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.

13. G Chapter 12: The Final Frontier(Part 1)

Song of the Heart: Redux

Author's Notes: Welcome back to "Song of the Heart: Redux". As we saw last time, things came to a bit of a head here; Frontier has been revived, and with it the end of the G arc is in sight. We had plenty of other drama occur as well, with Hibiki having to fight Miku as well as Chris shooting Tsubasa. What type of shape is Miku in after what happened to her? And what exactly is Chris thinking? Some of the answers to those questions will come through today.

I'd like to once more thank the author of the original "Song of the Heart", Ada1229, for allowing me to adopt her story and idea and make it into my own from there. The end of this arc is coming in a hurry, so let's not waste any more time!

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", Ada1229, 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 12: To the Final Frontier (Part 1)

(Last Time…)

Chris, however, did not display any emotion at what she was doing. As she stepped forwards, gun drawn, she kept her eyes on Kirika, before taking aim once more at Tsubasa with her finger hovering over the trigger. As the Ame no Habakiri wielder turned her head at last to see her teammate standing above her, Chris allowed her eyes to meet Tsubasa's as the sound of her gun firing rang out one final time...

Medbay, 2nd Division Temporary Headquarters, Waters around Frontier

The room was silent as the nurse finished her check on the patient, the room's only other occupant resting peacefully within. Head wrapped in bandages and left wrist in a soft cast, Miku slept comfortably, her body trying to recover from the ordeal it had gone through over the previous week at the hands of Doctor Ver and FIS. As the nurse left the room, taking down notes eagerly as she did so regarding the health status of her patient, three sets of eyes looked on through a video feed, each hoping for any sort of positive news.

"She's stabilized," the nurse said, grabbing the attention of the trio waiting on the bridge alongside the commander. "There's no traces of the drugs that she had been on in her system, including Linker. That blast erased them from her completely. But that head wound..." the nurse trailed off, her voice quiet. "Whatever they did to her to enable her to use the Shen Shou Jing really did a number on Kohinata-san. It was like something had been surgically implanted into the back of her head to make sure that the Shen Shou Jing would be able to work with minimal delay. If Tachibana-san had gotten her back here any later than she did, then we can't guarantee that she'd be alive right now."

"So there wasn't any sign of Miku-san waking up any time soon?" Genjurou asked, his arms crossed over his red dress shirt as he leaned against the console in front of his seat. Getting a nod in response from the nurse on screen, Genjurou sighed, before looking at the trio of Symphogear wielders standing nearby and speaking up once more. "Keep me updated on if her condition changes, understood?"

"Hai, Kazanari-taichou," the nurse spoke, before ending the video call. Turning his attention back to the trio in front of him, Genjurou spoke up once more, eyes refilled with determination.

"Well, you heard what she said. At the very least, we know that Miku-san has stabilized," he said, eyes turning back to the screen in front of him which displayed Frontier. "However, we really can't afford to be worried solely about Miku-san right now. Not with Frontier having revived." Looking back at Frontier, he spoke up once more.

"We're heading into a dangerous situation, and we can't afford for any of you to go out of action at all. Especially not since Chris has betrayed us," he continued, taking note of the anxiety written on Hibiki's face as he spoke. "For now, I want the three of you to go and take a moment to decompress. The hardest battles are about to begin. Understood?" Getting nods from the three girls in front of him, Genjurou turned back to his console. There was a lot of work to do before they began any sort of attack on Frontier, and not a lot of time to do it in.

-SotHR-

"What the hell is Chris thinking?" Tsubasa whispered, hands clenched into fists as she sat in the submarine's ready room, a cold bottle of water resting on the table in front of her. Black leather jacket hanging off the back of the chair she sat on, she picked up her drink and took a drink from it, wincing slightly at the motion as her blue t-shirt caught on the area of her shoulder that was wrapped in bandages to help with the gunshot wounds. "I just don't get it. She never showed any sign of turning like this."

"I can't understand what's going on with her either, if it makes you feel any better," Maria spoke out, her arms crossed as she leaned against the wall near the entrance to the room. Clad in her blue jean jacket and silver tank top beneath it, she pushed herself away from the wall before moving to join Tsubasa where she sat. "She seemed so happy with where she was. But what worries me the most is how Hibi-san's handling this. It's almost weird to see her so quiet like this."

At this, Tsubasa raised an eyebrow. 'Hibiki's acted like this before?' she thought as she set the water bottle back on the table. As if knowing the unasked question, Maria sighed, her eyes defocusing as she drifted back into her own memories. Moments later, she began to speak, voice heavy with anxiety.

"I've only seen Hibi-san like this one other time, and that was in the aftermath of when the Gungnir fragments inside of her were destroyed. She almost seemed to isolate herself from everyone, burying herself in doing whatever she could to help around the lab afterwards. It was sad to see her like that, Tsubasa," Maria spoke, her words causing the young woman sitting across from her to frown slightly. "But, she did recover from it eventually. It's just been a long time since I've seen her like this."

'I can't help but get this feeling that Hibiki knows more about what Chris is doing than she's letting on…' Tsubasa thought, eyes narrowing slightly as she sat back against the seat, the bandages underneath her t-shirt pressing against her skin and causing her to wince slightly. 'It's just a question of what…Chris, why would you seemingly throw away someone like Hibiki? What are you thinking?' She would be quickly shaken from her thoughts by Maria speaking up once more, her voice thoughtful.

"If I had to guess though, I wonder if it has to do with Chris-san feeling some sort of guilt about something," she said, voice quiet. "I know that when I spoke to Hibiki the last time before I left FIS, she mentioned that I needed to follow the song within my heart, and that it would never lead me wrong. I wonder if right now Chris feels that her song needs her to do this, or if she has something else in mind. Either way, the only person who really knows for sure is Chris herself. We just have to trust that she knows what she's doing, and that she won't break Hibi-san's heart in the process." At Maria's words, Tsubasa nodded as a comfortable silence settled over the room. Moments later, the door slid open, as Hibiki herself walked in, lost in thought as she took a seat near where Maria and Tsubasa were seated. Curious over the lack of greeting, Tsubasa turned to look at her, a brief flash of pain appearing across her face as she did so. Before she could speak, Hibiki beat her to it, hey eyes showing slight concern as she spoke up.

"Tsubasa, how's your shoulder?" Hibiki asked, a sad smile coming over her face as she spoke. "Are you going to be ready when we have to head after Ver directly?" Nodding slightly, Tsubasa prepared to reply, her voice quiet as she spoke.

"I'll be fine," Tsubasa replied, a small bit of concern in her voice. "Just a question of how much I'll be able to move." After a few moments of silence, Hibiki spoke up, her eyes showing the concern she had for her friend. Reaching over and touching the area she knew was wrapped in bandages to restrict movement, she could feel Tsubasa's muscles tense up once she touched the spot where the bullet had entered her friend's body.

"Tsubasa, if it's like this and you can't move the arm at all, then we need to change it," Hibiki finally spoke after a few moments of silence. "Are these too restrictive for you, Tsubasa?"

Taking a moment to consider it as she lifted her arm slowly, Tsubasa could feel the restraint that the bandages presented. 'Can I really fight like this?' She thought, her mind racing at the thought. 'I can't let Maria and Hibiki go out there alone…but what can I do to keep things in place so that the wound doesn't tear open?' Making up her mind on the spot, Tsubasa nodded before speaking once more, her voice filled with determination as she spoke.

"Hai, they are. I can barely move my arm without it irritating the wound with this set of bandages."

"Then we'll have to do it on our own, won't we?" Maria spoke up, a sad smile on her face as she did so. "We can't afford for you to not be at max ability when we have to fight, Tsubasa-san. You should-"

"No! I'll fight," Tsubasa interrupted, anxiety in her voice as she spoke. Turning to the younger girl next to her, she spoke up once more, voice quiet as she did so. "I have to fight. Hibiki, do you have any experience wrapping bandages?" At the Gungnir wielder's hesitant nod, she smiled softly, before standing up and turning towards the door of the ready room. Grabbing her jacket with her non-injured arm, she spoke up once more.

"Can you help me change these out? I can't reach them myself, and I won't let myself be held back by something like this." As Tsubasa left the room, Maria and Hibiki followed, the duo sharing a nervous glance as Hibiki grabbed a roll of bandages from the nearby medical cabinet. Entering the nearby lounge to find it empty except for the bluenette, Hibiki closed the door behind the trio, entering the sequence on its keypad to lock it behind them before moving to where Tsubasa had placed her jacket over a padded chair and speaking up once more.

"Maria, do you have any familiarity with doing this?" Hibiki asked, causing the older girl to shake her head. "Then pay attention, okay? You never know when this could come in handy." Turning to where Tsubasa stood, she nodded, a nervous smile on her face as she did so. "It's been a while since I had to do this though, Tsubasa. Sorry if I'm a bit rusty at it."

"It's fine, Hibiki. I'll tell you if you're doing something wrong," Tsubasa said, before lifting her blue t-shirt over her head, revealing her bandaged chest to her friends, bandages wrapped tightly around her shoulder and across her chest. "First things first though, we have to get these things off. Maria, can you get the scissors out of one of the drawers by the fridge?" After a few moments of no reaction, Tsubasa turned, her eyes looking to see the blushing face of Maria, eyes frozen at the sight of Tsubasa sitting in the chair with only the bandages covering her modest chest.

"Maria? The scissors?" Hibiki spoke up, her voice causing the older girl to snap out of her trance. Rushing over to the drawer Hibiki was pointing at, Maria grabbed the scissors from the drawer before rushing back and handing them to the Gungnir wielder. "You might want to sit down and just watch; you never know when you might need to learn this type of thing." Moments later, Hibiki began to cut away, the scissors in her hands cutting the bandages free from the Ame no Habakiri wielder's shoulder as Maria watched in rapt attention, eyes never leaving the sight of the nearly-topless bluenette in front of her. Moments later, Hibiki set the scissors down before grabbing the fresh roll of bandages off the nearby table. "Okay…what now, Tsubasa? How do you want me to re-wrap this?"

"As long as you don't make it as restrictive as the last set was, I'll be fine," Tsubasa replied, holding her left arm away from her body to give the Gungnir wielder easier access to wrap the bandages. "Just make it enough so that I can move effectively without having to worry about the wound ripping open." Nodding quietly, Hibiki took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. Bringing the bandages to the top of the bluenette's shoulder, she began to wrap them downwards diagonally around Tsubasa's back, before wrapping the bandage around her right hip. Reaching over the older girl's shoulders to reach the bundle of bandages, Hibiki brought them back upwards towards her left shoulder, her hands barely grazing the top of Tsubasa's breasts as she did so and beginning to repeat the process, slightly moving the bandages closer to her friend's neck as she did so.

"Gomen ne, Tsubasa..." Hibiki trailed off, her face growing red from embarrassment as she continued to wrap the bandages around Tsubasa's chest and shoulder, hands occasionally grazing Tsubasa's chest as she wrapped the fresh set of bandages. 'I really hope Chris doesn't find out about this…' she thought, continuing to wrap the bandages around her friend. Minutes later, Tsubasa spoke up, snapping Hibiki out of her thoughts as she finished wrapping around her shoulder, the roll of bandages running low from the multiple cycles Hibiki had performed.

"Hibiki, you can stop now," the Ame no Habakiri wielder spoke, turning to look at her friend with a small smile on her face. "I think that should be enough." Standing up and rotating her arm to test its range of motion, she spoke up once more. "Yeah…this is just right." Turning around and grabbing her blue t-shirt from the table, she put the shirt back on before smiling gratefully at the younger girl. "Arigatou, Hibiki."

"It was nothing, Tsubasa," Hibiki replied, her voice sounding better than it had earlier. Looking over to where Maria sat, she smiled softly as a comfortable silence enveloped the room. But even as the trio sat in the silent room, none of them could help but think about the challenge that would be lying in wait.

FIS Stealth Airplane, Frontier Surface, Cockpit Area

"Damnit…just what am I doing here anyways?" Chris whispered as she sat in a seat by the back of the room. Looking out the windows in front of her, she could still see the smoking remains of multiple cruisers and the carrier of the fleet, causing her eyes to narrow even further. 'Damn that bastard…it's because of him and his actions that I'm doing this, acting like I betrayed them…acting like I betrayed you, Hibiki…' A saddened frown coming onto her face at the thought, she turned to focus on the structure outside the window. 'Damn you Ver…you son of a bitch, I swear to god that I'll stop you and take the Staff of Solomon back. I have to get it back…otherwise, how will I ever be able to…'

"I'm sorry that I had kept you waiting, Yukine-san," an older voice spoke, shaking Chris from her thoughts. Looking towards the front of the cockpit, the Motorized chair of Nastassja rose from below, the floor beneath it locking into place. Turning towards where Chris sat, Nastassja began to speak once more, her weathered face staring directly at her guest's own. "I'm afraid that this was the earliest opportunity that I could get to speak with you alone."

"Why does it matter if you speak with me alone? Didn't I already prove what I was willing to do?" Chris spoke, her eyes narrowed as she spoke, voice indignant. Sighing, Nastassja shook her head, before speaking up once more, a sad smile on her face.

"Yes, you did show that. Shooting your own friend like that is not something that just anyone is willing to do. However, at the same time, we both know that you're not here for the same reason that the rest of us are."

At this, Chris' eyes widened, her thoughts racing as she sat stunned by the older woman's perceptive abilities. 'How did she…how does she know what I'm here for?' Subconsciously reaching for where her relic's pendant rested around her neck, she spoke up once more, eyes narrowed in a glare.

"I meant it when I said it…I want the world to be a peaceful place. This just seems like the best option for me to accomplish that. If I felt as though I could reach my goal by staying with the 2nd division, then I wouldn't have left."

"Yukine-san, you don't need to lie about it to me," Nastassja said, her voice calm. "We have access to your records, thanks to Finé. I know your goal from when you worked with her already. However, I'm not blind." Taking a moment to peer into Chris' eyes, she smiled softly. "I've seen how you interact with Hibiki. You're good for her, Yukine-san. And I can see it now that if something were to happen to her here, then you'd go to her immediately. There's no doubt in my mind that she would do the same for you, and has done so already." At this, Chris sat silently, unable to reply as Nastassja continued. "However, as much as you want to be happy, I know your past. You feel responsible for the Staff of Solomon being activated, don't you?" Nodding slowly, Chris responded, her voice quiet.

"Yeah…It's my fault that it was activated in the first place. If it wasn't for my actions, for my childish belief that it would lead to the peaceful world I wanted, then none of this would have happened." Chris spoke, voice haunted as she thought back to the images of the piles of ash on the cruiser. "And now, because of my mistakes, that bastard is using it to destroy even more innocent families and lives…and even though I know that I'm not the one pulling the trigger and using the damn Staff, I can't help but feel as though it's my fault. I can't let him-No, I won't let him get away. Ver has to pay for what he's done, and I have to get the Staff back. Otherwise, I'll never be able to forgive myself."

"And that's why I wanted to speak with you alone, Yukine-san," Nastassja spoke, her voice drawing Chris' attention to her, a confused look on her face. "You want to stop Ver from reaching whatever his plans are and to get the Staff of Solomon back. Maria told me before she left that she doesn't trust Ver's plans, and with his recent actions, including using your friend Miku as a weapon, I'm beginning to doubt his intentions myself." Seeing Chris' shoulders tense at this, Nastassja smiled. "With Frontier unsealed, I believe that we can use this to return the moon into its correct orbit. And as a result, I don't have any real need for Doctor Ver anymore."

"What are you trying to suggest then?" Chris asked, her voice cautious. "Why would you have ever gone along with that bastard's plans and ideas in the first place? What's in this for you?"

"I don't have any real desire to work with the Doctor any more than I have to, now that Frontier has been revived. Above all else, I want to find a way to stop the moon from falling so that my daughters can all live their lives in a world without the fear of a catastrophe like that which almost occurred due to Kadingir. I just want to help create that peaceful world, Yukine-san. I know that nothing that happens can redeem me for the actions that I've committed in the name of reaching the goal I've set for myself, and I've accepted that. But at least I can do what I can to help Maria, Shirabe, and Kirika avoid having to pay the price for my actions."

"You haven't answered my question, Nastassja," Chris said, slowly losing her patience. "What are you suggesting?" At this, the older woman nodded, before responding.

"Simply put, what would you say if I told you that I want to work with you to stop Ver?"

At this, Chris' eyes narrowed. 'I don't know if I can trust her…but then again, if she's willing to meet with me alone…' Taking a deep breath and looking the older woman in the eye nervously, she began her reply.

2nd Division Temporary Headquarters, Bridge, Waters around Frontier

"Are you sure that that's what she told you?" Genjurou asked as Ogawa spoke into the video monitor, a holding cell behind him. Within it sat Shirabe, hands cuffed together with a pair of handcuffs fit over her winter coat as her head stared at the floor of the cell she was in. Moments later, Ogawa replied, nodding his head as he held up the young girl's relic pendant.

"Hai, taichou. When I mentioned to her that I'd have to hold on to her relic for the moment, she seemed to understand, but then she asked me to tell Hibiki and Maria-san to 'Stop them…stop Ver and save the rest of them. Please save Kiri-chan and mom.'. It's a little bit of an unusual request, but it was still something I felt needed to be passed on. Otherwise, she's been completely cooperative."

"Then it seems that Ver is the head honcho after all, or at the very least is moving to become that. For now, while I don't know how much we can trust Maria's judgment, we have to go off of the idea that the data she provided is accurate." Eyes closing in thought briefly, Genjurou paused, before speaking up once more. "For now, just keep an eye on her and stay down there. I'll contact you again once we have our final plan of attack arranged." Nodding briefly, Ogawa responded, his voice serious.

"Ryoukai." With that brief statement, the video call cut off, leaving Genjurou to hit thoughts once more. Turning his attention to the landmark in the middle of the video footage on screen in the front of the room, Genjurou sighed, allowing the clamor of the crew on the bridge around him to fade out of his consciousness. 'This is it…the final showdown,' he thought, bringing his hands up to form a bridge in front of his nose, eyes locked onto the screen as he spoke up.

"So that's Frontier. Just looking at it from here, without the data provided you wouldn't think that it's some sort of possible weapon," Genjurou said, his voice echoing throughout the area around him. Turning around from his station in front of Genjurou's console, Fujitaka Sakuya spoke up, the data on the entirety of Frontier pulling up on the monitor at Genjurou's seat.

"With how large it is, it's really no wonder that they call that thing the Frontier. It's large enough to hold tens of thousands of people easily. But the real question is, what are they planning on doing with it?" he asked, before turning back to his computer.

"That's what we have no idea of, and that's what worries me about it," Genjurou spoke as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "The only person here who may have any sort of decent idea would be Maria, but I still don't trust her yet. If not for us being in an all hands on deck situation earlier, I wouldn't have allowed her to go out there at all."

"Kazanari-taichou, there's another American battle group approaching the area," Aoi spoke, the footage of the approaching ships appearing on Genjurou's monitor next to the data they had on Frontier as she sent through the command from her station. "They'll be arriving in the area within the next thirty minutes. Your orders, taichou?"

Closing his eyes in thought once more, Genjurou reflected on the situation. 'The U.S. navy isn't stupid; they know what happened here already, so they're trying to rush here to either correct their mistake and shoot it down somehow, or to take Frontier for themselves…things are coming to a head quicker than we thought. But can I really trust Maria as much as Hibiki says that I can?' Eyes narrowing in annoyance, Genjurou spoke up, a video call appearing on his screen as an older man appeared on screen, sipping from a cup of noodles.

"Vice-Minister," Genjurou began, voice serious. "What's your take on the situation? It looks as though this is going to be the final battle, but we won't take action without your orders, sir." Taking a moment to wipe his mouth clean of the broth from his noodles, the man on screen began to speak, his voice as serious as the expression on his face.

"I don't think anyone expected that they'd do what they've done by seeking shelter on the Frontier to escape the falling Moon. It's almost too docile a choice of action based on their previous actions. However, we don't have time to delay. Kazanari-taichou, the 2nd Division's orders are simple. I want you to board and take control of the Frontier. I also want you to find and capture Doctor Ver, preferably alive. He will face justice for his crimes, as will those who are collaborating with him."

"And what about Maria, who left FIS of her own volition?"

"From what you've said to me, she provided the data which you have on the Frontier. We'll determine what to do about her at a later date."

"Understood, Vice-minister. We'll make haste then, and prepare to begin our mission at once." As the call disconnected, Genjurou stood, his eyes focused on the structure floating in front of the submarine as he began to speak. "We have our orders. Have Tsubasa, Hibiki, and Maria report to Briefing Room A as soon as possible, and set course for the nearest point on Frontier from which we can make landfall. This is going to be the last battle, and our mission is to find and capture Ver if possible, along with the capture of Frontier. Let's move, people!"

-SotHR-

"We'll be beginning our mission on Frontier within the next hour or so," Genjurou spoke, his voice serious as he looked over to the trio of Symphogear wielders within the room. "We've been given our orders. Our goal is the capture of Frontier, as well as the capture of Doctor Ver and any other subordinates of his." Pausing to pull up the map of Frontier from the data, he looked Hibiki, Tsubasa, and Maria in the eye before speaking once more. "I'll say this just the once. This is our only shot to do this. The three of you are really the lynchpins of this operation; as such, none of you can afford to get bogged down for any reason. Is that understood?"

At this, Maria nodded, her thoughts racing at the mission ahead. 'Frontier…this could be the final showdown. I don't know what Ver's ultimate plan is…but at the same time, I can't help but have this uneasy feeling in my mind about it. We have to stop him…but what can we do? Capturing him alive may bring him to justice, but if he completes his plan before then…' Before she thought much further however, Genjurou spoke up once more, drawing her from her thoughts.

"Hibiki and Maria. Ogawa asked me to pass along a message from the girl that he and Maria brought in during that last battle."

This caught Maria's attention. 'Shirabe…you must have really taken the words I told you in that letter to heart…' Before she could ask about what the younger girl had said, Hibiki spoke up, her words quiet, yet focused.

"What'd Shirabe want to tell us, taichou?"

"She asked him to tell you to 'Stop Ver and save the rest of them. Please save Kiri-chan and mom.' I don't know what is going on over there with FIS, but from the way her words make it sound, it seems as though there's possibly a bit of a gap developing between Ver and the remaining members of FIS."

At this, an idea began to form in Maria's mind. Taking a breath to steady herself, she stood up, before looking Genjurou in the eye, her jean jacket ruffling slightly as she did so.

"Taichou, can I talk with her?" she asked, her voice calm. "I have an idea that could help."

-SotHR-

The sound of a door sliding open shook Shirabe from her thoughts, as she looked up to where the entrance to her holding cell was. 'Is someone coming?' she thought, before a familiar voice spoke, bringing a smile to the younger girl's face as the door to her holding cell opened, letting her guest enter the room.

"Shirabe, I'm glad you're okay," Maria spoke, before walking over and wrapping the younger girl in a hug. "I'm sorry I didn't say more than I did when I left. How are you holding up?" Allowing herself to lean into the hug of the young woman she viewed as her sister, Shirabe smiled softly before replying, her voice quiet yet audible, despite the activity going on outside of the holding area.

"I'm fine…I'm worried about Kiri-chan, and about mom," Shirabe replied, her voice quiet. "Kiri-chan doesn't seem right. She hasn't been herself lately, and after what she did on the deck of that ship…" she trailed off, remembering the feeling of shock at her friend's actions. Shaking her head slightly, she spoke up once more, her voice shaking slightly. "I worry that she'll do something drastic. Maria. Please, you have to save her from herself." Nodding silently, Maria stroked the younger girl's back, her thoughts drifting to before she had left FIS. 'Kirika…what could have happened to you? What's going on that you're worrying Shirabe this much?' Refocusing her mind on what she had come to speak to the younger girl about, Maria spoke up once more, a small smile on her face.

"I saw you fighting on the carrier deck before everything went to hell earlier. You did the right thing, Shirabe, fighting on your own to protect who you could. That was a really brave thing you did back there." Finally releasing herself from the older girl's hug, Shirabe sat up, eyes locked onto Maria's own as she began to reply.

"It wasn't right. The doctor had suggested killing everyone on those ships, but that's not right. IF that's the way those who are supposedly strong do things, then it's not right," Shirabe said, eyes narrowing as she spoke. "You were right. The doctor couldn't be trusted after all. I just don't understand why Mom and Kiri-chan don't see it. His actions are completely against what we set out to do!"

Nodding at the shorter girl's reaction, Maria stayed silent, her mind processing what she had heard. Taking a moment to prepare herself, she spoke once more, her voice serious.

"Yeah. That's why I left, really. The doctor's actions and the path they were guiding everything down felt so different from what Serena wanted us to do. I don't trust that man, no matter what he says. Combine that with how my heart was screaming for me to protect those closest to me, and I refused to just sit by any longer. That's why I left that night; I couldn't sit back and wait any longer to do so." Looking the younger girl in the eye, Maria continued speaking, a small smile on her face.

"We're going to be going into battle again soon, Shirabe," Maria said, her eyes shining with determination. "And as much as I want to say that we can handle everything, I can't help but get the feeling that Ver's going to have some unpleasant surprises waiting for us. I'm not going to make you do anything, but we could use all the help we can get. That's why, if you want, I can ask Kazanari-taichou to allow you to help. But I'm not going to make you do something that you don't want to do. You have to make this decision on your own."

"Maria…" Shirabe whispered, as the older girl stood to leave. Turning her head to look back at Shirabe, she began to speak once more, a sad smile on her face.

"No matter what you decide, I'm proud of you, Shirabe. Follow what your heart's song tells you to do." As Maria was leaving, she heard Shirabe speak up once more, causing her to come to a stop just in front of the door to leave the holding area.

"And what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to fight to protect the people who are important to me. And between Hibi-san, Tsubasa-san, and I, we'll find a way to stop whatever Ver's planning." Maria said, a smile on her face as she left the holding area, leaving Shirabe to herself once more as Ogawa re-entered the area.

"Follow what my heart's song tells me to do, huh?" Shirabe spoke, her voice quiet. Closing her eyes, she leaned against the wall of her holding cell as she pondered over what Maria had mentioned. A few minutes later she stood up, and moving to the entrance to her holding cell, she spoke up, getting the attention of the intelligence division agent standing watch.

"Ano…is Ogawa-san still there? There's something need to ask him to help me with."

Frontier, Plateau Outside Main Structure, 2 Hours after Unsealing

"It's still difficult to believe that something like this was asleep at the bottom of the ocean for all this time," Chris whispered, eyes taking in the sight in front of her as she stood outside the plane, the plateau she stood upon overlooking the central facility of Frontier itself. Rising towards the sky above her head a large ancient structure stood, a larger tower that seemed similar to a satellite dish rising above it all. Surrounding the larger structure were numerous smaller structures, each similar to the central structure, yet smaller. But despite the awe she couldn't help but feel at the ancient structure in front of her, Chris couldn't help but feel anger within her as she stared out over the landmass, face level as the wind rustled her crimson sweater.

'This is it…if I'm going to get the staff back, this is the place to do it,' she thought, as she turned back towards where Nastassja was exiting the plane, Kirika beside her. 'I have to put an end to things here. The Staff of Solomon…I have to get it back. Once I do that, then maybe I can forgive myself for my actions back then…for all the people I've hurt…and for everyone who I've hurt indirectly because I left the Staff unaccounted for back then…' Before she could continue her thoughts, Doctor Ver exited the plane, causing an angry scowl to emerge on Chris' face as she turned away, eyes focusing back on the main structure in front of her as the doctor came up from behind her, a confident smirk on his face.

"This will be the gateway to the new world that you wished for," Ver spoke, the confident grin never leaving his face. Strolling forwards as if to beckon the rest of the group to follow him, Ver continued to speak, his voice rising in volume as he continued. "But even though that's the case, I can't help but wonder why the sudden change of heart, Yukine-san?" At this, Chris scowled, her eyes locked onto the back of the doctor as he headed towards the main facility.

"Does it really matter? I already proved what I'm willing to do when I shot Tsubasa-san, didn't I?" she replied, voice level with her eyes narrowed at the doctor's retreating form. Sticking to the story she had come up with previously, she spoke up once more. "The only way to stop power is with an even greater power, isn't it? From what I've seen, you have the most power right now. If I'm going to put a stop to conflict all over the world, then I need all the power that I can get."

"Fair enough," Ver said, as the group proceeded towards the main structure, slowly descending down the sloping path towards it. "However, don't think that everything is as clean cut as you are hoping it will be, Yukine-san."

-SotHR-

A little while later, the group had entered the main structure. The walls of the ancient structure within dripped with water from the ocean, and as the group made their way towards their destination, Kirika began to speak, her mind having thought back to how Chris had joined with them.

"Yukine-san, let me ask you this," Kirika spoke, her voice cutting through the darkness of the ancient hallway like the flashlights held by the group. "Do you really think that fighting on our side can put an end to the conflict that you're speaking of? Because I can't help but think that this is awfully convenient for you." At this, Chris stopped moving, her shoulders tensing up as she prepared to reply.

"If you want to doubt what I've said that badly, then you can go right ahead and shoot me while I'm fighting for you out on the front lines. Isn't that what I'm supposed to do during this plan of yours?" As if to answer her directly, Ver spoke up, his voice cold as ice.

"Then don't mind if we do just that, Yukine-san." Ver said, a chilling smile on his face. Internally however, his thoughts were far more sinister. 'If you really think that I'll just let you have the Staff of Solomon, then you're a fool. It's obvious that it's why you joined us, Yukine-san…but even though I don't need it anymore, it can't hurt to be prepared…'

-SotHR-

After another few minutes of walking, the quartet arrived at their destination. Inside the dark room, a large crystalline structure awaited, a giant spiral of crystals descending from the ceiling to the bottom of the chamber, surrounding a humongous sphere in the center. And as Ver stepped forwards with his briefcase in hand, Nastassja spoke up, her voice cutting through the darkness enshrouding the room.

"This is the generator room," Nastassja spoke, her voice echoing throughout the chamber. Stepping up behind the woman she considered her mother, eyes watching Chris closely as she took her place to Nastassja's right, Kirika spoke, eyes drifting away from the older girl towards the large object sitting towards the middle of the chamber as Ver set his briefcase onto the pathway leading up to it.

"What the hell is that? Is that supposed to be what powers Frontier, mom?" Earning a quiet nod in response, Kirika returned her attention to the generator in front of them as Ver opened the briefcase, revealing the Nephilim's heart concealed within. Removing the relic from the briefcase, he stepped forwards, a maniacal gleam entering his eyes as he approached the large structure in the center of the room before holding up the relic and pressing it against the sphere. Eyes shining in satisfaction as he watched the Nephilim's heart attach itself to the sphere, he stepped back, an appreciative look on his face as he watched the heart cause the structure to glow brightly, its light filling the chamber with a bright orange sheen. 'Finally…finally I can take control of things, and there's nothing that ANYONE can do to stand in my way…' Ver thought, before speaking up once more, a confidence in his voice.

"Even as just an organ like this, the Nephilim still continues to try to devour and assimilate other relics into its being," he spoke, as a laughter entered his tone. "What a glutton the Nephilim is, always so hungry, never fully satisfied with what it's given." As he spoke, he pulled up a program on his tablet, before bringing up a video feed from the aircraft outside as it displayed the virulent growth of trees and other plant life on the surface of Frontier. Smirking slightly, Ver turned as Nastassja spoke up, voice nearly drowned out by the hum of the generator as energy flowed around the chamber.

"It seems like the energy being generated has fully permeated the Frontier," Nastassja muttered, drawing Kirika's attention to her as she turned to leave the generator room. "I'll be making my way to the control room to see what we can do with it regarding stopping the falling moon." Not even acknowledging her words as she left the room with her destination clear, Ver spoke up as he walked towards the rest of the group, an indifferent look on his face at what he had heard.

"Then while you're doing so, I'll head to the bridge. I think it's about time that we begin." Turning to look at Kirika and Chris, he spoke up once more, a suddenly commanding tone in his voice. "As for the two of you, you know your roles at this point. Head out, and don't disappoint me. After all, we are expecting guests." With those last words, he walked off, Kirika behind him and leaving Chris alone in the room, a shaken look on her face as she thought about who she may have to fight sooner than later. Turning to leave to head to where she was assigned to wait, Chris couldn't help but worry about the possibility of having to face Hibiki on the battlefield…and just what it would do to them both if she did.

-SotHR-

Kirika stood outside the smaller building, her eyes trained towards the eastern edge of Frontier as she waited. 'The Doctor said that if we'd have any guests, they'll likely come through here or over where she is waiting…and that it's our jobs to cut them off and stop them from intervening…' she thought, curling her scarf around her neck once more. But as she stared out towards the distant shoreline, she couldn't help but think about Shirabe's last words to her as they stood on the carrier previously.

"Shirabe…" she trailed off, her mind focusing on her friend. "Your words on the ship; they can't be right, can they? Mom's plans have to be right, aren't they?" Mind drifting back to Shirabe's words, Kirika couldn't help but shake her head in anger. 'Damnit Shirabe…can't you see that the only way to protect the weak is through being strong? And if that means doing what we had to do, then so be it…Why couldn't you understand that?'

Closing her eyes and trying to center herself, Kirika returned her focus towards the horizon. Spotting the approaching US ships coming in, she steeled herself. 'I have to believe in it…what I'm doing…this plan, it all has to be the right thing. I won't lose myself to her before everything is finished…I swear it…'

2nd Division Temporary Headquarters, Bridge, 2 Hours and 15 minutes after Frontier Rising

"Understood. Bring her up here then, but keep an escort. While we may have her relic in hand, that doesn't mean that she's harmless," Genjurou said, eyes focused onto the mission plan he was formulating at his station as Shul Shagana's relic pendant sat on the console in front of him. "We'll be initiating the mission within the next half hour, so we'll see about what we can do." Ending the audio call with a quick press of the button, he crossed his hands in front of his face, pondering over the information he had just received.

'So, your idea seems to have been a success, Maria…however, despite knowing that Hibiki trusts the both of you, I'm not sure this is the best idea at the moment. This isn't the time to worry about trust though; we need every person we can get…' he thought, as he quickly modified the mission plan on the screen in front of him. The submarine would be arriving at a point it could make landfall from shortly, and Genjurou knew that time was limited. Behind him, the sound of the door to the bridge opening drew his attention away from the now-finished plan as Hibiki, Maria, and Tsubasa entered the bridge, eyes trained on the sight of Frontier on the main monitor.

"Tsubasa," Genjurou spoke, his voice drawing her attention away from the monitor. "Are you going to be okay for this mission? How's your shoulder feeling?" Nodding slightly, Tsubasa began her response, her voice steady with resolve as she stretched her shoulder gently.

"I'm fine. It's just a little sore still," she said, as Hibiki and Maria both shot looks of concern in her direction. Before the Gungnir wielder could say anything however, Tsubasa continued, eyes locked onto Genjurou's own. "It's not enough to stop me from going on the mission, taichou. We can't afford to be down any more Symphogear wielders right now, not after Chris's betrayal." With that she stopped speaking, the bitterness in her words causing Hibiki to frown slightly, something that didn't go unnoticed by the older girl. 'What's that about…'

"You're right though," Genjurou spoke, voice drawing attention back to him from all three wielders. "We're down one wielder, and that is a bit of a problem. Having Chris and Ichaival would make this a lot easier. If any of you were to go down to injuries as well, our operations would be severely handicapped." As if to reply to his words, Aoi stood from her station nearby, voice providing another perspective on the matter.

"Even though that's true, we were lucky in that last battle. While Tsubasa-san was shot, she was still able to avoid serious injury. The doctors even said that it was impressive how she was able to avoid getting hit in any vital spots."

As Aoi spoke, a frown emerged on Tsubasa's face as she thought over the older woman's words. 'Did I really dodge being hit in any vital areas though?' she thought, the image of how she had been left nearly helpless on the deck of the ship in front of her mind. 'Chris had me dead to rights. I couldn't have dodged her gunshots if I tried from that range…then how did I manage to dodge them?' she thought, mind rapidly coming to a conclusion. 'Unless she…' Eyes widening at the conclusion she had come to, she quickly turned, eyes landing on Hibiki's own as the Gungnir wielder looked away towards the main monitor. 'Hibiki…Do you know what's going on?'

Before she could speak up, the door to the bridge opened up once more as a pair of armed guards walked in flanking Shirabe, one to each side as they entered the room. Nodding at the guards silently as they entered, Genjurou spoke up, his voice in a serious tone as Maria moved towards where the younger girl stood while Hibiki glanced towards where Genjurou stood.

"Release her from the handcuffs, and then you can return to your stations," Genjurou spoke, his words, causing Maria and Hibiki to look at the commander in relief. "Don't just stand there, we don't have time for you to just stand around." At his words, the guard to Shirabe's left kneeled down, a small device in his hands. Pointing the device at the handcuffs that the younger girl wore, the guard pressed a button, causing the handcuffs to open and releasing the Shul Shagana wielder's arms from their confinement. As the guards left the bridge, Genjurou turned to the younger girl in the room, kneeling down before he spoke so that he was on an eye to eye level.

"So I understand that you wanted to talk with me, Shirabe-san?" Genjurou asked, his voice calming as he spoke. Looking on, Maria smiled softly, her mind reflecting fondly on Shirabe as she prepared to speak up. 'So you made your decision…Shirabe, you've grown up…' she thought, as the Shul Shagana wielder spoke up, her voice quiet among the sound of the computers humming around the room.

"Hai…" Shirabe whispered, voice trailing off slightly. Summoning her resolve from within herself and looking Genjurou in the eye, she continued to speak, her voice rising in intensity. "Kazanari-taichou, please let me join this mission. I know that I asked you to save Kiri-chan and mom, but I don't feel right leaving them out there right now, not with everything going on. Not when Mom is as sick as she is!"

"And just why I should let you help?" Genjurou asked, his voice growing serious. "Last I checked, before today you were fighting against us as an enemy. Why the sudden change of heart? If your mother is as sick as we've been told, then we'll do what we can to try to help out. I won't make any promises however, beyond that she'll get the best care that we can provide while in custody, so long as she cooperates. You yourself saw what lengths Ver is willing to go to. Are you really willing to throw yourself into that type of position?" he asked, causing Shirabe to hesitate slightly at his words. Before she could respond, Maria stepped forwards and spoke up, placing one hand on Shirabe's shoulder out of support.

"Shirabe, are you sure that this is something that you want to do? I told you earlier that you don't need to fight. Leave everything to us," Maria spoke, drawing a nod from the younger girl. "Taichou, she wants to do something, anything, to help. I'm asking you, please, just give her the one chance to prove herself. You gave me that chance before…couldn't you do so for her as well? Right now, for this mission, we need all the help that we can get!" At those words, unnoticed by either Maria or Shirabe, Hibiki smiled softly as she nodded, her movement being noticed by Genjurou as Shirabe began to speak once more.

"Please…just give me the one chance to try to save them. The path that they're on isn't the right way to go about things, and I want to try to find a way to stop them from doing something that they won't be able to live with. Sir, all I'm asking for is this one opportunity." Shirabe spoke up. Taking a moment to think about it, Genjurou slowly nodded as he stood up. But before he could speak up once more, Sakuya spoke up, a sudden urgency in his voice as he read the data on his monitor.

"Taichou, we've got activity! We're detecting a massive energy buildup coming directly from Frontier!"

"Seems like Ver and FIS are making their move. There's no more time to waste." As the Symphogear wielders and the 2nd Division staff watched on, the energy buildup on the structure continued heading towards a critical point, electricity crackling around the structure and chunks of earth rising into the air randomly before being slammed together from every direction, causing an ominous vibe to fill the air.

Frontier, Main Structure, Bridge, 2 hours and 20 minutes after Frontier Rising

'Finally, it's time…' Ver thought as he stepped off the elevator platform before walking towards the crystal structure in front of him. As he stepped forwards, his eyes focused on the cerulean sphere seated within a structure of crystal in front of him as sunlight shined in from the window-like gaps in the stone structure of the area. As he climbed the last few steps towards where the sphere rested, the grin on his face widened as he came to a stop in front of the sphere before withdrawing a syringe from his jacket.

"It's time for me to seize control of things. The only remaining step before I can begin MY plan is to utilize this particular blend of Linker. Made from the Nephilim's cells, it's perfectly capable of assimilating Relics. Of course, if I use it on myself…" he trailed off, rolling his left sleeve up to reveal his forearm and bringing the syringe to meet his skin. "Then I'll be able to control the power of Frontier directly!" Pulling the trigger on the syringe, Ver felt the cold liquid enter his bloodstream, his arm going numb as what felt like ice crept through his arm and into his body. Quickly the flesh of his arm began to twist, developing claw-like protrusions and changing shape. Mere moments later he flexed his new arm, the glowing crimson veins flowing to his now claw-surrounded hand.

"Such power…I can feel it flowing through my veins…" Ver spoke, a maniacal laugh escaping as he reached his arm towards the sphere in front of him. Touching it with his newly-transformed arm, what appeared to be like Red lines appeared on the surface of the sphere, fading quickly to be replaced by a pattern of orange light similar to that which had engulfed the core of Frontier. Looking around him quickly, Ver noticed the largest crystals come to life, data racing across their surfaces as he continued to press his transformed arm against the sphere. "My wait is finally over. Now, who to target first?" As if to respond to his words, a video screen appeared, the approaching U.S. fleet being displayed in its entirety causing a devilish grin to appear on Ver's face.

"And there's my answer. Who better to make an example out of? But before I do that, I should get started on the welcoming committee for our guests." At his words another screen appeared, as Ver began to input command mentally, his commands causing the chamber held on screen to begin to glow with an ominous light. "Come, all of you. Come, and dance the dance of your destruction!"

-SotHR-

The crystalline floor around the console glowed as Nastassja sat, her motorized chair placing her within easy reach of the console in front of her. As she looked at the display in front of her, the orange glow of the pillars situated around the edge of the room illuminating the walkway behind her, she couldn't help but reflect on the technology in front of her. 'The Frontier…If it really is the heritage of Castoria, the nation that stood at the peak of prehistoric civilization, then this is the single largest collection of heretical technology on the planet. There has to be something here that can prevent the fall of the moon entirely; I just have to find it…' she thought as she scrolled through some of the data on the monitor in front of her. As if to disturb her from her thoughts, a beep echoed from the console before a video feed appeared, displaying the approaching fleet as Ver began to speak once more.

"It doesn't look as though we have much time to relax, Nastassja-san," Ver spoke through the audio feed to Nastassja. "Because of the direct connection, I can feel the energy within Frontier. We have FAR more than enough energy to survive, Nastassja-san. We can finally begin to make our move!"

"Ver, I'm ordering you to stop it now! It's too soon to do anything, not when it's still not fully charged!" Laughing darkly at Nastassja's reply, Ver spoke once more, his voice laced with malicious intent.

"We'll see about that. I'm the one in control here. And from now on, things will go by MY plans!" His words finished, Ver cut off the audio feed, leaving Nastassja to her lonesome in the control room. Narrowing her eyes at Ver's declaration, she turned her thoughts to the plan she had discussed previously. 'I have to trust that things will progress the way I need them to while I find the info needed. We're out of time, and it's clear now that his lust for power is only growing more and more…'

-SotHR-

"I don't care if Nastassja thinks that now isn't the time," Ver said, the grin on his face growing wider as he spoke. "I'll start with this!" Focusing his mind on what he wanted to do, he pressed his transformed arm against the controls once more before a web of crimson cracks overlaid over the control sphere in front of him. "Now, Frontier. Let's show them your POWER!"

Crackling with energy, the main structure of Frontier glowed orange as violet lightning flashed between the two sides of the towering structure, the island it sat upon quaking as chunks of rock rose into the sky. Quickly a trio of spheres formed, the violent lightning channeling into the spheres making them expand rapidly around the uppermost points on the main structure, before a massive wave of light burst forth from the structure, racing towards the sky with unrestrained speed and rendering the clouds asunder as it raced on towards its target.

Moments later the blast reached space, the power causing the space around it to destabilize as it raced towards its destination before arriving at the moon and engulfing it in a golden wave of light. Immediately explosions erupted across the surface of the moon, clouds of dust rising from the shattered planetoid as the light engulfed it, as if the wave of energy was trying to pull it from its place amongst the stars and towards the planet from which it had been born. Another few seconds later the light seemed to disperse, the explosions on the lunar surface slowly coming to an end.

"Now…Let's get moving!" Ver cried out, his human right arm swinging out dramatically as the island and the waters around it began to shake, the light from the structure dying down as steam rose steadily from the spires from which the wave of light had emerged from. As this went on, the planet itself seemed to shake as the island slowly began to rise once more, climbing steadily into the air over the ocean's restless surface as the tidal waves created battered the sides of the U.S. fleet entering the area, throwing their crews into a panic. "And we're only just getting started…" Ver spoke, a vicious laugh emerging from his mouth as the shaking intensified.

-SotHR-

"His lust for power is overwhelming his mind!" Nastassja muttered, voice filled with disgust as she struggled to maintain her position at the console in the control room as the room shook around her. 'If my plan is to work, I have to place all of my faith in the heretical technology here to stop this…but what can I do at this point?' she thought, fingers racing rapidly over the digital keyboard in front of her as she searched for an answer. 'There's gotta be something here…I just have to find it. This isn't over yet!'

2nd Division Temporary Headquarters, Bridge, 2 Hours and 23 Minutes after Frontier Revival

Alarm bells blared throughout the submarine as the bridge went on red alert, the ship shuddering as the water swirled around it, throwing the ship around in a seemingly endless loop. Bracing himself against the console as the Symphogear wielders did what they could to stay on steady footing, Genjurou frowned as the shaking of the ship seemed no closer to ending. Before he could speak up however, Sakuya called out, his voice filled with alarm at the display on his monitor.

"Taichou! A wide area of the sea floor is rising up rapidly around Frontier! It's coming right towards us from below, and will make impact in ten seconds!" Eyes widening at the news, Genjurou called out loudly, his voice rising over the noise of the alarms and the sound of the submarine being tossed around in the sea surrounding it.

"Everyone brace for impact! We're in for a rough ride!" he called out, mere seconds before a loud crunching noise was heard throughout the ship, the rising landmass impacting against the keel of the submarine and causing it to shudder violently, the impact sending those who were not braced against something sprawling to the floor as the ship rose along with the sea floor it was now stranded upon. After what seemed like hours but was only minutes, the shaking stopped, the ship finally coming to a rest as Genjurou spoke up, his eyes on the main monitor as It displayed the entirety of Frontier. The sight on screen proved to be a shock however, as Frontier was revealed to now be floating in mid-air as water rushed off of it to return to the ocean from whence it came.

"Is everyone all right?" he spoke, looking towards where Hibiki stood after steadying himself, a concerned look on his face. "Did anyone get hurt?"

"I'm fine," Tsubasa said, having grabbed onto the back of Genjurou's chair to brace herself for the impact. Stretching her shoulder out to make sure that the bandages Hibiki had applied earlier hadn't come undone, she spoke once more, eyes looking to where Hibiki had gone to check on Maria and Shirabe. "That was a rough one though. Taichou, should we get ready to head out?" Before Genjurou could reply however, Sakuya spoke up once more, his voice shaking.

"Kazanari-taichou, we have another energy buildup coming from the underside of Frontier! And the U.S. Fleet is also moving to attack Frontier! Your orders, sir?"

"What? Again?" Genjurou said, the alarm in his voice drawing all eyes in the room to the main monitor, as a number of ships moved into position to attack. "Don't they realize that they have no chance, if that blast of light was what I think it was?"

Frontier, Main Structure, Bridge, 2 hours and 40 minutes after Frontier Rising

"Such fools. Do they really think that their insolent power can even scratch Frontier?" Ver asked, a malicious edge to his words as the U.S. Fleet's ships opened fire. As the shots made impact on Frontier's exterior, detonating and causing small chunks of earth to crumble away from the continent as it floated in midair, he couldn't help but laugh with a sadistic tone. "You don't deserve to live in my new world. Why don't all of you just go ahead and die?" Exerting his will through his transformed arm once again, he pressed downwards onto the control sphere once more, the web of crimson appearing once again as the array on the bottom of Frontier crackled to life, the air rippling and warping around it as power began to build.

After another few moments the now-active underside array released an initial pulse, the waves underneath the continent rising upwards as waterspouts from the ocean below. Soon a cruiser floated into the air, the panicked voices of the crew on the ship calling out for help over the sound of the crashing waves and the hum of the machine mounted on the underside of Frontier. Seconds later other ships in the fleet began to follow, their main guns firing at the underside of Frontier in a futile struggle to set themselves free, their shells exploding fruitlessly against the bottom of the floating continent and caused more rock to fall away. Their efforts proved to be futile, as the ships rose higher into the air until not a single one remained floating in the sea below.

Within moments the screams of the damned filled the air as the first ship pulled out of the waves seemed to almost crumple in on itself, the gravitational force that had removed it from its home in the waves below now exerting a force on the cruiser. Soon the dying screams of the crew onboard the ship were loud enough to be heard by those within the immediate vicinity as the ship itself caved in, metal screeching in protest. Soon another ship followed, this time a small destroyer, as one by one the ships were slowly crushed within the gravity field controlled by Frontier, not one able to escape the merciless force crushing and twisting the vessels into unrecognizable hunks of metal. The worst was yet to come however, as an explosion erupted from the cruiser which had been the first vessel removed from the sea, consuming it and any remaining crew on board in a ball of flame as the twisted metal rained onto the surface of the sea below, still burning from the explosion itself.

As if the first explosion had caused a chain reaction, the remaining ships were rapidly consumed in hellfire, their crushed metal hulls tearing themselves to shreds one by one as the ammo stores within them ignited. And as the remains of the last ship lazily rained towards the ocean surface below, the array on the bottom of Frontier finally ceased to glow, a cloud of steam coming forth as the metal glowed red from the heat of exertion, the field it had created ceasing to exist. But within the Frontier itself, Ver just smiled, his mind already running over the possibilities created by his initial shots.

"So that's the extent to which I can manipulate gravity right now," he muttered, mind churning over the implications. "But, it seems as though it stressed the arrays…" he trailed off, the grin on his face breaking out into full-blown laughter as he surveyed the carnage wrought beneath Frontier. "This is just what I needed. With this power in my hands, the world will dance at MY fingertips!"

2nd Division Temporary Headquarters, Bridge, 2 hours and 45 minutes after Frontier Rising

"Sir, we've lost multiple observation drones to whatever that field was," a bridge crew member called out, his words drawing Genjurou's attention towards him as he spoke. "Should we launch replacements?"

"Do it. We're going to need every ounce of info that we can get," Genjurou replied, voice outwardly calm. Internally his thoughts were entirely different, something which showed from the grip he was placing onto the seat at his console, his fingers digging into the metal armrests and bending them slightly. 'That first shot…its target had to be the moon,' he thought, eyes narrowed in anger. 'But the second one…that wasn't so much of an attack as it was a demonstration. To effortlessly crush an entire fleet like that…We can't afford to wait any longer. We need to move, and we need to move NOW.'

"Taichou, damage reports coming in. It doesn't look as though the sub has been damaged too badly from the impact," another bridge staffer spoke, earning another nod from Genjurou. "It's not enough to compromise the ship."

"Good. We'll need to be ready to move at any moment. In any case, we got lucky with that little present FIS gave us; we were able to avoid that mess below Frontier," Genjurou spoke, his voice cutting the tension with a knife. "Do we have any information on what that initial shot was aimed at?"

"Hai, Taichou," Aoi spoke, voice shaking at what her screen was displaying. "The tidal disturbance that we were caught in was caused by increased strain on the moon. It looks like they used the moon as an anchor of sorts to pull Frontier up from the water."

"That can't be all that blast caused, was it?" Genjurou replied, voice tense at the implications.

"No, it wasn't. While the blast may have pulled Frontier up out of the water, it also pulled the moon further out of orbit. It's unclear as to how much it did so, however."

"So they accelerated the moon's rate of descent to pull themselves out of the water..." Genjurou trailed off, his mind racing. "We can't afford to just sit here and do nothing then. Aoi, forwards that information to the Vice Minister, and tell him that we're going now."

"Hai, taichou." Aoi said, before turning back to her console. As she returned to her work, Genjurou turned, preparing to speak with his orders for the Symphogear wielders behind him. But before he could give any orders, Maria spoke up, fists clenched in anger at what they had witnessed.

"Damn him…damn him to hell…" she growled out, eyes narrowed in rage. "To kill so many…and to lie for so long, saying that he was going to help save the planet…that son of a bitch, he'll pay DEARLY for this!" Standing up, eyes locked onto the monitor in front of her, Maria felt a wildfire of anger blazing within her, one that was different from what she had felt before as it stoked the fires of her own anger. The feeling quickly vanished, leaving her to her own simmering anger as she turned to check on Shirabe. 'We'll get him…we HAVE to get him this time…' she thought, kneeling down to look the younger girl in the eyes. "Shirabe, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…" the younger girl trailed off, voice shaking as she tried to process what she had just seen. Climbing to her feet, she spoke up once more, her eyes closing in determination. "We have to stop them. We have to, before things get any more out of control than they already have," she trailed off before whispering to herself once more. "We have to…"

"You're right. However, that doesn't change the fact that we have to act quickly," Tsubasa spoke up, her voice unwavering despite her own shock at the sheer number of deaths she had just witnessed. As she opened her mouth to continue speaking however, a faint distortion in the air drew her attention. 'What…Hibiki?' she thought, as she turned her head, her eyes widening at what she saw. Eyes closed tightly with her hands clenched into fists, Hibiki stood, a faint silver light shimmering in the air surrounding her form as she quivered with a barely constrained anger, the barely perceptible shimmer fading away as quickly as it had appeared. 'What was that?' Tsubasa thought, her eyes wandering across Hibiki's body, searching for any signs of the unusual energy or injury. Before she could manage to get the younger girl's attention, Hibiki spoke up, her voice quiet despite the burning fury she was obviously fighting to keep contained.

"We can't afford to waste any more time, can we?" Slowly turning her head to look her commander in the eye, Hibiki's knuckles cracked under the force compressing them. "Doctor Ver…He'll pay for all of it. Every last thing that he's done, he'll pay for it all," she said in a tone that sent shivers down the spines of those who heard it, the pure unbridled fury contained within turning the end of her sentence into more of a growl than actual words. "We need to go, now. We can't let him get away with what he's doing." As if reading her mind, Maria, Tsubasa, and Shirabe all nodded regardless of their current state of mind, before Genjurou spoke up once again.

"Then let's move out. You'll be heading out together before separating when you get closer to your objectives," Genjurou spoke, his voice clear as the mission plan appeared on the monitor in front. "The objectives are simple. Seize control of Frontier, and if at all possible capture Doctor Ver, whether it be dead or alive. Time is of the essence here, so none of you can afford to get bogged down under any circumstances. Be safe, and good luck to all of you, understood?"

"Then I'll head out first," Tsubasa said, turning to leave with her black leather jacket slung over her shoulder. Before she could exit however, Hibiki spoke up, causing her to pause momentarily.

"Tsubasa, can I talk to you for a minute? There's something I've gotta ask…" she trailed off, causing Tsubasa to nod silently as the duo left, the door sliding shut behind them. When the door closed fully, Maria spoke softly, a grim but determined look on her face as she headed towards the closed door.

"Shirabe, I'll be back. Just believe that we can do it. We'll stop them, and we'll bring both Mom and Rika-chan back, okay?" Once she had finished speaking, she turned back to the door and made her way through, the door sliding open in front of her before she walked through to head towards where she knew she'd meet up with Hibiki to head out. Shirabe quickly turned to follow before a quick coughing noise alerted her to turn around just in time to see the Shul Shagana relic pendant flying towards her. Reaching up quickly and catching it, Shirabe looked to the slightly smiling Genjurou and started for a moment before she smiled back in gratitude, quickly running out of the bridge, ducking around a pair of crew members trying to enter the bridge and following the slowly fading clunk of Tsubasa's riding boots on the metal floor.

"Just don't prove my judgment wrong," Genjurou spoke under his breath, returning his attention to the monitor at his console. "Right now, we don't have time for hesitation. All of you, good luck, and be careful out there."

-SotHR-

"Hibiki, what's going on that you felt it was so necessary to ask me to talk one on one about?" Tsubasa asked, approaching where their respective motorcycles sat within the vehicle bay, a trio of mechanics giving them thumbs up as they approached. Next to her Hibiki walked, a nervous look on her face, her hands inside of the pouch on her orange and black hoodie as she moved beside the older girl, her voice quiet yet still holding traces of her earlier fury as she began to speak.

"Tsubasa, I need you to do me a favor," Hibiki said, her words causing the older girl to look her in the eye directly. "Please, while you're out there today, bring Chris back." At those words, Tsubasa paused, her eyes narrowing slightly as the younger girl continued. "Please, just bring her back, Tsubasa. You're the only one who might be in a position to do it."

"What do you mean by that? Hibiki, what makes you so sure that I'll be the one to find her first?" Tsubasa asked, her eyes glancing into Hibiki's own. After a moment, Hibiki spoke up, her voice echoing throughout the room.

"I just have this feeling that you will. I can't explain it any more than that."

At this, Tsubasa paused, her mind trying to process what her friend had just asked her to do. 'Did something happen between them?' As if reading her mind, Hibiki spoke once more, a sad smile coming onto her face as she turned to look at the exit from the vehicle bay to the outdoors.

"Nothing's wrong between Chris and I. I'm just worried about her. Trying to put everything onto her own shoulders like this is just too reckless. I told her that none of this Is her fault and that she shouldn't blame herself, but I get this feeling that she doesn't quite agree with me on that. I'm going to be going with Maria to go after Ver directly, and I have this feeling that I won't see Chris on the way there."

"Hibiki…" Tsubasa trailed off, her face stern before she strolled forwards and wrapped the younger girl in a hug, catching her by surprise. "Listen to me. I'll bring her back, but you had better come back safely as well. I don't want to have to see Chris be brokenhearted after I bring her back if you're not here."

"Yeah," Hibiki spoke, the smile on her face widening slightly as she thought about the fiery girl who had stolen her heart. "She's the world to me. I wouldn't dream of not being here."

"Then don't get yourself in over your head out there. I know we keep saying this, but you can't keep being so reckless out there, Hibiki. Too many people care too much about you; if you died out there because you were reckless, Chris would be heartbroken, and everyone else around here would be devastated. So please be careful out there." Tsubasa spoke, her voice calm as she released the younger girl from the hug she had wrapped her within. Before either of them could speak any further, the sound of two sets of footsteps approaching caused them to look towards the door as Maria and Shirabe entered, determined looks on their faces as Hibiki nodded, before the sound of four voices singing filled the vehicle bay, the light from their relics engulfing the bay in a flash of light. Moments later the sound of a pair of highly-tuned motorcycle engines filled the room, accompanied by the buzzing of a spinning wheel against the steel deck of the submarine as the armored door to the outside of the submarine opened, a launch ramp extending from the main body of the ship.

Not waiting for the ramp to fully extend, the Symphogear wielders raced out, Tsubasa and Hibiki's motorcycles leaping from the ramp as Shirabe followed, Shul Shagana having created a saw wheel to allow her to move at speed across the continent and keep up with the older girls. Hitting the ground and racing away from the ship alongside Hibiki and Shirabe, Tsubasa spoke up into the microphone in her headset, her eyes locked onto the large group of onrushing Noise approaching rapidly and alerting Maria, Hibiki, and Shirabe of their presence.

"These noise can't be allowed to get by us. We'll take them out first, then we'll head towards our objective," Tsubasa said, drawing a katana from a storage space on her motorcycle. "I'll cut us a path!" Pressing a button on the central console of her motorcycle while racing forwards, her ankle armor's blades deploying to the side before sweeping forwards and combining into one massive blade in front of her motorcycle as she revved the engine, motorcycle racing forwards to meet the approaching horde. Swerving slightly to the right, she swung the front of the bike around, the blade on the front of her motorcycle slashing through a trio of Noise, the blade shredding the abominations in half with ease before she raced ahead into the crowd itself.

"Then we'll follow you through, Tsubasa," Hibiki spoke, revving the engine on her own motorcycle as Maria hung on behind her, her arms wrapped around the younger girl's waist. Next to her, Shirabe nodded, before the trio raced forwards, following the bright blue gleam of Tsubasa's sword as she continued to cut through the group of noise in front of them. As they proceeded to try to catch up, the Ame no Habakiri wielder continued her assault, swerving from side to side and avoiding Noise attacks as she went. Lifting the front end of her bike off the ground and swinging it around, she sliced another quartet of the Noise before placing the front wheel back on the ground and racing forwards once again, the katana in her right hand singing as she sliced through a noise that tried to get close to her, the enemy falling apart instantly as the blade passed through its head.

"Such a nice welcoming committee…" Tsubasa muttered as she continued to race ahead, her bike's blade slicing through a number of noise as she weaved her motorcycle from side to side, dodging the occasional counterattack from any noise that had managed to avoid the combined blade in front of her bike. Behind her, the remaining wielders followed, the group of Noise steadily thinning out in the center of their lines at Tsubasa's assault as she continued to weave her bike through the group of noise, katana slashing and releasing waves of azure-colored energy outwards to destroy any noise that her motorcycle's blade didn't catch as she carved through the large group of noise in front of her, the falling ash from the destroyed enemies jostling her motorcycle as she went. "Get out of the way!"

"Tsubasa, don't get too far ahead!" Hibiki called out, before calling forth the handle for her Gungnir spear from inside of her right gauntlet. Expanding the weapon into its full spear state, she spoke up once more, as Maria tightened her grip around the younger girl's waist. "Hang on tight!" she called out, as she threw her bike into a controlled sideways skid at the same time as she swung the spear outwards, the edge of the spear cutting through a number of noise in front of her. Ending the skid, Hibiki leveled the bike out before racing after Tsubasa once more, another larger group of enemies in between the two motorcycles.

"There's a lot of them," Shirabe spoke up, the armor connected to the saw wheel she used for movement opening up to reveal a large number of magenta discs held within. "But there won't be enough to stop us!" she finished, the discs flying out and towards the large group of enemies in front of her, punching a gap in the enemy lines that she followed towards the center of the line itself. Making her way to where the gap narrowed she scowled, before leaping into the air overhead. Shul Shagana's armor opened up once more, another barrage of discs soaring forth and raining destruction onto the noise below. Landing on top of another pair of noise, her saw wheel cutting through them, Shirabe continued forth into the newly formed gap in the enemy lines, something that didn't go unnoticed by Maria as Hibiki continued to push forwards after Tsubasa.

"Shirabe, be careful. If we're separated, just head straight towards the objective!" Maria spoke out over the sound of Hibiki's motorcycle engine as they rode after Tsubasa. Seeing the hole created by Tsubasa closing quickly, Hibiki spoke up, her voice tense as she threw the bike to the left, dodging a noise that had tried to attack them before stabbing through it with her spear. Withdrawing the spear as ashes drifted off of the weapon, she spoke up once more, the urgency in her voice drawing Maria's attention back to the matter at hand.

"Maria, there's gotta be a way for us to break through," she spoke, as she slashed through another pair of noise with her spear. "I'm already losing sight of Tsubasa. If we don't hurry, then we could really get bogged down." Revving the engine on her motorcycle once more, Hibiki threw the machine into a spin, her spear outstretched in her right hand slicing through the noise immediately surrounding the duo, causing piles of ash to scatter on the rocky terrain beneath them. Ending the spin after taking out as many noise as she could reach, Hibiki revved the engine as she guided her motorcycle forwards in the same general direction she had seen Tsubasa ride in. "Any ideas?"

"Just one," Maria said, drawing her armed gear from its storage in the gauntlet on her left arm. Mentally willing it into the same whip-sword weapon she had used earlier, only more shaped like an actual sword, she slashed outwards and in a circular motion, the blade shifting into a whip of blades that expanded around the duo as they raced forwards, chopping down noise after noise that had the misfortune of being caught in the cyclone of blades. Soon they chopped their way through the last few noise in their path, finally emerging from the mob of enemies after tearing a path through to the other side. Returning her armed gear to its dagger-like form and returning it to the gauntlet, Maria sighed. "Looks like Tsubasa's already gone ahead…"

"Yeah," Hibiki replied, her eyes narrowing in determination. "Tsubasa will be fine, and so will Shirabe. But for now, we have to concentrate on the mission at hand." Revving the engine of her motorcycle once more as Maria wrapped her arms around her waist, Hibiki guided the bike towards the looming structure in the distance, her mind focusing on the mission in front of her, despite her worries about how her friends were doing. 'Keep yourselves safe, you two…' she thought, her motorcycle cresting a hill and leaping into the air before landing on the rocky terrain below, picking up speed as they headed towards the tower looming in the distance and the destiny that awaited within.

Frontier, Main Structure, Bridge, 3 hours and 10 minutes after Frontier Rising

"So they've come," Ver whispered, the video feeds displayed in front of him showing the four 2nd Division Symphogear wielders as they made their way towards the main structure. "I figured that they'd make their way through that group of Noise so easily, even with those numbers. Oh well…at least they've been separated now. Let's move to the next phase." Reaching up and pressing a button in the collar of his lab coat to open the mic on his end, he began to speak once more, a serious tone entering his voice. "It's time. They're on their way. Be ready to fight when they arrive. And remember what will happen if you were to fail."

Releasing the button that activated his mic, Ver proceeded to bring up another screen, his transformed arm pressing lazily against the control sphere as he did so. 'Looks like it's time to unleash my new pets…' he thought, as animalistic growls and roars echoed through the room from the video on screen.

"It's time, my pets. Now go and find your prey."

Frontier, Exterior, Ruined Village Plateau, 3 hours and 15 minutes after Frontier Rising

"Almost there," Shirabe whispered, her eyes narrowing as she approached the main structure from the south. Taking note of the smaller structures around her as she raced by with saw wheel spinning, she brought her attention back to the large structure looming over the smaller structures surrounding her. "If I hurry, I'll be able to catch up with them there. And maybe, just maybe, we can put a stop to the doctor's plans…" she trailed off, her thoughts turning to her best friend. 'Kiri-chan…what could you be thinking right now? Can't you see that the path the Doctor and Mom are taking is wrong?'

Arriving at the center of the ruined structures, a feeling of being watched crept over Shirabe. Returning the saw wheel to its storage within her armor, she stood in the center of the clearing, the structures surrounding her shining bright under the early afternoon sunlight as she scanned the area. 'Where are you…' Shirabe thought, eyes glancing at each structure in search of the presence she felt. Soon her eyes locked onto the structure in front of her. 'There…!' she thought, eyes finally reaching the top of the structure, where a familiar figure stood waiting, her hoodie raised to cover her head and scarf fluttering in the early winter wind.

"Kiri-chan," Shirabe gasped out, her body tensing up as her friend looked her in the eye from her perch atop the structure. Pulling her relic pendant out from under het hoodie, she began to sing, a green sphere of light surrounding her form as she did.

-Seiwoss Igalima lyzen tron-

The sphere of light fading, Kirika stood, the armor of Igalima surrounding her as she withdrew her scythe's handle from its storage. Spinning the weapon around as it expanded into its full scythe form, she began to speak, her eyes narrowed in focus at Shirabe as she slid into a stance with the wicked blade of the scythe reaching upwards towards the sky from behind her.

"Shirabe," Kirika spoke, her voice serious as she glared down at the Shul Shagana wielder. "Are you sure about this? Are you that set against the plan that you've betrayed us, that you've betrayed ME?"

"The plan that the doctor has set up won't do anything but create more pain and destruction. All it will do is create even more weak people, and cause them to suffer! We swore that we'd protect the weak people, not oppress them! Nothing even remotely good can come of that," Shirabe spoke up, her eyes staring into her best friend's own as she continued. "Nothing will be left if his plans succeed. You know that!"

"And nothing will be left if we don't follow the plan! We can't possibly survive if the moon falls! What don't you understand?" Kirika shouted back, her voice rising in intensity as she shook her head at her friend's words. "Why would you do this, Shirabe?"

"Because the song in my heart told me that what I was doing was wrong Kiri-chan!" Shirabe called out, her eyes narrowing in determination as she slid into a stance, eyes never leaving the location her friend was standing. "I'm going to follow that song, that rhythm, no matter what, just like Hibi-san and Maria do!"

"And what does it tell you then, Shirabe-chan?" Kirika replied, bringing her scythe's blade forwards and pointing it at her friend as if to challenge her. The armor over her twin ponytails opening and revealing a large pair of buzz saws, Shirabe spoke up once more, a pleading tone in her voice as she called out to her best friend.

"Kiri-chan, please get out of the way and let me through! I don't want to fight you!"

"And I can't do that, Shirabe!" Kirika replied, her voice rising in volume to a shout as she took hold of her scythe with both hands, the scythe blade expanding into three separate blades. "I won't let you interfere in the plan! I want to leave something behind before I disappear completely, and this plan is the only way for me to do so! I want to leave something behind so that people can know that I lived here with you, mom, and even Maria!" Clenching her firsts tightly and popping the saw blades out from the underside of her heel armor, sparks flying as they dug into the ancient stone beneath her with a cracking sound, Shirabe spoke up once more, her voice filled with determination.

"Then I'll do what I have to do," she shouted out firmly, mentally steeling herself while giving the command for her Symphogear to enter full combat mode. With saddened but loving eyes she looked up at the person she held closest to her heart, who would now be her opponent. "I'm sorry, Kiri-chan." As she whispered those remaining words, she felt the mechanisms inside of the Symphogear armor slide into place with a dull thud, a slight whining sound echoing into the early winter air from within her armor as the saw blades attached to her ponytail armor began to spin. A second later the saws attached to her heel armor started to shred the stone beneath her feet as she shot forwards towards her opponent.

"And so will I!" Kirika shouted out as she leapt into the air, spinning around and swinging her scythe from right to left, the extra blades flying through the air at a high rate of speed in a pincer motion towards the Shul Shagana wielder. Reacting quickly, Shirabe swerved to the side, the saw blades from her ponytail armor flying forwards and meeting the incoming scythe blades with a clang, sending the scythe blades soaring through the air and into the structures surrounding them. Not even giving the shorter girl a chance to breath, Kirika flashed forwards, the boosters in her shoulder armor firing to give her added momentum.

Splitting her ponytail armor into four separate arms and calling forth a new set of saws, one on each arm, Shirabe pressed forwards, the saw arms attached to her left ponytail swinging downwards towards Kirika. Bringing her scythe blade around and parrying the upper left arm, Kirika quickly span her scythe, the blade catching the lower left saw and tossing it upwards and away from her. Leaping backwards and to her left, she sprang forwards once more, the boosters in her shoulder armor firing once again as she swung her scythe once again in a downwards slice.

Raising the saw blades that were closest to her up in defense, Shirabe parried the initial cut before bringing her own unblocked saw blades in in a horizontal slice, the saws singing as they raced towards Kirika's midsection, causing the Igalima wielder's eyes to widen. Reacting quickly, she flipped backwards in midair, the boosters within her shoulder armor firing and flinging her away as the saws passed through where she had been just seconds earlier, aiming to cut their target in half. Landing on her feet and splitting her scythe into a pair of miniature scythes, Kirika leapt forwards once more, her left hand spinning the scythe held within as she brought the curved blade in her right hand around in a horizontal slice which was caught by the lower left saw of Shirabe in a shower of sparks, the clashing blades echoing throughout the area.

Refusing to give the shorter girl a chance to counter attack, Kirika spun forwards, the scythe in her right hand pushing the saw blade away as she turned and brought the scythe held in her left hand around in a rising diagonal cut, the blade of the weapon glinting in the afternoon sun as it met the descending saw with a clang and pushed it away from the blonde. Continuing her dance, Kirika span once more, a quick burst from the boosters in her shoulder armor rapidly closing the ground between her and Shirabe while bringing the scythe in her right hand rising in a vertical cut as her friend brought one of the other saws downwards to match, sparks raining out upon impact once again as the blades of the saw cut into the scythe while the scythe's edge caused the disc of the saw itself to warp under the pressure. Eyes widening, Shirabe leapt away, discarding the damaged disc and retracting the remaining blades into her ponytail armor before letting loose with a barrage of disks, the weapons causing the Igalima wielder to dance away, scythes spinning and deflecting the disks away when possible while dodging the rest, clouds of dust rising from where the discs impacted the ancient stone of the area.

"Looks like we have…" Kirika trailed off, shouting as she combined her miniature scythes back into the larger scythe and called forth another set of extra blades. Spinning around and sending the extra blades at Shirabe once more, she continued her spin, calling forth another pair of extra blades before sending them at her friend as well. As if she had heard the Igalima wielder begin to speak, Shirabe launched another group of projectiles forwards to intersect the oncoming scythe blades.

"Plenty to butt heads over!" She called back, the discs flying forwards and colliding with the scythe blades and engulfing the area in an explosion, the smoke clouding the duo's view of one another as shrapnel whistled past them or bounced ineffectively off their armor. Not wasting any time, they rushed in once more, Shirabe's ponytail armor returning her damaged saw in pristine condition as Kirika dashed in with her scythe swinging, her weapon meeting Shirabe's own with a loud clash as the saws slapped the blade away, the recoil threatening to shatter them as they spun. As her weapons wobbled dangerously, Shirabe quickly spun them down to reattach them, preventing them from shattering while before bringing them back up to clash once more with the scythe. Weapons struggling against each other, Shirabe and Kirika both had one thought pass through their minds.

'I can't lose here…no matter what…'

Frontier, Exterior, Riverside, 3 hours and 20 minutes after Frontier Rising

"So Shirabe-san is under attack," Tsubasa said, her hand to her earphones as she sat near the cliff face. "and Hibiki and Maria-san made it through safely." A moment later Genjurou's voice came through her headset once again, as the bluenette scanned the area for any signs of movement.

"There's no sign that Chris is even out there right now. But still, that doesn't mean that FIS doesn't have anything else ready and waiting to impede you and the others. Keep yourself safe, Tsubasa," Genjurou spoke through her headset, bringing a sad smile to her face as she listened in, her eyes shut loosely. Taking a breath, she began to reply.

"Hai, taichou. Keep me updated on how the others are doing," Tsubasa whispered, releasing the button that engaged the microphone within her headset. Opening her eyes and scanning the area she was stopped in, Tsubasa couldn't help but notice the beauty of the area, even as her mind began to reflect on her mission and the promise she had made to Hibiki. 'I got too hasty and was separated from the others…but, we all knew that we'd have to separate eventually anyways for this mission. If Chris isn't going to take the bait that I'm providing, then I should keep going towards the main objective and meet up with Hibiki and Maria-san…' Eyes turning towards where the main structure of Frontier sat to the south of her location, she prepared to start up the engine on her motorcycle once again, before a volley of energy arrows started to rain down on her and her motorcycle. Flipping away from where she sat as the arrows impacted her vehicle, destroying it in a small explosion, Tsubasa landed in a crouch, her eyes drifting upwards on the cliff face to where the source of the attack stood, her crossbow drawn and aimed at where the bluenette had been resting just a moment before. Summoning a katana from her armor's storage, Tsubasa began to speak, her eyes locked directly onto Chris' own.

"So I see that you accepted my invitation, Chris," she called out, eyes locked directly onto those of the younger girl as she stood atop the nearby cliff face, returning her crossbow to her armor. "I've been expecting you to show up." Not getting a response from the younger girl in front of her, she continued to speak, trying to find some way to get a response. "You don't know just how worried everyone is, Chris. Your girlfriend is trying to hold herself together, but even she isn't her normal self without you there. You know that you don't have to carry everything on your own shoulders, so why are you doing this?" At those words, Chris' stoic appearance seemed to break, the mention of her girlfriend's emotional state shaking her briefly before the stoic mask returned as she began her reply, eyes not leaving Tsubasa's own.

"I know that, Tsubasa. I know that it's not my fault and that I shouldn't try to carry it on my own shoulders," Chris replied, voice shaking slightly. "But at the same time, it still is my fault. If it wasn't for my activating the Staff in the first place, then Ver wouldn't have been able to use it like he has, and so many of the lives lost both in the past and earlier today wouldn't have been lost. Tsubasa, even what happened that day four years ago at the concert was my fault. I was so damn naïve to trust Finé, and it cost the lives of so many, even your partner. I'm honestly amazed that you don't hate me for it. Their blood is on my hands and it seems like that the peaceful life I enjoy is being shattered by my past actions, even if it's not. So even though all of you have forgiven me for the things I did in the past and don't place any fault on my shoulders for that, I still blame myself for all of it."

"Chris, none of us could ever hate you…" Tsubasa trailed off, a sad smile on her face as she spoke up, her katana pointed at the ground. Taking a few moments to process what she just heard, she continued her reply, the image of Kanade dissolving into dust in her arms playing in her mind as a tear fell unnoticed down her face. "What happened that day was a tragedy for everyone who survived. But it's in the past. We've all told you that nothing that's happened is your fault. Why can't you just accept that? Hibiki would move the entire planet if that was what it took to be with you, you know that!"

"I know, and I'm really thankful for that…" Chris trailed off, her voice continuing to shake as she spoke. "But at the same time, I can't make her protect me all the time. This is something that is MY burden to bear, not hers. That's why it's something that I have to do on my own. How can I ever allow myself to enjoy my life with her completely as long as this guilt hangs on my shoulders? I can't come back yet, not as long as the Staff is still out there." Summoning her crossbow once more and aiming at Tsubasa directly, she continued, voice taking on an added urgency. "Tsubasa, don't try to stop me. This is my burden, and mine alone!"

"Don't be an idiot," Tsubasa shot back, taking a hold of her katana with both hands and sliding with ease into a familiar stance. "You don't have to bear this burden all on your own. I promised Hibiki that I'd bring you back if I found you, and I'm going to keep that promise. You told her to not be reckless, but what do you think you're doing by doing this all on your own? Let us help you!"

"Tsubasa…" Chris trailed off, her crossbow spawning energy bolts that hovered as if waiting to be fired. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry that I shot you on the ship back there. But that doesn't mean that I won't fight with everything I have here."

"Then there's no other choice, is there?" the bluenette replied, eyes narrowing in determination as she searched for the slightest tell that the battle would begin. A second later Chris pulled the trigger on her crossbow, the bolts lancing downwards towards the waiting swords mistress. Bringing her katana up to deflect the initial bolts before leaping backwards and deflecting another few bolts, Tsubasa slashed her blade in an upwards arc, releasing an azure wave of energy at the part of the Cliffside that Chris stood upon.

'I can't afford to get hit by her even once…' Chris thought, leaping away from the Cliffside just in time to avoid the energy wave as it ripped into the wall of rock, shredding it and sending stone shrapnel in all directions as she reached up with one arm to protect the metal collar around her neck. 'Can I even trust this plan Nastassja has? How long will it take her to disable this damn thing…' Calling forth another crossbow before shifting her weapons into a submachine gun state, she opened fire once again, spraying the area her friend stood with rounds of automatic gunfire as the Ame no Habakiri wielder brought up her blade, deflecting bullets away from her body before she leapt forwards to meet the descending Chris as she fell, katana slashing horizontally towards the younger girl's stomach.

Eyes widening, Chris twisted to the side, body spinning away from the older girl as she turned around and opened fire once more as Tsubasa raced past, her feet hitting the ground and allowing her to aim with more precision. Spinning back around and bringing her blade up in a circle, Tsubasa slashed the approaching gunfire away, sword slicing through some of the bullets as others buzzed past harmlessly. Not giving her opponent a chance to breathe, Chris opened fire once more, the bullets spraying around the older girl's feet once more and kicking up chunks of stone from the riverbed as Tsubasa cartwheeled away, the blade in her hand deflecting as many bullets as she could catch as the midday sunlight glinted off the surface of the blade. 'Gotta buy as much time as I can…but how long do I have to stall for?' Chris thought, ejecting the now empty magazines from her crossbow as her armor revealed another set of magazines. Bringing the guns into position the armor launched the magazines into the air, the fresh bullets sliding into place with a metallic clang as Chris stood, taking aim once again.

Before she could get another shot off Tsubasa darted forwards, her katana swinging down in an overhead slice and forcing the younger girl to step away to the side, dodging the slash as Tsubasa followed quickly, turning her grip on the blade into a reverse grip and slashing back upwards, the edge of the blade grazing Chris' armor as she leapt backwards. 'That was too close…' she thought as she landed, opening fire once more at the older girl, causing her to stop her advance and cartwheel to the side, dodging the gunfire and kicking up rocks in the process, wincing at the weight she had placed onto her left arm.

'I can't let something like this stop me…' Tsubasa thought, her eyes staring towards where Chris stood, guns pointed towards the older girl. 'I made a promise…and this injury isn't going to stop me from keeping that promise...' Bringing her left arm back up to grab hold of the katana's blade alongside her right arm once again, Tsubasa sprang forwards, covering the ground between her and Chris once again before bringing her katana down in a vertical slash that was caught by Chris's crossed guns, the weapons coming together in a clash that echoed throughout the riverbed. Breaking apart from the clash the duo leapt away from each other, Tsubasa landing in the creek flowing through the middle of the stream with a splash, sword raised in a defensive stance as Chris opened fire once again, the bullets racing at the older girl from further downstream.

Leaping to the right to avoid the bullets as they flew past, one grazing her left arm and causing her to wince in pain, Tsubasa responded, her katana flashing downwards and releasing another azure wave of energy at Chris, who leapt to her left, escaping the onrushing wave of energy as it passed, the water in the creek flying upwards as the wave passed by. 'Looks like things are starting to get serious…' Tsubasa thought, a small smirk coming onto her face as she stood. 'Then I guess I'd better stop messing around and fight to my fullest…'

2nd Division Temporary Headquarters, Bridge, 3 hours and 25 minutes after Frontier Rising

"Sir, Tsubasa and Shirabe are both engaged in combat against the other Symphogear wielders," Aoi spoke, her words causing Genjurou's eyes to narrow as he processed the information in front of him. "However, Hibiki and Maria appear to be getting close to the main structure. Taichou, should I have them hold off on entering the main structure?"

"No, time is of the essence here. They'll have to head in on their own for now," Genjurou replied, standing up from his seat at the commander console as he watched the video feeds on his monitor. "I can't help but feel as though there's something else that's yet to happen here…there's been someone waiting for Shirabe and for Tsubasa, although we took that into account. It'd be stupid of them to leave Frontier's main structure itself unprotected, so the question is what could be there?" he whispered, his mind coming to a quick decision as he prepared to exit the bridge, something that didn't go unnoticed by Aoi as she spoke up.

"Sir, what's the best option then?"

"As adults, it's our job to provide as much support as we can to the younger generation so that they can be placed into a position to succeed. It wouldn't be right of us to do anything else, since the Symphogear wielders are the ones who are going to be doing the majority of the fighting," he said, his voice unwavering as he turned to look her right in the eye. "Our orders are to capture Frontier, as well as to capture Ver dead or alive. But if the girls keep getting held up, it becomes more and more likely that Ver will be able to escape. Ogawa and I will head out directly. Aoi, you're in charge of things here. Keep us updated on what's going on in the field if possible, and tell Hibiki and Maria that they'll have backup shortly."

"Hai, taichou," she said, as Genjurou nodded to Ogawa, the two adults exiting the bridge in a hurry as their shoes clanked on the metal floor. Moving to the command seat on the bridge, she brought up an audio feed to the Gungnir wielder and began to speak, her voice echoing into the microphone as the bridge became active once again. "Hibiki-san, Maria-san, can the two of you hear me?"

Frontier, Exterior, Just outside of Main Structure, 3 hours and 30 minutes after Frontier Rising

"Loud and clear," Hibiki spoke up, the sound of her voice echoing faintly through the rocky valley as Maria stood next to her. The duo had been forced to leave Hibiki's motorcycle behind on account of the jungle that had sprouted seemingly from nowhere minutes earlier, and were making their way towards the entrance to the main structure when Aoi's voice had come into their headsets, causing them to pause. "What's going on with everyone else?"

"Ogawa-san and Taichou are heading your way to provide backup while Tsubasa and Shirabe are engaged in combat, leaving me in charge here," Aoi's voice echoed through the speakers of both girls' headphones. "He did say that you shouldn't wait for them to get there before proceeding however. Remember, you can't afford to get held up any longer than necessary."

"Aoi-san," Maria cut in, her voice filled with a slight level of anxiety as she spoke. "Do we know who Tsubasa and Shirabe are fighting?" A moment later the woman's voice came through once more, voice apologetic as she spoke.

"Tsubasa-san is engaged in battle with Chris," she began, her words causing Hibiki to look down at the rocky terrain beneath her, a saddened look in her eyes. "And Shirabe-san is facing off against the Igalima wielder in combat. It looks as though things are getting intense though, so you could be without both Tsubasa and Shirabe for a little while." Before Maria could speak up in response, her shoulders shaking slightly at the news, Hibiki spoke up once more, her voice low but determined.

"Aoi-san, Arigatou. Please, keep us updated as to what's going on. We're going to go on ahead and continue the mission." Releasing the button on her headphones that allowed her to speak with Headquarters, Hibiki turned to the older girl before speaking once more, her voice quiet. "Maria, we have to keep going. Shirabe will be fine; if anyone can get through to Kirika, it's her." Walking over and looking the older girl in the eye, she spoke once more, a sad smile on her face as she put a hand on her friend's shoulder to try to ease the older girl's concerns. "Trust Shirabe. She'll be fine, and she'll get through to Kirika. For now, we need to concentrate on the mission."

Before Maria could respond, the sound of branches snapping from nearby caused both girls to tense. As Maria reached towards her armed gear, slowly drawing the dagger-like weapon from its place in her gauntlet, Hibiki's eyes scanned the area, trying to spot where the sound had come from. 'I get the feeling that we're being watched…' she thought, eyes darting around the jungle surrounding them. 'But by who? Or is it what?'

"Maria, can you clear some of the area around us?" Hibiki whispered, her voice filled with tension at the uncertainty of the situation. Nodding silently, the Airgetlam wielder shifted her weapon, the blade extending into a whip-like sword at her will. Raising the newly-changed weapon above her head, Maria lashed out with it, the blade expanding in a circular arc that sliced through the jungle, the radius of which slowly expanded to create a small clearing around the two girls. Returning her armed gear to its dagger-like form, Maria frowned before speaking up, her eyes scanning the now cleared area.

"It doesn't look like anything's here, but that can't be…" she trailed off, before the ground beneath the duo began to buckle. Eyes widening, they jumped away from where they stood, landing on opposite sides of the newly-formed clearing as a clearly identifiable creature leapt out of the earth, its jaws snapping shut as it emerged. Sliding into a stance, Hibiki's eyes narrowed in anger at the familiar-looking foe as it let out a roar, its fury echoing throughout the clearing before the silvery beast sprang forwards, the ground beneath it cracking as it leapt towards the Gungnir wielder, right arm swinging outwards at Hibiki's body in an attempt to knock her towards the line of trees surrounding the clearing. Bringing her left arm up in an attempt to block the attack while activating her gauntlets, Hibiki braced herself, the creature's arm impacting her blocking arm with a greater amount of force than in her previous fight as it made her skid slightly to the side from the force of the blow, tearing a small trench in the soil beneath her feet. Quickly turning the momentum to her advantage, she turned, a spinning kick impacting the creature in the jaw and sending it stumbling backwards away from her as Maria moved to join the battle. But before she could begin a follow up attack to Hibiki's own on the beast, her friend spoke up once more, her voice cold as ice.

"Maria, keep going towards the main structure!" Hibiki spoke, her eyes never leaving the recovering body of the Nephilim as it shook its head slightly from the impact. "We need to get to Ver, and this thing is only going to try to stall us from doing so. If we're both fighting this thing, then Ver will get what he wants from it, right? Get going; I'll handle things here and catch up to you when I'm done."

At this, Maria nodded, backing away from Hibiki slowly before turning and running in the direction of the main structure, the silver armor of Airgetlam disappearing into the jungle surrounding the clearing moments later. Sliding into a loose stance, Hibiki sprang forwards towards the beast in front of her, gauntlets crackling with energy. Sliding under the outstretched arm of the Nephilim as it lashed out with a straight jab, she leapt upwards, her right fist driving directly into the monster's jaw and sending it stumbling backwards. Refusing to allow the creature to breathe, Hibiki pressed her advantage, stepping forwards and backhanding the torso of the creature in front of her with her left arm and knocking it slightly sideways before landing a scissor kick to the midsection of the beast, sending it into the air. 'It's tougher than the last time…'

Her advantage wouldn't last that long, as the Nephilim flipped backwards, landing on its feet before slashing at the Gungnir wielder with its left arm, the claws of the creature glinting dangerously in the sunlight. Bending over backwards and allowing the claws to pass overhead harmlessly, Hibiki completed her maneuver by springing backwards in a backflip, her feet connecting with the creature's jaw once more and sending it stumbling backwards. Capitalizing on the sudden change, she swept her leg out, aiming to sweep the creature's legs out from underneath it. Connecting with the monster's feet and sweeping them out from underneath itself, she sprang backwards and to her feet once more before turning to witness the creature's body hit the jungle floor, the impact of its body kicking dirt up into the air. Climbing back to its feet quickly, the Nephilim opened its jaws, a vengeful roar escaping before the creature raced forwards, its fist driving into Hibiki's stomach, knocking the wind out of her and sending her flying backwards, her back hitting a nearby tree and causing cracks to form in the tree itself as she slid towards the ground. 'It's not just tougher…it's faster…stronger too…'

Taking a moment to try to get the air back into her lungs as she climbed onto one knee, Hibiki quickly brought both arms up above her head in a cross guard, catching the Nephilim's fist as it tried to smash her head into the turf. Immediately stepping forwards and inside of where the creature could easily reach her, Hibiki struck back, her gauntlets crackling with energy as she landed a pair of rapid-fire punches directly to the creature's midsection before being forced to step to the side as the creature's head came lunging downwards, jaws clamping shut over thin air where she had stood just a second before. 'I can't get caught by that thing's jaws…if I do…' she thought, the unpleasant image she had seen over two years prior flashing through her mind briefly at the thought. Willing herself to focus once more on the fight, she leapt backwards and to the side, creating space as the monster's fist came crashing into the ground once more.

"Still, while you may be tougher…" she trailed off, as the creature closed in once again, fist drawn back. Spinning around, Hibiki snapped her leg outwards, the spin kick connecting with the Nephilim's arm as it raced downwards, causing it to snap at the elbow and forcing the creature to stagger backwards, a pained howl bursting from its jaws. Not giving it a moment to breathe, Hibiki closed in quickly, her right gauntlet crackling with energy as she backhanded the creature in its stomach before bringing her arm up in a flash, the back of her gauntlet impacting the creature's head and causing it to howl before she spun to her left, her left leg extending into a kick as the back of her heel impacted the other side of the creature's head, sending it spinning to the floor of the clearing in pain. Summoning her spear's handle from its storage in her right gauntlet, she allowed it to expand before stepping forwards once more, her Gungnir spear ready to strike at the fallen beast. Standing over its fallen form, she struck, the spear piercing downwards into the Nephilim's chest and causing its blood to explode from the wound.

"Gotta hurry and catch up to Maria…" Stepping away from her fallen opponent and withdrawing her spear from where it had impaled the creature, Hibiki turned, walking away from the Nephilim's wounded body towards where the main structure rose towards the sky, the spires atop the structure seemingly pointed directly at where the moon sat in the sky. But as she reached the edge of the clearing closest to the structure, a blazing orb of energy flashed in from above her, leading her to leap back as impacted the ground in front of her, the explosion created throwing stone and mud into the air and causing her to raise her arms in defense from the heat. Before she could react further, a glimpse of a fist flying in from the corner of her vision caused the Gungnir wielder to bring up her right arm in a block, the active gauntlet catching the monstrous fist of a Nephilim before it could reach her directly and deflecting it upwards.

'Didn't I just kill this thing?' she thought, stepping in and delivering a punch to the chest of the opponent in front of her, sending it tumbling back before a glimpse of red entered her field of vision, causing her to jump into the air to avoid the energy blast as it impacted the ground where she had just been standing, obliterating the impact zone and lighting it ablaze. Clearing the fire beneath her, Hibiki found herself suddenly shot forwards, the force of a clawed foot impacting her in the back and sending her headfirst towards the turf below, the ground beneath her cracking slightly upon impact as she went into a roll. Rolling to her feet once again, Hibiki's eyes widened at the opponents in front of her before she slid into a stance, the flames surrounding the clearing rising higher and shrouding the quartet of foes in front of her in shadow, even as her original opponent climbed to its feet. 'Four of them…' she thought, eyes narrowing. 'I'm in over my head…but I won't back down…I can't back down…'

Returning her spear to its miniature handle state before storing it once more in her gauntlet, Hibiki stared her opponents down, before the pair of Nephilim in the middle moved, each racing forwards with arm ready to deliver a punch to the Gungnir wielder. Twisting her body to the left and allowing the punch of the beast approaching her from her right to pass by, she spun around back to her right, delivering a counter kick to the face of the beast, knocking it into its counterpart and sending the both of them stumbling to the side. Not giving the creatures a chance to relax, Hibiki continued to rotate, spinning into a low crouch before exploding upwards, her right gauntlet crackling with energy and impacting the closer of the two Nephilim in the jaw, sending it spiraling backwards and to the ground. The action didn't come without its price though, as the closest remaining Nephilim slammed its fist into her side, sending Hibiki tumbling towards the wall of flames that was spreading throughout the surrounding jungle.

Picking herself up off the floor of the clearing, she found herself on the defensive as one of the other two Nephilim who hadn't attacked previously began its attack, leaping forwards with its jaws wide open. Rolling to the side, she evaded the jaws of the beast as they impacted the jungle floor, kicking up dirt and mud from the ground. Beginning a counterattack, her knee rising up to impact the creature in its torso and causing it to stumble backwards before she pivoted, the same leg that had kneed the Nephilim extending into a full kick and impacting it directly in the jaw, drawing a pained roar from the beast as it fell backwards to the ground in a heap. Rushing forwards, Hibiki threw herself into the air, spinning around as she landed a flipping kick into the creature's torso, another pained roar emanating from it upon impact. Scrambling back to her feet, Hibiki ducked immediately as the outstretched arm of the first Nephilim she had fought flew over her head, missing her by a millimeter. Rolling forwards before returning to a standing position away from the demonic beasts she found herself against, Hibiki turned to face her opponents, her eyes taking in the situation as she stood with her back to the rising flames. 'I can't win against them, not here…' Frowning as a plan began to form in her mind, Hibiki slid into another stance, this time geared towards defense. 'This is gonna be risky…but, it may be my only chance...' she thought, the rocket engines within her gauntlets roaring to life as the four Nephilim roared once more, their angry howls rising into the skies above.

Frontier, Main Structure, 3 Hours and 40 minutes after Frontier Rising

'Hibiki, I really hope that you know what you're doing,' Maria thought to herself as she ran through the hallway around her, the orange glow of energy passing through Frontier's structure emanating throughout. It hadn't taken her too long to get to the entrance from where she had left Hibiki to hold off the revived Nephilim, but she couldn't help but feel conflicted about her decision to allow the younger girl to handle her opponent on her own. 'Something wasn't right about that whole situation…but she's right, we have to complete the mission as quickly as possible' Taking a turn to head down a hallway to her right, she continued racing forwards, the ancient hallways giving no indicator that she was getting any closer to where she needed to be.

"This isn't getting me anywhere. There's gotta be some way to find the elevator to the bridge, but where is it?" she asked herself, stopping briefly to think over what she could remember of the map they had all studied leading up to the mission. As she pictured the structure she now found herself within, a beeping sound from within Maria's headset interrupted the humming of the structure around her. Reaching up and triggering the incoming transmission portion, her eyes widened as a voice that she didn't expect to hear from came through her headset.

"Maria," Nastassja's voice spoke, causing the girl to stiffen in surprise. "We don't have much time, so please listen carefully."

"Mom," Maria whispered back, mind racing at how the doctor could have gotten the frequency used by the 2nd Division's Symphogear wielders. But before she could reply any further, Nastassja spoke up once more, the urgency in her voice driving Maria forwards once again.

"I know that you probably blame me for what happened with things. The path that I chose to follow is one that led us all down a very dark road, one that none of the three of you should have ever had to follow and one that Serena would have never approved of. I'm glad to see that you're following what your heart is telling you, and that you've become the protector that Serena knew you would become one day. I was a fool to trust Ver." Pausing for a moment and entering in a few more commands into the console in front of her, Nastassja continued, her voice with a sense of urgency. "Ver never intended to use Frontier to save the planet. His true objective, something that I see now, was always to finish what Finé started, using Frontier to do so."

"But Frontier also has the ability to reverse that, doesn't it?" Maria asked in reply, beginning to move once more. This drew a small laugh from the woman she considered to be her mother, before she spoke up once more, a sense of urgency in her voice.

"You're right. I've analyzed Frontier's abilities and have found something that we can use to stop Ver's plans, as well as restoring the moon to its normal orbit and preventing the fall of the moon. But to do so, you have to get to the bridge as the first step. Once there, we can begin the process of turning everything around, and your song is the key to doing so."

"But what about Hibi-san and the others?" Maria spoke up, her voice urgent as she raced forwards once more. "Hibiki said that she'd catch up when she could, but how will she know where to go? How did you even get this frequency?" After a moment Nastassja spoke once more, the sound of her fingers flying over the electronic keys on the console in front of her echoing into Maria's ears.

"I'm working with Yukine-san right now," Nastassja spoke up, her words causing Maria's eyes to widen. "When she left your group earlier, she never had any intention of doing so for very long. She blames herself for all of this. And even though she knows that she shouldn't and that she's not at fault for the actions Ver performed with the Staff, she still feels as though it's her fault. Right now though, she's in danger. Ver's pitting her against Tsubasa-san in a one on one fight, and is making her wear a collar that he can detonate at any time."

"That bastard…" Maria growled out, the anger within her boiling at the news. "He has to know that if anything happened to her then Hibiki would come hunting for him immediately, just like how if something happened to Hibiki, then she'd…"

"Yes, that's what I'm willing to guess he's thinking as well," Nastassja continued as if she knew what Maria would say, the sound of her typing easily hearable by the Airgetlam wielder through the headset. "That's why he's forcing her to wear the collar. I'm working to disarm the device remotely, but it's going to take a little more time before we can completely turn the tables on Ver. For now, head to the bridge. I'll give you the directions you need to get there."

"And time isn't something that we necessarily have…" Maria trailed off, her eyes darting around the corner as she turned into another hallway, the sound of her footsteps echoing throughout the hallway as she ran. Nodding her head as she thought over Nastassja's words and how they intersected with her own mission, she spoke up once more. "We have to hurry. Mom, tell me where to go and I'll handle the rest."

2nd Division Temporary Headquarters, Bridge, 3 Hours and 45 minutes after Frontier Rising

"Damn…it's like things are just going from bad to worse…" Aoi whispered out, her eyes locked onto the monitor in front of her as it displayed a trio of fights on screen. "First Shirabe was ambushed by that scythe-wielder…then Tsubasa got into a fight with Chris…" Eyes shifting to the third of the three fights, her eyes narrowed as she made her decision. "Get Hibiki on the line!"

"Will do!" a male crew member spoke up, his hands racing furiously over the keyboard in front of him as he spoke. Within seconds an audio feed was established, and Aoi began to speak once more, arms crossed in front of her uniform as she did so.

"Hibiki, what's your status?" Aoi asked, concern evident in her voice as the aforementioned girl ducked under a punch from one of her four opponents, only to be surprised as the same foe turned around, delivering a vicious backhand to the Gungnir wielder's midsection, knocking her back towards the center of the clearing before she skidded to a stop, the ground coming up from beneath her feet in the process. As the engines on her gauntlets flared up once again, Hibiki responded, dodging to the left with her gauntlets' engines firing to avoid an onrushing sphere of crimson energy before it smashed into the trees behind where she stood, an explosion echoing throughout the area.

"A bit occupied, Aoi-san," Hibiki finally spoke, her left gauntlet crackling with energy as she drove her fist into the jaw of one of the Nephilim she found herself up against and knocking it backwards. Taking advantage of the hole she had created she raced forwards, the engines on the back of her gauntlets firing brighter as she moved. She wouldn't be able to get away cleanly however, as a pair of the Nephilim caught up to her, their fists swinging upwards and catching the younger girl in the ribs and causing her to release an agonized scream in time with a horrific crunching noise echoing out from her chest as she flipped away from the Nephilim, her gauntlets' boosters having created enough momentum to enable her to escape from the clearing before tumbling to a stop just outside of the reach of the slowly spreading fire.

"Hibiki, I'm going to send Tsubasa your way, understood?" Aoi spoke up. But before she could give the order to get the older girl on an audio feed, Hibiki spoke up once again, pain injected into her voice as she slowly climbed to her feet with her arms wrapped protectively around her ribcage.

"No, don't, Aoi-san," she spoke, a clear wince coming onto her screen as she began to move to get out of the jungle and into a more open space. "If Tsubasa found out about this, then she wouldn't be able to focus on what she needs to do. The same thing goes for everyone else."

"But you're hurt! I'm not letting you throw your life away like this!" Aoi objected, her voice rising in urgency. As if she heard her speaking, Hibiki replied, an almost pleading tone to her voice as she shifted the armor her Symphogear provided around her chest area, trying to find a way to maximize protection on her broken ribs as well as trying to keep them from puncturing a lung.

"I can hold them off long enough to allow the others to handle things," she spoke, a pained wince coming onto her face on camera as off screen a sickening sound rang out while she continued to adjust her armor, forcing it through her skin and using it as a brace to prevent her now broken ribs from moving around as a stop gap. 'This is the best I can do for now…at least I won't be dying from this…but I can't afford to get hit any more…' she thought, doing the best she could to keep herself from screaming on camera. "I can do that much. I made a promise that I'd come back, and I'm going to keep that promise. Just please, don't tell them what's going on. I don't want them abandoning their parts of the mission for my sake."

"Don't be stubborn!"

"I'm not being stubborn, Aoi-san," Hibiki spoke, a certainty to her voice. "I can…no, I will hold these bastards off long enough for the others to handle things on their end. Just please don't tell them what's going on. I'll be fine, okay?"

"…Fine. Just come back alive, is that understood?" Aoi asked, earning a nod from the younger girl on screen before cutting the audio feed. Sitting back into the chair she was currently occupying, she mulled over what Hibiki had requested of her, before reaching out to the touchscreen in front of her and pulling up another audio feed, this time to Tsubasa directly. Taking a moment to compose herself, she began to speak, her words chosen carefully.

"Tsubasa, listen carefully. You have to hurry and finish things up against Chris. We've got trouble."

-SotHR-

The room was quiet as the nurse on duty left the room, her check on the patient within having been completed. As the door shut behind her and the nurse walked away, a small groan was heard from within the securely sealed room as the patient held within began to stir, the heart rate monitor beside her bed becoming more active as she became ever so slowly more aware of her surroundings along with the steady pain she felt throughout her body. Biting her tongue to prevent herself from screaming from the pain that she felt from the back of her head, Miku slowly pushed herself up until she was sitting up in the bed she rested in, her mind trying to piece together how she had gotten to where she was. Drawing a blank, her last memory being that of having been rescued from the Sky Tower, she tried to speak, only to be able to whisper one word as the pain in the back of her head stopped her from speaking further as nurses rushed in, one of them speaking softly into a microphone attached to their jacket.

"Hibiki…"

End Chapter 12

Author's Postscript: Much quicker this time to get this to you readers. Next time the action keeps ramping up. Thanks, and I'll see you next chapter!-ZBD15