12 hours had gone by since Ayano Komichi was declared deceased.

When extraction personnel arrived on Site-4, the arriving medical teams did whatever they could to assist the joint operation's survivors. Aiko had been found lying unconscious amidst the wreckage of Team-04's vehicle. Emergency responders were able to stabilize her injuries.

The same could not be said for Komichi's condition. Even with the advanced facilities which were available within their submarine base's med-bays, her wounds were deemed beyond their capabilities to save her. Komichi's passing was confirmed only about an hour after the team's return to the docked vessel.

Once S.O.N.G. began the process of securing Site-4, the bodies of Clan Hida's missing operatives were discovered near the crash site of the intercepted Illuminati escape craft. Neither Kagami nor Tsuchiya were willing to discuss the physical state of their fallen warriors. Their reports only informed them that investigations were still in the midst of uncovering whatever they could find within the targeted Illuminati hideouts. Kagami didn't even bother to spare Lanfen any words when they crossed paths with each other back in the submarine. She was already preoccupied with readying the deceased for their eventual burials. A momentary stare was the only thing Lanfen received from the redhead.

At some point, Tomosato and Fujitaka had recommended for Lanfen to get some rest in the barracks.

But it was impossible to fall asleep.

Every time Lanfen attempted to close her eyes, she would always proceed to wake up in a cold sweat.

Her hands could never feel free of the ichor that had stained them either. It did not matter how many times Lanfen stood underneath the hot waters of a running shower-head. By the time she managed to drag herself out onto the corridors again, Lanfen's fingernails had already left deep, reddish marks on the palms beneath her gloved hands. Nothing could provide the Symphogear-Wielder any opportunities to distract herself with. Not when the Distortions remained absent from their sensor readings. And especially not when Lanfen herself was on standby as a result of her inability to follow orders. Her unauthorized usage of the S.W.O.R.D. was reportedly being overlooked on the basis of providing 'valuable information', at least.

In time, Lanfen found herself standing before the vessel's morgue at the end of an empty corridor.

It would only take the Adaptor five steps forward for the sliding door to automatically open up. And yet, Lanfen felt her boots practically anchor her to where she stood, all while Lanfen bit down on her chapped lips until bright crimson was shed. It had been some time since she last felt the coppery taste of blood on her tongue. "I'm sorry," were the words she desired to whisper, but Lanfen instead choked back on the plea, and began reaching for a small, square-shaped device which was hooked onto her belt. A micro-player. The Christmas gift that Komichi had gifted her just yesterday. Through a tap of its projected holo-interface, a pair of wireless earbuds switched on, providing Lanfen one simple avenue to drown out her auditory senses with.

As a small exhale slipped between Lanfen's bleeding lips, soft rhythmic tunes began pouring out of her earbuds. With each gentle beat which entered her ears like water droplets from a drizzle of rain, Lanfen could feel her five senses disassociating themselves from her surroundings, sealing the Adaptor within a small, protective bubble for her to truly process last night's events.

Had Lanfen not disobeyed her orders, there was a chance that Komichi would still be here. Had Lanfen not disobeyed her orders, Aiko would not be lying unconscious in the med-bay all by herself. But even then, such pointless thoughts gave Lanfen no reassurance, because she knew that her inaction still would have resulted in Yuki's own death. Caressing the micro-player on her belt with one gloved hand, Lanfen leaned against the corridor's hand-railing, and wordlessly wondered if she even deserved to continue holding onto Komichi's present like this. She had sworn to herself that she would become a Wielder everyone - and anyone - could rely on. And now, here she was, standing atop a pedestal of corpses and empty promises.

Lanfen shifted her sore, reddish eyes to lay its blurry sights on the nearby entrance again. Yuki had not stepped outside of the morgue ever since she entered it alongside Kagami. Yuki had not spoken a single word ever since she witnessed Komichi's body being carried into an arriving helicopter either.

The Adaptor soon detected movement within the corner of her eye along with a resounding thumping of shoes against the metal flooring. Gazing down the corridor behind her, Lanfen took notice of an approaching Professor Elfnein while the teenage researcher's hands tentatively grasped onto her chemical-stained lab-coat. A quick tap of a holo-prompt halted the stream of ambient music within Lanfen's ears. She also made sure to take off her earbuds as a gesture of etiquette before pushing herself off the cold hand-railing. The sharp bow Lanfen promptly gave to the arriving girl could not have been more forced than if she tried.

"Good afternoon, Professor." Lanfen's tone was hush. She cared little about the fresh blood on her lips. "I take it that you needed something of me?"

The Professor's answer came with a shake of the head and a timid folding of her hands behind the young girl's back. "I simply wanted to check on you, Cassandra," Professor Elfnein stated while she casted a brief gaze at the closed door behind Lanfen. "I had... heard... about what occurred last night. You have my condolences. Komichi was... a rather splendid person, wasn't she?" The Professor's quiet musings received only the smallest of nods. "The rest of the Wielders have also just received the news. Hibiki especially wanted to know how you were doing," Professor Elfnein carefully elaborated, providing little surprise with her gentle words.

Being stationed all the way in America could never stop Tachibana from worrying about what went on with all the other members of the Adaptor Corp.

"I'm fine," Lanfen insisted purely out of reflex as a sword-hand grasped onto her belt-buckle, tightening its aching fingers around the chamber where her pendant was securely kept. The crimson pendant which should have kept the operation from turning out the way it did. Lanfen didn't even bother to wonder if Professor Elfnein actually believed her words. The teenage girl's bright eyes told her everything. "Professor," Lanfen slowly began again, even when her bleeding lips were beginning to sting, "have Komichi's parents... been made aware of what happened...?"

A hasty shift of the topic was the only action Lanfen could think of. Especially when Komichi was the only person in Team-04 who still had a family to regularly associate with.

Lowering a pensive gaze down to her black shoes, Professor Elfnein pressed the tips of her fingers against one another before momentarily closing her eyes. "Commander Genjuuro will be personally informing them once he has settled a meeting with the world council," she quietly explained. "Ogawa is already handling the matters related to her passing."

It was the exact same thing like back then, Lanfen thought to herself, unable to forget the circumstances surrounding her own parents' deaths. Monetary compensation and government aide were the standard measures to be applied whenever a S.O.N.G. operative lost their life in the line of duty. Lanfen and Kai-Ming would not have been able to live practically by themselves if it weren't for such procedures. With a slight twitch in her aching fingers, the Adaptor slowly reached into her uniform's pockets, and carefully drew out her smartphone in the palm of her hand, causing a slight jingle to resonate from the toy that was attached to the device by a chain. Lanfen's sights could barely maintain a consistent focus on the swinging object amidst her swirling thoughts.

Kai-Ming was gone. Komichi was gone. And the ones responsible for their deaths were both nowhere to be found.

Before either Lanfen or Professor Elfnein could exchange any more words, a firm voice from down the corridor made itself known. "Miss Jiang?"

Precise footfalls followed, prompting Lanfen and the Professor to subsequently notice a blonde man marching over to them with a data-pad held underneath one arm. It was Tsuchiya Kagero. Despite maintaining a formal composure that a personal aide of Commander Genjuuro was typically expected to don, it was not difficult for even Lanfen to sense Tsuchiya's disquiet beneath his mask of utter calm. After halting a few steps away from the awaiting pair, the man held one arm across his chest and greeted them with a quick bow of the head.

"My apologies if I am interrupting anything, Professor," Tsuchiya said, still holding onto formalities, "but I wish to speak with Miss Jiang regarding our findings surrounding the Illuminati sites."

Professor Elfnein returned the polite bow in kind before glancing back at a hush Lanfen with a small smile. "I will be undertaking a check-up on your pendant later on, Cassandra," Professor Elfnein informed her, placing a pair of hands inside the pockets of her lab-coat. "Please head to my office once I've sent a request for your presence, okay?" Once the Adaptor responded with a curt nod of the head, the Professor bid the woman a gentle farewell, and began making her presence sparse within the vessel's corridors.

It only took a full minute for her footsteps to completely disappear from earshot. Tightening a gloved hand around her smartphone, Lanfen turned back to Tsuchiya, and immediately noticed the way his eyes directed themselves towards the morgue's closed door. Nothing else about the man physically needed to indicate just what he was enduring behind his calm demeanour. The silence which hovered in the air while they stood in the corridor said everything. Although Lanfen was unfamiliar with the names of the Hida operatives who had lost their lives, she did not doubt the possibility that Tsuchiya knew them all to an extent. Thus, the Wielder was the first to break the ongoing silence between them. Lanfen only did so after sliding her smartphone back into her pockets.

"What do you have to report, Tsuchiya?" Her voice was still barely above a hoarse whisper.

Tsuchiya answered with a data-pad held in one hand after calmly fixing his suit's unkempt collar. "Judging from what our investigators have reported, three out of the five sites we struck last night had their databases purged of information before we could secure each hideout," he explained, sounding formal as ever. "They are currently looking into the remaining two, but our teams at Site-3 and Site-5 will require some time to complete the decryption of their findings."

Lanfen listened on to Tsuchiya's expected report while a pair of gloved fingertips brushed themselves against the micro-player on her belt again. The politeness of the conversation was honestly unusual. Four of Tsuchiya's ex-colleagues were in the morgue because of her. And yet, the man did not even seem the least bit interested in reprimanding her for last night's casualties. Instead, Tsuchiya typed away on his ringing data-pad, manifesting holograms which displayed either incoming digital reports or scanned photographs of the Illuminati sites. The blonde man's swift motions temporarily halted only so Tsuchiya could take a slight detour from his report on the current situation.

"I would suggest that you maintain your focus on those who are still with us, Miss Jiang," he said without needing to avert his eyes from his data-pad's projected information. "I'm certain that's what Miss Ayano would have wanted as well."

Lanfen practically flinched at his words. Upon registering Tsuchiya's advice with a practiced breath, Lanfen pursed her bleeding lips and attempted to rest a palm on her hip. The shift in her posture was then interrupted when she sensed a warm sensation suddenly trailing down her cheek. "... Dammit," Lanfen muttered before wiping at the scarred skin with the back of her hand. She was quick to click her tongue at what now stained her gloves: Teardrops. Lanfen initially assumed she had already run dry of such things. After wiping her face using her uniform's monochrome tie this time, Lanfen sharply exhaled and gritted her teeth. "What else is there to report?"

This time, Tsuchiya visibly tensed. The change in his stance was brief but noticeable. "The coroners are currently investigating the bodies of our fallen." He projected a particular report from his data-pad and ran his gaze through the entire thing within seconds. "Even after our operatives had finished scouring the entirety of Site-4's estimated perimeter, it would appear that one of Miss Ayano's belongings still remains missing." Tsuchiya's report made Lanfen narrow her reddish eyes. "It's her handphone," he elaborated. "We are unable to track its current location nor make any contact with it."

Crossing a pair of arms over her aching chest, Lanfen was about to wonder what this could even mean when Tsuchiya suddenly motioned to hand the woman his data-pad.

"There's also one more thing," he soon added, now fixating a focused gaze directly on the Adaptor. "Precisely 10 minutes ago, an investigation team managed to extract surveillance footage directly from Site-4's security systems. It was the only footage left behind. And if our assumptions are correct-" There was a brief, almost uncharacteristic pause in his words. "-We may have identified the person responsible for Miss Ayano's passing."

Lanfen felt her sword-hand immediately twitching at her side before she used its aching fingers to grasp Tsuchiya's electronic device. Taking care to not damage the delicate item within her tightened grip, the Adaptor could not ignore the sensation of flickering fires behind her purple eyes.

It was faint. But it was there. And its warmth only became more apparent while the data-pad proceeded to open up a recently-transmitted video file.

The surveillance footage played out through a single holo-display. Through the view of this specific security camera, Lanfen and Tsuchiya could see the main gates of the Illuminati mansion standing tall up ahead with its iron entrance sealed shut. The time-stamp placed this recording as having occurred right after the Hida operatives accomplished their strike against the hideout's occupants. The camera's sweeping view also allowed them to view the edges of a lingering Alca-Noise Barrier. Initially, its lenses detected nothing within the vicinity of the courtyard. Not even the Hida operatives while they presumably began their chase of an escaping Illuminati vehicle. But upon the passing of a full minute, an electrical alarm arose from the gates, clearly signaling its imminent parting.

Accompanied by the creaking of sluggish metal, the tall gates fully slid to the sides, leaving the courtyard's entrance completely unobstructed. The sheer amount of snow on the ground concealed whatever roads laid underneath the blankets of pure white.

Lanfen practically waited with bated breath for whomever she was about to lay her narrowed sights on. The first thing that caught the Adaptor's attention turned out to be a glimmer of light reflecting off silver metal.

And then, came the approach of a tall, slender silhouette. Striding right into the mansion's snowy grounds was an individual who possessed no regard for the freezing winter winds. A firearm of shining chrome was held in one hand, all while the rays of a hovering, ringed moon constantly reflected off their silver weapon's shimmering allure. The very moment the figure took their first steps into the blanketed courtyard, the glow of the lamp posts around the area washed over their ichor-stained body, perfectly illuminating their form with dim yellow until there was nothing left to the imagination. Lanfen drew in a sharp breath right as all the words on her tongue evaporated. It could not be.

It cannot be.

But it was her.

Their diamond-patterned suit and flowing, azure hair could not pinpoint their identity to anyone else. The serene smile which subsequently directed itself right at the observing camera lens was a blood-chilling sight that Lanfen had witnessed before, both in real life, and within the farthest reaches of her darkest dreams. It was her. The person who had granted Lanfen a crystal which now laid within the confines of her monochrome belt-buckle.

The one who was responsible for placing Lanfen on the path of an Adaptor from the very beginning.

And the very individual who had saved Lanfen's life on the night of the global attack.


"... Is this what's become of you, Proto-Zero?"

As the muffled buzzing of an intercom registered within Aiko's stirring senses, she drew a lungful of air and lightly winced at the light that was falling onto her eyelids. Every extension of her body felt heavy. A proverbial fog practically obfuscated her mind. And any memories of how Aiko ended up where she was - wherever it could even be - were nonexistent. Breathing in the cold air once more, Aiko focused on the tender fabric beneath her fingertips along with the soft object which her head laid itself on. Recognition subsequently became the first coherent thought process within her mind, because the earliest memories she could manifest pinpointed these sensations to one possible location.

When Aiko's eyelids managed to finally pull themselves open, she was greeted by the familiar ceiling of a patient room within a submarine's medical bay. It was just like that night. The one night in which Aiko first met her acquaintance with everyone she now knew.

The slightest shift of her aching head allowed Aiko to see that she had the entire room all to herself. Stationed beside her reclining bed was a mobile stand which held onto a bag of IV fluid by means of a metal hook. The bag's tubing - as one would expect - had been inserted into Aiko's right hand. Arrays of medical equipment could also be seen placed around her room, but she paid them no heed, and instead nursed her sore temples with the heavy fingers of her other hand. Whatever fog still lingered around the spinning gears of Aiko's mental comprehension made it impossible to even remember why she was suddenly in the med-bay of all places.

The medical wraps around her arms, legs and torso were palpable beneath her patient's garb. Shifting around in her bed did not conjure any semblances of pain, but Aiko still refrained from making any considerable movements while she pulled herself up into a sitting position. Upon turning her golden eyes over to a bedside drawer, Aiko spotted her belongings all seated neatly atop the wooden furniture. This included items that she initially believed to have stored within her personal locker. Aiko's monochrome scarf was the first thing she spotted. Sitting on its sides were her smartphone and lucky charm respectively. Aside from the belongings which had been gifted to her by Aiko's teammates, the silver-haired woman couldn't help but tilt her head at the strange absence of her wrist device.

For now, Aiko brushed off the thought and simply motioned to don her black-and-white scarf. Since its monochrome fabric had been personally woven by Lanfen's own delicate hands, she made sure to secure it around her neck with care before grabbing her smartphone to check the current time. A subsequent scan of Aiko's thumbprint was the only thing it required for the digital lock to be bypassed with a confirmatory ring.

2049, December 26th

2:32 PM.

Aiko cupped her pale cheek with one hand after reading the displayed clock.

The last thing her cloudy mind could remember was seeing everyone working together to tune up their vehicle for an upcoming operation. The wallpaper of Aiko's smartphone was visual proof of it, because the moment she switched on her device, Aiko was greeted by a picture of Lanfen, herself, Komichi and Yuki all standing in front of the team's van. Each of them were clad in their S.O.N.G. uniforms and the small smile that Lanfen could be seen wearing made the entire image a cherished memory just by itself. As Aiko fixated her glimmering eyes on her smartphone's wallpaper, she combed her silver hair with one hand, and subsequently perked her ears at the sound of a ringing noise from the room's entrance.

Someone was about to head inside. Expecting to see one of the medical-bay's dutiful staff members, Aiko placed her smartphone next to her charm again on the bedside drawer before preparing a few questions regarding the whereabouts of her absent teammates. She simply felt that it took priority over finding out the severity of her current condition.

But when the door to the room proceeded to slide open, Aiko felt all of her readied questions slipping right through her grasp.

The person who stood beneath the open door-frame turned out to be Lanfen herself. She was wearing a wrinkled uniform of the Adaptor Corp and her gloved hands were visibly tightened into clenched fists at her sides. And yet, what caught Aiko's attention first and foremost were her eyes. Lanfen's purple eyes always carried a faint sense of melancholy behind them. It was the first thing Aiko noticed during their first ever meeting. But now, what she witnessed before her could only be described as a gaze which was utterly devoid of focus. Even when the Wielder's sights slowly met with Aiko's own widening eyes, Lanfen's expression seemingly shifted just so she could muster an obvious façade of placidity.

"Lanfen?" Aiko worriedly called out to her. "Is there- What's wrong?" She was at a complete loss for what to even begin with.

After slowly loosening up a pair of gloved hands at her sides, Lanfen stepped into the room, allowing the door behind her to quietly close back up. The thumping of the Adaptor's boots against the floor did not possess even a hint of their usual vigour. "Tsuchiya provided me with a report of the situation just now," Lanfen quietly stated, running a brief but concerned gaze over the medical wraps on both of Aiko's arms. "There's... something you need to be aware of, Aiko." A distinct twitch visibly coursed through the fingers on Lanfen's right hand. "It's important."

Aiko found it difficult to recall a time where the Adaptor's voice ever sounded so distant. Although most strangers would still regard Lanfen as a woman who preferred keeping her proverbial cards close to her chest, every moment they had spent together thus far typically provided Aiko with glimpses to be made aware of what she hid beneath the convenience of an emotional shield. Aiko herself was almost no different when it came to concealing her worries. So, when she witnessed Lanfen wordlessly walking over to the foot of her bed, Aiko couldn't help but sense as if there were ten different barriers standing between them all of a sudden. Walls that the Wielder herself clearly did not wish to continue holding up for much longer.

While Lanfen slowly leaned against the cold railing of a reclining bed, Aiko watched on as the Adaptor avoided her concerned gaze by facing Aiko with the rear of an Adaptor Corp's winter jacket. A pair of bare hands soon grasped onto the chrome railing after Lanfen accomplished the motions of removing her uniform's gloves. If the Symphogear-Wielder was about to speak, Aiko could not tell due to her complete inability to directly lay her sights on Lanfen's face. The proverbial distance between them had never once felt this vast. Not even when the pair exchanged their first ever conversation in a room which was identical to this one.

"Lanfen...?" Aiko tentatively called out to her again, already noticing the way the woman's hands were shivering around the bed's railing. "Please, tell me what happened." She made sure to choose her words carefully. "How did I even end up-?"

Lanfen visibly quivered right before a shaky breath audibly escaped her. The Adaptor's grip around the metal railing only grew tighter. It was to the point that the knuckles on both of her bare hands were turning into a stressful white.

The sheer faintness of Lanfen's subsequent words made it almost impossible to even hear her. "She's gone," the woman stated, still facing Aiko with the back of her uniform. "Komichi is gone, Aiko."

Aiko blinked and tightly interlocked her shivering fingers with one another. "'Gone'...?" she stuttered, pursing her lips together. "What is that supposed to mean...?" Seeds of concern were starting to sow themselves within Aiko's pounding chest. "Aren't we supposed to-?"

Abruptly releasing her hold on the railing of Aiko's reclining bed, Lanfen audibly drew in a trembling breath before uttering a stream of words which were hardly discernible even with the surrounding silence. She then began to slowly turn around, finally allowing Aiko to witness the bits of teardrops that lingered in the corners of the woman's eyes. Whatever words Aiko initially intended to utter next were immediately lost. "I'm sorry, Aiko," Lanfen muttered between her lips. "The doctors couldn't save her. And neither could I."

The palpable pain within those hush syllables was the final thing Aiko required to register just what she was trying to tell her. There was nothing around them to obscure even one bit of Lanfen's words. Akin to the final pieces of an unfinished puzzle, the woman's statement slipped into Aiko's mind, fixing a single, essential point for absolutely everything to come together right before her golden eyes.

In the span of a heartbeat, Aiko began to remember. She remembered how she had received the wounds on her arms, legs and torso. How Symphogear Team-04 had been deployed on a mission in the dead of a snowy night. And how she had survived an encounter with a pale, golden-eyed woman of azure who gleefully took the lives of their allies. Aiko could not react in any way other than to draw in a sharp breath after digging her aching fingers deep into the bed's blanket. The pounding of her sinking heart could be felt all while it plunged into the deepest pits of her stomach. There were no possible words for Aiko to even respond with, because it was her very own wrist communicator which had provided Komichi's location directly to the enemy.

At the end of it all, Aiko had survived - purely through means she still could not fathom - while Komichi ended up paying for Aiko's mistakes with her own life.

By the time she noticed the sound of teardrops falling onto her blanket, a stream of warm tears had already begun flowing down Aiko's cheeks, far faster than she could even control them.

It wasn't fair. None of this was fair. And there wasn't anything Aiko could do to ever fix it. Her only possible action was to slowly wipe away at her tears as she attempted to utter the faintest of apologies for her lone failure.

Eventually, Aiko felt a pair of arms slowly wrap around her, hesitantly pulling her into a tight hug while Aiko buried her face within the comforts of Lanfen's shoulder. Her flowing tears quickly stained the woman's winter uniform. The Symphogear-Wielder was trembling just like Aiko. And even though she felt completely undeserving of this gentle embrace, Aiko did not hesitate to return the gesture by wrapping her own arms around Lanfen's waist. Her ears could faintly hear Lanfen desperately repeating a stream of hush apologies as the Adaptor sat down on one side of the bed. Aiko desired to utter the same thing, but nothing would come out of her other than the stifled cries she was struggling to hold back.

Their tightening embrace lasted for an amount of time that neither of them cared to track.

They held onto each other for as long as Aiko desired, and their arms only began to loosen just so Aiko could better draw the room's air into her pounding chest. The echoes of their heartbeats sounded as if they were in sync. But even though the warmth which radiated from Lanfen gave Aiko little reason to actually let go, a part of her subconsciously knew that there were still matters for Aiko to inquire about. Once Aiko felt the trembling in her arms slowly weaken into the mildest of shivers, she stifled one last cry, and hesitantly pulled her face away from Lanfen's warm shoulder. What felt like the remnants of Aiko's tears were wiped away by the sleeve of her patient's robe while Lanfen retained a gentle hold around the silver-haired woman.

"Yuki," Aiko carefully whispered, already sensing the rising fear within her chest again. "Where is...?" Upon gazing at the forlorn Adaptor beneath a concealing fringe of silver, Aiko saw the way Lanfen pondered about her answer before she clicked her tongue.

"She's with Kagami and the others," Lanfen steadily answered, directing a tired gaze on Aiko and her alone. "They're still paying their respects to those we lost last night."

Although relieved to hear of Yuki's successful rescue from the Alca-Noise Barrier, Aiko could not begin to fathom what Yuki could possibly be going through right now. Few had known Komichi for as long as Yuki did. And even if such a woman was no stranger to experiencing the results of death, it was obvious from a shared look at one another that both Lanfen and Aiko remained concerned for her well-being. They were supposed to be a team, after all. Unfortunately, whatever words either of them were about to say next would go unspoken. The ringing announcement of someone's imminent entry had just been declared from a terminal beside the room door.

Lanfen motioned to take her arms off completely, but Aiko insistently kept her within their loose embrace by gently returning her own arms around the Adaptor's waist. Thus, when the door slid open to one side for Tsuchiya Kagero's entry into the room, the blonde man was greeted by the sight of Aiko still holding onto Lanfen for some measure of comfort. Tsuchiya gave little in the way of a reaction other than a respectful bow before he made his way inside with a data-pad held underneath one arm. When the door closed itself shut, the man stood to attention and brought up a holo-display from the device in his grasp.

"I am assuming that you've already briefed Miss Shinonome about what had occurred?" Tsuchiya carefully asked of Lanfen, earning him a small nod while Aiko wordlessly glanced at the lucky charm which sat atop her bedside drawer. It had barely been a day since Komichi presented it to Aiko. "... I see. I apologize if this may be inconvenient, but this is unfortunately an urgent matter we have to undertake." He turned to Aiko this time and held one hand across his chest. "You have my condolences for Miss Ayano's passing, Miss Shinonome, but I currently need to inquire several questions regarding what happened during last night's operation. Would that be alright with you?"

Aiko only answered after giving herself a chance to bury the lower half of her face within the monochrome scarf around her neck. If there was still any way for her to provide any assistance in a situation like this, Aiko could not pass up on it. Not after her first ever mission as a field operator. "I have no objections, Tsuchiya."

"Very well then," Tsuchiya said before turning back to Lanfen once again, data-pad placed back underneath one arm. "On another note, I had been told that Miss Godai would like to meet with you on the observation deck, Miss Jiang," he added with his usual formalities. "She stated that she will be there in precisely twenty minutes."

It was only when the two heard this announcement did Lanfen and Aiko finally release their hold on one another. With Yuki's personal well-being on the forefront of her mind, Aiko gestured for Lanfen to go ahead and meet with her as Lanfen carefully got up from the side of the woman's reclining bed. Her purple eyes proceeded to linger on Aiko for just a brief moment. "If anything comes up, contact me," Lanfen requested of her, prompting Aiko to wordlessly respond by manifesting a small smile of reassurance. "I'm... glad you're alright, Aiko," she steadily added, momentarily donning a grin which was still tinged with sorrow.

Tsuchiya promptly stepped out of the way for Lanfen to take her leave. The Adaptor did so after donning her uniform's gloves along with her usual expression of melancholy. Making sure to first provide a thankful bow towards the blonde man, Lanfen soon disappeared behind the sliding door, leaving Aiko to her own devices while the silver-haired woman huddled her legs close to chest beneath the cover of a thick, warm blanket. Last night had been Aiko's first attempt at becoming a protector of this world, and yet, she could not call it anything else other than a complete failure.

"I cannot apologize enough for my performance, Tsuchiya," Aiko whispered beneath the returning silence.

Tsuchiya simply shook his head and sighed. "I assure you that nothing could have prepared yourself for such an opponent, Miss Shinonome." The frustration within the blonde man's voice was barely disguised. "I've already witnessed what Miss Ayano's killer had done to my comrades, and I cannot be convinced that they are anything but a monster in human form."


'Lady Lotte'. It was a name that Tsuchiya managed to uncover from a single, physical document within the archives of the hideout he had led an infiltration team into. There were no profiles to accompany it. Nothing to designate who she was, what she sought, where she came from, or what she even meant as an individual to the Bavarian Illuminati. There was only one thing: A symbol. The azure symbol of a diamond. It barely counted for anything in terms of physical evidence, but there was little doubt it referred to the very same person who had bestowed Lanfen with the power of a Symphogear. The exact same individual who had now taken Komichi's life. Lanfen could not find the words to even explain it all to Aiko.

This entire time, Lanfen was completely clueless about the identity of the woman who had come to her rescue on the night of the global attack. She could never forget what it felt like to lay paralyzed across the ground, all while a Distortion was moments away from ending her life. The large scar which ran down Lanfen's back beneath her winter uniform would always be a physical reminder of that evening. The evening where everything within her life was irreversibly changed over the course of a few bloodstained hours.

But now, they had obtained their first lead. Even if the surveillance footage of Lotte was undoubtedly left behind for S.O.N.G. to uncover, Lanfen finally knew where the blame truly lied when it came to Komichi's death.

Simultaneously, they had gained their first visual confirmation on the individual who had stolen the SG-r04 from the very beginning. Lanfen never once understood why Lotte bestowed the Sword of Damocles upon her of all people. Stored within the ruby-like pendant was a Symphogear with the power to obliterate others of its kind. During the event of its theft, the SG-r04 was an incomplete prototype, but following its return to its original owners, every analysis regarding the now-completed pendant reported zero deviations from the intended design plans. Submitted statements from Yuki, Kageyama and Yaguruma proposed the notion that Lotte could be a new Illuminati overseer with a long-term agenda. Regardless, they only had one absolute truth in their grasp right now, and it was that Komichi was gone.

Gone. All because an Adaptor could not be there to protect her teammates when they needed her the most.

Lanfen found herself to be completely undeserving of the companions who had chosen to reach out for her hand.

As the echoes of Lanfen's footfalls resounded throughout the empty corridors, the Adaptor's swirling thoughts slowed her boots to an abrupt halt on her way towards the submarine's observation deck. Through a subsequent scan of her surroundings, Lanfen found herself to be completely alone, even when she remained where she stood for several passing minutes. A gloved hand eventually began curling itself into a tightened fist.

"Do you desire the power to save your sister?"

Her knuckles pounded themselves against the steel wall before Lanfen could even think about her next move. The thunderous clang it emitted echoed down the corridor, slowly fading away with each second until it transitioned into complete nothingness.

The honeyed words which Lotte had once poured into Lanfen's ears were impossible to erase from her mind. Such a simple inquiry was all it took for Lanfen to accept the power held within a crystal pendant, and it ended up coming from an individual who would presumably go on to take the lives of multiple innocent women. None of the Illuminati databases they uncovered carried any information that identified a potential plan to cull Adaptor candidates around the globe, let alone any data that could establish a pattern for the killings. Their only available option was to begin a country-wide manhunt for Lotte. There was no better chance than now after the simultaneous elimination of five Illuminati bases.

Within moments, an all-consuming silence crept back into her surroundings. Lanfen squeezed her eyes shut and drew in a practiced breath. She could feel the proverbial fires burning within her pupils once again. The sheer ferocity of their flames was enough to momentarily rouse Lanfen's aching sword-hand at her side. Ignoring the physical pain which was apparent within her fist, Lanfen clicked her tongue before slowly withdrawing her knuckles from the undamaged wall beside her. The fires within the Adaptor's eyes had not burned this intensely for so long. Not since the time she had lost control over the S.W.O.R.D.'s power, and not since the very night where Kai was forever taken away from her.

Lanfen only resumed her march once the proverbial flames had simmered down into a steady flickering.

Continuing on through the empty corridors, the silence around the Adaptor was filled in solely through the thumping of her combat boots, indirectly emphasizing the sheer size of the submarine while Lanfen relied on her memory to navigate through it. Intercoms on the wall would periodically buzz to life, signaling the mundane announcement from the bridge of some matter in one of the vessel's numerous modules. These broadcasts practically contributed to the unmistakable absence of combat. Drawing in another practiced breath, the Adaptor attempted to focus only on what laid ahead, keeping her attention on meeting up with Yuki like Aiko had wordlessly recommended.

Lanfen was only halfway towards her intended location when a particular sight suddenly seized her attention. Standing on one side of the long corridor in front of her was none other than Kagami, shinobi operative of Clan Hida and the one who had directed last night's operation. When the Adaptor's footfalls caught the redhead's notice, Kagami turned towards the approaching Lanfen and regarded her with a pair of stern eyes. Lanfen instinctively avoided her gaze before simply continuing her brisk walk. Tensing both shoulders underneath Kagami's hardened glare, Lanfen was about to pass by the Hida operative when Kagami decided to block her path solely by standing before the Adaptor.

"Five." Kagami's statement felt like an icy dagger between Lanfen's ribcage. "Five of our people. Dead. What do you have to say for yourself, SG-r04?"

Narrowing her eyes ever so slightly, Lanfen lifted a gaze from the metal floor and directed her unfocused pupils towards Kagami's fiery stare. The Adaptor could sense the taller woman wordlessly scanning her from head-to-toe. Initially, Lanfen thought about brushing past the Hida operative, but her combat boots instead remained right where they were. After all, it was Lanfen who had decided to disobey orders during an important joint-operation. There was absolutely no foundation for her to argue on when Lanfen's actions indirectly left the infiltration team vulnerable to danger.

"Go ahead," Lanfen dryly suggested, placing one palm on her hip. "Feel free to hit me if you're in the mood. I'd probably deserve it anyway."

A single hand seized the Adaptor by her collar.

In the blink of an eye, sharp pain rose across Lanfen's back along with the thundering creaking of metal. As a stifled wince slipped between clenched teeth, Lanfen reopened her eyes, and saw that Kagami had effortlessly pinned her to the wall through a single motion of her arm. The calm and collected expression on the redhead's face had not even changed in the slightest.

Kagami soon prefaced her words with a slow shake of the head. "Your resolve is lacking, SG-r04." The intent behind Kagami's fiery stare was suddenly becoming difficult to read. What used to be an unmistakable glare of frustration had seemingly turned into that of abject pity and dissatisfaction. "How can you call yourself a member of the Adaptor Corp if this is how you intend to carry yourself?" Kagami tightened her barehanded grip on Lanfen's collar. "Are you truly the person that Kagero has placed his faith in to protect us?"

The Adaptor could only purse her chapped lips. 'Resolve'. Lanfen had to question if she even possessed such a virtue from the beginning. Ever since she lost Kai, Lanfen's core motivator to step onto the battlefield had been to take her frustrations out on the enemy, all while she waited for the eventual return of her sister's cloaked killer. Lanfen was not a selfless heroine like Tachibana nor a steadfast sentinel like Kazanari. Any priorities regarding 'protecting the innocent' were always secondary to seeking out personal satisfaction through an Armed Gear. Her restless sword-hand by itself proved this. No matter how she appeared in the eyes of her own teammates, Lanfen was a woman primarily motivated by the proverbial fires within her eyes.

A commanding voice subsequently resounded from further down the corridor. "That's enough, Kagami."

As the redhead's hand released its hold on the Adaptor's collar, Lanfen slowly glanced aside to see Commander Genjuuro heading towards them with a pair of arms crossed over his chest. Kagami promptly dusted her hands and stood to attention in the presence of S.O.N.G.'s tactical commander. While Lanfen attempted to mimic the procedural action, Commander Genjuuro stepped in front of the pair to direct a swift and wordless hand signal towards the oldest of the two. Kagami answered through a formal bow before the redhead took her leave without directing another word in Lanfen's direction. Once she was out of earshot, Lanfen released a hush sigh and fixed the collar of her uniform.

"I've already delivered the news to Komichi's parents," Commander Genjuuro slowly began, now casting a softening gaze towards the silent Adaptor. Judging by the lingering strands of grey amongst his red hair, even a man of the Commander's stature evidently was not immune to the weight of his everyday duties. "Tsuchiya has also... updated me on the circumstances regarding your Armed Gear, Lanfen."

Subconsciously brushing the tips of her sword-hand against her metallic buckle, Lanfen hastily withdrew her twitching hand to instead fiddle with the tips of the braided hair on her left shoulder. The absent-minded action went on for several seconds until the Adaptor felt compelled to bring up a particular question she had been holding onto just for her superior. "Commander," Lanfen said, standing to attention once more purely out of habit, "if we now know who gave me the Sword of Damocles... wouldn't it be safer to just... throw me in a cell again?"

The perturbed look which grew across the Commander's face was a far better answer than anything the large man could have actually said. "I will not undertake any unnecessary measures, Lanfen." Commander Genjuuro took a moment to caress his temples with one hand. "You've proven yourself to be an Adaptor through and through. I'd also rather not blindly apprehend one of our own without evident reason to imprison Japan's only available Wielder."

"Do I still deserve to be called that when Komichi is now dead?"

Lanfen's rhetorical question shot out of her without any thought behind it whatsoever. The sheer bluntness of her words wedged a momentary rift of silence right into their verbal exchange.

Taking his arms off his chest, Commander Genjuuro's expression remained clear with concern as he placed a single hand on Lanfen's tense shoulder. His grip was firm but gentle. It almost reminded Lanfen of the way her father used to reassure her back when she was just a teenager who could not bear to look at her own reflection. "Anyone would have struggled in your position, Lanfen," he carefully told her. "Right now, all we can do is look out for those who are still around and make sure that nobody else gets hurt. Neither of us will ever have the privilege of undoing the past."

Loosening her shoulders beneath the Commander's humble touch, Lanfen could not help but remember the first time she defied official orders just so she could rescue Aiko within a dark, snowy forest. Unlike before, Lanfen was now witnessing the results of her recklessness.

Commander Genjuuro eventually lifted his hand off the Adaptor's shoulder so he could once again cross his arms. He continued speaking after lightly clearing his throat. "Tsuchiya will be arranging an escort vehicle for you to head back to Yamaku City soon," the Commander explained, now sounding like his usual steadfast self. "You can head back once you've finished a check-up with Professor Elfnein, but the rest of your team will have to stay here until further notice. Take care of yourself, Lanfen. That's an order."

Lanfen provided no response other than a sharp salute and the procedural uttering of the words, "Affirmative, Commander."

Commander Genjuuro promptly stepped aside for the Adaptor to continue on her intended path. Lanfen headed off after bidding the large man farewell with a formal bow.

The remainder of her trek throughout the submarine's modules went on without any notable circumstances. Members of the vessel's crew could be seen quietly minding their business in the corridors while Lanfen undertook the standard procedures of greeting them with salutes. Most personnel returned her greetings. Others were instead too busy with whatever important tasks they had on hand to even notice her brief presence. After a length of time, Lanfen finally found herself stepping through the sliding doors to her destination.

The observation deck appeared hardly any different since the last time Lanfen visited this section of the submarine. It was the place she had chosen to gather her thoughts after the world council first revealed the SG-r04's true purpose to everyone. It was also the same area where Lanfen first found out how Yuki and Komichi were going to be her teammates. Stepping through the cold darkness around her, Lanfen approached the center of a large, circular room, setting her sights upon the lone woman who waited amongst the rows of metal seats. As Yuki sat atop a chair that was facing away from the deck's entrance, the holographic screens which covered the walls displayed a snow-covered city from beyond the submarine's exterior, simultaneously providing the only sources of illumination in sight.

Lanfen's boots grew heavy with each careful step she took towards Yuki. Underneath the dim lighting of the surrounding holographic displays, a tray of items could be faintly seen sitting on a chair beside the waiting field agent. Placed on the tray itself was a large, unopened bottle along with a number of shot glasses. Four glasses, to be precise.

The physical distance between them was closed when Lanfen came to a stop right behind Yuki's chair, allowing the former to subsequently notice how the woman was in the midst of inputting a message into her smartphone. It was undoubtedly a text message for Kaburagi Otome. Seeing the large paragraphs of text which made up most of Yuki's message, Lanfen tightened her chapped lips, and simply waited for her teammate to be finished with her task. Beneath the glow of the room's numerous holograms, the vast canyon of silence between the pair was eventually bridged together by the confirmatory notification of a delivered message.

"... Yuki?" Lanfen softly inquired, addressing the woman for the first time in roughly thirteen hours.

The advent of the Adaptor's voice caused the sitting woman to look over her shoulder until a pair of reddish eyes had landed their sights on Lanfen. The easy-going smile that Yuki wore felt completely hollow, especially when she stood up from her seat with a pair of hands now stuffed inside her pockets. A tentative glance from Lanfen slowly noticed how Yuki's ponytail had been completely undone, letting the tall woman's dark-green hair freely run down her back. Unsure of what to even declare upon her arrival, Lanfen remained completely silent while Yuki herself fixated an empty stare on the floating, holographic displays of the outside world around them.

"It feels... sort of like a bad dream, doesn't it...?" A light scoff accompanied Yuki's dry remark. "I swear I've seen this nightmare before, and yet I-" Her words trailed off faster than they began, taking away Yuki's attempted smile with them until she was only left with a pair of half-open eyes and a restrained scowl. "... We were always ready for somethin' like this to happen," Yuki quietly stated, her gaze still directed at the surrounding holograms. "Neither of us were stupid to think that we would never get hurt carrying out our missions. And despite that... despite it all...!" The conclusion of her words never came as Yuki chose to instead wipe away at her face with the sleeve of a navy-blue uniform.

A multitude of words situated themselves on the tip of Lanfen's tongue. Every part of her knew that she had to say something. And yet, nothing would come out of her. Not even in a moment like this.

After releasing a brief, sardonic laugh between her clenched teeth, Yuki looked away from the observation deck's displays, and shifted her focus to the untouched tray of items on a nearby chair. "I was saving this just for today, ya know?" Yuki explained, getting down on one knee to slowly grasp the slender neck of a bottle in one hand. "I thought it'd be a good way to celebrate our first mission. Just you, me, Komi' and Ai'." Making sure to not knock over anything, Yuki ran an empty gaze over the glass item while its sloshing, translucent contents remained sealed. It only took a moment for Yuki to withdraw her hold over the bottle before she got back onto a pair of feet.

Drawing in a practiced breath, Lanfen ignored the faint flickering within her purple eyes, and attempted to focus her attention solely on her now-quiet teammate. The Adaptor practically forced herself to speak. Lanfen could not stay silent any longer. Not when it was obvious to her that Yuki requested her presence for a reason she had yet to elaborate on. "Yuki," Lanfen gently whispered again, taking a footstep towards the woman, "Tsuchiya said you wanted to see me." Her throat felt as though she was swallowing a stack of razors. "Was there... something you wanted to ask...?"

The Adaptor's inquiry hovered across the cold air, only to remain unanswered when Yuki continued to stay quiet. Wiping away at her reddish eyes again, Yuki sharply inhaled, and then glanced over at the waiting Lanfen. This time, her pink eyes did not fall upon the Adaptor's face at all. Instead, she gazed directly at Lanfen's monochrome belt-buckle. The same buckle which Yuki had given to her during a Christmas morning. The next words that slipped between Yuki's lips were far sharper than anything she had uttered in this room thus far.

"Is it true?"

There was only one answer to Yuki's question. Anything else Lanfen could offer was impossible to support on top of all the evidence they currently had on hand. Unable to forget the sensation of Komichi's fading heartbeats, Lanfen thought back to a submitted report from the med-bay's coroner, and carefully recalled how the bullet they found within Komichi matched the same ones they had collected from twelve different murder cases from across the globe. It could not have been a coincidence. Lanfen's inevitable words were straight-to-the-point.

"It is." The Adaptor fought just to maintain unbreaking eye-contact with Yuki. "Lotte gave me my powers." The truth tasted bitter to her tongue. "And she... was the one who killed Komichi."

Nothing about Yuki's expression immediately shifted in response to Lanfen's faltering declaration. No further words came out of her lips and Yuki's hands simply rested deep within the pockets of her navy-blue uniform. Regardless, Lanfen herself instinctively chose to not say any more while the Adaptor observed the way Yuki's empty gaze panned over to the nearby tray of beverages. Eventually, Yuki ran a single hand through her undone hair before using its fingers to lift up a single shot glass within her careful grasp. The small scoff which then slipped out of Yuki was barely audible beneath the observation deck's overwhelming silence.

Lanfen flinched when the shattering of glass echoed off the hologram-covered walls.

By the time she realized what even happened right in front of her eyes, a single shot glass had been hurled towards the metal floor, causing it to explode into a hundred shards all over the deck. Lanfen tried to take another step towards Yuki, but the empty stare that was soon directed at the Adaptor made the woman freeze right where she stood.

Still surrounded by the numerous holographic displays of the outside world, Lanfen witnessed the way their radiance reflected off the flowing streams of tears on Yuki's face.

"I want you to promise me something," Yuki slowly uttered, balling her hands into a pair of fists at her sides. "Is that... alright with you, 'Fen...?"

The weight within the woman's words made refusal utterly impossible. Lanfen could only answer through a curt nod.

"... If you ever manage to find Lotte... Stop her. For good. No matter what it takes." A pause arose between Yuki's words. A pause which allowed Lanfen to understand exactly what she was attempting to convey between the lines. The proverbial flames within the Adaptor's eyes understood Yuki more than anything. "I know you've never taken down anything other than Noise and Distortions, but we have to stop her, 'Fen. We can't lose anyone else. Not like Komi'. Otherwise, I'd..." The rising desperation within Yuki's voice was impossible to deny. Simply hearing her dire request caused Lanfen's chest to twist itself into an agonizing knot.

And even though the fires in her purple eyes declared no refusal in response to Yuki's words, Lanfen herself had to briefly question if this was truly the only path for her to undertake.

Visible regret drew itself across Yuki's expression as soon as she directed a realizing gaze towards the shard-covered flooring. "... Komi' would be laughing at me right now, wouldn't she?"

Lanfen refused to answer Yuki's dry remark. Instead, she closed the remaining meters of distance between them and attempted to ease Yuki's burdens through a wordless embrace. It was a hollow mimicry of the same action that Komichi would always do, and it was in this very room where Lanfen first experienced it. Even so, Lanfen kept her arms around the taller woman's body, providing Yuki the only gesture she knew to give on the spot. To the Adaptor's relief, Yuki showcased no resistance, and simply returned the action by slowly ruffling the top of Lanfen's head with one palm. Neither of the two spoke during this, letting a stretch of silence run on until the soft ringing of an arriving message resounded from Lanfen's wrist device.

It was a summons from Professor Elfnein.

Yuki would have gone along with Lanfen if the former had not insisted on staying behind.


"Thank you for your time, Miss Shinonome. I shall be taking my leave now."

Thirty minutes and forty-four seconds. Aiko's recounting of the joint-operation did not feel as lengthy as it actually turned out to be. Still, even if she experienced no difficulty in remembering how the infiltration team had been attacked by a pale woman dressed in azure, actually putting it all into words was an ordeal that Aiko would not ever desire to repeat. Tsuchiya himself showed visible discomfort towards finding out how Kamashiro and his team were suddenly eliminated with ease at the hands of a single individual. Thus, once the man had departed from the room with a data-pad beneath one arm, Aiko sought to comfort herself by grasping onto the homemade scarf which was still wrapped around her neck.

Immersed within its monochrome cloth, Aiko's eyes shifted over to the foot of her bed while she pondered about the one matter she had chosen to withhold from Tsuchiya: The dome of translucent energy that had prevented the loss of her life at the hands of an azure woman's blade. A woman they all now knew by the name of "Lotte."

No matter how many times Aiko mentally played back her encounter with her golden-eyed assailant, Aiko's mind could only single out one possible source for the mysterious barrier. It was completely theoretical, and yet, she fully believed that it was the implant within her chest which had saved Aiko the moment her life was about to be extinguished. Nothing within S.O.N.G.'s database could currently identify her implant. Every hypothesis from the research team led into dead-ends and all of Aiko's biological scans saw it as nothing more than an inert piece of unknown metal. Aiko herself would have mentioned the energy dome to Tsuchiya if she had not felt a part of her subconscious quietly insisting for Aiko to remain blissfully ignorant.

It was a decision that she was going to undertake for the time being. Regardless of whatever had happened to herself, it was Komichi who had fallen victim to Lotte's hands in the end. And if Aiko had not restrained herself with the chains of her own cowardice, there was a sliver of a chance that Komichi would still be here.

Wiping her eyes with the tail end of a black-and-white scarf, Aiko drew in a shaky breath before she panned her sights over to a tray of medicine which sat next to her belongings atop a bedside drawer. It had been left behind by a nurse in the midst of Aiko's statement along with a written reminder from Professor Elfnein to take her daily medicine. Having nearly forgotten to do so with everything that had been going on, Aiko gently pulled herself towards the side of her bed and reached for the nearest medicinal capsule.

The room's ongoing quiet was pierced by a light pop. A small exhale then slipped between Aiko's lips at the sight of her usual pills. Using the Professor's written reminder to keep track of her required dosage, Aiko took a glance at the replaced medical wraps around her arms, and silently wondered just who this "Lotte" truly was. Every single word Lotte had uttered sounded like a verbal enigma to Aiko's ears.

The resentment she had sensed within their honeyed words alone was akin to the thorns on a lavish rose.

"Repent beneath the depths of the Great River, dear sinner."

Agony lashed throughout Aiko's head before she could even ingest her first pill.

Drawing in a sharp breath, she grasped the sides of her cranium while a capsule slipped right out of her fingers.

Swinging a disoriented gaze from left-to-right, Aiko's golden eyes went wide as her medicine clattered to the floor, scattering its contents all over the bottom of her bed.

Aiko's fingers gripped her pounding head with every ounce of strength she could muster. Sensing the pulsing sensations which were rising within her chest, Aiko's hoarse breathing pulled in the cold air, pushing away the surrounding silence with each desperate gasp. Aiko recognized this feeling. It was not the beating of her racing heart. Not at all. Instead, it was the exact same sensation she had experienced when a translucent field of energy had miraculously formed around her body. The dome-shaped barrier that had protected her from Lotte's descending blade.

A second pang of agony prevented Aiko from thinking any further, forcing her to grasp the bed's railing with one hand while her heart ached within a tightening ribcage. Something was hammering against the back of Aiko's head. With each palpable blow that reverberated throughout her cranium, Aiko could feel all five of her senses shutting down one-by-one. The warmth of her monochrome scarf was the first to vanish. Aiko's blurring vision turned completely blind soon after. And right as her agony peaked into a rising crescendo, Aiko felt the cold chill of the room around her disappear completely, leaving her weightless mind to float within an abyss devoid of any sensation whatsoever. The pain was gone.

Everything was gone.

In time, an image began to form itself before her returning vision. Accompanied by the familiar howling of a winter breeze, Aiko witnessed a dozen frozen droplets descending from above, slowly dotting the shifting environment with white while constructs of groaning, towering metal instantaneously rose up from the earth. In their futile attempts to reach for a cloudy, pitch-black sky, these skyscrapers paved the way for the ground beneath Aiko's feet, forming a concrete floor in the form of a road for her to stand on. Watching all this from high above was the celestial body of the Moon. Surrounded by a ring of debris, its lunar glow peeked between the clouds to shine down onto a familiar metropolis.

Yamaku City.

The concrete jungle appeared exactly like it did when Aiko first laid her eyes on its luxurious splendor. Even when bereft of any automobiles whatsoever on its expansive, endless roads, the flashing lights of Christmas could still be seen enriching every available surface in sight, seizing Aiko's astonished gaze until a realization fell upon her hazy mind.

Nothing was within her control. No matter how strongly she willed just for her fingertips to move, every inch of Aiko's body refused her wordless demands, denying her the right to control even the direction of Aiko's unblinking gaze. As her heart continued to beat a pace which contradicted the growing fright within her mind, the woman's pupils began shifting the aim of their attention, causing her head to slowly turn aside completely against Aiko's desires. Within the span of four blissful heartbeats, Aiko's golden eyes settled themselves on a monochrome figure who had been standing within the periphery of her vision.

"Lanfen...?"

Cassandra Jiang Lanfen, Wielder of the Sword of Damocles.

Already clad in the black-and-white armour of her Symphogear, Lanfen swung a hasty gaze towards Aiko's direction, all while the crowned warrior herself stood at a considerable distance beneath the shadow of a roadside building. Aiko was about to soundlessly call out for Lanfen in wordless desperation when the Adaptor immediately drew herself into a defensive stance. The look of utter distress that Lanfen now wore was undeniable underneath the light of a shattered moon as her fingers wrapped themselves around an Armed Gear's golden hilt. Seeing Lanfen's purple eyes directing themselves solely on Aiko, the only action the silver-haired woman could subsequently undertake was to comprehend the sensation of a familiar pulse within her own chest.

"No...!"

Uninhibited by the proverbial tethers of Aiko's consciousness, her parting lips began whispering into the winter air, completely disregarding Aiko's soundless pleas for this entire nightmare to cease. Even when she came to the eventual realization that she was nothing more than a marionette in this dream-like world, Aiko struggled against her own actions, desperate to wrestle for salvation while an ethereal energy swirled deep inside her. Through each esoteric syllable which flowed out from her moving lips, a blooming mass of unreality amassed itself on the tip of Aiko's tongue, manifesting a verbal malediction of incomprehensible, eldritch destruction. After reaching the culmination of this magical invocation, Aiko felt her cloaked, armoured body drawing a single step towards the Symphogear-Wielder.

The winter silence was soon shattered by a single exclamation from an unfamiliar voice.

"Jie, watch out!"

A flash of all-consuming emerald enveloped her entire vision.

The Sword of Damocles drew itself from Lanfen's hip.

And in an instant, the world before Aiko's eyes was burned away.

Aiko's body violently lurched forward in her bed the moment she regained control over every inch of her trembling skin. Seizing the bed's railings within her tightening hands, Aiko gasped for air as her widened eyes took in the sight of a room within a submarine's silent med-bay. The blankets beneath her hanging head were slowly stained by falling droplets of cold sweat. While the pitter-patter of their hush descent fell upon deafened ears, the distinct pulsing within Aiko's aching chest went entirely silent. Unable to feel its ethereal energies swirling within her any longer, Aiko slowly directed a gaze towards the ceiling right as she sensed a wave of shivering comprehension crashing right into her spiraling thoughts.

What she had just witnessed was a memory that predated Aiko's awakening within a snowy forest. And it was her first true glimpse into a past which defined her entire artificial existence.


Underneath a setting sun's departing radiance, the outskirts of Yamaku City basked itself in a glow that could be seen through the tinted, bulletproof windows of a S.O.N.G. escort vehicle. About an hour had passed since Lanfen's departure from the docked submarine, accomplishing two-thirds of the expected journey-time as she spent the entire trip thus far completely drained of her remaining physical strength. Similar to the Adaptor's first experience within the black escort vehicle, a physical barrier sat between the passenger and driver compartments, keeping Lanfen's escorts out of sight while the woman kept her attention on an ongoing conversation with Kaburagi Otome and Yukine Chris.

Understandably, the entire duration of their half-hour exchange had been conducted solely through written messages within a temporary texting group. As Lanfen's smartphone sat within the palm of a gloved hand, the device's keychain swung back-and-forth from every bump the vehicle ran over, causing the toy to softly jingle every few seconds. On the screen of the smartphone itself, Kaburagi and Yukine's messages could be seen coming in at random intervals, amassing about four hundred and fifty-five written texts thus far. Some of them were in the form of lengthy paragraphs. Others were barely longer than five-or-so words.

Lanfen responded to them all regardless of length. It was the monochrome Adaptor who had been at Komichi's side during the time of her passing, after all. It was also the smallest courtesy she could provide for a pair who knew Komichi far longer than Lanfen herself did. It had only been two days since they all shared a Christmas dinner together beneath the same roof. Lanfen could not imagine how either women were truly reacting to the situation. Gazing at Yukine's accumulating messages in particular, the lack of any coherence within the crimson Adaptor's texts made it partially difficult to comprehend them. Their unusual number of errors possibly indicated that Yukine was anything but sober on her end of the line.

The messages from Yuki's fiancé, on the other hand, remained completely reserved. Too reserved for an outspoken woman like Kaburagi. Chat bubbles would periodically hover on the line for a minute or two before every single text the florist eventually delivered. Judging by how their discussion was playing out, it was all but certain that it was going to be Kaburagi's family who would be providing the flowers for Komichi's ceremonies, the first of which was estimated to only take place after two weeks had passed by.

The group's conversation seemingly neared its end right as Lanfen's escort vehicle entered the metropolitan vicinity of Yamaku City. The snowy trees beyond the windows had been replaced by traffic-filled roads along with the familiar sights of flashing signboards and crowded sidewalks. With possibly less than thirty minutes remaining until the vehicle arrived at its destination, Lanfen held up her smartphone, and carefully addressed Kaburagi if there was anything she desired from the monochrome Adaptor. Just like the florist's previous messages, Kaburagi's response appeared completely calm when looked at from a surface level.

"I appreciate the sentiment, Jiang. But I would prefer it if you focused on your duties for now. Thank you."

Hovering a shivering thumb over the smartphone's screen, Lanfen thought about outright confirming if Kaburagi truly desired nothing in the wake of Komichi's passing. But the woman instead stayed her hand and refrained from possibly overstepping anyone's personal boundaries. Suppressing the faint flickering of a proverbial fire within her eyes, Lanfen distracted herself by observing the countless passing-by pedestrians while she waited for the next person to 'speak' up. The curt vibration of an arriving message only needed a moment to occur. It was from Yukine. The growing time-gaps between her texts betrayed just how late it actually was on the crimson Adaptor's side of the world.

"Rookie, could ya do a favour for me?"

Lanfen tightened her chapped lips and typed in a hasty response. "Of course, Yukine."

Chat bubbles appeared on the screen for about a full minute before Yukine's next message showed itself. "Look out for Yuki whenever ya can." The second text arrived sooner than the first. "Even if Yuki insists she's alright, just be there for her." It was becoming obvious to Lanfen by now that plain, written text could not carry the same palpable sensation as outright-spoken words. "She's always been the type to need someone by her side durin' times like this. Yuki just ain't the kinda person to admit it out-loud. You understanding me, Rookie?"

Momentarily glancing at the towering skyscrapers which stood beyond the car's tinted glass this time, Lanfen recalled her earlier conversation with Yuki back in the submarine, and pondered on how it would have panned out instead had Lanfen not been hesitant to speak for almost the entire exchange. Yuki was alive because of the monochrome Adaptor's rescue attempt. And yet, it was precisely because of Lanfen's actions that Komichi ended up losing her life. If Yukine harboured any outright resentment towards her for what happened, the crimson Adaptor showed none of it. Not even after Yukine spent the majority of a half-hour bluntly airing her thoughts about this "Lotte" individual.

After a while, Lanfen typed in a message with but one cursory glance back at her smartphone. Half of the response ended up being outright deleted before she was even willing to actually hit the 'Send' button. "I understand, Yukine. I promise to do whatever I can."

It did not take long for their voiceless conversation to arrive at its conclusion soon after.

Kaburagi was the first to dismiss herself. "Please rest up whenever you can, you two. And please, stay safe."

Yukine's own message came later on. "I'll give a heads-up the next time I'm allowed to fly back. See ya around."

Switching off her smartphone with the squeeze of a side-button, Lanfen slipped the device back inside her winter coat before she attempted to slouch against her seat for the rest of the vehicle's ongoing journey. To the Adaptor's annoyance, Lanfen could still feel her body subconsciously readying its aching muscles for the first sign of danger to reveal itself any moment now. Her right hand was especially prepared to sate its aching fingertips through the vicious swing of an Armed Gear. In an attempt to restrain this incessant itching, Lanfen forcibly redirected her wandering mind towards an earlier check-up with Professor Elfnein, and essentially played back what she experienced in the form of a cognitive diversion.

Her hour-long meeting with the Professor ended up detecting zero abnormalities within Lanfen's relic pendant.

Even after carrying out several thorough scans and internal analyzations of the SG-r04's core systems, the results they received were entirely within their favour. No hints of any implanted backdoor systems. No signs of any hidden programs. The relic was the exact weapon which the world council had commissioned directly from S.O.N.G.'s top minds. Although Lanfen herself still remained unconvinced with its apparent safety, the Adaptor eventually altered the focus of her mind again, and swiftly brought up a projection of S.O.N.G.'s database through a memorized hand motion over her wrist device. The archives had apparently acquired a recent addition to its library and Lanfen would only be a fool to remain ignorant of its contents.

A brief navigation through the database easily displayed the desired information in the form of a projected holo-display above the Adaptor's wrist device. And just like Tsuchiya's report had dutifully stated, it was in relation to a discovery they had made during last night's joint-operation. A discovery that Komichi herself had personally uploaded right before communications between command and the infiltration team went completely dark. Needless to say, everything Lanfen proceeded to see before her purple eyes only made the Adaptor furrow her brows in thought.

Komichi's uncovered information came in the form of about a dozen scanned images. Appearing to be the yellowed pages of a physical, paper tome, Lanfen counted at least three hundred pictures which were now sitting within a newly-created folder, prompting her to begin a brief examination of it all while she started from what looked to be the tome's first page. Stylistic sketches of pure pencil-work could be observed on each displayed image. And what few words which existed alongside the drawings were evidently of a language that nobody within the research teams had yet to identify. Not even with Professor Elfnein's dedicated assistance.

Even so, the granite sketches all by themselves were already capable of conveying a 'story' purely through their stylized visuals.

The first drawings depicted a tale of a great dragon whose wings spanned across the horizons, allowing it to envelop the entire world until every domain laid underneath its all-mighty power. When this winged beast approached the complete conquest of the realm, a lone warrior proceeded to descend from the heavens, subsequently becoming the lone obstacle between the dragon and its goal of global assimilation. Sketches in the further pages portrayed battles of earth-shaking proportions, envisioning a fateful duel which lasted for multiple sunsets until the dragon was finally forced into a deep, long slumber beneath the soil. And although the world proceeded to regain its freedom at the cost of the lone warrior's life, the pages' drawings portrayed a civilization who had fled down a raging river's passages on great arks, liberating them entirely from the sleeping beast's abode.

In time, a single one of these arks separated itself from its congregation, bestowing itself with the chance to find salvation in the form of untouched land as the rest of its contemporaries sailed further down this great, unknown river.

Lanfen's interpretation of the displayed tale was suddenly interrupted by an abrupt notification from her wrist device. Acknowledging the escort vehicle's imminent arrival at her apartment complex through the tap of a newly-appeared holo-prompt, the Adaptor felt the car judder to a complete halt, causing Lanfen to confirm her destination by glancing out of the vehicle's tinted windows one last time. Fully aware that her drivers were going to remain unseen even up until now, she promptly climbed out of the vehicle once its locks were undone, and wordlessly greeted the sidewalk with the soles of her uniform's combat boots. It only took the timespan of a trembling exhale for Lanfen's escort vehicle to disappear down the congested roads of Yamaku City.

Shivering underneath the embrace of the descending, winter snow, Lanfen slowly gazed up at the apartment complex which stood before her, and quietly clicked her tongue.

Just over a day ago, she - and three other women - had departed from this building. And yet, Lanfen now stood all by herself, just like the time she had returned without Kai.

Sensing the proverbial fires brewing within her eyes again, the Adaptor squeezed them shut for a brief moment before she began stepping towards the sun-lit entrance of the apartment complex's lobby. The constant revving of Yamaku City's motor vehicles were easy to filter out as nothing more than white noise in the background. After reminding herself on how the Commander had apparently assigned a Hida operative to watch over her until Lotte was in S.O.N.G. custody, Lanfen headed through a pair of sliding doors, and glanced around the vicinity to find not a single, living soul waiting for her inside. One would normally assume that this was due in part to Clan Hida's modus operandi, but the Adaptor's instructions were clear: Lanfen was to expect at least one present individual on the building's ground floor.

A familiar ringing within the pockets of her winter uniform quickly pulled Lanfen's attention over to her vibrating smartphone.

Since she was essentially operating on a combination of proverbial fumes and her own gut feeling at this point, the exhausted Adaptor pulled out her device within one palm, all while her aching sword-hand instinctively twitched at Lanfen's side. She made sure to first drag her obstructing body away from the lobby's entrance before Lanfen inputted her smartphone's five-digit PIN code. Mildly curious if this was just another one of Clan Hida's enigmatic methods, Lanfen directed her focus towards the notification of an arriving text message, and subsequently opened it up with a tap of her smartphone's touchscreen.

As soon as a digital window displayed the received message, Lanfen began tightening her fingers around the handheld device, threatening to break the item within the grasp of her gloved palm.

The sender's ID-code. It was Komichi's.

And the message itself conveyed a single demand which had been typed out in plain, clear English.

"Head to your sister's final resting place all by yourself. Otherwise, every single soul in this building shall soon accompany your dear friend."