in various places, and shards of glass littered the ground beneath it. Smoke rose from within some of the more faraway windows, indicating that a fire might have started as a result of the fighting.
It wouldn't take a genius to understand that as it was now, classes could not be held until the damage was repaired, and who knew how long that would take. But Chris' thoughts wandered to something else: what will she tell the three girls? Kuriyo had pretty much demanded an explanation, and nothing would stop her from coming to the school and see the destruction personally, and then she would run to her and demands answers. Keeping secrets was already hard enough, but to tell them that Hibiki, along with themselves were the ones responsible?
No way. No way she could tell them that. The entire world just went to shit in less than a day, and there was nothing she could do about it. She had never felt so helpless since the time she was under Fine's thumb.
The Ichaival user briefly looked to her three teammates. The sound of helicopters filled the air, drowning out everything else around her. She couldn't hear what the three were talking about, but right now it didn't matter in the least.
Instead, she looked towards the fallen Miku, who was on her hands and knees on the ground. Working through the pain in her arms, Chris walked slowly to her. A whole squadron of helicopters began to land on the ruined grounds, but Chris ignored them. She continued her stride, and once she reached her friend she kneeled down, putting a hand on her shoulder in sympathy.
"Miku…"
"I...couldn't get her back," She said in anguish. Once more, fresh tears began to fall from her eyes. "She...she's not listening to me anymore. It hasn't even been a day and...and I already can't do anything. I couldn't do anything! Even betting my life...was not enough to get her back…"
There were no words she could give her.
Her best friend refused to take her extended hand, even after she begged her to take it.
And Chris knew that it was just the beginning.
That before long…
Hibiki would turn her blade against Miku as well.
-!-
"Young lady, I suggest that this time you don't turn down my offer," The doctor said with a stern expression as he stared at the black haired girl sitting on the chair before him. "Maybe last time you got off easy, but now is not the same. Let me take a look at you, for your own sake."
Miku couldn't bring herself to argue, so she let the doctor do as he pleased, taking her vitals and looking her over for any wounds or lacerations that were urgent to take care of.
Seven hours have passed since they were brought back from the ruined school grounds. With all of them sporting several kinds of injuries, some more grave than the others, it took an extremely long time to look over all of the girls. Saint-Germain was essentially rushed to the medical room, having received the worst of the injuries and going through over four hours of surgery in order to stitch up and repair her stomach. They didn't know if her alchemical knowledge could make the recovery faster, but in the situation she was in, barely holding herself together, then they had to rely on the traditional methods. In the end she was saved and was left to rest in the medical room, in the very same bed she occupied earlier in the day.
After that, the four Symphogear users were treated as well, the seniors and Kirika in particular. Maria had been the most resilient of them all, having taken on Hibiki initially, was summarily defeated and tortured, had to fight of the beasts at the same time, and even have enough energy left in her to perform a last ditch killer combo to destroy them. Due to this fact, she was the next one to be treated, as they figured that the adrenaline that was pumping through her systems was numbing the pain to such an extent that she was just not feeling it. But once that effect passes, it all comes back in full swing, so they had to prepare for the eventual break down that would occur. Naturally, it did, but in the end they managed to treat the worst of her injuries before she could suffer too much.
Next was Kirika, who had a huge hole in her shoulder. That was a cakewalk in regards to treatment since it was all focused on a single spot. They patched up the hole and then treated her for anything else.
After her was Chris. She had suffered considerable damage to her arms, rendering her hands numb for quite some time. At first, the doctors didn't quite understand how the girl still managed to hold anything, but they gave the Symphogear credit where credit was due. The Ichaival took the brunt of the strike and had protected all major tendons and nerves in her arms. Given time, she will get back full motor control of them. At the moment they will be numb and have her grip strength considerably weakened, but it was better than nothing.
Then came Shirabe, who had a grazed hip that bled slightly which they patched up quite quickly. Other than that, she turned out to be the most well off out of the Symphogear users just from looking at the small amount of injuries she had sustained. She had several more cuts and bruises all over her that required disinfection, but otherwise was fine.
And then came Miku's turn, who despite being at ground zero the entire time, had managed to avoid being significantly injured. The doctor noticed she too had sustained a few cuts and bruises here and there, but from what he could tell none of it came from direct fighting, just from debris.
It didn't take him more than twenty minutes to give her the all clear. Genjuro, who had stayed on his hospital bed during the commotion, had personally taken care to make sure every single one of the girls was okay, and not just from a physical perspective.
From the answers they gave him, they were not.
Morale had dropped to an all time low. Never before had the girls ever suffered a defeat as grave as this one. Left completely helpless in the hands of an enemy, who was their friend, and were only saved when the one person who should not have been involved threatened to kill herself in order to make her back off.
Nobody in S.O.N.G took that threat lightly. Even if it was in order to get Hibiki to spare the Adaptors, such threats to one's own life could not be ignored. He had to make sure that he would not be getting any repeat events like these. The last thing he needed was for her to start wallowing in despair, despite how difficult that seemed.
Because her presence was still needed, contrary to what she may believe.
Much more than she could possibly believe..
Fujikata, Aoi, and Elfnein all came to the medical room as soon as the Adaptors had been brought back. Elfnein had also left Adam behind, more so because he seemed to be deep in thought when the fighting ended, so she didn't want to disturb him.
"Very well, you are free to go." The doctor said to Miku, who nodded in response. She got up from her seat to Aoi's surprise, who half-expected her to remain catatonic just like last time. However, everyone deals with the stages of grief differently, and if her outburst in the field was any indication, she was sure that at this point she was at the anger stage.
The Symphogear wielders waited by the door for her. She walked over to them, her head downcast, her expression unreadable.
"You should go eat something," Genjuro suddenly said. "None of you have eaten anything since yesterday, and you are likewise exhausted and lack energy. I suggest you try to get something to eat, even a little bit."
Maria looked to him sadly, understanding where he was coming from. He was worried about their well being, especially their mental health. In that regard, Maria decided to take command. As their teammate and the eldest of the group, she took it upon herself to direct them in these troubled times.
"He's right, everyone," She said. "Let's go to the cafeteria. Hopefully the others left us something."
None of the girls answered her. Rather, they gave her some weak nods with their heads, and even Kirika found herself at a lost for words. Dragging their feet, Chris, Kirika, and Shirabe exited the medical room.
Maria was about to follow after them, when she noticed that Miku was once again unresponsive. Looking to her in sympathy, she took her hand gently and took her outside to follow the others.
The door closed behind the girls, and only the doctor and the bridge members of S.O.N.G remained. "Thank you for your help as always, doctor." Aoi said.
"Again, it's no problem Ms. Tomosato. However," He said grimly, adjusting his glasses. "I doubt we can allow a repeat. Out of the two battles that were fought I was brought two almost fatally injured patients. I truly do not want anymore here, for all of our sakes."
"I wholeheartedly agree with you." Aoi responded. "We really are doing all we can."
"I know you are, which is why I'm worried. Never before had we been so thoroughly challenged in all of our fields. Perhaps this is just a sign that we were not ready."
It was a grim message to give, but one that had basis in reality. Aoi fell silent, saying nothing more.
Realizing the conversation had come to an end, the doctor went towards the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me." He said, then left.
The door closed, and Genjuro immediately spoke up. "Fujitaka, Tomosato. Please go back to the bridge and continue your research."
"But commander-"
"I understand your concerns, but right now we need all the information we can get. There were far too many changes that took place that we just do not understand, and I want to make sure we are not caught off-guard again." He answered.
"But commander," Fujitaka interjected. "Just how much will that really help us?"
"I don't know. For now, we can only hope it will serve its purpose. Please, go back to the bridge and do what you can." He simply said.
Seeing that their commander was not relenting, the two bridge members sighed as one, and headed for the door. "Alright," Aoi said. "We'll do our best."
And the two left as well, leaving Genjuro alone with Elfnein.
Just as he wanted.
"Genjuro-san…" The homunculus began to say, not able to find her words.
Genjuro rubbed his forehead in contemplation. "The situation is deteriorating faster than we can we can follow. It's imperative you have it ready as soon as possible."
"Yes, it's almost ready. I just need to make the final adjustments, and then it can finally be ready. But...do you really think she'll accept it? That she'll use it again?" She asked him.
"I'd be surprised if she won't. Today she has reached a sort of breaking point. After what happened today, and from seeing her actions, I doubt she'll be opposed to the idea if we present it correctly. I just hope Hibiki-kun doesn't come knocking at our door before we are ready."
Elfnein put a hand on her chin in thought. "I see...so in that case-"
And she was cut off by a voice from the bed opposite to them.
"So this is what you have been hiding." Saint-Germain said, raising herself sitting position. How laughable she'd find herself in the exact same bed twice in a row. But that's far from what's important right now. She just heard something very interesting, and if her guess was correct, she was also going to demands some explanations. "I had a hunch there was something amiss here, considering the information you sent the Symphogears to collect and what I have recently discovered. Everything came together far too conveniently for this to be a coincidence."
"Saint-Germain," Genjuro said evenly. "I thought you were asleep."
"I was, until a moment ago." She answered. "Despite my injuries, my body is not so fragile. I did not live for hundreds of year by remaining unmarred after all. Imagine my surprise when I heard your discussion, and I could no longer turn a blind eye to it. From your expressions, you seem to have realized that I may have very well come to the correct conclusion, in which case I'll simply ask upfront."
Genjuro narrowed his eyes at her. He briefly glanced to Elfnein, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He knew she felt terrible about this secret colluding they were having, but it was a necessity in this case. He knew he could not avoid telling her the truth, knowing that she was smart enough to know if he was lying or not. "Very well, ask."
The alchemist let out a huff, and took a moment to collect her thoughts. She closed her eyes briefly, then met the commander's gaze with a strong one of her own.
"Then tell me, Kazanari Genjuro," She began. "Just how long…"
The sound of a heartbeat monitor pulsing lightly filled the air.
A figure stirred within its enclosure, its senses returning slowly.
"Just how long have you been planning to have Kohinata Miku wield the Shenshoujing?"
