Sympho-Saber: Song of Swords
S1:EP12 – Warriors United by Blade and Song
"Excuse me."
"Come on in."
Daishinji was currently in his workshop, putting the finishing touches on the Dogouken Gekido alongside the Wonder Ride Book that matched with it, Genbu Shinwa. The book was a God Beast book with a grey coloration, with a tortoise having a snake wrapped around it as the cover.
The one who had entered was none other than Genjuro who walked in slowly but stayed by the door.
"I'm surprised you let me in," He spoke up.
"Yes, I very much know my reputation," Daishinji said as he kept his eyes on his work as he continued his maintenance, "But in this circumstance it's quite alright."
"I see," Genjuro said before walking deeper in, "Sorry if I'm interrupting your work but I needed to talk to you."
"Like I said it's quite alright," Daishinji repeated, "I needed to talk to you regardless so this is good timing. That being said, yours definitely sounds more important given you dropped by unannounced. You could have easily called me to the front."
"We've recently received vital information on our enemies," Genjuro said as he had a stack of papers in his hand before holding them out towards Daishinji, "Here."
Daishinji took the papers and began to skim through them, narrowing his eyes at what he was seeing, "I knew it."
"There's a reason I came here to begin with," Genjuro said as he took the papers back once the swordsmith was done, "You're one of the only ones here who consistently kept her away."
"Because I knew she was trouble from day one," Daishinji answered simply though his look softened, "However I am sorry for what's occurred, I'm sure you don't want to believe it."
"It's a hard feeling to wrap myself around," Genjuro admitted.
"It absolutely is," Daishinji agreed, "I don't blame you for taking this harder than the rest of us."
"Of course," Genjuro said before noticing Gekido and deciding to change topics briefly, "Is that another Seiken?"
"Yes, one of the three we have in storage," Daishinji replied, "That brings me to what I needed to say."
"I take it you've found a user?" Genjuro asked.
"I have," Daishinji gave a nod.
"I'm… surprised to say the least," Genjuro admitted.
"Given what's going on, both sides now know the pain of betrayal," Daishinji replied, "However we have something stronger that binds us together now. Two bright faced warriors who among all odds have kept going."
"That's a good way to put it," Genjuro smiled.
Daishinji set his tools down before taking out a paper and holding it out alongside a pen, "Sophia's already signed on it, I need your signature so we can get everything underway once repairs are finished."
"I see you want to get this out as quickly as possible," Genjuro admitted as he found a place to set the paper down before signing on it where he was supposed to. He was so used to paperwork by now it was pretty much automatic to him. He then handed the paper back to Daishinji.
"Thank you," Daishinji said as he took the paper before going over to a fax machine off to the side, setting it in and faxing the information out. He kept his back facing Genjuro as he had to keep from smiling, "Don't worry about the Wielder as well, they're a very capable person."
"I see, that's good to hear," Genjuro said before taking off.
Daishinji turned and walked back towards Gekido, gently touching it and feeling excitement pulsing through the blade itself, "It will be your time soon."
Calibur was currently hidden within the shadow of the forest of the old estate that Finé had owned. He watched as several American mercenaries ignored him as he was utilizing Kurayami's element of darkness to hide among the shadows undetected. He could only silently scoff as he watched a group of maybe a dozen mercenaries storm the estate after preparing themselves.
"Fools," Calibur remarked as he removed the cloaking once they were gone.
"And so this chapter begins its path towards the end," Storious spoke with a smile as he walked out of hiding alongside Legeiel and Zooous. The three had ended up being cloaked by Calibur as well.
"It's a good thing we left, can't just let them take all our hard work," Legeiel himself was currently holding the briefcase that had the Alter Ride Books that had been activated.
"I still say we could have taken them," Zooous hissed out, holding a sack that held their spoils of war, the blackened Ride Books that they had managed to collect.
"Patience Zooous," Storious looked towards his ally, "You will get your chance, but we are not needed for this finale."
"He's right," Calibur agreed as he turned and heard gunfire coming from within the mansion, "Leave the final touches to me. I'll give you all an enjoyable show."
"I do hope that is the case," Storious replied.
"I don't go back on my word," Calibur answered as he walked over to Legeiel, "But I would like to borrow one of yours."
Legeiel raised an eyebrow, "You wish to have one of my Phantom Beasts to use?"
"Of course," Calibur replied, "I know one in particular who deserves a second chance."
"Very well," Legeiel gave a slight grin when he heard this and reached into his pocket, taking out an Alter Ride Book and handing it to Calibur.
"Show off," Zooous looked away from Legeiel, already feeling the smugness radiating off of his fellow Megid Leader.
"Thank you," Calibur said before he took a few steps forward.
"Calibur," Storious spoke up as he watched the Dark Rider slow to a stop, "Just what sort of ending do you envision for this chapter?"
"Just stand back and watch," Calibur answered as he glanced back before fully facing the estate and walking towards it.
"I suppose I already have an idea…" Storious muttered in a slight bitter tone as he watched Calibur walk off.
At Lydian, Touma was currently walking alongside both Miku and Hibiki, the trio wandering the halls.
"I still can't believe that idea worked," Hibiki admitted.
"Well Touma did give a good offer," Miku reminded.
"Exactly," Touma said as he was wearing a badge on his outfit to signify him as a part-time staffer now instead of his usual guest pass, "Not to mention it also helps that Section 2 is able to pull some strings with this."
"True, the Commander did seem to be grateful for your assistance," Miku replied.
Touma's idea was simple when it came to helping Hibiki out, and that was pretty much becoming a tutor for her. This was in order to help keep her grades up, and if necessary he'd be able to help Miku and Tsubasa should the need arise given their involvement in Section 2. What helped with this though was his offer to help supply new books via his families store and their connections. Needless to say his parents were surprised but proud of the idea and allowed Touma to sign off fully on it while out of country.
"Thankfully this is a good cover," Miku replied.
"What, my guest pass wasn't a good one before?" Touma asked.
"Well… sort of," Miku admitted, "But now you've been fully integrated into the school so you won't be as suspicious as before. Plus you know, it cuts down on gossip."
"Ah true, true," Touma said, though thankfully the only group who seemed to ever ask questions and for good reason, were Hibiki and Miku's friends, Yumi, Shiori and Kuriyo.
"I'm still surprised you managed to convince your parents," Miku mentioned.
"I am too," Touma said as he adjusted his hat, "Thankfully once they heard of the deal they were willing to do so since they love expansion projects like what I proposed."
"And they're still none the wiser?" Miku asked.
"Come on, I'm not Hibiki," Touma gave a bit of a laugh before noticing that Hibiki wasn't reacting to the playful jab, "Huh?"
While the two were having their conversation Hibiki meanwhile had slowed down and began humming along as the school song played.
Miku glanced back and noticed Hibiki humming, "What's up? Got the school song stuck in your head?"
"It is rather catchy," Touma mentioned.
"Just hearing the school song here at Lydian makes me feel safe," Hibiki admitted, "It really puts my mind at ease. It's like I can relax by just knowing that everyone's here with me. I really feel at home here, even though we only enrolled two months ago."
"So much has happened over those two months, though," Miku said.
"Yeah, that's true," Hibiki agreed.
"Now then, just because I'll be helping you as a tutor doesn't mean you can slack off," Touma clasped his hands together, "With everything settled I can do a session later tonight if you want."
"Uh sure…" Hibiki gave a nervous chuckle since despite everything she had been through in the past months, having a studying schedule was definitely something she wasn't used to immediately.
"We'll start slow don't worry," Touma said before taking off, "Anyway, I think I'll go grab some food. You two take care."
"Right, see you later," Miku said with a wave before glancing to the side and noticing her friends expression, "Well you said you wanted help."
"I know…" Hibiki sighed as she hunched over.
'You're not as alone as you think you are. Even if you choose to walk your own path, it will meet up with ours sooner than you'd think.'
'You think former enemies can join forces with each other just like that? That's pretty idealistic coming from an adult who knows how harsh the world is.'
Chris was currently alone with her thoughts, after having worked up the courage to attempt and storm Finé's estate again she was surprised by what awaited her. Not only did she find tons of dead mercenaries alongside no trace of Calibur or the Megid, she had run into Genjuro and Section 2. Needless to say there wasn't much to trace since the computer had been wiped and the estate had been blown to hell and back thanks to planted explosives. Even before then there were no evidence of even Megid having worked alongside Finé.
Despite her harsh words at the end she had ended up connecting just a bit more with Genjuro before that due to his words in regards to her parents. His talks of dreams and why they pursued them had reminded her of her talk with Touma. Regardless here she was, having been given something of a lifeline, a communications device that held a bit of money on it.
She had used it like any sensible person would, go somewhere deeper into the city and then search for a vending machine to satiate her hunger. She had finally found something that seemed filling that wasn't just snacks or drinks.
She had managed to find a vending machine selling cheap instant ramen and had bought one of the bigger bowls to work on. Needless to say this was a good find for her, some warm noodles and some peace and quiet would do her some good. This was especially true since she had managed to find a bench in a quiet spot of town.
"Sounds like you've got something good there."
Chris could only groan in frustration as she turned to see Desast casually sitting next to her.
"And why are you here?" She asked.
"What? I can't be near my buddy?" Desast asked.
"We're not buddies, now leave," Chris gave a glare before quickly returning to her ramen, taking her chopsticks and gripping some noodles before messily slurping them down.
"Is that stuff even good?" Desast asked.
"Mm-hmm," Chris only gave a muffled response as she continued to slurp down the noodles to her ramen.
Desast could only stare in what one could assume as deadpan until he noticed something off. He looked and saw a packet opened but its contents still inside. He grabbed it before sniffing it a bit, "Hmm… is this yours?" He asked as he held it towards Chris.
"Huh?" Chris turned before giving a slight frown, "I decided not to put it in, so you can do whatever you want with it."
"Seriously…?" Desast asked before taking the packet and holding it over his mouth, soon dropping it in and eating it, "Hmm? Mmm!" He gave a click of his tongue as he snapped his fingers, "This stuff is good!"
"Seriously…?" Chris gave a slight deadpan stare, "You actually like that stuff?"
"I'm not sure what that stuff is, but it's got a good flavor to it," Desast admitted as he set the empty packet down, "What is it?"
"Red ginger, and I'm not sure why you like it, it's so damn salty," Chris frowned.
"Don't knock it till you try it," Desast remarked.
"Yeah I tried some, hated it on its own and don't want my meal so damn salty," Chris called out in annoyance as her temper continued to rise, "Why are you even here anyway?!"
"Oh," Desast soon realized he was supposed to be on a mission before hunching forward, he gave a chuckle, "A festival is about to start soon… thanks to her…"
"Her…" Chris narrowed her eyes, "So Finé is making her move huh?"
"Given what you saw of her estate, you're really asking that question?" Desast asked.
"What's Calibur's whole stake in this?" Chris asked.
"As if I'd know," Desast scoffed, "He's not telling anyone his plans, and honestly that makes him more dangerous than that woman. The fact she even trusts him is surprising."
"Just great," Chris sighed before going back to her ramen for a few seconds before stopping, "Hey, do you know what Kadingr-" she paused when she noticed there was no one near her, "Seriously?" she gave a sigh before going back to her ramen, "At least I can get back to some peace and…"
"Chris?"
"Of course," Chris gave a groan as she turned to see Touma, narrowing her eyes, "What do you want?"
"Huh, oh sorry I didn't know if it was you or not," Touma held up his hands in slight defense, "I was just heading back to my shop and figuring out what I was going to get to eat. I wasn't trying to look for you or anything."
"Please just shut up," Chris sighed as she set her cheap bowl of ramen down, she stared at it for a while before speaking up again, "Why are you okay with it?"
"Okay with what?" Touma asked.
"Your parents just leaving you alone to follow their dreams," Chris replied, "I just figured you'd be kind of resentful you know. But when I talked to you that one time…"
"It wasn't a sudden thing honestly," Touma admitted as he went to lean against a wall that was near the bench, he crossed his arms, "It was a very tough decision for them and they gave me plenty of options. One of them staying, both of them staying… but after a while I figured that it would be best for them to follow their dreams while I followed my own. And I don't really regret it even if I do miss them from time to time."
"I see…" Chris trailed as she glanced to the side.
"And I don't blame you for being frustrated at your folks given everything that did happen," Touma also added.
"Seeing right through me huh?" Chris asked.
"Not like I want to, kind of wish the Commander didn't suddenly spring that out while I was there, but I guess it made me understand why you're asking all these questions," Touma admitted as he rubbed the back of his head, "It's clear you're still trying to figure things out given everything's probably going so fast."
"Why are you alright with everything?" Chris questioned, "After everything I've done to your friends, the people I've chosen to ally myself with… why?"
"Do I need a reason or a motive to be a nice person?" Touma asked before giving a bit of a laugh, "I probably sound stupid right now don't I? At least to you…"
"You're a lot more bearable than that idiot who tried talking to me while we were fighting," Chris remarked.
"That's just how Hibiki is," Touma said as he began to pace around.
"That'll get her into more trouble often than not," Chris warned, "I mean you saw how I reacted right?"
"Well if she gets in trouble trying to find reason in why her opponents fight, I'll help out by giving her the time to do so," Touma answered as he gave a more serious expression while he put his hands in his pockets, "I made a promise to myself two years ago, so I'll make sure I'm there for her now."
"I see…" Chris trailed, "Must be nice, not having a care in the world and just making promises."
"I take my promises very seriously," Touma answered as he looked over at Chris, "How about we make a promise then?"
"What are you on about?" Chris asked, "What kind of promise?"
"Like… if you ever need help I'll be there for you," Touma replied, "Just a simple one."
"You really like promises huh?" Chris rolled her eyes, "Fine then, I guess it won't hurt too much."
Touma couldn't help but smile, "See, that wasn't that hard was it?"
BEEP BEEP BEEP
"I'll be right back," Touma quickly walked off and around a corner to answer his communicator, making sure he was away from Chris, "Touma here."
Sophia and Rintaro were currently in the central control room alongside Genjuro. With the investigation of Finé's manor finished, the two commanders put out a call their main fighters alongside Ryoko who were all out of base at the moment.
"Touma here," Touma greeted.
"Yes. Tsubasa speaking," Tsubasa answered shortly after.
"Hibiki here," Hibiki answered last.
"We've got a lead," Genjuro said before noticing that their fourth person wasn't here yet, "What about Ryoko?"
"She hasn't reported in," Aoi answered, "We haven't been able to contact her since this morning."
Genjuro glanced towards Sophia who gave a nod, "I see."
"Ms. Ryoko will be alright!" Hibiki reassured, unaware of what was going on, "If something happens, she'll just go all 'Bang! Boom!' like when she protected me!"
"Eh?" Touma was confused by this choice of words.
"Ms. Sakurai has no combat training. I doubt she'd be able to do anything like that," Tsubasa spoke up.
"But like, don't the Commander and Ms. Ryoko have those crazy superhuman abilities?" Hibiki asked.
"I'm pretty sure that's just Commander Kazanari," Touma replied.
It wasn't long before a fourth call came through, this being Ryoko. Of course suspicions were already on the rise in the control center when she chose to only use voice call instead of video.
"I finally got through!" Ryoko called out, "Sorry! I overslept, and then my communicator started acting up."
Genjuro narrowed his eyes, "Are you alright? No problems on your side, Ryoko?"
"I overslept and I missed the garbage collection, but… did something happen?" Ryoko asked.
"That's all huh?" Rintaro gave a light chuckle.
"That's good to hear," Hibiki sighed in relief.
"Probably the least worrisome things ever honestly," Touma admitted.
"That's good to hear," Genjuro said as he kept a calm tone, "But there's something I want to ask you about."
"My, aren't we in a hurry?" Ryoko remarked, "What is it?"
"Kadingir," Genjuro answered, "What does that mean?"
"Eh?" Touma was surprised by the term coming up.
"It's an ancient Sumerian word that refers to a divine existence," Ryoko explained, "In a sense, it means a tower reaching for the heavens."
"If someone had built such a tower, wouldn't we have noticed it?" Genjuro asked.
"Well, when you put it that way…" Hibiki trailed, "Touma, you have any ideas?"
"Given this sudden information I'm not sure…" Touma admitted as he tried to think a bit on the various books he had read.
"Regardless, we now have the enemy right where we want them," Genjuro spoke up. "If we can simply gather more intelligence, our victory is assured. We will strike at the smallest gap in the enemy's defense with all that we have. We shall not miss our chance to land the finishing blow!"
"Roger!" Hibiki called out as she and Tsubasa exited the call.
"I've got a few things to take care of here, then I'll head right over," Ryoko answered before exiting the call.
"Saber, is everything alright?" Sophia asked when she noticed that Touma was still online.
"Oh," Touma snapped out of his thoughts, "Sorry, it's just that I've been thinking on that word. While Ryoko is right in some respects, its direct translation is Babylon. And Babylon can be related to the Tower of Babel, which is a tower that reached for the heavens in order to reach what many believed to be God."
"But where would that even be?" Rintaro asked, "And why would this Finé person be after something like that? And that's not even counting the Megid into this."
"It has to be somewhere in this city given how this has been the centralized location in our fights," Touma mentioned, "As for where…. that's what I'm having trouble imagining."
"There's no need to worry on that front yet," Genjuro reassured, "But if you could head back to your shop and maybe do more research on potential locations it would be appreciated."
"Roger," Touma said before hanging up.
"Blades if you could, I'd like for you to go out on patrol and see if you find anything suspicious," Sophia ordered.
"Of course," Rintaro gave a bow before heading off to get ready.
"This is it, huh?" Genjuro asked once Rintaro was out of the room.
"It is," Sophia gave a nod, "We're going to need to brace ourselves for what comes next."
For the next several minutes, everyone in Section 2's main control room began to get to work, Genjuro and Sophia overseeing the process.
"I don't care how small or unimportant," Genjuro said, "Find every piece of information you can about Kadingir!"
"Time is of the essence," Sophia reminded.
It wasn't long before their search would be interrupted by the Noise alert activating.
"We've detected three massive flying Noise!" Sakuya called out, "No, four!"
"I'm surprised," Touma said as he walked through the streets, "I thought you would have run off by now."
"Yeah but I caught enough of that conversation at the end," Chris said as she walked alongside him, "You're one of the few in a position to help me figure out what the hell this Kadingir is that Finé wants."
"Fair enough," Touma gave a shrug before the Noise Alerts began to blare.
"What?" Chris looked around before soon looking up as she spotted one of the massive aircraft carrier Noise's in the distance.
"Noise, now?" Touma gasped out as he took a step back at the size of that Noise, his communicator began to ring and he held up his finger to Chris as he quickly went to answer it, keeping it at voice only, "Yes?"
"This is the most recent information we have regarding the movements of the Noise," Genjuro spoke up as he had also called Tsubasa, Hibiki and Rintaro, "The one that originally appeared in Area 41 is now passing through Area 33, heading towards Area 28. Likewise, the Noise in Areas 18 and 17 are now heading towards Area 24. Also…"
"Commander, this is…" Aoi interrupted.
"The trajectories of all four Noise intersect at the Tokyo Sky Tower!" Sakuya called out.
"…The Tokyo Sky Tower?" Hibiki asked.
"If the Kadingir is a tower, then could it be the Sky Tower itself?" Sakuya asked.
"How devious… but it would be right under our nose!" Rintaro agreed.
"The Tokyo Sky Tower serves as a central control node for our radio-based communication and video transmission," Genjuro explained, "Hurry to the Tokyo Sky Tower!"
"Roger," Touma said before hanging up.
"Sounds like you've got somewhere to be," Chris said as she turned to walk off.
"And you don't?" Touma asked as he looked back, "It's likely that Kadingir is related to the Sky Tower, why else would the Noise converge like that? We should fight together."
"Fight together?" Chris asked before hearing beeping, "Hey your things ringing again."
Touma looked at his communicator and shook his head, "It's not mine."
"Huh?" Chris then suddenly realized the beeping was closer than usual and pulled out her communicator. Before she could even consider pocketing it, it was forced to answer.
"Here's hoping I caught you at a good time," Genjuro's voice came through.
"There's Noise hovering over the city like they own the place," Chris remarked in a snarky tone, "You really think this is a good time?"
"Then I'd like to request your help," Genjuro said.
"Fat chance," Chris scoffed, "You really think I have time to be wasting on-hey!"
Touma had walked over calmly and taken the communicator from Chris, "This is Touma, I'll escort Chris and we'll provide backup to Tsubasa, Hibiki and Rintaro."
"Hey, just what's the big idea?" Chris gave a glare.
Genjuro could be heard laughing on the other line, "Of course you're with her, very well Touma, I'll leave you to it."
"Thank you Commander," Touma hung up before handing the communicator to Chris, "Come on, we've got a scheme to bust."
"And just how do you propose we even get there?" Chris pointed out.
"Simple," Touma said as he readied his Driver, Brave Dragon and Diago Speedy Wonder Ride Books, "Henshin!"
[REKKA BATTOU! BRAVE DRAGON~!]
[HASSHA BAKUSOU!]
Touma quickly drew his sword and initiated his transformation into Saber Brave Dragon, the transformation with Diago Speedy in place had also brought the bike out in front of him once the transformation ended.
Sheathing his sword, Saber mounted the bike and revved it, "Come on."
"Fine, but hold on," Chris sighed when she saw how raring to go Touma was. She took a deep breath, "Killter Ichaival tron~"
The four massive aircraft Noise began to slowly circle in on the Tokyo Sky Tower, none of them making any aggressive moves. The most they did were open up their underbellies to send out Noise, whether they be flying types to help protect them or provide additional support on the ground.
On one of the buildings in the area was a seventeen year old girl with brown eyes and medium sized brown hair that curled inward, she was wearing a white long sleeved dress that held flower patterning. She closed her eyes as she was deep in thought.
"So this is your decision… Finé…" The girl spoke before opening her eyes and looking up at the Noise, "It's been far too long for you to reconsider, huh?" She asked before clasping her hands together, "Please stop her… Touma..."
Looking on she watched as the various combatants began to make their way towards where the Tokyo Sky Tower was. Hibiki was coming in via a helicopter, while Tsubasa and Rintaro sped forward with their bikes.
"Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron~"
"~Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron~"
[NAGARE BATTOU! LION SENKI!]
Hibiki was the first to enter as she donned her Symphogear armor, dropping straight down and extending her gauntlet as she punched against anCarrier Noise. The piston of her gauntlet pushed in and sent a concussive force that tore a hole straight through the Noise. The Noise began to turn to ash before exploding due to the energy exerted from the punch.
{Blue Flash}
Tsubasa was the next to make a move, leaping from her motorcycle as she donned her Symphogear armor. Enhancing her sword into its enlarged state she unleashed a blue slash of light energy towards one of the Carrier Noises. Unfortunately there were enough flying Noise in the way to where they were cut up instead, causing the slash to fall short of the Carrier Noise.
[RIDE GATTRIKER~!]
Blades gave a yell as he kept both hands on the handles of his bike, pressing down on the triggers and unleashing a hail of bullets against the various Noise on the ground. It wasn't long before he managed to clear a pathway forward. He soon skidded to a stop near Tsubasa, dismounting his bike as Hibiki leapt down near them.
"In this battle, it looks like the enemy really does have the upper hand," Tsubasa noted.
"Could we use the helicopters to attack from the sky?" Hibiki asked.
Blades snapped his fingers, "Ah, Hibiki that's an excellent-"
BOOM!
Not even seconds after that suggestion the group would be alerted to loud crashes in the sky. The flying Noise had swarmed the helicopters that were nearby, causing them to explode.
"No way…" Hibiki trailed.
"There goes that…" Blades sighed.
"Damn them!" Tsubasa called out as she readied herself.
The three then began to dodge out of the way, the flying Noise rushing in and turning their bodies into drills to strike at the Wielders and Rider. Hibiki countered with a punch while Tsubasa and Blades used their swords to cleave the Noise in half.
"There has to be a way," Hibiki said before remembering something, "Oh, Rintaro!"
"Yes Hibiki?" Blades asked as he slashed through another dive-bombing Noise.
"Your Wonder Combo has a Pegasus and Peter Pan right? You should be able to fly no problem!" Hibiki called out as she dodged out of the way of a Noise before kicking it away.
"She's right," Tsubasa realized, "And when Kamiyama gets here then we shall have two who can take to the skies!"
"I'll do my best!" Blades called out as he readied his Wonder Combo.
"Tachibana, we'll defend him while he makes his ascent!" Tsubasa called out as she readied her blade.
"Right," Hibiki nodded as she raised her fists.
The flying Noise army had decided to use the three standing around to launch their attack, a fair chunk of them diving downwards.
[DRAGON MM-HM! SHUUTOKU ISSEN!]
A wave of fire had struck the first set of approaching Noise's. This was followed by a hail of bullets eradicating the rest of the ones that were diving down.
This caused the Rider and both Wielders to turn around, everyone staring in surprise as they saw the Diago Speedy in the distance. Standing in front of it was Saber who held his sword at his side, the flames dying off of it. Beside him was Chris wearing her Symphogear and having her chainguns primed and ready.
Hibiki was nearly bursting with excitement while Tsubasa was on guard, Blades however was scratching the cheek of his helmet at the intense look Chris was giving off.
Chris dismissed her weapons and held up the communicator, "This piece of crap wouldn't stop squealing like a stuck pig, so I figured this at least might shut it up! Don't get me wrong! It's not like I wanted to help you or anything!"
"Sorry about the wait Wielders, Swordsmen, the help's arrived a little late," Sophia spoke through the communications channel.
Tsubasa could only stare, "Help?"
"Yes, it's the Symphogear user bearing the second relic, Ichaival," Sophia answered, "Chris Yukine."
"She's here to help?" Blades asked with a smile behind his helmet.
"Chris!" Hibiki called with joy as she ran over and gave a big old hug to Chris, "Thank you so much! I knew you'd join us sooner or later!"
"Are you mental?" Chris questioned as she tried to pry Hibiki off of her, "Are you even listening to me?"
"We should concentrate on dealing with the Noise for now," Tsubasa said, acting the most professional and simply walking over, "If we can allow Kamiyama and Shindo to utilize their flight abilities, they can deal with the fortress Noise above us."
"I'll handle it myself!" Chris called out as she managed to pull herself away from Hibiki, "Just stay out of my way!"
"I suppose we can't expect immediate progress," Blades gave a nervous chuckle.
"It's still progress," Saber elbowed his ally in the arm, "So what's say we get up there?"
"Leave the ground Noise to Tachibana and I while the airborne Noise are dealt with by her," Tsubasa said, "We'll give you the chance you need."
Both Saber and Blades readied their books, the two drawing their swords and initiating their Two Book and Wonder Combos respectively.
[REKKA BATTOU! TATSUMAKI DRAGON EAGLE!]
[NAGARE BATTOU! AOKI YAJUU NO TATEGAMI GA SORA NI NABIKU! FANTASTIC LION~!]
Blades took the lead, his sword flooding with water as he began to slash past several of the Noise on the ground before his body liquefied. He soon turned into a Pegasus of water that launched upwards into the air, striking past all the Noise that got in his way.
His form shifted back to normal as he used Peter Fan's book ability to form gold dust around his body, the dust allowing him to fly higher into the air as he began slashing through any Noise that got near him.
Saber meanwhile launched high up into the air at great speeds thanks to Storm Eagle. While Blades was able to fly via the combination of Pegasus and Peter Pan related abilities, those were more graceful and elegant flight speeds. With Storm Eagle, Saber was able to launch high up at great speeds, cutting through any Noise he could as he managed to fly past one of the Aircraft Noises.
"Touma, let us finish it together!" Blades called out as he sheathed his sword and went to initiate his belts finisher.
"Sounds good to me," Touma called out as he sheathed his sword to initiate his finisher as well.
[HISSATSU DOKUHA!]
[PEGASUS! LION! PETER FAN! SANSATSU GEKI! W-W-W-WATER!]
[DRAGON! EAGLE! NISATSU GEKII! F-F-FIRE!]
"Fantastic Blazer!"
"Flame Tornado Kick!"
Saber began to spin around, becoming a tornado of fire that arced around, going from above the Aircraft Noise before curving and flying underneath it before shifting to where it struck right at the stomach of the Noise.
Blades meanwhile lifted up higher and higher, water flooding from the cracks of his armor and slamming into the top of the Aircraft Noise. He then gave a yell as he dropped down and kicked against the water flooding the head of the Noise.
In an instant the water crashed down hard and tore through the head of the Noise. The flaming tornado that was Saber ended up kicking and drilling through the stomach of the Aircraft Noise, piercing through its back.
"Alright," Saber called out as he pumped his fist in the air.
"Not bad," Blades said as he floated over to him, "But we still have two more."
"Oh right," Saber sighed before noticing that the remaining Aircraft Noise were simply opening up their various ports to release more and more Noise to flood the sky.
Needless to say with the two being in such close proximity they were forced to draw their swords and fight off the Noise as they went to back off. Both Riders realized that the Noise were fortifying their defenses and their trick was only able to work on one of them. Of course that wasn't their only worry.
"What are you doing?! Get out of my way!"
"Come to your senses. Do you wish to fight alone?"
The two soon heard Chris and Tsubasa arguing from a nearby building, both Riders descending and landing nearby.
"I'm always alone," Chris growled out, "Did I miss the part where we became best friends? We may not have a reason to fight each other, but then, we don't have any reason not to fight, either! Let's just keep going like before!"
Saber sighed and placed a hand against his faceplate, "Chris, come on…"
"I um… I know being friends is difficult but how about allies with a mutual cause?" Blades asked, realizing they needed to act as a team, at least this once.
Chris gave a glare and raised her right fist, "You can't just expect people to-"
"Yes we can!" Hibiki had clasped both of her hands around Chris' fist, "We can settle our differences with anyone." She then kept holding Chris' right hand with her left before extending her right hand out and clasping Tsubasa's left hand with it, "All this time, I've been wondering why I didn't have an Armed Gear. I always thought I was a burden because I was half a fighter all the time. But not anymore, it's because I'm not holding any weapons that I can hold your hands like this instead. I can be friends with all of you!"
"Tachibana…" Tsubasa stared in surprise before jabbing her sword into the ground and extending her hand towards Chris. When she noticed that Chris was taking a bit she glanced towards Blades and held out her hand, "Shindo."
"Of course," Blades smiled as he sheathed his sword and took Tsubasa's hand with his own, "You all are my family after all."
"We're in this together," Saber agreed as he took Blades' free hand before using his free hand to take Chris' who was slowly reaching hers out.
Chirs couldn't help but reel away as she let go of both Touma and Hibiki's hands, "Is her idiocy contagious?!"
"I guess so," Tsubasa gave a smile, "And it looks like you've got it too."
"Like I said, that's just how Hibiki is," Saber chuckled.
"You're kidding…" Chris pouted and looked towards the side.
Their little moment together wasn't meant to last however, as the looming shadow of one of the two remaining Aircraft Noises caught their attention.
"Until we take out the big ones, there'll be no end to them," Tsubasa noted.
"While we can fly up to them, they seem to be wising up, there's too many aerial ones between us Riders and the large ones," Blades explained.
"I have an idea," Chris gave a smug expression, if only because now she could show off, "Something only I can do. Ichaival's specialty is long-range, wide-area artillery. I'll blow them to pieces!"
"You're not going to sing your Swan Song, are you?" Hibiki asked, fearing the worst when it came to what Chris was suggesting.
"Don't be stupid, I wouldn't throw away my life that lightly," Chris argued.
"Then how?" Tsubasa asked.
"I'll keep raising the energy output of the Gear, but suppress the actual release," Chris explained, "After overloading it with energy until it goes critical, I'll release it all at once."
"But you'll be totally defenseless while you charge," Tsubasa said, "It's too dangerous against this many opponents."
"That's true," Hibiki said, "But all that means is that we'll have to protect Chris!"
"You're right," Blades agreed as he readied Nagare.
"The four of us can do it," Saber gave a nod as he raised Rekka, "That's a promise!"
Upon Saber's words, the Symphogear Wielders and Kamen Riders from Section 2 rushed off to form a perimeter around Chris.
'I never asked for this… but I can't back out now!' Chris realized as she began to sing a different style of song, increasing output while suppressing it, a violet filter appearing over her.
'Everyone has hands they can hold. I fight by holding others' hands!' Hibiki thought to herself as she elbowed a Noise away before punching through another.
'To think that this is the same Hibiki as two months ago, she's grown but still stayed the same,' Saber gave a yell as he began using the flight of Dragon Eagle to patrol the immediate lower airspace, slashing through any flying Noise that was getting too close to building level.
'The power to smash things up, or bind them together… that Armed Gear is very much like Tachibana,' Tsubasa mused as she sliced through the Noise near her.
'Those two are remarkable, to think they were able to come this far and help us in these past months,' Blades meanwhile threw his left arm out, lashing out with Peter Fan's hook to strike at and reel in Noise to slash through.
As Chris reached the climax of her song, all four combatants turned towards her as they broke through the incoming horde.
"GO FOR IT!"
Chris' back armor began to shift and grow in shape, forming a makeshift brace for her as she began to grow her artillery further and further. Not only did she have her chainguns and the missiles from within her skirt piece, but she also had four massive missiles armed above her head.
{MEGA DETH QUARTET}
Soon enough she launched her whole arsenal, the small missiles splitting into even smaller missiles that homed in and struck all the Noise in the sky. The four massive missiles moved upwards undeterred, two missiles each hitting the remaining Aircraft Noise. The force from behind both missiles had ended up causing massive explosions that tore apart the Aircraft Noise.
With two Riders and Wielders, the group on the ground made short work of the remaining Noise. The only thing left on the sky and ground were now the carbon dust of the Noise.
"She did it," Tsubasa called out.
Chris gave a smug smile, "Of course!"
Saber gave a sigh of relief as he went to land, Blades retracting his hook chain as the two then walked over to the trio of Wielders that were meeting up.
"We did it!" Hibiki cheered as she rushed over and tackled Chris into another hug.
"Lay off, dumbass! What do you think you're doing?" Chris called out as she forced Hibiki back.
As everyone arrived, both Wielders and Riders dismissed their transformations. Touma and Rintaro couldn't help but smile a bit at the current situation.
"It's all thanks to you that we won, Chris!" Hibiki smiled and went for another hug.
"Cut it out already!" Chris called out as she pushed Hibiki away yet again. She then raised her fist, "Listen! I'm not your comrade or anything! I just want to settle things with Finé and make my new dream come true."
"Dream?" Hibiki asked, "You have a dream, Chris? What is it? Tell me!"
"Now you got her started," Touma gave a chuckle as he shifted his hat.
"Shut the hell up, moron!" Chris called out in a flustered manner, "You're hopeless!"
Rintaro couldn't help but give a light chuckle before catching something off the corner of his eye. He could have sworn he saw a civilian on top of one of the rooftops. But when he did manage to look directly at the roof, the person he thought he saw was no longer there.
"Hey," Touma waved his hand in front of his friend, "You alright?"
"Sorry," Rintaro shook his head, "I must be tired from utilizing a Wonder Combo. While it gets easier to use the second time around it's still rather intense."
"That's fair," Touma said before realizing something, "Hey wait…"
"Hello?" Hibiki interrupted Touma's line of thought by answering her communicator.
"Hibiki!" Miku's voice came through loud on Hibiki's communicator, "It's the school! Lydian is under attack by the Noi-"
…
…
…
A haunting silence overtook the area as everyone could only stare at the communicator which only emitted out of service beeps as the call had been cut off.
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: Now then… we're pretty much at the end of S1 now that we've reached the final three episodes. Of course it wouldn't be this story without introducing characters in different ways. That mystery girl that was watching the fight is absolutely who you think she is, and yes, she is actually aged up from the get go. Next episode though… oh boy it's going to be a fun one, trust me on that.
Before I go though, I've got an official writing Twitter you can follow if you so choose. It's Zero's Workshop [ (at sign) ZeroEnchiladas ] on Twitter. If for whatever reason Fanfic doesn't give you email updates on my stories (I know it doesn't for a few people) then follow my twitter, I plan on posting tweets whenever a new chapter updates. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.