Maria and the others had driven onto the scene, getting out of the car. They could hear loud strikes from inside the demolition zone. They expected to see Hibiki fighting, but what they saw instead shocked them.
Hibiki was depowered and bare, with Miku kneeling next to her. On the far end of the building, they saw Rui practically caving Garie's face in. Micha had disappeared in a flash of red, but Garie was still Rui's punching bag. Every one of her blows created a shockwave that shook the building.
"Rui Tachibana…?" Maria said, not believing what she was seeing.
"Sacre bleu…" Jeanne muttered.
"Oh my God…" Kirika said quietly.
Shirabe put a hand over her stomach. "It's just like… back then…"
Garie finally managed to roll away, as Rui's fist slammed into the ground. Getting up, she tried to get some distance, but before she could skate away, Rui grabbed her by the shoulder. She pulled the Autoscorer to her, unleashing even more punches at the Autoscorer's jaw.
"OREYAAAAAH!"
Garie tried to create a shield of ice, but Rui punched right through it. She created several ice needles and tried to stab Rui's shoulder, but they all shattered. Rui delivered a swift uppercut, knocking Garie straight into the wall and leaving an indent in the concrete. Rui ran forward, winding her fist back. Right before her fist could collide, Garie had teleported away, with Rui's only target being the concrete wall.
"COME BACK YOU COWARDLY PIECE OF SHIT!" Rui screamed, punching the wall over and over again, her strikes slowly getting weaker. "Come back… come back…" All the fight left her body as the adrenaline wore off. She walked towards Miku, before she fell to her knees several feet away from her friend. Rui screamed and started to punch the ground in anger, cracking it.
"Rui…" Miku said.
"I couldn't protect her… I couldn't protect her again…" Rui quietly said to herself, tears running down her face as she transformed back to normal. "I couldn't… I couldn't…"
Rui barely noticed when Miku had pulled her into a hug.
"T-The Autoscorers have withdrawn." Fujitaka said.
"Get Hibiki-chan and Rui-chan out of there." Aoi spoke into the communicators.
"I… I'm on it." Jeanne said.
Seeing Hibiki defeated had struck a new sense of determination in Tsubasa and Chris, wanting to avenge their comrade.
"We can handle this!" Chris told Elfnein. "So please move forward with Project Ignite!"
"We need those enhanced Symphogears." Tsubasa agreed.
"Open your eyes, Hibiki! Please, Hibiki!"
Rui watched as Miku cried out for her best friend. They had arrived back at the base, and Hibiki was wheeled into the medical bay, Tsubasa and Chris walking alongside them. Despite the situation her sister was in, she kept a bit of distance behind.
She saw blood pouring from a wound on Hibiki's head. Reaching up to her own, her fingers briefly ran across a spot covered by her hair.
Hibiki shouldn't have gone through that… I went through that to protect her… and it happened anyways…
"Hibiki…" Miku said quietly, as the doors closed.
"She'll be fine. You know her." Tsubasa said, placing a hand on Miku's shoulder.
"Obviously!" Chris said. "That idiot would never let something like that stop her."
"Exactly." Tsubasa agreed, clenching her first. "And we can't just sit around idly either."
Chris turned around, seeing Rui touching her hair. "Hey, chuunigure. You okay?"
Rui put her hand down. "...I don't think I've ever been okay."
She looked at the cracked Gungnir relic in her hand, and had to fight down the urge to just throw it at the wall.
It had been a week since then, and Hibiki was still unconscious. There wasn't a single day anyone from SONG could walk by the medbay without seeing Rui, sitting next to her sister, waiting for her to wake up. One could only imagine just how much emotional turmoil the older Tachibana was pushing down, seeing her sister hospitalized yet again.
Thankfully, there had been some good news, as Aoi was able to report to them as they gathered in the bridge.
"Currently, Project Ignite is at 89% completion." She told them. "Thanks to the sheer amount of data on relics number one and two, the longest under our oversight, and Elfnein-chan's hard work, progress has been much faster than we expected."
"As this all overlapped with maintenance of the nuclear generators, I was a bit worried." Fujitaka reported. "Luckily, we were able to secure enough external power to keep HQ operational and continue the project."
"However, doesn't modifying the Symphogear mean treading on highly classified territory?" Jeanne asked. "Though, as a former FIS, I suppose I can't talk about treading those lines."
"Desperate times call for desperate measures." Genjuro answered. "And Yatsuhiro was able to pull some strings for us."
"Yatsuhiro?" Chris asked. "Who even is that?"
"A high-ranking government official who maintains national security while skirting the very edge of the law." Tsubasa answered. "He's no stranger to acting outside the realm of legality to get things done."
"Okay yeah, but who is he?" Chris asked again.
Tsubasa broke her gaze with Chris, while Maia clenched her fists.
"Director of Cabinet Intelligence, Yatsuhiro Kazanari." Ogawa spoke up. "The commander's older brother, and Tsubasa-san and Maia-san's father."
"Oh, their father?" Shuri said, pleasantly surprised.
"Why didn't you say that from the start?" Chris asked, though she didn't seem to be annoyed. "I felt like we were playing 20 Questions."
"As I understand, my transfer to SONG was also facilitated by him." Maria said, looking at the Kazanari twins. "So you two and he are related-"
"No."
Maria, Chris and Shuri looked at Maia. What surprised them was that Maia's expression was rather bitter as she stared at the floor. If you didn't meet the more playful Kazanari before this, you'd be forgiven for thinking she was a second Rui.
"What's wrong?" Maria asked, seeing Tsubasa had also started staring at the floor.
"I don't think of him as my dad in any way." Maia said, voice low.
Before they could inquire about anything else, Miku had walked into the room. "I just checked on Hibiki, though Rui was there as always."
"She's still on life support, but she's stable with no serious injuries." Ogawa said. "She'll be fine."
"Thank you… but I'm a lot more worried about Rui at the moment." Miku said.
"Why?" Maia asked, before she felt like punching herself in the face for the stupid question.
"Seeing Hibiki like that, it's not something Rui wants to remember again, and not just from Hibiki's time in hospitals." Miku said.
"The chuunigure mentioned something about that, but didn't say anything." Chris remembered.
"It's not my place to say." Miku said, looking down sadly. "It's something that only Rui can tell-"
"Yeah, I'm the one that should tell it."
Miku practically jumped, as Rui walked in. Shirabe and Kirika were right behind her.
"Ah-ah! Rui!" Miku said. "I wasn't going to-"
"Relax, Miku. I know you weren't." Rui said, before gesturing behind herself. "Though these two practically dragged me here."
"There was an important meeting, so we thought you should be here, dess!" Kirika huffed with her hands on her hips.
"But we ended up losing time anyways…" Shirabe sighed.
"So that's what you two were up to." Miku said, remembering how she had passed the two in the hall earlier.
"And then the subject just changed to me, huh?" Rui said. "Can't say I'm too surprised. You talk about Hibiki, you tend to talk about me."
"Listen, partner." Maia said, her voice serious and understanding. "If you don't want to tell us what happened-"
"No, no." Rui held up her hand. "I can tell you guys why I've been this way ever since Hibiki was put under medical care."
"Rui, I was there too." Miku said. "I can speak about it instead if you-"
"It's fine, Miku." Rui told her friend, softly smiling as she ran a hand across her hair. "Talking about it always makes it hurt less."
The others listened intently, as Rui began her story. Miku would speak up whenever there was a part Rui couldn't recall… or was unable to.
Rui had stepped out of the store, carrying a few groceries that her grandmother had asked her to go grab. She was planning on teaching her more on the art of cooking, and Rui sure as hell wasn't going to miss out on this lesson (despite her penchant for skipping classes). She remembered how her father's face would light up whenever he came home to one of her home-cooked meals. It was one of the small joys in her life that she wouldn't trade for anything.
She was halfway home as she walked by the town park. That was when she heard the yelling.
"Leave her alone!"
Miku was holding her arms out protectively in front of Hibiki. The two of them were walking back to Hibiki's place, before a few girls had stopped them by the fountain. They were all holding up rocks.
"Why are you defending the freak?!" One of the girls yelled.
"Hibiki isn't a freak!" Miku shouted back. "She didn't do anything wrong!"
"My mom and little brother died at that concert!" Another girl yelled. "Why does she get to live, while they had to die?!"
"She should join them!" The third girl yelled, throwing the stone, but missing. She picked up another one and got ready to throw it again.
"Stop it!" Miku demanded. "Stop trying to-!"
"Miku…" Hibiki said quietly. "Just go. They want me, not you."
"I'm not going to leave you!" Miku shouted.
"You're just as much of a monster for helping one!" The girl in charge yelled. "Go die with her-!"
"OREYAAAAAH!"
The snobby girl was hit in the jaw by a devastating punch, sending her sprawling to the ground.
"I thought I made the message clear the first time I kicked your asses." Rui Tachibana said in a low voice, putting down her grocery bags. "I told you bitches to leave my sister alone."
"Crap! It's the freak's sister!" One of them yelled, before getting kicked in the stomach.
"Oneesan…" Hibiki said, eyes wide. She wanted to tell her sister to stop, but she knew there'd be no chance of that working.
"You're all fucking cowards!" Rui shouted. "I was there too, but you never come for me, you always go for HER!"
She grabbed the leader by her shirt, before throwing her over the shoulder and straight into the trash bin, knocking it over. One of the girls tried to use the rock as a melee weapon, but was stopped once Rui elbowed her right in the throat. Rui followed up by slugging her in the chest, before delivering a roundhouse kick to her face, sending her through the air. Rui turned to face the last girl, but that proved to be a fatal mistake.
CRACK
Hibiki and Miku's eyes went wide as Rui fell, collapsing onto the pavement. Blood started to pool from her head, and she wasn't moving.
"Oneesan…? ONEESAN!"
Hibiki ran to her sister's side, kneeling down and trying to wake her. She sobbed and begged for her sister to be alright, as the puddle of blood only grew, staining the pavement crimson. Miku pulled out her phone to dial 911, but saw the last girl shaking, looking at the rock that she had thrown.
"I didn't… I didn't mean to…"
"Answer me this." Miku asked, her voice low and angry. "Are you sure Hibiki's still the monster, after what YOU just did to someone that was defending their family?"
The girl looked at Miku, before looking at Hibiki crying in Rui's pool of blood, and then the bloodied stone she had thrown at Rui. She put a hand over her mouth, before running away.
Miku quickly dialed 911 to inform them of the situation. Once she got confirmation that paramedics were on the way, she dialed a second number.
"...Mrs. Tachibana? ...I'm sorry. I was so busy helping Hibiki, that I couldn't… I couldn't help Rui."
"After I blacked out, I woke up in the hospital three weeks later." Rui said. "The doctors had told my family that the chances of me waking up were almost zero, so you could guess that they were pretty happy when I did come out of it."
"So that's why…" Tsubasa said. Her expression remained neutral, but her eyes were full of sympathy.
"So you were constantly at Hibiki's side because…" Maria realized.
"Hibiki went through weeks not knowing if I'd ever wake up." Rui said, her fingers tracing a spot in her hair, which the girls had guessed hid a scar. "She spent all the time she could in my hospital room, so I have to do the same. She was there when I woke up, so I should be there when she wakes up."
The others all had looks of understanding. Chris, Shuri and Kirika were all wiping tears. Shirabe had a stricken look on her face, realizing now just how hard she had hurt Hibiki and Rui with her words so long ago.
"You went through some hell, partner." Maia said. "You're a lot stronger than you look."
Rui rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, I guess."
Before any of the others could offer their sympathy or condolences, the alarm went off.
"Alca-Noise detected!" Fujitaka shouted.
"Right now? Of all times, dess?" Kirika said, annoyed at how inappropriate the interruption time was.
"Refining coordinates-"
The entire SONG submarine shook. Aoi pulled up the screen to show the Alca-Noise swarming the area nearby.
"Don't tell me… they're targeting the generators that power our base?" Ogawa said.
"It seems the enemy's stopped playing games." Jeanne said.
"The Alca-Noise are going straight for the generator at our dock." Aoi said, typing away to pull up more screens.
"And not just that one." Fujitaka said, pulling up his view. "We've received reports of similar attacks throughout the city. The power output of the facilities is falling drastically!"
"An all out assault?" Maia realized.
"If they manage to cut off our power, we can say goodbye to our plans to upgrade our Gear." Tsubasa said.
"Shit, because Elfnein's working on upgrading them, Rui, Shuri and I can't go out there either." Maia said, remembering that she had asked for the weapons to see what she could find when they used the Relics.
"Our internal generator won't last for long." Ogawa said.
"Then what about the medical room?!" Miku realized, as Rui paled at thinking of what could happen.
It was then that Shuri had noticed both Kirika and Shirabe had disappeared.
"Why the "femme fatale superspy glasses"?" Kirika asked. "And where are we running to, dess?"
The two were running down the SONG hall, Kirika following Shirabe's lead as they put on the same set of glasses when they infiltrated Lydian so long ago.
"We need to buy time." Shirabe said.
"Say what?" Kirika asked.
"Our top priority is to secure enough time and power to complete the Symphogear upgrades." Shirabe explained.
"That's true, but shouldn't we come up with some sort of plan, dess?" Kirika asked.
"I already have." Shirabe said, looking around a corner.
"The medical room?" Kirika recognized. The two of them ran in quietly. "How are we going to buy time here in the medical room?"
"Unless we do something, these facilities will lose power as well." Shirabe said.
Kirika noticed Shirabe looking at an unconscious Hibiki, before smiling. "You could've just said you wanted to save her, you know, dess."
"No, I couldn't." Shirabe said.
"Why not, dess?" Kirika asked.
"Because it's embarrassing." Shirabe said, slightly blushing. "I don't want anyone but you to see me embarrassed, Kiri-chan."
"Oh, Shirabe!" Kirika said, jumping at her friend for a hug… only for Shirabe to spot something and walk out of the way, causing poor Kirika's face to get well acquainted with the floor. She held her nose in pain, looking up. "Geez, what's wrong with you?"
Shirabe was looking at a slip of paper, before typing a few things and opening a small safe.
"Found it."
Several soldiers were fighting off the Alca-Noise. While they had some success in gunning down a few, most of the Alca-Noise were overpowering them.
Kirika and Shirabe stood atop a small building nearby, clutching their relics.
"Here we go, dess!"
"Yeah."
The two jumped off, holding up their pendants.
"Various Shul Shagana tron~"
(Insert Genocide Saw Heaven by Yoshino Nanjo)
The two transformed, as Shirabe launched multiple buzzsaws at the Alca-Noise.
Alpha Style: 100 Saṃsāra
They shredded right through, as Kirika followed up by launching two scythe blades as well.
Kill Juliet
The two killed several more of the Alca-Noise, before going back to back.
"Not half bad, dess!" Kirika said, before they rushed off to continue fighting.
"Shul Shagana and Igalima have entered combat!" Fujitaka reported.
"What?!" Genjuro yelled, standing up from his seat. "Who-?"
Almost everyone turned to Maia.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?" She asked defensively, though the guilty smile on her face said everything.
"Do you two have any idea what you're doing?!" Genjuro shouted through the comms.
"But of course, dess!" Kirika said.
"Hurry up and finish the Symphogear upgrades while you can!" Shirabe added.
Shirabe swung her yo-yos around, pummeling and shredding the Alca-Noise. She dodged the tendrils with graceful spins, as another Alca-Noise fired into the air at Kirika.
"You gotta hit me first, dess!" Kirika shouted, dodging every one of the blasts before bisecting the Alca-Noise vertically.
Shirabe skated around, before weaving in and out into a horde of Alca-Noise. Her skirt stiffened as she spun around like a top, her skirt becoming a deadly saw that shredded the Alca-Noise.
Delta Style: Charming Axel Killer
High atop one of the damaged generators, Micha was observing the situation.
"Even the dynamic duo can barely hold their own, huh?" Micha said. "I almost feel sorry for them."
Rui found herself in the medbay again. Even after seeing Shirabe and Kirika fight, she couldn't help but feel nervous. If the power ever shut down… no, she shouldn't think about that. Right now, Hibiki needed her. She'd be there when… she woke up…
She heard the shuffling of the covers as Hibiki slowly sat up, looking at her hand.
"Hibiki…"
The younger Tachibana turned to see Rui sitting in the room, a look of relief on her face. She took Hibiki's hand into her own, gently holding it.
"You're awake now… thank God…" Rui said, voice shaking.
"Oneesan…"
She gently pulled her older sister into a hug.
"I'm sorry…"
"No, I should be sorry. I couldn't protect you like I promised." Rui said. "You're like this because I wasn't strong enough."
"No, don't say that!" Hibiki said. "It's because…"
"...you also realized we'd be here all day if we kept apologizing and blaming ourselves, right?"
"Yeah."
The two sisters laughed.
"But were you waiting for me?" Hibiki asked.
"You were there when I woke up." Rui said. "So I was here when you woke up. I explained it to the others too."
"You did?" Hibiki asked, surprised, yet glad at her sister being more open.
The room shook suddenly, and Hibiki could hear explosions going off from outside.
"It looks like I woke up at a good time." Hibiki said. She was about to stand up, but Rui stopped her.
"Not just yet, Hibiki." Rui said. "Rest a little bit longer, okay? You need it. I'll help the others take care of it."
If practically anyone else said it, Hibiki would have probably ignored them, but she nodded. "Okay."
Rui smiled at her, before leaving the medbay. As soon as she turned the corner, she nearly ran into Elfnein.
"Ah, Rui-san." Elfnein said. "I was looking for you."
"What's up?" Rui asked.
"There's something I need you to do."
"The users of both Shul Shagana and Igalima are both showing normal vital signs." Aoi reported. "The recoil from their Gear is at nominal levels."
"What's going on?" Chris asked, knowing that this wasn't normal conditions for them.
"So that's what triggered the alarm earlier." Ogawa realized.
"They took LiNKER from the medical room." Genjuro said.
"You mean the prototype LiNKER that was meant for Kanade?" Tsubasa asked. "But the only ones that know the code to the storage unit are…"
Code's 2-5-8-0. Kick some ass for me. -Maia
There was also a dumb smiley face and peace sign on the note, which Shirabe ignored as she input the code.
"Found it." Shirabe said, opening the safe to find the vials of LiNKER.
"Geez, you're just the type that can't stay out of trouble, huh, Shirabe?" Kirika asked as she knelt down with her.
"I figured the medical room was the most likely place to find something that'd help us with the Gear recoil." Shirabe said. "So I asked Maia-san and she just gave me the slip that told me about the safe."
"We used to recover here after our training sessions too." Kirika remembered.
Shirabe reached out and touched a vial, causing an alarm to go off. They ignored it since SONG had bigger problems to worry about, so they probably wouldn't look into this.
Shirabe shredded more Alca-Noise. "We'll protect the generators…"
"...until the upgrades are complete, dess!" Kirika slashed apart another.
"Hell yeah, keep kicking ass you two!" Maia whooped.
Maria and Jeanne glared at Maia for allowing this to happen, while Tsubasa sighed and put a finger to her temple. "We need to have a talk about you allowing these sorts of things, Neesama."
Carol was watching everything unfold from her throne. Her Autoscorers were wreaking havoc around the locations, as Phara reported in.
"Energy supply to the target area is dropping." The AutoScorer said. "It will shortly reach our goal."
"The release of the ley lines is in your hands." Carol said, before standing up. "I will focus on the final touches."
"So it's finally beginning?" Phara asked.
"It's finally ending." Carol clarified. "All of creation... will be a part of my apocalypse."
"Gotcha!"
Micha jumped down from her advantage point, before swinging down a huge red crystal at Kirika, who managed to block it with her scythe handle. She was slowly being pushed down, before Micha pulled out a second crystal and struck her in the side, launching her right into Shirabe. The two slammed right into a stone wall, as it collapsed on them.
"Kirika! Shirabe!" Maria shouted.
"I can't just standby and watch!" Chris shouted.
She turned and just made it into the hall, before Tsubasa grabbed her by the wrist. "Wait! What do you think we can do as we are now?!"
"Are you telling me to shut up and stay put?!" Chris demanded.
"Well, the staying put part, yes." Maia said as she and Shuri walked out of the main room to them. "But I doubt you'll ever shut up."
Chris looked at the concerned expressions on both Tsubasa and Shuri, and all the fight in her went away.
"You're all here." Elfnein had walked up to them. "I have a request for all of you."
"Ouch…" Kirika groaned, rubbing her head.
"She's not going to let us off that easily, is she?" Shirabe asked, standing up.
Micha was balancing on one of her red crystals, practically teasing Kirika and Shirabe.
"Hey, kiddies!" She pointed one of her crystals at them. "Did you know I'm pretty darn strong?"
"These "kiddies" just might surprise you." Shirabe shot back, holding up a LiNKER injector.
"Let's show her what we're made of, dess!" Kirika shouted.
"They're going to use more LiNKER?!" Miku said, not believing her eyes.
"Recall them at once!" Genjuro ordered. "If they fight any further-"
"Please let them fight."
Genjuro turned to Maria, who had spoken.
"This is how they wish to atone for being aimless cowards that day." Maria said.
"Aimless cowards?" Genjuro repeated.
Maria nodded, as Jeanne spoke up as well. "Lacking the courage to trust anyone, we simply ran amok without any true aim."
"So we'll place our trust in Elfnein and fight as she revives the Symphogear." Maria said, looking at her hand before clenching it. "That's how we'll make things right!"
Maria had bit her lip so hard she had started to bleed. Genjuro begrudgingly agreed to hold back on the order.
Kirika and Shirabe held hands, before they put the injectors at each other's necks.
Shirabe smiled at Kirika. "As long as we're together…"
"We'll never be afraid!" Kirika declared.
The two of them injected the LiNKER, wincing as they felt the chemical kick in. They dropped the injectors, before turning to Micha. Shirabe put a hand to her mouth, before spitting up a bit of blood.
"Overdose…" Shirabe muttered.
Kirika wiped her nose, stopping a few drops. "Who cares about a nosebleed or two, dess?"
"Let's go, Kiri-chan!" Shirabe said. "Together!"
(Insert Just Loving X-Edge by Yoshino Nanjō and Ai Kayano)
"Time to cut them to pieces, dess!" Kirika yelled, pulling out two scythes and merging them into one, creating a halberd.
Opposite Scythe: Rapunzel
Shirabe's headpieces extended, creating two huge buzzsaws.
"Oh, you're gonna let me have some fun?" Micha asked, before jumping off the crystal she was balancing on. She threw the two in her hands like javelins at the two.
Shirabe sped off to the side, while Kirika jumped to avoid them. Micha grinned and held out her palm, launching several more crystals. Kirika created boosters on her back, launching herself forward and batting away at the attacks. She slashed right at Micha, but the Autoscorer blocked her halbert strike with another crystal.
Or so she thought, her eyes widening as her weapon cracked. She quickly ducked to avoid getting beheaded. Kirika twirled her weapon, as Shirabe jumped over her, before lanchung both of her sawblades at Micha.
Gamma Style: Swastika Kasha
Micha summoned another crystal and deflected the two. Shirabe backflipped, creating a sawblade wheel around her vertically.
Extreme Sigma Style: Forbidden Full Moon
She charged right at Micha, grinding the sawblade right up against Micha's crystal weapon. Micha had to jump out of the way, as Shirabe cut it in half. Shirabe dispersed the wheel, as Kirika ran to her side.
"The resonance between the two is boosting the output of their Symphogear!" Fujitaka said.
"In unison, they really are greater than the sum of their parts." Aoi noted.
"However, the flame that burns twice as bright, burns half as long." Genjuro said grimly.
"Even so, Shirabe and Kirika will cut through the thorns in their way, and open a path for us." Maria said, clutching Serena's broken pendant.
Micha had retaken her vantage point atop the solar panels, but this time Kirika and Shirabe had followed her up there. The two of them rushed at her, slashing with both scythe and saw in an "X" formation. Micha's crystals started to crack after taking the hit.
The Autoscorer's weapons shattered, but she didn't seem to mind much. "I guess with a little help, even two kiddies can put out some pretty nice phonic gain."
She chuckled, as Shirabe put two of her yo-yos together and threw them upwards. They combined into a massive dual buzzsaw, which she guided straight at Micha.
Beta Style: Giant Saw Judgement
Micha created a fiery crystal orb that deflected it. She looked up to see both Kirika and Shirabe had jumped again while holding the other's hand. They both flipped, before outstretching their legs in a diving kick. Shirabe created a huge saw on her ankle, while Kirika did the same with a sickle. They smashed right into the orb, attempting to break through.
Micha grinned. "Kablooey!"
The orb exploded, engulfing both Kirika and Shirabe in the fiery hell, as it destroyed the rest of the solar towers.
The SONG base went dark, but no one panicked yet. One of the employees switched to the internal power source. The power came back on, as did the camera feed. Kirika and Shirabe were seen standing. Alive, but their armor was charred and cracked in several areas.
"Don't lose…" Miku said softly.
Jeanne grit her teeth in worry.
"Please, Serena…" Maria was clutching harder onto the pendant. "Grant them a miracle!"
The door opened, and Hibiki walked in, still in her hospital gown.
"Hibiki-kun?" Genjuro said.
"Hibiki!" Miku ran up and pulled her best friend into a hug. "Thank you. You saved my-"
"No, I should be thanking you." Hibiki said, as Miku moved back to look at her face. "It's because of you I could sing again!"
Miku was a bit surprised at that, but looked at Hibiki's bandages. "But, are you okay? I'd hate for Rui to get upset at seeing you up and about like this."
"I'm fine! Right as rain!" Hibiki said. "And I saw Oneesan earlier. She's okay about this."
Miku raised an eyebrow, having the feeling that Hibiki was going against what her older sister told her.
"Anyways, tell me what's going on." Hibiki said.
Kirika and Shirabe were staring up at Micha, who was balancing on a broken chunk of a solar tower. Shirabe fell to her knees, completely drained.
"We won't change anything like this…" She muttered.
"But we're trying as hard as we can, dess! What else can we do?!" Kirika slammed her scythe tip into the ground. "It's not fair! I want to change!"
"That wasn't too bad." Micha called down, before grinning almost viciously. "But playtime's over! Time to get real!"
In a burst of speed, Micha charged forward, propelled by flames. Kirika was far too weakened and distracted, before Micha struck her Gear.
"You're out of here!" Micha shouted, as her attack launched the blonde girl.
Kirika crashed head first before coming to a stop. Her armor completely shattered, leaving her defenseless.
"Kiri-chan!" Shirabe tried to skate towards her fallen friend, but Micha cut off her route by firing more explosive projectiles.
"Pay attention to your foe, or you're just asking to get pinged in the back!" Micha sang, holding up another crystal.
Shirabe grit her teeth, before creating four buzzsaws. "Don't get in my way!"
"Then how 'bout I smash your gear to smithereens so you can join your little friend?" Micha asked.
"Micha, her sync rate is too low for her song to be of any use." Carol spoke through her mind. "Dispose of her as you see fit."
"Okey-dokey! Go!" Micha tossed multiple capsules up, as they shattered to summon dozens of Alca-Noise. She aimed her arm forward. "There!"
"R-Run, Shirabe…!" Kirika managed to say.
"I could never abandon you to save myself!" Shirabe said, as the Alca-Noise surrounded her. "I owe my life to you, and I'll gladly use it to keep you safe!"
"Here we go! Dissection time!" Micha cheerfully called, as the Alca-Noise charged.
With all the strength she had left, Shirabe fought them off as best as she could. While she managed to handle the first few, she found herself tiring quicker than expected. Two of her saws were broken apart, and her yo-yo was deflected. Unfettered, she kept on fighting with the remaining two saws, pushing back the threat. "Get lost!"
Kirika could only helplessly stare as Shirabe fought for her sake, trying to reach for her. "Someone… please help… my friend… my beloved Shirabe…!"
Shirabe winced, as one of the Alca-Noise managed to nick her Gear. With one more hit, her armor completely shattered, leaving her powerless as she collapsed. The Alca-Noise advanced, now that Shirabe was completely drained.
"Someone help…" Kirika begged, tears falling.
The Alca-Noise raised their limbs to strike.
"ANYBODY!"
Shirabe closed her eyes, waiting for death to take her any second the Alca-Noise touched her.
But it never came. Opening her eyes, she looked up to see bullet holes in half of the Alca-Noise, with the other half having parts sliced off. Kirika herself was also shocked at this development, as she looked around for their saviour.
""Anybody," huh? What are we, chopped liver?"
Shirabe looked through the gaps in the Alca-Noise, seeing a shining point.
"A sword?"
"Indeed." Tsubasa swung her katana. "A sword that makes the wind howl!"
"And it's not alone."
(Insert Spinning Wheel by Ryoma Takeuchi, Yuu Inaba and Taiko Katono)
As the section of Alca-Noise were bisected, Maia landed next to Tsubasa. To everyone's shock, not only did Tsubasa don Ame-no-Habakiri's armor once more, Maia was standing next to her in her Relic Battle Mode. The older Kazanari rested a massive sword on her shoulder, grinning.
Chris twirled her handguns, before holding them out. "Go for it, Shuri!"
She unloaded her clips into the Alca-Noise crowd, as Shuri flipped and jumped over the Alca-Noise crowd, unleashing a rainstorm of bullets on the stunned Alca-Noise, before landing gracefully next to Chris. Ichaival was back in action for the older Yukine, and the younger was garbed in the same armor.
"UEEEEEEEEEEIII!"
A burst of lightning crashed down in front of Shirabe, electrocuting and frying the rest of the Alca-Noise that had surrounded her.
LIGHTNING BLAST
The Alca-Noise turned to ashes, clearing up to reveal none other than Rui Tachibana, garbed in Gungnir's armor. The older Tachibana had a confident smirk on her face, as she turned to Shirabe and gave the younger girl a thumbs-up.
"Rui-san…"
"Don't worry about a thing." Rui reassured her, before saying words that reminded them of their first true fight. "Cause right now, I feel like I can't lose!"
A/N: Yes, I'm using Kamen Rider insert themes now. I've just fully decided to embrace the jokes.
And here, we have the first half of Rui's backstory. That's right, I said the first half. We got a bit more to go later. And we get a little hint for Maia's attitude towards her father. We're getting to that point, ladies and gentlemen.
Oh, and transformations? The twins together? That's another thing to be explained later… that being next chapter.
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