Sympho-Saber: Song of Swords
RXU:EP09 – A Fleeting Reunion
World of Archipelagos:
It was a bright and sunny day, the air was clean, there were only a few clouds in the way, and it all complimented a lush beach area, a tropical forest behind it with an ocean at the front stretching out for as far as the eye could see, small islands in the distance.
Of course there was one small issue about wanting to simply kick back and relax. And that came in the form of a Phantom Megid which slammed against the sand, sparks flying as it worked on picking itself up while its wounds slowly healed.
The culprits that had attacked it were Tsubasa and Falchion, the Wielder and Rider fighting hard in their base armors.
"We've worn it down plenty," Tsubasa said as she held out her hand, "Let us show it our combined strength."
"Been a bit since we've done this," Falchion chuckled as she withdrew her personal Wonder Ride Book before handing it to Tsubasa who went to scan it on her pendant.
{Wonder Ride Sync}
In a flash the standard Ride Gear Buckle and belt strap formed over Tsubasa's Armor before she slotted Eternal Phoenix into place. Holding her hands forward while crossing them alongside Falchion, the duo shifted their hands to face inwards before Tsubasa pressed down on the buckle.
"…Henshin!"
{Ride Change}
A bright blue wing erupted from Tsubasa's back as Falchion erupted into orange feathers, gathering into an orange wing identical in shape on Tsubasa's right. The wings folded in front of the Wielder before spreading outwards and exploding into numerous energy feathers, the feathers blowing away to reveal her and Falchion's combined form.
{Eternal Habakiri!}
The Phantom Megid let out a growl as it ran towards Tsubasa only for the Wielder to launch past it in a near instant. The anomaly quickly turned only to reel back as sparks flew, Tsubasa having summoned Kyomu and immediately slashed against it.
Tsubasa watched as the Phantom Megid attempted to strike at her, using Kyomu to easily bat away the attempts. She then brought out her Armed Gear, dual wielding her katana and the Seiken of Void as she went on the offensive. Upon opening up the Phantom Megid she went for quick but powerful strikes, batting away any attempts the anomaly made to grab at her while laying into its body with slash after slash.
The Phantom Megid backpedaled to get away from Tsubasa, hissing out as its wounds slowly began to heal before it held its face. Letting out a guttural screech its eyes shined bright as it unleashed several blasts of energy at Tsubasa.
The Wielder and Rider Combo thought quickly, forming the energy wings from her transformation and stretching them in front of her. The blasts hit the wings as the energy constructs held strong, before she unleashed the wings outwards, the feathers bursting apart into energy bolts that struck against the Phantom Megid and sent it staggering back.
"A valiant effort, but you cannot hope to match the two of us," Tsubasa said as she raised a hand.
"You can say that again," Falchion chuckled, "Let's finish this!"
"Indeed," Tsubasa nodded as she initiated her finisher.
{Hissatsu Dokuha}
Tsubasa crouched forward as a blue aura began erupting off of her, a projection of Falchion forming at her left. The Falchion projection mimicked her movements while an orange aura erupted from her armor.
The two leapt upwards before kicking out just as the Phantom Megid picked itself up, its old wounds just barely finished healing while its new wounds were just starting to heal. It was struck in the chest by the Wielder's and Rider's kicks, energy erupting from their boots before engulfing the Phantom Megid.
{Eternal Habakiri! Issatsu Geki!}
The Phantom Megid screeched out as the energy overloaded its body, soon exploding as Tsubasa kicked past while Falchion faded away. The Wielder landed in a crouched state before standing and turning to see that the Phantom Megid was fully disposed of.
"Phantom Megid threat dealt with," Tsubasa said as she reverted to her base Symphogear, Falchion reforming beside her as she held out Eternal Phoenix, "At least I can only assume."
"If this runs on the pattern we've been dealing with then that was likely the only one," Falchion said as she took her Ride Book and slotted it back in place.
"Then let us head back," Tsubasa said before walking off with Falchion in tow.
World of Sympho-Saber:
Upon dealing with the Phantom Megid, Tsubasa and Falchion both arrived back in the Gjallarhorn Relic Chamber. The two turned as their transformations dismissed, the Book Gate closing as they saw Gjallarhorn's light had subdued once more.
"Mission accomplished," Kanade grinned.
"Good," Tsubasa said, "For a sudden deployment of two given everyone was too far, it worked rather well."
"Alright, hopefully they aren't-" the doors opened as Maria suddenly rushed inside only to cut herself off as she saw the two, "Oh, you finished already?"
"Ah Maria," Tsubasa said as she looked over, "I assume they sent you to back us up?"
"Yes, I ended up being the closest," Maria said before letting out a low hum, "But it seems you two handled it already."
"Pretty much," Kanade replied, "Thankfully it wasn't a big search and the Phantom Megid was the base kind so it was pretty easy."
"We appreciate everyone's concern however," Tsubasa replied, not wanting to brush aside Maria's attempted backup, "Speaking of everyone, we should report what world we were at so that they can catalog it properly."
"Where did you visit this time?" Maria asked curiously.
"Some world that had a bunch of small islands," Kanade said before putting a hand to her chin, "I guess World of Archipelagos?"
"That would be fitting considering there didn't seem to be a large enough landmass in sight," Tsubasa agreed.
"So another Secondary World," Maria said, recalling that after the mission to the world dubbed 'KuroWing', the next several worlds they got alerts to were worlds with singular themes. Considering how limited they were in comparison to the first world that had been visited, they split the Parallel Worlds into two types, Primary and Secondary.
"Yep, unfortunately for Hibiki we've yet again not found World of Rice," Kanade chuckled as she went to exit the Gjallarhorn room.
"I suppose it is a shame," Tsubasa chuckled as she followed after Kanade.
Maria meanwhile glanced back towards the two as they passed her, not following immediately. She looked back at the Gjallarhorn, her mind going back to when they first learned about it. She was glad their first expedition was to an actual world parallel to their own and not a secondary type that was drastically different. That meant she was able to hold onto a slim chance that wormed its way into her mind the minute they had discussed the topic.
'I wonder… and it's selfish for me to think this, but… I wonder if there's a world where she's still alive…' she thought as she recalled her sister Serena. She closed her eyes briefly as she turned to walk out of the room, 'I suppose I just simply want the same luck Tsubasa had… someone precious to me managing to stay alive despite it all… unfortunately that's a dream that grows slimmer with each passing year… and so I have to turn to parallel worlds of all things to try and believe in that dream…'
Reika was wandering the halls of Master Logos' castle until she let out a sudden sneeze, shivering slightly as she shook her head. She quickly drew out a handkerchief she kept on her to dry her nose.
"Reika," Ryoga said as he walked over, having been passing by when he saw the sneeze, "Is everything alright?"
"Just a sudden sneeze, that's all," Reika reassured before letting out a chuckle, "Perhaps someone is talking about me."
"I suppose that's one possibility…" Ryoga trailed before clearing his throat, "Just make sure you keep healthy, we are the Master's best and only Riders after all."
"So we still have no word on if Kurayami will get a new owner?" Reika asked.
"Master Logos has said that one will come in time, but due to the Seiken's unique properties the correct user needs to be selected," Ryoga replied, "We have several Seiken Candidates but even he's wary at giving them Kurayami specifically."
"I see," Reika nodded though she noticed that the conversation had stalled. Despite this she was quick to find another subject, "By the way, how is your mission going?"
"You mean with the Illuminati member that got away in London?" Ryoga asked before sighing, "I've yet to find a proper lead on him, though I've been getting close with each passing day so I'd like to hope I'll get to him before he either gets caught or spills crucial information."
"Just let me know when you find him, I'll assist you," Reika offered, "After all, we have worked on making sure our styles complement each other. The two of us would capture him with ease."
"Very well, I'll be sure to let you know," Ryoga nodded, "What about your mission?"
"I've yet to have much luck in that regard," Reika turned away with a light pout as she crossed her arms, "There aren't many chances to get the Riders alone before more allies show up."
"I'm sure you'll find your moment," Ryoga reassured, "While making sure the Seiken are in our possession is important, the Master has stressed that keeping the ones we already have is equally as important."
"Understood," Reika replied as she glanced at her brother, "I just want to make sure I can do all I can, especially with Kanade gone…"
"Reika, do not let her betrayal decide your actions," Ryoga warned, "If you let your emotions overtake you then you'll only ever see defeat."
"Don't worry brother," Reika said as she turned with a smile of reassurance, "I'll make sure to be careful."
"Please do," Ryoga gave a small smile back before clearing his throat and turning away, "If that's all, I need to continue preparing for the next phase of my investigation."
"Alright," Reika smiled further in an almost teasing manner before turning away, "I'll leave you to that, brother."
"Of course," Ryoga said as he reached in his coat's inner pocket, grasping the pocket watch he always had on him and gripping it tightly as he walked off, "Sister."
A lone older man was currently wandering around the night streets of Tokyo, though most made sure to steer clear of him. That was because he had a particularly sour expression as he made his way through the hot summer night.
"Damn summer, damn young people with nowhere better to be," the older man muttered as he continued to trudge along before giving a frustrated yell only to lead into a sigh, "What I'd give for it to be spring all the time… what a great sensation, makes me feel young again too…"
"Sounds like a fun dream."
"Huh?" the older man turned before yelping as he backed away, Zooous flipping into view, "W-who a-are you supposed-?!"
Zooous immediately flipped forward while slamming an Alter Ride Book into the man's chest, "Shut it!"
The man gasped out as dark energy surrounded his body, soon gaining the usual base Megid body though with the usual alterations on the chest, arms and head. The forearms were a bronze-gold coloration with honeycomb patterning, there being a hole molded towards the front top of the forearms as stingers popped out. The armoring on the chest resembled a bee's thorax with a bronze-gold coating alongside black stripes, wings hanging from the back like a cape with a furred collar. The head resembled a bee's as well, though the mouth area had a more human jaw-like structure to it.
[HONEY MAKE BEE!]
"I must gather all of that wonderful pollen," the Bee Megid called out as it spun around in place, "Only then can everyone experience the wonders of spring!"
"This looks like a good one," Zooous said as Amanojaku walked over at a leisurely pace, the Megid Leader glancing back, "What do you think?"
"It could work out," Amanojaku replied, "So why did you call me here again?"
"To help it in case the Riders and Wielders show up to save the old grump inside," Zooous replied, "Legeiel's still stewing, Storious isn't about to commit to another type of Megid, and I'm not too interested in sticking around."
"Fair enough," Amanojaku said with a bow.
The Next Day…
It was a quiet day at SONG Headquarters as everyone went on with their usual routines, or at least those that were there. The usual staff worked as they always did, whether that was Elfnein's small projects between trying to crack the code of Ver's data chip, or Daishinji and Miku being on the ship for once, the two in the usual workshop as today was a break in Miku's training regimen.
Maria, Shirabe and Kirika were currently having breakfast together in the cafeteria, while Tsubasa was currently in the main lounge with Touma. Both were currently hanging out, Touma with a canned coffee and Tsubasa with a bottle of water.
"I must say she's improving at a fairly decent pace," Tsubasa said between sips, "And that's not counting her skills when I first started."
"Dang, I never really got to see so that's impressive coming from you," Touma replied between sips, "Do you think she's going to get as good as we are by the end of the summer?"
"She's a fast learner, especially compared to you," Tsubasa noted as her friend nearly fell over at the blunt remark, "So I'd say she's likely to join our ranks by the time Lydian starts up classes again."
"I… I see…" Touma trailed in a sheepish fashion before going to sip some more coffee to take his mind off the remark.
"Though I do wonder if I should ask for assistance," Tsubasa pondered, "When it comes to more nimble combat, Ogawa as Kenzan would do well."
"Do well with what?"
Touma froze as Tsubasa casually looked over to see Hibiki walking over.
"O-oh, Hibiki," Touma smiled in an almost nervous manner, "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to get in some early morning training soon with the simulator," Hibiki admitted, "But what was that about asking Ogawa for help?"
"W-well you see…" Touma trailed unsure of what to say.
"I need to increase my reflexes and reaction speed," Tsubasa explained simply without missing a beat, taking another sip of her water, "Facing Durendal in London made me realize that if I am to get past his technique then I'll need to be able to react within seconds of its usage."
"Ah yeah that's right," Touma said as he was inwardly relieved that Tsubasa had an actual cover story, "I heard Durendal was pretty tough, I only got a taste of what he could do when he showed up after my fight with Kamijo."
"His Seiken's ability to bypass time is not to be underestimated," Tsubasa nodded, "And despite my best efforts, a retreat was the best considered option."
"Don't worry Tsubasa, I'm sure you'll be able to do it," Hibiki reassured, "Plus there's more of us now so we might be able to figure out a counter the next time he shows up."
"Ever the optimist Tachibana," Tsubasa smirked, "I appreciate it."
"Now if you'll excuse me," Hibiki bowed before jogging at a steady pace towards the training room.
"You're a lifesaver Tsubasa…" Touma called out in near exasperation as he hung his head in relief.
"Think nothing of it Kamiyama," Tsubasa replied, "Though it would be best to train yourself in order to not slip up like you nearly did."
"I suppose so," Touma nodded in agreement.
Before the two could go back to relaxing further and simply enjoying each other's company, the alarm began to blare. Both immediately stood up and quickly hurried over to the bridge to see what was going on.
It didn't take long for the two to enter the bridge, Hibiki, Maria, Kirika, and Shirabe hurrying in not too long after with Daishinji coming in as Miku and Elfnein chose to stay at the workshop.
"Ah good," Genjuro turned as he saw the group, "We've got a sizeable group this time."
"I take it that there's another Gjallarhorn alert?" Tsubasa asked, noticing the wording.
"Yes," Sophia said as she went to address the group, "We've detected a Phantom Megid in a new Parallel World we've yet to catalog."
"So who's going this time?" Touma asked.
"Excellent question, Tomosato, Fujitaka," Genjuro turned with a grin, "Is everything set?"
"Yes, we've adjusted the parameters to account for everyone here," Aoi said as she and Sakuya rapidly adjusted the data of the roulette program.
"We're all ready to go," Sakuya turned with a thumbs-up.
"Then let's start the roulette!" Genjuro turned as he held his hand forward.
It didn't take long for the 'Gjallarhorn Roulette' as it was dubbed to start cycling through profile shots of the Riders and Wielders of SONG. The first person it landed on was Maria, and it didn't take long for the rest to be filled either, Shirabe being landed on next. Everyone was expecting Kirika to be next given the odd luck that Shirabe had in getting picked next.
…until it was Buster's profile shot being shown.
"Eh?" Kirika stared in surprise, "But…"
"Well now, considering I made sure to place my percentage lower I'm surprised I was picked," Genjuro chuckled as he adjusted his swordsman coat to wear it properly, "I suppose this will be an interesting experience."
"Huh, kind of odd that it mostly got all of us," Shirabe mused.
"Indeed," Maria said, "But…"
"Please let me tag along with you all, dess!" Kirika shouted as she bowed her head and clasped her hands together.
"As much as I'd love to, can we even spare sending four people?" Maria asked as she looked over to Genjuro for approval.
"Hmm," Genjuro put a hand to his chin in thought.
"I mean we'll still have the rest of us here, plus Kanade, Ogawa, and Yuri," Touma pointed out.
"Wait, aren't we forgetting Rintaro and Chris?" Hibiki asked.
"Blades is still recovering from the first Parallel World visit," Sophia spoke up, "Due to reasonable concerns made by other members we made sure to have Chris keep an eye on him."
"That's still seven of us, and the new Megid have been slowing down lately," Touma continued as he saw no reason as to why Kirika couldn't tag along as an extra member, "Plus having their team synergy will help when dealing damage against the Phantom Megid."
"A fair point," Genjuro nodded as he put his hands on his hips, "Very well, I'll allow this special dispatch!"
"Hooray!" Kirika leapt up in joy before quickly clearing her throat and bowing, "I mean, thank you very much, sir!"
"If that's the case then I'll ready the LiNKER dosages," Daishinji replied as he turned to exit, "I'll meet you all at the Gjallarhorn."
Rintaro was currently staring at his Gatrikephone as he sat on one of the couches in his apartment's living area. It was as if he was waiting for something to pop up, or a call to be made. But there was nothing, and that made him even more worried, especially…
"Alright, that's enough of that," Chris said as she snatched the phone away from Rintaro.
"H-Hey now, that's very important," Rintaro stammered out as he turned, "What if command calls-"
"No one is going to call you," Chris replied, "Or did you forget that you're still on leave while you fully recover."
"I'm feeling a lot better than I was before," Rintaro insisted only to wince heavily when Chris suddenly slapped his back.
"You were saying?" Chris raised a brow.
"Just… fine…" Rintaro managed to just barely speak before leaning forward too much and hitting his head against the coffee table in front of him. He yelped as he held his forehead.
"I swear to…" Chris sighed as she shook her head, "I'll get some ice."
It didn't take long for Maria, Kirika, and Shirabe to complete their LiNKER dosages, the three donning their Symphogear as they stood alongside Buster in front of Gjallarhorn. The light of the Relic shined brightly on the four as Daishinji oversaw them.
"Alright, you've been equipped with extra LiNKER should your mission run long," Daishinji said as he crossed his arms and kept back, "Should you need more, don't hesitate to send someone back, but hopefully it shouldn't take that long."
"Right," Maria said as she glanced back, "Thankfully our sessions with Bremen have been helping out with our sync levels."
"Not to mention us getting more LiNKER thanks to that first parallel world helped out a lot," Kirika added.
"True, but we shouldn't get too complacent," Buster added.
"We'll just have to make sure we're careful with our usage," Shirabe replied.
"Exactly," Buster said before holding up the Book Gate Ride Book and opening it up.
[BOOK GATE!]
Soon enough the Book Gate itself was formed, its pages shining a green light as it stayed open while Maria, Kirika, Shirabe and Buster stepped towards it.
[OPEN THE GATE!]
The Book Gate soon shut itself with a loud slam once the four were completely through. Daishinji watched the gateway shrink and vanish with a spin before turning to head out of the room.
Parallel World:
Within a thick forest a green light began to shine before the Book Gate formed and opened up. The three Wielders and one Rider walked out from the pages of the Book Gate, stepping forward enough for it to shut behind them and shrink back into the green light.
"Where are we, dess?" Kirika asked, "World of Forests?"
"Perhaps we should find a better vantage point," Shirabe said, noticing that the forest itself was darkened as if it was nighttime already, "I can hardly see."
"Good idea," Maria said before noticing some faint light coming from a patch of trees that weren't as huddled together as the rest, "Looks like we at least have some moonlight to help us out."
"Come on then," Buster said as he walked forward and entered the area with the light before looking up to take in the moon only to give a light gasp, "This is…"
The others looked up before giving gasps themselves, all four seeing that the moon itself was shining bright but damaged exactly like theirs.
"The moon is just like ours!" Kirika called out.
"So is this world…" Shirabe trailed.
"Yes, it has to be," Maria already knew what her friend was suggesting, "This is a Primary World."
"If that's the case then we need to be extra careful," Buster said as he looked at the three Wielders, "We have no idea what changes there could have been to this world."
CRASH!
The four immediately turned in the direction of the loud crashing noise they heard, rushing through the forest as quickly as they could to try and reach the source. Eventually they managed to reach the edge of the forest, staying near the trees. Of course they were able to see what was at the center of the forest, a research facility with fairly high walls around it to keep anyone out.
Buster paused at this, "A research facility all the way out here?"
"Eh?" Kirika looked around, noticing mountains and more forest in the surrounding area with no real sight of a city to be seen, "Why did we end up here, dess?"
"I'd like to say because of that," Shirabe pointed at a portion of the high wall, which was heavily cracked and damaged, a sudden slam and crash against the wall breaking it further.
"Is something trying to escape?" Maria questioned though unfortunately her inquiry wouldn't go unanswered for long.
CRASH!
A man and woman's yells could be heard as Kamen Riders Espada and Kenzan crashed through the wall after an explosive burst occurred. The two Riders were in their base forms, letting out grunts as they rolled across the ground.
"What the hell?" Espada asked as he began to stand.
"It's a Megid… but apparently it's also a thought to be lost Relic?" Kenzan asked as she got on one knee.
"Wait, Espada and Kenzan?" Kirika asked, "Are they…"
"They don't sound familiar," Maria shook her head, not wanting to get the girls' hopes up.
Before anyone could ponder on the Riders further, they could only freeze as a distorted familiar roar could be heard from the smoke that had kicked up at the broken wall. Walking through the smoke was a Phantom Megid, though it was already altered in a very familiar way as it took on various physical traits of a Relic Beast they thought was long gone from their lives… the Nephilim.
It resembled a Phantom Megid's base, but its arms and shoulders were morphed and shaped to resemble that of the Nephilim's first state. The body was muscular but smooth aside from the armoring which was segmented and scale-like. Oddly enough there were rows of jagged red teeth-like indentions running up both sides of its body from its waist to its neck. Finally while its head retained the same humanoid shape as a Phantom Megid, there were no defining features to make a face. All it had was a singular vertical slit that was opened and held a red glow, matching the glowing indentions over other parts of its body.
"Oh hell, of all the things to run into…" Maria shuddered slightly, "A Phantom Megid that's taken hold of the Nephilim?"
"So it's just like that Hebi-O thing?" Kirika asked.
"I'm not so sure about that…" Shirabe muttered.
"Yeah," Buster agreed, "This thing still seems to be going on instinct."
Kenzan and Espada went to stand as quick as they could, the former switching Hayate to its shuriken formation while the latter tapped Lamp do Alangina.
[ITTOURYU!]
[LAMP DO ALANGINA!]
The Fuusouken Hayate was sent spinning, knocking Phantom-N back as Espada swung forward, the Lamp do Alangina launching outwards. Phantom-N had been forced off balance by the spinning blade and bursts of wind, the Lamp do Alangina using this chance to rush in and unleash a burst of rapid punches to send it staggering back further.
Phantom-N let out a distorted roar as it slammed its fists into the ground, unleashing a shockwave that forced the Riders to step backwards. It perked up however as it managed to catch sight of the group still hiding in the forest. Realizing this was its chance it quickly leapt up into the air, planning on getting some distance from the Riders so it could try and snack on its new prey.
"Everyone, brace," Buster said as he drew out Gekido, the Wielders bringing out their Armed Gears, "It looks like it's noticed us."
"Is it trying to escape?!" Espada questioned, "But it literally broke into our facility!"
"No time to question it, we need to stop it!" Kenzan shouted.
"Just leave it to us!"
"We'll take care of it!"
The two Riders alongside the Rider and Wielders hidden in the woods paused at the voices, though the latter group couldn't help but find said voices familiar.
A sudden dark portal opened up across from the Phantom-N. Leaping out of the dark portal was the familiar Kamen Rider Calibur, though due to the build and voice it was clear another woman was behind the mask.
The second person to exit the portal however was someone that caused the Wielders secretly watching to go wide-eyed in shock. The silver-white and light blue armor of Airgetlam contrasted against the dark purples of Calibur's armor, though this variant of the Symphogear also had pastel yellows and pinks alongside a softer more floral appearance compared to Maria's.
However it wasn't the appearance of another Airgetlam that was shocking to the three Wielders of the FIS, it was who was wearing said Symphogear. Warm brown hair that dropped down to her waist and light blue eyes was all that was needed for the Wielder to be recognized as Serena Cadenzavna Eve despite her clearly older appearance.
"No way…" Maria let out a choked gasped, "S-Serena?!"
"That voice…" Buster let out a hum, recognizing Calibur's though the distorted voice of the suit caused him to second guess himself on who it could be.
Calibur swung Kurayami outwards, a dark burst of fire being unleashed while Serena swung a shortsword, a bright flash of light being unleashed. The opposite elemental attacks struck dead center against Phantom-N's stomach, the anomaly crashing down into the ground.
Phantom-N let out a groan as its chest was damaged and torn into, though it recovered fairly easily due to its regeneration.
"I'll hold it in place," Calibur said as she dropped down before slamming Kurayami into the dirt, dark energy lashing out along the ground before splitting apart. Soon enough dark tendrils of energy began lashing out and binding Phantom-N, "Let's try and deal with it in this one shot!"
"Roger," Serena said as she landed, light shining within her shortsword's blade before she swung and launched it upwards. It flew high into the air before the blade began to shift and aim downwards, soon dropping at high speeds as a streak of light.
Phantom-N let out distorted roars as it tried to break against its bindings only for purple flames to burn its arms and body. It looked up however once a glint caught its attention, the blade slamming down against it and unleashing an explosion of white light.
{XANA†TEARS}
"That should take care of it," Serena said as she relaxed.
"Alright, you got it!" Espada pumped his fist.
"Was it really that easy?" Kenzan asked warily.
"I can only hope," Calibur said as she took her blade out of the ground only to tense up, "Wait-"
Launching out of the smoke in an instant was Phantom-N, its body peeling apart at its jagged teeth-like indentions to reveal that its body was its mouth. It stretched further as its mouth expanded, planning on devouring Calibur and Serena in one fell swoop.
"Serena," Maria muttered under her breath before letting out a shout while rushing forward, "Commander, with me!"
"Maria, wait a minute!" Buster shouted before giving a grunt and rushing off after the Wielder.
Kirika and Shirabe looked towards each other before nodding, hurrying off after the two.
Before Phantom-N could stretch out its stomach mouth further, three knives were thrown towards it, a wide triangular barrier being formed. The result was its teeth clashing against the barrier, sparks and electricity flying as it was forced to retract its mouth slightly.
"You're not touching them!" Maria shouted.
"Eh?" Serena turned in surprise, "Big sis?"
"Considering you're both Phantom Megid and Nephilim, it would be unwise to let you devour any further!" Buster shouted as he quickly drew out Jackun and loaded it into Gekido's main slot.
[JACKUN TO DOMAMENOKI! ITTOU RYODAN!]
Buster immediately holstered Gekido on his back as he gained his armament. He swung his arm out and lashed out with Jackun's vine whip, the vine wrapping around Phantom-N's chest to bind its mouth shut.
"That voice," Calibur trailed before she let out a light gasp once she caught sight of Buster, "It can't…"
Phantom-N let out more distorted roars, its mouth slowly but surely moving to try and snap the vines holding it. Though it also tried to shift its mouth to where it could latch onto the vine via its teeth to break it apart that way.
{EMPRESS†REBELLION}
It didn't take long for Maria to lash out with her chain blade, using it to strengthen Buster's hold on Phantom-N.
"Don't go for physical attacks girls!" Maria called out, "If this thing eats even a fragment of a Relic further…"
"On it," Kirika called out as she swung upwards with her scythe, unleashing a green wave of energy, "Dess!"
{Grudge Blade: Hamelin}
"Luckily we can do just that," Shirabe said as she swung her yo-yo's in an upward fashion, unleashing twin energy waves.
{Beta Style: Spiral Wave}
Serena's eyes widened when she saw the duo charge in, "Kirika, Shirabe…"
The twin waves of Shirabe spiraled together before forming an X, spiraling towards the energy wave Kirika had unleashed. In an instant the waves had spiraled together into a star of energy, spinning rapidly as it struck against Phantom-N just as Maria and Buster removed their bindings.
"Whoa," Espada stared in awe at the combination attack before shaking his head, "Since when did Maria have that, and since when did we get a Buster?"
"There's no way she could have gotten back this fast though," Kenzan shook her head, "And what's with the other two Wielders, we weren't informed of this."
Calibur was also curious about what was going on, but noticed that Serena seemed to be spacing out slightly. Admittedly for the dark dragon Rider herself, it was hard not to space out given the Rider before her. But that was all put on pause when a distorted roar was heard yet again.
Phantom-N unleashed a shockwave that blew away the smoke caused by the attacks. Its body was still recovering but it was still managing to regenerate at a fairly fast rate.
Before anyone could even do anything, beams of energy suddenly struck the ground all around. Sparks flew as smoke and dust was kicked up.
Phantom-N looked around curiously before catching sight of something within the forest. It simply let out a low distorted growl before running forward and kicking off the ground. It managed to leap high into the air, dropping down a fair distance into the forest and out of sight.
"What?" Serena asked as she looked around, "Where did it…?"
"It got away," Calibur realized, "But what shot at us?"
"No clue, but whoever it was they didn't want that thing killed," Kenzan replied.
"What, you really think we could have done it?" Espada asked.
"If someone had to cover its retreat, yeah," Kenzan nodded before looking over at Buster and the three Wielders, "But since that's done with…"
"Big sis," Serena smiled as she held her hands behind her back and walked over, "You didn't tell me you'd be getting back from your mission overseas so soon."
"Oh I uh…" Maria trailed off as she internally cursed herself, not realizing there was a big possibility she still existed in this parallel world. She cleared her throat, figuring she'd play along, "Yes, it turns out it ended up being a rather quick but important affair all things considered."
"Very important considering you managed to get us a new Airgetlam," Serena nodded as she looked over Maria's armor before smiling again, "Though I didn't think you'd dye your hair, I thought blonde looked good on you."
"A-Ah… I actually wanted to try something different," Maria replied, a bit surprised by the remark but still knowing she needed to play along. And now she couldn't help but wonder if she was really different in this world.
"Different is a good word to use, considering what I just said was actually a lie," Serena replied, "The hair part I mean."
"W-Wait, it was a what?" Maria stammered out in surprise as she took a step back, "Listen I can explain, but it's very complicated…"
"I can imagine," Serena admitted as she glanced towards Kirika and Shirabe before looking back towards Maria, "But from what I can tell, even if you aren't my Maria, you're still very much Maria."
"I would hope so," Maria let out a low chuckle at that before realizing something and doing a double take, "Wait, what's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," Serena giggled as she turned away.
"I believe introductions are in order," Calibur spoke up before gesturing towards Buster, "If your Buster could please dismiss his transformation."
"Of course," Buster nodded as he dismissed his transformation, revealing himself. He immediately noticed that Calibur had flinched, glancing away and towards the ground, "Is that better?"
"Not really," Calibur muttered as she dismissed her transformation, soon revealing herself as Sophia. This was something that caught Genjuro and the Wielders accompanying him by surprise. This Sophia however wore a black suit instead of her usual white, a maroon blouse underneath her suit's jacket, and a pair of black gloves.
"Eh," Kirika's eyes widened, "Commander Sophia's the Calibur of this world?!"
"That's a surprise," Shirabe admitted as she blinked a few times, purely because Sophia seemed to be relatively calm alongside working with Serena and the others.
"Huh, they're already aware of who she is?" Espada asked, "And what's this about worlds?"
"Clearly something bigger than what we've dealt with," Kenzan remarked before going to dismiss her transformation since the other Riders had. Soon enough Kenzan was revealed to be a woman wearing ninja-like navy Logos Sector attire that held a purple scarf, "Amane Kagami, Kamen Rider Kenzan."
"I'm Kyoichiro Shinsen, Kamen Rider Espada," Espada introduced as he dismissed his transformation, revealing he was wearing his own variant of a Logos Sector uniform, it being navy in coloration with a yellow button-up shirt being the standout.
"Huh, so there are different Espada and Kenzan here…" Maria muttered.
"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Genjuro said.
"Uh…" Kyoichiro muttered as he scooted close to Amane, "Hey, is it just me or did we get less of a reaction than the others?"
"I don't think that matters right now," Amane whispered back.
"We should get back inside to meet with the head of the facility," Sophia suggested as she avoided eye contact with Genjuro, "We can answer any questions you have, and you can give us details on why exactly you all are here."
"Sounds good to me," Genjuro replied as he looked at the other Wielders who went to dismiss their transformations.
"Yes, getting caught up on everything would be good considering we'll be here for a bit," Maria agreed, glancing over at Serena who had dismissed her transformation by this point.
"Don't worry, you're in good hands," Serena reassured as she went to take the lead with Sophia and the other Riders, Genjuro and the Wielders with him following after.
Phantom-N was deep through the forest by this point, having run and run after escaping from the Riders and Wielders. Eventually it made it to one of the nearby mountain ranges that surrounded the facility it had attacked. Soon enough it had found what it was looking for, a cave that tunneled fairly deeply into the mountain.
It didn't seem to be that well lit, a few glowing gems embedded in the wall to give some source of light, but not a lot. Before Phantom-N could get further it squealed out as several beams of energy tore into its legs.
"Honestly…"
It didn't take long for Gaze to appear at the entrance, several eye drones floating nearby him.
Phantom-N let out a growl as it turned only to gasp as the eye drones shot several beams and cut into its arms and stomach, forcing it into a more docile state.
"The Nephilim is such a double-edged sword," Gaze mused to himself as he went to approach, "Adding its Relic absorption abilities to a Phantom Megid should work wonders. But because of its monstrous nature it can only grow so much on its own, especially with what little Relics I could find to feed it… I suppose it's getting hungrier however which is why it decided to infiltrate the research institute…"
Phantom-N simply let out a low growl as it regenerated, staying in a crouched stance as it lowered its head.
"At least you know your place," Gaze remarked as he walked over with a few more Relic scraps, tossing them over to Phantom-N who opened up its body slightly to use its body-mouth to devour the scraps, "That being said I suppose you have the right idea… even if it's risky now that SONG is in this world."
Phantom-N let out a content hiss as it relaxed slightly.
"But even then you don't know what I'm talking about do you?" Gaze asked in a dull manner as he got what he knew he would in response, which was no actual response, "Even so, you have the potential to grow beyond even Hebi-O if we play our cards right."
Sophia stayed fairly silent as she led everyone through the research facility, a few of the workers passing by looked over at the group curiously but didn't do much beyond that.
"Kyoichiro, Amane," Sophia spoke up, "If it isn't too much to ask…"
"Huh?" Kyoichiro looked over in confusion.
"We'll get the details later, got it," Amane said as she went to grab and drag a surprised Kyoichiro off, "Come on, let's get some training in or something."
"Eh, wait what's going on?" Kyoichiro asked.
"Personal business," Amane answered as she continued to drag Kyoichiro away.
"Is everything alright Sophia?" Serena asked.
"Yes Serena," Sophia reassured, "Though considering our company at the moment, I figured the coming meeting would grow a bit too awkward for those two, wouldn't you agree?"
"I do," Serena nodded, glancing back briefly at Kirika and Shirabe before continuing to lead the group alongside Sophia.
It wasn't long before everyone entered the main control room of the facility just as a group of researchers had gone to exit.
Serena raised a slight eyebrow at this before looking back into the control room as they entered, "Mom, we're back."
At the main console towards the front of the room was a face that Maria, Kirika, or Shirabe were expecting to see again. Before them and even standing surprisingly enough was Professor Nastassja. While she was as old as they remembered, she definitely seemed a lot healthier. It was to the point where she was able to walk on her own and didn't even have the eyepatch Maria and the others were so used to. Needless to say, Maria, Kirika, and Shirabe were taken aback by these turn of events, even if they were likely expecting it due to Serena being around.
"Yes," Nastassja nodded with a soft smile, "Welcome back Serena."
"Hmm…" Genjuro let out a low hum as he watched Sophia and Serena walk over to stand beside Nastassja. Considering Nastassja was likely the one in charge Sophia mentioned, as well as the Lunar Attack having happened…
"Now then I believe we should cut to the chase," Nastassja said, "You all are not of this world, correct?"
"Eh, right from the start?" Kirika asked in surprise.
"I suppose that makes things easier," Shirabe noted.
"You'd believe us if we told you we were from another world?" Maria asked skeptically.
"We would," Nastassja replied with a nod, "While cloning is a possibility, there should only be one Airgetlam here which Serena is utilizing as well as one Dogouken Gekido that we have in storage."
"There's also the fact that well…" Serena tried to speak up only to go silent as she thought on it further.
"3/4th's of your group shouldn't exactly be standing before us at the moment…"
The group over world travelers turned to see Daishinji enter the room, though he didn't have his Swordsman's coat on nor did he have Suzune holstered like he usually would. His hair was more disheveled but it looked as though in this world he was only a swordsmith. He managed to catch a glimpse of Genjuro but once the older man made eye contact he simply held his hand up and looked away as he went to join the Sophia, Serena, and Nastassja.
"Daishinji…?" Kirika asked.
"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Maria asked.
"Tell me Maria," Nastassja spoke up, "Did your time in the FIS also have a volatile experiment when it came to the Nephilim?"
"Yes, we did," Maria said as she gripped her fist tightly and bit her lip before taking a deep breath, "It went out of control but Serena was able to seal it back into a docile state. However it was at the cost of her life…"
"Wait, what?" Serena's eyes widened when she heard this.
"I see, in our version of events the experiment was barely able to start before a strange Megid-like creature absorbed the Nephilim," Nastassja explained, "The resulting fusion beast went on a more controlled rampage before vanishing."
"You and I ended up being spared due to how quickly it moved to escape," Serena explained before looking down, "Kirika and Shirabe however…"
"Oh…" Kirika trailed as she and Shirabe looked at each other before realizing what exactly Daishinji meant.
"That explains a few things but…" Shirabe muttered.
"There's one thing I'd like to ask," Genjuro spoke up, "What exactly is this facility?"
"An FIS Research Facility funded by the American Government," Nastassja answered, but already knew what the Rider of Earth was getting at, "I should mention we're not in America if that was your assumption."
"So we are in Japan still," Genjuro mused.
"The FIS has a facility in Japan in this world?" Maria asked in surprise.
"On technicality it is, at most it's just a Relic Research facility that's being used as the FIS' main base of operations in Japan," Nastassja explained, "But I'm sure that only adds more questions."
"The people in this room indicate the presence of a Logos Sector, and unless it was founded in America then it should have been founded in Japan alongside Section 2," Genjuro replied, "Especially if the Kazanari Foundation exists, so why exactly does the FIS have a foothold here?"
"The reason is simple," Sophia replied, "It's because while they did exist at one point, what little was left of the Logos Sector after merging with Section 2 is all that's left of Japan's Relic research organizations."
"Wait, all that's left?!" Maria asked in shock.
Kirika let out a yell of surprise, "Dess?!"
"Seriously…?" Shirabe asked in surprise.
"I see… I suppose that explains a few reactions," Genjuro muttered before speaking up, "How did it happen?"
"Considering three of your group, I can only assume you all are aware of Finé," Nastassja spoke up.
"We are," Maria replied, "We also noticed that the moon is shattered, similar to ours."
"It was indeed Finé's attack on the moon," Sophia answered as she looked up to address the group, "We had managed to catch on fairly quickly but that caused Finé herself to grow desperate. The battle grew so large and chaotic that it tore apart just about everyone involved, whether it was Riders, Wielders, Megid, the organizations backing them. Thankfully this also included Finé."
"Aside from a few operators who quit shortly after," Daishinji spoke up, "Sophia and I are the only survivors of Section 2."
"I see…" Genjuro trailed.
"The result meant Section 2 had to be retired, with the Japanese and US Governments forming a joint alliance in researching Relics," Nastassja explained, "Due to my reputation I was asked to lead said facility and was transferred here with Serena and Maria due to them being active Symphogear Wielders, while those left from Section 2 who wished to continue were transferred here."
"To think the Lunar Attack could be so different here," Kirika said with wide eyes.
"Though that means…" Shirabe realized that this world was very similar to where they were from but shook off her thoughts when it came to thinking about who exactly was a part of this world's section 2, not wanting to go that deep.
"I assume you're using the term Lunar Attack due to how it occurred," Nastassja spoke up, not wanting her guests to dwell on the grim possibilities of who was involved, "However for us it's different, as due to the nature of the battle it was dubbed the Lunar Reckoning."
"Lunar Reckoning…" Maria trailed.
"Now then, I believe we've given you a rundown of what to expect," Nastassja continued as she clasped her hands, "What can you all tell us about yourselves?"
World of Sympho-Saber:
Sophia admittedly wasn't fond of how little information there was when it came to Gjallarhorn. They were only able to keep track of so much, and were mostly in the dark. It always got her anxious, especially when finding out that the young heroes she was in charge of were heavily injured like in Rintaro's case.
"Here you go," Aoi said as she walked over with a tray that had a few mugs of coffee on it, setting one down near Sophia's station before going to set one down near Sakuya's station, "Figured we could use something to keep us attentive."
"Oh, thank you," Sophia nodded as she went to blow on her coffee before taking a sip.
"Also something to keep our mind off of things given we don't know what's going on," Sakuya admitted, "There's only so much we can monitor without it feeling nerve inducing."
"Exactly why I did it," Aoi replied as she went to set her coffee mug down near her station before sitting and going through some data, "It's either that or-"
She was cut off by the sounds of an alarm, the entire bridge going dark as the secondary lights turned on due to the alert.
"What's our status?" Sophia asked as she was a bit relieved to have some kind of distraction.
"It's a Megid alert!" Sakuya called out as he and Aoi quickly worked on tracking down where the Megid was while also trying to get a visual via whatever cameras in the area they could.
"What's going on?" Touma asked as he rushed in with Hibiki and Tsubasa.
"We've got a new Megid on the loose," Sophia said as she turned towards the three before noticing something, "Where's Yuri?"
"Ah yes, Ogawa needed some help with looking into future venues in Japan and asked Kanade to help him," Tsubasa replied, "Yuri was curious about concert venues and it was decided he'd join them."
"Huh, well as long as they know then we should be good," Touma said before putting a hand on his chin, "Admittedly this might give me a chance to keep practicing with Rekka."
"Ah that's right," Hibiki snapped her fingers, "You were able to use Rekka to kind of free a human from a Megid."
"I'd like to attempt and get that down soon," Touma admitted, "Hopefully this Megid isn't as tricky as the last few."
"Let's see…" Sakuya tapped his console's keys a few times before a ping occurred, "We've got visual!"
It wasn't long before various cameras caught people running off in fear, the cameras catching the Bee Megid flying above them before landing and yelling out while spreading its arms.
"So it's a Bee this time," Hibiki said.
"It seems Zooous is the most active," Tsubasa noted, "This is the third of his type we've faced."
"Wonder why," Touma mused before shaking his head, "Anyway, we need to get out there soon and save that person trapped inside."
"Right," Hibiki said as Tsubasa nodded, the three hurrying out from the bridge.
"Tomosato, contact Falchion and Kenzan," Sophia said as she turned towards the lead operator, "Let them know so they can inform Saikou."
"Understood," Aoi said as she went to contact Kanade and Ogawa.
"Now hypothetically…" Rintaro trailed.
"No," Chris answered immediately.
"You didn't let me finish," Rintaro said as he blinked a few times, wincing before holding the icepack up to his head, a small bruise having formed from when he hit it earlier, "What did you think I was going to say?"
"That hypothetically if we were absolutely needed, you'd have an excuse to jump in and be a hero," Chris said as she crossed her arms, smirking when she saw Rintaro grow nervous at her words, "Did I hit the nail on the head?"
"N-No!" Rintaro yelped out as he tried to save face, trying to rapidly think of an idea. His eyes wandered around and then he realized something he could pivot to, "Hypothetically, if I were to get a television like yours… would the others more likely to try and come over constantly?"
"Huh?" Chris was a bit surprised by the pivot, but figured it would be a good distraction, "I feel like it would be a coin flip situation, but yeah. If you got something as big as mine you'd probably get bugged by the others too, especially if there's an event involving Tsubasa or Maria."
"Ah, very true," Rintaro replied.
"Why haven't you gotten one yet anyway?" Chris asked before her eyes wandered, "Oh wait…"
"I suppose I've mostly been thinking of other things," Rintaro admitted with a light chuckle as he glanced towards where Chris' eyes wandered.
Part of the apartment had been decorated with various book shelves, some knickknacks and framed photos on top of them but the shelves themselves were filled to the brim with books of various subjects.
"You sure love to read, huh?" Chris asked.
"Living at a government owned facility unfortunately meant some luxuries were limited," Rintaro admitted, "However thankfully due to the nature of the Logos Sector there were plenty of books, and I suppose I just developed an interest."
"Ah that's right, you were basically raised there, huh?" Chris asked.
"I was," Rintaro replied, "Raised by the man we met in the World of KuroWing."
"Right, he was your master," Chris recalled with a nod as she walked over to the bookshelves to view their contents. She noticed a lot of informational books, and some classic literature, but nothing beyond that, "So I assume you trained with him and then to relax you read books?"
"Essentially, though in a sense I felt like I was training back then too when I read," Rintaro admitted, "As the books I had access to were ones Daishinji kept and those were all about the Sword of Logos days alongside techniques and knowledge passed down by the warriors of the past."
"Right," Chris nodded.
"Though I will admit while a television sounds nice, I'm not sure if I could enjoy it well enough," Rintaro said as he put the icepack down, "Even if they aren't related to my job, reading has been rather nice.
"…" Chris went silent at this before getting a grin as she got an idea. She quickly hurried over to her satchel as she had packed a few things in case she got bored keeping Rintaro in one place, "I think I've got an idea to help pass the time."
"You do?" Rintaro asked, not knowing that Chris had pulled out a manga volume.
World of Lunar Reckoning:
"I see," Nastassja said as she paced around, a hand to her chin in thought as the world travelers before her and her group had told their version of what had happened alongside why exactly they were in this world to begin with, "It certainly sounds like you've been through a similar but different history than ours."
"To think there's a Relic that connects worlds though," Serena said with a light gasp.
"Gjallarhorn," Daishinji muttered, "Certainly it's a Relic with infinite possibilities in terms of scenarios…"
"I suppose that answers our question about the Nephilim creature," Sophia spoke up, trying to push down any stray thoughts by thinking on the information given, "You said it was, a Phantom Megid correct?"
"Yes," Maria nodded, "They're anomalies that take the form of an inverted Megid that grow stronger by absorbing relics."
"And considering the Nephilim already grows strong by consuming Relics, we've got a dangerous combination," Shirabe added.
"Dess!" Kirika called out before suddenly giving a hum, "Wait a minute… shouldn't it be stronger and smarter then?"
"You're right about that," Genjuro agreed, "With how many years it's been since the incident involving the Nephilim alongside how it could grow… it should be on the level of an advanced Phantom Megid like the Hebi-O that the others fought against."
"Perhaps the gluttonous nature of the Nephilim is counteracting any attempts at growing positively," Nastassja mused, "However now come a few questions in its wake. How did it get to Japan without incident, and how were we unable to actively find it since it should have been active and able to be tracked…"
"That's admittedly something that's worrying me," Genjuro admitted, "Considering Hebi-O and the Phantom Megid it spawned in another world had also been hidden until recently…"
"Do you think there could be some kind of outside source then?" Serena asked as everyone glanced towards her when she said this, "Like someone or something is taking an interest in the Phantom Megid for whatever reason."
"Now that worries me," Maria said as she glanced towards Genjuro, "A being that can travel worlds without the Gjallarhorn? And one that seemingly wants the Phantom Megid to grow…"
"Considering the gaps of time between the first two events and now…" Genjuro said as he thought on the matter, "We might just be onto something."
"Unfortunately there's not much that can be done right now," Nastassja said, "I'll see what this facility can pull out in terms of finding the Phantom Megid that ran off. Until then, all of you please feel free to relax."
"Understood," Sophia nodded as she and Daishinji went to exit.
"With all of that said," Nastassja spoke up before the two could leave, "While informing our other Seiken Wielders is fine, I'd like all talk of Gjallarhorn to be between only those in this room."
"Is that why all the usual researchers aren't here?" Serena asked, recalling what had happened earlier.
"Indeed," Nastassja replied, "I've even taken the liberty of shutting off the security cameras in this room temporarily."
"I see," Sophia said, "Is that all?"
"Yes," Nastassja nodded, watching as Sophia and Daishinji exited the room. She then looked otwards the others, "I hope I'm not being too restrictive, however there's no telling what researchers here will try to do once they learn of parallel worlds and Gjallarhorn. I'd rather keep this incident isolated."
"No that's completely understandable," Genjuro shook his head in agreement, "Thank you for allowing us to rest here until we need to continue our mission."
"Yes, thank you Professor Nastassja," Maria said, wanting to keep a professional air.
"Yes, thank you very much, dess," Kirika said as she and Shirabe bowed.
"It's no issue," Nastassja said before looking over at Maria, Shirabe, and Kirika before smiling, "That being said there's no need for formalities. If it's more comfortable to you, please call me Mom."
"Oh," Maria was a bit surprised by the gesture but smiled alongside Kiriika and Shirabe, "Thank you, Mom."
"Serena, could you please show them around and get them situated at the guest quarters?" Nastassja asked.
"Of course," Serena nodded before smiling, "Just follow me, I'll help you all get settled."
"That sounds great," Maria smiled back.
With the meeting done, Serena immediately went to work showing her otherworldly guests to their temporary quarters, everyone going to get settled in their own rooms for the meantime. Kirika and Shirabe had chosen to share a room while Genjuro and Maria each had their own.
The facility and by extension rooms were similar in that they were rather plain in decoration and color, mostly being white with a few grays and blacks to break everything up. Of course they had all the accommodations one could ask for, so plain aesthetics were the least of anyone's worries, especially since this was a temporary visit.
"How's everything," Serena said as she entered Maria's room, the other version of her sister sitting on the bed.
"The accommodations are nice," Maria replied, "Though I am hoping we don't have to stay too long…"
"What makes you say that?" Serena asked.
"I can only imagine the look on my other self's face if she comes back from her mission and I'm still here," Maria said with a bit of a giggle, "Even I'm barely processing that there's another me that could come home at any moment."
"Well thankfully for the both of you, she just left on her mission yesterday," Serena smiled as she walked over, "And she's supposed to be taking a week or so on it."
"I suppose that is a relief," Maria replied before growing curious about something, "Admittedly I am curious, the Relic she uses… is it Gungnir?"
"I'd ask how you guessed but I can only imagine you have experience with that," Serena said as she sat down next to Maria.
"I used to primarily wield Gungnir since that was the one Gear I could sync with," Maria explained, "However someone who needed it more than I did ended up claiming it, but thankfully I still had the Airgetlam left over by my sister."
"That's actually surprising to me," Serena spoke up, "I didn't think Wielders could sync with different Relics."
"I suppose I'm a special case," Maria said though she held a curious expression, "I'm admittedly surprised it hasn't come up yet for you all."
"I suppose we never had the need to test swapping Relics," Serena replied, "Plus despite needing LiNKER she was the best Wielder to use Gungnir from our facility like I was for Airgetlam."
"I see," Maria said, "Still I suppose that's something to consider now for you all."
"I suppose so," Serena said.
"That said, I'm surprised to hear that I went on a solo mission," Maria continued, "I'm not one to doubt my own capabilities but…"
"She didn't go alone thankfully," Serena replied.
"Oh that's good," Maria said as she thought on it, "Though it seemed like we've already met everyone aside from her…"
"It's a fairly simple and dull mission so we just sent one of our best agents with her," Serena explained though she grew curious, "I'm wondering if you remember her though since she didn't come up in your explanation…"
"What do you mean?" Maria asked.
"Aside from Kirika and Shirabe there was another friend we made at the facility," Serena said, hoping that their experiences up until the Nephilim accident would have been similar enough, "Her name was Jeanne."
"Jeanne…" Maria trailed as she thought a while, "I think I recall her, though from what I remember she was transferred somewhere else before the accident."
"Ah, she ended up sticking around in this world," Serena explained before smiling, "Even though I worry about my sister, with Jeanne backing her up I'm more than confident things will go alright."
"That's good to hear," Maria admitted.
"Yeah," Serena nodded, only to notice the slight awkward silence before quickly standing up while turning to get in front of Maria and performing a bow, "Also, I'm sorry."
"Eh?" Maria looked over in surprise, "Why are you saying that?"
"I can only imagine how awkward things are," Serena said, "Considering I still have my sister and you're…"
"Oh," Maria realized what Serena was getting at before giving a soft smile and holding her hand out, using only two fingers to gently push Serena's head up with a quick tap, "That's not any fault of your own, you know that right?"
"I suppose," Serena said, a bit surprised at her bow being interrupted as she glanced towards the side, "But still…"
"You always were the kindest of us," Maria muttered as she kept her smile before standing up, "While I can't lie and say it isn't awkward, it's more of an amusing kind of awkward."
"Amusing…?" Serena asked as she tilted her head.
"Well me talking and asking about myself, you know?" Maria said, "It's something you don't exactly do every day."
"I suppose so," Serena giggled.
"Excuse me."
Serena turned as Maria looked towards the door, Genjuro leaning against the frame with his arm.
"Is everything alright Commander?" Maria asked.
"Yes, did you need something?" Serena asked.
"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything," Genjuro apologized, "But I was wondering if I could get directions to your main lab or workshop or wherever Daishinji works."
"Oh yes, he has his own section," Serena nodded, "I can guide you there if you'd like."
"Are you sure that's a wise idea Commander?" Maria asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's been a while since I had Gekido checked on," Genjuro replied, "While I haven't done much fighting I still want to have it checked to be on the safe side. Given Seiken likely stay the same between worlds, I'm sure this Daishinji can still help me in that regard."
"Of course," Serena said before getting an idea and turning towards Maria, "Let's grab Shirabe and Kirika, there's somewhere else I should show you all if you're going to be here for a while."
"Alright then," Maria said, a bit curious as to what Genjuro was even attempting to do when it came to interacting with the other Sophia and Daishinji.
At the facility's main workshop, Daishinji was currently continuing maintenance on Onjuuken Suzune. He was silent as he carefully and meticulously worked on the Seiken of Sound. Of course he wasn't the only person in the workshop as Sophia was there as well.
Sophia was currently holding the Ankokuken Kurayami in both of her gloved hands, staring at it before looking up at the wall before her. The wall in question was glass case with a glowing back that held the remaining Seiken they had in storage. Inside were the Kaenken Rekka, Suiseiken Nagare and Dogouken Gekido, the three Seiken in fairly good condition.
"Don't," Daishinji spoke up when he heard the shifting of leather, not even needing to glance in Sophia's direction, "You wear those gloves for a reason."
"I know," Sophia said as she paused, having attempted to take off her gloves with the hope that Daishinji didn't hear her. She then went to shift them to where they were back on, "But this entire event is a big unknown to us… shouldn't we-"
"I understand your concern, however this shouldn't last too long," Daishinji interrupted, "With all of you the Phantom Megid shouldn't last much longer and then they can leave."
"Very well," Sophia replied, "So how much longer?"
Daishinji raised an eyebrow, "How much longer for what?"
"How much longer are you going to keep picking at Suzune," Sophia answered, "It's been fully repaired for a while now, hasn't it?"
"It's not fully repaired yet…" Daishinji answered with a mutter as he turned away.
"I've seen you work on the other swords in close detail," Sophia replied, "And I've also seen you work on Suzune. You're done, right?"
"It's not ready yet…" Daishinji muttered again.
"Slash…" Sophia trailed.
"It's just Daishinji now," Daishinji spoke up.
"Here we are."
"Thank you."
Daishinji and Sophia turned towards the door when they heard voices outside, the two staring in surprise as Genjuro casually entered. The two were able to briefly see Serena leading Maria, Kirika, and Shirabe elsewhere as the door closed.
"Just what's going on here?" Daishinji asked.
"Hey there," Genjuro said as he removed Gekido from its holster before holding it out, "I was hoping to see if I could get my Seiken checked while I was here, didn't really get the chance to back home."
"I suppose it's the least we can do," Sophia said.
"Bring it here," Daishinji answered though he turned away, "I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks," Genjuro said as he walked over to Daishinji who had went to place Suzune to the side in order to have room for the massive Seiken.
Sophia meanwhile turned back towards the case with the Seiken, gripping Kurayami tightly as she stared particularly at Gekido.
Espada let out a shout as he ran towards a building, several Noise and Shimi following after him as he scaled the building's wall. He then kicked off and launched downwards at lightning speed, striking through the Noise and Shimi as electrical sparks launched outwards and tore through the ones on the edges of the attack.
Kenzan meanwhile was ducking and rolling while slicing through the Noise and Shimi she faced, eventually running along a building wall to keep from getting pinned down by the horde. Several tried to rush towards her only for the Rider of Wind to spin while lashing outwards with her weapons. The result was a green tinted tornado that tore through and launched her opponents backwards.
"Alright, done with my half," Espada said as he hurried over.
"Same," Kenzan nodded before turning, "And now…"
Soon enough Desast came into view with a chuckle, resting his sword on his shoulder.
[HISSATSU DOKUHA! IKAZUCHI BATTOU!]
[SARUTOBI NINJADEN! NINNIN!]
Espada slashed forward while stepping towards the side, unleashing a slash of electrical energy as he got out of the way for Kenzan. Kenzan flipped forward while slashing out with both of her blades, slashes of wind spiraling together and striking against Espada's slash.
The result created a spiraling wave of slashes that struck against Desast who had just barely moved forward to try and attack, the Megid yelling out as an explosion occurred.
[ALANGINA! ISSATSU GIRI! THUNDER!]
[HAYATE SOKUDOKU GEKI! NINNIN!]
"You know, I think those girls were onto something," Espada admitted as he stood up.
"Indeed," Kenzan nodded, "Combining our attacks into one seemed to have done the trick."
"…Calamity Strike!"
The smoke cleared as Desast could be seen regenerating, unleashing a pure red horizontal slash against both Riders. The two Riders' heads jolted towards the Megid only to yell out as they were struck by the attack, a burst of energy occurring as they were sent sprawling to the ground.
{FAILED}
{Mission Incomplete}
"Dang it…" Espada muttered as he went to pick himself up.
"I thought we had it that time," Kenzan admitted as she picked herself up.
It didn't take long for Desast to glitch out as the as the city faded away to reveal the two Riders were still inside the FIS Facility. More specifically, the two were in the training room and had been training ever since they were dismissed.
"I'm sure you all will get it next time," Serena's voice was heard, the two Riders turning towards the main viewing room as the windows grew clear upon the training finishing. The two also noticed that Maria, Kirika, and Shirabe were with her as well.
"They saw that huh…" Espada trailed in slight embarrassment as he dismissed his transformation.
"I wonder if they've got some good tips," Kenzan admitted while dismissing her transformation. Her drive to improve overrode any feeling of embarrassment that could have been felt.
"Think we should ask?" Kyoichiro asked as he put away his Swordriver.
"Obviously," Amane said as she holstered Hayate while walking towards the door to the observation room.
"Considering SONG's training tech was created via what FIS technology they took, I shouldn't be surprised it's this detailed," Maria said as she crossed her arms.
"Yeah, but I don't think we've got a Desast programmed into ours," Kirika replied.
"No, but considering how many of us there are it makes sense," Shirabe replied, "If we want a detailed single opponent we can just ask someone to spar if the horde modes aren't something we want to do."
"Sorry you had to see that," Kyoichiro said as he entered with Amane, "I could've sworn we would've gotten it this time."
"We made sure to equally distribute the horde this time," Amane explained, "And instead of two separate attacks we went for a unified attack."
"It sounds like you two are on the right track," Serena replied.
"If I may make a suggestion," Maria spoke up, "One likely factor is the power output since I can only assume you're able to access other forms."
"I've yet to get to Wonder Combo admittedly," Kyoichiro spoke up with light sheepish smile before clearing his throat, "But I'm able to utilize the Two Book Forms I have with ease."
"I have my own extra Ride Book but it's more of an armament than anything," Amane added.
"Even so, upping your output would do well when dealing with a regenerative or sturdy opponent," Maria continued, "But also, play towards your own strengths."
"What do you mean by that?" Amane asked.
"You had the right idea in combining your attacks," Maria answered, already guessing that the two were trying to copy what Kirika and Shirabe did, "But instead of elementally charged slashes, you need to work with your elements and combine them in a way that maximizes them."
"You know I didn't think of it like that," Amane admitted as the gears were already turning in her head, "But…"
"We should probably break for now," Kyoichiro admitted with a light groan, "Because while I get that Sophia wanted some space, man was training after a fight not a smart idea."
"Well what else were we supposed to do?" Amane asked.
"Get a snack or something?" Kyoichiro asked, "Admittedly I do need to get to work on making sure the paperwork Nastassja asked for me to help with is done soon…"
"You also do paperwork, dess?" Kirika asked.
"Would you believe that despite being the best fit for Espada he's actually an incredible accountant?" Amane asked as she pointed towards her ally, "Because he is."
"I mean it really helps pass the time when there's nothing to do and I don't want to train all the time," Kyoichiro shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal, "It's either that or messing with my camera."
"Wait, are you also a photographer?" Shirabe raised an eyebrow.
"Less that and more fascinated by digital cameras," Kyoichiro admitted, "Yeah we have phones nowadays but there's just something you can't beat when it comes to an actual camera."
"Yeah I don't get it either," Amane admitted when she saw the confused stares of the otherworldly Wielders, "But hey, if it helps him pass the time."
"Speaking of passing time, getting something to eat would be good," Serena suggested, "And I can fill you two in on what the situation is."
"Sounds good to me," Kyoichiro nodded.
"Agreed," Maria replied, "They did need to be informed anyway."
"But somewhere discreet," Shirabe reminded.
With the private meeting finished with, Nastassja had called the main operators and researchers in the command center back in. Of course she had also made sure to have the cameras running again since they weren't discussing delicate information.
"Ma'am," a researcher called out as he gestured for her to come over.
"What is it?" Nastassja asked as she walked over.
"The perimeter cameras are picking up some odd objects on visual," the researcher explained.
"Objects specifically?" Nastassja raised an eyebrow.
"Well um, I'm not sure what to classify this as," the researcher said as he enhanced the camera feed on his console's screen, showing what looked to be flying eyeballs.
"Those are…" Nastassja trailed in surprise as her eyes widened, as she quickly took over much to the researchers surprise. She zoomed in and enhanced the cameras playback as much as she could before watching as mechanical eyeball like creatures with bug-like wings were currently floating around and observing the Research Facility.
The eye drone that the camera was focusing on simply looked around before suddenly locking its eye with the camera. The researcher let out a yelp as he backed up while Nastassja narrowed her eyes. The eye drone stared long and hard at the camera only to suddenly fly off, as if sending an invisible message in that manner.
"Ma'am…?" the researcher asked in concern.
"I'll need to check our Relic Storage personally," Nastassja answered as she narrowed her eyes further at this gesture, "Alert me if anything changes."
"Of course," the researcher nodded.
At the edge of the forest was Gaze who watched as his eye drones returned to him, the drones gathering in his palm and sinking into him as he chuckled. He had purposely had that one drone stare long and hard at a camera that was trying to focus on it. He was aware of certain quirks with certain worlds, specifically what Relics should be where. And if he was correct on this regard he would be able to easily claim what he needed for Phantom-N to grow.
Gaze knew that for this plan to work he'd have to be quick and hope that Phantom-N could hold out long enough when he dispatched it next time. Though considering how long it had been since the previous attack alongside the extra regenerative abilities Phantom-N held…
"I suppose it's time to get to work," Gaze chuckled.
World of Sympho-Saber:
Kanade, Ogawa and Yuri were currently rushing through the streets due to the sudden information drop of the new Megid.
"You know you should really go ahead," Kanade suggested, "Ogawa and I can be late, you can't."
"Fair enough," Yuri remarked, "However Touma and the others should be able to stall decently well until I arrive."
"There's also Touma's new ability that's manifesting," Ogawa added, recalling reading about Rekka's potential ability to separate a human from a Megid, "You likely want him to try growing further in that regard, right?"
"Correct," Yuri nodded, "He holds great potential thanks to fighting alongside me, so while not ideal, this situation is beneficial in the long run."
"Well he is with Hibiki and Tsubasa so I guess we shouldn't worry too much," Kanade said only for a sudden burst of orange smoke to slam into the ground in front of them.
[NOROSHI KAISEN! KONCHUU DAI~HYAKKA~!]
Anyone near yelled out before hurrying off as the smoke began to dissipate to reveal Sabela with her Seiken aimed at the three.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Sabela said as she kept her aim up, watching the three get in defensive stances.
"Surprised you're this gutsy to face three of us," Kanade let out a small grin, "Finally more confident?"
"More like playing this strategically considering where one of you at least needs to be," Sabela answered.
"Are you saying you'd just let the Seiken of Light go?" Ogawa asked as he narrowed his eyes.
"If it means cutting down your numbers significantly, then yes," Sabela answered.
"Ogawa, Yuri, get going," Kanade said as she stepped up while preparing her Bladriver and Ride Book, "I'll handle her on my own."
"Kanade, are you sure?" Ogawa asked in surprise, "Isn't this…"
"There's no way this is going to end like last time," Kanade answered with a confident smirk, "Not after what I went through."
"Now this is a surprise," Sabela let out a hum as she lowered her weapon, "What brought on this act of kindness?"
"Kanade…" Ogawa muttered before glancing at Yuri, the two nodding at each other before hurrying off, passing Sabela who hardly acknowledged them.
"Alright, with them out of the way…" Kanade said as she drew out Kyomu from her Bladriver before slashing forward, "Henshin!"
[BATTOU! ETERNAL PHOENIX!]
Sabela watched as Kanade transformed into Kamen Rider Falchion, taking a slight step forward as she could feel a difference in the Rider's stance. Whether it was overconfidence showing or a newfound strength she wasn't sure. But she wasn't about to back down now that she had gotten a perfect chance to continue her fight against Falchion.
"You're damn right about this being an act of kindness though," Falchion admitted as she held her Seiken forward, "Because if all three of us fought you at once… well, things wouldn't be pretty."
"Is that so…" Sabela let out a small hiss.
Watching the fight however was Desast who was squatting on top of a building, staring intently at the two combatants. Or rather he was staring intently at Sabela, still trying to figure out why exactly he was getting the scent of blood alongside smoke from her.
"Just what are you hiding…" he muttered as he waited for the fight to begin, "Swordswoman?"
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: Time for our next little Arc for the season as we've got one focusing on Maria alongside an alternate variation of Serena. This time I'm drawing a bit from the XDU World that allowed the game to use the kid version of Serena as a playable character. And of course I get to dabble in canon concepts I wouldn't be able to because of how the story is setup, so say hello to Kyoichiro and Amane as guest Riders for this arc alongside Sophia as Calibur.
The B-Side isn't too hefty this time as well, so it allows me to focus a bit more on the Parallel World, but I did want to give something for the others to do. In this case we end off on a very fun rematch between Falchion and Sabela, fun because someone has some new tricks up her sleeve. That said thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.