Rui was lying down on her bed, gently petting Yusuke. The cat had gone to sleep on her stomach, having gotten comfortable.
Hearing a knock at her door, she gently took Yusuke off her stomach and went over to see who was there.
"Lala? What's up?" Rui asked, seeing her friend at the door.
"The situation changed." Lala said. "And the Commander says you can go now."
"Crap, something came up, huh?" Rui asked, as Lala opened the door.
"Yes. Here."
Lala pushed a tray forward to Rui. It had Kagutsuchi, her Proto-Gear and her Elekleid. But there was also what appeared to be a phone case.
"Uh… what's the last one?" Rui asked.
"Elfnein built it for you. You'll see once you get out on the field." Lala said.
Rui was sitting in the back of a pickup truck, as Ogawa and Jeanne drove towards where Maria, Kirika and Shirabe were fighting. Yusuke was in Jeanne's care, as Rui tightened her boots. She had changed into her usual SOUL uniform, with the addition of a black trench coat. Genjuro was the one that had suggested it since it'd be cold at night, and she was completely fine with the addition. She was already informed about the situation thanks to SONG's staff keeping her up to date, so all she had to do was steel herself.
"So… this thing?" Rui pulled out the odd phone case, having put her phone into it earlier.
"Elfnein says you need to place it down." Jeanne said, as Yusuke kept trying to claw at her face.
Raising a brow, Rui placed it down in the back, as widening her eyes as it unfolded into a motorcycle. Its colors were orange, white and yellow, with a few hints of black and purple. A helmet was sitting on the handles.
"Whoa?!" Rui sat atop it, amazed. "A motorcycle?!"
"Elfnein-kun's special creation. A collapsible motorcycle powered by a replenishable form of artificial Phonic Gain generated from the Proto-Gears, armed with a pair of vulcans on the front that shoot energy bullets similar to the makeup of a Symphogear's, much like Ichaival. Synced up to the Artificial Gungnir with a slightly advanced AI to follow your commands with a thought. On top of that, special regulations means that you don't need a license, with the safety setting allowing you to drive without issue. On the off chance you do… crash, the machine is as durable as a Symphogear due to harnessing the power of the Artificial Gungnir." Ogawa said. "It's her gift to you, and just needs a name."
"Ride GearStriker." Rui said immediately. She had been imagining the idea of owning a bike for a while, and even contemplated asking Tsubasa for advice. Even if the Kazanari seemed more to be an expert at crashing them and keeping them expendable.
"Well it's good you like it- merde!" Jeanne cursed. "Rui, your cat is trying to claw my eye out!"
"Maybe it just wishes to play." Aiba hopped out of Jeanne's socket as she expanded into her hamster-like form. "Hello Yusuke, would you like to-"
Yusuke gnawed on Aiba, picking her up in his mouth.
"Oh dear." Aiba said.
"Rui! Reign in your stupid cat!" Jeanne shouted.
Rui didn't hear her, having put on her helmet. "Ogawa, open the back!"
The back door of the truck opened, and Rui revved the engine before speeding off towards the fight. She saw a plane taking off, and sped up.
"Alright Bavarian Illuminati… here I come!"
Rui turned back to Maria, Kirika and Shirabe. She nodded at them giving a thumbs-up of reassurance. Kirika and Shirabe grinned and gave a thumbs-up back.
"Rui… It's good to see you again." Maria smiled.
"Well, I thought I'd put on a good show since I've been out of the fight for so long." Rui smirked. "Besides, can't let everyone else steal the spotlight against these Alchemist Academy ripoffs."
At her words, the other SONG wielders and two other SOUL members had arrived at the scene. They noticed Rui, but kept their focus on the alchemists for now.
"Stand down, Bavarian Illuminati!" Tsubasa aimed her blade.
"I'm in a pretty bad mood right now." Chris said, aiming her crossbows. "If you resist, who knows what might happen?"
"Neesama, calm down." Shuri said.
"The nerve! Time someone took you down a peg or two!" Cagliostro groaned.
An alchemic circle appeared in front of them, as Saint-Germain materialized. "So… the remnants of Finé's legacy. The Symphogear. And with you is Tesla's Instrument of Change. However, opening humanity's future is beyond your power."
"You know of Finé?" Maria asked. "What do you mean by opening the future?"
"She sounds just like Miss Ryoko…" Hibiki said. "Remember how she talked about freeing mankind from the Curse of Balal?"
"Is that your goal?" Tsubasa asked.
"Cagliostro. Prelati." Saint-Germain said. "We are withdrawing."
"They did take out Yohualtepuztli." Cagliostro put her hands behind her head.
"Basically, we need to regain our footing." Prelati said.
"We have sacrificed more of our time and lives than you could comprehend to regain control of the future." Saint-Germain said, breaking a crystal on the ground to summon another alchemic circle. "No one will stop us. Not even you."
"Regain control of the future?" Hibiki asked. "W-Wait!"
The alchemists disappeared in a flash.
"God damn it, why does every single bad guy we fight have to spout cryptic shit like that?" Maia groaned. And it looks like they don't even realize that we were there when we found out everyone on the planet was gone…
"It's what makes villains in the first place." Rui said, leaning against her bike.
With the alchemists gone, the others took notice of their returned friend. All of them dismissed their transformations. The moment Rui put her helmet back on her bike, Hibiki was the first one to pull her into a hug.
"Uah!" Rui winced, feeling Hibiki's strength.
"Oneesan… I missed you." Hibiki said quietly.
"You visited me in the holding cell pretty much every chance you got until you were busy." Rui pointed out.
"That's different, and I felt bad when I couldn't visit!" Hibiki said, as she stopped hugging Rui, wiping away a few tears. "Knowing you're out with us now… that just makes me happy."
"Agreed." Tsubasa nodded. "It's good to see you're alright now."
Shuri smiled at her friend, as Rui nodded at her.
"Good to see you, Partner." Maia said, holding out a fist.
"Yeah… hey." Rui returned the fistbump-handshake she was known for, but Maia noticed Rui wasn't meeting her eyes.
Chris smiled at Rui, but didn't go over to say anything.
"Rui-san!" Ogawa called, driving over. Jeanne was in the truck as well, seemingly… fighting with something in the backseat. "Glad to see you met up with the others."
"Yeah, thanks for the lift." Rui said. "How's Yusuke?"
"You stupid cat!" Jeanne shouted. "Let Aiba go!"
"Help." Aiba simply stated.
Yusuke jumped out of the car, dropping Aiba on the ground before making his way over to Rui. Using her bike as a lift, he jumped onto his owner's shoulder.
"A cat?" Chris asked.
"Oh uh, say hello to Yusuke." Rui said, skritching Yusuke's chin. "He'll be our new family member, Hibiki."
"Oh… EH?!"
"That sounds rough." Miku said, brushing Hibiki's hair. "I was wondering where you were, but I never thought you'd be fighting a war on the other side of the planet."
A few days had passed since the incident at Val Verde, and the girls all resumed their school life at Lydian, including Rui.
"Mm. And that's where we ran into those alchemists." Hibiki recounted.
"So their goal is the same as Miss Ryoko's?" Miku asked.
"That means they might feel they have no other choice." Hibiki said. "But that doesn't make it okay to hurt people in the process."
Hibiki thought back to how Chris had been forced to shoot off Stephen's leg, but also how Rui had nearly killed Maia in their fight several months ago.
Seeing Hibiki sigh, Miku pushed further. "There's something else worrying you, isn't there?"
"Whaa? Aaah, I-I'm just worried about Tsubasa-san, Maia-san and Maria-san, since they stayed behind to investigate further!" Hibiki quickly said, rubbing the back of her head. "But they said they'd be back for Lydian's opening ceremony, so they should be here pretty soon!"
Miku stared at Hibiki, and she crumpled under her friend's glance.
"Actually, there is one other thing… two, actually…"
The plane that Tsubasa, Maia and Maria were on was approaching their destination. While Tsubasa looked out the window and Maria was reading a magazine, Maia didn't seem to be all there. Looking away from the window, Tsubasa saw that her sister was looking down at her own chest, running a hand across it.
Rui… you didn't want to look at me… Maia thought, letting her fingers trace where her chest scar was. Because of what happened… does she resent me? Or… no, she blames herself again…
"Neesama?" Tsubasa asked. "Is something the matter?"
"Me?" Maia said. "A-Ah, it's nothing. Just… hoping we get that briefcase of info back safe and sound."
While Tsubasa didn't ask any more questions, Maria saw Maia's fidgeting. Maia…
"So… you gonna say anything?"
Chris was sitting on a bench in the school courtyard with Rui. The two of them were relatively silent, as Rui had called Chris out here. Yusuke was taking a nap, lying between them. "Like, if you just called me out here for no reason, I'm just gonna go." Chris told Rui.
Rui wasn't looking at her, leaning forward with her fingers interlocked. "Chris… do you hate me?"
"Huh?"
"The crap that I pulled by joining TEC… do you hate me for it?" Rui turned to her friend.
Chris looked into Rui's eyes, seeing the pain and regret behind it.
"Hey… I could never hate you." Chris said in a soft voice. "You helped Shuri and I way back when, remember?"
"But I-"
"Hey, remember that show you like? All those superheroes with the bad powers or even starting bad, but becoming good guys? Chris asked. "It's basically like that, yeah?"
"...you watched Kamen Rider?" Rui asked, a small hint of excitement in her voice.
"I uh… watched a couple of episodes here and there after that whole incident with TEC." Chris said with a wave of her hand. "I guess they're sort of cool…"
"Which one is your favorite?" Rui asked.
"I'll tell you later." Chris said. "Point is, none of us hate you. I know everyone was excited as hell to see you again."
"I…" Rui smiled. "Thanks, Chris."
Chris saw that Rui wasn't completely sure of herself yet, probably since she couldn't forgive herself. Something she related to all too well.
Before she knew it, she was gently rubbing Rui's head. They were both vaguely aware of this, but pushed their normal feelings down. Rui gently placed a hand over Chris' hand atop her, enjoying the warmth, as Chris felt the same. The two just silently basked in this intimate moment.
That was, until they saw they had a few onlookers. Kirika and Shirabe were both watching with rather smug expressions on their faces. Shuri on the other hand, merely chuckled.
"You can't complain about Maia and I anymore, can you, Oneesama?" Shuri asked.
In one swift movement, Chris pushed Rui off the bench, blushing like crazy.
"H-Hell no!" Chris shouted. "Wh-What you and that freaking hellion do is ten times worse!"
"So you're not denying it?" Shuri asked.
"Wha-?! I-?! Zip it, Shuri!"
Kirika and Shirabe walked over to Rui, who was lying on her back, her feet still on the bench. Yusuke had woken up, and stood on her stomach.
"You okay?" Shirabe asked.
"Managing." Rui said as Yusuke licked her face.
"So does this mean you two are an item, dess?" Kirika asked.
"I don't even know." Rui shrugged. "I mean, Chris initiated-"
"Shut up!" Chris shouted, throwing her bag in Rui's face. Though she did make sure Yusuke moved first.
At a resort hotel in Japan, the base of operations for the Bavarian Illuminati, Saint-Germain observed Tiki's unmoving form. She raised a hand, creating an alchemic circle that opened up the chest cavity.
Tiki is an Autoscorer created to precisely record the movements of the planets on a star map, originally deactivated to protect secrets contained within.
A chunk of stone was raised, shattering to reveal a gear-like Relic contraption.
But with the Antikythera Gear, we can reboot the system, bringing her back to life.
With a glow, she inserted it into the open chest, before letting it close. The mask-like object on Tiki's face shone bright, creating a visual of several dozen star systems, before turning off and closing. Tiki's hand twitched, as she slightly convulsed, before sitting up and taking off the mask and letting out a breath.
"It's been a long time, Tiki." Saint-Germain said.
The Autoscorer looked at her, recognizing her face. "Saint-Germain? It's been four hundred years, but you haven't changed a bit!"
"That's right. The times may change, but I do not." Saint-Germain said.
"So you're still always going on about boring stuff, like freeing mankind from the yoke of oppression?" Tiki asked, walking up with a (probably literal) spring in her step. "That's good. Glad you're doing well!"
"You haven't changed either, Tiki." Saint-Germain said, taking note of her bubbly personality.
Tiki looked around the room, as if searching for someone. "Where's Adam? Without my beloved Adam, I can't stay me!"
The phone on the balcony began to ring. Walking over, Saint-Germain picked up the call. "Lodgemaster?"
"What? Is that Adam on the line?" Tiki asked, excited. She took the phone from Saint-Germain, fumbling a bit before holding it to her ear. Albeit upside down. "Is that you, Adam?"
"I've missed your voice all these years." The voice on the line said.
"It is you!" Tiki grinned. "It's me, Tiki! Just say the word, and I can do anything!"
"You're as boisterous as ever, I see." Adam chuckled. "But I have business to attend to. Let's talk afterward."
"You're so mean! Always rejecting me!" Tiki pouted. "But that's one more thing I love about you."
Tiki handed the phone back to Saint-Germain. "I can't apologize enough, Lodgemaster. The divine power infusion experiment was successful, but we failed to sustain the result and it was lost."
"Finé certainly left us no end of trouble with these Symphogear of hers." Adam sighed. "Not to mention Tesla's Instrument being just as much of a pain."
"Our creation was by all means invincible, and yet they tore through it with one kick." Saint-Germain said, remembering how Rui had destroyed Yohualtepuztli. "We will need time to analyze the inner workings of this mechanism, whether it was Finé or Tesla's design."
"The way they work is unimportant." Adam said. "We simply need to destroy the Symphogear and all related tools."
Saint-Germain was a bit surprised by the proclamation, but nodded. "Understood. Cagliostro and Prelati have departed for a preemptive strike. I will join them as soon as I am able."
Maia was brought out of her thoughts as she heard the flight attendant make an announcement.
"We are now preparing for landing. For safety, please fasten your seatbe-"
There was an explosion and the entire plane shook.
"What?!" Maria looked out the window.
She saw smoke on the wing, as well as several Alca-Noise that were flying around the plane.
"Alca-Noise?!" Tsubasa realized.
"Oh goddamn it…" Maia sighed.
Back down at the airport, Cagliostro and Prelati were standing on a tower.
"Bullseye!" Cagliostro chuckled. "Let's send a few more their way!"
"Basically, the more fireworks, the warmer the welcome." Prelati said.
The Alca-Noise tore into the cockpit, killing the pilots.
"They targeted us just before landing, right when we'd be the most vulnerable!" Maria said.
"So they followed us all the way to Japan?" Tsubasa said.
"Less talking, more-!" Maia was cut off as the side of the plane was torn open. The case they had started to slide out of the plane.
"The briefcase!" Maria shouted. She made a dive for it, grabbing it, but was pulled out of the plane in the process.
AME-NO-HABAKIRI! AUTHORIZED
"Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron~"
RELIC BATTLE MODE; READY
(Insert Gekka Bijin by Nana Mizuki)
At least a dozen more Alca-Noise ripped into the plane, as it completely exploded from the attacks.
"Tsubasa! Maia!" Maria called up, while in free fall as the Alca-Noise approached.
TAKEMIKAZUCHI: HABAKIRI MODE
The Kazanari twins flew out of the explosion. Creating massive blades, they swung downwards, shooting a slash of energy.
Twin Blue Flash
The slash obliterated the Alca-Noise closing in on Maria. The two Kazanaris weren't finished however, as they slashed apart every single Alca-Noise that got too close.
"We've lost all trace of Special Flight 206!" Fujitaka said.
"The wielders aboard have escaped, but…" Aoi looked at their flight path.
"They're on a collision course with the ocean!" Ogawa realized.
"Tsubasa! Maia! Catch Maria and assume brace position!" Genjuro ordered.
"Leave it to Tsubasa! I got it!" Maia said.
"Basically, not if we can help it." Prelati said with a smirk.
"Gonna get all three of you!" Cagliostro chuckled.
The Alca-Noise dived in closer, but both Tsubasa and Maia slashed them away. A few spun at Maria, but Tsubasa fired several more sword slashes that cut them down. In spite of this, several Alca-Noise kept up their pursuit.
"Maria-san!" Elfnein shouted.
"Accelerate to avoid them!" Genjuro commanded.
Maria assumed a diving position, increasing her speed. The Alca-Noise barely nicked her shoes, cutting off her dove down towards her, grabbing Maria by the waist. Raising her sword, a hailstorm of blades flew down, tearing apart the Alca-Noise.
One Thousand Tears
Extending her legs, Tsubasa's boots expanded into smaller boosters, slowing her landing. While there was still a big splash upon impact, she and Maria were unharmed.
"Neesama?" Tsubasa called up.
There was a big splash as Maia landed in the water. She surfaced with a gasp and a grin. Maria chuckled as Tsubasa pulled her sister out of the water. She handed the briefcase to her as they made their way back to the land.
"So basically, they're tough little cockroaches." Prelati said, observing from a distance.
Cagliostro held down her arms. "Let's wait for Saint-Germain before we continue."
On the water, Maria and the Kazanari twins glided towards dry land.
"That was quite the welcome." Maria said.
"Were they after us, or were they after our cargo?" Tsubasa wondered, looking at what Maia was carrying.
"Gonna go out on a limb and say it was probably both." Maia said, before looking at Tsubasa, who had Maria holding onto her by the shoulders. "Also, really?"
"What is it?" Tsubasa asked her sister.
"You're not gonna carry her bridal style?"
That caused Tsubasa and Maria to blush, nearly falling out of each other's grip. Maia chuckled and sped forward. Maria's enraged and embarrassed shout of "MAIA KAZANARI!" was always entertaining.
Tsubasa, Maia and Maria had arrived back at base unharmed. Though that didn't stop all the younger members from running in concerned.
"Senpai!"
"Tsubasa-san!"
"Maria!"
"Dess, dess, dess!"
Kirika jumped at Maria hugging her. Rui and Shuri followed the others, being the only composed members at the moment.
"Don't worry." Maria said with a smile, as Maia held up the briefcase. "We got all the intel the Val Verde government had."
"That's not what we're worried about! You were attacked!" Hibiki said. "I'm so glad you're all okay!"
"Come on, you really think a simple Alca-Noise attack would take them out?" Rui asked, as Yusuke mewed in agreement.
"Though it is good to see you're all safe." Shuri said, walking to Maia's side.
"Sorry to bring such undue stress with our arrival." Tsubasa apologized. "We appreciate you looking out for us."
"Unfortunately, we can't relax just yet." Genjuro said. "Take a look at this."
The screen turned on, showing the pictures of Tiki encased in the large crystal.
"What is it?" Hibiki asked.
"A puppet we photographed during our infiltration of a Val Verde government facility." Aoi said.
"Hold up… is that an Autoscorer?" Rui asked, recognizing the designs.
"During the great war, in search of an energy source to replace fossil fuel, Germany is believed to have accumulated a number of relics." Genjuro explained. "Some of them made it to their then-ally Japan for research."
"My Gungnir?" Hibiki asked.
"Not to mention the Nehushtan armor and Chris' Ichaival." Maia said.
"A number of them were thought to have been taken to South America by fleeing Nazi officials." Ogawa said.
"That puppet was in Tesla's old data-banks." Lala said. "Tesla and Starlit actually intercepted those officials to take some of the Relics for their own use. They couldn't take everything due to how much there was."
"We suspect that was how this puppet made it to Val Verde too." Elfnein concluded.
"To find out more, we'll have to analyze these classified documents from the government." Ogawa said, taking the briefcase.
"Given the attack on Tsubasa, Maia and Maria-kun, it is clear that the Bavarian Illuminati are already in Japan." Genjuro concluded. "We've sent Jeanne and Forte to try investigating some spots they could be found, so exercise the utmost in caution for now."
The others all nodded, but Rui noticed Chris didn't seem to be paying much attention, twirling her hair.
Waiting in the city was Miku. She was looking at the time on her phone (surprisingly not focused on her wallpaper being Hibiki from the beach day) when she heard a voice from behind.
"Miku! Thanks for waiting!" Hibiki said as she ran up. Rui was right behind her. Yusuke was sitting atop her bag.
"Were Tsubasa-san and Maria-san alright?" Miku asked.
"Not a scratch on either." Rui said. "Total pros, the two of them."
"I was so worried though…" Hibiki admitted.
Rui looked up at the large jumbotron, seeing the news talk about the refugees from Val Verde. Specifically the ones from the plane that Kirika and Shirabe helped launch. She kept an eye on it as they entered the diner. Sitting down at the table, she saw Miku already had a pretty large shaved ice snack. Probably ordered it ahead of time she guessed, as Yusuke made himself comfy on top of the table. She saw a similar one for her, that had a blue and white figurine on it.
"I ordered this one for you." Miku said. "I figured since they were re-running an old Kamen Rider collaboration-"
"Yeah, thanks Miku." Rui chuckled, taking a spoonful from the Tategami Hyoujuusenki shaved ice. Hmm, blue raspberry and vanilla. Nice.
Yusuke mewed as if asking for some. Though Rui knew better than to feed a cat shaved ice.
"Okay, so…" Miku turned to Hibiki. "Want to continue from where you left off this morning?"
"Yeah…" Hibiki turned to her sister, making sure Rui was listening. Swallowing some of her shaved ice, Rui nodded to tell her sister to go on. "I told you about what happened in Val Verde, right? Chris-chan's been so down ever since. I want to cheer her up, but-"
"Don't even bother!" Chris said, sitting up from the booth next to them.
"Eh?!" Hibiki looked up.
"The fu-?!" Rui choked on her shaved ice.
"You're being rude, Yukine." Tsubasa said, also from the booth.
"But it is like her to react like that." Maia said with a nod.
"Eh?" Hibiki stood up to see that the booth next to them had both the Kazanari and Yukine twins. Shuri apologetically waved to her.
"Wow, like old times, huh?" Rui said, going back to her shaved ice.
"Well, Tsubasa-san did want it to be the four of us here like the last time we talked." Shuri admitted. "We didn't expect you three."
"And it's not just the people here worried for you." Tsubasa said. "Everyone's worried, Yukine."
"I know, but leave me be." Chris said with a frown, as she sat back down. "I'll be fine. There was nothing else I could do for Stephan, and if I were in the same situation, I'd do it again."
"Yeah… it was better than him losing his life…" Rui said with a frown. "He's lucky."
The others were silent, knowing Rui had gone through something similar, though far more horrific. Deciding to break the tension, Tsubasa spoke again. "So that was the moral choice for you?"
"Yeah…" Chris said, though her voice seemed shaky. Yusuke hopped over the chairs to Chris, looking at the girl with curiosity.
"The moral choice?" Hibiki asked.
Wanting to change the subject, Chris quickly turned to Hibiki. "Now that I think about it, don't you still have a pile of summer homework on your plate?"
Hibiki choked, sitting back down. "She's right! What do I do, Miku?!"
"Good luck." Miku said flatly. "Try to finish it before your birthday."
"Did you not do your homework while I was behind bars?" Rui asked with a sigh.
"Well, I tried, but then I got distracted and uh…" Hibiki tapped her fingers, rather guiltily.
"I finished all mine even with that handicap." Rui looked disappointed. "My tutoring taught you nothing…"
"I'm sorry Oneesan!" Hibiki said with overdramatic sobs. "Help me finish my homework!"
"If you don't do it yourself, you won't properly learn." Rui said, simply taking another bite of her shaved ice.
"Is her birthday soon?" Tsubasa asked, picking up on Miku's sentence.
"Yeah. It's on the 13th." Miku said.
"Kaixa Day…" Rui muttered, before Miku hit her on the arm.
"So that also makes it Rui-san's birthday too, right?" Shuri realized.
"Oh wow, congrats, Partner." Maia said with a smile.
"Yeah… thanks, Partner." Rui nodded, though she didn't face her.
Maia wanted to make Rui look at her, but she had a knowing feeling why Rui was acting like this.
"It will be nice to celebrate two birthdays together…" Shuri said. "We were always so busy with what was going on that we never had a chance to properly celebrate a birthday."
"Only two weeks away though?" Chris chuckled as she lightly scratched Yusuke under the chin. "Sounds like someone's spending their birthday doing home-"
All of the girls got alerts on their communicators. Hibiki was the first to pick up. "Yes, Hibiki here!"
"Alca-Noise have been detected!" Genjuro announced. "They're in the northwest of area 19, point A! That's near your current location. Hurry!"
The girls all arrived at the battlefield, staring down the hordes of Alca-Noise. Miku had hung back, both for her own safety and to keep watch over Yusuke.
"Heh…" Maia chuckled. "This really is like old times, huh? The six of us?"
"Yeah…" Shuri nodded, smiling with the others. "Let's go, everyone!"
"Right!"
GUNGNIR! AUTHORIZED
AME-NO-HABAKIRI! AUTHORIZED
ICHAIVAL! AUTHORIZED
RELIC BATTLE MODE; READY
"Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron~"
"Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron~"
"Killter Ichaival tron~"
"Henshin!"
(Insert Gekishō Infinity by Aoi Yuuki, Nana Mizuki and Ayahi Takagaki)
KAGUTSUCHI! GUNGNIR MODE
TAKEMIKAZUCHI! HABAKIRI MODE
OKAMI! ICHAIVAL MODE
All of the girls donned their armor and charged. Hibiki and Rui smashed through the enemy with their fists. Tsubasa and Maia cut down their foes with their blades. And Chris and Shuri shot up the enemy Alca-Noise full of holes.
Atop a building and overlooking the fight were Cagliostro and Prelati. An alchemic circle glew behind them as Prelati tilted her head to look. "You took your sweet time."
"Status?" Saint-Germain asked, stepping forward.
"We only just lured them out." Cagliostro answered.
"Time to test out the specialized series prototypes." Saint-Germain said, pulling out a metallic tool. An alchemic circle appeared above it, as the dials on it began to spin. It unlocked to reveal several Alca-Noise crystals, seemingly identical to the ones used prior. Pulling two of them out, Saint-Germain looked down at the wielders fighting. "Show me what you're capable of."
She tossed them behind a metal container atop a shorter building. It started to glow, lighting up the rooftop as the wielders noticed.
"Alca-Noise?" Tsubasa asked.
"The big one's showing itself, huh?" Chris said, stepping forward.
But to their surprise, the entire area around them started to change in shape and appearance. It looked like they were on top of an unknown planet's surface, with what resembled Saturn on the horizon.
"We were in town just a moment ago!" Hibiki said. "What happened?!"
Tsubasa glanced around, noticing the approaching Alca-Noise, but more importantly, their twins were all absent.
"They disappeared?" Genjuro shouted.
"We've lost visual of the Gear users!" Fujitaka said.
"The inbuilt mics allow us to pick up sound, at least." Aoi said. "But… we can't seem to find the SOUL members."
"Lala guesses that the artificial nature of their Relics doesn't have the same properties." Lala said.
"If the normal cameras can't see anything, no way in hell their normal communicators are working." Forte agreed.
"An Alca-Noise that seals off space?" Elfnein realized.
Rui, Maia and Shuri were surrounded by Alca-Noise. They were fighting off the creatures, but their attacks were barely able to damage them. They just kept repairing all the damage dealt.
"Resilient bastards…" Maia cursed.
"We seem to be cut off from the others." Shuri said, looking around the space that surrounded them. "And we're not in outer space, as it doesn't appear our atmosphere changed."
"They isolated us from the others to try picking us off." Rui said. "Big mistake."
She briefly flashed, turning back into her normal appearance as she raised her wrist.
"Elekleid, Switch On!"
With a flash of violet, Rui had donned her Elekleid again. Drawing her blades, she rushed forward and slashed at the enemy with relentless force. Surprising them was that her attacks were actually breaking down the Alca-Noise, which she took complete advantage of.
"Hey, you idiot! You're going too fast!" Maia shouted.
"Rui-san, you're being too reckless!" Shuri called.
Rui either didn't hear them or ignored them. She kept on fighting, slashing and destroying. She was so focused on the enemy in front of her that she didn't notice what was behind her.
"You moron!"
Rui turned to see a giant Alca-Noise had thrown explosive projectiles at her, and it was too close for her to react. But Maia was there, having thrown herself in the way to protect her friend. She was sent crashing into some of the nearby rocks.
"MAIA!" Rui screamed.
She and Shuri rushed over to her. Spreading the Elekleid's wings, Rui created a barrier of electricity to shield all three of them.
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Rui demanded, kneeling at her friend's side.
Maia sat up, wiping the blood from her mouth. "Protecting my best friend. What did you think I was doing?"
"Maia-san…" Shuri said.
"You dumbass, you don't need to do something like that!" Rui said, grabbing her collar. "It's not worth it! I would've been completely fine-!"
"You just got a new body and you're fine throwing it away?" Maia asked. "The first time you properly look at me in the eyes and it's to justify something stupid?"
Rui words died in her throat. "I… I don't…"
"Let me guess, you're still hung up on the "almost killing me thing," huh?" Maia asked.
"You… You could have died…" Rui let go of her. "It would've been my fault… I…"
"I did something stupid to try getting you back and I paid the price. Pretty damn painfully." Maia said. "But… you're here now, aren't you?"
"Maia…"
"I got my best friend back, and I don't care what happened." Maia said, standing up, though she fell to her knees from the pain. "We're friends, and we always fight, don't we?"
"I…" Rui shook her head. "That doesn't change…"
"Look, I know you got issues you still need to work out, but I want you to know I don't hold it against you." Maia placed a hand on Rui's shoulder. "You're my best friend… I want you to smile, Partner."
"She's right…" Shuri nodded. "It was always better when you smiled, Rui-san."
"Shuri…"
"The things that happened those months ago… I won't forget it, but… I will never hate you." Shuri promised. "Now… how about we get out of here?"
Looking around at the Alca-Noise that had gathered around the barrier, Rui shouted. The electric barrier expanded, launching them all away.
"Yeah… you're right." Rui nodded. "I got a feeling it'll work out!"
Standing tall as Shuri protected Maia, Rui looked around.
If the Elekleid was powerful enough to draw energy from other worlds… Rui looked at her hand. Then I should be able to break us out of this space.
Looking up, she looked around at the seemingly endless sky. She briefly moved her hand down, as if imitating inserting her Relic into her belt, before moving her hands inward. What appeared to be several cards made out of violet electricity appeared in front of her, each with a different picture of herself in the process of doing a kick.
Jumping, she flew through the cards, being propelled by the Elekleid's wings. The Alca-Noise tried stopping her, but she tore through most of them, before her foot slammed into a hard surface.
DIMENSION KICK
Cracks spread out from the sky where she had kicked. All the Alca-Noise completely went up into particles, shattering from the destruction. The entire world seemed to shatter, as they were brought back into the real world.
Landing, Rui dusted her hands and smirked. Shuri walked over to her, helping Maia walk.
The space nearby seemed to warp, as several hexagon patterns disappeared to reveal Hibiki, Tsubasa and Chris, having donned their Ignite forms and taking out a few last Alca-Noise.
"We were first." Maia said.
"Are you serious?" Chris sighed, though she did laugh.
"Looks like it worked." Ogawa said, seeing the visuals of the wielders again.
"A bit of a close call, but our communications worked." Jeanne nodded. "Though it seems SOUL didn't need our help."
Genjuro let out a breath of relief, as Kirika and Shirabe cheered, pulling a reluctant Forte in with them.
The Wielders were able to break free with their own power and SONG's guidance, but SOUL… Lala smiled. Rui… you managed to harness that power yourself once again…
Maria put a hand on Elfnein's shoulder, smiling at her.
"Maria-san?" Elfnein asked.
Maria simply gave her a small nod, which Elfnein understood.
"Never give up, never give in. That's something I learned from all of you." Elfnein said. "That's why I'll finish my LiNKER research!"
"Lala will help you, Elfnein." Lala promised. "We'll do it together."
Maria nodded at the two. "We'll wait for you both."
"Hey, put me down already!" Forte shouted, as Kirika and Shirabe lifted her up. The others all had a good laugh, seeing this.
The Alchemist trio looked down from atop the roof, seeing the wielders had come out on top.
"Aw boo." Cagliostro put her hands behind her head. "I had my hopes up, but I guess that's that. At least we achieved our objective."
Saint-Germain narrowed her eyes. I expected them to break free, but that girl… Rui Tachibana… first she was able to kill Yohualtepuztli with her own power, and she directly broke out of the space using Tesla's creation, the Elekleid. I thought Hibiki Tachibana would be the only real threat, but her sister…
"Must be so nice to be so carefree." Tiki said, walking up.
"Tiki. I thought I told you to stay at the lodge." Saint-Germain said.
"I was hoping I might get to see Adam!" Tiki answered, casually shaking her arms. "But don't be angry! I found out something cool!"
"What?" Saint-Germain raised a brow.
Spinning around, she held out her arms. "Believe it or not, this is a great spot to pick a fight with God!"
Her eyes started to glimmer with constellations, projecting them above the group.
"The best, even!" A hint of excitement was in her voice.
A/N: And here we have a few things established more, here and there. Rui's issues aren't finished just yet, as she still has a few things to wrap up. Hope you're all excited to see what's to come.
Feel free to leave a review. See you all next time.