"Jie, watch out!"
Lanfen's eyes shot open to take in the surrounding pitch-black darkness. Within her chest, Lanfen's heart pounded against her ribs, acting as an undeniable reminder that she still remained in the realm of the living. The Adaptor drew in the cold air to confirm it, filling her lungs completely before releasing a slow, careful exhale. She repeated this process several times. Each practiced breath eventually calmed her racing heart. Once the beating in her chest had slowed into a steady rhythm, Lanfen gripped on to the futon she slept on and pulled herself into a sitting position. A small groan of annoyance escaped her afterwards, aimed at the cold sweat which now clung to the oversized hoodie Lanfen wore.
Combing her long, unruly hair with one hand, Lanfen panned her gaze over to the windows and narrowed her sights on the shattered moon in the winter skies. A digital clock on the shelves indicated that it was only twenty minutes away from 3 AM. The gentle lo-fi music which flowed out of the nearby holo-player did little to ease the tension in her stiff shoulders. Shoving aside her blanket, Lanfen navigated through the shadows out of pure memory and flicked on a single switch on the wall, causing a small lamp on the shelving to light up. The dim illumination it casted onto the kotatsu table was all she required to step over to her smartphone while it sat beside her laptop, pendant, and wrist device.
A light jingle resonated from the toy that hung by a silver chain as the Adaptor held up her phone in one hand. Lanfen switched it on and sat back down on her futon to distract her mind by swiping through recent news reports of Distortion attacks outside the country. Her fingertips mindlessly browsed from one article to another, but no matter how many of them she bothered to actually read, Lanfen could not wipe away the image her pupils had ended up witnessing underneath the bloodstained rubble of a burning building.
A trembling whisper soon slipped out of her. "Mei..."
The smartphone in Lanfen's hands slipped through her loosening grip. The light clatter it emitted when the phone hit the wooden floor sounded deafening in the relative quiet of the living room. Squeezing her eyes shut, Lanfen grasped the sides of her head, and attempted to focus on nothing else other than the soft beats which were streaming out of the room's holo-player. This was not the first time Lanfen had woken up in the middle of the night. She knew it wasn't going to be her last. Might as well get used to it, she thought to herself. It was just how things were nowadays in her eyes.
Light rattling resounded from Shinonome's bedroom door.
The Adaptor jerked her head upwards and looked over her shoulder to spare the doorknob a tired glance. After several seconds of waiting passed by, what was once the door to Lanfen's personal room opened up. "... Jiang?" Shinonome muttered, gingerly poking her head through a growing gap in the doorway while half of her face remained concealed beneath a silver fringe.
"Sorry," Lanfen murmured, picking her smartphone back up so she could settle it next to her curled-up legs. "Did I... wake you up?"
Shinonome eased the obvious worry in Lanfen's voice through a quiet shake of a head and a soft smile. "Truth be told, I may have experienced my own issues with staying asleep," she admitted, stepping out of her new bedroom in her skirt and turtleneck sweater. "It's admittedly relieving to see that I'm not the only one who's awake at such a time." Shielding a sudden yawn behind one hand, Shinonome made her way over to Lanfen's futon, gesturing if it was alright to sit down beside her. A small nod wordlessly allowed the silver-haired woman to make herself comfortable on its soft cushions as a veil of uninterrupted silence grew between them.
Uninterrupted. Just like the entire day itself. While Distortion attacks were undoubtedly still occurring in other locations around the globe, it was strange to realize how nothing had occurred in Japan today. Lanfen could feel echoes of a proverbial flame flickering within her eyes. And yet, she could not do anything other than remain on standby. Ayano and Godai still had yet to return from their duties, leaving the Adaptor to essentially spend an entire day in the presence of no one but the newest member of Symphogear Team-04. Noticing the way Shinonome stared in astonishment at the ringed moon beyond their windows, Lanfen pondered if an uneventful day every now and then wasn't so undesirable.
Especially now that Lanfen wasn't living in her apartment all by herself.
"Jiang," Shinonome spoke up, abruptly lifting the quiet between them. She subsequently pressed her fingertips against one another and shifted a pair of concerned eyes over to Lanfen, clearly hesitating to release her next few words. "Pardon me for asking. But... are you alright?"
Shinonome's direct question made the Adaptor reflexively tense up. "What do you mean?" Lanfen stammered, showcasing her poorest attempt at feigning ignorance.
The silver-haired woman twiddled her fingers once again, evidently mustering up the courage to ask whatever she had in mind. "I... couldn't help but notice how... you were talking in your sleep earlier. Some of the things you said worried me, so..." The further Shinonome went on, the deeper Lanfen's fingernails subconsciously dug into the palms of her hands. "I may not remember my own past. But I don't mind lending an ear if you're comfortable with it, Jiang. Especially since that we're... well..." She awkwardly gestured to the dimly-lit room around them. "... Sharing a living space."
Lanfen's throat felt tight, even after she drew in another practiced breath to relax her stiff muscles. A cursory glance into Shinonome's golden eyes ended up allowing Lanfen to slowly ease up her hands and fold them over her lap. For once, Lanfen sensed nothing emanating from her sword-hand other than the stinging sensation which her own fingernails left on her palms. Now that she mentioned it, Lanfen truly had learned everything she could about Shinonome's circumstances. But the same could not yet be said for the other way around. "Do you really want to know?" she whispered, just to be sure.
"I do," Shinonome calmly answered. "You all have gone through extensive lengths to assist me, haven't you? I feel that it would only be right if I could do the same."
She was far too kind for her own good, Lanfen mused to herself. She proceeded to wonder if maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. Running one hand through her disheveled hair, Lanfen picked up the smartphone which laid beside her bare feet. The Adaptor then huddled her legs close to her chest and held up her phone in the palm of a stinging hand. The accessory that was hanging from it by a silver chain swung back and forth as Lanfen's pensive gaze held the jingling toy in her sights. Might as well, Lanfen wordlessly decided in the back of her mind. To her, it surely sounded fair for both parties if neither of them were hiding anything from one another.
Lanfen's hush voice sounded completely clear amidst the surrounding silence. "... Six years ago... I lost my parents." Just like the Adaptor anticipated, Shinonome casted a knowing gaze over to the room's family shrine, her hands subtly holding on to the futon beneath them. "After they were gone, it was just my little sister and I," Lanfen resumed, fixating her attention back onto her phone's hanging accessory. "We still had relatives. If you can even consider them that," she bitterly remarked with a scoff. "But let's just say they didn't think twice about abandoning us. Nobody wanted to associate themselves with a 'girl' like me." The apathetic stares Lanfen witnessed at the memorial service were practically engraved into her memories. "It's just how things were back then."
If S.O.N.G. hadn't financially supported them after their parents passed on, Lanfen carried little doubt that the two sisters would have ended up in the streets, or far worse.
No syllables came from Shinonome, prompting Lanfen to continue. "I... tried my best to take care of my sister. Being a parent wasn't something I knew nor did very well, but she grew up to be an amazing gal anyway. Better than I ever could." Smart. Sociable. Courageous. There were so many words in her vocabulary she could use to describe Kai. "When the Distortions first arrived... we got separated. Just when it looked like it was all over for me, a stranger saved my life and handed me the very powers I wield right now. I honestly still wonder... if that person was even real."
Shinonome finally spoke up. The question which escaped her struggled to even voice itself. "... And what about your sister?" she inquired, hesitantly looking away from the shrine to set her golden eyes back on the Adaptor.
All it required was one simple sentence. A simple admission of guilt. And yet, outright answering Shinonome's question felt akin to swallowing a bag of rusted nails. Lanfen assumed that her wounds had all recovered by now. But this simple conversation revealed just how much of them were essentially still bleeding underneath their haphazard dressings. Drawing in one more practiced breath, Lanfen placed her smartphone back down on the futon, relaxed her bare legs on the wooden flooring, and subsequently met Shinonome's gaze with purple eyes which barely contained any light within them. "I couldn't save her."
Shinonome pulled in a shaky breath while their contrasting pupils remained locked with one another.
There was no point in beating around the bush. It was a failure that Lanfen could never undo no matter how many Distortions she slew with her Armed Gear. "The bedroom next to yours," Lanfen whispered, "it was hers. Everything belonging to her... is stored in there." Everything except for the tablet which Shinonome now utilized, Lanfen wordlessly pointed out, sensing a familiar warmth now gathering in the corners of her tired eyes. Before the Adaptor could even confirm what it was, Lanfen felt the sensation of stray tears making their way down her cheeks. She guessed that she hadn't truly run out of them like Lanfen initially believed.
As Lanfen lifted a hand to wipe away her running teardrops, Shinonome directed a heartbroken glance over to the aforementioned bedroom door. Merely taking in the sight of its dusty doorknob caused her to tremble while Shinonome obviously thought back on her own actions earlier in the day. Hands now gripping on to the ends of her skirt, another question made its way through Shinonome's quivering lips. "... What was her name?" The syllables were difficult to perceive, even if the music from the room's holo-player barely obfuscated them.
"Kai-Ming." Lanfen wondered if anyone else had willingly uttered her name in the past few days aside from herself. "Cynthia Jiang Kai-Ming. She was only 17." With those hush words finally uttered, the Adaptor dried the last of her tears and rested her exhausted sights on the living room's glass windows. A small trembling then coursed through her hands as Lanfen's ears picked up the soft pitter-patter of Shinonome's own falling teardrops. She couldn't help but deeply despise herself for making Shinonome cry like this. After all, it was Lanfen's duty to make her comfortable in her new home after everything Shinonome herself had went through.
Another veil of silence subsequently draped itself over Lanfen and Shinonome. But it was a quiet which did not feel uncomfortable even in the slightest. Instead, the pair remained at each other's sides, ignoring anything and everything in the dimly-lit room except for each other's presence. When the Adaptor's gaze began wandering without any point of focus, a memory of the final dinner that Lanfen shared with her sister inadvertently replayed itself in front of her eyes. A moment which Lanfen wished she could have cherished far longer than fate permitted. A moment that occurred within this very room before the Distortions changed everything with their arrival. Stifling a cry at the cessation of her glimpse into what could have been, Lanfen slowly parted her lips to finally undo the surrounding veil.
Before the Adaptor was even able to pronounce a single syllable, Shinonome's arms carefully wrapped themselves around Lanfen's waist, slowly bringing her into a gentle embrace which Lanfen could not pull away from. She could pick up the sound of Shinonome's faint crying, even while the silver-haired woman buried her face in Lanfen's shoulder. It was a gut-wrenching sonance to simply perceive as warm teardrops stained her sleeve. Initially, Lanfen questioned why Shinonome's tears were far stronger than her own. It was her who had lost a sister. And it was only tonight did Shinonome even learn of Kai's existence. Then again, Lanfen knew full well by now that the silver-haired woman held a heart which was far more tender than most.
Shinonome's decision to wear her emotions on her proverbial sleeve was almost admirable, if anything.
Unable to form a single coherent sentence, Lanfen brought up her own shaking arms, delicately wrapping them around Shinonome's trembling body. The Adaptor then shifted in her seat, letting Shinonome instead cry into her twisting chest. "Thank you..." There were no other words Lanfen could muster to express her swirling feelings. And yet, it was a phrase that perfectly voiced them without misunderstanding nor misconception. "I guess... we've both been through a lot, haven't we?"
The pair kept their arms held around one another for a length of time which Lanfen did not care to measure. Her focus kept itself purely on Shinonome and her alone. There was nothing else right now that was possibly worthy of the Adaptor's attention. Not even while Lanfen's heart relentlessly pounded itself against her ribcage. Once Shinonome had seemingly finished shedding the remainder of her own tender tears, the silver-haired woman withdrew her tearstained face away from Lanfen's chest, and slowly retracted her arms to clean her cheeks using the back of her hands.
"And yet... here we are... alive and well," Shinonome remarked in the middle of a shaky breath. "In spite of everything that's happened, I am... grateful to be here, Jiang." Her statement sounded as genuine as it could have possibly been. When a soft smile subsequently wrote itself across Shinonome's face, the anguished expression she initially wore utterly vanished, completely giving way to the same enrapturing view Lanfen previously witnessed during their first ever conversation in an underwater vessel. The returning sight of it alone mysteriously cured the tension within Lanfen's shoulders.
Reciprocating the woman's smile with a brief one of her own, the Adaptor hesitantly took her arms off Shinonome, their contrasting eyes still locked with each other. "So am I," Lanfen eventually admitted alongside an accompanying chuckle, resting her motionless hands back at her sides. "Life is just... unpredictable, isn't it?"
Shinonome responded with a slow nod while a subtle shade of crimson washed over her pale-white cheeks, prompting a light flutter to manifest within Lanfen's chest. It required dedicated mental effort, but Lanfen managed to pull her widening gaze away from Shinonome's flickering eyes, allowing her to instead glance over to the digital clock on top of the room's shelving. To the Adaptor's disbelief, it was now only five minutes away from 4 AM. Lanfen almost desired for this serene moment to go on for just a little longer. But it was growing obvious to both of them that sleep was eventually going to overtake their senses. Shinonome needed to recover. And few situations made it harder for Lanfen to rest up than having an unwell person in her care.
"... You should head back to bed," Lanfen gently advised, looking back at her companion as she scratched a warm, bandaged cheek. "Staying up late doesn't exactly do one any favours."
The silver-haired woman tentatively pressed the tips of her fingers against one another before she submitted with another slow nod. Lanfen expected Shinonome to present a justification for them to continue sitting down beside one another for several more minutes. But the slow yawn which proceeded to escape Shinonome only ended up proving the Adaptor's point. "... Very well then," Shinonome softly stated, elegantly picking herself up from the futon. After patting down the lengths of her long skirt, Shinonome lowered her head into a brief and formal bow. "Good night, Jiang. I hope the both of us can sleep well tonight."
Responding to the polite gesture through a curt nod, Lanfen attempted to utter the same phrase in response, only for her words to awkwardly lodge themselves within her windpipe. Were it not for the small giggle that Lanfen's slip-up had earned her, the Adaptor would have damned herself for looking like a complete fool. "G-Good night," she finally said, clearing her tightening throat. "And rest well, Shinonome."
The silver-haired woman's light footfalls sounded clear to Lanfen's ears while Shinonome dismissed herself from the living room.
Once the light clicking of a room's locks resounded throughout the air, a small sigh slipped itself between the Adaptor's pursed lips.
Whether or not Lanfen would be able to converse like this with the others remained to be seen. Regardless of the tasks S.O.N.G. had assigned to both Ayano and Godai, Lanfen's two seniors were her teammates as much as Shinonome was herself. Their duty to monitor her was clearly a formality. And the pair had proven themselves to be unconditionally amicable just like every person Lanfen encountered in the organization thus far. It was a fact she could not deny no matter how strongly Lanfen's instincts advised her to hold up her emotional barricades. Taking in the view of the shattered moon beyond the room's glass windows, Lanfen gripped her smartphone in one hand, and began wishing for any astral influence out there to somehow alter the current circumstances between her and the other Wielders.
By the time Lanfen finished drying all of Shinonome's newly-bought clothing, the living room's digital clock had reached 8:30 AM. Getting them all done in a day initially felt impossible, but the absence of any operations so far provided Lanfen plenty of time to settle her mundane errands. Once she had placed all of the folded clothes within a plastic trunk situated outside Shinonome's bedroom, the Adaptor promptly took a much-needed bath, her daily hormone pills, and later tied her unkempt hair into its usual braid. It was 9 AM when Lanfen stepped out of the bathroom in her Adaptor uniform's undershirt and pants. Which meant that it was now the perfect time to ready up their breakfast.
Rice. Grilled fish. Miso soup. An average Japanese breakfast, by all means. Lanfen spared no expense cooking it all to the best of her capabilities. Breakfast was the most important part of a person's cycle, no matter how insistent Lanfen herself used to be about skipping it during her youth. After the finishing touches were carried out, Lanfen headed into the living room to settle a tray's worth of plates, bowls, and utensils atop the dining table. Right as Lanfen finished scooping out two bowls worth of steaming rice from an opened cooker, the door to Shinonome's room finally creaked open, letting the silver-haired woman make her awaited appearance while she hid a silent yawn behind one hand.
"Good morning, Jiang," Shinonome politely muttered, sleepily cupping a pale cheek in one hand. The messy state of her hair reminded Lanfen to get the woman a brush next time.
"Slept well, I take it?" she remarked, prompting Shinonome to respond with a confident nod. "That makes the both of us then," the Adaptor pleasantly added with one hand placed on her hip. Carrying no further comments to give, the pair seated themselves on opposing lengths of the dining table. Lanfen was the first to clasp her hands together in silent appreciation for their first meal of the day. Shinonome only followed the formal gesture after observing the displayed formal etiquette. Quickly remembering how the silver-haired woman was still familiarizing herself with Japanese customs, Lanfen took the initiative in their breakfast as a physical example for Shinonome to abide by.
A prominent twitch coursed through her right hand the moment it reached out for her chopsticks. Lanfen inadvertently clicked her tongue in frustration at its aching fingers.
The way her sword-hand subsequently hovered over her utensils did not go unnoticed by the person sitting right in front of her. "Is something the matter?" Shinonome gently inquired, pausing her own meal to cast a worried gaze over to the Adaptor.
It was nothing unusual. Nothing unusual to Lanfen herself, at least. This was most likely the first time anyone had outright seen her recent tics up close and personal. "I'm fine," she insisted, tightening her hand into a clenched fist. Slowly settling it down on the wooden table, Lanfen took in a practiced breath, grounding herself in reality. "It's just hard to relax sometimes," she explained with a glance over to the nearby windows. "The Distortions can come anywhere and anytime. Can't exactly let my guard down too often because of it."
Lanfen's melancholic words shifted Shinonome's concerned expression into one of transparent sympathy. "It's the burden you have to bear while wielding such a power, isn't it?" Her hesitating question only received a mild shrug of the shoulders and a soundless sigh. "Then-" Shinonome muttered, examining the small living room around them. "Why don't we set up a distraction?" she then suggested with an upbeat clap of her hands. Setting aside her utensils, Shinonome got off her dining chair and retrieved the remote control to the television set. "This should help take your mind off things."
If only it were so easy, Lanfen ruminated to herself. Shoveling a tasteless meal into her mouth just so she can get their plates cleaned soon, Lanfen watched on while the home appliance flickered to life from the press of a holographic button. The Adaptor expected a rerun of Valkyranger to be airing at this time. But what appeared on the screen instead turned out to be a worldwide, public news broadcast. "Wait." Lanfen held up one hand, stopping Shinonome before she could change the channel. "Leave it on for now."
The firmness of Lanfen's request made the silver-haired woman quizzically tilt her head. Returning the remote to its initial location, Shinonome diligently went back to her seat and continued scarfing down her breakfast, oblivious to the broadcast's purpose.
There was little doubt about it. The worldwide broadcast came from the General Assembly of the United Nations itself. The very organization which directly backed S.O.N.G.'s efforts as a paranormal task force. As Shinonome wordlessly dug into her meal with the same gusto she had displayed during last night's dinner, Lanfen focused her attention on the television with her elbows placed on the table. The Adaptor could hardly even blink while the live footage showcased a well-dressed United Nations speaker confidently making his way through the hall before standing up on the Assembly's rostrum. Lanfen guessed that they had managed to tune into the broadcast right as they were planning to begin.
"Honourable chairs and fellow delegates," the speaker began, hands firmly fixed around the rostrum's edges. "It is with great pleasure that I stand before you today to herald the arrival of a 'shield'. An unbreakable 'shield' which shall officially be known throughout the world as 'Task Force Harmony'. In combination with the efforts of S.O.N.G., Task Force Harmony promises a world that shall remain impenetrable against even the most horrid of threats to the cradle of Mankind. While we can only mourn for those who were lost in the recent global disaster, the United Nations assures you that no more lives shall be lost to this 'Distortion' menace. Through a unified effort between all hands of Humanity, Mankind's finest soldiers have been summoned to-"
That was all Lanfen could stomach for one morning. Without any hesitation, Lanfen climbed out of her chair and swiped the remote from the kotatsu table. Once the television had been silenced, Lanfen placed the remote control back to where it initially sat and dropped herself onto her dining chair with an exasperated sigh. It had barely been 2 days since the Spokesperson first declared the creation of 'Task Force Harmony' to the Wielders. Although the deployment of additional defenses against the Distortion menace was an understandable move, Lanfen still hadn't fully comprehended the idea of having herself operate alongside actual armed forces. The mental image it created only confirmed how she was more of a soldier than the Spokesperson tried to insist during her recruitment.
"Jiang?" Shinonome spoke up. Lanfen lifted her head and noticed the curious gaze which her companion was settling on her from across the dining table. Holding up a pair of chopsticks in one hand, Shinonome's other hand fiddled with a strand of her messy, silver hair. "That was... related to your work, wasn't it?" she asked, walking once more on proverbial eggshells.
"... You could say that," Lanfen murmured with a glance at her own half-eaten meal. A part of her was honestly beginning to miss being able to taste her own cooking. "A lot's changed ever since the Distortions showed up," she explained, resting her chin in the palm of a bare hand. "Whether I like it or not, all I can do is just follow orders. It doesn't really matter what we actually think about the directions we're told to move in."
"But it's rather unfortunate that you have to resort to such methods, isn't it?" Shinonome's question received a curt, wordless nod of agreement. Releasing the silver strands between her fingers, Shinonome abruptly placed her utensils down again before shifting both arms into a small, prayer-like motion. The Adaptor could only blink at the sudden gesture of faith. "Regardless of whatever shall happen next, I will be hoping for your continued success, Jiang," Shinonome declared. "You saved my life. Thus, I'm sure you'll be able to do the same for others, no matter how difficult your battles may turn out." Emphasizing her words with a kind smile, Lanfen responded to her encouragement by awkwardly scratching a bandaged cheek.
"Thanks, Shinonome," Lanfen whispered, taking her chin off her palm. Even though the Adaptor was by no means a fan of the military, their assistance was undeniably going to be needed if the Distortions intended on launching a second worldwide assault. The goals of S.O.N.G. and Task Force Harmony were presumably one and the same. The separation of the Symphogear-Wielders simply came off like an excessive move in light of Harmony's formation. "With the situation as it is, I'll probably be-"
A distinctive ring pierced the living room's gentle ambiance, instantly hushing the pair's conversation.
Lanfen dashed over to the kotatsu table and noticed the incoming audio transmission her wrist device was now receiving. The contact ID belonged to Tomosato. After letting the device's automatic strap secure itself around her wrist, Lanfen answered the emergency transmission through a quick tap of a holographic prompt. The bridge operator's voice emitted from the device's speakers faster than Lanfen could even declare her call-sign.
"Lanfen, our scanners are pinpointing a single rift formation over the city of Mitakihara." Tomosato's announced report made the Adaptor's eyes widen slightly. Mitakihara was the closest metropolis to Yamaku compared to Kazamino and Tokyo. "We are currently unable to estimate when the rift will open, but we've already deployed a helicopter over to your location for retrieval. Both Komichi and Yuki will be heading towards Mitakihara in a different transport later on. Since Yamaku City has yet to declare any evacuation procedures, Aiko may choose to stay at your current location for the time being."
After a whole day of inactivity, it was time once again to fend off the Distortions. The mere thought of combat made Lanfen's sword-hand ache at her side. "Understood, SG-r04, heading out." Confirming her orders with just those words, the Adaptor switched off the transmission and spun around on one heel to face Shinonome. "Sorry, but it looks like I'll have to-" Her words halted before Lanfen managed to fully utter them. Silence was all her throat could subsequently muster when Shinonome stood up from her chair, all so the silver-haired woman could place a single, warm fingertip on Lanfen's parting lips.
"I shall place your breakfast in the fridge for now," Shinonome reassured her, slowly withdrawing the tip of an index finger away from the Adaptor's hushed face. "Your role as a protector takes priority over everything else. Therefore... I will only ask that you return safely, Jiang."
Lanfen wondered how Shinonome honestly felt about being unable to do more than just stay here while she went out to face the enemy. It was a thought Lanfen briefly lingered on until the muffled sound of an approaching helicopter grew outside their apartment's walls. Subconsciously bringing a hand to her own lips, Lanfen blinked before a proper reply finally came to her. "Alright... I'll be back, Shinonome."
The tender smile that Shinonome responded with provided Lanfen all the energy she required in place of a full morning meal. Grabbing her black-and-white scarf instead of her Adaptor uniform's proper tie, Lanfen hastily donned her blue jacket, slid on her black gloves, and rushed out of the apartment door in her thick combat boots.
There were many ways for Lanfen to later realize how she had forgotten to wash her monochrome scarf this morning.
Discovering that was the case because it still carried Shinonome's scent wasn't a particularly terrible one in her opinion.
Helicopter rides were hardly the most frightening of experiences even if one held a fear of heights. But when the Distortions rifts were capable of emitting 'pulses' which would send nearby aircraft careening back down into the ground, being escorted into a combat zone inside one suddenly became far tenser than it should be. Written reports based on the Distortion incursions declared how the debilitating pulses were only possible when a rift had completely formed. Such trivia did little to settle Lanfen anyway while she stood by herself in the middle of a helicopter's cabin. Maintaining a tight grip on the ceiling's handles with one armoured hand, Lanfen hovered a couple free fingers over her Symphogear's headphones, waiting to receive further orders.
A Symphogear's ability to regulate her body heat far better than her Adaptor uniform never failed to confuse Lanfen. Its black-and-white fibers were practically skin-tight. And yet, never to the point that it hindered her movements nor caused any physical discomfort. Although she experienced little issues standing inside the cabin with her armoured boots, the three-point crown which sat on the Adaptor's head would periodically scrape against the low ceiling. Stationed within a piece of hip armour was the bladeless hilt of her Armed Gear, ready to be drawn the moment danger appeared. If the helicopter had any chances of turning into a fireball mid-air, it wasn't going to happen while Lanfen was untransformed.
Her headphones' built-in communicators finally switched on. "SG-r04, we have arrived at zone M12-C," one of the pilots declared as per procedure. "Prepare for landing."
"Affirmative. Moving into position." Lanfen pried her hands off the safety handles and positioned herself on the side of the cabin where its sliding doors were located. Through a cursory glance outside the windows, the Adaptor could see that they were now mere minutes from safely touching down on the evacuated streets of Mitakihara City. A quick tap of her headphones switched its communications line back to the S.O.N.G. submarine's command center. "This is SG-r04, I've arrived at the designated area."
To the crowned warrior's surprise, it was Commander Genjuuro himself who responded to her in place of either Fujitaka or Tomosato. "Lanfen, we've already completed the evacuation of all non-combatants from the area. Since the rift has yet to open, I want you to meet up with the armed forces who will be establishing a defensive perimeter around the rift. As sudden as it may sound, this will be S.O.N.G.'s first official joint-operation. I'm counting on you to be on your best behaviour once you're on the ground."
The Commander's words prompted the raise of a brow from Lanfen. "A 'joint-operation'?"
A subsequent juddering of the helicopter's cabin interrupted her question. Hearing the auditory cue to depart from the craft, the Adaptor carefully unlocked the cabin's sliding door before pulling it aside with a gauntlet-encased hand. The armoured boots she wore loudly clanked upon making contact with the concrete streets, audibly announcing her presence as cold snow from the skies blanketed the emptied roads in pure white. The growing rift in the city's skyline would have been the first to catch Lanfen's attention if the crowned warrior hadn't noticed the presence of another force altogether in these evacuated streets.
APCs. Armoured-Personnel-Carriers. True to their name, Lanfen spotted a trio of the large vehicles stationed down the road, forming a makeshift barrier using the sheer size of each eight-wheeled transport. All three carriers had the emblem of 'Harmony' emblazoned on their black armour, instantly indicating who they were while the machine guns which were built into their copulas all swiveled in the direction of the newborn rift. As Lanfen approached the blockade, squads of well-armed soldiers filed out of the carriers to take positions within the buildings around them. The person Lanfen assumed to be in command marched towards her the moment they visibly finished sending out their orders using precise hand-signals.
Advanced body armour. Kitted-out ballistic rifles. Sleek, full-face helmets. Similar to the heavy vehicles they utilized, the combat uniforms Harmony's forces used were done in a deep grey with bright-green polycotton bands wrapped around their upper arms. The U.N. definitely weren't sparing any expenses, Lanfen thought to herself, halting in front of the approaching soldier.
With utmost formality, the helmeted person stood to attention and greeted Lanfen through a sharp salute. "Good morning. I'm assuming that you are SG-r04?"
"Affirmative." Lanfen returned the formal gesture, noting how the soldier still stood a few centimeters taller than herself despite the extra height her armoured boots granted. "I take it that you're in charge here?" she asked soon after, examining the other troops who were now taking firing positions inside the evacuated buildings' higher floors.
Since the rift above them had yet to open, the helmed soldier calmly continued on. "Correct. I am Field Captain Yaiba Isamu," they said, gesturing over to several badges and a custom flag of black, white, yellow, and purple on their body armour. "While I'm sure this operation will be sudden for you, my forces and I are looking forward to seeing a Symphogear-Wielder's capabilities up close." They then extended a hand for the Adaptor to shake with. "Especially since this is the first official collaborative attempt between S.O.N.G. and Task Force Harmony."
If Lanfen was sure of one thing, it was that she wasn't going to be seeing herself as a soldier anytime soon nor in the far future. A Symphogear-Wielder was so much more than a government arm in her eyes. "Of course," Lanfen said, grabbing an outstretched hand for a firm handshake. First impressions mattered if she was going to represent S.O.N.G.'s Adaptor Corps. "I'll make sure to keep an eye out if you need any assistance, Captain."
"Rest assured that we'll do whatever it takes to pull our own weight, SG-r04." Captain Yaiba pulled their hand away at the conclusion of the gesture. "And as long as we work together, those damn monsters won't even know what hit them." Although their conduct appeared completely formal, Lanfen could easily pick up just how eager the Captain was for a direct confrontation with the Distortions. Before she could remark on it, their respective communicators rang from an incoming transmission, prompting the pair to answer it in unison.
Tomosato's voice came up on the Adaptor's headphones. "Lanfen, scanners are estimating less than five minutes until the rift opens," the operator declared, causing Lanfen's sword-hand at her side to twitch with anticipation. "Energy signatures designate them to be Category-1s. Armour-Types. We're counting at least fifty- No, wait-" There was a brief pause. "Additional energy signatures detected! Category-2s are coming through the rift! Blade-Types! We're counting only two, but take caution confronting them! This is the first time we're detecting any Distortions of a higher Category."
"Understood," Lanfen calmly responded, hearing the transmission switch off from the command center's end of the line. If the Distortions were about to play their stronger cards, then the crowned warrior was more enticed than worried to meet them head-on. Cutting through cannon fodder like Category-1s hardly sated the proverbial fires within her.
"We'll deal with the Category-1s," Captain Yaiba stated, inputting commands into their arm-bracer's digital pad to communicate with their squadrons. "We've already secured a defensive perimeter around the rift. My troops have established their firing positions. The moment the Distortions come in, we're going to light them up from every direction. I would suggest that you hold yourself back until the Category-2s arrive, SG-r04." A confirmatory ring resounded from the Captain's arm-bracer while they gave another salute. "Are there any disagreements with this plan?"
Lanfen's tactical acumen - or lack thereof - gave her no real reason to decline their proposal. "None whatsoever, Captain." She instead began looking forward to what the Category-2s were capable of. "Let's take care of this quickly."
As if on cue, a tumultuous thunderclap erupted in the skies above their heads, encouraging Captain Yaiba to sprint back to the APCs while Lanfen directed a scornful glare towards the giant 'crack' which expanded across Mitakihara's skyline. She memorized the incursion process by this point. In the span of a few heartbeats, the giant tear in reality violently grew into a shimmering, pulsing rift, heralded by an ear-piercing, inhuman wail. The uncanny blaring only reawakened the proverbial fires in Lanfen's pupils with one incessant desire to sate her thirsting sword-hand. Taking note of Task Force Harmony's presence, the Adaptor remained where she stood, and silently observed as armoured bodies descended from the rift.
A cacophony of gunfire ensued the very moment the first of the Category-1s revealed themselves. A dozen weapon barrels simultaneously roared to life. Countless armoured bodies of ebony were chewed to pieces by the resulting hail of lead. Lanfen's headphones tuned out the deafening noise with ease, letting her quietly monitor the machine guns that were relentlessly barking from the copulas of Harmony's APCs around the zone. Each heavy weapon contributed a seemingly unending stream of .50 caliber rounds from their barrels, backing up the pinpoint rifle-fire which originated from a multitude of different buildings, preventing any and all incoming Distortions from making landfall unharmed. A press of her headphones allowed the Adaptor to listen in on the unflinching orders Captain Yaiba was calmly distributing across their forces.
Lanfen's sword-hand rested atop the pommel of her stowed weapon the entire time she watched on. The flickering fires within her eyes demanded the Category-2s to arrive just so Lanfen could test her mettle against sterner opponents. By the time Fujitaka's voice came up over the comms, her fingers had already curled themselves around the hilt of an Armed Gear.
"Category-2s detected! They're about to make their way through the rift!"
Focusing her sights on the plummeting bodies above them, Lanfen spotted two emerald silhouettes against a backdrop of ebony knights. Unlike the Category-1s that were persistently flowing out from the tear in reality, their metallic forms easily turned aside Harmony's hail of constant gunfire, allowing the Category-2s to descend onto the streets while sunlight reflected off the decorative, silver trims which distinguished their armour from their lesser contemporaries. Taking this to be her cue, Lanfen bolted into a running start, and leaped over the makeshift roadblock established by the three Harmony carriers ahead of her. Their estimated zone of descent was close to her current location.
"This is SG-r04, I'm moving in to intercept the enemy." Those were the only words Lanfen needed to announce before racing down the evacuated, snow-laden roads in the direction of the unscathed combatants.
Two. Only two-human sized bodies had managed to slip through the barrage that tore into the rift's descending forces. Their physiques appeared slimmer in contrast to the Category-1s. But their lithe statures did not prevent the Category-2s from crashing into Mitakihara's concrete roads with the force of falling meteorites, conjuring a rumbling which could be heard throughout the city. Lanfen skidded to a halt several meters away from the small crater their landing had created, her bladeless hilt already in hand as she saw two emerald warriors clamber out of the manufactured cavity to turn their attention towards the Symphogear-Wielder. Simply choosing to stand in their path earned Lanfen a metallic growl from the Distortions' glowing visors.
The Sword of Damocles expanded its thick blade from a golden cross-guard. In response to the crowned warrior's attempt at intimidation, the Category-2s eagerly ripped off the two-handed, pitch-black swords that were bolted on to their backs.
Lanfen scoffed at the excessive length of their weapons. Swiftly brandishing her own one-handed blade, the proverbial fires within the Adaptor's eyes spun themselves into a whirling inferno. The constant cacophony of Harmony's volley was drum-shattering. And yet, such noise could not overpower the electro-swing jazz her Symphogear's built-in speakers subsequently blared without restraint. "Commencing with the elimination of the enemy."
A cutting edge swung at Lanfen's face before her lyrics could even begin. She gritted her teeth and parried the incoming blow with a resounding clang. Tightening her gloved fingers around her sword's hilt, Lanfen's eyes darted left and right while the blinding speed of a Distortion's attacks defied the imposing heft of its two-handed weapon. Piano keys resonated in the winter air alongside the screeching of metal grinding against metal, punctuated by the heavy, armoured boots which stomped into the concrete as two assailants blitzed at one another in a duel of competing finesse. A ballet of violence where both participants parried and struck with extreme prejudice to terminate the other's existence completely.
"I don't know who I am and that's okay, but what's going to happen today?" Black metal sliced past Lanfen's waist, effortlessly bypassing her Symphogear's protective barriers with an accompanying flurry of sparks and blood. "M-My brain burns like it'll explode, begging for it to not implode." Ignoring her own spilled ichor, the crowned warrior fought through the pain and thrusted the Sword of Damocles straight towards the Distortion's helm.
The ensuing screeching of her Armed Gear being turned aside with utmost ease garnered a frustrated click of the tongue.
Lanfen knew they weren't taking her seriously. The non-fatal nature of their strikes made it transparent. While the Symphogear-Wielder resumed her dance of death with an almost rhythmic skirmish of sharpened, opposing metal, the other Category-2 silently waited by the nearby crater, seemingly observing their duel with its own two-handed weapon held in its hands. The gall of such a gesture from a battle automata only stoked the proverbial fires within Lanfen.
"Can I fly before rolling out the die? Am I allowed to cry before I finally try-?" A sundering uppercut sent Lanfen's blade flying directly into the skies above them. Saxophones roared in defiance from the speakers around her armour, cheering the disarmed Wielder on as a black blade descended to cleave her body in two. Lanfen refused to fall here. "My brain is on fire, I'll never understand..." She narrowed her burning eyes and clenched her hands into fists. "I'm going to tire, blazed from every demand..."
Gloved knuckles crashed into the sides of the Distortion's sword, catching it mere centimeters away from the Adaptor's face while shards of broken metal showered her brown, sweating skin.
The closest thing to 'surprise' that a battle automata could display soon distracted the Distortion as a sharp kick sent it reeling backwards away from Lanfen.
Throwing her gaze upwards, Lanfen spotted her falling Armed Gear before catching it by its hilt to brandish the Sword of Damocles in a show of stubborn defiance. The recovering Category-2 promptly stared at its wrecked weapon and signaled its waiting companion to finally participate while it held a glowing palm over its shattered blade.
"I want to be under the tree in my dreams." A new pitch-black sword crashed against the Sword of Damocles. "T-To breathe clean air above the depths." Blood oozed from six different wounds. "All I have to do is c-climb the steps!" The second Category-2's barrage of savage swings pushed the crowned warrior onto the backfoot with each fearsome blow. Its two-handed weapon struck with the haste of a dagger and the force of a sledgehammer. Sliding underneath a decapitating strike, Lanfen positioned herself for a decisive swing of her own, only to end up faltering when the agony of her accumulating injuries halted the Adaptor dead in her tracks.
A split-second window of vulnerability ended being the perfect opportunity for the Distortion to slice into Lanfen's abdomen with a shower of sparks and ichor.
Choking back a pained cry, the crowned warrior leaped backwards, tightly gripping her blood-drenched abdomen. The Symphogear's life support systems subsequently did its duty to suppress the bleeding, giving Lanfen the ability to remain standing even when fresh ichor dripped from a Distortion's black blade. Patches of crimson were growing all over her monochrome fibers. But Lanfen had no time to worry about such trivial details, because the other Category-2 was no longer within her field of view. Analyzing the surrounding streets with her blurring vision, the Adaptor spotted her other opponent suddenly standing behind her within lunging distance, carrying a now-repaired weapon. Adrenaline pumped itself through Lanfen's aching muscles as she felt their carmine visors staring down on her from two different directions.
Black-and-white flashed in Lanfen's vision. The steel letters before her eyes slammed onto a cracking chessboard, spelling out the name, "Rook Reflector."
"Can I light my flame without burning my eyes?"
The Distortions simultaneously raised their swords and blitzed towards Lanfen for a unified killing blow.
"Will I be able to see past all the filthy lies?"
Metallic stakes propelled from the rear of her armoured leggings to anchor Lanfen into the bloodstained concrete. Projection panels sprung open across the lengths of her thigh armour. Crossing her arms over her pounding ribcage, Lanfen narrowed her burning eyes while a translucent, dome-shaped barrier flashed into existence around her wounded figure. Swung blades crashed into the force-field with an ear-piercing screech, causing arcs of lashing electricity to vomit into the winter air as the absorbed kinetic force of the Distortions' halted attacks began circulating around the barrier in the form of converted, harnessed energies.
"No idea where to look without being blinded." A single mental command detonated the dome force-field, transforming it into an outwards tidal wave which engulfed the two Distortions in paralyzing power. "From the burns you all have provided." Their black weapons clattered to the earth while the Category-2s collapsed onto their knees in silent agony, unable to do more than spasm uncontrollably from the debilitating forces that wracked their emerald forms.
Another flash of black-and-white. The steel letters slammed onto the chessboard to now declare, "Queen Quicksilver."
"I'll breathe with no ashes in my lungs. Not knowing what I have begun." Her armoured boots retracted their hydraulic stakes. The glowing panels on Lanfen's thighs slammed themselves shut. Armour slid forth from her headphones, forming a sleek, white mask with a large pair of circular, compound eyes. As the Queen chess-piece on Lanfen's right shoulder emitted a deep thrumming, the bellowing of the pauldron's awakened power generators delivered a revitalizing torrent throughout her wounded body. "I'll ignite the fire that burns so loudly. My torch won't stop shining brightly."
Falling snow halted mid-air. The speeding bullets which ripped into the falling Category-1s above slowed into a crawl. Speed beyond Lanfen's comprehension channeled across her Symphogear, dictating a holographic timer to manifest on the insides of her armoured mask.
Ten seconds.
The crowned warrior sped towards the Distortion who was the first to draw her blood. Slamming her sword into her hip armour, Lanfen hoisted the knight's newly-repaired weapon from the ground and lifted the two-handed tool over her head. All form of martial grace threw itself out of the proverbial window. With the Distortion's sword in her grasp, Lanfen bludgeoned the knight's frozen body, fueling each strike using the pure intent to kill. Each brutal blow tore into its chest-plate like a tin can, all while emerald sand spilled from its cracking body in slow-motion. A twenty-fourth blow sent the suit of armour slowly soaring backwards, colliding with the bits of falling snow that had gone inert from Lanfen's point-of-view.
Six seconds.
Throwing aside her appropriated weapon, Lanfen unsheathed the Sword of Damocles once again and leaped over to the remaining Category-2. She physically greeted the Distortion by ramming her armoured knee into its faceplate, forcing the knight onto its back as a bell-like tolling declared her violent impact. Staring down on the helpless helpless knight beneath her, Lanfen stomped her boot into its chest-plate, pinning it to the concrete before she fastened her aching sword-hand around a thirsting Armed Gear's hilt. She gifted the Distortion four full seconds to comprehend its situation. The Adaptor spent each everlasting moment positioning the tip of her blade for a perfect execution to conclude this tiresome duel.
One second.
"Checkmate."
Her blade thrusted into its carmine visor. The Sword of Damocles' sharpened tip exited out of the Distortion's helmet and ripped into blood-drenched concrete.
And yet, the knight's desperate death throes still could not sate the flickering flames within her pupils.
Not even when Lanfen's Armed Gear remained deep within a ruptured, broken helm.
Zero seconds.
White snow around her resumed their gentle descent. The bodies of two Category-2s exploded into heaps of emerald sand. The crackling of one final gunshot echoed across the city and Lanfen's whirring shoulder pauldron turned silent alongside her jazz music. Retracting her faceplate back into her headphones, Lanfen fell onto one knee before she immediately hurled a mouthful of warm ichor into an open palm. While the Sword of Damocles continued to be gripped within her other hand, Lanfen heard a distinctive wailing from the skyline, informing the heaving Adaptor all she needed to know about the vanishing rift above Mitakihara City. Subsequent reports over the comms confirmed the successful elimination of any lingering Distortions.
Blood ran down the corners of Lanfen's mouth completely uninhibited. Holding up a couple soaked fingers to her headphones, she lightly tapped into its comms, strangely thankful that she could not taste the ichor on her tongue. "SG-r04 here-" A pained wince interrupted Lanfen's report. "The D-Distortions have been t-taken out." Her hazy mind could not focus at all on Tomosato's follow-up response. Simply retracting the blade of her weapon just so she could stow it away on her hip provoked surges of pain from five different points of her body. Concluding the counter-attack to be over, Lanfen drew in a deep breath before practically forcing herself onto both feet.
Her legs immediately gave out underneath her. Lanfen wasn't even surprised.
Before she could fall face-first onto the hard concrete, firm hands caught the Adaptor by her gauntlet-encased arms.
Holding back another wince of pain, Lanfen's pupils slowly looked around to spot Godai and Ayano now standing at her sides, both of them holding on to her wounded frame. Visibly dressed in their navy-blue S.O.N.G. uniforms, the two women delicately placed Lanfen's arms around their necks in a combined effort to carry the injured Wielder. She would be insisting that she was fine if Lanfen hadn't noticed how she could barely feel her legs. As Godai greeted Lanfen with a proud thumbs-up, Ayano lifted the surrounding tension by providing a simple, cheerful smile.
"Just leave the rest to us... okay?" Ayano's tight grip on the wounded Adaptor betrayed the concerns behind her expression.
Responding to her reassurance through a curt nod, Lanfen commanded her Symphogear to disperse into a rising batch of monochrome particles. The matching scarf around Lanfen's neck provided her some level of comfort in spite of the injuries beneath her returning uniform. Pulling an exhausted gaze away from her two teammates, Lanfen noticed Captain Yaiba jogging over to the trio with an accompanying medical team. The Adaptor could barely hear what the Captain was saying at this point. The exasperated groan which came out of Godai implied nothing convenient. Whatever was about to happen next, the soft embrace of an emergency stretcher made it all irrelevant as Lanfen's consciousness slipped into a foggy slumber.