Part 3:
Believe in your justice and follow the path it creates
Chapter 5:
The Last Resort


Kana's POV:
S.O.N.G. HQ


Kana's Dream


As Kanade and Hibiki fought for their lives against the Autoscorers, Kana was still recovering from the last encounter with Garie. While she was resting, she had the same dream she had every now and then since the incident that lead to Frontier resurfacing, but this time, the dream had a few unexpected things happen.

This time, instead of Green, Yellow, Blue, and Red silhouettes fighting her, each attack slowly revealed each of the Autoscorers, each with their own sinister smirk or chaotic smile. "That's new..." The dragon girl thought to herself as she ran down the dark hallways as she usually did in this dream. "Although, considering recent events, I guess it makes sense. Huh?" Kana stopped herself as another anomaly in her dream happened, she was not transported to the destroyed city as per usual, but instead a massive room with a mirror acting as one of its walls.

"At this point, I've lost count of how many times this dream has happened, but this is truly a first." Kana remarks as she approaches the mirror wall. At first, she only notices her reflection that appeared like with any other mirror. Suddenly, the reflection began to grin and its eyes turned blood red. Kana wasn't sure how to react, but the other "Kana" was quick to make a decision for her, grabbing her by the neck through the mirror and throwing her onto her side of it.

Kana screams as she was flung an inhuman distance away from the mirror, to the point that she could no longer see it when she touched the ground again. When she finally stopped skidding across the ground, Kana got up, rubbing her sore neck from the other Kana's firm grip. "What the hell is go-" Kana stopped herself again when she noticed something on the ground, a trail of blood. Her eyes followed the blood trail and eventually met with a sight she wished she could unsee. From the amount of time she's had this dream, the shock of seeing everyone she knew being petrified by "Miku" had slowly died off. But nothing could prepare her to see this. "Gods... This isn't real. This can't be real. This isn't real. This can't be real." Kana kept repeating those words as she tried to process what she was seeing. The other wielders, Miku, Lilith, and everyone else at S.O.N.G. were strewn about on the ground, brutally slaughtered.

Suddenly, Kana heard footsteps approach behind her, it was the other Kana from the mirror, but this time she donned her Yato Gear, of which the sword was dripping with blood and the Gear itself had a dark aura emitting off of it. "You did this... You killed them while looking like me! I'll... I'LL KILL YOU!" Kana charged at the imposter Kana, blinded by rage as she tried everything she could to slash her until nothing was left. But the other Kana was unfazed by the enraged Kana, if anything, she smirked as she readied her blade... And stabbed Kana through the chest, much like the evil Miku always had. Kana fell to the ground as her Symphogear dissipated, coughing up blood as she looked at the false Kana. "W... What... What are you?" Kana tries to ask, but the doppelganger responded not with words, but with psychotic laughter that only became more insane as it continued. Eventually, the laughter ceased as the false Kana looked at the dying Kana with an equally insane smile before she raised her sword, and finished off her opponent.


Kana woke up in her hospital bed in the medical wing of S.O.N.G. screaming bloody murder before practically shooting upright in her bed and gasping for breath. "Dess! Calm down Kana-sama!" Kirika shouted in response, frightened by Kana's sudden screams.

Eventually, Kana calmed down, before processing the fact that Kirika was hugging her. "K-Kirika-chan?" The blonde wielder responded with a Dess and a nod. "Where... Are we?"

"S.O.N.G.'s medical wing." Kirika answered. "You and Serena were brought here after your fight with that Autoscorer yesterday. Speaking of, are you feeling better?"

Kana gave a warm smile to Kirika. "I've come back from worse." Kana teases. "Is Serena okay?"

Kirika once again nodded. "Maria and Shirabe are with her. She woke up a few hours ago and went to the Astral Plane to relax."

Kana let out a sigh of relief. "Thank the Gods. If anything, I should let Genjuro-san and the others know I'm okay. Mind lending me a hand to the command center in case I need it?"

"Gladly dess!" Kirika said excitedly. And so, the two wielders walked together to the command center. As expected, Kana was still recovering and needed support from Kirika to get from point A to point B. However, as they walked, someone was running in their direction. "Ogawa-san?"

"Glad to see you're doing better, Kana-san." Ogawa said.

"Thanks Ogawa-san." The dragon girl replies. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm afraid I don't have much time to explain, but Hibiki-san and Kanade-san are in trouble." Ogawa explained, rushing off as he said that and leaving both of the wielders concerned and confused.

With haste, Kirika and Kana arrived at the command center, both of them shocked at what they saw on the monitors. "Hibiki! Kanade-san!" Kana shouts.

"Kana! Oh thank god you're alright!" Chris said upon seeing Kana, before getting flustered at what she said. "I mean... About damn time you woke up."

"It's good to see you too Chris." Kana quickly replies. "But what happened to Hibiki and Kanade-san?"

"Tachibana managed to summon Gungnir once more against the fourth of Carol's Autoscorers, but Garie was waiting in the shadows for a moment to strike her down. Luckily, Kanade arrived just in time to save Tachibana from their combined surprise attack, but they were still defeated much like Yukine, Serena, myself, and you." Tsubasa did her best to explain.

Hearing that the last of their active wielders were disarmed concerned both Kirika and Kana, but the latter of which was quick to notice the screens that showed silhouettes of Ame no Habakiri and Ichaival with strange glowing parts on them. "What's that?" Kana asks.

"Project Ignite." Chris answered. "It's kinda hard to explain, but long story short, it should be able to give us the power we need to beat these stupid dolls and their boss."

Kana was intrigued by this project, but then she noticed something out of the corner of her eye, one of the screens that had the Ignite Gears on them started to glitch and were replaced by a silhouette of her Yato Gear. At first, Kana just thought that it meant that her Symphogear was also in the process of receiving this upgrade, but then she saw a nightmarish smile appear on the monitor over the head of the Gear's silhouette. Seeing this, the dragon girl rubbed her eyes profusely and, upon reopening them, the monitor went back to normal, but she was now getting questionable looks from everyone. "S-Sorry. Between seeing Hibiki and Kanade-san defeated and still waking up from my own battle, this is just a lot to take in." She says, ultimately deciding not to share what she saw.

"No need to apologize, Kana-kun." Genjuro said. "We're all having some trouble processing all of this ourselves, so it's only natural that this would confuse you too. For now, we need to prioritize recovering Hibiki-kun and Kanade and ensuring they're in good health ASAP."

"Right!" Kana replies.


Miku's POV:
Lydian


The next day, Kana went with Miku to school while Hibiki was still recovering from her and Kanade's fight against Micha and Garie. While Kana was doing her best to not let their situation affect her, Miku couldn't help but worry for Hibiki. "Miku? You okay?" Kana asked. "You've been really quiet all day."

"Huh? Oh, sorry..." Miku replies, apologizing for her silence. "It's just..."

"You're worried about Hibiki, aren't you?" Kana said. Miku nods. "I know how you feel. But despite our situation, I know Hibiki will be fine. I mean, all things considered, Hibiki's come back from far worse."

Miku faintly chuckled at that. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

"If anything, I think you're a huge part of why Hibiki is able to bounce back so easily." Kana continued.

"What do you mean by that?" Miku asks.

"I mean, it's only natural that people like Hibiki would do anything and everything to see the people they care about smile, doubly so for their significant others and family." Kana stated, stopping to notice Miku's confused, yet flustered, look. "Everything okay Miku?"

"Do... Do you think Hibiki and I are dating?" Miku asks sheepishly.

"You're not?!" Kana asked in shock. "But you two practically act like a happily married couple! You even share a bed, when you have two beds in your dorm!"

"I mean, yeah. But I haven't exactly... You know." Miku replies.

"Confessed?" Kana answered, to which Miku nods. "I don't see why you need to be so nervous around her, I'm sure she feels the same way."

"I know." Miku says. "But couples like Kirika-chan and Shirabe-chan as well as you and Chris make it look so easy." Suddenly, Kana went silent, her face practically matching the color of Chris' Ichaival with how flustered she was. "You okay Kana?"

Kana did her best to compose herself before answering. "Y-Yeah... It's just, well..."

This time it was Miku's turn to be surprised and confused. "Wait, are you and Chris not da-"

"Not so loud!" Kana whispered, stopping Miku's question as she noticed Chris walking around the corner. "H-Hey Chris! What's up?"

Chris gave Kana a confused look as she approached. "Not much... Am I interrupting something?"

"Not at all!" Kana quickly replied, sweating nervously.

"If you say so." Chris said, deciding not to dwell on Kana's odd behavior. "Well I'm going to HQ to see how things are going with Project Ignite. I'm assuming you two are gonna come and check in on the idiot?" Both Kana and Miku nod. "Then I guess I'll see you two there."

"See ya there Chris!" Kana said with a nervous chuckle, waiting until Chris was out of earshot to explain herself to Miku, who was giving her a judgmental, look. "I can explain."

"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black." Miku says, making Kana chuckle nervously. "Why haven't you told her how you feel yet?"

Kana lowered her head. "I was going to the night of the Queens of Music concert after you all went home. But then everything with Carol and the Autoscorers happened and now I don't want to risk making things awkward between us and having that be the end of either of us." While she could understand her reasoning for being quiet about all of this, Miku couldn't help but feel sorry for Kana. "Please don't tell anyone about this! Especially Chris!"

"You have my word, Kana." Miku replies. "But you should still tell her how you feel before it's too late."

"I will, just not now. Though you should do the same with Hibiki sometime too." Kana said, receiving a nod from Miku. "Speaking of Hibiki, let's go see how she's doing." With another nod, Miku follows Kana to S.O.N.G. HQ.


Chris' POV:
S.O.N.G. HQ


After her brief conversation with Kana and Miku, Chris went straight to HQ, the former two following right behind her to check up on Hibiki and Kanade while she went to the command center where Tsubasa, Serena, and Maria were alongside the other agents. "Currently, Project Ignite is at 88% completion." Aoi reported. "Thanks to Section Two's archived data on the first and second relics, as well as Elfnein-chan's hard work, we're ahead of schedule."

"I was worried about what might happen to the project considering the overlap with the maintenance of the generators." Sakuya added. "Luckily, we were able to get the energy needed to continue work on the project, as well as keep the base functional, from an outside source."

"Doesn't modifying the Symphogears mean we're treading on highly classified territory?" Ogawa asked.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." Genjuro said. "And thankfully, Yatsuhiro was able to pull some strings for us."

"Yatsuhiro?" Chris asks. "Who's that?"

"A high-ranking government official who maintains national security while skirting the very edge of the law." Tsubasa answered. "Acting outside of the realm of what is and isn't legal to get things done is his specialty."

"Okay, but who is he?" Chris asks again.

"Cabinet Intelligence Officer, Yatsuhiro Kazanari." Ogawa answered. "He's the commander's brother as well as Tsubasa-san's father."

"Why didn't ya just say so?" Chris says to Tsubasa. "You didn't need to be cryptic about your dad like that Senpai."

"If I recall correctly, he was also the one that made my entry into S.O.N.G. possible. I figured you and him had to have some relation." Maria said, before quickly noticing Tsubasa's silence. "Is something wrong?"

Neither Tsubasa nor Genjuro seemed to thrilled to answer why the former was so silent at the mention of her father, even Serena seemed to share this awkward silence with them. But before Chris and Maria could try to get an answer out of them, Kana and Miku entered the command center. "We just checked on Hibiki and Kanade-san." Miku said.

"They're still hooked up to life support, but neither of them had any signs of fatal wounds." Lilith reported to the pair. "They should hopefully be good to go later today."

"Thank you Lilith-san." Miku said.

"By the way Lilith, was Elfnein-chan able to fix Fólkvangr for you?" Kana asked. "I know you asked her if she could."

Lilith pulled out her Dragonstone which had special markings like how Kana's Yato-infused Dragonstone did. "She said it wouldn't be any trouble and did it in literally 30 minutes." She said, which impressed the Yato wielder. "So while I may no longer have the sword," Lilith vanished and reappeared behind Chris and Tsubasa, startling them both. "I still have its teleportation properties."

"It's great that you can teleport and all again, but please don't do shit like that with your power!" Chris says angrily.

"My apologies, Chris-chan." Lilith replied with a chuckle.

"Anyway, it's great that you have access to Fólkvangr's abilities again." Kana said. "Now all that's left is to upgrade the Gears with this Ignite module and everything should be alright." As Kana said this, the Alca-Noise alarm went off. "...You've got to be kidding me..."

"Alca-Noise signal detected!" Sakuya reported.

"Specifying coordina-" Aoi was cut off by the sudden rumbling of the ship. Moments later, screens showed up on the main monitor showing what the Alca-Noise in question were after.

"The enemy's after the base generator that's supplying our power!" Ogawa stated.

Hearing the sudden alarm and rumbling of the ship, Kirika and Shirabe join the others in the command center. "What's going on dess?!" Kirika asked.

"The Alca-Noise are attacking the dock's generator." Aoi said.

"And it's not just ours." Sakuya added, bringing up several other screens. "There are similar attacks happening all over the city. Electrical power supply rates are dropping everywhere!"

"If they manage to take out our power, the Gear upgrades will never be finished." Tsubasa said.

"Our internal generator won't last long in its current condition." Ogawa added.

"But then the medical wing..." Miku started to worry for Hibiki's recovery in the event the power was completely lost. However, while most of them started to worry, one person had a plan and, with a pair of pink glasses, was ready to enact it.


Shirabe's POV


"Wh-What is it, Shirabe dess?" Kirika asked, who was met with a quiet shush from Shirabe and a subtle motion to follow her out of the command center as she put on her own pair of green glasses. "What's with the cool spy glasses Shirabe? What exactly are you planning to do?"

"Buy some time." Shirabe answers, which only confuses Kirika more. "Right now, S.O.N.G. needs time and energy to complete the Symphogear upgrades. Until the upgrades are complete, we're the only ones that can do just that."

"That's true," Kirika said. "But shouldn't we come up with a plan in order to pull this off?"

Shirabe stops at a hallway intersection and checks for guards before turning back to Kirika. "I already have one, Kiri-chan."

Kirika checks around the corner to see what Shirabe was looking at and sees on specific door. "The medical wing?" The Zababa duo head inside to where Hibiki and Kanade were still healing from their previous battle. "How exactly are we going to buy time for the Gear modifications in a place like this dess?"

"At this rate, even the medical wing will lose power." Shirabe says as she walks over to the unconscious Hibiki, to which Kirika is able to quickly understand what Shirabe's thinking.

"You could've just said you wanted to save them, you know." Kirika teased.

"I couldn't..." Shirabe shyly says.

"Why not dess?" Kirika continued to tease.

"Because it's embarrassing..." Shirabe answers, moving away from Hibiki. "And I don't want anyone except you hearing me saying or doing anything embarrassing."

Hearing this confession from Shirabe touched Kirika, causing the ladder to jump at the former for a hug, only to plop on the hard metal floor face first. "Ow... What was that for, Shirabe?" Kirika asked, but Shirabe didn't answer as she opened a nearby safe.

"I found it." Shirabe says.

Kirika got off the ground and joined Shirabe over at the safe, seeing several vials of LiNKER. "Geez, you're the type who just can't stay out of trouble, huh, Shirabe?" Kirika teased.

"I figured the medical wing would have some extra LiNKER on the off chance Kanade-san ran out." Shirabe states

"I mean, this is where we recovered after training, so it only makes sense for them to have that set aside for us too dess." Kirika added.

"And what exactly are you two planning to do with that LiNKER?" A voice called out to them, which started the duo. "I'm sure Boss and the others will be pretty pissed to see you two using your Gears without permission, so you'd better have a good excuse."

"Kanade-san dess!" Kirika shouted in shock. "W-We were just..."

"We're going to use our Gears to buy some time and power in order for Elfnein-chan to be able to finish the Symphogear enhancements." Shirabe answers with confidence. "I'm willing to deal with whatever consequences come later, but I'm not going to sit idly and let S.O.N.G. lose all of its power."

Kanade looked at the duo with a stern look for a moment, but soon started to chuckle and smirk. "Can't say I wouldn't do the same in your shoes, Shirabe-chan." Kanade said, surprising the Zababa duo with her sudden change in tone. "Hell, considering my past, I'm the last person to be judging you for doing the right thing. Just promise me you won't do anything completely stupid out there."

"You have our word Kanade-san dess!" Kirika answered.

"Thank you." Shirabe adds.

"Now get out there and kick some ass you two!" Kanade said, handing the girls some vials of LiNKER and watching them rush out the door as the safe alarm went off. "Guess I better go make sure Boss and the others aren't extremely harsh on them..."


The Port near S.O.N.G. HQ


Once the Alca-Noise arrived, soldiers did the best they could to push them back, but much like with the old Noise, it was a fruitless effort. However, the tide would soon turn to the soldiers' favor as Kirika and Shirabe arrived and immediately transformed.


"Various Shul Shagana tron"


(Genocide Saw Heaven begins to play)

Wasting as little time as possible, Shirabe and Kirika activate their Symphogears and start annihilating the Alca-Noise while doing their best to avoid the parts of them that would destroy their Gears. "Not bad at all!" Kirika said between their fights.

As they went to continue, their communicators went off. "Do either of you have any idea what you're doing?!" Genjuro asked in a concerned, yet commanding tone.

"Of course dess!" Kirika replied.

"We'll do what we can to hold them off." Shirabe adds. "Hurry up and finish the Symphogear upgrades while you can!"

With that said, Shirabe and Kirika did what they could to deal with the Alca-Noise so Elfnein and S.O.N.G. could finish the Gear upgrades. Unknown to them, someone was observing them from afar. "Even when working together they're still struggling to keep up?" Micha said. "Yeah, these girls are screwed."


Kanade's POV:
S.O.N.G. HQ


Moments ago, when Kirika and Shirabe just left the medical wing with LiNKER in tow, Kanade dealt with the safe alarm and got into her usual attire. "Guess I better go make sure Boss and the others aren't extremely harsh on them..." Kanade says. But as she went to leave the medical wing, she suddenly heard a groan from Hibiki's bed as she woke up. "Hibiki-chan! Good to see you're still alive too."

"Kanade-san?" The still waking up Hibiki said, "What are you doing here?"

"Same reason you are, got my ass kicked by those Autoscorer freaks." Kanade says, causing Hibiki to feel for her pendant before remembering what happened in her fight against Garie. "Hey, don't beat yourself up over it, Hibiki-chan. We still have a chance to beat them with Boss and Elfnein-chan's Project Ignite plan."

"Project Ignite?"

"Oh right, you weren't there for the briefing." Kanade says aloud. "Honestly, I don't quite get it myself, but I'm sure Elfnein-chan and Boss would be happy to catch you up to speed. I'll see you up at the command center."

"Wait. Kanade-san?" Hibiki asked again, catching the elder Gungnir wielder's attention. "I've been meaning to ask you something for a while, if that's okay."

"Ask away, Hibiki-chan." Kanade replies. "What's on your mind?"

"Well, besides when you're with just Tsubasa-san, it seems like you always go out of your way to help me in and out of combat." Hibiki said. "I'm sure I'm just overthinking it, but is there a specific reason why you do that?"

Kanade simply smirks at this question. "Honestly, one part of it is because I still feel guilty for what happened to you after the concert tragedy where we first met. Kana-chan being a great friend to you and Miku-chan has really helped me deal with that personal guilt though." She explains. "The other part is mainly because you've always sorta reminded me of myself and my past." Hibiki looked at Kanade with an empathic expression on her face. "I know. I shouldn't blame myself for things that were out of my control anyways." Kanade replies.

"It's not that." Hibiki interjected. "It's just, you haven't really talked about your past that much."

"Ah, that." Kanade softly chuckles. "Talking about my past has always been... difficult to put it lightly. Still is even after everything I've done for the world..."

"Kanade-san..."

"But when I saw you the day you first summoned your Gungnir, I saw a lot of myself in you, and a lot more as I got to know you better. Thanks to that, it has made me see you as like a younger sister, if that makes sense." Kanade continues.

"Thank you, Kanade-san." Hibiki said. "In a way, I've always seen you as a sister too."

"Well if you ever need anything else, be sure to let your big sis know, yeah?" Kanade says, making herself and Hibiki laugh. "Well, I should head to the command center so Boss and Dr. Nastassja don't rip Kirika-chan and Shirabe-chan a new one. See ya in a bit, Hibiki-chan."

"See you later, Kanade-san." Hibiki replied as Kanade left.

After her heart to heart with Hibiki, Kanade hurries to the command center to meet up with the other wielders and S.O.N.G. staff, hearing their conversation as she approaches the door. "...backfire from the Gears is being minimized." She heard Aoi say.

"The hell's goin' on?" Chris asked.

"Do you think it's related to that alarm we heard a while ago?" Kana suggested.

"If I recall correctly, there's an emergency supply of LiNKER in the medical room, yes?" Serena asked.

"Which is more than likely where they took the LiNKER from." Genjuro answered.

After taking a moment to ready herself, Kanade entered the room. "Well... About that..." Kanade says, catching the attention of the few people who weren't already alerted by the door opening. "While they did plan to take it, I was the one who ultimately gave it to them."

"Kanade!" Tsubasa said, happy to see her partner was alright.

"Miss Amou!" Nastassja said with a serious tone. "I hope you are aware of what you have done by giving them LiNKER."

"Trust me Doc, I was against giving them the stuff at first." Kanade says, "But had I not given them the LiNKER, there's a good chance they'd still go out there and die from their Gears' recoil long before the Alca-Noise would kill them." Nastassja's serious expression softens from this, knowing deep down that Kanade was right about Shirabe and Kirika. "The way I see it, with all of our other Gears out of commission for the moment, those two defending our power supply is the only option we currently have."

No one could really argue with Kanade's words. Kirika and Shirabe were truly the only people keeping their plans of repairing the other Symphogears alive, so they had to believe in them. However, things were about to take a turn for the worse.


Shirabe's POV:
The Port near S.O.N.G. HQ


"Gotcha!" Micha shouted as she approached Kirika from behind, the latter barely managing to block the incoming attack, but still getting sent flying into Shirabe and then into a nearby building by a second crystal.

"Ouch..." Kirika said as she got up from the rubble.

"She's not going to let us go easily." Shirabe says.

As for their assailant, she simply taunted them by balancing herself atop a third crystal that she created. "Hey there, kiddies. Just thought I'd let you know," She turns to face the Zababa duo, pointing one of the crystals in her hands towards them. "I'm very strong."

"It would be stupid to underestimate us 'kiddies.'" Shirabe retorts as she pulls out another injector full of LiNKER.

"It's time we teach her a lesson dess!" Kirika added, pulling out her own injector.

With injectors drawn, they turn to one another, putting their injectors up to one another's necks while holding their free hands. "If we are together..."

"We won't be afraid dess!" With that said, they both use their second LiNKER doses before turning to face Micha once more.

However, with multiple active doses of LiNKER came negative side effects. "An overdose..."

"Who cares about some nosebleed?" Kirika said, putting the worry of the LiNKER overdose behind her, which in turn inspired Shirabe.

"Let's go Kiri-chan! Together!"

"Time to rip them to shreds dess!"

(Just loving X-Edge begins to play)

The girls charge towards their foe, which piqued said foe's interest. "Oh? Will you make this fun for me?" Micha said as she threw her crystals towards Shirabe and Kirika. The duo easily dodge them, which only increased Micha's excitement.

This excitement only grew as Kirika and Shirabe continued to attack and dodge her attacks throughout the port. "I guess with some help, even children can put out a decent amount of phonic gain. Heck, I bet one of these two alone could have a high enough output!" Micha said with an excited giggle.

The Zababa duo had enough of being toyed with and decided to make an opening to finish off Micha. Without wasting any time, Shirabe threw her weaponized yo-yos in the air, turning them into a Massive Circle Slash and sending them flying towards the Autoscorer, who blocked the attack with a giant fire shield.

This was what the girls were hoping would happen, taking the opportunity to leap into the air, putting their weapons on their feet, and diving into the shield to strike Micha down. However, Micha too had planned for this. "Kaboom!" In that moment, Kirika and Shirabe knew they had been played as the giant fire shield exploded in their faces, taking out the solar panels as they were blasted to the ground below.

As the dust settled, the duo looked for their opponent, who was standing atop one of the broken solar panels. "At this rate, nothing will change!" Shirabe says, starting to doubt their chances against Micha.

Kirika stabs the ground with her scythe in frustration. "But we're trying so hard! Why? This isn't fair! I want to change!"

"Not bad." Micha said. "But I'm afraid playtime's over! Time to end this!" Without warning, Micha rocketed towards Kirika with her hand aimed at Kirika's Gear pendant. "Bye-Bye!" Micha destroys Kirika's Gear before she even has a chance to defend herself, sending her skidding across the ground as her Gear dissipates.

"Kiri-chan!" Shirabe shouts as she dashes over to save her friend, before a crystal barely misses her.

"You better pay attention to me, or else I'll hit you from behind." Micha taunted.

In anger, Shirabe summons four giant sawblades. "Stay out of my way!"

"Don't be like that!" Micha teased. "How about I destroy your Gear too? That way, you can match your friend over there."


"Micha, her compatibility value is too low to be of interest." Carol said to Micha. "Do with her as you please."


"Okey-dokey!" Micha said in excitement as she brought out a large amount of Alca-Noise crystals and with them, a bunch of Alca-Noise.

"R-Run... Shirabe..." Kirika pleaded with her friend.

"I'm not going to leave you here, Kiri-chan." Shirabe says, "You'd use everything you have to save me, so I'm going to do the same for you!"

"Let the dissection begin!" Micha shouted, sending the Alca-Noise after Shirabe.

Shirabe did everything she could to take out as many Alca-Noise as possible, but they were slowly destroying everything she had to attack them with, eventually leaving her practically defenseless. "No... I can't let it end like this..." She says to herself. "I don't want to die... And I don't want Kiri-chan, Maria, Mom, or anyone else to die either..." The horde of Alca-Noise managed to destroy her last sawblade, leaving her completely defenseless as they aimed for her pendant. "I want to... I need to... Protect them as they have me! Get out of my way!" Shirabe shouts, letting out a giant burst of pink energy that engulfed the entire port.

"Shirabe!" Kirika shouted as the light engulfed her too, causing her to shield her eyes from how bright it was. When the light dissipated, Kirika was surprised by what she saw around her. In fact, Shirabe too was surprised by what she saw:


Asgard.


A/N: And with that, we end the chapter.

I'm sure you all have a lot of questions about this chapter. All I can say for now is it'll all make sense as the story progresses.

Regardless, thank you for reading and I shall see you all in the next chapter!