"The ruins on the Moon?" Maria asked.

"This imperfect world order where people oppress each other by force is a result of the mental imbalance caused by the Curse of Balal in their souls." Saint-Germain explained.

"Making the imperfect perfect is the core of Saint-Germain's philosophy, and the primary goal of the Bavarian Illuminati." Cagliostro said.

"To seize the Lunar Ruins and put their control in human hands, one of the needs basically the same power as that of the ancient oppressor known as "God." To that end, we've completed rituals in Val Verde and elsewhere." Prelati finished.

"But that doesn't justify sacrificing people's lives!" Hibiki said.

"It's not a sacrifice." Saint-Germain said, aiming her weapon. "Every drop of blood spilled, every life taken is one stone in the foundation of our revolution!"

"Cut the bullshit!" Rui shouted. "I've had enough of people feeding me that crap!"

Saint-Germain fired several shots, forcing all the girls to jump back. Hibiki ran to the side, dodging several more bullets, while Tsubasa jumped up. The girl tossed a sword and extended her leg, increasing the blade in size.

Heaven's Wrath

Saint-Germain dodged the massive sword, before shooting several sharpened shots that pierced the massive sword, before knocking Tsubasa to the ground. Hibiki tried to rushed in, but Saint-Germain fired more shots that created alchemic crystals and limited her movement. Shuri tried to get a good shot, but the constantly changing battlefield made it impossible to get a line of fire.

Maria avoided Cagliostro's energy blasts, before drawing out her whip-sword and slashing. Cagliostro easily blocked the strike with a barrier, creating a protective energy orb. Chris pulled out her crossbows and took aim. "How about this, then?!"

She fired several shots, but they did nothing against the massive orb. Cagliostro grinned. "Right back at you!"

She pushed a palm forward, launching the orb at the duo.

"It's huge!" Chris shouted

Maia jumped down from above, stabbing into the energy orb, but it was too much for her, as it sent her and the other two wielders flying.

Prelati swung the massive kendama she held, as the ball atop barreled towards Kirika and Shirabe. The two wielders jumped to dodge it, but Shirabe was hit, knocking her out of the sky.

"Shirabe!" Kirika shouted.

Prelati struck the ball, launching it at Kirika. The scythe wielder jumped back to the crater wall, as Rui flew in. She drew a sword and slashed down at the energy connecting the ball to the rest of the weapon. To her annoyance, the energy merely went around her blade, causing her to miss her strike. Several more slashes made it clear she couldn't cut it, no matter what she did.

"We can't match them…" Shirabe muttered.

"Then we have no choice!" Kirika said, as she raised a hand to her pendant.

"Hold that thought." Rui held up a hand, telling Kirika and Shirabe to hold back. Jumping over, Rui helped Maia up to her feet, as they watched the others fighting off Cagliostro and Saint-Germain.

"You know something, Partner?" Maia asked, canceling her transformation.

"What is it?" Rui smirked, as her armor disappeared.

"I think it's time we knock these jerks down a peg." Maia chuckled, cricking her neck.

Rui pulled out her pendant. "Yeah… I was thinking the same thing."

She inserted her pendant into Kagutsuchi. She held up a hand in front of her, the other on her waist. In one motion, she slowly moved it across her field of view.

"Elekleid, Symphonic Drive!" She shouted. "Henshin!"

Maia closed her eyes and concentrated. "Croitzal ronzell Gungnir zizzl~"

(Insert What's your FIRE by Rider Chips)

The alchemists' attention shifted with a sudden explosion of power. Looking towards Rui and Maia, their eyes widened, while all the wielders smiled. Rui had donned her powerful purple, black and yellow Elekleid Symphonic Drive, while Maia's Ame-no-Habakiri form had taken on Gungnir traits once more. The two opened their eyes, with a small spark of violet in Rui's, and Maia's dark right eye resembling the late Kanade Amou's.

"What in the world…?" Saint-Germain said, surprised.

"Whoa whoa whoa, what the heck is this?!" Cagliostro asked.

"There was nothing about this in our intel…" Prelati muttered.

Rui held up a fist towards Prelati. "Let's settle this, one-on-one!"

Maia raised her hand, summoning a spear and aiming it at Cagliostro. "You're mine!"

Rui slowly stepped towards Prelati, before a spark of electricity from her back turned into flames. A ring of fire surrounded Rui and Prelati, as Rui jumped skyward dove at Prelati, leg outstretched. Prelati shouted and swung her ball at Rui. The massive weapon merely got kicked aside as flames surrounded Rui's leg. Prelati brought up a barrier to try and block the strike, but it failed to do anything as Rui crashed straight through it and her foot struck her chest.

HIRYU SHUGEKIHA

Prelati choked out a small gasp, before she was sent flying from the kick and crashing into the wall. The alchemist had a look of rage and humiliation on her face as she got back up.

"You're tougher than you look." Rui smirked, getting back into a stance and raising a hand. "Now, shall we begin the experiment?"

"Prelati!" Cagliostro shouted.

"Eyes on the prize, funbags!" Maia shouted, dropping in from above. She swung her spear down, as Cagliostro crossed her arms to block the strike, but had to jump back as the barrier shattered. Maia stabbed her spear into the ground, vaulting off with it into the sky. Grasping the shaft, she thrust down straight at the alchemist, spear glowing with energy.

GRAVITYPAIN

Cagliostro managed to dodge it in time, but the spear stabbed into the ground, causing a burst of energy that sent her flying. Prelati saw her companion get launched and ran over, but Rui had suddenly appeared in front of her with a burst of speed.

"OREYAAAAAAA!"

Rui slugged Prelati in the jaw with an uppercut, fist digging into her chin. The strike was powerful enough to send her skyward. Chris aimed above, as several arc shots from her crossbows sent Prelati back down to Earth. Maria swung her blade and the whip wrapped around Prelati, before Shuri fired a shot of ice, literally freezing her in place. Cagliostro stood up from the blast, before quickly dodging several launched projectiles from Kirika and Shirabe. She was greeted with Maia's knee to her gut, stunning her and sending her back several feet.
"Tsubasa!" Maia shouted. "You mind if we do that combo attack you and Kanade used to do?"

Tsubasa smiled. "I thought you'd never ask, Neesama."

Maia brought her spear behind her as it turned into pure energy. Tsubasa did the same thing with her katana, drawing it behind her as well.

Kanade… your legacy is always with us. Tsubasa thought.

Lend us your strength to win the day! Maia smiled.

They swung their weapons down at Cagliostro, the energy growing to a massive size that dwarfed the initial length. Briefly behind the weapon, was a small glow of orange wings.

Twin Star Hammer -DIASTER BLAST-

The attack tore straight through the ground, sending Cagliostro crashing straight into Shirabe and Kirika's wires, before they swung her around.

"What… what is that power?" Saint-Germain asked in shock, watching as her allies barely recovered in time.

"Oneesan and Maia-san are two you should never underestimate." Hibiki said, keeping her fists raised.

Despite the tide of battle changing, Saint-Germain stood her ground, aiming her weapon at Hibiki. "For a brighter tomorrow, I am not afraid to pull the trigger."

"Why? I don't get it!" Hibiki shouted.

"And you never will." Saint-Germain took aim. "That is the Curse of Balal."

"But our hands aren't meant for hurting others!" Hibiki said. "They're for joining together!"

"Joining together?" Saint-Germain grit her teeth. "Rich words coming from someone who's never been crushed underfoot without knowing why!"

Saint-Germain fired, as the bullet transformed into a wolf made out of blue lightning, eyes glowing red.

Hibiki drew her fist back as the gauntlet expanded in size. "Nothing you're saying makes a lick of sense!"

She punched the wolf head-on, surprising Saint-Germain with the level of power shown. "What?!"

The force hit Saint-Germain, causing her to wince and get pushed back. When the dust settled, Hibiki's fist was only a few feet away from her face.

"But even so… I think I can understand how you feel." Hibiki said. "You can't build a world where no one has to be crushed if you need to crush people to get there. That was the same thing Tesla learned from Oneesan."

"You…"

Chris shouted, firing a spray of bullets at Cagliostro. The alchemist raised a wall of water, blocking the bullets by turning the water to ice. The wall shattered, dropping all the bullets to the ground.

"You're like an itch I can't scratch!" Cagliostro teased, before launching several orbs of energy at Chris.

"Get away from her!" Rui rushed in, clashing her fists together and extending her Armed Gear to make a shield of electrical energy, blocking all the shots. However, the speed of the projectiles caused them to bounce out in random directions, several of which ended up shooting at Saint-Germain.

"Whoops!" Cagliostro shouted in concern.

Hibiki quickly grabbed Saint-Germain's arm. "Over here!"

To Saint-Germain's surprise, Hibiki pulled her into a trench to avoid all the blasts. Once the dust settled and all the destruction was over, Saint-Germain stood up slowly. "We can't both inherit the Kingdom of Heaven."

Hibiki sat up, holding out her hand. "But even so-"

"Don't get ahead of yourself!" Saint-Germain slapped a hand away. "Only a fist clenched in anger can open the path to the future!"

Hibiki watched as Saint-Germain walked back. Rui flew over, landing and helping Hibiki up. The older Tachibana stared at the alchemist, ready to see what she'd do next.

"Spare your words, Symphogear." Saint-Germain said. Tesla's Instrument of Change… I must remain wary of her.

"Abandoning the mission already?" Prelati asked, having gotten breathing room since Rui stopped fighting her. "What's going on, Saint-Germain?"

"Is it my fault?" Cagliostro asked. "Sorries! Double sorries with frosting!"

The Illuminati members all disappeared with the alchemical circles transporting them away. Seeing they were gone, Hibiki looked up at the sky, past the remains of Château de Tiffauges and up at the damaged Moon and Lunar Ruins. Rui gently placed a hand on her sister's shoulder.

The SONG crew members were in the bridge, going over all the information that they had.

"So the Bavarian Illuminati seeks to commandeer the Lunar Ruins." Jeanne said, reading the report.

"To that end, they are attempting to convert the life energy of others into divine power via the process of transmutation." Ogawa said.

Lala frowned, seeing as their actions weren't too different from Tesla's, though at least on a smaller scale in comparison.

"In any case, I doubt Hibiki-kun's strongest punch and Rui-kun's strongest kick will be enough to destroy what they're cooking up." Genjuro said. "I expect it will be something more gargantuan and powerful than we've seen before."

"But where would they get life energy on that scale?" Ogawa asked.

"You don't think… The ley lines?" Aoi suggested.

"What?" Genjuro asked, before Aoi pulled up a map of Japan.

"The ley lines were previously used by Carol in an attempt to dissect the world." Aoi said. "They are raw veins of energy that allow one to harness the life force of the planet itself."

"The Bavarian Illuminati had a hand in the construction of the Château de Tiffauges." Fujitaka remembered. "There is a good chance this is why."

Jeanne turned to Lala. "Why did Tesla not utilize these, if he were going to rewrite the world regardless?"

Lala looked down. "Tesla… in spite of his goal, he wanted to cause as little damage and loss of life as possible. Lala knows that sounds hypocritical in spite of everything, but he truly did keep himself in control until we found Gjallarhorn."

The SONG crew members had a lack of response, considering Aiba had informed them that they had been erased during the climax of Tesla's plan. Ogawa spoke up to change the subject. "I'll contact the Shrine Association and ask for the cooperation of the ley line observatories."

"I'll lend my support." Jeanne told him.

"Then that leaves us with the Gear users." Genjuro said. "Even with the LiNKER breakthrough, it was a short-lived victory. We cannot completely rely on Rui-kun and Maia for all the battles to come."

"We need to overcome the anti-Ignite power of the Philosopher's Stone, and fast." Fujitaka said.

"Where's Elfnein?" Genjuro asked, noticing she wasn't present.

"Holed up in her lab." Forte said. "She's overworking herself trying to figure out a way to help the girls, and using her spare time to try and fix the two remaining Elekleid bracelets. If you ask me, the girl needs a vacation."

Maria was holding onto her pendant, while Kirika and Shirabe were sitting on the checkup bed, as they had kept the transformation longer. The older former FIS was reading the notes Lala had left for them.

"Readings seem to be all good…" Maria said. "Though with this special LiNKER, we need to remain wary."

"I forgot, what makes it special compared to the doctor's, dess?" Kirika asked.

Shirabe looked up, curious as well because she and Kirika had rushed off after the first dose. Surprisingly, Maria smiled.

"Lala said we need to take it like the regular kind for a while, but eventually will no longer have to rely on using LiNKER to empower ourselves and become naturally attuned." Maria answered.

While Kirika and Shirabe were both ecstatic to hear this, Maria was still a bit concerned.

But even once we reach that point… I'm not sure if we'd be able to defeat the enemy in our current states.

"Man, that was great." Maia was leaning back on one of the couches in HQ. "Feel a lot better after knocking them around a bit."

Maia was the only one happy about it, as the mood in the room didn't reflect her.

"Damn it!" Chris punched the vending machine.

"Hey, easy there." Rui placed a hand on Chris', getting her a soda.

Tsubasa was looking out the window at the ocean floor, while Hibiki was sitting down and staring at the table, seemingly unfocused.

"I need to know when to not talk…" Maia sighed, though she was grateful no one seemed to have heard her.

Shuri did hear her, but didn't comment before looking back at the Symphogear wielders. We might have won this time, but we won't have the element of surprise again. The morale is down, as now Rui and Maia are the ones the Symphogear wielders need to catch up to. An inverse flip of our initial situation… unlike me…

Rui was still standing, ready to comfort her sister or Chris when the need strikes. They feel useless that they couldn't do more in spite of everything. I get that, but I wouldn't be here without any of them…

"I knew you'd be fine, but the news wouldn't tell me anything, so I was worried." Miku said, stirring some curry.

The Tachibanas had returned to the dorm room, seeing as things were rather low-key at the moment. Rui was lying on the couch, scrolling on her phone with Yusuke napping on the armrest, while Hibiki was at the table, surprisingly studying. While Rui had offered to cook, Miku decided to take the reins this time around. Couldn't let her steal all the spotlight, after all.

"That should be enough… now we just add the milk…" Miku said.

"Hey Miku, if you really want to bring out the taste-" Rui spoke up.

"Keep backseat cooking and you're getting nothing." Miku told her, a smile still on her face.

Rui raised her hands in surrender.

"Besides, today I'm making my cooking comeback! I've been practicing in secret ever since last time!" Miku said.

"So you've been using my jail time to catch up." Rui teased. "Sneaky, aren't ya?"

"Miku, Oneesan." Hibiki spoke up.

"Hm?" Miku said.

"What's up?" Rui asked.

"If you want something, do you need to be prepared to give up something else in exchange?" Hibiki asked.

The two of them looked over, surprised about the question.

"Is it reckless of me to think I can solve it all, somehow?" Hibiki asked.

Rui and Miku shared a glance. The former nodded, telling Miku to speak first.

"I like your recklessness." Miku told Hibiki.

Hibiki looked confused as Rui walked over.

"You're like a real life Eiji Hino, you know that?" Rui patted Hibiki on the shoulder. "You got a good head on your shoulders, Hibiki."

Miku smiled, as Rui walked over to the countertop.

"I can at least help serve it, right?" Rui asked Miku.

Miku chuckled. "Yes yes, of course."

As Rui pulled out plates, Miku was in deep thought, reflecting on her relationship with the Tachibana twins.

Back when I was spriting in junior high, all I cared about was getting ahead. I saw everyone as a rival. It was hard for me to consider their feelings. But Hibiki… she had more reason to cry than anyone else.

She watched Rui setting the plates and talking to her sister. She remembered a time Hibiki had helped a girl get her balloon from a tree. This was during the same time that the bullying and harassment had worsened, as Rui had been hospitalized during this period and couldn't help her sister.

She needed help the most. But she kept being reckless for other people's sake. I always wondered if it was because of what happened to her sister, but it was then I realized she was always like this. Those days, I didn't want to see anyone from behind, but I always made an exception for Hibiki's gentle silhouette. I didn't want to race anymore. That day, I realized all I wanted was for us to walk side by side. And when I graduated junior high, I quit track-and-field.

Hibiki got the first serving and started to eat, while Miku watched. Rui got a serving ready for herself.

I couldn't tell anyone how I really felt, but I still wanted to express my feelings somehow, so I decided to learn the piano. She glanced at Rui, who was eating and complimenting. Though, I feel Rui always knew of this.

"Thanks for treating me!" Hibiki thanked.

"Glad you liked it." Miku nodded.

"Pretty good." Rui said with a thumbs-up of approval. She stood up and stretched. "I'm gonna wash up and hit the hay early. You guys mind cleaning up?"

Normally Miku would accuse Rui of trying to get out of cleaning duties, but she saw the look in her eye. She briefly gestured to Hibiki before walking off. Miku sighed, but went over to the sink as Hibiki joined her.

Partway into the dishes and hearing Rui turn on the water, Miku decided to speak up. "Hey, Hibiki. If it's recklessness to do what you truly want, I'm behind that recklessness one hundred percent."

Hibiki's hands stopped washing the dish as Miku went on.

"When you're reckless, it's always to help people in trouble." Miku said. "Rui does the same as well, after all."

"Thanks, Miku." Hibiki smiled.

Rui was leaning against the bathroom door, having finished putting aside her clothes to get ready to take a bath. She had taken the time to listen to the two talk, and smiled.

Though all that good feeling disappeared after she took a step and slipped. "SHI-!"

Hibiki and Miku heard a loud splash from the bathroom. Yusuke woke up, looking around in confusion.

"Uh… are you okay, Oneesan?" Hibiki called.

"I feel like sunshine right now…" Rui groaned.

"I brought all the resources we have on heretical tech." Genjuro said, having wheeled in a cart full of binders and documents into Elfnein's lab. "Let me know if you need anything else."

"Okay. Thank you…" Elfnein nodded.

She slipped, trying to grab a binder to stop her fall, but only pulled it down.

"Are you okay?" Genjuro kneeled down to her. Lala leaned down as well, watching in concern. "You're overworking yourself."

"Elfnein, even if your body composition is different, it still requires the basic necessities of rest and sustenance." Lala told her.

"S-Sorry… but… I inherited this body from Carol." Elfnein said. "We're two in one. So I need to do enough work for both of us."

"Lala can hyperscan this all in a few minutes." Lala reminded her. "You can get some sleep while Lala analyzes this."

Elfnein was about to accept the offer, before looking at the binder that had fallen.

"What's wrong?" Genjuro asked.

She was looking at a page that had Hibiki's picture on it. There was an odd stone pictured underneath her, with gold shards encrusted on it.

"This is…"

"I'm quite positive I sent you to destroy the Symphogear." Adam leaned back in the hot tub, holding a glass of wine. The alchemists were standing nearby, while Tiki was dipping her legs in.

"I have no excuse." Saint-Germain said.

"I dunno. Those two brats Rui and Maia ended up being a surprise." Cagliostro shrugged, before turning away from Adam. "Like you can talk, though. You've done nothing but get in our way."

"It's basically your fault." Prelati added.

"I can hear you, you third-rate alchemists!" Tiki shouted, raising a fist. "I won't let you badmouth my Adam!"

Adam ignored them, drinking the wine. "The aspect was made clear by the horoscope Tiki drew."

"Then we should prepare the altar right away." Saint-Germain said.

Adam stood up, before raising Tiki in his hands. "The power of God will be in my hands."

As Adam played with Tiki like a child, Saint-Germain looked off. "For the realization of a perfect world…"

Adam walked off, and Saint-Germain and Cagliostro stared after him.

"I can't stand him." Cagliostro said. "With a clown like him in charge of the Illuminati, it's no wonder we're not motivated."

"Right." Prelati rested her head on her hand. "But it's not him or the Illuminati we've sworn to follow."

The two smiled at Saint-Germain, who's expression brightened. "Thank you."

"We need to try harder." Cagliostro said. "Give him no excuse to look down on us."

"However, I will need to prepare the ritual to set up the altar." Saint-Germain said.

"Then the two of us can destroy the Symphogear." Prelati said.

"And this time, we'll make sure to watch out for the two stronger kiddos." Cagliostro added.

"What is that?" Chris asked.

On the monitor was an excerpt of the file Elfnein found. The stone that was on the same page with Hibiki.

"A clump of waste matter that was transmuted by Hibiki back when she had merged with the Gungnir." Elfnein explained.

"Wait, you mean that scab that fell off of me?" Hibiki asked.

"But we were told that it had no special properties." Tsubasa recalled.

"The Philosopher's Stone is formed based on the principle that the world is one great life." Elfnein said. "On the other hand, this waste matter was made by one small life: Hibiki. Their origins are the exact opposites. I propose a Symphogear upgrade plan in which we will use the properties of this waste matter, completely opposite to the Stone as it is, to cancel the Stone's effects. We would also apply this to the Elekid, the Artificial Relics and weapons in order to boost the combat capability of SOUL."

"In other words, annihilation-barrier coating!" Fujitaka realized.

"Indeed." Elfnein nodded. "Lala and I reached this conclusion from the basic alchemic philosophy of the contrast between the microcosm and the macrocosm."

"Tesla had several notes of these properties in a few of his early plans." Lala explained.

"So does this mean that I can fight on the front lines again?" Shuri asked.

Elfnein nodded. "If we apply this to the Artificial Ichaival, as well as Okami, you would not be at risk if the Faust Robe's power were to come in direct contact with you."

"Hear that, Shuri?" Maia grinned. "You get to kick ass with us again."

Shuri smiled, feeling relieved she would no longer have to keep to the back during battle.

"Could someone explain this more simply, please?" Shirabe asked.

"I get the feeling I'd need an explanation for the explanation, dess." Kirika added, also confused.

"It's like we're taking that shard and adding a Crosshopper feature to the Ignite Module's Tenliner feature." Rui explained.

"...huh?" Kirika and Shirabe still looked confused.

"Nevermind." Rui grumbled.

"That stuff came out of a certain dumbass we all know and love." Chris said. "In short, it's the Fool's Stone!"

""Fool" is kinda harsh, Chris-chan…" Hibiki sweatdropped.

"I see. The Philosopher's Stone's one weakness: the Fool's Stone." Genjuro nodded.

"You too, Commander?" Hibiki whined.

Kirika was giggling while Maia also smirked. The others remained rather serious, but it was obvious they were amused as well. Rui raised a hand.

"For legal reasons, we will not be calling it anything from a Kamen Rider show." Genjuro said.

Rui lowered her hand, apologetically shrugging to Hibiki. "I tried. Kingstone would've been cool, though…"

"So where is this stone?" Maria asked.

"After it was initially evaluated, it was relegated to the Neptune's Palace archives as an unnecessary sample." Aoi said.

Chris grimaced, remembering the place.

"Finding the Fool's Stone down there will be like finding a needle in a haystack." Genjuro said. "It won't be easy, but it's our only hope."

The team had arrived at the damage site, and deployed the others to search. Chris was looking at a monitor surveying the ruins, with Kirika, Shirabe and Jeanne looking over her shoulder.

"Yikes…" Kirika muttered, seeing the crushed steel and stone.

"It's a lot flatter…" Shirabe said.

"...than we expected, dess." Kirika said.

Shirabe turned to Jeanne. "Can't you have Aiba scan it to find where it is to make things easier?"

Jeanne shook her head. Aiba was out of her socket at the moment, working at the bridge with the others. "We tried. Not only are the depths too deep for Aiba to withstand on her own, the shard itself doesn't have any notable outer properties aside from being a rock, so Aiba can't focus on it to scan it or anything of the sort."

Chris was silent, recalling the battle that had taken underseas, but also wondering if she could've done something else. Back then… and in Val Verde too. In hindsight, maybe there was a better way.

"Fwah!"

Lala surfaced from the water, as Forte helped her out and got her a towel to help dry off.

"Any luck?" Rui asked, walking over.

"No. Lala's eyes can't pick up anything at those depths. We need sunlight to see it properly." Lala said.

"You know, with a body that can withstand ocean pressures like that, you'd think Tesla would give you a better way to see things under there." Rui commented.

"No, Lala's working fine." Forte said. "All that Relic crap under the sea is probably messing with her radar or something."

"Once Hibiki, Tsubasa, Shuri and Maria send up more debris with the submersible, maybe Lala might be able to find it." Lala said.

"The sub must be really packed…" Maia looked down into the water.

"Can we really find it this way?" Chris asked, using a scanner on some of the debris that had been brought up.

Their search was interrupted when one of the survey members screamed. They all turned to see that Alca-Noise had been summoned on the observation deck.

"Alca-Noise detected!" Fujitaka announced.

"Increasing coordinate precision!" Aoi typed. "The enemy is… right above us!"

Genjuro widened his eyes. "It can't be…"

"They followed us?" Ogawa realized.

"Their cloaking technology was hidden from my sensors…" Aiba said.

"Zeios Igalima raizen tron~"

(Insert Dangerous Sunshine by Ai Kayano)

Shirabe was the first to leap into action, shooting dozens of buzzsaws at the Alca-Noise and tearing through them.

Alpha Style: 100 Saṃsāra

Kirika, Rui and Maia sped forward, slashing and ripping through the Alca-Noise with their blades. Chris jumped up into the air and fired several crossbow bolts to push the enemy back.

By the entrance to the base, Lala and Forte were helping escort the workers.

"Hey, no pushing! There's plenty of room!" Forte shouted.

"You'll be alright! Please evacuate calmly!" Lala called.

Maia cut down another Alca-Noise, before looking up to see a shadow above her. "Whoa-!"

She quickly rolled to the side to avoid getting stomped on by Cagliostro. "Hope you don't mind if I walk all over you~!"

Maia chuckled. "Sorry, but I'm taken!"

"Shame for you and miss naive over there." Cagliostro said, launching several orbs of energy at Kirika.

"What was that-?!" Kirika shouted as she dodged.

But to their horror, the energy shots had pierced straight through several of the evacuating workers, their bodies disintegrating.

"No…" Lala's eyes were wide while Forte screamed in frustration.

"Now, who's fault is that~?" Cagliostro asked.

She quickly turned to block a slash from Rui, who had donned the Elekleid.

"Still your fault, you stupid bimbo!" Rui shouted.

An expansion of energy forced Rui back as she crashed into Maia, while Kirika was sent straight into Chris.

"Everyone-! Ah!" Shirabe was knocked by a large orb, as Prelati's weapon returned to her.

"Symphogear are basically trash without the Dáinsleif." Prelati said.

"Just sit tight while we chop you up~!" Cagliostro chuckled.

"They want to destroy the Symphogear?" Chris realized.

"Not the Fool's Stone?" Kirika added quietly.

"Then we can go all out!" Chris said, standing back up. The ports on her legs opened as she shot several missiles. "Eat this!"

Rui and Maia each got ready as well. The former struck a pose while Maia stood strong.

"Time for even more payback." Maia grinned.

"Elekleid, Symphonic Drive! Henshin!"

"Croitzal ronzell Gungnir zizzl~"

The area grew bright as the two transformed.

"The surface is under attack!" Maria said, getting the message on communications.

"What?!" Tsubasa shouted.

"We're going up!" Hibiki said.

"Keep working!" Aoi said.

"It seems that they don't yet know about the Fool's Stone." Genjuro added.

"So that's an inherent advantage for us at the moment." Shuri realized.

"If they realize what we're trying to do here, they'll try to stop us." Genjuro said.

"But the others…" Hibiki said, worried.

"Tachibana, our sisters are up there with them." Tsubasa reassured her.

"I'm still worried… what can the others do?"

"Unison." Ogawa answered. "If Kirika-san and Shirabe-san sing in unison…"

"They should be able to fight without Ignite." Genjuro finished.

"Then that's what we need to do!" Chris shouted, forming a gatling gun.

Cagliostro raised a wall of water again, blocking the shots.

"How about this?!" Chris ran forward, firing multiple shots. The wall of water seemed to block them all, but Cagliostro's expression changed as the wall suddenly fell. Chris smirked, taking aim with a bow point-blank at Cagliostro's face.

Talk about a close-range kiss! But I don't offer up my lips that easily.

Cagliostro leaned back, only to see that Chris had purposely let her dodge. Kirika jumped upwards, latching onto the arrow with her scythe.

"Docking heart?!" Cagliostro realized.

Kirika rocketed straight towards Prelati, forcing the alchemist to cancel her attack on Shirabe. Landing, Kirika held out a hand to Shirabe. "Let's mess them up!"

(Insert Gizagiza Girari Full Throttle by Yoshino Nanjō and Ai Kayano)

"Kiri-chan!" Shirabe nodded, taking her hand.

Maia landed nearby, her spear ready. "You two ready to go? Let's kick some ass!"

She was the first to rush at Prelati, allowing Kirika to pull Shirabe up and the two followed her lead. Maia thrust forward with her spear, as Prelati parried it and knocked her away. This left her open to several scythe slashes from Kirika, who started rapidly spinning, resembling a top.

Calamity Ring: Tinkerbell

Prelati managed to block the attack, but had to dodge back as Shirabe fired her yo-yos at her. Shirabe brought the two together, creating a massive saw that Prelati barely deflected. She had to quickly dodge to the side as Kirika fired scythe blades and Maia threw several knives.

"Shirabe-chan and Kirika's phonic gain is skyrocketing!" Aoi reported.

"Maia's support is also keeping them steady." Fujitaka added.

"This should be enough!" Ogawa said.

"Botte-lui les fesses!" Jeanne encouraged.

Shirabe wheeled forward, nearly slicing through Prelati and forcing her to dodge. "We were basically just pathetic frauds… until we were given perfect bodies, perfect knowledge, and a perfect goal by Saint-Germain! That's why we fight for her! That's why we absolutely cannot lose!"

"Prelati!" Cagliostro called, jumping out of the way of Chris' shots and Rui's slashes.

"Fun and games won't let you achieve your ideals!" Prelati shouted.

Maia dashed forward, dodging a swing from Prelati, before kneeing her in the stomach. Her hand shot outward, grabbing Prelati by her collar.

"That's where you're mistaken." Maia told her. "It was never fun and games for us."

She tossed Prelati upwards, as Kirika and Shirabe combined their scythe and saws together to make a massive shredding glaive.

Prohibited Fitting Beta Style: ZABABA Sun and Moon

As the two dove down, Prelati gripped her weapon. "For our dream!"

She launched the orb at the glaive, but to her utter shock, she was being overpowered.

"What?!"

Her ball was sliced apart, as she was sent crashing into the ocean, a burst of light signifying her power had dispersed.

"I'll let you live this time." Cagliostro told Chris and Rui, before she jumped away. She glew as she teleported away with Prelati.

"Smug bitch." Rui muttered as she sheathed her swords.

After the battle had finished, Lala and Forte were guiding the remaining workers around, giving them a break considering what had transpired. On the deck, the wielders and SOUL members were resting after the battle. Kirika and Shirabe were holding hands together.

"We'll never let go…" Shirabe said.

"...of each other's hands, dess." Kirika finished.

"Get a room, you two." Chris sighed. "I already deal with enough when it comes to these two."

Shuri was sitting in Maia's lap, as the latter was spooning her.

"What?" The two asked.

Rui chuckled. "We're the odd ones out here…"

Chris heard Rui's words and thought about it. Odd ones out, huh… then…

"They won." Ogawa said.

"For today, at least." Genjuro kept his arms crossed.

"Hopefully this victory can last a bit longer." Jeanne hoped.

Tiki was lying on her back in the pool, projecting all sorts of stars around the area as Adam sat in a chair, enjoying himself. Saint-Germain stood behind him, waiting for him to speak.

"The altar ritual is proceeding smoothly, I take it?" Adam asked.

"Yes. However, we don't have enough life energy to power the great central plinth." Saint-Germain said.

"Why not sacrifice someone, then?" Adam suggested, tilting the wine glass in his hand.

Saint-Germain grimaced as he went on.

"One of those two, for instance." He said, as Saint-Germain widened her eyes. "One perfect body like theirs should provide all the life energy you need. Tesla never considered this in his foolish plan to change the world."

"We purposely kept that information away from him." Saint-Germain grit her teeth. "Lodgemaster… Do you have no humanity left in you?"

"It's time for you to choose." He said, nonchalantly. "Your cause, or your comrades?"

Saint-Germain gripped her fist tightly at his words. Unbeknownst to both, Cagliostro was hiding nearby, having overheard their conversation with a grim expression on her face.

A/N: It's always fun to add to the fight with the crazy things the twins can pull off. The table is always evened-up whenever they're around, making it a struggle for the enemy side too when these unexpected pieces end up on the battlefield.

Also Rui being cringe and funny there was because I realized I've been making her far too cool. I needed to give her cringe moments as we enter the second half of AXZ.

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