Sympho-Saber: Song of Swords
RXU:EP15 – Shrouded Sunshine
She wasn't sure what was going on. She had gone with her friend to the concert of an idol duo after another friend of theirs invited them. Everything had gone well, at least until… they had shown up. She watched and heard the terror all around her, countless concertgoers being killed by the creatures known simply as Noise.
Thankfully her friend was still with her, managing to help her out of her shock as she was dragged along. At least until her friend suddenly shoved her away.
"Eh? Touma?!"
"Run Hibiki!"
She stumbled down a few steps of the stadium seats before her eyes widened. She had been shoved away because a Noise had rapidly been closing in on her and her friend. Except now it was just her friend in the path of the Noise as a result of his actions. She tried to get up only to shriek as the seating around her crumbled and shattered, sending her down to the stadium floor as she helplessly watched the Noise get closer towards her friend…
"…TOUMA!"
It was raining fairly hard as the day had begun to end, the setting sun being replaced by the darkened evening sky thanks to the clouds. Most people had decided to stay inside, though for Touma and Miku, they were currently underneath a gazebo. Miku had wanted to train herself further despite her usual trainers being busy and Touma figured he'd offer what support he could. Thankfully they had managed to find a secluded area with it being even more so now thanks to the rain.
Touma himself was currently leaning on one of the pillars, having been taking some occasional notes while Miku focused on her stances and strikes at the center.
"I have a question," Miku said as she kept her swings consistent, using a practice sword for the time being. When there was no response she figured she'd continue, "How did you feel when you first became Saber?"
"Is this about what happened during the Ganma incident?" Touma asked, "Miku, you shouldn't blame yourself for-"
"I just want to know why I couldn't transform," Miku interrupted as she paused in her training. She wasn't going to blame herself but the question of 'why' was still bothering her, "That's all."
"Well, I wanted to make sure that Hibiki was safe after realizing the situation," Touma mused as he thought on his first transformation as Saber, "I suppose my will to protect was what summoned Kaenken Rekka. But…"
"But…?" Miku raised an eyebrow.
"Maybe it's something subconsciously in your mindset?" Touma guessed, not wanting to assume but if Daishinji assumed Miku was ready physically, then a mental issue was likely the case, "Like, you want to fight, you have the discipline… but maybe there's something deeper that doesn't want you to transform?"
"Maybe…" Miku muttered as she put a hand to her chin, "But how am I supposed to figure out what that is?"
"That... I don't know," Touma said with a slightly sheepish smile, "But maybe now that you're aware of this potential issue, you can maybe see if Daishinji or Elfnein could help you figure it out?"
"I suppose," Miku said before nodding as she took up a stance again, "I'll do it first thing in the morning then."
"That's the spirit," Touma said as he glanced at the extra practice sword they had that was leaning near the umbrellas they had brought. He was ready to offer to spar with her when he let out a yelp at a sudden dragons roar, "Huh?"
"Um…" Miku trailed off as she looked over, "Was that Brave Dragon?"
"I don't think so," Touma shook his head, drawing out the Ride Book, holding it up as it remained silent, "It sounded further and clearer than it would if it was in my pocket."
The roar sounded off again as the two began to look around only for an object to slam down at the edge of the gazebo in a burst of blue fire. Both of them could only stare as their eyes widened when they recognized what had landed in front of them.
"That's…" Miku trailed off.
Touma let out a light gasp, "Bahamut?!"
Ultimate Bahamut was currently before them, letting out a blue glow that pulsated as it lifted itself up again. It began to float forward and upwards before dropping down near Touma who quickly caught it.
"Wait," Miku realized something was wrong, "Wasn't Hibiki holding onto that Ride Book?"
"She was," Touma said before his eyes widened further, "Miku, where's Hibiki?"
"She should be at home," Miku said as she went to call her friend, "She seemed a lot more sluggish lately and I told her to just get some rest since I assumed she was just staying up late."
"Sluggish?" Touma muttered before Ultimate Bahamut shook itself out of Touma's hands before floating upwards, "Huh?"
"I can't get her to answer," Miku said as all of her calls were going to voicemail before noticing how the Ride Book was floating, Ultimate Bahamut tilting itself to the side rapidly as if beckoning them to follow, "Touma…"
"I don't like this at all," Touma said as he pointed towards Ultimate Bahamut, "Give us a few seconds."
Touma and Miku went to pack up the practice swords and grab their umbrellas. Once they were set the rushed off into the rainy night after Ultimate Bahamut. Despite what should have been relief, their concern only grew further when they had realized the Ride Book had led them to Hibiki and Miku's own apartment. That concern shifted to worry when once outside the door they heard pained gasps and yells from within the apartment as they tried to rush in as quickly as they could.
The Next Day…
Touma and Miku were currently leaning against the hallway that led to the main medical chamber of SONG headquarters. They had taken up residence in the lounge at first to rest up but eventually they were too restless to where they wanted to wait and see what exactly was going on with their friend.
Their heads jolted up and towards the door as it began to open, Genjuro and Elfnein exiting with neutral expressions.
"Well?" Touma asked.
"How is she?" Miku asked.
"We've had to sedate her to get her to calm down," Genjuro answered with a grimace.
"She was seemingly alright but a bit pained during the initial examinations," Elfnein explained, "That was until her pain suddenly flared up."
"That's not good," Touma frowned.
"Did you at least figure out what's wrong?" Miku asked.
"Unfortunately our medical results so far are coming in standard aside from her body experiencing rising sensations of pain," Elfnein replied with a light frown, "We'll need more time before we can determine and immediate cause."
"Yuri's currently in there with her," Genjuro added, "I'm hoping his otherworldly healing might be able to help her better than our medical care."
"Here's hoping," Touma replied before letting out a light yelp as he turned, "Huh?"
He and the others had thought they heard a stampede coming from the hallway. Of course given that the entirety of SONG's remaining Wielders and Riders sans Ogawa and Daishinji were hurrying over, a stampede was an accurate statement.
"We arrived as fast as we could," Tsubasa said, "What's the situation?"
"How's Hibiki doing?" Shirabe asked.
"Just what happened?" Kanade questioned, "All Sophia could tell us is that you guys had to admit her for emergency treatment late last night."
"We're still trying to figure that part out," Elfnein admitted, "But we're also hoping now that Yuri's providing his assistance that we can heal her entirely."
"Ah right, his mystical healing," Rintaro said as he sighed in relief, "Truly we are lucky to have an ally like him."
"Hold your horses," Chris spoke up as she glanced the Swordsman of Water's way, "There's no telling if his abilities will work."
"It's not wise to doubt our ally's abilities," Maria replied before frowning, "But for something to suddenly happen to Hibiki…"
"Hey, was it her doing the whole X-Drive plus Ignite thing again?" Kirika asked, remembering what they had said on how the fight against Gazer and Bahamut had gone, "Could that have caused any issues, dess?"
"Doubtful," Daishinji spoke up as he walked over with Ogawa, hands in his pockets, "Elfnein and I checked Hibiki's Gear and her diagnostics. There was barely any strain on it and her from the stacked transformations thanks to X-Drive."
"Then what could be causing the problem?" Ogawa asked.
"I know what's wrong with Hibiki," Yuri announced as he the doors to the medical chamber opened up automatically, allowing him a fairly dramatic entrance which he reveled in. Of course once he stepped through he could only take a step back in surprise, "Eh? You all got here rather quickly…"
"Given how the situation was worded," Kirika spoke up, "Can you blame us, dess?"
"What's Tachibana's issue?" Tsubasa asked.
"It is urgent we act immediately so follow me," Yuri said as he began to walk past everyone, "We will need your experts at the central control room to assist us after all, though if one or two of you could stay behind to man the equipment in that medical station..."
"Eh?" Elfnein asked as she and the others went to hurry off after Yuri, "What do you mean?"
"Yuri, you need to slow down," Genjuro replied with a sigh, "Why do we need head to the bridge at this moment?"
Yuri stopped in place causing everyone else to pause as he looked back, "Because put simply…"
"…Hibiki's been infected with a Phantom Megid?!" Aoi called out she, Sakuya, and Sophia could only stare in shock at the current news given. While Daishinji and Elfnein stayed behind in the medical wing, Yuri led everyone else to the central bridge of SONG's submersible HQ before giving the news to those present there.
"B-But how…?" Sakuya gasped out, "We've detected no Phantom Megid signals whatsoever, and Gjallarhorn hasn't acted up."
"It is but a small piece of a Phantom Megid separated from its main body," Yuri replied, "However it is enough to affect Hibiki. Even more so given it appears to be feeding more and more negative energy into her body. Despite my healing and light it regenerates and likely will continue to unless the main body is destroyed."
"I'm wondering how it's even possible still," Maria said as she put a hand to her chin, "Gaze was the one making the Phantom Megid act odd alongside hiding them, so why exactly is the next one after him doing something this complex?"
"Maybe he left a backup?" Kanade guessed, "He seemed like the kind of guy to have plans upon plans… at least from what we've run into."
"You really think so?" Shirabe asked.
"Kanade's right," Touma said in realization.
"Wait, I am?" Kanade looked over in surprise.
"There was something odd about how quietly he went out," Touma said as the off feeling he felt at the end of that fight was now confirmed, "How accepting he was when Ayumu and I landed the final blows on him…"
"What a cowardly tactic," Tsubasa remarked in a near hiss.
"But why go after Hibiki?" Ogawa asked, "And more importantly, how did he pull this off?"
"Wait," Chris said as her eyes widened, "During our first fight with Bahamut, Gaze managed to knock the dummy back when he showed up… do you think it was…"
"Back then, dess?" Kirika asked before groaning, "Jeez, talk about planning ahead."
"But why infect Hibiki like that?" Miku asked, still mulling on Ogawa's question.
"Perhaps he wanted to spite us by taking away our strongest fighter and closest comrade," Genjuro replied, "Either way we need to take action now."
"So what do you need from us?" Sakuya asked as he quickly turned back to his console, "We'll do whatever we can to help Hibiki."
"But how can we?" Aoi asked, "Whatever is happening with this Phantom Megid, we can't just get Gjallarhorn to send us to that world if it's not reacting already."
"That's right," Sakuya groaned as he grabbed his hair, "And it probably isn't a world we've discovered either!"
"Do not worry, I had a feeling our foe might be tricky," Yuri answered, "Which is why I have Daishinji and Elfnein scanning Hibiki at the moment in order to look out for a Megid signal."
"That's right," Aoi said as she quickly turned towards her monitor, her and Sakuya having just received data from the medical chamber, "If that piece is connected to a real body then we can try and track it through the parallel worlds with that connection."
"And we've got our data," Sakuya said as he opened up the files he was receiving, "Let's get to work!"
"I suppose all that's left is to figure out who's going to go," Sophia replied, "While dealing with this threat is important, we can't leave ourselves at a disadvantage."
"I'll go," Touma said in a near instant, "Yuri's here if a human gets turned into a Megid and we have plenty of others who can back him up."
"I can't argue with that logic," Genjuro replied, "But I will not allow you to go on your own Touma."
"I figured," Touma nodded, "But I don't mind anyone else tagging along."
"Then allow me to assist," Rintaro said as he stepped forward, "If it's to help a member of my precious family, especially Hibiki… then I swear by Suiseiken Nagare that I will help you however I can."
"If we're volunteering, then I'll step up as well," Maria added as she moved forward, "I owe Hibiki a great deal, so fighting for her like this is the least I can do. Not to mention, the two of us are fairly experienced with Parallel Worlds."
"Thank you," Touma smiled as he bowed, "I appreciate it."
While Touma, Maria and Rintaro were preparing for the journey ahead, almost everyone else went to preoccupy themselves however they could. In Miku's case, she had joined Yuri alongside Tsubasa to check up on Hibiki, both Daishinji and Elfnein still there and making sure the Gungnir Wielder was as comfortable as could be. Hibiki herself while looking a bit uncomfortable seemed to simply be in a deep sleep.
"How is she?" Tsubasa asked.
"Calm for the time being," Daishinji said as he looked over the records, "Luckily we were able to find traces of a foreign entity and cross-referencing it with our prior data like Yuri suggested allowed us to confirm it is a Phantom Megid."
"Touma, Maria, and Rintaro are currently going to embark on their mission to deal with the Phantom Megid once we track it," Yuri replied, "For now I will stay here and provide her what healing I can to keep her stable."
"That's good," Elfnein said with a sigh of relief, "I just hope we can fix this before things get worse."
"I just wish there was something I could do," Miku admitted as she gripped her fists tightly, "I've trained so hard to be able to fight alongside Hibiki, to help her… but even now…"
"Unfortunately until we can figure out what's keeping you from transforming then there's not much we can do," Daishinji replied, "But Ikazuchi seems to be willing and ready to fight again."
"Then what's the issue?" Tsubasa questioned.
"Actually, Touma suggested it could be a deep subconscious issue with me," Miku spoke up before looking at the technology experts of SONG, "He said you two might have some better insight in helping me trying to figure that out."
"We could run some tests… but that might be something that could take weeks of mental training and meditating to truly figure out," Daishinji said as he put a hand to his chin.
"Hmm…" Elfnein thought on it for a bit, while she knew mental training/meditation was definitely an option, she was trying to think on the situation on a more academic and technological level. Of course she let out a light gasp when she realized what was needed, "Actually, there may be a way to potentially confront that subconscious issue in a more direct manner."
"There is?" Miku asked in surprise.
"Wait," Daishinji paused as he looked over, "You don't mean…"
"I do," Elfnein nodded before staring directly at Miku, "However I should warn you that this process is untested and that you could suffer serious mental strain if this doesn't work out."
Tsubasa looked over, noticing that Miku was staring directly at the ground, her hair shadowing her eyes.
"Kohinata…"
"I'll do it," Miku said as she raised her head and locked eyes with Elfnein, "If it means being able to access Gjallarhorn to help Hibiki more than I can at the moment, I'll take that risk."
"You do realize that this means everyone will need to know of your status should this be successful," Daishinji spoke up, "Right?"
"I do," Miku nodded.
"Then we should get going," Elfnein said as she began to take her leave.
"Right," Daishinji nodded as he went to follow.
"I'll be back soon Hibiki," Miku said as she walked over and grasped her unconscious friend's hand firmly, giving a small smile when she saw and felt Hibiki actively relax. She soon let go before going to follow after Daishinji and Elfnein, "Don't worry, I'll help you."
"Good luck Kohinata," Tsubasa said as she watched Miku walk off after Elfnein and Daishinji.
Of course approaching the trio that had left were Chris, Kirika, and Shirabe who had gone to check up on Hibiki.
"Hey, what's the rush?" Chris asked.
"We have an idea on how to further help Hibiki," Daishinji answered.
"So we need to get started as soon as possible," Elfnein added.
"Girls," Miku said as she walked over before giving a bow, "I'm going to be busy, but please, stay by Hibiki's side and make sure she feels comfortable."
"That's all?" Chris asked with a smile, "We'll do whatever we can to help her, even if isn't a lot."
"Yeah, dess," Kirika nodded.
"She's helped us so many different times," Shirabe added, "This is the least we can do."
"Thank you," Miku smiled before hurrying off after Elfnein and Daishinji.
Saber took a deep breath as he stared at Gjallarhorn, having transformed and was standing alongside Blades while Maria was in her Symphogear.
"Nervous?" Maria asked.
"Somewhat," Saber admitted.
"Ah right, this is your first time," Blades realized, "Do not worry, it's a rather smooth process."
"Just be careful, the first jump makes you really queasy," Kanade called out as she entered with a Book Gate, "So get out of that suit immediately and hopefully there will be some bushes nearby."
"Wait, really?" Saber asked.
"She's just joking," Maria said as she rolled her eyes.
"I am honestly glad that nausea is not a side effect," Blades sighed in relief.
"You're not fun," Kanade frowned as she crossed her arms and pouted, turning towards the side before turning back and holding out the Book Gate, "Anyway, our crew managed to trace the signal and added the data to this Book Gate."
"Thanks," Saber said as he took the Book Gate before turning back and holding it towards Gjallarhorn, opening it up, "Let's go."
[BOOK GATE!]
Soon enough Gjallarhorn's light shined and formed a projection of an open book for the three that were about to enter. Saber, Maria and Blades all looked at each other, nodding before entering the gateway, it closing up and vanishing into green sparks.
[OPEN THE GATE!]
"Good luck you three," Kanade said as she put her hands in her jacket pockets, soon walking off, "Here's hoping everything works out."
Parallel World
A green light shined in an alleyway before forming the Book Gate, it opening up with Saber, Blades and Maria stepping out from it. Despite the sky being covered with clouds, the time of day seemed to be fairly later than when they had left via Gjallarhorn.
"So what's the plan?" Saber asked.
"Dismiss our transformations for now," Maria replied, "We'll see what we can gather of this world before making any sudden actions."
"Sounds good," Blades said ready to dismiss his transformation when sirens suddenly rang out alongside there being screaming nearby, "This is…!"
"Never mind, hopefully we can end this quickly," Maria said, not willing to stand aside while people needed their help. She was quick to lead the way as she bolted out of the alleyway, Blades and Saber following after her.
It didn't take long to reach the area where the screams were, the trio watching as Noise wandered through the streets and attacked anyone they could. Without wasting a beat the three leapt into action while spreading out, reaching multiple people who were about to get assaulted by Noise and slashing in tandem.
The Noise had been sliced in half, crumbling before their opposition as the Riders and Wielder went to push their assault.
"Now these are a blast from the past I did not want to see again," Saber admitted as he coated Rekka in flames, swinging and launching bursts of fire to strike and burn the Noise before him, "I guess this world didn't seal up the Treasury of Babylonia."
"True, admittedly this is my first time running into these variants again," Blades admitted as he sent out several razor sharps bursts of water to cut through the Noise. He turned and noticed that a few people were still cowering so he hurried over, "Quickly, you need to run!"
The bystanders managed to nod and pick themselves up before hurrying off.
"Same," Maria nodded as she quickly extended her blade into its chain-bladed form, easily slicing through a wide array of Noise in the area, "From what we've learned, the other worlds haven't sealed up their Treasuries either. We just managed to get lucky and not run into the standard variants, though that might be because Solomon's Cane isn't active either."
"Yeah, hopefully they end up just being the randomly occurring kind," Saber said, breathing a sigh of relief that Solomon's Cane was clearly not in use at the moment given the Noise were working on instinct and more weren't joining their ranks, "So…" he trailed off before noticing a purple bodied Noise with dozens of spheres over its back began to run through a nearby alleyway towards another sector of the city, "Not good!"
"Huh?" Blades yelped as he saw Saber bolt down an alleyway, "Saber!"
"He must be going after a stray Noise," Maria realized as she quickly went to slice through the remaining Noise, "Come on, let's…!"
She cut herself off as the ashes from the victims that had been claimed began to spiral upwards before gathering into a stream. Blades could only let out a gasp as he saw the Golem Megid on a building's roof, it having a blank Ride Book in its hand as it gathered the ashes, the book becoming partially blackened.
"Not good enough," Golem grumbled as it looked down, catching sight of the Wielder and Rider, "And I can see why…"
The two backed up as Golem leapt from the building it was on, it slamming into the ground and causing a small tremor as it went to fully stand.
"Megid…" Maria narrowed her eyes.
"Seems they're up to similar tricks even here," Blades muttered as he held his blade forward, "Maria…"
"We'll wrap this up quickly and get back to Touma," Maria nodded.
Saber continued to chase the strange grape-like Noise, the two managing to make their way into a deserted and empty street.
"Looks like there's no one here to get hurt," Saber said as he rushed forward, "Time to finish this!"
The Noise quickly unleashed all the spheres on its body outwards, all of them striking and exploding against various buildings and the pavement. Saber yelped several impacted in front of him, kicking up smoke as he was forced back.
The Noise quickly went to flee only to turn when a sudden wave of heat was felt.
[BRAVE DRAGON!]
Out from the smoke emerged a fiery projection of Brave Dragon, it moving upwards and snaking down before it clamped the Noise between its jaws. It soon exploded into a burst of fire that spread out, turning the Noise itself into ash.
"Alright," Saber coughed slightly as he waved away the smoke and went to look around, "Now to get back to the others before they worry-"
"Hey!"
"Huh?" Saber turned before yelping as there was now a fairly young man before him, one who had likely only just turned 17 years of age. Of course what caught the Rider's attention were the ninja-styled robes that resembled that of the Logos Sector's attire, "Wait…"
"I'm not sure who you think you are, parading around like that," the young man remarked as he quickly drew out the Fusouken Hayate alongside Sarutobi Ninjaden. He prepared his transformation as a slight sneer crossed his face, "I'll take you down here and now… Henshin!"
[SOU TOU BUNDAN!]
"I uh, hold on a moment!" Saber called out as he held his hands up, only for that to fall on deaf ears as the young man split Hayate, performing the traditional transformation slashes as a green whirlwind wrapped around him, "Uh oh…"
[ICHI NO TE, SHURIKEN! NI NO TE, NITOURYUU! FUUSOUKEN HAYATE!]
"Give back Kaenken Rekka!" Kenzan shouted as he rushed towards Saber, flipping and bringing his blades down against Saber who defended with Rekka, "That belonged to Kamijo who gave up his life to help us survive! You don't deserve to wield it!"
"Eh?" Saber asked with a gasp as he stumbled backwards from Kenzan applying more pressure, "Kamijo sacrificed himself…?"
"I'm not about to let a faker take up his legacy," Kenzan said as he rushed towards Saber to keep assaulting him.
Maria and Blades were currently dealing fairly well with Golem. Maria would cover her Rider ally with her long-ranged attacks, while Blades would use those as cover to close the distance and land consecutive hits against Golem. Maria had eventually closed in, hurrying over and slashing in tandem with Blades, the two managing to force it back. Eventually they leapt upwards, planning on putting the Megid on its last legs.
"Like I'll let you take me out!" Golem shouted as it launched the hands from its head outwards, the stone fists striking Blades and Maria and forcing them back. It then stomped its foot against the ground, unleashing dirt pillars beneath the Rider and Wielder to force them back, "Now it's over!"
Golem's extra hands launched outwards to strike at the two, planning on dealing a heavy blow now that they were distracted. That was until a distinct yell caught their attention, a sudden orange and white blur leaping in from the side.
The familiar sight of Hibiki clad in Gungnir shot into view, and while her armor appeared to mimic their world's Hibiki in its entirety there was one change. This one had a thick flowing scarf wrapped around her neck that covered the bottom half of her face. The Gungnir Wielder yelled further, slamming her leg into the stone hands and launching them back against Golem.
Golem yelled out as its hands had cracked at the kick, shattering upon impacting against it as it was sent tumbling back, "You…!"
"Huh?" Blades lowered his arms before gasping, "Hibiki…?"
Hibiki glanced back, an almost alien harshness to her expression. She simply scoffed before rushing towards Golem who swung at her, ducking in response. She let out a yell as she grabbed and dragged Golem backwards before shoving it away.
Golem gasped as it tried to counter only for it to be assaulted by numerous fierce kicks and punches, sparks flying as it staggered back and forth in place.
Hibiki soon held out her right hand, orange energy gathering in it before clasped her hand tightly around the energy. Soon enough her right arm erupted outwards into orange energy as she let out a fierce yell, sending a powered up punch against Golem.
Golem yelled out as he was struck in the chest, energy bursting outwards as he was sent flying backwards before slamming into a nearby building wall.
"Again and again…" Hibiki trailed as she spoke in a near venomous tone as she marched over towards the stunned Megid while thunder struck in the sky, "Over and over… you freaks don't know when to quit, huh?!"
"E-Excuse me…?" Blades managed to stammer out when he saw this demeanor.
"Something's not right…" Maria muttered, taking note of this Hibiki's movement and posture.
Hibiki grabbed Golem by its face, pulling it away from the wall before lifting it upwards with both hands. She shouted out as she slammed the Megid into the ground away from the building, forming a small crater underneath it. She then leapt upwards while lifting up her right arm, her gauntlet shifting into an enhanced booster mode as she dropped down and went to punch against Golem as she landed.
"Ah, ah… Sh-Shimi…!" Golem nearly shrieked out in panic as Hibiki's fist slammed into a Shimi that threw itself into the Wielder's path, it exploding upon being hit. The result forced both combatants away from each other, Hibiki stumbling back while Golem was sent rolling away.
"You got lucky," Hibiki hissed out as she landed and gripped her right fist tightly.
"Damn, too close…" Golem gasped out as it picked itself up, backing away.
"Don't think you can run away," Hibiki glared as she watched the various Shimi leap out and surround her. She let out a yell as she slammed her fist downwards, unleashing a burst of energy to tear through the ground and eradicate the Shimi around her.
Explosions occurred as the Shimi were dealt with, the smoke slowly rising as the thunder struck harder in the sky, a downpour of rain starting to occur. Hibiki didn't seem to mind the sudden rain, simply staring forward as more Shimi began to form to try and distract her.
"Maria…" Blades spoke up, "This Hibiki…"
"Yes," Maria nodded, not even needing her ally to speak further, "I suppose we've found out what exactly is different about this world."
"Will you listen to me for just one second?!" Saber questioned as he went on the defensive, trying to talk to Kenzan only for the Rider of Wind to keep attacking, "I can-"
"Just go down already!" Kenzan shouted as he continued to use his speed and flexibility to try and overwhelm Saber, slashing and managing to force Saber into a stumble, "I've got you now!"
Saber managed to follow Kenzan who leapt upwards while spinning before dropping down towards him. Realizing he didn't have a choice he quickly brought out King of Arthur, slotting it in and initiating the form change.
[REKKA BATTOU! WONDER RIDER!]
A blue flash occurred as Saber gained the Arthur armament on his left side, raising the Kingexcalibur and blocking both blades of Hayate with his single blade. Kenzan let out a light gasp as a shockwave occurred, yelping as Saber managed to push him backwards.
[DRAGON! ARTHUR OU!]
"I didn't want to resort to a stronger form," Saber admitted before entering a defensive stance, "But you left me no choice!"
"Just what is that Wonder Rider Book?" Kenzan questioned, "Looks like I was right to peg you for a threat after all. But it'll take more than a Wonder Ride change to beat me!"
"Just what is with this blind confidence…?" Saber muttered in near deadpan.
"Get ready!" Kenzan called out as he rushed forward.
"Fine, you want to play rough…" Saber trailed before shouting and rushing towards the alternate Swordsman of Wind, "I'll play rough!"
"How about we just chill out a bit…!"
"Huh?" Saber's head perked up in surprise as his stance faltered, recognizing the voice near instantly despite the fairly relaxed and lighter tone, "Tsu-"
"You're open!" Kenzan shouted as he sped forward to try and strike Saber while he was distracted.
In a sudden flash a blue-haired individual in a white cloak had gotten between the two. A dual blue-bladed naginata suddenly ripped through the air, striking both Saber's and Kenzan's blades with great force. Saber stepped back in surprise while Kenzan stumbled due to how much speed he had picked up.
"Hey, what was that for?!" Kenzan called out as he stomped his foot, "Tsubasa!"
"Tsubasa…?" Saber muttered in surprise.
Standing before him was Tsubasa wearing Ame no Habakiri's Symphogear, but she almost looked like an entirely different person due to her relaxed posture and expression. Her hair was cut shorter and was a bit wilder in appearance despite retaining her signature ponytail. Likewise her Gear was very different, the main bodysuit being a lighter shade than usual alongside having significant bright blue armoring on her forearms and shins compared to the one he knew. Of course she also had a white mantle with some silver armoring letting it rest neatly on her shoulders.
"Well Ren, if you're going to act like a rabid dog I'm going to intervene," Tsubasa remarked as she narrowed her eyes at Kenzan while stabbing her naginata into the ground, "Now let's calm down and-"
"Sorry but you're not getting in my way," Kenzan hissed out as he quickly leapt upwards, utilizing his latent wind abilities to boost himself over Tsubasa at high speeds to strike at Saber, "I'm taking back Kaenken Rekka!"
"Hard way it is then…" Tsubasa clicked her tongue in annoyance before glancing to the side, "Chris!"
"Wait, what?" Saber asked before looking towards where Tsubasa glanced towards, soon hearing a soft but steady shout of confirmation.
"Roger!"
In an instant several sniper shots were sent towards Kenzan who barely turned in time, bracing against them with Hayate only for one to hit his shin. He yelled out as he lost his momentum and tumbled to the ground. He went to stand up, using his blades to pick himself up only for them to get shot, being sent clattering away as he was sent face first against the ground.
"Come on!" Kenzan shouted as he slammed his fists against the ground before shaking his legs up and down in a very child-like manner.
"Oh," Saber said as he wasn't paying attention to Kenzan but the sniper since he followed where the shots had come from.
Kneeling on the ground a fair distance away was this world's Chris in her Ichaival Symphogear. Her armor's style was similar to Tsubasa's, the bodysuit of her Symphogear being lighter and having more armoring on her forearms. The other extra armor was her skirt armoring, having two half rings instead of the one that her main counterpart would usually have. Likewise she had the same Mantle on as Tsubasa, which painted a picture that the two of them were likely partners.
Of course the biggest differences were in her appearance and weapon. Her expression was softer than Chris' but not completely soft, though her hair wasn't tied up and simply long flowing. Ichaival on the other hand took a different form, as this variant was a bow-gun styled rifle.
"I swear Ren," Chris sighed in clear annoyance before shifting her aim towards Saber, her annoyed expression lingering, "Now then, are you going to be stupid like him?"
"Nope," Saber said as he dismissed the Kingexcalibur and slotted Rekka into his Swordriver before keeping his arms lifted and palms open, "Though I'd like it if we could talk. I also have some allies nearby too and we can explain what's going on."
"That sounds good to me," Tsubasa said as she put a hand on her hip, "Especially since Saber shouldn't be active right now given Kaenken Rekka's MIA."
"What if I told you I'm not this world's Saber…?" Saber trailed.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Chris questioned as she carefully lowered her bow-gun.
"It's a bit of a long story, but again I have some allies that can…" Saber trailed off when he heard sudden crashing and impact explosions in the distance, "Sounds like they're dealing with something else, I was wondering why they didn't follow."
"Don't worry, we weren't the only three dispatched," Tsubasa said, "And knowing that guy, he's probably ready to make his grand entrance."
"Grand entrance…?" Saber asked.
With another yell Hibiki threw her enhanced right arm outwards, unleashing an orange wave of energy that eradicated the remaining Shimi. Just as she stepped forward to deal with Golem she paused when she saw all the rubble around her began to tumble away and gather together. She quickly turned and saw that Golem was gathering the rubble of the area, having it converge onto its body.
"You fool! You've managed to give me just what I need to win!" Golem shouted as it grew in size and towered above the Wielder, "I'll deal with you and then the others easily now!"
Hibiki quickly got in a crouching stance, planning on jumping forward only to stumble briefly when she heard someone shouting right as she stepped forward.
"It doesn't matter how big you are, you're not beating the strongest Swordsman there is!"
"Huh?" Golem turned towards a rooftop where a young but fairly big man in jeans, a black t-shirt and a swordsman's coat was standing. Of course it noticed immediately that the Dougouken Gekido was strapped to the young man's back. It quickly turned and sent its fist at the man, "Another interruption?!"
"More like the grand finale!" the man called out as he drew out Gekido, hexagonal stones forming a barrier that blocked the fist, it bouncing off as the swordsman raised his sword with both hands, "Henshin!"
[ITTOU RYODAN! BUTTA GIRE! DOGO! DOGO! DOGOUKEN GEKIDO!]
Slashing downwards the man transformed into Kamen Rider Buster, the hexagonal shield shattering and forcing Golem's hand to reel back further. The Rider then leapt upwards while initiating his finisher, "Grand Judgment Cut!"
Buster's blade shined before forming a projection of a larger Gekido as he dropped down, slamming the giant blade projection into Golem. He let out a shout as he sliced downwards, managing to cut deeply into Golem who could only scream out in defiance before exploding. As the explosions occurred the rain began to let up, the clouds slightly parting and brightening up the area slightly.
[GEKIDO RANDOKUGEKI! DOGON!]
Hibiki watched this occur, simply turning and going to walk off while everyone was preoccupied with Buster dealing with Golem. Of course she didn't seem too lucky as Blades had immediately hurried over.
"Thank you for your assistance," Blades said as he went to reach out his hand for a shake only to get it smacked away, "Eh?"
"I didn't show up to help you," Hibiki answered in a cold manner, soon getting a running start before leaping away.
"Hibiki…" Blades muttered.
"What a cold reaction," Maria said as she walked over.
"And there she goes again," Buster said as he watched Hibiki leap off into the distance. He shook his head before walking over, "You get used to it."
"I suppose…" Maria trailed.
"That being said, I didn't know we got a new Rider," Buster remarked, "Or a new Wielder to boot."
"Wait, what?" Blades asked.
"You're not aware of him?" Maria asked before shaking her head, "I know this might sound hard to believe, but we're from another world. And if you could take us to whatever organization you're a part of we can explain more there."
"What, another world?" Buster questioned, "Is that even possible?"
"Normally I'd say no," Tsubasa's voice spoke up as she walked over with Chris, Saber, and Kenzan, "But considering not only is Saber standing in front of us but so is Blades, I'm willing to believe them. Both Riders shouldn't be around given their gear is missing currently."
"You should have been aware of this Ryo," Chris said as she looked over towards Buster who simply gave a sheepish chuckle while rubbing the back of his head.
"Oh great, another faker," Kenzan remarked as he saw Blades, "Where do these two get off hijacking our Seiken?"
"I apologize for any inconveniences, but we're as real as can be," Blades spoke up which caused Kenzan to visibly back up, "Is there something wrong?"
"Oh that's sick," Kenzan spat out as he tried to march forward only for Christ to immediately hold her arm out to keep him from advancing. It had worked but he was still willing to speak up, "Just where do you get off using Rintaro's voice?!"
"Because I am Rintaro Shindo…?" Blades trailed before it slowly dawned on him as to why Kenzan was reacting the way he was, "Oh dear… I'm…"
"Okay, that absolutely clinches it," Tsubasa said, surprised by trying to keep herself collected as nearly everyone was very much aware of what exactly was going on, "I wasn't ready to believe them but if Rintaro Shindo is here right now and is Kamen Rider Blades, then they're absolutely from another world."
"It's a bit of an absurd concept to introduce," Chris admitted, "But I'm sure the Commander and the others would likely say the same."
"So the Saber is also with the whole other world thing?" Buster asked, still a bit confused.
"Supposedly," Tsubasa replied.
"Yeah, we're together," Saber said, figuring he'd confirm it as he began to move towards his allies who nodded despite their surprise.
"Admittedly this is a bit awkward now," Blades muttered, noticing that Kenzan had turned away from them and crossed his arms.
"Awkward is an understatement," Maria muttered back in agreement, still caught off guard by how different Chris but especially Tsubasa were. She shook her head and went to distract herself with their remaining ally, "So Saber, why did you break off from us?"
"I saw a Noise slipping away and didn't want more damage being caused," Saber replied, "But then well, things got complicated... and I met Tsubasa and Chris."
"What about Kenzan?" Maria raised a brow.
"Complicated," Saber answered, giving Maria all the clues she needed to realize that Kenzan was likely the inciting incident.
"Well, if we're all acquainted…" Maria trailed as she went back to the topic at hand and looked over at Tsubasa, "If you can take us back to your base we can happily explain what's going on and why we're here."
"Sounds good to me," Tsubasa said with a nod, "The Commander probably has a lot of questions anyway."
World of Sympho-Saber
"So what exactly is this?" Miku asked, currently with Daishinji and Elfnein inside an unused medical room in SONG's base. A comfortable seat was in front of her with a strange headset being connected to various wires attached to the chair.
"Uh…" Elfnein trailed as she realized what exactly it was, but wasn't sure if she should speak about it to Miku in particular, "It's…"
"It's a modified version of Dr. Ver's 'Direct Feedback System'," Daishinji said, recalling how Elfnein would talk to him about her progress when he was free, "I believe she used alchemy to help with the modifications."
"Wait, Direct Feedback System?" Miku's eyes slowly widened in realization, "You mean the same…"
"The same one used when you utilized Shénshòujìng," Daishinji answered despite Elfnein's silent pleas, "I'm not exactly sure what Elfnein was using it for, but clearly she realized it can help with our situation."
"You won't need to worry," Elfnein spoke up, a bit worried that Daishinji had scared Miku, "It's much safer and will only be used to place you into a deep enough sleep while giving you enough control to explore your subconscious."
While Elfnein had only heard second-hand reports of the Frontier Incident, Miku as a temporary Wielder was one of the events she heard in great detail. This was especially the case when looking through what confiscated technology they had. When she found out about the Direct Feedback System, she knew that she'd be able to utilize it for a personal project she wanted to attempt. Of course she wasn't expecting to use it in this situation, but considering the state Hibiki was in alongside Miku needing some way to help out as quickly as possible, she knew that this was likely the only way to push through.
Miku stared at the device for a while, her hands shaking slightly before she gripped them tightly to keep them steady. She took a deep breath and nodded as she went to the chair, taking the headset to put it on while sitting down, "Let's do this."
"Are you sure?" Elfnein asked, "You don't have to do this if you're feeling uncomfortable."
"No," Miku shook her head, realizing she couldn't let her fear control her, "I need to do this."
"We'll monitor you to make sure everything's alright," Daishinji said, "If we see something's wrong then we'll wake you up."
"Please do," Miku said as she properly set the headset on before leaning back in the seat, "I'm ready."
"Alright," Elfnein took a deep breath as she steeled her nerves before hurrying over to the control panel near the chair, Daishinji moving over to help her as well, "Let's get started."
World of Shrouded Sun
When it came to getting to the world's organization, the world travelers struck up conversation to get to know the Riders and Wielders better. There were a couple of odd topics brought up, but introductions were eventually done. The Kenzan was Ren Akamichi, having managed to stick around in this world, while the Buster was a fairly new recruit by the name of Ryo Ogami.
They were already aware of Chris and Tsubasa, though they only mentioned in passing to the two that they knew their alternate counterparts. Of course, even getting used to their allies, there was still one thing they weren't expecting despite being something they should have.
"Welcome to Section 2L!"
Touma, Maria and Rintaro couldn't help but wince a bit at the familiar shouting that came from Genjuro Kazanari. Just like a previous alternate counterpart his outfit was partially different from the waist up, wearing an dull orange button-up shirt with a loose red tie tucked into his coat pocket. However he wore a grey jacket with white lining over it, the sleeves being rolled up to his biceps.
It seemed the jacket was common uniform at least on the Wielder side as Tsubasa and Chris wore similar jackets. Tsubasa's sleeves were rolled up like her Uncle's while Chris let her sleeves down all the way. The two wore similar outfits, black stockings and grey shoes, white shorts and a white skirt with blue and red highlights respectively alongside white button up shirts with black vests and blue and red ties, though of course Tsubasa's collar and tie were looser than Chris'.
But with Genjuro there were a couple of faces the group of otherworldly travelers didn't expect to see. With him were Kamikawa and Ryoko, the former while trying to be polite, snuck a glance at Rintaro every now and again for fairly obvious reasons. The latter meanwhile would be suspicious to the world travelers, but Touma and Rintaro immediately knew she wasn't Finé for a couple of reasons.
The moon had brought up in conversation and they had confirmed that it was still intact, which meant Finé hadn't enacted her plan here. What helped was the elevator ride down to this world's version of Section 2. While it was still based underneath Lydian Academy, there were no signs of Kadingir during the descent at all.
Of course the biggest piece towards Finé's non-involvement was Chris herself. The Ichaival Wielder was around and allied to Section 2L, which wouldn't have happened had Finé intercepted her.
While Genjuro and the others had chosen to meet with them, they had taken the initiative by waiting for the group right outside of the elevator entrance. And despite being prepared for whatever changes this world had, the three otherworldly travelers were still at a loss.
"Section 2L…?" Touma asked.
"Do you all not have one where you're from?" Ryoko asked as she pushed up her glasses.
"No we had Section 2, it's now titled SONG," Rintaro explained, "But we are curious about the L part of Section 2."
"Ah right, the slightly longer name is Section 2-Logos," Genjuro replied, "Despite our merger with the Logos Sector, I wanted to honor that group's work instead of erasing them."
"Oh, that's nice," Rintaro smiled.
"Speaking of names," Genjuro said, "What exactly does SONG stand for?"
"Squad of Nexus Guardians," Touma answered.
"That's not a bad name," Genjuro said as he put a hand to his chin, "Who named it?"
"Our world's version of you did," Maria replied.
"Even on the other side I've got some damn good ideas," Genjuro chuckled a bit.
"Alright, let's not get narcissistic," Ryoko remarked.
"Like you have any room to talk," Kamikawa chuckled.
"Well you've got me there," Ryoko shrugged with a smirk.
"Regardless, we should get down to business," Genjuro said as he crossed his arms, "From what we were able to get, you claim to be from another world?"
"You seriously want to believe them?" Ren asked.
"You really want to doubt them?" Tsubasa asked, gesturing towards Rintaro, "While I didn't know you all beforehand, I did do my research and I know for a fact he shouldn't be here right now."
"You and I both paid our respects to him Ren," Kamikawa reminded with a slight frown as he looked over, "And I doubt he's a clone."
"And you think world travel is more likely?" Ren questioned in a fairly skeptical manner.
"As someone who does extensive research into the expansive and odd world we live in," Ryoko said as she pushed up her glasses with a finger, "I do, and I'd like to learn more since I've dabbled in parallel world theory myself."
"If Ryoko's willing to hear them out then we should too," Chris replied.
"Then this should make things a bit easier," Maria replied, deciding to take the lead, "Hopefully explaining the situation occurring on our end will allow you to help us expedite our mission."
"We'll have to see, but for now let's somewhere more comfortable so we can hear those details," Genjuro suggested as he turned and walked off, the others beginning to follow, "Come on."
"Whatever," Ren said as he began to walk away from the others.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Ryo looked over.
"To train," Ren answered with a scoff as he walked off, "I really don't want to deal with any of this."
"And here I thought I was rough around the edges," Ryo sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"He just needs some time given everything," Kamikawa said as he patted Ryo on the shoulder before gesturing to follow, "Now come on."
"Alright," Ryo said as he walked off after Kamikawa and everyone else.
"And Golem's beat," Legeiel said as he stared at Gansekiou Golem, it flashing as that was the indication that the Megid had been defeated, "Damn it…"
"What the hell are we going to do?" Zooous asked as he walked over.
The two were currently on the balcony of an abandoned apartment complex, both of them soon leaning against the railing in their own ways.
"I don't know," Legeiel hissed out, "Ever since Storious confronted that girl… no, that… that damn monster…" he let out a low growl before slamming his fist against the railing, "We haven't made any progress! Every Megid we send out either gets taken out by those Riders and Wielders or that damn monster of a Wielder!"
"Yeah, but we can't exactly do anything about it," Zooous replied, "Why do you think I haven't gone out on the hunt yet?"
"Because you're a coward," Legeiel turned with a glare, gripping the Alter Ride Book in his hand tightly before walking off, "I'm tired of this damn stalemate, I'm planning on ending this sooner rather than later."
"Your funeral then," Zooous scoffed.
Hibiki was currently wandering through the city, letting out a sigh in relief as she was glad she managed to run off before Section 2L continued to bug her. Her attire was entirely different from her mainline counterpart, having a black shirt with a grey sweater over it, alongside denim shorts with the only source of color being her orange shoes.
Her thoughts on Section 2L continued though, noting Blades and Maria. She wondered if they had brought another Rider and Wielder aboard. It didn't matter to her in the long run though.
"They can get however many people to help that they want, I'll still do it alone," Hibiki muttered to herself as she continued to walk, holding a scarily determined expression, "I'll just keep forging my own war against them, the Noise and the Megid… they'll pay for everything they've done…"
"Hungry…"
Hibiki paused at that, placing a hand on her stomach in confusion as she didn't feel hungry, yet there was an odd sensation inside of her…
"Hungry… Need… More…"
She shook her head, placing her hands in her pockets as she marched forward, unsure of what that was just now but paying it no mind. There was somewhere she wanted to visit today, hoping it would give her the peace and quiet she wanted.
"And that's about the basics of our world traveling operations," Maria said, sitting with the others in the middle lounge area of the command center of Section 2L. She had begun reciting her story and as she began wrapping up, there was an operator who was serving coffee and tea to everyone.
"Thank you," Rintaro said as he took his cup of coffee before noticing a curious stare from the young woman, "Uh… yes?"
"So you're sure you're not a new recruit?" the operator asked, putting a hand on her chin as she had long brown hair tied into a ponytail, "Because you definitely look the part."
"I am not," Rintaro insisted, "I'm just merely passing through while I help a friend."
"If you say so," the operator nodded before clearing her throat, "Ah that's right, I work pretty heavily around these parts so you'll likely be seeing me here and there. The name's Mei Sudo."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mei," Touma smiled before glancing over at the other members of Section 2L for their verdict. As he and the others expected, Ryoko was the first to speak up.
"Incredible," Ryoko said with a hum of interest as she had a notepad and pen out, having been taking notes though this also meant writing her own theories, "I've managed to research into rumors about the legendary Gjallarhorn but I didn't think it would be this extensively tied to world traveling…"
"So I take it you believe us?" Maria asked.
"As the chief Relic expert and engineer, at least on the Symphogear side for the moment, I do," Ryoko replied, "Which is why I'd like to give these three my seal of approval in terms of believing their crazy but true story."
"Can't argue with that," Tsubasa shrugged.
"Right," Chris nodded.
"I believe we were already in agreement," Kamikawa chuckled, "But I suppose that settles it."
"Indeed," Genjuro nodded, "I should mention though, we've yet to catch any signs of this Phantom Megid you mentioned."
"That's expected," Maria admitted, "This current one seems to be using underhanded tactics as it didn't alert Gjallarhorn and we had to find this world ourselves."
"How did you even manage to find us?" Ryo asked, "Especially since you sound so certain about that thing being here."
"Well, that leads us to why we're here to begin with," Rintaro replied, "It's about our friend and someone you seem to be aware of, Hibiki Tachibana."
"Wait, seriously?" Tsubasa asked.
"That girl, huh…" Genjuro muttered as he glanced upwards.
"It's a longer story, but there was an entity leading the Phantom Megid for a while named Gaze," Maria explained, "He would accelerate their growth and hide them from Gjallarhorn for the most part and despite us recently finishing him off, even in death he wishes to curse our group."
"He implanted a small piece of a Phantom Megid into our Hibiki which is now poisoning her," Touma continued as he clasped his hands, "We need to kill its main body to deal with that piece and were able to track it to this world, but we have no idea of where to begin."
"Well we did find the Hibiki of this world," Maria spoke up, though she was unsure if she should mention how exactly this Hibiki acted, "She might be our best lead so far."
"Speaking of, I realized she isn't with you all," Rintaro said as he looked around, "Did she just decide to not come back to base immediately?"
There was a bit of an awkward silence among everyone, the members of Section 2L clearly showing there was an elephant in the room when it came to discussion on their Hibiki.
"About that…" Tsubasa trailed.
"She's not allied with us," Chris spoke up near immediately, "She deals with the Noise and the Megid, sometimes wrapping up before we can fully deploy, and then leaves."
"We've tried getting her to cooperate but she simply chooses to go at it on her own," Kamikawa said before sighing, "I mean, she isn't putting anyone in danger, nor is she attacking us but…"
"That's really odd," Touma replied, "That doesn't sound like Hibiki at all."
"She… she honestly isn't," Rintaro admitted much to Touma's surprise, "I recall how she attacked Golem and the Shimi when she showed up to Maria and I's battle… it was vicious, ruthless, nothing like the Hibiki we know…"
"I'm not surprised given what general details we have on her," Genjuro replied, "She was the few survivors of the Zwei Wing incident."
"So you had one of those too," Maria's eyes widened, especially given the Tsubasa before them was a lot more relaxed than the one they had. She had to wonder if it had to do with the now present Kamikawa alongside Chris who seemed to be her close partner.
"Yes, it was honestly a tragedy on our side despite the losses we received," Ryoko said as she looked downwards, Kamikawa placing a hand on her shoulder with her looking over and giving a soft smile in response.
"Considering the severity of that incident, it's not surprising why she acts like she does," Kamikawa replied as he looked over towards Touma, "Even if she was the same as yours beforehand, that kind of event would have radically altered her life and disposition, for sure."
The three otherworldly travelers were at a loss when they heard this, wondering just what had occurred to cause Hibiki to grow into such a bitter and violent state. Of course the first one to take action of the three was the obvious one.
"I see," Touma muttered before standing up, "I'd like to try and find her if possible. Do you have any information on where she frequents?"
"We do," Genjuro replied, "But are you sure?"
"I'd like to think I can maybe figure something out," Touma answered confidently despite his wording.
"Then I'll send you with Tsubasa and Chris," Genjuro replied before looking over at the two, "Understood?"
"We'll take care of it," Tsubasa said as she stood up.
"Just leave it to us," Chris nodded.
"Thanks," Touma said as he went to exit the command center, Tsubasa and Chris following after him.
"Commander," Maria said as she finally looked up from her thoughts, "Is there any possible way to look more extensively into Hibiki Tachibana's records ourselves?"
"That might be possible," Genjuro replied as he raised a brow, "But why exactly do you need to look more extensively?"
"There's something bothering me, especially with what we're aware of," Maria replied, "I'm hoping we can maybe get some clarity on why she acts the way she does."
"If you're so certain then I'll allow it," Genjuro replied before looking over at Mei, "Sudo, mind helping them out?"
"Just leave it to me sir," Mei said with a salute and a smile.
World of Sympho-Saber
"Everything seems to be running smoothly," Daishinji replied as he looked over the data on the control panel.
"Yes her brainwaves are responding normally," Elfnein agreed, "The Direct Feedback System is also running without any hitches, meaning she should be able to enter deeper into her mental space soon."
"Right," Daishinji nodded before noticing a slight increase in brain activity, "Looks like she's getting started…"
Miku felt like she was falling, her fall slowing into that of a float before she let out a grunt as she felt herself bump against something rough. Wincing as she opened her eyes she was greeted by a bright blue sky. She let out a groan as she began to fully sit up, soon finding out she was on the rocky shore of what looked to be an island.
"Where am I…?" she asked before slowly standing and turning around only to pause, "This is…"
She wasn't on an ordinary island like she had thought, she was on the Frontier. The massive central structure of the ancient vessel towered over her as she looked up at it.
"Why is this place in my mind though?" Miku questioned before shaking her head and walking forward, figuring that there was more to this than she realized. If she was going to figure out what exactly was stopping her from transforming, she'd need to investigate further.
It had seemingly taken ages for Miku to make her way up to the main control room of Frontier. Or at least, she made her way up to the entrance that was shrouded in darkness. Upon entering the darkness she found herself in a strange sight, the interior of a stadium. Though that was when she realized that said stadium was the one Tsubasa made her re-debut concert at, the very same that had been repaired from the prior Zwei Wing incident.
She felt herself tense up before noticing a mirror at the very center of the stage. Without any other direction she made her way over towards the mirror, it being long and oval in shape with glass decorations lining it as a frame. She walked over and inspected her own reflection before placing a hand against the mirror itself. Miku and her reflection touched hands before the mirror rippled as if it was water, the mirror Miku's appearance shifting to that of her when she wore the Shénshòujìng Symphogear. The ripples suddenly occurred all around Miku, warping the area and turning it brighter as she backed away.
It didn't take long for her to find herself standing on an endless sea, the water rippling with her footsteps but never enough to cause her to sink. Accompanying the endless sea was an endless cloudy sky, the area feeling entirely serene. Well… all but one part, which Miku noticed near immediately.
Floating several feet away from her was an exact copy of her wearing the Shénshòujìng Symphogear, the visor closed as the red jagged line shined brightly. The Shénshòujìng Miku simply held a neutral expression as it gripped the fan-like weapon that was its Armed Gear tightly.
"Are you what's keeping me from transforming?" Miku asked, "From helping Hibiki?"
Shénshòujìng didn't answer, simply holding its weapon forward as if challenging Miku to move forward.
"I suppose that's what I'm supposed to figure out," Miku said as she felt her right hand tingling, she looked down and felt electricity crackling. Closing her eyes she held her hand forward, sparks arcing outwards and forming the Raimeiken Ikazuchi within her palm. She quickly gripped the bladed with both hands as she stared down Shénshòujìng.
Shénshòujìng lowered its weapon towards it side, still having it at its ready as it awaited Miku's first move. Miku could only shout out as she charged forward, raising Ikazuchi as she approached the reflection of her past.
World of Shrouded Sun
Tsubasa and Chris were currently leading Touma through the city, the trio having already arrived at a few spots only to not find Hibiki at all.
"And we're sure she isn't at Lydian?" Touma asked.
"She's a student there, yeah," Tsubasa nodded, "But she also rarely shows up or is always at her dorm."
"I'm honestly surprised she hasn't been expelled yet," Chris admitted before sighing, "Granted, I'm sure the Commander's likely the one keeping that from happening. But even trying to keep her close is frustrating at best."
"Took the words right out of my mouth," Tsubasa agreed.
"Jeez, she really doesn't want to work with you all," Touma replied before sighing, "It's hard to imagine Hibiki like that."
"Take it from someone who's experienced the Zwei Wing incident on the front lines," Tsubasa spoke up as she stopped and looked over, "It was a nightmare, and I can only imagine how bad it was for her as a civilian. There's no telling if she had anyone to help her afterwards like I was lucky to have."
"You really don't think she had anyone?" Touma asked, a bit skeptical given his experiences with Hibiki and Miku after the Zwei Wing incident.
"If she had someone then I don't think she'd turn out like she is now," Chris admitted as she grasped her hands tightly, "I can't speak on the trauma of that event but having been a victim of terrible circumstances… I can't blame her for acting like she does. I was honestly lucky that someone was able to help me out of my prior situation before I was sent to Section 2L…"
"I could say the same," Tsubasa nodded, "Toshi and Hayato were there for me when I was at my lowest. I can't imagine how I'd act without their guidance and help in healing from the losses that day…"
"I see," Touma muttered as he understood the situation with the two a bit more clearly and could guess why they were so different compared to the ones he knew.
Tsubasa likely had a fairly stable support network to help her through Kanade's death and the countless lives lost. Chris meanwhile was able to be rescued and sent to Section 2L without Finé's interference which meant she likely turned out better despite her past trauma as well. It only made him question what exactly was lacking in Hibiki's life to cause her to act the way he had heard. He'd have to see it for himself, because at the moment he was somewhat frightened to even dwell on the potential alterations to Hibiki's life in this world…
Rintaro and Maria were currently at Mei's station in the command center, the duo watching as she had surprisingly quick speed and precision.
"You're rather good at this," Maria noted.
"Ah you really think so?" Mei asked with a sheepish smile as she grasped the back of her neck, "I don't think I'm that good."
"Your speed is phenomenal," Rintaro added, "Much like two of our best back on our world."
"That's Mei for you," Ryo chuckled as he walked over, "A bit clumsy at times, but she gets the job done."
"Hey," Mei looked over with a pout before going back to work, "So why exactly are we looking into Hibiki's background? We've got fairly extensive records sure, but…"
"There's two people I want you to try finding via her records," Maria replied, "Miku Kohinata and Touma Kamiyama, I need any and all information on if those two exist and if so, where exactly they are."
"Understood," Mei said as she got back to typing.
"Hey wait, isn't your friend Touma Kamiyama?" Ryo asked, "Why ask about him and this Miku?"
"Because the closest people to Hibiki in our world are those two," Maria replied, "And considering how they are, I can't imagine them abandoning Hibiki after the Zwei Wing tragedy."
"Who knows, our worlds could be pretty different," Ryo reminded, "Maybe they never met in this world?"
"It'll take a bit but I think I've got a lead," Mei said as she continued to type away, "There are connections…"
"Oh, never mind," Ryo said as he looked away with a light blush of embarrassment at his theory being instantly disproven, "Uh…"
"Speaking of friends and allies though," Rintaro said as he looked over to change the subject, "I was curious as about other members that were around aside from who we've already met."
"Ah right, we didn't really get into it," Kamikawa said as he walked over, "Our Saber, Daichi, sacrificed himself alongside Kanade to destroy the Noise in one fell swoop once they were overwhelming us after the Megid attacked. Unfortunately we lost a good few men that day… our Rintaro alongside Kenshin and Kento… it was hard on all of us, but especially on Hayato who had lost his son…"
"Ah, I see…" Rintaro muttered.
"What about the others?" Maria asked, "Like Daishinji or Sophia?"
"Sophia ended up choosing to step down after what had happened, and she was close to the previous Saber so that likely didn't help," Kamikawa continued, "Daishinji meanwhile left of his own accord alongside his family pulling out as well."
"I can only imagine how hard those losses could have hit him," Rintaro replied.
"What also didn't help was we lost Rekka, Nagare, Ikazuchi, Kurayami, and even Suzune," Kamikawa admitted much to the world travelers' surprise, "But he did leave enough notes behind for our new mechanic to pick up on despite us only having two Seiken left."
"Yeah, she's pretty good at handling our equipment," Ryo agreed, "Not to mention she's helping Ryoko understand the process so that the two can work together better."
"What also helps is that she's an old friend of Ryoko's," Kamikawa added, "They reconnected recently and she took the job thanks to Ryoko's recommendation. Thankfully she was pretty quick to pick up on stuff too."
"That's good to hear," Rintaro replied.
"Kind of sounds like Daishinji and Elfnein at the moment," Maria mused, "Actually I'm surprised we haven't seen this mechanic yet."
"She's currently with Hayato looking into Wonder Ride Book related activity out of country," Kamikawa explained, "We figured having our somewhat expert on Ride Books alongside an experienced Swordsman would be a good fit for the mission."
"Makes sense," Maria replied.
"Ah I've got a hit!" Mei called out as the group nearby went to huddle around her, "It looks like Miku Kohinata and Touma Kamiyama do have files, so let's see what they're up to…"
"So how different are we anyway?" Tsubasa asked curiously, "I mean, since I think you mentioned us existing in your world."
"I'm not sure if I'd want to know or not," Chris admitted.
"Well you do exist yeah," Touma replied though he was unsure on if he wanted to get into that technical can of worms, "As for different… I'd say fairly so…"
Before the two Wielders could press Touma for answers, sudden explosions were heard nearby alongside numerous screams. Of course no Noise alarm was blaring in the slightest which meant only one thing, Megid.
The three didn't even need to confer with each other before rushing off, all of them preparing their transformations.
"~Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron~"
"~ Killter Ichaival tron~"
"Henshin!"
[REKKA BATTOU! BRAVE DRAGON~!]
"This is Tsubasa," Tsubasa called out as she held a hand to her headset, "We've got Megid causing trouble near our location and are on our way to intercept."
"Understood, I'll have the others on standby," Genjuro answered.
"Please do," Chris said as she and Tsubasa drew their Armed Gears out while Saber kept Rekka out and at his side.
It didn't take long for them to arrive at a park with a lone tree at the center. Saber couldn't help but get a sense of déjà vu though that ended quickly with the current situation. People were fleeing away as the Goblin and Medusa Megid were leading an army of Shimi to attack any civilians nearby. The two had already managed to claim several victims, various red human stains on the grass alongside humans turned into stone statues. The two Megid brought out Blank Ride Books and began absorbing the stains and statues respectively to charge and turn the books into black books.
"Not good," Tsubasa said as she saw this, "Chris!"
"On it," Chris said as she knelt down and began firing out sniper shots to start dealing with the crowd.
"Alright Touma, let's see what you can do!" Tsubasa called out as she rushed forward, twirling her naginata around as she began to slice through Shimi Megid.
"Alright," Saber nodded as he rushed forward, Rekka lighting on fire as he began to slice and cut through the Shimi.
"Huh?" Medusa looked over, "The pests have arrived."
"Then let's deal with them," Goblin giggled before leaping towards Tsubasa and bringing down its staff against her.
Tsubasa quickly rolled out of the way, working on defending herself against the Megid's long-ranged staff.
Medusa meanwhile leapt forward, utilizing its swords to brace and block against Chris' shots in order to get the Wielder to focus on it. It winced as its blades were shot out of its hands only to lash out with a snake-like whip, managing to wrap it around the Wielder's wrist. It forced Chris to her feet, soon reeling her in to draw her towards it.
"Huh?" Saber looked over before giving a gasp, trying to hurry over to help only for Shimi to get in the way, forcing him to back up and fight them off, "Tsubasa, Chris!"
Surprising Saber alongside the two Megid however, both Tsubasa and Chris weren't as pinned as they seemed.
Tsubasa had immediately locked her Naginata with Goblin's staff, forcing it close before elbowing it in the gut. She wasted no time grabbing the arm of the gasping Megid before tossing and slamming it into the ground, soon stomping her armored boot against its face.
Chris meanwhile had stumbled slightly but had gotten close enough to Medusa who attempted to grab at her. She however immediately grabbed the Megid's shoulder, her grip causing it some pain as she reeled it in before delivering a devastating punch to its gut.
"T-That strength…!" Saber let out a light yelp at seeing Tsubasa and Chris actively overpower their opponents through brute force. He could only assume the Genjuro in this world was fairly intensive with their training.
Of course, that ended up distracting him from several Shimi that were ready to get the drop on him. At least until a sudden yell caught his attention, causing him to turn. He raised his sword just as the Shimi were about to attack only for them to get torn though by Hibiki who had landed while kicking downwards, already in her Symphogear.
"You should watch your back," Hibiki scoffed as she glanced at Saber who backed up in surprise, "What?"
Saber could only just stare at the Hibiki before him. While he was aware that worlds could be different, he wasn't expecting such a similar but drastic appearance. She was Hibiki in appearance aside from the scarf that covered her face for the most part. But what did it for him was her expression, a near stone-faced and clearly guarded expression with eyes while filled with life, didn't shine as brightly as they could.
"Whatever," Hibiki said as she rushed to deal with the Shimi, letting out a yell as she punched several backwards. She then turned before gripping her fist tightly, her face twisting to one of anger as she stared at the lone tree nearby, "You all…" she hissed out, "You freaks just love to make things personal, huh?!"
"Huh?" Saber looked over when he noticed that, before his eyes widened when he realized where they were at.
It was the park that he met Hibiki and Miku at for the first time. He could only look back at Hibiki fighting, her style fairly wild but not as destructive as he had assumed. He wondered if she was holding back slightly because of the location. Despite this potential 'holding back' she was still not giving the Shimi Megid any breathing room, the grunts rapidly dwindling as a result.
"I'll never forgive you all!" Hibiki yelled out as she performed an uppercut, launching several Shimi in the air that exploded, "If you weren't messing around back then… then… he wouldn't…" she muttered only to let out a yell as she turned upon hearing movement, smashing her fist into a Shimi that tried to sneak up on her.
Of course what she wasn't expecting were the remaining Shimi to take advantage of her focus on the sneak attacker to perform another sneak attack right after.
Saber let out a gasp as he ran forward, slotting Rekka into his Hissatsuholder before yelling and slashing through the Shimi, "Hibiki!"
Hibiki paused when she heard Saber call out her name, her heart skipping a beat as she glanced towards where Saber was.
[REKKA IAI! DOKUGO ISSEN!]
In a burst of fire, the Swordsman of Fire cut through and burned apart the Shimi that were trying to get a jump on Hibiki.
"Are you alright, Hibiki?" Saber asked as he let out a few heavy breaths, looking over to Hibiki before noticing that she was staring at him with wide eyes, "Eh?"
No…
The Wielder of Gungnir could only stare in almost near horror at Saber when she heard his voice. There was no way that it could be who she thought it was. There was no way that he could be standing in front of her right now.
No…
She had heard his voice clear as day, and she didn't mishear it either. She swore that she'd never forget his voice. But then that turned her denial into a question.
Why?
Why was he standing before her right now? How was he standing before her right now? Just what was going on?
"Hibiki…?" Saber trailed slowly as he began to walk forward while holding out a hand, "Are you-"
"No!" Hibiki shouted as she closed her eyes, reeling back before her face contorted to one of pure rage. She soon reeled her fist back before punching at Saber, "You're not real!"
"Wait, what?!" Saber gasped as he raised Rekka to block against her punch, "What are you-"
"Shut up!" Hibiki screamed out as she pushed further, forcing Saber into a stagger as she rushed after him while punching further, "Just shut up! You can't be here! You can't be real!"
"Whoa…" Tsubasa muttered at the level of anger she was witnessing before yelping as Goblin forced itself away from her, "Alright… Chris, let's finish this with that new combination we've been working on!"
"On it," Chris called out as she delivered another devastating punch to Medusa, this time its face. She then grabbed and tossed it towards the Goblin Megid, the two being slammed together, "Let's go!"
She drew her Armed Gear again and immediately began firing off multiple homing bursts of energy, the energy curving and striking against the two Megid.
Tsubasa meanwhile leapt into the air, forming another Naginata that folded inwards and grew, forming a hoverboard that she landed on before using the boosters on it to launch forward. She twirled her weapons, fires forming on it as she slashed against the two Megid amidst the hailstorm of energy shots. She soon swerved away from them as she moved back towards Chris.
Chris herself pulled back on her bowgun rifle, the front opening up and forming energy emitters that formed a powerful charge of energy just as Tsubasa got behind her. Tsubasa had flipped to where she was upside down, blue energy gathering in her blades as she slashed forward just as Chris shot the charged energy blast.
The blast and energy slash hurtled towards the two Megid, the slash traveling faster and cutting into them before they were engulfed by a powerful burst of energy.
{SLIPKNOT COMBINATION}
"Perfect," Tsubasa held a fist up as she landed.
"Looks like our practice paid off," Chris said with a smile before frowning and turning, "But…"
"Yeah," Tsubasa turned towards the remaining combatants which were Saber and Hibiki, the latter attacking relentlessly while the Swordsman of Fire only defended and dodged.
"Hibiki, please calm down!" Saber called out as he avoided another punch, "What's wrong?!"
"What's wrong? What's wrong?!" Hibiki shouted, the anger giving way to a clearly distraught tone as if she had just been mocked. She gripped her fist tightly as she began to pour her energy into her right fist, "You shouldn't be standing here in front of me… because… because… you're…!"
"…Touma Kamiyama is dead?" Maria repeated in near shock.
"N-No way…" Rintaro muttered as he turned away and held his face.
"Y-Yeah… I wish I could make this up," Mei said as she stared down while taking a few heavy breaths, shaking slightly, "But the files don't usually lie about these kinds of things."
Upon finding information on both the Miku and Touma of this world, they had found out several surprising facts. Miku herself had actually ended up having to move out around the time the concert took place due to her parents having a sudden work opportunity out of town. Meanwhile with Touma, he had perished alongside all the other Noise victims in the concert with Hibiki being a notable survivor.
"That's messed up," Ryo grimaced, "Guess it makes sense why she's that rough around the edges."
"Having no one to help her through that pain," Kamikawa muttered, "And that's not telling what other grief she went through either."
"So what do we do now?" Mei finally asked the question that was on everyone's minds, "We looked up this information, but how is this going to help…?"
"Touma and Miku are the keys to helping out this Hibiki Tachibana," Maria replied, this news simply reaffirming that simple fact to her, "If we're to get any potential lead on the Phantom Megid then we need this Hibiki's cooperation. But in order to do that we need her to open up."
"But it's not like we can call Miku and get her to show up, right?" Ryo asked.
"I mean, I can try looking into her current living situation," Mei replied, having only checked the files in regards to a couple of years back.
"But there's no telling if she even remembers Hibiki," Kamikawa spoke up, "And if bringing her on is the right call…"
"But, we can't do nothing," Rintaro argued.
"You're right," Maria agreed, "While Touma is important, Miku is just as important. But if we can't use this world's Miku… can we use ours?"
"I'm what?" Saber asked in shock as he stared down Hibiki who was still ready to charge at him. He looked down, "No wonder… no wonder you're in this kind of pain…"
"Shut up, just shut up!" Hibiki called out, "You're not him… you can't be!"
"You're right, I'm not your Touma," Saber answered before dismissing his transformation and removing his Swordriver, letting it drop and fall to the ground while spreading his arms out to show he meant no harm, "But I am still Touma Kamiyama, and I want to help you Hibiki."
Hibiki could only stare in near distraught as she saw the transformation disengage, her posture relaxing slightly as she lowered her arm, the energy dispersing. She soon looked down, her eyes shadowed by her hair as she began to march towards Touma. She kept her hands gripped tightly as she slowly but steadily made her way forward.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Tsubasa questioned.
Chris was ready, crouching down and taking aim only to see Touma look over at her and hold his hand out while shaking his head. She lowered her weapon but kept her finger on the trigger in case she needed to make a last second shot.
Touma simply looked back towards Hibiki and kept his relaxed posture, watching as he saw her fists slowly uncurl and relax. Once she was close enough he was surprised to see her rush at him, but instead of an attack she only suddenly wrapped her arms around him.
Hibiki's muffled shaking breaths were all that could be heard as she gripped Touma firmly, the Kamen Rider simply wrapping his arms around the hurt Gungnir Wielder. Hibiki could only shudder, her eyes having already started to water during her walk over. Hugging Touma like this caused the floodgates to release as tears poured out, a wail of sadness echoing through the park, though muffled as she held onto Touma tightly.
Tsubasa and Chris could only stare at the scene, the two relieved to see Hibiki had approached Touma to simply let out her pent up grief in a non-violent way. Touma meanwhile simply hugged back, trying to keep his posture and grip as comforting as he could, it was the least he could do.
World of Sympho-Saber:
"It's been like this for several minutes," Daishinji realized.
"It has," Elfnein said, noting that Miku had tensed up but her brain activity hadn't gone out of control yet and was still stable, if a bit stressed, "I think she's reached the part of her subconscious that might be blocking her."
"Then we can only hope that she can find the answers she needs," Daishinji replied.
Miku let out a shout as she stabbed against Shénshòujìng who blocked against her attack. She continued to strike at the mirror image of herself who simply defended while floating backwards.
"You won't say anything?" Miku questioned as she got into a clash with Shénshòujìng.
'I don't want you to fight'
"That's…" Miku faltered as she backed away, "That's not what I meant."
'Not fighting is the only thing that promises a warm world'
Shénshòujìng held its weapon forward, unleashing a beam of purple energy which Miku leapt out of the way to dodge against.
'I need to release her from fighting'
"Those are my thoughts from the Frontier… no… no Daishinji and the others told me that Dr. Ver's responsible for that. My desire to help Hibiki became twisted, distorted…" Miku trailed as she shook her head and gripped Ikazuchi tightly, purple electricity crackling from it as she gave a light gasp. She soon looked towards Shénshòujìng and realized what was going on, "I'm… still afraid…"
Shénshòujìng was ready to aim and fire again only to lower its weapon when Miku spoke up.
"That's why you're here," Miku said in realization as she began to step forward, the purple electricity fading as yellow electrical sparks danced around her, "You're my fear of losing my mind to my new power, just like I did when I gained Shénshòujìng. My desire to protect Hibiki became warped, and despite wanting to make up for that, I still harbored that fear even if I knew Ikazuchi wasn't the same."
Shénshòujìng simply stayed where it was, its posture relaxing as its weapon vanished.
"I can't be afraid, not when Hibiki is suffering," Miku said as the electrical sparks began to gather around her as she began to pick up her pace, running towards Shénshòujìng before leaping up into the air "Especially not when I have so many people I trust and believe in who will make sure that never happens again…"
The electricity followed her, sparking outwards and enveloping her in a bright light as Shénshòujìng simply looked up. Out from the light a white and gold blur dropped down while slashing downwards with Ikazuchi, electricity lashing outwards.
"…and who I will walk alongside starting from today!"
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: Now here we have an arc I've been waiting to get to for quite some time, and man did we have a heavy start here. This arc in particular is derived from the 'A Light That Pierces the Clouds' event that introduces Hibiki (Another) or as some affectionately refer to her as, Edgebiki. I'll be utilizing the latter when referring to her if only to keep things short. I'm sure some were probably trying to figure out how I'd utilize Edgebiki here. I'm not sure how many people guessed I'd utilize her Touma in the way I did, but yep. This chapter was a heavy but satisfying one to write, especially when it came to pacing how certain reveals were handled.
Of course this Parallel World is a bit livelier than the others I've created of course. First we have the actual in story introduction of both Ryo Ogami and Ren Akamichi, two characters I wanted to include via these visits to Parallel Worlds. They're not the only ones though as I decided to bring in Mei as Section 2L's main operator. Likewise we have other characters that are alive like Kamikawa, Ryoko, and Hayato. But the big elephants in the room are probably our Wielders, Tsubasa and Chris, who I've taken the liberty of putting into similar positions as their (Another) counterparts from the 'Bayonet Charge' event. There was a lot of work going into this world to flesh it out, and I did have to make a few cuts to some characters when figuring things out. With that said, thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time.