Part 3:
Believe in your justice and follow the path it creates
Chapter 9:
A Sword's Dream
Miku's POV:
The Hospital
"I can't see a thing... It's totally dark!" Hibiki exclaimed through the darkness of her hospital gown.
"You just need to raise your hands, alright?" Miku says, assisting her friend into the gown. "Nice and high!" After some effort, Miku is able to get Hibiki's gown on properly. "How does it feel?"
"It's just a checkup, Miku." Hibiki sighed. "There's no need to make such a big deal out of it."
"It's your fault, you know?" Miku retorts.
Suddenly, Hibiki's phone starts to ring, her dad was trying to call her. Without much hesitation, Hibiki hung up the phone. "I gotta go to the checkup now." Hibiki said.
"Hibiki..."
"I'm fine." Hibiki reassured her friend. "I'm alri-"
"You are not alright!" Miku interjects, knowing Hibiki was just trying to hide her feelings.
Hibiki stopped walking for a moment, before smiling but not turning to face her friend. "I've got you. I've got everyone. So I'm fine, even without dad." She said, leaving as soon as she finished to go to her checkup, leaving Miku to worry for her best friend.
Maria's POV:
Yatsuhiro Kazanari's Mansion
While Hibiki was receiving a medical checkup, Maria, Serena, and the Zwei Wing duo arrived at their planned destination. "Where are we?" Maria asks.
"Yatsuhiro Kazanari's mansion." Ogawa stated. "It is also Tsubasa-san's childhood home."
"It's been ten years..." Tsubasa said. "I never thought that I'd be coming back here for this reason."
Flashback
S.O.N.G. HQ
"Displaying observation results." Aoi said as she pulled up a screen on the monitor that contained a map of the country with several dots that were connected by a series of lines.
"These areas are receiving priority electricity-routing." Sakuya stated.
"That's so many dess!" Kirika exclaimed.
"And that one there seems to be the top priority." Shirabe stated, pointing to the larger yellow dot in the ocean on the map.
"What would be in the ocean that would need so much electricity?" Kana wondered.
"The Undersea Dragon's Palace." Genjuro answered. "It's an area with maximum security where several unanalyzed materials and dangerous heretical technology are locked away. It's so highly classified that even we don't have access to the details of that place."
"If the Autoscorers' aim was to locate it..."
"Then they're after something being held there." Maria said, finishing Tsubasa's thought.
"So all we'd need to do is get there first and stop them from getting what they're after." Kana thought, proud of her idea. "And with both Lilith and I having the ability to teleport, we'll be able to ambush them and finish them once and for all!"
"Just make sure you don't break into someone else's room again if we have to teleport." Chris remarked, which flustered Kana.
Flashback:
Chris' Apartment
After the fight with Micha, Chris went back home for the night, ready to get some sleep. Suddenly, a flash of light appeared in her room as she was laying in her bed. "Woah, woah, woah!" Kana shouted, trying her best to steady her balance, but unfortunately falling onto a mostly-unsuspecting Chris. "O-Oh... H-Hi Chris. What're... What're you doing here?" Kana asked, barely able to speak coherently through her embarrassment.
"Kana..." Chris says, hair covering her eyes, but Kana could tell she was a mixture of flustered and furious. "GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"
Kana did her best to dodge Chris' fury and teleport away, "Sorrysorrysorry GA-" Kana said before getting punched in the stomach by one of Chris' punches and disappearing. Once Kana was gone, Chris' fury subsided and only embarrassment remained as she reacted to the slight pain of punching Kana's armor with her bare hand.
"H-Hey! That was an accident and I said I was sorry!" Kana retorted while Chris just smirked.
Genjuro cleared his throat to regain the wielders' attention. "There's one other point that we believe they'll attack." He said, having Aoi and Sakuya show a point of interest that surprised Tsubasa.
"Serena-san brought up something that concerned me, so I had the Intelligence division do some research." Ogawa stated. "There have been multiple reports of temples and shrines being destroyed in various natural and artificial incidents. Each one was part of a spiritual safety net set up by the Meiji government a century ago, placed at vital points for controlling the city's ley lines."
"Alchemy and ley lines... There's no doubt that this is part of our enemy's plan." Genjuro said.
"There is a keystone on the Kazanari mansion's premises." Tsubasa stated. "It's quite possible that they will target it."
"Although Hibiki-kun is in the hospital for a medical exam, this might be our best chance to strike." Genjuro added.
Elfnein nodded in agreement. "Please. Stop Carol's vengeance." She asked the wielders, who happily nodded.
"Alright. We'll split you into two teams."
And so the teams were decided. Kana, Chris, Shirabe, and Kirika would go to the Undersea Dragon's Palace while the rest of the wielders would go with Ogawa to the Kazanari mansion. "The others will arrive at the Undersea Dragon's Palace shortly." Ogawa said as he finished up a call with HQ.
"Let us hope we aren't walking into a den of demons ourselves." Tsubasa said as the doors to the mansion opened. Once in the courtyard, the group were relieved to see the keystone had not been attacked yet. However, Ogawa quickly turned the group's attention to a man in a grey robe with two agents following close behind him. "Father..."
"Thank you for your hard work, Shinji." Yatsuhiro said, praising the ninja/manager. "And I've heard of your accomplishments since joining S.O.N.G. as well."
"Th-Thank you." Maria replies, taken off guard by the surprise compliment.
Yatsuhiro turned his attention back to Ogawa shortly after. "Ahnenerbe's department of mysticism has issued a report on the Alca-Noise. I'll have you review it later."
"Yes, sir." Ogawa said.
With that, Yatsuhiro made started to head back inside his mansion, but someone had something to say before he would leave. "Father!" Tsubasa said, before quickly stopping to compose herself and not sound desperate for his attention. Regardless, she was able to get Yatsuhiro to stop walking away to let her speak. "I'm sorry for not contacting you sooner."
Yatsuhiro turned his head towards Tsubasa, but not enough to make eye contact. "Even without you, the Kazanari household stands firm." He said, which gave the wielders a mix of anger and shock. "Once you are finished here, you shall return to the battlefield."
"Hold it right there!" Maria interjects, upset by Yatsuhiro's words towards his own daughter. "You're her father, are you not? Don't you have any-"
"Maria, it's fine." Tsubasa interrupted Maria, trying to calm her down.
"But..."
"It's fine." Tsubasa said again.
Maria looked to Kanade and Serena, hoping they would say something in defense of their friend. But they shared the same solemn look as Tsubasa, which was more surprising to see on Kanade than Serena. But as Maria was giving up on trying to fix father-daughter relations, Ogawa pulled out his gun and shot at a spot that was soon engulfed in gales.
"How barbaric." Phara said, revealing herself. "I had no intentions to interrupt such a touching reunion."
"You!" Kanade shouted, angered to see the Autoscorer that broke Tsubasa's Gear.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I shall unleash this ley line." Phara continued.
"So you are after the keystone then?" Maria says, seeing that S.O.N.G.'s predictions of the Autoscorers' plans were correct.
But Phara did not directly answer Maria. Instead, she pulled out several Alca-Noise capsules and threw them to the ground. "Danse Macabre."
Seeing the Alca-Noise, Tsubasa smirked. "Very well, I accept your challenge!"
"Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron"
(Beyond the BLADE begins to play)
Tsubasa and the others immediately transform into their Gears and charge at the Alca-Noise, getting rid of them in seconds. "I'll handle this!" Tsubasa said to her father.
"Yes, fulfill your duty." Yatsuhiro replied, hurrying to safety.
"Now, catch me if you can!" Phara taunted, conjuring multiple gales to attack Tsubasa with, the latter managing to evade the attacks with ease.
Now it was Tsubasa's turn to take the offensive, launching a Azure Flash as she jumped into the air to prepare a Heaven's Wrath while Phara countered said Azure Flash. When she turned her attention to Tsubasa's second attack, Phara smirked. "I wonder what this is?" She said as she swung her sword and connected with Tsubasa's attack, which started to break the giant sword.
"What?! My sword... Is being broken?" Tsubasa thought as she watched the Heaven's Wrath crack before Phara's counterstrike knocked Tsubasa away.
"Tsubasa!" The other wielders present shout.
"My Sword Breaker is a philosophical weapon that can destroy anything defined as a sword, regardless of strength or durability." Phara explained, before pointing her Sword Breaker towards her opponent. "Now, what will your next move be?"
"Even the enhanced Symphogears aren't strong enough?" Ogawa asked.
But Maria didn't care. She charged at the Autoscorer and sent out several daggers in her direction. "It's futile." Phara said, sending a gale to counter the daggers, which eviscerated them and destroyed the keystone in the same motion. "Oh? Was the Airgetlám defined as a sword, as well?" Phara taunted.
Maria looked at the destroyed keystone before processing Phara's explanation of her weapon. "Philosophical weapons... Weapons that cut away at concepts themselves, similar to curses or geasa?"
Phara chuckled at Maria's curiosity. "Pardon me, but I'm not interested in your songs." She said in reference to the three conscious wielders before conjuring a gale to disappear. "Would you mind telling the sword girl something for me? When she wakes, I shall return to hear her songs."
"Oh no you don't!" Kanade shouted, trying to slash at the tornado Phara conjured, only to hit nothing. "Dammit!"
Genjuro's POVs:
S.O.N.G. HQ
"We failed to protect the keystone. I'm sorry." Ogawa said over the phone.
"I didn't expect them to attack both places at once." Genjuro replies.
"Wait. You don't mean..."
"Yes. There are intruders in the Undersea Dragon's Palace. We see them on the security cameras." Genjuro confirms, looking at the footage that showed Leiur with none other than the previously dead Carol Malus Dienheim.
Chris scoffed just seeing her face, being one of the three wielders to personally see her turn into a pile of ashes. "What? Did she kneel before the devil and beg to come back?"
"There's no doubt they're laying a trap for us, but we can't afford to ignore them either." Genjuro says. "Kana-kun, warp to the Palace with Chris-kun, Kirika-kun, and Shirabe-kun."
"Roger!" Kana said.
"You are the ocean's grey waves"
Once transformed, Kana grabs Chris, Kirika, and Shirabe and prepares to teleport somewhere safe inside the Undersea Dragon's Palace. "O-Oi! Wait a mi-" Chris tried to protest before they disappear from the ship.
Everyone waited in silence for any response from the wielders. "We made it safely to the Palace, Genjuro-san!" Kana reported, causing everyone aboard the ship to sigh in relief.
"We're going to send a ship to your current location for you to leave the palace through once you take care of Carol and her Autoscorer." Aoi told Kana over comms.
"Got it. Thanks." Kana replied.
Kana and Chris' POVs:
The Undersea Dragon's Palace
Safely making it to the Palace, Kana reverts her transformation. "Everyone okay?"
"I swear, you can be as reckless as the idiot sometimes, Kana." Chris snarls. "I'd go as far as to say you're more reckless sometimes, and I never thought that was possible."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Kana smugly replies.
"So, this is the Undersea Dragon's Palace?" Shirabe thought aloud.
"It's huge dess!" Kirika added.
"Unfortunately, this is no time for sightseeing." Chris tells the Zababa duo. "Let's get going!"
Meanwhile
As the wielders searched the Palace for Carol and Leiur, S.O.N.G. HQ's submarine finally arrived close to the location in question. "We've received the structural data for the facility." Sakuya reported.
"Hurry and locate the intruders!" Genjuro ordered.
"...Carol's goal is to destroy the world." Elfnein stated, having an idea as to what Carol might be doing here. "She must be after the relics or any other similarly dangerous items stored there."
Tsubasa's POV:
Yatsuhiro Kazanari's Mansion
Some time after the battle with the Autoscorer, Tsubasa woke up on a cot in one of the rooms on the mansion's premises. She was confused at first, but she quickly remembered her defeat. "Even after throwing away a dream that was too good for me, I still couldn't stand my ground..." She thought aloud to herself.
While Tsubasa was busy wallowing in her self-loathing, Kanade had entered the room to check up on her. "Doin' okay, Tsubasa?" She asked.
"Oh, hello Kanade." Tsubasa replies. "Sorry. I let my guard down."
"It's fine." Kanade said. "Nobody's perfect. Example: Your stalwart guard trying to act all mysterious."
"Very funny, Kanade." Maria said from behind the shoji. "Tsubasa, if you can move, I'd like you both to come with me. Your father wants to speak with you."
"I understand." Tsubasa replies. "Let's go, Kanade."
Quickly getting changed out of her robes, Tsubasa goes with Kanade and Maria to meet up with Serena, Ogawa, and Yatsuhiro in the latter's office. Once there, the arriving trio are handed some of the documents on his desk. "What is this?" Maria asked.
"We had Ahnenerbe analyze the red particles that appear when an Alca-Noise attacks." Ogawa explained. "This is their report."
"Ahnenerbe?" Kanade asked.
"They're a German government research organization that's deeply involved with Symphogear research." Serena explained to her.
"The report states that the red matter is Prima Materia, the fundamental component of matter created when matter is decomposed by alcahest, the universal solvent." Yatsuhiro explained.
"The fundamental component of matter? Created by decomposition?" Maria asked, not entirely sure what that meant.
"Alchemy is a branch of heretical technology that studies the theory of decomposition, analysis, and reconstruction." Ogawa explained.
"What is Carol hoping to reconstruct after she's decomposed the world?" Serena thought aloud.
The wielders all thought about this, before someone broke their silence. "Tsubasa..." Yatsuhiro said, getting Tsubasa's attention immediately. "How are your wounds?"
For a moment, Tsubasa was surprised by the question, not expecting it from her father of all people. "I can deal with the pain." She says.
"Then leave this place and have the data analyzed at the proper facilities." Yatsuhiro continued, bringing the cold truth of his concern to light. "The keystone you were to protect is no more."
While Tsubasa was understanding of her father's orders on the surface, someone was a bit more vocal towards his disregard. "That may be the logical course of action," Maria stated. "But don't you think those words were rather cold to say to your own wounded daughter?"
"It's fine, Maria..." Tsubasa says, earning a confused look from the elder Airgetlám wielder. "It's fine." Without another word the wielders left the room. "Maria, could we talk for a moment? You two may join us if you'd like." She says to Kanade and Serena.
"Of course." Maria replied, following Tsubasa and the others to a place to talk privately. "But still, what was that? He may be an expert when it comes to national security, but he's absolutely terrible when it comes to his own family!"
"I'm sorry... This is just how we are." Tsubasa says, stopping in front of a door. "This used to be my room when I was little. We can talk in here."
Tsubasa opens the door and Maria immediately gets into a fighting stance. "An ambush? Did the dolls do this?" Maria asked.
"Um, no... This would be my fault." Tsubasa replies sheepishly, answering for the messy state of her childhood room. "I wasn't expecting him to leave it this way for ten years, though."
Kanade smirked upon seeing the room. "So even kid Tsubasa had troubles keeping her room clean."
Aside from that, the four worked together to tidy up the room. As they did, Tsubasa couldn't help but feel nostalgic looking at the microphone on the stand next to the boom box. "I remember singing old pop songs for my father here when I was younger." She says.
"But this room makes me wonder... Have you always been like this?" Maria asked.
"You mean, have I always had a messy room?" Tsubasa asks in return, flustered by Maria's possible judgement of her mess.
Kanade was about to make a comment on that, but Serena quickly put a hand over her mouth. "Not the time, Kanade." She mouthed to her.
"No, I'm talking about your relationship with your father." Maria clarified.
Tsubasa calms down after Maria clarified her question. "My grandfather, Fudou Kazanari, the current head of the family, started to consider who would be his heir when his time was done." Tsubasa began to explain. "There were two candidates: His older son, Yatsuhiro, and the younger, my uncle Genjuro. But instead of either of them, he chose me, despite being only a newborn."
"He chose you?" Maria asked.
"He never told me why, but I've been able to come up with a possible reason over the years." Tsubasa continues. "It seems my father's blood doesn't flow through my veins." This caught the other three wielders off guard. "For the Kazanari blood to remain strong, my grandfather impregnated my mother. I am the result."
"As if I didn't have enough reasons to hate that bastard already, now I learn that he's the reason why Tsubasa's dad is so cold towards her..." Kanade said quietly, trying to keep her anger towards Fudou in check.
"Since then, I've wanted my father to accept me in any way possible, devoting myself to becoming a sword, a tool, instead of a human." Tsubasa continues again. "But if this is all I have to show for it, then he's only going to hate me more."
Meanwhile at S.O.N.G. HQ
"We've linked up with the Palace's control systems." Sakuya reported.
"If I can find out what Carol's after, we may be able to devise a plan." Elfnein said aloud, before seeing something on the list of artifacts that stood out to her. "Stop it there! The Yantra Sarvasva!"
"What is that?" Genjuro asked.
"A collection of information that enables one to activate and control any machine." Elfnein explained. "If Carol acquires the Trigger Parts, she will complete the World Destructor, the Château de Tiffauges."
"I've located the zone where the Yantra Sarvasva is kept." Aoi reported, putting the location in the palace on the big screen.
"Send Kana-kun's team there immediately!" Genjuro ordered.
As for the wielders still at Yatsuhiro's mansion, an attack could be heard from outside, and sure enough, Phara was waiting for them atop the roof she attacked. "You already destroyed the keystone! What are you doing here now?" Tsubasa asks.
Phara chuckled at the question. "I merely wish to hear your song."
"Seilien coffin Airgetlám tron"
(Shinsei Robust begins to play)
The four wielders wasted no time donning their Gears and charging at the Autoscorer, but she too did not waste any time throwing Serena, Maria, and Kanade aside to fight Tsubasa. "Everyone!" Tsubasa calls out in worry for her friends, before shifting her attention back to Phara. "I am a sword! I'll cut you to pieces!"
"Did you say you yourself are a sword?" Phara asked the charging Ame no Habakiri wielder. "Then let's put that to the test."
The Autoscorer sends a massive gale towards Tsubasa, whose armor and blade start to shatter as she tries to endure the attack. "It's breaking... My body, which I trained to be a sword... And with it, my pride." Tsubasa's endurance faltered moments later as she was knocked back by the gale and fell to the ground. "I gave up my dream, placing my pride in my combat skills, but..." Tsubasa was on the verge of tears. "How powerless am I?"
Everyone called out for her, but one voice stood out amongst the group. "Tsubasa!"
Tsubasa looked over at the source of the voice. "Father?"
"Sing, Tsubasa!" Yatsuhiro said.
The swordswoman was taken aback by her father's request. "But if I can be neither a tool or sword for the Kazanari, then I..."
"You needn't be either!" Yatsuhiro interjected, which surprised Tsubasa once again. "Do not be afraid of continuing to dream."
Tsubasa wasn't sure how to respond. "My dream?"
"That's right!" Maria chimed in. "Your room wasn't just left abandoned that way for ten years! Yes it was messy, but there wasn't a speck of dust anywhere!"
"He kept it that way so he wouldn't lose the memories he had of you!" Serena added, realizing where Maria was going with this.
"If your dad truly hated you, Tsubasa, he wouldn't go through the trouble of doing that!" Kanade added. "So snap out of it already!"
"Did my father distance me from the Kazanari family so that I could follow my dreams?" Tsubasa thought aloud, tears streaming down her face. "If that's truly what you want... Then may I dream once again?" Yatsuhiro said nothing, but simply nodded at his daughter's question, and that was all she needed. "Then listen!"
"Ignite Module! Drawn Blade!"
(Beyond the BLADE (IGNITED arrangement) begins to play)
With her Ignited Gear activated once more and her resolve renewed, Tsubasa charges at Phara once again. "I'd be delighted to have a taste." The Autoscorer responded to the swordswoman's request.
Just like before, Phara mainly took the defensive approach while Tsubasa went full-throttle offense. One attack after another Tsubasa threw at the Autoscorer, but the latter would simply dodge it, block it, or repel it away. "No matter how much your output increases..." Phara said as she dispelled Tsubasa's Thousand Falling Tears with a gale, "As long as you're a sword, you don't stand a chance." Phara pulls out a second identical sword and conjures two whirlwinds before charging at Tsubasa.
But Tsubasa wasn't fazed by Phara's threat, her thoughts turning to her father's words.
"Do not be afraid of continuing to dream."
"I am not a sword!" Tsubasa retorts, countering the approaching Phara with a Reverse Rakshasa that cuts one of the Autoscorer's blades in two.
"Impossible!" Phara said, surprised that her weapon was broken so easily. "Why are my philosophical fangs not working?"
Tsubasa looks at her foe as flames erupt from the blades on her legs as she raises two more towards the sky. "Do you call this a sword?" She asks. "No! These are wings, taking flight toward their dreams!" Declaring this, Tsubasa jumps high into the air. "Know that your philosophy cannot break my wings!" Once she reaches the height of her jump, Tsubasa sets her swords in her hands and on her feet ablaze and turns herself into a wheel of flames, using it to slice the Autoscorer before her in two.
Rakshasa Stance Zero
All Tsubasa could hear from the enemy that broke her pride from that moment onward was insane laughter. But she did not care, she had won.
Kana and Chris' POVs:
Undersea Dragon's Palace
As Tsubasa's fight went on with Phara, Kana's team donned their Symphogears and followed the directions to the Yantra Sarvasva that HQ gave them. However, as they reached their destination, they were met with Carol and Leiur, the former of which holding the item they were here to protect.
The wielders did not hesitate to engage in combat with these two, Chris starting the battle with a barrage of missiles and bullets, which were blocked by a magical barrier Carol put up. "Kirika-chan! You and I will take on Leiur and leave Carol to Shirabe-chan and Chris!" Kana shouts, getting a "Dess!" of approval from Kirika.
As Kirika and Kana fought Leiur, Shirabe dealt with the Alca-Noise before joining Chris in trying to break Carol's barrier. Despite how many projectiles were thrown at the barrier, nothing even cracked it. Suddenly, Carol dropped the barrier, as if struggling to keep her alchemy up. Seeing the opening, Shirabe focused her saws on the Yantra Sarvasva in Carol's hand, knocking it out of said hand with one and slicing it in two with another.
"The Yantra Sarvasva!" Carol said in a panicked tone, before putting a smaller barrier with what little alchemy she could handle at the moment.
Seeing this opening, Kana turned her attention to Carol, leaving Kirika to distract Leiur. "Chris! Now!" Kana shouts to her friend as she activates her Ichaival Augment to boost Chris as she charged at Carol.
"Like hell am I about to miss this opening!" Chris responds, firing a Mega Deth Quartet at Carol.
"This is a plain disaster." Leiur said, trying her best to destroy all of Chris' missiles before they could hit Carol, as well as try to stop the rapidly approaching Kana, unable to stop the latter and one of Chris' bigger missiles. "Master!"
"This ends here!" Kana shouts, going in for the final blow on Carol, before something emerges from the smoke left behind from the rockets that missed Carol and sends Kana flying back towards the other wielders. "Ow..."
"What the hell's going on?" Chris asks, confused by what just happened, watching her missile just fly in place near Carol.
The wielders' questions would soon be answered by a psychotic laugh they were all too familiar with. "It's been so long since I tasted a relic." The man said, absorbing Chris' missile into his augmented hand. "The taste is so sweet, so enchanting, so addictive!"
"No way." Shirabe said.
"This can't be real dess..." Kirika added.
"Oh but it can, and it is." The man, who covered his face with his human hand as his monstrous one shrank back down to a normal size, said. "I am the man of truth, Dr. Ver!"
Hibiki's POV:
The Hospital
After her checkup, Hibiki returned to her room in the hospital for the night, unaware of the battles her friends were going through at the same moment in time. As she sat there in her bed, she saw the several missed calls from her father. As much as Hibiki longed to see the man she once proudly called her dad, she knew the man that left her grandmother, mother, and herself after the concert tragedy could never come back. Without a second thought, Hibiki turned off her phone and went to bed.
"What's broken can't go back to how it was..."
A/N: And with that, we end the chapter here.
Again, not much to add at the end here without spoiling the next chapter, but rest assured, it'll be worth the wait.
Anyway, thanks again for reading this chapter, and I shall see you all in the next one!
