Cards Introduced in the Laster Chapter:
Frost Vent: Slimereader11
Sword Vent(Darklancer): Slimereader11
Guard Vent(Dragbarrier): Author
Guard Vent(Darkcape): Slimereader11'
Tempest Vent: Slimereader11
Blaze Vent: HanzoHasashi98(I remember you suggested an idea for the Booster Vent back in G that would increase Ryuki's powers to a new level but if he's not careful he'll run out of energy and could potentially kill him.
Reviews:
FlameFireZero X: Yes, he will. But he hasn't gotten the chance yet. He will soon.
Guest DCDGojira: Glad you liked it
Tigracho: Oh, yeah. Takeru will more than likely be a little distracted by Cagliostro. But then he'll find out the hard way that...it's a dude. Might be the thing he needs to stop flirting with every girl he sees. Yeah, Odin is pretty op. But I wanted him to be that way. Not REALLY a big spoiler, but he's kind of the last enemy the group will fight. So he's meant to be this big powerhouse that they can't even comprehend fully but are slowly starting to close the gap as they get stronger. But as Hajime said, Odin is getting a little repetitive when he teleports around people and is the first mortal to ever lay hands on him like that. Props to him.
The world-building part took some time to connect with some canon stuff and becomes more relevant as the seasons go on. In the first two seasons I didn't concentrate on world building but from now on it will be a big deal because characters will begin to connect to others. Like Bragard and Adam. They've had beef with each other for a long time and now that Fine is gone, they can concentrate on taking each other down. I'll explain a little about their history this season but I'll go a little more in-depth in AXZ when Adam comes along officially. But based on Bragard's personality you could probably tell that they're similar in some aspects and due to their arrogant personalities they just clash naturally.
lordri25may2001: Yeah, I think Chris is scarier but the other girls can be scary in their own ways when they're jealous. Takeru wasn't expecting little Carol to suddenly grow like that. You're right when you said Advent Monsters prefer their masters' girlfriends. And you'll see more of this as the story progresses and we see more interactions with them. I try to add some moments from the original series, so I had to include Knight and Ryuki vs Odin. Don't worry, Takeru will get his Survive card and they'll fight Bragard together in due time. But yeah, it's a cool idea to have the main Symphogear trio against Carol and the main Rider trio against Bragard. As for Yosuke's mom...she's dead. She died giving birth to him so it's been him and his dad all of his life. This hasn't been stated in the series yet but no harm in letting you know ahead.
Tenzalucard123: LOL Takeru gets distracted by big boobs. He'll have a hard time-fighting Cagliostro and Saint Germain later on in the series. Flirting with the enemy...he's crazy. And Odin and his partial answers...Bragard knows the whole story but he still doesn't want to say anything to Hajime. He'll have to force the answers from him with his fists.
Chapter 57
Conquering Darkness
A young Bragard sat on a bench in the middle of town, watching the performance going on that grabbed all of the citizen's attention as they crowded around the stage in front of the town hall. A tall woman was performing a play along with her younger sister, captivating the audience's hearts.
"Leiur and her sister, Lulu are great actors, aren't they, Ms. Phara?" Bragard asked the young woman with brown hair and green highlights next to him.
"They are. Leiur loves to put on a show, but I fear her little sister might still be getting too nervous on stage." Phara observed."Speaking of siblings...Zeke, would you stop playing around? Must I do your job and guard the young Prince while you play house with your little crush?"
"Oh, trust me, my dear sister. I want to be with the Prince." A young man clad in armor groaned. He had moss-green hair and brown eyes."But Micha doesn't leave me alone! I don't want to have tea anymore, Micha!"
"Aw, Zeke, come on." A young woman with long, bright red hair waved a few dolls in her hands around, pouting."You said you would have some tea with me and then we could play some games."
"I'm doing my job as a Royal Guard." Zeke pushed her away, but she had insane strength, despite her stature, and snuggled against him.
"Well, at least our family won't have to worry about a legacy." Phara giggled, much to her little brother's chagrin."I'm looking forward to meeting my nieces and nephews."
"Sister!"
Bragard giggled to himself, deciding to take a bite out of his apple and enjoy the show.
"Oh, hey. The gang's all here."
The group looked up to see Damian accompanied by a young woman with a long blue dress and short brown hair with blue highlights.
"Damian! You came to watch the festival?!" Bragard beamed, rushing to hug his second knight, causing Zeke to hiss at Damian.
"I did, my Prince. Such a surprise to stumble upon you. I trust Zeke is taking good care of you."
"Better than you ever could," Zeke muttered.
"He's doing great," Bragard said, much to Zeke's happiness. The young boy noticed the woman staring down at him with a smile."Who is this lady, Damian?"
"Yes, Damian." The woman nudged him in the ribs."Care to introduce me to His Highness?"
"Right, right..." Damian rubbed his sides."My liege, this is-"
"I am Bragard Hyperion!" Bragard quickly introduced himself."But everyone calls me Bragi! A pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"My name is Garie Tuman." Carol did a little twirl before bowing down."Though it will be Garie Schwarzer very soon. A real pleasure to meet you, my Prince. Why do people call you Bragi?
"Because I'm small!" Bragard puffed his chest."But one day I'm going to grow up to be big a strong!"
"Aw, you're so cute!" Garie grabbed his cheeks playfully, earning giggles from the blue-eyed Prince."I could just gobble you up. I can't believe my soon-to-be husband kept you away from me this long."
"Oh, my." Phara covered her mouth."Does that mean-"
"She's my fiance, the person whom I learned how to dance from." Damian explained to Bragard."We're going to get married this fall. Though we haven't planned the wedding yet, so there's not a set date."
"You're getting married...?" Bragard gasped, noticing something weird about Garie's dress and the way it bulged slightly."Ms. Tuman-"
"Garie is fine."
"Then Ms. Garie..." Bragard pointed at her belly."Your stomach..."
"What, are you going to say I'm fat?" Garie leaned forward, prompting Bragard to yelp. She placed a hand over her chest and another one over her head forehead."Oh, to be called fat by the Prince...I can't believe such a cute little thing is capable of such horrible words..."
"N-no! I wasn't going to call you fat! I swear!" Bragard apologized, tears glistening in his eyes.
"Just kidding." Garie grinned, poking him in the nose."Of course, I know you wouldn't call a lady fat. You are a well-mannered young boy, aren't you? But yes. I am pregnant. 4 months now. We're expecting a baby."
Damian smiled, wrapping his arms around his future wife and kissing her on the cheek."It was a surprise. But a surprise nonetheless. I'm hoping it's a boy so he can one day serve you, your Highness. Maybe even your future kids."
"And I want it to be a girl, so I can teach her all I know about dancing." She rolled her eyes, pecking him on the lips."But we have to wait and see what we get. But no matter what it is, I will love them all the same."
"Woah! A baby!" Bragard squealed, his eyes glittering."I'm so happy for you, Damian! Congratulations!"
"Yes, congratulations." Phara offered the young couple a small."Zeke?"
"Yes, sure." Zeke snorted, folding his arms."Congratulations, man."
"Congrats!" Micha waved her arms enthusiastically.
"Thank you all." Damian offered them a warm smile."For being such good friends to us. Our baby will have a lot of uncles and aunts that will shower them with love."
"I can't wait to meet the baby! I'll play with them every day and teach them lots of things!" Bragard jumped for joy, doing his hardest to avoid coughing and worrying his friends. He had stained enough handkerchiefs with blood today as is.
Damian jolted as he suddenly regained consciousness, nearly slamming his head against Garie, who was sitting on the sand next to him and watching over him.
"H-hey! At least say something before you do that!" Garie exclaimed, a hand to her chest after the sudden action.
"G-Garie!" Damian cried out, engulfing the female Autoscorer in a hug."Oh, Garie!"
"What's with you?!" Garie pushed him off her, flustered upon feeling his arms around her frame."What, did they destroy your brain or something?"
"Oh...sorry..." Damian suddenly became aware of where he was."I...I had a strange dream just now...Like I was living somewhere else. And you were there...all of us were there but...I can't recall that dream. If felt...very real..."
"Dream?" She planted her hands on her hips."Well, the only thing I can tell you is real is that you got your ass kicked. Half of your body was destroyed and I had to go look for you at the bottom of the ocean. Seems like you used a lot of energy during your fight and once you regenerated your body, you were too tired to swim to the surface, so I had to get you."
"Oh. Did Po-I mean, Lord Bragard send you?"
"N-not exactly." Garie rubbed her hand sheepishly."I...I volunteered to come to save you."
"Really?" Damian asked with a hint of disbelief in his voice."You? Not that I don't believe you, but...I didn't expect that from you. Thanks, Garie."
"I didn't do it for your sake." She clarified, albeit blushing slightly."I just did it to repay the favor from before. But now I expect you to come to help me if I'm ever in trouble like this, alright?"
"Sure. I'll come running, wherever you are." He smiled at her as they stood awkwardly around the deserted beach."Do you have any teleportation gems? I...kind of lost mine?"
"Yeah, yeah."
Hajime gasped for air, feeling his body aching once he regained consciousness. He had lost his Survive Form and was low on power. Somehow, they had withstood Odin's attack.
"Adachi! You alright?!" Knight kicked the piece of rubble that had fallen on top of him.
"Yeah...Wheezing...but hanging in there." Hajime replied, coughing.
"As long as I have these Survive cards, I cannot be defeated." Odin began approaching them, prompting them to get on guard."The Rider War will never end. It will go on..."
"And on..." Ryuki froze, feeling Odin walk past him.
"And on..." Knight gritted his teeth, watching Odin out of his peripheral vision and walking past him. He returned to his original position in the blink of an eye."Eternally. Humanity will forever fall prey to its sin. Continue getting stronger. Fight the other Riders. If you don't fight, you won't Survive."
Just as he had come, Odin vanished without so much as a goodbye, leaving both Riders alone. Except for one person.
"Are we fighting you next, Bragard?" Ryuki narrowed his eyes at the albino child sitting on the ground.
"Me? I wish, but honestly, killing you now would serve no purpose. No. I want to kill you at your strongest, Boy Wonder." Bragard adopted a predatory smile."I want to make you suffer when you have your hopes at the highest point. Destroy everything you love and hold dear. And killing you now...has no meaning."
"I won't let you." Knight scowled."As long as I draw breath, I won't let you hurt him."
"You say that now, but all of you will eventually die. I'm only missing his energy to fully energize the Overall."
"The Overall?"
"See you around." Bragard waved at them before vanishing after using his teleporting crystal.
Finally, Knight and Ryuki returned to normal, falling to the ground, exhausted.
A tornado engulfed Zolda, launching him high into the air before he a tongue wrapped itself around him, slamming him to the ground.
Verde cackled, wielding his Bio-Snatcher and a tornado in hand upon using his Alchemy.
"I've had just about enough from you!" Chris roared, enlarging her crossbows and loading them with crystal spikes, and fired them in unison toward Verde. Once fired, the crystals broke into many pieces.
Giga Zeppelin
Verde gasped, but Carol shielded him with a wall of wires, breaking the crystals."Lady Carol!"
"Stop messing around. They're targetting you." Carol cooly stated."Not only are you the weakest link, but they must have realized what they have to do to kill you. So stay sharp."
She then wrapped her arm with said wires, making a makeshift drill, and mixed it with wind, thrusting it forward to create a bigger tornado than the one Zeke had used.
Chris gasped, but to her surprise, Zolda quickly tackled her to the ground, barely avoiding the attack. He then aimed his visor at Carol, shooting multiple energy bullets that she managed to block effortlessly. She lunged at the couple, wielding her drill and threatening to pierce them both. However, a giant sword landed in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.
Heaven's Wrath
Verde aimed his gauntlet at Tsubasa, who was standing on top of the sword, and shot acid at her, prompting her to leap out of the way. The Autoscorer quickly activated an ability just in time to avoid Tiger rushing him from the back.
Hold Vent: Bio-Winder
He jumped on top of Tiger, using his shoulders as footing to jump higher in the air, where he drew another card in quick succession
Clear Vent
"What?!" Tiger gasped, watching Verde disappear into thin air.
Tsubasa landed a few meters from him, scanning her surroundings."He must be close! Keep your eye-WOAH!"
Two tornados engulfed both Tiger and Tsubasa, crashing them together in one spot. Verde undid his invisibility, using wind to fly around them and attacking them with his yo-yo while keeping them pinned to each other. Once he had enough, he headed toward them, kicking them in the face and launching them back to the ground.
"Nice work," Carol said, hands on her hips. The group of 4 grouped together, visibly wounded while their enemies still looked unharmed.
"So...what now? We can keep blasting them, but...One can regenerate and the other one is seemingly untouchable." Zolda chuckled."Man, this is getting out of hand. Wish we had our Survive Cards ready."
"We may not have Survive Cards at our disposable, but..." Tsubasa eyed Chris, who nodded."We still have our trump card."
"Hey...you sure this is a good idea." Zolda reached for the lavender-haired girl's hand."You haven't even tested it out yet..."
"We'll be fine. As long as we're together." Tsubasa reassured him."Besides, we don't have a choice. Adachi and Yosuke are off fighting Odin. Kagatsuchi and Amaterasu are both without a Deck along with Tsukuyomi and Akatsuki. We can't hope for a miracle."
"She's right, dear..." Chris rubbed his hand in return."Just leave it to me, yeah? You know me. I'm not going to throw the towel and run now. Just...stay here with me, okay?"
"Of course." Zolda nodded."I'll always be with you. No matter where you go. I'll always be with you. I love you."
"I love you too..." Chris blushed, embarrassed to say it aloud with so many people, including their enemy, watching."Alright, Senpai. I'm ready."
Tsubasa and Chris marched closer to Carol and Verde, who were patiently waiting. The girls reached for the pendants and squeeze them.
"IGNITE MODULE, BAKKEN!"
"Dainsleif."
Both pendants shot in the air, and four pronged darts sprung from them before flying down where the pendants previously sat.
They both scream in pain, feeling the overwhelming darkness from their pendants weigh down their bodies, forcing them to their knees.
Tsubasa stirred awake, realizing she was laying down on a stage."Where...?"
"A stage...Right." She smiled to herself."I must sing the songs I love here once again. I can't just give up on my dream-"
And that's when she noticed. The audience was composed of Noise. Not a single person is to be found.
"Only...only my foes will listen to my songs...?" Tsubasa clenched her chest with a crestfallen expression. All the lights blacked out, leaving Tsubasa alone as she fell to her knees.
"Tsubasa."
Her heart skipped a beat. She recognized those voices. She slowly rose her head, her gaze meeting with her three dead friends: Akira, Kanade, and Goro. All her friends were covered in blood."Kanade! Akira! Goro!"
Kanade coughed up blood, breaking into tiny pieces as the wind blew her away. Akira closed his eyes, falling on his back as two holes appeared on his chest and vanished. Goro was the only one left standing.
"Oh, Goro..." Tsubasa couldn't help but cry, remembering that her friend was killed and his powers were being used against his will."I'm sorry...I wasn't there for you...Am I just going to see all my friends die?!"
"That's not true."
Tsubasa turned sharply to the side, noticing Yosuke."Yosuke..."
"You're not a sword anymore. Not a sword that has no emotions and is detached from everything." Yosuke walked up to her, embracing her."You're Tsubasa Kazanari, protector of the weak. Our friend. My girlfriend."
"Yosuke..." Tsubasa returned the embrace, crying on his shoulder.
"It's up to us to guide them forward. They're depending on us to protect them." Yosuke said, rubbing her back soothingly."So let's teach them all we can so we don't have to watch any more friends die."
"Why...why is this happening?" Chris found herself in a destroyed city in Val Verde. She then found herself back in the cell that she was kept during her time captured."This cruel world will slaughter everyone I know and love, leaving me all alone."
She then was in front of the bed that Takeru had been in for a whole month after Ouja nearly beat him to death Unable to contain her tears, Chris broke into a silent sob as she fell to her knees."I finally found someone that loves me for who I am but...what if I lose him too...? Am I going to be able to continue...? I can't imagine a world without him...!"
"You shouldn't worry about that. I promised I would never leave you alone."
Chris gasped, finding Takeru kneeling in front of her with a grin, just like how he was when she found him hiding in Fine's mansion after Ouja was sent to kill them."Takeru..."
"You're not the only one who thinks like that, you know?" Takeru gently grabbed her hand, kissing it."I also feel scared of what could happen to either of us. We both lost our parents...and we ended up getting together after so many things that happened. Despite all of that, we're not alone anymore. We got so many cool friends that care about us. No strings attached. So let's go back together with them."
Chris threw herself into his arms, crying in his chest.
"So we can both make that paradise we dreamed of for so long. Just the two of us."
"Takeru...I want to share it with them too..."
"Sure thing." The orange-haired boy kissed her cheek, pulling back slightly."Wanna hear a joke to make you feel better."
"Eat shit..." Chris giggled."Your jokes will never be good. Not even in my head."
Chris snapped her eyes open, returning to reality. She noticed Zolda in front of her, squeezing her hand."Takeru!"
"S-sorry!" Zolda chuckled, clearly in pain from feeling the intense power emanating from her."But you looked like you were in pain and well...I just don't want you going through that alone."
"You idiot..."
"Same here." Tiger had grabbed Tsubasa's hand in an attempt to help her."I know I'm not Yosuke. But honestly, I came to consider you a little sister, just like all of you guys. You're all my family too now. You did so much for me and Maria...I could never put into words how grateful I am to you."
"Thanks, Jades..." Tsubasa forced a pained smile."I can see why Maria loves you so much now."
"Ah, well, she is my sister, after all."
"I think she means romantically." Zolda clarified.
"Wait...wha-"
Before Tiger could utter another word, both girls' transformation sequence ended prematurely, leaving them heaving for breath.
"Did it not work?" Carol quirked a brow.
"Ha! All the lame ass lights show and nothing to show for it." Verded mocked them."Guess that settles it."
"Indeed." Carol began marching toward the group with the Autoscorer trailing behind."It's rather sad to see you defeated this easily. Shall I lend you a hand and give you a reason to get up?"
"Give us a reason?"
Instead of explaining, Carol opted to show them what she meant, opening a giant magic circle above them and summoning an army of Noise, which immediately went to attack the city.
"Oh, hell no!" Zolda attempted to go fight the Noise, but Verde appeared in front of him, kicking him away with ease.
"You're not getting out of here with that half-assed attempt. If you want to go save those people, then prove how much you care about them." Verde jabbed his thumb to his chest."But I won't fall against mere humans. And if you think I'm strong, then you won't be able to get to Lady Carol, yo. And you wanna hear some fucked up shit? You have no idea how strong Prince Bragard will be once he regains his former power. Once he does, there will be nothing in this world that will be able to stop him."
"Does he ever shut up?!" Chris groaned, still feeling weakened.
"We got no choice." Tiger grimaced."We'll have to make a distraction."
"And do what, bro? Even if we take Verde out, we still have to worry about Carol." Zolda spat."We're sitting ducks!"
"Giving up already?" Carol smirked maliciously."Then let the screams of those people serve as your elegy!"
"Fuck this." Takeru growled."Jades, give me a distraction. I'm going."
Tiger nodded, inserting a card into his Destvisor.
Frost Vent
A wave of ice formed in front of Carol and Verde, towering over them.
"Going where?" Chris asked her boyfriend, concern beginning to build up inside her.
"I'm going to try and take them both down at once." Takeru drew his Final Vent, immediately activating it.
Final Vent: End of the World
Magnugiga emerged from the ground, opening all of its compartments.
"And then I'll-"
Suddenly, something a blast of golden energy hit Magnugiga in its torso, causing him to tip over and nearly crush Zolda as he was walking up to him.
"So your best attack requires a large setup?" Carol smirked."Not much of an ace up your sleeve if you can't use it immediately. Like this!"
Several magic circles opened around Carol, shooting elemental attacks from all angles.
"ORAAAAAAAAAA!"
The group quickly noticed a few missiles flying toward the Noise above them, followed by Hibiki smashing her fist against the biggest Noise.
Tiger quickly rose his arm, creating a dome of ice that served to lessen the damage taken from the attacks.
"Took her long enough." Carol rested her hands on her hips condescendingly.
"It's the Gungnir girl...She got her pendant fixed that fast?!" Verde cried.
"Where were you, idiot?!" Chris yelled but she would be lying if she said she wasn't happy to see her.
"Sorry! Gungnir's all fixed and ready to go." She shot them a wide grin."Let's try using the Ignite Module!"
"Are you serious?" Chris blinked.
"But at our current condition, we might not survive..." Tsubasa frowned, unsure of the idea.
"We'll die anyway if you don't do it." Jades pointed out."Sorry...we're not much help as we are now."
"Right now, Hajime and Yosuke-san are fighting as hard as they can against a force they're not sure they can beat." Hibiki said, catching both girls by surprise."If we don't have the same level of hope as they do, are we really Symphogear? We should believe in the songs of our hearts! And believe in each other."
"That's such a cheesy speech." Chris pointed out with a sigh."But fine. Not the first time we were fighting against the odds like this."
"It won't be like before. We won't lose ourselves in the darkness." Tsubasa said with a solemn expression."Because our loved ones are with us. In our hearts."
The girls stood around together within arm's reach, squeezing their pendants while the Ignite process started. They grabbed each other's hands in hopes of giving each other the strength they needed to overcome this challenge.
"Ignite Module, Bakken!"
"Dainsleif."
And once again, they screamed as the darkness filled their beings.
"She was the only one who survived?"
Hibiki stood in front of her old house as people walked by, giving her a scornful glare. Her house was covered in graffiti and vandalized to no end.
"The government gives money to the people who survive Noise attacks. She must be loaded."
"What...?" Hibiki noticed the people losing their facial features and becoming grey figures that taunted her.
"Don't you feel any shame being the only one who survived? What makes you so special?"
"Did you guys hear? I heard her dad left her family! Poor guy. At least he's smart enough to leave. If her mom and grandmother are any smarter they should just leave."
Hibiki squatted down, covering her ears.'This isn't real. This is just that darkness playing tricks with me...Don't worry...You'll be fine...You'll be fine-"
"It's too bad I didn't meet you any sooner. I would have kicked all of these people's asses."
Hibiki gasped, raising her head to stare at Hajime, whose sole presence served as a beacon of light that kept the grey figures away."Hajime..."
"I feel the same way. When my Dad left me, I became so bitter and detached. It wasn't as bad as you but...considering what my Dad went up and did, I deserved this treatment way more than you."
"That's not true!" Hibiki ran up to him, tackling him in a hug."You don't deserve this! No one does!"
"And yet...you went through this. And you still manage to smile every day. You still wish to help others." Hajime chuckled."I remember at one point I didn't care about things like that. All I cared about what my own entertainment. But...you changed me."
"You changed me too." Hibiki beamed."I know now I can't run from my problems. I have to face them head-on no matter how hard they are. You and Miku made me realize the determination needed to wield this power."
"And you made me realize that talking first is not a weakness. We're all people. I think we can try to use words first to try and get our point across to avoid more violence."Hajime grinned."But if words don't work..."
"We'll use our firsts!" The couple said in unison, laughing in each other's arms.
"I hope you're okay out there..."
"We'll be fine." Hajime kissed her forehead."Always."
All girls, remembering the words of their loved ones, managed to control the darkness of their pendants, and in a burst of darkness, transformed.
"They did it!" Zolda noticed their outfits changing color schemes to darker ones.
(Play Radiant Force - Ignite Arrangement)
"No way!" Verde gasped in horror."T-t-they did it?! Whatever! I'm still way stronger than you!"
Carol, however, remained unresponsive, choosing to watch.
"Leave this fucker to me," Chris said with a dark tone, immediately displaying her arsenal in a flash. Four huge missiles and from the sides, a compartment with smaller missiles were shot at once toward Verde and the Noise around them. He lashed his yo-yo, but he was no match for the attack and before he knew it, most of his body had been blown apart, leaving him only with his torso, his head, and one arm as he was continuously being blown back.
"Chris-chan is blasting him apart so easily when we were having so much trouble earlier." Jades pointed out in astonishment.
Chao-Xing, who was watching from the sides, stared in awe.
'IMPOSSIBLE! HOW MANY TIMES IS SHE GOING TO KILL ME?!' Verde panicked internally as he felt more of his life being shaved off his life force until the attack stopped. He quickly regenerated, hyperventilating from the shock alone."S-she killed me over 40 times!"
"Seems like we'll need a little more than that to kill him." Zolda commented.'If I use my Survive form...will I be able to produce enough firepower to kill him in one go...?'
"Get out of here, Zeke. You're outmatched." Carol ordered, not sparing him a glance.
Begrudgingly, Zeke accepted the blonde's orders and broke a red vial, teleporting away.
Carol sighed, spreading her arms in a welcoming manner."So you managed to do it. Bring it on."
Carol lashed out wires, wrapping them around Hibiki's right gauntlet."Got yo-WOAH!"
Hibiki pulled her forward into Tsubasa, who conjured a blue slash of lightning.
Blue Flash
Carol used her wires to construct a wall, only to have a blast from a rifle break through it and force her to retreat. She followed up by enlarging her crossbow, firing two crystals that broke into smaller fragments.
The Alchemist growled, wrapping her arms in wires and forming two drills, cladding them with fire to block the attacks as she rushed at them. But it was then that she noticed Hibiki rapidly approaching her engulfing herself with flames and forming a spear of fire that rammed straight into Carol's defense, launching her into a building and breaking a good chunk of her armor.
"D-damn...!" Carol cursed, watching as she was powerless to stop Hibiki from crashing into her, feet first, and creating a huge explosion of power. Once the dust cleared, Carol was back in her child form, looking defeated.
"Dude...That was so cool!" Zolda cheered like a fanboy."Did you see that?! They were like...I can't even describe it!"
"It was certainly a sight." Tiger agreed, equally stunned.'If they were able to overpower Carol like this...if we all get stronger, then we'll have no problem defeating the Autoscorers and Bragard.'
"Carol-chan, enough is enough." Hibiki marched up to the small blonde."Why do you want to destroy the world?"
"Who knows?" Carol seethed."I can't remember. I burned away all those memories to fuel my power to fight."
Hibiki said nothing, unsure of how to respond.
"But...don't think this means that cursed melody of yours could ever save anyone." Carol adopted a sardonic grin."You should be ready. Because your suffering is just beginning. Bragard is after the Messiah...and trust me when I tell you, he will fall against him. His happiness...your happiness...all of that is about to come to an end enough..."
With those words said, Carol bit into a capsule in her mouth, creating a dark green glow. She suddenly collapsed on the ground, bursting into green flames that consumed her body.
"What the fuck?!" Zolda undid his transformation out of pure shock."Why would she...?!"
"She probably did it to avoid being questioned." Tsubasa grimaced."Never mind that for now, we have to go help Yosuke and Adachi!"
Hibiki spared the ashes left from Carol's body, frowning. She shook her head, deciding that her boyfriend's and friend's safety was first. And with that, the group went to their help.
Hours later, the group returned to the base, carrying the wounded Hajime and Yosuke after their defeat against Odin. They were placed in the medical bay alongside Raiden, who was wrapped in bandages and laying on a hospital bed after his use of Survive Shippu.
"I'm sorry you got hurt..." Elfnein lowered her gaze, bowing to the bespectacled brunette."If only we finished the Survive Cards sooner, you wouldn't have had to use Yosuke-san's..."
"We apologize." Tobias promptly followed along."Shippu is not designed for your affinity."
"How does the affinity thing work?" Takeru promptly asked."You never really explained."
"Basically, each Survive Card is designed for a particular Rider...or rather, their element. Rekka for Ryuki, since he has fire powers, for example. If someone outside of him uses said powers, they might suffer a severe backlash like Raiden." Tobias began his explanation."So for that, we've been designing the other Survive Cards with your affinities in mind. So the risks are reduced to almost zero. So again...we're sorry for any inconvenience."
"Truly, we are..." Elfnein apologized again.
"It's fine. Come on, don't give me that crap." Raiden felt slightly uncomfortable at their apologies."Look...I did that because I wanted to. It's my recklessness that got me hurt. So...don't feel bad, okay?"
"But..." Elfnein muttered, still feeling guilty for his current state.
Raiden sighed, beckoning her to get closer to him. The homunculus shyly approached him before receiving a flick on her forehead."Ow..."
"You worry too much. Relax. I'm fine."
"Hey, he did the forehead thing you do to me, Yosuke." Tsubasa pointed out to her not-so-secret boyfriend.
"That's different. I, and other people, flick you on the forehead when you start rambling incessantly about random things."
"Rambling? What are you talking about? I don't ramble."
"Actually, Kazanari-san...?" Hajime chuckled nervously, hiding behind Hibiki."You kind of do."
"What...?" Tsubasa felt an arrow pierce through her heart.
"When you were teaching us the basics of using a bike...you kind of went on a tangent about the different models there are and which ones are good for speed..." Andreas meekly added, adding another arrow through her heart.
"Not to mention you're a maniac behind the wheel." Raiden bluntly stated, causing another arrow to go through.
"I-I-I'm not that bad, am I?!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! SOMEONE HELP ME! GOD HELP MEEEEEEEE"
"Stop squeezing me so tightly, Adachi!" Tsubasa's face was turning blue from the lack of oxygen thanks to Hajime's arms hugging her tightly as they rode through a busy interception well beyond the speed limit."You can't be afraid of this speed! You're a Kamen Rider! This should be nothing to you! Come now! We're going even faster!"
"NO! NO! NO!"
"It was bad...really, really bad...Like I don't even go that fast when I play GTA." Hajime shuddered at the memory."You didn't even teach us basic traffic rules!"
"What else do you need to know?" Tsubasa quirked a brow."Stop at a red light, and go in the green light. And go full speed at the yellow light."
"That's horrible advice, Tsubasa." Maria sighed."You're a bad influence on these kids."
"We shouldn't have asked for your help," Raiden muttered.
"But then who could we have asked?" Andreas wondered aloud.
"You know...you could have just come to me." Yosuke folded his arms, leaning against the wall next to Jades.
"Wait, really, Yosuke-san?" Kirika tilted her head."You know how to ride a bike?"
"How unexpected," Shirabe said, much to the purple-haired teen's annoyance.
"And just what does that mean?" Yosuke scowled at them, causing them to shriek.
"He knows how to ride a bike, but he drives like an old lady." Tsubasa rolled her eyes.
"More like I drive like a regular human being that doesn't want to get a ticket." Yosuke retorted, sporting a cocky grin."How many tickets have you gotten now?"
The bluenette blushed, huffing in response.
"So Senpai is a troublemaker that gets traffic tickets, huh?" Chris grinned mischievously."How scandalous. The great Tsubasa Kazanari goes over the speed limit all the time."
"Setsuna would be disappointed." Hajime pointed out.
"You're being unreasonable." Tsubasa responded in an attempt to defend herself."I just can't help but get excited at the thought of riding on a bike, with the wind hitting my face and my thoughts invading my mind as I ride into the-Ah itai!"
Yosuke held a smug smile after flickering her forehead."You're rambling again."
The group broke into laughter, with even Tsubasa joining in after a few seconds.
"Anyway...I guess we should celebrate. We defeated one of our main enemies." Yosuke addressed the group with a proud smile."We just got Bragard and the Autoscorers left and...why are you all looking so dejected?"
"Carol-chan is dead..." Hibiki whispered, feeling mixed emotions regarding the Alchemist's demise.
"Okay, but she was trying to kill us. To kill you." Yosuke planted his hands on his hips.
"And she wanted to destroy the world," Hajime added, raising his hand.
"But she was still a person." Hibiki frowned at her boyfriend."She didn't deserve to die like that."
"She wouldn't have hesitated to kill you." Hajime countered."Do you think she would be feeling conflicted if she succeeded?"
"That still doesn't make this right. I-"
"Okay! Enough!" Chris and Takeru separated the two, ending the argument."Doesn't matter who is right! We got one enemy less to worry about. Just a few more."
"That's not entirely true." Raiden said, earning their attention." We also have Odin, who defeated you guys with ease. Then there's Terunosuke, Chiaki Nakahara, Code Cypher, and Ryuga. And they're working with the Alchemists."
"Ryuga-san...Is he working with those bad people?" Miku, who had been silent, spoke up, glancing down at her bandaged hand and trembling upon remembering Chiaki."With the person who did this to me..."
"What the hell is that guy thinking anyway?" Hajime grunted, scratching his head."He says he wants to be the ultimate good or whatever, but then he partners up with serial killers."
"Doesn't matter. He's never been our ally, to begin with." Yosuke reminded him."While he has helped us in the past, that doesn't mean we can ignore his transgression."
"Finally, someone with a brain." Chao-Xing entered the room after finishing her check-up in the other room.
"Should you be walking right now, Chao-Xing-san?" Andreas asked with a worried tone.
"Don't underestimate a Liang, boy." Chao-Xing swayed her hips as she took firm steps, chin high."It takes more than a mere overdose to get us down. Isn't that right, Lingyun?"
"It's Hajime. But at least you're not calling me a halfbreed now."
"Oh, don't get me wrong." Chao-Xing scoffed."You're still a dirty halfbreed. But I don't mind acknowledging your strength as a warrior. I hear you were able to fight a God, albeit unsuccessful. The same God who is now free on this planet because of your poor excuse of a father."
"I think you're the last person who can go around calling people out." Tsubasa stood in front of her, standing slightly taller than the raven-haired."What you did is extremely reckless. You had no previous training with your Relic, not a full grasp of your abilities, and on top of that, you dragged Tsukuyomi and Akatsuki to your level by asking them to steal that LINKER. And for what? So you can prove your strength? Nothing but a foolish act full of arrogance."
"Watch your words, Kazanari." Chao-Xing narrowed her gaze."Do you want to talk about arrogance? How about we talk about how your family does things."
Tsubasa's eyes widened at that, prompting the girl to forge on.
"Don't come to me with your holier-than-thou attitude." She jabbed her finger against her chest, causing her to take a step back due to her strength."You Kazanaris are disgusting. What you're capable of doing to preserve this "pure blood" in your family? How repulsive. I bet your father is not too proud of you."
Yosuke saw red and was ready to give the Chinese girl a piece of his mind, but an orange blur ran past him.
Chao-Xing's eyes shot wide open, barely able to raise her arm in time to block the slap that Hibiki threw at her.'When did she get so close to me? I didn't even see her.'
She threw a jab toward her chest, but to her surprise, the cream-haired girl blocked it with ease with her hand, and with her free hand, threw a punch that Chao-Xing also blocked.
"Do not ever insult Tsubasa-san like that. Ever." Hibiki warned, her voice low and threatening.
Hajime had to admit, he hadn't expected that from his girlfriend. He supposed that even she got tired of his cousin's bullshit.
Chao-Xing glanced around the room, noticing the disapproving glares she was receiving.'How was she able to counter my punch like that? I thought her power came from her Symphogear...Is she stronger than she seems? Or am I still rusty...? No. I refuse to be inferior to a woman like her.'
"Please, Chao-Xing-san." Miku intervened, gently pushing both girls away from each other."Calm down. This isn't like you."
"And what do you know about me?" Chao-Xing gave her back to the group."I'm not like the rest of you. I'm not doing this out of some sense of justice. Or to make this world a better place, or any zappy crap like that. No. I'm doing this out of self-preservation. For revenge. To restore my family's honor. And you, halfbreed, should feel the same way!"
"Hey, don't involve the Lieutenant in your crusade for revenge." Takeru pointed at her."He's not like you. And besides, you treat him like shit because he's not a full-blooded Liang, right? So why ask him for help?"
"Because there are only 5 Liangs in the world left!" She exclaimed in fury."My Father, brother, Lingyun, his sister, and I are the only Liangs left alive. Wanna know why? Because that fucking monster killed everyone! Everyone! Women, children, elderly! He spared no one! And he also took my arm! So forgive me, if I'm a little upset and if all I want is to kill that bastard with my own hands! Oh, wait. I forgot. There is another Liang. His brother that no one knows who he is and for some reason, his grandmother doesn't want to tell."
"Wait...Blacky-kun has a brother?" Kirika cocked her head to the side, baffled at the news.
"It's complicated..." Hajime responded, trailing off."Besides, I don't see how that's important."
"My point is that while I'm part of the team, I'm in this for very different reasons than you. So don't think we're the same. Because we're not."
"Chao-Xing-san...I don't think that's true." Miku gave her a serious glare.
"Huh?"
"You saved me from Nakahara-san. You said you didn't want her killing anyone else. You have a sense of justice."
"And when you fought Femme, you were asking her if she liked being powerless against their assailant like her victims." Shirabe said."It's clear that you have a sense of justice. One that tells you what's right and wrong."
"So don't go thinking you can fool us-desu!" Kirika cried."We know you're a nice person! We saw you saving Setsuna-chan too!"
"What, was I supposed to just let her die?"
"For someone who looks down on us "halfbreeds", I'm surprised you didn't." Hajime quipped.
She glanced over to Andreas, Kirika, Shirabe, and Raiden before sighing."Whatever. I'll play along for now. Just don't get in my way. Bragard dies by my hand since Lingyun wants to reject his bloodline."
With that, one of the last Liangs walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.
"I...I don't know what came over me..." Hibiki gasped."I...I shouldn't have said that..."
"It's okay." Miku grabbed her hand."Sometimes we can't help but say the things we're thinking aloud when we're unable to contain our emotions. She'll come around...I hope."
"Hopefully sooner rather than later." Maria remarked."She has great battle instincts and tremendous potential, but her attitude might prove to be a hindrance."
"I think we all started that way." Jades chuckled.
"Who the hell does she think she is, talking to us that way?" Chris snorted."Next time, I'm giving her a piece of my mind."
"Chrissy, we don't want to make things harder..."
"So? She's doing that just fine on her own."
Before Takeru could reply, Yosuke spoke up, putting his communicator away."We have a meeting in 15 minutes. Let's get ready."
As the group began emptying the room, Hajime grabbed Hibiki's hand."Hibiki...I wanted to-"
"It's ok." Hibiki cut him off with a sweet smile."I get it. Sorry. I should be more considerate of your feelings."
"Let's just focus on putting an end to this. So no more people get hurt. Okay?"
"Okay." Hibiki nodded and they both shared a quick kiss before catching up with the others.
Back in Carol, or rather, Bragard's base now, six banners began descending from the ceiling. One blue, one navy blue, one yellow, one green, one moss green, and one red.
Bragard sat on Carol's throne, his head hanging with his eyes closed."We delayed this long enough. It's time for phase two. I'm almost done with the Goliath Noise. All I need is to run some tests and for the Superstar to give me some more Divine Power. Damian and Zeke. Come with me. It's time for your final upgrades. I will bestow upon you Divine Power collected from Loki as well as the battle data I've collected from the Survive Forms and the Ignite Modules. It'll take a while to fully upgrade you, so you'll be out of combat for a while. Which means..."
"We proceed as usual." Garie finished for him, receiving a glance from Damian.
"Correct. My beloved Carol may be gone, but we're still on a schedule. All I'm missing is energy from Ryuki before I can fully power the Overall. And once that happens...the world will end as they know it. Come, you two. It's time for great things to happen. Carol offered them an elegy, but I believe it's about time to dedicate them a requiem, yes? Zeke, Damian. Let us go."
Zeke looked almost relieved as he went after Bragard, but Damian didn't feel the same way. He was...apprehensive. A cold hand on his arm snapped him out of his trance. In front of him, was the second water Autoscorer, giving him a smug smile.
"Cat cut your tongue?" Garie teased, poking his cheek."You're looking a little pale. More than usual."
"Yeah. Sorry. Just...thinking, that's all. We'll be inactive for a few days while we go under maintenance." He placed his hand on top of hers."Are you guys going to be alright without us? I mean...the enemy is stronger than before. I knew this was going to happen. I fucking knew it. We should have killed them when we had the chance but-"
"Calm down." Garie grabbed both of his shoulders, shaking him in an attempt to silence him."You're overthinking this. The Master foresaw this. Lord Bragard is confident in our success."
"But for you guys...if you succeed, then-"
"It's part of our purpose. This is what we were designed for." Garie reiterated what she had told him before."We're dolls, Damian. Our purpose is to carry out our mission."
"But we can be more than this, Garie." He continued."We can be more than subservient puppets. We can have free will. Not be bound to serve them. Would you reconsider?"
"All I care about is making sure the Master recognizes my efforts and my hard work." Garie stated with a cold voice."You should do the same."
"But I keep feeling like...like we knew each other before." Damian grabbed his head."I felt like...we existed a long time ago. It's hard to explain. But when I was unconscious...I saw us together. As humans..."
"That blow must have made you delirious." Phara chimed in."Are you going back to saying you're a human?"
"I thought he was over that," Micha commented with a shrug.
"Can dolls truly be human without a wish?" Leiur asked."While I do agree with some of your words, we were still creating with a purpose to follow. It is our duty to fulfill our mission for the sake of those who created us."
"See? Everyone thinks you're crazy." Garie sighed, offering a small smile."Look...just relax. Everything will be fine. If you really want this...new life, as you claim you do, then all you gotta do is win the Rider War for Lord Bragard. He will reward you for your hard work and dedication. And maybe then you can wish for all of us to be human. But you can't win unless you get stronger, so hurry your ass over to the lab."
"But-"
"Just stop being a pain and go." Garie walked behind him, pushing him along."I'll push you all the way there if I must."
"Garie..." Damian trailed off, trying to remember the visions he had in his dream to no avail. He knew he saw something in his dream. But whether that was his wild imagination or something else, he couldn't tell.
And with that, I can confidently say we're midway through GX! Yay! Took a while but we're finally in the middle of the season. And trust me when I say things are going to get even wilder from here on out. But all in due time. All in all, the stuff between now and the final battle won't be that long. I'll expand on them, of course, but most of the lore has been explained. The real long parts of the final episodes are going to be the final information regarding the origin of the Advent Decks, Hajime's dad and his history with Bragard, and the final battle against Bragard. The final battle against Bragard will have several phases so that's why it will be so long. You'll see when we get there.
For now...BEACH EPISODE NEXT CHAPTER!