Part 2:
From a broken past, a brighter future will emerge.
Chapter 5:
Fate and Misfortune


Serena's POV:
Section Two HQ


After the duel she had with Maria, Serena knew the only way that she would learn anything new about who she was, was through improving her skills to the best of her ability. To do this, she trained herself moderately between missions, occasionally taking time to chat with Kana and the others, or the other agents of Section Two if Kana and co. were busy with school. However, as she trained today, she thought about the dream she had after her battle with Maria.


Flashback:
Serena's dream


Exhausted from her fight, Serena wasted no time in getting some rest. Her adoptive sister and mother didn't question it, seeing how hard she fought with Maria, but Serena was hoping for something to happen. As she guessed it, The other Serena appeared before her. "Excellent! You're here tonight!" Serena says.

(Apple begins to play)

"I mean... Where else would I be? Only you can see me after all." The other Serena said. "But what's with the excitement this time?"

"Because, now that you're here, maybe I can figure something out about who I was." Serena explains.

"That would be a good idea, however, just because I am who you were, doesn't mean I know everything." The other Serena stated. "How should I put it... I'm basically something like an imaginary friend."

"That makes sense, as much as I hate to say it..." Serena replies, "Can you at least confirm one thing for me? It's about Maria-san."

"What specifically?" The other Serena asked.

"For a while now, I've had this feeling that Maria-san could be my older sister." Serena explains. "Everything just makes sense for that to be true: How she speaks to me, how she acted around me."

"Not to mention the same exact last names." The other Serena interjected, Serena nodding in agreement. "While I can't confirm or deny your claim, there's no doubt she at least knows, or knew, someone directly related to you if she isn't. You should ask her yourself."

"I tried that... It didn't go all that well..." Serena solemnly states. "When I tried to ask her, she just started a fight with me, almost as if she was angry that I asked, saying that I needed to prove myself to her..."

"Then do that." The other Serena firmly said, surprising Serena. "If that's what it takes for Maria-san to see you as Serena Cadenzavna Eve and not Serena Kamui, then do what you can to show her who you are."

While Serena was surprised at first, dreading the idea of fighting someone who shared her blood, the other Serena was right. "Then I guess I know what I must do." Serena says. "I'll do what it takes to have Maria see me for who I really am! Thank you..." Serena looked to her other self, a look of uncertainty on her face.

"What's wrong now?" The other Serena asked.

"Nothing major this time." Serena says. "It's just, it feels weird to talk to myself in the third person."

"If you want, you could always give me a nickname to help ease that awkward feeling." The other Serena suggested.

"Couldn't hurt..." Serena says, thinking about what to name her imaginary other self, before coming up with something she liked. "How about 'Sera'? Sure it's just a shorter version of my own name, but it just feels right."

"Very well. From now on, call me 'Sera'." The other Serena said, embracing her new name.


Serena chuckled, warmly remembering that night, enjoying Sera's company, before returning to her training. As she trained, Genjuro walked in. "Serena-kun! There you are!" he said.

"Commander Kazanari!" Serena says, surprised by Genjuro's sudden entrance. "Any news on F.I.S.?"

"None yet I'm afraid..." Genjuro answered disappointedly. "By the way, where's Ogawa? I assumed he would've been here helping you train."

"He was busy today, so I'm training by myself for now." Serena answers, before coming up with an idea. "Say, you trained Hibiki-chan and Kana, right?"

"That's correct. Why do you ask?" Genjuro asked.

"I was wondering if you'd be willing to train me for a bit, kind of like how you trained them." Serena says. "If you're too busy, I completely understand."

"It just so happens that I don't have much going on currently, so I'd be happy to!" Genjuro said, much to Serena's surprise. "But be warned, I'm a strict teacher."

"I won't let you down, Commander!" Serena replies.

"Then let us begin!" Genjuro shouted, "But before that, what's your opinion on action movies?" This question confused Serena, but she shrugged of the weirdness of it, thanks to the fact her sister trained under him and whatever methods he used.


Kana and Shirabe's POVs:
Queen of the Stage competition


Back to present, Kana and the other wielders watched as Shirabe and Kirika walked onto the stage. "Kana-chan. How long did you know they were here for?" Kanade asked.

"A while now. I had been following them to try and find out what they're doing here, but I still don't have a complete understanding of their plans." Kana answers. "My cover was nearly blown, but thankfully you and Tsubasa-san passed by at the right moment and gave me enough time to sneak away."

"Hibiki, do you know those two?" Miku asked.

"Y-yes, but it's very complicated..." Hibiki answered.

"They are the Symphogear users who declared war on the world. Our enemy." Tsubasa explained.

"Then that means they're with Maria-san? The woman that was controlling all those Noise at the concert hall?" Miku asked.

"That's the one." Kanade added. "Speaking of, does Serena know they're here, Kana-chan?"

"I called her on my way over here." Kana says. "She should be here soon."

As they approached the stage, Kirika decided to taunt Chris, knowing that starting a fight would only harm herself more than it would them, but still managing to get under Chris' skin. "Kiri-chan. Do I need to remind you of our objective?" Shirabe asks, subtly judging whatever she's doing with this competition.

"I know, I know. Steal the pendants made from relic fragments and return to base. Dess..." Kirika replied, knowing Shirabe questioned her motives.

"So why are we doing it this way?" Shirabe asks.

"Rumor has it, whoever's the last person standing on that stage gets one wish granted. It's the perfect opportunity to accomplish our mission!" Kirika explained.

"You think you're real cute, don't you?" Chris retorted. "I'm warning you now, if you're looking to start a fight, we're more than prepared for the likes of you!"

Shirabe decided to ignore Chris' threat, turning back to the conversation she was having with Kirika. "I'll follow your lead, just this once. But remember, this is-"

"I know. I'll make sure we succeed this time, trust me." Kirika reassured her partner.

"Kana-chan... Call Serena and have her get over here ASAP..." Kanade whispered.

"Right." Kana says, quickly exiting the booth and calling her sister to warn her about spotting F.I.S. at Lydian.

As she did that, the MC continued the show, "Without further delay, here's our next challengers..." She said, pausing to ask for their names.

"Shirabe Tsukuyomi and..." Shirabe introduces herself.

"Kirika Akatsuki! Dess!" Kirika finished.

"Okay!" The MC replied, "They shall be performing the Zwei Wing song: Orbital Beat! The stage is all yours!"

(ORBITAL BEAT (Ver. ZABABA) begins to play)

This catches the wielders by surprise, especially the original singers of the song. "This is..." Hibiki said.

"Isn't this Tsubasa-san and Kanade-san's song?" Miku added.

"What are they hoping to accomplish here?" Kanade asked.

"Are they trying to provoke us?" Tsubasa added. Regardless of their reasoning, all the wielders could do now is sit and watch their performance.


Serena's POV:
Section Two HQ


"That should be good for today..." Serena says to Genjuro, exhausted from the rigorous training she did under his teaching. "I can see why Kana and Hibiki train under you... You're quite the motivational teacher, even with your... Unique training methods."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Genjuro remarked, chuckling as he did. "If anything, helping in your training has helped keep me preoccupied from this lull in activity from F.I.S."

The two chuckle, honestly enjoying one another's company. Suddenly, Serena hears her phone start to ring, Kana was calling her. "Kana? What's going on?" Serena asks.

"I don't have much time to explain!" Kana said, "I needed to call you quickly to warn you!"

"Warn me about what?" Serena asks, confused as to what Kana was referring to.

"Long story short, F.I.S. is at Lydian!" Kana answered, shocking Serena.

"Serena-kun? Is everything alright?" Genjuro asked, but Serena didn't answer him.

"They're all there?!" Serena asks.

"Not too certain on that!" Kana answered. "From I've seen so far, it's just Maria's allies, the other two Symphogear wielders! If you can, get here ASAP!"

"Right! I'll be there soon!" Serena says, hanging up the phone.

"What's wrong with Kana-kun?" Genjuro asked.

"She's spotted two members of F.I.S. at Lydian!" Serena answered. "I'm going to help her and the others in case those two try anything."

"Contact HQ immediately if anything goes wrong!" Genjuro requested, receiving a nod from Serena before she hurries out of the door. Once she gets out of her training outfit and into her casual attire, she quickly heads to Lilith, "Lilith, we need to get to Lydian ASAP!"

"Is everything alright, Serena?" Lilith asked.

"I don't know. But Kana said she encountered two of the wielders of F.I.S. and needed me there fast!" Serena explains.

"Then let's hurry!" Lilith said, summoning her relic, and teleporting both herself and Serena to as close as they could get to Lydian without being seen.


Kirika and Kana's POVs:
Queen of the Stage Competition


Kana returned to the booth. "I was able to get in contact with Serena, she's on her way." she says, before watching Kirika and Shirabe's performance with the others, honestly surprised by them. Despite being their enemies, they genuinely seemed to enjoy singing, something all the wielders took note of.

Once the song finished, the wielders discussed this. "Why must we, as those who sing, fight one another?" Tsubasa asked, questioning her resolve to fight the F.I.S. wielders. While not as audible about it, the others shared this thought.

"Would you look at that folks!" The MC said, "Even the champion is amazed by these challengers' voices! With this kind of reaction, I'm dying to know how they scored!"

While Chris was openly upset at them stealing her spotlight, suddenly, the F.I.S. wielders received a call from Dr Nastassja. "We've been discovered by the enemy." She said, surprising the duo. "While we may have been able to fend them off for the moment, it's far too dangerous to stay here any longer. As such, we shall be relocating soon. Rendezvous at the designated coordinates immediately."

Hearing this, Kirika tries to bargain with the doctor. "Hold on Mom! We're very close to obtaining the enemies' pendants! Can't we have a little more ti-"

"There's no time to argue about it, our survival takes priority." Nastassja said, "Regroup. That's an order." With that said, Nastassja cuts communications.

"Alright! It seems the results are i-" The MC stopped to see that Shirabe was taking Kirika with her away from the stage. While they wished to stay long enough to see their objective through, Shirabe knew they had to follow their new orders.

"Hey! Why are you running?!" Chris shouted at them.

"Shirabe! What are you doing?!" Kirika asks.

"While I'm sure Maria has everything under control, I can't help but worry about her." Shirabe explained.

Seeing them leave, the wielders of Section Two quickly acted. "I'm going on ahead to catch them." Kana says, rushing out of the room.

"Let's follow her, Tachibana." Tsubasa said, following Kana alongside Kanade.

"Miku, you stay here for now." Hibiki said to her best friend. "I'm not sure what will happen, but if a fight breaks out, I don't want you to be in the middle of it." Miku nods, watching her friend leave the room. Regardless of how worried she was for her friends, she decided to listen to her friend's wishes.


Lydian School Festival


After exiting the theatre, Shirabe and Kirika made a run for the school's entrance in order to regroup with Maria. On their way, they were stopped by a group of students transporting huge whale-shaped parade floats, causing anxiety in Kirika. "Come on! We don't have time for this!" Kirika says in a loud whisper.

Once the floats pass, they resume their sprint for the exit, only to be met with Serena and Lilith on the other side, stopping them once more. "Hold it right there!" Serena said.

Seeing them, Kirika and Shirabe tried to run the way they came from, only to be met with Kana right behind them, the other wielders close behind her. "Perfect timing you two!" Kana says, thanking her sister and aunt for showing up when they did.

When the others caught up to Kana, Hibiki wasted no time in trying to talk to their enemy. "You're Kirika-chan and Shriabe-chan, right?"

Despite the attempt to try and talk, Kirika and Shirabe's guards were all the way up. "So, seven against two, huh? Sure, you have the advantage of strength in numbers, but you still have a heavy disadvantage by fighting us here." Shirabe said, looking at the civilians in the surrounding area.

"You really want to consider those kind of cruel tactic here of all places?!" Kanade retorted, angered by what their enemy was suggesting.

"Especially after your performance in the competition!" Chris added.

"I'm with Chris on that. There's no mistake that you two enjoyed that." Kana adds to Chris' statement.

Kirika couldn't deny that statement, certain Shirabe would probably also agree with, if they weren't enemies. "Look, I don't want to fight you here." Kirika says, before coming up with an idea. "How about we settle this with a duel! I challenge you and another person of your choosing to a fair duel!" She exclaims, pointing to Chris.

"But why?" Hibiki interjected, "Why must we fight every time we meet? Surely there's another wa-"

"Do you have a better idea then?/ Do you have a better idea then dess?" Chris and Kirika say to Hibiki, taken aback by the fact they had the same thought.

"I'm afraid they're right Hibiki." Kana says. "For the moment, this is the only way we can really go about it."

"I take it that means you volunteer to fight alongside your friend in the duel?" Shirabe said, Kana nodding in response. "Very well. We will notify you two of when this duel will take place. For now, we have to take our leave. Farewell." Quickly Shirabe grabs Kirika's hand and walks to the exit.

As much as they wanted to take them back to base for questioning, they all decided to honor the duel. As they watched the two F.I.S. wielders leave, Genjuro calls them over their comms. "I know you're probably busy at the moment, but we've detected Noise activity. While it seems they've disappeared since then, I need you to investigate the general vicinity in case some Noise still remain." The wielders acknowledge Genjuro's request, heading over to the Noise sighting's coordinates. As they walk away, Serena wanted to run after the escaping Kirika and Shirabe, but Kana stopped her before she did something rash.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to just let them go?" Serena asked.

"For now, it's all we can do." Kana answers. "Shirabe was right, fighting here would only result in us being at a heavy disadvantage with possible casualties and our identities as wielders being exposed. As much as I would've liked to capture them and call it good, this is the best choice." Reluctantly, Serena agrees with Kana's reasoning, heading off with the others to investigate the designated location. Despite this, Kana could understand why Serena wanted to follow them, seeing she did the same when it came to Chris.


Hibiki's POV:
Section Two HQ


Following the encounter with Kirika and Shirabe, the wielders return to base after investigating the location where Noise were sighted, reporting their findings to HQ. Genjuro is confused by these findings: an abandoned hideout and what seemed like several casualties to a Noise attack. With as little information as they have, Genjuro can't help but wonder why a Noise attack happened here of all places. Just as everyone wonders why this happened, Sakuya had something to report. "We just received the analysis of the Black Gungnir from the government's data processing center." He said. "Displaying on the main monitor now."

With that said, the main monitor showed two waveforms, one created by Maria's Black Gungnir, the other, Kanade and Hibiki's Gungnir's. "Scanning for any irregularities." Aoi said, bringing the two waveforms together. "None found, not even at the one-thousandth degree of precision."

This news comes to an absolute shock to everyone, especially Kanade and Hibiki. "Do you think that Ryoko-san possibly stole a piece of the original Gungnir and handed it to the American government?" Sakuya suggested. "If that's the case, they used it to create their own version of the Gungnir Gear."

"But that doesn't make any sense..." Chris added. "When I was with her, the American government was after Finé's research. So if they had their own institute like F.I.S. and the ability to create their own Symphogears, then why would they need to go after her?"

"Considering that they renounced their own government's authority and went rogue, there's a chance that the F.I.S. intended to monopolize any and all technology and information in regards to the relics as they established their own authority." Tsubasa interjected.

As all of this was going on, Hibiki was still trying to come to terms with the fact that her Gungnir, and by extension Kanade's, we the same exact Gear as their enemies' Gungnir. "Are you doing okay, Hibiki-chan?" Serena asked, noticing her distressed expression.

"Hm? Yeah... I'm fine..." Hibiki answers.

"It's okay, I know how you really feel." Serena said reassuringly. "I wish there was another way to get through to them too..."

As the two wielders lament on their situation, everyone else is left to wonder why F.I.S. would turn their own country into their enemy.


Maria's POV:
F.I.S. Helicopter


Following an encounter with soldiers from America, which were dealt with thanks to Dr. Ver's use of Solomon's Cane, the doctors and Maria were left with no choice but to evacuate their hanger base and pick up Kirika and Shirabe and the designated location. Maria would've dealt with the soldiers herself, had two things not been weighing heavily on her mind: Her reluctance to take the life of another human being, and her sister. For years she thought she'd be willing to handle the loss of her sister after what happened years ago, but the recent discovery that she in fact still lived, caused those memories to haunt her even more.


Flashback:
The White Orphanage


Seven years ago, the Nephilim was awakened, but this time, it was completely out of control. "As we expected, it's impossible to control a complete relic that was awakened by force without a song." A younger Dr. Nastassja said.

While everyone panicked, unsure what to do, one person had a plan. "I'll sing." Serena said.

"Serena, no... You really can't be considering using that song can you?" Maria asks.

Hearing this, Serena turns to her sister, unphased. "With my Superb Song, there's a chance I can reset the Nephilim to how it was before it was awakened." She stated.

"But that's just it, "a chance", meaning it might not work!" Maria interjects. "Say you're unable to suppress the Nephilim. What then?"

Serena chuckles at Maria's worry. "If that happens, then I know my big sister will be able to take care of it from there, right? Not to mention, the people from F.I.S. are here to help us too." She said, "With you and them here, I'm not alone. So I know everything will be okay." Maria is taken aback by her sister's unwavering resolve to save everyone from the rampaging Nephilim. "While I may not have wished for this power to wield a Gear as I do now, I did wish to use that power to protect everyone once I accepted it." Without another word, Serena headed into the chamber of the rampaging relic-beast. As much as Maria wanted to stop her, Dr. Nastassja held her back, knowing Serena knew what she had to do. Once she entered the chamber, Serena transformed into her Gear, and began to sing her Superb Song.


"Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal
Emustolronzen Finé el balal zizzl"


Finishing her song, an explosion erupted from Serena and her Gear, destroying the chamber herself and the Nephilim were in, as well as the observation room Maria and everyone else watched from.

(Apple begins to play)

When the light from the explosion dissipated, Maria looked at the chamber Serena was in, seeing her surrounded by debris and fire as she stood in the middle with the unawakened Nephilim relic in her hand, singing without a care. She tried desperately to reach Serena and save her from the falling debris, but the fire stopped her from getting any closer. She begged the other adults for help, but they were too busy arguing amongst each other, complaining about how an experiment just destroyed itself. "How can you say something so heartless at a time like this? My sister just risked her life to save you all! The least you could do is save her in return!"

Hearing a loud noise from Serena's direction, she looked back to her sister. Serena, however, continued to sing, turning to face her older sister. Maria looked on in sheer horror as she saw blood drip from her sister's face. "Maria... I'm glad that... you're okay..." Serena said faintly.

Maria was frozen with fear, all she could do was shout Serena's name, hoping to warn her of the falling debris. Suddenly, she heard a voice echo through the room "Look out!" The voice said. Moments later, Maria was pushed to the ground by Nastassja, the woman Maria thought shouted the warning. When she went to look up to where her sister stood, seeing her looking away from Maria, before the flames and some more debris made Serena disappear from sight. Before Maria completely lost sight of Serena, she saw another figure rush towards her and a brighter light from within the flames before the singing faded away. Fearing the worst, Maria cried out for her sister, hoping for some response. But no response came. As far as the young Maria, and all other parties at the facility were concerned, Serena perished in the wreckage of her sacrifice.


Back to the present, Maria looked at what remained of her sister that night, her damaged Symphogear pendant: her original Airgetlám. Reflecting on these gruesome memories, Maria holds the broken pendant close to herself. "That day... Had I taken your place and sang my Superb Song as you did, would our fates be different? Would I pursue the truth as you do, and you suffer in silence as I do? Or would I not be as lucky as you are to still be alive, Serena?" Maria said to herself.

Suddenly, Dr. Nastassja contacted Maria from the cockpit of the helicopter. "We are about to reach the rendezvous point. Understood?"

"Okay, Mom." Maria replies, preparing to meet up with Kirika and Shirabe.


Kadingir Ruins


The helicopter landed at the rendezvous point, where the battle against Finé took place. Seeing the helicopter, Kirika and Shirabe come out from hiding and run towards Maria. "Maria! Are you okay?" Kirika asked.

"Yes." Maria answers.

This relieves Shirabe, causing her to give Maria a big hug. "Thank goodness. If Finé's power awakens inside you, then we'd never get to see you again."

"Come now Shirabe. Even if that happened, I'll still be myself. So there's no need to worry." Maria says, reassuring her allies as Kirika joins in the hug.

"It's a relief that you two are safe." Dr. Nastassja said, stepping out of the helicopter alongside Dr. Ver. "Now then, we must leave before we are found again."

"But Mom!" Kirika interjected. "We weren't able to secure any of the enemies pendants! This is the worst time to retreat!"

"Kiri-chan's right." Shirabe added. "We also challenged them to a duel, so-"

Without warning, Dr. Nastassja slaps both Shirabe and Kirika across the face. "Enough of this! You three have to realize by now that this battle isn't some game!"

"Actually." Dr. Ver interjected. "We've been waiting for the perfect turning point, no? Well, this 'duel' they promised could be just that." While still recovering from the shock of their slaps, Kirika and Shirabe can't help but worry about what Dr. Ver has in mind.


Chris and Kana's POV:
Section Two HQ


Some time after the analysis of the Black Gungnir was revealed, the Noise alert goes off. "More Noise have been detected!" Aoi reported.

"So they chose to do it the old fashioned way..." Tsubasa said. "A signal to announce their duel directly."

"Then that's our cue to prepare for battle." Kana says.

"Location identified!" Sakuya reported, before audibly gasping.

"What's wrong?" Genjuro asked.

"The location is... The special sealed zone, in Tokyo." Sakuya reported, causing everyone else to become visibly surprised.

"They're at the ruins of the Kadingir?!" Genjuro shouted. "You girls need to get there ASAP!"

"Roger that! Let's go Chris!" Kana says, dragging her duel partner out the door and quickly transforming.


"You are the ocean's grey waves"


(No Justice (Fire) begins to play)


Kadingir Ruins


With Chris hanging on by Kana's hands mid-flight, The two bolted off to the Ruins, transformed and ready for a fight. "You could've given me some time to prepare, you know!" Chris shouts to Kana.

"Sorry." Kana replies. "I just wanted to get here as soon as possible, especially since it's here of all places..."

The two land just outside the barricade that guarded what remained of Finé's Kadingir. Seconds later, Lilith and the other wielders, who didn't transform but were ready to at a moment's notice, appeared behind them. "And why could we not have waited for Lilith-san with everyone else?!" Chris barks.

"Okay, I get it, I made a mistake!" Kana retorts. "You don't have to brag about it..." As they all walked closer to the Kadingir, they saw a silhouette, but not the one they were expecting: Dr. Ver stood alone, Solomon's Cane in hand. "What the hell? Where's Kirika-chan and Shirabe-chan?"

The doctor didn't answer her, instead summoning several Noise with a smile on his face. "That bastard took advantage of our duel!" Chris shouts angrily.

"Seems so..." Kana says, turning towards the other wielders. "Then it's a good thing we didn't come empty handed!" Nodding, Kana signals for the others to transform and help take care of the Noise, of which the other wielders do not hesitate to comply.


"Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron"


(Seigi wo Shinjite, Nigirishimete begins to play)

Without breaking a sweat, the 6 wielders make quick work of the Noise, but as long as Dr. Ver held Solomon's Cane, the Noise kept coming. "I'll ask you again, where are Kirika-chan and Shirabe-chan!" Kana says.

"Unfortunately, they're currently in detention. Therefore, I have come to participate in this 'duel' in their place." Dr. Ver explained. "It'd be a shame for their youthful naïveté to go and ruin our plan."

"And just what is this so-called 'plan' you're plotting, F.I.S.?!" Serena asked.

"'Plotting'? Such an ugly word to describe what we're trying to do." Dr Ver said. "What we hope to accomplish is Mankind's salvation!" Saying this, Ver points towards the Moon. "Our mission is to save the lives of as many people as possible from the Moon's collision course with the Earth."

This shocks all of the wielders, especially the three that were responsible for stopping the Moon fragment that almost collided with Earth not too long ago. "Research organizations worldwide have been analyzing the Moon's trajectory for the last three months!" Tsubasa said. "If a collision were to happen, why wouldn't they say anyth-"

"Why would they say anything?" Dr. Ver retorted. "Think about it: if word about a disaster as huge as this was revealed to the public, there's no telling how much panic and fear would amass worldwide. With an inconvenient truth such as this, there's countless reasons to hide it from the public's ears."

"Don't tell me that means what I think it means..." Kana says.

"It means that the people who know this truth are coming up with a way so only they will survive as the rest of the world perishes, doesn't it?" Chris adds.

"And if that were the case, what would you do?" Dr. Ver asked. "As for us, our answer is simple: the Nephilim!"

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. Immediately, a monster erupts from the ground, knocking Chris back and barely missing Kana, who managed to avoid the surprise attack. "Chris-chan!/Yukine!/Chris!" Everyone shouted, except Serena, who was paralyzed in fear at the sight of the monster.

As Tsubasa went to assist Chris, the world around Serena grew silent. In her head, all she could hear was the monster's roar, the song from her dreams, and a young girl screaming her name. "The Nephilim... I've seen this thing before!" She said to herself. She wanted to help her allies, but the fear and the memories rushing back caused her body to refuse to move.

"Serena? Is something wrong?" Kanade asked, noticing her standing completely still and rushing over to help. "Snap out of it, Serena!" Kanade said, trying to shake Serena out of her trance. Shortly after, Serena comes to, unfortunately right as herself and Kanade are ensnared by a Noise that restricted their movement. At the same time, another of the same Noise ensnared Tsubasa and Chris, right in front of the Nephilim. "Tsubasa! Chris-chan!" Kanade shouted.

"We shall unite the world, forming a single country and government to keep the people safe! With the power of the Nephilim, our plan shall be realized!" Dr. Ver said.

With their enemies stunned, the Nephilim charges towards Chris and Tsubasa with the intent to eat them, which Hibiki and Kana were quick to halt the process of. "Keep that thing busy, Hibiki!" Kana says, "I'll free the others in the meantime!"

Nodding, Hibiki strikes the monster some more before preparing her gauntlets for two heavy blows on the Nephilim, hoping it'll be enough to subdue it. However, Dr. Ver wasn't going to sit by and let that happen. "Hero of the Lunar Attack! What is it you wish to protect with those fists of yours?!" the doctor asked, summoning Noise to halt Kana's progress to save the others in the process. As he did this, Hibiki managed to land one of her charged attacks on the monster, sending it flying back. Immediately, Ver switches to halting Hibiki's progress before she could kill the Nephilim. "While your fists might protect a few people, have you ever considered how many more lives they have taken?!"

This got to Hibiki, remembering the moment weeks ago that Shirabe made her question her reason for fighting, clouding her judgement for a moment as she goes to strike the Nephilim after dealing with some Noise Ver summoned, only for her arm to end up right in the monster's open mouth.

With the brief respite from the Noise, Kana managed to free Kanade and Serena from their trap and went to move on to save Chris and Tsubasa, before she noticed what was happening with Hibiki's battle. Everyone could do nothing but watch on in horror as the monster ripped Hibiki's arm from her body, causing blood to fly everywhere from Hibiki's severed limb. "Gods... Hibiki!" Kana shouts, terrified for her friend's life.

Everyone else also expressed their fears for Hibiki's life, but Hibiki could barely hear their cries. All she could do is watch as the Nephilim devoured her arm, screaming both from pain, and from fear.

A/N: So... Time to address the elephant in the room: Sera.

As mentioned back in her debut in part 1 briefly, She is someone created to sort of be a way to help Serena piece together who she was and come to terms with who she is now despite those memories. As for the name, I wanted to give Sera her name so I wouldn't have to keep writing "The other Serena" when referring to her. My main inspiration for the name was how they went about differentiating between the two Zethias in Dragalia Lost: Present Zethia and Future Zethia, or Zena.

Other than that, I think this is a good place to leave off for now. Thanks for reading and I shall see you all in the next chapter!