It was happening again.
All around her were the bodies of her friends. They were all bloody and torn, like the demonic claws that formed her arms.
"Shuri…"
She looked up to see Maia. The girl was holding a broken arm, blood dripping down her face. Shuri clutched at her face, feeling herself losing control. Claws cutting deep, she lunged at Maia.
"Shuri!"
"Shuri!"
Shuri bolted upright in bed, breathing heavily. Thankfully she didn't scream this time. She gripped the covers of the bed, trying to get a feel of where she to the window, she saw the sun was starting to set. She remembered now; she had suddenly felt exhausted and took a nap earlier.
She was home. She was safe. Looking up, she saw her sister looking at her in concern.
"You doing okay?" Chris asked.
Remembering the lifeless eyes of her sister, no. She was far from alright. Chris handed her a cup of water and she drank it in seconds.
"If the nightmares are getting that bad, maybe we should talk to Elfnein." Chris said, sitting down next to her.
"No it's… I can handle them." Shuri said. "It feels like it's telling me something… and besides, I don't think Elfnein could help me with this. It's something I need to push through."
Chris remained silent, before gently rubbing the top of her sister's head. "You've gotten stronger, huh?"
"You're just noticing now?" Shuri smiled.
"Just don't hesitate to ask me if you need help or anything like that." Chris said. "I'm your big sister, after all."
"Right. Thank you, Oneesama." Shuri nodded.
She only hoped that the visions she kept seeing were false. Though her concerns had to be pushed down, as the communicators beeped.
"I thought summer school was supposed to be way more relaxed than this…" Hibiki grumbled, head on her desk at Lydian. The sun was close to setting. "But I'm totally drained… I can't even remember how many times they yelled at me."
Miku walked over, lightly pressing a drink can to Hibiki's forehead.
"Ah, that feels nice…" Hibiki mumbled.
"Sheesh." Miku put down the drink and sat on the desk. "You didn't have your homework done on time. What did you expect?"
"I'm glad they gave me an extension until the term starts, but…" She sat up, clasping her hands. "Please, Miku! Without your help, I'll never finish! Not by then!"
Miku sighed. "Yeah, at this rate you'll have a hard time finishing it by your birthday, let alone the start of term. Hmm… you sure you can't use the recent events as an excuse due to personal issues?"
"I don't think Oneesan would approve of using the time we thought she died to get out of my schoolwork." Hibiki groaned. "Besides, we have to keep all that secret."
"All right. I can't say no when you're in trouble." Miku said.
"You mean it?!" Hibiki stood up, before hugging a now blushing Miku. "Yay! Miku, you're an angel!"
The two were interrupted as a loud helicopter was suddenly outside the window. The door slid open to show Maia, Chris, Shuri, Kirika and Shirabe. Shuri was already in her SOUL uniform.
"Get a room you two!" Chris shouted over the chopper.
"We have emergency summons from HQ!" Shirabe called.
"Huh?! What are you saying?!" Hibiki shouted, unable to hear them over the helicopter propellers.
Kirika tried yelling something, but Hibiki and Miku could barely make out anything. All they heard was her yelling "Dess, dess, dess!"
"I can't hear a wo-OWGH!" Chris' shoe hit Hibiki in the face, knocking the girl out.
"Hibiki!" Miku shouted in concern.
"Goddamn Chris, you got a throwing arm." Maia whistled.
"Neesama, was that necessary?!" Shuri asked.
"I've got a lot of pent-up frustration, so yes it was!" Chris shot back.
After recovering, Hibiki went up to the roof of the school, the helicopter landing for her.
"I'll be back soon, Miku. So don't worry." Hibiki promised. "I'll show that mission and that assignment who's boss!"
Miku nodded. "I know."
In the jungles of Val Verde, a lone crocodile sat on a log. It blinked once as a grasshopper landed on its head. The roar of a motorcycle could be heard in the distance, as were a few explosions. The two animals barely reacted to the sounds, as a military outpost several dozen feet away picked up on it.
"We have two vehicles rapidly approaching!" One soldier reported.
The captain scoffed. "They came on land to avoid our anti-air artillery. The fools. Do they really think they can beat us with conventional weaponry?"
Out in the jungle, what appeared to be several mines activated, launching Alca-Noise crystals. They hit the ground, summoning the creature for battle. But all confidence of the soldiers was gone once they got footage of the motorcycle driver, along with someone else on a hoverboard.
(Insert Gekishō Infinity by Aoi Yuuki, Nana Mizuki and Ayahi Takagaki)
"We have a visual of the approaching vehicles!"
"Don't tell me…! The attacker… is a Symphogear?!" The captain realized. "Don't let them approach the anti-air installations!"
His words were too late, as Tsubasa and Maria had slashed through all of the turrets, the Alca-Noise and soldiers powerless to stop them. As their vehicles skid to a stop, they turned skyward.
"All clear!" Maia called.
"Ogawa-san!" Tsubasa shouted.
Descending on a white kite were Hibiki, Chris and Shuri, with Ogawa controlling it. Seeing that they had made it, Tsubasa and Maia nodded, driving towards their landing zone.
The remaining tanks down below fired at the kite, peppering the fabric as the girls all dropped down with Ogawa. The ninja manager threw out several smoke bombs, obscuring the sight of the enemy. This allowed Chris and Shuri to fire their weapons, shooting up the Alca-Noise and letting them and Hibiki land to fight the Alca-Noise. Ogawa had managed to get behind enemy lines, and started knocking out enemy soldiers, as Tsubasa and Maia joined the other wielders. They mowed down the Alca-Noise without much issue, as the enemy soldiers' tanks started to drive up.
"Tanks? Really?" Maia asked. "These losers are so screwed."
Tsubasa was the first to run forward, deflecting an entire round of gunfire with her sword. The first tank shell was fired, and she sliced it in three, disarming it. The tank only managed to get off a second shot, before she slashed off the barrel. Hibiki took up a stance, knocking the second shot away harmlessly, making sure none of them hit the others. Tsubasa used this chance to deliver a rocket-powered slash and kick, tearing apart a tank.
Fearless Three Blades
Chris and Shuri were back to back, shooting up the Alca-Noise with their crossbows, leaving none standing. The soldiers fired upon the two, even launching a missile. Chris brought out her arms to shield her sister, as the missile hit dead on.
"Gotcha!" The soldiers smirked, thinking they landed a solid shot, but the smoke faded to show Chris was unharmed. Smirking, she spit out one of the bullets she caught in her teeth.
"Neesama, you don't have to do that." Shuri chuckled.
"Hey, I always got your back, no matter what." Chris said, before the two of them blasted all of the guns of the soldiers, without harming any of them.
Hibiki deflected another tank shell, and Maia landed next to her.
"Looks fun, Hibiki. I'll take a shot!" Maia grinned. "Croitzal ronzell Gungnir zizzl~"
Maia's armor gained that orange-yellow hue, as her right eye turned black and orange. Raising her fists, her wrist armor transformed into gauntlets.
"Alright! Now it's my tur-!"
CLONK
A tank shell hit Maia in the face, knocking her down. It bounced off, hitting and exploding several dozen feet behind her.
"Maia-san!" Hibiki ripped off the treads of a tank. "You okay?!"
Maia got up with a grin. "Holy hell that was awesome! Do all Gungnir-users do it like this?!"
"I don't think Maria would…" Hibiki muttered.
Another tank tried to fire at them, but Maia summoned her spear, throwing it and pinning the wheels in place. Hibiki landed on top of the machine, ripping off the roof. The soldiers ran away in fear, as another tank took aim at Hibiki.
"Take this!" Hibiki shouted, swinging the tank part at the other, completely bending the barrel.
"Thirty-four percent of enemy forces have been disabled!" Fujitaka reported, typing away.
"The anti-tank film we had screened last night seems to be effective." Aoi noted.
"I still don't see how that works…" Jeanne muttered.
"The UN forces will be landing in 15 minutes." Genjuro said. "Disable their defenses before then!"
"Roger!" Maia said into her comms, before seeing an armored car roll up and aim at Chris. "Hibiki!"
"Right!" Hibiki rushed over to defend Chris, catching a massive explosive round. She was pushed back from the force, but her Armed Gear stabbed into the ground to give her leverage. Momentum stopped, she threw the shell into the air. "Shuri-san!"
"On it!" Shuri aimed Okami, sniping the shell and encasing it in ice, causing it to fall to the ground in front of the armored car. Chris fired at the shell, causing it to explode and knock the armored car over, letting the soldiers run out.
"Our defenses are falling apart!" A soldier reported to the captain, who started running off. "Captain? Where are you going?!"
The girls had mopped up all the soldiers and Alca-Noise, regrouping. Before they could catch their breath, a huge beam of light shot up from the outpost.
"What now?" Chris asked.
The beam of light created an alchemy circle, before pushing the clouds away to reveal a massive airship, armed with guns on every inch of it.
"That huge thing was hiding in the sky?" Hibiki said, surprised.
"Guess that's the boss to beat up this time." Chris added.
"Easy mode boss, but a boss nonetheless." Maia shouldered her spear.
Several choppers flew into view, causing a gust of wind.
"You five! You don't have time to stand around! Get moving!" Maria's voice came from the front helicopter.
"Right." Shuri nodded. "Let's go, everyone!"
"Helicopters, huh?" Within the massive airship, the captain of the enemy forces saw them on the radar. "Vulnerable to attacks from above."
He pressed a button, as five missiles dropped from the airship, exploding on top of the choppers.
"Got 'em good!" The captain laughed, before realizing that the radar hadn't changed at all.
The three wielders were standing on top of the helicopters, having blocked the missiles. Maia and Shuri had boarded the helicopters, watching to make sure things were going fine.
"They blocked it with their Symphogears?" The captain realized. "That's insane! But two can play at that game!"
He slammed a fist onto the dashboard, causing several dozen missile compartments to open up. They fired nearly a hundred missiles which honed in on the helicopters. Chris and Shuri got to work, shooting down the missiles as Maria and the other pilots engaged in evasive maneuvers.
"Damn Maria, you're one hell of a pilot!" Maia smirked.
"I wouldn't consider myself the most skilled, but thanks!" Maria said, dodging another as Maia jumped out to join the others.
"Tachibana!" Tsubasa called from atop the helicopter. "Let the Yukines take care of defenses!"
"Eh?!" Hibiki shouted, before she followed the two Kazanaris, jumping from missile to missile. She and Maia were noticeably less graceful in jumps compared to Tsubasa.
"Damn it!" Maia nearly slipped. "Tsubasa you're a Symphogear, not a Metal Gea-WHOAAA!"
A missile exploded behind them, but Hibiki and Maia landed on another missile and kept jumping.
"We'll handle this!" Chris shouted. "You take out the ship!"
Chris and Shuri kept shooting down the missiles to protect the helicopters, as Maria engaged in evasive maneuvers. Even with the split work of the two Yukines shooting them down, one helicopter wasn't as lucky as a missile was hot on their tail.
"We can't outrun it!" The pilot shouted, as all the shots from the helicopter missed.
"It's our turn, Kiri-chan!" Shirabe said from inside the helicopter.
"Gotcha, dess!"
The helicopter turned around as the two pulled open the doors. In the nick of time, the missile perfectly passed through without hitting the chopper, right into Chris' line of fire.
"See?" Shirabe held up a thumbs-up.
"We're cool, dess!" Kirika did the same.
Tsubasa jumped off the missiles, going skyward as she raised her sword. "Time for me to unsheath my true blade!"
The blade increased in size to a massive degree, becoming nearly as long as the airship itself. With a shout, Tsubasa swung the blade down, tearing straight through the airship like paper. The blade nearly bisected the enemy captain, breaking his sunglasses, before Hibiki and Maia landed in front of him.
"Sup, asshole?" Maia asked with a grin.
The captain screamed and began to run. Hibiki created a drill with her arm, while Maia's spearhead started to rotate. The two jumped forward, grabbing the captain, before drilling straight out of the airship. This let Chris create a massive set of missiles, all aimed at the floating fortress.
MEGA DETH INFINITY
The missiles all struck true, obliterating the airship, as Hibiki and Maia landed in a nearby lake with the enemy captain.
"Tachibana! Neesama!" Tsubasa skied over the lake with Shuri. "Are you both alright?"
"We're good!" Maia said, the two sticking their heads out of the water.
"Mission accomplished, right?" Hibiki asked.
"Mm. The rest is up to them." Tsubasa agreed, seeing the United Nations helicopters coming in.
"Can you uh… pull us out of the water now?" Maia asked the two. "Though I know Shuri likes seeing me we-"
Shuri stomped on Maia's head, pushing her under the water.
The UN forces landed in the nearby refugee camp, giving out supplies to the civilians and other residents that had suffered when under the control of the enemy. While the sight was demoralizing, Chris in particular seemed to be the most affected. Seeing an injured man and his daughter crying for her, she clenched her hand on the fence, tightening her grip.
"I'm glad the UN acted fast…" Hibiki said.
"As am I." Tsubasa agreed.
"Hey, Chris?" Maia asked. "You alright?"
Chris quickly took her hand off the fence. "Nothing. It's nothing."
Shuri was silent, knowing the reason for her sister's reaction. While there were many painful memories, she herself had managed to push them down. It clearly wasn't the same for Chris. Thankfully, Maria drove up in a truck, changing the conversation.
"We finished patrolling the town, dess!" Kirika said from the back with a salute.
"Hop in. We're going back to HQ." Maria said.
"Shotgun!" Maia called, jumping in the front seat.
"Neesama, Maria already reserved that spot for me." Tsubasa said with a bit of a pout.
It was a good thing that the truck had three seats in the front, or Maria would've had to see a sibling squabble between the Kazanari twins (as amusing as it would've been). The back of the truck was carrying everyone else, as they reflected on the battle today.
"The Alca-Noise that caused us so much pain…" Shirabe said. "And now even these soldiers are being provided alchemical shards to summon them as weapons."
Hibiki looked out at the damaged city. "The Bavarian Illuminati…"
She thought back to a few days earlier.
The girls had all arrived at the base after getting picked up. Notably, Lala and Forte were also present for this.
"Reporting in!" Hibiki said.
"Everyone's here? Then let's begin the briefing." Genjuro stood up.
The screen turned on to show Tsubasa and Maria, with Ogawa and Jeanne managing the communications. Aiba was sitting on Jeanne's shoulder, as usual.
"Senpai?" Chris said, surprised.
"Huh, didn't expect to hear from you two so soon." Maia admitted.
"Maria, did something happen?" Shirabe asked.
"As per the special assignment I received from Tsubasa's dad, on behalf of SONG, I went investigating the story behind the Magical Girl Incident, with Jeanne's assistance." Maria said.
"As no one told me of this," Tsubasa spoke up. "I naturally assumed she had missed me so much she came all the way to England-"
"I told you that wasn't the reason why!" Maria shouted with a blush.
Ogawa stifled a chuckle as Jeanne sighed with a facepalm. Maia had a proud grin on her face.
"There is one particular organization that cropped up time and time again in their investigation:" Ogawa said. "The Bavarian Illuminati."
"They were the ones that helped Carol build the Château de Tiffauges." Elfnein said. "And…"
Lala stepped up. "They helped Tesla learn more about Relics and their effects, giving him the chance to create the Elekleids and other machines."
"They did?" Forte asked. "Why didn't he ever mention this?"
"Tesla kept it buried away but…" Lala turned to her. "Lala got some of the information from when we were wired into the Achtzehn Blitz. It was just locked off until we learned of the name."
Elfnein pulled up a screen, showing many signs of destruction before showing a crest. "A shadowy organization pulling strings throughout history, considered by many to have led to Europe's labeling as the new "Dark Continent"."
"I know that crest, dess!" Kirika said.
"All four of us do." Shirabe said.
"That's right." Maria nodded as Jeanne crossed her arms. "The organization that also funded FIS in the armed uprising led by Mom and the doctor. It seems they have been in the shadows of each of our conflicts."
"I was wondering how Tesla got all that money and materials even though he couldn't sell anything he made." Forte realized. "But I guess Tesla hid his true intentions from them if they kept funding his stuff."
"It was how Tesla could build Lala…" Lala said, putting a hand over her chest.
"Masterminds of both the Frontier and Magical Girl Incidents, as well as indirectly responsible for the Lost Song incident, the Bavarian Illuminati…" Tsubasa said.
"This information may make it possible for us to track down their movements." Elfnein said.
"Though there were only hints of their existence, we never found anything concrete before." Ogawa said. "However, with Maria and Jeanne's intel and Aiba's analysis, our department was able to uncover a new lead. Aiba, if you would."
Aiba nodded, bringing up another screen, shocking the girls.
"Alca-Noise?!" Hibiki said.
"They were sighted in an unstable Latin American country under military rule." Aiba informed, pulling up a new image of the country, showing images of the ruler.
"Val Verde?!" Chris shouted.
Hibiki glanced at Chris and Shuri. Chris' face was one of anger, while Shuri looked down, holding her arm.
"You are to head there and commence operations as soon as you arrive." Genjuro said. "You'll have your work cut out for you."
"Hey uh… is Rui gonna know about this?" Maia asked.
A few of the others were silent at the name of their friend, currently still being kept in one of SONG's holding cells.
"I will let her know, though she won't be participating in this operation as she's still under custody." Genjuro said.
Hibiki slightly clenched her fist. It felt off that her sister couldn't be here with them.
After the last battle, the girls all went to the showers to freshen up. They used this moment to talk to one another regarding the current situation.
"Though SONG is a unit directly under UN control, officially, we're not allowed to engage in military intervention." Maria said.
"However, when faced with users of heretical technology, we have no other choice." Tsubasa added.
"They use the Alca-Noise in their military…" Chris muttered.
"I just wish we had enough LiNKER to make ourselves useful." Shirabe said.
"We've only got one shot left, dess." Kirika said as dried her hair. "We'll need to save it for when the time is right- de-de-dess!"
"Don't worry!" Hibiki had suddenly grasped Kirika's hands. "You don't need LiNKER or a Gear to be useful! You saved the helicopter all by yourselves! Thank you so much!"
Considering the condition the two were in, Kirika couldn't help but blush. "This is kinda embarrassing, somehow…"
Shirabe was staring at the two of them. "Jiiiiiiiiiiiii…"
Kirika choked. "I-It's just hard not to look, dess!"
Chris didn't seem to notice anything as she kept staring at the wall. "Damn memories… Who said you could invade my mind?!"
She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Shuri was there. "Oneesama…"
Chris wanted to reassure her sister she was fine, but she knew Shuri could tell she was hiding her pain. Instead, she noticed a few markings on Shuri's neck. "...wait. Did you two-?!"
"It's not my fault!" Maia shouted as she came into view, face burning red with many, many more marks on her neck in comparison. "She's always the one coming onto me!"
Chris stared at her sister, eye twitching as Shuri looked away with guilt. The others all stared at Maia's marks, with differing levels of blush on their faces. The exception was Tsubasa, who was covering her face in shame at her sister.
"Is this your idea of trying to make me feel better…?" Chris muttered to Shuri. "This just pisses me off more…"
Hibiki, Tsubasa, Maia, Chris and Shuri were sitting on a motorboat with Ogawa as the drive. Genjuro had given them their next mission already.
"We've located another military installation." Genjuro said. "Here are the details of your mission."
The footage appeared on screen, to give them a better idea.
"It's a chemical weapon plant. You will follow the river to the facility upstream. Suppress all combatants while minimizing collateral damage."
"Roger!" They had all replied.
The ride was silent, aside from the motor. Shuri saw pain in Chris' eyes, having a good feeling as to why she was so quiet.
She knew it herself. After all, she was there that day too…
"Shuri! Shuri! Get out of there!"
Shuri barely heard the voice of her screaming sister. Fire and destruction was all around them, but all she saw… all she saw were the bodies of her parents…
"Let me go, Sonya!" Chris shouted. "I need to get to her!"
"No! It's too dangerous!" Said another voice.
"Shut up!" Chris screamed. "This is your fault!"
A few more footsteps, as Shuri felt Chris' arms wrap around her. "Shuri! We need to go!"
"Neesama… Mama… Papa… they're both…"
Chris quickly pulled Shuri onto their back, as she carried her sister. "Don't look at that… just look forward…!"
"But…"
"I'm your big sister… I promised Mama and Papa I would protect you!"
"Remembering the past?" Tsubasa suddenly asked, bringing the two of them out of their thoughts.
"Y-Yep, the past. Don't worry. It's all behind me." Chris said.
Shuri didn't say anything, as Maia gently put a hand on hers.
"You don't have to talk about it." Tsubasa said. "Just focus on what's in front of you. Otherwise-"
Tsubasa couldn't finish, as an armored car shone a spotlight on their boat and started to fire.
"Commence operation!" Ogawa said, seeing Shuri wasn't in the right mind to announce it herself. He sped up the motor, dodging the gunfire.
"I'll spearhead the attack!" Hibiki shouted, jumping off the boat. "Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron~"
(Insert Makenai Ai ga Koko ni Aru by Aoi Yuuki)
Glowing with power, Hibiki's transformation was completed. With a shout, she slugged the side of the armored car, sending it flying and causing the alarm to sound within the chemical weapon plant. Several dozen Alca-Noise were spawned, but quickly cut down with Tsubasa and Maia's blades. Chris and Shuri followed up with several bullets to pierce through the creatures.
"Tch, if only we had one more person here." Maia muttered, before slashing apart another Alca-Noise. "Make this whole thing even smoother."
"Do you think Rui-san would be happy to know you're brooding about her not being here?" Shuri asked, shooting an ice detonator and freezing a group of Alca-Noise.
"Considering how she's actually a big softie underneath, I say yes." Maia tossed a knife at the ice crystals, shattering it with the attack.
Chris had fired an arrow, piercing through a row of Alca-Noise, but the red mist from the Alca-Noise also damaged the base of a tower. It started to fall as civilians ran for their lives. One boy was staring up in shock at it, before Hibiki grabbed him and got him to safety, the tower smashing into the ground behind them.
"They're pushing us back?!" The enemy commander shouted in rage, seeing how easily the Alca-Noise were being dealt with.. He pulled out a switch. "Time to blow them all to smithereens!"
Upon pressing it, a massive Alca-Noise spawned in the encampment and started creating more.
"They brought out the big guy too?" One soldier shouted.
"No plan, just "try not to die"?!" Another shouted, seeing the Alca-Noise summoned.
The Alca-Noise were attacking indiscriminately, killing even the soldiers they were supposed to fight alongside. Tsubasa cut down one, taking note of the situation. "They can't tell friend from foe?!"
"You don't care who you kill, huh?!" Chris yelled, firing an arrow at the massive spawner. It pierced through, before spikes of energy all exploded out from it, keeping it pinned in place
ARTHEMIS CAPTURE
Tsubasa lit her blades with blue flames, before flying towards the huge creature. With two mighty slices, she decimated the creature and cut it apart.
Soaring Phoenix Blade
"Nice work, Tsubasa-san!" Shuri called. "But we have another one coming in above!"
A massive spinning Alca-Noise was descending from the sky, ready to drill into one of the buildings.
"If that one lands… this whole place can say goodbye." Maia realized. "Croitzal ronzell Gungnir zizzl~"
Transforming again, she pulled out her spear, turning to Hibiki. The Gungnir girl had smashed through a huge row of Alca-Noise, before looking up at the massive one. "Maia-san! Like we practiced!"
"You got it!" Maia shouted, raising her weapon and focusing. Hibiki drew her fist back, before having her gauntlet grow in size and power. With a shout, she took off, as the descending Alca-Noise started turning into a drill. Maia tossed her spear upwards, and Hibiki caught it in her free hand. She raised the spear and drove her fist into its base, equipping it to her wrist. The spearhead began to rapidly rotate, before she met the Alca-Noise head-on.
Gungnir Style: Giga Spear Break
Hibiki ripped apart the Alca-Noise, before landing on the ground, the creature exploding in the air behind her.
Elsewhere in an abandoned opera house, the President of Val Verde was discussing things with several of his top officers.
"We prepared a decoy plane and Escalon Airport, sir."
"Unnecessary." The president said. "As long as the ousted regime's Dyciphine Barrier stands, this is the safest place in the country."
"So, in other words, what you're really trying to protect is hidden here."
The president and his officers looked up at the windows to see three figures. Their features were hidden by the moonlight.
"Who are you?" One officer shouted.
"We tried looking through your military facilities first." Said the leader, a woman with silver hair.
"Our plan to use SONG to wreck your secret gardens worked out nicely." A girl with glasses holding a frog plush commented.
A shapely woman with light blue hair chuckled. "Thanks for guiding us here yourself, you cute little El Presidente."
"Saint-Germain! Prelati! Cagliostro!" The president said as he stood up.
"Since you're here, we'll have you make yourself useful one last time." Prelati said with a small glare.
The three began to sing, as an officer turned to the president. "Who are they?"
"Alchemists from the Bavarian Illuminati." The president answered.
"They provided us with heretical technology." Another officer remembered. "They said they would leave those who bore their mark alone!"
"The UN's at our doorstep!" The president shouted. "Fend them off!"
They ignored him and continued to sing, though Cagliostro blew a playful kiss. The second she did, the officers started to panic and clawed at themselves as they glew gold, disintegrating into glowing particles. The president was the last to fall under the effects.
"It hurts! It hurts! Yet somehow… it feels good…?" He said before disappearing.
All the particles gathered into Saint-Germain's outstretched hand, becoming an orb of light. "73,788."
Unbeknownst to the Alchemists, the back of the opera house was occupied. Aoi, Jeanne and Fujitaka were hidden with a few UN agents, keeping silent as they observed.
Just as our investigation found, this opera house is shielded against satellite transmissions. Is this barrier of theirs blocking the signals? Fujitaka thought, as he typed away and recorded the info, with Aiba beaming him some more from what Jeanne was seeing. We snuck in while they were distracted by the attack. It's quite the base of operations.
The alchemists opened up a trapdoor that led downstairs. Seeing this, Aoi signaled to the others to follow.
"W-Wait!" Fujitaka whispered.
"Not the time for nerves, Fujitaka." Jeanne told him, as she went alongside Aoi.
Tsubasa and Maia were in the main office of the chemical weapon plant, seeing it was abandoned.
"Looks like the commanders got away." Tsubasa said.
"Sneaky bastards." Maia kicked over a desk to double check. Nothing.
Hibiki, Chris and Shuri entered, along with the boy that Hibiki had saved earlier.
"Tsubasa-san! This boy saw them!" Hibiki said.
"I saw the director escape by car." He said. "They might be hiding in the village close by."
"And you are?" Tsubasa asked.
"Name's Stephan. We were dragged here from the village to work." He explained.
Chris punched a fist into her palm. "Let's catch them before things get even uglier."
Shuri stared at Chris after she did the motion. "Huh…"
"What?" Chris asked defensively.
"That seems more like something Rui-san would do…" Shuri commented.
"Not the time, Shuri!" Chris said, though she blushed a bit.
Down in the basement of the opera house, the Illuminati Alchemists found what appeared to be a large golden amber. Saint-Germain pulled off the tarp atop it to get a better look. In the back of the room, the SONG members and UN agents were keeping a close eye on them.
"Aiba, do your thing." Jeanne whispered.
She popped out of Jeanne's eye, landing on her hand in her hamster form. She started scanning the contents of the crystal.
"Scanning complete. Sending results back to Fujitaka's laptop." Aiba said.
But the moment the data reached the laptop, it loudly beeped to inform them of the arrival, while also giving away their position. Taking action, Aoi and Jeanne started shooting at the Alchemists, with assistance from the UN agents.
"Get out!" Aoi shouted at Fujitaka.
The bullets were all deflected as Saint-Germain put up a shield.
"My apologies." Aiba said as she quickly returned to Jeanne's eye socket. "It appears that I forgot to turn off the volume on Fujitaka's computer before I sent the data."
"Merde, you're an AI, how does that even happen?!" Jeanne yelled as they made their way up the stairs.
"What's the rush?" Cagliostro chuckled, holding up a hand and creating an alchemic circle.
But before she could launch any sort of attack, Jeanne glared in her direction, freezing her momentarily with Aiba's glance. She fired one shot at her feet for good measure, before escaping with the others.
"Whoa, what was that?" Cagliostro said, surprised at being momentarily frozen.
"Argus' Eye…" Prelati muttered.
"Well I don't care who's eye it is." Cagliostro said. "I'm about to-"
"Wait." Saint-Germain held out an arm before looking at an urn in the room. "This will make the perfect experiment. Let's grant El Presidente his last wish while we're at it."
She walked over to the urn, before she held up her hand and brought out the orb of light from earlier.
"I'll take the energy we extracted from the sacrifice, and instill it into this spirit of wrath."
The energy transformed into a serpent-like creature, roaring as it entered the urn.
As the UN vehicles drove away, the ground behind them rumbled. Bursting out of the ground was a massive mechanical serpent, with red eyes going down its body.
"What is that?!" Aoi said in shock.
"Respond, HQ!" One UN agent yelled. "Respond-!"
The serpent clamped down on the truck, crushing it in its jaws.
The team back at SONG HQ could see everything from one of their aerial cameras.
"Tomosato-san! Fujitaka-san! Jeanne-san!" Elfnein said in worry.
"The Gear users are out on duty! Lose that thing, even if it kills you!" Genjuro ordered.
"What kind of backwards logic is that?!" Jeanne yelled.
"The only thing we'd be losing is our lives!" Fujitaka agreed.
The serpent burst through a building, scooping up and destroying another truck as visual footage was lost.
"Do you copy?!" Genjuro shouted.
Fujitaka shouted, seeing the serpent was right behind them. "We can't outrun it!"
Jeanne stuck her head out the window and glared at the snake. To her surprise, it wasn't frozen in place. "Wha-?!"
"My apologies. It appears that the creature is too powerful for me to freeze." Aiba apologized.
"Tu te fous de moi?!" Jeanne yelled, irritated.
The serpent lunged at them, but Aoi pulled on the brake to skid around, thankfully avoiding it as it fell down a cliff.
"We made it!" Fujitaka breathed out.
"Why would you say tha-?!"
Jeanne couldn't finish the sentence, as the serpent tore through the ground, flipping the truck over. The Illuminati alchemists were standing atop the cliff, looking down at the damage.
"That makes 73,794." Saint-Germain said, counting the UN agents killed, while watching the surviving SONG members crawl out of the wreckage. "Your lives will lay the foundation for a worldwide revolution."
"Revolution?" Fujitaka said.
The giant serpent loomed over them, ready to finish the job.
"Seilien coffin Airgetlám tron~"
"A song?" Cagliostro said.
"But from where?" Saint-Germain looked around.
Another truck drove up, crashing into the serpent's blind side, causing it to roar in pain as it went up in flames. Landing in front of the SONG members were Maria, Kirika and Shirabe, all transformed and ready to face down the massive serpent.
Jeanne smirked, as Aiba sat on her shoulder. "About time."
A/N: And we are back with the main story. Prepare for AXZ to have several more twists and turns influenced by the events of the Lost Song arc. And don't worry about Rui, she'll be back with the team soon.
Feel free to leave a review. I'll see you all next time.