Names. Names were constructs meant to identify individuals. Sometimes they would signify a meaning or an all-consuming purpose. And in certain circumstances, names were simply bestowed upon one's self as mere proof of their existence in this unending ocean of glimmering stars. That was what her mind understood, at least. And yet, no matter how deep she delved into the empty chasm of her own memories, she could not remember what was the very name she herself had been gifted with. To do so was to wander a wasteland deprived of life. To search for a confirmation of her own existence that may not have been real to begin with.
"I'm not able to hear the girl I used to be. Will I ever touch those that I long for? I stare at those that I used to see. The monsters are begging for more."
Sound. A pattern of sound. Reverberations flowing from one swinging beat to another. What was the term? A 'song'. Music. Products of an advancing, growing civilization.
"The cracking of my heart makes me scream. My tears have become an endless stream. When will I be allowed a break from this world? The feelings deep in my heart are whirled."
Beautiful music. A herd of consecutive drumbeats and roaring saxophones, all led by a contralto voice that mesmerized her soul the very moment it came within earshot.
"Never knowing who is the true me inside. Allowing them to take me for a ride. Am I meant to break free from it all? The voices are begging for me to fall."
Singing. A symphony of lyrics which was draped in a somber mantle of tragedy. Singing that would rouse warm tears from the corner of her eyes were she even able to open them to begin with. As her body laid motionlessly on the snowy floor of a cold, forest glade, the blood beneath her skin froze with each passing second, unable to fend off the harsh bite of a winter night. Still, she felt no fear from the thought of finally giving in to the harsh elements of nature. Not. One. Bit.
"I won't allow my mind to hold me captive long. Molding my darkest thoughts into this song."
Silence.
The enchanting flow of music had ceased, now replaced by the loud crunching of footfalls that were growing louder until they were right next to her ears. A pair of fingertips then placed themselves against her cold, stiff neck before slowly withdrawing from the weak sensation of her beating heart. She wondered if it was going to be by this very hand that she would finally pass on into the great, empty void. It would not be a peaceful transition, but it would be a far quicker fate compared to submitting her soul to the palm of the world's natural elements.
And so, she waited. The mere thought of the end brought out a weak, unintentional groan from between her dry lips.
But what she had expected would not come to pass. Instead, she felt a pair of warm, armoured hands sliding beneath her unmoving body, taking her into a gentle carry before lifting her up from the snow-covered floor as though she weighed absolutely nothing.
"Are... Are you alright?" asked the very same voice which had sung those melancholic lyrics mere moments ago.
As her eyelids twitched from the trepidation within those hush words of concern, she could sense her consciousness flowing back into the seat of her mind, scaling the steep cliffs of the void in order to answer that simple question. To set her blurry gaze upon the person who had chosen to save a meaningless existence for no considerable reason. To find out why she - of all people - had been spared entry into the grand abyss of the afterlife.
When Shinonome Aiko finally reopened her tired, golden eyes, her blurry gaze only fell upon the living room of a small, cozy apartment in Yamaku City. A dream? A dream. Conjurations of the mind while one rested to regain their expended strength. Echoes of events now far in the past. While Aiko made herself comfortable within the heated blankets of the room's kotatsu table, the silver-haired woman hid a brief yawn behind one hand before lifting herself into a sitting position. Slow jazz - Jiang's preferred genre of music - flowed out of the room's holo-player, filling the warm air with soft, percussive beats as Aiko rubbed an eye beneath the shadow of her long fringe. A quick look at the digital clock on the shelf informed her that she had been napping for about 15 minutes now.
Cupping a pale cheek with one hand, Aiko glanced at the falling snow outside the windows, and wondered if she would ever cease dreaming about the night in which Jiang first met her in that forest glade. It was the first ever memory she manifested within the depths of an amnesiac's mind, and it was a memory she would forever hold close to her heart for as long as she lived. Merely remembering the way her fingertips brushed against Jiang's scarred cheek prompted a light flutter from Aiko's heart while she looked down at her side, and noticed the handmade Valkyranger plushie sitting next to her.
29 minutes and 44 seconds had gone by ever since Jiang rushed out of the front door in her Adaptor uniform. Counting down how long each of Team-04's missions lasted was becoming relatively easy by now. It was a past-time neither Jiang, Godai nor Ayano knew of, but there was only so much that Aiko could do to keep herself busy while the rest of her teammates actually went out and placed their lives on the line. Taking the small, soft toy of Cassandra Jiang Lanfen into her hands, Aiko held the black-and-white heroine in two gentle palms, and softly smiled before holding it close to her beating chest.
She could never forget the enchanting sound of Jiang's contralto voice. The swinging beats of her jazz music. And the somber lyrics of her paranormal song.
Jiang's song granted the Adaptor a power she needed to fight against the Distortions. And while the act itself was valiant by its very nature, Aiko knew that such efforts bore a deeper purpose behind it. A purpose to prevent tragedies which had fallen upon the Wielder from happening to anyone else in this beautiful world. A selfless duty that Aiko knew full-well by now to have been inflicted by the death of Jiang's younger sister during the arrival of the Distortions. It was a weight Jiang carried alongside the weight of the world, and all Aiko could realistically do was ponder on what she, Ayano, and Godai could do to alleviate the burdens of a self-inflicted responsibility.
Gently placing the Valkyranger toy back at her side, Aiko looked over the bedroom which had once belonged to Cynthia Jiang Kai-Ming, and laid her eyes on its dusty doorknob. Rays of afternoon light shone through the windows to reflect off the round, metal knob, seizing Aiko's attention to the point that she could feel her curiosity flashing across her golden eyes. But Aiko knew better. Especially after what had happened during the first time she stepped into this very apartment. In an attempt to distract herself from the abandoned room, Aiko swung her gaze over to her tablet on the kotatsu table, and brought the digital pad into her hands.
'5-5-5'. It wasn't the most complicated of PIN codes, but there was little desire for much security on her personal tablet anyway. After unlocking the device, Aiko swiped her finger across its screen, summoning a downloaded library of books, novels, documentaries, and colourful comics. A gigantic building's worth of content all lied within the palm of her hand. Everything came to her mind quickly and easily. Every tidbit and trivia about the world was fascinating, and the bottomless pit that was Aiko's curiosity gladly glutted itself to all sorts of content she could find. And yet, in spite of the information which was freely available in her grasp, all of this still could not distract her from the feelings of inadequacy laying dormant within Aiko's heart.
A sensation that desired to pull her medicine-reliant body out from the comforts of Jiang's apartment, and carry out the same duties everyone else in Team-04 was expected to do.
Settling down the small tablet on top of the table once again, Aiko let loose a brief sigh before shutting off the device, letting her instead focus her wandering attention on a small, framed picture situated within the living room's shelf. It was the group photograph that Team-04 had taken during their small shopping trip in Mitakihara. A memento of their first ever outing with all four members.
Pulling her legs out from the warmth of the kotatsu table, Aiko picked herself up from the floor, and slowly made her way over to the room's well-organized shelf. Her golden eyes held their gaze on the framed photo, never diverting her attention away from it for even a split second. Once she was right in front of the shelf, Aiko lifted a pale-white hand from her side, and gingerly took the framed image into her grasp, letting her quietly appreciate the photograph with an almost wistful smile on her face. As far as Aiko was aware of, Team-04 were the closest people she knew in what passed for a 'life' right now. The first companions she ever made. And reliable individuals who she could only hope to grow closer with over the coming days.
The mere fact that Aiko was even here at all still felt like a dream too good to be true.
"Jiang," she whispered, gently brushing a thumb against the framed photo in an attempt to caress a Symphogear-Wielder's face. "Would you laugh at me if I ever asked to sing with you...?"
Frozen droplets fell through the gaps of the forest canopy and settled themselves on a blanketed floor of pure, innocent white. A distinct ringing within Lanfen's headgear declared the full reformation of her Symphogear's protective barriers. Drawing in a practiced breath, the crowned warrior inserted her detached converter unit into the empty slot of her weapon's cross-guard, and thumbed it into place with a skin-shivering click. The curved, silver trigger which slid out of her sword's handle earned itself an apathetic stare from Lanfen before she felt the proverbial fires within her eyes flaring into an all-consuming inferno. The memorized command word was ready to be uttered.
The Sword of Damocles awaited its first true awakening.
Wrapping one finger around the trigger, Lanfen could still feel the cold metal through the black-and-white fibers of her Symphogear.
"Fall."
Her finger squeezed down the chrome trigger.
Four metallic connectors impaled the sides of her crystalline converter unit.
The Sword of Damocles thrummed with a deep, stomach-churning roar, and Lanfen grinded her teeth together as a tidal wave of crimson energy erupted from its cross-guard, flooding her nervous system with revivifying bolts of heretical technology. There was no turning back. She repeated that statement endlessly. The Category-3 was on its way to Yamaku City and everyone was counting on her to stop it. Even if it meant wielding a weapon originally designed to slay her fellow Symphogear-Wielders. Fastening her fingers around the golden handle of her glowing Armed Gear, Lanfen reigned in her convulsing body, hissed between her teeth, and summoned a power she feared to even utilize up until this very moment.
"Hold nothing back if you truly wish to avenge her, my little Valkyrie."
The Sword of Damocles gladly answered her call. In response to the crowned warrior's unfaltering will, the paranormal internals of the Symphogear system began to shift, rearranging countless circuitries with each wave of energy that pulsed from her thrumming weapon. Hundreds of performance limiters were forcibly shattered apart one after the other, letting loose a strength which had been chained down this entire time. As Lanfen's nervous system willingly submitted itself to the crimson waves of her awakened blade, she could feel a sixth, supernatural sense slowly opening its proverbial eye within her mind, granting her the gift of absolute precognition. Finally, a 'lock' manifested around her mind, encasing her brain within a metaphysical coffin of pure, uncaring metal.
Fear. Hatred. Despair. Grief. Each emotion was subjugated and imprisoned all within the back of a sharpened mind, transforming Lanfen's mental landscape into a clear, unobstructed opening of pure tranquility. Just like the S.W.O.R.D. had been designed to do so from the very beginning.
The waves of revivifying energy soon died down, causing Lanfen's legs to collapse beneath her, and force the woman to catch herself by dropping onto a single armoured knee. With her hand still maintaining its grip on the now-hushed Sword of Damocles, the crowned warrior drew in the winter air at quick intervals while her heart pounded relentlessly within an aching ribcage. A pair of dilated, purple eyes stared at the converter unit within her Armed Gear's glimmering cross-guard, and took in the sight of its incandescent glow. Her mind never felt as clear as it did right now. And for the first time in ages, Lanfen felt utterly invincible.
Rising up from the forest floor with her sword in hand, Lanfen heard an incoming transmission within her headphones, prompting her to answer it with a punctuated press of her headgear. "SG-r04... reporting in." There were no emotions within the words which slipped between her cracked, bleeding lips. Only reverberations of a supernatural power that needed no song to fuel the systems of an awakened Symphogear.
"Jiang!" Ayano called to her over the comms. "Are you alright?! The Commander has just given us an update on your orders and we-"
"The S.W.O.R.D. has been activated," Lanfen curtly stated, closing and opening her free hand repeatedly, taking in the power which was now flowing through her veins. The idea of crushing the Category-3s head within her palm no longer felt like an impossibility. "Systems are all green. The S.W.O.R.D. is maintaining stability. I'm ready to move. Ayano, give me an update on the Category-3 Distortion."
Despite the stalwart nature of Lanfen's order, concern still remained within Ayano's voice. If anything, it only grew in response to the sudden, distinct shift in the crowned warrior's tone. "... The Category-3 is nearing the borders of Yamaku City," she slowly stated, obviously reading out reports from her side of the transmission. "I'm sending you its location. No Adaptor reinforcements are on the way, so everyone will be relying on you to finish it off. I'll be monitoring your systems from here. Just... be careful out there, alright?"
Lanfen had to wonder why her teammate was choosing to remain cautious in the advent of the S.W.O.R.D. The strongest piece in her hand was finally placed on the board, and unlike every other piece she carried within her Symphogear's arsenal of abilities, Lanfen felt utterly convinced that this was going to be the path to a perfect victory. "Affirmative," Lanfen said, hearing the ringing confirmation of new information being transmitted into her headgear. It was time to settle this. "... SG-r04, proceeding with the elimination of the target."
Guided by the location that had just been uploaded into her systems, Lanfen spun in the direction of distant, echoing gunfire, and subsequently blitzed through the snowy forest. Frozen white turned into hissing steam beneath the soles of her armoured boots while the Adaptor appeared to the naked eye as nothing more than a rushing blur of black-and-white. Her earth-shaking footsteps left trails of evaporated water behind her, even while the speakers of her Symphogear remained devoid of its swinging jazz tune. Lanfen knew where she was heading and desired nothing else. The elimination of the Category-3 was the only thing that mattered to her thirsting, aching sword-hand.
Gunfire. Simultaneously disciplined and desperate. It was Task Force Harmony.
Focusing her dilated pupils on the snowy, tree-filled path ahead of her, Lanfen's enhanced vision spotted Captain Yaiba far off in the distance, leading what was left of their troops in a desperate defense line against the lone, armoured knight who was nearing their positions with floating funnels at its sides. The Distortion's conjurations whizzed in multiple directions, avoiding the volleys of lead which would only turn into black carbon upon contact with the Category-3's fog-like barrier. The golden knight didn't even bother to fire upon the Captain's few remaining forces, seemingly content with simply waltzing towards Yamaku City as projectiles from rifles and stationed machine guns alike were turned away with ease.
The same would not be said for the Sword of Damocles.
Brandishing her empowered Armed Gear within her sword-hand, proverbial fires burned within Lanfen's eyes, causing her to squeeze down on the trigger of her weapon, and command it to initiate the full utilization of the S.W.O.R.D.'s lingering power. The Sword of Damocles obliged her without complaint, and while the expansive distance between Lanfen and her target shrunk meter-by-meter, her Armed Gear released a banshee-like wail from the converter unit deep within its golden cross-guard. A wail that echoed throughout the forest like an omen of destruction before catching the inevitable attention of both the Distortion and Harmony's defensive line.
The Category-3's funnels quickly reoriented themselves in the approaching Adaptor's direction, their gun barrels already glowing with emerald lights.
Unfazed by the sight of the funnels' glowing tips, Lanfen slashed her wailing blade across the air, deflecting the incoming lances of superheated particles in complete and utter silence. The crowned warrior's newly-awakened sixth sense alerted her to every incoming attack before they were even made. She didn't even need to calculate the rushing beams' trajectories while they harmlessly bounced off her sword to zip right back at the very funnels which fired them. By the time the Distortion even bothered to turn towards the incoming Adaptor, the last of its funnels had already disintegrated from a reflected beam of bright, deadly emerald.
Harmony's forces halted their gunfire at the sight of the monochrome blur.
The Category-3 ran an armoured hand through its lavish cape in response to the appearance of an enemy it clearly believed it had defeated.
With the last of its conjurations now gone, a smirk grew on Lanfen's face. But when a jolt of pain suddenly coursed through her spine and into the hemispheres of her collared brain, the sprinting Adaptor momentarily faltered in her earth-shaking footsteps, prompting Lanfen to click her tongue in annoyance. It was pain she had never once felt in her life. A pain that didn't need to bypass the physical, protective barriers of her Symphogear.
"Jiang!" Ayano exclaimed over the comms. "Our sensors are picking up an unidentified energy signature from your Armed Gear!"
The golden Distortion weaved a pair of rune-marked hands through the air, summoning a dozen, newly-formed arsenal at its sides. There was no time to waste. Silencing the emergency transmission, Lanfen released the trigger of her wailing sword and proceeded with the final, physical form of the S.W.O.R.D.'s true power. Commanded directly by the converter unit within her Armed Gear, the Sword of Damocles retracted its thick, physical blade into the weapon's cross-guard. Shifting internals replaced the metal component with a circular projection device, locked into place by mechanical appendages within the span of a rushing heartbeat.
"After all, if you cannot strike down such an opponent... you wouldn't be able to avenge your dear sister now, would you?"
A violent discharge of lethal, crimson plasma spewed forth from the projection device within her Armed Gear. Fueled by the very internals of an awakened Symphogear, magnetic fields generated by her weapon instantly moulded the spasming, disruptive energies into the thin, precise shape of a cylindrical, humming blade. It was a blade that casted the glow of spilled blood wherever it went. A blade built to bestow decisive judgment upon the heads of those it fell upon. The S.W.O.R.D.
A thousand jade beams lanced towards Lanfen. Proverbial fires flared within her dilated pupils.
Wielding the paranormal power of perfect precognition, the crowned warrior's energy blade danced into a flourish, and turned the incoming volleys of death right back at the infuriating conjurations that had even spat them. Countless funnels exploded into bits of emerald lights within seconds. The distance between her and the Distortion shrunk to a mere ten meters. The Category-3 solidified its fog-like barrier into a solid, physical shield of glimmering emerald, and Lanfen lunged straight for her opponent without uttering even a single lyrical verse.
Schwing
Whatever passed for a Distortion's 'arrogance' subsequently disintegrated alongside the knight's physical, seemingly unbreakable shield. Like a hot knife through butter, Lanfen's cylindrical blade of humming crimson devoured the Category-3's defenses, effortlessly melting its way through the supernatural barrier before slicing off one of the Distortion's rune-marked forearms. The Symphogear-Wielder skidded to a halt, a grin written across her face while her opponent backed away from her, and grasped its cauterized stump of limb in visible, wordless shock.
Lanfen could tell that Harmony's forces were observing her. All just so the council could witness the power which they had bestowed upon her as their personal executioner.
Satisfied with having broken the 'unbreakable', Lanfen rose up from the snow-covered floor, approached the severed limb that laid several steps away from her, and lifted an armoured leg before crushing the smoking forearm beneath the soles of her boot. The Category-3 was too busy writhing in pain to notice the act of desecration. And yet, it didn't matter. The satisfaction it granted Lanfen made it all worthwhile.
Taking a single footstep towards the wounded Distortion, the crowned warrior readied herself to deliver the killing blow, and it was in that very moment when another jolt of pain ran up her spine to crash into the hemispheres of her 'locked' brain. Lanfen winced between grinding teeth, her free hand now grasping the sides of her aching head while she closed her eyes shut to flush away this strange, unidentified agony. Not now, she wordlessly pleaded to herself. Not when the Distortion was right before her, ready to be grinded into the dirt as nothing more than a useless heap of sand.
"Jiang, can you hear me?! Jiang!"
It was Ayano's voice over the comms again. Lanfen could hear her teammate panicking through the transmission, asking her what was wrong, but her pleas were slowly being drowned out. Submerged within the tidal waves which crashed against the proverbial dams within her own collared mind. Within the timespan of four, ringing heartbeats, the 'lock' that had encased her brain within a metaphysical coffin violently shattered from the sheer weight of the emotions it had attempted to conquer. Every emotion it was built to imprison - all of them - broke free and were let loose to merge with the pulsing energies of the S.W.O.R.D. across her convulsing body.
"Jie?"
Releasing her hand from the side of her aching head, Lanfen reopened a pair of purple eyes and found herself standing all on her lonesome.
The world of winter around her had been overtaken by an unending hell-scape of fire. Fire that brewed as hot as the flames which swirled within her own diluted eyes ever since the death of her little sister, Cynthia Jiang Kai-Ming. Her sword of energy remained within her other hand, casting a crimson glow around her while it emitted a deep, throaty hum. Drawing in a shaky breath, Lanfen extinguished the roaring fires around her with a single, desperate swing of her Armed Gear, leaving her in nothing more than a hush space of complete, pitch-black darkness. The blood-like light of her weapon washed over her sweating face, granting Lanfen the last bits of luminescence she could even see.
"Mei...?" Lanfen whispered, spotting the faint signs of movement up ahead.
The veil of shadows started to lift. Vision was returning to her narrowed eyes. And as the light of a winter sun rose up from the horizon, the crowned warrior focused her sights on a faint figure in front of her before fastening a skull-crushing grip around the handle of her Armed Gear.
There - standing right before the Adaptor - was the creature which Lanfen had encountered on the night of the Distortions' global attack. The one who had thrown Lanfen upon the damnable path she now treaded upon. The murderer of her little sister: Unknown Enemy-02. Lanfen had been waiting for this reunion with bated breath, and now here it was in front of her, grasping a stump of an arm while its cloaked body writhed in visible agony. Licking her cracked lips with growing anticipation, Lanfen brandished a blade of humming crimson, and focused her dilated pupils onto her target.
"You're not getting away this time."
Her words slithered out of her, coated in a thick mantle of unbridled malice. Seemingly angered by Lanfen's vicious declaration, Zero-Two turned its hooded face towards the black-and-white Adaptor before weaving its remaining, uninjured arm through the air. Familiar emerald lights manifested into view around its cloaked body - and no more than that - as Lanfen descended upon her foe to cleave off its glowing arm without another word. No scream of sorts came out of Zero-Two while the severed limb clattered to the snowy floor, the supernatural energy around its fingertips fizzling into sparks before dying out completely.
"Jie, watch out!"
"... I hear you... Mei..." Lanfen solemnly whispered, unable to remember a time when she could actually hear her little sister's voice.
Now deprived of its last remaining arm, Zero-Two turned tail to run in the opposing direction when its escape was denied wholesale by a clean, sadistic slice at its armoured legs. Its limbless body hit the ground with its back and Lanfen wasted no time pinning its pathetic torso into the snow by ramming her knee right into its chest-plate. Tossing her glowing Armed Gear into her left hand, Lanfen curled her right, prominent hand into a tight fist, and began pounding the knuckles of an armoured gauntlet into the shadows of her target's hooded face. Each blow croaked like denting metal, filling the crowned warrior's ears with a noise she had been dying to hear ever since that cursed night.
"Jiang, stop!"
Her dilated pupils savoured the sight of the warm, red fluids which pooled beneath them. Her armoured knuckles burned beneath the black-and-white fibers of her Symphogear.
Retracting her fist from the palpable crater Lanfen had formed within her foe's shadowy face, the Adaptor took in the sensation of the thick liquids that coated her knuckles before glaring into the flickering, emerald orbs which shone within the shadows of Zero-Two's hood. The proverbial fires within her dilated pupils blazed into a crescendo. Her armoured gauntlet pulled back one last time. Shutting out the voices that were pointlessly screaming into her ringing ears, Lanfen threw a fist right into Zero-Two's twitching head, and punched through its cranium with a sickening crunch, spilling the back of a skull across the innocent, white snow underneath them.
The cloaked being's body writhed for only a second before it finally went inert beneath her armoured knee.
The deed was done.
Her sister's killer laid dead below her.
And yet, not a hint of catharsis lit up within Lanfen's unmoving shell of a body.
Nothing.
It was strange. Lanfen had spent all this time waiting for this moment. This one act of focused retribution. But accomplishing it did nothing to actually settle the fires within Lanfen's dilated pupils. She parted her cracked, bleeding lips to let out a laugh, only for nothing to come out of her windpipe. The only thing Lanfen could actually do was watch as the broken skull around her bloodied fist decomposed into bits of golden sand, carried away by an uncaring gust of cold wind.
Her Armed Gear continued to hum within her left hand, its crimson, cylindrical blade still hungering for more even if the crowned warrior was utterly deprived of any targets to set it upon. Letting loose another shaky breath, Lanfen pulled her limp body up from the snow-covered floor, and contemplated if the lack of contentment was all because of the fact that her job wasn't over yet. This wasn't the target she had been aiming for, Lanfen reasoned with herself, hearing vibrations arising within her headphones. Her sister's killer was still somewhere nearby. And the only thing she actually defeated was a mere doppelganger created by her supernatural foe.
"Lanfen!"
Another voice called out to her. It wasn't Kai. No. It was someone else. Someone familiar.
"-fen, this is Tomosato! Please shut down the S.W.O.R.D. immediately! I repeat, shut down the S.W.O.R.D. immediately!"
Shut down. The mere notion of it was ridiculous. Kai's killer was still within her grasp and her powers of precognition only assured her of that. Lanfen couldn't stop now.
Not when she was so close to finally avenging her little sister.
A sudden flash of precognition coursed through the Adaptor's mind, alerting her to a danger which she had not noticed up until now. When Lanfen turned around in the direction of her would-be attackers, the crowned warrior found herself staring at dozens of shadowy, pitch-black figures who were slowly approaching her with indescribable, two-handed armaments. The shadows were screaming something at her. Something along the lines of, "Drop your weapon." And yet, Lanfen recognized neither of these distorted voices.
When the shadows finally closed in on her to seize Lanfen's glowing Armed Gear, the Adaptor tightened her grip around the humming weapon, and lunged at the closest foe with an armoured knuckle.
"Jiang, can you hear me?! Jiang!"
Inside the safe confines of Team-04's parked van, Ayano Komichi remained on the chair of the vehicle's large terminal, repeatedly calling out to the unresponsive Symphogear-Wielder over the team's dedicated communications channel. Her fingers rapidly clacked away on the keyboard, switching between countless different lines belonging to S.O.N.G., Task Force Harmony, and Yamaku's own public channels. But all attempts at reaching Jiang thus far only gave Komichi the harsh, garbled noise of blaring static. Clearly unnerved by the concerns within the operator's voice, Yuki climbed out of the driver's seat, and went over to Komichi to place a firm hand on the woman's shoulder, gaining her attention.
"Komi', what's going on?" the pony-tailed woman carefully asked her, prompting Komichi to take in a deep breath and reassert her focus on their current predicament.
"I can't get in contact with Jiang," Komichi explained, running several precise commands into the van's multi-screen terminal. "Our sensors have lost connection with her Symphogear and I can't get a reading on Jiang's vitals either. We... We should be able to get a direct visual on the situation soon." Her index finger slammed onto the Enter key and one of the terminal's screens brought up a new window, granting them a live feed of a newly-deployed camera drone which was still on its way to Jiang's last recorded location.
Focusing their attention on the enlarged camera feed, Komichi and Yuki silently watched on while the second drone hovered its way through the canopies of Yamaku's snow-covered forest. There was no point in scrambling for an update through the van's other systems. The S.O.N.G. submarine wasn't responding to their hails and the same could be said of Captain Yaiba's forces. Finally, after several, quiet minutes of undisturbed forest vegetation, the hovering drone arrived at the designated target point before reorienting its high-powered lenses on the forest floor below it.
"You've got to be shitting me," Yuki muttered to herself with a mixture of shock and bewilderment.
As Team-04's camera drone safely hovered among the branches of the trees, the live footage on the screen showcased a scene that made Komichi's blood turn cold beneath her shivering skin. Cassandra Jiang Lanfen - Japan's designated Symphogear-Wielder - silently strode across the snow-covered ground, possessing movements which matched the unfeeling motions of a living automata. With an energy blade of pure red in her hand, Jiang deflected incoming barrages of specialized stun rounds, sending them back towards the panicking soldiers who were attempting a fighting retreat into Yamaku City. The few who had chosen to hold their ground in an attempt to neutralize the Adaptor instead had their helmets shattered by the knuckles of Jiang's armoured fist, knocking them out cold before sending them flying through the air.
Lifting her quivering hands off the terminal's keyboard, Komichi wordlessly observed the live footage before them, and realized that this was the power which Jiang had been fearing this entire time. The S.W.O.R.D - an armament that Jiang carried all by herself as the Sword of Damocles' very own Symphogear-Wielder. Any resemblance to the Ignite System or the Amalgam System before it were purely superficial. Unlike the restrained fury of the Ignite System, Jiang's black-and-white form moved with the emotionless precision of a calculating machine, bludgeoning Harmony's soldiers left and right with the minimalist of movements.
An incoming transmission suddenly appeared in one of the terminal's monitors, creating an automated window to showcase an emblem which neither Komichi nor Yuki enjoyed dealing with.
It was the symbol of the United Nations.
"Greetings, AG-4-2 and AG-4-1," said the Spokesperson of the U.N. The consistently-affable nature of their voice never failed to creep out Komichi. "While I would like to congratulate you on the Category-3's successful termination, it would appear that your operation has unfortunately taken a turn for the worse."
"What the hell did you do to Jiang?!" Yuki instantly barked at them, forcing Komichi to throw up an arm and calm her friend down by grabbing on to her tense forearm.
The last thing they were going to need right now was conflict with the very people who handled their paychecks. "My apologies, Spokesperson," Komichi hurriedly responded to the transmission, ignoring the frustrated stare that Yuki fired at the United Nations' symbol. "AG-4-1 and I are currently within the inner vicinity of Yamaku City. We have received no verbal updates on the situation thus far and are currently awaiting further orders from S.O.N.G. command. If I may, I would like to request an explanation for SG-r04's current actions." Being polite was always Komichi's expertise, even if it meant faking it in the face of those she despised kissing the shoes of.
A second transmission appeared on the monitors of the van's terminal. This time, it displayed the emblem of S.O.N.G., prompting Komichi to connect the lines and assume direct contact with the organization's submarine as the Spokesperson continued speaking. "Commander Kazanari and I have just completed our discussion regarding the current situation, AG-4-2. Due to your affiliation with SG-r04, I am obligated to state that the activation of the S.W.O.R.D. has unfortunately resulted in an array of unexpected side-effects. Task Force Harmony is currently attempting to subdue her and I have sent additional detachments towards your location in order to bring in the out-of-control Symphogear-Wielder."
Yuki opened her mouth to speak, and Komichi silenced her with a quick, disapproving shake of her head. It was obvious that her friend had nothing but venom in store for the United Nations. "Commander," Komichi addressed the newly-connected audio transmission this time, ignoring the way Yuki crossed her arms in annoyance. "What are our orders?"
A single second passed by before Commander Genjuuro actually addressed them. "Professor Elfnein is attempting to do whatever she can from all the way over here and is thus far unsuccessful. Lanfen's Aufwachen wave pattern is in disarray. Our vessel is hours away from your location. The S.W.O.R.D. has completely taken over her, so I cannot risk your endangerment in good conscience, Komichi." There was a pause between his stern words. "Task Force Harmony will be redirecting all of their nearby forces in an attempt to subdue Lanfen. In the meantime, I want you and Yuki to get on the move and assist with the evacuation of the zones that Lanfen is predicted to enter."
Dropping herself onto one of the backseats behind Komichi, Yuki scratched the back of her head and impatiently tapped a foot on the floor of the van. "Wonderful," she sarcastically remarked under her breath. "Just going to leave everything to the U.N.'s lapdogs, huh?"
Unsure if either the Spokesperson or Commander Genjuuro actually heard her friend's comment, Komichi loudly cleared her throat before politely responding to their superiors. "Orders... confirmed. Commander, Spokesperson, may the situation resolve itself soon." And with those parting words said, both transmission windows vanished from their terminal's monitors, allowing Komichi to loudly sigh to herself while placing an aching forehead within the palms of two sweaty hands. The digital clock on the terminal ticked on, and the pair sat in complete silence.
Judging by the live footage they were still receiving from the drone, Jiang had already entered the city. Defensive lines of rifles and combat walkers were haphazardly set up to fend her off, but Komichi knew they were there just so they could slow her down for the arrival of reinforcements. Settling her hands on the keyboard again, Komichi loudly clacked away at the keys, bringing up a digital map of Yamaku City before overlaying it with the movements emitted by the Task Force's arriving detachments. Her green eyes shifted between the monitors - her focus back within her pupils - and within moments, Komichi not only calculated the estimated contact time between the convoys and Jiang's position, but she had also discovered the shortest path to take in order to reach the Adaptor from where they currently were.
The nearest convoy of reinforcements needed only an estimated time of 15 minutes to reach the Symphogear-Wielder's current position. No other Symphogear-Wielders were on their way. The defensive lines weren't going to hold, but they were definitely going to keep Jiang where she was. So, it was only up to Task Force Harmony and Symphogear Team-04 to settle this situation.
"Yuki," Komichi spoke up, inputting a command which subsequently uploaded the calculated path directly into her friend's wrist device. "Would you mind... doing something crazy for me?"
The ponytailed woman curiously tilted her head upwards in response to Komichi's sudden question. The ringing device on her wrist then caught her attention before Yuki noticed exactly what the operator had just uploaded into her systems. "... Wouldn't be the first time now, would it?" Yuki mused with a growing grin.
Nodding almost bashfully at her friend's dry words, Komichi got up from the terminal's designated chair, and faced Yuki with her hands firmly at her sides. "I want you to go and get Jiang back for us." The chuckle that quickly came out of her friend lacked any surprise within it. Yuki probably guessed what she intended all along before Komichi even spoke up. "As nonsensical as it sounds, Task Force Harmony's measures are only going to make things worse for all of us," she explained, gesturing to the live footage on the monitors. "I'll try and do what I can to help with the evacuation... so I'll be relying on the skills you've learned to settle things peacefully."
"We're definitely going to get in trouble for this, you know?" Yuki pointed out to her, even if it was obvious that Yuki herself didn't care about the consequences of their upcoming actions.
Komichi simply gave a shrug of the shoulders and a cheeky wink. "And I'll just sweet-talk our way into a lesser punishment like we always do. Sounds good?" She received an easy-going nod and a thumbs-up from her old friend. "... Alright. Stay safe out there, Yuki."
Now that their next move was settled, Yuki lifted herself off the van's backseats and crouched down to bring out a suitcase from underneath the driver's seat. A layer of dust coated the thick casing as Yuki keyed in a digital PIN code before opening it up to check on her old equipment from Clan Hida. All sorts of tools laid within the suitcase, still in prime condition despite the months which have passed since their last usage. Neither Yuki nor Komichi looked forward to possibly needing to use them on Jiang, but the situation called for them to take as much precaution as possible.
Yuki closed up the old suitcase, reached into the pockets of her navy-blue uniform and pulled out the keys to the van. "Don't scratch the paint," she playfully told Komichi, tossing them into Komichi's open palm with a smirk. "I'll be back before you know it." With those confident words plainly uttered, the ponytailed woman headed towards the back of the van, opened up the rear doors, and jumped out of the vehicle with a holographic map projecting from her wrist device. Komichi would have chided her for outright forgetting to close the doors if they were in a different situation.
Glancing at the jingling keys in her hands, Komichi promptly closed the backdoors up with a soft chuckle. This was the way things should be, she thought to herself, getting herself into the driver's seat. This was a Team-04 matter, and even if it meant going against their current orders, Komichi was assured that either Chris or Tachibana would have approved of her decision. Securing a seatbelt around her waist, Komichi inserted the key into the van's ignition, roused the vehicle's roaring engine, and looked ahead at the currently-peaceful roads outside the windshields. There was one thing she could do right now for sure, and that was to simply get Shinonome to safety.