Content Warning: Descriptions of gore.

"Maia-san… she has the Gungnir…?" Hibiki said, shocked.

"But isn't that dangerous for her?" Miku asked. "She's using two relics!"

The others had returned as well. While Kirika and Shirabe tried to get Chris and Maria to get some rest in the medbay, they insisted on coming here. Tsubasa herself had also entered on her crutches, especially once she found out Maia was using Ame-no-Habakiri.

"What's the situation on Maia?" Shuri asked.

"These readings are… they're completely unnatural." Fujitaka said.

"What are you talking about?" Chris asked.

"Normally, when two of the Symphogear relics are in close proximity, their Aufwachen Waveform patterns are synched up in battle." Elfnein explained. "But due to the forceful nature of Maia-san's transformation…"

The screen showed how the patterns were shimmering, the lines imperfect and struggling to stay in shape.

"How much time does she have?" Tsubasa asked, dread in her voice.

"From what our sensors are estimating, five minutes at the absolute maximum." Aoi said, as the timer started to count down.

"What happens then?" Jeanne asked.

"We're… not sure." Aoi had to admit.

"A-At the very minimum… irreparable damage to her body." Elfnein said, voice quivering.

"Irreparable damage at minimum?" Maria repeated, horrified.

"...get her back." Tsubasa said, panic growing in her voice. "Call her back here right now!"

"She refuses to answer her communicator, and the signal seems to be affected due to the close proximity to the Elekleid." Genjuro said. "And with that time limit, we won't reach her in time…"

"Then we need to hope." Miku said. "Maia-san can win, and then transform out of it… if anyone can do it, she can."

"Yeah, she'll bring her back, dess!" Kirika agreed. "Let's cheer for her!"

Maia… Shuri clutched her hands. Please… stay safe… and bring Rui-san back to us…!

(Insert Ranbu Escalation by Gaku Sano and Yutaka Kobayashi)

Sparks flew as Rui and Maia's blades clashed. They broke their deadlock, knocking one another backwards. They skidded on the ground as they landed, staying standing.

"You got tougher with that shiny new toy, huh, Partner?!" Maia said, gripping her blades.

"You're one to talk, taking someone else's for your own." Rui shot back, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm borrowing them. I'll give them back after I kick your ass!" Maia shouted.

She threw one of her blades forward, as it spun around with deadly force. Rui merely knocked it away with a blast of electricity from her blades. She drew her arms back and shot towards Maia, aiming her swords forward. Maia leaned back to avoid getting stabbed, before kicking Rui's arms. Her two swords fell from her hands, before Maia quickly kicked her in the face, stunning her. Maia went for a sword swing, but Rui created two more blades to block the hit.

"Tch, disarming isn't gonna be that easy, huh?" Maia said, as she backflipped out of the way.

"I can keep making weapons." Rui said, as she slashed at her. "You won't be able to beat me that way.

"Who said I was talking about your weapons?" Maia asked.

Rui widened her eyes and looked at her arm. Her wrists had taken damage from Maia's kicks, with some of the metal being revealed.

"You-!"

Maia took advantage of the opening by slugging Rui in the face, with the same strength that Hibiki would've used. There was a resounding crack as she broke through Rui's mouthguard.

"I don't care if I have to bring you back without your arms or legs." Maia declared. "I'm taking you back, and that's final!"

"Is she… being more aggressive?" Chris realized.

"She normally doesn't act like this…" Maria turned to Elfnein. "Are you seeing anything unnatural?"

"The two relics combined are affecting Maia-san's emotional state due to the presence of two Ignite Modules." Elfnein reported, eyes wide. "Her negative emotions are being amplified, affecting her actions… and without a proper sync rate…!"

"The counter's going down faster!" Aoi said, shocked.

"Neesama…!" Tsubasa clenched her fists in worry.

Rui's mouthguard crumbled away, as she wiped off some of the blood from her mouth. Gritting her teeth, she growled as she gripped her blades.

"Come on! Get serious, Partner!" Maia taunted. "I know you can do better than that!"

"Shut up…"

"Oh is that all you got?" Maia combined her two blades to create a double-edged weapon. She started to spin it rapidly, the speed creating enough heat to form flames. "Then I'll end this quickly!"

She sped forward with surprising agility, the boosters on her ankles propelling her towards Rui. She raised her weapon above her head with a shout, before slashing at Rui. The girl couldn't bring her weapons up fast enough to block the attack.

Wind Ring's Fiery Blades

Rui winced as she felt the blade crash against her stomach, further cracking the Elekleid. Maia landed behind her, before following that with a kick to the back of her head. Rui was sent crashing into the ground, eating dirt.

"Is that it then?!" Maia slammed her foot into Rui's back, twisting her ankle deeper. "Is that all you can do?! I'm disappointed, Partner!"

"Get… OFF!"

Maia cried out in pain as electricity surged through her body. Rui quickly pushed herself off, before punching Maia in the jaw. This stunned Maia enough for Rui to follow up with a few more punches and kicks, knocking her into the side of the crater. Rui brought out a sword and thrust at Maia's face. She barely moved out of the way as stabbed into the wall, right next to her head.

"You always were such a fucking idiot!" Rui screamed, raising a palm sparking with electricity. "I'll shut you up-!"

Maia cracked her skull against Rui's, stunning the girl with a headbutt. "And you've always been a showboating loser!"

Her two swords became a broadsword as she swung it at Rui. The girl brought up her blades to block the strike before they entered another deadlock. Dropping one of her blades, Rui grabbed Maia by the face. Maia screamed in pain as Rui channeled electricity through it, before breaking free by grabbing Rui by the throat. Tightening her grip, she slammed Rui into the ground, dragging her along before tossing her straight at the Château's outer walls. Flipping mid air, Rui kicked off the wall, propelling herself and preparing a downwards slash.

Maia jumped into the air, as Rui's swords only cut into the ground. Looking up, Rui quickly rolled out of the way to avoid being skewered by a huge sword as tall as a building. Standing atop the massive weapon, Maia jumped off the hilt and held out her arms.

"How about this?!" Several hundred smaller energy swords manifested in the air, all aimed at one target; Rui.

One Thousand Tears

Rui kept running, weaving in between the falling swords to avoid getting skewered. Several of them slammed down in front of her, cutting off her path. Looking up, she started slashing rapidly to block the falling swords, but there were too many. They started cutting into her arms and legs, tearing away at the metal that made them. With a shout, she clashed her swords together, causing a surge of purple lightning that knocked away all the remaining blades. She was left breathing heavily, letting her arms drop.

"You're open."

Rui whipped around, only to get slugged in the stomach. Feeling Maia's fist digging into her gut, she slowly turned her head up to look at Maia, getting a look of utter wrath and disappointment.

"Feel the pain from the sister you abandoned." Maia said in a low voice.

Hibiki Style: Spear's Violent Destruction

With a burst of force, Maia's attack scored a direct hit, sending Rui flying. The girl crashed into the ground a few times, before managing to land on her feet.

She's really that serious, huh… Rui couldn't help but smirk. This could easily have been all over if she just gave up and went with Maia. None of this would be happening right now, but in order for her own sake… "I'm not going down that easily, YOU DAMN IDIOT!"

The two rushed at one another, each throwing a kick. Rui widened her eyes as a blade formed on Maia's leg, their kicks clashed and Maia's strike made a clean cut on Rui's leg. She lept back, briefly observing the damage on her leg, before shouting in anger. Electricity sparked off of her body, as she brought out her swords again. Maia had sped forward and slashed downwards with her broadsword. Rui crossed her blades and brought them up to block the attack.

"What's wrong?" Maia taunted, pushing further. "Is this all you can-?!"

Flipping backwards, she kicked Maia in the jaw, causing her to drop her blade. Rui let go of her own swords, grabbing Maia's face and pulling it towards her for a wicked headbutt. Maia coughed as blood dripped down her nose and she stumbled back, before growling. Rui had sped behind her, before stabbing her swords into the cape, pinning Maia to the ground. She threw several punches at Maia's face, disorienting her. With a shout, Maia ripped off her cloak, throwing a punch of her own at Rui's jaw, sending her backwards.

There was a clash of steel as the two entered a yet another deadlock, weapons sparking from how much force was being used. The two were face to face, seeing the rage in the other's eyes.

"You're a complete fucking moron for trying to take me on alone!" Rui shouted.

"Alone, huh?!" Maia shot back. "Is that really what you're trying to do here?!"

"Shut up!"

"You always have to do this fucking cold loner act, trying to act all cool!" Maia shouted. "Always trying to be the hero that doesn't need help! But look at you now?! Do you see a hero?!"

"I'm not a hero… I can't be one like this!" Rui screamed. "I'm just a freak now!"

"What happened to the girl that had her sister's back against Finé, all with a broken leg?!" Maia questioned. "What happened to the girl that fought against FIS without a relic, giving us a fighting chance?! What happened to the girl that kept on fighting against Carol, when the odds were against us?!"

"Shut your mouth…" Rui muttered.

"What happened to the girl that wanted to protect everyone's smiles?! What happened to the girl that cared for her friends and family?!" Maia kept asking. "What happened to my best friend?!"

"SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!" Rui slashed outwards, breaking the deadlock and sending Maia back several feet. "I SWEAR I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! YOU ALWAYS PISSED ME OFF!"

"You're not gonna beat me! Ever!" Maia screamed, pulling off the crystal on her chest. "IGNITE MODULE! BAKKEN!"

Dainsleif

Maia screamed as she got another surge over power. The dark energy enveloped her, before turning all the white on her armor to black. Unlike the normal Ignite Modules, her armor had gotten sharper demonic traits, being an imperfect activation. She created a jagged blade and slashed down at Rui, blade covered in magenta energy. She jumped back before rushing forward with a spin.

CALAMITY STRIKE

A second slash tore into Rui's side as she cried out, being sent back from the hit.

"Have you forgotten about what drove you? That series you love, the one your father showed to teach you about justice?" Maia asked. "If you have, then I'll just have to beat it into you… with this!"

She held out her hand, drawing in energy and creating a weapon. Rui widened her eyes as she watched the weapon being formed.

A massive spear. Orange crystals. Yellow on the edges. But instead of pure white, it was black, dyed by the Ignite Module.

Both Hibiki and Tsubasa were stunned at the weapon that was created, as were the veteran SONG members.

"That's…!" Hibiki realized.

"Kanade's spear…" Tsubasa muttered.

"Kanade's spear?" Rui asked, concentrating her rage into her focus. "You're staining her legacy, using her weapon like that."

"You're one to talk, throwing away the Gungnir that Elfnein made for you!" Maia roared. "And don't speak her name! You never even knew Kanade like I did!"

Maia rushed forward and thrusted with the spear. Rui sidestepped the attack, but could feel the force behind the strike. She noticed Maia's glance, before she slammed the flat of the spear into her stomach, launching her again. Gritting her teeth, Rui held up a blade and started to push back on the weapon. Electricity coursed through the shaft, but Maia powered through. Rui felt the force weaken as she started to overpower Maia.

Only to get punched in the throat. The reason why the force behind Maia's spear had weakened was that she had let go with one hand for a sucker punch. Now that Rui was taken off guard, Maia twisted her wrist and slammed her into the ground, cratering it. Lifting her weapon again, she attempted to slam it on Rui, only for a shield of electricity to block the blow. It expanded outwards, launching Maia into the sky. Recovering in the air, she looked down with a glare.

"I'm ending this now!" Maia declared, throwing the spear, as it morphed into a sword and increased in size.

"Oh no you don't!" Rui shouted, pulling out her blade and aiming it.

Maia kicked the massive blade and dived with it, increasing its size even further as the blue flames burned brighter to propel it. Rui brought up her sword as her wings expanded and stabbed into the ground to root her. Right as the building-size blade was about to cleave her in two, her sword expanded into a triangular construct to match it head on.

Heaven's Wrath

Drei Ring Schwert

The two weapons crashed into each other, sparks flying as flames and electricity clashed. Cracks appeared through both of their weapons and armor, but neither of them cared as they kept pushing themselves forward, determined to win.

"I'M NOT GONNA LOSE!" Rui screamed.

"NOT TO YOU!" Maia roared.

"NEVER!" They both declared.

Their shouts grew louder and louder as they put more energy into their attacks. In an explosion of pure power, the two weapons shattered, causing a huge explosion, covering the entire battlefield as the two were engulfed within.

The camera footage was covered by smoke, the energy from the explosion blocking the signal of their armors.

"We can't stand by any longer!" Maria shouted. "We need to go now!"

"Get a paramedic helicopter ready!" Genjuro ordered. "Send all the footage to us! All wielders will be accompanying Shuri and I!"

"But their injuries…!" Elfnein said.

"We'll make an exception!" Genjuro said.

"I'm going too!" Miku said.

"Miku-" Hibiki said.

"Don't try to stop me, Hibiki!" Miku said. "Rui and Maia are my friends too!"

Hibiki hesitated for a moment, but nodded.

They all quickly boarded a helicopter, taking extra caution for the injured members before it took off.

"How's the fight?!" Chris yelled, holding her arm and pushing down the pain.

"It's still smokey…" Shirabe said, seeing only the dust on the screen, before it suddenly cut to static. "Wha-?! It's gone!"

"We lost the camera, dess!" Kirika cursed.

Shuri looked out at the dark clouds. Maia…

The smoke started to fade to reveal the two that had caused it. Both girls were laying on the ground, damaged from the shockwave and shrapnel of their attacks.

Rui was the first to recover, coughing from the damage she had taken. Groaning, she tried sitting up, hearing the creaking of steel from her prosthetics. She looked down to see that the metallic plates had been torn up on them, poking through the cracks of the Elekleid. She flexed her left wrist, as she realized that her right hand was gone. It had been blown off thanks to the explosion.

Just as she was trying to get up, she widened her eyes to see that Maia was already on her feet. The Ignite Module was gone, with her armor being cracked and her cape torn. Blood was running down all over her body. She had stabbed a katana into the ground, using it to pull herself up. Rui had noticed that Maia's left arm was slack, and that she was limping as she walked over.

"Not gonna… give up… got to… bring… you… back…" Maia murmured.

Rui tried standing up, but found that her leg joints were locked in place, probably from all the damage. She tried pushing herself backwards, but that had an equal amount of success. She was stuck, and could only watch helplessly as Maia approached. The girl raised her blade up, ready to finish the fight.

"Come back… to us… Partner…" Maia said.

Her eyes brightened with determination as she swung down with the blade. The sound of the katana tearing through metal rang through the air.

But then it stopped.

Maia's hand shook in shock, as Rui had brought up her metal stump to block the attack. Maia's katana had cut into it, but the strike wasn't strong enough to make a perfect slice. Before she could pull it out, Rui shouted and used her remaining hand to grab the blade, snapping it off. Maia turned away to avoid getting any of the shards in her face, but this proved to be a fatal mistake. Still yelling, Rui ripped out the katana blade piece that was in her arm. Adrenaline taking over, she forced her legs to stand before stabbing Maia in the stomach, the shard piercing all the way through.

There was silence, before the rain began to fall.

Maia stumbled backwards, hacking up blood from her mouth. With a silent shatter, her armor disappeared, putting her back in her normal clothes. Her white shirt was stained red, and her jacket was shredded up. Her eyes were back in their regular coloration, but were losing their shine as she lost blood. She tried raising her hand to the wound, now fresh and empty because the blade had dissipated, blood dripping onto her hand.

"R…R…Rui…" Maia tried reaching out with her good arm.

Rui created a sword once more, the electricity barely sparking, before she slashed Maia from neck down, tearing into her chest and drawing a burst of blood. Her blade was completely stained red as Maia fell backwards, painfully hitting the ground.

Looking up into the sky as the blood pooled around her, Maia could feel her vision start to fade. She was slowly slipping away, trying desperately to cling to life.

Damn it… it's all going dark… Am I… going to die…? I... I don't want to...

The rain splattered against her face. She could barely hear the footsteps fade as Rui walked away.

I failed… I failed them all… I… failed my partner… A few of her tears began to mix with the rain. I'm… sorry everyone…

It had only taken a few minutes for the SONG helicopter to arrive at the scene, but it felt like an eternity to everyone.

The sight they saw horrified all of them.

The blood was still pooling from Maia, as the rain fruitlessly tried washing it away. Her eyes were partly closed and her skin was deathly pale. Her left arm was twisted at a painful angle, as if the scar was new again. The fresh lacerations on her body were still dripping with blood, with the wounds on her chest and stomach being significantly severe.

Seeing her sister in this state, Tsubasa had dropped her crutches, passing out in shock. Shirabe and Kirika had barely managed to catch her in time. Hibiki, Miku and Chris' expressions were horrified, as Shuri screamed, falling to her knees and clutching her head as the tears started to fall.

"GET HER TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM! IMMEDIATELY!" Genjuro ordered, with a tone of desperation that none of them ever heard.

The paramedics had rushed over to get Maia onto one of their stretchers, doing their best to keep her from losing any more blood.

Please… if there's the slightest bit of hope… the slightest chance of a miracle… please…! Maria begged.

Rui had returned to TEC's base after getting enough distance from the Château. While Forte tried to talk to her, the other members had kept her back, knowing that Rui wasn't in the best condition to talk. Tesla was ready to repair her damaged prosthetics, but knew she needed some distance.

He felt pity for the girl, seeing that everything she had gone through was due to his own actions. She's suffered so much because of me… I must right all of my wrongs as soon as I reach my dream.

Once Rui returned to her room, she had to cover her mouth. Rushing to the bathroom, she vomited into the sink. After getting all the acidic bile out of her mouth, she punched the mirror with her remaining hand and let everything out in one anguished scream.

The only one that could hear her was herself.