Remove ads

Distortions (Symphogear) (Spoilers for Those Who Haven't Seen XV!)

Reader mode
@Grue 🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️ We aren't worthy, we aren't worthy. But seriously thank you for this.
 
TBH it's mostly just imputting stuff into a spreadsheet I found, then taking the time to manually correct the various issues that inevitably crop up, such as said spreadsheet throwing a tantrum at dates in the date section, or having to remove most avatars to keep to image limits. As such, while I will be doing the second Omake eventually, you should probably expect any future Forum Omakes to arrive in plaintext first.
 
Just binged this. Can't believe that I missed it. Best Christmas present this year.

I'm really liking the change up from the previous Symphogear villains, and I can't wait to see where it goes next.
 
neutronium95 said:
Just binged this. Can't believe that I missed it. Best Christmas present this year.

I'm really liking the change up from the previous Symphogear villains, and I can't wait to see where it goes next.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I'm glad you like it! We're working very hard on chapter 15 right now.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "change up from the previous Symphogear villains"? I'd be interested in hearing about that.
 
The Name of Love said:
Can you elaborate on what you mean by "change up from the previous Symphogear villains"? I'd be interested in hearing about that.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

For all of the other villains, the Symphogears were either tools to be used or obstacles to be overcome, whereas with the Horsemen, the death of the Symphogears is their primary objective. I'm also really enjoying the whole "S.O.N.G. goes public" side of things, and seeing the reactions of the public to what was covered up and hidden.
 
neutronium95 said:
For all of the other villains, the Symphogears were either tools to be used or obstacles to be overcome, whereas with the Horsemen, the death of the Symphogears is their primary objective.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Have you been reading my story notes?

My Story Notes said:
The Four Horsemen are also distinct antagonists in terms of their goals. All of the canon antagonists did not view the fate of the Symphogear adaptors as necessarily part of their endgame in any real manner. They were either a means to an end, an obstacle to said end, or most frequently both. But in terms of their ultimate objective, the final fate of the Symphogears were only incidental. The Four Horsemen break this trend in that the fate of the Symphogear adaptors is a part of their endgame. The Four Horsemen are antagonists who have decided that the destruction of the Symphogears and the death of their adaptors is one of their goals, not just as a means to an end, but as an end unto itself.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
 
Last edited:
Huh. I've just realised that the Horsemen also fit into the series' ongoing dynamic with singing/not singing. The two groups of villians willing to sing are also the two groups of villains fundamentally willing to connect/understand others, even if Carol's lashing out and rejecting people precisely because of said connections during GX. Meanwhile, the Horsemen fall into the same mold as S1 Fine and the Last Action Hero. More than a thousand years of reincarnation left Fine unwilling to reach out even in death until Shirabe. Last Action Hero considers only himself. And the Horsemen are actively, violently against any form of understanding with anyone using Relics.
 
I just had an amusing idea for when the Anti-Anti-LiNKER is made. The Apegear tries harness the increased phonic gain, until they fail catastrophically.

 
Conclave said:
So... LiNKER? How id that diferent from LiNKER?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

He's referring to the Anti-LiNKER antagonist, which just blocks Anti-LiNKER from having it's effect. LiNKER isn't an antagonist to Anti-LiNKER, rather it's what is referred to as a "inverse agonist" in chemical/medical terms. The difference is that an antagonist prevents any effect whereas an inverse agonist just has the opposite effect to an agonist.

I'm not sure what name would be applied to the hypothetical Anti-LiNKER/LiNKER antagonist (usually an antagonist blocks both the agonist and inverse agonist). BLoCKER (because BlOCKER looks stupid), perhaps?
 
Last edited:
BREAKeR, maybe? Though, that sounds more like what anti-LiNKER should heve been called, but still...
 
Regardless, chapter 15 is complete and partially beta'd. Just waiting on SVS to do their part (no pressure). In the interim, it's already the 28th in Japan, so Merry Chrismas.

 
Last edited:
Remove ads
Chapter 15: Watching Over Me
  • Threadmarks
    • Distortions
    Chapter 15:
    Watching Over Me

    ----​

    "Another facility?" Shinji Ogawa asked. He had received a call from his brother while working in his office.

    "Yes." Souji answered. "We already have the address and location of another Horsemen facility."

    "Good. Unlike Panau, we won't have to wrestle with the Security Council. We have Japan's full permission to operate within its territory so long as we give them a minimum heads-up." Shinji nodded gravely. "Whatever action you feel is necessary against the facility, do it."

    "I'm already working on a plan." Souji replied. "However, there is one other thing; while I was interrogating one of the prisoners, he told me he was recruited under the impression the adaptors will turn into creatures like Shem-Ha, like the Custodians."

    Souji expected Shinji to react with complete surprise and denial. He expected his little brother to dismiss it as far-fetched nonsense based purely on duplicity. Souji did not expect Shinji to shift uncomfortably in his seat. Though the elder Ogawa brother barely showed any of it, alarm bells began to ring in his head. "Shinji, what-"

    "This isn't something we can discuss over the line, nii-san." Shinji actually cut him off. "Suffice to say, we have discovered there is at least a grain of truth in that belief, but we are not convinced it is the whole truth." At least, Shinji hoped that was the case. It had to be the case. He refused to consider the possibility the Horsemen were telling the whole truth. Because if they were… "We intend to give the matter a thorough briefing when we return home. Until then, please don't mention it to the girls. I promised Tsubasa we would keep it from them until we've returned home."

    It took a few moments for Souji to recover from the shock of Shinji cutting him off, although anyone who didn't know him would think he was just contemplating what his younger brother had said. Never, in their entire history together, had that happened. For that reason alone, he let it slide; if Shinji was willing to cut him off, it had to be important. "I see. In that case, could you patch me through to the head researcher?"

    Ogawa blinked in confusion. "Elfnein? Why?"

    "I have some questions to ask about the Shenshoujing."


    ----​

    The address Ken Shibuya had given lay on the western extremities of Tokyo, nestled in a valley just at the southeastern base of Gozenyama. The company that owned it was officially listed as a domestic robotics producer, but a covert inspection of its records showed that the facility was the company's only real asset, just like in Panau. Additionally, it had been located above an area where one of Yggdrasil's trunks had breached the surface.

    From the satellite photos of the place, Souji and the homebound adaptors couldn't see anything like the sort of heavy industrial complexes that had characterized the Panau plant. There were still warehouses, manufacturing structures, and several loading bays, but in vastly smaller numbers. The facility on the whole was undoubtedly much smaller and likely much more specialized. There were no obvious bunker entrances that the satellite could spot.

    Souji had spent the entire evening and well into the night researching the location and formulating a plan. While he worked, he had let the adaptors hang easy with Miku and Hibiki's families, letting them get settled in and familiar with each other.

    But in the morning, after breakfast, he had pulled Miku aside for some special training and instruction. The Shenshoujing had unparalleled stealth capabilities, and Souji Ogawa hoped to use those abilities to their fullest. There would be no surprises this time. A single morning wasn't as much time as Souji would have liked, but he knew they had to act fast. The longer they waited, the more time the Horsemen would have to react to the capture of their agents. He was pleased by how seriously Miku took the training, and even though he wanted her to get more, he judged her adequate enough for the task.

    After lunch, they departed. But the helicopter looped north, avoiding the facility and taking them up to a town called Okutma. There, a waiting SONG van crammed full of electronics drove them up the mountain road until they were most of the way up the northern face of Mount Gozenyama.

    They couldn't see the facility from where they were parked at the moment, as the summit of Gozenyama was in the way. But the five adaptors knew that if they were to transform and leap far away enough off the cliffside to their left, they would be able to just make out the mountain valley it was in.

    Director Ogawa ran through the final checks while the girls sat in the back. "Once Kohinata signals that she's in position, we'll begin the main assault. We will be improvising there based on what she manages to discover. Tachibana, Tsukuyomi, Akatsuki, you will be making the main charge. Maria, you will be in reserve."

    Maria nodded. She could guess he made that decision based on her breakdown two days ago. She felt as if she needed just one more day to get through it. In the meantime, it would be foolish to object. She would not let her hesitation on this matter hold them back.

    "Kohinata, your part of the mission starts in five minutes." Director Ogawa added. "The rest of you are on standby. If you want to watch Kohinata with me, that's fine too. Any questions?" There were none.

    "Good." Souji finished. "Be ready."

    At the dismissal, Miku and Hibiki exchanged glances before hopping out through the truck's side door and walking side by side towards the cliffside. Miku took a deep breath of mountain air as she looked off towards the adjacent peak of Mount Odake.

    "You know," Hibiki began next to her, "We passed a bunch of hot springs resorts on the way up here. Maybe we can visit one afterwards."

    "Mmm." Miku replied absently, letting the conversation stall for a moment. She thought about her past performance and kept finding herself wanting. Maybe it had been her inexperience. Maybe it had been her nerves. Well, this time would be different, the black haired girl thought. She had spent the whole morning preparing for this. She had been briefed. She was ready, readier then she had been any other time. And most of all, she had her friends behind her. She would do it this time. She felt confident.

    "Miku." At the sound of her name, Miku turned to Hibiki. The chestnut-haired girl shifted on her feet somewhat. "If you get in trouble, I'll be there as fast as I can. But please don't do anything reckless."

    Miku contemplated the request for a moment before giggling. "Funny. I remember when it used to be the other way around."

    "Huh?" Hibiki thought over what she said for a moment, then joined Miku in giggling. "Yeah, you're right. I guess this is something like how I made you feel all the time back then, huh?"

    Miku smiled, taking Hibiki's hand. "If you understand that now, then next time you have to go out on your own, you won't try to do anything reckless yourself?"

    Hibiki returned the smile. "Well if you try this time, then I will too!"

    "It's a promise, then."

    On cue, their communicators crackled. Director Ogawa's voice came through. "It's time. Commence the operation."

    Hibiki didn't hesitate for a moment at that. She leaned forward and gave Miku a quick peck on the lips. "Good luck. I love you."

    "I love you too." Miku replied, squeezing Hibiki's hand one last time before letting go and turning towards the cliffside. As Hibiki climbed back into the van, Miku reached up to grip her pendant and sang.

    "Rei Shenshoujing rei zizzl."​

    —

    The mountain valley the facility was located made the southeastern approach via road the only practical way in and out. The northwestern approach was flat-out impassable thanks to Mount Gozenyama. The other six cardinal directions were technically possible by foot but extremely difficult due to the tangled woodlands and sloped surfaces. Any individual would have to spend considerable time making the approach and be positively exhausted by the time they arrived.

    Of course, if one could just hover over it all with Ionocraft modules attached to their legs, then they could avoid that problem. Miku approached the facility with no fear of detection. Wizard Stealth rendered her completely undetectable to all forms of sensors, active and passive, which was why she had entered it the moment she transformed. Only extremely sensitive auditory sensors had any chance of hearing her, and even then, the distortions caused by the Shenshoujing meant they couldn't accurately pinpoint her so long as she remained below certain thresholds. She couldn't attack, but that didn't matter for phase one of the plan.

    Miku was more than comforted by the thought that her friends were still indirectly with her. They could see what she saw, after all. Elfnein may have been away, but a healthy portion of her technical team had stayed behind. At Souji's request, they had done a simple modification to the Shenshoujing's combinations that allowed it to project a visual feed. The camera wasn't actually visible anywhere, but she had been informed that it was located in her gear's right 'horn' based on the feed.

    She still didn't understand how relics worked.

    Even with the demands of silence forcing her to keep the Ionocraft modules power down, Miku swiftly reached the facility's entrance. A reinforced traffic arm and adjacent guard post constituted the gate. A bored looking security guard in the latter was reading some book with his feet propped up on the desk. Obviously not a staple. Miku momentarily wondered if he even knew who exactly he was really working for. The guard, of course, didn't even glance up at her as she hovered invisibly right by his post and looped through the gap between the traffic arm and the razor wire fence marking the perimeter.

    —

    [Alert: Black Unit Facility 1-014 Auditory Sensors Tripped]
    [Analyzing…]
    [ERROR: Cannot Verify, Further Analysis Underway...]
    [Other Sensors Negative Verification, Negative Visual Verification]
    [Objection: HVT Sierra-7-Actual Possess Known Supernatural Stealth Capability]
    [Cross-Referencing. Cross-Reference Data Incomplete. Estimated Chance of HVT Sierra-7-Actual: 16.87%]
    [Preliminary Analysis: Geological Ultrasound Event, No Immediate Action Necessary]
    [Analysis Refinement Ongoing]

    —

    "Kohinata." Director Ogawa's voice crackled quietly in her ear. "Can you hear me?"

    Miku didn't say anything but merely clicked her communicator once, as she had been instructed.

    "Good. Proceed as planned, I'll contact you if any specific instructions are necessary."

    As she floated through the complex, an errant part of Miku entertained the idea that she should probably adopt an eyepatch and bandana like that old video game character Yumi liked. Then again, her stealth approach was rather the opposite of his. Rather than skulking around in closed areas, she stuck to the wide open spaces. She was invisible, not intangible, meaning she couldn't afford to encounter any base personnel in close confines where she might bump into them. Keeping plenty of space around her was necessary for her to exploit her Symphogear-granted reflexes and the Ionocraft's maneuverability to avoid making physical contact with any personnel she saw roaming the base.

    These limitations also meant Miku couldn't afford to go inside any of the structures, but she could do things like peer through windows and any entryways left open, particularly large ones. With only a modest increase to her Ionocraft's power, still below the auditory threshold, she could even boost herself up and over a few stories to get on and off upper accessways or some of the lower rooftops. She filed away a few potential spots she saw for later, keeping in mind Souji's advice from the morning.

    Initially, the only personnel she saw were orange-suited workers, moving from one structure to another to complete some sort of menial task. But it didn't take long for her to spot the first staple patrols, clad fully in their masks, goggles, and dark tactical combat gear, slightly further in. Miku noted that they were always patrolling in multiples of three, up to squads of twelve. It took quite a bit longer before she spotted one squad with three taller and bulkier figures, clad in a dull silver armor and several layers of kevlar fibers, yet carrying no obviously visible weapons. Then she realized their glowing red sensor headsets weren't masks at all, but heads. Those must be the Automen she had heard about, the androids Tsubasa and Chris had encountered in Panau. Glancing into entryways mostly revealed warehouses filled with shipping crates, but on one occasion, she chanced a look through a garage door and beheld a small motor pool of Horsemen battle tanks and personnel carriers.

    Miku slid around the corner of another building and beheld two helipads, one larger than the other. Two VTOLs were parked on each one: a large, quad engine transport on the larger pad and a more compact, twin engine design on the smaller one. The large one's engines were completely off, and service robots overseen by a few workers travelled back and forth to carry crates from a nearby stack into its back. But the smaller VTOL was emitting an unmistakable hum that indicated its engines were on yet idle. Miku angled towards it, both to avoid the stream of robots and to hide whatever potential sounds she might make using the VTOL's engines as cover.

    "Smaller one looks like a personnel transport, possibly for somebody important." Souji mused in Miku's ear. "Engines are on, so they are likely to be leaving soon."

    The black-haired girl took a moment to get her bearings. The building on the far side of the helipads from where she arrived looked different from the rest: less brick-and-concrete like a factory or warehouse, more glass like an office building. She drifted across towards one of the windows by a door but quickly stopped as a trio of figures, radically different from any of the others she had seen so far, stepped out through the building's front door.

    Instead of the combat gear of the staples or the orange vests of work crews, two of the figures wore long white lab coats. The first, clearly the superior of the two by her demeanour, was a young caucasian woman in her early-twenties. Long indigo hair cascaded down to her waist, and she possessed wide lilac eyes that nevertheless were filled with a severity beyond her apparent age. The second figure, a step behind and his eyes on an electronic smartpad, was a balding man in his late-thirties.

    The third figure was a dog. Not one of flesh and blood, but a robot dog, clad in black metal and with four eyes. Yet despite its obviously robotic appearance, its movements were flawlessly dog-like. Miku found the combination sent her into the uncanny valley. From the way he glanced at it occasionally, the man must have been equally perturbed by it. The robo-dog stuck close to the woman's heels, in much the same way one would expect any dog to follow their master.

    "-oncept twos are in an acceptable state now that we've solved the ammo feed problem." The woman was saying as she exited the building.

    —

    "That woman." Maria breathed, leaning forward suddenly over Souji's shoulder to inspect the the camera feed more closely. "I know her. Where do I know her from?"

    "You too, Maria?" Shirabe spoke up. "She seems familiar to us too."

    Kirika nodded, her eyes glued to the camera as she tried to place where she had seen that woman.

    Hibiki scratched her head, "I… umm, I don't recognize her at all."

    "Kohinata." Souji requested into the communicator. "Follow that woman, keep her in earshot." If she seemed familiar to three of the adaptors, then she was definitely of interest to them. He waited for the single click of Miku's acknowledgement before he glanced up at Maria. "Someone from the FIS? The orphanage?"

    "No…" Kirika began, but then paused and frowned. "Maybe? I don't remember seeing someone like her there, but she definitely looks really familiar."

    —

    "The concept threes are a stupid design, they should be scrapped." The woman continued, walking towards the smaller VTOL as her compatriot tapped away. Miku followed a few dozen feet behind her. "The concept fours are also stupid, but they work, so they should be kept. And the concept fives…" She came to an abrupt halt. Her robot dog immediately followed suit and sat down like an attentive greyhound. The man at her side took a few additional steps, carrying him slightly ahead, before he noticed his companion had come to a halt and turned back towards her.

    "Who came up with the concept fives?" She asked after a moment.

    The man checked his pad. "Professor Forr-"

    "We're outside." The woman snapped. "Codenames only."

    "My apologies, Professor-One-Forty-Five. I believe the concept fives were Professor-Seven-Twenty-Two's idea, according to Red Unit."

    "Ugh, that moron." 'Professor-145' muttered distastefully, resuming her walk. "If only we liquidated people for bad engineering. Strongly recommend they be scrapped. The concept sixes seem adequate enough." She glanced over at the larger VTOL transport. "What's going on there?"

    The man glanced over for a moment before returning his attention to the pad. "There's been a potential security breach. A low-priority evacuation been ordered."

    "I see."

    They were getting close to the small VTOL, so Miku closed the distance a little to better hear the two scientists over the growing sound of the engine.

    Abruptly the robot dog stopped, head whipping around to point straight at Miku. The Shenshoujing user froze, thinking for a moment that it might have had some special sensor or something. But then it tilted its head slightly in the universal canine expression of confusion.

    Professor-145 didn't fail to notice her pseudo-canine companion's behavior. She turned to glance down at the dog, before following its gaze to look towards Miku. The black-haired girl tensed as the woman's eyes alighted on her, although it was clear they didn't see her. "Ekaterina? What is it, girl?"

    The man glanced at the direction 'Ekaterina' was looking only momentarily to see that there was nothing there then looked down at the dog curiously. "It's not hooked into Red Unit?"

    "No. Ekaterina is a personal project of mine, so I made her AI independent, self-contained. No wireless signals either; I don't want Red Unit jacking into it." Professor-145 replied, turning back to her companion. "Of course, the best I have managed is dog-level intelligence. Doesn't even come close to human-level, let alone Red Unit's superintelligence. Not that I mind. I like dogs." Her mouth twisted in slight amusement. "I think mother was more of a cat person, considering what kind of strays she took in."

    "Still, regardless of precisely how intelligent it is, it's an AI." The man pointed out.

    "Exactly." 145 looked back in Miku's direction. "While Ekaterina's programmed to emulate canine behavior in response to inputs, so she's much more precise. She wouldn't be doing this if she wasn't picking up something she was programmed to notice, a noise or a smell. That head tilt though means she can't identify whatever she's picking up."

    The woman cupped her chin in thought for a moment before sighing. "I'm going to have to run a diagnostics check when we get back." Her voice took on a commanding tone. "Ekaterina! Instruction: Log anomalous reading, disregard anomalous reading! Authorization: Foxtrot-Hotel-Fiver."

    Ekaterina tore her four red 'eyes' away from Miku, returning her head forward and falling into an obedient and alert sitting posture. Miku breathed a sigh of relief.

    —

    Hibiki breathed a sigh of relief. The Gungnir user spent the entire tense period of time glancing between the camera feed and Souji, waiting for any signal that she should bust out there and smash into the facility. She needed to calm down. She needed to trust Miku and her training.

    The other three adaptors hadn't even noticed; their attention was fixated on trying to figure out where they had seen this woman. Souji, on the other hand, swiftly jotted down some notes. That conversation had been as informative as it had been worrying. That the 'Red Unit' was apparently a Superintelligent AI explained some things, raised a few more questions, and opened up a host of terrifying possibilities.

    —

    "Forward the rest of the list to my main account, I'll review them and make recommendations when I have time." 145 said as she stepped up to the VTOL's passenger compartment. Ekaterina jumped up onto the vehicle to join her.

    "Say hello to Professor-Three-Twelve for me!" The man called out as he backed away and the pitch in the VTOL's engines began to grow.

    "Assuming the idiot hasn't been liquidated for another of his proposals!" She called back, strapping in. "Man's chafing under the prohibi-!"

    Her voice was lost in the growing whine of the engines as the VTOL lifted off the pad, its passenger doors sliding close. The aircraft rapidly gained altitude as it steadily shifted into horizontal flight, climbing up into the sky.

    Miku contemplated dropping stealth and quickly shooting off its engine, but she discarded the idea. Quietly, she hovered away from the man as he turned and began to walk back towards the office building. She wouldn't risk bringing the whole base down on her yet. She'd have to wait until they were distracted.

    "Alright, I think we've seen and heard enough, Kohinata." Director Ogawa's voice echoed in her ear. "Find a good spot and send the signal when you are ready."

    Miku clicked once in response and turned, retracing her steps… erm, flight path back towards the facility entrance. She remembered what Souji had told her: set-up by the southeastern side of the facility, as close to the perimeter fence as she could get, and with as large a field of view as she could get. During her sweep through the base, she had seen a warehouse that might fit best.

    The warehouse was four stories tall, as much as she could afford to boost her ionocraft modules without risking detection. It was the tallest building around for a few blocks, so it had a clear view of the main gate. Propelling herself up to the roof, Miku hovered over to the corner overlooking the gate and scanned the view. Yes, this fit nicely.

    Touching down, Miku shut off her Ionocraft modules, took a deep breath, and reached up to click her communicator three times.

    —

    The trio of clicks resonated through the van's back. Director Ogawa glanced back at the others. "Deploy."

    "Roger!" Hibiki, Shirabe, and Kirika chorused, already heading for the door. Jumping down out of the van, they sprinted the short distance to the cliff side, leapt clear, and sang...

    "Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron."
    "Various Shul Shagana tron."
    "Zeios Igalima raizen tron."​

    —

    [PRIORITY ALERT: Black Unit Facility 1-014 Proximity AWF-Signature]
    [HVTs Sierra-2-Actual, Sierra-5-Actual, Sierra-6-Actual Verified]
    [Sierra-Golf Assault Immediate. TACCOM Protocols Activated. Facility Wide Protocol-10 Activated. Available Whiskey-November Deployment Requested.]

    —

    Darmawan was rather rudely awakened from his nap by a shout from the only other person left in the safehouse screaming upstairs. "Timmy Darmmy deary! Wake the fuck up! We've gotta response deployment!"

    "Where's the others?!" He called back, trying to shake the grogginess out of his head as he climbed out of bed.

    "Voronin is a couple hours out from Japan, and the rest are still hunting down some no-name alchemical cult in Germany to vaporize an old necklace or something!" Caprice slammed her arm computer into place on her suit and made ready far too many explosives, "Now, as much as I'd love to talk jewelry, we've got some Sierras to blow up! Two's there, if it'll get you moving any faster!"

    "The God-Slayer?! Genjuro's best student?!" Now Darmawan was really moving, grabbing his nanosuit down off the rack.

    "Yeah, that's the spirit!" Caprice shouted as she finished clipping the last satchel charge to her waist. "Just don't let her break your spine or something!" She turned for the garage door. "You've got two minutes before I drag you to the car, regardless of how suited up you are!"

    —

    The adaptors ignored the lighter ordinance and did their best to avoid the heavier guns, pushing through the pain of sudden light burns when a few violet beams found their mark. Anti-LiNKER gas drifted through the air, but by now, they were long used to dropping their armor combinations to compensate. The moment the Horsemen's staples and Automen opened fire upon the approaching trio, Miku dropped her stealth and released a series of mirrors to rain a Purgatory of beams upon the staples on the adjacent roofs.

    Music thundered in Kirika's ears, mixing up with the noise of energy weapons, explosions, Shirabe's buzzsaws, and automatic gunfire as the trio of adaptors practically danced across the hastily erected killzone towards the facility's gate. Two extra blades spontaneously slid from Igalima as she closed in. Kirika swung the scythe, releasing both in a Kill Juliet of death that tore right through the squads immediately in front of her and the razor wire fencing just beyond them. As she charged through the gap, she sang...

    "A red light flashes! Which do you prefer, heaven or hell or death?!
    You'd better pay attention to us two!
    Pay attention for death!"

    Cooly, Shirabe skated straight through the midst of a squad of staples, Shul-Shagana's saw-blades held horizontally as she casually bisected them. She swiftly shifted the arms forward as she rolled through another section of fence. The platoon of staples, along with a trio of Automen, firing on her from just beyond were backed up by a wheeled armored personnel carrier which was systematically pumping round after round of autocannon shells in her direction.

    Leaping up, Shirabe shifted her buzzsaws into a single large mono-wheel buzzsaw with her riding in the center. Graser shots and autocannon rounds deflected off the front of the Forbidden Full Moon. An AT missile leapt from a launcher atop the APC's turret only to be bisected before it could detonate when it spiralled straight into the monowheel's front. Blood splashed and circuits tore as the Shul-Shagana monowheel raced through the group of staples and Automen, finally slamming into the personnel carrier. Shirabe jerked forward as the monowheel chewed through the armor, but it swiftly hit a fuel tank, detonating the APC spectacularly.

    Rolling on out of the dust and debris, Shirabe cut through another group of staples before abandoning the monowheel, her armed gear shifting back to its Friction Blades. Bullets cracked down at her from an adjacent one-story warehouse, staples firing down out of windows and atop the roof. The Shul-Shagana wielder swiped out with her buzzsaws and cut through the wall. Within, more staples and some Automen now fired upon her from behind crates. Body parts, Automen pieces, and the parts of service robots flew everywhere as Shirabe cut through the warehouse like a killing whirlwind. And when all finally fell silent, she wasted no time in slicing her way out through the far wall, making extra sure to cut through a support beam. Behind her, the warehouse crumbled, bringing down the staples that had been on the roof with it.

    Turning into the gunfire from yet more staples coming down the service road she was now on, the twin-tailed girl continued her assault.

    "Hey could we merge on a rail that just pushes forward to death?!
    Embracing our dreams in a world that hasn't been minced into pieces!
    Let's kiss."

    Her gauntlet's rockets firing, Hibiki smashed straight through the gate guard like it didn't exist. Swinging her fist just after she broke through, she cored straight through the APC situated just beyond the gate like a person-shaped armor piercing round, passing right through the front and rear armor, as well as the crew of staples in between, to finally manage a landing roll on her feet just beyond. Her right hand was now soaked in a mixture of blood and oil. A moment later, the personnel carrier duly exploded from the damage of her passing.

    Undeterred, those staples and Automen around the personnel carrier who were not cut down by the shrapnel simply turned and continued to fire upon her. Launching herself into the group on her right, Hibiki forced herself to ignore the way bones shattered and blood sprayed as she put her fists through body armor, gas masks, and the bodies beneath them. They weren't people, she reminded herself. They were staples.

    At least when she punched through an Automan, they didn't bleed. Instead, they were torn apart in a shower of metal bits and sparks. Hibiki was constantly in motion, fists and legs lashing out to smash through bodies and armor. Some groups she didn't even have to attack, as they instead disintegrated under a hail of purple beams firing down from atop a four story structure nearby. The source of the beams moved along the roof's edge as Hibiki advanced deeper into the facility, leaving the gate behind, until finally she lost sight of the structure completely.

    "What is there to becoming strong?
    Just be continuing to seek it?
    My real thoughts,
    Can't be achieved with just this!"

    Hibiki fell into a fighting stance as a pair of tanks turned around the corner of a manufacturing building, their guns already aimed in her direction. Just like in Val Verde, she expected she'd be able to deflect their rounds. Unfortunately, she hadn't paid enough attention to the reports on precisely how much faster electromagnetically-propelled shots were compared to conventional tankfire. She saw the flash of the railgun firing, but by the time her fists were able to move, the first slug smashed straight into her stomach.

    Okay, ow, that was probably going to bruise. Felt like a direct hit from one of Chris's rockets. Fortunately, the first round throwing the Gungnir user on her back caused the second round a moment later to flash over her head. Hibiki wasted no time. Shaking the haze from her head, she leapt back up to her feet and charged forward towards the heavy armor and their infantry screen. She swerved just before the first tank fired again, the miss close enough that she could feel it brush against her right arm.

    The pistons on her legs fired, propelling Hibiki forward and smashing her straight through the screen of Staples. She landed right on the tank's front hull, denting it with the impact. Its close-in anti-personnel countermeasures fired off, flechettes smashing into Hibiki like grapeshot, but she didn't even flinch as she forced her fists into the turret ring.

    'Okay Hibiki,' She thought as she wrenched the turret loose, 'Lesson learned: don't try to deflect railgun shots. Instead, throw off their aim and close distance ASAP.'

    Another difference from Val Verde: cracking open a Four Horsemen's vehicle prompted the crews to draw their machine pistols and open fire instead of fleeing in panic. The Gungnir wielder ignored that, instead wrenching the turret overhead to slam down on top of its neighbor with enough force to crush it. Then she leapt away just in time to avoid another railgun round from a third tank further back, providing overwatch, smash through the hull, exploding the entire thing.

    "The courage to become strong is hidden in my heart,
    In the radiance concealed by the moon, our paired love has no lies.
    I want you to shine! Just loving!"

    Kirika was a dervish of death, Igalima flashing again and again as she sliced through staples and Automen. The enemy kept trying to bog her down, raining cross fire down upon her from buildings on either side of whatever road she took and firing down the streets with autocannons and missile launchers. In response, she danced, flipped, and flat-out tore her way from building to building. Whenever she crashed into a warehouse or manufacturing plant, the staples and Automen within unhesitatingly turned their weapons on her, shifting their positions from windows and doorways to take cover behind crates and assembly lines.

    Igalima cut them down all the same.

    Kirika slashed through another warehouse wall, charged out into the next service road, and jerked aside just in time to avoid being knocked over by a railgun shot from a tank on the intersection. She zig-zagged forward, ignoring the gunfire from the staples and trying to throw off the graser shots of the Automen best she could. The blonde closed the distance, scything through the escorting clones and androids as she did so.

    The tank's anti-boarding measures fired but never made contact as the Igalima user leapt skyward. The grappling chains on her shoulder armor fired, expanding around the tank as their endpoints dug into the ground around it and the chains themselves constricted it. The tank's engine roared as it bucked back against the chains, trying to reverse. Kirika could tell from the way the chains buckled that they wouldn't hold it forever. But then they didn't have to. They only had to hold it for long enough.

    Her scythe morphed, the handle splitting into two, one of which was transferred to the other side of the elongating blade. The two handles then shot forward, embedding themselves on either side of the chained-down battle tank. Kirika planted her feet on the back of the blade, now an enormous guillotine centered over the middle of the tank. Her armor's jets fired as the handles constricted, accelerating the blade to absurd velocity.

    The Guillotine Jabberwock impacted just as the tank managed to break the grappling chains. With a screech of metal on metal, the vehicle split in two before each section's ammunition and fuel cooked off, causing the whole thing to erupt. Riding the twin explosions into the air, Kirika flipped right side up as she descended upon another company of staples shooting up at her, Igalima raised, still singing away.

    "To just my dear enemies, welcome to our black history of death.
    For sure we'll surpass our yesterdays with affection!
    It's the strongest, death!"

    The Shenshoujing's mirrors, both the folded one in Miku's hands and the remote ones dancing around her, spitting purple light, burning through armor, metal, flesh, and circuitry alike. Miku provided Hibiki with covering fire for as long as she could maintain line of sight, and then, when she vanished from view, the flying Symphogear adaptor moved to support Shirabe. Any combat vehicles she could spot, she speared with beams from her more powerful fan mirror while the remote mirrors picked off groups of staples or Automen.

    Miku almost didn't see the tank with its railgun aimed at her perch until it was too late. The key word there though was 'almost'. With a whine, her Ionocraft modules came to life and propelled her upward just as the tank fired. The shot shattered the northern front of the warehouse she had been atop, but Miku was already well clear and now flying over the facility. Turning back in the direction of the tank, she swiftly unfolded the Shenshoujing's knee plates and hooked her cables up to the resulting ring. The circle glowed as a ball of light popped into existence in front of Miku before shooting forward in a continuous beam. Like a Shooting Star, the beam consumed the tank, causing a huge explosion.

    From her new perch in the sky, Miku could see almost the entire complex. She was about to turn her attention back to the front where Hibiki, Kirika, and Shirabe were busy punching, scything, and sawing their way through the Horsemen's forces when something in her mind clicked: not all of the gunfire was in the locations they were. The place where her fellow adaptors were certainly was receiving the most gunfire, no doubt. But there was also sporadic gunfire coming from deeper in the compound, where none of the adaptors had reached yet.

    Looking in the direction of the nearest case, Miku's blood froze at the sight: a half-dozen staples calmly and robotically shot down fleeing workmen in their orange vests. Rage shot through her veins. Not enough that the Horsemen were monstrous enough to slaughter innocents, they would even slaughter their own people?! Unfolding her armed gear, Miku blotted the squad of staples from the earth with a Flash of lasers.

    "The staples are killing the workers!" Miku shouted over her communicator. "The Horsemen are killing their own people!"

    "What?!" Hibiki's voice came back, outrage very clear. "We have to stop them, as fast as we can!"

    "The feelings that I protected was of a very pleasurable death!"
    I won't let go of you! I absolutely won't let this one fated Death that is for the two of us,"

    "Wait, wait! Don't do this, please I-!" Kenji Asato shouted as he was thrown to the ground. Everything he had seen told him begging wouldn't work, but fear had a funny way of overriding rational thought. They were security, his manager said. Elite private military contractors, some of the best in the business. Necessary since the place held some big company secrets that competitors would be quite interested in getting their hands on. Just don't talk to them or go into restricted areas, and they wouldn't bother you. Now, his manager's body lay by the assembly line for service robots, riddled with bullet holes.

    He didn't understand. One moment, it was a standard work day. The very next, the security alarms went off, a weird red gas came out of the vents, and, a few minutes afterwards, a fury of gunfire kicked off to the southeast, along with explosions and what sounded like some kinda energy blasts. Most of the mercenaries ran off in the direction of the gunfire. The workers, naturally, looked to those mercs who stayed behind for protection.

    Instead, the remaining contractors opened fire on the workers. Kenji only escaped the slaughter by virtue of being the closest to the door. But when he dashed outside, he saw other workers outside likewise being shot down.

    He had tried to hide, but one group of soldiers found him. The masked figure that hauled him out of the air duct he was hiding in calmly and robotically placed his rifle to Kenji's temple as he begged. Finally realizing that begging was of no further use, Kenji screwed his eyes shut, thought of his parents… and wondered why he could hear a song.

    "The wish that I believed in… should be a death that connects us!"

    There was an audible shing, the sound of tearing flesh, and something wet splashed all over Kenji's upper body. Another moment later and he felt something tumble across his upper body.

    "You're okay now! Although you might want to be more careful who you work for in the future, ya know?" A female voice called out to him. Realizing that he wasn't dead, Kenji sat up and opened his eyes. For a heart-stopping instance, he thought he had died and a death goddess had come to take him.

    Then he spotted the half-dozen bisected soldiers laying at her feet and realized she hadn't come to take him, but this only marginally reduced the terror he felt towards her. Though she smiled encouragingly at him, he fixated on blood splattered across her clothes and dripping from her enormous scythe. The small part of his mind still clinging to rationality informed him that this had to be that blonde Symphogear, Kirika Akatsuki, who had been in the news so much during the past few weeks, but it was drowned out by the rest still busy gibbering in awe and terror.

    The smile dropped off her face, replaced by a puzzled frown. "Hey, are you okay?!"

    "P-please d-don't kill me!" He shouted.

    An alarmed look crossed her face at that and she opened her mouth to speak… only to be cut off as a rocket slammed into her, enveloping her in dust and debris. A moment passed before a green blur shot out of the dust cloud as the blonde reaper spun took off in the direction the rocket came from, powering through a hail of bullets.

    Staggering to his feet, Ken turned and ran in the opposite direction out onto the street. He froze to stare at the carpet of bodies, body parts, and burning husks of vehicles which were now strewn across the street. For a moment, he contemplated turning around again only to realize that would mean going where the soldiers and blonde reaper were still battling it out, based on the noises he heard. Okay, maybe this direction was the better idea after all. At least there probably weren't any soldiers this way who would shoot him, and surely, the blonde reaper wouldn't retrace her steps!

    —

    Kirika tore through another group of staples as she charged forward, bursting out into the area she recognized from Miku's recon earlier as the helipad. She arrived just in time to see the large transport VTOL's rear ramp finish sealing. The pitch of its engines grew into a roar as it took off into the air. Oh, no she wasn't going to let them get away with material like that! She leapt, boosting her already superhuman ascent with her armor's jets and enlarged Igalima as she lifted it over her head, angling herself towards the nearest of the four tilt wings.

    "Our past and all of our sins and wounds," Kirika shouted the last lines of her song. Just before she reached the wing, she swung, neatly cutting off the tilt wing with its engine and sending the VTOL careening out of control. "Let's go and surpass them!"

    She touched down in a crouch on the other side of the area as the final notes played. An instant later, the cargo VTOL slammed into the helipad behind her, causing an explosive chain reaction. Kirika cooly walked away from the conflagration, slinging her Armed Gear over her back. She started to turn towards the entrance of the office building until she caught her reflection in an intact window.

    The blonde stared. The blood of many of the staples she had cut through was splattered all over her. On a few occasions in the past, her friends had joked she looked like the Grim Reaper. It was a joke she found amusing more than anything else, so she played along with it. Looking at her blood-soaked reflection right now though, suddenly that joke struck her as vastly less funny.

    No wonder the workers looked so scared of her, even after she saved them.

    "Kiri-chan?" At the sound of her approaching girlfriend's voice, Kirika tore her vision away from the ghastly image. She noted Shirabe and her Shul-Shagana were also splattered in blood. Although Kirika couldn't find it in her to be scared of her girlfriend - Shirabe would always be beautiful to her no matter what - objectively, she wondered if people would be as terrified of Shirabe's appearance right now.

    Kirika briefly hoped in the future that the Horsemen would deploy a lot more Automen and a lot fewer staples. Sure, they were somewhat tougher to deal with, and their attacks could actually hurt. But at least it didn't mean her, her girlfriend, and possibly her other friends would keep winding up looking like death incarnate.

    "Kiri-chan?" Shirabe repeated, concerned at her girlfriends lack of response. "Is everything okay?"

    "Uh… yeah, sure!" Kirika shook herself out of her thoughts and offered her girlfriend a smile she hoped was sincere enough. "Just thinking about how much messier this is!"

    Only then did Shirabe understand, glancing between the blood splattered on herself and Kirika.

    "Kirika, Shirabe!" Hibiki jogged up to the Zababa pair. Kirika couldn't help but glance down at the Gungnir girl's bloodsoaked fists and feet. The sound of gunfire had died off by now. The staples and Automen had to be finished by now.

    "Is everyone okay?" Miku asked, descending from the sky. Kirika felt a slight pang of jealousy as she noticed that the Shenshoujing user was still spotless. Lucky range-specialized Gear users.

    "We're all good!" Kirika quickly answered. "Guess we cleaned this place out."

    Hibiki activated her communicator. "Ogawa, mission complete. We've cleared the place out."

    "Good. I'll contact the SDF and support teams and… wait." A sudden note of urgency. "Maria, Automen coming up the cliff! Depl-!"

    Abruptly the communicator went dead.

    —

    "Seilien coffin Airgetlamh tron."​

    Maria sang as she leapt from the rear of the truck just as the first Automen leapt over the cliff's edge, the androids tossing out Anti-LiNKER canisters as they did. Properly transformed, the pinkette lashed out with her whip-sword before any of the androids could even raise their arm mounted weapons, smashing most of them to scrap metal in an instant. But even as the shattered parts flew everywhere, they were instantly replaced by more sweeping over the cliffside.


    The ones Maria missed took aim, not at the pinkette but at the command truck. Thinking quickly, Maria swung Airgetlamh the moment before they fired, this time maneuvering the whip-blades between the truck and graser muzzles, blocking the beams.

    "Director Ogawa, I'll hold them off! Get out of here!" She shouted over her communicator as she charged the increasing number of Automen. The engine of the truck roared to life, and it swiftly pulled away. There was no time to turn it around, so it sped further up the mountain road. Maria knew that only rendered it safe for the moment. The road dead-ended short of the summit, and if she fell back, the Automen would just pursue. A number of the androids tried to follow the vehicle with their graser-arms, but Maria slammed into them before they could fire, parts and circuitry flying everywhere, sweeping the wave back off the cliffside.

    But she knew yet more were clambering up. She jumped off the cliff and turned herself mid-air. Momentarily she was stunned by the sheer numbers of them clambering up the vertical ascent by thrusting their hands into the mountain rock face. Like a swarm of ants marching up the side of a boulder. Thank god they were androids and not clones. Maria still wasn't sure if she would be able to handle the carnage if they were.

    Maria unsheathed Airgetlamh again. Or rather, she unsheathed an immense string of Airgetlamh copies that unfolded to hover in front of her, pointing down at the mountain before launching forward. An INFINITE†CRIME of blades plunged into the mountainside with enough force to partially collapse the cliff face, taking scores of Automen near the top with it.

    Maria pointed Airgetlamh up at the edge of the cliffside as she descended. Her whip-blade shot forward again to loop around and bury itself in the remains of the mountain road. Using it as an improvised grappling hook, she yanked herself back up onto the road. She took only a moment to catch her breath, then swiftly turned back to face the cliff. The attack hadn't dealt with all of them, there were more coming. She could not let them get through. Raising Airgetlamh again, Maria prepared to meet the next wave.

    —

    "Ogawa?! Director Ogawa?! Maria?!" Hibiki tried again.

    Kirika turned away, back in the direction where the vehicle had been parked. "We'd better get ba-LOOK OUT!"

    The adaptors scattered as an octet of cylindrical rounds descended upon them. From each one, a thick white mist sprayed into their immediate surroundings, seeming to shove the ever-present Anti-LiNKER gas aside before the core igniters detonated. Even with the distance they managed to gain from the center of the explosions, the immense blasts from the fuel-air explosives was still enough to toss the adapters off their feet.

    With a high-pitched laugh of joy and excitement, Caprice Calcaterra strode out of the rising dust and smoke from the FAE's, swiftly slotting in fresh grenades to her launcher's drum with a confident enthusiasm. "Think that's enough of a blast for you girls?!"

    "White Noise," Shirabe hissed as she climbed to her feet, shaking off the momentary disorientation.

    "Well, almost!" Caprice grinned back with a wink at the Shul-Shagana user. "I'm afraid most of us are too busy at the moment to take you girls out for an early dinner, but I'm still free-"

    A shadow fell over Miku as she righted herself. Not even taking the time to look and see what was descending upon her, she shot aside away from Hibiki. It proved a wise decision as the enormous figure of Timoty Darmawan clad in black armor smashed down where she had been.

    "-And so's Darmmy!" Caprice finished. "But don't be sad! There's still plenty of other suitors here who'd be willing to date sweeties like you! Just had to get them out of their beds in the underground storage!"

    With a rumble, a positive flood of Automen poured out of the surrounding buildings, rushing forward with their weapon-arms already raised yet holding fire for the moment as they took up positions all around the ruined helipad, both on the ground and from atop the surrounding rooftops. The adaptors swiftly noted that only half of the Automen were carrying their customary grasers in their integrated arm-mounts. The other half seemed to have arm-mounted… were those small autocannons? No, there was something subtly different about those weapons from conventional guns somehow.

    "Automen," Caprice theatrically waved her free arm after a moment. "Roll out!"

    An enormous mass of violet beams stabbed out from around half of the Automen in a storm of crack-hisses. The guns outfitted to the other half simply flashed but instead of the systemic thumping of autocannons, they sounded more like a cacophony of high-pitched cracks, their rounds flashing through the air almost as fast as those from a Horsemen tank's railgun. They had to be some form of electromagnetic-propelled weapons too.

    The sheer weight of fire smashed down on the adaptors with enough force to knock them all over again, tearing at their armor, scouring burns, and cutting into their skin. Those automen closest to the adaptors took advantage of them toppling over to charge forward, but none of the girls allowed themselves to remain stunned for long. Pushing through the pain, they rolled to their feet and made for the only cover available, the office building. Kirika and Shirabe were closest to the structure and made it first, leaping through a pair of windows in their haste to escape the storm of beams and projectiles.

    But Miku and Hibiki were further away from both the Zababa duo and each other, and the rain of fire forced them even further from each other. An Automan swiftly cut in front of the former. She lashed out with the Shenshoujing's whips, smashing the machine apart. But two more immediately took its place.

    "Miku!" Hibiki shouted as the flood of Automen cut her off. She noted how the weight of fire and charging Automen shifted towards the Shenshoujing user, yet the shattering sound of the Shenshoujing's whips tearing through android armor and stream of lancing purple beams told Hibiki that the black-haired girl was fighting back with all she had and managing to hold her own. The Gungnir user turned to leap to her girlfriend's aid, only to flinch back as Darmawan's massive, armored fist smashed down into the ground where she would have been if she did leap forward.

    "Gungnir girl!" The Indonesian shouted, yanking his hand out of the crater and putting them up in fisticuffs. He sounded excited. "Fight me!"

    "Have fun, Darmmy. Guess I'll take out the little ones!" Caprice chortled as she ducked into the same office window Shirabe had.

    If Darmawan heard Caprice, he showed no sign of it. His eyes were focused entirely on the girl in front of him. For her part, Hibiki Tachibana felt a sense of unease at the intensity of the muscular man's stare. She settled into a Bajiquan fighting stance, her legs firmly planted on the ground, one fist in front of her body, and the other near her stomach. Darmawan then charged towards her, aiming a bunch of jabs all across her upper body.

    Hibiki blocked all of the jabs, sometimes exchanging them with her own. Darmawan was the stronger fighter here, at least physically speaking, and his speed was about on par with hers. However, he could not keep up the assault of rapid jabs forever. Eventually, he'd go for a more powerful hit, and when that happened, she'd be able to capitalize

    Until then, she was at his mercy.

    "You have no idea how long I've waited for this," Darmawan exclaimed breathlessly as he continuously tried to break through Hibiki's impressive guard. "To be trading blows with you… truly, I have made the right decision. Ha!" He launched a powerful kick that sent Hibiki flying even though she guarded it.

    The Gungnir girl did a mid-air backflip and landed gracefully on her feet. Though her stance was still ready, there was a confused look on her face. "Um, what do you mean?"

    Darmawan smiled. "Years ago, I met your old master, Genjuro Kazanari. We were young men at the time. Being born with great physical talent, I thought there was no athletic competition I could lose in. 'There's no need for training,' I thought. 'Everyone is weaker than me.' But he beat me in a martial arts bout, easily. Since then, that loss has inspired me to constantly strive for self-improvement!"

    At the last word of his explanation, he jumped up in the air and came in for a diving leap towards Hibiki, his fist raised. Hibiki attempted to dodge his attack by backpedalling, but rather than performing a concrete-smashing pound, the Indonesian man opened his fist into a hand. Landing on the concrete with one hand, he used it to launch himself forward towards Hibiki, his other fist cocked to punch her midair. Hibiki realized what he was doing and crossed her arms in front of her chest, but the blow sent her flying into a wall.

    "And now?" He panted, getting himself ready for another powerful attack. "I'll prove to myself I'm stronger than Genjuro by killing you."

    "You aren't making any sense," Hibiki muttered, climbing out of the girl-shaped indent she'd left in the wall. "I don't understand."

    "I don't think you ever will." Darmawan shrugged and smirked. "You fight for others, so you will never understand what it means to fight for the sake of strength and strength alone."

    "No! That's not it!" Hibiki shouted at him with a glare. "If you wanted to prove your strength, you didn't have to join the Four Horsemen. You didn't have to kill anyone! So why?!"

    Darmawan looked at Hibiki with dumb confusion, as if her words had short-circuited something in his brain. But then, he shook his head, and his resolve returned. "It doesn't matter. We're in a battle now, so it's too late for me to give up! Not with how far I've come!" He rushed at Hibiki, hoping to pound her into the wall.

    Seeing this, Hibiki tried to get over the huge White Noise member by jumping off the wall behind her. However, Darmawan was prepared for this. With one hand, he reached out and grabbed one of the long ends of one of Hibiki's scarves and pulled. Hibiki squawked and felt herself get spun around before being slammed against the wall again. With a shout, Hibiki tried to punch Darmawan, but he caught her fist. His other hand still held the scarf.

    "What's the deal with these scarves? Do they make you feel heroic?" He mocked.

    "I'm not a hero!" Hibiki growled out, trying to yank it out from his iron grip.

    "Well, tell that to the public. You're pretty much a goddess to them!" With a heave, Darmawan whipped Hibiki up in the air by her scarf, intending to slam her down into the ground.

    As she approached the apex of the arc, Hibiki made the scarves she was wearing disappear with a mental command to Gungnir, leaving Darmawan holding nothing and launching her into the air. Flipping around, Hibiki used her leg pistons and fist rockets to change the direction of her flight and launch her own attack, a fresh pair of scarves flowing out behind her as she descended. Darmawan raised his fists to block the rocket punch, the ground underneath him cracking at the impact. Though the force of the blow was enough to destroy a mountaintop, the White Noise member only laughed before deflecting it.

    Hibiki landed on the ground a few meters away from Darmawan to catch her breath. Her last attack might not have done much damage to her opponent, but her opponent's weapon was a different matter. Darmawan's black gauntlets were utterly shattered, exposing his bloody bare hands.

    "Guess that's it for you!" Hibiki quipped as she raised herself back up to a fighting stance, figuring that he would be easier to take down now. But to her surprise, Darmawan just grinned and raised his own hands in reply.

    Before Hibiki's eyes, what looked like a black liquid gel flowed from the rest of Darmawan's armor and over his exposed hands. It swiftly morphed and swelled before hardening. Within a matter of seconds, the gauntlets were back, looking brand new.

    "How-?!"

    Darmawan cut off Hibiki's questioning shout with a short bark of laughter and a confident boast. "Nanomachines, girl! You won't stop these gauntlets just by breaking them."

    Then he charged again.

    —

    The interior of the office building looked pretty much what anyone would expect an office building to look like, or at least one caught in the aftermath of an earthquake. Shattered cubicles, collapsed walls, and reams of paper were everywhere. Power in some rooms had been lost. And there were the bodies, of course. The staples had done their bloody work against the scientists no differently than the orange-suited workers outside. The baleful red message of [SYSTEM ERROR. FACILITYWIDE PROTOCOL-10 IN EFFECT. LIQUIDATE ALL NONESSENTIAL PERSONNEL.] splayed across all the terminals seemed to emphasize the cold, calculated nature of the slaughter.

    Kirika, remembering what happened on the USS Whitemore, had made sure to shrink Igalima down to a size she could reasonably swing without it catching on something she didn't want it to catch on. There were still plenty of Automen in the building, and the more constricted confines of the hallway frequently saw them suddenly leap out at the scythe wielder.

    "Shirabe?!" She called out, as she bisected another of the androids. She wasn't sure how she got separated from her girlfriend in the maze of office hallways, but she knew she had to find her again. They stood a much better chance against any of the White Noise Squad together then separated. She briefly contemplated just trying to slice her way through the building's walls and floors, but discarded it. She didn't want to accidentally bring the whole structure down on top of them, even if they could survive it there might still be valuable data in this place. The structure was definitely given over to the research section of the Horsemen, although the name escaped her at the moment.

    A strange cutting sound coming from around the corner of an intersection drew her attention. Kirika paused and frowned. That didn't sound like one of Shul-Shagana's saw blades. It sounded too… burny? Maybe. She turned the corner just in time to see the two white, blazing hot incendiary lines finish burning their way down the two sides of a piece of wall. Her eyes barely had time to widen when the piece of wall exploded with enough force to toss her back.

    "A special delivery of love for you~!" Caprice chortled as she immediately fired a grenade through the hole she had created. Kirika didn't roll quite fast enough to escape the blast and again she was tossed aside. Feeling a little like a juggler's ball, Kirika rolled as soon as she hit the ground this time and beat a hasty retreat back the way she came. As quick as she could, she ducked down another intersection and paused to catch her breath.

    "Come on back, dear little dawn!" Caprice's voice floated down the hall after her. "I know how hungry you could be as a child! I know shrapnel might be a little sharp, but I'm sure you won't let any go to waste."

    Kirika sucked in a breath. She had gone hungry as a child? Oh, right. The Horsemen knew about her past. The blonde did always try to avoid wasting any food. Maybe… maybe Caprice could tell her more?

    Kirika spun back out into the corridor, Igalima raised. Caprice had been advancing down the hallway and was only two dozen feet from the blonde. At her appearance, the Italian's launcher had shot up to take aim.

    "Our past!" Kirika shouted. "Can't you tell me anything about our past?! I want to know."

    Caprice lowered her launcher slightly, contemplating the question before finally shrugging. "Sure. Why not?"

    Kirika's heart leapt, matching Caprice's slightly lowered guard by also lowering her own scythe. "Really?!"

    "No." Caprice's launcher shot back up and fired a grenade straight into Kirika's chest.

    By the time Kirika's head cleared this time, Caprice loomed immediately over her. The bomber's grenade launcher pointed right at her head.

    The Italian made a show of taking a whiff of air, inhaling deeply as she manually cycled her launcher's cylinder with her thumb. "You know, your hair smells nice. I wonder, is it able to burn while you're wearing that skin?"

    Caprice finger tightened on her launcher's trigger… and then she leapt back as 100 Saṃsāra of miniature sawblades tore straight through where she had just been standing.

    "Two joined round dances starts your punishment," Shirabe sang as she skated down the hallway, firing more of the blades from her compartments at Caprice. "I'll even turn you into pieces by initializing my justice."

    "Shirabe!" Kirika cried happily, climbing back to her feet as her girlfriend rushed up to her.

    Caprice ducked and weaved between the saw blades as best she could in the narrow hallway. Inevitably, some of the mini-blades found their mark and there were sparks as they bit into her nanosuit.

    "Kiri-chan." Shirabe answered, her voice filled with determination. "Let's take her down, together. Then we can get some answers out of her."

    An immense grin threatened to split Kirika's face as she turned towards the Italian, holding Igalima ready. "Right!"

    "How cute!" Caprice cooed, sighing theatrically. Then she held out her free hand, four of those micro-explosive balls wedged in between her fingers. "Well then if you want me, come and get me!" And she threw the balls straight forward at Kirika and Shirabe. In tandem, the Zababa duo leapt backward out of the micro-explosives blast radius.

    "Like my immature heart, the hostile sentiments that I vent is a voltage that has no place to go with my hidden tears." Shirabe sang as she reversed directions, her compartments unfolding to bring out her sawblades, and powered through the smoke of the detonations. Caprice stood on the other side, a grin on her face and her body language nonchalant. Shirabe leapt and the Italian's grin vanished as the Shul-Shagana user cut through the roof to gain extra headspace, clearing the blast of the proximity mine laid in her path. "Did the words that I spat out match with a hypocrite's?"

    Caprice managed to duck under Shirabe's first swing with Shul-Shagana and lashed out with the butt of her launcher, but the twin-tailed girl jerked aside and slid past the Italian. Caprice turned, trying to bring her launcher to bear.

    "Embracing our dreams in a world that hasn't been minced into pieces, let's kiss!"

    Before Caprice could take aim at Shirabe, she suddenly heard footsteps charging in behind her and ducked out of the way. But she was slightly too slow, and Igalima sliced through the outer left layer of her nanosuit. Kirika immediately reversed her scythe's direction and struck the woman in her side with the handle, forcing her into the wall.

    "I don't want to be strong just by being protected, the feelings in my heart can't be achieved with just this."

    Caprice rolled out of the way of Kirika's next swing, which cut through the wall instead. The Italian swung her launcher around again as she turned back, but Kirika blocked the attempted blow with the handle of her scythe, and the two found themselves locked in position. Behind the blonde, Shirabe's compartments swung open again and Kirika, sensing her girlfriend's intent, leapt away just as Shul-Shagana fired off another barrage of miniature saw-blades.

    Caprice only had enough time to raise her launcher to protect her face as she took the full force of the barrage in a shower of sparks. The bomber hissed in pain as several of the blades managed to cut their way entirely through the armor and nicked her skin.

    "Right!" Caprice shouted as the barrage ended, powering through the pain and allowing slight frustration to creep into her voice. "By hand it is!" She tore a grenade with red stripes off of her belt with her free hand and raised it.

    "If I could become strong, could I get closer to the shining sun?" Shirabe closed and opened her hand, Shul-Shagana's manifestation of a yo-yo appearing in it. Without leaving Caprice any time to react, the twin-tailed girl lashed out expertly, and the razor-sharp wire sliced through the detonator cap as Shirabe finished her song. "Being shined on by you is just loving!"

    'Oh, I forgot about the yo-yo blades.' Was all that managed to pass through Caprice's mind. She only had enough time to drop the grenade and begin to turn away before it detonated, a blaze of fire briefly obscuring her from the Zababa couple's view. The woman's shriek of pain and anger, more the latter than the former, caused the two to just pause and watch the fire.

    The blaze was intense enough that after a moment, the building's anti-fire measures kicked in. Chemical foam sprayed down from the ceiling, swiftly extinguishing the blaze. Caprice staggered out of the smoke.

    "You fucking bitch!" She screamed in rage, any of her earlier flirtatiousness completely gone. Despite her rage, the redness of her burnt skin and blackened remains of her hair diminished any sense of intimidation from her. Kirika actually struggled to keep a straight face, and even Shirabe's lips curled upwards in amusement. But Caprice paid no attention to the adaptors' facial expressions. "Do you have ANY idea how much effort I put into those incendiary grenades! They're my bombs, and they detonate when I want them too!"

    In a single smooth motion, she cracked open her launcher's drum, and seized one grenade in particular off of her nanosuit's vest to load into it. The round was painted with yellow stripes and Shirabe's sharp eyes briefly caught the english letters 'WARNING: Micro-PFW, ENSURE MINIMUM SAFE DISTANCE' spelled out on it. The amusement dropped from her face, and the Shul-Shagana user tensed. Whatever that yellow-striped round was, it couldn't be good.

    Caprice levelled her launcher again, although both Kirika and Shirabe could tell it was more just pointed in their direction down the hall. But before she could pull the trigger, the Italian's nanosuit commbead crackled in her ear. "This is Red Unit. Whiskey-November-Three, negative PFW authorization. Disengage, assist Whiskey-November-Five egress."

    "Fuck no!" Caprice spat back. "She thinks she can mess with my artwork like that?! Make a fool of me?! I'll-"

    "Whiskey-November-Three," The harsh mechanical voice of Red Unit cut her off. "PFW initiation remote blocked. Comply with orders or disciplinary measures will be taken. Confirm."

    Caprice grit her teeth, lowering her launcher slightly. "Whiskey-November-Three confirms." She forced a smile back onto her face as she detached a smoke grenade from her belt. "Well, looks like I'll have to cut our date short. But don't worry, ci rivediamo."

    She popped the ring off the canister, thick white smoke quickly enveloping her.

    "Get back here!" Kirika shouted, charging back down the hallway. "I want to know-"

    The Igalima wielder was interrupted by the phonic gain-infused claymore Caprice left hidden in the smoke as she departed detonating, hurling the blonde backwards. Shirabe leapt forward and caught her. "Kiri-chan? Are you okay?!"

    "Yeah…" Kirika replied after a moment.

    "Why are you so hasty about this?!" Shirabe asked, uncharacteristically raising her voice. "You've seen how she lays those traps!"

    Kirika averted her eyes. Great, she made Shirabe worry about her. "Yeah, you're right… I'm sorry."

    A moment of silence hung over the two before Shirabe pulled Kirika in closer, fully embracing her. "I don't want to lose you, Kiri-chan. Please, don't go alone."

    Kirika swallowed the lump in her throat as she returned the hug. "I won't, I promised after all."

    They remained there a moment, drawing comfort and warmth from each other. Finally, they broke the embrace.

    "Come on." Kirika said, turning the way Caprice had gone. "We've gotta help Hibiki and Miku."

    —

    "Very good, God-Slayer." Darmawan complimented. "I believe this is… what, the fifth time you've destroyed my gauntlets in this fight? Very impressive. However…" As before, the nanomachines reformed his gauntlets almost instantaneously. He clenched his fists and ran towards the Gungnir girl. "You'll have to do better!"

    Hibiki didn't bother saying anything, instead preparing to block the incoming attack. It seemed as though Darmawan was just trying to wear her down at this point. The muscle-builder was like an impenetrable fortress; nothing got past his defenses. Meanwhile, every mistake she made, no matter how slight, was punished with more pain. She needed to end this quickly before he wore her down completely.

    Thankfully, Hibiki knew a sure-fire way to beat an opponent that could tank her punches: punch him extra hard!

    When Darmawan went for his first punch, Hibiki dodged the attack and aimed a kick at Darmawan's shin. Using his superhuman reflexes, he managed to avoid her attack by lifting his foot away. Then, abandoning his initial punch, he came at her with a powerful left hook.

    But Hibiki was ready for it. She ducked again and moved inside his guard, taking advantage of her much smaller size. She rammed into him shoulder-first and sent the large man sprawling onto a pile of rubble.

    Darmawan quickly got up out of the rubble and stood up, ready for the onslaught he expected. But rather than follow up on her advantage, Hibiki had instead used the counterattack to put some distance between herself and him. But why…?

    "Darmawan!" Hibiki shouted as the machinery around her fist grew even larger in size. Newly formed giant rockets coming out of the sides of the fist fired, as if she were a great car revving up. "This fist is my final attack! My Armed Gear! If you truly care about strength, then let's see if you can handle my everything!"

    Darmawan shook his head. So she wanted to bring this to a close? Fair enough. It wasn't like she would be able to hold out against his endurance. And what kind of opponent would he be if he didn't meet her head-on? "Alright then," he said with a calmness that belied his anticipation. "Let's see."

    "Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Hibiki kia'd as the inner workings of her rocket fist spun into action.

    "Mmmmmmmmmmh!" Darmawan channeled all of his body's phonic gain into his right fist. Responding to the increased strength, the nanomachine gauntlet warped, causing it to grow four sizes. The liquidy-metallic substance it was made of rippled as if it were more like a muscle than a hunk of solid metal. He ran at Hibiki with the speed of a locomotive.

    "ORRRAAAAAAAAA!" Hibiki yelled as she came at the Indonesian brawler. Her fist rockets fired, pistons spun, and energy crackled as she launched herself towards her opponent.

    "HAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Darmawan responded in kind with his own fist.

    The results were immediate. Hibiki's rocket punch struggled against Darmawan's gauntlet-covered fist for a moment before a resounding crack rang through the air and she blasted past him. Hibiki stopped her movement, several meters away from where she originally was, her fist returning to normal. Then, she heard Darmawan's scream of pain and turned around.

    The man's arm was not so much broken as it was crushed. Darmawan's entire right arm was bloody and naked, the nanosuit and gauntlet burned off by the sheer force of Hibiki's punch. Although the suit could regenerate, it did nothing for the arm, which resembled an accordion in how many ways it bent. The man was on his knees and howling in pain like a wild animal. The sight of his arm alone almost made Hibiki gag. Had she just done something like that to another human being? She forced herself to put those ideas out of her mind.

    "I've beaten you. If you don't want to get hurt any more, then surrender and allow yourself to be taken into custody," Hibiki forced her voice to sound firm.

    "Ah. I guess… you have beaten me, this time." Darmawan managed to say through gritted teeth and tearful eyes. "This pain is worse than any I've felt before… and yet, I feel nostalgic. It reminds me of my first loss, in the bout I had with your Master."

    Hibiki gritted her teeth. "Then why? If you respected him so much, then why did you join the people who killed him?"

    Darmawan smiled. "You don't understand. I may have respected the man's prowess, but I never had any strong feelings about him as a person. This was never about beating him or even beating you. It was about beating my weaker self. To… to prove that I'm not weak."

    "And joining the Four Horsemen, fighting against us… that's your way of proving yourself?"

    "Yes. When you are on the pinnacle of humanity, all that's left is to go against that which is beyond humanity. The Four Horsemen's goal of destroying the supernatural was simply aligned with my own."

    "But we're both humans!" Hibiki shouted at the man. "It's the strength of the bonds between us that allow us to grow stronger!"

    At this, Darmawan guffawed. "Ha! You really think so? You really think you and your friends are going to just live your idyllic lives, as if you hadn't just killed Shem-Ha? Destroyed Balal and Yggdrasil? You really think your actions have no consequences? I guess that kind of arrogance is expected, coming from a budding goddess."

    Before Hibiki could question him on that, a rifle shot cracked out over the more distant sound of grasers and coilguns. The phonic-gain charged round slammed down into Hibiki's head, tossing her away. As the Gungnir user leapt back to her feet, the weight of the Automen's attacks shifted away from Miku, the bulk of the androids beginning to come and attack her. From atop one of the factory rooftops, a familiar figure clad in his own nanosuit leapt down next to Darmawan. The figure grabbed the Indonesian's left hand and carefully pulled him up.

    "You look like hell, tovarishch," Kir Voronin said to the wincing Indonesian fighter. "But don't worry: the cavalry's here!"​

    ----​

    Next Chapter: Marching Toward the Future

    ----​

    Author's Notes: The Shenshoujing: a weapon to surpass Metal Gear. Or perhaps Ichaival fits that better? Gungnir? Ame No Habakiri? Eh… maybe we'll just say Symphogears in general.

    I spend astonishingly a lot of time on Google maps, making sure I get these approximate geographic regions right, even if I then usually leave the precise geographic location a bit more vague.

    If some of you find the exchange between Hibiki and Miku just before the mission starts familiar, that is because it is an altered version of a discussion they have in one of the more high-profile XDU events. The one where Hibiki discusses with Miku how worried she is that Miku is going off into an alternate universe by herself to save an alternate version of Hibiki and Miku points out that this is a turn around of their usual dynamic. The similarity of the two situations makes it pretty much a no brainer to steal and mutilate… I mean, use for inspiration! Yeah, that's the ticket.

    Have I mentioned that I find writing the Geah's going no-holds-bar on conventional(ish) military forces really fun? Because I do find it really fun.​
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • obssesednuker said:
    "Huh?" Hibiki thought over what she said for a moment, then joined Miku in giggling. "Yeah, you're right. I guess this is something like how I made you feel all the time back then, huh?"

    Miku smiled, taking Hibiki's hand. "If you understand that now, then next time you have to go out on your own, you won't try to do anything reckless yourself?"

    Hibiki returned the smile. "Well if you try this time, then I will too!"

    "It's a promise, then."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Interesting when the roles are reversed isn't it Hibiki?

    obssesednuker said:
    [Alert: Black Unit Facility 1-014 Auditory Sensors Tripped]
    [Analyzing…]
    [ERROR: Cannot Verify, Further Analysis Underway...]
    [Other Sensors Negative Verification, Negative Visual Verification]
    [Objection: HVT Sierra-7-Actual Possess Known Supernatural Stealth Capability]
    [Cross-Referencing. Cross-Reference Data Incomplete. Estimated Chance of HVT Sierra-7-Actual: 16.87%]
    [Preliminary Analysis: Geological Ultrasound Event, No Immediate Action Necessary]
    [Analysis Refinement Ongoing]
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    It looks like stealth mode is working, but they won't be able to use it again after this mission.

    obssesednuker said:
    Instead of the combat gear of the staples or the orange vests of work crews, two of the figures wore long white lab coats. The first, clearly the superior of the two by her demeanour, was a young caucasian woman in her early-twenties. Long lilac hair cascaded down to her waist, and she possessed wide indigo eyes that nevertheless were filled with a severity beyond her apparent age.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    obssesednuker said:
    "That woman." Maria breathed, leaning forward suddenly over Souji's shoulder to inspect the the camera feed more closely. "I know her. Where do I know her from?"

    "You too, Maria?" Shirabe spoke up. "She seems familiar to us too."

    Kirika nodded, her eyes glued to the camera as she tried to place where she had seen that woman.

    Hibiki scratched her head, "I… umm, I don't recognize her at all."

    "Kohinata." Souji requested into the communicator. "Follow that woman, keep her in earshot." If she seemed familiar to three of the adaptors, then she was definitely of interest to them. He waited for the single click of Miku's acknowledgement before he glanced up at Maria. "Someone from the FIS? The orphanage?"

    "No…" Kirika began, but then paused and frowned. "Maybe? I don't remember seeing someone like her there, but she definitely looks really familiar."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Hm, a mystery girl that looks familiar to Maria, Shirabe, and Kirika. I wonder who she is, maybe a long-lost sister of Chris?

    obssesednuker said:
    'Okay Hibiki,' She thought as she wrenched the turret loose, 'Lesson learned: don't try to deflect railgun shots. Instead, throw off their aim and close distance ASAP.'
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    It says something about Hibiki, and the gears in general, that she tried to do the first before the second.

    obssesednuker said:
    Kirika briefly hoped in the future that the Horsemen would deploy a lot more Automen and a lot fewer staples. Sure, they were somewhat tougher to deal with, and their attacks could actually hurt. But at least it didn't mean her, her girlfriend, and possibly her other friends would keep winding up looking like death incarnate.

    "Kiri-chan?" Shirabe repeated, concerned at her girlfriends lack of response. "Is everything okay?"

    "Uh… yeah, sure!" Kirika shook herself out of her thoughts and offered her girlfriend a smile she hoped was sincere enough. "Just thinking about how much messier this is!"
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Kirika seems to be on the verge of breaking, I really hope Shirabe can get to her before something bad happens.

    obssesednuker said:
    "You have no idea how long I've waited for this," Darmawan exclaimed breathlessly as he continuously tried to break through Hibiki's impressive guard. "To be trading blows with you… truly, I have made the right decision. Ha!" He launched a powerful kick that sent Hibiki flying even though she guarded it.

    The Gungnir girl did a mid-air backflip and landed gracefully on her feet. Though her stance was still ready, there was a confused look on her face. "Um, what do you mean?"

    Darmawan smiled. "Years ago, I met your old master, Genjuro Kazanari. We were young men at the time. Being born with great physical talent, I thought there was no athletic competition I could lose in. 'There's no need for training,' I thought. 'Everyone is weaker than me.' But he beat me in a martial arts bout, easily. Since then, that loss has inspired me to constantly strive for self-improvement!"

    At the last word of his explanation, he jumped up in the air and came in for a diving leap towards Hibiki, his fist raised. Hibiki attempted to dodge his attack by backpedalling, but rather than performing a concrete-smashing pound, the Indonesian man opened his fist into a hand. Landing on the concrete with one hand, he used it to launch himself forward towards Hibiki, his other fist cocked to punch her midair. Hibiki realized what he was doing and crossed her arms in front of her chest, but the blow sent her flying into a wall.

    "And now?" He panted, getting himself ready for another powerful attack. "I'll prove to myself I'm stronger than Genjuro by killing you."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Here is the motive for Darmawan, or at least what he is willing to give, for his involvement in the Four Horsemen.

    obssesednuker said:
    "You aren't making any sense," Hibiki muttered, climbing out of the girl-shaped indent she'd left in the wall. "I don't understand."

    "I don't think you ever will." Darmawan shrugged and smirked. "You fight for others, so you will never understand what it means to fight for the sake of strength and strength alone."

    "No! That's not it!" Hibiki shouted at him with a glare. "If you wanted to prove your strength, you didn't have to join the Four Horsemen. You didn't have to kill anyone! So why?!"

    Darmawan looked at Hibiki with dumb confusion, as if her words had short-circuited something in his brain. But then, he shook his head, and his resolve returned. "It doesn't matter. We're in a battle now, so it's too late for me to give up! Not with how far I've come!" He rushed at Hibiki, hoping to pound her into the wall.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    "I've gone to far to stop" fallacy. Well, that gives him a 50/50 chance of dying to save the members of S.O.N.G. at this point.

    obssesednuker said:
    Before Hibiki's eyes, what looked like a black liquid gel flowed from the rest of Darmawan's armor and over his exposed hands. It swiftly morphed and swelled before hardening. Within a matter of seconds, the gauntlets were back, looking brand new.

    "How-?!"

    Darmawan cut off Hibiki's questioning shout with a short bark of laughter and a confident boast. "Nanomachines, girl! You won't stop these gauntlets just by breaking them."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    REALLY?!


    Of all the characters in fiction to shout out to for this story, Senator Armstrong is one you choose.

    obssesednuker said:
    "Our past!" Kirika shouted. "Can't you tell me anything about our past?! I want to know."

    Caprice lowered her launcher slightly, contemplating the question before finally shrugging. "Sure. Why not?"

    Kirika's heart leapt, matching Caprice's slightly lowered guard by also lowering her own scythe. "Really?!"

    "No." Caprice's launcher shot back up and fired a grenade straight into Kirika's chest.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    :facepalm:Kirika walked right into that one, not that I can blame her for wanting information about their past, but this isn't the time, place, or person to be asking about that.

    obssesednuker said:
    "You look like hell, tovarishch," Kir Voronin said to the wincing Indonesian fighter. "But don't worry: the cavalry's here!"
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Great Darmawan has backup here to save him. Hopefully the others can get to Hibiki before she ends up in even more trouble.
     
    Paleb05 said:
    Hm, a mystery girl that looks familiar to Maria, Shirabe, and Kirika. I wonder who she is, maybe a long-lost sister of Chris?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Not sure how you got "long-lost sister of Chris" from the description of her, how the FiS girls reacted, and any of the hints that were dropped but okay...

    REALLY?!


    Of all the characters in fiction to shout out to for this story, Senator Armstrong is one you choose.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...


    Well, I already did a Snake shout-out...
     
    obssesednuker said:
    Not sure how you got "long-lost sister of Chris" from the description of her, how the FiS girls reacted, and any of the hints that were dropped but okay...
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    The Name of Love said:
    ... Where are you getting Chris?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    It was meant as a joke, due to her being described as having Lilac hair and purple eyes which Chris (kinda, you could make an argument that the hair was closer to Lavender) had during the first season of the show. Here is a picture to show what I mean:



    I do not believe she has any connection to Chris what so ever, so I apologize for the confusion.
     
    Last edited:
    Paleb05 said:
    It was meant as a joke, due to her being described as having Lilac hair and purple eyes which Chris (kinda, you could make an argument that the hair was closer to Lavender) had during the first season of the show.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    :facepalm:
    Thank you for pointing out that I somehow completely fucked up and inverted the intended eye and hair colors (and my beta's failed to catch that, but I refuse to blame them). Lemme fix that real fast.
     
    Last edited:
    Well, Darmawan's attempt to out punch Hibiki ended exactly as well as everyone except him figured. The Sneaky Miku bit is pretty much what I have in mind for the quest- though that Miku has a pretty short time limit thanks to plot reasons. Miss Mysterious is all mysterious and I'm looking forward to finding out why she's familiar looking.
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top