"Bargain?"
Rui repeated that word as Tesla kept his hand up.
"Yes, that is what I am proposing.
"Wait, Tesla?" Chris raised a brow. "Aren't you the guy behind the Tesla Coil?"
"I see someone has been studying. Yes, that would be me." Tesla confirmed.
"But the books say you died in a hotel room!" Chris remembered.
"Faking my death isn't that difficult, considering my other accomplishments." Tesla said. "Now, these people you see with me are members of my group, the Tesla Electric Cabal. Forte, would you like to introduce them?"
"I don't see why I have to, but sure." Forte shrugged. Standing up, she held out her arms towards her two companions. "I already introduced myself, and so did Tesla. The one with white hair is Lala, and the blondie is Starlit!"
"Uncouth as always." Starlit sighed, putting a hand on her face.
"S-She's trying her best!" Lala reassured Starlit.
"You asked to bargain with us; what do you desire?" Tsubasa asked, keeping a firm grip on her sword.
"Tell me this." Tesla spoke. "Do you ever wish to wash yourself of your past sins and struggles, have a fresh start, or a perfect life?"
"What do you mean?" Maia asked.
"All conflict in the world, gone. Those that you love that were taken away from you, alive. A world where every one of your desires are granted." Tesla said. "Does that not sound like the perfect paradise to you?"
"That sounds like a ton of shit you just came up with on the spot." Rui said bluntly.
"Hey, don't you talk to Tesla like that!" Forte snapped.
"I understand that you believe my words are false, but I promise my words have no lies." Tesla said, an honest expression on his face. "Please, join us to make a perfect world."
"For a perfect world, you've caused a big mess, dess." Kirika pointed out, looking around at all the rubble.
"A mere side effect of my quest." Tesla dismissed. "But once I achieve my goal, none of this will have ever happened; everyone will be alive once more."
"Are human lives so expendable to you?!" Maria asked.
"Human souls will be the fuel for the new world." Tesla said. "And those souls will be restored once I'm done, none the wiser of their original fates."
"Then this proposal of yours is falling on deaf ears." Shuri said, narrowing her eyes. "We will never work with someone who treats human lives with such indifference."
Tesla frowned. "Don't you see? We'll build a new world, better than the first-"
"We refuse to live in a world built upon trampled lives." Tsubasa declared.
"I should have known you wouldn't be able to make such a decision." Tesla sighed, disappointed. He turned around, tapping a device on his wrist. A green portal appeared in front of him. "Consider my words for now. In the meantime, I will take my leave."
"Oi, you think after doing all this, you can just go?!" Chris yelled. "You're going down!"
"Starlit, Lala, Forte. Show our adversaries a taste of our power, would you?" He said, before disappearing through the portal.
"Oh, finally." Forte stretched her arms. "Now we get to show these clowns what's up."
"There are nine of us and three of you." Shuri said. "Surrender would be preferable."
"It is preferable." Lala said. "But for you and your allies."
The three TEC members held up their wrists, with shining bracelets.
"Elekleid, Switch On!"
Electricity surged around the three, as energy halos formed around them. They separated, before forming armor for the three. Forte's was red, Lala's was teal, and Starlit's was violet. Starlit brandished a pair of blades, Lala had a hovering shield, and Forte had a massive battle ax.
"So, each of us take three, then?" Forte carried the ax over her shoulders.
"That's the plan." Starlit said, crossing her blades. "Let's go.
Starlit rushed forward with incredible speed, engaging Tsubasa, Maia and Rui. Lala hovered, before flying at Hibiki, Chris and Shuri. Forte took on Maria, Kirika and Shirabe.
"I've been waiting to show my strength!" Forte tightened the grip on her ax.
"We'll take you on, dess!" Kirika said.
"Come on, Kiri-chan!" Shirabe grabbed her yo-yos.
"Wait, you two!" Maria called.
Kirika swung her scythe upwards, clashing against Forte's ax and causing sparks to fly. Shirabe threw her yo-yos forward, enwrapping them around the ax handle, before wheeling around behind Forte, pulling back to try and weaken the force she had on her weapon.
"You two work well in a team, but that's not gonna help!" Forte declared.
Kirika and Shirabe both cried out in pain, as electricity was channeled through Forte's weapon, shocking the both of them. With surprising strength, Forte pushed forward with her ax strike, sending Kirika back a few feet, while pulling Shirabe off her feet.
"Ah-!"
"Shirabe!"
Forte swung her ax around, bringing Shirabe forward and slamming right into Kirika, knocking the two over.
"EAT THIS!"
Forte jumped into the air, twirling her weapon, before attempting to bring it down on the two of them. Maria had quickly gotten between them erecting an energy shield.
"IT'S USELESS!"
Forte simply smashed through the shield, but that let Maria throw her blade, summoning several copies, all aimed at Forte.
INFINITE†CRIME
Landing on the ground, Forte spun her ax, blocking all of the blade copies, before rushing forward and swinging her weapon. Despite the weapon size difference, Maria managed to block the ax, entering a weapon lock.
"Why are you doing this?" Maria asked calmly, despite the massive ax attempting to bury itself in her shoulder. "Who are you?"
"You really don't remember?" Forte looked a little hurt at Maria's words, before gritting her teeth. "Then this'll sting less for me!"
Maria quickly jumped back to break the weapon lock, avoiding a jarring electric shock. Forte tightened her hands on her weapon, as she glared at her target.
"ELEKLEID TOMAHAWK!" Forte twirled the weapon in her hands, before slamming it down on Maria, who barely blocked it. The resulting crash ended up cratering the ground, kicking up a huge cloud of dust. As it faded, Maria was seen sprawled, weakly gripping her weapon. Forte had a rather sadistic grin, looking quite proud at her handiwork.
Up by the top of the buildings, Lala hovered, her shield floating in front of her. Hibiki, Chris and Shuri had surrounded her on different rooftops.
"Please, we don't have to fight!" Hibiki said. "We can talk!"
"Lala's sorry, but this is the mission Lala was given." Lala said, raising her arms. "Talking isn't an option."
"Then this is!" Chris said, holding up her crossbows.
QUEEN'S INFERNO
She shot an array of crossbow bolts, which honed around from every angle at Lala. Closing her eyes, the shield made a quick sweep around her, blocking each and every one of the shots.
"No way!" Chris shouted.
"Hibiki-san!" Shuri aimed her rifle.
"Right!" Hibiki created a large gauntlet, and charged up.
Lala kept her eyes closed, seemingly unaware of the attack. The shield kept rotating around her, keeping her protected. Shuri aimed her rifle, trying to match the timing the spinning shield was going.
We practiced this before, but we only have one chance… "Fire!"
Shuri fired one of her ice bullets, and Hibiki jumped at the same time. She had timed it enough that it ended up right next to the shield, and Hibiki smashed her fist into it, causing an explosion of fire and ice. Hibiki landed on the opposite building, hoping that the enemy didn't get too hurt by it.
And her wish worked out too well, as the steam faded to reveal Lala was fine, but now glowing.
"Forgive Lala for this!" Lala raised her arms and spread her wings, before creating three orbs of blue electricity. She brought her arms forward, as each of the orbs honed in on one of the girls.
"Dodge it, you two!" Shuri ordered.
They all tried to jump away, but Lala opened her eyes.
"You can't escape."
The orbs all detonated in an explosion of electricity, shocking all of them. They all fell to the ground, sparking.
Back on the ground, Starlit had her blades drawn. Tsubasa and Maia had their own swords ready, and Rui tightened her fists.
I can tell… she doesn't want to fight us. Tsubasa read Starlit's body language. Is she fighting against her will?
"Oryah!"
Rui had jumped into the air and dove down, outstretching her leg. Starlit merely moved to the side to dodge the kick. Rui brought up her knee, but Starlit blocked it with the flat of her swords. Maia came in from the other side with a broadsword, but Starlit quickly switched one blade over to block her as well.
"Two at once, huh?" Maia grinned. "Not bad."
Starlit didn't respond, knowing that a certain someone was absent. She looked up to see Tsubasa had jumped into the air, before outstretching her leg and summoning a massive sword.
Heaven's Wrath
Starlit sent electricity through her blades, shocking both Maia and Rui, knocking them away. She quickly crossed her blades to block Tsubasa's massive strike. To Tsubasa's surprise, Starlit wasn't even pushed back a single inch.
"Wha-?!"
"Apologies in advance!"
Starlit slashed her blades outwards, causing Tsubasa's attack to go off balance. And to Tsubasa's further shock, Starlit proceeded to grab the massive blade, pulling it off of Tsubasa's foot.
"Hraaaaaaaah!"
Starlit jumped into the air, before slamming the flat of the huge sword down on Tsubasa, smashing her straight into the ground. The huge weapon dissipated, as Starlit landed gracefully on her feet.
"Oraaaaah!"
Rui came charging in with her fist, only to get slashed across the chest by Starlit's blade, further shocking her. She fell backwards into the rubble, feeling the pain from the electricity.
"Ugh…" Starlit winced, putting a hand on her chest. "Even that was pushing it…"
"Starlit!"
Lala and Forte had rejoined her.
"Is your heart…?" Forte started.
"I'm… fine." Starlit breathed out.
"We're retreating. Now." Lala said firmly.
"Hold it!"
Chris, Kirika and Shirabe had gotten back up, keeping their weapons ready. Shuri, Maia and Hibiki were near them, slightly worse for wear.
"Don't think you can just leave!" Chris said, putting a hand on her pendant. "Ignite Module-!"
"Think before you use it." Starlit told Chris, stopping her. "You've received heavy damage in this fight already. If you activate your Ignite Module now, you'll likely lose control."
Chris' hand was itching to activate it, but knew Starlit was right.
"We'll settle this later." Forte promised. "Just remember how easily we kicked your asses."
Starlit swung her blade, creating a portal to retreat.
"This isn't something we enjoy, but a necessity for a new world." Lala told them. "Farewell."
The three walked through the portal, as it closed behind them. Chris fell to her knees, gritting her teeth.
"Chris-senpai?" Shirabe asked. "Are you alright?"
"Hell no…" Chris muttered.
"Everyone, we need to bring Rui, Tsubasa and Maria back to the base quickly." Shuri said. "They took the most damage in battle."
"Got it, dess!" Kirika said.
Maia walked over to Chris as the others went to help those that had been downed.
"Hey, Chris." Maia kneeled down. "We gotta help the others."
"I know…"
Chris stood up, holstering her guns. Maia frowned, looking around at the destruction that had unfolded, as the wounded members were being assisted.
"Leaves a bad taste in your mouth, doesn't it?" Maia asked.
"It stings, yeah."
Several days had passed since the fight against TEC. Ogawa was helping guide the cleanup crew to help with fixing up the city. Jeanne was standing atop a pile of rubble, looking around at all the destruction.
"Aiba, is there anyone trapped?" Jeanne asked, as her eye flashed.
"No, everyone has been evacuated." The AI responded.
"...how many dead?"
"There were twenty-seven deaths. Thankfully, far less than the instances of a Noise attack from a few years back."
"Damn it… how are the others holding up?"
"The Symphogear users have all recovered from their fight a few days ago." Aiba informed her.
"That's good, but…" Jeanne tapped her foot against some of the broken chunks of concrete.
"Jeanne? Is something up?" Ogawa asked, walking over.
"Oh, Shinji." Jeanne said. "How's the cleanup going?"
"Fairly well, but we'll have to keep civilians evacuated for a while." Ogawa answered. "The Commander believes that the TEC might attempt another attack as such, so we've had them all moved to safe houses with Yatsuhiro-san's help. We're thinking of doing the same with the rest of the civilians, but need more time."
"That's good, but…" Jeanne looked down. "Will it be enough…?"
"I understand that the situation seems dire, but SONG has pulled through impossible odds before, right?" Ogawa remembered.
"Perhaps so…" Jeanne sighed.
"...by the way, is there a reason you used my first name?" Ogawa asked.
"Your heart rate is rapidly increasing." Aiba noted.
Merde! I slipped up! Jeanne panicked, face turning red.
Tesla was rewatching the footage of the battle, observing the enemy for any flaws they had. He was having a hard time figuring things out, as in spite of the fact that TEC had come out on top, this was due to the advantage they gained by having this as SONG's first encounter with them, something they would not be able to recreate the next time they encountered them. The door opened behind him, and the other three members walked in.
"You wanted to see us?" Lala asked.
"I did, yes." Tesla said, standing up to face them. "Why did you not ask Hibiki Tachibana to join us?"
"Oh uh… we forgot?" Forte said.
"We're sorry, Tesla." Starlit apologized. "We ended up pushing ourselves a bit too hard in that battle and the opportunity disappeared."
"In all fairness, you did ask them all at the same time, and they all refused. Lala believes it might have been the same result." Lala said.
Tesla sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Hibiki Tachibana is crucial to our plans. If we have her on our side, it'll allow us to reach the final stages of our plan."
"Then what do we do?" Forte asked. "She doesn't seem like the kind of girl to just join us on a whim."
"We might have to use drastic measures." Starlit said.
"Indeed. Which is why I have had Susanoo prepared." Tesla said.
"Susanoo?" Lala widened her eyes. "But Lala thought we were going to use it for-?"
"Yes, but it's an unreliable option." Tesla said. "If we bring Hibiki Tachibana to our side, then we won't-"
Starlit winced, stumbling. Forte quickly caught her. "Hey, you alright?!"
"I'm… I'm fine…" Starlit breathed out.
Tesla walked forward, pulling Starlit into his arms. "Forte. Lala. Prepare Susanoo for deployment. I'll treat Starlit's condition the best I can."
"You got it!" Forte nodded.
"We won't let you down." Lala promised.
The two quickly left the room, as Tesla reached down, picking Starlit up in a bridal carry.
"I'm sorry for being a burden…" Starlit said, closing her eyes.
"You aren't. I promise you aren't." Tesla reassured her.
Maria was sitting in the cafeteria of SONG HQ. She was fiddling with her pendant, deep in thought.
That girl, Forte… why did she act like she knew me? Maria wondered. It didn't look like she was lying, because she looked hurt when I didn't recognize her.
"So we meet here again, huh?"
Maria looked up to see Maia sitting down with her. She had some fast food takeout with her.
"Saw you brooding to yourself again." Maia said, pulling out a burger and fries. "What's up this time?"
"It's nothing too much." Maria said. "I'm just going to ask Ogawa and Jeanne to do a background check on our foes, since we might be able to figure out a few things that way. But it does seem a bit pointless."
"I dunno. We dug up a ton of dirt on FIS and that helped us back when you were on your whole villain arc crap." Maia said, biting into her burger.
Maria chuckled at that. "Do you really need to describe it like that?"
"You were the Shinn Asuka to Hibiki's Kira Yamato back then, so yes I think I will describe it like that." Maia grinned, scarfing down a few fries.
"I'm going to pretend I know what you're talking about." Maria rolled her eyes. "How are the others?"
"They all got discharged. There were minor injuries overall, but were told to take it easy." Maia explained. "Tsubasa is back to training again. The others all went out with some of their friends at school. Cheer themselves up a bit or something like that."
"And you didn't go with them?" Maria asked.
"I know my sister, she'll put everything into training, and leave you by yourself for a while since she's kind of a dolt." Maia shrugged as she sipped some soda. "So I decided to stay around, give you some company, yeah? It's better if you have someone to share your thoughts with."
"I suppose that's true. But what's really bothering me was one of the enemy members. Remember the girl with red hair, Forte?" Maria asked.
"The one that practically pancaked you with her big ax?" Maia asked.
"I would have put it a different way, but yes, that one." Maria said. "She seems to know me, but I don't seem to recall her myself…"
"Maybe an old friend or something?" Maia suggested.
"Old friend…" Maria put a hand under her chin. "Maybe…"
"Anyways, I got to ask you something." Maia said. "This is something serious."
"...you want to ask what I think about Tsubasa, don't you?" Maria guessed.
"...that is entirely possible, yes." Maia said, as Maria sighed.
"Did Bikki seem like she was in a bad mood?" Kuriyo asked.
She, Yumi and Shiori were walking down the street, going to meet someone.
"It's not just her." Yumi said. "The Yukine twins didn't look like they were doing too hot either. Same with Kirika and Shirabe."
"I wonder if something happened…" Shiori wondered. "Do you think that's why Rui had called us?"
"Yeah. But why would she tell us to meet her at the mall?" Yumi wondered. "Usually, we're the ones asking."
"Yo! Over here!"
They saw Rui calling them from outside one of the merchandise stores, her usual go-to location for after school.
"Tachibana-san." Kuriyo said as she walked over. "What's up?"
"Sorry for calling you three out of nowhere, but I needed Yumi's help for something, and you and Shiori could probably give your own inputs too." Rui said.
"What do you need our help for?" Shiori asked.
"Well… the others aren't feeling that well at the moment, so… I was thinking…"
"Aw, is this the tsundere act?" Yumi teased. "Pretending to be that cold and standoffish loner only to be that sweetheart that's getting them all gifts?"
"I will punch your teeth down your throat." Rui threatened her, putting up a fist.
"Yes yes, you're so scary." Yumi said dismissively. "But you're at the merch store where you grab your Kamen Rider stuff and I grab my anime stuff. Why here?"
"Are you gonna get them all Kamen Rider merch?" Kuriyo asked. "But I don't know if they all like that kind of thing."
"No, I get it. Rui-san's getting them all something more personal to her, so they know it's her gift." Shiori said. "She could easily get them for herself, but she's giving them all something to remind them of her."
"Something like that, yeah." Rui said. Can't let her know that I'm garbage at picking out gifts, so I'm going the easy way out since I know the others are all nice enough to accept it.
"If that's the case, we'll help you, Tachibana-san." Kuriyo said.
"Normally I'm the anime girl, but today I'm going Girls Remix!" Yumi grinned.
"Thanks, you three." Rui smiled. "So I was thinking of getting all these for them…"
The four of them left the store, all the purchases in Rui's bag. She had also gotten the other three all gifts as well for the help. The sun was starting to set as they were walking down the streets.
"So what was this one's name again?" Shiori asked, looking at the little Kamen Rider keychain she was holding.
"Yours is Baron." Yumi explained. "Mine is Chalice and Kuriyo's is Blades."
"Blades, huh?" Kuriyo held up hers, seeing the small blue Rider. "Cool."
"Does he really fit me?" Shiori wondered, looking at the small Baron.
Yumi and Rui shared a look, deciding not to tell her.
"But again, thanks for helping me out." Rui said.
"Hey, it's what friends do, isn't it?" Yumi grinned, patting Rui on the back. "Especially for a superhero friend."
"Me? A superhero?" Rui said.
"Well, that is one way to look at it." Shiori said. "You were always a fan of Kamen Rider, and now you basically are one, right?"
"Huh, yeah…" Rui looked down at the pendant around her neck.
"I guess this means you need a hero name or something, right?" Kuriyo joked. "I can think up a couple if you want."
"N-No, you don't need to do that." Rui held up her hands.
"Ooh, humble." Yumi chuckled. "Or embarrassment?"
"Perhaps a bit of both?" Shiori suggested.
Rui sighed at the teasing but smiled. The three of them weren't always around like her friends in SONG, but she could always rely on them when it counted.
BWOOM
The ground shook, nearly causing them to fall over from the quakes.
"Whoa…!" Rui steadied herself, before turning to her friends. "You three okay?!"
"Wh-What is that?!" Shiori shouted, pointing past her.
They looked in the distance towards the city. Towering over several buildings was a massive giant with black armor. Its body seemed to be made out of purple and red flames, with a blue core in its chest. It swung a massive blade around, devastating buildings and starting fires.
"What the…?" Rui said in shock, mouth slightly agape.
"It's a huge monster straight out of anime!" Yumi screamed.
Rui received a call on her comm, with Genjuro on the line. "Commander, what the hell is going on?!"
"We're not sure ourselves, Rui. That huge creature appeared similar to those automatons that TEC had deployed against us." Genjuro said.
"So they're behind it!" Rui grit her teeth.
"We're currently contacting the others, but you're the closest one to it. Could you try making a diversion long enough for the others to come and back you up?" Genjuro asked. "Ogawa and Jeanne are helping with evacuation, so meet up with them."
"No problem. I'll keep it busy."
"Alright. Stay safe, and good luck."
Rui ended the comm, turning back to her friends. "You three, get to safety. I have work to do."
"You're going to fight that thing?" Kuriyo asked.
"At least keep it busy long enough for Hibiki and the others to arrive." Rui answered, rummaging through her bag for her weapon.
"Our hometown keeps getting attacked…" Shiori muttered. "Will we ever be safe…?"
"Don't worry Shiori, it'll be okay!" Yumi said. "Just like an anime, someone'll always save us! Isn't that right, Rui?"
"Yeah."
RELIC BATTLE MODE; READY
Rui had equipped Kagutsuchi and gave her bag to Kuriyo. "I don't want to see people crying anymore. I want everyone to smile! So have a good look... at my... henshin!"
KAGUTSUCHI: GUNGNIR MODE
She slammed her Proto-Gear into Kagutsuchi, transforming into her Relic Battle Mode. She turned towards the city, ready to take off, but looked back at Kuriyo. "Hold onto my stuff. I'm gonna want that later."
"You got it." Kuriyo said.
"Kick some butt, Rui!" Yumi hyped her up.
"That's the plan." Rui cracked her knuckles, before kicking off the ground towards the enemy. Her friends all watched her go, ready to save people once again.
"Man, this is lame."
Forte was sitting on top of one of the buildings that was a fair distance away from the giant creature. She was watching all the destruction happen.
"Why do we have to play babysitter to Susanoo?" She complained. "We're meant for better things than this. Right Lala? …Lala?"
She turned to see Lala sitting down further away, seemingly trying to tune out the sounds of destruction.
She's still not completely used to this, huh? Forte thought, before looking back out at the city, watching Susanoo smash through another building. Can't say I'm completely okay with this either, since we're killing so many people… but Tesla knows what he's doing.
Down the street, Rui landed on the ground. Susanoo was several dozen blocks away from her, smashing up streets.
"Everyone! Evacuate!" Rui called out to the civilians. "Get away from here as far as you can!"
She pointed down the street towards some of the evacuation vehicles that had already been prepared. Looking around, she saw Ogawa and Jeanne run up. Aiba was on Jeanne's shoulder.
"You made it." Jeanne said.
"Did you expect me to be late?" Rui chuckled. "Anyways, what's the situation?"
"Pretty bad." Ogawa explained. "The casualties already eclipse the last situation by a landslide."
Rui grit her teeth hearing that, but looked back at the creature. "I'll lead it back to an already destroyed area. You two take that opportunity to keep up the evac so the others can get here."
"Understood." Ogawa nodded.
"I recommend staying on the evasive side of things, as while that creature is powerful, it seems to lack a significant ability in speed." Aiba suggested.
"Got it." Rui cracked her knuckles, before putting her hands on her knees and briefly bending down and stretching her legs. "I'll keep big ugly occupied."
"Stay safe." Jeanne told her.
(Insert DEEP BREATH by RIDER CHIPS ft. ROLLY)
Rui nodded, before kicking off the ground towards Susanoo. Ogawa, Jeanne and Aiba watched after her, before continuing the evacuation. Susanoo was about to smash another building, before Rui kicked off the side of an apartment complex and drew her fist back.
"OREYAAAH!"
She punched Susanoo in the face, actually throwing it a bit off balance. She landed back on the ground, looking back up at the creature, who shook its head from the sudden pain.
"Hey jackass! You like that?!" Rui shouted up at it. "I got plenty more where that came from!"
Recovering from the hit, Susanoo roared at her, before summoning a huge blade made out of pure flames, as it swung it down at her. She quickly jumped to the side to avoid getting hit. It smashed into the ground, melting a good chunk of concrete into slag.
"O-kay. Follow Aiba's advice and avoid getting hit by the building-size blade." Rui said to herself, before calling up to Susanoo again. "Follow me, bastard!"
She stomped on the ground, launching a chunk of concrete up. She gave it a roundhouse kick, launching it at Susanoo. It barely did anything as it crumbled on its chest, but it definitely seemed to tick it off. Seeing it stomp towards her, Rui smirked, luring it into the already destroyed part of the city. She turned around, facing the massive monster.
Lala and Forte were looking down from atop the building, seeing Rui face the monster.
"Is she insane or stupid?" Forte snorted. "There's no way in hell she'll be able to take down Susanoo."
Lala was silent. While she had seen Susanoo's power before… she felt off. The massive mechanical beast didn't feel so invincible today. She could only hope that was just an odd feeling that'd be proven wrong.
"Alright, it's just you and me, asshole!" Rui declared, holding up her fists.
Susanoo blasted a stream of flames at Rui, who flipped out of the way. It kept shooting the flames at Rui, lighting the battlefield in flames. She stuck her foot into the flames, letting Kagutsuchi absorb it, before she spun around once. She rushed forward, somersaulting to dodge more of the attacks, before kicking off into the air.
"Dyaaaaaaah!" Rui shouted.
She outstretched her leg, passing through a set of red rings and slamming her flaming foot straight into Susanoo.
Strike Wizard
She kept pushing her foot forward, shoving Susanoo back and denting its chest. But before she could knock it down, it grabbed her in its massive hand, before pulling its arm back and throwing her into the ground. Rui hit it hard, bouncing once before hitting the dirt.
"Ugh…" She spat out some blood and wiped her mouth. "Okay, note to self; don't do that again…"
Susanoo reared its head, readying itself to blast Rui again. She tried getting up, but stumbled a bit. Wincing, she put her arms up to try and protect herself as best as she could.
But before Susanoo could fire, two massive swords stabbed into its head. The swords practically blocked the flames, causing Susanoo's head to explode in a fiery inferno as it fell backwards.
"How you holding up, Partner?"
Maia and Tsubasa landed by her, the former holding out a hand to help the girl up. The other Symphogear Adaptors landed soon after.
"I could be doing better." Rui admitted, as she was pulled onto her feet.
Susanoo slowly stood back up, as its head reformed back into its fiery state. It seemed disoriented, so the others took the opportunity to plan.
"Rui-san, what can you tell us about that machine creature?" Shuri asked.
"The thing uses fire, and hits like a goddamn truck. It can reform the fire parts of its body, and is a tough piece of shit." Rui said.
"Got a plan, sis?" Chris asked her sister.
"There should be some sort of heart or core of this machine." Shuri deduced. "So we need to find it. If not, overpower it together."
"Then let's aim for the chest first." Maria gripped her knife.
"Should we go Ignite, dess?" Kirika asked.
"That would be the best option." Tsubasa said, holding up her sword. "We can't risk it destroying anything else, and it has already proven its strength. We have to defeat it, swiftly!"
"Alright, you six power up. Rui-san, Maia-san and I will support you all from a distance." Shuri said.
"Let's go, everyone!" Hibiki shouted.
"Right!"
They all put a hand to their pendants, as Rui, Maia and Shuri maneuvered on top of a building.
"Ignite Module! All safeties release!"
The wielders squeezed their pendants, before holding them up.
Dáinsleif
(Insert RADIANT FORCE (IGNITED arrangement) by Aoi Yuuki, Nana Mizuki and Ayahi Takagaki)
All six of them transformed into their Ignite forms, with a slight white glow around them. They six of them all shot off towards Susanoo.
"Eat this!" Chris shouted.
She created a barrage of missiles and fired them all at Susanoo.
MEGA DETH PARTY
A few of the missiles hit dead-on and caused the monster to stumble. Most of them went into the flaming body and exploded thanks to the heat.
"Together, everyone!" Maria called, increasing the length of her whip blade by several dozen meters.
Tsubasa created a giant sword, while Kirika and Shirabe created a giant scythe and sawblades, respectively. They each ran in from all four sides, slicing into the flaming body. Crashing into the ground were the creature's arms, as the fire spread throughout the ground.
"Eat thiiiiiiiiis!" Hibiki shouted.
She jumped straight at Susanoo's chest, striking one of the solid spots and shattering it, causing a similar chain reaction to spread throughout the body. Seeing the opportunity, Shuri peered through Okami's scope, trying to check for any core or heart, but all she saw was fire.
"It's no use. I can't get a clear shot." Shuri said. "Or actually, it would be more appropriate for me to say there's nothing to shoot."
"Then I guess it's our cue." Maia said, before looking at Rui. "You ready, Partner?"
"Yeah." Rui breathed out once, fighting down the pain from earlier. "Let's go."
Rui stepped onto Takemikazuchi with Maia, as the two flew back down towards the battlefield. They circled around the fight, trying to see if they could find any weak point on Susanoo while it was distracted by the Gears.
"Did you notice anything on that thing when you fought it before?" Maia asked Rui.
"Everything I told you was everything I could notice." Rui said.
"We're running low!" Maria called, feeling that Ignite was ready to disperse at any second now.
"Everyone, hit it together!" Shuri said, loading up Okami. "We'll take it out in one shot!"
"Right!"
Hibiki created a huge armored gauntlet, as Rui kicked off of Takemikazuchi into the air. Tsubasa, Maia, Maria, Kirika and Shirabe all created massive blades. Chris formed a massive array of missiles, and Shuri locked on.
"Now!"
Blades slashed, bullets flew, and Hibiki and Rui crushed Susanoo's head between a massive punch and mighty kick. Susanoo took all of the hits, before cracks started forming on the solid parts of its body, and the flames started to become more chaotic.
"Get back!" Tsubasa shouted.
They all jumped away, taking cover behind some fallen rubble. In an explosion of flames, Susanoo broke apart, flames spreading all around the destroyed buildings as the monster was taken down.
The Ignite Modules finally gave out, and the wielders were back in their normal forms. The SOUL trio landed by them, looking at where Susanoo stood.
"Did we… do it, dess?" Kirika asked.
"It's nothing but fire now." Shirabe said.
"The fire seems to be normal now." Rui said, absorbing a bit with Kagutsuchi. "We can help with evac and clean up now."
Up on the building, Forte and Lala watched as the girls talked about their next course of action.
"They managed to do it…" Lala said, awed.
"I'm impressed they managed that much." Forte admitted. "But they're giving up too early."
She looked at the flames, which suddenly started acting up. The wielders down below had also realized they were suddenly shifting.
"Heads up!" Chris shouted. She tried shooting at the flames, but they had as much effect as one would expect.
The flames started converging, before swirling into a huge tornado of heat. The metallic parts entered the vortex, disappearing. The tornado thinned, before reforming into Susanoo, who let out a powerful roar, seemingly no worse for wear.
"Are you freaking kidding me?!" Maia shouted. "We did all that and it just came back?!"
Susanoo started to glow, clenching its fists and crossing its arms.
"Everyone!" Tsubasa yelled. "Get behind my blade!"
Tsubasa swung an arm forward, throwing small blades that increased in size, before slamming into the ground to make huge walls. Rui stood at the front of the group, grinding her teeth into the ground. If I can use Kagutsuchi's ability to absorb fire, maybe that thing can't-!
She didn't even get to finish her thought, as Susanoo expanded its flames and burst outward. They slammed into Tsubasa's swords, shattering all of them and knocking all the girls back. Hibiki's vision went white, as she felt herself crashing into the ground.
When her vision returned to her, she realized that Maia was the only one standing, and she was holding her arm, dripping with blood. Everyone else had gotten blasted, spread around the battlefield. Tsubasa had taken the most damage, with a few lacerations in her legs from the debris. Rui was facedown a few feet away.
It was then that Hibiki looked up to see Susanoo was standing over her, before holding its hand forward and creating a blade out of the flames. It drew its hand back, preparing to finish her off.
"Tachibana…!" Tsubasa called, trying to reach out to her friend.
"Get out of there…!" Chris weakly shouted.
For once, her fear had completely overtaken her, as she was rooted to the spot. The giant monster looked like a demon straight out of hell. All she could see was the sword of flames, ready to end her life.
I'm… I'm going to die… She realized. I'm… going to…!
Susanoo thrust its arm forward.
"HIBIKI!" Everyone shouted.
SHLICK
Blood dripped down onto the ground.
Hibiki opened her eyes to see she wasn't skewered… as someone had thrown herself in the way.
"Hibiki…"
Rui had been impaled through the back by Susanoo's blade, the foot-wide blade only a few inches away from Hibiki herself. Rui was holding out her arms, protecting her sister. Her Relic Battle Mode began to crack, before shattering completely. Kagutsuchi attempted to absorb the flaming blade, but the lights on it died out as its effort disappeared. Her clothes were practically dyed crimson, as they began to char away.
Time seemed to stop for everyone, as they saw their friend having taken a fatal blow for her sister.
"RUI!"
"You…" Blood was pouring out of Rui's mouth. "Alright…?"
Despite what had happened, Rui was looking out for her sister first, trying to reassure her. She shakily reached out a hand, barely able to caress the side of Hibiki's face, slightly covering it with blood. Hibiki couldn't speak at what she was seeing, only able to give a shaky nod at her sister's words. Rui smiled, her teeth stained red.
"Thank…" The girl slowly closed her eyes as she let her arms fall slack.
Susanoo made a roar, before pulling the blade back, dragging Rui off her feet. It swung its blade, throwing her off it, straight through an apartment complex.
"Oneesan!" Hibiki stood up, hopelessly reaching out her hand.
Susanoo unleashed a beam of flames that incinerated the base of the building, causing a massive explosion. It was so great that the others had to hold up their arms to shield their eyes.
Something flew past Maia's head and crashed into the rubble nearby. She stared at it for a few moments, before going over and picking it up. Her eyes widened at what she saw. There were scorch marks on the metal, and a few spots of dried blood, but it was clear to her what the damaged item was.
She was holding onto Kagutsuchi, the artificial Gungnir still inside.
"No…" Her hands started to shake. "No, no, no, no, no…"
The others had looked over, the realization and horror hitting all of them as they saw Rui's broken weapon.
"Partner…?" Maia muttered. "You can't… you're not…"
Hibiki was the last to look over, seeing her sister's weapon. She looked back at the flames, falling to her knees. She was hoping, desperately hoping to see Rui get out with a few scratches, just like she always would.
She kept waiting. Susanoo was still destroying the buildings nearby, but Hibiki could see nothing but the flames.
She kept waiting.
She kept waiting.
…
…
…
No one came out.
Maia broke the silence with a scream of despair, punching the ground. The others were still in shock, though several of their eyes started to water.
The tears started to fall as Hibiki clenched her fists, screaming her heart out at the sky.
"ONEESAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"
A/N: …