Sympho-Saber: Song of Swords
S1:EP14 – Wonder of Symphogear
[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.
Falchion soon raised their sword before shifting its grip in their fingers. They held it in a reverse grip before stabbing it into the ground. Walking past Kyomu, Falchion soon extended their right hand towards Saber.
"Eh?" Saber could only stare in surprise before holding up his right hand, slowly but surely reaching towards Falchion's hand.
Watching the tower of Kadingir in the distance was the trio of Megid Leaders, as per their agreement they had chosen to allow Calibur to handle the heavy lifting of the final phases of Finé's plan.
"Damn, I know she doesn't care much for them but to think a Symphogear could put out that much power!" Legeiel gave a laugh, "I'm curious to see if her pride is a bit broken given what she considered a toy dealt with her big bad weapon oh so easily."
"She's not like you Legeiel," Zooous scoffed, "It'll take a lot more than a single miss to make her lose it like you do every time you lose."
"What was that?!" Legeiel growled out.
Storious couldn't help but ignore his compatriots, simply staring at the tower as he gave a smile, "So this was your ending Chris Yukine… what a beautiful way to go…" He trailed with a smile before giving a frown, "Well, that's what I would say…"
Hibiki could only claw at the ground as she cried for her fallen friend, so caught up in her grief she didn't notice Saber leaving abruptly. Tsubasa could only stand silently while Blades gave a few whimpers in complete shock at Chris' actions.
Genjuro could only stare downwards as he gripped his fist tightly, while Desast and Calibur remained silent, the two looking towards each other.
Finé on the other hand, couldn't help but be annoyed by this turn of events.
"No way…" Hibiki managed to squeak out, "We only just became friends… This isn't what I wanted… This can't be happening…"
Hibiki's heart began to beat faster and louder.
"I wanted to spend more time talking with her! Now we can't fight, or even get closer!"
Her hair covered her eyes as tears fell.
"Chirs… You said you had a dream, but you never told me what it was!"
"She killed herself to protect the Moon by blocking the Kadingir's beam," Finé said before giving a light scoff, "How worthless. To throw away your life for a mere dream… how fitting for trash like her."
Hibiki grit her teeth, the despair she felt slowly giving way to rage, her heart pumped faster as all she could feel was anger and hate coursing through every part of her body.
"That's too cruel…" Genjuro muttered as he looked over at Finé.
"You dare to laugh?" Tsubasa asked, her blood boiling at Finé words, "She burned away her life to protect what she held precious! You would consider that worthless?!"
"You're right," Finé admitted before giving a more sadistic smile, "What's far more worthless is that bookstore owner pretending to be a hero. The fact that he left you all just to go after an already dead girl is laughable."
"You dare mock his kind heart?" Blades questioned as he raised Nagare, gritting his teeth as Finé's disrespectful tone angered him to no end.
"You…" A dark raspy voice called from where Hibiki was, her entire body was wrapped in black, the only visible feature aside from her silhouette and her white sharp teeth were two bright red eyes, "Don't you dare talk shit about her sacrifice! And don't you dare mock Touma's kindness either!"
"Hibiki…" Miku trailed, currently watching the situation unfold with everyone else in the bunker room.
"Is that really Bikki?" Kuriyo asked.
[GATRING, GATRING!]
Sophia heard her Gattrike Phone go off surprisingly, so this meant only one thing as she quickly answered, "Slash?"
"Sophia, you must have gotten past whatever interference there was, I was able to find your signal finally," Daishinji said in a relief filled tone as his voice came through, "And I just saw the light show."
"It appears as though it making our way higher towards the shelters might have done it," Sophia guessed, "Is your side of the mission complete?"
"All of our equipment is now somewhere safe yes. Thankfully Finé ended up taking a while to enact her plan and was only focused on one area," Slash answered, "What about your end?"
"Chris Yukine sacrificed herself to stop the Moon's destruction and Saber went to catch her," Sophia answered in a somber tone, "As of right now something's happened to Hibiki. Desast and Calibur are also on the battlefield."
"Our odds aren't sounding good," Daishinji sighed, "I don't have anything to compromise and I'm already near the battlefield. I'll use that as a cover to meet up with you all."
"Are you sure?" Sophia asked, "You should get to safety if you can."
"I swore to serve you the best I could in all kinds of situations," Daishinji answered, "That means even now. I'll see you soon."
Sophia could only give a small smile as she heard Daishinji hang up, "Stay safe, Slash."
Tsubasa, Genjuro and Blades could only watch in shock as Hibiki let out a roar that shook and tore apart the ground around her. Calibur looked on in curiosity while Desast and Finé were clearly excited by this latest development.
"Hey, hey, hey…" Desast gave a laugh as he stabbed his sword into the ground, "There it is… the beast that awoke when she touched Durandal… so this is her breaking point?"
Genjuro turned towards Desast, "Her breaking point?"
"Tachibana… hey, Tachibana!" Tsubasa called to her friend but only received a few growls in response.
"Hibiki… are you… are you alright?" Blades asked as he warily took a step forward but lowered his weapon.
"The fragments of Gungnir that merged with her are going berserk, causing her consciousness to be overrun by power she cannot control," Finé explained as she crossed her arms.
"Don't tell me… you were experimenting on Tachibana?" Tsubasa asked.
"Yes. And not just on Tachibana," Finé confirmed, "Won't you bear witness as she succumbs to the power of Gungnir, and throws away all of her remaining humanity?"
"Is this why you did all that to Tachibana… and to Kanade?" Tsubasa questioned.
Hibiki was not one to sit still for much longer in her current mental state, giving a loud roar as she leapt from where she was crouching. Hibiki flipped in the air multiple times, building momentum before bringing her fists down on Finé. But her attack was blocked by the whips of the Nehushtan Armor, the resulting clash creating a shockwave that tore apart the ground around them.
Finé could only give a chuckle as she used her whips to slam Hibiki away from her and onto the ground, "She's no longer human. Now, she is rage incarnate."
Hibiki was on all fours, leaping back towards Finé again who had attempted to stop her via a hexagonal barrier created from the Nehushtan Armor's whips.
{ASGARD}
Hibiki slammed her foot against the barrier, slowly but surely pushing forward and cracking the barrier. Despite the barrier shattering and Hibiki slamming straight into Finé who held a smile the whole time. Of course it was hard to tell what happened next as the attack had kicked up a large cloud of dust.
When it faded, everyone would be able to see Finé standing up still, but she had been torn through from the shoulder down to her stomach. The most disturbing thing was the fact that the woman wasn't fazed or in pain, she looked absolutely elated by it.
Tsubasa could only stare in horror as she saw Hibiki emerge from the rubble, "Stop it, Tachibana! You're only going to accelerate the rate of fusion!"
Hibiki turned towards Tsubasa once she heard the shouting, lost in her anger she leapt towards the blue sword wielder only to get elbowed away by the girl. Hibiki was forced back, landing on both feet and skidding to a stop. She was ready to move forward when suddenly a chain and hook circled and wrapped around her tightly.
"Hibiki!" Blades called out as he tried to keep Hibiki restrained via Peter Fan's hook. He couldn't help but grit his teeth as he felt Hibiki struggle wildly against it. He hated to think like this, but with him straining to hold her with his Two Book form, was he going to have to use his Wonder Combo on Hibiki of all people?
"What's wrong, Hibiki?" Miku asked, "Come to your senses!"
"It's over," Yumi managed to get out, "The school is in ruins and Hibiki's gone crazy…"
"It's not over!" Miku protested, "Hibiki's protecting-"
"Does that thing look like it's protecting anything?!" Yumi snapped, tears flowing as she began to cry.
"I believe in Hibiki," Miku said firmly despite seeing and hearing the growling berserk Hibiki on the monitor. Despite seeing her friend like that, she still believed.
Yumi was in shock at her friend's determination but couldn't hold herself together any longer, "I want to as well… I want to believe everything will be all right… but… but…" She fell to her knees and clutched her head, "I can't take this anymore! Someone do something! I'm scared! I don't want to die! Help us, Hibiki!"
"Then believe in her."
"Huh?" Yumi turned to see Daishinji at the doorway.
"Slash," Sophia blinked a few times, "When you said you were…"
"I was nearby," Daishinji gave a smile before looking over to Yumi, "I know things are scary and hopeless, but that's why you can't give up. Believe in Hibiki so that she can help us get through this mess."
"How can you even say that?" Yumi asked, "Don't you see the thing Hibiki's turned into?!"
"I have seen and heard her," Daishinji gave a nod as he looked over at the monitor, closing his eyes as his ears twitched, placing a finger up to his ear, "But this isn't just mindless anger, this is grief, this is sorrow all consuming her. It's still Hibiki underneath all of that. Her heart isn't gone, just buried… she just needs some help to find it again."
Most could only stare at Daishinji in surprise, some in confusion, at his small little speech. That was everyone except for Miku who realized that Daishinji was on the right track.
Hibiki gave a roar as she managed to force the chains around her to loosen before releasing an invisible force to fling them away. Hibiki then yelled out as she launched herself towards Tsubasa.
Blades gave a yelp as he was thrown back from the forceful release of the chains, quickly retracting it as he ran towards where Tsubasa was.
Tsubasa quickly braced and raised her sword in a defensive manner as Hibiki closed in.
[LION SENKI!]
The Lion Senki dropped out of a water portal that formed between the two Symphogear Wielders, landing between them and pouncing at Hibiki. The familiar of water had managed to get the drop on Hibiki as she was mid lunge as it pounced at her. As a result the Lion Senki had managed to pin Hibiki to the ground to try and keep her still.
"Are you alright?" Blades asked as he got beside Tsubasa.
"I appreciate it," Tsubasa gave a nod, "How do we even do this?"
"What's wrong?" Finé asked with a laugh as her grievous wound inflicted upon her began to fully heal up, "Weren't you the one demanding to want to fight Hibiki Tachibana?"
Tsubasa and Blades could only watch as Finé finished healing back into perfect condition.
"You're no longer human, either…" Tsubasa trailed once she noticed that Finé's insides had a glowing blue coloration to them.
"Just what is this healing factor?" Blades questioned.
"I have become one with Nehushtan's regenerative abilities," Finé explained, "Isn't it fascinating?"
The two didn't have a chance to answer as the Lion Senki was suddenly launched into the air, Hibiki giving a growl as she had kicked the Familiar off of her. She gave a low growl as she began to approach the two sword wielders.
"That's enough, HIbiki!" Genjuro called out as he took several steps forward, "You're better than this!"
"Uncle…?" Tsubasa asked, still wondering what he was doing out there. Well that was until she noticed Gekido in his hand, "You…"
Blades turned and looked in surprise, "That's…!"
"Finally getting involved huh?" Desast asked as he leaned on his sword.
"I was curious to see if you'd simply be content in watching," Calibur mused, "But I see that isn't the case."
"Oh?" Finé raised an eyebrow as she watched Genjuro step up.
"Leave this to me," Genjuro said as he lifted up Gekido and took out Genbu Shinwa, activating the book before loading it in. He then pressed the button to initiate the transformation, "Henshin!"
[GENBU SHINWA! ITTOU RYODAN! BUTTA GIRE! DOGO! DOGO! DOGOUKEN GEKIDO!]
Tsubasa's eyes could only widen as she witnessed her uncle slice down and initiate the transformation before she forced herself to blink. She could have sworn she had seen Kamikawa standing alongside Genjuro with a smile as Genjuro's transformation into Kamen Rider Buster completed itself.
"He's the new… Buster…" Blades managed to get out in near shock.
"Now then, bring it!" Buster yelled out.
Buster's plan had worked as Hibiki had turned her attention onto the Commander of Section 2. Leaping forward, Hibiki had launched towards the Rider at high speeds. Buster quickly raised Gekido with both hands as he braced against the berserk Gungnir Wielders attack.
Hibiki had slammed both her boots and fists against Buster who held the flat of Gekido up, managing to block it. The attack had caused a small crater to form and a massive amount of force to be released. Anyone nearby had to brace themselves in order to keep from being blown away.
Buster gave a yell and slammed his fist against Gekido, a shockwave being sent outwards that launched the berserk Hibiki backwards. He then holstered his sword on his back as he watched his berserk student run towards him. He gave a yell and punched forward when she did, both of their fists colliding as they created a small shockwave. The two reeled back before punching again with their other fists, creating another shockwave.
Hibiki launched upwards into the air, performing an axe kick as she slammed it down against Buster. The Rider of Earth blocked against it with both arms before giving a yell and swinging his arms outwards. Hibiki could only howl out as she was thrown away by the force of Buster's swing, flipping before landing far enough away from him.
"Hibiki, come to your senses!" Buster called out as he pressed his fist against his chest, "This isn't the real you and you know it!"
The berserk Hibiki could only yell out as she began rushing towards Buster before leaping up and pouncing at him, planning on overpowering him with a frontal assault.
That was until a fireball suddenly launched out from the forest that Saber and Chris had landed in. The fireball curved and shot forward at high speeds before slamming directly into Hibiki's path and blocking her. The feral beast of Gungnir could only clash against the flames as both her and the fire slammed against the ground.
[KAENKEN REKKA!]
The fire began to die down to reveal Saber still in his Dragon Eagle form, Kaenken Rekka clashing against one of Hibiki's fists, "Hibiki, that's enough! Please calm down!"
[MUMEIKEN KYOMU!]
The fire soon fully died down to reveal the jet black blade of Mumeiken Kyomu alongside its wielder, Falchion.
Calibur's head shot up in surprise at this, "What?"
"What's this?" Finé narrowed her eyes at the new Rider, "Just who is this?"
"The Rider from before…?" Buster questioned.
Tsubasa kept herself on guard, "Another ally?"
"I've never seen this Rider before," Blades shook his head before staying on guard.
"They're here to help," Saber called out as he kept holding his ground alongside Falchion.
Falchion said nothing, the emblem of Kyomu shining brightly as Hibiki's blackened form began to shake and shimmer as if it were becoming unstable. Saber gave a yell as both he and Falchion pushed forward, their slashes managing to force Hibiki to skid backwards.
Hibiki gave a low growl as her black form stabilized, though the attack seemed to have stalled her feral movements for a bit.
Desast gave a growl, "I don't like that sword at all…" he hissed out before removing his blade from the ground and leaping towards Falchion, "What a disgusting smell that snuffs out our fun!"
Falchion quickly turned and blocked against Desast's slash, bracing before pushing forward and forcing the hybrid Megid to step back.
"Touma!" Buster called out as he held up Bremen no Rock Band before tossing it over to the Rider, "Courtesy of Sophia and Daishinji!"
Saber caught the book and gave a nod, "Got it!"
"I suppose if he's interfering I can't help it," Calibur soon turned towards Buster and drew out Kurayami, "Your opponent is me, Swordsman of Earth."
Buster raised Gekido in his hands before giving a yell, running towards Calibur and slashing down. Calibur merely brought up Kurayami and braced with both hands to block against the slash, dust kicking up due to the impact of blades.
Tsubasa meanwhile was trying to figure out her current options, noticing how Falchion's attack had caused Hibiki to react. Not to mention how Desast reacted to Falchion's presence as well. There was a chance… but they needed all of their opponents distracted.
Her thoughts however were interrupted when she heard the familiar hum and energy buildup of Kadingir.
"No way…" Tsubasa turned in shock.
Blades turned as well, "Another blast?"
Saber quickly ran over towards them, "It can fire again?"
"Don't act so surprised," Finé replied, "The Kadingir is the ultimate weapon, after all. Did you really expect it to be exhausted after just one shot? I can fire it as many times as need be as the invincible sword, Durandal, serves as its energy source in the reactor core! It's an immortal heart that will never stop beating."
"One flaw," Tsubasa pointed her blade towards Finé, "If we strike you down here, there won't be anyone to operate the Kadingir."
Of course it wasn't long before the berserk Hibiki managed to fully stabilize again, turning towards the two Riders and Wielder and lumbering towards them.
"Unfortunately for you all, I think you have more pressing matters to attend to," Finé mentioned.
"Shindo, go and free the orange swordsman from Desast's assault," Tsubasa ordered, "Kamiyama and I will handle Finé and Tachibana alongside them."
"Are you sure?" Blades asked.
"It's clear that the orange swordsman can help Tachibana," Tsubasa answered, "We'll hold her still and hold her off as long as we can, now go."
"R-Right, I'll do my best," Blades gave a nod before charging towards where Desast and Falchion were fighting.
Saber went to stand beside Tsubasa and readied his blade, "Tsubasa…"
"We'll stop the Kadingir," Tsubasa spoke up, "But first we need to reach out."
"Right, reach out to Hibiki," Saber gave a nod.
Hibiki gave a roar as her gauntlets pistons were still active in her berserk state, launching upwards as her right gauntlets piston pushed itself back. She then dove directly towards Tsubasa and Saber to strike at them.
"Kamiyama," Tsubasa immediately stabbed her sword into the ground.
"Right," Saber tapped into Storm Eagle's power, creating a red tornado around them, the wind becoming fierce against Hibiki's incoming dive. Of course she still made it to both the Wielder and Rider, but her descent and momentum had been slowed down heavily due to the forceful wind. Both Tsubasa and Saber worked in tandem, the duo grabbing Hibiki's wrists and pulling her into a group hug.
"Hibiki, I know you're hurting but you need to snap out of it," Saber pleaded, "This isn't like you."
"Your power is one that's meant to bring people together," Tsubasa explained as she held up Hibiki's arm by her wrist. She then suddenly pulled away from the hug while pushing Saber forward, leaving Hibiki in Saber's arms.
"T-Tsubasa..?" Saber managed to speak up before giving a light gasp.
{Shadow Weaving}
In an instant Tsubasa had drawn two knives from her armor, striking at both Hibiki's and Saber's shadows, keeping them stuck thanks to the shadows cast from the Moon.
"Tachibana… Kanade entrusted you with that power, please don't use it this way," Tsubasa pleaded as she drew her sword out of the ground and stepped past them, "Kamiyama… take good care of her alright, and make sure she returns to her true self."
"Tsubasa… hey… wait a minute!" Saber called out as he struggled to move but was unable to, "We can do this together! Hey!"
"Do not worry because no matter what happens, we made a promise, right?" Tsubasa glanced back and gave a smile, confident in her chances on her current crazy plan. She then turned back towards Finé and gave a smirk, "Sorry to keep you waiting."
Finé raised an eyebrow as she readied her armor's whips, "A sword all by yourself to the end, huh?"
"Today, it shall end," Tsubasa gripped her blade tightly, "So that tomorrow, I can live on as a human. I'll show the world that Tsubasa Kazanari can sing elsewhere than the battlefield!"
"The world of humans will never accept a sword!" Finé yelled out as she lashed out with both of her whips.
Tsubasa immediately leapt high into the air to avoid the impact. She extended her ankle blades and spinning in the air to deflect the second set of incoming whip attacks. As she did she shifted her weapon into its enlarged cleaver state, blue electricity gathering before she slashed forward.
{Blue Flash}
A blue slash of energy hurtled downwards and clashed against the whips which were launched forward again, the whips piercing through and detonating it. Tsubasa landed as Finé shot her whips out towards her again, quickly ducking and leaping towards Finé at great speed.
Finé could only watch as Tsubasa closed in while she was open from the prior attack, giving a yell as she was thrown into the outer wall of Kadingir by the slash.
Tsubasa didn't waste any time in following up, tossing her sword into the air and leaping after it. She kicked against it, it growing in size and becoming a massive sword the size of a truck as she aimed directly for Finé.
{Heaven's Wrath}
{ASGARD}
Finé this time created a threefold barrier, the enormous sword being unable to pierce it as a result. Of course Tsubasa simply shifted herself against the massive blade as she worked on tilting forward, using it to gain extra height before leaping off of it.
Tsubasa drew out two swords that began to light up in flames, flames escaping the blades on her ankles and launching her higher as she performed a new technique.
{Soaring Phoenix's Slash}
Desast gave a gasp as he was forced back by Falchion's slash, ready to move forward when his attention was caught by Tsubasa's attack, "What?"
"Pay attention!" Blades yelled out as he leapt forward, clashing blades with Desast, he then looked back towards Falchion, "Unknown warrior, please! Go and help them! I can handle this!"
"What are you-" Desast gritted his teeth as he was surprised by the sudden strength that Blades had found, getting pushed back simply by the sheer desperation emanating from Blades himself, "What is-?!"
Falchion was confused at Blades' words before looking and seeing the situation with Hibiki and Saber. They then saw what Tsubasa was attempting in her battle with Finé. What was only a few seconds at best had felt like ages passed for the phoenix themed warrior. They turned back towards Blades and gave a nod before turning towards Tsubasa's battle, fiery wings erupting from their back before they launched into the air.
"So Kadingir was your target from the start?!" Finé yelled, lashing her whips out to stop Tsubasa.
Tsubasa spun around as she kept building and building speed, well… that was until she noticed the whips easily catching up to her. Time began to slow down for her as a result, as she began to realize she wasn't going to be able to make it.
'In the end, was I not…?'
"What's gotten you so discouraged?" A familiar voice rang through her mind.
'Kanade?'
"Tsubasa… You and I, Zwei Wing… Together, we can fly to the ends of the Earth."
CRUNCH!
Tsubasa was snapped out of her thoughts as time suddenly went back to full speed for her. The whips had ended up striking at last… but they didn't come close to hitting Tsubasa.
Falchion had immediately rushed into their path, the whips piercing through and striking Falchion through the chest.
"You…" Tsubasa trailed in shock as her speed began to drop from the lack of concentration.
Falchion gave a cough before gripping the whips and removing them, slashing with Kyomu to deflect them back towards Finé. The Rider then turned towards Tsubasa, becoming a flaming armored being that launched towards her.
The flames hit Tsubasa's feet but instead of hurting her they had ended up empowering her own attack, launching her up higher and higher than before. The flames even felt warm and comforting for some odd reason, they felt just like…
'Yes… Zwei Wing, together as one… we can overcome anything!'
With renewed spirit, Tsubasa could only yell out as she launched higher and higher towards the peak of Kadingir.
"TACHIBANAAAA!"
"T-Tsubasa!" Saber yelled out as he could just barely tilt his head to see what was going on, out of the corner of his eye he could see that Hibiki, even in her feral state was crying.
Both Buster and Calibur gritted their teeth and tried to overtake each other in a clash. That was before hearing Tsubasa's yell, the two turned before quickly backing away from each other.
"Tsubasa…" Genjuro trailed as he saw this.
"This is it…" Calibur called out as he gripped his fist tightly, "This is…"
Desast gave a gasp as he managed to fully force Blades back with an energy filled slash. He then looked up at what had happened, "You…"
Blades coughed out as he was slammed into the ground before the yell caught his attention, he looked up and gave a gasp, "Tsubasa…"
The flames from Tsubasa's blades alongside Falchion themselves had fully engulfed her, transforming her into a soaring blue phoenix with orange streaks before it smashed directly into the top right side of Kadingir. Beams of light began to shine through in large openings throughout the tower, it exploding from the top down.
Finé could only scream out as the explosions began to build and build as a blinding light engulfed the entire area.
When the explosions subsided alongside the smoke from the attack, it was revealed that Tsubasa and Falchion's combined attack had blown away half of the tower. Kadingir while still standing with whatever remained, was completely inoperable now.
"Once again, my wish has been denied?!" Finé yelled as she stared at the sight.
As if confirming Tsubasa's sacrifice, the daggers used to hold Hibiki and Saber had turned to dust. But the bindings were no longer needed, of course. Saber gave a cough as he held Hibiki close, the girl shining a bright yellow as she had returned to normal and lost her armor.
"Promise that we'll fight and stay alive, together."
"Tsubasa…" Saber's grip fell as he dropped to his knees while reverting back to his base form of Brave Dragon, "…why?"
"Tsubasa…" Hibiki choked out as she fell to her knees as well.
As if to also confirm that Falchion had also lost their life in the attack, the Mumeiken Kyomu slammed against the ground blade first, digging into it.
Blades coughed out as he quickly pushed himself up, having been reverted back to Lion Senki due to getting pushed around too much from the force of the explosions, "No way…"
"So this is how you choose to go out…" Desast said while on his back, having been knocked down due to the explosion, "Honestly, I'm a bit jealous given how spectacular you made it look."
Calibur coughed slightly as he was on one knee, using his sword to brace himself. He said nothing however as he glanced over to his opponent.
Buster groaned as he emerged from some rubble that had landed on him and protected him from most of the explosive forces that occurred. He then looked up at the tower, gripping his hands tightly as his voice shook, "So you sacrificed yourself to destroy the Kadingir, Tsubasa? Your songs really have reached the world. The world you gave your life to defend…"
"We're no longer detecting… any traces of Ame no Habakiri…" Sakuya struggled to speak as he gripped the keyboard of the console tightly, Aoi had turned away to cry while Sophia looked downwards, clasping her hands tightly.
"You fought to your fullest to the very end, huh Tsubasa?" Daishinji asked as he looked down and gripped his fists, "Despite having lost so many other allies, and only just getting to know you… it still hurts…"
Sophia turned towards her ally, "Slash…"
"I don't get it!" Yumi cried out as she looked around at everyone, "Why do you all fight?! You're always in pain… always suffering. Do you fight because you don't want to live?"
"You don't get it?" Miku asked before she grabbed her friend with both hands, tears streaming down her face, and yet she still held a firm and composed look, "Do you really not get it?"
"It hurts, it absolutely hurts," Daishinji spoke up in a near cracked voice as he kept from looking at anyone, "We don't fight to be martyrs, we fight because we have to, we fight to give this world a chance. Because if we don't stand up and fight for what's right, who else will?"
Yumi stared at Daishinji before looking back at Miku, and despite their words, all she could do was scream and cry.
Finé could only shout in anger as she slammed one of her whips into the ground.
"Someone's angry…" Desast gave a grunt as he sat up.
"This is unbelievable!" Finé roared out, "Had I destroyed the Moon, the Curse of Balal would have been released, causing a gravitational disturbance at the same time. People all over the world would fall into disarray as natural disasters shook the planet."
Saber gave a light gasp as he turned towards Finé soon seeing her approaching them. He quickly got up and held Rekka in both hands, gripping the sword of flames tightly. He looked back to see Hibiki was still mourning, so he knew that he had to defend her even if he himself was still mourning.
"They would panic, and come to me for protection because I possess the unrivaled power of a Relic! Pain is the only bond that can connect people!" Finé glared at Saber as she raised her whips, "That is the one inviolate truth! And you… you all stood in my way!"
Saber gave a yell and slashed forward but gasped as Finé's whips lashed out and struck against his sword. Finé gave the Rider a glare of death as she easily batted away his attempts to strike at her. She then closed in and slammed her heeled foot into Saber, the Rider coughing as he was slammed away and onto his back.
"Touma! Hibiki!" Blades called out as he stood up, slowly making his way forward but wincing as he limped slightly.
Finé attempted to kick at Hibiki only for something shocking to suddenly happen, Kyomu itself suddenly launched from where it was and slashed at Finé, forcing her to take a few steps back. As if reacting to a sword, a single falling orange feather soon came into view, touching the emblem before a fiery pillar erupted in its place.
[MUMEIKEN KYOMU!]
At the swords announcement, the pillar dismissed itself to reveal Falchion.
Finé narrowed her eyes, "Of course… you look the part so you act the part as well."
"So Eternal Phoenix really means they're immortal…" Saber gave a light gasp as he stabbed his sword into the ground and lifted himself up.
"Regardless, I guess the girl there was pretty useful after all," Finé admitted as she stayed where she was, "The first current known fusion of a relic with a living organism… I was able to fuse myself with the Nehushtan Armor thanks to her example."
"Current known…?" Saber asked before giving a gasp, "That's right… the Megid!"
"Correct," Finé gave a smile before it turned into a frown, "But they're so ancient that you can't exactly study their secrets. Not to mention even with Calibur's invitation, no matter what technology I had, I could never truly study them in their sealed or awakened states. Thankfully the girl here provided enough answers…"
Saber couldn't help but lower his weapon slightly when he saw that Finé herself had stopped making any advances. Blades meanwhile came up from behind, readying his Seiken but keeping a relaxed stance when he noticed Finé wasn't moving, only staring up.
Hibiki herself couldn't find the strength to keep going on, even with the others still fighting, she couldn't push herself any further. Her eyes were blank as she fell forward and onto the ground. She stared off to the side as all she could do was mumble, questioning her position, "Tsubasa… Chris… they're both gone… and the school's in ruins… they're gone… why… why am I doing all this? What am I fighting for?"
Everyone could only watch in silence as the fight seemed to start to wind down, despite the fact that the Finé herself alongside Calibur and Desast had yet to yield. It was more than likely a lull in the battle, though everyone was unsure of what to do.
"Co-Commander," Ogawa called out as he hurried over to the door, several civilians walking behind him, "I found these survivors while checking nearby shelters in the area."
"Really? That's a relief," Sophia gave a smile.
A little girl was looking around before her face lit up, "Mommy! It's the cool girl!" She called out before hurrying over to the screen despite her mother's protests.
"Sorry…" The mother apologized.
"You know Bikki?" Kuriyo asked.
The mother gave a pause, thinking for a moment before nodding, "I can't tell you the details, but she saved my daughter's life. She put her own life at risk to keep my daughter safe. I know she's saved many people that way."
"Hibiki… saved her life?" Yumi asked.
"Hey," The little girl turned towards everyone, "Can't we do anything to help her?"
"That's easy to say, but…" Shiori started, "From here, there's not much we can do."
"Then let's cheer for her together!" The little girl said before turning to Sakuya, "Hey, can we talk to her from here?"
"Well, not really…" Sakuya admitted.
"Cheer for her…" Miku said, recalling old stories that her, Hibiki and Touma would read about the urban legends on Kamen Riders. How in some cases, all they needed was a good cheer and tons of support to win the day, so that gave her an idea. She looked over to Sophia, "Is there any way we can tell Hibiki that we're all right? I want to help her and Touma win this!"
"Help her?" Sophia asked.
"We've lost Section 2's resources but what about the school?" Daishinji asked, "We're close enough right?"
"If we can get the school's computer systems working again, we can send her voice over the network," Sakuya realized.
Upon the realization of a chance presenting itself, Miku's expression hardened as she steeled her resolve.
"Since ancient times, I have served Him as His priestess," Finé spoke as she stared at the shattered moon wistfully, "Then one day, I fell in love with Him… with the Creator. But I couldn't reach Him with my heart. The very words I wished to speak were stolen from me… no, from humankind."
Falchion said nothing as they stayed still, both Saber and Blades slowly moving closer as they kept themselves ready for any sudden movements.
"The Curse of Balal robbed us of the common tongue that was our one means of communication with the Creator," Finé continued, "I have worked for millennia to release that curse, so that one day I could once again use that common tongue to tell Him of my feelings."
"Your feelings…" Hibiki muttered as she tried to understand Finé, "That's all?"
"You're questioning my motivations?!" Finé yelled as she gripped her whips tightly and lashed out, striking at both the incoming Saber and Blades to force them back.
"That's enough Ryoko!" Buster called out as he fully picked himself up, ignoring Calibur and Desast as he walked forward, "Your plan failed, if lashing out will help you sort your feelings then fine. But you need to accept the fact that you-"
"I don't want to hear that from you!" Finé snapped as she glared at Buster, "You, all five of you damn Swordsmen… all of you just remind me of is Her!"
"H-Her…?" Saber coughed out as he held his side.
Finé took a deep breath before continuing, "Did you think I was the only priestess back then? No… there was another, one who guarded the Almighty Book that was gifted to us from Him."
"What?" Blades asked as he lowered his guard.
"Oh?" Calibur stood up fully at this, slowly making his way over.
"Normally one would think I was jealous, but not having that burden was alright by me," Finé admitted as she stared up at the sky, "That was until we lost our common tongue… I knew there had to be a way to rediscover it. I thought the Almighty Book could help us but She refused to give it up. Not only that but She chose to sit on it for so long that others came and defiled it before fighting over it. Then… it happened."
Saber was wary but decided to ask, "It?"
"As if to spite me and everyone else who wished to seek the Almighty Book's knowledge to reclaim our tongue… she split the book!" Finé called out as she grew angry, "She turned most of it into those vile contraptions known as Wonder Ride Books before vanishing alongside what remained!"
"But… but wasn't it said that those who wielded the Seiken attempted to control the books power and then split it as a result?" Blades questioned, recalling the history that he and Sophia had recited to Saber when he had first joined Section 2.
"Did you forget who you're talking to?" Finé asked with an annoyed smirk, "I had influence over history… well not all of it, the Seiken were one of those times I wasn't involved. So it infuriated me at how a way to control Relics was able to come about without my help."
"You were jealous?" Saber asked.
"So I did the only thing I could, I made sure I influenced history enough to regard the Seiken as dangerous when combined with the Wonder Ride Books and in turn the Almighty Book," Finé explained with a grin, "All so that I could try and research them without people knowledgeable on the subject getting in the way."
"You…" Buster trailed.
Finé soon frowned, "Of course that still failed to stop people from studying the Seiken's and their connections to Relics. Sophia's family was troubling, especially with their founding of the Logos Sector…"
"That explains your animosity towards Daishinji," Blades said.
"Of course, his was one of the families tied to the Logos Sector… a family of swordsmith's," Finé gave a scoff, "The bane of my existence, oh how I wished he was weaker willed. How I wished he'd share just a drop of his secrets with me so that I could swoop in and take them all for myself… but the obstinate pig wouldn't budge."
"Regardless of the past, what matters is the present, the future, the truth," Calibur spoke up as he readied Kurayami and looked around, "We're ending this now, despite setbacks…" He then looked over to Finé, "If you're still willing to go."
"Oh you have no idea how further I'll still go," Finé gave a dangerous smile.
Ogawa and Daishinji were currently outside of a nearly shut door that held a switch beyond it to reactivate the power. The two had gone with Miku and her friends to try and get power restored. One issue was that Ogawa and Daishinji weren't strong enough to force the door open nor were they small enough to fit through the small crack. That was until Yumi of all people suggested the idea to go through since she was small enough.
That led to all four students slipping through and making their way to the end of the room where the emergency switch was fairly high up. So they quickly went to stacking themselves in a pyramid formation to stand on each other and flip the switch.
Ogawa was keeping an eye on them through the crack, hoping that they'd be able to do it. Daishinji himself was leaning against the door, waiting as he crossed his arms.
"Of all people I wasn't expecting her to take the lead," Daishinji gave a chuckle, referring to Yumi, "I suppose our words got through to her."
"I take it she was having a rough time?" Ogawa asked.
"Pretty much," Daishinji gave a nod, "She was the closest to giving up, and meanwhile that girl, Miku, continues to impress me. She never gave up on Hibiki, no matter what happened."
"Even though they can do most of the fighting, we in the support sector are still valuable to them," Ogawa couldn't help but smile a bit, "That includes her."
"Of course, I vowed when I lost Suzune that I would do my best to support the younger Swordsmen," Daishinji replied, "I'd like to hope I've done a good job."
"You're too hard on yourself, the fact is you've gotten out of your comfort zone and have been an invaluable asset to Touma and us as of late," Ogawa reassured.
"Well you aren't all bad," Daishinji said as he took a few steps away from the door, "I suppose I let my loss and perception of Ryoko cloud my judgment. Sophia was always willing to work with you all…"
"You had your reasons, and some of us had ours for how we acted," Ogawa said, recalling back to Tsubasa's old attitude, "Regardless, I think now's the time we can all stand together and walk forward into a new future."
"I look forward to it," Daishinji smiled.
"One, two!"
It wasn't long before a click was heard, the power turning back on in the area as the inside of the room lit up. With power back on the door had opened up, Ogawa and Daishinji entering only to see the four students all sprawled on top of each other due to falling after hitting the switch.
Back at the bunker room, Aoi and Sakuya were both keeping an eye on the power situation.
"It's up!" Aoi called out, "Power has been restored to the school network!"
"External speakers are operational!" Sakuya declared.
"Hooray!" The girl cheered.
Blades gave a yell as he slashed at Finé alongside Falchion and Saber, the trio trying to break through her defenses though her whips continued to lash out as she easily batted their strikes away. What helped her was that Saber and Blades were starting to run on fumes. And while Falchion was in top form despite the resurrection, two of the three lacking caused them to be unable to break through her defense.
"You want to know the greatest flaw of the Symphogear system?" Finé asked as she kept holding her ground, "It's the damage that the Swan Songs cause to their own user. As a researcher, I'd be fascinated to find out how much a fused creature like that girl might be able to withstand the damage," She gave a laugh as she unleashed her whips, "But I don't need to experiment on her anymore. Now that I too have become fused with a relic, I think that the world only needs one such demigod to be its ruler."
"What?" Saber questioned before gasping out as he was thrown back by one of the whips.
Falchion quickly dodged by leaping back, faring better than Blades who had been smacked backwards by the second whip.
"Y-You won't lay a finger on her!" Blades sputtered out as he went to stand, "And stop talking to her like she isn't human! She's a normal Homo Sapiens just like the rest of us!"
"Rintaro…" Hibiki muttered.
"Rintaro's right!" Saber yelled out as he drew out Bremen no Rock Band, sheathing his sword as he closed Brave Dragon, "Hibiki is Hibiki now matter what you try to call her! The important part about her… no matter how much she changes, no matter the hardship, she'll still try her best and keep true to herself!"
"Touma…" Hibiki muttered.
[BREMEN NO ROCK BAND!]
[There was a victory quartet of animals that were forced to fight in battle…]
"And what do you think you can do with a random Wonder Ride Book?" Finé asked with a smirk.
"I'll show you…" Touma muttered as he slotted the book drew out his sword, large versions of Brave Dragon and Bremen-no-Rock Band forming behind him and opening up to give their power.
[REKKA BATTOU! WONDER RIDER!]
Five separate pieces emerged from the book, four being a mix of animal and instruments. They floated over before latching onto Saber, the shoulder piece was a purple speaker, piece below it was a blue trumpet rooster, below that was a white piano cat, below that was a brown guitar dog, and at the bottom was a yellow drummer donkey.
His left chest plate, side of his stomach and arm were now magenta to compliment the animal armor, various white musical string patterning with blue notes running down his side.
[DRAGON! BREMEN NO ONGAKUTAI!]
"Take whatever form you wish," Finé narrowed her eyes before unleashing her whips at Saber, "I'll eliminate all of you Riders first and then deal with that broken girl!"
"I won't let you lay a finger on her!" Saber called out as he ran forward with a charge, quickly tossing his sword to his left hand in a reverse grip, soon strumming his right hand along his left arm. Thrusting his shoulder out, the speaker began unleashing various multicolored sound waves that struck at the whips, blocking them at first before fully deflecting them.
"What…?" Finé questioned in shock, quickly retracting her whips and forming them into makeshift swords, she crossed them as she blocked a spinning reverse slash from Saber, "How did that paltry music easily deflect my attacks?!"
"You really don't get it do you?!" Saber questioned as he jumped back from Finé's retaliating slash and switched his sword back to his normal grip.
"No matter how many times you strike us down, we'll keep getting back up!" Blades yelled out as he leapt in to slash at Finé from behind, Falchion joining him in the slash.
"And we'll protect those we care about!" Saber yelled as he came from the front and slashed, his sword reverberating with sound waves thanks to Bremen's powers.
Finé gritted her teeth before spinning around, wrapping her whips around her and spinning around rapidly, becoming a bright pink tornado of energy that clashed against the three slashes. The three Riders gritted their teeth as they tried to break through only to get forced back by the attacks.
"I don't care who you say you are!" Finé called out, "Your just trash! Vermin! You Riders could never evolve beyond the limitations you have either way!"
Buster gave a gasp as he was forced back by Calibur, while Desast wasn't in play, that didn't make things easy as Calibur was a tough Rider in his own right. Buster gave a grunt, "Why continue to fight with her? Your goal is finished."
"I wonder about that myself," Calibur admitted as he brandished his blade, "Regardless, with her plan up in flames I still have my backup. Your Seiken and Wonder Ride Books, those are my new goal."
"Sorry to say but you won't be taking them easily," Buster said as he raised his sword.
"I know," Calibur said.
The two older combatants rushed towards each other and clashed blades, the two trying to overtake each other as the ground cracked beneath their feet.
"You may be strong, but I still have more experience," Calibur said as he drew out Saiyuu Journey.
"You may have experience, but I can see through your technique now that I know what that does!" Buster gave a yell as he stomped the ground in front of him, using his armor and enhanced strength to force it to collapse.
Calibur gasped out as he lost his footing before giving a muffled yell as Buster's fist slammed directly into his face. What happened next was something he wasn't expecting, Buster had grabbed his hand that held Saiyuu Journey before kicking him in the stomach. The result was Calibur flying backwards and slamming against the earth.
"These weren't originally yours to begin with," Buster said as he held up Saiyuu Journey as his prize, "So to do a take on your words, I'll be taking our Wonder Ride Books back."
"You…" Calibur coughed out as he held his gut, stabbing Kurayami into the ground to force himself onto his knees.
"Hey boss, you sure you don't want me to tag in yet?" Desast asked.
"Stay out of this," Calibur insisted before glancing around, "We're reaching the end regardless…"
"Very well…" Desast said soon giving a hum before looking around, "What is this… sound?"
Finé was ready to advance towards Saber for her next attack when she paused. She had heard the sound as well.
It wasn't just a simple sound however, because it was a song, a song that was sung by several people pouring their heart into the words.
"Ugh, that sound…" Finé gave a disgusted look, "What is that annoying noise?"
Hibiki twitched slightly, as if reacting to the song.
Touma meanwhile looked around, hearing it faintly but recognizing it, "This is…"
"What could it be?" Finé questioned.
Hibiki, even though she didn't answer, recognized the song clearly because it was Lydian's anthem. And she could recognize those singing it as well.
"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."
"Miku… you really pulled through," Saber said as he couldn't help but remember Hibiki's words from earlier and started to chuckle as he heard the song. He looked over towards Finé, "You really don't recognize it? You've been to the school just about as much as everyone else in Section 2."
Saber and Hibiki were right on the money as in the underground bunker, Miku and the other school survivors sung as hard as they could, not even stopping once.
'Hibiki, Touma, we're all right!' Miku thought as she sang. 'We're all waiting for you to come back to us! So don't lose!'
The area around them began to react to the song seemingly, various gold specks of light slowly floating upwards. Not only that but Saber had to suddenly do a double-take as the Bremen arm began to react on its own to the song, the speaker on his shoulder suddenly broadcasting the singing even louder than before as the specks turned from gold to red.
As the song grew louder and louder, pulsations began to occur where Saber, Blades and Buster were. Saber took out Storm Eagle, it beginning to pulsate with energy alongside Brave Dragon. Blades took out Tenkuu no Pegasus and Peter Fantasista, both pulsating alongside Lion Senki. Buster meanwhile looked at his newly acquired Saiyuu Journey, it pulsating in tandem with Saber's books.
"This is…" Buster turned and saw the timing going off, "Just what is?"
"The Wonder Ride Books, they're resonating with the song?" Calibur managed to speak up with a light gasp. He then shook his head, "No… they're resonating with their feelings."
"Resonating?" Buster asked before realizing what was going on, soon recognizing why Saiyuu Journey was reacting to Saber's same elemental books.
"Where is that irritating song coming from?" Finé asked as she looked around, that was when her eyes widened as she saw the specks of light, "A song?!"
"I can hear them…" Hibiki muttered as she gripped her hands, "I can hear your voices…"
Saber turned and gave a soft laugh, "You can hear them."
"I'm so glad…" Hibiki admitted as she balled her hands into fists, life returned to her eyes as she regained her determination, "They're always right by my side, singing for me… so… I can sing on too. I can keep going… I can fight!"
A huge burst of energy formed around Hibiki as she stood up, a sphere of energy forming as if she was mid transformation into her Symphogear.
"She's back," Saber gave a chuckle.
"Thank goodness," Blades gave a sigh of relief.
"You can still fight?" Finé questioned as she was in complete disbelief, "From where do you draw the strength to stand? What do you hold onto that gives you the power to fight? Is it that unsettling song? That's right… What is this armor in which you are clad? Your heart was broken already… Then… then what could you be using? Something I created? What are you using?! What?!"
It was Saber's turn to scoff as he looked directly at Finé, "You really don't get it do you?"
Three pillars of light suddenly shot up into the air as the sun began to rise on the battlefield. One of the pillars had erupted from Hibiki in an orange coloration, a red pillar erupted from the forest nearby, and a blue pillar erupted from the remains of Kadingir.
Desast jerked and turned at the sounds of the pillars erupting, he placed a hand on his face and dragged it down as he gave a laugh, "Of course you two wouldn't go down that easily!"
"Impossible…" Blades quickly looked towards the forest.
Saber meanwhile smiled beneath his helmet as he saw the blue pillar, "No it's not impossible… it's…"
As the pillars of light collapsed, Hibiki took to the skies in a new white clad almost angelic formation of her Symphogear armor. Flying past her were two who were thought to be lost to this battle, Tsubasa and Chris, in their own variations of the angelic armor.
Hibiki let out a scream as she answered at the top of her lungs, her fists tightening as orange energy wings spread out from her back.
"SYMPHOGEAR!"
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: So I've decided to do a few things with Finé here. What with her having a history with the Almighty Book and its guardian, plus the reveal she messed with history records regarding the Seiken and Ride Books. While not too deep, I figured Finé would have some influence given how long she's been lurking through history. And of course, we've finally got a full debut for Falchion who takes action after standing around for the most part. I'm sure they've made quite the impression, wouldn't you agree?
But hey, we've done it, next update is the finale for the main portion of S1! But that doesn't mean we're done just yet. If you've read the schedules you know we have Special and OVA Chapters going up in July. The Special Chapter is a one-shot adventure to tie some things into G while the OVA Chapter will very much take inspiration from the official OVA's, so expect lot's of shenanigans.
Also for you people specifically on FF, notice the cover change? I was mostly messing around in Photoshop CS2 one day and decided to make "posters" for each Season of Song of Swords. Even though we were nearly done with Season 1 I decided to do one for that too. So each time we reach a new season I will update the cover accordingly to match (Also yes, I'm keeping the fanfic to one story instead of making a new one for each Season). It was mostly all in the name of fun tbh, anything to distract me from attempting to right, ha ha. With all that said, thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time.