Sympho-Saber: Song of Swords
S1:EP13 – The Earth Quakes, the Moon Shudders
Lydian was a warzone as massive Noise were led the charge, easily destroying any military defenses while smaller Noise emerged to take out individual targets. Needless to say it was a losing battle, even with the high amounts of equipment and soldiers since there wasn't much that could stop the Noise. This was especially the case with all the Wielders and Riders out at the Tokyo Sky Tower. The best the military could hope to do was stall until all the civilians were in the shelters beneath the school.
Ogawa had just barely arrived in time to witness what was going on, stepping out of his car in shock. There wasn't much he could do, especially against the massive Noise.
"It's not just them," A voice spoke up as Daishinji soon arrived on a Ride Gattriker, a thick brown case strapped to the back of it.
"Daishinji," Ogawa quickly turned, "What are you doing out here?"
"Securing our future and making sure you or the Commander don't do anything foolish and die," Daishinji answered.
Ogawa's eyes widened, "The Commander is out here? Why?"
"Them," Daishinji pointed forward, the two witnessing various Shimi Megid starting to come into view.
"Megid…" Ogawa said before being surprised at Daishinji holding a Wonder Ride Book out towards him, "What?"
"You could use this," Daishinji said as the book he held out was a dark green book with a ninja in green hanging upside down on the cover, the title was Sarutobi Ninjaden.
"A Wonder Ride Book…?" Ogawa asked.
"The blades of the Swordsman of Wind aren't ready yet, but with your proficiency the book on its own will serve you well," Daishinji said as he revved the engine on the Gattriker, "I need to get going, stay safe."
"You as well," Ogawa gave a nod, he then looked towards one of the areas that was clear from both Noise and Megid, quickly hurrying off to enter through there.
To say that the Shimi were handling the invasion as well as the Noise would be a fair assessment. Well that was until several of them went flying, some slamming into the ground so hard they were completely destroyed.
The culprit was Genjuro who had gone topside to help with evacuations. While he couldn't do much aside from stall the Noise with his tactics, he was able to fight the Megid off in order to make sure they didn't catch anyone.
"You can't stop us all!"
Genjuro's eyes widened as he quickly rolled away, avoiding being stomped on by Golem who had fell from high up. Golem stomped down with both its feet, cracking the ground it had landed on.
"Megid…" Genjuro narrowed his eyes as he raised his fists, taking his fighting stance.
Golem gave a yell, digging its hand into the ground and creating a boulder of rubble before tossing it towards Genjuro. The Commander of Section 2 quickly punched against it, shattering it with seemingly no issue.
"You all definitely aren't pushovers," Genjuro shook his punching hand a bit, a few scratches having occurred due to the abnormal nature of the Megid's attacks.
"If you think you can handle us all you're mistaken!" Golem called out as it spread its arms out, the Shimi in the area converging on his location alongside several Noise catching wind of the action.
Genjuro gritted his teeth as he saw this, he could handle the Megid with little issue, but the resulting Noise influx was sure to do him in.
[DOGOUKEN GEKIDO!]
The giant sword of the earth came hurtling down from on high, the sword slamming straight into a group of approaching Noise, destroying the center and scattering the rest.
Golem could only stare in shock, "…What?"
Genjuro could only stare at the greatsword that was now embedded into the ground. He wondered who could even throw the thing when he suddenly saw an object coming towards him, he caught it only to see that it was a Wonder Ride Book, Genbu Shinwa.
"It's time!"
Genjuro looked over to see Daishinji off in the distance, the swordsmith standing on top of the Ride Gattriker he was riding.
"Daishinji…" Genjuro trailed as he gripped the book tightly, suddenly realizing who the new wielder of Gekido was, "Thank you."
"Don't die on me… Buster," Daishinji said before mounting the Gattriker again taking off.
Genjuro wasted no time in launching towards Gekido, gripping it by its hilt and lifting up the sword. He could feel the weight of the Seiken he held, soon realizing why he was chosen to wield it. The weight was impressive and dangerous, so of course only someone like him would be able to wield it with little issue. He then held up his Wonder Ride Book before opening up the cover, recalling the motions that the Riders would use when transforming.
[GENBU SHINWA!]
[There was once a God Beast possessing a strong armor that acted as one of the four holy beasts…]
Genjuro closed the book before placing it on the main slot of Gekido, lowering the massive weapon and letting it rest for a few seconds. As the book was put in place, a massive version of Gekido formed behind him. He then pressed the trigger, opening up the book on his sword and the book from behind to reveal the Rider Page. Chunks of stone began erupting out from the book, encircling the Commander of Section 2 as he hoisted the sword up and rested it against his shoulder, the orange blade shining brightly.
"Henshin!" Genjuro gripped Gekido with both hands before slashing forward, the debris forming a a hexagonal wall of stone just as he slashed, splitting it into its hexagonal components. Soon enough the hexagonal stone slabs and remaining rubble converging on him to form his armor. As the slash released traveled backwards to slam into the helmet, fully transforming Genjuro into Kamen Rider Buster.
[ITTOU RYODAN! BUTTA GIRE! DOGO! DOGO! DOGOUKEN GEKIDO!]
A black bodysuit was in Genjuro's place, it holding heavy grey shell-like hexagonal armor attached via brown straps, various small brown detailing being present all over. The helmet was also fairly hefty in appearance, the horn being the tip of Gekido while the visor held a split look to it, both eyes being brown.
[GEKIDO JUUHAN!]
[The absolutely armored large sword delivers a mighty blow from the north!]
Buster slammed his sword into the ground, small tremors forming from the force of the stab before he began to move forward, "You're not dealing with just the Commander of Section 2 anymore, you're dealing with Kamen Rider Buster."
"I-Impossible…" Golem stammered as it saw the transformation complete, it then looked around before holding its hand forward, "Attack!"
The Shimi all gave yells as they charged towards Buster from the front. The Rider could only give a chuckle as he gripped Gekido with both hands before slashing forward and completely cutting through the advancing Shimi. The Megid soldiers exploded with Buster walking through and out of the explosion.
"But can you handle this?!" Golem questioned.
Two groups of Shimi ran towards Buster on both sides, and to Golems surprise, the Rider of Earth holstered his sword on his back. Buster then raised his arms, blocking the first charging Shimi when they slashed at him. He then punched the two back in rapid succession before stomping on the ground, a crater forming as rocks erupted from all around, the charging Shimi being sent flying all over.
"Let's see you deal with these!" Golem yelled as it launched the hands on its head, the open palmed hands launching forward like rockets.
Buster immediately punched at the palms, his fists getting caught in them. But he didn't let them go any further as he smashed his fists together, shattering the stone palms, "You were saying?"
"W-What…?" Golem stammered as it backed up.
"Now then," Buster gripped his sword before tossing it high up into the air, soon running straight for Golem.
"Stay back!" Golem slammed its foot into the ground, a chunk of rock erupting before it grabbed the rock and tossed it towards Buster.
Buster ran forward before transitioning into a slide towards Golem, he then pushed against the ground as hard as he could, leaping from his slide and catching Golem's massive head with his legs. He then threw himself forward, shifting his weight and pulling himself up before making himself fall forward. He managed to push himself forward enough to where he planted his hands into the ground, performing a hand stand as he lifted Golem off the ground with his legs and tossed it away.
Golem could only yell as it was tossed away, slamming against the ground several times with a few groans.
Buster pushed himself off the ground and landed in a crouch, Gekido finally dropping and sticking itself into the ground right next to him. Buster then removed Genbu Shinwa before placing it against the swords scanner.
Flashes of what needed to be done next flooded Buster's mind as he readied his sword, the orange edge of the blade shining brightly.
[GENBU SHINWA! DOGON!]
"Grand Judgment Cut!" Buster roared as he raised his massive blade in both hands, rocks spiraling around it, strengthening and enlarging it into an even bigger Gekido.
[GEKIDO RANDOKUGEKI! DOGON!]
Buster gave a yell and slashed downwards, cleaving Golem in half. The Megid could only yell out as it shined brightly before exploding.
"So this is my new power," Buster looked at his free hand and curled it into a fist before looking towards several Noise that were starting to be drawn to the fighting, "Very well, I'll end this quickly because I have somewhere else to be."
Of course the Rider was unaware that watching the attack were both Calibur and Desast, the two keeping watch as Finé's plan entered its final phases.
"What an interesting smell," Desast scoffed, "He seems like he won't keel over as easily as the other one."
"So you were indeed the one who would inherit the power of Buster," Calibur mused.
"Hello? Is anyone still here?!" Miku called out as she ran through the empty halls, she was currently helping with evacuation. And so far it seemed to be working well as everyone had managed to head for the bunkers with little issue. Of course Miku couldn't be sure that everyone was out and she looked around to check and see if there were any stragglers.
The building shook however causing her to wince before she noticed the Noise outside. She couldn't help but stare in shock at how much destruction had occurred, seeing the Noise alongside what remnants of Shimi Megid were left. She could also just barely spot Buster in the distance, being the only one who could fight them off.
"The school…! Hibiki's home…!"
The glass shattered as several tadpole Noise launched through and clung to a nearby wall. They then turned towards Miku before launching towards her.
[SARUTOBI NINJADEN!]
Ogawa quickly slid into view, opening up the Wonder Ride Book with a swift swipe of his hand and holding it forward. Out of the book emerged sharpened gales of green colored wind that sliced through the Noise with ease.
"Mr. Ogawa!" Miku gave a gasp.
"That was close, next time we might not be so lucky," Ogawa gave a smile.
"How did you do that?" Miku asked.
"Let's just say an ally of ours is being less closed off than usual," Ogawa gave a smirk as he held up the Wonder Ride Book. He grew more serious however, "Let's get going. We've done all we can here."
Miku could only give a silent nod as she followed after Ogawa, "But don't you-"
"I only have the book," Ogawa admitted, "So I can only do so much compared to others. Luckily evacuation seems to have gone well but the Noise and Megid are encroaching further inwards."
It wouldn't take long before the two made it to the elevator that would take them down to Section 2, the two entering as it made its descent downwards. As they waited for their trip to be finished, Ogawa took out his communicator once he heard it was ringing.
"Ogawa, how is everything?" Sophia asked.
"Lydian continues to suffer extensive structural damage above ground," Ogawa explained, "But thanks to Miku alongside the Commander and the soldiers, casualties have been minimal. We're currently on our way to the shelter."
"I see, I'll contact Buster and let him know," Sophia replied.
"More importantly, we have identified the Kadingir," Ogawa got straight to the point.
"What?" Sophia asked, "What do you mean?"
Ogawa gave a nod, "Though we have no hard evidence, we have reason to believe that Kadingir is-"
The ceiling of the elevator suddenly started to dent, Miku giving a scream as the ceiling was torn through in an instant. It was Finé who was clad in the golden armor of Nehushtan. Not wasting a single second she grabbed and crushed the communicator before grabbing Ogawa by the throat and pinning him against the door of the elevator.
"I'm surprised you managed to figure it out so quickly," Finé admitted in a slight annoyed tone, "What gave it away?"
"If you wanted to build a tower without anyone noticing, you'd have no choice but to build it underground," Ogawa explained with a wince, "If that's what really happened, we can deduce that the elevator shaft leading to Section 2's headquarters is none other than Kadingir itself. And the one who made all this possible is…"
"And here I thought I'd fooled you all with that leaked information," Finé said as the elevator reached the bottom floor.
Ogawa thought quickly, noticing the slack in Finé grip once the elevator opened. He backflipped out of her grip and drew a revolver while mid-air, firing several times at Finé exposed body. All three hit their mark but barely dug themselves in, the armor repairing the damage and pushing the bullets outwards and onto the floor.
"Nehushtan…" Ogawa hissed as he realized that this would make things difficult, he went to reach for his Wonder Ride Book before he gave a gasp.
Finé had lashed out with one of her chained whips, disarming him and ensnaring the man. She kept a tight grip as she restricted his movement.
"Mr. Ogawa!" Miku called out.
"Miku! Get out of here!" Ogawa gasped as he tried to break free.
Miku wasn't sure what she was thinking, but instinctively she rammed her shoulder into Finé. It didn't do any damage and just barely moved the woman. What it did do was put Finé attention on Miku, dropping Ogawa onto the ground and turning towards her.
"Isn't that just precious?" Finé asked as she gently took Miku's chin by her hand, "You're trying to protect the people who used you."
"Used?" Miku asked.
"Did you ever wonder why this facility is situated directly under Lydian?" Fine asked, "It's so that we could gather experimental data about the effects of your songs on the relics. Not to mention that Kazanari girl was a great help in getting all of you here to begin with."
Miku gave a light glare as she watched Finé turn away with a chuckle, "Even if they have to lie, or if they can't tell the whole truth… they're all out there, putting their lives on the line for others! I… I believe in them!"
Finé turned with an angered expression, she turned and slapped Miku across the face, lifting her up by the uniform and slapping her again before dropping her.
"You're pissing me off," Finé said before turning towards the vault door, bringing out her communicator in order to unlock the door only for it to get shot apart. She turned back with a bored expression, soon seeing that Ogawa was back on his feet and had retrieved his gun.
"I won't let you get any closer to Durandal," Ogawa threw his gun to the side before holding up Sarutobi Ninjaden, readying himself, "Even if it costs me my life!"
"Tetsuo…" Finé narrowed her eyes at the Wonder Ride Book, her whips rising up as she prepared herself, "You continue to be a spot of annoyance on my existence…"
"Stop right there, Ryoko."
[GEKIDO RANDOKUGEKI! DOGON!]
Genjuro's voice came through loud and clear as the ceiling was smashed through. Landing between Ogawa and Finé was none other than Kamen Rider Buster.
"You seem to have gotten an upgrade," Finé said as she gave an amused smirk to hide her further annoyance as she stared at the armor, "And you still want to call me by that name?"
"Ordinarily, I wouldn't lay a finger on a woman," Buster admitted as he raised himself into a standing position, latching Gekido onto his back, "But if you so much as touch either one of them, I'll tear you to pieces."
"Commander…" Ogawa trailed as he stared in shock alongside Miku, it was one thing to hear and assume, but seeing the Commander decked out in Rider Armor was a sight to behold.
"We've known about your secret operation for some time now, thanks to the valued assistance of our American neighbors," Buster spoke up, "In order to lure you out into the open I pretended to play into your hands by getting all three Symphogear users and both active Riders together."
"You countered a scheme with a scheme," Finé remarked in an impressed but bitter tone, "And you even got Tetsuo to lend you the armor for a counterattack. To think he'd be willing to even think of giving it to you for a short while."
"Not lent, he in fact authorized my full use of it alongside Sophia," Buster answered as he kept his fists raised, "You're looking at the new Kamen Rider Buster here."
Finé's eye began to twitch as she scowled, "Just because you're a Kamen Rider, do you really think you can stop me?!"
"Stop you?" Buster asked, "I'll beat every last secret out of you while barely breaking a sweat!"
Finé gave a glare as she lashed out with both of her whips at Buster. She was surprised to see Buster simply run towards her without changing his path.
Buster himself had used his heavy armor to easily smack the whips away with his forearms. The Rider gave a yell as he launched upwards, removing Gekido from his back and bringing it down against Fine with both hands.
Fine quickly dodged out of the way, Gekido barely passing her as it slammed into the floor. She was surprised though when the force of the swing had managed to crack her armor, "What?" She quickly hopped backwards further to gain more space. Despite the cracks she had managed to repair the armor in an instant, "I'll flay you limb from limb!"
Buster turned, allowing the whips to wrap around Gekido as he held it up with one arm. He then gripped the tangled whips with his free hand and reeled Finé in much to her surprise. Genjuro then gripped his weapon with his hands, untangling his Seiken and slamming it into Finé gut, swinging and tossing her to the floor near the vault door.
Finé's eyes widened as she was thrown against the ground. She could only gasp out as she tried to recover and get her bearings, "How is it that you can stand up to the power of a Complete Relic?! Even with a Wonder Ride Book and Seiken… the difference in power should be magnitudes!"
"You wanna know?" Buster asked as he readied Gekido and aimed it forward, "I eat, sleep, and watch movies! A true man needs nothing else!"
"You may have armor, but they don't!" Finé called out as she drew out Solomon's Cane.
"Like I'll let you do that," Genjruo slammed his foot into the ground, kicking up rubble before launching a piece at Finé. The attack had knocked the Solomon's Cane out of her hand and embedded it in the ceiling.
"With this Seiken I can't lose!" Buster gave a yell as he leapt towards Finé, bringing his blade down on her.
"I'd like you to say that again."
"Such wild and heroic power... that's a well-ripened smell you've got!"
A dark portal appeared between Buster and Finé, Calibur and Desast emerging from it and drawing their blades. The two crossed their weapons and clashed against Buster's downwards swing, the two having to step back slightly but blocking the swing from completing. The dark portal vanished, allowing Finé the full view of her saviors.
"Well you two finally arrived I see," Finé gave a bored look.
"Calibur… and Desast…" Buster gritted his teeth as he tried to push forward only for the Chimera Megid and Dark Rider to keep holding their ground. After realizing that he couldn't force his way through them he quickly hopped backwards to gain some space and rethink his approach.
"We're lucky that swing was to incapacitate…" Desast gave a groan as he hunched forward.
"You're right, if it was to kill we wouldn't have been able to hold it off," Calibur agreed, he then glanced back at Finé, "What are you waiting for?"
"How kind of you," Finé smiled before giving a frown, using her whips to retrieve Solomon's Cane, "Unfortunately he has the only available key left to enter, and prying that door open leaves me wide open."
"You forget my specialty," Calibur said before walking forward to take the lead, "Desast, how would you like to play with those three?"
"Hmm…" Desast began to look at the group in front of them, at the lead was Buster. Behind him was Ogawa who held Sarutobi Ninjaden and was the second most threatening, last was Miku who held no threat, "A Green Swordsman of Earth, an intriguing combatant and a peculiar civilian… I suppose I can work with at least two of them."
"Good," Calibur quickly drew out a maroon colored book, it having a journey to the west theme as it read, Saiyuu Journey. He then scanned it at the base of his blade.
[HISSATSU READ! JAAKU SAIYUU JA!]
[KURAYAMI HISSATSU GEKI! SHUUTOKU ISSEN!]
Calibur lunged forward while gripping Kurayami with both hands, the blade glowing red and extending at rapid speeds.
Buster gave a light gasp, holding his arm up alongside Gekido in front of it, using both arm and blade to brace against the attack. He gritted his teeth as the attack had ended up causing his boots to scrape against the floor as he was pushed backwards.
"Commander!" Ogawa called out as he quickly held an arm in front of Miku, making sure the two were out of the way.
Buster gave a gasp as he stumbled forward, the extended blade of Kurayami retracting, "What?" He asked before seeing Calibur and Finé facing the vault door.
"Sorry but we're going to play!" Desast laughed out as he launched at Buster at high speeds, slashing forward.
Buster quickly raised his sword to block against the attack before giving a yell and forcing his blade forward.
Desast gave a yelp as he dodged back, barely avoiding the rest of the swing, "Not bad!"
[SARUTOBI NINJADEN!]
Ogawa had made sure Miku kept out of the way before moving forward, unleashing several sharp gales of wind from the book as he moved towards Desast.
Desast braced against the blades of wind before giving a yell, his red scarf lashing out as it wrapped around Ogawa's leg, tripping him up as it tossed him against the wall, "Not bad, but not good enough!"
"Mr. Ogawa!" Miku called out.
"Commander, take it!" Ogawa quickly threw Sarutobi Ninjaden past Desast and into Buster's free hand.
[SARUTOBI NINJADEN! DOGON!]
"Cyclone Judgement Cut!" Buster raised his blade, pointing the tip forward as wind began to gather around Gekido at a rapid pace.
"Calamity Strike…!" Desast turned and scraped his blade across the ground, purple energy immediately gathering in it. He then launched himself towards Buster while slashing forward, his blade clashing against the tip of Gekido as Buster stabbed forward.
[GEKIDO RANDOKUGEKI! DOGON!]
Purple waves of energy and sharp green blades of wind clashed against each other as both combatants tried to overpower each other. That was until Buster's blade slipped past Desast's stabbing through the hybrid Megid and causing a small explosion.
Miku and Ogawa quickly held their arms up and turned away as the explosion took place while Buster ran out of it towards the vault door.
"You're too late," Calibur held his blade in both hands and sliced down, a dark portal appearing against the vault door. He then held up Desast's Book before opening it up again.
"Take this as you will but know that I was never planning on killing you, you don't deserve that salvation," Finé admitted, glancing back towards Buster before walking through the darkness.
Calibur walked through as well, the portal closing.
"I'll just bust through!" Buster called out as he readied his sword.
"Like you have time to do that…" a familiar spectral voice called from behind, a red trail of energy shot out of the smoke of the explosion. Soon enough that red energy formed into Desast's head, the head shooting past Buster and landing in front of the vault door as Desast soon fully reformed without any issue, "There we go…"
[DESAST!]
"You…" Buster quickly stopped in his tracks and kept a defensive stance, "You can just revive instantly?"
"I'm a cut above the rest of the Megid, and my warden has no intention to let me rest for long," Desast answered as he summoned his sword and rested it on his shoulder, "I can keep you from getting in all day if I have to. Not that I mind, you put up a damn good fight."
Buster clicked his teeth as he quickly turned towards Miku and Ogawa, rushing towards them as he dismissed his transformation, "We don't have time to waste then, we need to get back to the control room! Our best bet is making sure the others know the situation here!"
"Right," Ogawa said as he stood up before hurrying over to help Miku as the three ran off.
"So that's what you want to do…" Desast yawned as he crouched down, "I suppose you can at least think smart but that's a shame…"
Meanwhile Calibur allowed Finé to take the lead once the two were on the other side of the vault door, resting his sword by sheathing it on his side holsters. He could only watch in silence as Finé walked over towards the containment unit that held the now active Durandal.
"Awaken, tower that pierces the heavens!" Finé activated a virtual control panel, speaking up as she began initiating the activation sequence for Kadingir, "Come to me, and extend beyond the horizon!"
Sophia was watching with the other members in Section 2's control room the current situation in the city. Sophia couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when she watched the remaining Aircraft Noise get destroyed by Chris' attack. The only worrying part though was the lack of answer from Ogawa, she had informed Genjuro but they were unable to monitor the last known area where Ogawa and Miku were.
"We've got a situation," Genjuro hurried over, Gekido on his back, Ogawa and Miku at his sides.
"We've got intruders, their target is the Durandal," Ogawa explained, "The enemy is Ryoko Sakurai, she's the one who teamed up with Calibur and the Megid."
"Just as I feared," Sophia sighed.
"Get a call through to any of the Wielders or Riders, we need them informed of the situation now!" Genjuro called out.
"Roger," Aoi called out as she managed to get a hit, "I've gotten through to Hibiki!"
"Hibiki!" Miku called out in a hurry, "It's the school! Lydian is under attack by the Noise!"
Most of the lights and main screens suddenly shut off as the only thing that remained were the emergency lights and what screens could still be powered. What was even worse was the screens that were still active were being hacked into, static filling them and making them unusable.
"Someone's hacking our system from within!" One member called out.
"There's nothing we can do from here!" Another reported.
"This can only be Ryoko's doing," Sakuya hissed out.
"Most of our computer systems are offline," Aoi announced, "Without them we're completely blind to the situation on the surface, and underground."
"I see," Genjuro crossed his arms before looking at Sophia, "Can you contact Rintaro?"
Sophia held up a Gattrike Phone that Daishinji had given her but attempting to call only produced static, "It seems as though she was able to think ahead somewhat. The Gattrike Phone's functioning fine but it can't get a strong enough signal out."
"What do we do now?" Ogawa asked.
"We need to get to the surface, or at least somewhere else," Genjuro said as he put a hand to his chin, "This entire base is compromised and the Wielders and Riders will need our help."
"We'll go with you Commander," Sakuya said as he and Aoi stood up.
"We'll support you all in whatever way we can," Aoi agreed.
"Good," Genjuro smiled before looking around the room, "Alright, let's get going."
The other members went their own ways just to make sure they weren't all in the same spot in case of enemies. Genjuro meanwhile was leading a small team of Sakuya, Aoi, Ogawa, Sophia and Miku through the halls. The group didn't have much on them, only having the equipment they needed which included a small flashlight to light the way.
"The assassination of the Defense Minister, the scheme to get hold of Durandal, and the tower of Kadingir built secretly underground…" Genjuro listed off, "Ryoko Sakurai has been pulling all the strings."
"We have indeed noted a number of suspicious incidents since the disappearance of Ichaival," Ogawa agreed.
"There was the chance that she also collaborated with Calibur two years ago as well," Sophia added.
"But, she also spent a lot of time with us," Genjuro replied, "I can't bring myself to believe that it was all a lie. I know I'm being naïve. It's my nature."
"It's still a painful reality to accept," Sophia said as she placed a hand gently on Genjuro's shoulder, "I'm still coming to terms with the fact that Calibur betrayed us…"
"It must have hit you hard," Genjuro said as he looked towards his co-commander, "I can't even imagine what you went through back then, especially since you had to immediately merge with our group."
"Which is why I don't blame you for feeling the way you do," Sophia admitted.
Hours had passed in trying to get back from the Tokyo Sky Tower all the way to Lydian Academy. While they at least had Diago Speedy and the Ride Gattriker, it was still a long trip. The roads held tons of cars that were abandoned or tipped over. Not to mention just the general damage and debris made it harder than expected to get back.
Touma was taking the lead, Tsubasa riding with Touma since her own bike had ended up totaled during the battle. Rintaro meanwhile was on the Ride Gattriker, having to deal with Chris who was annoyed at having to sit so close to Hibiki.
Needless to say once they arrived far enough they dismounted their vehicles and went on foot, all of them shocked to see the state of the school. The school was in shambles, various buildings partially destroyed as there was no remnant of life in the area.
"Miku… Miku! Everyone!" Hibiki shouted, when she got no answer she fell to her knees.
"Hibiki…" Touma trailed as he looked towards his friend, he could only hope that Miku had made it to the shelter alongside everyone else. He hated the fact that there were ashes scattered about, but the damaged military equipment gave him some ideas of whose ashes they were.
"Lydian is…" Tsubasa started before she caught sight of someone on top of the damaged main building, "Ms. Sakurai?!"
Chris saw Ryoko standing on the building, looking down on them with a smirk and she gave a growl, "Finé! It was you all along, wasn't it?"
"Finé?!" Rintaro asked as he turned in surprise.
"What do you mean?" Touma asked.
Ryoko couldn't help but give a maddening laugh, figuring that the charade was up since Chris chose to reveal her identity.
"Is that how it is?" Tsubasa asked, "Is that laughter your answer, Ms. Sakurai?!"
"That's her!" Chris called out, "I have unfinished business with that bitch! She's Finé!"
Ryoko could only smile as she removed her glasses before undoing her hair, letting it drop down and flow to its natural length. Ryoko was soon engulfed in a pillar of blue light, the pillar suddenly stopping as she was now coated in blue energy. The energy broke apart, shining to reveal Finé clad in the gold Nehushtan Armor.
"No way…" Hibiki trailed as she stood up, her mind immediately going into denial, "It's not true, right? It can't be true. You protected me back then!"
"I was protecting the Durandal," Finé corrected, "As a Complete Relic, its value is beyond compare."
"It can't be!" Hibiki called out, "If you're Finé, then what happened to Ms. Ryoko?"
"Ryoko Sakurai's body was consumed long ago," Finé said as she stared down at the Wielders and Riders, "Or rather, I could say that her consciousness died 12 years ago. Finé, a priestess from ancient times, sealed her consciousness within her genes, so that if any of her descendents ever experienced an Aufwachen waveform, all of her memories and abilities would resurface in that body. 12 years ago, when Tsubasa Kazanari accidentally awakened Ame no Habakiri, that sleeping consciousness awoke within Ryoko Sakurai. That awakened consciousness is me."
"No way…" Touma trailed in shock at what he was hearing, "A way to reincarnate purposely through genes?"
"You took over Ryoko?" Hibiki asked.
"Like a wraith from the past!" Tsubasa replied.
"I'm not the only one to have awoken as Finé," Finé answered, "Throughout the course of history there have been many visionaries and great heroes who brought about the paradigm shifts that ushered in a new age."
"Like the Symphogear system?" Tsubasa asked.
Rintaro's eyes widened, "Were you behind the Seiken's and the Great Book's split?"
"Oh please," Finé scoffed, "The one time I finally get close to obtaining the secrets of the Wonder Ride Books and Seiken I have to deal with that obstinate man who kept getting in my way to further study them."
"Guess that explains why you were always so nosy and pushy with him," Touma said.
"As for the Symphogear system, that's just a toy," Finé continued, "An imperfect system with little use other than to secure funding from the authorities."
"Toy? Your charade cost Kanade her life!" Tsubasa called out, "Not to mention the other Swordsmen who died that day like Kamikawa!"
"Is that why you found me and worked with those Americans?" Chris asked, "Was that why you worked with the Megid as well?!"
"No."
"I betrayed the Logos Sector of my own free will," Calibur soon emerged from the shadows near Finé and stood beside her, "It was after that, that I decided to approach Finé to strike a partnership between her and the Megid. We both have a similar goal in mind after all."
"While they did help me grow closer to the Wonder Ride Books and Seiken, so long as they helped in my true goal then I was satisfied," Finé answered before giving a smile and spread her arms out, "My true goal is Kadingir!"
The entire area began to shake as if an earthquake was starting. Smoke began to kick up from various points in the area as the tunnel shaft that made up a majority of Section 2 began to rise up from underneath the ground. The various support beams inside began to shatter as various machinery began to stick out from inside. It wasn't long before the multicolored tower of Kadingir fully emerged from the ground, towering above everyone.
"Behold the ion cannon that can reach beyond the sky, towering over the Earth itself, Kadingir!" Finé called out in joy as her plan had reached fruition.
"What is even the purpose of this massive device?" Rintaro asked.
"Kadingir?" Chris asked, "You say this will unite the world?"
"Yes. It is to pierce the Moon," Finé replied.
"The Moon?" Hibiki asked.
"Piercing it?" Tsubasa asked.
Touma's eyes widened, "Wait, I'm sorry, what?!"
"Why?" Chris asked.
Finé gained a more melancholic look, "I simply wanted to reach Him. So I built a tower on the plains of Shinar that would stretch as far as the heavens themselves. But He would never suffer a mere human to stand as high as Him. In his anger not only was the tower destroyed by divine lightning, but the very tongues of mankind were confused. It was punishment without measure, the curse of balal. Attempting to acquire the knowledge of the Almighty Book was a failure as well because of her… so I was forced to make do with what I could use."
"Her?" Touma asked.
"What are you talking about?" Rintaro asked.
"Why do you think the Moon has been a symbol of disharmony since ancient times?" Finé asked as she ignored the questions of the Riders and stared down at the group, "Because it's the key to the curse itself! I'll free mankind from this curse of confusion by destroying the Moon!"
"Why would you even dare side with her?" Rintaro questioned as he looked directly towards Calibur, "Especially knowing what she wants to do!"
"That answer is simple," Calibur replied, "I seek the truth, and with the Curse of Balal gone I can obtain the truth. If all goes well the remaining piece of the Almighty Book will come out of hiding and show itself to us."
Finé gave a smirk as Kadingir began to charge with energy, "And with that knowledge in hand I will be able to hold the whole world within my hand!"
"You betrayed everyone… caused all that pain… for the truth?" Touma questioned as his hands began to shake.
"Break the curse? Obtain the truth?" Chris asked, "Sounds more to me like you just want to rule the world! How third-rate! Your ambition's so petty it hurts!"
"I am eternal. What could mere insects like you do to stop me?" Finé asked.
"You really want them that riled up, huh?" Calibur asked.
"Not like I'm alone in facing them," Finé said.
"Everyone… let's go!" Touma called out as he readied his Swordriver alongside Rintaro.
The trio of girls gave a nod as they took a deep breath.
"Henshin!"
"~Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron~"
"~Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron~"
"~Killter Ichaival tron~"
[NAGARE BATTOU! LION SENKI!]
[REKKA BATTOU! BRAVE DRAGON~!]
In flashes of red, blue and orange, the trio of Symphogear Wielders alongside the two Riders entered their armored forms. The Riders drew their Seiken while Tsubasa drew her own blade, Hibiki readying her fists while Chris brought out her crossbow.
Several energy arrows shot forward and homed in on Calibur and Finé, the two leaping off the high ground they were on before landing. Calibur rushed forward to meet the Symphogear girls in battle only for Blades and Saber to rush in, clashing blades with him and forcing him into a standstill.
That had left Finé wide open for the Symphogear users. Hibiki, Tsubasa and Chris leapt above the Riders' battle before launching straight for Finé.
Genjuro and his team had managed to make their way high enough to the shelters in Lydian. Of course there was a fair amount of debris in the way due to a slight cave in. He drew out Gekido and quickly slashed through one rock that was acting as a makeshift door, the rock crumbling after the slice.
Miku stepped through first, giving a smile as she saw her friends, Yumi, Kuriyo, and Shiori were inside the shelter, "Thank goodness! I'm so glad you're alright!"
While that was going on everyone else rushed into the shelter, Sakuya finding the nearby computer and working to set it up.
"Looks like this terminal is operational," Sakuya smiled as he managed to get it up and running.
"I'll go look around," Ogawa said before rushing off.
"Who were those people?" Kuriyo asked.
"Well…" Miku trailed.
"We're the Disaster Relief Squad," Genjuro explained as he rested Gekido against one of the bunk beds, "We specialize in handling disasters such as these."
"So you're from the government?" Yumi asked.
"Yes," Sophia gave a nod, "As of right now the best most of us can do is to wait the situation out from here."
"I managed to reactivate the monitor!" Sakuya called out, "We can assess the situation from here!"
The screen lit up with video footage, showing several shots of above ground. It wasn't long before they had ended up catching the five heroes transforming.
"Hibiki, Touma!" Miku called out before noticing Chris, "And that girl, Chris, from before!"
"Is that…" Sakuya trailed.
"Calibur and Ryoko," Sophia gave a nod.
"What's going on?" Yumi asked, "It's like we're really in an anime!"
"You knew about Bikki? And even Kamiyama got involved in this too?" Kuriyo asked, "When you had that fight earlier… that was because of this as well, right?"
"Sorry…" Miku apologized.
"Unfortunately she wasn't able to say anything due to the varying agreements put in place due to her involvement," Sophia spoke up.
"I'm heading up there," Genjuro said as he watched the battle continue, grabbing Gekido, "There's no doubt all of our enemies are up there, I need to back them up."
"Before you go, Slash asked me to deliver this but you're in a better position to," Sophia soon took out a Purple Wonder Ride Book with various animals as musicians labeled, Bremen-no-Rock Band, "Please get this to Saber, an unknown combination could be useful."
"Of course," Genjuro said as he took the Wonder Ride Book.
"Good luck, Buster," Sophia gave a smile.
"Thank you Sophia, keep on fighting down here though. If there's anything you can think of, do it," Genjuro encouraged before rushing off.
{MEGA DETH PARTY}
Chris gave a yell as she opened up the sides of her skirt, launching a hail of missiles towards Finé.
"Calamity Strike…!" Desast soon launched out of Finé shadow, hopping over her and sending several slashes forward. The slashes hit their marks, completely destroying the missiles that had been launched forward.
"Do you think I need your help?" Finé asked but kept her smirk.
"Don't blame me… you can't hog all the fun," Desast said as he rested his sword on his shoulder, "So let me take part in this festival."
"So long as you can handle it," Finé replied.
[KAGAYAKU LION FANTASISTA~!]
[TATSUMAKI DRAGON EAGLE!]
Both Saber and Blades entered their two book states, Saber leaping forward and slashing past Calibur who braced against the attack. Despite this Calibur was forced to roll and dodge as Blades unleashed the hook and chain from his left arm, striking at the Dark Rider several times.
"Touma, I'll handle Calibur!" Blades called out as he managed to wrap his chain and hook around Kurayami, "Go help the others!"
"Are you sure?" Saber asked.
"By Suiseiken Nagare I swear!" Blades called out as he tried to keep his ground, energy paws forming as he dug his feet into the ground before yanking hard on his chain, "Now go!"
"Don't think you can win tug of war that easily!" Calibur called out as he kept grip of his sword with both hands.
"Alright, I'm counting on you Rintaro!" Saber called out before turning towards the fight going on.
Tsubasa and Hibiki meanwhile went to enact Chris' plan, Hibiki leaping towards Finé and striking at her several times with her gauntlets and grieves. Tsubasa had attempted to run forward to slash only to end up clashing blades with Desast.
"You're dealing with me!" Desast gave a laugh.
"You wish!" Tsubasa gritted her teeth.
"That's more like it, swo-" Desast coughed as he was interrupted by a sudden kick to his face, the culprit being Saber who had leapt up and glided for a kick. This had caused Desast's grip to falter.
"Now," Tsubasa quickly ducked and slashed past Desast, sparks flying.
Saber quickly leapt away from Desast who had grabbed at him. He then formed a fire tornado around himself before launching it towards the hybrid Megid.
Desast gave a laugh as he clashed against the tornado before slashing through it, "Now this is getting interesting!" He then raised his arm, gritting his teeth as he blocked a punch from Hibiki who had tagged out from fighting Finé once Tsubasa jumped in, "And the Gungnir girl arrives!"
"Hiyah!" Hibiki yelled out as she deflected a slash with her left gauntlet, pulling her right gauntlet's piston back and slamming the ground in front of Desast, an explosive force tearing through the ground underneath the Megid and sending him flying, "Touma!"
"On it," Saber gave a nod as both he and Hibiki turned back towards where Finé was.
Tsubasa had been managing to keep pace with Finé, well that was until the eternal woman turned her chain whips into makeshift swords. Finé had used this to initiate a clash before changing the chains to their whip states, wrapping them around Tsubasa's sword and flinging it away. Tsubasa wasn't one to give up easily and performed a handstand, the blades on her ankles extending as she spun around rapidly. Finé of course simply began spinning her whips as a shield in front of her to block against the attacks.
Finé couldn't help but smirk at the attempt to get past her defense. Well that was until she heard yells from both sides. Hibiki and Saber leapt forward, attacking with a punch and slash respectively on both sides of Finé. She was forced to block Hibiki's punch with her free arm, using her remaining whip to lash out and clash against Touma's sword. Of course realizing she was getting pinned she quickly leapt back after the explosive power of Hibiki's punch kicked in.
"You're certainly persistent I'll give you that," Finé remarked before noticing something off to the side.
Chris had been prepping next plan, arming two giant missiles similar to her previous attack against the Aircraft Noise, one pointing forward and one pointing upwards. "This is what I'm really after!" She called out as she launched the massive missile towards Finé.
Finé quickly leapt into the air, maneuvering around the missile as it swerved all over trying to hit her.
"Lock-on active! Snipe!" Chris called out as she took aim at Kadingir, "Destroy!"
The second missile was launched towards Kadingir but it was quickly cut through by Finé whips, causing it to detonate prematurely mid-flight.
Finé looked around, suddenly realizing the first one that launched had mysteriously stopped following her and hadn't hit anything yet, "Where's the other one?" She glanced to the side before seeing a smoke trail, giving a gasp as she soon saw the missile traveling higher and higher into the night sky.
"Why did she…?" Saber soon looked around and noticed Chris wasn't anywhere on ground level anymore, quickly looking up and managing to catch that Chris was riding the missile upwards, "Why is she…"
"Chris!" Hibiki called out.
"What is she trying to do?!" Tsubasa questioned.
Both Blades and Calibur had managed to cease their tug of war, the two clashing blades and trying to overtake each other when they paused, soon looking up.
"Chris? What is she even…?" Blades trailed.
"So… this is your decision," Calibur remarked.
"What?" Blades turned towards Calibur and pressed harder to win the clash, "What do you mean?"
"It's as simple as I said," Calibur answered as he kept his ground before scanning Saiyuu Journey once more, "She's figured out what she wants to do in these decisive moments."
"That book!" Blades gave a gasp.
[HISSATSU READ! JAAKU SAIYUU JA!]
[KURAYAMI HISSATSU GEKI! SHUUTOKU ISSEN!]
Blades could only gasp out as Calibur's sword shined a bright red and extended, getting forced back by several extended slashes.
"No matter how hard you all fight, the 'weapons' you wield are just toys!" Finé called out as Kadingir began to complete its charging, "There's no way you can stop the Kadingir!"
"Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal~"
Despite being that high up, Tsubasa was able to hear Chris' voice singing out, "That song… It can't be!"
Hibiki's eyes widened in horror, "Her Swan Song?!"
"No way…" Saber looked towards the two of them before looking upwards, "She's going to use that now?!"
Nearby an explosion of rock occurred, it catching everyone's attention for a brief moment. The culprit was Genjuro who had used Gekido to fully break his way out of the somewhat submerged shelter entrance.
"Uncle…?" Tsubasa asked.
"Commander…?" Saber questioned before noticing Gekido slung across Genjuro's shoulder, "Wait… is that?"
"And so the next combatant arrives…" Desast said before looking back up towards where Chris had launched herself, "You…"
Chris meanwhile had reached as high up as she could get, leaping off the missile before having her back towards the Moon, directly facing the Earth with closed eyes.
"Emustolronzen Finé el balal zizzl~"
Chris spread her arms out, her back armor sliding open and creating a X-like formation that unleashed various small crystals into the open all around her.
"Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal~"
She drew out two small handguns before crossing her arms and firing them, lasers shooting out and hitting the crystals, bouncing around while becoming faster and faster.
"Emustolronzen Finé el zizzl~"
The lasers had ended up taking the shape of large butterfly-like wings as Chris aimed her two handguns forward. The handguns began to grow and enlarge themselves into twin beam cannons, Chris pressing them together to form a double-barreled cannon that began charging up energy.
Kadingir fired first, unleashing a massive amount of energy that hurtled straight towards the Moon. Chris soon pulled the triggers and unleashed her own enormous beam of energy, the beams that had created the wings enhancing her beam further. Both beams soon clashed against each other, creating a bright light that engulfed the area.
Despite this, everyone couldn't help but still watch in shock as the two beams clashed together.
"It stopped?!" Finé exclaimed in shock, "She's countering it?!"
That couldn't be further from the truth though, while Chris had countered the beam, she wasn't able to truly stop it. Cracks had started to form on her twin cannon with blood leaking from her mouth. Chris knew that her time was short, but seemed accepting of it. She smiled as she kept her eyes closed.
'Mama… Papa… I've always loved you. That's why I want to carry on your dream.'
It wasn't long before the armor of Ichaival began to crack as well, the Symphogear being pushed to its absolute limits as the beam from Kadingir slowly began to push forward after being stopped briefly.
'I want to bring peace to the world with my song… That's the reason… for which I sing!'
Soon enough the blast from Kadingir had fully overpowered her beam and engulfed her completely. Once it was finished firing, everyone waited with bated breath, wondering what the outcome of Chris' gambit was.
A bright green crack had been seen on the bottom right of the moon, a chunk soon breaking off. While the moon had been cracked and damaged, it had not been destroyed.
"It wasn't enough?!" Finé screamed out, "Don't tell me she was able to stop it?!"
Calibur remained calm and silent as everyone else could only watch in stunned silence before seeing something fall from the sky, white sparks seen trailing downwards. It was Chris, she had managed to survive the blast, but she was in a fast free fall, broken and bleeding as the attack had taken its toll on her.
"So this… this was your own choice, Chris?" Desast asked as he stared up towards the falling Chris, "Not brought on by anyone other than yourself… a truly free choice…"
'So that was your dream?' Genjuro thought with wide eyes, 'You said you were still so far from achieving your dream, and yet you did so much… If that's true, then how far away must we be?'
"Yukine…" Tsubasa managed to speak up just barely.
"Like… if you ever need help I'll be there for you. Just a simple one…"
"Chris!" Saber gave a yell as he crouched down and launched forward and away from where he was on instinct. Using Storm Eagle he launched forward at high speeds, becoming a fiery comet in the sky that launched towards Chris as she fell. All he had on his mind was that one promise he made, it was a simple one, a show of good faith. He surely wasn't expecting to fulfill it in these kinds of circumstances. He was so enraptured in his thoughts that he wasn't able to hear Hibiki's bloodcurdling scream in the distance.
Saber meanwhile burst out of the flaming shell he had encased himself in, flying lower and lower as he managed to just barely reach Chris in time, grabbing her and shifting his body to where his feet were now facing the ground. He used Storm Eagle to gently float the both down before moving into a slide, arriving in a clearing of the forest she would have crashed in.
"Chris…" Saber trailed as he saw he held his broken and bloodied friend, setting her down gently. He wasn't exactly sure what to do in this situation, since he was sure none of the books he had on him could heal. He also knew that he wasn't the best at medicine, and that was if he could even treat her wounds.
[BATTOU!]
Saber's attention was soon caught as he quickly turned, a bright orange flame erupting from the ground as an armored figure formed before him.
[ETERNAL PHOENIX!]
Soon enough Kamen Rider Falchion emerged from the flames before they dispersed. The Rider held Kyomu in their hand before slowly making their way towards Saber.
Saber could only raise Rekka in defense as he remembered Genjuro's brief talk about an orange phoenix Rider.
Falchion said nothing as they continued to walk forward before stopping a short distance away from Saber and his fallen ally. The two Riders could only stare each other down as Saber awaited Falchion's next move.
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: Now this was a chapter I was excited to finally post purely because there's a lot happening given this is the first third of our finale. The usual Symphogear craziness is here but with some added Kamen Riders! The next Buster has finally been shown and honestly, Genjuro with the Buster Suit was too perfect. I couldn't pass up that opportunity alongside basically confirming that Ogawa will be our new Kenzan. But of course, that won't end up happening till next season as Buster is our final Rider Debut for S1. Plus it looks like Falchion is finally making their move as well, so expect some fun stuff next chapter.
One important update I need to make in regards to scheduling, which isn't too drastic. But we'll be switching Sympho-Saber's day of release from Saturdays to Sundays. So expect Sympho-Saber on a Sunday next month instead of the usual Saturday. Thank you for your time and I'll see you all next chapter.