Sitting on her hospital bed, Tsubasa held out the Ame-no-Habakiri pendant towards Maia.

"Wait… for real?" Maia asked. "This is yours, though."

"I know, which is why I'm going to give it to you for now." Tsubasa said. "I'm currently unable to fight, so I wish to give it to someone I know that can put it to good use."

Maia looked at it for a few moments, but pushed it back. "Nah, not yet."

"Not yet?" Tsubasa asked.

"It's not like it's a big emergency at the moment or anything, so you keep it. Besides, the Symphogear can help you keep fighting even with your legs being a bit messed up, right?" Maia pointed out.

"But still-"

"You can give it to me some other time, if the situation really gets out of hand." Maia said. "I'll be the one to ask you, instead."

"Fine, I only ask that you be careful if that time ever comes." Tsubasa asked.

"Yeah, I'm not gonna break the thing." Maia said with a wave of her hand. "Elfnein spent a lot of time fixing it up after it got busted up the first time."

"I wasn't talking about Ame-no-Habakiri, I was referring to you, Neesama." Tsubasa said.

"Me?"

"You do have your habits of recklessness, and using Ame-no-Habakiri in your weapon is a dangerous last resort." Tsubasa said. "I want you to promise me to only use it with care, so you stay safe as well."

Maia chuckled, before putting her hand into Tsubasa's.

"I promise you. I'll stay safe, Tsubasa." Maia said with a reassuring smile. "I should always keep my promises as your big sis, right?"

Elfnein gently put the damaged and charred Kagutsuchi down on her workshop table. Rolling up her sleeves, she put on a pair of goggles.

"Rui-san probably wouldn't have wanted her weapon to remain like this." Elfnein said to herself. "I'll fix this up for her…"

Maria was in the bridge of SONG HQ, going through several files with the assistance of Aoi and Fujitaka. Kirika and Shirabe stood nearby, while Jeanne entered soon after.

"You called me here, Maria." She said. "What do you need me for?"

"Just in case I'm remembering things wrong." Maria said, before turning to Aoi and Fujitaka. "Could you look up the name "Forte" in your database?"

The two nodded as they got to typing.

"Looking up the enemy?" Jeanne realized.

Maria nodded. "It doesn't hurt to check, though it hasn't been proving fruitful."

"The only things we get for Tesla are either what we know about him in the history books, or that car company that shut down ages ago." Shirabe said.

"And there's nothing on one of them, Starlit, while the other, Lala, has too many things for us to look at, dess." Kirika said. "So we're getting a little frustrated."

"It's only somewhat logical." Jeanne shrugged. "If we could look up all of our enemies, things would be so much easier for us."

Genjuro however, had kept his arms crossed. One of the names seemed familiar to him. Starlit… where have I heard that before…?

"We finished searching, Maria." Aoi said.

"How many hits?" Maria asked.

"At least fifty thousand." Fujitaka said. "Forte is a name that has a long trace of history for Italians."

"Ugh, another dead end, dess." Kirika groaned.

"...can you lower the search quality?" Maria asked. "Make things more specific."

"We can, but we'd need keywords." Aoi said.

"Alright then, the first. "Girl."" Maria said.

They entered a few keystrokes as Fujitaka looked at the number again. "That cuts down the search amount to forty thousand."

"Still a lot…" Shirabe muttered.

"Then the second keyword, "Orphan."" Maria said.

The others looked a bit confused, but Aoi and Fujitaka did Maria's suggestion. Surprisingly, it lowered things down significantly.

"Whoa, now we lowered it down to 7000 hits!" Fujitaka said.

"But that's still so much, dess…" Kirika grumbled.

"Maria, why did you use that as the second keyword?" Shirabe asked.

"Then the final keyword…" Maria let out a breath she was holding in. "..."FIS.""

Jeanne, Kirika and Shirabe widened their eyes as the last keyword was inputted.

"There's… only one result." Aoi said, as she and Fujitaka pulled it onto the screen.

"This is one of the files we retrieved on the FIS Receptor Children, back after the Frontier Incident." Fujitaka said.

It was a file for one of the children that had suffered from the terrible experiments. The girl had no last name, with the only one given being "Forte." She had red hair and blue eyes… the exact same as the Forte they had fought.

"Mon dieu." Jeanne muttered.

"She… She was one of us…?" Shirabe realized.

"I just ran a facial recognition scan over the ID photo, applied a natural aging process, and then compared it to some of the pictures from the security camera footage. It is a 97.63 percent match." Aiba informed them.

"This… it's not a big coincidence, is it?" Kirika asked.

"I was wondering why that girl seemed to recognize us, so I tried thinking back." Maria said. "Do you remember that red-haired girl that used to cause a lot of trouble for Mom?"

"...are you talking about the same one that always tried smashing through the observation windows and kept dislocating her shoulder?" Jeanne asked.

"Exactly that one." Maria said.

"She was always scary, dess…" Kirika said. "But she was also a lot of fun to talk to."

"But how is she here?" Shirabe asked. "I thought… back then…"

"That's what I'm not sure of, myself." Maria said. "I believed she, along with many of the others, had died when Nephilim went berserk and Serena sacrificed herself…"

"There was too much destruction, and the damn scientists didn't care if any of us died." Jeanne bitterly spat.

"So we know she's an old friend… what do we do now, dess?" Kirika asked.

"I think that answer is pretty obvious, Kiri-chan." Shirabe said. "We reach out to her."

"She's another survivor of that tragedy." Maria said, turning to the others. "We need to save her… much like how the people at SONG saved all of us."

"Atchoo!" Forte sneezed before shivering. "Ugh, I knew I shoulda brought a jacket…"

She and Lala were floating above the ocean with their Elekleids. Lala had a tablet out and was looking through it, having not heard Forte sneeze.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Forte asked. "I'm freezing here. Couldn't we have done this in the morning?"

"Lala isn't wrong." Lala said. "Lala double checked."

On the screen was footage of the Frontier Incident, showing Shirabe facing off against Rui while the Noise attacked the ships around them. It switched to Hibiki fighting against a Shenshoujing Miku, along with the destruction from Miku's laser blasts tearing apart the ships.

"It matches up with the footage that Starlit had retrieved from SONG." Lala said, looking back at the ocean.

"Man, she got the easy job while we were just the ones casting Susanoo as bait." Forte grumbled. "This just looks like more ocean."

"That bait was just as important for the plan." Lala said, putting away the tablet before pulling out a small crystalized case. She opened it, pulling out what appeared to be a transparent crystal.

"Man, I really hope that Miku girl isn't doing anything too important right now." Forte said, crossing her arms.

"Regrets of the deceased… give us the power to change the world." Lala said, before tossing the crystal into the water.

It fell several dozen feet, making a small splash that was overtaken by the waves. Nothing happened for several moments, before the spot the crystal fell began to bubble and churn, forming a small whirlpool.

"How long do we gotta wait again?" Forte asked.

Lala sighed. "Lala knows you've done this many times before, and you're still asking?"

"You really think I'm paying attention?" Forte asked.

"It depends on how many regrets were left behind."

"So… a long-ass time for this one, then?"

Lala nodded, as she put her hands into prayer for those that had passed on early.

"Thanks for helping me shop, you two." Miku said, as she walked down SONG halls with a few plastic bags in her arms.

She was walking alongside the Yukine twins, who were also carrying bags of groceries with them. Shuri was holding onto several more bags compared to the others, which she insisted was part of her training regimen. No doubt thanks to Genjuro's training.

"Hey, it's better than just moping around, yeah?" Chris said. "Though you did buy a lot of food… using my money…"

"Oneesama, you'll make that much in a few days thanks to how SONG pays us. It's fine." Shuri said. "So what were you planning on, Miku?"

"Well, when Hibiki's down, I'd usually make some food for her." Miku said.

"Of course she's that easy, that dummy hamster." Chris rolled her eyes.

"While she's built up her resolve again, she'll still need to keep pushing forward." Miku said. "So I'll make her favorites. Then we can share it with everyone, to help spread the mood."

"That's a good idea to help keep up morale." Shuri said. "I'll help pitch in too."

"Though still…" Chris looked off to the side. "It won't be the same without Rui cooking…"

"She was always so enthusiastic about it… and she taught me too…" Shuri said sadly.

"I'm not saying that I'll be able to be better than hers, but she wouldn't want us to-" Miku winced, before stumbling. She nearly dropped her groceries, but Shuri quickly ran over to catch them.

"Miku-san?" Shuri asked. "Are you-?"

Miku was leaning against a wall, one hand on her head as she sweated profusely.

"Oi, Miku!" Chris said, putting down her bags. She quickly ran over and held Miku's shoulders, keeping her standing. "You alright?"

Miku was calming her breath, trying to keep herself steady. "I'm fine… but I need to talk to the commander."

"The old man?" Chris asked. "What are you talking about? You should probably rest before you-"

"No, I'm serious about this, Chris." Miku said, grim look on her face.

Hibiki was sitting quietly in her room aboard the ship. She left the Fourze keychain standing on her desk, and found herself staring at it very often. While she still believed in bringing TEC to justice, and was determined to do so… she knew it wouldn't fill that empty hole in her heart.

"Oneesama…" Hibiki muttered.

Closing her eyes, she remembered her supportive sister, how much she cared for her and how she was always there for her. Those three weeks she was in a coma were unbearable, especially when she was told the chances of her waking up were slim to none.

And yet her sister pulled through, determined to be there for her family. Hibiki was holding onto that hope the same would happen now, even though she knew in her heart something like that wasn't possible.

She was so deep in thought that she didn't hear the small raps on the door. "O-Oh! Come in!"

The door slid open, and Ogawa was standing there.

"Hibiki-san, everyone's been called to the bridge of HQ." Ogawa said. "We've figured out a few things that we need everyone to hear."

"O-Okay, I got it." Hibiki stood up, looking at the keychain on her desk before pocketing it. Ogawa saw her do this, but didn't say anything, considering the girl already had a lot on her mind. "Hey, Ogawa-san?"

"Yes?"

"Did you… ever experience something like this before?" Hibiki asked. "The pain of… losing someone close to you?"

"Well… Kanade-san was one that affected everyone." Ogawa said. "While she was closer to Tsubasa-san and Maia-san, her presence always lit up everyone, and it always felt darker without her."

"Kanade-san…" Hibiki remembered how the girl had sacrificed her life to protect her and Rui. While her memory of the event was always fuzzy, she distinctly remembered the first and last conversation that the two of them had.

"Hey, you're her sister, right?"

"Y-Yes."

"Take good care of her. And I'm sorry that happened to her."

Hibiki put a hand in her pocket, fingers brushing the keychain. Did Oneesan throw herself in the way… every time she put herself in harm's way to protect me… was it because of Kanade-san's words…?

As she walked down the hall, she wondered what kind of people she and her sister would have been, if not for that day…

Everyone had arrived in the hangar. Maria was standing near the front, as was Jeanne with Aiba on her shoulder. Though oddly enough, Miku was next to them. This confused Hibiki; they were the ones leading things?

"If you would start things off, Maria-kun." Genjuro said.

"The first thing to note is that we at least learned about one of TEC's members." Maria said, as the image of Forte was pulled on screen. "Forte was a former FIS receptor child, like everyone here formerly of that group."

"You knew her?" Chris asked the other former FIS members. The other SONG members present were also surprised.

"She was a bit of a rough one, but fun, dess." Kirika remembered.

"I wouldn't necessarily call her an amie, but she did suffer the same way as we all did." Jeanne said.

"So if possible… we want to reach out to her and help her." Shirabe said.

"Help her, huh?" Maia asked. "Even though she was one of the people that was responsible for…?"

There was a small hanging silence, before Maria spoke.

"Forte is on her own misguided path, much like I was…" Maria said softly. "I want to save her from making even more mistakes."

"Alright, good to know." Maia said with a smile. "Just wanted to clear the air. But I'm gonna beat the shit out of her first."

"Maia!" Shuri said in a disapproving tone.

"Yeah I know revenge is bad and all that crap, but I think I need a little bit of catharsis, y'know?" Maia shrugged.

"...no broken bones." Maria said.

"I'll try my best."

"And that brings us to the next point; we think we might know where they are." Genjuro said.

"You do?" Chris asked. "Does it have to do with… that thing that happened to Miku a couple of minutes ago?"

"What thing?" Hibiki asked, a bit on edge. "Miku, are you okay?

"I'm fine right now." Miku said. "But a few minutes ago, I suddenly had… I don't know what to call it. I nearly passed out, and going through my mind was a vision of that time we fought before the Frontier rose… but I also saw Forte and Lala there."

"So you're saying they're above the ocean back where the Frontier used to be, dess?" Kirika asked.

"It's just a gut feeling, but I don't think that sudden flash in my mind happened out of nowhere." Miku said. "There has to be some sort of connection."

"I used satellite energy scanning and found a surge on the nautical coordinates where the Frontier used to be." Aiba said. "However, I am unable to obtain the satellite footage of the location, as the current positions of the satellites are too far away from the coordinates to get images."

"We'll set course for it immediately, as it's not too far from our current location." Genjuro said. "Better we check out this hunch instead of letting ourselves get caught off guard."

"Yeah, let's go kick their asses!" Chris shouted.

Hibiki slipped a hand into her pocket, her fingers brushing upon the keychain.

Oneesan… we'll do this for you!

"Is it still going?"

Forte had her legs crossed, as her Elekleid let her sit in the air. One hand on her cheek, she just watched with boredom as Lala stared at the bubbling vortex of water.

"You know how long this goes." Lala sighed.

"Yeah, but sometimes it's faster or slower." Forte mumbled. "Guess that today is one of the slow days…"

As soon as she said that, the vortex had subsided, replaced by the endless waves of water that had always been there. Slowly rising was the crystal, now colored orange instead of transparent.

"Oh nevermind. A lot faster!" Forte grinned as she straightened herself. "Let's get back to shore so Tesla can warp us back."

Lala put the crystal in a special slot of her Elekleid, before frowning as she turned. "Do you… hear that?"

"Hear what?"

They got their answer, seeing the water start to churn a few miles away. Bursting out of the water were several capsules.

"Crap! They found us?!" Forte yelled.

"We need to go." Lala said, grabbing Forte's arm as they started flying towards the mainland.

The capsules burst in the air, revealing the Symphogear-users. Forte had expected their expressions to be half-hearted or depressed, but was stunned to see that all of them had determination on their faces.

"Move, move!" Forte muttered. They might be down two, but we're down one! And this time, they got the drop on us!

"Here's the highlight!" Chris shouted, firing a large array of missiles towards the two.

BILLION MAIDEN

Lala quickly held up her hand to create a shield. The missiles crashed into them, causing an explosion of flame and smoke. Bursting through the smoke were Maia and Maria, who swung their blades forward. Forte quickly brought up her ax to defend, but the combined strength knocked her back, slamming into Lala and sending them crashing onto the beach. Forte was much more frustrated than hurt, as she tapped her communications.

"What the hell, Tesla?!" Forte shouted. "I thought you said the capsules would cause the emotion feedback to knock that Miku girl out! Not bring her friends in SONG right to us!"

"It appears you made a critical error when using it." Tesla said. "I reviewed the footage again, and it appears that the Noise were the ones that had killed all the soldiers on the ships; not a single life was taken by Miku Kohinata. The regrets you brought up were merely her own; nowhere near enough to cause her to feel remorse to the point of a temporary mental shutdown."

"Then now what?!" Forte said, as she pulled Lala to her feet. "We're outgunned here!"

"...I never thought I'd hear you admit something like that, Forte." Tesla's tone was one of actual surprise.

"Not the time for jokes!" Forte said. "We need backup, now!"

"Last at least a minute or two." Tesla said. "With Hibiki Tachibana and SONG as your foe, that will be a challenge I hope you can push through."

"Lala and Forte understand." Lala said, as users landed in front of them.

"Do not move." Shuri said, keeping Okami aimed and ready.

"Normally we'd beat the crap out of you and drag your asses back to base with us, but we're playing nice." Maia said, blade pointed at the two. "Besides, someone wants to talk to you two first."

The others kept their weapons ready as Hibiki stepped forward. Lala frowned, seeing the sadness in the girl's eyes. Forte felt guilt as well, but didn't show it.

"Please… can we talk?"

Lala was surprised. She expected Hibiki to yell at them, or beat them down, since they were responsible for the death of her sister. Yet she was talking to them, with no hint of anger in her voice.

"At least… your old friends want to." Hibiki said.

"Old friends…?" Forte said, looking at FIS. "So you finally remembered me, huh?"

"I'm sorry, Forte." Maria said. "We didn't know-"

"Yeah, nobody knew back then." Forte scoffed. "Since no one cared about us."

"But we do care. You were one of us." Shirabe said. "And Jeanne's waiting too."

"We were friends, right, dess?" Kirika asked. "So-"

"Friends?" Forte repeated, venom in the word. "Would friends leave me to die?"

"What… what are you talking about?" Kirika asked.

"There I was, pinned under a burning chunk of the ceiling. I was reaching out, screaming for help as it slowly crushed me." Forte remembered, as her weapon shook. "No one came; everyone just ran by. Either the other kids abandoning me, or getting killed themselves. Maria, your sister and Jeanne just ignored me, when they could've helped save me."

"The Nephilim was-"

"Even after it was stopped! You all just abandoned that damn place, left me for dead!" Forte screamed. "I spent two days under that damn debris, I couldn't feel anything below my chest anymore! Tesla… he found me there, he saved me! Something none of you could do!"

"That isn't fair to them!" Chris said. "They didn't know-!"

"Exactly! If they really were my friends, they would've known! They wouldn't have abandoned me to die!" Forte finished, breathing heavily.

Forte… I'm so sorry. Maria frowned. But if you accept Hibiki's hand, we can start over…

Before Hibiki could make the offer, their comms all went off.

"Everyone, Aiba just picked up on a teleportation signal!" Fujitaka said.

"It's the same as when Tesla disappeared the first time." Aoi added.

"Where?" Maia asked.

"Above!"

Everyone looked up to see a portal appear in the sky, its bright energy lighting up the night.

"Crap, is the big boss coming out?" Chris said, aiming her guns.

There was a blur of orange falling out of the portal, as it closed. It appeared to be a person, but they were so far up they couldn't tell who it was. They brought their wrist up, brandishing a purple bracelet.

"Elekeid. Switch on."

Tapping it, there was a flash of purple, as two rings of violet lightning enveloped the figure, blinding everyone. It faded, just as they heard it landing on the sand, creating a small crater. As the light and dust settled, they saw that it was Starlit's Elekleid form… except Starlit wasn't wearing it.

"N-No way…" Chris' hands trembled, guns shaking.

"She's…!" Maia stepped forward.

The others also had similar looks of surprise, as did Lala and Forte. The Elekleid's mouthguard was open, and they could see her face. Her eyes were completely devoid of light, irises being dull as rust to match the stoic expression on her face. But even with the eyes lacking life, they all recognized her.

"Onee… san…?" Hibiki asked, eyes wide.

Rui Tachibana stood before them all.

A/N: I love how these author's notes are staying short as the fic keeps going on. And it's just gonna get worse from here, folks!

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