Sympho-Saber: Song of Swords
GX: EP01 – The Approaching Darkness
In the upper atmosphere of Earth, a space shuttle was currently crashing down towards the planet. A burning hole was in one of the wings, smoking heavily as fire erupted from it. Of course this inevitable crash was being monitored by Section 2.
The usual crew members were all at their stations, Sakuya and Aoi leading the charge in communications with Genjuro and Sophia overseeing their operations, Ogawa standing nearby the two.
"The projected crash site is near Ulaanbaatar," Sakuya spoke up, "It's a highly populated area!"
"Is there any word from the UN Security Council?" Genjuro asked as he was keeping a close eye on the situation alongside Sophia and Ogawa.
"We've been attempting to get in touch through the Interior Ministry and the Cabinet's priority channels, but no response so far," Aoi said as she typed away at her station.
"Don't tell me they mean to turn a blind eye?" Ogawa asked.
"That would be too cruel," Sophia replied though soon sighed as the reality of that cruelness was somewhat expected.
"Pieces of the Frontier remain floating near a Lagrange point in orbit," Genjuro said as he recalled how the situation ended up like this, "A UN research unit was dispatched to retrieve heretical technology, along with Professor Nastassja's remains."
"But during their return, they suffered a system malfunction," Ogawa added.
"Of all times… of all missions…" Sophia trailed.
{APPROVAL}
"We've got approval!" Aoi turned towards the two Commanders and Ogawa once she saw the approval pop up on her screen, "The Security Council has conditionally permitted us to act outside our jurisdiction!"
"All right," Genjuro slammed his fist into his palm before throwing out his hand with a grin, "Let's show those pencil pushers what we can do! Fujitaka!"
"Way ahead of you," Sakuya smiled as he typed away rapidly, inputting a few commands, "I've already calculated the trajectory."
Portions of Section 2's Submarine headquarters slid away to launch out two missiles, the missiles flying high into the sky as they made their ascent towards the falling shuttle.
On the shuttle were two astronauts, an older man and a younger man. The two were desperately trying to figure out away to make the situation less disastrous than it already was.
"Recheck all systems and try to adjust our trajectory to an uninhabited area!" The older astronaut called out.
"What do you think I'm trying to do?!" The younger one called back before wincing as a piece of the shuttle exploded and shook the cockpit. Opening his eyes he heard beeping only to give a light gasp as the radar detected two missiles heading towards them, "Missiles? They're shooting us down?!"
"I suppose they have no choice," The older astronaut closed his eyes in acceptance.
"Don't worry! You'll be fine!"
The older astronaut let out a light gasp at a young female voice being heard.
"Only you can decide how your story ends," A young male voice could be heard next.
The first voice spoke once more, "So don't give up on living, okay?"
Soon enough a song began to echo throughout the upper atmosphere of Earth, the first missile breaking apart and opening up to reveal the three Symphogear Wielders of Section 2 within it.
[CRIMSON DRAGON!]
[FANTASTIC LION~!]
As the announcements sounded off, the second missile broke apart to reveal both Saber and Blades in their Wonder Combo's.
Chris went to work immediately, creating two massive rockets with Hibiki and Tsuabasa landing on each. She fired them off, launching the two Wielders forward as both Saber and Blades used their flight abilities to launch off after the Wielders.
Tsubasa was currently trying to keep her balance as the missile shook from time to time, a smirk on her face, "These things are as wild a ride as Yukine herself!"
"Then show me how well you can handle me, Senpai!" Chris said as she was on her own missile now, arms crossed as she had no issues balancing at all.
"To think we're actually keeping up with this thing," Saber remarked as he kept boosting himself forward with Storm Eagle's abilities.
"That just shows how well our training has progressed," Blades said as he used Tenkuu no Pegasus to keep flying forward, Peter Fantasista keeping him at a steady height while also lifting him up as he adjusted his position.
Hibiki and Tsubasa began closing in on the ship before kicking off the missiles, abandoning them and landing on the ship. Hibiki took the more direct approach, punching her fist through the hull to latch onto the ship and find her footing while Tsubasa used her ankle blades as boosters to flip several times to make her landing.
"Our turn," Saber began to shift himself before summoning a red cloud, landing on it before he expanded it, Blades going over and landing on it before Saber had the cloud rush forward, it zooming and reaching the shuttle, the two landing just as Tsubasa and Hibiki had started up the plan.
The two Symphogear Wielders braced against the ship, using the jet boosters on their Gears to slow the descent as the shuttle began to re-enter Earth's atmosphere.
[STORM EAGLE!]
[PETER FANTASISTA!]
A burst of red wind was soon pushing against the ship as glowing gold particles began to wash over the ship, the two Riders utilizing a combination of their abilities to help slow the ship down even further.
"What's our status?" Daishinji asked as he hurried into the bridge.
"Boarding successful," Aoi called out, "Deceleration confirmed!"
"Projected crash site recalculated!" Sakuya said as he continued to type rapidly, "They're on course to the Karakoram range!"
"Seriously…?" Daishinji asked, "This'll be a close one."
"Just keep faith in them," Sophia replied, "They'll manage this."
Maria, Kirika and Shirabe were also watching the current mission take place. Due to their connections to Nastassja, Section 2 had been able to share the video and communications channel with them. With them was Kento who had planned to make one of his usual visits that day only for the four to find out about the shuttle malfunction.
"Mom…" Shirabe trailed.
"Please save her, dess…" Kirika prayed as she had her hands clasped together.
"They can do it," Kento said as he stared intently at the screen alongside Maria who stayed silent.
Chris had managed to land onto the shuttle not long after the Riders and Wielders had attempted to slow the spacecraft down. She then brought out more rockets but didn't launch them, using their thrusters to help with slowing the shuttle down. Tsubasa and Hibiki increased the output of their boosters and brought out their weapons, using the boosters in them to continue the deceleration process.
Saber and Blades meanwhile continued using Storm Eagle and Peter Fantasista. While the two weren't able to bring out such massive boosters like the Symphogear Wielders, their elemental abilities still helped in decelerating the spacecraft.
"They won't be able to slow down enough in time!" A member of Section 2 called out through communications, "Collision with the Karokorams is unavoidable!"
"Can't they at least get inside and save the pilots?" Ogawa asked.
Shirabe spoke up, "But then mom…"
"…can't come home, dess!" Kirika finished.
"Yeah, that's not an option!" Chris spoke into communications.
"Like we'd take the easy way out of this," Saber agreed.
"The dignity of the deceased is just as important to protect as the lives of the living," Tsubasa spoke up.
"Professor Nastassja gave everything to defend our world," Hibiki added, "It wouldn't be right to deny her the chance to come home!"
"Indeed, this is the least we can do for her!" Blades called out.
Shirabe spoke up, "You never-"
"-do things halfway, do you dess?" Kirika finished.
"Damn. I never could match your spirit," Maria muttered in an impressed manner.
"Then we'll put our trust in you," Kento called out, "So keep it up!"
"We have good news, the deceleration is working," Aoi called out, "Bad news, they're still going to crash straight into the tip of K2!"
"The tip…?" Saber turned before realizing that they were just barely about to crash into the top of the mountain, "Wait…! I've got it! Chris, hit the tip of the mountain with your missiles!"
"I'm not sure what you're planning but sure, give me some height!" Chris said as she ran towards Saber before leaping forward.
[BRAVE DRAGON!]
The Brave Dragon soon formed in a burst of flames, being a bit larger than usual as it soon raised its head up high, Chris landing on it as she began to expand her Symphogear, creating six massive missiles.
{MEGA DETH SYMPHONY!}
The missiles all launched towards the highest point of the mountain, the missiles splitting into dozens as they then struck against the tip of the mountain before exploding as the top of K2 was now blown off. However it still wasn't enough for them to safely pass through. The likely scenario being them scraping against the top of the mountain and being sent spinning as a result.
"Was it still not enough?!" Tsubasa asked.
"No it's more than enough!" Saber called out as he swapped out Saiyuu Journey for King of Arthur, drawing out his sword as a large version of the King of Arthur Wonder Ride Book appeared beneath the shuttle.
[TATSUMAKI DRAGON EAGLE!]
[ZOSATSU! ARTHUR OU!]
The King of Arthur Blade appeared beneath the shuttle before slowly shifting into the form of the King of Arthur robot, it planting its hands on the bottom of the shuttle as it prepared its legs, getting in a squatting position.
[STORM EAGLE!]
A red tornado appeared around the King of Arthur as it approached the destroyed top of K2, crouching before planting its feet onto the mountain, pushing up and using Storm Eagles tornado to launch upwards, carrying the shuttle with it as they launched past the damaged mountain together.
"Nice thinking!" Hibiki gave a thumbs-up.
Everyone could only watch in awe as the shuttle sailed past a dense forest, soon seeing a small town in the distance.
"It is very good we have enough height to pass that town," Blades admitted, "Otherwise this would have been perilous."
"Yep, now let's just coast on out of here and make a safe landing somewhere flat!" Saber called out with confidence before a sudden creaking could be heard. It wasn't long before tumbling was heard underneath the shuttle and not long after the King of Arthur robot could be seen flying off into the distance behind them, "Uh…"
"It didn't have a good grip of the bottom, did it?" Chris asked with a near deadpan stare as the King of Arthur robot could be seen falling and crashing into the forest they had just passed.
It didn't take long for the shuttle to start to dip rapidly as without King of Arthur, it had no extra boost to keep it high in the air.
"No time to think about it!" Tsubasa quickly raised her sword, an enlarged sword shooting past the Shuttle and slamming into its path at a downwards angle.
{Heaven's Wrath}
The shuttle had managed to slide down the enlarged sword, their height alongside the sword allowing them to avoid several sharp turns they'd have to make. Of course there were still several rock formations in the way for them to deal with.
"Leave this to dummy and I!" Chris called out as she opened up her skirt, unleashing dozens of small missiles from them.
{MEGA DETH PARTY}
"Right, Hibiki Style…" Hibiki pulled back her left gauntlet and aimed it forward before performing a short thrust, streams of yellow energy erupting from her fist, "Swallow Spear!"
Missiles crashed against the rock formations in front of them before the streams of energy cut and tore through them entirely.
"Good our path is clear!" Blades called out.
"Hey other dummy," Chris called out in annoyance towards Blades, "Don't forget about what you mentioned earlier!"
"Wait…" Blades soon turned towards the front again to see they were closing in on the village, "Oh no!"
"Bring out King of Arthur again and use it to slow us down from the front!" Hibiki turned towards Saber, "Then we can do the thing!"
"But we haven't tested it yet!" Saber yelled out, somehow knowing what Hibiki was referring to.
"I'm not good with tests!" Hibiki shouted back, "So I'll wing it like usual!"
"Hibiki!" Saber shouted in exasperation while tapping his Story Ride Book.
[KING OF ARTHUR!]
The King of Arthur Wonder Ride Book formed farther up ahead, a beaten and scuffed up King of Arthur emerging before thrusting its palms forward and slamming its feet into the ground. Despite the giant robots strength, the shuttle was still sliding downwards at a steady speed.
"Alright, now…" Hibiki called out as she began to concentrate, her Gear glowing brightly.
"Hey dummy, you think you have enough power to pull that off?!" Chris questioned in disbelief.
"You're going to hurt yourself!" Tsubasa agreed.
"No she won't!" Daishinji called out through communications, "Blades use it now!"
"Understood," Blades drew out Bremen no Rock Band, scanning the book on the tip of Nagare as pulsations of music began to gather within the Seiken, "Here we go!"
[BREMEN NO ONGAKUTAI! MM-HM! SHUUTOKU ISSEN!]
Hibiki spread her arms out as she watched a sound wave of colorful music launch out towards her, striking her as her Symphogear began to shine brightly, "Saber!"
"I hope this works!" Saber yelled out as he launched off of the ship, landing on King of Arthur's shoulders alongside Hibiki.
"Hibiki Style: King of Gungnir!" Hibiki yelled out, throwing her arms to the side as her gauntlets and grieves launched out and grew in size before latching onto King of Arthur's arms and legs, giving it giant Gungnir armoring.
The King of Arthur stayed silent but held strong as it used its enhancements to slow the space shuttle down considerably, though at this rate it looked like it was still going to slam into one of the first buildings of the town.
"Tachibana! Saber!" Tsubasa called out.
The King of Arthur let out a light groan as it began to slip underneath the space shuttle, lifting it up and turning to face the town while getting underneath it. It then used Gungnir's gauntlets to dig its fists into the bottom of the shuttle. It held on firmly before it activated the power jacks as Hibiki yelled out.
Soon enough the King of Arthur leapt forward with the shuttle in tow, the combination teamwork between Rider and Wielder giving the King of Arthur enough power to leap past the town's main buildings before landing behind the town itself with a loud crash. It slowly but surely began to set the shuttle down in a slanted angle on a rock formation that was directly next to the building it landed behind.
King of Arthur then backed away as its Gungnir armoring broke apart and returned to Hibiki.
"Mission Accomplished," Tsubasa said as she had dug her sword into the ship to keep steady, Chris hanging onto her while Blades had used his hook to hold onto the edge of the shuttle after nearly flying off.
"Incredible…" Blades coughed out before giving a yelp as he landed alongside Tsubasa and Chris who hurried over to Hibiki and Saber.
The three could easily hear everyone on the communications channel give audible small gasps of relief before cheering was heard.
Saber and Hibiki both gave sighs of relief as Saber reverted to his base form, the King of Arthur Robot fading as the two fell and landed on their backs.
"Are you two okay?" Tsubasa asked as she hurried over with the others.
"That was too close…" Saber gasped out as he held his chest, "Way too close…"
Hibiki meanwhile couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably, and it didn't take long for Saber to start chuckling along with her laughter.
"Did you two hit your heads or something?" Chris asked as she hovered over Hibiki and Saber with Tsubasa and Blades.
"Um…" Blades let out a soft chuckle before growing confused, "Why are we laughing?"
"I'm just so happy for the miracle that let me wear a Symphogear!" Hibiki admitted with a smile.
Saber continued to chuckle, "Sometimes I feel like you're way too reckless though."
"Come on you're totally just as reckless as I am," Hibiki laughed out.
"You two are absolutely hopeless…" Chris sighed with a shrug, but it was clear she was just joking as she also had a smile on her face.
"To think that we were able to combine the power of Gungnir and King of Arthur," Blades admitted, "I know we had mentioned it in practice but…"
"It's similar to how we utilized it back on Frontier," Tsubasa admitted, recalling how King of Arthur wielded her enlarged blades briefly, "Though Tachibana isn't as used to creating enlarged weapons like I am."
"Yeah but we had enough compensation," Chris said as Blades held out Bremen no Rock Band, "Seriously that book is a lifesaver sometimes."
"So what happens now?" Saber asked as he sat up.
"I think now we should assess any damage while also working on recovering the crew and shuttle's contents," Tsubasa said as she went to help Saber stand.
"Sounds good to me," Saber gave a nod as he was helped up before offering his hand to Hibiki who grasped it.
3 Months Later…
A fair amount of time had passed since the shuttle rescue mission, and Sakuya seemed to be going down memory lane on the bridge of their submarine base as he looked over the files of said shuttle rescue.
"Here," Aoi walked over and held up a cup of coffee, surprising the male operator, "It'll warm you up."
"Thanks, it does feel warm," Sakuya said as he took the cup, "Wasn't expecting this from you."
"You didn't have to say it like that," Aoi said with slight annoyance before noticing the reports her co-worker was reading, "It's been three months since they saved the shuttle."
"Following that incident, the second division was reorganized into S.O.N.G., a new task force under direct UN oversight," Sakuya recalled, "We're now tasked with disaster relief all over the world. I'd be happy if we had no more major incidents until I retired, though."
As if the man had tempted fate too much, the lights dimmed as the alarm went off, a signal being detected and put on screen.
Aoi quickly hurried over to her monitor, "Unknown signature detected near part of Yokohama!"
Before the two could even think of tracking it down, the signal disappeared.
"Signal lost?" Sakuya asked as he saw the alert just as the lights turned back on, "Contact both Commanders right away!"
"Roger," Aoi said as she got to work, "Do you think…"
"That it's the Megid?" Daishinji spoke up as he walked through the doors, "No, they wouldn't have popped an alert like this."
Sakuya turned in surprise, "Daishinji?"
"Was just coming to check a few things that I can't access in my lab," Daishinji admitted as he walked over.
"How are things on your end?" Aoi asked.
"Same as usual," Daishinji said as he leaned on one of the consoles, "I haven't been able to crack that large Ride Book that Touma brought back… but I've at least managed to craft another one thanks to using it as a base."
"So what good will two blank books do us?" Sakuya asked.
"Well there's a chance I can figure out how to get the one Touma brought back to work if I can make the one I created work," Daishinji said, "Or at least that's the theory. But I am curious about the alert, so what's going on?"
"Not sure," Sakuya admitted, "But I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of this."
Meanwhile in the area where the signal was detected a small figure covered in a black and purple hooded cloak was running for her life. Something was shooting at her, small shots impacting near her as she tripped and fell forward. But she managed to recover before going to hide behind a phone booth. She clutched a small box close to her as she began to breathe heavily.
'Dvergr Dáain's legacy… I must atone by delivering this before it's too late.'
She ran away, hoping to lose her pursuer in the dark of night, but was unaware that her pursuer had been standing on a rooftop nearby, posing rather extravagantly.
"The subdued approach doesn't suit me," The pursuer remarked as she kept up her strange pose, "So next time, I'll put on a show."
Standing in the shadows near where both the hooded girl and strange pursuer were was Kamijo. The wielder of Kurayami was holding the blade in his gloved hand as he watched the scene play out. He looked down at Kurayami and swapped the hand he was holding it with, giving a grunt as several flashes appeared over his vision. He then gripped Kurayami by his gloved hand once more before looking up at the moon in the night sky.
"It's now time to commence the final preparations," Kamijo said before turning and walking away from the area.
The Next Day…
It was another quiet day at Fantastic Bookstore Kamiyama as Touma was currently working on redrafting a few things now that he had gotten a better handle on some of the earlier parts of his story. Though at the rate he was going and the size and scope it was starting to grow into, he wondered if he should attempt to make the book into a series.
Rintaro was also there, reading a book that Touma was letting him borrow. Though his original reason for coming was mostly to drop off a maintained Kaenken Rekka so that Touma could have his gear prepared in case anything happened.
"Hmm…" Touma paused as he tapped his pen against his desk a bit.
"Is something wrong?" Rintaro asked.
"Just wondering how Kento's doing, given well, you know," Touma admitted.
"Ah yes that," Rintaro gave a nod, "I'm sure he's doing quite fine for himself, he's a very capable swordsman."
"Right…" Touma said before chuckling to himself, "Though I doubt he's doing much swordsman stuff where he is."
"I suppose that is true," Rintaro said with a nod as he closed up his book, "Still he is rather capable so my point still stands."
"Fair," Touma agreed before thinking a bit, "Hey has Daishinji ever figured out what the blank book I brought back from Avalon was?"
"Unfortunately not," Rintaro admitted, "It's beginning to frustrate him admittedly."
"I can only imagine," Touma gave a sigh, "I thought it had something to do with taming King of Arthur's power… but now…"
"Despite there being no progress made in the identity of the blank book, he was still able to create a similar book by just observing its structure," Rintaro explained, "He hopes that if he can figure out how to create a Ride Book out of that, then activating the one you found will be easier."
"I suppose that does make sense," Touma nodded before turning when he heard his door.
"Coming in…"
"We're here for books, dess!"
"Oh hey you two," Touma gave a smile as he watched Shirabe and Kirika enter the shop, "How were classes?"
"Oh you know, the usual," Kirika shrugged.
"So what brings you two here?" Rintaro asked.
"We're just stopping by real quick before we head to Senpai's place tonight for the Charity Rock Festival," Shirabe answered before looking over at Touma, "I placed an order a couple of days ago."
"Oh right she was having that get together, huh?" Touma recalled as he put a hand on his chin before looking over to the two younger Wielders, "Well then given you've got a tight schedule I suppose I shouldn't waste too much of your time. Let me see if your order came in."
Rintaro watched as Touma went into the back, "So what exactly did you order?"
"Just some home cook books," Shirabe said, "I want to expand my skill-set and I figured going off of existing recipes and adding my own touches would be a good start."
"Ah, I wish I was very adept at cooking," Rintaro admitted, "Though unfortunately I've yet to get a handle on it so I settle for instant meals."
"Yeah… that sounds about right, dess," Kirika admitted nonchalantly.
"W-Wait," Rintaro sputtered out, "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Well from what we've seen and how everyone else talks…" Kirika gave a nervous chuckle.
"Your best and only trait seems to be your swordsmanship," Shirabe said in a rather blunt manner.
"O-Oh… I see…" Rintaro trailed before hanging his head at those words.
"Good news your order did-" Touma was entering with the books Shirabe had ordered before he cut himself off as he saw the current scene in his bookstore, blinking a few times, "Um…"
At the Megid Hideout, Storious was pacing around while Legeiel was nearby the center table that had the six Wonder Ride Books that Storious collected on it. Kamijo was nearby alongside Zooous, the latter of whom was eagerly watching what was about to take place.
"Our new partner is about to begin her plan shortly," Storious said, "We must ready our contribution now that we have the necessary tools for the Six Swordsmen that face us."
"I guess it's finally time to go then," Zooous said with a grin.
"Legeiel, if you could commence the preparations," Storious looked over at his ally.
"With pleasure," Legeiel grinned as he opened up a new Alter Ride Book.
[ITAZURA GOBLINS!]
Soon enough six Megid leapt out of the shadows, all looking identical to each other. They had a red muscular chest, they're heads were also red with a toothy grin and large ears, holding a white long nosed mask over their face with horns sticking out. Armoring and cloth covered their shoulders, forearms and waist as they all wielded a kanabo styled staff.
"Calibur, you're up," Legeiel said as he stepped away.
The Goblin Megid all began to laugh and giggle as they approached the center table, Kamijo walking over and beginning to scan the Wonder Ride Books.
[JAAKU READ!]
He would scan one swordsmen themed Ride Book before stabbing a Goblin with Kurayami, dark energy alongside the respective element of the Ride Book being infused into the Goblin. He then repeated this process five more times, all of the Goblins yelling out as they all felt powered up by the different elements they were imbued with it.
"Our preparations are finally complete," Kamijo said as he backed away.
"Then tonight… the first page of a new chapter begins," Storious smiled.
Touma and Rintaro were currently in the in the upstairs living area of Fantastic Bookstore Kamiyama. Touma had cooked up some dinner for the two to enjoy as they watched the TV which had a live recording of the Charity Rock Festival playing.
"You know you didn't have to do this for me," Rintaro spoke up.
"Well come on, we barely hang out right?" Touma asked, "Figured we could use a bit of a night to ourselves."
"True, though you do hang out with Hibiki and Miku quite a bit," Rintaro admitted, "So I expected you to do the same tonight."
"I figured they could use a girls' night out with their watch party," Touma admitted as he took a sip of his drink, "Besides I'd also rather not overcrowd Chris' apartment."
"True," Rintaro nodded, "She does seem to end up being the place to go to for gatherings."
"She probably shouldn't have gotten that gigantic flat screen television if she didn't want that to be the case," Touma remarked before going to take a bite of some of his food.
"That does make her the most opportune of us…" Rintaro agreed, "Still though, from what I recall you saying I remember you not being too into music."
"I'm still not crazy about concerts but I do want to support a friend by watching," Touma said as he pointed to the screen, the performance beginning to start, "After all, we should cheer Tsubasa on in whatever way we can, right?"
"You're definitely right, but not only her since Maria is performing as well," Rintaro added.
It didn't take long for the performance to get under way, Tsubasa and Maria performing a beautiful and energetic duet as the special effects and choreography were flashy and intense, just perfect for the duo of idols.
"It's honestly incredible how all out they go for these," Rintaro said in awe as the concert continued.
"Yeah," Touma nodded, "It must have taken a long time for it to be rehearsed and perfected too given what they're pulling off right now."
"Admittedly it's honestly remarkable that Maria's able to perform on stage again," Rintaro said as he continued to watch the show, "Given well…"
"From what Kento said, in order to resolve the incident involving Frontier and the falling of the Moon, Maria had to be taken into custody," Touma recalled his friend's words, "And of course because of annoying politics she had to become a literal idol."
"I see," Rintaro said as he thought on the situation, "Though I suppose for her this is her way of making sure Kento, Kirika and Shirabe can live on with normal lives alongside us and the others."
"Well said," Touma replied before putting a hand to his chin, "Admittedly I feel like Miku would say something similar. She usually has a nice way with words like that."
Rintaro nodded before smiling as he saw the performance end, watching as Tsubasa gave a big smile and a wide wave, "I will admit it's nice to see that Tsubasa is genuinely enjoying herself."
"Well it was her dream to travel the world and perform all over," Touma pointed out, "That'll definitely help."
As the performance came to a close, Maria was currently standing on a stage elevator, waiting for it to fully descend. Waiting for her were two agents in black suits and sunglasses.
"Mission well done," The first of them said.
"Keeping a close watch on your idol, are you?" Maria asked.
"It's for your own protection," The second agent said, "There are many out there who would wish harm on the hero who saved the world."
"As her manager I can assure you that she can handle herself."
The two agents turned around as Kento stepped forward, dressed up in a suit and glasses to signify him as Maria's manager.
"And if there's something she can't manage," Kento spoke up, keeping a neutral stare, "Then I can take care of it."
"What are you trying to insinuate?" The first agent asked.
The second agent gave a nod, "Our service is top of the line-"
"In standard threats," Kento said as he walked past the two, "When it comes to what Maria and I have dealt with, standard threats aren't going to be what come near us."
"…"
Both agents could only stay silent before they looked away.
Maria herself couldn't help but smirk at Kento's words, always appreciative of him backing her up.
"Good work out there," Kento smiled as he held out a water bottle for Maria to take.
"Thank you," Maria smiled back as she took the bottle, taking the lead with Kento and walking off, the two agents trailing behind them to cover their rear. While the situation wasn't the best in Maria's eyes, she was at least glad that SONG had pushed for Kento to keep up being her manager.
"Well that was rather nice," Rintaro admitted as he went to help Touma do the dishes.
"Yeah…" Touma trailed off as he slowed a bit in his movements.
"Is everything alright?" Rintaro asked.
"Just wondering how long this is going to last," Touma answered, "The last Megid incident was pretty far back and that's not counting the Cinema stuff."
"Ah yes… it is odd that our enemies haven't struck by now," Rintaro agreed, "Regardless-"
[GATRING, GATRING!]
Touma heard his communicator beep at the same time as Rintaro's Gatrikephone went off, the two answering their devices.
"This is Touma, Rintaro's with me," Touma answered.
"Good you both are together," Sophia said as she was the one contacting them, "A massive fire has broken out in the seventh district. The firefighters can't handle it on their own so you two alongside our two active Wielders will assist them."
"Understood," Rintaro said, "We'll get there as soon as we can."
"Of course, we'll have a helicopter on route to yours and the girls' positions," Sophia said before cutting communications.
"I suppose we should get going," Touma said as he brought out his Swordriver.
"Indeed," Rintaro nodded as he brought out his Swordriver as well.
Kento, Maria and the two agents were walking through the backstage area, passing into a room that held shelves filled with mannequins. All of them were dressed in various costumes and outfits, and Kento couldn't help glance around warily given how eerie the feeling was in the room. Of course his instincts kicked into overdrive when a sudden breeze kicked up… especially since they were indoors.
Kento looked around as he reached into his pockets to draw out his Swordiver, "Wind?"
"Is someone there?" Maria asked as she got in a defensive stance alongside the two agents.
"Through back-room deals and manipulations of the media, the Frontier incident was swept under the rug," a female's voice spoke out from seemingly all around, "And here is its tainted hero, Maria Cadenzavna Eve."
"Who are you?" Maria questioned as she looked around.
"Megid…?" Kento muttered as he looked around before he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, "Back away now!"
Kento and Maria both backed up as a mannequin in a green dress with long green-ish brown hair dropped down on one of the agents, pulling the unlucky man into a kiss. The agent tried to break free as his eyes widened with panic.
"Get away from him!" The other agent shouted as he aimed the gun at the living mannequin.
The agent in the mannequin's grasp soon turned a deathly pale bone white in both his skin and hair as the mannequin's eyes shined a bright green. He was then pulled away from before being dropped, his body falling to the ground limply.
The remaining agent had fired three times only for the mannequin to counter by swinging her skirt. A burst of green wind could be seen as the bullets were deflected, striking him in his shoulders and head, killing him in an instant.
"Not… a Megid…?" Kento's eyes widened at this.
The mannequin tapped her heels twice as she struck a flamenco-like pose with her dress, clearly taunting the Rider and former Wielder.
"Without your Symphogear, you are worthless to me," The mannequin said as she stared directly at the two.
"Sorry to say but she's not defenseless," Kento said though raised an eyebrow at the mannequin's phrasing before placing his Swordriver on his waist, slotting his main Story Book in before drawing out Ikazuchi, "Henshin!"
[IKAZUCHI BATTOU! LAMP DO ALANGINA!]
Raising his sword up, lightning struck down as he was transformed into Kamen Rider Espada. The Rider then got in his usual stance as he stood in front of Maria.
"Kento Fukamiya," The mannequin said as she kept her usual stare, "The Swordsman of Thunder, Kamen Rider Espada."
"She knows about both Riders and Wielders?" Maria muttered.
"It doesn't matter," Espada called out as he leapt forward, speeding towards the mannequin like a bolt of lightning, "You won't be having your way!"
The mannequin chuckled as she tapped her heels again, spinning and twirling her dress right as Kento slashed, unleashing a burst of wind that blocked his slash before forcing him back.
"I suppose some commotion is good," The mannequin admitted.
A small chase was happening near the rapidly growing fire back in tokyo, the same hooded girl from the previous night still running from the same pursuer as before.
"Dance for me. Or shall I make you?"
The pursuer seemed to be utilizing coins as projectiles, bringing them out between her fingers before launching them out at the hooded individual. The coins launched out and struck all around the hooded girl. One had struck a car's engine which caused a large enough spark for it to explode, the explosion causing a chain explosion with the other cars nearby.
The hooded girl was sent flying and landed hard against the ground. Despite this she managed to get up and kept running while being unaware that there was someone else in the area.
A short cloaked figure with a pointed hat was currently staring at the flames, watching them rise and grow.
Of course, none of the three were aware that the fire had caught the attention of a neutral party. Far off and standing atop a building was Desast, Grudge Dent resting on his shoulder as he held it firmly. He could only chuckle as he watched the fires rise.
"Looks like something's finally going down…"
A SONG Helicopter flew towards the disaster as it took place, Touma, Rintaro Hibiki and Chris having met up and prepped their transformations as they were on route to the fire. The four were currently being briefed by both Commanders.
"We've completed our evacuation of the area," Genjuro explained.
"However, we're still reading multiple life signs in this building," Sophia added.
"Don't tell me there are people still here!" Hibiki spoke up in shock.
"They must've been sealed in by the fire itself," Genjuro guessed, "What worries me more is that the fire seems to be worsening."
"Could there be someone behind it?" Chris asked.
"An arsonist…?" Touma asked, "Or…"
"Potentially a Megid," Rintaro narrowed his eyes.
"Hibiki and Blades, you two focus on saving the remaining people," Sophia ordered, "Chris, Saber, please confirm exactly what's going on here."
"High power strength and water for rescue and then a double dose of firepower in case things go wrong on the investigation," Touma said, "Got it."
"Did you really have to say it like that though…?" Chris gave a deadpan stare at Touma over the word 'firepower' when describing their team up.
"What?" Touma asked, "I thought it sounded good enough."
Hibiki and Rintaro hurried over to the door, opening it up and staring down at the burning building.
"Don't let us down!" Chris called out.
"I won't!" Hibiki called with confidence as she held up her Pendant.
"Good luck out there," Touma gave a nod.
"I swear by Suiseiken Nagare, we will save those trapped civilians," Rintaro assured as he loaded in both Lion Senki and Peter Fantasista.
Both Hibiki and Rintaro leapt out of the helicopter, the two in a freefall as they initiated their respective transformations.
"Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron~"
"Henshin!"
[NAGARE BATTOU! KAGAYAKU LION FANTASISTA~!]
A burst of light occurred from Hibiki's pendant as she held it out, the energy wrapping around her before it shattered to reveal her in her Symphogear armor. A splash of water occurred above her as Blades soon emerged and began dropping faster to follow her in his Lion Fantasista Two Book Form.
Hibiki did a few spins in mid-air curling up before kicking downwards and slamming directly into the roof of the building. The resulting kick opened up a hole that she fell through with Blades dropping in not long after her.
[LION SENKI!]
Blades immediately brought out the Lion Senki, it unleashing streams of water from its mouth to douse any weak flames that it could and allow them to pass.
"I'll lead you in the direction of the life signals!" Aoi said on their comms channel.
"Please do," Blades said, looking at Hibiki and giving a nod, the two receiving directions and rushing down the hall.
Despite attempting to go after the Mannequin, Espada was having no luck in trying to strike at her. And as a result the Mannequin was able to use her dance-like movements to easily move towards Maria, drawing out a sword and gracefully swinging it around to deflect any attempts Espada tried against it.
Maria leapt over a slash as the Mannequin slammed the sword into the ground, creating a crater. This resulted in Maria getting behind the strange attacker, slamming her leg into the back of her opponent's head. This didn't seem to have any effect on the mannequin as Maria was grabbed by the leg and thrown up into the air.
"Maria!" Espada attempted to rush in only for a burst of wind to send him skidding backwards.
"Damn it!" Maria called out as she fell, positioned perfectly as the Mannequin's sword was now aimed straight at her. She could only close her eyes as she inched closer towards the blade, bracing for impact only to feel herself grabbed.
It was Tsubasa who had donned her Symphogear Armor, using her own blade to deflect the Mannequin's while catching Maria and leaping away.
"Tsubasa!" Maria called out.
"Thank goodness," Espada sighed in relief as he hurried over to the two, "You made it just in time."
"Of course," Tsubasa said as she aimed her blade at their opponent, "How could I not draw my sword after witnessing my friends in danger?"
"I have been waiting for you," The Mannequin admitted.
"Who are you?" Tsubasa questioned.
"An Autoscorer," The Mannequin answered as she raised her dress while holding her blade at an odd angle.
Tsubasa and Espada both had the same question.
"Autoscorer…?"
"I came hoping to hear your song," The Autoscorer said as she pointed her blade at Tsubasa, her pupils shrinking before charging forward with an unsettling smirk.
"I'm not her manager but I'm pretty sure she doesn't do after show singing!" Espada rushed forward and tapped his book.
[LAMP DO ALANGINA!]
The Lamp Do Alangina launched out and began punching at the Autoscorer who was forced to take a step back, deflecting the punches before unleashing a burst of wind from her dress to force the thunder Familiar back. Tsubasa leapt over it and slashed down, clashing blades with the Autoscorer before Esapda slid forward, lightning flashing as he closed the distance easily, slashing forward.
The Autoscorer had managed to push Tsubasa's sword back before dodging out of the way of Espada's strike. Tsubasa then drew out a second sword, slashing forward once more and striking at the Autoscorer who simply deflected her slashes before spinning out of the way of Espada trying to slash at her from behind.
"This is…" Espada muttered as he saw green shimmers in the air in his failed strike, wondering if this Autoscorer was manipulating the air to make it easier to deal with his fast striking nature.
Hibiki shouted as she enhanced her gauntlets, punching and smashing through several floors before landing on one knee. Blades yelped out as he landed behind her, nearly tripping as the Lion Senki landed near them, it unleashing bursts of water wherever it could to douse the flames.
"Um… are you sure we should be doing this?" Blades asked, "I'm unsure if this buildings structural-"
"Hibiki, create an escape route by punching open the wall to your left!" Aoi called out on communications.
"O-Or we can just keep going…" Blades stammered out.
Hibiki yelled out as she gripped her fist tightly before turning and punching forward, breaking open the wall that was to her left. With the wall broken, the two were able to see the trapped civilians before them.
"Everyone please remain calm and follow us!" Blades called out as he and Hibiki gestured for the civilians to follow them.
Blades had the Lion Senki help clear any fire in the way while Hibiki smashed through any walls and debris to clear a path for their escape route.
"Hibiki, Blades! There's one life sign still in there!" Aoi reported.
"I'll lead the civilians to safety," Blades said before looking at Hibiki, "Go save that person."
"Of course," Hibiki nodded before she went to punch down a wall to head in the directions that Aoi was giving her.
Blades meanwhile now had Sakuya leading him towards the edge of the building, the Lion Senki taking the lead before curling into a ball and launching itself at a wall. The wall cracked as the Lion Senki backed away, Blades soon giving a yell as he lashed out with Peter Fantasista's hook. The chain and hook slammed against the cracked wall, breaking through and creating an opening outside. Blades quickly ushered the civilians he had out of the building and pointed them in the direction of emergency services.
Parts of the building began to give way and crumble and Blades feared the worst. He was ready to contact SONG HQ and ask about Hibiki's status only for a portion of the roof to burst open, Hibiki having kicked through it with a young boy in her arms.
Blades could only let out a light chuckle as he saw this, "You and Touma never cease to amaze me…"
Tsubasa and Espada both discreetly nodded to each other, the two continuing their strikes as they forced the Autoscorer to leap away from them. Espada soon sped past their strange opponent, scanning a Wonder Ride Book on Ikazuchi's blade.
[HEDGEHOG! MM-HM! SHUUTOKU ISSEN!]
Espada turned and slashed outwards just as the Autoscorer was landing, electric needles piercing through the dress of the Autoscorer and creating an electrical net to keep her stunned, the Autoscorer's eyes widening at this.
Tsubasa meanwhile had backed away before shifting her blades' shape and combining them at the hilt, using her ankle blades' boosters to slide forward. She twirled her blades, coating them in fire as she rushed towards the stunned Autoscorer.
"My blade, dance in the wind, and incinerate my enemies with wheels of fire," She chanted as the flames turned blue, "Shine, O Moon!"
{Moonlit Wind Ring's Fiery Blades}
Tsubasa had slashed directly through the Autoscorer, lighting her opponent ablaze. The force of her attack had also knocked the Autoscorer away from her and directly into a pile of boxes.
The fire began to grow more manageable as the firefighters were hard at work at dousing the flames. Of course there was still worry as a mother was talking to the paramedics.
"I can't find my son!" The mother explained, "He must still be-!"
"Here!" Hibiki called out as she ran over in her civilian attire with Rintaro, the mother giving a gasp of surprise.
"He inhaled a lot of smoke," Rintaro explained.
"Take him to a hospital right away!" Hibiki urged as the boy was taken out of her arms by the mother and the paramedics.
"We can't thank you enough!" A paramedic said to the Rider and Wielder as they loaded up the mother and son before entering the ambulance, driving off.
"Let us hope they'll be able to help him," Rintaro said.
"Yeah," Hibiki agreed before something caught her eye, looking up at a bridge over the area they were in.
"Alright, so shall we…" Rintaro was ready to walk off when he noticed Hibiki wasn't moving, "Hibiki…?"
Rintaro soon followed Hibiki's line of sight, his eyes widening as he soon saw what Hibiki was staring at. Standing on the bridge was a small female figure in a white robe with a pointed black hat.
The mysterious individual could only stare at the flames intently, seemingly recalling memories past as she remembered what she considered the worst day of her life. Her father being burnt alive after being tied down by chains to a wooden pole.
"If such magic is not the miracle of God, then they are the tools of the Devil that none should wield!"
"You are herby judged! May the purifying flames cleanse Izak of his sin!"
"Papa! Papa! Papa!"
"Carol… live on and experience more of the world."
"The World…?"
"That is your…"
Carol watched the flames and felt tears fall, grimacing as she loathed having to remember that day, 'Papa… I wish that memory would just disappear.'
"Hey are you okay?!" Rintaro shouted as he saw this unknown person.
"It's dangerous up there!" Hibiki called out.
Carol was broken out of her thoughts as she turned to see both Hibiki and Rintaro below her.
"Did you get separated from your parents?" Hibiki asked, "It's not safe, so wait for us-"
"Silence."
The two could only blink as Carol quickly wiped her tears, the girl drawing a circle and creating a strange sigil that unleashed a green tornado of wind towards the two. Hibiki and Rintaro both yelped out as they jumped away, the tornado tearing through the ground.
"We've got Megid!" Saber called out on communications, "And something else too!"
Rintaro's eyes widened as he drew out Lion Senki, "The Megid?"
"How are you guys holding up? Did you run into something?" Chris asked.
"I'd say so…" Rintaro trailed as he saw Carol stare down at them with a cold stare. He slotted in Lion Senki but didn't transform yet, gripping his other two books to his Wonder Combo tightly.
Maria could only stare at the fallen boxes in shock before turning towards her allies, "That's too much force to use against a human!"
"Maria," Espada had to keep from groaning and simply sighed, "That thing may not be a Megid, but it is not human."
"The moment we clashed swords I knew," Tsubasa said as her weapon turned back into its katana state, "That thing… is a monster!"
The Autoscorer suddenly broke through the debris, sending the broken boxes scattering with little issue as her eyes shined a bright green.
"This is painfully underwhelming," The Autoscorer admitted as she took up a renewed stance, "I can't possibly allow you to win so easily."
Carol raised her arm up, creating more magic circles stacked over each other that were comprised of smaller hexagons before aiming them forward, "Carol Malus Dienheim's alchemy will shatter the world, bringing about the Apocalypse of All Creation."
"Shatter the world?" Hibiki asked.
"Alchemy…?" Rintaro's eyes widened as he loaded Tenkuu no Pegasus and Peter Fantasista into his Swordriver.
"In other words, my power slaughters miracles!" Carol announced as she added a symbol to the circles, all of them slamming together to form one. Soon enough numerous green tornados launched outwards towards Hibiki and Rintaro.
While Hibiki was in shock, Rintaro acted immediately by getting in front of Hibiki while drawing out Nagare and holding it close.
[NAGARE BATTOU!]
"HENSHIN!"
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: This was admittedly a fun chapter to write, whether it was a few original scenes like the one with Shirabe and Kirika at Fantastic Bookstore Kamiyama or the intro where I get to do my take on the shuttle rescue since Touma and Rintaro are tagging along. I mostly thought up the variation purely based on the thought of 'wouldn't it be cool if King of Arthur could have Gungnir equipped to it'. It's the simple things sometimes.
But hey we did it folks, we're at GX! Cue the party poppers because now's the time for things to probably go terribly wrong at high speed! Especially since if you remember, Calibur hasn't debuted Jaou Dragon yet… so with that ominous note, thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time.