"HIBIKI!"

Rui got down next to her wounded sister, as Ver laughed and went on a maniacal tirade boasting about Nephilim. She didn't care about that, the only thing she cared about was her sister.

"O...Oneesan…"

"Hibiki!" Rui yelled, grabbing onto her shoulder. "Stay with me!"

Even though Hibiki was holding onto it, blood from the stump was leaking through her fingers.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck!" Rui cursed, riffling through her suit's pockets to find the medical equipment. Her knees were in Hibiki's pooling blood, but she didn't let it distract her. Pulling out some bandages, she unraveled them and started to cover Hibiki's stump. She barely realized that she was crying out of fear of losing her sister. She wasn't gonna let that happen.

"It… hurts…"

"Y-Yeah, I know." Rui said, trying her best to keep her voice steady for her sake. "Concentrate on breathing. Focus on me. My face."

After applying the bandages and making sure they were tight, Rui pulled her sister into a hug, not caring about the blood staining her clothes.

While the pain was unbelievable, Hibiki didn't feel it anymore. Instead, she only felt the hug of her sister.

"It's fine, it's gonna be okay." Rui said softly. "It's fine, it's gonna be okay."

Hibiki could feel Rui's tears drop onto her shoulder. She wasn't sure if it was her Rui was trying to convince, or herself.

"That sicko!" Kirika yelled, hitting a wall. "How far off the deep end has he gone?!"

Fairly far from the action, were the rest of FIS, watching it from their ship. The screen was showing everything from a remote distance.

"When he said to feed fragments of relics to the Nephilim… He meant this?" Shirabe asked Nastassja.

Maria stared in horror at the screen, remembering what Ver had done to that innocent boy. Shaking her head, she turned to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?" Nastassja said to her. "My orders are for the three of you to remain here on standby."

"Mom, with all due respect, I don't think Ver's sticking to the plan." Jeanne said.

"He's just toying with the lives of others!" Maria argued. "Is this really what we should be doing?"

Nastassja said nothing, before Kirika spoke.

"We're… doing the right thing, aren't we?" She asked.

"If we are… then why do I feel so uneasy?" Shirabe said.

"You shouldn't be afraid to get your hands dirty, if it's for the greater good." Jeanne said.

Surprising Kirika and Shirabe, Maria grabbed Jeanne by the shoulder and shoved her against the wall.

"Yet you told me, you hesitated on pulling the trigger, Jeanne." Maria said in a low voice. "And you're telling us that we shouldn't be afraid?!"

"Not liking it is different from being afraid of it!" Jeanne shot back. "I-!"

"You're a complete hypocrite!" Maria yelled, throwing her friend to the ground.

"Let today be the last day you spend shackled to your compassion." Nastassja said, knowing that Maria wouldn't escalate the fight. "We have no need of smiles or laughter."

Maria walked out of the room, leaving Jeanne on the floor.

"Jeanne, are you okay, dess?" Kirika asked.

"...no." Jeanne said, Maria's words hanging heavy in the air. "I'm not."

As the door closed behind her, Maria leaned against it, breathing out and sliding down until she sat on the floor. She pulled out the cracked relic and looked in her hand.

"Everything is falling apart… If I continue down this path, one day I, too, will break." She clasped her hands. "Serena…What should I do?"

BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP.

Hibiki was wincing, and breathing sharply.

"Breath, Hibiki." Rui said softly, voice shaking. "Breath."

"Tachibana!" Tsubasa shouted. "Tachibana!"

The drool of Nephilim mixed with Hibiki's blood, dripping onto the ground. Ver started to laugh, praising the Nephilim.

"Nephilim, in its complete form, is like a self-regulating breeder reactor! It voraciously devours other forms of energy, absorbing them to further increase its own output! Let us begin! Can you hear the beat of awakening?! This is the power that will lift the Frontier into the skies!"

"I've had enough of this dude." Maia said, groaning. "We should take him out-"

Hibiki's breathing grew louder and raspier.

"Hibiki…?" Rui asked, as she stopped the hug and took several steps back.

The scar on her chest glew bright orange, before her body turned black, her eyes glowing red.

"Impossible…" Tsubasa said. "It can't be!"

Hibiki slowly stood up, her transformation complete as she went berserk once more. The maniacal grin on Ver's face disappeared as he swallowed in fear.

Kirika and Shirabe looked at the screen in alarm, while Jeanne remained unresponsive on the ground.

"This phenomenon…" Nastassja said. "It matches the description in Finé's observational records. Hibiki Tachibana… "

"She went berserk?!" Genjuro shouted.

"Yes!" Shuri reported through the comm link. "It appears that she's about to engage with the Nephilim once more!"

"Keep us updated!" Genjuro ordered.

"Roger!"

Hibiki let out a demonic roar and held out her stump. Black and red energy poured out of it, before it solidified into a new arm that ripped through the bandages.

"She was able to focus her Gear's energy into the shape of an arm?" Tsubasa observed. "It's as though she were manifesting an Armed Gear!"

"I-Impossible!" Ver shouted, having not expected this to happen.

Hibiki got down on all fours and got ready to charge the Nephilim, before she felt a pair of arms wrap around her.

"Hibiki, that's enough!" Rui shouted. "Calm down-!"

Rui was struck by black energy, sending her crashing through the stoney ground next to the others. The force from the hit had knocked her unconscious.

"Rui!" Maia yelled.

Roaring, Hibiki rushed at Nephilim, delivering devastating strikes to it. The others could feel the air from the strikes.

"S-Stop! Stop it!" Ver shrieked. "We need the fully-grown Nephilim in order to realize our new world! And you, you-!"

Whether Hibiki heard him or not, she didn't stop her onslaught. The Nephilim batted her away, but that hardly fazed her. She flew forward, striking it twice in the stomach before kicking it in the mouth.

"No!" Ver screamed, as he aimed Solomon's Cane. It shot out several small Noise, before they converged into a large one. But Hibiki jumped right into its mouth, punching from every direction before it exploded. She let out a monstrous scream of victory, before turning her sights back on Nephilim, who was trying to run. She jumped and slammed into it's back, causing it to roar in pain.

"She's out of control." Maia said. "We need to stop her."

"How?" Shuri said, holding an unconscious Rui. "I don't know if the two of us are strong enough to-"

SYNCHRONIZATION COMPLETE

Maia and Shuri looked down at Takemikazuchi and Okami, which had made the announcements with voices that resembled their own, but slightly deeper. A slot opened along the flat of Takemikazuchi's blade, while a similar slot appeared on Okami's magazine slot.

"So that's the trigger, huh?" Maia said. "Enough time staying close to the synched relics?"

Looking at Hibiki tearing into Nephilim's back while Ver was begging her to stop, she knew there wasn't a lot of time left.

"Tsubasa." Maia said. "Give us your relics."

"Neesama, have you lost your mind?!" Tsubasa said. "You saw what happened to Rui!"

"Listen, I analysed the footage and info we got, and came to the conclusion that if we focus, we won't lose control." Maia said.

"How can you be so sure about that?!"

"It's a smart guess, but we don't really have any other options." Maia said.

"This is insane!" Tsubasa said. "There has to be another way-!"

"Commander." Shuri said into the comm links. "You can keep an eye on our sync rate, correct?"

"Correct."

"...if it starts nearing 150%, we'll detransform immediately." Shuri said.

"You too...?" Tsubasa said.

"We have no other choice." Shuri said.

Tsubasa was about to protest again, but heard Hibiki's demonic yell, before looking at Rui's unconscious body. Sighing, she pulled off Chris's relic, with no resistance since she was also unconscious, before detransforming herself.

"If this fails, I'll never forgive you, neesama." Tsubasa said, handing the two the relics through the stringy Noise substance.

"Warning taken." Maia said, as she stood up. Shuri carefully leaned Rui against Tsubasa, before getting up with Maia.

"We stop Hibiki, that's it." Shuri said. "Understood?"

"Yeah, got it." Maia said.

The two inserted Ame-no-Habakiri and Ichaival into the slots on their weapons, before electricity surged through their bodies.

"Neesama!" Tsubasa shouted.

"Holy shit, this hurts!" Maia screamed.

"Ugh...!" Shuri grit her teeth, as their weapons spoke.

DNA REGISTRATION: MAIA KAZANARI

DNA REGISTRATION: SHURI YUKINE

VOCAL RECOGNITION REQUIRED; ALLOW TRANSFORMATION?

"Allow transformation!" They both shouted.

VOCAL RECOGNITION SUCCESSFUL. TRANSFORMATION AUTHORIZED. RELIC BATTLE MODE; READY.

The blade of Takemikazuchi glew blue, while Maia's eyes glew red as she slashed outwards twice, unleashing two glowing beams. They went in reverse, before colliding into her and engulfing her in blue crystals.

Meanwhile, eyes glowing red as the relic, Shuri aimed and fired, Ichaival shooting out like a bullet, piercing Nephilim's legs once before returning to her. With a shout, she punched it, as it exploded into red crystals that slammed onto her body.

The relic crystals shattered, revealing their transformations.

TAKEMIKAZUCHI: HABAKIRI MODE

OKAMI: ICHAIVAL MODE

While their Relic Battle Modes heavily resembled both Tsubasa and Chris's Symphogear forms, there was a major difference because Maia and Shuri had white capes, with blue and red undersides, respectively. Maia held a double edged sword, while Shuri carried a sniper rifle-bow combination.

"Whoa, so this is what it's like…" Maia said, looking at herself before grinning. "Sweet!"

"Focus, Maia-san!" Shuri said.

"A-Ah, right."

They turned to Hibiki, who had ripped something red and pulsing out of the Nephilim's back. Ver was screaming like a child now, as the Nephilim dropped to the ground, lifeless. Hibiki tossed the strange object in her hand aside, before jumping into the sky. Her hand morphed into a giant spear and she dove down, piercing it into the gaping hole in its back, causing a massive explosion. It disintegrated the Noise that was holding Tsubasa and Chris down.

Back in the FIS ship, Maria put her hands over her ears as she heard the destruction occur.

"Perhaps her near-death experience caused the relic in her chest to go out of control." Nastassja theorized, staring at the white screen. "No matter."

"But what about those other two, dess?!" Kirika said. "We saw them transform-!"

She was interrupted as Nastassja violently coughed into her hand.

"Mom!" Shirabe said in concern.

Nastassja looked at the blood in her hand.

"Not now…" She said.

Kirika got onto the intercom of the ship. "Maria! Hey, Maria! Can you hear us?! Mom's taken a turn for the worse!"

"Mom?!"

Jeanne slowly stood up, though it wasn't clear if she knew what was happening at the moment.

Mel… would this be what you wanted?

Chris slowly opened her eyes, as she woke up to see herself in Tsubasa's arms, with Rui unconscious nearby.

"Tachibana…" Tsubasa said.

Chris turned her head. "What's going on? Wait..."

She looked down at herself, before looking at Tsubasa. They were both back in their regular clothing.

"What happened?!" She shouted. "Where are our Gears?!"

"...with our sisters." Tsubasa responded.

"What?!"

Hibiki was letting out metallic breaths, as she turned to Ver. The man panicked and started to crawl away. Hibiki turned her hand into a spear again, and attempted to stab at him.

CLANG

"Nope."

Maia had appeared between the two, deflecting the strike.

"Trust me, Hibiki." She said. "Sending him to hell would be fine by me, but you know that's wrong. So how about we all take a deep breath and-"

Maia leaned back, avoiding a clawed strike from her. Backflipping, she kicked Hibiki in the jaw and knocked her back.

"Yeah, had a feeling you'd say that." Maia said, standing upright. "I always wanted to spar with you anyways."

Roaring, Hibiki kept clawing at Maia, who easily deflected the strikes with her sword.

"Is that all you got?" Maia taunted.

Hibiki drove her hands into the ground, before ripping up a boulder and throwing it at her. Maia cleaved it in two, to reveal Hibiki had jumped at her. Grinning, Maia slid downwards, kicking Hibiki and sending her into the dirt.

"C'mon!" Maia said, standing up. "You can do better than that!"

Getting up, Hibiki angrily roared at her. On a high cliff, Shuri kept her weapon aimed at Hibiki, carefully following her movements.

"I only have one shot." She said to herself. "I need to make it count."

Taking a deep breath, she tightened her grip.

"Commander, what's our sync rate at?"

"It just passed 100%, Shuri-kun." He said. "You don't have a lot of time left."

"Roger." She aimed her weapon at Hibiki's legs. Her hands stopped shaking. "One clean motion. No hesitation."

She drew her arm back, as a blue arrow appeared in her weapon. Letting go, it shot the arrow at Hibiki's feet, where it exploded into ice, rooting her in place.

"Got her!" Shuri shouted, quickly sliding down the side of the cliff.

"Perfect shot!" Maia said, grabbing one of Hibiki's arms. "Ugh… help me hold her down!"

"On it!" Shuri said, grabbing the other arm.

Tsubasa and Chris were carrying Rui, as they watched what was happening.

"Looks like they did it." Chris breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Not yet." Tsubasa said, seeing Hibiki struggle to break free.

"Hibiki-san, stop!" Shuri shouted. "That's enough!"

"Yeah, black doesn't really suit you!" Maia added.

Hibiki let out an ear-piercing scream towards the sky, as white energy was expelled from her body. Everyone closed their eyes at the bright light, but heard Hibiki's voice slowly return to normal.

When the light faded, the three were left standing in a crater. The ice had melted, and Maia and Rui were back in their SOUL uniforms.

"Hibiki-san?" Shuri asked. "Hibiki-san!"

"She's out cold as well." Maia said, turning back to the others. "Yo! Tsubasa! Chris! Call HQ! We're gonna need a pickup!"

"On it!" Chris shouted back.

It was then that Maia realized that she was holding onto Hibiki's left arm… the one that was ripped off a few minutes ago.

Wait, we thought that was just her power manifesting as a makeshift arm… but it's here, good as new? What the hell…?

"Mom! Mom! Hold on, Mom!" Maria yelled, running back into the room to see blood on Natassja's shirt, and the woman barely conscious. She turned to Kirika and Shirabe. "Bring the doctor here right away!"

"You mean…" Shirabe said, remembering what Ver had done only a few moments ago.

"I can do emergency first aid, but we need to have him see her!" Maria yelled. "Okay?"

"...Understood, dess." Kirika said.

The two quickly ran out to find Ver. Maria watched them leave, before clenching a fist.

This is all because I was too weak to bear Finé's soul.

She looked around, but saw that Jeanne wasn't there anymore. Where did her friend go?

FIS wasn't the only one dealing with a medical emergency. Hibiki was wheeled into one of Sector Two's emergency rooms. Genjuro and the others watched as the door closed.

"Hibiki-kun…" Genjuro said.

Tsubasa hit the wall with the side of her fist, eyes closed. Chris looked at her in concern, while Shuri looked down.

"Let me go!"

Rui had woken up earlier and saw the condition her sister was in. Maia was holding her back from rushing into the emergency room.

"Cool your jets, partner!" Maia yelled.

"Let me see my sister!" Rui shouted, reaching towards the door.

"You're not helping her if you do that!"

Rui yelled and drew a fist back, but partway, it unfurled as all the fight left her body. Dropping down, she just felt Maia's arms around her.

"Maia, Shuri-kun." Genjuro said. "I know you're both concerned about Hibiki-kun, but I need you both to go get a checkup."

"Ah, right." Maia said, remembering what had happened. She leaned Rui against the wall. "Don't worry about things, Rui. It'll turn out alright."

Rui didn't respond as Maia and Shuri left with Genjuro. Chris knelt down, putting a hand on Rui's back, but the girl didn't notice it.

Where am I? Where are the others?

"Monster!"

"Freak!"

"You should have died!"

Ah, now I remember. It's been so long since I had this dream… I'd walk back home, to see the messages of hate. Mom and Grandma welcomed me home even though all those people were doing those horrible things…

"It's alright." Mom would always say. "Your grandmother and I are happy just to have you with us."

I just wanted to get through rehab and go back to my old self so they'd be happy, but…

"You bastards! We did nothing to you! Leave my sister alone!" Oneesama would always say. Mom and Grandma would try to stop her, but she always sent the crowds of hate running.

Hibiki opened her eyes, to see the light of the emergency room above her. Turning her head, she saw a "get well soon" from Miku.

...Is what I'm doing just hypocrisy, like Shirabe-chan said? Though I try my hardest to bring happiness, will I just bring pain and sadness to others in turn?

She sat up, before noticing something on her scar. She touched it, feeling the rocky texture, before it fell off.

"Huh? A scab?"

The school bell rung the next day, as Hibiki met the others.

"I'm so sorry!" She apologized to them, bowing. "I bet you all were worried sick."

"Pfft, not as much as the chunnigure." Chris said with a chuckle. "She was bawling her eyes out like the big softie she is."

"Shut up." Rui said, blushing.

"You look surprisingly healthy." Shuri said. "Well, you should take this opportunity to get some rest."

"Never fear!" Hibiki said. "I'm Hibiki Tachibana! Lazing around and spacing out are my specialties! Leave it to me!"

"Are you really all right?" Tsubasa asked. "You're not just putting on a brave face so we won't worry, right?"

Hibiki hesitated for a moment, before responding.

"N-No, of course not-"

Maia wordlessly walked up, grabbing her left arm and holding it up.

"Maia-san!" Hibiki said. "That hurts!"

"A-Ah, sorry." Maia said, letting go.

"The hell was that for?" Rui said, walking in front of her sister protectively.

"What's up with you?" Chris asked. "You're not just being a dope to try and tune into her wavelength, are you?"

Tsubasa and Maia didn't say anything, looking away as they both had small frowns on their faces. While they expected it for Tsubasa, it was jarring to see the expression on the normally cheerful Maia.

"I'm sorry." Hibiki said, causing the two to look up.

"As long as you're all right, that's what matters." Tsubasa said.

"Y-Yeah!" Maia said, putting on a fake smile. "Everything turned out alright, ha ha ha..."

Tsubasa thought back to the talk she and Maia had with her Uncle last night...

"How are the checkup results, Uncle?" Maia asked, Tsubasa standing behind her in concern.

"We've found no issues with either you or Shuri-kun." Genjuro said. "You two are both fine. Though your weapons have been upgraded."

"Upgraded?" Maia asked. "You mean like my partner?"

Genjuro nodded. "Takemikazuchi and Okami both resemble Ame-no-Habakiri and Ichaival's weapons now. I've already informed Shuri-kun about this as well."

"Alright, that's good." Maia let out a breath of relief. "That means the two of us can help out more. Anyways, what 'bout Hibiki?"

Genjuro's expression changed, as he handed Tsubasa a small glass case.

"What is this?" Tsubasa asked, looking inside it.

"Looks like a rock or a meteor or something." Maia said.

"Part of Hibiki's bodily tissue that we collected during her medical checkup." Genjuro answered.

"What?" Maia said, as both she and Tsubasa widened their eyes.

Genjuro held up a transparent x-ray sheet, and it showed how there were unnatural veins running through Hibiki's body. It was quite the shocking sight, and Maia had to put a hand over her mouth to stop herself from puking.

"The fragments of Gungnir in her chest?" Tsubasa theorized.

"Her repeated use of the artifact by breaking it into energy and reconstructing it as her Symphogear has caused it to further spread through her body." Genjuro said.

Maia snatched the x-ray and stared at it, not believing what she was seeing.

"The fusion of a human body and a relic…" Tsubasa said.

"That is the source of the explosive power wielded by Hibiki, surpassing that of any mere Attuned." Genjuro continued.

"...what kind of effect will this fusion have on her body?" Tsubasa asked.

Genjuro frowned, before giving the answer. "It will kill her before too long."

The x-ray dropped out of Maia's hands, as Tsubasa's arms started to shake.

"Tachibana's… going to die?" Tsubasa said, disbelief in her voice. "That can't be!"

"Even if she lives, should the relic continue to fuse with her body, can we say she will still live on as a human?"

Tsubasa looked down, as Maia was still in shock.

"How ironic." Genjuro said. "It was only because she went berserk that we found out her life was in grave danger."

"Tachibana is broken…" Tsubasa realized. "Just like the Moon…"

"The FIS may make grand promises to save the world from the fall of the Moon, but they are using the Noise to endanger human lives." Genjuro said. "We can't just let them do as they please. But… without Hibiki, how much can we do to stop them?"

"Even so, we can't let Tachibana fight anymore." Tsubasa said. "Any threats that come our way will meet the point of my sentinel's sword."

"If only Rui was able to steal the Gungnir Relic of the enemy…" Maia said. "But even then…"

She remembered seeing her lose control thanks to her emotions, becoming a berserker as well. But then another horror crossed her mind.

"O-Oh God…" Maia dropped to the ground, hands over her mouth.

"Neesama?" Tsubasa asked, kneeling down with her.

"How… how do we tell Rui?" Maia asked.

The question pierced Tsubasa like a knife in her chest, and she almost dropped the glass case. She wanted to say something, but couldn't.

There was no answer to give.

"Hey." Chris snapped her fingers, bringing Tsubasa back to reality. "Did that geezer tell you two something?"

Tsubasa briefly hesitated, before entering "sentinel" mode. "Only that those who cannot maintain their self-control against their toughest foes are worthless as warriors."

"Huh?" Hibiki said.

"I'm telling you to never set foot on the battlefield again." Tsubasa said. "You're just a burden. You may clothe yourself in Symphogear no longer."

With that, she pushed Hibiki back.

"Tsubasa-san?" Shuri said, shocked.

"What the hell? Are you serious?" Chris asked.

Tsubasa said nothing, closing her eyes and turning away.

"Hey! The hell's with the silent treatment?!" Chris shouted.

"You know…" Rui said, eyes shadowed by her hair and fist tightening. "It's been a long time, but it seems that your face is punchable again."

Rui drew her arm back and threw her fist forward. Tsubasa didn't even make an attempt to defend herself. She knew she was being cold, and that she deserved this.

CRACK

But Tsubasa never felt the punch. Opening her eyes, she saw Maia on the ground, groaning and holding her cheek.

"So that's how the punch to the face felt." Maia said, spitting out a bit of blood. "No wonder it shook you up so much, Tsubasa."

"Neesama…"

"Why did you take the hit!?" Rui yelled.

Maia stood back up, wiping her mouth. "If you're gonna defend your little sis, you can't expect that I wouldn't do the same."

"You really want to fucking go, Kazanari?" Rui said, cracking her knuckles.

"If you think you can take me, Tachibana." Maia said, all playfulness gone from her eyes.

"Everyone! Stop!"

They all turned back to Hibiki, who was holding her arm.

"It's okay. She's right. I really did go out of control, and I really am useless."

All the anger drained out of Rui's body, as she took her sister's hand. "You're not useless, Hibiki."

Hibiki tried to smile, but couldn't.

"Yukine and I can fight against the FIS alone. The support from SOUL is more than enough." Tsubasa said. "The second branch is launching an investigation into the whereabouts of Dr. Ver. We can get by without whatever little help Tachibana had to offer."

"You-!" Rui started, before she felt Hibiki tighten the grip on her hand, telling her to stop.

Tsubasa walked off, Maia right behind her. Rui saw her eyes, before her anger stopped building up again. It was only for a brief moment, but Maia's eyes seemed… sad?

"Hey! Wait up!" Chris yelled, running after them. "What the hell are you thinking?"

Shuri walked after her sister, but not before quickly squeezing Hibiki's hand.

"You're not a burden, Hibiki-san." She reassured her. "I'm sure Tsubasa-san has a reason for acting like this."

She quickly followed the other three, leaving Hibiki and Rui by themselves.

"You should go with them, oneesan." Hibiki said.

"Out of the question." Rui said.

"But they're-"

"I'm staying with you Hibiki, and that's final." Rui said.

She pulled Hibiki into a hug, causing Hibiki to widen her eyes in surprise.

"Ha… it's been a while since you were the one to hug me." Hibiki said, tears starting to flow out of her eyes.

"I promised you, Hibiki." Rui said. "That I'd always be there for you. That'll never change."

Ver limped through the rubble that surrounded Kadingir, using Solomon's Cane as… well, as an actual cane. He had been walking through the whole place for the entire night, looking for something. Stepping in the wrong spot, he slid off of a small cliff, screaming as he tumbled to the ground. Groaning and getting up he reached out for the cane that he dropped, before spotting something far more valuable, hidden away in a small cave made from boulders.

His expression of panic changed to maniacal glee as he crawled forward, grabbing the still intact heart of the Nephilim.

"So it was here all along!" Ver said. "As long as I have this, I'm a hero!"

Looking around, he quickly grabbed Solomon's Cane, before walking off. Unbeknownst to him, someone was leaning behind a rock, having overheard him.

"So, only you want to be the hero, huh? I knew he was a worthless self-centered piece of garbage."

Stepping out, Jeanne watched as Ver walked away from the Kadingir site.

"Well, he's no help at all." Jeanne said. "But…"

She looked up at the looming remains of the tower.

"...what do I do from here?"

Jeanne tightened a fist, and looked back at the way Ver left.

"I might as well follow him." Jeanne said. "Better to keep an eye on him in case he pulls some crap."

The apple floated in the sky…

The apple dropped to the ground…

The stars are born, and the songs are born

The Lulu Amelu smiled for eternity

The stars kiss the songs to sleep

Natassja woke up in better condition. She turned her head to see Maria leaning against the wall, softly singing Apple.

She's a good girl. And it's not just Maria. I'm trying to make those four gentle girls carry my cross.

Where will they call home…?

Where will they call home…?

The apple dropped to the ground…

The apple floated in the sky…

Maybe I… am in the wrong. She thought as she sat up.

Maria finished her song and opened her eyes to see Natassja was up and awake, already using the communications link.

"It's me." She said.

"C-Could that… Could that be you, Mom?!" Kirika's voice said.

"How are you doing?" Shirabe's voice asked.

"I was able to get through the worst of it thanks to Maria's care." Natassja said.

"Thank goodness." Shirabe said.

"Yeah." Kirika said. "A-Anyway, Mom, I know you said to stand by, but we ended up having to-"

"I understand. Maria's orders, right?"

Kirika let out a sigh of relief, as Shirabe spoke. "The only one who can figure out what's wrong with you is the doctor, but we haven't been able to get in touch with him."

"And Jeanne's been missing since last night too." Kirika added.

"Thank you, you two." Natassja said. "Let me know if you're able to reach the doctor, or if you find Jeanne. I will send you the rendezvous point."

"Roger that, dess!" Kirika said, before they ended the call.

"Jeanne really didn't come back last night…" Maria said.

"While it could be possible that she's taking time to think to herself, do you have any idea why she could have left?" Natassja asked her.

Maria remembered the argument they had last night.

"You shouldn't be afraid to get your hands dirty, if it's for the greater good."

"Yet you told me, you hesitated on pulling the trigger, Jeanne. And you're telling us that we shouldn't be afraid?!"

"Not liking it is different from being afraid of it! I-!"

"You're a complete hypocrite!"

It's my fault. Maria realized. She had pushed her friend away.

Natassja read her expression, realizing the situation.

"As long as we find her in good health, that's fine." She said to Maria.

She looked up and smiled, but Natassja could tell that there was guilt behind it.

Kirika let out a sigh of relief, as she and Shirabe walked through a ruined city district. "I never thought she'd answer, dess."

"I'm glad she's all right, though." Shirabe said.

"Yeah-"

Kirika's words were interrupted by the sounds of her stomach growling.

"Oops." Kirika said. "The moment I calmed down, I realized how hungry I was."

"Well, we haven't had anything to eat since this morning." Shirabe added.

"Did you want to look for something around here, dess?" Kirika asked.

"Yeah." Shirabe said. "But we have to find the doctor as quickly as we can."

"Alright, let's do it, dess!" Kirika said, pumping one fist into the air as she grabbed Shirabe's hand with the other. The two ran through the city ruins, hoping that they'd find the man they were looking for.

"Aren't you eating way too many carbs for a young high school girl?" Yumi asked Hibiki.

The girls were all walking down the stairs on their way home. Hibiki didn't answer her, a million thoughts running through her head at the same time.

"Hey!" Yumi shouted.

"Y-Yeah!" Hibiki said. "The nice lady just makes the best okonomiyaki, though! I can't help it!"

"Good thing we asked you to come along." Shiori said. "I'm glad the owner's doing well, too. We can't just drop in anytime like we used to, after all."

"But you're looking a bit brighter, don't you think, Bikki?" Kuriyo asked. "You too, Tachibana-san."

"Huh?" Hibiki asked.

"Really?" Rui asked. "I don't feel different."

Kuriyo and Shiroi smiled.

"You two are as dense as the main character of a harem anime." Yumi said.

"Hoh…?" Rui said, in a dangerous tone of voice, slowly raising her fist as Yumi envisioned her with a dark aura.

"Waah! It was a joke!"

"A certain someone was worried that you two were feeling a bit down, so that's why we arranged to all get together and eat okonomiyaki like old times." Kuriyo said.

"Oh-oooh, now I get it." Rui said, lowering her fist as she sneaked a glance at Miku.

"Miku?" Hibiki guessed as they got to the bottom of the steps.

"Look out!"

Rui held out her arm, as several black cars sped past them. Hibiki noticed some men in suits and sunglasses inside. They sped around the corner, not even slowing down.

But once they were out of sight, there was a large explosion, with the flames and smoke visible to the girls.

"What was that?!" Kuriyo asked.

Rui looked at Hibiki, before they shared a brief nod and started running towards the smoke, the other girls right behind them. Arriving on the scene, they saw that all the cars had been smashed up, and there was carbon all over the streets. Several Noise were on the scene, and in the center of it all…

"I won't hand this over to anyone!" Ver shouted, letting out an insane giggle. "No matter who it is!"

"You!" Rui yelled, throwing her bag to the side.

"Dr. Ver…" Hibiki said, anger seeping into her voice.

"Wh-What?!" He shouted, realizing that he had company. "Why are you here?!"

With a scream, he aimed Solomon's Cane at them, sending several Noise flying their way. The girls shouted, but Hibiki and Rui were there. Running towards the Noise, Rui put her hand over her waist to activate Kagutsuchi while Hibiki said some familiar words.

"Balwisyall nescell Gungnir troooooooooOOON!"

Rui jumped into the air and delivered a diving kick to one of the Noise with her armored greaves, but Hibiki punched the Noise head-on, without transforming.

"Hibiki?!" Miku shouted.

"She touched the Noise without transforming?!" Ver said in shock.

The Symphogear armor formed on Hibiki's body, as the Noise was disintegrated by the punch.

"HOOOOOOOOOOOO-AAAAAAAHHH!" Hibiki shouted, as the shockwave from the punch shook the area. Rui landed, before looking back at her sister and smiling. Hibiki raised a hand and tightened it into a fist.

"This fist… My life… They are Symphogear!" She declared.

A/N: Note that the subtitles I'm using refers to the okonomiyaki shop owner as "old lady" since there's Asian honorifics don't really translate too well into English. I chose not to use the term "old lady" because it kinda sounds disrespectful, especially coming from the girls.

So this chapter was the debut of the Relic Battle Mode forms of Maia and Shuri. Appearance-wise, they're identical to the Symphogear forms of Another!Tsubasa and Another!Chris, though that should be obvious.

Oh and here's a bit of a glimpse to Maia's more serious side as well. Playful and teasing as she may be, she still is a Kazanari.

And a little bit of conflict between friends. How will this affect things going forward, with how Hibiki's changing?

And what's up with Jeanne? What is she going to do?

Feel free to leave a review. See you all next time.