"Ugh, finally…"
Maia stumbled into the cafeteria in irritation, holding a small container. She saw Maria sitting at one of the tables, eating a small meal by herself.
"Yo, mind if I sit down?" Maia asked.
"By all means." Maria said.
The older Kazanari sat down on a chair, before opening her plastic container to reveal a sandwich.
"Finally…" Maia took a rather large bite from half of it. "I needed this."
"What were you doing?" Maria asked. "I saw you sitting at one of the computers in the bridge since last night."
"I was just going over some old files and crap." Maia shrugged. "Took a lot out of me."
"I'm surprised." Maria said. "You don't seem to be the person to do that sort of thing."
Maia shrugged as she took another bite. "Something was bothering the hell out of me. I barely noticed when my partner came in to tell me to get some sleep."
"She cares about you, huh?" Maria chuckled.
Maia nodded. "Rui honestly acts all standoffish, but she's a big softie deep down. And a nerd."
"...do you mind telling me about her?" Maria asked.
"Huh? Why are you asking?"
"Call me curious." Maria said with a shrug.
"Well, okay." Maia said with a smile. "Prepare for one hell of a story."
"So then Rui goes like "My sister fucking needs me, Maia. I'm going there, with or without help." in the edgiest voice imaginable, all after getting most of her bones broken." Maia said between bites of her sandwich. "And then I saw her hands shaking as she tried to get up and I realized; wow, my partner's kind of a badass. And to think she learned all that from watching superhero shows."
While Maria paid attention to the story, her thoughts eventually drifted elsewhere.
"Strong…" Maria muttered.
"Huh? Yeah, she is pretty strong-"
Maia dropped her sandwich as the alarm went off. The two of them quickly looked at the screen, seeing the alert.
"Alca-Noise!" Maria shouted, before running off.
"Hold on! Wait for me!" Maia yelled, chasing after her. She briefly ran back to grab the rest of her sandwich before giving chase to Maria again.
"Alca-Noise detected!" Fujitaka said. "Narrowing down coordinates!"
"With Elfnein-chan's information, we've been able to improve our precision greatly." Aoi said as they located the Alca-Noise.
They pulled the camera feed up on screen to show Hibiki and her friends surrounded, with Garie leading the Alca-Noise.
"All Gear users prepare for immediate combat!" Fujitaka shouted.
"Shirabe-chan and Kirika-chan are in no condition to fight." Aoi said. "And without usable Gears, we can't mobilize Tsubasa-san, Chris-chan or Maria-san, either!"
"So the only one who can still don her gear is Hibiki-kun…" Genjuro said.
"Then we'll have to mobilize SOUL." Fujitaka concluded. "But even then, Rui-san still hasn't completely recovered, and Shuri-san's in no condition to fight…"
"Leaving only Maia." Aoi finished.
"We're doomed." Jeanne sighed.
"Let me knock your head down from the clouds to where it belongs." Garie said, snapping her fingers as the Alca-Noise advanced. Hibiki was clutching her pendant, but found herself unable to utter the activation chant no matter how hard she tried.
"Hibiki?" Miku said, as her friend started to cough.
"I can't sing…"
"Huh?"
"Oh, gimme a break." Garie snarled.
"The words just won't come out…" Hibiki said, looking at the pendant, as everyone looked on in shock. "The Gungnir won't respond to me!"
"What?!" Miku said.
"It's not that she refuses to sing…" Fujitaka said as they watched the camera feed.
"She can't!" Aoi said.
"Ogawa! Jeanne!" Genjuro shouted to the two.
"On my way, sir!" Ogawa said.
"We're on it." Jeanne said, before the two of them ran to the entrance, only to run into Maria. Maia ran smack into Maria's back due to the abrupt halt, dropping the rest of her sandwich in the process.
"My sandwich…" Maia muttered, seeing it now splattered on the floor.
"What's going on?" Maria demanded, as Ogawa and Jeanne ran past her.
"We have to go support Hibiki!" Ogawa said.
While Ogawa didn't look back, Jeanne briefly glanced at Maria. She nodded at her with a knowing look, before running after him.
"That's…" Maria gained a look of determination, before looking down at Maia. "Let's go."
"It was innocent…" Maia groaned about her lost food.
"Maia, please." Maria sighed.
"Shh!" She held up a hand to her. "I must grieve."
"That's enough of that." Maria said, before grabbing Maia by her hood and pulling her along.
"Why won't the chant come to me…?" Hibiki muttered.
There's no point in fighting her if she can't use her Gear. Garie thought, as it went against their plan. She put on a shark-like grin. Maybe I should try going after one of her little friends?
"Man, what a freaking pain."
Everyone turned to the voice, half expecting Rui with that sentence and tone. But in actuality, Shiori was the one that spoke up.
"I've got no idea what your beef is with Tachibana." She said. "But if this is gonna drag on, think you could leave us out of it?"
"...what? You aren't with her?" Garie asked.
"Hell no." Shiori said. "We just happened to be walking home in the same direction. So get outta the way already."
Garie's expression was a mix of "You've got to be kidding me" and "How did I mess this up?" She waved an arm, and the Alca-Noise backed off from the tight circle they made already.
And that was the one opportunity that they needed. "Let's go!" Kuriyo shouted, grabbing Miku's wrist as the girls all ran off.
Garie just had a deadpan look on her face that just screamed "Did that seriously just happen?"
"You get all brave at the weirdest times!" Yumi said as they ran.
"You were a different person compared to the school festival last year." Kuriyo added.
"Was that an act back there?" Miku asked.
"It's only right that we should be the ones saving Bikki every now and then, right?" Kuriyo said.
"Not to brag, but that was a pretty nice plan." Shiori said. "And I learned all that acting skills from Rui-san too."
After giving ample time for them to run, Garie turned and smirked, having not budged an inch. "And now, after giving you hope, I'll snatch it away again."
Holding out her arm, she ordered the Alca-Noise to charge, letting them destroy everything in their way. Garie herself skated forward on a layer of ice she created.
"Seeing your hope give way to despair might bring out that fighting spirit of hers, don't you think?" Garie chuckled.
"THIS ISN'T AN ANIME!" Yumi shouted as the Noise lashed out at them. One of them whipped at Hibiki's legs, causing her to trip as her shoe disintegrated. In the process, her pendant went flying.
"My Gear!" She shouted.
Before the Alca-Noise could capitalize on this mistake, a black car wheeled in. Ogawa and Jeanne quickly got out, as did two others.
"Haaaaaaa!" Maria shouted, jumping upwards grabbing the Relic out of the air.
AME-NO-HABAKIRI! AUTHORIZED
Maia rushed out of the vehicle, running past Hibiki and her friends as she slashed apart several Noise.
RELIC BATTLE MODE; READY
"Granzizel bilfen Gungnir zizzl~"
(Insert Ressō Gungnir by Yoko Hikasa)
In a flash of dark light, Maria had donned the black Gungnir armor once more. This time though, no longer would she hide behind the protection of the cloak.
TAKEMIKAZUCHI: HABAKIRI MODE
And in a burst of blue crystals, Maia had transformed into her Relic Battle Mode, creating a katana.
Maria launched the gauntlets off her wrists, summoning the spear to her hand. Maia stepped forward next to her.
"I'll take care of the stragglers." Maia said. "You take care of Gawr Gura."
"Right." Maria agreed, before Maia stepped onto her board and took off. Maria aimed her spear, as it unfolded and charged a burst of energy.
HORIZON†SPEAR
It unleashed a purple beam which shredded through the Alca-Noise. Maia was blitzing those that she had missed, slashing through them as she flew. Explosions peppered the area as they destroyed the enemy.
So long as I have this power, I can fight. Maria thought.
"The black Gungnir…" Hibiki muttered, watching the two fight.
"The four of them have arrived at the scene!" Aoi announced.
"Maria-san's engaged the enemy with Gungnir!" Fujitaka reported. "And Maia's lending her support with Ame-no-Habakiri!"
"Maria-kun! Maia!" Genjuro shouted into the comms. "Those glowing appendages cause matter to break down on contact! Watch out for them!"
"Good to know!" Maia shouted, weaving between the tendrils. "Gross. Eat this!"
She flew skyward, holding out her arms as a rain of swords was summoned above her.
One Thousand Tears
They impaled the Alca-Noise horde, cutting down their numbers in half.
To make up for the loss, Garie tossed out several more capsules, summoning more of the Alca-Noise. Maria pushed through the struggle of maintaining her Gear, slashing apart any of the Alca-Noise in her way.
"My, aren't you full of surprises?" Garie said. "That piece of junk we abandoned ended up being more useful than we expected."
Maria threw her spear, impaling one of the Alca-Noise, before switching to more brute force tactics with punches and kicks, even smashing her fist straight through one of them. She ripped her spear back out of the ground, slashing more of the enemy.
"Maria-san's using my Gungnir to fight…" Hibiki murmured.
Maria jumped up, and dove with her spear towards Garie. But to her shock, she was blocked by a shield of ice Garie created. Maria grit her teeth, tightening the grip on her weapon.
"That won't stop me!" She shouted.
The spearhead split in half, using the two sharp tips embedded in the ice to force the shield apart. Maria twirled her lance before thrusting it straight at Garie's throat. Unfortunately, Garie had created another shield to protect herself.
"Why don't you chill out a bit?" Garie grinned, creating a burst of pressurized water that Maria jumped back to avoid. Her armor was crackling with purple electricity.
Damn… Maria internally cursed.
"That settles it. You're next." Garie smirked. "Itadakimasu!"
She zipped forward in a dizzying pattern, creating an armblade of ice aimed straight for the Gungnir relic…
But to her displeasure, Maria's transformation shattered before she could reach her. She drew back, as Maria fell forward, breathing heavily as she bled from her eyes and mouth.
"Is that all you can do?" Garie asked, pointing her blade at Maria. She raised her arm and the ice shattered. "What is this? Isn't there a single one of you that can actually sing? This isn't what I was told-urk!"
A knife had pierced Garie's throat, causing her to stumble. Everyone looked up to where the weapon had come from.
"And people say I talk too much." Maia said, lazily sitting on Takemikazuchi as it hovered. She flipped another knife in her hand. "How about you fuck off already?"
Garie frowned, as she shattered a capsule and created a magic circle. "I'm disappointed…" She spoke, despite the knife in her throat. "...and annoyed."
She disappeared into the light, letting the knife clatter to the ground. The others stared at the spot she left, while Maia landed next to Maria. Transforming back to normal, she narrowed her eyes.
"She didn't care for me…" Maia realized. "Only the Gungnir relic…"
"Spatial teleportation…" Fujitaka said, as the others ran into the room. "Is that alchemy as well?"
"She was able to create a new form of Noise in the modern age." Elfnein explained, now wearing a white dress. "That means she's capable of interacting with extradimensional space."
"Never mind that!" Chris said, walking to Aoi's side. "Is everyone okay?"
"Maria and Maia went to their aid, using Gungnir and Ame-no-Habakiri to drive off the enemy." Aoi said.
"Maria did, dess?" Kirika asked.
"But then… she'd have the same problem as us." Shirabe remembered.
"She fought, even as the Symphogear's recoil wrought havoc upon her body?" Tsubasa said, looking at Maria on the screen. "Does she have a death wish?"
"She's got more nerves than I thought." Rui commented.
Maria looked at the pendant in her hand.
If only I hadn't let go of the Gungnir… No. I can't dwell on past regrets.
"Yo, Maria. You alright?" Maia asked.
"I'm fine." Maria said, as she shakily stood up.
"Are you sure about-WHOA WHOA WHOA."
Maria raised a brow, seeing Maia physically recoil.
"What's the matter?"
"Sorry, it's just… you're bleeding from your eyes and mouth." Maia said, looking down. "I just don't have uh, good memories with something like that."
Maria immediately knew that Maia was talking about Tsubasa. She immediately understood the pain thanks to her own haunting last memory of Serena.
"I'd clean it off, but I'd rather not stain my clothes." Maria said, slightly smiling.
"Ah, humor to deal with pain, classic." Maia said, rifling through her pockets. "Here, I'll lend you my handkerchief to clean some of it off."
"Won't that just stain it?" Maria asked, before seeing that Maia had pulled out a red piece of fabric. "Oh, I see. You seem to have a lot of experience with this."
"With how reckless my sister used to be… or even how reckless I can be, you need to be prepared." Maia said, as Maria took the handkerchief and wiped off some of the blood so it was easier to look at her face. With a more presentable visage, Maria turned to the others. Ogawa and Jeanne were making several calls to help clean things up, while Hibiki's friends were all together.
"Are you hurt?" Maria asked them as she walked up. Hibiki had her back to them.
"We're fine." Kuriyo said. "But… you don't seem to be holding up as well, Maria-san."
"You fought and sang within an inch of your life. Will you be alright?" Yumi asked.
"Eh, she's handled worse." Maia shrugged. "Though I'm kinda offended that you guys aren't asking me if I'm okay."
"Well, you mostly kept at a distance when fighting." Shiori said. "And you didn't seem to get hit at all."
"You did hit her with a cool move straight out of anime though." Yumi complimented. "Complete with a one-liner."
"Thanks." Maia said. "But I'd have taken more of the concern then getting praised for being overdramatic."
Maria chuckled, before holding up the Gungnir relic to Hibiki. "Your Gungnir-"
"That Gungnir is mine!" Hibiki shouted, snatching it out of Maria's hand.
"Hibiki!" Miku said.
"Oi oi, what's with that?" Maia asked, surprised at this attitude from Hibiki of all people.
"This power's supposed to be used to help people!" Hibiki yelled. "And I'm the one it was granted to! It's my Gungnir!"
Maria was silent, while Maia sighed. "You know, if Gungnir had the Mjölnir enchantment thing, you wouldn't even be able to hold it right now. Then again, not being able to sing is probably the same thing."
"Wha-?"
"So that power's supposed to be used to help people?" Maia asked her. "Answer me this then. You're telling me that you couldn't use your power, that you say is to help people, to help even your own friends? Hibiki, do you even know who you want to help, or are you just spouting bullshit that you're not even half-sure about?"
The questions hung in the air for Hibiki, as she looked away. "I'm sorry."
"But that's right. The Gungnir is your power." Maria said, stepping forward and grabbing Hibiki's arms so they were face to face. "So don't avert your eyes from it!"
"Don't avert my eyes?" Hibiki asked.
"Maria, she's gonna start doing so with all that blood on your face." Maia said, handing her the red handkerchief again as her friend's eyes bled further.
In a flash of light, Garie reappeared atop her pedestal at Carol's lair.
"Garie." Carol said, seeing the Autoscorer arrive.
"Please don't stare at me like that." The Autoscorer said. "One couldn't sing at all, and the other didn't sing for long. There'd be no point in tearing such feeble songs from their owners."
"...and the damage on your neck?" She asked, looking at the hole.
"Oh, the one that didn't need to sing did it." Garie pouted. "She was so annoying too…"
"I'll repair that for you." Carol said. "Just don't forget the purpose for which you were made."
Carol leaned back on her throne, thinking back to what Hibiki had said.
"I don't want to use a power meant to help people for fighting."
"Do you, too, mean to die helping people?"
She remembered how Rui had thrown herself in front of the sister, taking the full front of the attack.
"Next time, be sure to silence her and destroy her song. If those that can fight without singing interfere, take them out. Any further delays will affect the plan." Carol said.
"The release of the ley lines… say no more." Garie said, before striking a cute pose. "Just leave it to little old me!"
Carol sighed. "You can take Micha with you. She's optimized for combat and should prove to be a challenge to those that fight without singing. All right?"
"Okies!" Micha said, raising an arm.
"She wasn't asking you!" Garie yelled, annoyed. If only that worthless woman's Gear hadn't fallen apart...
Hibiki stared at the ceiling in deep thought. Since Rui was still spending the night at SONG HQ to help watch over Shuri, it was a quieter night.
She recalled Maia's words.
"Hibiki, do you even know who you want to help, or are you just spouting bullshit that you're not even half-sure about?"
"Having trouble sleeping?" Miku asked.
Hibiki turned to look at Miku, laying in the bed next to her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry."
"You're thinking about what happened today, aren't you?" Miku asked.
"I can't fight. I'm so scared of hurting other people with my song." She looked at her hand. "My weakness put you all in danger… and yet…"
She clenched her fist, closing her eyes. She felt Miku place a hand on hers, almost as if reassuring her.
"It's all right." Miku said. "I know you don't sing your songs to hurt people."
She pulled Hibiki's hand to her cheek, drifting off to sleep. The soft reassurance and warmth was enough to let Hibiki fall asleep as well.
It was early in the morning at the SONG training room, with two certain occupants using it.
"Hah! Hyah!"
"Your form has improved, Rui."
She watched as the older Tachibana twin's skill had improved quite significantly, as she attacked the training dummy with skill and precision in her strikes. While there were still a few openings that a precise fighter like herself would be able to exploit, Rui was still a deadly sword fighter in her own right at this point.
"While the training dummy won't fight back, you should rest regardless." Tsubasa told her.
Rui did one last running slash, sliding right past the dummy as she attacked it. Letting out a breath of exhaustion she wiped her brow.
"Under the odds you find yourself relying on a melee weapon, you'll be prepared now." Tsubasa said, holding out a water bottle.
"Yeah." Rui opened it up and took a few sips. She put it down almost instantly after, before turning back to the training dummy. "What's next?"
Tsubasa chuckled. "You're almost as dedicated to this as I was."
Maria placed a bouquet of flowers on a grave, before she stood back up. "Sorry we're late, Mom."
"We brought you a taste of the Japan you so loved, dess!" Kirika said, placing down a bottle of soy sauce.
"I didn't want to at first, but Kiri-chan insisted." Shirabe said. "She knows more about these things."
"I think she's happy." Jeanne said, patting both Shirabe and Kirika on the heads, causing the two to smile.
"The piece of the Frontier that came back with you and the data we gathered from the Lunar Ruins are being analyzed by organizations worldwide." Maria said.
"We're all working together to find out how we can use it to help people, dess!" Kirika said.
"It's taking time, but it looks like the world is changing, little by little." Shirabe said.
"Do you hear that, Mom?" Jeanne asked. "It might not have happened how we envisioned it, but things did turn out for the better."
It's not just the world that's changing… except for me. Maria thought. Be it fighting the Nephilim with Airgetlám, or wielding the Gungnir once more… It's never my own power that helps me through tough situations. "I want to change too." The others looked at her. "I want to truly be strong."
"It's not just you." Shirabe said, looking down at the grave.
"We feel the same way, dess…" Kirika said softly.
Jeanne couldn't didn't anything, except open up an umbrella for them as rain started to fall.
"You won't scold me like you used to, will you?" Maria asked. "Don't worry, Mom. I'll find the answer myself."
"This is the world you left us, dess." Kirika said.
"All the answers must be here." Shirabe added.
Jeanne smiled, holding the umbrella above them all as the rain started to pour.
At Lydian, Miku sat down with her friends for lunch, though Hibiki was noticeably absent.
"Isn't Tachibana-san going to eat?" Shiori asked.
"She said she has homework." Miku said, sitting down.
"Putting homework over lunch?" Yumi asked, remembering how much of a glutton their friend was. "She's in pretty bad shape."
"She couldn't sing…" Kuriyo said.
"If we try to cheer her up, she'll probably just become more concerned that she made us worry." Shiori said.
"She's usually so simple, but at times like this, she gets pretty complicated." Yumi said.
"...do you think maybe the reason she can't sing is because she's forgotten the reason why?" Kuriyo asked.
"The reason why she sings?" Miku said.
"Yeah." Kuriyo said. "If she remembers that, then surely…"
Miku looked down at her tray of food in thought. "...she'll be able to sing again."
Back at the SONG base, Elfnein was explaining about the attackers.
"The one who attacked Hibiki-san a few days ago is Garie, and the one who fought Chris-san was Leiur." She said. "And there's also Phara, who Tsubasa-san confronted in London, and Micha, who hasn't shown herself yet. Those four are the Autoscoreres under Carol's command."
"So we can't even handle playing with her dolls?" Chris muttered.
"Then these mechanical dolls are like knights protecting the princess?" Ogawa asked.
"I'd compare it more to bosses before the final boss." Maia said, hands behind her head. "Huh, four bosses and one final boss. Dibs on keeping their mask remains if they drop 'em."
"I have no records of their specifications or details." Elfnein said, Maia's joke flying over her head. "But…"
"Given how they fared against the Symphogear in battle, it is clear they possess overwhelming power." Tsubasa said.
"Dealing with supernatural threats is our job." Genjuro said.
"Don't worry, I'll handle one of those dolls the next time they show up." Maia said, holding up the cracked Ame-no-Habakiri.
"But what if more than one of them came at you?" Tsubasa asked.
Maia grimaced, knowing the answer for that.
"She won't be alone."
They turned around to see Shuri walk into the room.
"I'll be there to support Maia-san." She said.
"Shuri!" Chris shouted, before running to her sister and pulling her into a hug. "Are you okay?"
"I… won't be for long... if you keep hugging... so hard." She wheezed out.
"Oh, whoops." Chris said, stepping back.
"So that's what it feels like." Shuri said, catching her breath.
"Yo, you doing better Shuri?" Maia asked, walking up.
"I'm fine now." She reassured them. "The medical scans said they don't understand why I acted up like that, and they don't see any traces of the relic in my body like it was for Hibiki-san."
Chris let out a breath of relief, while the others smiled. Maia kept up her grin, but couldn't help but feel that something was off. If everything's okay, how come Shuri reacted so badly to the cut? Is the Dáinsleif really just that powerful of a relic?
"Now, if I may continue." Genjuro said. "Even with both Maia and Shuri-kun fighting, it won't be enough. As such, Elfnein-kun has proposed a plan by which we can overcome this crisis."
They all turned to the small homunculus, as the letters for the plan flared up onto the screen behind her with a flash. The letters were big, bold, and red.
"Project Ignite." Genjuro finished.
"And people told me I had a flare for dramatics." Maia chuckled.
Hibiki and Miku were walking through the rain, Miku holding an umbrella over the two of them.
"Are you still afraid to sing?" Miku asked.
"Yeah." Hibiki said. "I can't stop worrying that I might hurt people."
"Do you remember the first time you used your Symphogear?" Miku said.
"Kind of. I didn't really have time to think about this stuff back then." Hibiki said, as they walked across a bridge over the road.
"Did you sing back then because you wanted to hurt people?" Miku asked.
Hibiki couldn't figure out an answer as the rain continued to pour down.
"The Ignite Module…" Ogawa said. "Is that really possible?"
"Theoretically, yes, through the power of alchemy." Elfnein said. "Equivalent exchange; with great risk comes great reward. That is the purpose of the enchanted blade, Dáinsleif."
"Oh wow, it really is like Fullmetal Alchemist." Maia said.
Chris stared at her senpai in exasperation. "Can you go one minute without making a-?"
They were interrupted as an alarm started to blare.
"Alca-Noise detected!" Fujitaka shouted.
"Location identified!" Aoi said. "Putting it on screen!"
The screen appeared up, showing Hibiki and Miku being chased by a red Autoscorer.
"Oh you've got to be shitting me." Chris said.
"They've finally activated Micha as well." Elfnein said.
"I'd better go." Maia said, turning to the entrance. "They're gonna be screwed without me, but I don't know if they'll hold out long enough."
"They'll hold out fine, Neesama." Tsubasa said, not turning around. "Because Tachibana's sister was already on her way."
"Don't run! Sing for me!" Micha called, chasing Hibiki and Miku down with the swarm of Alca-Noise behind her. "Or could you be leading me somewhere where it's easier to sing?"
She looked up in thought, before punching a fist into her clawed hand in eureka.
"Why didn't you just say so?" She asked, throwing a clawed arm forward and ordering the Alca-Noise forward. "Go!"
Hibiki and Miku quickly ran up the steps of a building under construction to avoid the Alca-Noise that rushed forward.
"Come on out to play-ack!"
Micha was knocked back from a kick to the gut. Wincing, she looked up to see who was the culprit.
"So you're the last one, huh?" Rui asked, holding up her fists. "Guess I can afford to play with you for a bit."
"Oh, and you're one of the ones that doesn't sing!" Micha said, pointing at her. "Are you really gonna play?"
"Yeah." Rui said, twisting her foot on the ground. "I'll amuse you… to the point of tears!"
With a shout, she charged forward at Micha, somersaulting through the air and driving her heel into Micha's skull.
"An enemy attack?" Maria asked into her phone.
"But from where we are now…" Shirabe said.
"...we can't get there in time, dess!" Kirika realized.
Jeanne had already gotten into the driver's seat of the car they had taken to get here. "But we should go regardless. Se dépêcher!"
Hibiki and Miku ran up the stairs of the construction zone. While Miku made it, the Alca-Noise lashed out their tendrils, disintegrating the stairs that Hibiki was part way in the middle of climbing up.
"Hibiki!" Miku shouted, as her friend fell down, crashing through several handrails and landing hard on a pile of debris.
Wincing, Hibiki opened one of her eyes to look up. "Miku…"
Just as her vision started to clear, a good chunk of the wall was smashed apart. Rui was sent crashing through, hitting a support beam and falling to the ground.
"Oneesan…?" Hibiki realized.
"Rui!" Miku screamed.
The older Tachibana was trying to get up, but her arms and legs were failing her. She was coughing so much that she was sure blood would come up any second now. "Mother… fucker…"
"You were so boring. Just all talk." Micha sighed, as she skipped over before standing over Hibiki. "If you won't be a good girl and fight me, I'll have to start taking apart the things you love."
She pointed up at Miku.
"And if tearing your dear, sweet friend to pieces doesn't do the trick, I'll have to take apart the townspeople, and even the poor li'l doggies and kitties too." Micha added, flailing her claws. "Or maybe I should start with that precious older sister of yours first. Shouldn't be too hard with how boring she was."
She skipped over to Rui, stomping on the girl's back and making her cry out.
Hibiki stood up and tossed her bag to the side. She pulled out her pendant and tried to sing, but again, the holy chant refused to be said. Even with this threat, she couldn't find herself to sing.
Micha looked almost insulted as she took her foot off Rui and stepped closer. "Still not taking me seriously? Well then..."
The Autoscorer aimed one of her hands towards Miku. At her command, the Alca-Noise lined up right underneath the girl. But as they prepared to strike, Miku called down to Hibiki. "Listen to me, Hibiki!" Miku shouted. "You don't sing your songs to hurt people!"
Hibiki stopped trying to force herself to sing, as she looked up at Miku. Rui had managed to stand up, and lean against a stone pillar.
"And I know you've always held out your hand to help people, not to harm them! I know that most of all! Because I fought you, and you saved me!" Miku declared. "And it's not just me! There are so many people who were saved by your songs! People who are only here because of them! So don't be afraid!"
"You're outta here!" Micha shouted, as the Alca-Noise pounced, they destroyed the platform Miku was on, sending the girl into free fall.
"HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Hibiki yelled, running forward. "Balwisyall nescell Gungnir TROOOOOOOOOOOON!"
(Insert Genkai Toppa G-beat by Aoi Yuuki)
It all happened so fast, that Rui could barely keep track of what happened. While she raised her arm to shield her face from the falling debris, she saw Hibiki, transformed once more, bridal catch Miku in her arms as the rainwater build-up flooded behind them.
"I'm sorry." Hibiki said to Miku. "I was trying to run away from the responsibility that comes with power. But I won't hesitate anymore. So please… listen to my song!"
"She really is a hopeless idiot, huh?" Chris said, as they watched the camera feed.
"Heh, looks like they didn't need my help." Maia said. "Kick that red doll's ass, Hibiki!"
Hibiki put Miku down, as Rui slowly walked up to them. "Found your resolve again, huh?"
"I'm sorry, Oneesan." Hibiki apologized.
"Don't." Rui said. "Just go do what you do best."
"Right. Here I go!" Hibiki said. "Miku, can you keep an eye on Oneesan for me?"
"Of course. We'll be waiting." Miku said, as Hibiki rushed at Micha to battle.
"She's finally back." Rui said, smiling at seeing her sister back in action. "Took long… enough…"
She stumbled, but thankfully Miku caught her friend in time. "That was really stupid of you, fighting on your own like that, Rui."
"I know, but it worked, didn't it?" She asked.
Miku rolled her eyes in begrudging agreement, but smiled.
SONG was watching the fight unfold from their headquarters, noting that Micha was holding her own against Hibiki well.
"This is what a combat-specialized Autoscorer can do." Elfnein said.
"But even if it's the most powerful of them all, I can't imagine Tachibana losing." Tsubasa said.
As soon as Tsubasa said that, Shuri's eyes put a hand over her chest in worry.
And her fears came true, as the "Micha" that Hibiki punched burst into water. They saw a blue dress from the shadows.
"Too bad. That was but an illusion reflected on the water."
"No…" Rui muttered. "NO!"
She could only watch as Garie's distraction was successful enough, allowing Micha to land a direct strike on Hibiki's relic. Hibiki screamed as she was sent launching skyward.
"HIBIKI!" Miku screamed.
Hibiki fell, her armor disintegrating. Seeing her sister in this defeated state…
...Rui Tachibana's composure completely broke.
With a roar of anger, a burst of adrenaline let her run forward, jumping and grabbing the cracked Gungnir relic out of the air. In one swift motion, she slotted it into Kagutsuchi.
GUNGNIR! AUTHORIZED
Rui's scream of anger was matched only by Miku's scream of despair as Hibiki hit the ground.
RELIC BATTLE MODE; READY
"HENSHIN!" Rui screamed, slamming Gungnir all the way into her weapon. She was engulfed in orange crystals, before they shattered.
KAGUTSUCHI: GUNGNIR MODE
Rui had donned her own Gungnir once more. Garie simply smirked. Just as we expected. But I doubt that she'll be able to do anything to even Micha. Being angry just makes her all the more predictable.
"Oh, so you're finally going to be a bit more interesting?" Micha grinned, holding up her claws. "Okay! Let's play-!"
"RAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
Micha was shut up, as Rui planted her foot into her face, smashing the Autoscorer right into the pavement below. She stomped on Micha's head, over and over again. Every stomp made the indent in the concrete deeper, before she stopped. Micha's eyes had dulled, indicating she was knocked out. Several cracks were on her face.
Breathing heavily, Rui glared up at Garie with complete and utter hatred. She kicked off Micha, jumping straight at her with incredible speed. Before Garie could react, Rui grabbed her, before throwing her straight into the ground. The force was so great that she had completely smashed through the stone floor Garie was standing on, falling to the ground floor.
"Ugh, wha-?"
The wind was knocked out of her as Rui drove a foot into her gut. She grabbed Garie by the throat, lifting her up by the throat before smashing her first across her jaw. But one hit wasn't enough. Several more punches, each as vicious as the first, smashed into her face one after the other.
"HOW! DARE! YOU! YOU! PIECE! OF! WORTHLESS! FUCKING! TRASH! RRAAAAH!"
Each word was punctuated with a blow. Garie tried to summon a weapon, but every one of Rui's strikes broke her concentration.
Miku, as well as those who were watching, could only watch in shock, unable to do anything as Rui was punching off shards of Garie's face.
Gone were the snarky one liners, or the sarcastic quips.
Rui Tachibana had fallen to complete and utter rage.
A/N: Oh boy, Rui's not happy, huh.
And see? Shuri's totally fine you guys! You were all doubting me! :)
Aside from that, this is more of an expansion of the actual Symphogear episode. Doesn't change too much and has the same effect… but a slightly different ending.
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