'Lady Lotte'. It was a name that Tsuchiya managed to uncover from a single, physical document within the archives of the hideout he had led an infiltration team into. There were no profiles to accompany it. Nothing to designate who she was, what she sought, where she came from, or what she even meant as an individual to the Bavarian Illuminati. There was only one thing: A symbol. The azure symbol of a diamond. It barely counted for anything in terms of physical evidence, but there was little doubt it referred to the very same person who had bestowed Lanfen with the power of a Symphogear. The exact same individual who had now taken Komichi's life. Lanfen could not find the words to even explain it all to Aiko.

This entire time, Lanfen was completely clueless about the identity of the woman who had come to her rescue on the night of the global attack. She could never forget what it felt like to lay paralyzed across the ground, all while a Distortion was moments away from ending her life. The large scar which ran down Lanfen's back beneath her winter uniform would always be a physical reminder of that evening. The evening where everything within her life was irreversibly changed over the course of a few bloodstained hours.

But now, they had obtained their first lead. Even if the surveillance footage of Lotte was undoubtedly left behind for S.O.N.G. to uncover, Lanfen finally knew where the blame truly lied when it came to Komichi's death.

Simultaneously, they had gained their first visual confirmation on the individual who had stolen the SG-r04 from the very beginning. Lanfen never once understood why Lotte bestowed the Sword of Damocles upon her of all people. Stored within the ruby-like pendant was a Symphogear with the power to obliterate others of its kind. During the event of its theft, the SG-r04 was an incomplete prototype, but following its return to its original owners, every analysis regarding the now-completed pendant reported zero deviations from the intended design plans. Submitted statements from Yuki, Kageyama, and Yaguruma proposed the notion that Lotte could be a new Illuminati overseer with a long-term agenda. Regardless, they only had one absolute truth in their grasp right now, and it was that Komichi was gone.

Gone. All because an Adaptor could not be there to protect her teammates when they needed her the most.

Lanfen found herself to be completely undeserving of the companions who had chosen to reach out for her hand.

As the echoes of Lanfen's footfalls resounded throughout the empty corridors, the Adaptor's swirling thoughts slowed her boots to an abrupt halt on her way towards the submarine's observation deck. Through a subsequent scan of her surroundings, Lanfen found herself to be completely alone, even when she remained where she stood for several passing minutes. A gloved hand eventually began curling itself into a tightened fist.

"Do you desire the power to save your sister?"

Her knuckles pounded themselves against the steel wall before Lanfen could even think about her next move. The thunderous clang it emitted echoed down the corridor, slowly fading away with each second until it transitioned into complete nothingness.

The honeyed words which Lotte had once poured into Lanfen's ears were impossible to erase from her mind. Such a simple inquiry was all it took for Lanfen to accept the power held within a crystal pendant, and it ended up coming from an individual who would presumably go on to take the lives of multiple innocent women. None of the Illuminati databases they uncovered carried any information that identified a potential plan to cull Adaptor candidates around the globe, let alone any data that could establish a pattern for the killings. Their only available option was to begin a country-wide manhunt for Lotte. There was no better chance than now after the simultaneous elimination of five Illuminati bases.

Within moments, an all-consuming silence crept back into her surroundings. Lanfen squeezed her eyes shut and drew in a practiced breath. She could feel the proverbial fires burning within her pupils once again. The sheer ferocity of their flames was enough to momentarily rouse Lanfen's aching sword-hand at her side. Ignoring the physical pain which was apparent within her fist, Lanfen clicked her tongue before slowly withdrawing her knuckles from the undamaged wall beside her. The fires within the Adaptor's eyes had not burned this intensely for so long. Not since the time she had lost control over the S.W.O.R.D.'s power, and not since the very night where Kai was forever taken away from her.

Lanfen only resumed her march once the proverbial flames had simmered down into a steady flickering.

Continuing on through the empty corridors, the silence around the Adaptor was filled in solely through the thumping of her combat boots, indirectly emphasizing the sheer size of the submarine while Lanfen relied on her memory to navigate through it. Intercoms on the wall would periodically buzz to life, signaling the mundane announcement from the bridge of some matter in one of the vessel's numerous modules. These broadcasts practically contributed to the unmistakable absence of combat. Drawing in another practiced breath, the Adaptor attempted to focus only on what laid ahead, keeping her attention on meeting up with Yuki like Aiko had wordlessly recommended.

Lanfen was only halfway towards her intended location when a particular sight suddenly seized her attention. Standing on one side of the long corridor in front of her was none other than Kagami, shinobi operative of Clan Hida and the one who had directed last night's operation. When the Adaptor's footfalls caught the redhead's notice, Kagami turned towards the approaching Lanfen and regarded her with a pair of stern eyes. Lanfen instinctively avoided her gaze before simply continuing her brisk walk. Tensing both shoulders underneath Kagami's hardened glare, Lanfen was about to pass by the Hida operative when Kagami decided to block her path solely by standing before the Adaptor.

"Five." Kagami's statement felt like an icy dagger between Lanfen's ribcage. "Five of our people. Dead. What do you have to say for yourself, SG-r04?"

Narrowing her eyes ever so slightly, Lanfen lifted a gaze from the metal floor and directed her unfocused pupils towards Kagami's fiery stare. The Adaptor could sense the taller woman wordlessly scanning her from head-to-toe. Initially, Lanfen thought about brushing past the Hida operative, but her combat boots instead remained right where they were. After all, it was Lanfen who had decided to disobey orders during an important joint-operation. There was absolutely no foundation for her to argue on when Lanfen's actions indirectly left the infiltration team vulnerable to danger.

"Go ahead," Lanfen dryly suggested, placing one palm on her hip. "Feel free to hit me if you're in the mood. I'd probably deserve it anyway."

A single hand seized the Adaptor by her collar.

In the blink of an eye, sharp pain rose across Lanfen's back along with the thundering creaking of metal. As a stifled wince slipped between clenched teeth, Lanfen reopened her eyes, and saw that Kagami had effortlessly pinned her to the wall through a single motion of her arm. The calm and collected expression on the redhead's face had not even changed in the slightest.

Kagami soon prefaced her words with a slow shake of the head. "Your resolve is lacking, SG-r04." The intent behind Kagami's fiery stare was suddenly becoming difficult to read. What used to be an unmistakable glare of frustration had seemingly turned into that of abject pity and dissatisfaction. "How can you call yourself a member of the Adaptor Corps if this is how you intend to carry yourself?" Kagami tightened her barehanded grip on Lanfen's collar. "Are you truly the person that Kagero has placed his faith in to protect us?"

The Adaptor could only purse her chapped lips. 'Resolve'. Lanfen had to question if she even possessed such a virtue from the beginning. Ever since she lost Kai, Lanfen's core motivator to step onto the battlefield had been to take her frustrations out on the enemy, all while she waited for the eventual return of her sister's cloaked killer. Lanfen was not a selfless heroine like Tachibana nor a steadfast sentinel like Kazanari. Any priorities regarding 'protecting the innocent' were always secondary to seeking out personal satisfaction through an Armed Gear. Her restless sword-hand by itself proved this. No matter how she appeared in the eyes of her own teammates, Lanfen was a woman primarily motivated by the proverbial fires within her eyes.

A commanding voice subsequently resounded from further down the corridor. "That's enough, Kagami."

As the redhead's hand released its hold on the Adaptor's collar, Lanfen slowly glanced aside to see Commander Genjuuro heading towards them with a pair of arms crossed over his chest. Kagami promptly dusted her palms and stood to attention in the presence of S.O.N.G.'s tactical commander. While Lanfen attempted to mimic the procedural action, Commander Genjuuro stepped in front of the pair to direct a swift and wordless hand signal towards the oldest of the two. Kagami answered through a formal bow before the redhead took her leave without directing another word in Lanfen's direction. Once she was out of earshot, Lanfen released a hush sigh and fixed the collar of her uniform.

"I've already delivered the news to Komichi's parents," Commander Genjuuro slowly began, now casting a softening gaze towards the silent Adaptor. Judging by the lingering strands of grey amongst his red hair, even a man of the Commander's stature evidently was not immune to the weight of his everyday duties. "Tsuchiya has also... updated me on the circumstances regarding your Armed Gear, Lanfen."

Subconsciously brushing the tips of her sword-hand against her metallic buckle, Lanfen hastily withdrew her twitching hand to instead fiddle with the tips of the braided hair on her left shoulder. The absent-minded action went on for several seconds until the Adaptor felt compelled to bring up a particular question she had been holding on to just for her superior. "Commander," Lanfen said, standing to attention once more purely out of habit, "if we now know who gave me the Sword of Damocles... wouldn't it be safer to just... throw me in a cell again?"

The perturbed look which grew across the Commander's face was a far better answer than anything the large man could have actually said. "I will not undertake any unnecessary measures, Lanfen." Commander Genjuuro took a moment to caress his temples with one hand. "You've proven yourself to be an Adaptor through and through. I'd also rather not blindly apprehend one of our own without evident reason to imprison Japan's only available Wielder."

"Do I still deserve to be called that when Komichi is now dead?"

Lanfen's rhetorical question shot out of her without any thought behind it whatsoever. The sheer bluntness of her words wedged a momentary rift of silence right into their verbal exchange.

Taking his arms off his chest, Commander Genjuuro's expression remained clear with concern as he placed a single hand on Lanfen's tense shoulder. His grip was firm but gentle. It almost reminded Lanfen of the way her father used to reassure her back when she was just a teenager who could not bear to look at her own reflection. "Anyone would have struggled in your position, Lanfen," he carefully told her. "Right now, all we can do is look out for those who are still around and make sure that nobody else gets hurt. Neither of us will ever have the privilege of undoing the past."

Loosening her shoulders beneath the Commander's humble touch, Lanfen could not help but remember the first time she defied official orders just so she could rescue Aiko within a dark, snowy forest. Unlike before, Lanfen was now witnessing the results of her recklessness.

Commander Genjuuro eventually lifted his hand off the Adaptor's shoulder so he could once again cross his arms. He continued speaking after lightly clearing his throat. "Tsuchiya will be arranging an escort vehicle for you to head back to Yamaku City soon," the Commander explained, now sounding like his usual steadfast self. "You can head back once you've finished a check-up with Professor Elfnein, but the rest of your team will have to stay here until further notice. Take care of yourself, Lanfen. That's an order."

Lanfen provided no response other than a sharp salute and the procedural uttering of the words, "Affirmative, Commander."

Commander Genjuuro promptly stepped aside for the Adaptor to continue on her intended path. Lanfen headed off after bidding the large man farewell with a formal bow.

The remainder of her trek throughout the submarine's modules went on without any notable circumstances. Members of the vessel's crew could be seen quietly minding their business in the corridors while Lanfen undertook the standard procedures of greeting them with salutes. Most personnel returned her greetings. Others were instead too busy with whatever important tasks they had on hand to even notice her brief presence. After a length of time, Lanfen finally found herself stepping through the sliding doors to her destination.

The observation deck appeared hardly any different since the last time Lanfen visited this section of the submarine. It was the place she had chosen to gather her thoughts after the world council first revealed the SG-r04's true purpose to everyone. It was also the same area where Lanfen first found out how Yuki and Komichi were going to be her teammates. Stepping through the cold darkness around her, Lanfen approached the center of a large, circular room, setting her sights upon the lone woman who waited amongst the rows of metal seats. As Yuki sat atop a chair that was facing away from the deck's entrance, the holographic screens which covered the walls displayed a snow-covered city from beyond the submarine's exterior, simultaneously providing the only sources of illumination in sight.

Lanfen's boots grew heavy with each careful step she took towards Yuki. Underneath the dim lighting of the surrounding holographic displays, a tray of items could be faintly seen sitting on a chair beside the waiting field agent. Placed on the tray itself was a large, unopened bottle along with a number of shot glasses. Four glasses, to be precise.

The physical distance between them was closed when Lanfen came to a stop right behind Yuki's chair, allowing the former to subsequently notice how the woman was in the midst of inputting a message into her smartphone. It was undoubtedly a text message for Kaburagi Otome. Seeing the large paragraphs of text which made up most of Yuki's message, Lanfen tightened her chapped lips, and simply waited for her teammate to be finished with her task. Beneath the glow of the room's numerous holograms, the vast canyon of silence between the pair was eventually bridged together by the confirmatory notification of a delivered message.

"... Yuki?" Lanfen softly inquired, addressing the woman for the first time in roughly thirteen hours.

The advent of the Adaptor's voice caused the sitting woman to look over her shoulder until a pair of reddish eyes had landed their sights on Lanfen. The easy-going smile that Yuki wore felt completely hollow, especially when she stood up from her seat with a pair of hands now stuffed inside her pockets. A tentative glance from Lanfen slowly noticed how Yuki's ponytail had been completely undone, letting the tall woman's dark-green hair freely run down her back. Unsure of what to even declare upon her arrival, Lanfen remained completely silent while Yuki herself fixated an empty stare on the floating, holographic displays of the outside world around them.

"It feels... sort of like a bad dream, doesn't it...?" A light scoff accompanied Yuki's dry remark. "I swear I've seen this nightmare before, and yet I-" Her words trailed off faster than they began, taking away Yuki's attempted smile with them until she was only left with a pair of half-open eyes and a restrained scowl. "... We were always ready for somethin' like this to happen," Yuki quietly stated, her gaze still directed at the surrounding holograms. "Neither of us were stupid to think that we would never get hurt carrying out our missions. And despite that... despite it all...!" The conclusion of her words never came as Yuki chose to instead wipe away at her face with the sleeve of a navy-blue uniform.

A multitude of words situated themselves on the tip of Lanfen's tongue. Every part of her knew that she had to say something. And yet, nothing would come out of her. Not even in a moment like this.

After releasing a brief, sardonic laugh between her clenched teeth, Yuki looked away from the observation deck's displays, and shifted her focus to the untouched tray of items on a nearby chair. "I was saving this just for today, ya know?" Yuki explained, getting down on one knee to slowly grasp the slender neck of a bottle in one hand. "I thought it'd be a good way to celebrate our first mission. Just you, me, Komi' and Ai'." Making sure to not knock over anything, Yuki ran an empty gaze over the glass item while its sloshing, translucent contents remained sealed. It only took a moment for Yuki to withdraw her hold over the bottle before she got back onto a pair of feet.

Drawing in a practiced breath, Lanfen ignored the faint flickering within her purple eyes, and attempted to focus her attention solely on her now-quiet teammate. The Adaptor practically forced herself to speak. Lanfen could not stay silent any longer. Not when it was obvious to her that Yuki requested her presence for a reason she had yet to elaborate on. "Yuki," Lanfen gently whispered again, taking a footstep towards the woman, "Tsuchiya said you wanted to see me." Her throat felt as though she was swallowing a stack of razors. "Was there... something you wanted to ask...?"

The Adaptor's inquiry hovered across the cold air, only to remain unanswered when Yuki continued to stay quiet. Wiping away at her reddish eyes again, Yuki sharply inhaled, and then glanced over at the waiting Lanfen. This time, her pink eyes did not fall upon the Adaptor's face at all. Instead, she gazed directly at Lanfen's monochrome belt-buckle. The same buckle which Yuki had given to her during a Christmas morning. The next words that slipped between Yuki's lips were far sharper than anything she had uttered in this room thus far.

"Is it true?"

There was only one answer to Yuki's question. Anything else Lanfen could offer was impossible to support on top of all the evidence they currently had on hand. Unable to forget the sensation of Komichi's fading heartbeats, Lanfen thought back to a submitted report from the med-bay's coroner, and carefully recalled how the bullet they found within Komichi matched the same ones they had collected from twelve different murder cases from across the globe. It could not have been a coincidence. Lanfen's inevitable words were straight-to-the-point.

"It is." The Adaptor fought just to maintain unbreaking eye-contact with Yuki. "Lotte gave me my powers." The truth tasted bitter to her tongue. "And she... was the one who killed Komichi."

Nothing about Yuki's expression immediately shifted in response to Lanfen's faltering declaration. No further words came out of her lips and Yuki's hands simply rested deep within the pockets of her navy-blue uniform. Regardless, Lanfen herself instinctively chose to not say any more while the Adaptor observed the way Yuki's empty gaze panned over to the nearby tray of beverages. Eventually, Yuki ran a single hand through her undone hair before using its fingers to lift up a single shot glass within her careful grasp. The small scoff which then slipped out of Yuki was barely audible beneath the observation deck's overwhelming silence.

Lanfen flinched when the shattering of glass echoed off the hologram-covered walls.

By the time she realized what even happened right in front of her eyes, a single shot glass had been hurled towards the metal floor, causing it to explode into a hundred shards all over the deck. Lanfen tried to take another step towards Yuki, but the empty stare that was soon directed at the Adaptor made the woman freeze right where she stood.

Still surrounded by the numerous holographic displays of the outside world, Lanfen witnessed the way their radiance reflected off the flowing streams of tears on Yuki's face.

"I want you to promise me something," Yuki slowly uttered, balling her hands into a pair of fists at her sides. "Is that... alright with you, 'Fen...?"

The weight within the woman's words made refusal utterly impossible. Lanfen could only answer through a curt nod.

"... If you ever manage to find Lotte... Stop her. For good. No matter what it takes." A pause arose between Yuki's words. A pause which allowed Lanfen to understand exactly what she was attempting to convey between the lines. The proverbial flames within the Adaptor's eyes understood Yuki more than anything. "I know you've never taken down anything other than Noise and Distortions, but we have to stop her, 'Fen. We can't lose anyone else. Not like Komi'. Otherwise, I'd..." The rising desperation within Yuki's voice was impossible to deny. Simply hearing her dire request caused Lanfen's chest to twist itself into an agonizing knot.

And even though the fires in her purple eyes declared no refusal in response to Yuki's words, Lanfen herself had to briefly question if this was truly the only path for her to undertake.

Visible regret drew itself across Yuki's expression as soon as she directed a realizing gaze towards the shard-covered flooring. "... Komi' would be laughing at me right now, wouldn't she?"

Lanfen refused to answer Yuki's dry remark. Instead, she closed the remaining meters of distance between them and attempted to ease Yuki's burdens through a wordless embrace. It was a hollow mimicry of the same action that Komichi would always do, and it was in this very room where Lanfen first experienced it. Even so, Lanfen kept her arms around the taller woman's body, providing Yuki the only gesture she knew to give on the spot. To the Adaptor's relief, Yuki showcased no resistance, and simply returned the action by slowly ruffling the top of Lanfen's head with one palm. Neither of the two spoke during this, letting a stretch of silence run on until the soft ringing of an arriving message resounded from Lanfen's wrist device.

It was a summons from Professor Elfnein.

Yuki would have gone along with Lanfen if the former had not insisted on staying behind.

"Thank you for your time, Miss Shinonome. I shall be taking my leave now."

13 minutes and 44 seconds. Aiko's recounting of the joint-operation did not feel as lengthy as it actually turned out to be. Still, even if she experienced no difficulty in remembering how the infiltration team had been attacked by a pale woman dressed in azure, actually putting it all into words was an ordeal that Aiko would not ever desire to repeat. Tsuchiya himself showed visible discomfort towards finding out how Kamashiro and his team were suddenly eliminated with ease at the hands of a single individual. Thus, once the man had departed from the room with a data-pad beneath one arm, Aiko sought to comfort herself by holding on to the homemade scarf which was still wrapped around her neck.

Immersed within its monochrome cloth, Aiko's eyes shifted over to the foot of her bed while she pondered about the one matter she had chosen to withhold from Tsuchiya: The dome of translucent energy that had prevented the loss of her life at the hands of an azure woman's blade. A woman they all now knew by the name of "Lotte."

No matter how many times Aiko mentally played back her encounter with her golden-eyed assailant, Aiko's mind could only single out one possible source for the mysterious barrier. It was completely theoretical, and yet, she fully believed that it was the implant within her chest which had saved Aiko the moment her life was about to be extinguished. Nothing within S.O.N.G.'s database could currently identify her implant. Every hypothesis from the research team led into dead-ends and all of Aiko's biological scans saw it as nothing more than an inert piece of unknown metal. Aiko herself would have mentioned the energy dome to Tsuchiya if she had not felt a part of her subconscious quietly insisting for Aiko to remain blissfully ignorant.

It was a decision that she was going to undertake for the time being. Regardless of whatever had happened to herself, it was Komichi who had fallen victim to Lotte's hands in the end. And if Aiko had not restrained herself with the chains of her own cowardice, there was a sliver of a chance that Komichi would still be here.

Wiping her eyes with the tail end of a black-and-white scarf, Aiko drew in a shaky breath before she panned her sights over to a tray of medicine which sat next to her belongings atop a bedside drawer. It had been left behind by a nurse in the midst of Aiko's statement along with a written reminder from Professor Elfnein to take her daily medicine. Having nearly forgotten to do so with everything that had been going on, Aiko gently pulled herself towards the side of her bed and reached for the nearest medicinal capsule.

The room's ongoing quiet was pierced by a light pop. A small exhale then slipped between Aiko's lips at the sight of her usual pills. Using the Professor's written reminder to keep track of her required dosage, Aiko took a glance at the replaced medical wraps around her arms, and silently wondered just who this "Lotte" truly was. Every single word Lotte had uttered sounded like a verbal enigma to Aiko's ears.

The resentment she had sensed within their honeyed words alone was akin to the thorns on a lavish rose.

"Repent beneath the depths of the Great River, dear sinner."

Agony lashed throughout Aiko's head before she could even ingest her first pill.

Drawing in a sharp breath, she grasped the sides of her cranium while a capsule slipped right out of her fingers.

Swinging a disoriented gaze from left-to-right, Aiko's golden eyes went wide as her medicine clattered to the floor, scattering its contents all over the bottom of her bed.

Aiko's fingers gripped her pounding head with every ounce of strength she could muster. Sensing the pulsing sensations which were rising within her chest, Aiko's hoarse breathing pulled in the cold air, pushing away the surrounding silence with each desperate gasp. Aiko recognized this feeling. It was not the beating of her racing heart. Not at all. Instead, it was the exact same sensation she had experienced when a translucent field of energy had miraculously formed around her body. The dome-shaped barrier that had protected her from Lotte's descending blade.

A second pang of agony prevented Aiko from thinking any further, forcing her to grasp the bed's railing with one hand while her heart ached within a tightening ribcage. Something was hammering against the back of Aiko's head. With each palpable blow that reverberated throughout her cranium, Aiko could feel all five of her senses shutting down one-by-one. The warmth of her monochrome scarf was the first to vanish. Aiko's blurring vision turned completely blind soon after. And right as her agony peaked into a rising crescendo, Aiko felt the cold chill of the room around her disappear completely, leaving her weightless mind to float within an abyss devoid of any sensation whatsoever. The pain was gone.

Everything was gone.

In time, an image began to form itself before her returning vision. Accompanied by the familiar howling of a winter breeze, Aiko witnessed a dozen frozen droplets descending from above, slowly dotting the shifting environment with white while constructs of groaning, towering metal instantaneously rose up from the earth. In their futile attempts to reach for a cloudy, pitch-black sky, these skyscrapers paved the way for the ground beneath Aiko's feet, forming a concrete floor in the form of a road for her to stand on. Watching all this from high above was the celestial body of the Moon. Surrounded by a ring of debris, its lunar glow peeked between the clouds to shine down onto a familiar metropolis.

Yamaku City.

The concrete jungle appeared exactly like it did when Aiko first laid her eyes on its luxurious splendour. Even when bereft of any automobiles whatsoever on its expansive, endless roads, the flashing lights of Christmas could still be seen enriching every available surface in sight, seizing Aiko's astonished gaze until a realization fell upon her hazy mind.

Nothing was within her control. No matter how strongly she willed just for her fingertips to move, every inch of Aiko's body refused her wordless demands, denying her the right to control even the direction of Aiko's unblinking gaze. As her heart continued to beat a pace which contradicted the growing fright within her mind, the woman's pupils began shifting the aim of their attention, causing her head to slowly turn aside completely against Aiko's desires. Within the span of four blissful heartbeats, Aiko's golden eyes settled themselves on a monochrome figure who had been standing within the periphery of her vision.

"Lanfen...?"

Cassandra Jiang Lanfen, Wielder of the Sword of Damocles.

Already clad in the black-and-white armour of her Symphogear, Lanfen swung a hasty gaze towards Aiko's direction, all while the crowned warrior herself stood at a considerable distance beneath the shadow of a roadside building. Aiko was about to soundlessly call out for Lanfen in wordless desperation when the Adaptor immediately drew herself into a defensive stance. The look of utter distress that Lanfen now wore was undeniable underneath the light of a shattered moon as her fingers wrapped themselves around an Armed Gear's golden hilt. Seeing Lanfen's purple eyes directing themselves solely on Aiko, the only action the silver-haired woman could subsequently undertake was to comprehend the sensation of a familiar pulse within her own chest.

"No...!"

Uninhibited by the proverbial tethers of Aiko's consciousness, her parting lips began whispering into the winter air, completely disregarding Aiko's soundless pleas for this entire nightmare to cease. Even when she came to the eventual realization that she was nothing more than a marionette in this dream-like world, Aiko struggled against her own actions, desperate to wrestle for salvation while an ethereal energy swirled deep inside her. Through each esoteric syllable which flowed out from her moving lips, a blooming mass of unreality amassed itself on the tip of Aiko's tongue, manifesting a verbal malediction of incomprehensible, eldritch destruction. After reaching the culmination of this magical invocation, Aiko felt her cloaked, armoured body drawing a single step towards the Symphogear-Wielder.

The winter silence was soon shattered by a single exclamation from an unfamiliar voice.

"Jie, watch out!"

A flash of all-consuming emerald enveloped her entire vision.

The Sword of Damocles drew itself from Lanfen's hip.

And in an instant, the world before Aiko's eyes was burned away.

Aiko's body violently lurched forward in her bed the moment she regained control over every inch of her trembling skin. Seizing the bed's railings within her tightening hands, Aiko gasped for air as her widened eyes took in the sight of a room within a submarine's silent med-bay. The blankets beneath her hanging head were slowly stained by falling droplets of cold sweat. While the pitter-patter of their hush descent fell upon deafened ears, the distinct pulsing within Aiko's aching chest went entirely silent. Unable to feel its ethereal energies swirling within her any longer, Aiko slowly directed a gaze towards the ceiling right as she sensed a wave of shivering comprehension crashing right into her spiraling thoughts.

What she had just witnessed was a memory that predated Aiko's awakening within a snowy forest. And it was her first true glimpse into a past which defined her entire artificial existence.

Underneath a setting sun's departing radiance, the outskirts of Yamaku City basked itself in a glow that could be seen through the tinted, bulletproof windows of a S.O.N.G. escort vehicle. About an hour had passed since Lanfen's departure from the docked submarine, accomplishing two-thirds of the expected journey-time as she spent the entire trip thus far completely drained of her remaining physical strength. Similar to the Adaptor's first experience within the black escort vehicle, a physical barrier sat between the passenger and driver compartments, keeping Lanfen's escorts out of sight while the woman kept her attention on an ongoing conversation with Kaburagi Otome and Yukine Chris.

Understandably, the entire duration of their half-hour exchange had been conducted solely through written messages within a temporary texting group. As Lanfen's smartphone sat within the palm of a gloved hand, the device's keychain swung back-and-forth from every bump the vehicle ran over, causing the toy to softly jingle every few seconds. On the screen of the smartphone itself, Kaburagi and Yukine's messages could be seen coming in at random intervals, amassing about four hundred and fifty-five written texts thus far. Some of them were in the form of lengthy paragraphs. Others were barely longer than five-or-so words.

Lanfen responded to them all regardless of length. It was the monochrome Adaptor who had been at Komichi's side during the time of her passing, after all. It was also the smallest courtesy she could provide for a pair who knew Komichi far longer than Lanfen herself did. It had only been two days since they all shared a Christmas dinner together beneath the same roof. Lanfen could not imagine how either women were truly reacting to the situation. Gazing at Yukine's accumulating messages in particular, the lack of any coherence within the crimson Adaptor's texts made it partially difficult to comprehend them. Their unusual number of errors possibly indicated that Yukine was anything but sober on her end of the line.

The messages from Yuki's fiancé, on the other hand, remained completely reserved. Too reserved for an outspoken woman like Kaburagi. Chat bubbles would periodically hover on the line for a minute or two before every single text the florist eventually delivered. Judging by how their discussion was playing out, it was all but certain that it was going to be Kaburagi's family who would be providing the flowers for Komichi's ceremonies, the first of which was estimated to only take place after two weeks had passed by.

The group's conversation seemingly neared its end right as Lanfen's escort vehicle entered the metropolitan vicinity of Yamaku City. The snowy trees beyond the windows had been replaced by traffic-filled roads along with the familiar sights of flashing signboards and crowded sidewalks. With possibly less than thirty minutes remaining until the vehicle arrived at its destination, Lanfen held up her smartphone, and carefully addressed Kaburagi if there was anything she desired from the monochrome Adaptor. Just like the florist's previous messages, Kaburagi's response appeared completely calm when looked at from a surface level.

"I appreciate the sentiment, Jiang. But I would prefer it if you focused on your duties for now. Thank you."

Hovering a shivering thumb over the smartphone's screen, Lanfen thought about outright confirming if Kaburagi truly desired nothing in the wake of Komichi's passing. But the woman instead stayed her hand and refrained from possibly overstepping anyone's personal boundaries. Suppressing the faint flickering of a proverbial fire within her eyes, Lanfen distracted herself by observing the countless passing-by pedestrians while she waited for the next person to 'speak' up. The curt vibration of an arriving message only needed a moment to occur. It was from Yukine. The growing time-gaps between her texts betrayed just how late it actually was on the crimson Adaptor's side of the world.

"Rookie, could ya do a small favour for me?"

Lanfen tightened her chapped lips and typed in a hasty response. "Of course, Yukine."

Chat bubbles appeared on the screen for about a full minute before Yukine's next message showed itself. "Look out for Yuki whenever ya can." The second text arrived sooner than the first. "Even if Yuki insists she's alright, just be there for her." It was becoming obvious to Lanfen by now that plain, written text could not carry the same palpable sensation as outright-spoken words. "She's always been the type to need someone by her side durin' times like this. Yuki just ain't the kinda person to admit it out-loud. You understanding me, Rookie?"

Momentarily glancing at the towering skyscrapers which stood beyond the car's tinted glass this time, Lanfen recalled her earlier conversation with Yuki back in the submarine, and pondered on how it would have panned out instead had Lanfen not been hesitant to speak for almost the entire exchange. Yuki was alive because of the monochrome Adaptor's rescue attempt. And yet, it was precisely because of Lanfen's actions that Komichi ended up losing her life. If Yukine harboured any outright resentment towards her for what happened, the crimson Adaptor showed none of it. Not even after Yukine spent the majority of a half-hour bluntly airing her thoughts about this "Lotte" individual.

After a while, Lanfen typed in a message with but one cursory glance back at her smartphone. Half of the response ended up being outright deleted before she was even willing to actually hit the 'Send' button. "I understand, Yukine. I promise to do whatever I can."

It did not take long for their voiceless conversation to arrive at its conclusion soon after.

Kaburagi was the first to dismiss herself. "Please rest up whenever you can, you two. And please, stay safe."

Yukine's own message came later on. "I'll give a heads-up the next time I'm allowed to fly back. See ya around."

Switching off her smartphone with the squeeze of a side-button, Lanfen slipped the device back inside her winter coat before she attempted to slouch against her seat for the rest of the vehicle's ongoing journey. To the Adaptor's annoyance, Lanfen could still feel her body subconsciously readying its aching muscles for the first sign of danger to reveal itself any moment now. Her right hand was especially prepared to sate its aching fingertips through the vicious swing of an Armed Gear. In an attempt to restrain this incessant itching, Lanfen forcibly redirected her wandering mind towards an earlier check-up with Professor Elfnein, and essentially played back what she experienced in the form of a cognitive diversion.

Her hour-long meeting with the Professor ended up detecting zero abnormalities within Lanfen's relic pendant.

Even after carrying out several thorough scans and internal analyzations of the SG-r04's core systems, the results they received were entirely within their favour. No hints of any implanted backdoor systems. No signs of any hidden programs. The relic was the exact weapon which the world council had commissioned directly from S.O.N.G.'s top minds. Although Lanfen herself still remained unconvinced with its apparent safety, the Adaptor eventually altered the focus of her mind again, and swiftly brought up a projection of S.O.N.G.'s database through a memorized hand motion over her wrist device. The archives had apparently acquired a recent addition to its library and Lanfen would only be a fool to remain ignorant of its contents.

A brief navigation through the database easily displayed the desired information in the form of a projected holo-display above the Adaptor's wrist device. And just like Tsuchiya's report had dutifully stated, it was in relation to a discovery they had made during last night's joint-operation. A discovery that Komichi herself had personally uploaded right before communications between command and the infiltration team went completely dark. Needless to say, everything Lanfen proceeded to see before her purple eyes only made the Adaptor furrow her brows in thought.

Komichi's uncovered information came in the form of about a dozen scanned images. Appearing to be the yellowed pages of a physical, paper tome, Lanfen counted at least three hundred pictures which were now sitting within a newly-created folder, prompting her to begin a brief examination of it all while she started from what looked to be the tome's first page. Stylistic sketches of pure pencil-work could be observed on each displayed image. And what few words which existed alongside the drawings were evidently of a language that nobody within the research teams had yet to identify. Not even with Professor Elfnein's dedicated assistance.

Even so, the granite sketches all by themselves were already capable of conveying a 'story' purely through their stylized visuals.

The first drawings depicted a tale of a great dragon whose wings spanned across the horizons, allowing it to envelop the entire world until every domain laid underneath its all-mighty power. When this winged beast approached the complete conquest of the realm, a lone warrior proceeded to descend from the heavens, subsequently becoming the lone obstacle between the dragon and its goal of global assimilation. Sketches in the further pages portrayed battles of earth-shaking proportions, envisioning a fateful duel which lasted for multiple sunsets until the dragon was finally forced into a deep, long slumber beneath the soil. And although the world proceeded to regain its freedom at the cost of the lone warrior's life, the pages' drawings portrayed a civilization who had fled down a raging river's passages on great arks, liberating them entirely from the sleeping beast's abode.

In time, a single one of these arks separated itself from its congregation, bestowing itself with the chance to find salvation in the form of untouched land as the rest of its contemporaries sailed further down this great, unknown river.

Lanfen's interpretation of the displayed tale was suddenly interrupted by an abrupt notification from her wrist device. Acknowledging the escort vehicle's imminent arrival at her apartment complex through the tap of a newly-appeared holo-prompt, the Adaptor felt the car judder to a complete halt, causing Lanfen to confirm her destination by glancing out of the vehicle's tinted windows one last time. Fully aware that her drivers were going to remain unseen even up until now, she promptly climbed out of the vehicle once its locks were undone, and wordlessly greeted the sidewalk with the soles of her uniform's combat boots. It only took the timespan of a trembling exhale for Lanfen's escort vehicle to disappear down the congested roads of Yamaku City.

Shivering underneath the embrace of the descending, winter snow, Lanfen slowly gazed up at the apartment complex which stood before her, and quietly clicked her tongue.

Just over a day ago, she - and three other women - had departed from this building. And yet, Lanfen now stood all by herself, just like the time she had returned without Kai.

Sensing the proverbial fires brewing within her eyes again, the Adaptor squeezed them shut for a brief moment before she began stepping towards the sun-lit entrance of the apartment complex's lobby. The constant revving of Yamaku City's motor vehicles were easy to filter out as nothing more than white noise in the background. After reminding herself on how the Commander had apparently assigned a Hida operative to watch over her until Lotte was in S.O.N.G. custody, Lanfen headed through a pair of sliding doors, and glanced around the vicinity to find not a single, living soul waiting for her inside. One would normally assume that this was due in part to Clan Hida's modus operandi, but the Adaptor's instructions were clear: Lanfen was to expect at least one present individual on the building's ground floor.

A familiar ringing within the pockets of her winter uniform quickly pulled Lanfen's attention over to her vibrating smartphone.

Since she was essentially operating on a combination of proverbial fumes and her own gut feeling at this point, the exhausted Adaptor pulled out her device within one palm, all while her aching sword-hand instinctively twitched at Lanfen's side. She made sure to first drag her obstructing body away from the lobby's entrance before Lanfen inputted her smartphone's five-digit PIN code. Mildly curious if this was just another one of Clan Hida's enigmatic methods, Lanfen directed her focus towards the notification of an arriving text message, and subsequently opened it up with a tap of her smartphone's touchscreen.

As soon as a digital window displayed the received message, Lanfen began tightening her fingers around the handheld device, threatening to break the item within the grasp of her gloved palm.

The sender's ID-code. It was Komichi's.

And the message itself conveyed a single demand which had been typed out in plain, clear English.

"Head to your sister's final resting place all by yourself. Otherwise, every single soul in this building shall soon accompany your dear friend."