Sympho-Saber: Song of Swords
S1:EP15 – Meteorites Fall and Burn Away, Then…
"SYMPHOGEAR!"
Hibiki let out a scream as she answered at the top of her lungs while she flew high into the air, her fists tightening as orange energy wings spread out from her back. Tsubasa and Chris were in their own variations of the angelic armor and flew past her as she screamed.
With their Symphogears and life force fully restored, the three stood proud in the air as they fully showed off their new angelic upgrades to their armor, their X-Drive forms!
Buster gave a sigh of relief before gripping Saiyuu Journey tightly, reeling his arm back and throwing it towards Saber, "Saber, it's yours and Blades' turn!"
Saber was in awe at what was going on before he heard Buster yelling, quickly grabbing Saiyuu Journey and noticing it pulsating alongside his other books, "This is… another red book?"
"Ah, Saiyuu Journey," Blades gasped as he hurried over, he then held out his two books, "It will complete your Wonder Combo."
"It will?" Saber asked as he looked down at the new Ride Book before giving a nod, "Then let's get going Rintaro, something tells me our Wonder Combo's are going to be useful for this fight."
"Indeed, I can already feel the power flowing through my other books," Blades replied before loading his remaining books in and unsheathing his blade.
[NAGARE BATTOU! AOKI YAJUU NO TATEGAMI GA SORA NI NABIKU! FANTASTIC LION~!]
The Crystalline Pegasus and Fairy flew around Blades before merging with his armor, in a flash he transformed into his Wonder Combo, Fantastic Lion. Despite transforming into this a few times before, this time was different as he could feel even more power dwelling within.
"Now I'll go," Saber said as he sheathed his blade and opened Saiyuu Journey's cover.
[SAIYUU JOURNEY!]
[The amazing adventure of a certain monkey and the whereabouts of that journey…]
Saber removed Bremen no Rock Band and slotted in Saiyuu Journey before slotting Storm Eagle in. He then gave a yell as he gripped his blade tightly before unsheathing it.
[REKKA BATTOU!]
Soon enough the three fire elemental books dropped behind Saber, all opening up and releasing themselves. The Brave Dragon flew around while a fiery eagle and a dark red cloud emerged from their respective Animal and Story Books. The fiery eagle perched on Saber's shoulders while the cloud spiraled up and around his left arm. Soon enough the Storm Eagle Armor formed over his middle section as he gained dark journey to the west themed armor on his left faceplate, chest, shoulder and forearm alongside a coattail.
[KATARITSUGA RESHI (KATARITSUGA RESHI!) SHINJUU NO (SHINJUU NO!) SONO NA WA! (SONO NA WA!) CRIMSON DRAGON!]
[REKKA SANSATSU!]
[The crimson sword pierces evil and burns everything!]
"This is incredible!" Saber called out as he stood in his completed Wonder Combo of Crimson Dragon. He could feel the immense power flowing through him. The power of a Wonder Combo was intense, but combined with the latent power of song it allowed him to breathe easily with this strong transformation.
Both Saber and Blades looked at each other before nodding, launching high up into the air thanks to their forms' flight capabilities. Trails of red and blue energy followed after them as they soon joined the three Symphogear Wielders in the sky.
"With these Gears, born from our friends' songs and the Kamen Riders fighting beside us…" Hibiki trailed as she looked down at Finé, "There's no way we can lose."
"Their song powered up our Wonder Combo's," Saber spoke in turn.
"It's also what gave Chris and Tsubasa the strength to stand once more, Hibiki continued, "Songs grant more than just the power to fight, they give life!"
"High-level phonic gain, and enough of it to interact with and affect the Wonder Ride Books?" Finé scoffed, "It's just like what happened two years ago, when that girl's song and that Riders finisher both interacted with each other and created that strange wave."
'Who gives a damn?' Chris yelled out… despite not opening her mouth.
Finé narrowed her eyes, "Telepathy too?"
'Whoa… did I just hear Chris' voice right in my head?' Saber asked before giving a yelp as he held his head, 'Hey my thoughts feel so loud, am I on this wavelength thing too?!'
'T-This is incredible!' Blades called out within his mind.
'Stop with the shouting!' Chris growled out.
'Sorry about that!' Saber and Blades stammered out as they floated back slightly in fear.
"Even with the limiters on your Gears released, you don't stand a chance!" Finé called in defiance as she summoned a group of Noise to the battlefield.
'I've had enough of your tricks!' Chris called out.
'Was it you who let the Noise loose on the world?!' Tsubasa questioned.
'The Noise are autonomous weapons that were created by mankind, who had lost their common understanding in order to slaughter each other.' Finé explained, 'Some were used to try and take the Almighty Book, but others were simply used to slaughter.'
'People created them to kill each other?' Hibiki asked.
'Mankind does have a bloody history…' Saber gritted his teeth.
'But even then…' Blades trailed.
'The gates to the treasury of Babylon are being held open,' Finé answered, 'They used to only escape through that door once a decade at most, but I've made it happen constantly. They're simply a power source for me.'
'You're still spewing that incomprehensible bullshit?!' Chris asked.
'You've used them for your own gain long enough, we're ending this!' Touma called out.
The grouping of Noise turned into liquefied states, launching out towards the five to strike at them. Saber and Blades both gave a yell, flying past each other and slashing forward, in an instant they have formed slashes of fire and water respectively, creating a cross slash that tore through the incoming Noise.
Of course this seemed to be a distraction as Finé was currently aiming Solomon's Cane upward, a bright green light emanating from the jewel.
"Descend!" Finé yelled out as she shot a massive beam into the air, the beam soon split into a rain of green energy that began impacting against the surrounding land and sky. Soon enough the small bursts of green energy began summoning horde after horde of Noise both on ground and in the air. The Noise army grew so massive, as if it were a sea of Noise that surrounded the entire area.
The Symphogear Wielders and Riders quickly got back to back, the five all looking around at their current predicament.
"They're everywhere!" Hibiki called out.
"No problem! I'll blast them all into tiny pieces!" Chris called out, pumping her fist as she flew off.
"Touma, we can let the girls handle the Noise," Blades said before looking down, "Let us deal with Finé so that she doesn't try any more underhanded tricks."
"Sounds good to me," Saber said, watching Blades descend towards where Finé was before glancing back at Tsubasa and Hibiki.
"Tsubasa… Touma…" Hibiki spoke up, "I almost did something terrible to both of you… no… even then I still attacked you two… even Rintaro too…"
"You know we aren't going to blame you for that," Saber reassured.
"Don't worry about it," Tsubasa gave a smile, "You listened to me when I called out to you. You came to your senses. Be proud of your strength."
"Tsubasa…" Hibiki said.
"I'm also sorry for worrying you, Kamiyama," Tsubasa turned towards her friend, "But I knew I could fulfill my promise to you."
Saber had to keep from tearing up as he gave a nod and holding his fist out, "Right…" He took a deep breath, "We'll fight and stay alive together. That includes Rintaro and Chris now."
"Of course," Hibiki smiled as she pressed her fist against Saber's.
"Right, now we fight together," Tsubasa pressed her own fists against her two friends'.
"I'll leave the Noise to you two," Saber said before launching downwards as the two Symphogear Wielders shot off into the city. He then landed near Blades, the two Riders soon approaching Finé from the front.
"So you two want a piece of me, huh?" Finé asked.
"Not just them," Buster called out as he walked forward and stood on Finé's left while Falchion approached Finé's right.
Finé glanced around before noticing something, Calibur was simply standing off to the side, Desast crouching right next to them as the two didn't seem to be willing to move forward.
"And what's this?" Finé asked as she turned towards Calibur, "Don't tell me you're giving up?"
"Good job, Swordsmen, Symphogear Wielders," Calibur spoke up as he crossed his arms behind his back, "The only thing left to do now is defeat Finé."
"What are you talking about?" Saber asked.
"You act like you're not fighting," Buster noted.
"Then allow me to say that I formally withdraw from this confrontation," Calibur answered as he spread his arm to the side, "I've gotten what I truly desired, and that was the destruction of Kadingir."
Finé's eye twitched, "What?"
"Wait, you wanted Kadingir destroyed?" Blades asked, "Why? After all the betrayal and bloodshed…"
"Because I knew about Finé's plan two years ago," Calibur said, causing a few raised eyebrows, "That is why I betrayed the Logos Sector, because I knew the truth and I knew that change could not happen by continuing to be with them. The only way to stop Finé was to obtain more power to further my knowledge of the truth. Our battle is far from over, but Finé's Chapter is about to close for now."
"What a cruel man…" Finé gave a sneer before she gave a smirk, "You allowed two poor girls to sacrifice themselves for the sake of stopping me instead of doing it yourself."
"All things end eventually," Calibur spoke coldly, "So long as Kadingir was prevented, that was fine by me."
"So you admit you were a weak man," Finé replied.
"I knew that I could not stop it myself," Calibur agreed as he turned and cut open a dark portal, "And with you accelerating your plans I knew I could not prepare myself in time. So I could only believe in the Wielders and the Swordsmen. This is goodbye for now."
"I expect good things from you all when we meet again," Desast gave a chuckle, standing up before heading through.
Calibur said nothing before walking through as well, the portal fully closing up.
"Ryoko, you're outnumbered and outmatched," Buster gripped his massive blade tightly as he held it forward, "Stop this madness."
"We'll give you one chance to stand down," Saber called out as he readied himself.
"If you think I'll stand down your mistaken child!" Finé called out with a maddening glare, "I'll mangle all of you damn Swordsmen!"
Saber, Blades and Buster all gave a yell before charging towards Finé alongside Falchion. Finé gave a yell as she spun around, lashing out her whips and tearing up the ground around the four Riders, forcing them to stagger and step back as a result.
Buster managed to regain his footing and rushed in, slamming his sword down at Finé. The immortal woman quickly stepped to the side to dodge, being forced to take a few more steps back due to the small quake the slash had created. She had straightened one of her whips into a blade, blocking a side swing follow-up from Buster and clashing with it. She then shot her other whip towards Buster's gut. Thankfully the armor protected Buster, but the force and push from the whip was strong enough to send him skidding backwards.
Blades soon rushed in, spinning around while twirling his blade into slashes. Finé quickly kept both of her whips in their make-shift sword forms, slashing to try and break into a clash only for her blades to get batted away. As Blades spun and slashed, his sword began to draw water from the atmosphere before fully coating the blade. Blades then spun and slashed forward, the water pouring out and unleashing a highly pressurized pillar of water directly in front of Finé.
Finé could only give a light scream as the force from the water had sent her staggering backwards as a result of the attack.
[TOWA NO FUSHICHO!]
Falchion had drawn out Eternal Phoenix and scanned it on Kyomu. They gripped the blade tightly before leaping towards Finé and stabbing forward.
[MUGEN ITTOTSU!]
Finé had attempted to lash out at Falchion to disable their attack with her whips, only for Kyomu to suddenly unleash a twister of feathers that launched outwards and caught Finé within it. Finé could only yell out as the tornado launched her up, the individual feathers slicing against her and her armor.
Finé gave a growl while landing as her armor and wounds repaired themselves. She then noticed Saber running straight for her. Deciding she was done trying to play the swordsmen at their game, and lashed out with her whips to keep Saber from closing in further.
Saber however was prepared for this, holding out his left arm, the gauntlet on it held a miniature pole that he was able to extend forward. Extending the pole outwards he was able to strike at the whips before they got to him. He then spun and swung his arm, extending the pole out again and slashing at the whips again to force them away.
Finé gave a gasp as her whips were batted away with ease, she quickly braced with her arms as Saber spun towards her with several fire filled slashes. She gave a yell before kicking out, managing to get Saber to stagger before lashing out with her whips.
Saber however staggered into a spin, utilizing Storm Eagles power to unleash a fiery tornado around his body that deflected the whips away.
"Why you little…" Finé growled out.
(Insert Song: ALMIGHTY ~ Kamen no Yakusoku by Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra with Yoohei Kawakami)
Saber stepped forward, Blades, Falchion and Buster all lining up beside him.
"It's time we settled this," Saber raised his blade alongside the other Riders.
All four Riders rushed forward, Saber coming in with fire filling his blade. He clashed briefly against one of Finé's whips before spinning and slashing past her. Next was Blades who coated his blade with water while Buster gathered chunks of rock around his sword, the two breaking through her attempted defense via her whips and slashing past her.
Falchion rushed forward and kicked out, managing to plant their foot in Finé's face to send her staggering back.
Saber and Blades were up next, Blades kicking out and unleashing several torrents of water as he spun and kicked out with both feet. Saber meanwhile spun around, fire gathering around his feet as he kicked forward.
Finé had braced against the torrents of water before getting kicked in the stomach by Saber, coughing as she was forced to stumble backwards. She gave a yell as her wounds and armor continued to heal, "This is useless… you can't beat me!"
"That's where your wrong… we'll decide how this story ends!" Saber called out as he sheathed his Seiken alongside Blades and Falchion. Buster meanwhile drew Genbu Shinwa out of its slot and activated his weapons finisher.
[HISSATSU DOKUHA!]
[HISSATSU MOKUDOKU!]
[GENBU SHINWA! DOGON!]
"Grand Judgment Cut!" Buster yelled out as he gathered the debris in the area to enlarge his sword before stepping forward and performing a horizontal slash.
"That won't work on me!" Finé called out as she extended her whips outwards, the whips forming her barrier once more.
{ASGARD}
[GEKIDO RANDOKUGEKI! DOGON!]
The defensive tactic had ended up working out as despite Gekido's strength alongside Buster's, the slash had only managed to crack the shield and not fully destroy it.
Falchion withdrew their sword from their belt before reeling their arm back, a phoenix of black and orange forming above them.
[BATTOU! FUSHICHO MUSOU GEKI!]
They then slashed forward, unleashing a bright orange vertical slash of energy that struck at the barrier. It began to force it to crack further as the phoenix launched after the slash. The phoenix struck the slash and pushed against the barrier, completely shattering it.
Finé gave a gasp as she stepped back from the assault, her whips being tossed to the sides due to the attack.
"Explosion Crimson Slash!"
"Hydro Vortex!"
Saber and Blades both gave yells as they kicked off the ground, flying forward as they withdrew their swords, their blades shining in their colors as they were coated in a massive display of flames and water respectively.
[NAGARE BATTOU! PEGASUS! LION! PETER FAN! SANSATSU GIRI! W-W-W-WATER!]
[REKKA BATTOU! DRAGON! EAGLE! SAIYUU JA! SANSATSU GIRI! F-F-F-FIRE!]
Finé had to think quickly, bringing out Solomon's Cane and firing a shot into the air, the attack had formed a large Prowler Noise that attempted to block them. The two Riders simply gave yells as they slashed through the Noise with ease, the flames and water tearing through it as it turned to ash.
Finé could only look on in horror as both Riders closed in on her, Saber and Blades yelling out as they performed a fire and water elemental cross slash against her, sparks erupting from her armor as she was cut into. The force of the attack had managed to cause her to skid backwards, forcing her to dig her heels in the ground to keep from stumbling back. She began to breathe heavily as she allowed her wounds to heal.
She couldn't believe she was legitimately being pushed back like this. Of course being able to take a moment she soon saw that her intended plan of attack to overwhelm the Symphogear Wielders had also failed. With the Wielders having broken their limiters and attained X-Drive they were able to take care of a majority of the Noise with little effort thanks to their enhanced attacks. Explosions and plumes of dust clouds littered the surrounding area as the three Symphogear Wielders were ready for anything else Finé would throw at them.
That only left one option…
Saber and Blades meanwhile looked around in awe, the two blown away at the amount of firepower that their allies had brought out. The two launched upwards to meet with Wielders who were just arriving back.
"I just barely caught any of that, you guys are great!" Saber called out.
"No matter how many there are, they're still just Noise!" Chris boasted.
Tsubasa however wondered how the two had faired against Finé before suddenly noticing what was going on.
Finé drew out Solomon's Cane and pointed the tip of it at her stomach before impaling herself with it. No blood had come out but her skin began to morph, becoming tendrils that began to graft onto the cane itself, which started to crack.
"What in…" Blades trailed with a shudder.
"Wait…" Saber suddenly remembered Finé's rant about fusing with a relic, and he could only think of one thing, "She wouldn't!"
An invisible command was sent to all remaining Noise in the area, all of them becoming liquid and launching towards Finé. They began to cover her in a purple goopy substance before more beams of green light were shot out to summon Noise. The freshly formed Noise immediately dived into the growing goopy substance as it became a blob of Noise that began to grow greatly in size.
"The Noise are swarming over her?" Hibiki asked.
"She's drawing them in," Chris corrected.
"Not just that, they're fusing with her," Saber added.
The blob of Noise quickly launched itself towards the Symphogear Wielders and Kamen Riders, the five quickly dodging out of the way to avoid the attack.
"Come, Durandal!" Finé's voice echoed as the blob began digging deep into the underground, reaching where Durandal was being held before engulfing it in its mass. Soon enough gold flashes of light began to erupt from cracks around the blob. Suddenly the blob itself began to shift and change shape as it grew into a more serpentine dragon-like creature.
Within the creature and near the head was Finé in a maroon colored dress that combined not only the Nehushtan Armor but Solomon's Cane as well. She held Durandal in her hand as the serpentine creature launched a beam of energy that struck the city and caused a massive explosion to form from the destruction.
"W-W-What was that?!" Saber yelled out as he witnessed the attack.
Hibiki's eyes widened, "The city!"
'You have invoked my wrath,' Fine called out to the five heroes via the telepathy, 'I hope you are prepared for what is to come.'
Soon enough the amalgamation of Noise and Relics launched a beam directly at the Riders and Wielders. The five just barely had enough time to dodge out of the way, everyone giving a yell as they tried to regain their bearings.
Chris had retaliated by extending her armor and unleashing a barrage of missiles out to overwhelm Finé. Unfortunately the top of the head where Finé was had closed up like a shield, the missiles impacting against it and being rendered useless. Finé retaliated, the serpentine dragon opening up its lower wings and unleashing its own barrage of energy blasts.
Chris attempted to dodge but was unable to outpace all of them, giving a yell as she was hit by several direct shots.
"Chris!" Blades called out before tapping all three of his books.
[TENKUU NO PEGASUS! LION SENKI! PETER FANTASISTA!]
Blades quickly threw his chain hook forward, spinning it forward and forming a water portal. Soon enough the water portal began to split into multiple ones before launching out lion heads and Pegasus feathers in a barrage towards the serpentine creature.
Finé responded in kind by unleashing more energy blasts from her massive beasts wings. The blasts completely tore through Blades attempt to strike at her.
Tsubasa extended her blade into its buster form, swinging it down and unleashing a slash of energy.
{Blue Flash}
The attack had hit directly against the head of the creature, causing a large gash. Unfortunately it healed up immediately despite the damage done.
[SAIYUU JOURNEY!]
Saber gave a yell as he gathered energy in his left arm, extending and unleashing his pole outwards, slashing several times and covering Hibiki who had closed in and delivered several devastating blows.
The two were forced to quickly retreat by floating backwards, beams of energy striking at their location as they just barely dodged in time. Unfortunately they saw that even their attacks hadn't done anything as the serpentine creature healed instantly.
'Even with your Gears' limiters released, and the Wonder Combo's powered up, they are still just toys made from mere fragments of Relics,' Finé reminded the Wielders and Riders, 'Did you really think those pathetic fragments could match the power of a Complete Relic?'
Tsubasa and Chris soon looked at each other, the two suddenly having an epiphany in what they could do.
'Do you guys have an idea?' Saber asked
"Keep this off that channel," Tsubasa instructed before motioning to the Riders to come closer.
It wasn't long before Tsubasa and Chris began to discuss their plan with Saber, Blades and Hibiki. The five realized that they might have a shot at beating Finé once and for all if they played their cards right.
Falchion could only stare up at the massive beast before turning away. They looked back towards the sky where the five heroes floated before turning their head forward once more and giving a nod. Soon enough the phoenix warrior erupted into flames before becoming a fiery phoenix construct and launching off into the sky.
Buster meanwhile could only step back in shock, "The Red Dragon of Revelations… the scarlet woman, Babylon. In the legends, she is the harbinger of destruction. Ryoko…"
"What a good showing," Storious gave a few claps as he watched Calibur and Desast arrive at their location. The three Megid Generals had been watching the rest of the fight from afar.
"Screw off with your compliments," Desast remarked as he turned away and squatted, "I know they aren't genuine."
"I try my best," Calibur replied before seeing the Red Dragon of Revelations, "So this is her final gambit."
"It'll make for quite the beautiful end for her," Storious admitted.
"You and I both know that isn't true," Calibur remarked much to Storious' annoyance.
"As frustrating as it is that we can't get involved, it is going to be amusing to see Finé's fall from dominance," Legeiel admitted.
"If only they could be this powered up all the time," Zooous scoffed, "Then they'd make things more interesting in their fights."
"Says the guy who lost to a normal powered Wonder Combo," Desast scoffed.
"What was that?!" Zooous yelled out as he turned towards Desast.
"Now, now…" Storious put a hand on Zooous' shoulder, "The real fun is about to start."
"We can do it!" Hibiki called out once they had finished discussing their plan.
It wasn't long before Finé began to fire upon them again, sending numerous energy blasts towards them. Hibiki backed up and away while Tsubasa, Chris, Saber and Blades dived down while dodging the blasts.
"We'll clear the way for you!" Tsubasa called out.
Chris gave a yell, "Can't hold back now!"
"Let's go!" Saber yelled.
"Right, we're off!" Blades gave a nod.
Chris flew straight towards the Red Dragon, Saber and Blades flying close to her as they began to approach at high speeds.
Tsubasa meanwhile had stayed back, extending her blade into its buster form. She concentrated before enlarging that form further and further. She gave a yell while slashing downwards with all of her might.
{Blue Flash DESTROYER}
Finé had immediately closed the openings of her serpentine creature, creating its shielded form as fast as she could. Not long after an enlarged slash of bright blue energy crashed against the Dragon of Revelations, causing a huge gash to form. The gash started to seal up as it healed, but not before Chris, Saber and Blades flew into the inner area.
Finé eyes widened as she watched Chris launch missiles in every direction to try and blast apart her creature from the inside out. Saber and Blades gave a yell as they rushed forward, slashing with both Rekka and Nagare as they clashed blades with Finé who held Durandal.
"Whatever you're planning," Finé gritted her teeth as she opened up the defenses to allow the remaining missiles to fly out harmlessly. She then gave a yell as she swung Durandal, forcing Saber and Blades backwards, the two screaming out. She then gave a glare, "You won't be able to-"
Finé had paused when she suddenly saw what was happening, the two Riders had distracted her from realizing Tsubasa was right outside the Dragon with her sword raised. She didn't have time to react as Tsubasa slashed downwards, creating an explosion of energy that struck against her.
The resulting attack had managed to launch the Durandal away from Finé's grip, the Complete Relic flying out into the open sky.
"That sword is the key!" Tsubasa called out towards Hibiki, "This is your chance! Grab it!"
"Just go for it!" Chris called out as she took aim with a pistol, shooting at it several times to keep it in the air and bounce it towards Hibiki.
Hibiki launched herself towards the sword, soon reaching out and taking the Complete Relic within her hand.
Finé's eyes widened, "The Durandal?!"
Of course just like before, Durandal's power began to flow into Hibiki as an invisible wave rocked through the area. The overflow of massive energy had slowly started to turn her back into her berserker form yet again.
"Not good!" Saber gave a gasp, "It's the same thing that happened when she first held it!"
"Oh dear," Blades said, "What do we do?!"
Hibiki was currently struggling to keep in control, the berserk form was destabilizing slightly but it still overtook most of her body aside from her face.
Buster was unsure what to do until he heard footsteps from behind. He turned and to his surprise he watched as the members of Section 2, Miku and Hibiki's friends had all arrived on the surface from the entrance that he had created when arriving earlier. That was when he knew what to do.
"This is a battlefield!" Buster shouted at Hibiki, "You can't afford to waver!"
Hibiki could only grit her teeth as she slowly glanced at her friends and allies on the ground.
"Focus on yourself!" Ogawa called out.
"Remember who you are!" Sakuya spoke up.
"Remember what you want to become!" Aoi added.
"You have precious allies supporting you!" Sophia shouted, "Even if we can't fight, we're all here for you!"
"Everyone…" Hibiki managed to get out.
Tsubasa, Chris, Saber and Blades quickly flew over to Hibiki's side, the two girls placing their hands on Hibki's shoulders while the Riders clasped her hands.
"Don't give in, Tachibana," Tsubasa said, "Show me that you can stand on your own two feet!"
"We believe in you! That's why we're putting everything on the line!" Chris added, "What's going to happen if you don't believe in yourself?!"
"You help people!" Shiori shouted.
"You save people!" Yumi called out.
"You showed us that today!" Kuriyo added.
"Hibiki!" Daishinji called out as he stared directly at the girl, watching her glance in surprise as he didn't break eye contact, "Remember what I said? Don't lose that kind heart of yours!"
"You and everyone else in Section 2 is my family," Blades spoke in a soft but firm manner, "Remember that you're never alone. We'll help you with your burden, so let us help now."
"He's right, we're all in this together," Saber said with a nod, "It's a promise!"
Even with all the words of encouragement from her friends, Hibiki was still struggling to control the power.
'You infuriating worm!' Finé screamed out, 'I'll silence you once and for all!'
Tendrils had shot out of from the serpent's monstrous body only to be deflected by an energy barrier that Durandal had created. The barrier was so dense that the tendrils couldn't even crack it, protecting the Wielders and Riders.
[GEKIDO RANDOKUGEKI! DOGON!]
Buster gave a yell as he slammed Gekido into the ground blade first, orange cracks forming and traveling at high speeds towards the Red Dragon of Revelations. The monstrous fusion of Noise and Relics was suddenly hit by the destabilization of the ground beneath it, it starting to falter in its movements as it tried to keep itself standing up.
"Now's your chance, do it!" Buster called out.
"We'll take the lead, Hibiki, you can do this!" Saber called out as he sheathed his sword and initiated his finisher.
"We believe in you!" Blades called out as he initiated his finisher as well.
[HISSATSU DOKUHA!]
"Roaring Dragon Kicking Break!"
"Fantastic Blazer!"
Despite floating in mid-air, both Saber and Blades floated forward and took kicking stances, an aura appearing at their feet to allow them to stand in mid-air. The two readied themselves as they were bathed in intense auras of red and blue respectively.
[DRAGON! EAGLE! SAIYUU JA! SANSATSU GEKI! F-F-F-FIRE!]
[PEGASUS! LION! PETER FAN! SANSATSU GEKI! W-W-W-WATER!]
The two gave yells as they leapt from where they were, launching towards the Red Dragon of Revelations. The duo kicked out as tendrils were unleashed upon them, kicking against the tendrils as they slowly but surely pushed them back. The two screamed their lungs out as they kicked further and further, tearing through the sets of tendrils and piercing directly through the Dragon of Revelations despite Finé closing up its defenses.
"I-Impossible… they were able to pierce it?!" Finé yelled out as she was surprised at the two Riders breaking past her defenses.
Saber and Blades kicked past the dragon, bursts of red wind and blue dust occurring at their feet before they kicked off mid-air and flew towards the sides.
Hibiki gave a roar as she raised Durandal, the tip pointing up into the air as Tsubasa and Chris kept Hibiki braced, the two holding onto their friend tightly.
Miku took a deep breath before shouting with all of her might.
"HIBIKI!"
Hibiki suddenly jerked within her mind, having heard her best friend's voice.
'That's right. Right now… I'm not alone!'
She could hear them all, her friends, the members of Section 2, even the Riders voices calling out to her.
'I won't give in to the urge to destroy!'
The berserk form that Hibiki took began to withdraw, all of that energy flowing into the scar on her chest before disappearing. Now back in full control of her X-Drive form, her wings had ended up spreading out and growing. Hibiki then raised the Durandal up high, Tsubasa and Chris helping her as they held onto her arms.
Finé was in disbelief at what she was seeing, just barely managing to stabilize her monstrous form, "Where did she get that power from?!"
"It's the power granted to me by my friends' singing voices!" Hibiki answered, "SYMPHOGEAR!"
"GO!" Saber yelled out as he and Blades flew up high and away from where Finé was.
{SYNCHROGAZER}
Hibiki swung the sword downwards with all her might, a massive blade of energy erupting from it as it smashed directly into the Red Dragon of Revelations.
'The power of two Complete Relics locked in a fight to the death…' Finé was only able to comment on such great power as she couldn't resist the blade slicing down upon her monstrous form. She soon began to panic however once she realized a failure on her end, "What's wrong, Nehushtan?! Regenerate! I WILL NOT BE DESTROYED!"
Everything turned white for Finé as the Red Dragon of Revelations was littered with small explosions that grew larger before turning into one giant one.
Watching the destruction from the distance on one of the damaged buildings of the city was the same brown haired girl in the white dress from the earlier attack. She clasped her hands together as she lowered her head with her eyes closed.
"Please Finé… please stop this…" She spoke out loud, "There's no need to keep going further like this."
Hours had passed after the battle, everyone slowly but surely coming out of the shelters to take in the destruction that had occurred during the final battle. The Megid alongside Calibur had chosen to take their leave once they saw the volley of explosions that had engulfed the Red Dragon.
Falchion meanwhile had actually been watching the remainder of the battle from the distance ever since they first left. The warrior of Void said nothing before hearing an odd splashing/warping sound, soon turning to see big burst of water distorting the space off to the side before it shrunk to reveal someone in its place. It was a young and plain Japanese male with neatly slicked black hair and brown eyes, wearing a maroon buttoned coat with black cuffs that stopped at his waist alongside black fit pants alongside black boots.
He was holding a strange black sword with gold edges and a large square guard that seemingly could fit a Wonder Ride Book in it. The blade was potentially the strangest part, starting off normal at the end but by the time it reached the guard it split into three prongs that were embedded in it. The center of the blade was also interesting in design, holding pink and blue markings that made it seem clock-like in a sense.
"Well done, Falchion," The man said as he walked over having a mostly serious expression on his face, "You've successfully completed your mission."
"…" Falchion turned towards the man but said nothing.
"You're free to speak now that the mission is done," The man added.
"Understood," Falchion finally spoke, their voice being distorted though there was a slight hint of a feminine tone, "Are you the one extracting me, sir?"
"No, both my sister and I are," The man said before looking out at the destroyed Kadingir, "She's currently keeping hidden while searching for anything we might be able to use later."
"I see," Falchion gave a nod before hearing a hissing sound.
Smoke began to rise out of one of the cracks in the ground, the smoke erupting and spreading out to reveal a young woman around 19 years old. Oddly enough compared to the man she was foreign in appearance, being of Eastern European descent. She had bright teal colored eyes and a gentle look to her, having warm brown hair done up in a ponytail held down by a pink butterfly themed hair tie, the ponytail reaching down to the middle of her back.
She was dressed similarly to the man having the same fit black pants and black boots, though her maroon coat ended dropping down further on both the front and back, reaching her the middle of her shins. She was also holding a maroon and gold trimmed rapier-styled with a silver edged blade, it also having a large enough indention in the guard/hilt that would allow a Wonder Ride Book to be used.
"I'm done with my part, brother," The young woman said.
"Reika," The man turned towards the young woman, "How was the search?"
"There wasn't much," Reika admitted as she walked over, "But thanks to my Seiken I was able to send everything I could back to the Master without being seen."
"Good," The man gave a nod, "Finé's plan to 'liberate' humanity ended in failure. I'm sure the Master will be pleased about this development."
Reika then held up her Seiken, "And now with all of us here we can head home."
"Yes ma'am," Falchion gave a nod.
"You know you can call me by my name," Reika said as she looked over at the Rider, "Just like you can call my brother Ryoga instead of Sir."
"If Falchion wishes to show us respect then I see no reason to mention this," Ryoga said.
"We've been working how long with each other and you're still saying Falchion?" Reika gave a light huff as she asked this, "At the very least we shouldn't be afraid to act familiar with each other."
"We should get going," Ryoga gave a sigh as he turned away, putting a hand on his hip, "We can discuss this back at base if you wish to continue."
"Fine…" Reika sighed before swinging her blade, smoke erupting from it as it engulfed her alongside Ryoga and Falchion, the trio being engulfed in smoke before it vanished. Once it cleared, the three were gone with there being no trace of them having even been there to begin with.
The result of the clash of Complete Relics had resulted in the Durandal being destroyed, with only Solomon's Cane managing to remain intact despite everything.
As for the Nehushtan Armor, it had reverted to its grey state as Finé still wore it. But it was at its limits and it would likely crumble before the end of the day.
As everything calmed down, Hibiki had searched for Finé and had found the defeated and weakened woman before bringing her back towards her friends and what was left of Section 2.
Despite the battle being over, the three girls who wielded the Symphogear were still in their X-Drives. The Riders meanwhile had dismissed their transformations by this point, Genjuro sitting down to take a breather. Touma meanwhile was so weak from utilizing an enhanced Wonder Combo that he had to be braced by Rintaro and Daishinji.
"Are you going to be alright?" Tsubasa asked.
"Yeah, but I just feel so out of strength…" Touma admitted.
"Wonder Combo's require the absolute limit of your psyche and stamina to wield," Daishinji answered, "Even being enhanced and helped by Phonic Gain, you'll probably be bedridden for a few days."
"That's all, huh?" Touma asked before noticing Rintaro while also tired was faring better than him, "Rintaro, how are you moving just fine?"
"Because of my training, and now with your Full Wonder Combo we can begin helping you train further to master it and lessen the strain," Rintaro reminded before his legs began to shake a bit, "Even so, utilizing a Wonder Combo like that… is still intense."
"Fair enough," Touma gave a tired smile.
Finé meanwhile was questioning why Hibiki was going through with this, "Why do you… persist with…"
"Hibiki, you screwball," Chris gave a smile.
"That's just how she is," Touma smiled.
"I get that a lot, even my friends tell me I'm weird," Hibiki admitted as she found a rock to sit Finé down on, "Let's end this here, Ryoko."
"I am Finé," Finé answered as she stared at the ground.
"But Ryoko is Ryoko," Hibiki answered back, "I'm sure we can still understand each other."
"The Noise were created by mankind in ancient times," Finé spoke up as she stood and walked away from Hibiki, "We lost our common tongue, but rather than join hands in unity, we raised them in war. How could mankind ever hope to understand each other?"
"So, people made the Noise," Hibiki said.
"I had no choice but to tread this path!" Finé shouted as she gripped the whip on her armor tightly.
Chris tried to move forward only for Tsubasa to stop her by holding out her arm. Daishinji merely kept hold of Touma alongside Rintaro.
"We can understand each other!" Hibiki argued, "It's more than just words that connect us together."
It seemed like minutes upon minutes had passed as everyone could only wonder if Finé had taken Hibiki's words to heart. Well, that was until Finé gave a yell and turned as she launched her whip forward.
Hibiki had quickly sidestepped the whip before rushing forward, punching and stopping her fist only an inch away from Finé's chest.
"I shall be victorious!" Finé yelled.
Hibiki soon realized that Finé wasn't targeting her with that attack, she noticed the angle of the whip and quickly looked behind her.
Finé had launched her whip outwards, the chain shooting out of the atmosphere and into space before piercing the broken part of the Moon. With all of her remaining power, Finé yelled and pulled on the whip, her armor began to break and shatter further as she had completed her plan. The force from her pull had moved the broken chunk of the Moon far away enough to send it on a crash course towards Earth.
"I'll bring down that shard of the moon, and lay waste to all you vermin who dared stand in my way!" Finé screamed in near madness as this was her final gambit.
"N-No way…" Touma sputtered in shock as everyone else looked up towards the incoming fragment with alarm and horror.
"You couldn't go out gracefully could you?" Daishinji hissed as he gave a glare towards Finé.
"Though my body may die here, my soul will live on! As long as the Relics retain the potential to emit an Aufwachen Waveform, I can be reborn, time and time again!" Finé shouted in near delusion as what was left of her armor continued to crumble, "No matter the place… no matter the time! The next time I set foot on this Earth, I shall unite it! I am the timeless priestess, frozen in an eternal moment. Finé!"
TAP
Finé was broken out of her maddening speech when Hibiki had gently tapped her chest with a punch. Finé could only stare at Hibiki in shock as she went completely silent.
"That's right," Hibiki agreed as she withdrew her fist, "Wherever, whenever your next life may be… please pass on this message for me: You don't need strength to unite the world. We can become one, beyond the limit of words! Even in the future, we can join our hands in unity! I won't be there to tell them myself. But you can, Ryoko!"
"Don't tell me…" Finé trailed as she suddenly realized Hibiki's intention.
"But before I can entrust the future to you," Hibiki continued as she gave a determined look, "I must protect the present!"
Finé stared at Hibiki for a second before closing her eyes, opening them to reveal they were no longer gold. Instead they were the familiar shade of violet, and she gave a genuine smile, "You really are a hopeless child," she then leaned in and gently tapped Hibiki's chest, "Believe in the song of your heart."
Finé's body turned grey before crumbling and breaking down into dust that was blown away by the wind. Despite everything she had done, she was still Ryoko to Section 2, several of the members shedding tears for her alongside Chris.
Daishinji couldn't help but look towards the side, "I guess I was a bit wrong, you really did go out with more class than I expected…"
There wasn't much time to mourn however.
"We calculated the trajectory," Sakuya said as he had brought the console they were using with them, "It seems impact is unavoidable."
"If that thing falls here…" Touma trailed as he pushed himself off of Daishinji and Rintaro only to gasp out as he fell onto his hands and knees, still too tired from the strain of the Wonder Combo, "We need to…"
Hibiki began to walk forward, walking past Touma and Miku.
The two friends could only watch as their friend took the lead.
"Hibiki!"
"I'll stop it somehow," Hibiki said as she turned back to look at her friends, she gave a smile, "I'll be right back, I promise. So don't give up on living!"
Everyone could only watch as Hibiki ran forward before taking off, her energy wings spreading out as she launched herself towards the upper atmosphere.
"Hibiki… Hibiki!" Touma yelled out as he tried to stand, grabbing Rekka as he used it to lift himself up, "There has to be something we can do!"
"But you can't," Aoi protested, "You and Rintaro can barely stand!"
"Don't worry about Tachibana," Tsubasa said as she took a step forward, her wings spreading out.
"We can't let that dummy be the hero all on her own, right?" Chris gave a confident smirk.
"Wait a moment," Daishinji closed his eyes as his ears twitched, "Rekka and Nagare wish to help out."
"Huh?" Rintaro took out Nagare, "What do you mean?"
"Scan your Wonder Combo's and lend your power to the others," Daishinji explained.
Touma gave a nod as he stood up, taking out his Wonder Combo Books and scanning them at Rekka's tip while Rintaro did the same for his.
"Very well," Rintaro agreed.
"How this story ends…" Touma trailed, "Is for us to decide!"
[NARUHODO, NARUHODO! SHUUTOKOU SANSEN!]
Both Rintaro alongside a barely standing Touma raised their blades, both blades shining brilliantly with blue and red elemental energy. The two held their weapons forward, the energy launching out and engulfing both Tsubasa and Chris. The two Wielders gave a nod before flying after Hibiki.
It wasn't long before everyone on the ground could hear Hibiki's Swan Song being started, but before long both Tsubasa and Chris soon joined in, the song slowly evolving into something more beautiful.
"This sound…" Rintaro started.
"It's a beautiful song…" Daishinji gave a smile.
"They're going to be fine," Touma closed his eyes as he stabbed Rekka into the ground, leaning on it as he kept his head low, "They're going to be fine…" He gave a light gasp as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked to see that it was Miku, the two soon looking back up towards the sky.
Everyone then watched as the chunk of the Moon exploded from the power exerted by the Symphogears, a bright blue light shining against the night sky. But after nearly a minute… nothing else happened.
Miku could only tear up as she saw this, "No…"
"Please…" Touma trailed as he looked up in disbelief while the remaining fragments from the moon began to rain down like meteorites, "Please!"
The two could only stay close to each other and slowly but surely mourn for the loss of their friends as the realization started to hit them.
Genjuro looked up and narrowed his eyes, "Brace yourselves everyone…" He quickly drew out Gekido, but didn't transform as he gave a yell, swinging it forward. A small meteor that would have impacted and caused trouble for them had come their way, but thanks to Genjuro's quick thinking and reflexes he was able to bat it away like it was a baseball.
Daishinji gave a frown, "Don't be rough with Gekido like that!"
"Do you have a better idea?" Genjuro asked as he slung the massive blade over his shoulder, "We need to get moving."
"Ah!" Sakuya gave a yell as he pointed upwards, what looked like three more meteors were hurtling downwards, "We've got more fragments closing in on our position!"
"I'll smash them all!" Genjuro gave a roar as he gripped Gekido in his hands, "They fought their hardest to protect us from the full force, so I'll at least do this for us with these smaller ones!"
Daishinji's ear twitched however as he quickly ran over, grabbing Genjuro by the arm, "Wait a moment! Those aren't meteorites!"
"What?" Genjuro turned in shock, "What do you mean?"
Miku and Touma could only look up in silence at the swordsmith's words. They then saw the three meteorites slowly but surely approach. Well that was until they began to clear up more, the two noticing human-like shapes within them. The three figures suddenly crashed into the ground nearby, creating a small crater with smoke covering what had impacted.
"No way…" Touma gave a choked gasp as he managed to shakily stand, "Miku…"
"Right," Miku gave a nod, wiping the tears from her eyes as she quickly helped Touma over to the crater.
"Jeez, you couldn't land with some kind of grace?"
"That's Tachibana for you."
Miku and Touma slowly and carefully made their way over to the smoking crater. The two's eyes widened as the smoke began to clear. Standing in the crater were Tsubasa and Chris who were standing up… and Hibiki who had managed to land flat on her face.
Everyone slowly but surely went to walk over to the crater once they heard the voices, stopping behind Miku and Touma.
"Alright…" Chris sighed, "Come on you dummy…"
"Please be gentle…" Hibiki muttered as she was lifted off the ground and placed on her feet by her friends.
"There we go," Tsubasa said as she dusted off Hibiki.
It wouldn't be long before the trio's X-Drive Forms shined brightly before dissipating, reverting them back to their civilian forms.
"You three…" Touma trailed as he managed to slide down into the crater with Miku's help.
"Hehe… I don't really know how, but seems like we're okay," Hibiki gave a sheepish smile.
"Hibiki!" Miku quickly through herself at Hibiki and caught her friend in a hug, and managed to tackle them to the ground as a result.
"Whoa?!" Hibiki yelped before giving a nervous chuckle, "Hey there Miku… I'm home."
"Welcome home…" Miku said before tearing up some more, soon pounding on Hibiki with her fists, "Hibiki… Hibiki! Hibiki!" She repeated over and over again as Hibiki could only yelp at the display of aggressive affection.
Touma couldn't help but smile at the two friends who were reunited, he looked over at Chris and Tsubasa, "Sounds like Daishinji's plan worked."
"Damn straight it did," Chris raised her fist with a grin.
"The power you entrusted to us was what pushed us far enough to allow this to happen," Tsubasa gave a nod as she looked over to see the others making their way into the crater.
"I'm glad to see you are alright!" Rintaro called with joy before giving a bit of a confused look and scratching his cheek, "Um… how did this even occur anyway?"
"I suppose it's best to say that the combination of Riders and Wielders even while far apart resulted in a miracle," Genjuro smiled.
"I couldn't ignore the voices of the swords," Daishinji spoke up, "I knew that they were calling out to help for a reason."
Touma meanwhile managed to make his way over to his friends, "Well…"
"I promised I'd be back," Hibiki smiled, "Didn't I?"
"You did," Touma gave a smile.
Hibiki then noticed something off to the side before giving a yell, "Hey, Miku, Touma! Take a look at the sky! If you thought I kept my promise just now then look at this!"
"Huh? What about the sky?" Miku asked.
"Wait…" Touma soon looked up and around, giving a small smirk, "Oh."
The fragments of the Moon continued to rain down from the sky, lighting up the night with a shower of stars.
"Look!" Hibiki called out, "Aren't those shooting stars? I made that promise to you Miku, remember? We finally got to see them together!"
"Wait," Rintaro started as he looked around, "Does it count if it's pieces from the-"
"They do," Touma interrupted before giving a smile and staring up at the meteor shower.
Roughly Three Weeks Later
Touma was currently holding an umbrella over both his and Miku's heads, shielding them from the rain as they made their way through the city. Touma gripped Brave Dragon tightly in his hand while Miku had a bouquet of flowers that they had just purchased.
'Honestly everyone would probably be laughing at us right now,' Touma thought as he led the way, 'We're just a bunch of melodramatic dummies that really miss our best friend currently. The fact of the matter is that government issues are annoying to deal with. Hibiki, Tsubasa and Chris had ended up needing to enter lockdown for nearly an entire month due to the issues popping up from various governments abroad. While we Riders could move somewhat freely, we weren't allowed to visit them due to silly regulations.'
'Not like not visiting them for a long while matters anymore,' Miku thought as she inadvertently continued Touma's train of thought, 'Today's the day that we'll finally get to visit since they're set to be released if no issues come up. Even so… it's been long and hard without her…'
The two continued to walk along as the rain began to finally slow down and stop.
"Finally…" Touma groaned as he closed up the umbrella, "I swear it's been getting too moody lately."
"And on today of all days too," Miku agreed.
CRASH!
"Help me!"
The two's attention were suddenly caught by the sound of a car crashing alongside a scream. They looked at each other before nodding, Miku ending up dropping the flowers as she rushed off with Touma.
Along the highway nearby a woman was driving when she suddenly swerved into a pole thanks to several Noise appearing. Thankfully she had ended up unhurt for the most part but she was now surrounded on both sides, Noise slowly encroaching in.
"Henshin!"
[REKKA BATTOU! BRAVE DRAGON~!]
Several slashes of fire struck the Noise that approached on the woman's right side, slicing through and burning them. Kamen Rider Saber soon leapt into view and landed to block the remaining Noise on the woman's left.
"Get her to safety!" Saber called out.
"Follow me!" Miku quickly hurried over to the woman and grabbed her wrist, quickly leading her away.
The first few Noise were quick to leap forward only for Saber to give a yell as he lit his blade on fire, slashing through the Noise with ease. The remaining Noise backed up before running towards him, attempting to attack him only to be sliced through by the Rider.
"Good," Saber said before hearing a scream nearby, "Crap!"
The Rider quickly ran forward, cursing that because of the regulations and his limited visits to Section 2, he was only allowed to have Kaenken Rekka and Brave Dragon on hand for the moment. It wasn't long before he saw another batch of Noise, the grouping had surrounded Miku and the civilian who was collapsed on the ground from exhaustion.
"Don't give up! Please!" Miku called out as she stood in front of the woman, holding her arms out as if to protect her.
"Miku!" Saber called out as he rushed forward, sheathing his sword in to ready a finisher.
The Noise weren't as patient however, leaping high into the air to strike at Miku and the civilian. That was until two blue slashes cut through the Noise as bullets and concussive forces struck and tore them apart.
Saber began to slow down and gave a laugh, "Hey… what took you so long?!"
Miku turned in surprise to see four people dismissing their transformations, Hibiki, Tsubasa, Chris and Rintaro all standing together as they were near a car and the Ride Gattriker with Genjuro and Ogawa. The two older males went to make their way over to the civilian in order to get things settled.
"Jeez, you're going to complain about our help?!" Chris scoffed as she looked to the side.
"You seem to be doing well Saber," Tsubasa smiled, "Though your draw on your sword could be quicker."
"S-Shut up," Saber said as he dismissed his transformation.
"Sorry about that, when we got the alert we tried to get here as fast as we could," Hibiki apologized with a bow.
"Well I think you made it just on time," Miku gave a smile as she began to walk over with Touma.
"Really," Touma looked towards himself, "You're going to make me look greedy?"
Miku could only stick a tongue out at Touma who simply slumped forward.
"There's no time to waste you two," Rintaro spoke up with excitement, "The party to celebrate the three Symphogear Wielder's release is going to start shortly! They have éclairs as well!"
Touma couldn't help lift himself up with a chuckle at that before putting his hands on his hips.
'Even without Finé, the Noise will still continue to appear. That's not to mention the Megid alongside Calibur are still lurking around. There are a lot of mysteries that still need to be solved, and I know this story isn't over yet… just this chapter. And now a new chapter is starting. But with the Symphogear Wielders and Kamen Riders united, we can do anything, I'm sure of it!'
Author's Note: And that's S1's main plot wrapped and dealt with in a more different way. After finding out that XDU's ending for S1 was different I decided to check it out myself. When I saw and realized I could use it, I ended up fully reworking the intro to Chapter 1, which is why if you noticed they didn't stop at the grave. And like Touma said, the low mood at the beginning was pretty much the two of them being extra melodramatic at the current situation, haha. But yeah, a lot of interesting developments beyond just the standard finale, since I'll admit I did have to rework a bit of the immediate aftermath of the battle despite having finished the editing process for a while just to make a few needed changes. But other than that, writing this finale was pretty fun.
Even though the main plot of S1 has wrapped up we still have two more Chapters that are technically a part of S1, the SP and OVA Chapters. Thanks for reading and I'll see you all next month for those!