Part 3:
Believe in your justice and follow the path it creates
Chapter 3:
Twilight of the Symphogear
Kanade's/Kana's POV:
London/Sector 7
After finding their Gears, Kanade and Serena pursued Tsubasa and Maria's taxi. After running for quite some time, they finally saw a plume of smoke close-by. "Classic Tsubasa." Kanade jokes. "That must mean they're just up ahead."
"I just hope Tsubasa and oneesan are safe." Serena added.
Kanade nodded in agreement to Serena's words. However, Kanade's calm composure broke upon seeing Tsubasa on the ground with Maria trying to support her. "TSUBASA!" She screams, throwing down a STARDUST∞FOTON at any and all Noise in the direct area, the ones aimed at the Autoscorer just evaporating upon contact with her blade.
"System destruction confirmed." The Autoscorer said aloud. "One down." She moves her sword into a new stance. "Two to go."
"Who the hell are you? And what the hell did you do to Tsubasa!" Kanade roars.
"The objective I was assigned." The Autoscorer simply said.
"Oh yeah? Well here's a new objective for ya: Getting your ass handed to by yours truly!" Kanade retorts.
"Understood. As you wish." The Autoscorer answered, confusing everyone except the angry Kanade. Suddenly, the Autoscorer pulls out a strange capsule and drops it on the ground, vanishing from sight moments later.
"Hey!" Kanade yells while running over to where the strange woman vanished. "Come back here and fight me you coward!"
"Calm down Kanade!" Serena shouted, catching Kanade's attention. "That doesn't matter right now. Right now, we need to help Tsubasa."
Taking a deep breath, Kanade calmed down before herself and Serena reverted out of their Gears. "Right. But once she's okay, you better explain what happened back at the concert hall." Kanade says to Maria, who nodded in response.
Over in Sector 7, Kana flew back to where Chris' signal was fading fast, the words Elfnein said echoing in her mind.
"The Alca-Noise were intended to dissect the world. However, if they were to be used as a weapon..."
Kana lost her train of thought as soon as she saw a bright light that, once dissipated, revealed an unconscious Chris and a swarm of Alca-Noise with Leiur sitting in the middle of them. "Chris!" Kana shouts as she lands next to Chris, slightly flustered from the fact her clothes didn't reappear after her Gear was broken, but the feeling of embarrassment was quickly replaced with fear. "Chris! Please wake up!" Kana quickly checked for a pulse, thankfully finding one. However, fear quickly turned to anger once she turned her attention to the Alca-Noise and Leiur. "What did you do to her!"
"Breaking through the defensive fields of something like a Symphogear is child's play for the Alca-Noise." Leiur said. "Your friend there was just stupid enough to underestimate them."
Hearing that last sentence made Kana snap. "How dare you..." Water began to manifest around Kana as she walked away from Chris to confront Leiur and the Alca-Noise. "I'll make you pay for what you did to her... WITH YOUR LIFE!" With a draconic roar, Kana transformed into her dragon form and quickly sent out a powerful blast from her mouth that completely wiped away all of the Alca-Noise around them. When the dust settled, Kana checked around to see if she truly got rid of all of the Alca-Noise and Leiur, not finding a trace of anything other than herself and Chris.
"Good riddance." Kana says coldly, reverting back to her human form and out of her Gear to go grab Chris and take her back to base. "This is Kana. Area's secure here. Requesting immediate picku-"
"Your friend may have been stupid to underestimate the Alca-Noise..." A voice called out to Kana, immediately being greeted by Leiur who was completely unharmed by Kana's draconic attack. "But you're just as stupid for assuming I'd die to something like that." Before Kana even has a chance to respond, Leiur knees her in the stomach and kicks her straight towards where Chris was. Kana uses all of the strength she has to prop herself up to face Leiur, but between the power she just used and the strikes she received from Leiur, that was next to impossible at the moment. "Now to bring about the next finale, with its next cast." Leiur said, summoning more Alca-Noise.
Kana grit her teeth at the situation she was in. Despite her weakened state, she did the best she could to stand and protect Chris. Leiur couldn't help but smirk at Kana's desperation. But just before Leiur sent the Alca-Noise to finish off Kana, a new voice rang out from above them. "I won't let you hurt Kana-sama!" Kirika had arrived, wearing a sort of cape that she threw off for dramatic effect, transforming into her Gear at the same time.
"Zeios Igalima raizen tron"
(Overkill Scythe Hell begins to play)
Jumping down with a readied Kill Juliet, Kirika cuts through the Alca-Noise like paper before drilling through several more with Calamity Ring: Tinkerbell. As she fought, electricity sparked off of her Gear, causing her to wince in pain as she continued. "Not too shabby..." Leiur commented, impressed by how flashy Kirika's attacks were.
As Kirika dealt with the Alca-Noise close to Leiur, Kana still held her ground next to Chris. Suddenly, several sawblades came flying by and destroyed the Noise next to them. Shirabe had arrived alongside Kirika, using 100 Saṃsāra to get rid of the rest of the Alca-Noise. "Thank the gods you two showed up..." Kana says, her body finally giving into the fatigue and causing her to lose consciousness as Shirabe caught her before activating her Forbidden Full Moon.
"So all of this flair was but a diversion?" Leiur said. In that moment, Kirika grabbed the tarp she used as a cape and quickly wrapped Chris in it before following after Shirabe. "How disappointing..."
With Kana and Chris retrieved, Shirabe and Kirika got away from the scene as fast as they could, before Shirabe's Forbidden Full Moon reverted itself, causing pain to the wielder as it did. "They were right... Without LiNKER, we can't use our Gears effectively."
"Shirabe!" Kirika said, landing close to her friend with Chris in her arms.
"I'm okay... We have more important things to worry about right now." Shirabe answered before continuing down the road away from Leiur.
"I know dess..." Kirika said, following suit.
Carol's/Genjuro's POVs:
?/ S.O.N.G. HQ
"I've encountered unplanned reinforcements." Leiur said. "Shall I pursue them?"
"There is no need for that." Carol replies. "You are to return home at once. The same goes for you too, Phara."
"Understood. As you wish."
Meanwhile, S.O.N.G. monitored the situation over in Sector 7. "Shirabe-chan and Kirika-chan are leaving the scene." Aoi reported. "Chris-chan and Kana-chan are safe too."
"Contact Lilith-san and have her meet up with the wielders ASAP." Sakuya requested.
"Commander Kazanari?" Nastassja asked, snapping Genjuro out of his train of thought. "Is everything alright? You've been silent for quite some time."
"My apologies, Dr. Nastassja." Genjuro says, "All of this has just been a lot to process, and I fear we've only seen the tip of this metaphorical iceberg, starting with the girl that was with Chris-kun and Kana-kun."
"Her resemblance to that alchemist, Carol, raises some questions in and of itself." Nastassja said, practically voicing Genjuro's thoughts.
Shirabe and Kirika's/Maria and Tsubasa's POVs:
Sector 7/London
Kirika and Shirabe kept running with Chris and Kana in their arms, getting as far away from Leiur as they could. "Even without LiNKER, we wouldn't lose to someone like that!" Kirika exclaims, getting a look of disbelief from Shirabe as the unstable energy of their Gears sparked around them. "I know dess..."
"How far should we go?" Shirabe asks.
"As far as we can. Dess." Kirika answers.
"So just as it has always been..." Shirabe says.
When they were younger, Shirabe and Kirika were merely orphans taken from their ordinary lives to a facility where many others like them had been gathered. In that place, they were given the power of Symphogears against their will. Despite that, this power made them feel like their lives were going to change for the better, as if all the bad things from before would simply disappear and they would be able to change the world for the better. However, as they grew up, they learned the hard way that, even with their powers, they couldn't truly make a difference. Today was just more proof of that thought.
"It was never about what Mom and Maria wanted to do. The problem was that we could never find what we wanted to do dess." Kirika thought aloud as they kept running.
"Even if we keep moving forward without a goal in mind, there's no guarantee we'll ever find one." Shirabe adds. "We can't be so reckless."
Kirika thought about what Shirabe said, before making a realization she never thought about. "Do you think that's really why they wouldn't let us join them?" Kirika thought. In that moment, however, Chris began to wake up. "Thank goodness... Are you okay, Senpai?"
"Do I look okay to you!" Chris rhetorically asked. "The girls we were supposed to protect ended up protecting us instead. How could anyone consider that 'okay'?"
Suddenly, a bright flash of light emerged behind Kirika. "Good, you four are okay." Lilith said, stepping out of the bright light. "Let's get you all back to HQ before anymore trouble shows up." With a nod, Kirika and Shirabe take Lilith's hands and warp back to base.
Meanwhile in London, Tsubasa had regained consciousness, receiving some towels to cover herself with as her clothes did not return. "She utterly defeated me." Tsubasa reports over her communicator while holding her fractured pendant. "No. It's worse than that. When my Gear broke, the clothes I was previously wearing did not return to me. It's safe to assume that the converter was heavily damaged."
"But then... That means your Symphogear is..." Serena stopped herself, not wanting to say what she was thinking, but she could tell the others knew what she was going to say by looking at Kanade's clenched fist and Maria's somber expression.
Tsubasa nods. "The absolute blade, Ame no Habakiri, has been broken."
Meanwhile in S.O.N.G. HQ
"Chris' Ichaival and Tsubasa's Ame no Habakiri have been critically damaged." Aoi reported.
"Without someone like Ryoko-san, is there even a way to repair them?" Sakuya asked.
Genjuro, visibly upset at their losses, decides to change the subject. "Lilith-kun. What's the status on Hibiki-kun and Kana-kun's recovery?"
"I'm alright Master." Hibiki said. "I'm sorry. If only I'd been able to talk to Carol-chan..." relieved his pupil, for the most part, was okay, Genjuro let out a sigh of relief, but was confused by Hibiki's words. "As for Kana-kun."
"She's okay for the most part as well." Lilith reported. "She's currently unconscious due to overexertion in battle but should wake up in a couple hours. It is also worth reporting that her Gear is unharmed as well."
"That certainly is a relief to hear. Thank you, Lilith-kun."
Back in London, several black cars approached the four wielders, surrounded by men with guns soon after that forced Serena and Kanade to be on guard. "We've been briefed on the situation." One of the agents finally said. "However, Maria Cadenzavna Eve, the restrictions on you are still in effect."
Unfazed by the several guns pointed in their direction, Maria walks over to Tsubasa and takes out her earpiece to talk to S.O.N.G. HQ. "Commander Kazanari, I'd like to formally request a transfer to S.O.N.G." She says, surprising the wielders.
"Oneesan?"
"I may not possess a Gear of my own. But given the situation, it is far too dangerous for me to continue being a false idol."
Kana's POV:
S.O.N.G. HQ
A couple hours after the "fight" she had with Leiur, Kana finally woke up in the medical wing of S.O.N.G. to the sight of Lilith, Serena, Shirabe, and... "Kana-sama!" ...an overjoyed Kirika. "I'm so happy you're okay!"
"T-Thanks Kirika-chan." Kana replies, groaning from the sudden impact of Kirika the moment she woke up. "I owe you both big time for that." She looks over to Shirabe as well when saying that.
"That won't be necessary, Kana-senpai." Shirabe politely said. "You've done more than enough for us as is. If anything, we're even now."
Kirika gave a "Dess" in agreement to Shirabe. "Besides, it's my duty as your retainer to protect you if and when necessary dess!"
Kana chuckles. She's tried to talk Kirika out of doing this multiple times, but she would refuse Kana's request to do so every time. In a way, it made her think of Jakob, her father's butler. But in that moment of reminiscence, Kana finally realized something that seemed off. "Serena?! I thought you were in London!"
"I was, but when they told me you were knocked out during your mission, I had Lilith bring me back to HQ as soon as she could." Serena explained. "Everyone was very understanding of my concerns, including oneesan."
Flashback:
London
"Is Kana okay Lilith?" Serena asks, concern very noticeable in her tone.
"She's fine Serena." Lilith said over the communicator. "She just overdid it against her opponent and passed out. She'll wake up in a couple hours."
While she was relieved to hear Kana was okay, she still worried about her condition since she wasn't close by to help. Suddenly, she felt an hand on her shoulder, Maria's hand. "Go." She said. "You're as much her sister as you are mine. So I won't hold you back if you need to be with her."
"Besides," Kanade said, "If anyone asks, we can just say you had a family emergency. We technically wouldn't be lying about that." Tsubasa nodded in agreement.
Serena started to tear up a bit at her friends and sister's understanding. "Lilith, could you bring me back to HQ?"
"I'll be right there." Lilith said, hanging up the call as she did."
"Thank you, everyone." Serena says, giving the three wielders a group hug.
"We'll see you soon, Serena." Tsubasa said. With that, Serena waved goodbye to Tsubasa, Kanade, and Maria as she went back to HQ with Lilith.
"If anything, I was expecting Maria to be hesitant of letting me go back."
"That sounds like Maria alright dess." Kirika said confidently.
"Maybe she knew better than to keep you away from Kana-senpai?" Shirabe suggested. "I mean, you've known her and Lilith-san for so long that she's as much your family as Maria is, so it only makes sense she'd let you come back."
"I guess you're right, Shirabe-chan." Serena said.
Astral Plane
Some time later, Kana was allowed to return home for the night after she was found to be in perfect health, Shirabe and Kirika however, had to stay due to the use of their Gears without LiNKER. "Well, I should probably head home now and check in on Chris. Goodnight Serena." Kana says.
"Goodnight Kana." Serena replied, waving goodbye as she left through the portal that connected the Astral Plane to Chris' apartment.
Chris and Kana's POVs:
Chris' Apartment
After entering the apartment, Kana went over to Chris' room to check in on her. Much to her surprise, Chris was already asleep. She could tell that she was angry about what happened to her during the mission, so Kana lightly put her hand on Chris' clenched fist to comfort her, which woke her up, much to Kana's surprise. "The hell are you doing?" Chris groggily asks.
"You looked like you were having a bad dream, so I came in here to comfort you." Kana answers. Chris simply grumbled and tossed to her other side.
Taking this as a sign to leave her be, Kana heads for the door of Chris' room before suddenly. "Hey." Chris says. "I just wanted to say I'm glad you're okay."
"Thanks." Kana replies with a smile. "I'm glad you're okay too. Goodnight Chris."
"Night." Chris says, before falling back to sleep again. "She really goes out of her way for me... Damn it. Why is it so hard to tell her how I really feel? How does that idiot and her friend make it look so easy?"
Hibiki and Kana's POVs:
Lydian
The next day, Kana and Hibiki returned to school after their checkups at S.O.N.G. In a group with Miku, they were learning how to make beef stroganoff in culinary arts class, of which Hibiki was most intrigued. "Ah, so even though it's called beef stroganoff, you're able to put all sorts of things besides beef in it!" She says with honest interest. "Russian cuisine is really something else!"
"I'll say." Kana adds. "Compared to the dishes we have back in Valla, I'm very curious how food here compares!"
"Well if you two keep talking, you won't get the chance to try it." Miku teased.
"No need to worry about that Miku!" Hibiki reassured her friend. "We'll have plenty of time to t-" ...before cutting herself accidentally with the knife.
Thankfully, Miku had some bandages on hand in case this were to happen. "That's what you get for not paying attention when using a knife..." Miku said.
"Yeah..." Hibiki replies in a somber tone. "It's not good to hurt yourself with something used to make delicious food." This sudden change in mood concerns Miku and Kana, though the latter has an idea as to what Hibiki is thinking. "The same could be said for Symphogears and their ability to protect others. I don't want to use that power to hurt anyone..."
"What exactly happened on your last mission?" Miku asked the wielders. "Shirabe-chan and Kirika-chan are in the hospital for checkups, right?"
Meanwhile
"I'm so bored dess!"
"Hospital food is so bland..."
Miku turned to ask Kana the same question. "Don't look at me. All I remember is seeing red when Chris got attacked and then Shirabe-chan and Kirika-chan saved us." She says, turning the attention back to Hibiki, who received an annoyed look from her Sunshine that snapped her out of her trance.
"D-Don't worry Miku!" Hibiki says in a panicked manner. "If we can just talk to her, I'm sure we can understand one another."
"...You're always like this..." Miku said with a sigh, knowing Hibiki wasn't telling her everything.
Tsubasa's POV:
Private Jet
Following Phara's attack, Tsubasa and the others flew back to Japan. During their flight, Tsubasa couldn't help but think about the last conversation she had with Tony Glazer before they left.
"You're heading back to Japan?" Tony asked.
"It's always been our dream to sing around the world. But..."
"If that is your choice, then I will respect your decision." Tony said. "But would you promise me that, one day, you two will follow your dream once again?"
"You bet!" Kanade answered for both of them. "Trust me, this isn't the last time you'll see us. You have my word!"
Suddenly, Tsubasa felt a hand on her shoulder, Kanade's hand. "We will continue our dream once we settle this."
"I know." Tsubasa replies, giving a weak smile to her partner.
Sometime later, the group lands in japan, where the other wielders were waiting for them, which helps to cheer up Tsubasa a little more.
The Wielders' POV:
S.O.N.G. HQ
"Good. All of the Symphogear wielders are here." Genjuro said, welcoming the 9 wielders as they entered the room. "Although, considering recent events, that may not be the most accurate term to use."
As he says this, two screens show up on the monitor behind him, showing two pendants with critical damage. "What are those?" Ogawa asked.
"The Ichaival and Ame no Habakiri relics after the damage caused by the new type of Noise." Sakuya answered. "At their cores, the relics are safe. However..."
"The functionality that converts energy into a protector was lost." Aoi finished Sakuya's sentence.
"Just like with the original Airgetlám." Maria says as she pulls out the Gear that used to be Serena's.
"But they can be fixed, right?" Chris asks.
"Since Sakurai Theory was made public, research into heretical technology has made rapid progress worldwide. A good amount of that progress being thanks to Dr. Nastassja." Aoi answered.
"Despite that, without someone like Ryoko-san, we can't repair the Symphogear system." Sakuya added.
This understandably caused some unrest amongst the wielders. "As of now, we still have four active wielders." Genjuro stated. "However, there is a good chance they will target one of you next, so you must be ready to fight if the enemy shows up once again."
"Is fighting the only option we really have?" Hibiki says quietly.
"That's not true dess!" Kirika shouts, breaking Hibiki's train of thought.
"We can fight to-"
"Absolutely not." Nastassja interrupted Shirabe.
"Why not Mom?" Kirika asks.
"You're lucky to not have any major injuries from not using LiNKER on your recent mission." Nastassja said, "But the LiNKER we currently have is best suited for Kanade against an enemy like this. So until we have LiNKER that works for you to the same effect as Kanade's, you are not to enter combat."
Kirika and Shirabe remain silent, respecting the doctor's orders, but still wishing they could be of more use than they currently are. "I've already had too many nightmares of losing Kanade in such a manner many years ago. I never want to witness a friend suffer such a fate." Tsubasa says.
"For now, your support is more than enough help." Kana adds.
Carol's POV:
?
Meanwhile, in her throne room, Carol watched as Garie gave Micha the memories she gathered to awaken her, successfully doing so. "It's taken longer than expected to gather enough memories to activate Micha, our strongest asset." Carol says.
"Come on now, give me some credit." Garie said, returning to her pedestal as she continued. "I worked really hard, you know? It was hard to do this without bringing about unwanted attention."
"Very well, it doesn't matter." Carol says. "With this, all of the Autoscorers have been activated, meaning we can move to the next stage of our plan." As she said this, Micha tried to stand up, but ultimately fell back to her knees with a sigh. "What is it, Micha?"
"I'm too hungry to move..." Micha answered.
"Garie."
"Yeah, yeah. That's my job, right?" Garie said, knowing what Carol was going to say.
"While you're at it, I have another job for you to take care of." Carol says before Garie could leave.
"Come to think of it, master, it appears they've taken in Elfnein." Garie informed Carol.
"I am aware."
Back at S.O.N.G. HQ, after the issue with the broken Ichaival and Ame no Habakiri was addressed, the group had one last thing to discuss, the mysterious Elfnein. Considering the circumstances, the wielders and Genjuro were rightfully suspicious of this girl, but she was willing to talk. "I followed Carol's orders and worked to construct part of a huge apparatus." She stated. "However, one day, I accessed her database and learned that the apparatus was designed to dissect the world into tiny pieces. So I ran away to try and stop her."
"Dissecting the world into tiny pieces? That sounds intense." Chris says.
"But is something like that even possible?" Kanade thought aloud.
"With the power of alchemy, it is possible." Elfnein said, answering Kanade's thought. "Consider the Alca-Noise, which were based on the original recipe for creating Noise. Through them, she already possesses the power to disintegrate anything, Symphogears included. This huge apparatus still under construction, the Château de Tiffauges, is meant to increase this power to a global scale."
"Hold on." Tsubasa interjects. "If you took part in constructing this, does that mean you are also an alchemist?"
"Yes." Elfnein answered. "But I do not possess the same knowledge and power of one like Carol does. I was created for a specific purpose."
"'Created'?" Hibiki asks.
"I was only installed with the minimum alchemical knowledge required to construct the apparatus." Elfnein answered.
"'Installed'?" Maria asks.
"By that, I mean she copied specific information directly into my brain." Elfnein answered again. "Unfortunately, the knowledge installed in me did not include the details of her plan. But... What I do know is that the world-dissection apparatus, the Château de Tiffauges, is almost complete! So please, help me stop her! That's why I've brought Dvergr Dáinn's legacy here!" Elfnein motions to the box on her lap.
"Dvergr Dáinn's legacy?" Kana asks.
"It is a relic that can stand against the power of the Alca-Noise and of the Alchemist Carol." Elfnein answered, pulling out a shard with several runic symbols on it. "A fragment of the magic sword Dáinsleif."
Following the talk with Elfnein, the wielders and Genjuro leave the room Elfnein was in and returned to the command center where two monitors of Elfnein's physical data was shown. "These are the results of our examination of Elfnein-chan." Aoi reported.
"Just in case, we ran a medical check on her... Yes, 'her' sounds right." Sakuya added.
"From what we could find, there are no irregularities with her health or bodily functions and no signs of implants or post-hypnotic suggestions." Lilith reported. "However..."
"What's wrong?" Serena asks.
"She, Elfnein-chan, does not have a gender." Lilith said. "According to her, that isn't unusual for a homunculus like her."
"Th-That's extremely unusual... (Dess...)" The wielders collectively say.
Kana and Hibiki's POVs:
In the City
Following all of this, the wielders went back to their daily lives for the moment, but Kana and Hibiki still thought about the enigma that was Elfnein. "In my opinion, I don't think it matters what you have attached down there." Miku said, causing Hibiki and Kana to recoil in shock.
"Why are you two freaking out?" Kuriyo asked.
"Wh-What do you mean, 'down there'?" Hibiki answered Kuriyo's question with a question. "Where exactly is 'there'?!"
"We were studying rational and irrational numbers in math class today. You know, fractions?" Shiori said.
"Don't tell me both of you were spacing out?" Yumi asked. "That's especially strange for you Kana."
Kana nervously chuckled. "Sorry about that. I've just been so invested in Shining Blade: Destiny lately that I sometimes get lost in thought about it." The girls buy Kana's explanation, but Hibiki was not as fortunate.
"And you've been this way all the time lately Hibiki." Miku said to the Gungnir wielder.
"Sorry." Hibiki apologizes. "A lot has happened recently."
Flashback:
S.O.N.G. HQ
Before they left to go about their days, the wielders gathered together to discuss the Alca-Noise they fought against, of which Tsubasa gave them a drawing of what she fought in London. "Then this is the Alca-Noise that damaged the Ame no Habakiri in London?" Chris asked.
"Yes." Tsubasa answered confidently. "I think I managed to draw a pretty accurate likeness."
Kana and Kanade got a good look at what Tsubasa drew and it looked like a human samurai, receiving a look of disbelief from Kana while Kanade did her best to not burst out laughing. "Tsubasa-san. What I'm about to say, I mean in the nicest way possible. Don't quit your day job." Kana bluntly says, which surprises Tsubasa greatly.
"Tsubasa's drawing aside, the real problem we face is that Alchemist has the Alca-Noise at their beck and call, and the amount of Symphogear users we have is slowly dropping thanks to them." Maria interjected. "With this kind of power in their arsenal, it makes fighting them directly difficult."
"Can't we just come to an understanding that doesn't involve fighting?" Hibiki asks, immediately catching Maria's attention.
"So you're running away then?" Maria asked.
"I am not running!" Hibiki answers. "But ever since I synced with the Gungnir and felt its power as my own, I've always hated the thought on using it to hurt someone instead of helping them."
"That is simply... the arrogance of the powerful!"
"I'm not trying to be arrogant..." Hibiki thought, before a sudden gasp from the others bring her back to reality.
Several rapidly aged corpses were scattered across the ground on their right, which shook the girls greatly. However, Kana and Hibiki were quick to notice that they weren't alone, standing in front of their friends to protect them. "Did you do this?" Kana asks the strange woman.
"As the holy grail fills with memories, the girls who are to be sacrificed appear." Garie said in a cryptic manner.
"You're one of Carol-chan's friends, right?" Hibiki asks.
"Which makes me your enemy as well." Garie answered, turning to face the group.
"No! I only want to help people!" Hibiki says. "I don't want to fight!"
"I hate to say it Hibiki, but we may have no choice but to fight." Kana says.
"I'd listen to your friend if I were you." Garie said, stepping out of the shade of the tree she was under to throw out several small capsules around the group, summoning Alca-Noise as they broke. "Besides, I know just how to make stubborn brats like you fight." Just seeing the lengths Garie was willing to go to force Hibiki to fight disgusted Miku, Kuriyo, and Kana while Yumi and Shiori started to worry for the group as a whole with the Alca-Noise closing in on them. "Allow me to knock your head out of the clouds and back to reality where it belongs."
With a snap of her fingers, Garie ordered the Alca-Noise to close in on the girls. "Tch. Looks like we have no other option now. Let's do this Hibiki!" Kana says, receiving a nod from Hibiki as they both pull out their pendants.
"You are the ocean's grey waves"
(Road Taken (Roar) Begins to play)
Kana dons her Yato Symphogear before turning to see Hibiki still in her normal Lydian outfit, coughing. "Hibiki? What's wrong?"
"I can't sing..." Hibiki answers, which confuses the group and irritates Garie.
"Quit screwing around already." Garie said.
"What do you mean you can't sing?" Kana asks.
"The holy words won't come to me..." Hibiki answers, which shocks everyone, even Garie. "Gungnir won't respond to me!"
A/N: And with that, we end the chapter.
I'm sure some of you are already aware, but I'm now cross posting this story over on AO3 on the off chance shuts down. (Again, I'm sure it won't be for quite some time, but better safe than sorry.)
Other than that, thank you for reading this chapter and I shall see you all in the next one!
