"Here are the sandwiches you ordered."

The waitress placed the plate on the table, only to receive a curt nod from Akira Tachibana. As she left, he turned to his elder daughter.

Rui sat across from him, staring at the table, not even noticing that the food had arrived. Her eyes were shadowed by her hair, her expression unreadable. The two of them were sitting in a café to talk, though only one of them was speaking.

"Rui."

She didn't respond, even as her father pushed the plate to her.

"I can afford this much. Eat up." He told her.

Rui didn't seem to hear him.

"So that guy was your dad?" Maia asked.

The others had gathered back at the beach house. Rui had retreated to her room after Miku brought her back. None of them cared about the fact that they wouldn't have dinner, and were more concerned for how their friend was acting. While Ogawa and Jeanne were looking around the house due to an uneasy feeling they had, the Symphogear wielders had all gathered in the living room again.

Hibiki nodded. "Yeah. We've been looking for him for a long time."

"To think that we met him earlier and didn't realize this." Tsubasa said, hand under her chin. "Though, I do see the family resemblance."

"But what do you mean you were looking for-DESS!"

Shirabe stamped on Kirika's foot. "Kiri-chan, that's private information."

"Oh, no. It's okay." Hibiki reassured, holding up her hands. "I was going to tell you all about this at some point, but there wasn't any good time. But before I do... Oneesan told you about when she had been hospitalized, right?"

They all nodded.

"Well, the thing is…" Hibiki looked down. "Dad left when she was in the coma."

That sent shock and surprise throughout all of them.

"What?!" Chris yelled. "What kind of piece of shi-?!"

Maria raised a hand to tell Chris to calm down. "Continue, Hibiki."

"See… Oneesan and Dad were really close. He was the one that introduced her to Kamen Rider, after all." Hibiki said. "He taught her to stand up for the weak."

"So it's not from the kids show, but from her dad…?" Chris said.

"Our… family wasn't in the best place after the concert." Hibiki said. "Dad quit his job due to the harassment, and was unable to find work. We almost gave up plenty of times, but Oneesan was there to help us all. She pushed through, defending all of us."

"But then came the accident…" Shuri said.

A few tears started to form, as Hibiki's fingers curled. "When the doctor told us that Oneesan's chances of survival were practically zero… everything fell apart, especially for Dad. The idea of seeing both of his daughters go through these experiences, with one of them likely not surviving… it broke him. He left one day, and never came back. None of us blamed him. We all felt the same way when Oneesan was in the coma..."

"And despite all odds, Rui woke up." Miku said. "We were all overjoyed that day, but… when Rui found out that he left while she was in the coma, it completely tore at her. She had locked herself in her room, and it was almost a month before she came out."

The others all managed to piece together what Hibiki and Miku were getting at, but Maia was the one to speak up. "So the reason Rui freaked out…"

Hibiki nodded. "Oneesan blames herself for Dad leaving us."

"She was… carrying that scar the entire time?" Shirabe asked.

"That's… that's absurd." Maria said. "She couldn't have controlled what happened. It's not her fault."

"We've told that to Rui many times." Miku said. "She doesn't hear a word of what we're saying."

"And with all those years of self-loathing and recklessness…" Maia put a hand over her mouth in realization.

"She didn't do anything wrong, but she believes she did." Chris realized.

"We tried finding Dad when Oneesan came out of the coma, but we couldn't find a trace of him." Hibiki said, wiping her tears. "I think he didn't want to be reminded of the daughter he thought he lost."

"Did you inform the rest of your family?" Tsubasa asked.

Hibiki nodded. "I called them earlier. Mom and Grandma are glad to know he's okay, but they said that he and Oneesan should talk first. I talked to Dad earlier, and he agreed to it."

"But will she be able to?" Maia asked. "She looked pretty damn torn up about it."

"Oneesan's strong." Hibiki smiled. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

While they wanted to agree with the hope in her voice, they weren't sure that Rui would be able to overcome this as easily.

"Come on, Rui. Eat at least half." Her father encouraged.

Rui seemed more interested in staring at the table. Seeing this was going nowhere, he decided to switch things up with his approach.

"I remember seeing those news reports and such, and there were two familiar girls fighting the Noise." He said. "I didn't dare hope for it, but then I heard the words one of them spoke."

He cleared his throat, before raising a hand in a half-hearted pose attempt. ""You want to know what being a hero's about? It's not about fame. It's not about being a leader. It's not even about justice. Being a true hero is about protecting those that can't protect themselves." And I'm not going to repeat what you said after that, but that was when I knew."

Rui finally looked up at him.

"I didn't believe you were alive when I saw the random news reports here and there, as I had grown used to it. But… only you would say something like that, Rui." He smiled. "I'm proud of how far you've come."

Rui wordlessly stood up, before reaching into her bag. She placed several yen bills on the table to pay for the sandwiches. "Keep the change. You need it more than I do."

"Rui-"

"I'm sorry I'm a worthless daughter, Dad." She said quietly, tears starting to form. She ran out of the café before they could fall.

Akira could only watch as his daughter left. "Why are you apologizing, Rui? I should be apologizing to you…"

Phara swallowed the data chip that she had stolen, before opening her mouth and projecting the golden orb that SONG had been observing earlier.

"I heard you got that from Tsukuba in a rather subdued way." Leiur said, knowing her fellow Autoscorer's habit for theatrics.

"I could've taken apart the place by force, but I'd rather not risk them destroying the data for security reasons." Phara said, before looking back at the orb. "Each of these lines is like a vein, encircling the Earth. Professor Nastassja previously used them to focus phonic gain upon the frontier."

"So this is the ley line map." Leiur said.

"The scalpels we require to dissect the world are gathering one by one here in the Château de Tiffauges." Phara said.

"They'd better be." Leiur said. "My little sister hasn't had nearly enough fun yet."

An apple soda clanged into the dispenser, as Shirabe grabbed it.

"Based on our tests this morning, we might be able to use the Ignite Module too, dess." Kirika said, before walking over to select her drink.

Shirabe opened the can, and took a quick sip. "That is, if we have the strength to withstand the Dáinsleif's madness. ...hey, Kiri-chan-"

"I choose you!"

Kirika pressed multiple buttons at the same time, resulting in a random selection. Said random selection led to… a canned coffee.

"Oh no, my choice led to bitter coffee, dess!" Kirika cried out, comically overreacting.

Shirabe sighed, before asking the question she would have made earlier. "What does one need to live life without burdening others?"

She took out her pendant, staring at it.

"I think you need a strong will and determination not to regret the choices you've made." Kirika said, begrudgingly opening her canned coffee. Before she could take a sip, Shirabe took her drink, before swapping it with her sweet soda.

"I don't mind black coffee." Shirabe said, before taking a sip.

"Th-Thanks, dess." Kirika said.

But before she could take a drink, their communicators went off.

"Alca-Noise detected!" Genjuro spoke as soon as they put them to their ears. "Sixty-eight meters underground, most likely in utility conduits!"

"Utility conduits?" Shirabe repeated.

"Uh, what are those?" Kirika asked.

"Underground tunnels that carry power lines and other utilities." Genjuro explained. "You should be able to see one of the entrances nearby."

They quickly ran across a nearby bridge, before seeing a small building by the river.

"Is that it?" Shirabe asked.

"Yes. We're heading there with HQ right now." Maria said.

"Both of the Tachibanas are on their way." Tsubasa told them.

"This might be an emergency, but don't dive in there headfirst without the idiot and the Chuunigure!" Chris said.

"We'll try to arrive as soon as we can to support you four. Hold out as long as you can." Shuri instructed.

"Don't do anything stupid or reckless!" Maia said in a joking tone.

Almost as if on cue, Hibiki ran onto the scene. She was breathing heavily, with how fast she had been running.

"Do the Alca-Noise have to show up now…?" She groaned. "I was about to get something to eat…"

"Consider your lunch a victory feast after this." Shirabe suggested. "Now, where is-?"

"Ah, over here, dess!" Kirika waved.

Rui was running towards them, eyes shadowed by her hair. While Kirika greeted her, the older Tachibana quickly brushed past them, towards the entrance.

"Did something happen?" Shirabe asked.

"No. It's nothing." Rui said in a low voice, tossing her bag to the side. She strapped Kagustuchi to her waist.

"It doesn't look like nothing." Kirika pointed out, seeing Rui's hands shaking.

Rui silently took off her Proto-Gear pendant, but didn't use it just yet.

"We may not be able to help, but still…" Shirabe said.

Hibiki put a hand on Shirabe's shoulder. "It's okay. It'll be fine. We'll handle this together. Right, Oneesan?"

"...yeah." Rui turned to them. "Let's clean up this mess."

They walked into the top floor of the facility, as Rui inserted her Proto-Gear.

GUNGNIR! AUTHORIZED

"Let's go, girls!" Hibiki said, grabbing her pendant.

Kirika, Shirabe and Rui nodded, as the former took out their pendants and the latter got into a pose.

RELIC BATTLE MODE; READY

"Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron~"

"Henshin."

(Insert Genkai Toppa G-beat by Aoi Yuuki)

In flashes of light, they had all transformed.

KAGUTSUCHI: GUNGNIR MODE

The four of them all jumped down the large shaft that led to the utility conduits. They ran down the hall of wiring, before alchemical circles appeared around their feet, summoning several Alca-Noise.

"Ah, here they are!" Micha said from atop a ledge. "But I've got no time for-"

"TOH!"

Micha yelped and dodged to the side, as Rui's foot embedded itself into the wall next to her. Hibiki blinked, while Shirabe and Kirika gasped at the sudden burst of recklessness from the older Tachibana.

"Don't interrupt me mid-sentence!" Micha shouted.

She threw several more Alca-Noise capsules, but with roars of emotion, Rui started to obliterate them all with swift kicks. Shirabe was watching the fight, noticing Rui's tone of voice as she yelled.

"She's crying…?" Shirabe realized, before sawing apart several oncoming Alca-Noise.

"So something totally happened with her, dess!" Kirika said, slicing apart another enemy.

Hibiki let the other two fight for a bit, as she looked up at her older twin fighting Micha. Oneesan…

"Stop! Fucking! Moving!"

Rui kept on kicking and punching towards Micha, but the Autoscorer jumped out of the way each time, causing her fists and feet to hit the wall or floor instead. The Autoscorer jumped out of range, and Rui screamed in anger. She slammed her foot into the ground, launching several Alca-Noise straight into the ceiling.

"You're going too wild!" Kirika shouted.

"Oneesan! You're pushing yourself too hard!" Hibiki called.

Rui ignored them, jumping straight upwards, with energy surrounding her foot. "HRAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

She flipped around, throwing her foot right at the ceiling and leaving a massive square imprint with the Gungnir symbol inside. It crushed all the Alca-Noise that were caught in it to dust.

STAMPING FINISH

Feeling herself drained from the excess of attacks, she dropped to the floor, trying to catch her breath.

"Don't let me down now!"

Rui turned to Micha's voice, only to get slammed in the throat by one of the Autoscorer's crystal weapons. She was sent crashing into a metal stairwell.

"Oneesan!" Hibiki shouted.

"Why didn't you listen, dess?!" Kirika asked, running up to her. She helped her up, only to feel that the girl was barely supporting her own weight. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Aren't you going to sing?" Micha asked, holding up a palm, which began to glow with energy. "If you don't… you'll die!"

"Throw… me…"

Kirika looked down at Rui, who's eyes were almost closed.

"I can… absorb… fire…"

"Not taking any chances in that state, dess!" Kirika shouted.

"Then… run…" Rui said, before she closed her eyes.

A plume of fire shot from Micha's palm at the two of them. Kirika tried to shield Rui with herself, but found it wasn't necessary.

Shirabe had used her buzzsaws to create a shield, blocking the flames. The sheer strength behind them was pushing herself back, but Hibiki was supporting her via holding onto her and anchoring their legs to the floor.

"Are you… okay…?" Shirabe managed to gasp out, under the strain.

"...no." Kirika said. "Of course I'm not okay!"

She looked down at Rui, who was unconscious, remembering how she had done this for Chris earlier.

Kirika put a hand to the crystal on her chest. If I use the Ignite Module, I can end this!

"Don't!" Shirabe shouted. "Am I burdening you? Is that why you're throwing yourself into danger?"

Kirika hesitated, only for Hibiki to call out to her.

"I'm here with you two!" Hibiki reassured them. "I'll help-aah!"

The stream of flames had increased tremendously, breaking through Shirabe and Hibiki's defense. It seared them all and knocked them away, hitting the ceiling and ground painfully.

"Sing for me next time, 'kay?" Micha said in a mocking tone, before she broke a transport crystal and disappeared.

"Hold… on…" Kirika said, reaching towards her, before passing out.

"Kiri-chan…" Shirabe muttered, before falling unconscious as well.

Hibiki was left leaning against the wall, the only one awake. Seeing them all defeated… she hit the floor in frustration.

SONG had been dispatched, checking all the damages within utility conduit. Maria and Chris stood with the Kazanari twins, watching it all.

Tsubasa frowned. "We got here as fast as we could, but…"

"It just wasn't fast enough." Chris grumbled, arms crossed.

"Seems to be a recurring theme." Maia said.

"What are those dolls trying to do?" Maria said, a bit absentmindedly.

Further down the tunnel, Shuri was assessing the damage by herself before Ogawa and Jeanne walked up, the former with a clipboard.

"What's the damage report?" Shuri asked.

"There's a fair bit of damage." Ogawa said. "But…"

"Pretty much all of it was caused by the girls." Jeanne said.

Shuri looked up at the ceiling, where the Gungnir waveform pattern was embedded into the steel. Ogawa looked to the side, noticing a monitor that had been activated.

"What is it?" Jeanne asked.

"Don't tell me that's what the Autoscorers were after…" Ogawa said.

"Is something wrong?" Shuri asked.

"Get in touch with the commander right away!" He said.

Rui Tachibana opened her eyes. She blinked a few times, feeling her vision slowly returning to her. She started to see the room she was in was a hospital ward. Sitting by the foot of her bed were her mother, Asuna Tachibana, and Hibiki, both asleep.

"Mom? Hibiki?"

The two were roused from their sleep by her voice. They stared at her in disbelief, before smiling.

"Thank God…" Her mother wiped away a few tears.

"You're okay! You're okay!" Hibiki shouted, pulling Rui into a hug. "I'm so glad!"

"Owowowowow! Let go!"

"Ah, sorry!" Hibiki quickly drew herself back.

Their mother chuckled softly. "Hibiki, why don't you go tell your grandmother the great news? I believe she went to the lobby."

"I'm on it!" Hibiki said, running out of the room.

"What happened?" Rui asked, reaching up to feel there were bandages on her head.

"You don't remember?" Her mother asked, moving her seat closer to her daughter.

"I just remember defending Hibiki from some pieces of-"

Rui stopped herself when she saw her mother's stern glare.

"Uh… some girls." Rui said, switching her words. "That's the last thing I remember."

"Rui, one of them threw a stone at you, and it struck you on the head." Her mother told her. "You received several concussions, with the wound on your head bleeding profusely. You've been in a coma for three weeks."

"That long…?" Rui said. "I'm sorry I worried you all."

"No, please don't say that, Rui." Her mother said kindly. "The doctors told us that you might never wake up again, but you did. Coming back to us was enough."

Rui looked at her hands, curling and unfurling her fingers to make sure they were in working order. She could move her arms and legs, meaning that she could at least still walk. She'd probably have to do some exercise to make up for the weeks she didn't move them at all. But something else crossed her mind.

"Hey, where's Dad?" Rui asked. "I thought he'd be here to see me wake up. Is he helping Grandma or something?"

Her mother's eyes saddened, as she took Rui's hand. "Sweetheart… I don't know how to tell you this, but… he's not here."

"You mean he's back home?"

"No. Rui… he left us." She said. "Two weeks ago, he left the house, and he never returned. We tried calling him, but he didn't pick up. We don't know where he is now."

Rui felt as if her entire world had just cracked into shards, with her own heart shattering to pieces. "Wh-Wh-What…? Dad's… gone…?"

Asuna pulled her daughter into a comforting hug. Rui's tears fell down her face. While she tried to control herself, she couldn't hold herself back anymore, as she sobbed into her mother's shoulder. Her loud cries were almost as if she was trying to call out for her father to return home, lost in the wind as they tried to deliver a message he'd never receive.

Rui opened her eyes, the corners slightly wet. Her eyes adjusted to the light, and she realized that she was back in the SONG medbay again.

"We did a full medical check."

Rui turned her head to see Elfnein was the one that had spoken. Hibiki and Miku were with her.

"Fortunately, your injuries aren't serious." Elfnein said. "But you do need rest."

"Thank goodness you're okay, Oneesan." Hibiki said as Rui sat up.

Rui pinched the bridge of her nose briefly, before looking at her sister. "How about you?"

"Oh, I didn't really take too much." Hibiki said, rubbing the back of her head. "I'm A-OK!"

"Well that's good-"

"It's all your fault, Shirabe, dess!"

"You were too reckless, Kiri-chan!"

Rui and the others looked over to a nearby bench to see Shirabe and Kirika with a few bandages, turned away from the other as they argued.

"You dashed out without thinking about the consequences, dess!" Kirika said.

"You just think I'm a burden, don't you?!" Shirabe shot back.

"I never thought I'd see those two fight." Miku said.

Rui tightened her fists on the blanket.

"Please stop." Elfnein said. "You need to calm down if you're to recover. You won't be able to control the Ignite Module in this state of mind, either."

The two of them looked at Elfnein, briefly looking at the other before turning away again.

"I'm sorry."

They looked up to see Rui had stood up, and walked in front of them. Hibiki stood next to her.

"It's my damn fault again." Rui said. "I was the idiot that went on ahead without a care in the world."

Hibiki took Shirabe and Kirika's hands, before putting them together. While the girl didn't say anything, her message was clear.

"If you want someone to blame or yell at, I'm right here." Rui said.

"What happened with you back there, dess?" Kirika asked Rui. Shirabe nodded, also wanting to know why their friend was acting like this.

Rui simply let out a chuckle devoid of amusement. "I met my dad again."

Kirika and Shirabe's eyes widened, remembering the story Hibiki had told them.

"He said he was proud of me… of what? A colossal fuck-up and faliure?" Rui said, a forced smile on her face. "What a damn joke. He should be proud of Hibiki, not me."

"It's my fault." Hibiki said, tears flowing down her face. "I was the one that told you to meet up with Dad."

"Hibiki…" Miku said quietly.

"No." Rui said, putting a hand on Hibiki's shoulder. "You haven't done anything wrong, Hibiki. I'm the failure. I've always been the failure."

"But-"

"No more tears." Rui said, wiping away Hibiki's tears. "It's like dad taught you; it's fine, it'll be okay."

Shirabe and Kirika walked out into the hall, to give the Tachibanas a bit more privacy.

"It's so sad, dess…" Kirika said.

"She forces all of the burdens on herself, even when she isn't guilty." Shirabe said softly.

Remembering that they were arguing, they turned away from the other with a huff. Elfnein walked out of the room, with something in her arms.

"This is for you two." She said, holding up two LiNKER injectors.

"Model-K?" Kirika asked, as the two took them.

"We fear the Autoscorers may be preparing for their final assault." Elfnein explained. "But only use it with extreme caution. The strain on your body is one thing, but don't forget we only have a limited supply of LiNKER left."

The two of them stared at the injectors, deep in thought.

"So it was related to her father then." Maria concluded, washing her hair. The Kazanari and Yukine twins were in separate shower stalls next to her.

"What are we supposed to do?" Shuri asked.

"I have no idea." Tsubasa admitted. "I'm in the same boat as you. I've never had a normal family in my life."

Maria and Shuri remembered the reactions Tsubasa and Maia had when their father was brought up, wondering what affected them. Chris frowned, both because she had some insight on their situation thanks to Maia, but also hating that she couldn't help her Rui with her issues.

Maia punched the wall, getting all of their attention.

"It's twisted, isn't it?" Maia asked them. "None of us can relate to or help Rui, cause all of our situations are crap too."

No one answered her, because the silence provided enough of an answer.

"The only one that can save Rui… is herself." Maria said.

"The enemy was mapping out our power routes?" Genjuro asked, on a video call with Ogawa and Jeanne.

"That's what Ogawa concluded." Jeanne said.

"After the drop in supply caused by the destruction of our power plants, we're sending additional electricity to government facilities to compensate." Ogawa explained. "So if they map it out…"

"They'll be able to determine routes that aren't obvious from above ground." Genjuro concluded.

"Check this out!" Micha said.

She waved her hand, and a projection of the power routes appeared on the floor of their lair.

"Now, you know how to put on a show." Leiur said.

Micha stepped down from her podium as she started to walk off.

"Where are you going, Micha?" Phara asked. "The memory installation will finish soon."

"I know what my mission is! And I'll make sure it gets done!" Micha barked. "Let me use my free time as I please!"

Shirabe and Kirika were walking home. There was complete silence between the two of them.

"Don't you have something you want to say to me?" Shirabe asked, breaking the silence.

"I should be saying that to you!" Kirika said, turning around.

"I just…"

"Yo!"

The two of them saw Maia run up to them.

"Oh, Maia-san." Shirabe said, as the older girl skidded to a stop. "What is it?"

"Well, HQ wanted me to watch over you two since you aren't in the best shape at the moment." Maia said. "So I'm here to prevent from doing anything stupid."

"...you're here to stop us from doing something stupid?" Shirabe couldn't help but snark as Kirika giggled.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up." Maia said, rolling her eyes. "But how are you two holding up? You two seemed to be pretty steamed at each other back at HQ."

Maia didn't get an answer, as an explosion went off in the nearby street. Several more followed it, causing the three of them to stumble.

"What's going on?!" Shirabe asked, before another explosion went off behind them.

Kirika stumbled, though Maia grabbed her arm to stop her from falling. "She's locking us in, dess!"

"Dammit." Maia cursed, pulling out her weapon.

They looked up onto a burned torii, to see Micha standing atop it. She stood in her usual pose, as if goading them to come at her.

"So she wants to play, huh?" Maia slot her pendant into Takemikazuchi.

AME-NO-HABAKIRI! AUTHORIZED

"Both of you, keep behind me-"

"You think I'm a burden?" Shirabe asked, taking off her bandages. "Don't underestimate me!"

RELIC BATTLE MODE; READY

"Various Shul Shagana tron~"

(Insert Genocide Saw Heaven by Yoshino Nanjo)

TAKEMIKAZUCHI: HABAKIRI MODE

The three of them had all transformed into their respective forms. Shirabe unleashed the first move, firing hundreds of small sawblades.

Alpha Style: 100 Saṃsāra

Micha swung around one of the crystals in her hand, blocking all of them. She jumped towards them, starting her true attack. Maia tried to get in close, but several of the crystals got in her way, knocking her back. She noticed it seemed that Micha was targeting Kirika and Shirabe over her, and took this opportunity to call HQ.

"Hey, Commander!" She said. "We got a problem here!"

"I'm sending reinforcements!" Genjuro said. "Just hold-!"

The line went dead. Maia tried tapping her headpiece again, but she got nothing but static. "Commander? Uncle! What's wrong?!"

Leiur was looking down into the ocean. Deep beneath the water, a giant figure that resembled a bandaged version of herself had grabbed onto the SONG submarine.

"My little sister and I are here to lend you some simple backup." She said. "So feel free to go wild, Micha."

Maia grit her teeth, before watching to see Kirika and Shirabe dodging Micha's crystal projectiles. Shirabe spun forward, her skirt on her armor becoming a deadly buzzsaw.

Delta Style: Charming Axel Killer

Micha managed to block the blow, before pushing Shirabe back. Kirika tried to take the chance to deliver a scythe slash, but Micha dodged it and kicked her away.

"That all you got?" Micha asked, holding a crystal on her shoulder. "If anything, you were stronger before you enhanced your gears."

"Get real, dess!" Kirika shouted, running at Micha.

"Don't!" Shirabe said, watching her best friend fight.

Maia kept tapping her communicator, but all she got was static. She had looked away in that moment, unaware of the fight.

BWOOM

She and Shirabe looked up to see an explosion in the sky, with Kirika landing in front of them. "Take that, dess!"

The smoke cleared, to reveal Micha was fine, and several massive crystals were aimed and ready. "No, take this!"

The crystals launched, and Kirika barely managed to sidestep and avoid them as they embedded into the ground around her. Locked off, she saw several more coming straight at her.

"You won't stand a chance unless you work together!" Micha taunted.

"If I can't dodge them, I'll take them head on!" Kirika declared.

Maia ran forward. "No you idiot-!"

BWOOM

The crystals made an impact, but Shirabe had created a shield from her sawblades to block all of the projectiles.

"Why?!" Kirika yelled, as Shirabe retracted her weapons. "Why do you always jump in without thinking?"

She shoved Shirabe, who frowned. "So you do think I'm a burden?"

"No!" Kirika said. "I just love you!"

Shirabe's eyes were wide, while Maia had a thoughtful expression on her face. Kirika ran forward and clashed with Micha again.

"I love you so much that I can't stand to see you get hurt!" Kirika declared.

"Then… I…" Shirabe muttered.

"I've thought that ever since you protected me back there!" Kirika shouted, blocking a strike. "All the people who are angry with us feel that way because they care about us! It's why Maia's here now!"

"They're kind people… who care about us…" Shirabe said slowly.

There was a burst of fire, as Kirika cried out and was sent rolling to Shirabe's feet.

"You'll have to try a teensie-weensie bit harder than that to beat me!" Micha said in a sing-song voice.

"Mom left this world for us." Shirabe said, supporting Kirika. "I don't want to die some pathetic death here!"

"So we just have to turn things around from pathetic to cool!" Kirika said as she sat up.

"We need the strength to face what we've done!" Shirabe said.

"You two get it now?" Maia asked, walking in front of them while facing Micha.

"We do now." Shirabe said with a smile.

"About time." Maia grinned, before she ran towards Micha. She dropped down onto her hands, before spreading her legs as blades extended from the ankles. She spun around with them, rapidly slashing away.

Reverse Rakshasa

Micha blocked it, but shouted in surprise as Maia managed to jump with her arms. That moment of stunned weakness was all Maia needed, as she flipped onto Micha's back and stabbed her katana tip in between the Autoscorer's shoulder blades.

"Ow ow ow ow ow!" Micha yelled. "Get off! Get off!"

"I'll keep her busy!" Maia shouted. "Do the thing!"

Shirabe helped Kirika up, as the two grasped their pendants. "Ignite Module! Bakken! (Dess!)"

Dáinsleif

The pendants sharpened, before they pierced their chests. The two of them cried out in unimaginable pain as the power was unleashed.

"This is it!" Micha said, throwing Maia off of her, right into another torii. "The unimaginable power that grows without limit!"

Micha started practically burning with power. Several of her clothes had burned off, as her hair was let down.

"I'm so sorry, Kiri-chan." Shirabe managed to breath out.

"Don't worry about me. What about the others?" Kirika painfully spoke.

"That's right. We need to apologize to them too." Shirabe said. "And to do that, we need to become stronger!"

Their armor and weapons had turned sharper and black, with a substantial power boost to go with it. They had achieved their Ignite Module.

(Insert Just Loving X-Edge (IGNITED arrangement) by Yoshino Nanjo and Ai Kayano)

Maia stood up, using her sword to support herself. She grinned when she saw the two had transformed. "Hell yeah."

Kirika twirled her scythe and swung, only for Micha to deflect it. Shirabe shot a huge yo-yo, but Micha caught it and spun around, throwing Shirabe into the dirt.

"Shirabe!" Kirika called.

"I'm the strongest! This song isn't enough for me!" Micha yelled as she jumped into the air, launching crystal after crystal. "Sing harder, better, faster, stronger!"

Maia raised a brow at those words. "Are you for real-?"

The older Kazanari was cut off, as a crystal smashed into the ground in front of her, before detonating and launching her into a treetop. Kirika slashed away at the crystals, only for Micha to pounce right down in front of her, before delivering a palm straight to her chest and knocking her into a fence. When she recovered, she found herself surrounded by the crystals, as Micha charged up another shot point-blank.

"We have to stand and face it, or we'll never overcome it!" Shirabe unleashed a massive storm of sawblades at Micha, who blocked them all with her hair. The Autoscorer backflipped into the air, before twirling her arm up.

Kirika paled, as giant crystals started to fall towards her. She quickly ran, dodging to the side whenever she was about to be crushed.

"You're not gonna win by running away!" Micha laughed, diving towards Kirika.

"Obviously!" Kirika shot back, before jumping. "That's why…"

She swung her scythe out, clinging onto one of the massive crystals and swinging out of Micha's range.

"What the-?"

Kirika swung her weapon and shot out several wires past Micha, right towards a waiting Shirabe. The wires latched onto Shirabe's weapons, and Micha realized she was caught in a deadly pincer attack. Before she could react, Kirika shot more wires that dug into the ground, keeping her locked in place.

"You combined your power to achieve what you can't do alone?!" Micha yelled.

Forbidden Wheel of Evil: ZABABA Eclipse

The Autoscorer grinned at the last second, before Shirabe and Kirika tore her to shreds, creating a massive explosion.

"That's what I'm talking about, girls!" Maia cheered as she jumped down from the tree.

Emergency services and SONG had been dispatched to clean up the aftermath of the fight, as Kirika, Shirabe and Maia were reunited with their allies… and received quite the scolding.

"Do you have any idea how worried we were?!" Chris yelled, as Kirika and Shirabe cowered behind Maia.

"How about following your orders once in a while?" Genjuro said in a stern voice.

"Wh-Whoa, hold on." Maia said, holding up her arms. "It's not their-"

"No, we went too far on our own." Shirabe said, as she and Kirika stepped out from behind Maia.

"We'll be careful from now on." Kirika said, as the two lowered their heads.

Both Genjuro and Chris were surprised, as was Maia.

"You're unusually remorseful." Genjuro noted.

"The best way we can grow is by listening and trying to understand." Shirabe said.

"So… we're really sorry." Kirika apologized, as she and Shirabe bowed.

"Well, as long as you know what you did was wrong." Genjuro said.

The two bowed their heads again, before walking away.

"Good grief." Genjuro said.

"They're walking ahead without us having to drag them by the hand." Chris said, watching them leave.

"They've grown up quite a bit." Maia smiled.

"Indeed." Genjuro said, before turning to his older niece. "You did well trying to protect them, Maia."

"I was knocked into a torii, then a tree. I don't think that's what you'd consider a good job." Maia laughed, before remembering something else. "By the way, the line on the comm link cut earlier. What happened?"

"HQ was attacked by a large creature, but it seemed more like it was trying to slow us down, and disappeared as soon as the battle was over." Genjuro said.

"Odd…" Maia put a hand under her chin. "I can't shake off this uneasy feeling I have…"

"It takes more than strength to be able to live without burdening others." Shirabe said, as she and Kirika walked home. "You also have to be responsible for your own actions."

"Responsibility… means to do right by your own values." Kirika said, looking at her phone, before turning to Shirabe. "But wouldn't that "right" be the hypocrisy you hate so much?"

Shirabe clenched her fist, remembering what she had said when she had first fought Hibiki and the others.

"For the longest time, I've wanted to apologize to Hibiki-san with my thoughtless words." Shirabe said regretfully. "After finding out how much she and Rui-san had suffered, I-"

Kirika put a hand on her shoulder. "It's not just you who needs the courage to say sorry."

She pulled Shirabe in close, so that the two briefly touched foreheads.

"And protecting you is my job!" Kirika added.

"Kiri-chan…" Shirabe warmly smiled. "Thank you, for everything. And I really mean it."

The red banner above Micha's podium lit up, gaining some formulas upon the material. Leiur and Phara stared at it, before turning to the sound of grinding gears by the throne. With a puff of smoke, double doors opened to reveal none other than Carol, alive.

"Have you awakened?" Phara asked, as she and Leiur bowed to her master.

Carol merely looked up at the two glowing banners. "I see… Garie and Micha…"

"They went out in a blaze of glory." Leiur said.

"What do we do now?" Phara asked.

"Isn't it obvious? We complete the Apocalypse of All Creation." Carol held out an arm and looked at her hand. "For centuries, I've dreamed of slaughtering every last miracle with my own hands."

She looked up, seeing something completely different; Hibiki Tachibana.

"Did you hear? Kirika and Shirabe have gotten so strong." Hibiki said. "Way more than before. Don't you think so, Elfnein-chan?"

"Oh, I certainly do." Carol said, seeing the scene through Elfnein's eyes. "And thanks to that… the end of the world will arrive faster than ever before!"

A/N: And we're back with another chapter, with likely one of the biggest changes to Symphogear canon. I decided to change up the parental issues a bit. Instead of it mostly affecting Hibiki, Rui's the main focus here. I also changed the circumstances behind Akira leaving, as well as taking away a lot of his undesirable traits from canon. It's also shifting the focus more from how Hibiki's case in canon was related to her being unsure of herself (her fists hurting, instead of helping), and more on how Rui's years of self-loathing have caused her mental state to believe that it's her fault. I was initially going to go with a variation of the original, but decided to try something different with this, so it's not the same story as the original.

Hibiki's mother's name, Asuna, is from a past work of mine. It's nothing too special, I thought it just sounded nice. Might have been an unintentional SAO reference.

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