Part 2:
From a broken past, a brighter future will emerge.
Chapter 9:
The Rise of the Heroic Dr. Ver.


Hibiki's POV:
Tokyo Sky Tower


As Kana was busy helping in the evacuation of the Sky Tower, Hibiki and Miku had run into a dangerous situation: Damage caused to the Tower by the Noise had caused the ground beneath Hibiki to break and the only thing stopping her from falling to her death, was Miku. "Miku! It's too dangerous to stay here! Let me go so I can transform and get you to safety!" Hibiki pleads.

"I won't!" Miku replied. "I want to be able to protect you too! Kana or the others could be on their way to save us as we speak! So please, hold on!"

Hibiki knew how much Miku didn't want Hibiki to put her life at risk with transforming, the firm grip on her arm and the tears in her eyes served as visible proof of that hope to keep her best friend alive. "Either way, the longer we stay here, the more at risk you become. I don't want you to die trying to save me when I can save us both." Hibiki calmly says. "In the future, when I'm truly in danger, I'll let you be the one to save me. So please, let me do a bit more on my own today."

Without another word, Hibiki let go of Miku's arm, slowly slipping out of her friend's grip. Shortly after, as much as Miku tried to pull Hibiki up, Hibiki fell from the Sky Tower. "HIBIKI!" Miku cried out, but Hibiki wasn't worried. She knew what she needed to do, and that was to transform and save her friend.


"Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron."


Once her transformation was completed, Hibiki prepared for impact with the ground and stuck the landing with no injuries. Once the impact of the landing wore off, Hibiki set her sights on saving Miku. "Miku, I'm on my way!" Unfortunately for Hibiki, an explosion erupted from where Miku was on the Sky Tower, which made Hibiki's heart sink in her chest as she fell to her knees. "How could this happen?" Unable to focus on anything else but the thought of her friend being dead, Hibiki's transformation reverted and she was left in a defenseless state as Noise started to close in on her. Luckily, the other wielders arrived just in time to save Hibiki.

(Bye-bye Lullaby begins to play)

As they arrived, the wielders did everything they could to get rid of all the Noise to protect Hibiki and any civilians in the area. While they fought, Chris couldn't help but feel like this was all her fault, a guilt she bears as the one who awakened the Solomon's Cane relic. Once the Noise were dealt with, the wielders met up with Hibiki. "Hibiki-chan. Are you okay?" Serena tried to ask, but Hibiki didn't respond.

"Where's Kana and Miku?" Chris asked, which only caused Hibiki to cry even more. Despite not being a direct answer, the wielders feared the worst.


Genjuro and Serena's POV:
Tokyo Sky Tower


After the Noise were cleared out by the wielders, Genjuro and the rest of Section Two arrived at the scene with the police. After some investigation at the scene, Ogawa had some interesting findings for Genjuro. "The American Government was here?" He asks.

"There's no mistaking it." Ogawa answered. "It seems that they made contact with F.I.S. and attempted a negotiation."

"And this disaster was the result." Genjuro comments. "It seems safe to say that their negotiations failed."

"Regardless, it seems as though both parties tried to meet up as discreetly as possible." Ogawa continued.

"So a third party intervened to stop the Americans and F.I.S. from working together?" Genjuro wonders.

Meanwhile, in the back of one of the police cars, Hibiki sat silently, regretful of her decision to let go of Miku's hand. Suddenly, the door of the cop car opened and Serena entered the vehicle. "Hibiki-chan? Are you okay?" Serena asks.

"No." Hibiki replied, not looking at Serena. "I acted selfish to try and save Miku from the Tower, and because of that, she's gone... And with Kana missing, I fear she may have suffered the same fate..."

Serena was quiet for a bit, as much as she wanted to believe that at they were both somehow still alive, she couldn't help but share Hibiki's worries. "Hibiki-chan... I may not be able to fully understand what you're going through, but everyone at Section Two knows how much Miku means to you. If you need a shoulder to cry on, or just someone to talk to, just know I'm always able to make time to help out a friend like you. I know you would do the same for anyone else in your position." Serena says. With some hesitation, Hibiki eventually took Serena's offer and cried as Serena consoled her. As they sat there, Serena couldn't help but feel a sense of Déjà vu from this, as if she had been in a scenario like this before. But now was not the time for nostalgia, her friend's feelings were more important than her memories right now.


Dr. Ver's POV:
F.I.S. Helicopter


Back at the airship, after successfully escaping the scene, Maria was distraught at what she did at the Sky Tower, which left her with the guilt of the bloodshed she caused. Kirika and Shirabe could only watch as Maria beat herself up over this guilt. "Tell me, Mom... What happened?" Shirabe asked Nastassja, who remained silent.

"I believe I can answer that question." Dr. Ver says, entering the room. "Nastassja had gone to the Sky Tower to meet up with the American government, trying to sell out our plan to save as many lives as possible before the moon falls in the next decade." Kirika and Shirabe couldn't believe what the doctor was saying, begging Nastassja to prove him wrong, but she remained silent. "And that's not all. That whole thing about Maria being Finé? It was a lie. It was nothing more than a scheme created by Maria and Nastassja."

Kirika and Shirabe now turned their attention to Maria, hoping that the doctor was wrong this time, especially the former of the two wished to hear Maria disprove the doctor's claims, but she too didn't refute the doctor. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, to both of you..." Maria said, not even turning to face her allies.

The two wielders of F.I.S. were speechless by this, "But, if Maria isn't Finé, then who is?" Kirika asked.

"No one." Dr. Ver answers. "It was nothing more than a deception to win over my cooperation in this plan. Don't you think it's time to stop deceiving your own teammates?" Dr. Ver rhetorically asked Maria and Nastassja. "I mean, we only just retrieved the Nephilim's heart, which we almost lost."


Chris and Kanade's POV:
Illsveil Family Restaurant


Later that night, Chris called Tsubasa and Kanade to meet with her at a restaurant so they could talk. While Chris and Kanade both had something to eat, Tsubasa sat at the table, being completely silent. "Feel free to order something. My treat." Chris says.

"I don't eat dinner past nine at night." Tsubasa replied, Kanade nodding her head while she ate to confirm this about Tsubasa.

"You see, that's what your problem is. You're no fun sometimes." Chris says while she ate.

"What are you trying to get at?" Tsubasa said, angered by the insult. "If there was no reason for us to be here other than idle chat, then I'm leaving!"

"C'mon Tsubasa," Kanade says, trying to calm down her partner. "I'm sure Chris-chan didn't mean anything by that."

"Is everything alright?" Chris calmly asks, unfazed by Tsubasa's outburst while she still ate her food.

"How could anything be alright at a time like this?!" Tsubasa retorted. "F.I.S., Tachibana's condition, and my own inability to protect my allies..." Tsubasa sat back down after this, beating herself up over things she couldn't control.

Chris finished the bite of food that was in her mouth before she continued to speak. "I called you here because I wanted to have dinner together for once. I figured we could also have a heart-to-heart over dinner." Chris took a sip of her drink before continuing. "When did we get like this? We're supposed to share the same goal, but we hardly see eye-to-eye anymore. I think it would be nice to work togeth-"

"Yukine." Tsubasa interjected, which caught Chris' attention. "If you truly wanted to have a heart-to-heart, then why don't you use my name to address me?"

This question flustered Chris. "W-Well... That's because..." Chris was hesitant to answer, but Tsubasa was quick to get up from the table and leave. "H-Hey!"

"I'll see you back home, Kanade." Tsubasa said, respectfully bowing to the waitress on her way out.

Chris sighed as Tsubasa left. "I don't get how you're able to deal with her and stay sane, Kanade."

Kanade chuckled at the compliment. "Like I said before, she has her moments of coldness, but she means well deep down." Chris shrugged at Kanade's words and took another drink. "But I could tell there was more to you just calling us here for dinner. What did you really want to discuss?"

Finishing her drink, Chris answers, her carefree expression changing to a more serious one. "It's about Kana." This piqued Kanade's interest. "After what happened today, I tried to call Kana to find out where she was and, eventually, I stumbled across something." Without another word, Chris pulled out a slightly damaged communicator.

Kanade was able to quickly recognize the communicator. "That's...!"

"That's right. It's Kana's." Chris confirms. "When I went to look for Kana, I tried calling her. Eventually, I stumbled across a nearby alleyway with this sitting right in the middle of it."

"Odd..." Kanade thought. "But why in an alleyway of all places?"

"I'm not sure." Chris answers. "But the strangest part of it all was that the communicator was in a call." Kanade looked confused by what Chris meant. "I know right? So when I saw it, I stopped the call and not even a second later I got a long-ass voice message... From Kana."

"What did it say?" Kanade asks.

"I'm haven't listened to it yet, that's why I wanted to call both you and her here. Having dinner together would've been nice too, but I digress." Chris says.

"Then let's take it to Boss!" Kanade excitedly shouts. "I'll call Tsubasa and tell her to meet us at HQ." As much as Chris had hoped to just give her Kana's communicator and call it a night, she didn't care about it too much since this involved her missing roommate. Agreeing to go with Kanade, Chris paid the bill at the restaurant and left with Kanade to show Genjuro what she found.


Dr. Ver's POV:
F.I.S. Helicopter


After a long period of silence, processing what they were told by Ver along with Maria and Nastassja not doing anything to deny what he said, Kirika finally worked up the courage to ask, "Mom... Maria... He's lying to us, right?"

Taking a deep breath, Maria got up from the corner she leaned on and, with a serious look on her face, answered. "It's all true. I'm not Finé's reincarnation, and we tried to postpone our plan to save humanity." Kirika and Shirabe were in shock from this. This was not the answer they had hoped to hear, especially Kirika. "Mom tried to get help from the US government by sharing what we knew about the Frontier."

"But I thought they only cared about themselves." Shirabe said.

"And I thought we were fighting against the world so we could save as many lives as possible dess." Kirika added.

"If those negotiations were to succeed, we would've lost our advantage." Dr. Nastassja said, changing the subject. "So you summoned the Noise to stop the meeting."

"Oh, no..." Dr. Ver smugly says. "I only protected you from those wicked Americans..." He points his staff's tip towards Nastassja, causing Shirabe and Kirika to stand in front of her to protect her. "Using Solomon's Cane!"

Kirika and Shirabe were ready to beat up Dr. Ver so they could protect Nastassja, but they weren't ready for Maria to stand in front of them, arms stretched wide to protect Dr. Ver. "What are you doing Maria?!" Kirika asked, confused why their friend, who equally disliked the doctor, would be defending him.

Dr. Ver laughs at this, knowing it was bound to happen. "You can't protect the world with false devotion." Maria said, "How do we hope to fulfill Serena's dying wishes like this? The answer: We can't. The only way we can is through strength." Shirabe couldn't believe what she was witnessing, this wasn't the Maria she knew and respected. "Without strength, one cannot bring about justice! The doctor's way is the true way to bring about peace. That is why I shall support the doctor from hereon!"

Dr. Ver was beside himself, he knew his plan to take over F.I.S. would work flawlessly, but he couldn't believe how easy it was to get one of the three wielders on his side, the one who, in his eyes, seemed the most competent. "I don't want that." Shirabe said, "Bringing justice through brute strength means it will only be used to oppress the weak."

The room was quiet, these clashing ideals of how to enact their plan causing a massive amount of tension in the room, a tension that Nastassja broke. "I understand. I trust that this is the decision of Maria Cadenzavna Eve herself, and not that of the false reincarnation of Finé?" Maria didn't answer, but no answer was more than enough to get her point across. After this, Nastassja's illness flared up again and, as much as Maria wanted to help her, she had to show her resolve first and foremost.

"Leave the rest to me." Dr. Ver says, heading for the door. "You just go and get some rest Nastassja. Meanwhile, I shall be making some adjustments to our plan, as well as making sure to our 'guests' are... accommodated." With that, he left the room. As far as he was concerned, he had a lot that needed to be done for their new plans.


Hibiki's POV:
Section Two HQ


Later that night, Genjuro had called the wielders to HQ for an important meeting. When they arrived, Genjuro handed the group two communicators. "What are these?" Hibiki asks.

"Kana-kun and Miku-kun's communicators." Genjuro said. "Chris-kun had found Kana-kun's in a nearby alleyway whereas Miku-kun's was found not too far from the Sky Tower. After pulling the data from it, we found that it was moving at a constant speed for a good amount of time before being disposed of." Hibiki looks up from the communicators, assuming what this discovery meant. "Miku-kun is still alive. Originally we weren't sure what that meant for her current whereabouts, but then Chris-kun shared this message that was left on her communicator upon finding Kana-kun's." Genjuro played the audio from it.


"... truly are an interesting specimen, Kana-chan!" The voice sent chills down the wielders spines as they heard the insane laughter of Dr. Ver, which angered Chris. "Sweet dreams, Kana-chan..."

Suddenly a second voice emerged, it was hard to hear. "Maria! Perfect timing!" Dr. Ver said, sounding distressed all of a sudden, "I found this girl unconscious in the alleyway. She needs help!"

While the wielders would've seen right through Ver's façade, the panic from the moment managed to deceive one unlucky individual. "Kana!" Miku cried. "What happened to her?"

"I'm not sure." Ver calmly said, keeping his façade. "But she needs our help. Maria, can you carry her back to base?"

"Wait!" Miku pleaded. "Let me come with you! I want to help my friend in any way I can."

"Very well." Dr. Ver said. "I'll head back to base on foot."

"Thank you so much!" Miku said, leaving with Maria and the unconscious Kana.

When they could no longer be heard, Dr. Ver laughed to himself. "All according to plan. Now for the final phase of my plan."


After that, all that could be heard was the sound of Ver walking away from the scene of his crime. "That bastard will pay for what he's done!" Chris said with gritted teeth.

"Hold on." Hibiki says. "Sensei, if they're alive, then does that mean..."

Genjuro nodded, "That means it's time for you to stop being glum and leap into action! Now then! How about some training to change the mood?"

"Yes sir!" Hibiki says, ready to train and save her friends.


Kana and Maria's POVs:
F.I.S. Helicopter


As the wielders of Section Two trained, Kana had woken up in a strange room, her arms and legs restrained. "Where... Am I?" Kana says as she groggily looked around. Once her vision focused, she saw Dr. Ver enter the room. "You..." She growls.

"Good Morning to you too, Kana-chan." Dr. Ver greeted with a grin. "I trust that you've slept well?"

"Cut the crap Ver." Kana sharply replies. "What the hell do you want with me?"

The doctor sighs at Kana's brashness. "And here I thought we could have a fun conversation before we got down to business."

"Yes, because I want to have 'a fun conversation' with the man that drugged me and chained me up like a prisoner." Kana sarcastically replies.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" Ver quipped. "Now then, the reason why you're here..."

"Was because you drugged and kidnapped me." Kana interrupts.

"I thought you wanted only business." Ver stated, which made Kana quiet. "As I was saying, you're here, because we need your help." Kana was confused by Ver's explanation. "You see, I was intrigued by your ability to empower relics through yours. At first I thought nothing of it, but then we hit a roadblock in our plan, one that required the power of a relic to be increased... I think you know what I'm getting at?"

"So you want me to be your relic amp?" Kana asks, which Ver gave a nod. "Interesting offer, but one flaw: I kinda... How do I say it... Hate you? That and F.I.S. is currently a threat to the world as a whole, so I'd rather not be involved in whatever scheme you have planned. Thanks."

Kana expected the doctor to get angry with her for refusing his offer so bluntly, but the anger never came. "Very well. It was wrong of me to ask that in the first place. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to. I'll send someone in here later to give you something to eat. I'll ask again when you're not hungry." With a smirk glued to his face, Ver left the room.

(Maria quietly starts to sing Apple)

Meanwhile, Maria was looking at the damaged pendant that used to be her sister's while she watched over the other F.I.S. "guest": Miku. As she sang, she felt as if Miku was watching her, which caused her to stop. "Is something wrong?" Maria asks.

"No..." Miku said. "I just... wanted to thank you for saving me. But, why did you save me exactly?"

"I'm not exactly sure why to be honest." Maria answers. "I guess the surroundings reminded me of Serena."

Miku recognized that name. "Serena?"

"Maria's little sister, but you probably know her as 'Serena Kamui'." a voice said as they entered the room.

"Doctor?" Maria was surprised to see Ver here, figuring he was busy with Kana. "I'm the one who saved her, yet you acted like Kana was ill so you had an excuse to bring her here as well. Why was that?"

"Simple, it's all part of our plan." Dr. Ver stated, before walking up to the laser cage that Miku was in, which caused Miku to back away in fear. "There's no need to be afraid. Why don't we chat for a bit? I'm sure I can help you."

"Help me?" Miku asked.

"Yes." Ver said. "I can give you the power to accomplish what your heart desires most... With this." Ver showed a red pendant similar to what Maria was wearing to Miku. "What do you say?"

After some hesitation, Miku replied. "If it means I can save my friend, then I'll do whatever it takes."

"Excellent." Dr. Ver said with excitement. "Maria, while I'm getting our new friend here ready, could you bring Kana-chan some food as you tell her the good news?"

While it may have looked like a normal excited grin on Ver's face, Maria could tell there was a sinister aura to it. "Of course." She says, leaving the two to get to work.

Some time later, Maria arrived in Kana's room. "Hello Kana Kamui." She says.

"Maria..." Kana says. "What? The doc couldn't see me himself?"

"I'm afraid he's currently busy. He sent me here to give you food." Maria says. "It's leftovers from what Shirabe made yesterday." She places the bowl of leftovers on a table close to Kana with a glass of water next to it. "If you promise not to do anything rash, I'll release you from your restraints to eat."

Kana rolled her eyes. Sure, she would much rather be back home or at Section Two with the others, but she wasn't about to be stupid and make a break for it. "I won't do anything, but on one condition." Kana says.

"Go on?" Maria says, deciding to bite for whatever request Kana could've had.

"You tell me what you know of Serena." Kana says, causing Maria to be honestly surprised. "What? I figured, since I'm going to be your prisoner for a while, I might as well do what I can to help my sister find out her past."

"She's not your sister..." Maria says, a tinge of anger in her voice. Maria recomposes herself, expecting some sort of retort from Kana, but none came.

"So you two are related." Kana says, a happier tone then previously. "She's been tirelessly training herself just to get you to answer that one question, yet it only took me touching a nerve." Kana realizes that she probably shouldn't taunt Maria like that about Serena. "S-Sorry about that..." she chuckles nervously.

"No, I should be the one apologizing." Maria replies. "I should be thanking you for saving her life all those years ago, and the first thing I do when I have the chance is lash out at you for it." Upon saying this, Maria goes to undo the restraints on Kana's arms and legs to let her eat as she continued to talk about Serena.

Maria tells Kana about life at the White Orphanage, the hardships herself, Serena, and the other receptor children went through, and the day Serena sacrificed herself to stop the Nephilim. "Wow... Sounds like life wasn't all fun and games for any of you growing up..." Kana says, "It reminds me of the stories my Papa would tell me about his childhood."

"As much as I would like to ask about your father, I'm afraid I've already spent more time that I should've in here." Maria says. "It's unfortunate that they way we're working together is through forced cooperation, I feel like we'd be good friends if we were on the same side."

"'Forced cooperation'?" Kana asks. "Nonono, I told Ver I would not be helping someone like him for any reason. So, I'll just sit here in my cell and wait for Hibiki and the others to find us and bring me back to HQ."

"That's odd, but expected I guess." Maria replies. "I figured something was off about the way he said to tell you 'the good news'"

"What 'news'?" Kana asks.

"From the way he made your alliance with us seem, he wanted me to tell you that your friend would be fighting alongside us." Maria answers. "The doctor promised to give her the power to save her friend, Human-Relic Fusion Specimen One, also known as Hibiki Tachibana."

Immediately hearing this, Kana's mood changed drastically. "Maria..." Kana asks. "Where is the doctor now?" Maria remained quiet, not feeling like that would be the best thing to tell her. "I said... Where. Is. The doctor. NOW!"

As terrifying as the now enraged Kana was, Maria kept calm. "If you promise to calm down and not be stupid, I will take you to his current location on the ship."

Kana took a deep breath, still absolutely livid about what the doctor could be doing to Miku, but still rational enough to know that one wrong move could mean life or death for both of them. "Lead the way."


Kirika's POV:
Outside F.I.S.'s Helicopter


As Maria talked with Kana, Shirabe and Kirika were doing laundry before they would later take off for Frontier. With the reveal that Maria was not Finé, Kirika has been thinking more and more about the incident at the construction site. "If Maria's not Finé, then that must mean her soul is within me..." Kirika says to herself. "I'm scared... I don't want to leave everyone, but I don't have a choice..."

"What's wrong with Maria?" Shirabe asked, which snaps Kirika back to reality. "I only wanted to help F.I.S. because of Maria, not because of Finé."

"Y-Yeah, same dess." Kirika adds.

"Whenever we cried because of how lonely we felt, Maria would always be there for us." Shirabe continued. "She always protected the weak. But now..."

Kirika was worried about Maria's sudden change in attitude too, but there was something else that weighed heavier on her mind. "Aren't you scared, Shirabe?" She asks, "If Maria isn't Finé, then that means she might be inside one of us. Doesn't that scare you?"

"I don't know..." Shirabe answered.

"That's it?" Kirika asks.

Shirabe looked to her friend, confused by why she was so concerned about Finé. "Is something wrong, Kiri-chan?" Seeing her act like Finé's return through one of them meant nothing, she couldn't hold back her fear any longer and needed to be alone, if Finé would take over, she didn't want the last time Shirabe saw her be herself crying.

Once she was able to compose herself again, Kirika found the resolve for one final mission before Finé would take over, "If this is the last day I get to see Shirabe, Mom, and Maria, then I will do everything I can to ensure the memories we shared live on, even if it kills me!"


Shirabe's POV:
The Sea near Frontier


Several hours later, F.I.S. flew straight to the location of Frontier. Nastassja's condition was worsening and they needed to accomplish their plan as soon as possible. As they were about to arrive at their destination, someone else was spotted headed the same way. "A U.S. patrol ship?!" Kirika shouted in shock.

"This was inevitable." Dr. Ver added. "Regardless, we can still use this to our advantage. How about we annihilate them so that we may get the world's attention?"

"But that's just the strong using their power to terrorize the wea-"

"It may be the perfect demonstration to get the world's eyes on us." Maria interjected over Shirabe. "I... We are Finé. We shall put an end to the world where the strong control the weak. This is the path that I shall walk without hesitation."


Hibiki's POV:
Section Two HQ


"Noise pattern detected!" Aoi reported.

"A U.S. patrol ship is requesting immediate backup!" Sakuya added, pulling up feed of said patrol ship under attack by Noise.

"That's close by! Full speed ahead!" Genjuro ordered.

"We'll get ready to assist them!" Tsubasa said as herself, Kanade, and Serena left the room.

"I'm coming with y-"

"Do you have a death wish or something?" Chris interrupted, grabbing Hibiki by the tie. "Stay here, okay? We're not about to let you die on us." With that, Chris straightened Hibiki's tie and ran to catch up with the other wielders.


Watching the carnage caused by the Noise, Maria couldn't help but need to bite her lip to hide how much she hated what they were doing, but stayed resolute nonetheless. "Is this what you really want, Maria-san?" Shirabe asks. "Is all of this really necessary to protect the weak?" Maria didn't answer, but Shirabe could read the pained expression on her face, and it was all she really needed. With that, Shirabe ran straight for the exit of the Helicopter.

"Shirabe!" Kirika called out. "What are you doing?"

"If Maria is suffering, then I shall do what I can to help her." Shirabe answers, before jumping from the Helicopter and onto the patrol ship to fight the Noise.


"Various Shul Shagana tron"


(Ōkyo Shul Shagana begins to play)

Immediately, Shirabe went straight to work destroying the Noise. She didn't care about what danger she could be in. Right now, all that mattered to her was easing Maria's suffering. In only a matter of minutes, the Noise were all dealt with, or so she thought. Suddenly, as Shirabe had just put away her weapons, a stray Noise showed up behind her but Shirabe didn't have enough time to react. Thankfully, Kirika showed up just in time to slash the Noise in two. "Kiri-chan! Than-" Without warning, Kirika injected a red substance that looked like LiNKER into her neck.


Kirika's Flashback:
F.I.S. Helicopter


Kirika panicked seeing her friend go against the doctor's plan, the doctor however, remained calm and put a hand on Kirika's shoulder to get her attention. "If you want to bring her back, then I have just the thing."

The doctor pulls out an injector with a red substance in it. "LiNKER?" Kirika asks. "You want me to bring her back by giving her more power?"

"This is called Anti-LiNKER." the doctor explained. "Unlike LiNKER, it will lower the compatibility values of whoever intakes it. After several tests, I can guarantee its effectiveness."


Not even a second after the substance was injected into her, Shirabe's Gear started to shut down and, eventually, she reverted back to her casual clothes. "Kiri-chan... Why?"

"Any moment now, I may no longer be me!" Kirika answered. "But before that happens, I need to leave something behind or else I'll be forgotten."

"What are you talking about, Kiri-chan?" Shirabe asks.

"Even if I cease to be, as long as the world still exists, the memories we shared will still remain dess!" Kirika continued, reaching her hand out to Shirabe. "That's why I'm going to protect the world the doctor's way. I don't have a choice anymo-"

Suddenly, two rockets emerge from the water and burst open, revealing Tsubasa and Kanade in one and Chris and Serena in the other.

(Gekkō no Tsurugi begins to play)

Once they landed, Kanade and Tsubasa immediately rushed Kirika as Serena and Chris grabbed Shirabe. "I got her! Go help the others!" Chris shouted.

If this were a one on one match, Kirika could've stood a chance, but she was quickly outmatched and surrounded. "Kiri-chan!" Shirabe cries out.

"Hey, where is Ver?" Chris asked Shirabe, who stayed silent. "I'll ask you again. Where's the Solomon's Cane-wielding bastard that took my roommate?!" She tightened her grip around Shirabe.


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


"They got Kirika!" Maria shouts.

"Well then, I think it's time that we tip the scales of this battle..." Dr. Ver said with a chuckle. "In the most dramatic and emotional way possible!"

"You don't mean..." Maria tries to ask.

"Exactly!" The doctor answers.


Suddenly, the wielders of both F.I.S. and Section Two watched as two bright lights dropped from the sky, but the worst part was what was to come of those lights.


"Rei Shénshòujìng rei zizzl"
"You are the ocean's grey waves"


A/N: With that, I think this is a good place to leave off for now.

Honestly, the next chapter is one I have been working out the plot for the most. I'll explain what I mean on the Notes there, but trust me, I think this version of what is to come is the best possible version that doesn't come off as "I just thought it would be cool."

But regardless, thank you all for reading. I'll see you in the next chapter!