Song of the Heart Redux (G Arc)

by zeroblackdragon15

(Story adopted from Ada1229) "Believe in the song of your heart." Finé's words on that day continue to drive Hibiki forwards. This is my view on how Symphogear G would have changed if Hibiki had been warned of the FIS' attack on the Queens of Music concert, as well as their plans for world domination. Pairings in Chapter 3; Interlude 2 uploaded 3/9/2018.

11. G Chapter 10: Blazing Skies

Song of the Heart: Redux

Author's Notes: Welcome back to "Song of the Heart: Redux". Today is a big day; today, we get to see events at the Sky Tower. This is going to be a major turning point within the story; people WILL be changing sides, as hinted in the last chapter, while more of Ver's plans will be revealed, but none of them will come into play until MUCH further down the road. We have a LOT to get to this time, so settle in, and be ready for a wild ride.

Today is a special day, as we have ourselves a guest to help intro the chapter. Please welcome the author of the original "Song of the Heart", Aya1229. Tell me Aya, anything surprising that stands out that you've seen?

Aya1229: Thank you for having me Zero san. A lot has happened that I don't think I would have thought of on my own, so I am glad you took over the story. As for what is standing out...Well, since you and I have already discussed it and I don't want to spoil it for the readers I will say this: Readers, pay special attention to Maria's point of view for the next few chapters, other than that things will be heating up, I can't wait!"

You're right about that, Aya. There's a lot that's about to change, and things will not be the same after this chapter. Should be a fun ride, that's for sure.

I'd like to once more thank the author of the original "Song of the Heart", Aya1229, for allowing me to adopt her story and idea and make it into my own from there. We do have a lot to cover, so let's get started!

Disclaimer: I do not own Senki Zesshou Symphogear or Senki Zesshou Symphogear G. It is owned by those who own it. I also do not own any music used as insert songs here; they are owned by the respective songwriters and artists.

Please note; the record label used in this, Galactic Music Japan, is NOT a real music label as far as I know, but is a parody made solely for the purposes of this story. The same goes for JAM TV; as far as I know, it's not a real music channel on TV, again a parody made up for the purposes of this story.

Also, no music quoted within the story belongs to me. The rights to any and all pieces used belong to their artists and record labels. I did buy a copy of the single CDs that the songs are from though, so thank iTunes for most of that.

Acknowledgements: Once more, I would like to thank the author of the original "Song of the Heart", Aya1229, for her support in adopting this idea and making it my own. I would also like to thank a couple of friends of mine outside of (they know who they are) for acting as sounding boards when I have ideas for this that may seem a bit on the wild side.

'Insert thought here'=character thoughts

Flashback Is in Italics

-Song lyrics are shown in italics between dashes-

Chapter 10: Blazing Skies

(Last Time…)

"Mom, there has to be another way. I don't know what, but there's something more to Ver's plan than he's letting on to you. I won't let him do it, and I refuse to be a part of his plans anymore," the pinkette said, her eyes narrowing in determination. "Serena wouldn't want whatever he's planning to happen, I'm sure of it. Mom…I can't do this anymore. I just…I can't allow it to happen. That's why…" Maria trailed off, her voice shaking. While she had known that saying this next part would be difficult, she didn't think that it would be as difficult as it was proving to be.

"I know, Maria. Go…go to those who are of the same mind as you are. Go to them," Nastassja said, her words causing Maria to freeze in surprise. "Maria, if you're worried about protecting Shirabe, Kirika, and I, then don't worry about that. We'll be fine. However, your heart is screaming for you to put a stop to Ver and his plans. So go and do so. Go to Hibiki-san…and help her protect those she holds dear."

2nd Division Temporary Headquarters, Medbay

"Hibiki-san, you have a visitor," the nurse stated through the door to Tachibana Hibiki's room. While she was slow to respond, that didn't mean that she wasn't listening. Hibiki had been under observation the previous couple of nights by the doctors, wanting to make sure that she would be ready to leave the Medbay and resume normal activities. Smiling softly from her bed as she sat on the edge, she replied quickly.

"Come in! You should know the door's open by now, Ayame-san," Hibiki said, looking towards the door. The redhead had seen a number of visitors while she was in the hospital, but some had come more often than most. Tsubasa had been by about a half dozen times, and Chris had been by as often as she could, including spending the first night Hibiki was in the hospital by her side, refusing to move for anyone. 'Seeing Chris upset, and it was my fault…' she thought, as she thought back on that night. 'I can't do it. I don't want to see her upset like that again. I really caused her to worry…' she thought, before a familiar voice entered the room, shaking the redhead out of her thoughts.

"Hibiki," the voice of Kohinata Miku spoke, trailing off slightly out of nervousness. While she had finally decided to come and visit her childhood friend, her nerves were still jumbled up entirely. 'Miku, calm down…sure you haven't talked with Hibiki face to face in over two years, but you can't let that stop you…' she thought as she entered the room, a greeting card in one hand and a small bouquet of flowers in the other. "I'm sorry I didn't stop by sooner. I just…I didn't want to interrupt your time with Chris."

"Miku," Hibiki trailed off, her voice soft at the look on her former roommate's face. Miku hesitated before looking up at the redhead with a small smile on her face. Walking over to Hibiki's bedside and setting the envelope with the card down, the green-haired girl took a seat in a chair that had been left by her former roommate's bedside. "It's been a while," the redhead continued, her voice trailing off as she smiled softly. 'Come on, Hibiki, get it together…' she thought, as the girl beside her nodded, starting to speak.

"Yeah," Miku began, her voice quiet as she spoke. "You don't know just how much I hoped that I would be able to see you again. Little did I know just how close I was..." she trailed off, her voice cracking slightly as she thought about how she had been right there the night before the School Festival. 'You were right there, and yet you didn't say anything…' the schoolgirl thought, a small bitterness rising to her mind. Taking a few moments to gather herself, Miku continued.

"Why," she began, voice trailing off and getting the redhead's attention. "Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you say anything to me sooner, Hibiki? I was your best friend, wasn't I? So why didn't you tell me that you were alive, let alone that you're dating my roommate?" she continued, voice quiet, but biting. At this, Hibiki's face fell. She had been dreading this moment since she had returned. Taking a deep breath, she began to talk, voice in a quiet whisper.

"I did it because I didn't want you getting caught up in this, Miku. You're too important a person to me, and I thought that if I didn't tell you, you wouldn't become a target," Hibiki said, eyes downcast as she clenched her bedsheets tightly. "In all honesty, I didn't want to tell the others either. But then the Queens of Music Concert happened…" she trailed off, eyes closed. "Miku, I didn't tell you I was back to protect you. As for dating Chris, we had agreed to tell you soon, but then Ver attacked you, and I just…I couldn't not intervene, you know?"

Hibiki's words had the opposite of their intended effect, however. Instead of helping the green-haired girl beside her to calm down, all Hibiki's words did was re-ignite the anger inside of her. Mind flashing back to how Chris had said something similar, Miku began to speak.

"Chris said the same thing that day, while you were fighting Shirabe and Kirika," she began, her words now filled with venom. "She told me that you two were going to tell me that you two were seeing each other. I didn't want to believe it. Why didn't you feel that you could tell me, Hibiki? I was your best friend, for crying out loud! Couldn't you have told me? Couldn't either of you have taken the time to tell me that you were back, that you were okay, let alone that you were dating?" Miku continued, her voice starting to crack as her mind flashed back to how she had caught them initially. "I can't believe that she just kept saying that she never meant to hurt me. Damnit, the two of you broke my heart, Hibiki! And yet, no matter how many times I tried to get an answer from Chris that day as to why, she wouldn't answer, even when I pressed her about it while you two were-"

Suddenly, Miku's statement was stopped short, the sound of a slap echoing throughout the room. Reaching up to her face, Miku could feel a handprint there, the impact remaining from where Hibiki had slapped her. Eyes narrowed at the green-haired girl in a glare, Hibiki began to speak, her voice carrying a tinge of disappointment.

"Let me get this straight, Miku. You put not only your life at risk, but also the lives of my girlfriend and my assistant manager at risk, just because you were upset over how I had asked both Chris and Tsubasa to keep it a secret that I was alive, let ALONE that Chris and I are now going out?" Hibiki asked, exasperation entering her voice as Miku sat stunned, eyes widened in surprise at the frustration in her former roommate's voice. "And to make it even better, you do so on a battlefield, where one slip up could cost all three of you your lives? Miku, I thought you were smarter than that!"

"Hibiki, don't my feelings matter too? For crying out loud, up until you disappeared two years ago, you were all I wanted! And now I'm supposed to sit here and just let Chris take you from me?" Miku replied, her voice growing louder as she spoke. Hibiki's eyes widened briefly at this, before responding.

"Your feelings do matter, Miku. However, at the same time, that doesn't mean that trying to get an answer out of my girlfriend while the two of you are on a battlefield is a good idea. What the hell happened to the smart Miku that I knew two years ago? Who are you, and where did she go?" Hibiki asked, her voice low, yet biting. "She would have been smarter than that. Until that Miku comes back, I don't know how I can even talk to you. When that Miku comes back, when the Miku I care so much about comes back, then we'll talk, okay?" she stated, her words like daggers to the schoolgirl seated next to her, tearing at her heart as the Gungnir wielder continued.

"I think it'd be best if you leave now," Hibiki said, her eyes and head looking away from Miku and towards a card on the end table on the other side of the bed. "I'm sorry Miku, but I'm not going to sit here and allow you to talk bad about Chris. Now leave, before I say something I'll regret, okay?" It would be mere moments later that the doctors in the hallway would witness Miku rushing away from the scene, tears flowing from her face.

FIS Stealth Airplane, En Route to Frontier, Late That Night

Maria Cadenzavna Eve closed the zipper on her black backpack, its contents becoming fully sealed within. After her conversation with Nastassja the previous day, Maria felt torn. 'While I'm happy that mom understands what I'm saying, I still don't feel completely comfortable leaving her, not to mention Shirabe and Kirika, here on their own…' the rosette thought, her thoughts reflecting on her decision. 'Serena…my heart, it tells me that staying here and playing the part of a pawn to Ver is the wrong path for me to take, and is one that would lead to nothing but destruction. I have to stop him from reaching his goals, whatever they are. Still…is it really okay for me to just leave them here?' she thought, laying down onto her bed, having set her backpack down next to her room's door. As she did so, her thoughts drifted back to earlier that day, when Shirabe and Kirika had returned from their shopping trip.

FIS Stealth Airplane, Earlier that day

"There's something that I want, no, that I need to tell the two of you," Maria said, having brought both Kirika and Shirabe to her room. The duo had just returned from their shopping trip, and weren't expecting to be caught this quickly by the Black Gungnir wielder.

"What's the big idea, Maria? We just got back, and Shirabe isn't necessarily feeling that great," Kirika said, her voice shaking with protest. Besides her, Shirabe frowned, her eyes narrowed in thought, before shaking her head and beginning to reply.

"Kiri-chan, Maria feels that this is important. I'm not that tired; I told you earlier that I'm fine. Let's listen to what Maria has to say, okay?" Shirabe said in a tone of voice that ended any debate. As the blonde next to her sighed before taking a seat, Maria drew in a breath to calm herself. 'Time to come clean about this part of things at least…' she thought, before she began to speak.

"I don't know where to start, you two," Maria began, her voice shaky. At this, Shirabe and Kirika shared a brief look, a single thought running through both of their minds. Whatever this was, it had to be big. Before too long though, the idol in front of them continued. "It's hard for me to say this, since I appreciate the support that you both have given me. And I'm glad that you've been so worried about me all this time. However, there's something that I feel the two of you need to know. I'm…I never had Finé's soul inside of me, you two. It's all been a lie," Maria said, her voice shaking slightly as she did so. She hadn't expected coming clean about this to her teammates to be this difficult. However, she knew that they looked up to her. They had chosen the path that they were on in order to protect her, to prevent her from having to go through it all on her own. "I'm sorry if this disappoints you two, or changes the way that you look at me. However, I felt that it was important that it be said."

"Maria…" Kirika said, her voice quiet. While she was happy that her friend didn't have to worry about having her identity, her sense of self overridden by that of the ancient priestess, the revelation had put a scare into Kirika. The blonde knew about some of Finé's abilities, including the barrier shield known as Asgard. And as she thought back to that afternoon, when both Shirabe and herself had been in danger, she realized just what had saved the both of them from those falling pipes. 'No…I can't be, can I? Am I the one who received Finé's soul? No…Am I going to fade from existence? I don't want to lose myself to her…' she thought, closing her eyes to avoid giving away the fear she felt. Beside her, the blonde could hear her closest friend give a decidedly different reaction.

"Maria, it doesn't change the way we look at you. To be honest, I'm glad for you," Shirabe said, a smile coming onto her face. It was rare for the Shul Shagana wielder to smile; but, when she did, you knew it was a genuine one. "You don't have to worry about losing your existence to Finé anymore. It's such a relief that you aren't going to change. We like you just as you are now."

The shorter girl's words brought brief tears to Maria's eyes as she reached down, pulling both Shirabe and Kirika into a hug. And while she felt gratitude that they didn't look at her any differently for telling them this secret, she knew that it would be one of the last times they would be able to be happy together as a family.

FIS Stealth Airplane, En Route to Frontier, Present Evening

'I have to believe that they'll be okay. If I don't, then my leaving them will be for nothing,' Maria thought, her eyes staring at the ceiling of her room. 'It's almost time for me to make my move. I don't have all the information that I need to figure out what Ver's planning, but whatever it is, it's nothing more than bad news. I'm sorry, Kirika, Shirabe, Mom. The next mission I go on is going to be my last mission with FIS. Please forgive me. There won't be any turning back after this point…I'll follow the song of my heart, just like Hibi-san did hers, and I'll protect you all. I swear it.'

-SotHR-

Nastassja sat quietly in her seat as the plane seemed to guide itself towards their destination. While the flight itself didn't require much effort from the doctor, the fact that there didn't seem to be anyone else around allowed her some time to think. 'Maria…you've come a long way, even since the battle on the bridge,' she thought, her eyes occasionally glancing towards the map showing their location. 'You found something that you want to protect desperately with your whole being…you've found your resolve. And even though it may lead you into conflict with the rest of us someday, maybe soon, I'm proud of you for it.'

It hadn't taken much effort for Nastassja to figure out where Maria had vanished to the day she had left to go on her own. 'Hibiki-san…whatever it was that you said to Maria allowed her to find a new resolve, to find something she can truly believe in. And even though we may be on opposite sides in this conflict, that doesn't change the fact that I'm proud of the young woman that you've become. You followed the song of your heart, and you continue to do so. I can only hope that Maria is going to do the same,' the doctor thought, her eyes glancing slightly towards the extra relic pendant she had sitting with her. While the Shen Shou Jing was being used to power the airplane's stealth system, this particular relic had just as much importance, even if only sentimental.

"Serena, I've come too far down the path I've chosen to redeem myself now. I know that what I've chosen is not something that you would agree with. You would say that we have to find another way to stop the impending disaster," Nastassja whispered, her eyes glancing at the moonlight reflecting off of the repaired relic pendant. "Maria is becoming the protector that I think you hoped she would become when you sacrificed yourself." As she spoke, her mind flashed back to earlier that evening, during a brief training session that was held.

-SotHR-

Maria, Shirabe, and Kirika stood in the middle of what looked to be a city square, weapons drawn. It was dark; what appeared to be the moon hidden behind what looked to be clouds. Looking around the area, Maria took a brief deep breath, her eyes scanning for any oncoming opponents. She wouldn't have to wait for long.

"The noise," Maria whispered, her voice quiet as she stepped forwards, Black Gungnir's spear glinting in the moonlight. "They're here." Not wasting another second, the pinkette dashed forwards, Shirabe and Kirika right behind her, before the younger duo split off to her sides respectively. It wouldn't be long before Maria reached the lead group of noise in her area, as she brought up her spear in a diagonally rising slash that cut the creature in half. Spinning around, the rosette continued her deadly dance, deftly dodging noise attacks while she continued to cut more and more of the creatures down.

Nearby, Shirabe opened up the armor that overlapped her twin ponytails, allowing her to fire a rapid barrage of magenta discs into a crowd of the enemy. And while she may have missed a few of the ones in her particular group of enemies, any that were lucky to survive quickly found themselves on the receiving end of the Shul Shagana wielder's saws, being cut down to size with ease.

"It's almost too easy," Kirika said, spinning the handle of Igalima's scythe as she brought it up to full size, chopping down a pair of noise in front of her with one horizontal swing. "Fighting Hibiki-san is so much harder than this!" the blonde cried out, slicing to her left as she cut down another pair of noise, their heads dissolving into ash as Kirika's scythe continued to spin around her.

Nearby, Maria chopped down another noise, her spear having claimed another noise almost effortlessly. Spinning around quickly, she noticed a human stumbling in front of her, causing her to hesitate briefly before she noticed what was behind him. Thinking quickly, Maria willed her Symphogear armor's cape to move around the man, striking at the trio of noise behind him and chopping them down. Almost immediately afterwards she spun around, willing her cape to act as a blade and chopping the noise in the group surrounding her down, their forms dissolving to ash upon contact.

As she watched on via the monitor, Nastassja looked on, seemingly emotionless. The fight she was observing was nothing more than a training run, one designed to sharpen her three Symphogear users' skills. However, there was something about it which was throwing off the older woman. 'Maria's fighting differently…more assertively, but at the same time…' she thought, as she watched her daughter cut down another pair of noise with her spear before extending her cape once more to eliminate a pair of noise that had snuck up on Kirika's blind side. 'She's fighting more defensively, being sure to notice more going on around her. What could have happened that eliminated your hesitation, Maria?' Nastassja thought, as she continued to observe the action on screen. Reaching down and entering in a specific sequence on her keypad, she opened a private line with her oldest daughter.

"Maria, this is a private channel between us," the doctor began, as the Black Gungnir wielder took down another noise, this time via a blast of pink energy from her spear. "Shirabe and Kirika can't hear us." At this, the doctor looked over at where the screen displayed Shirabe and Kirika watching each other's backs, covering for any openings. 'Their fight against Hibiki-san…it helped them become more effective as a team…Another thing that I have to say thank you to her for doing, if we all survive this.' Suddenly, the doctor's headset began to crackle as Maria's voice began to come through.

"This again, mom?" Maria asked as she blasted down another group of noise with her Horizon Spear attack, obliterating them and saving another pair of civilians. "Don't tell me that you want me to pretend to be Finé again. I already told Shirabe and Kirika that I'm not her container, so that would be pointless."

"Our plan requires Doctor Ver's assistance, no matter how much you may despise the man. He has to believe that we're on the cutting edge of Heretical Technology research and development in order for our plan to succeed," Nastassja said, her voice steady. "We're too close to Frontier now. We can't afford to lose his support."

"Mom, I won't do it," Maria said, anger entering her voice as she spoke, her spear cutting down another small group of Noise. "I told you that he's got to be hiding something. So why do you continue to insist on following the idea that he has when you know that he's just playing you for a fool? We may have been receptor children, orphans who were intended for Finé's soul, but you said yourself that we didn't! I won't support whatever that bastard's plans are, not after what he tried to do to Shirabe and Kirika," she said, her voice rising in volume as she fired off another blast of Horizon Spear while spinning around, destroying the last group of noise near her and causing a loud buzzer to sound off as the simulation came to an end around the trio.

-SotHR-

'Your reaction to even the idea of working with Doctor Ver…Maria, I haven't seen you react with such venom to anyone. It seems that you may be going to help Hibiki-san sooner than I would think,' Nastassja thought, as she brought the stealth airplane to its resting place for the night. 'We're almost there. Frontier is within reach. And while Maria might disagree, I've come too far down this path to turn back now. Maria…follow your heart's song, and let it guide you to the path that you know is right, even if it means that you become our enemy in the process.'

Kazanari Residence, 3:00 am the next morning

Kazanari Tsubasa emitted a silent scream from her mouth as she shot upright from under the cover of her bedroll. Eyes wide open as she tried to steady her breathing, she looked around her room, the bright moonlight shining in through the window of the former idol's room. Looking over to her left, the bluenette noticed her alarm clock blinking. 'Three AM…' she thought, her mind trying to process what she had just seen.

"It was a nightmare. Just a nightmare," Tsubasa whispered, her voice shaking as she spoke. But while she knew it was a nightmare, the dream's contents were not any easier to witness. 'Even though it was just a dream, it still felt so…real…' she thought, her thoughts returning to the images of her dream with a shudder. 'The Nephilim…not just one, either…a ruined mountainside…' Taking a moment to wipe the trails of dried tears from her eyes, Tsubasa let out a shuddering breath as her mind returned fully to the image that had almost caused her to scream. 'And Hibiki…what could it mean?'

Tsubasa was not one to believe in seeing the future. Even though she had supposedly spoken with Kanade in her dreams while recovering from use of her Zesshou over two years prior, she still was not a big believer in the supernatural. However, in the face of this particular dream, not even she could ignore what she had seen. 'Something's coming…I don't know what. Is this some sort of warning?' she thought, her eyes clenched shut desperately as she tried to purge what she had seen occur from her mind. 'If it is a warning…then something will happen to her, and soon…what could it be telling me? I won't let it happen…I am a protective sword, a sentinel…and I won't let Hibiki or anyone else die…'

The idea of the death of the aforementioned Gungnir wielder dragged her thoughts back to the events just a couple days prior, specifically to the very end of the battle. 'Using the S2CA like that was risky…Hibiki could have easily been taken by them or worse. They had a clear opportunity to kill her if they wanted, so why didn't they do so?' Tsubasa asked herself mentally, her mind filled with the image of the redhead passed out in the crater created by her own technique. A shiver running down her spine, the bluenette stood up before turning to look at a photo nearby.

"It's hard to believe that it's been over two years already," Tsubasa whispered, as she looked over at the photo. Taken the day that she had gone on the day out with Hibiki and Kohinata Miku, it was a photo that brought a small smile to her face. Before the incident at Kadingir, the now-former idol had found herself viewing the Gungnir wielder as the sort of sibling she'd never had. 'Everything seemed so much simpler then. In a way, Hibiki's been the younger sister I never had…that's why when she vanished, I spent a year trying so hard to find her. I talked to everyone who I knew had a connection to her, and yet I couldn't find her, even after I went overseas to search…' Ame no Habakiri's wielder thought, her eyes closing shut as she tried to force herself to return to sleep. 'I won't let Hibiki sacrifice herself…I won't let anyone close to me die. I have to be the sentinel I've trained myself to be…I just hope that I'm strong enough…' she thought, before drifting off into a restless slumber.

FIS Stealth Airplane, Meeting Room, Later That Morning

Tsukuyomi Shirabe couldn't hide the yawn that emerged from her mouth as she entered the meeting room, Kirika right behind her. While they had been able to get plenty of sleep the night before, it was still an important day for the duo, as it would be the last checkup before they would attempt to revive Frontier from its resting place. 'And yet I can't help but feel nervous. Kiri-chan seems off, Maria seems so sad or angry lately, and Mom seems almost resigned to something,' the twin-ponytailed girl thought, grabbing a seat near the front of the room. As her best friend sat down next to her, Shirabe couldn't help but notice the almost depressed look on her friend's face. 'Kiri-chan…I want to help you, but how can I if you don't tell me what's wrong?'

Moments later, the door to the room slid open, the motorized whirring of Nastassja's wheelchair entering the room. Taking her place to one side of the front of the room, the older woman nodded briefly at the duo seated in the front row before staring almost expectantly at the side entryway to the room. Not long behind her, Maria walked in, a short-sleeved silver zip-up hoodie being carried under one arm. Smiling softly at the sight of the younger duo in front of them, the older girl settled in, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. After what seemed like just a few minutes, the side door to the room opened, Doctor Ver walking in with a confident smirk on his face, his tablet under his arm.

"Having just re-watched the footage from the last training simulation, it seems that the three of you are becoming much more efficient. The Symphogear system is an amazing power, only limited by the willpower and the synchronicity of the user. And since our girls here aren't able to naturally sync with their armor all that effectively, it makes it all the more important that we use the LINKER that I created," Ver began, walking behind Kirika and Shirabe and placing a hand on each girl's shoulder. "Because of how it grants the power to fight to you girls with low synchronicity and compatibility values, it enables you to be the heroes that the world needs."

Maria bit the inside of her gum at Ver's statement in an attempt to keep herself silent. 'Be the heroes the world needs? Right…you bastard, if we're heroes, then what Hibi-san and her friends went through makes them Angels practically,' she thought, her eyes narrowing at what Ver was implying. 'He surely can't be thinking of letting the moon come close to falling and then stopping it, can he? No…that's almost too simple,' Maria thought, her arms tightening their grip on her hoodie. 'Ver…you're still playing up this hero role, but that can't be it. Your actions…my heart is telling me that your actions are different than those of someone trying to be a hero. What are you planning? Whatever it is, it's bad news…'

Nearby, Nastassja sat, her eyes narrowed as she listened to the Doctor make his speech. 'Ver…I'll be watching to see if you're truly aiming to save the world. We're so close to reviving Frontier…hope is right in front of all of us in regards to saving the world from this impending disaster. I've committed too many sins for all of this to have been for nothing…' she thought, as the doctor tapped a button on his tablet and pulling up something on its screen as he began to speak once more.

"We have everything that we need for the revival as of now. Tonight, Frontier will rise, and once that happens we will be able to accomplish our objectives," Ver continued, a smile on his face. Internally however, he had other plans in mind. 'Yes, once Frontier has been raised, we will accomplish the objectives all right…MY objectives that is. Soon it will be time for my goals to be realized…'

"Correct," Nastassja spoke, her eyes roaming around the room and locking specifically on those of the younger duo. "Before we do so though, Ver, is there any update that you can provide me with regarding Kirika and Shirabe's status after their overdose the other day?" Nodding his head briefly at the question, Doctor Ver looked at his tablet once more before replying.

"I was going to run tests on them today regardless. We can do so now, if you'd like."

"Then let's do so now and get it out of the way," Nastassja spoke, her voice almost acting as a calming influence. "We're this close to reviving Frontier. I want to be sure that everyone involved will be at their best for the operation."

-SotHR-

The bright orange sensors of the diagnostic machine moved steadily, their lights passing over Akatsuki Kirika as she laid in wait patiently. Standing nearby, Doctor Ver pressed a couple of keys on the computer keyboard, the fresh statistics for the blonde emerging on the screen. Nodding briefly, the doctor entered a quick sequence of commands, bringing the machine to a stop before stepping away from the keyboard.

"Are we done yet, Doctor?" the blonde-haired girl asked, her patience appearing to run out. Laughing slightly at this, the doctor nodded, before beginning his reply to her question, as Shirabe and Nastassja waited nearby.

"Yes, Kirika, we're finished here," Ver stated, before pulling up the statistics for both girls. "It appears as though the irregularities caused by the overdose have finally stabilized. It seems that both of you are ready to go." At this news, Shirabe nodded, a small smile coming onto her face.

"Good," the Shul Shagana wielder began, before she looked at the blonde-haired girl in front of her. "Now we won't slow you down any more than we already have, right Kiri-chan?" At this, the blonde nodded, her eyes downcast as Nastassja began to speak, a frown on her face at the Igalima wielder's expression.

"Doctor Ver," she began, a questioning tone in her voice as she spoke. "In addition to using LINKER to create Symphogear wielders and enhance their synchronization rates, maintaining these girls and managing their conditions is another VERY important part of your job. Don't forget that," the older woman said as she prepared to leave the room. At this, Ver nodded, a smirk coming onto his face as h responded.

"Of course," Ver said, his voice dropping low as a vicious gleam entered his eyes. "And I'll be perfectly happy to take care of you as well, Nastassja-san. I'll be sure to forward you the full results of their testing as soon as they've been compiled." At this, Nastassja's eyes narrowed intensely, almost as if she was trying to read what Ver was thinking. After a moment, she nodded, before leaving the room, Ver following briefly before leaving to head in another direction towards his private room. And as he arrived at his private quarters, Ver's thoughts were different from what his words had said. 'Oh, I'll take care of you alright, Nastassja-san…This is MY plan. And if you and your daughter are going to get in my way, then you'll be removed. Soon, it will be time for my era to begin, and when it does…I'll have no need for either of you.'

-SotHR-

"Kiri-chan, what's wrong? Aren't you happy that we're finally able to help Maria and mom?" Shirabe asked, her voice filled with concern at how her friend was acting. Besides her, Kirika just nodded, her mind preoccupied by her recently acquired ability. 'Why…why am I the one who has to bear Finé's soul?' Igalima's wielder thought, an unconscious sigh coming from her lips before she replied.

"Yeah, I'm glad that we're able to help out, Shirabe-chan," Kirika muttered, as she stopped by her room. "I'm gonna go back to sleep; I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Kiri-chan, are you sure that you're okay?" Shirabe asked, her eyes showing worry for the blonde. While she didn't know what was causing her friend to be so depressed, it did not sit well with the Shul Shagana wielder. "You can talk to me about whatever it is, you know that. You're my best friend, Kiri-chan. I don't like seeing you hurt."

"Shirabe-chan, I already told you, I'm fine. I just didn't sleep much last night. We're so close to reaching Frontier now, I just don't want to mess anything up," Kirika said, flashing the twin-tailed girl a small smile. "I'll see you when I wake up, okay?" At the uncertain nod of her closest friend, Kirika walked into her room before shutting the door behind her and locking it. Making her way to her bed, the blonde collapsed on top of it before staring at the ceiling, her mind racing a million miles an hour as it brought the images of her using Asgard to the front of her mind. 'How did I do it…how did I use Asgard back then…it couldn't be me, can it? I couldn't be her reincarnation, could I?' she thought, her eyes clenching shut in fear.

'I don't want to lose my existence to her…I'm my own person, damnit…' Kirika thought, rolling over onto her side. 'And if I am her reincarnation, why did her power only just now appear? Why didn't it show up sooner, so that Maria wouldn't have had to carry so much of the burden? It's just not fair…' she thought, tears entering her eyes as she tried desperately to quell the sense of dread she was feeling at possibly losing herself to the soul of the ancient priestess.

"Shirabe-chan, even if I do lose myself, I'll protect you. I swear it," Kirika whispered, her eyes closing as she tried to go back to sleep. It would not come easily.

2nd Division Temporary Headquarters, Medbay, Later That Morning

To say that Yukine Chris was anxious would be an understatement. 'Hibiki-baka…I'm glad you wanted me here, but at the same time, couldn't you be ready when you said you would be,' the snow-haired girl thought, her arms crossed over the maroon sweater she was wearing. It had been a long few days for Chris; her roommate hadn't wanted to speak with her for most of the past couple days before coming back to the room crying, the only words coming out of her mouth being "I'm sorry". 'Something happened, but what could have caused Miku to come back so upset?'

As Chris prepared to knock on the door to enter the room she knew her girlfriend was assigned to, Chris could hear a pair of voices within. Knocking lightly on the door, she heard the unmistakable voice of her girlfriend respond.

"Come in," the voice said, granting permission for the snow-haired girl to enter. Upon doing so, she bore witness to the sight of Hibiki in conversation with Kazanari Genjurou, who looked over to the new arrival with a small smile. Walking over to where her girlfriend stood and looking at the medical screen pulled up nearby, the snow-haired girl smiled before speaking.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, commander. Hibiki, please tell me you're ready to get going already," she said, drawing a nod from Genjurou and a quick squeeze of her hand from the Gungnir wielder.

"Just about, but there's something I want to go over with the two of you before you get your girlfriend and go off on whatever makeup date you two had in mind," Genjurou said, drawing a blush out of both Hibiki and Chris. Face turning serious, Genjurou continued to speak. "Hibiki-san, Chris-san. I know that we've had this discussion before, but the two of you and Tsubasa have to watch out for each other. Hibiki, you're not alone anymore. Using the S2CA like you did the other day was too dangerous. I know that you know the risks of using it like that, but at the same time, you need to trust each other out there. You very easily could have been captured or killed. I won't tell you that you can't be in combat, but just be more careful next time, will you?"

"Hai, shishou," Hibiki muttered, nodding her head as she stood, hand entwined with her girlfriend's own. Beside her, Chris nodded in agreement before speaking up slightly, startling the commander.

"I'll make sure that she doesn't do something like that again, Commander," Chris said, earning a nod in reply. "Will you, Hibiki-baka?" she asked, nudging the taller girl slightly, causing her to smile nervously.

"Yeah. I'll try to be more careful in the future."

"Good. Well then, I guess you're good to go, Hibiki-san. The Doctors already released you; I just wanted to make sure that I didn't miss you before you left," Genjurou said, a smile emerging onto his face. "Enjoy your day off, ladies." With that, the commander left the room, shutting the door behind him, leaving the duo to themselves. This allowed the duo to relax, as the taller Redhead wrapped her arms around Chris, pulling her closely before kissing her gently, causing the snow-haired girl to blush.

"Should we get going, Chris?" Hibiki asked, a soft smile coming to her face. "I know you've been impatient to get out of here. Sorry for keeping you waiting so long…" she trailed off, as the shorter girl smiled, gently punching the taller girl before leaning closer.

"You'd better be sorry, Hibiki-baka. You shouldn't keep me waiting like that. I felt like everyone was watching me," Chris trailed off, before her girlfriend let go to go grab the black and orange jacket hanging on a nearby hangar. "It was kinda annoying. What business is it of theirs if I'm here to see you? You are my girlfriend, so why the hell do they care?" Putting the jacket on and smiling, Hibiki walked back over to where the Ichaival wielder waited, her eyes having followed the redhead's movements and causing her to smile softly. 'I just can't help but feel happy around you, Hibiki…still, do I really deserve the happiness that you've given me?' she thought, as the redhead squeezed her hand, shaking her from her thoughts.

"Something wrong, Chris?" Hibiki asked, her eyes showing a slight concern to the shorter girl. After a moment, the Ichaival wielder nodded slightly, before responding.

"Hibiki, something Miku said to me the other day mid-battle is kinda bugging me," Chris began, her eyes looking downwards. "She said that I took you from her, that we broke her heart that morning on the steps," she continued, the look on the taller girl's face growing more concerned as she listened closely. "It just has me wondering why me? What did you see in me that you've fallen for? I know that I'm falling for you, and have already done so, but at the same time, for her to say that is like taking a bullet to the chest."

A moment later, Chris felt a pair of arms wrap around her shoulders and neck, before pulling her in closely and hugging her tightly. Leaning in closely, Hibiki whispered her response.

"It's hard to explain. It's just a feeling that grew from when I first met you, even. All I remember thinking when I met you was that you're someone who I wanted to try to help. Then after I came back, I remember the feeling I had growing stronger every day, and I figured out that it was leading me to you. Chris, Miku was wrong. You didn't take me from her. My heart led me to you. My heart chose you. You're amazing, and I love you for who you are," Hibiki said, causing the shorter girl to blush slightly before smiling, burying her face into the taller girl's chest.

"Hibiki-baka, you shouldn't say something like that unless you mean it. Not after what happened with Finé. Not when she acted like she really cared. And then in the end, she turned her back on me. I don't want to go through that again," Chris whispered, her mind flashing back to how she had been treated towards the end by the ancient priestess. "I don't want my heart broken like that again. I don't want to be treated like that again, Hibiki-baka."

"I won't," Hibiki replied, before gently rubbing circles on the shorter girl's back with her fingers. "You're worth it, Chris. You're worth everything to me. If something were to happen to you, I don't know what I'd do. I haven't been happier than I have been when I'm with you, Chris. And I mean that completely."

"Hibiki-baka…Don't make promises you can't keep," the Ichaival wielder whispered in response, leaning up and kissing Hibiki gently before returning her head to rest on the taller girl's shoulder with a smile on her face. While externally Chris was a picture of serenity, internally she was jumping for joy. 'Tachibana Hibiki, you're the most important person to me too. Aishiteru, Hibiki. My heart was led to you as well…and I'm not going to screw this up, I swear it.'

Lydian Music Academy, Cadenza Dorm Building, Sunset

Kohinata Miku had barely moved for most of the afternoon after arriving back at her shared dorm room. Sure, she had gone to classes, but she had barely been able to pay attention. And a certain redhead was part of the reason why. 'Hibiki…I really messed up, didn't I,' the forest-green haired girl thought, her eyes staring at the ceiling as she laid on her bed. After her discussion with the Gungnir wielder had ended with the redhead's disappointment, Miku had felt herself fall to pieces. Now though, she felt empty, like a hollow shell. 'I treated her like a possession, not the person she is. And this is the price I pay for it; having her seemingly hate me...'

Rolling onto her side to look at the wall, the schoolgirl pondered over the words that her former roommate had said to her. 'Have I really changed that much? What I did may have been a bit rash, sure, but at the same time, my feelings matter too, don't they? For Chris to so easily disregard those…for Hibiki of all people to disregard those…What did I do wrong? I couldn't be the wrong one here, could I?'

Shaking her head at the thought, Miku turned to look out the window at the setting sun. And as she took in the city lights, one particular building stood out to the girl. 'Maybe a trip to the Sky Tower will help…at least it'll be somewhere that I can go on my own,' she thought, the vermillion sun dipping lower and lower towards the horizon. 'I have to sort this out…I have to try to make things right.'

And while the schoolgirl wasn't sure how she could do so, she knew, deep down, that she at least had to try to do so. No matter what it took.

FIS Stealth Airplane, Frontier Airspace, Late That Night

Waves rippled out over the ocean as the stealth aircraft hovered over its destination. And within the cockpit, Doctor Ver's grin only kept growing. 'Now is the time to advance to the next stage…finally, we've arrived at where I can assume full control,' he thought, as he was snapped out of his thoughts by the voice of the person in the copilot's seat next to him.

"Doctor, please proceed and initiate the sequence," Nastassja stated, her voice leaving no room for other words, nodding slightly, the doctor hit the flashing green button on the console in front of him, causing the relic necklace mounted on the bracket nearby to glow briefly. As it did so however, the sound of something being launched was heard, as a pod was made to hover overhead, the sound of which was not heard over the sound of the machinery in front of the Doctor. 'It will take more than just the power of the Shen Shou Jing to revive Frontier…but, that's why I made the modifications we needed. Hopefully with the three additional relics that we know work currently, we'll have enough power, since we failed to obtain Ichaival and Ame no Habakiri,' he thought, his eyes carefully monitoring the glow of the machine holding the three relics they had: Igalima, Shul Shagana, and Black Gungnir. As he did so, the hovering craft deployed its equipment, the satellite-like features appearing on its frame.

"Shuttle marker is deployed, Nastassja-sama. Shall we begin the resurrection? All the pieces we need are in their place," Ver asked, a smirk on his face as he looked away from where the other doctor would see him. 'This is it…finally, I can begin MY plan. The new era is about to begin, and you're about to play an unwilling hand in it, Nastassja-san.'

"Cut the stealth and gather the energy of the relics. Hopefully this will be enough," Nastassja said, her voice quiet as the doctor initiated the sequence to bring their aircraft out of its shroud. Now exposed to the night sky, the scientist initiated the sequence that would bring their vehicle into position for the final step in the revival method chosen. Moments later, they were in position.

"The Shen Shou Jing, excavated from Mount Minakami in Nagano Prefecture, is a mirror relic. As such, it has the ability to warp light, enabling it to blend into surrounding areas. However, it may have another power," Nastassja began, her eyes grimly determined. "Ancient texts have spoken of its ability to exorcise evil, as I saw firsthand just over eighteen months ago."

"And now with its power, along with that of the other relics we have, we shall release the seal that binds Frontier from the world. All the preparations have been made. Now, it's time. Let's begin!" Ver exclaimed, a sinister gleam in his eyes as he pulled the trigger to release the energy gathered from the relics. "Discharging the Remover Ray now!"

At Ver's words, a brilliant ray of light was released from the gun barrel located below the cockpit. Mere seconds later it hit the reflection dish of the marker, before diving straight at the ocean, its target clear as it hit the sea floor.

"This will break the seal. This HAS to break the seal," Ver muttered, his eyes focusing completely on the ocean in front of the airplane. Moments later, the water erupted in an explosion, steam rising into the starry night sky. "Shatter it. Shatter it so that the ideal world that I envisioned can come to pass," he whispered. However, his hopes were for naught, as the steam cloud caused by the explosion vanished, revealing Frontier to be nowhere in sight.

"What? It didn't break the seal? Why didn't it break the seal?" Ver exclaimed, his fist slamming against the wall in anger. "There should have been enough power for things to finally begin to move! It was that close," he exclaimed, drawing attention to himself from Nastassja. Taking a moment to calm down, the doctor stepped to the exit of the cockpit, moving his glasses up his face as he did so.

"And where do you think that you're going, Doctor?" Nastassja asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion at the doctor. "There's still work to be done here."

"I'm going to go try to figure out what went wrong, and how we can correct this. And when I do, the world will dance at our feet." At this, Ver left the room, leaving Nastassja alone to her thoughts.

'Even with the power boost from the mechanical amplification and the other relics, the Shen Shou Jing still wasn't strong enough to break the seal on Frontier…this could be a problem,' she thought, as her eyes turned their attention to the computer in front of her. Bringing up a keyboard to her attention, Nastassja began to type, even as her thoughts turned to the words Ver had thought no one had heard.

-SotHR-

Maria Cadenzavna Eve sighed in relief as she sat back at her desk, a small sheet of paper and pen on it. 'I wasn't planning on having to leave yet, but what mom said when we talked that day…it's the right path. What we're doing isn't what Serena would want us to do,' she thought, her eyes scanning over the hastily written note in front of her. 'I'm not ready yet. There's still so much that I need to know if I'm going to…no, if WE'RE going to have any chance at stopping whatever Ver's true plan is.' Satisfied with what she saw in front of her, the Black Gungnir wielder folded the letter and placed it into an envelope before writing Shirabe and Kirika's names on it.

"Serena, what I'm going to do is the right path. It has to be, right?" Maria asked, seemingly to no one in particular. "My heart tells me that the path that Ver and Mom are following isn't the right path. They have to be stopped." Looking out the window at the moonlit night sky while the plane headed back towards land, Maria took a moment to reflect on her road to where she was now.

"I won't let Ver reach his endgame, whatever it is. I'll make sure that's the case. It's what Serena would want me to do, right alongside Hibi-san and her friends." At this, a determined look came onto Maria's face. 'I still don't know what exactly mom needed the Airgetlam pendant for earlier, but I have to get that back before I leave. Otherwise, the only thing left to do is to find out just what Ver's real intentions are. I just hope that his plans can still be stopped…'

2nd Division Temporary Headquarters, Bridge, Next Afternoon

Kazanari Genjurou stared at the data on the screen in front of him, a frown on his face. 'This can't be right. Are we really that far off in the data we've had in the past?' he thought, as his eyes took in the data relating to the moon's orbit. Taking a moment to gather himself, he stood, a deathly serious air entering the room.

"So we're completely sure that the data provided to us by the U.S. Government is wrong?" he asked, his eyes locked onto the comparison between the data gathered by the 2nd Division and the U.S. Government's figures. Looking up from her computer, Tomosato Aoi nodded, before beginning her reply with a grave look on her face.

"Hai, taichou. We've been able to confirm that their official figures for the lunar orbit do have a minor deviation. It may not be very much of one, as the error is extremely small, but it's definitely clear: we've been off for a while on this. Taichou, with these numbers, there's no doubt about it. The moon is going to fall, it's just a question of when."

"So we can't trust the U.S. government's official announcement that the damage caused by Kadingir won't affect the moon's orbit for several centuries then," Genjurou replied, arms crossed as he spoke. "The question is as follows then. If the deviation is occurring now, how much more time is there? And what is FIS planning? We're missing some major information about things, and we're running out of time to fill in the blanks."

Aoi nodded, as did the rest of the bridge crew. Turning back to their desks, they began to work at a frenzied pace in an attempt to get the answers needed. And as they did so, Genjurou himself returned to his seat, arms crossed. Internally though, one thought reigned.

'We're out of time. The moon will slowly deviate more and more from its orbit as time goes on, and when it does finally crash, likely much sooner than later, there won't be any chance to save anyone.'

Backstage Green Room, JAM TV Studios, Shibuya, Tokyo, 3:00 That Afternoon

"Well, maybe we could go Ice Skating after I finish things up here? Chris, you know that I don't care what we do, just as long as it's something we do together. The movie we went to the other day after we left the Medbay was pretty good though," Tachibana Hibiki spoke, her smartphone pinned between her head and her shoulder as she waited backstage. The redhead was at JAM TV headquarters for an interview to promote her first single, as well as to announce when her first major concert would be. And while she knew that being here was part of the job, it didn't help that she had not given a televised interview before.

"Hibiki-baka, it's your turn to decide where we go. I picked out the movie, although I'm glad you liked it so much. But yeah, Ice Skating sounds good. Do you want me to look up if there are any rinks near your place that are open tonight? I know that it's a seasonal thing, but it's close enough that there's gotta be someplace that's open, right?" the voice of Yukine Chris came through the phone, entering Hibiki's ear and causing a smile to come to her face. Taking a moment to think about it, the redhead nodded as she replied.

"Sounds good," the Gungnir wielder replied, before looking up and seeing her manager, Ogawa Shinji, approaching. "I've gotta go; looks like it's almost time for me to go on air. I can't wait to see you tonight."

"Hibiki...I know. Love you, Hibiki-baka," Chris spoke through the phone, her voice softening slightly in disappointment that her girlfriend had to get off the phone. Her words having drawn a blush to Hibiki's face, the taller girl responded quickly.

"Love you too, Chris. Bye." Ending the call and placing her phone down on the table nearby, the idol stood up before addressing her manager. "Ogawa-san, I take it that it's almost time for me to go on air?"

"Not quite, Hibiki. I know that you're impatient and all, but try to relax a bit," Shinji said, straightening his glasses briefly before taking a seat at the table the idol had been sitting at. "We still have some time before you go on air, but I wanted to remind you of some of the things that they'll be asking you about."

"I remember Tsubasa-san mentioning that they wanted to discuss the single, as well as how I'm supposed to talk about when my first concert will be," Hibiki replied, her eyes closing in an attempt to relax. "Speaking of Tsubasa-san, where is she?"

"I gave her the day off today. Because of how I've had 2nd Division duties, she's been having to do my job as well as her own, while also having to be a student," Shinji spoke, a small smile on his face. "While she's done a better job than I could have asked her to, she still deserves to have some time to decompress. I don't want to see her break down from overwork. She may not be my prized artist anymore, but I still want the best for her. Will you be okay without her here?"

"I'll be fine, Ogawa-san. I've just gotta remember to stay calm and treat it like it's a one on one interview, right?"

"Yeah. Do that, and you'll be fine, Hibiki-san." Smiling as he spoke, Shinji looked up to see a staffer giving the signal stating that it would be five minutes before his client would be on air. Standing up, he smiled at his client one last time before turning his eyes towards the waiting studio. It was almost show time.

Tachibana Hibiki's Apartment, Shinjuku, Tokyo

"What am I doing here," Kazanari Tsubasa asked herself as she stood just in front of the doorway to Tachibana Hibiki's apartment, cleaning supplies held in one hand as she fished in her teal jacket's pocket for the spare key she had been given. While Ogawa Shinji had given the bluenette the day off from work, she still wasn't quite able to relax. And so, after finishing her classwork for the day, she had decided to try to do something for her teammate and charge. The only problem was that Tsubasa is not the best at cleaning. "I may be trying to learn to clean up on my own since that incident two years ago, but I'm still not the best in the world. What on earth am I doing?"

Opening the door to the apartment, the bluenette was surprised at how seemingly organized it was…at least, until she looked towards the kitchen. 'Great…looks like someone hasn't exactly had too much time to clean her kitchen up,' Tsubasa thought, setting her cleaning supplies down. Truth be told, she had come here as a way to try to still do something nice for her teammate. However, that wasn't the only reason she had decided to clean Hibiki's apartment today.

'I just can't shake this feeling that something horrible is going to happen today…not to mention what was in my dreams. Something horrible is coming…how can I stop it? I keep saying that I'm a blade, so why do I feel this fear creeping up on me?' she thought, as she took quick note of the state of the remainder of the Gungnir wielder's apartment. It looked as though she would be busy for a few hours, at least. And while cleaning wouldn't take her mind off of things, at least it would allow her to try to figure out what she could do to stop the negative presence she could feel making its move.

"Enough standing around, Tsubasa. I might as well get started; I don't have all day before Hibiki gets back," she said, before grabbing a bottle of cleaning solution and a sponge from the supplies that she had brought with her and heading towards the kitchen.

Sky Tower, 58th Floor, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 3:30 pm That Day

The elevator doors opened with a ping, revealing to the hallway its occupants. Stepping out of the elevator, Nastassja in front of her, Maria couldn't help but feel uneasy. 'This is it…my final mission,' she thought as she pushed the older woman's traveling wheelchair in front of her. 'No matter what happens today, I've already made up my mind. I may not know for sure what Ver's true intentions are yet, but I don't have the luxury of waiting to find out anymore.' As she continued thinking, Maria was stirred from her thoughts by Nastassja's voice, the exhausted tone in her mother's voice causing the rosette to frown slightly.

"Maria, thank you for being willing to come with me today," the doctor stated, her eyes closed in contemplation of what was to occur today. "I know that this meeting was thrown together at the last minute, but I do appreciate the support." Nodding her head as they headed towards their destination, Maria smiled softly before beginning to reply, a saddened look in her eyes.

"Anytime, mom. Still, does that man know about this?"

"No, at least I don't believe so," Nastassja stated, her voice stern. "However, if we ARE to raise Frontier, then hopefully what occurs at this meeting will enable us to do so." As this, she let out a sigh, before a slightly comfortable silence settled in. Moments later however, Maria spoke up once again.

"Mom, why have you done all of this? I need to know. You already know what my heart is telling me to do, so why have you been following this plan? You have to know that you're not the one really in charge, don't you?" Black Gungnir's wielder asked, her eyes narrowing at even the thought of Doctor Ver and the actions that the plan had deemed necessary. "Why did you have us act like terrorists?"

Nastassja sighed and shook her head. It wasn't that hard to see what her daughter was trying to get at through her questions. 'You're trying to determine if I'm going to be your enemy as well, aren't you, Maria? It's unfortunate that it's turned out this way…especially when everything is almost ready for you. Still…while I've come too far down this dark road to turn back, I can give you the tools needed to save those you care about,' she thought, a small frown coming across her face as she began to provide her answer.

"All that we've done is play at being terrorists, Maria. Our true purpose is to find some way to minimize the damage caused by the inevitable impact of the moon to the planet. And while some of the actions that we have taken to do so have been admittedly deplorable, that is our true purpose and mission."

"That doesn't mean that we had to commit the actions you've had Shirabe, Kirika, and I commit," Maria shot back, her voice tense with frustration. "Mom, Serena and I trusted you when you said that what we were doing was for the betterment of humanity. You said that we'd be saving everyone's lives! And then you ordered us to commit some of the actions that you had us commit. There has to be another way."

"Unfortunately there isn't another way, Maria," the doctor said, her voice trying to bring an end to the conversation. "What we've done thus far isn't going to be enough. I only hope that what we're here for today will give us the rest of what we need to revive Frontier. But that's enough of this conversation, Maria. We're here," Nastassja said, her voice trailing off as the duo stopped in front of the appointed conference room. Nodding her head, Maria steeled herself as the doors in front of them opened, revealing a sight that caused her blood to turn cold.

"Mom, are you sure about this?" the idol asked as she looked across the room at the United States government agents who had been awaiting their arrival. Eyes narrowing in focus, the rosette took a quick check of the situation. 'Eight agents, all of which are likely armed…Mom, what are you doing calling for a meeting with the people who have been trying to hunt us down for this long?' As if she was able to sense Maria's anxiety over the situation, Nastassja spoke up, hoping to calm her daughter's nerves.

"Agents of the United States government, I've called you here to discuss a possible peace agreement between us," she began, her voice serious. As Maria's mind raced with the implications of what her mother was doing, the doctor continued, as if to answer her daughter's unasked question. "I've already informed Doctor Ver that I was going to have this meeting. So, shall we begin? After all, we're all hoping to prevent the moon's fall, aren't we?"

Sky Tower, Aquarium, 75th Floor, Shinjuku, Tokyo

"You remind me of myself in a way," Kohinata Miku said as she stood in front of the fish tank, staring at the variety of exotic fish and rays held within. As she watched a number of fish and manta rays swim by in front of her eyes, Miku couldn't help but feel similarities to her own emotional situation. "I keep being trapped by my desire to be with someone from the past, but I can't see the future in front of me. It's like how you guys all want to be in the ocean, but are trapped here instead, isn't it?"

Miku had been able to find peace when she was able to come to this aquarium. Ever since Kadingir, whenever she had really been in need of some time to think and a place to calm her mind, she had been able to come here and just try to let herself escape. However, escape was not coming very easily for the schoolgirl this time.

'Why…why Is it that even though I should be happy for them, I still feel so…empty?' Miku thought to herself, as a swordfish swam by in front of her face. 'Hibiki's my best friend from when I was little….and Chris is my roommate. I know they've both had so much to deal with in life, so why can't I feel happy for them? Don't they deserve to be happy?'

Raising a hand to the glass in front of her, as if to try to reach out to the fish inside of the tank, Miku continued her thoughts. 'I've fallen in love twice in my life…first with Hibiki…now with Chris. Both times I've been hurt. Will I ever find my own happiness? Do I even know what it means to be truly happy? Or will I keep being trapped by my own insecurities. What can I offer either of them that they don't already have?'

Thinking back to the words that Hibiki had said to her during her visit to the 2nd Division's Medbay earlier that week, Miku's face fell. 'I really messed up, didn't I…I know I shouldn't have stayed on the battlefield. Hibiki's right; I should know better than to do that. Hibiki, Chris, and Tsubasa…they all walk on the razor edge when in combat; if they got distracted while fighting anything strong enough, they could easily die. And what I was doing was definitely a distraction…but still, don't my feelings matter too?' Closing her hand into a fist against the glass, Miku shut her eyes in frustration. 'I know that Hibiki said that my feelings matter…still, I can't help but feel as if they don't care about the way I feel at all…'

'Did I really make a mistake? And if I did, how can I go about making things right with them? Hibiki, Chris…you're both too important to me for me to have screwed this up…but I get the feeling that if I don't do something soon, I won't get another chance to fix things. And the only person I'll have to blame for it is myself…'

FIS Stealth Airplane, Kitchen, Tokyo Outskirts

Tsukuyomi Shirabe stood in front of the stove, the meal she was preparing simmering in front of her. Looking at the timer on the counter nearby, the Shul Shagana wielder dipped a small spoon into the pot, before bringing a small sample of the soup she was creating to her mouth and tasting her creation.

"Mmm…it tastes just like I thought it would. It's too bad that Mom and Maria are in the city for the day. They don't know what they're missing out on," she stated, before turning back to the cookbook nearby. "Looks like it's just about ready, and tastes like it too."

Taking the soup that she had made off of the stove and serving it into bowls, Shirabe couldn't help but smile. 'Maybe this will help snap Kirika out of whatever's been bothering her the past few days,' she thought, before a worried look emerged onto her face. 'It's not like her to be this down about anything…it just feels so unnerving. And yet I can't help but feel like I want to just tell her that whatever it is that's bothering her, we can face it together. Kiri-chan, I'm…no, we're all here for you, so please let us help you…'

-SotHR-

"Reincarnation…" Kirika whispered, her legs pulled up to her chest. "What's the point of the idea of that if it just means that the vessel's soul just gets overwritten by the reincarnated one?"

Legs pulled tightly to her chest, the Igalima wielder looked out towards where she had hung the sheets to dry out. 'If Finé's soul really is within me, how much longer will it be before her soul consumes my own? I don't want to disappear from existence…even just the idea of having my soul consumed freaks me out.' Kirika had not been getting much sleep since she had used Asgard, her thoughts consumed by her fear of losing herself to the ancient priestess. And the strain was clearly showing through, as she had been distracted, almost distant even from Maria, Shirabe, and the others.

'While I'm glad that Maria isn't Finé's reincarnation, there's still something about this that bugs me. Why didn't these powers start to surface before now? Wouldn't it have made sense for them to surface sooner than they did?' Before she could continue to dwell on the matter however, a familiar voice shook Kirika from her thoughts as Shirabe came running over.

"Kiri-can, come on. Lunch is ready," Shirabe said, her eyes standing out within the shadows. Hearing this, Kirika's mood brightened instantly.

"Oh? What's for lunch? What'd you make today, Shirabe-chan?"

"Two hundred and ninety-eight yen," the Shul Shagana wielder replied, holding up a pair of fingers in a victory pose. At this, Kirika sprang to her feet, excitement in her eyes.

"Then let's hurry up and eat already," she said, before grabbing Shirabe's hand and pulling her back towards the plane. As she did so however, a feeling entered into both girls' mind. While they knew that Maria and Nastassja were out for the day, neither girl knew where Doctor Ver was at. But they both had a bad feeling that something was going to happen, and it would be big.

Sky Tower, 58th Floor Conference Room, Shinjuku, Tokyo

To say that the meeting had been tense would be to make an understatement. And while things seemed cordial enough between the government agents sent by the United States and Nastassja, Maria still couldn't help but feel on edge as negotiations continued.

'Eight agents in the room…no doubt they have more agents waiting nearby within the tower, and probably more still near the building…all likely packing a gun, too. Mom…if things get ugly here, it's going to be tough getting out of here alive,' she thought, eyes narrowed and shoulders tense as she looked on. 'Mom…I don't trust them any more than I trust Ver…why would they all of a sudden agree to a meeting like this? It doesn't make sense for them to do so. And why would Ver agree to this? It doesn't make any sense at all, unless…' Before too much longer however, it seemed the meeting was finally ready to come to a conclusion as the voice of her mother shook the idol out of her thoughts.

"Maria, please provide them with the data we have regarding Frontier," Nastassja spoke, her voice steady. While the meeting had been a big risk to take, it seemed as though things were heading in the right direction. And as Maria placed the data chip into the federal agent's palm, she felt as though she had done what she could to try to assist more people than she could on their own. 'Whether Ver likes it or not, we needed extra help to complete our final objective,' Nastassja thought, her eyes narrowing slightly as she awaited the agent's reply. 'Maria…even though this is likely your last mission with us, I'm still proud of what you've become. And I know that Serena would be as well.'

"Thank you for providing us with the data that you have on the heretical technology," the lead agent spoke, the light glinting off of his sunglasses as he spoke.

"I'll forwards you the directions on how to use that information at another time," Nastassja replied, her voice even as she replied. Contrary to what she had thought however, the lead agent continued to speak after she finished.

"I'm afraid that there won't be another time, Nastassja-san," the lead agent spoke, before he raised his handgun at the doctor's head from halfway across the room. At this, Maria tensed up immediately, her body rushing to produce adrenaline. 'Shit…I've gotta do something to protect her. Even though mom and I don't agree on the path she's choosing to take, she's still my mom!'

"You see Nastassja-san, a bullet can take a life far faster and far more easily than your songs can. Also, there's no hesitation at all," the agent continued as the remaining agents pulled their weapons, aiming them squarely at Maria and her mother. "We have no more need for you. With the data now in our possession, your usefulness has officially ended."

Maria stepped forwards, one arm outstretched to the side protectively in front of the older woman as she pulled Black Gungnir's relic pendant from her hoodie's pocket. 'From the start they weren't going to let us leave at all…damnit…Serena, do I have to stain my hands here to be able to become the protector you want me to be? I won't do so…but if there's no other way, please forgive me. I can't let this stop me from stopping Ver…' Her thoughts were again interrupted however by her mother's voice.

"So from the start you had no intention of making a deal, did you?" Nastassja said, her eyes closing as a level of sadness entered her voice. "All we wanted to do was help you keep your citizens safe."

"And we thank you for doing so, but we now have what we need. The only remaining step is to dispose of the things that we don't need, which means that you're not leaving here alive," the agent continued, a smug smirk coming onto his face as he spoke. Unnoticed by him, just outside the window, a number of noise had floated up to the window area. And as Maria saw them rising out of the corner of her eye, she began to sing.

-Granzizel bilfen Gungnir zizzl-

As a black globe of light surrounded Maria, a winged noise phased through the glass window before flying into three of the government agents, killing them instantly. Immediately following their counterpart's lead, another small group of noise phased through the ceiling, surrounding the government agents and slaughtering them just as Maria's transformation ended, revealing her, fully clad in her armor and Black Gungnir spear in hand. 'The Noise? But what are they doing here? Unless…' Maria thought, her eyes narrowing in anger at the implications her thoughts were leading towards as the group of noise in the room turned their attention towards the rosette, the agents in the room finally disposed of. 'He couldn't have…did he?' Before she could complete the thought the sound of movement from the Noise drew her attention, as all hell broke loose.

-SotHR-

At a restaurant near the Sky Tower, Doctor Ver sat on his own at a table, the windows next to him overlooking the sky tower as a large group of noise surrounded the building. With an evil smirk on his face as he set his coffee cup back down and grabbed the Staff of Solomon, he stood up, before aiming the staff at where the tower itself.

"Everyone in this world is so selfish," Ver began, taking another sip of his coffee. "Even you are as well, Nastassja-san. Did you really think that you could get away after setting up a meeting like this? And don't think I'm just going to let you leave this place alive either, Maria. Not after what I overheard you two talking about the other day. Now go my noise, and eliminate them! It's time for ME to take control here, like I should have been all along!"

-SotHR-

Before the noise could begin their attack, Maria raced forwards, her spear swinging from right to left and cleaving the lead noise of the group in two. Wasting little time, the pinkette spun around, her cape racing forwards and slamming into the ground in front of the group of noise, shaking the floor and scattering the noise enough for Maria to step into the void. 'Gotta cut these ones down fast, then go from there. As much as I may not agree with what mom has done, I won't let the noise get her. I can't let Ver get his way, not if what I think is correct,' she thought, before spinning around, her spear's edge slicing through heads, arms, and bodies of Noise and causing them to fall to ash.

"Mom, we've gotta get going," Maria said, racing back towards where her mother sat, earning a nod from the older woman. Picking her mother up with her off arm, Maria concentrated, holding her spear towards the remaining noise as it opened up to reveal a charging blast of energy. "Get the hell out of my way!" she cried, before unleashing a blast of Horizon Spear, the explosion from the blast consuming the enemies while also blowing the doors off of the conference room, smoke spewing into the hall as a fire began to spread. Leaping through the fire while using her cape as a sort of shield from the heat, Maria carried Nastassja into the hallway, before her eyes darted around the hallway.

"We have to get out of here, Mom. This place isn't safe, and if I'm right, then we've got a major problem on our hands," the idol stated, darting towards the nearest stairwell. Just as she was about to arrive at the nearest stairs however, the hallway around her erupted in gunfire. 'Damnit, my bad feeling about this was right…and if my thoughts on why the Noise are here are right as well, then I can't afford to wait around any longer. Serena, I will make it out of here alive…and I will find the way to protect everyone I care about. This is the path my heart is leading me down!' Bringing her cape around to act as a shield for both Nastassja and herself, Maria kicked the door next to her down before dashing inside and taking off to the next floor just as another, more massive explosion echoed from the conference room below, shaking the entire tower.

-SotHR-

"What the? What's that shaking?" a bystander asked, the floor beneath him shaking. Looking over in the man's general direction, Miku had a look of concern written on her face. 'I came up here to the observation deck to try to stop thinking so much…but, whatever's causing this shaking has me a bit concerned,' she thought, before the shocked gasp of another onlooker got her attention.

"N-n-n-noise!" the middle-aged woman gasped out, before turning and rushing back inside. Spinning around and looking at where the older woman had pointed, Miku felt her eyes widen at the number of airborne Noise before she shook her head briefly, gaining focus. 'I can't afford to hesitate right now. Chris, Hibiki, and Tsubasa-san wouldn't forgive me if I did so again…not after what I did that day,' she thought, her mind briefly flashing back to her argument with Chris on the battlefield. 'Right now, I have a job to do, and that's to get people to the shelters.' Before she could do so however, the sound of a younger child crying broke her out of her thoughts, the observatory rapidly emptying out.

"Mommy, where are you?" a young boy cried out as he walked by on the nearby upper level walkway. Taking a moment to steel herself, Miku nodded, before heading to catch up with the lost child. 'Even if it's just one person…at least I can try to make a difference. Even if it's just a small difference.'

Lydian Music Academy, Cadenza Dorm Building, Miku and Chris' Dorm Room

"Be right there," Yukine Chris said as she sat up from her spot on the couch in front of the TV, book in hand. After having spoken with her girlfriend, she had returned to the dorm building to do some research and some of her homework for the weekend. 'At least it doesn't seem like there's too much going on today. If something were to happen today, I swear I'll hurt whoever it is that tried to ruin my date with Hibiki tonight,' she thought, before opening the door to reveal Yumi, Kuriyo, and Shiori standing at the door, worried looks on their faces. "What's up? If you're looking for Miku, she's not in at the moment."

"Chris, turn on the news," Shiori said, her voice shaking slightly with worry. This caused Chris to raise an eyebrow in concern. 'Shiori is almost never like this. Did something happen?' she thought, before stepping aside and letting the trio inside.

"I was waiting on Sora's interview on JAMTV. She should be on any time now, though. What's up?" Chris asked, grabbing the remote and handing it to Shiori, as Kuriyo and Yumi sat down on the edges of the couch. And as Shiori changed the channel to a local news station, Chris' eyes widened at what was displayed on screen. 'Noise? At the Sky Tower?! What's going on…and why is the tower on fire?' she thought, her hands clenching into firsts briefly. Suddenly, an explosion erupted from the tower on screen, the cloud of smoke rising into the sky.

"Wait, didn't Miku say she was going to the Sky Tower today?" Yumi asked, causing Chris' eyes to narrow as she grabbed the edge of the couch in front of her. As the four girls watched nervously, Chris could feel her heart pound with worry. 'If Miku is there…damnit…neither Hibiki or I would be able to forgive ourselves if she died…' she thought. However, the thought of Miku brought back the images of their argument previously. 'Miku…even if you can't forgive me for being with Hibiki, you're still my roommate and my friend. So then why does it still hurt to think about our fight? I love Hibiki…so why?' Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Chris frowned slightly before grabbing her phone and her transport pass.

"Yeah. Miku did say she was going to the Sky Tower today," she said, voice quiet. Before anyone else could respond, the Ichaival wielder continued. "Despite our argument the other day, she's still one of the best friends I have, and I'm not going to let her or anyone else there get killed by the Noise." And with those words, she ran out the door towards the waiting battlefield.

Sky Tower, Floor 60, Hallway, Shinjuku, Tokyo

Things were not going the way that Maria had hoped they would go, as she raced up the stairs before entering the hallway on the sixtieth floor of the Sky Tower. While she had been able to duck out of the situation on the fifty-eighth floor, the situation hadn't improved on the next floor, with another group of soldiers waiting on that floor. 'I have to get out of here in one piece if I want to have any shot at stopping Ver and protecting those I care about. My heart is screaming for me to get mom out of here as well. Even though I don't agree with the path she's chosen, she's still family…' she thought, setting Nastassja down briefly as it appeared that there was no one waiting for them on this floor. Her relief would be short lived, as a number of Noise emerged through the floor down the hall from the duo.

"Just get out of the way," Maria cried out, rushing forwards before slashing a pair of noise across where the chest would be on a human with her spear. Quickly twisting to one side to dodge a counterattack from a noise, the idol proceeded to use her momentum to bring her spear in a rising slash, bisecting another noise immediately. 'That's right, keep all your focus on me…' she thought as she used her cape as another weapon, destroying another pair of noise before she leapt backwards, dodging a downwards attack from a noise that phased in through the floor. Landing in front of where Nastassja sat against the wall, the idol charged up her spear once more before unleashing another burst of Horizon Spear to destroy the remaining noise in the hallway.

Just then, the sound of files preparing to fire caused the pink-haired Symphogear wielder's eyes to widen. Reacting quickly, Maria willed her cape to change into a shield that would protect her and her mother before kneeling down and picking her mother up with one arm, the sound of bullets impacting the impenetrable cape echoing throughout the area.

"Maria, you can't afford to get bogged down here," Nastassja said, her voice barely audible over the sound of gunfire nearby. "There has to be another way out. If we keep trying to find an open floor, we won't be able to go anywhere. If we use the upper floors, we could try to avoid an ambush."

"The stairs we used end at this floor," Maria said, her eyes darting back towards where the noise had once stood and widening as she noticed a young couple trying to cross the hallway right in the path of the gunfire. "Damnit, I won't let you," she growled out, before sending the rest of her cape towards where the civilians stood, eyes wide as a hail of bullets approached. 'Get there in time…please, get there in time…'

A horrified scream filled the air, causing Maria's eyes to widen as she witnessed a bullet pass through the innocent woman's arm, leaving blood to spurt everywhere. 'They really kept shooting, despite knowing that there are civilians here? They're almost as bad as Ver…' she thought, her left hand clenching into a fist. Looking towards where the nameless man was helping his girlfriend out of the hallway, Maria turned before quickly charging the soldiers, her cape acting as a riot shield to block the rain of machine gun fire aimed at her. Quickly closing the distance, the idol clubbed a soldier in front with the flat of her spear, sending him sprawling into the wall.

"You bastards…you KNEW they were there and you kept firing!" the idol screamed, her voice barely audible over the sound of gunfire as another explosion below them shook the tower. Taking quick advantage of the shaking caused by the explosion, she began by sweeping the legs out from under another soldier with her spear's pole, she then willed her cape to grab a pair of soldiers, throwing them into the wall and knocking them out. Quickly ducking to avoid the butt of a rifle sweeping over her head, the idol slammed her fist into the offending soldier's stomach before spinning and kicking him in the back of his head with her heel. "I won't forgive you for this!" she cried out, as her cape then bludgeoned the last member of the squad in his stomach, sending him flying back into the opposite wall and knocking him out cold.

"Maria, we have to get going, NOW!" Nastassja called out, the rosette nodding before picking her mother up once more. Looking back at the scene of carnage she had caused, Maria nodded, grabbing the doctor before wiling her cape around her into a drill and leaping upwards, breaking through the ceiling as another explosion occurred at the opposite end of the floor.

-SotHR-

"Hey, we'll find your mom, I'm sure of it," Miku stated, her voice calm in an attempt to keep the young boy from getting upset. Her words, however, couldn't help herself from getting anxious. 'The building feels like it's getting bombed, but that's not what's happening at all,' she thought, her eyes narrowing as she looked out the window at the horde of Noise flying outside. It hadn't been more than ten to fifteen minutes since the monstrosities had appeared outside of the Sky Tower, but already it seemed as though they were looking for someone in particular. Besides her, the young child nodded, before another explosion shook the tower beneath them, causing the duo to be thrown into the nearby wall.

"Nggh…" the schoolgirl let out, feeling her shoulder impact the wall. While she had been able to cushion the child she was trying to help from the impact, the blow still knocked the wind out of her. The sound of the blow did draw some attention however, as a bystander stuck his head out of a nearby shelter's door.

"Hey, what are the two of you doing out here?" he asked, drawing Miku's attention. Thinking quickly, she replied.

"Do you have room in there for anyone else? I've been trying to help him find his mom," Miku stated, causing the bystander to turn his head back inside of the shelter. Mere moments later, he returned.

"We have room for maybe one more. There might be other shelters open elsewhere on the floor though."

"Then please take him," Miku decided, pushing the child gently towards the young man at the door of the shelter. "I said that I'd help him find his mom, but I won't be able to do that if he's not safe for afterwards. So please, take him. I'll find another shelter." As the young man guided the child into the shelter, a crumbling sound caused both him and Miku to look upwards.

"Hey, look out!" the young man cried out as the ceiling above Miku's head began to buckle. Just as it began to fall though, she jumped backwards, barely dodging the collapsing portion of the ceiling. "Are you okay? Hey, answer me!"

"I'm okay," Miku's voice spoke as the smoke from the ceiling's collapse cleared up. 'That was way too close…It's getting really dangerous here,' she thought, her mind racing at the close call. 'Chris…Hibiki…Tsubasa-san…none of you would give up, would you? You'd keep moving, keep fighting. I can't stop moving here…The area seems pretty clear of anyone else, but I have to find that other shelter.' And with that, Miku turned and rushed off, determination in her eyes.

2nd Division Temporary HQ, Bridge

"Damnit, has anyone been able to reach Hibiki-san?" Kazanari Genjurou asked, his voice loud and clear over the sound of the room. They had been able to reach both his niece and Chris, but for some reason they were unable to get a hold of the third member of their trio. "And give me a status update on when Chris and my niece will get to Sky Tower!" Looking up from her seat in response, Aoi nodded, before checking back over the data she had on screen.

"Chris and Tsubasa are well on their way, Taichou. Chris should be getting there any minute now, and Tsubasa shouldn't be far behind her," the young woman spoke, her voice calm under the pressure of the situation. "As for Hibiki-san, we've been trying to get a hold of her, but the best we've been able to do is get her voicemail. I'll attempt to get a hold of Ogawa-san now, sir."

"Don't just say what we're going to do, get on it," Genjurou replied, a clear tension in his voice. The Sky Tower was very important to the 2nd Division; while they had moved a lot of their data facilities out of the landmark after the Noise attack two years prior, it was still a place that a lot of the division's family members either worked at or enjoyed attending. 'To think that it would come under attack once more…and this time it's worse,' Genjurou thought as he watched another explosion erupt form the side of the Sky Tower's upper levels. There was another factor at play this time as well, as Chris had reported that she believed that Kohinata Miku could be at the Sky Tower.

'Hopefully she isn't in danger, and she was able to make it to safety,' he thought, his arms crossed as he looked at the display in front of him. Genjurou knew that despite the argument between Miku and her friends after the battle a few days prior, they still viewed her as a friend. 'If something were to happen to her...Chris, Tsubasa and Hibiki would all be crushed as a result. There's a lot going on right now. Miku-san, stay safe, and be careful, all of you.'

Sky Tower, 70th Floor, Hallway, Shinjuku, Tokyo

"Damnit, get out of the way!" Maria cried out as she sliced through another pair of noise, her lance shredding the creatures like a hot knife through butter. While she had been able to drill her way up to this point with her cape, she could have gone up to the rooftop with ease. However, the idol had been stalled by a noise that had caught her in the cape, sending her skidding to the floor. 'I'm just glad that mom didn't get hurt…despite our differences, she's still family,' she thought, as another explosion shook the floor, sending her stumbling into the wall. This didn't go unnoticed by the Noise; a pair of them shot across the room, trying to take advantage of the opening offered suddenly by the explosion. Reacting quickly, the Black Gungnir wielder brought her cape up and around decapitating the onrushing noise before they could get any closer.

"Maria, we have to get out of here. That last explosion felt worse than the previous ones. If we don't get out of here soon, we may not get another opportunity to do so," Nastassja said from her position resting over her daughter's shoulder, earning a brief nod in response.

"I know that mom, but at the same time, I can't just let these things live, not while there are innocent people on this floor," Maria said in reply as she proceeded to fire another burst of Horizon Spear at the group of noise on the other end of the hallway, obliterating the majority of the remaining opponents. At this, Nastassja sighed, before shaking her head. 'Maria…if your sister was here, she'd be so proud of who you have become. While we do have our differences, I'm still proud of you. You've finally found it; that precious person or thing that you want to protect desperately. You've been able to find your resolve, and I'm so proud to see you as you are now. You're finally ready to inherit her legacy…and even though we'll be on opposite sides soon, I know you'll be doing what your heart is telling you is the right thing…even as mine tells me that I've come too far down this path for me to turn back now.'

Just as she finished her thought, Maria sent her cape down the hallway towards the last remaining noise. But while her cape moved quickly, the noise moved quicker still, sliding just to the right of the cape and racing towards the Symphogear wielder. 'Shit…' Maria thought, bringing up her spear quickly and spinning it, the edge of the spear slicing into the ceiling and floor as she did so, just as she caught the oncoming noise with the edge, chopping it up like a blender. Letting out a sigh of relief, the rosette then pointed her spear upwards, at the ceiling.

"We're almost at the top floor, Mom. Hold on tight," Maria said, her spear spinning like a drill head as her cape swirled up, surrounding the duo tightly and providing further protection. But as she proceeded to drill upwards once more, Maria couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding, as if something was about to occur which would change things forever.

-SotHR-

Kohinata Miku couldn't help but let out a scream as she felt the floor behind her crack open, the main tower seemingly separating from the part of the observation level she was on. 'Damnit…is this the end of things?' she thought, shaking her head briefly as she did so. As she turned around however, Miku couldn't help but notice the size of the gap. 'No…I'm trapped here? It's too big a gap to get all the way across from here…'

Almost immediately, the schoolgirl collapsed to her knees, tears threatening to well up in her eyes. 'No…I'm never going to get the chance to apologize to both Chris and to Hibiki, am I?' she thought, her eyes closing in frustration as she tried to fight back her tears. 'I won't get to tell them that I'm sorry…that they deserve to be happy…I won't get to tell them both how I feel. Damnit…'

"I just wish I had one more chance to tell them I'm sorry, to tell them my feelings," Miku whispered out, even as the noise seemed to circle around the tower. But while she sat there, eyes closed, the floor of the tower behind her burst open as Maria Cadenzavna Eve burst through to the observation level.

'Damnit…doesn't look like there's much option; I'm going to have to fight my way through the noise outside to get out of here safely with Mom,' Maria though, as she noticed the number of noise floating overhead. But as she did so, she couldn't help but notice the girl on the separated section of floor nearby. 'What is she doing outside of the shelters?' the idol thought, before recognition hit her like a ton of bricks. 'Wait…isn't that Kohinata-san? What is one of Hibi-chan's precious people doing here on their own? Damnit…I can't just leave her here, can I?'

Nastassja could feel her daughter's hesitation, but even as she did so, she could almost smell the natural gas leaking into the open air. 'Maria, we have to get moving. Even the slightest wrong move can set this whole level off like a bomb…but, at the same time, you can't bring yourself to leave Kohinata-san behind, can you…' Speaking up quietly, Nastassja made up her mind.

"Maria, we don't have any time. This place could explode any second now. If you have to bring her along then do so, but we have to go NOW."

Acting immediately, Maria raced forwards, leaping over the gap and covering the separation between where she was and where Miku was seated, head down. Before the schoolgirl could even say a word, Maria reached down and pulled her up by one arm.

"Hold on tight, okay? We're getting out of here," Maria spoke audibly, causing the younger girl to gasp in surprise. Without another word, Maria willed her cape to surround the trio, forming an impenetrable shield as she leapt away from the Sky Tower, just in time to avoid an explosion that erupted behind them, consuming the area just outside of the sky tower in a massive fireball.

2nd Division Temporary Headquarters, Bridge

'How did this happen?' was the thought running through everyone's mind as they saw the image of the explosion occurring at the Sky Tower. None of the employees working at the time could believe what they were seeing. For many of them, they had friends or family who worked there or could have possibly been there. As such, a sense of palpable concern was permeating the room. However, that sense of concern was about to get changed into a storm of action.

"Damnit, where are Chris and Tsubasa? And someone get a hold of Ogawa already!" Genjurou seemingly roared, his voice spurring the staff on the bridge into movement. It wouldn't be long before Tomosato Aoi came up to Genjurou's seat in the room, her personal phone held closely to her shoulder.

"Yes, Ogawa-san, he's right here. Yes, we've been trying to get a hold of either you or Hibiki-san for the past twenty minutes. He's right here," she said, before holding her phone out towards the commander. "Kazanari-taichou, I have Ogawa-san on the line," she said, as Genjurou took the phone from his blue-haired lieutenant immediately.

"Kazanari here. Ogawa-san, what's going on? I know that you said Hibiki had an interview today; is that over, or is she still there for it?"

"Taichou, she just finished up within the last thirty seconds and is talking to the host on set right now. Do you want me to go and get her right now?" Ogawa Shinji's voice echoed through the phone, his voice grim.

"If you can do so. I take it that you're up to date on what's going on at the Sky Tower?"

"Hai, taichou. Tomosato informed me of what's going on, and I have the news turned on here backstage."

"Then you have to get Hibiki-san there as soon as possible. Chris and Tsubasa are almost there as we speak. There's one more thing that's important here. Kohinata-san may have been at the Sky Tower. When you both get there, I want you to start digging into who was in the building at the time this started, while Hibiki-san helps the others. Understood?" Genjurou could almost picture his subordinate nod as he prepared to respond.

"Understood, taichou. As soon as Hibiki-san gets backstage we'll be on our way," Shinji's voice stated, before the call came to a close. At that, Genjurou closed the phone, before handing it back to his bluenette lieutenant. His thoughts however, were focused on the situation at hand.

'We have to be careful here. If Kohinata-san was caught up in this, the impact it will have on Tsubasa, Chris, and Hibiki will be major. I just hope that casualties will be minimal, and that Miku won't be on that list.'

Outside Sky Tower, Shinjuku, Tokyo

'Damnit…please, Miku, be okay if you're there,' Yukine Chris thought as she arrived at the base of the Sky Tower. Above her, the observation levels billowed with smoke from the latest explosion, shards of glass raining down out of the air to fall on the ground just outside of the landmark. But while Chris was concerned with the amount of damage she was seeing from the outside of the tower, there was one person in particular who could have been in the latest blast area who had her utmost concern. 'If she was caught in that blast…damnit…it couldn't be my fault, could it?'

But even as she was mulling over her thoughts, the Ichaival wielder had a job to do. Spotting a number of aerial noise surrounding the area and the tower and narrowing her eyes in anger, Chris began to sing, a ruby-red sphere of light erupting around her and shrouding her transformation.

-Killiter Ichaival Tron…-

Bursting from the light, Chris quickly called forth her energy crossbows and took aim, shooting down a group of Noise that had started to dive straight at her. Not even taking time to summon additional bolts to her weapons, she summoned forth racks of missiles form her skirt armor and quickly locked on.

"You bastards can all go to hell! Megadeth Party!" she screamed out, letting loose a volley of missiles into the sky. And while a number of her missiles connected, a few noise managed to make it through the firestorm before diving down at a rapid pace towards where the Symphogear wielder stood. They wouldn't make it within fifty feet of the Chris, as a group of energy swords came flying in and shredded the noise from the side, courtesy of one Kazanari Tsubasa.

"Chris, you have to be more careful," the former idol began, as she quickly unleashed a blast of azure light into the sky from her katana, cutting a pair of noise in half. "Don't do anything stupid here. You know that Hibiki would be devastated if something happened to you because you were reckless." Nodding briefly, the younger girl glanced upwards once more at the noise circling the sky tower like a group of vultures, her eyes once more taking in a glimpse of the burning observation area as if it were a funeral pyre. 'Miku liked to go there when she needed time to think, and now she's been killed while up there because of these bastard Noise…' Chris thought, before leaping to the side to dodge another group of noise rapidly descending towards her. Even as she hurried to her left, she couldn't help but reflect on what had been happening.

"Things are going crazy, a little bit at a time," Chris growled out, her voice quiet yet ablaze with frustration. "All I wanted to do today was to have a normal day for once. But lately it seems that everything is just falling apart, all because of these noise and the person controlling them. It's all their fault that the people and places Hibiki and I call home are being ripped away from us!"

Stopping briefly before converting her crossbows into her double barreled Gatlings, Chris narrowed her eyes in ill-concealed hatred before opening fire, her Billion Maiden attack shooting the enemy out of the sky like it was fish in a barrel. And as she did so, she couldn't help but wonder where the mastermind behind the noise was hiding. 'Where is he…where is that bastard? Where the hell is Ver hiding?' she thought, the sound of her Gatlings firing somewhat calming the rage inside of her.

"It's all his fault. He has the Staff of Solomon, and without that, none of this would be happening!" she cried out, the anger inside starting to boil over as the Ichaival wielder dashed forwards, leaping over an incoming noise before obliterating it with rapid fire from her Gatlings. Spinning around and pointing her Gatlings upwards at another large group of noise, Chris proceeded to open fire once more, her rounds utterly destroying the entire group in seconds, even as they tried to dive bomb her location.

But even though she knew that Ver had the Staff of Solomon, Chris couldn't help but place the blame for everything on someone else. 'Damn him…damn Ver to hell…but if it wasn't for me, then this wouldn't be happening,' she thought, her skirt armor revealing additional missiles once more as she opened up with just about everything she had in her arsenal. 'If I wouldn't have activated the Staff of Solomon, then it wouldn't have happened like this. Because of my actions, because of my desires in the past and more recently, now more innocent people are paying the price for it…now Miku is paying the price for it…' she thought, her eyes closing shut in sheer anger and frustration at the thought.

"It's always my fault in the end, isn't it? It's always MY FAULT! MEGADETH FUGA!" Chris called out, the anger and grief coming to a head as a pair of large missiles were called forth from her shoulder armor, launching towards the two biggest noise in the sky and obliterating them while lighting the sky ablaze. But even as the sky burned with the ashes of so many destroyed Noise, Chris couldn't help but collapse to her hands and knees, eyes glistening with tears yet unshed.

"It's my fault that Miku's dead, if she is," she whispered, her voice hoarse from her frustration and sadness as her Symphogear armor faded back into its relic pendant form. "I just hope that Hibiki will forgive me. Because if it wasn't for me, then she'd still be here."

-SotHR-

The sun was setting, but Kazanari Genjurou didn't have any time with which to enjoy it. Setting his coffee cup on top of the car he had arrived in, the commander of the 2nd division couldn't help but think about what possible motives there could have been for this attack. 'There are just too many possibilities here,' he thought, turning to look at the damage caused to the building. Entire floors were missing windows, chunks were ripped out of the tower itself, and the observation deck was a near-total loss. 'Hopefully Ogawa will have some info as to what could have caused this massacre. Tens of people dead, and a national landmark pretty much destroyed. Such a shame.'

Shaking his head, the commander couldn't help but unleash a sigh as he looked at the sight of his niece, Kazanari Tsubasa, along with her friend Yukine Chris. 'Chris knew Miku was here…and there's no sign of her on the list of those who were in the tower afterwards…which means one of two things. Either she's dead, or she's gone missing entirely. Whichever one it is though, we have a problem. Ver…whatever you're planning, we'll find a way to stop you. Now it's personal,' Genjurou thought, as he turned his eyes back to the building. He would be shaken from his thoughts fairly quickly though as a familiar voice spoke up.

"It's exactly as we thought, commander," Ogawa Shinji spoke, a grim look on his face as he approached. "The United States government was involved in this one, as was FIS."

"The US Government? What would they want here? Are you sure of this, Ogawa?"

"There's no doubt about it," Shinji replied, his voice deadly serious. "From everything I've gathered, it looks as though they made contact with FIS and tried to initiate a trade."

Shaking his head, Genjurou clenched his fist in frustration. 'Something happened inside that meeting. The question is what? There are specific assumptions that we can make from this though…' Narrowing his eyes, the commander of the 2nd division began to speak once more.

"And that led to this disaster? It can't be that simple. One thing that we can assume for sure is that the negotiations were a complete failure, since the Noise ended up attacking. Do we have any eyewitness accounts of what went on inside the building? We know that a fairly good number of Noise managed to get inside of the building."

"No, at least not yet. We do know though that no matter what went on, it was in the best interest of both sides involved to avoid attracting attention, which didn't occur in this case."

Ogawa's response caused Genjurou to release a disappointed sigh, before his eyes narrowed in determination. Returning his gaze to the damaged tower, Genjurou spoke up once more.

"That can only mean one thing. Some third party who didn't want the sides meeting stepped in and intervened. And I think that it's pretty obvious who it is, don't you?"

-SotHR-

"It's my fault. If I never used the Staff in the first place, then Ver wouldn't be able to use it now," Chris whispered, eyes downcast as she looked out at the destroyed courtyard from the bridge over the Sky Tower's subway station. Nest to her, Kazanari Tsubasa stood, her eyes closed as she tried to figure out what to say to the younger girl. Unable to come to a conclusion, the Ame no Habakiri wielder sighed before placing a hand on her shoulder in reassurance.

"It's not your fault at all, Chris. None of us expected Ver to take the Staff of Solomon, and none of us expected him to attack the Sky Tower with it. No one saw this coming."

"That doesn't make it any less true," Chris muttered, her teeth clenched. "Because of what happened when Miku found out about Hibiki and I, she was here and is missing, most likely dead. It's my fault that she was killed, Tsubasa-san. Because we didn't tell her sooner, she's dead. And because I even activated that blasted relic, so many others have been killed." With that, the shorter girl couldn't help but let the tears flow, her eyes shut in guilt and anger. "Damnit…"

"Chris, it's not your fault," a softer voice spoke up, as Tachibana Hibiki approached the duo, a sad smile on her face. Walking over, she proceeded to wrap her girlfriend in a hug before continuing. "It's not your fault. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine…" she trailed off, her own voice shaking. 'I shouldn't have been so harsh with Miku…it's my fault that she felt so disconnected from us in the first place. I'm the one who couldn't bring myself to tell her that I was alive in the first place…let alone that Chris and I are going out…I should have known that she wouldn't take it very well. Her feelings matter just as much as Chris and I's do,' the Gungnir wielder thought as she rubbed circles into her girlfriend's back.

"No, Hibiki-baka, it's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong," Chris said, voice shaking as she replied. Wrapping her own arms around her girlfriend's waist and resting her head on her chest, the Ichaival wielder continued. "You didn't do anything wrong. That bastard was the one who ordered the Noise to attack. If he wouldn't have done that, Miku would be fine."

"Yeah…" Hibiki whispered, holding her girlfriend closely while continuing to rub gentle circles into her back. Even as she did however, she couldn't help but feel upset at what had happened. She had heard about how Miku was in the building at the time of the attack from Ogawa on their way to the Sky Tower, and had immediately blamed herself. 'If I wouldn't have been so harsh with Miku…she wouldn't have been here if I wasn't so harsh…'

"So what do we do now?" Tsubasa asked, a small smile on her face. "As much as I hate to interrupt, we still don't know why the noise attacked. We know who had to have been responsible, but we don't know what he was after."

"I don't know, Tsubasa," Hibiki whispered, her eyes becoming more determined. "There's one thing I do know for sure though. The next time that we see Doctor Ver, he isn't going to escape. I swear it."

FIS Stealth Airplane, Dining Room, Unknown Location between Tokyo and Frontier

Maria Cadenzavna Eve couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as she took a seat in the dining room of the Stealth Airplane. She had returned to the plane a few hours earlier with her mother and their "guest", but still couldn't shake the unease that she was feeling about things. If anything, she could feel her heart almost screaming at her to leave as soon as possible. And as she tried to eat her dinner, Maria couldn't help but think that this could very easily be her last meal with FIS.

'Ver…you son of a bitch, you had the Noise attack mom and I as well as those government agents, regardless of who got in the way…' she thought, as she struggled to cover up the anger welling up inside of her. 'So many people had to have been killed…and it was all because you sent the noise after mom and I, without any regard for their safety. You're worse than those government agents who shot at that younger couple…' Mind flickering back to the moment she saw the duo be injured, Maria felt upset over what happened. 'Serena…I came so close to killing those soldiers after that. Would you have been upset with me over it? I don't think I would have had any choice but to…if I would have hesitated at all, it could have been so much worse for that couple...if they would have died, I don't know what I would have done…'

Reflecting back on her thoughts once more, Maria couldn't help but think about what happened earlier in the day, upon their return to the airship.

'Kirika…Shirabe…please forgive me for what I'm going to be doing…and for what I said earlier as well…'

-SotHR-

"Maria, is everything okay? What happened?" Kirika asked, her voice showing concern for the older girl as she walked in alongside Shirabe. Nodding slowly and smiling gently, the idol replied quickly, even as internally she could feel herself boiling with anger. Next to the blonde, the Shul Shagana wielder stood, her eyes showing concern for both the idol and Nastassja.

"We're fine, Kirika. It's just been a long day for mom and I. Things didn't go as well as we expected them to go."

"That would be an understatement, wouldn't it?" the voice of Doctor Ver cut in, his words causing Maria to tense up. "I'll tell you exactly what happened. Nastassja tried to betray us. She had set up a meeting with the government, in an attempt to sell out our idea of saving as many lives as possible to them. And what did they do for her kindness? They tried to have her killed, along with Maria here. And if it wasn't for my intervention, they would have succeeded."

Gasping quietly, the younger duo looked over at Nastassja, their eyes almost searching for confirmation of this. Eyes closing, Nastassja slowly nodded, before slowly replying to Ver, her voice questioning.

"I did meet with the U.S. government, but my reasons for doing so was to fulfill our objective, Doctor. If we're going to save as many as possible, it would help for us to have assistance, would it not?" she asked, as Ver nodded in reply. "I felt as though we need to do what we can to ensure as many people survive as possible. For that, Ver, I will do what I need to do."

"Suit yourself, Nastassja-san," Ver stated, a sneer on his face as he spoke. "Our guest is in holding. I will go make sure that she's settled in before we leave." As he spoke however, Ver's thoughts were an entirely different matter. 'Our guest didn't seem particularly happy with things involving those brats with the 2nd Division when I last saw her…I can use her as the key for MY plan to succeed…'

After Ver left, a loud noise echoed throughout the room, as Maria's fist impacted the window pane, her eyes narrowed in a glare at the spot the doctor had stood. 'I won't forgive him for what he did…I can't forgive him for what he did…' she thought. Taking a moment to try to calm herself down, she began to speak, her voice a serious tone.

"Shirabe. Kirika. Both of you, be careful from here on in, will you?" Maria began, her voice deadly serious and drawing the attention of the younger duo. Before either of them could respond, she reached up behind her neck, unclasping her necklace. "I don't trust a word that Doctor Ver says, and neither should you. He sent the Noise not just after the government agents, but they also came after Mom and I. I don't trust him, and I just can't keep going forwards with this plan." Drawing the necklace that held Black Gungnir's pendant form in front of her, she walked over to where Nastassja sat before placing the necklace into her mother's hands. "I'm sorry, but if my actions from here on in make me your enemy, then so be it."

-SotHR-

'I don't have any other choice…I can't wait any longer,' Maria thought, as she finished her dinner in silence. Standing up from where she sat, the idol took a deep breath, trying to relax herself for the actions she was going to take. 'We haven't moved at all…if I'm going to leave, then I have to do it NOW.'

Walking briskly out of the dining room, Maria could feel the anxiety in her stomach. However, she refused to let it stop her. Quickly reaching her room, she headed directly to her desk, her primarily silver hoodie waiting while hung over the back of her chair. Quickly slipping it over her head, Maria then grabbed the pair of notes she had written a pair of days prior. 'Kirika…Shirabe…please forgive me for what I'm about to do,' she thought, before grabbing her backpack, already previously packed, from where it rested by her closet door. Taking one last look around the room, Maria could feel herself getting slightly nostalgic at some of the things that had occurred there. 'So many memories, both good and bad…but, I can't let that stop me. I won't let Ver complete his plan, whatever it is…I won't let him reach his goals…'

Turning and leaving the room before shutting the door behind her, Maria shifted her backpack onto her shoulder, its weight uncomfortable to her but not unbearable. Walking away from where she had called home for so long, Maria quickly came to a stop outside of Shirabe's room. Slipping the envelope that had the shorter girl's name on it under the door, Maria smiled softly before stepping back from the door.

"I know that you're probably asleep, Shirabe. But I still wanted to tell you that your cooking was some of the best I've ever had. Between you and Kirika, you two were always there to support me, and I'm forever grateful for it. I hope that after things are over, we can still be as close as we have been, and I'm sorry for what I have to do. Keep Kirika and mom safe; my heart is telling me that I know you can do it," she said, her voice a low whisper as she attempted to not wake up the younger girl. Turning away from the door, Maria moved onwards, unaware that within her room, Shirabe sat slumped against the door, Maria's letter clutched tightly within her hands.

-SotHR-

Stopping outside of Kirika's room, Maria once more smiled softly as she slid the envelope with the blonde's name on it underneath eh door. Pausing once more, she prepared to speak once more, voice again in a whisper.

"Kirika, you've always been the lighthearted one of the three of us. I'm grateful for that, because there were tough times that we had. And I know that you'll always be able to help keep things light, even as it seems everything heads towards a darker path. Keep being that source of laughter, and protect mom and Shirabe. I know that you can do that, Kirika. And don't be afraid to tell Shirabe how you feel; it's obvious how you feel about her, even if she doesn't notice it yet," she said, voice quiet. Her little speech finished, Maria walked away from the Igalima wielder's door, her steps leading her towards the quickest way out of the plane. But as she arrived at the exit from the plane, an old, tired voice spoke up, causing Maria to pause.

"So it's finally that time, isn't it Maria," Nastassja said, her chair moving her towards her oldest daughter as she spoke. "You've made your decisions, and are going to act on it."

"Mom," Maria whispered, her eyes widened in surprise. 'What is she doing here? I didn't tell her when I was leaving…or even where I was going. Why?' she thought, only to be shaken from her thoughts as her mother spoke up once more.

"While we may be taking different paths, I'm still proud of you for who you've become, Maria. We may be heading down opposite paths, but I'm proud of the actions you're taking," Nastassja spoke, her voice filled with pride as Maria relaxed slightly, her eyes darting around the area to watch for if anyone else was hearing. "You found that something or someone that you want to protect with everything you have. I know that I can't convince you to do otherwise, but the least I can do is try to give you any help that I can."

"Mom…" Maria's voice trailed off, as she felt tears slowly welling to her eyes. While she had known that it would be tough for her to leave, she hadn't expected it to be this tough. Before she could say any more, Nastassja pulled up to where her daughter stood, a pair of objects in her hands.

"Maria, you almost forgot something," the doctor stated, before revealing a relic necklace in her left hand. "Serena would want you to have this. I've done what I can to repair it, but something tells me that Airgetlam belongs with you. Maybe when you get to where you're going, Hibiki-san will be able to help you finally activate it once again."

At this, Maria's eyes widened, the tears slowly starting to flow down her face. 'Mom…I know that you trusted me to keep watch of Airgetlam, but for you to say that Serena would want me to have it…that means so much…' she thought, before grasping the pendant in her hand, slowly reaching up and slipping it around her neck and clasping its necklace together once more. As she did so, she could see her mother smiling with pride as the relic pendant that once belonged to Maria's sister hung on its necklace around her eldest daughter's neck.

"I also have this for you as well," Nastassja spoke, drawing her daughter's attention to the flash drive in the doctor's right hand. "This flash drive contains all the information we have on Frontier, as well as the medical records for Kirika, Shirabe, yourself, and Hibiki-san. Hopefully this will help, especially the information on Frontier."

"Mom," Maria whispered, tears flowing freely down her face as she spoke. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize to me, Maria. It's like I've said to you before. I've come too far down this path for me to go back now. But the very least that I can do is try to help you and the younger girls try to find a path that won't stain your hands in evil like mine has. I only regret not having done so sooner," Nastassja said, as she wrapped her eldest daughter in a hug, the idol's tears dampening her sweater. "Now go, Maria. Go to Hibiki-san, and help her protect those she cares about. And help protect the one that you found as well."

Maria nodded briefly, before standing away from her mother and pressing the button to open the door to the outside of the airplane, a ramp descending from the side of the plane to the grass below. Stepping onto the ramp, Maria turned and smiled softly at her mother, before speaking up one final time.

"Mom…Thank you. I love you," she said, before turning and walking away. Reaching up and clasping gently around the Airgetlam relic's pendant form, Maria could feel its warmth reassuring her as she disappeared into the surrounding forest, her destination known only to her.

Galactic Music Japan Tokyo Studios, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 10:00 pm the next day

Yukine Chris couldn't help but feel worried as she exited the elevator on the floor that she had heard her girlfriend was on. 'Hibiki…you idiot, I told you that it's not your fault…' she thought, as she walked to where Studio Twelve's doors awaited. Seeing the light on above the door but feeling the handle unlocked, Chris slowly opened the door and entered the studio within, to find it empty except for Ogawa Shinji, who sat there manning the controls as her girlfriend finished singing. 'She's got such a good voice…it's beautiful…' she thought, her face heating up at the sound of Hibiki's voice. She would be shaken form her thoughts by the voice of Shinji, who had a level of frustration within his voice.

"Hibiki, don't you think you've been in there long enough? You haven't taken a break all day. I understand that you're hurting right now, but you have to take a break," he spoke, drawing Chris' attention to her girlfriend's appearance. 'Hibiki…you can't be doing this to yourself…' she thought. 'You said that you were fine last night after we all left the Sky Tower…but you were hurting too, weren't you?'

"Ogawa-san, I can keep going," Hibiki stated, her voice shaking Chris out of her thoughts. She hadn't been able to sleep very well the night before, and it showed; the redhead had dark circles under her eyes, and her voice seemed hoarse from having spent all day singing her heart out. Dressed in a white leather jacket over an orange tank top and white pants, the redhead's body language showed just how tired she was, despite her stating the otherwise. It was something that had Shinji throwing his hands up in defeat.

"I give up. Hibiki-san, if you're going to do this, at least don't stay in there the whole night, okay? Besides, you have a visitor," he stated, before standing up and stretching. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes, so if you're not going to take a break voluntarily, then consider this a break." Turning to where Chris stood, her eyes locked onto the idol in the booth, he spoke once more after muting the microphone. "I can't get through to her, Chris-san. Maybe you can." And with that, he left the room, leaving the Ichaival wielder to her thoughts.

"Damnit," Chris whispered, before hitting the button she had seen the intelligence agent hit to cue the microphone. Taking a deep breath, she began to speak into it once more, causing her girlfriend to snap to attention in the booth. "Hibiki, please stop doing this to yourself," she said, causing the girl in the booth's eyes to widen. "It's hurting me to see you like this. You can tell me, you know that," she said, causing Hibiki to smile softly before slowly heading towards the door of the booth. Mere seconds later, the door to the booth opened, revealing Tachibana Hibiki to her girlfriend, who turned and looked at her, hands on her hips with a worried expression on her face.

"Chris..." Hibiki whispered, her voice trailing off briefly as she smiled, sadness in her eyes. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Baka…" Chris said, walking over to her girlfriend. Moments later, a resounding slap was heard throughout the studio, as a red palm mark was left on Hibiki's cheek. "It's not your fault. What happened at the Sky Tower, what happened to Miku, none of it was your fault. So why are you doing this? I've been trying to get a hold of you all day! If it wasn't for Tsubasa-san saying that you were likely to be here, I wouldn't know where you went!"

"I didn't want to be found though," Hibiki muttered, a haunted tone entering her voice. "It IS my fault that Miku was at the Sky Tower, Chris. The last time I talked to her, I basically called her an idiot for her actions when she found out about us. I told her that she should be smarter than that, that until she stopped being so stupid that I didn't want to talk to her. So it is my fault, Chris. It's my fault that she had to go through this on her own."

"Baka…" Chris whispered, before hugging the redhead tightly. Before Hibiki could say anything more, Chris leaned up and kissed her gently, the kiss slowly deepening as her girlfriend responded in kind. Moments felt like hours, but Chris eventually broke the kiss, her face a cherry red and her heart pounding. "You're such a baka, Hibiki. It's not your fault. We both didn't tell Miku what was going on, but at the same time, we eventually did, right?" Drawing a nod from her girlfriend, she continued. "It's not your fault. If it's anyone's fault, it's that bastard Ver's. Don't do this to yourself. I care too much about you to see you like this."

"I know, Chris. I still feel like I could have worded things better though."

"What's done is done though, Hibiki. I won't let you do this to yourself over this. I won't let you work yourself to death like this," Chris said, her head now resting against her girlfriend's chest. "Ogawa-san said that you haven't eaten anything all day, that you haven't taken any breaks at all. Hibiki-baka, I love you for you…and nothing can change that."

The words bringing a smile to her face, Hibiki nodded, before turning her girlfriend's head to look at her and kissing her once more. Responding in kind quickly, Chris deepened it once more, her tongue brushing gently against Hibiki's lips before being granted access, dancing with the taller girl's own. After what seemed like hours but was only a minute, they broke apart, hearts pounding as Hibiki held Chris close to her chest before speaking once more.

"Okay, Chris. Just let me shut things down here and tell Ogawa-san, then I'll go home, okay?"

"You better do so, Hibiki-baka. We weren't able to go on our ice skating date yesterday, but you owe me a date soon enough," the shorter girl said, drawing a soft smile from the Gungnir wielder.

"I know. Thanks, Chris. Thanks for being here for me. I don't think you know just how much of a light you are to me."

"Hibiki…" Chris whispered, her face blushing at her girlfriend's words. "Anytime. Just promise me you won't do this again, okay? You had me worried all day, baka."

"I promise. Aishiteru, Chris." Hibiki whispered, hugging her closely before releasing her to start shutting the studio down. And as Chris watched her girlfriend at work, she couldn't help but feel torn between happiness at seeing her girlfriend returning to being herself and guilt over what had happened the day before.

Tachibana Hibiki's Apartment, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Later that night

Tachibana Hibiki couldn't help but feel a new sense of energy flowing through her as she approached her apartment. It had taken her a few minutes to locate her manager, but after doing so, she had left the studio hand in hand with her girlfriend. 'I owe Chris big time,' she thought, her mind flashing back to the kisses in the studio, as well as the one when she had dropped her girlfriend off at her dorm. 'She reminded me of how there are people who care about me. If she wouldn't have done that, then I could have worked myself sick…just another reason I love her.'

"I really worried her, didn't I…" she whispered, as she finally came upon her apartment. Reaching into her pocket to grab her keys, Hibiki grabbed the doorknob. As she did so however, the knob turned under her hand. Eyes widening in surprise, Hibiki couldn't help but take a step back, reflexively slipping into a combat stance as the door slowly crept open in front of her, revealing a familiar, yet unexpected face on the other side of the door. "What…what are you doing here?"

"Okaeri, Hibiki-san," Maria Cadenzavna Eve said, her voice bringing a smile to the Gungnir wielder's face as she spoke. "I was wondering if you had moved or something."

"Tadaima, Maria," Hibiki replied, a clearly surprised tone in her voice. "I didn't move at all. But why are you here? Unless…"

"Yeah," Maria replied, the unspoken question being instantly answered as a determined gleam entered her eyes, the light reflecting off of the Relic hanging from her neck. "I'm quitting the FIS…and I'm here to help you put a stop to Ver's plan, once and for all."

End Chapter 10

Author's Postscript: It's been a long month and change since the last new chapter, but I'd like to apologize for the delay. I hope that the chapter served as a good Valentine's Day gift for all of you! A lot happened this chapter; from Maria fighting her way out of the Sky Tower, to Miku being caught, to Maria's leaving FIS. What ripples will what happened this chapter have? We will see, and we will see very shortly. I'd once again like to apologize for the delay, and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Leave a review, and see you all soon!-ZBD15