- Location
- Erie, PA
Ack, she's related to Professor Mom, from Symphogear G, isn't she?
Distortions (Symphogear) (Spoilers for Those Who Haven't Seen XV!)
- Thread starter obssesednuker
- Start date
- Location
- College Station, Texas
She does love her mother dearly, even if she disapproved of the "strays" she took in.
obssesednuker
Commander of 10 Million Men
- Location
- In the Kremlin, activating Perimtr.
- Location
- in between
...Huh. Well then. Not what I expected.
Chapter 16: Marching Towards the Future
obssesednuker
Commander of 10 Million Men
- Location
- In the Kremlin, activating Perimtr.
Distortions
Chapter 16:
Marching Towards The Future
----
Chapter 16:
Marching Towards The Future
----
"Voronin!" Hibiki shouted as she shattered another Automan. Two more took its place ready to fight.
"Ah, God Slayer!" The sniper called back in slight amusement as he detached a smoke canister from his belt. "I'd love to put a bullet in your head and take your title for myself." He popped the ring. "Unfortunately, I can't stick around. Orders are orders. Say hello to the little gunner for me!"
The smoke from Voronin's canister curled around both him and Darmawan, swiftly obscuring them from view. Knowing they were gone, Hibiki concentrated on the more imminent issue: the army of Automen descending upon her. Their coilguns and graser shots stung her, and though they shattered and shredded under her fists, there were always more and more and more…
A torrent of purple beams scythed through those Automen immediately surrounding her, clearing for her some breathing room. In spite of her growing exhaustion, a smile split the Gungnir user's face. "Miku!"
"I'm here, Hibiki!" The Shenshoujing wielder called as she carved her own path through the swarms of Automen back towards the chestnut-haired girl's side. From out of the office building's second floor, two more familiar figures leapt out, sunlight glinting off of a scythe and a pair of sawblades.
"Kirika! Shirabe!" Hibiki shouted as she smashed two androids into one another.
"Is Caprice here?!" Kirika shouted, cutting an Automan's head off as she landed. "She ran from us!"
"Haven't seen her!" Miku replied.
Shirabe bisected four Automen at once with her sawblades. "Darmawan?!"
"Down an arm!" Hibiki shouted back. "Voronin showed up, grabbed him, and ran!"
"Then I guess all that's left are these small fry!" Kirika concluded. She fired her rocket boosters and swung Igalima horizontally, becoming a whirling green Tinkerbell. The Automen around her were reduced to their base components before they could even react.
Igalima scythed, Shul-Shagana cut, Shenshoujing blasted, and Gungnir smashed. The air filled with the grinding of metal on metal, the rhythmic cracks of coil guns, and the hissing of grasers. Purple flashes of magi-light, soul-cutting blades, and fist-generated shockwaves met electromagnetically-accelerated sabots and beams of gamma radiation. The battle between four supergirls and an army of androids was a torrent of fury that shattered the front of every building facing the helipad.
The end, when it finally came, was surprisingly sudden. Hibiki shattered the last Automan's body and glanced around for more only to find none. The girls looked around, not quite believing it was over. After the cacophony of battle, the sudden silence seemed deafening in a completely different way.
"Miku?" Hibiki turned to her girlfriend. "Are you okay? I saw the Automen going after you and-"
"I'm fine, Hibiki." The black-haired girl nodded, patting the Gungnir user on the shoulder comfortingly. "I was able to hold my own until the army diverted towards you."
Hibiki let loose a sigh of relief and felt a little guilty. Was this really how Miku felt every time she had come back from fighting, all the way back before Shem-Ha? She shoved that aside. That was in the past. She and Miku could look out for each other now. Instead, she looked to her other friends. "Shirabe, Kirika. Are you okay?"
"We're okay!" Kirika answered.
Shirabe nodded quietly in agreement. "We managed to drive off Caprice. Although I think we also upset her a fair bit."
Miku shrugged, "Well, given what Tsubasa and Maria have said about her, I don't think anyone at SONG will mind that too much."
"Maria…" Shirabe muttered, her eyes widening in alarm. "Oh no, Maria!"
Hibiki quickly activated her communicator. "Maria? Director Ogawa? Can you hear me? Do you need any help?"
There were several moments of static, but just before Miku was going to suggest they start to head back, they finally got a reply. "We're fine!" Maria's voice echoed out of their communicators. She also sounded slightly winded. "I managed to deal with all the Automen attacking us. Director Ogawa's in contact with the SDF and the rest of SONG. They're on the way to the facility right now."
Everyone let out one last sigh of relief.
"We won?" Kirika asked, glancing around at the shattered helipad, littered with android parts. A grin shot across her face and she leapt forward to glomp Shirabe. "We won! We kicked the White Noise's butts, and their androids too!"
Miku and Hibiki exchanged their own smiles, although they were marred by tiredness. Even through the Symphogear armor, the two felt more than a bit sore. They needed to relax a bit after such a hard fought victory. Then Miku recalled something Hibiki mentioned just before the mission. Keying her communicator, she began. "So, Hibiki noticed there were some hot springs in the area…"
Dai Yoshimura prided himself on being the manager of the best hot spring resort between Mount Takanosu to the north and Mount Gozenyama to the south. Sure, it may be a small reference pool, but if he could be the best in the locale, that was good enough for him. And he believed a key part of that was scheduling. With a good schedule, all else fell into place. That's why he made sure his place was reservation only.
Still didn't make putting up these really long posters any easier, he groused to himself as he wrestled with just that.
"Excuse me." A female voice spoke up behind him. It was familiar somehow. "We were in the area and were wondering if we could use your hot spring and maybe get dinner?"
"Do you have a reservation?" Yoshimura asked. Though he kept his own voice polite, he frowned to himself a little as he tried to place her voice. Maybe she had been a previous customer?
"Erm… I'm afraid we don't."
He finished putting up the poster and started to turn around. "My apologies, but we're a reservation only res-" He froze mid-answer as he stared at the five girls now standing in front of him. "Y-y-y-you're…"
"Ah, I'm sorry. We were hoping to get some relaxation in, but we don't want to impose if you're reservation only." The Maria Cadenzavna Eve finished. Behind her, the Hibiki Tachibana, the Miku Kohinata, the Kirika Akatsuki, and the Shirabe Tsukuyomi all sighed in disappointment and turned to leave.
"M-my own apologies!" Yoshimura positively stumbled over his words in his rush to correct himself. He couldn't let this chance slip through his fingers! "D-Did I say we were r-reservation only?! I'm sorry but I'm used to the old schedule! We just changed that policy today!"
And just like that, the entire group brightened up, although Maria looked a bit perplexed by his sudden change in attitude. Yoshimura made a quick mental note that once the Symphogears were checked in to immediately call the rest of the available staff together to inform them that their new guests had maximum priority. Inconveniences to the schedule be damned, being able to tell people five-times world saviors had attended his resort was all the advertising he could ever ask for. He'd have to post this on social media, update the website, and commission new posters!
Oh sweet Buddha, he'd have to commission new posters…
—
Kirika sighed happily as she sank down into the hot spring, letting all of her worries and concerns be washed away, along with any dirt from the battle. Not to mention the dry splotches of staple blood she kept hidden under her clothes.
"It feels so nice…" Shirabe murmured next to her, leaning against her girlfriend and closing her eyes. Under the water, Kirika's hand slid around the black-haired girls waist and pulled her in closer, cuddling up beside her.
"Don't fall asleep in the host spring!" Maria called over, pausing to dump water over herself, washing away the soap before continuing her admonishment. "You don't want to catch a cold!"
"We won't." The Zababa couple replied in the typical tone of children not-quite-paying attention to their mother's fussing.
From across the tub, Hibiki smiled. It was always nice to see her friends just relaxing.
"Did you remember to order dinner, Hibiki?" Miku asked next to her.
"Yup!" The chestnut haired girl replied. "And I even remembered to request your shaved ice this time!" Hibiki leaned back with a satisfied sigh. "This was a really great idea."
Miku blushed slightly, fiddling with her hands. "It was your idea, first."
With a slight splash, Maria slid into the water over by Kirika and Shirabe, although she gave the two some space for themselves. The Pinkette glanced between the Zababa couple on the one side and Hibiki and Miku on the other and felt a pang of slight jealousy. As happy as she was for the two couples, she wished she could have come here with Tsubasa. Well, the bluenette would be home soon. Maybe then?
Everyone lapsed into a comfortable silence after that, taking the time to simply enjoy the spring and each other's company. The only sound in the air was the dripping of heated water.
"I'm sorry Hibiki." Miku suddenly started after a few minutes.
"Eh?" The chestnut haired girl blinked. "For what?"
"I got so tied up fighting all those Automen that I couldn't help you against Darma-."
Hibiki cut her off. "But you did help me! How much tougher do you think it would have been if I had to fight Darmawan while all those Automen were shooting me or otherwise trying to gang-up with him? Or for Shirabe and Kirika fighting Caprice, if that's who they went after instead." She smiled at her girlfriend brilliantly, throwing her arms around her in a sudden hug. "And you managed to handle them all by yourself! Not to mention everything that came before! I'm proud of you!"
"Hibiki…" Miku murmured softly, her own chest filled with warmth at the praise. Her girlfriend was right. She did it. It was as flawless a mission as any of them could have hoped for. They'd brought down a Horsemen facility, saved at least some lives, and even put one of the White Noise out of commission. Not to mention, it felt really nice to have Hibiki pressed up against her like this…
"Besides, you didn't get knocked over by a railgun round to the stomach. That really took the wind out of me!" Hibiki continued nonchalantly.
And just like that, Miku's good feelings were replaced by worry. "What?!" She abruptly turned and grabbed Hibiki, wiggling her way out of the hug. "Oh, no! Hibiki, is it going to bruise?! Let me see…"
"Ah, wait, Miku! That tickles!" Hibiki began as Miku manhandled - woman-handled? - her up onto the bath side. Her embarrassment mixed with laughter, which only magnified her embarrassment as it drew the attention of the other three.
"Um… Hibiki." Miku's brow furrowed as she inspected her girlfriends stomach. She couldn't find any sign of the supposed railgun impact Hibiki mentioned. She backed off slightly, so Hibiki could actually manage a reply instead of constantly giggling. "Where did it hit you again?"
"Right about…" Wiping away a tear of laughter, Hibiki glanced down and the smile fell off her face. "Huh?" Where there should have been a red-turning-black welt upon her stomach, instead there was nothing but her usual ab muscles looking healthy as always. "Umm… maybe it didn't hit me as hard as I thought?"
Maria looked across the bath at Hibiki thoughtfully, then her eyes moved first to Miku, then over to Shirabe and Kirika. It took a moment for her to realize that her inspections might be taken the wrong way, so she swiftly spoke up. "Did all of you manage to avoid the Automen's graser weapons?"
"Nah." Kirika answered first, "I took something like several dozen. I think the first one was…" She glanced down at her arm and found nothing. "Huh?" She looked over at Shirabe, checking for any sign of the burns. "Shirabe, didn't you take any?"
"I know I took a bad one right about-eh?" The Shul-Shagana user glanced down at her side, only to see her usual, unblemished skin.
Everyone inspected themselves.
Hibiki's brow furrowed as she checked herself over, finding no signs of the previous graser impacts she took during the fight. Or even so much as a scratch from the rockets, for that matter. "How long does it take for a light burn to heal again?"
"Three days minimum, twenty days maximum." Maria answered as she looked over her own body, yet not finding any sign she had ever been in a fight at all. "But it hasn't even been a quarter day. How could this be?"
There is a phrase some people like to say: "Pain is weakness leaving the body".
As a professional strength builder, Darmawan knew that 'some people' were morons. Pain is a signal from the body that something is wrong and you should stop doing it. One didn't get stronger through self-destruction. Of course, training for combat had altered his view slightly. One should never view pain as a positive, but in a fight to the death, one had to occasionally accept pain and push through it.
That was a useful lesson. Without it, he wouldn't be able to endure the pain he was suffering through right now. Even a full day later, the nerves, those still left intact, were shrieking at him through the painkillers. Still, he soldiered through the pain with the same patience he displayed during weight training.
If the Gungnir wielder thought shattering his arm would deter him from his goals, she was sorely mistaken. He was too strong for that. He would prove it. The others may dance about with their bombs, their sneakiness, their guns, their little tricks. Not him. Build strength upon strength, and then take down challenges head-on. That was his way.
But first, he had to get his arm fixed. That was why he came here. The thump of the VTOL touching down was his prompt to hit the release button on his seatbelt as the door slid open, letting in a blast of dry desert heat. Hauling himself out with his good hand, Darmawan stepped out into the harsh glare of the Australian outback.
His doctor was already waiting for him. Darmawan knew of Professor-312; it was impossible for someone with Darmawan's level of clearance to not have heard of the man. Darmawan had no doubt that Professor-312 could fix his arm - the man wasn't Pale Unit's top biochemist for nothing - but the man's origins and personality gave the Indonesian brawler plenty of reason to be wary of him.
"Whiskey-November-Five." 312 greeted politely, his lab coat rustling slightly in the breeze and the sun glaring off his glasses.
"It's Timoty Darmawan." The bodybuilder grunted back.
"I know," The scientist said apologetically. "Unfortunately, my superior is quite insistent on using codenames when outside. We best get indoors as quickly as we can so we can dispense with the formalities. Please, follow me."
They made rapid time across the airfield, the other personnel giving them a quite deferential berth. As they reached the first structure, there was a shout. "Professor-312! What were you thinking?!"
Darmawan turned to take in the newcomer. Early-twenties, lilac eyes, long indigo hair. The robot dog following her was interesting, even if its uncannily dog-like behavior was slightly creepy.
As she walked over, she noticed Darmawan and turned towards him. As she spoke to the larger man, her demeanor shifted to be more courteous. "Greetings, Whiskey-November-Five. I heard what happened back in Japan. Hope your arm gets better."
Then, without waiting for a response from him, she rounded on Professor-312. "Insemination of an artificial womb with combined reproductive material synthesized from Sierra-One and Four's genes?! To create a Sumphonia test-tube baby!? What ever made you think such a proposal would be accepted? Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in? Are you trying to get liquidated?!"
312 just shrugged innocently. "I'm interested in seeing what the offspring of two Sumphonia would be like, One-Forty-Five. Professor-One-Oh-Eight's hypothesis didn't say much about that. Would you prefer I use a different combination? Sierra-Two and Seven? Or Five and Six? I even offered suggestions on how we could weaponize the resu-"
"Just stop!" Professor-145 looked like she wanted to hammer her head against the wall. "You should be grateful I quashed this absurdity before the Lamb saw it. I can't imagine how he'd react to it."
"Oh, what he doesn't know won't hurt him," replied Professor-312 with a wave of his hand. "I'm sure he'll overlook some minor philosophical inconsistencies so long as the results are to his liking."
Professor-145 growled. "You're already on thin ice with the others over your proposed modifications to the Double-S Project! God, how could someone so smart be such an idiot?"
"So you do respect my scientific prowess." The biochemist slyly grinned.
"You arrogant little… you fucking… gah!" The other Pale Unit member threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "Don't ever try to bring something like this up again in official correspondence!"
With a final huff, the frustrated woman spun around and marched off, her robo-dog pacing after her. "Don't worry, I'll behave!" Professor-312 called out to her as she continued walking away. He then punched in a number code to open the door.
"Please don't mind her." 312 told Darmawan as he stepped into the building and held the door open for the injured man. "She's in a different specialization, robotic engineering. I'm afraid the setbacks inflicted by SONG on some of the projects she's involved with have fouled her mood. She has her mother's temper and is twice as verbose when it comes to expressing it." His voice dropped down to a mutter, finally showing some displeasure. "Often she feels like my mother, with the way she scolds me."
"Hm." Darmawan grunted as he walked indoors. "So, are you going to fix my arm, Three-Twelve?"
"As I have no interest in being liquidated for disobedience, yes. But please, Mr. Darmawan," Professor-312 smiled politely as he brushed errant strands of white hair out of the way of his blue eyes. "Professor-Three-Twelve is just my Red Unit codename. When we're indoors, you can call me Doctor Ver."
"Do you see it yet?" Hibiki asked. She wasn't sure how Kirika got the only pair of binoculars, or why they only managed to find a single pair in an entire naval base for that matter. The girls had been waiting for SONG's submarine base to return for a good quarter-hour by now, eager to see their friends.
"Yes! Yes, I see it!" Kirika exclaimed, leaning forward so much that Shirabe had to grab the blonde by the back of her uniform to stop her from toppling into the water.
Only a dozen seconds later, the submarine became visible to the naked eye, its massive yet low-slung silhouette pushing swiftly through the water. Excitedly, Hibiki started waving as the vessel approached and pulled alongside the dock.
Chris and Tsubasa were already up and ready to disembark as the vessel's cargo bays opened up. Both affected an air of nonchalance, but their friends could see both of them were happy to be back. In particular, Chris's demeanor was ruined immediately as she found herself abruptly sticking an arm out to ward off a patented Hibiki Tachibana flying glomp.
"You dummy, it's only been a week!" The silver-haired girl snapped. "Don't you do that enough with your girlfriend anyways?!"
Maria shook her head at the pair's antics as she gave a more sedate greeting hug to Tsubasa. "How was the mission?"
"Busy." Tsubasa replied as she returned the hug, more than glad to see the pinkette. "So busy I didn't get the opportunity to get you any souvenirs."
Maria smiled as they broke the hug. "It's fine. Returning home safely is more than enough of a gift for us."
"And how about yourself? I heard about an incident in training-"
"It's fine." Maria paused as she realized she might have cut Tsubasa off a little too quickly there then elaborated. "We've had time to work on it since. I think I'm good enough now."
It was the honest truth. Since the facility raid, Maria thrown herself back into the training, trying to make-up for that breakdown. Having to kill staples, even simulated staples, was still disturbing for her. But she could do it.
"Anything happen with the foundation?"
"Nothing too significant. The board had some investment ideas I had to make decisions on." Maria replied. "We can go over the details later."
Tsubasa nodded, then turned to Hibiki and Miku, who were still chatting with Chris. "Hey, Tachibana." She grinned mischievously, "You won't believe it, but the Marines started calling Yukine-"
"I wouldn't do that, senpai." Chris replied with a warning glare. "Unless you want me to tell them what they nicknamed you." Tsubasa winced and wisely clammed up.
"You both got cool nicknames?!" Kirika enthused as she glomped Tsubasa. "I want a cool nickname!" Next to her and also hugging Tsubasa, Shirabe nodded her head vigorously in agreement.
"You don't. You really, really don't." Chris deadpanned back, shaking her head.
"I have to agree with Chris on this one." Miku smiled, "Although I am curious to hear what her nickname is."
"Too bad." The Ichaival user was adamant. "I ain't sayin' it. It's embarrassing."
The voice of Okamura Kohinata spoke-up. "So you two must be the Kazanari and Yukine we've heard so much about?"
The adaptors turned to see both Hibiki and Miku's parents walk up to the group.
"Oh!" Miku glanced between her friends and the four adults. "Ah, Chris, Tsubasa, this is my mother and father, Okamura and Matsura Kohinata." She looked back to her own mother and father. "Mama, papa, this is Chris Yukine and Tsubasa Kazanari. They were two of my earliest friends at SONG."
Hibiki motioned to her own parents. "And this is my mother and father, Harumi and Akira Tachibana."
"A pleasure to meet you." Tsubasa greeted as she and Chris bowed.
"Oh, rest assured," Okamura answered, "The pleasure is all ours."
Akira glanced thoughtfully at Chris as something clicked in his mind. "Yukine, is it? I never got to thank you for saving me from Carol's Alca-Noise."
"Eh, it's what I do." Chris waved her hand nonchalantly. "I'm just glad to hear you all are okay after last Friday."
"Oh, yeah!" Hibiki perked up excitedly, reminded by the news. "Guess what? My dad and mom are formally getting back together!"
"Hey, glad to hear it!" Now that was news even Chris could permit herself to smile at. "When's the ceremony?"
Akira laughed and scratched his head. "We're still trying to figure out whether we'll even have a formal ceremony, much less when it is. Current events make it kind of risky."
"But if we do, you're invited, of course!" Harumi added. "We couldn't possibly leave out any of Hibiki's friends."
"Thank you. We would be more than happy to accept." Tsubasa answered. Chris nodded in agreement.
A new voice cut-in. "Apologies for interrupting the reunion." Everyone turned to face Fujitaka, who had come down from the submarine. "But the commander has called a briefing."
Matsura frowned slightly, he wanted to get a better idea of his daughter's earliest friends and coworkers. "Will we have some time available afterwards?"
"Of course." Fujitaka nodded.
Tsubasa's smile fell away as she thought about the news that awaited them. She didn't know how they'd react… for that matter, she still didn't really know how she should react.
—
"We're here today to discuss some of the recent revelations we've been able to make about the Four Horsemen, their organizational structure, and their projects." Elfnein said, bringing up pictures of the facilities the Symphogear adaptors had recently raided. "Thanks to our recent successes, we've been able to come up with a lot of information."
"There's still a lot that has been destroyed or corrupted. The Horsemen's automatic purge functions are ruthlessly efficient. Fortunately, hitting two facilities back-to-back has helped us cross-reference and fill out more data. " Tomosato noted. "We have a much better idea of the Four Horsemen as a whole."
"The leader of the Horsemen is an individual who is referred to only as 'the Lamb'." Shinji Ogawa said, the word appearing on top of the main screen.
"Rather a dumb name if you ask me," Chris muttered, leaning against the wall. "What kinda terrorist leader names himself after a sheep?"
"It's consistent with the motif." Elfnein replied. "The Lamb in Revelation is the one who opens the Seven Seals of the Apocalypse."
Chris paused for a moment. "I stand corrected, then."
Shirabe put her hand on her chin. "The Seven Seals of the Apocalypse? Are they trying to bring about some apocalypse right now?"
"It's… unclear at the moment." Fujitaka answered. "The first four seals are the eponymous Horsemen the organization is named after. White, Red, Black, and Pale. These also are the names of the four major 'units' that make up the Horsemen themselves."
"The White Horseman is the first seal," Commander Ogawa began. A picture of some members of the White Noise as well as a squad of staples appeared on the screen. "The White Horseman is 'conquest' and symbolized the spread of Christianity around the world. As the combat arm of the organization, this would be the unit responsible for the terrorist attacks they carry out to enforce their ideological beliefs. The White Noise, the Automen, and the staples operate under the 'White Unit' umbrella"
"Basically, what we've been fighting against up until now." Tsubasa summarised.
"White Unit, and indeed the entire organization, is controlled and coordinated by the Red Unit." Commander Ogawa continued. He glanced at his elder brother. "And if the conversation you overheard during our last operation is any indication, it isn't a group of people or even human at all, but a superintelligent artificial intelligence."
"Clones, Korean ninjas, 'droids, energy weapons, and now a HAL 9000 knock-off. Great." Chris grumbled.
Elfnein, on the other hand, looked like she had an epiphany. "A high technological superintelligence?! That's a potential explanation for the Horsemen's technological innovations. Such an entity would be able to assist research at an incredible rate! Not to mention the cyberwarfare capabilities… they'd be able to run circles around any firewall in the world."
"Well, that explains how they were able to hack into SONG's computers and dox us." Shirabe thought out loud.
"Obvious question: where did they get it?" Maria interjected. "Last I checked, AI technology research had been in a rut since the mid-2030s."
"Sefer Hachaim, maybe?" Fujitaka offered. "I mean, we've ruled out them using the relic itself, and even just the record would be impossible for any high technology device to handle. But perhaps a pertinent section of the record that dealt with such technology allowed them a solution to the programming problems?"
"That still wouldn't explain how any of it survived Balal exploding, much less how they got their hands on it." Chris pointed out. Fujitaka shrugged, conceding the point.
"I can't help but feel as if we're missing something obvious on that front." Miku mused. "Something else." She shook her head. "Maybe it's just me."
"Whatever the case, the third seal is the Black Horseman. Or Black Unit in this case." Commander Ogawa continued. "They're the production and logistics arm of the Horsemen."
Tsubasa thought back to the immense underground production networks of the Panau facility. "The facilities we've stormed both seemed to have been production centers."
"They were. Those facilities were mostly dedicated to the Black Unit's operations. But Black Unit doesn't just handle manufacturing and transport either." Fujitaka confirmed. "We've pulled information from both facilities on investments made into a number of reasonably large companies. It seems Black Unit is the reason why the Horsemen are able to afford the materials they need to buy to make their weaponry."
Kirika had an "ah-ha" face as she put her fist into the palm of her other hand. "That explains what happened at the Tokyo facility. The soldiers weren't attacking their own people. They were eliminating innocent pawns."
"The survivors from the second facility weren't aware of who they were working for." Director Ogawa affirmed. "They believed they worked for a legitimate robotics company."
"Technically speaking, they are correct. The companies' day-to-day operations are legitimate. That's how Black Unit operates: using the front companies as a cover for their misdeeds while using their profits and manufactured goods, all the while exploiting unsuspecting, honest workers." Tomosato replied, she glanced over at Tsubasa. "We still haven't found any evidence they are behind Lifewyze yet, although the timing of that company's rise is pretty suspicious."
Tsubasa nodded. "We should continue the investigation. It would fit Black Unit's MO too well."
Hibiki said nothing but tightened her fist. The Four Horsemen treated innocent people as resources to use? She didn't want to believe it, but it fit the facts. The same Black Unit that dealt with turning raw materials into killing machines also turned people into unwitting money machines that could be disposed of at a moment's notice. She wondered if she or her friends had purchased a product that was actually manufactured by the Horsemen. Wasn't there some sort of saying involving people paying for their own hanging rope that fit here?
"The fourth seal is the Pale Horseman. The Pale Unit is the research and development department." Elfnein explained. "And out of the four units, I consider them to be the most dangerous. They are the minds behind the technological advancements the Four Horsemen have made. Fittingly, the Pale Horseman is called 'death' in the Book of Revelation. I'll be going over their projects in a little bit, as they are of the utmost importance."
Tsubasa recalled the laboratory she had found in Panau and how it was labelled a 'Pale Unit Sub-section'. She thought about the clones and the experimental logs Elfnein had shown her detailing what they did to those clones. Involuntarily, she shuddered.
"The Fifth Seal," Commander Ogawa continued, "is the group that attempted to kidnap the Tachibanas."
"Heh, I heard you put 'em through a windshield." Chris grinned over at Hibiki. "Good job."
But the Gungnir user glanced away. "I was angry. Angrier than I had been against any other foe we ever faced. The thought of them doing anything to my family, of hurting people that close to me… if mama hadn't called out to me at that moment, I don't know what I would've done to them."
Chris put her hand on Hibiki reassuringly, a gesture the latter seemed to appreciate.
"Thanks to some very insightful conversations I had with the attempted kidnappers, we were able to gain greater insight on how the Fifth Seal operates." Director Ogawa spoke up. "From what we know, they are the Horsemen's network of spies and human collaborators who don't really fall into the other units. Essentially, the Four Horsemen find normal people who may be sympathetic to their cause and recruit them into a self-contained cell. Each cell is independent and operates on a need-to-know basis so that if one of them is captured, the rest of the organization won't be compromised. Red Unit coordinates and issues orders to each cell, giving them simple and usually dedicated tasks."
"In the Book of Revelation, the Fifth Seal was the Christian martyrs, the ones who died for the faith." Elfnein exposited. "Given how consistent the Horsemen have been with their motif, I think we can all guess their views of the Fifth Seal operatives."
"Either pawns, true believers, or both." Maria muttered.
"So that's what we've been able to uncover about the structure of the Four Horsemen as an organization." Fujitaka added.
"Wait." Miku immediately pointed out. "Weren't there 'Seven Seals of the Apocalypse?' You've only named five."
"Well, the sixth and seventh seals aren't described as individuals or groups in the Book of Revelation." Elfnein answered. "They were events. And indeed, the records we've recovered do make mentions of a 'Sixth Seal' as something the Horsemen appear to be working towards. Whatever it is, we don't know for sure." She frowned. "There isn't anything about a Seventh Seal that has been mentioned so far, though."
"Any indication of what the Sixth Seal is?" Commander Ogawa asked.
"Well, the Biblical description indicates it's some sort of great catastrophe." Elfnein mused. "A great day of wrath where the stars fall to the ground and the earth shakes. Interestingly, one modern interpretation of the passage says that it prophesies a future nuclear holocaust."
Tsubasa abruptly straightened up. "You don't think… the mysterious 'Chinese' and 'American' units that fired upon each other were actually part of the Horsemen's Sixth Seal?"
"Well, a global thermonuclear war between America and China would certainly spell the end of SONG." Fujitaka observed. "And probably a good chunk of humanity as well."
"Could this entire 'destroy all supernatural' ideology be a fig leaf for world conquest?" Maria spoke up. "Something like Dr. Ver's idea: destroy human civilization with a fiery apocalyptic event, and then recreate the world in your own image."
"Yeah, that totally makes sense." Chris agreed. "Hell, eliminating us and our relics might be their way of getting rid of resistance to their future rule."
But Tomosato shook her head. "No, they do seem to be serious about destroying the supernatural. There's simply too much evidence pointing in that direction. Like this part of the list we managed to pull from the second facility, even if the full list was damaged."
On the screen, a series of names popped up.
Trident of Poseidon - Liquidated, White Unit
Armonica - Liquidated, White Unit
Nehushtan - Liquidated, SONG
Solomon - Liquidated, SONG
Argus Eye - Location Identified, Inaccessible
Brisingamen - Location Identified, Accessible
Hermes Sword - Liquidated, White Unit
Carbuncle - Liquidated, White Unit
Gjallarhorn - Location Identified, Accessible
Grauswein - Location Identified, Accessible
Annabelle - Location Identified, Accessible
G'harne - Location Identified, Accessible
Gram - Liquidated, White Unit
"It's a list of relics." Kirika observed. "But what does 'liquidated' mean?"
"'Liquidate' is an old euphemism for killing or destroying something." Elfnein informed. "The Horsemen seem to favor it a lot."
"So wait, by my count that means they've successfully destroyed just over thirty-eight percent of the relics on this list." Maria observed. "Discounting Nehushtan and Solomon brings that up to just under half. Assuming the same proportion applies to the full list, then the Horsemen have already tracked down and destroyed half the relics left on Earth."
Commander Ogawa frowned. "Yes. We've received word from German officials that an Illuminati splinter group called the Eclectic Alliance was wiped out by the Four Horsemen over the weekend. All of the members and their families were found dead, and the relic this group possessed was completely disintegrated. There's evidence to suggest that the members of White Noise were involved."
"So targeting us and our loved ones isn't the only thing the White Noise does." Chris muttered.
Fujitaka continued, "But the point is that the amount of resources they devote to tracking down and destroying these independent relics means expending tons of resources for nothing. If it was pure selfishness at work here, they'd be taking these relics for their own use, not destroying them. Whether they wish to rule the world or not, their desire to destroy the supernatural appears genuine and separate from that. Not to mention the information on the research projects we've recovered…"
On screen, a list of scientific projects, some with English names, popped up.
"The Automen were a result of Project 54R301." Elfnein observed, highlighting the names as she mentioned them. "It's the biggest stretch of their ideological philosophy we've identified so far, since they reverse-engineered non-alchemical Autoscorer parts to create them. We found the alchemical parts in a scrap heap. The process by which they were separated would have been deliberately wasteful if not for their anti-supernatural ideology. In any case, the information we've recovered indicates that there are actually a series of different Automen models - the Horsemen use the term 'concepts' - that have been developed."
"So there's versions of those things we haven't encountered yet." Chris grimaced. "Fantastic."
"Yeah," Kirika groaned. "Those laser-beams they shot at us hurt."
"They're grasers, technically." Elfnein corrected. "Those models use gamma radiation produced by miniature nuclear fusion reactors to fire a beam of pure gamma radiation. Although I'm curious as to how they overcame the incompatibility between gamma ray amplification and acquiring sufficient nuclear inversion."
Everyone stared at her blankly.
"Nevermind. Rather more concerning is Project 01D666-" Elfnein interrupted herself with a giggle. "Sorry, I just thought of something Carol probably would have said about that designation. Anyways, codenamed 'Wormwood'. Its stated purpose is to develop a high-technological weapon capable of killing a Custodian using Shem-Ha's maximum power as a baseline."
"Seriously?!" Chris couldn't help it. She started laughing. "Shem-Ha… AT FULL POWER?! We fought her at one ten-thousandth of a percent of her max power and almost lost! Who do they think they are kidding?!"
"The leading concept - concept one - is to shoot a black hole at them." Tomosato answered, her tone deathly serious.
Chris abruptly stopped laughing, instead staring at Tomosato in disbelief. After a long moment, the Ichaival user finally asked incredulously. "They'd… how do they… would that even work?!"
Elfnein shrugged. "The Horsemen seem to think so, based on what we've been able to recover. We managed to retrieve accompanying equations that form the mathematical basis for the theory behind such a weapon." Her eyebrows creased worryingly. "I only understood around a quarter of it. And I couldn't begin to estimate how much of what I did understand would advance humanity's understanding of quantum gravitational physics if we were to publish it."
"A Custodian's power is immense, but still finite. The same cannot be said for the gravitational forces of a spacetime singularity." Fujitaka said. Everyone stared at him for a moment. "A line in one of the research notes we recovered that stuck out to me."
Maria crossed her arms. "Well, they certainly don't do things halfway, I'll give them that."
"No." Elfnein grimly said as she highlighted the next project on the list. "They don't."
"Project 51E141, codenamed 'Sabin'." Shinji Ogawa stated solemnly. "Almost all of the information on this project has been scrubbed, in both facilities. All we know is its objective: to develop a mass-production weapon specifically designed to kill Symphogears adaptors. Some of the reports we've recovered indicate it's close to completion, and they've assigned it maximum priority."
"They want us dead that badly?" Hibiki asked, her voice filled in disbelief. "So badly they'd build something specifically designed to hurt us? Our relics, sure, but why us? Why do they want to kill us so badly?"
Tsubasa and Elfnein looked at each other. "Go ahead," the blue-haired girl said. "It's time they all knew."
"Oi." Chris looked back and forth between her senpai and the diminutive alchemist. "Is this that thing you didn't want to tell me about earlier?"
"All bridge crew personnel, save Elfnein, Fujitaka, Tomosato, and my brother are to leave immediately." Commander Ogawa ordered. "This information is exclusive to us and the adaptors until further notice."
Some surprised murmuring filtered through the bridge as the lower ranking personnel hesitated for a moment, not quite believing that there was anything so secret that they couldn't be trusted with it. But Commander Ogawa just stared down at them all, his expression becoming almost as steely as his brothers. Quietly, the crew stood up and filtered out. As the door slid shut behind them, Ogawa glanced over at Elfnein and nodded. "Show them."
A widescreen image taken of the Pale Unit lab Tsubasa found flashed up on the screen. The reactions were abrupt. Hibiki's jaw dropped. Shirabe and Kirika clutched each other. Fujitaka looked like he wanted to pass out. Tomosato jerked back. Even Souji looked taken aback. Tsubasa simply bowed her head and squeezed her eyes shut.
"SERENA?!" Maria's scream was so loud everyone in the room would have winced if they were not in such a state of shock.
"Is that us?!" Miku asked, not quite as loudly.
"Buddha preserve us!" Chris swore. "What the fuck is this?!"
"Are those… an evil clone army?!" Kirika asked frightfully as she clung to her girlfriend.
"Not an army." Elfnein corrected sadly. "Control groups. Baselines. Bio-samples. These clones were specifically created to be test subjects. As far as we've been able to tell, they are all brain dead."
"What kind of experiment would require clones of my dead little sister?!" Maria hadn't felt this mentally lost since the Frontier Incident.
Elfnein winced, looking like she wanted to be doing anything else. "They used the clones in many different experiments. However, they were primarily used in Project 13B545, a project undertaken to confirm a scientific hypothesis. I believe the findings of this experiment form the justification for their personal attacks on the adaptors." At Elfnein's signal, the screen showcased one word in all-caps and bold font.
"Sumphonia?" Hibiki read aloud.
"The head of the Four Horsemen's Pale Unit, Professor One-Oh-Eight, has hypothesized that, with the destruction of Balal and Yggdrasil, synchronization between the adaptors and the relics that form the core of their Symphogears will lead to the transformation of the adaptors into a new subspecies of humanity dubbed Homo sapien sumphonia. When fully actualized, this new subspecies would be considered 'godlike' compared to normal humans - biological immunity to all diseases, enhanced physiology, and even immortality are possible features. And that's just what we've been able to gather from his incomplete notes."
"Custodians." The realization filled Chris with horror. "They think we're becoming Custodians. That we're all… we're all baby Shem-Has!"
"Yes," Elfnein said softly. "Professor One-Oh-Eight's research seems only to confirm such suspicions, and, as galling as it is, it appears he's the world's foremost expert on the Symphogear. I haven't managed to find a single flaw in any of his insights into the system, at least not among what we have managed to recover. There were some details he pointed out that even I didn't know about until I double-checked them against the system."
"How is that even possible?" Tomosato asked. "You have the notes belonging to Ryouko Sakurai, the inventor. You've figured out more about the Symphogears than she had." Elfnein just shrugged.
"We're not going to remain human?" Kirika's voice quivered, her thoughts flashing back to when she believed Finé was going to take over her body. "We're… we're not going to be ourselves anymore?"
Shirabe hugged the blonde, but this time it was for her own comfort as much as Kirika's. The thought that her friends, her Kirika would become something else sent chills down her spine.
"Oh god." Chris muttered, raising her hand to her mouth as she staggered at the thoughts flying through her head. The Ichaival user wanted to throw-up. "It's the fusion incident all over again. Except it's happening to all of us."
Dead silence fell, a choking atmosphere of gloom and despair hung over the room. Then Hibiki spoke up, her voice filled with steel. "No. I don't believe it."
Everyone turned in surprise to stare at her. The Gungnir user had drawn herself up and was glaring at the word up on the screen as if it would set it on fire.
"What do you mean don't believe it?!" Chris snapped. "Do you think Elfnein's playing a practical joke on us or something?"
"That's not what I mean!" Hibiki shot back. She turned to her girlfriend. "Miku, do you remember the last thing Shem-Ha said to us?"
Miku stared back for a moment in confusion before what Hibiki meant clicked in her mind. "Then fulfill your duty," She repeated aloud. "Because you now control the future."
"Exactly." Hibiki said. "We control our future now. Not the custodians, not the alchemists, not..." She waved her hand at the viewscreen. "Whatever this is. We might become something else, but we'll never let it control us. We'll still be people in the end. We'll still be ourselves in the end, not whatever the Horsemen think we will become!"
There was a long silence following Hibiki's proclamation. Nobody knew quite how much stock to put into words they never heard, uttered by someone they only knew as a mad god. Finally, Maria spoke-up. "Tachibana's right. Even if this changes our bodies, we can't let it change who we are. We can't let it isolate us from each other, from our lives, from mankind."
"It might not be so simple." Fujitaka pointed out. "The possibility of mental changes-"
"Is there any evidence of that?" Miku interrupted him, looking at Elfnein. "Any evidence that this will change us mentally?"
Elfnein paused to look over the notes. "With such drastic changes to your physiology, I doubt your minds will be completely unaffected. But that goes for all physiological changes, including normal human aging. I see no evidence that there will be any changes that are specifically mental." She added a note of caution. "However, even in the incomplete data, Professor One-Oh-Eight seems confident that significant changes in psychology are likely to take place as the physical transformations accelerates. He specifically cites temporal dissociation causing alienation from the rest of humanity and the potential formation of a superiority complex."
"He may know everything about the Symphogear, but how much does he know about us?" Hibiki pushed back with determination. "We've done the impossible before! If there's a danger we'll lose ourselves, then we'll just have to face it head-on like all the other times." She seized Miku's and Chris's hands, sweeping her gaze across the others. "And we'll beat it together, just like all the other times!"
Tsubasa stared at Hibiki in surprise. Even though Tachibana's speech made no sense on its face, it actually made sense. She shook her head, a smile breaking across her face. "I really should have come to expect this from you by now. You always know exactly what to say in these situations, Tachibana."
"Beat it…" Kirika muttered thoughtfully, lifting her head from the crook of Shirabe's neck to look at Hibiki.
"... together." Shirabe finished - and affirmed - her girlfriend's statement, latching onto the words as hard as she had onto Kirika.
Miku gave her girlfriend a smile, her own fears melting away, and turned to take Tsubasa's hand. "Well, if Hibiki says it can be beaten, then it must be so."
"So long as we remain with each other." Maria agreed, taking Tsubasa's other hand. Breaking their own hug, Kirika and Shirabe likewise rushed over to finish the chain.
"And we'll support you as long as we are able to!" Tomosato called out. Fujitaka, Elfnein, and both Ogawa's nodded in support.
Only Chris remained silent, chewing on her lip in thought, although she didn't move to pull away from Hibiki's grip. She wanted to believe what Hibiki was saying. She desperately did. Hell, had this news come just six months earlier, she would have in an instant. But one thought kept passing through her mind: Elfnein had said that this may lead them to become immortal. If that was true, could she bear leaving Komichi behind?
They met in a back alley restaurant in Hong Kong. A nondescript sort of place rather used to serving the sort of office workers who were high up enough that they had to wear a suit-and-tie ensemble to work but by no stretch of the imagination could call themselves wealthy. Neither 'Wei Ma' nor 'Qiang Du' were their actual names, but it simply wouldn't do for them to have known each others' actual names.
"Your group is extraordinarily difficult to get in contact with." Qiang Du began.
Wei Ma shrugged. "When waging what amounts to a war against the UN, we have to be."
"Yet we were able to arrange this meeting." Qiang challenged.
Wei smirked in reply. "Because we permitted it."
The two shadowy men and their respective entourages took their seats in the seedy restaurant. The walls were a dark and wooden, and bamboo lamps lined the ceiling. Small, private tables covered in white tablecloths lined the room. The atmosphere of the place was eerily empty in spite of it being dinnertime; there was nobody else in the establishment besides the two parties. Neither party could allow any witnesses, after all.
The two men were seated in a table by a young woman, while their respective entourages were seated at a nearby table, just out of earshot. The two men stared each other down, looking for any sign of weakness.
"Suffice to say," Qiang Du, the agent from the Chinese government's Ministry of State Security continued as he looked over his menu. "There are some members of the Central Committee who are sympathetic to your organization's viewpoint."
"Yes, and I imagine General Fai's report on what just two adaptors managed in Panau had nothing to do with it." His counterpart, a Fifth Seal agent, replied off-handedly. "Nor the fact that six of the seven Symphogears are Japanese nationals and the last one might as well be."
"Well, those are factors, we will admit." Qiang allowed. The conversation lapsed for a moment as a waiter came around to take their orders. The two men waited until the restaurant employee was out of earshot before Wei continued.
"That being said, we are pleasantly surprised to hear the Central Committee has come around to our viewpoint. Given the recent announcements by the Party's Chairman, I thought they were all on board with the Australians' proposal regarding reforms to the SONG Oversight Committee."
"I never said everyone in the Central Committee was sympathetic. Professions of democratic centralism aside, we're not a monolith. I represent a faction interested in… alternative ideas on how to address the imbalance."
Wei frowned. "Is your faction powerful enough to fulfill your end of any bargain?"
Qiang shrugged. "That depends on what can be worked out."
"Hm…" Wei reached into his jacket and pulled out a folder to slide across the table. "Could you possibly obtain these machine parts and this quantity of raw materials for us?"
Qiang opened the folder to scan the contents. After a minute of reading, he finally replied. "The raw materials should be no issue, but I'm afraid some of these machine parts would be too difficult to acquire without keeping an acceptably low profile."
"Which ones can you obtain for us?" Wei asked.
Qiang placed the folder down on the table to point out the particular lines. "This, this, and this. We could also get you these," He indicated several more items, "But not in those numbers." He glanced at one line under the raw materials section that rather stood out. "Out of curiosity, why do you need so much beryllium oxide?"
"I was only told what to request, not why." Wei shrugged. "In any case, that is acceptable."
"And what would you offer in return?" Qiang asked. "This is, after all, supposed to be an exchange."
"You mean besides continuing to attack SONG?" Wei grinned, leaning back in his chair. "The high technology produced by our organization is the envy of the world, and unlike heretical technology, it can be mass-produced through mundane means. I'm sure China would greatly benefit from it given how troublesome the Americans are being right now. How about some Anti-LiNKER to start, since the main threat comes from those Symphogears?"
"SONG already shared-" Qiang began.
Wei cut him off. "They shared their formula of Anti-LiNKER, which isn't even as potent as the type produced by Doctor Ver, much less what we use. With the current batches you can produce, you couldn't even knock a Symphogear's synch rate down enough to prevent them from using their Superb Songs, much less something like Amalgam."
Qiang raised a skeptical eyebrow, leaning forward. "And yours can?"
"Of course. Why do you think we drop it on them every time we fight?" Wei looked him dead in the eye. "You think what they achieved in Panau is impressive? You should see what they would be like if they weren't fighting under Anti-LiNKER conditions. They're capable of toppling nations with the firepower they wield. We know what your military solution for them is… if you can really call 'drop increasingly larger tactical nukes' an actual solution. It's the same contingency plan every other major military power has."
Qiang considered the issue for a few more moments. "I'll have to go over this with my superiors."
"There's a number in the files. If they accept our offer, call it, and we'll be able to arrange issues like transport locations and timing then. Just… well, you can try to trace it. You won't succeed, but I'm sure whoever's in Red Unit could use the laugh."
'Apotheosis. Becoming gods… or, at least, more godlike.' Miku contemplated as she did her warm-up run alongside Hibiki. The two had agreed that they should continue with Miku's physical training. The number of reporters camped out at their apartments had slackened considerably since the second press conference, to the point that the two actually were generally able to sneak out the back now so long as they made sure to don a cap and sunglasses. The trickier part was generally how to avoid getting attention on the street while doing their exercises.
The black-haired girl's history on the junior high track team meant she could slip easily enough into thought while maintaining her pace. And invariably, her thoughts turned to the issue of Sumphonia. 'Hibiki is insistent that we won't lose ourselves. I believe her. But even if we do, what about everything else?'
They might wind up becoming immortal now, after all. A part of Miku couldn't really find fault in the idea of eternity with the others, particularly Hibiki. But there were so many other imponderables about the notion that scared her. First and foremost: what would happen when other people found out? SONG were doing their best to keep the information secret, but given the girls were already forced into the public eye, it was an inevitability that people would notice when they stopped aging. Not to mention the possibility of the Horsemen just releasing the details. They'd already done it once before, with their identities.
Humanity's opinion on the Custodians was already warped so much by the collective experience it had suffered at the hands of Shem-Ha. She couldn't imagine how the public would react to finding out they were becoming proto-Custodians. As it was, the knowledge that they were Symphogear wielders had created alienation from most of their peers, though it was an alienation of awe and wonder. Would the revelation of Sumphonia transform that into fear and hate?
Miku was so lost in her thoughts and worries, that she didn't even notice when Hibiki stopped running until her girlfriend called out. "Hey, Miku! We've done the four miles."
"Ah!" Miku muttered, coming to a halt before turning to jog the few feet that had opened up between her and the Gungnir user. "Sorry, I was thinking."
"Oh, you mean about…" Hibiki trailed off for a moment, not certain really even how to bring it up even on an otherwise deserted park path. She shook her head and offered Miku a water bottle. "Don't worry, we'll beat it."
"That's not what I'm worried about." Miku replied, taking a sip and passing the bottle back. "It's more… how other people will react when they find out."
"Huh." Hibiki mused, clearly now considering it herself as she also took a sip. "Yeah. I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it, huh?"
"I wonder how the alchemists handled it." Miku wondered. "Managing to hide themselves away for centuries at a time without anybody noticing."
They lapsed into silence for a few moments, considering the difficult question and coming up with no answer. Finally, Hibiki opened her mouth to suggest they start training, but a new voice interrupted her. "Hey! Bikky, Miku!"
The two looked over to see the familiar brunette twin-tails of Yumi, clad in her own exercise clothing and jogging down the path towards them.
"Yumi?" Hibiki asked in surprise. She had never seen the Otaku girl in her gym clothes outside of gym class.
"Fancy meeting you two here!" Yumi answered as she stopped her run, jogging in place. "You doing your exercises?"
"Just finished our warm-up run." Miku confirmed, also a bit surprised to see her friend indulging in a more physical enterprise. "When did you take up running?"
"Oh, about a week now." Yumi shrugged. "Just felt like something I should start doing. I'm surprised how easy it became once you get a few days."
"Your form is very impressive for a beginner." Miku observed, recalling exactly how the other girl was running. Even jogging in place, Yumi was doing everything right: chin level, shoulders moving opposite of her legs, arms pumping in line with the body, tight core. It was like she had been running for a lifetime. "You managed to figure all this out in a week?"
"I think I read some tips on proper form somewhere, that probably helped." Yumi shrugged. Then her eyes lit-up with enthusiasm. "Oh, yeah, that reminds me! The NERV set, it really does work!"
"Really?" Miku rolled her eyes.
"Still skeptical? Well, I have proof!" Yumi finally stopped jogging and puffed herself up. "Guess who already finished her summer homework?"
"Eh?!" Hibiki's eyes widened in astonishment. "But you're usually always so last-minute about it!"
Miku gave her girlfriend a flat look. "Are you sure you should be saying that? Have you even started yours?"
Hibiki laughed uncomfortably and averted her eyes. "I'll get around to it."
"Nah, I'm telling you!" Yumi answered. "Particularly after I finished modding it. All the answers came super-easy! I'm going to get a great grade, I'm telling you."
"I'm sure Shiori is holding you to that." Miku replied.
"She is." Yumi nodded. "We even made a bet on it: we're planning a dinner outing once our summer homework grades come in. I get good grades, she pays. I get bad grades, I pay. It was her idea."
Miku stared at the twin-tailed girl. Did Shiori leverage Yumi's obsession with this VR thing into getting a date with her crush? It sounded certainly sounded like something the blonde was devious enough to try. Perhaps she should try that sometime with Hibiki. But what would they have a bet over?
"You know, Yumi," Hibiki piped up. "That sounds like she was inviting you on a date."
Miku resisted the temptation to facepalm. Leave it to Hibiki to completely fail to notice how their friends' relationship was developing.
"Well, since Kuriyo moved out, I think she's been a bit more lonely in the dorms." Yumi answered, equally oblivious. "So how are you guys handling everything? I heard you really busted up some terrorist heads during the weekend, like out of a superhero anime."
"Yes," Miku answered. "We can't talk much about the details though. And some of the things we've discovered have been…" She paused, searching for the right word. "Uncomfortable."
"Ah, yeah." Yumi shifted awkwardly. "I did see the video from the uh… from that school. Erm…" The otaku trailed off, a rare look of seriousness coming over her.
"It's quite different fighting them, compared to our past enemies." Hibiki said solemnly.
Yumi nodded emphatically "I can imagine. From what I've heard, the White Unit battlegroups all fight to the death."
Miku frowned slightly, something about that sentence bothered her but she couldn't quite place what. Hibiki, on the other hand, had become melancholy. "We've never fought anyone who so obviously understood they were doing the wrong thing yet didn't care. Finé, the Alchemists, and even Shem-Ha all thought what they were doing was right. But the Horsemen…" She shook her head. "I don't understand. How can they care so much about the relics and not care about who they hurt when they know it's wrong?"
Yumi frowned. "Well, I guess… some people let their emotions run away with them. They charge into a situation making one mistake after another. There are a lot of anime characters like that."
"It feels a bit too real for an anime though." Miku observed.
Yumi shrugged, "It's the best answer I can give you." She gave a reassuring grin. "Besides, it's not like anime has steered me wrong in the past!"
"Who knows? We might be living in an anime." Hibiki said with a teasing grin.
"Eh, maybe all the prior stuff. What's happening right now feels more like the fanfic to an anime." Yumi said with a serious face. There was a beat before the girls all laughed.
"Anyways, Hibiki and I need to finish the rest of our training and get back to the house. We don't want to stay out long enough to let any reporter swarms home in on us." Miku said.
"And I'd better finish my run. See ya around!" Yumi took off, waving as she ran.
"Say hello to Shiori for us!" Hibiki shouted after her friend, likewise waving.
"Hibiki," Miku stared thoughtfully the way Yumi ran off, realizing what had been bothering her. "Has the information we've learned about the Horsemen's organizational structure been made public?"
"Eh?" Hibiki paused for a moment, thinking it over. "I don't think so. I recall Director Ogawa saying that it's kept classified right now. Something about not wanting the Horsemen to know what we know about them, I think."
"Then how did Yumi know that the Horsemen's combat arm is named the White Unit?"
"Ah, God Slayer!" The sniper called back in slight amusement as he detached a smoke canister from his belt. "I'd love to put a bullet in your head and take your title for myself." He popped the ring. "Unfortunately, I can't stick around. Orders are orders. Say hello to the little gunner for me!"
The smoke from Voronin's canister curled around both him and Darmawan, swiftly obscuring them from view. Knowing they were gone, Hibiki concentrated on the more imminent issue: the army of Automen descending upon her. Their coilguns and graser shots stung her, and though they shattered and shredded under her fists, there were always more and more and more…
A torrent of purple beams scythed through those Automen immediately surrounding her, clearing for her some breathing room. In spite of her growing exhaustion, a smile split the Gungnir user's face. "Miku!"
"I'm here, Hibiki!" The Shenshoujing wielder called as she carved her own path through the swarms of Automen back towards the chestnut-haired girl's side. From out of the office building's second floor, two more familiar figures leapt out, sunlight glinting off of a scythe and a pair of sawblades.
"Kirika! Shirabe!" Hibiki shouted as she smashed two androids into one another.
"Is Caprice here?!" Kirika shouted, cutting an Automan's head off as she landed. "She ran from us!"
"Haven't seen her!" Miku replied.
Shirabe bisected four Automen at once with her sawblades. "Darmawan?!"
"Down an arm!" Hibiki shouted back. "Voronin showed up, grabbed him, and ran!"
"Then I guess all that's left are these small fry!" Kirika concluded. She fired her rocket boosters and swung Igalima horizontally, becoming a whirling green Tinkerbell. The Automen around her were reduced to their base components before they could even react.
Igalima scythed, Shul-Shagana cut, Shenshoujing blasted, and Gungnir smashed. The air filled with the grinding of metal on metal, the rhythmic cracks of coil guns, and the hissing of grasers. Purple flashes of magi-light, soul-cutting blades, and fist-generated shockwaves met electromagnetically-accelerated sabots and beams of gamma radiation. The battle between four supergirls and an army of androids was a torrent of fury that shattered the front of every building facing the helipad.
The end, when it finally came, was surprisingly sudden. Hibiki shattered the last Automan's body and glanced around for more only to find none. The girls looked around, not quite believing it was over. After the cacophony of battle, the sudden silence seemed deafening in a completely different way.
"Miku?" Hibiki turned to her girlfriend. "Are you okay? I saw the Automen going after you and-"
"I'm fine, Hibiki." The black-haired girl nodded, patting the Gungnir user on the shoulder comfortingly. "I was able to hold my own until the army diverted towards you."
Hibiki let loose a sigh of relief and felt a little guilty. Was this really how Miku felt every time she had come back from fighting, all the way back before Shem-Ha? She shoved that aside. That was in the past. She and Miku could look out for each other now. Instead, she looked to her other friends. "Shirabe, Kirika. Are you okay?"
"We're okay!" Kirika answered.
Shirabe nodded quietly in agreement. "We managed to drive off Caprice. Although I think we also upset her a fair bit."
Miku shrugged, "Well, given what Tsubasa and Maria have said about her, I don't think anyone at SONG will mind that too much."
"Maria…" Shirabe muttered, her eyes widening in alarm. "Oh no, Maria!"
Hibiki quickly activated her communicator. "Maria? Director Ogawa? Can you hear me? Do you need any help?"
There were several moments of static, but just before Miku was going to suggest they start to head back, they finally got a reply. "We're fine!" Maria's voice echoed out of their communicators. She also sounded slightly winded. "I managed to deal with all the Automen attacking us. Director Ogawa's in contact with the SDF and the rest of SONG. They're on the way to the facility right now."
Everyone let out one last sigh of relief.
"We won?" Kirika asked, glancing around at the shattered helipad, littered with android parts. A grin shot across her face and she leapt forward to glomp Shirabe. "We won! We kicked the White Noise's butts, and their androids too!"
Miku and Hibiki exchanged their own smiles, although they were marred by tiredness. Even through the Symphogear armor, the two felt more than a bit sore. They needed to relax a bit after such a hard fought victory. Then Miku recalled something Hibiki mentioned just before the mission. Keying her communicator, she began. "So, Hibiki noticed there were some hot springs in the area…"
----
Dai Yoshimura prided himself on being the manager of the best hot spring resort between Mount Takanosu to the north and Mount Gozenyama to the south. Sure, it may be a small reference pool, but if he could be the best in the locale, that was good enough for him. And he believed a key part of that was scheduling. With a good schedule, all else fell into place. That's why he made sure his place was reservation only.
Still didn't make putting up these really long posters any easier, he groused to himself as he wrestled with just that.
"Excuse me." A female voice spoke up behind him. It was familiar somehow. "We were in the area and were wondering if we could use your hot spring and maybe get dinner?"
"Do you have a reservation?" Yoshimura asked. Though he kept his own voice polite, he frowned to himself a little as he tried to place her voice. Maybe she had been a previous customer?
"Erm… I'm afraid we don't."
He finished putting up the poster and started to turn around. "My apologies, but we're a reservation only res-" He froze mid-answer as he stared at the five girls now standing in front of him. "Y-y-y-you're…"
"Ah, I'm sorry. We were hoping to get some relaxation in, but we don't want to impose if you're reservation only." The Maria Cadenzavna Eve finished. Behind her, the Hibiki Tachibana, the Miku Kohinata, the Kirika Akatsuki, and the Shirabe Tsukuyomi all sighed in disappointment and turned to leave.
"M-my own apologies!" Yoshimura positively stumbled over his words in his rush to correct himself. He couldn't let this chance slip through his fingers! "D-Did I say we were r-reservation only?! I'm sorry but I'm used to the old schedule! We just changed that policy today!"
And just like that, the entire group brightened up, although Maria looked a bit perplexed by his sudden change in attitude. Yoshimura made a quick mental note that once the Symphogears were checked in to immediately call the rest of the available staff together to inform them that their new guests had maximum priority. Inconveniences to the schedule be damned, being able to tell people five-times world saviors had attended his resort was all the advertising he could ever ask for. He'd have to post this on social media, update the website, and commission new posters!
Oh sweet Buddha, he'd have to commission new posters…
—
Kirika sighed happily as she sank down into the hot spring, letting all of her worries and concerns be washed away, along with any dirt from the battle. Not to mention the dry splotches of staple blood she kept hidden under her clothes.
"It feels so nice…" Shirabe murmured next to her, leaning against her girlfriend and closing her eyes. Under the water, Kirika's hand slid around the black-haired girls waist and pulled her in closer, cuddling up beside her.
"Don't fall asleep in the host spring!" Maria called over, pausing to dump water over herself, washing away the soap before continuing her admonishment. "You don't want to catch a cold!"
"We won't." The Zababa couple replied in the typical tone of children not-quite-paying attention to their mother's fussing.
From across the tub, Hibiki smiled. It was always nice to see her friends just relaxing.
"Did you remember to order dinner, Hibiki?" Miku asked next to her.
"Yup!" The chestnut haired girl replied. "And I even remembered to request your shaved ice this time!" Hibiki leaned back with a satisfied sigh. "This was a really great idea."
Miku blushed slightly, fiddling with her hands. "It was your idea, first."
With a slight splash, Maria slid into the water over by Kirika and Shirabe, although she gave the two some space for themselves. The Pinkette glanced between the Zababa couple on the one side and Hibiki and Miku on the other and felt a pang of slight jealousy. As happy as she was for the two couples, she wished she could have come here with Tsubasa. Well, the bluenette would be home soon. Maybe then?
Everyone lapsed into a comfortable silence after that, taking the time to simply enjoy the spring and each other's company. The only sound in the air was the dripping of heated water.
"I'm sorry Hibiki." Miku suddenly started after a few minutes.
"Eh?" The chestnut haired girl blinked. "For what?"
"I got so tied up fighting all those Automen that I couldn't help you against Darma-."
Hibiki cut her off. "But you did help me! How much tougher do you think it would have been if I had to fight Darmawan while all those Automen were shooting me or otherwise trying to gang-up with him? Or for Shirabe and Kirika fighting Caprice, if that's who they went after instead." She smiled at her girlfriend brilliantly, throwing her arms around her in a sudden hug. "And you managed to handle them all by yourself! Not to mention everything that came before! I'm proud of you!"
"Hibiki…" Miku murmured softly, her own chest filled with warmth at the praise. Her girlfriend was right. She did it. It was as flawless a mission as any of them could have hoped for. They'd brought down a Horsemen facility, saved at least some lives, and even put one of the White Noise out of commission. Not to mention, it felt really nice to have Hibiki pressed up against her like this…
"Besides, you didn't get knocked over by a railgun round to the stomach. That really took the wind out of me!" Hibiki continued nonchalantly.
And just like that, Miku's good feelings were replaced by worry. "What?!" She abruptly turned and grabbed Hibiki, wiggling her way out of the hug. "Oh, no! Hibiki, is it going to bruise?! Let me see…"
"Ah, wait, Miku! That tickles!" Hibiki began as Miku manhandled - woman-handled? - her up onto the bath side. Her embarrassment mixed with laughter, which only magnified her embarrassment as it drew the attention of the other three.
"Um… Hibiki." Miku's brow furrowed as she inspected her girlfriends stomach. She couldn't find any sign of the supposed railgun impact Hibiki mentioned. She backed off slightly, so Hibiki could actually manage a reply instead of constantly giggling. "Where did it hit you again?"
"Right about…" Wiping away a tear of laughter, Hibiki glanced down and the smile fell off her face. "Huh?" Where there should have been a red-turning-black welt upon her stomach, instead there was nothing but her usual ab muscles looking healthy as always. "Umm… maybe it didn't hit me as hard as I thought?"
Maria looked across the bath at Hibiki thoughtfully, then her eyes moved first to Miku, then over to Shirabe and Kirika. It took a moment for her to realize that her inspections might be taken the wrong way, so she swiftly spoke up. "Did all of you manage to avoid the Automen's graser weapons?"
"Nah." Kirika answered first, "I took something like several dozen. I think the first one was…" She glanced down at her arm and found nothing. "Huh?" She looked over at Shirabe, checking for any sign of the burns. "Shirabe, didn't you take any?"
"I know I took a bad one right about-eh?" The Shul-Shagana user glanced down at her side, only to see her usual, unblemished skin.
Everyone inspected themselves.
Hibiki's brow furrowed as she checked herself over, finding no signs of the previous graser impacts she took during the fight. Or even so much as a scratch from the rockets, for that matter. "How long does it take for a light burn to heal again?"
"Three days minimum, twenty days maximum." Maria answered as she looked over her own body, yet not finding any sign she had ever been in a fight at all. "But it hasn't even been a quarter day. How could this be?"
----
There is a phrase some people like to say: "Pain is weakness leaving the body".
As a professional strength builder, Darmawan knew that 'some people' were morons. Pain is a signal from the body that something is wrong and you should stop doing it. One didn't get stronger through self-destruction. Of course, training for combat had altered his view slightly. One should never view pain as a positive, but in a fight to the death, one had to occasionally accept pain and push through it.
That was a useful lesson. Without it, he wouldn't be able to endure the pain he was suffering through right now. Even a full day later, the nerves, those still left intact, were shrieking at him through the painkillers. Still, he soldiered through the pain with the same patience he displayed during weight training.
If the Gungnir wielder thought shattering his arm would deter him from his goals, she was sorely mistaken. He was too strong for that. He would prove it. The others may dance about with their bombs, their sneakiness, their guns, their little tricks. Not him. Build strength upon strength, and then take down challenges head-on. That was his way.
But first, he had to get his arm fixed. That was why he came here. The thump of the VTOL touching down was his prompt to hit the release button on his seatbelt as the door slid open, letting in a blast of dry desert heat. Hauling himself out with his good hand, Darmawan stepped out into the harsh glare of the Australian outback.
His doctor was already waiting for him. Darmawan knew of Professor-312; it was impossible for someone with Darmawan's level of clearance to not have heard of the man. Darmawan had no doubt that Professor-312 could fix his arm - the man wasn't Pale Unit's top biochemist for nothing - but the man's origins and personality gave the Indonesian brawler plenty of reason to be wary of him.
"Whiskey-November-Five." 312 greeted politely, his lab coat rustling slightly in the breeze and the sun glaring off his glasses.
"It's Timoty Darmawan." The bodybuilder grunted back.
"I know," The scientist said apologetically. "Unfortunately, my superior is quite insistent on using codenames when outside. We best get indoors as quickly as we can so we can dispense with the formalities. Please, follow me."
They made rapid time across the airfield, the other personnel giving them a quite deferential berth. As they reached the first structure, there was a shout. "Professor-312! What were you thinking?!"
Darmawan turned to take in the newcomer. Early-twenties, lilac eyes, long indigo hair. The robot dog following her was interesting, even if its uncannily dog-like behavior was slightly creepy.
As she walked over, she noticed Darmawan and turned towards him. As she spoke to the larger man, her demeanor shifted to be more courteous. "Greetings, Whiskey-November-Five. I heard what happened back in Japan. Hope your arm gets better."
Then, without waiting for a response from him, she rounded on Professor-312. "Insemination of an artificial womb with combined reproductive material synthesized from Sierra-One and Four's genes?! To create a Sumphonia test-tube baby!? What ever made you think such a proposal would be accepted? Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in? Are you trying to get liquidated?!"
312 just shrugged innocently. "I'm interested in seeing what the offspring of two Sumphonia would be like, One-Forty-Five. Professor-One-Oh-Eight's hypothesis didn't say much about that. Would you prefer I use a different combination? Sierra-Two and Seven? Or Five and Six? I even offered suggestions on how we could weaponize the resu-"
"Just stop!" Professor-145 looked like she wanted to hammer her head against the wall. "You should be grateful I quashed this absurdity before the Lamb saw it. I can't imagine how he'd react to it."
"Oh, what he doesn't know won't hurt him," replied Professor-312 with a wave of his hand. "I'm sure he'll overlook some minor philosophical inconsistencies so long as the results are to his liking."
Professor-145 growled. "You're already on thin ice with the others over your proposed modifications to the Double-S Project! God, how could someone so smart be such an idiot?"
"So you do respect my scientific prowess." The biochemist slyly grinned.
"You arrogant little… you fucking… gah!" The other Pale Unit member threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "Don't ever try to bring something like this up again in official correspondence!"
With a final huff, the frustrated woman spun around and marched off, her robo-dog pacing after her. "Don't worry, I'll behave!" Professor-312 called out to her as she continued walking away. He then punched in a number code to open the door.
"Please don't mind her." 312 told Darmawan as he stepped into the building and held the door open for the injured man. "She's in a different specialization, robotic engineering. I'm afraid the setbacks inflicted by SONG on some of the projects she's involved with have fouled her mood. She has her mother's temper and is twice as verbose when it comes to expressing it." His voice dropped down to a mutter, finally showing some displeasure. "Often she feels like my mother, with the way she scolds me."
"Hm." Darmawan grunted as he walked indoors. "So, are you going to fix my arm, Three-Twelve?"
"As I have no interest in being liquidated for disobedience, yes. But please, Mr. Darmawan," Professor-312 smiled politely as he brushed errant strands of white hair out of the way of his blue eyes. "Professor-Three-Twelve is just my Red Unit codename. When we're indoors, you can call me Doctor Ver."
----
"Do you see it yet?" Hibiki asked. She wasn't sure how Kirika got the only pair of binoculars, or why they only managed to find a single pair in an entire naval base for that matter. The girls had been waiting for SONG's submarine base to return for a good quarter-hour by now, eager to see their friends.
"Yes! Yes, I see it!" Kirika exclaimed, leaning forward so much that Shirabe had to grab the blonde by the back of her uniform to stop her from toppling into the water.
Only a dozen seconds later, the submarine became visible to the naked eye, its massive yet low-slung silhouette pushing swiftly through the water. Excitedly, Hibiki started waving as the vessel approached and pulled alongside the dock.
Chris and Tsubasa were already up and ready to disembark as the vessel's cargo bays opened up. Both affected an air of nonchalance, but their friends could see both of them were happy to be back. In particular, Chris's demeanor was ruined immediately as she found herself abruptly sticking an arm out to ward off a patented Hibiki Tachibana flying glomp.
"You dummy, it's only been a week!" The silver-haired girl snapped. "Don't you do that enough with your girlfriend anyways?!"
Maria shook her head at the pair's antics as she gave a more sedate greeting hug to Tsubasa. "How was the mission?"
"Busy." Tsubasa replied as she returned the hug, more than glad to see the pinkette. "So busy I didn't get the opportunity to get you any souvenirs."
Maria smiled as they broke the hug. "It's fine. Returning home safely is more than enough of a gift for us."
"And how about yourself? I heard about an incident in training-"
"It's fine." Maria paused as she realized she might have cut Tsubasa off a little too quickly there then elaborated. "We've had time to work on it since. I think I'm good enough now."
It was the honest truth. Since the facility raid, Maria thrown herself back into the training, trying to make-up for that breakdown. Having to kill staples, even simulated staples, was still disturbing for her. But she could do it.
"Anything happen with the foundation?"
"Nothing too significant. The board had some investment ideas I had to make decisions on." Maria replied. "We can go over the details later."
Tsubasa nodded, then turned to Hibiki and Miku, who were still chatting with Chris. "Hey, Tachibana." She grinned mischievously, "You won't believe it, but the Marines started calling Yukine-"
"I wouldn't do that, senpai." Chris replied with a warning glare. "Unless you want me to tell them what they nicknamed you." Tsubasa winced and wisely clammed up.
"You both got cool nicknames?!" Kirika enthused as she glomped Tsubasa. "I want a cool nickname!" Next to her and also hugging Tsubasa, Shirabe nodded her head vigorously in agreement.
"You don't. You really, really don't." Chris deadpanned back, shaking her head.
"I have to agree with Chris on this one." Miku smiled, "Although I am curious to hear what her nickname is."
"Too bad." The Ichaival user was adamant. "I ain't sayin' it. It's embarrassing."
The voice of Okamura Kohinata spoke-up. "So you two must be the Kazanari and Yukine we've heard so much about?"
The adaptors turned to see both Hibiki and Miku's parents walk up to the group.
"Oh!" Miku glanced between her friends and the four adults. "Ah, Chris, Tsubasa, this is my mother and father, Okamura and Matsura Kohinata." She looked back to her own mother and father. "Mama, papa, this is Chris Yukine and Tsubasa Kazanari. They were two of my earliest friends at SONG."
Hibiki motioned to her own parents. "And this is my mother and father, Harumi and Akira Tachibana."
"A pleasure to meet you." Tsubasa greeted as she and Chris bowed.
"Oh, rest assured," Okamura answered, "The pleasure is all ours."
Akira glanced thoughtfully at Chris as something clicked in his mind. "Yukine, is it? I never got to thank you for saving me from Carol's Alca-Noise."
"Eh, it's what I do." Chris waved her hand nonchalantly. "I'm just glad to hear you all are okay after last Friday."
"Oh, yeah!" Hibiki perked up excitedly, reminded by the news. "Guess what? My dad and mom are formally getting back together!"
"Hey, glad to hear it!" Now that was news even Chris could permit herself to smile at. "When's the ceremony?"
Akira laughed and scratched his head. "We're still trying to figure out whether we'll even have a formal ceremony, much less when it is. Current events make it kind of risky."
"But if we do, you're invited, of course!" Harumi added. "We couldn't possibly leave out any of Hibiki's friends."
"Thank you. We would be more than happy to accept." Tsubasa answered. Chris nodded in agreement.
A new voice cut-in. "Apologies for interrupting the reunion." Everyone turned to face Fujitaka, who had come down from the submarine. "But the commander has called a briefing."
Matsura frowned slightly, he wanted to get a better idea of his daughter's earliest friends and coworkers. "Will we have some time available afterwards?"
"Of course." Fujitaka nodded.
Tsubasa's smile fell away as she thought about the news that awaited them. She didn't know how they'd react… for that matter, she still didn't really know how she should react.
—
"We're here today to discuss some of the recent revelations we've been able to make about the Four Horsemen, their organizational structure, and their projects." Elfnein said, bringing up pictures of the facilities the Symphogear adaptors had recently raided. "Thanks to our recent successes, we've been able to come up with a lot of information."
"There's still a lot that has been destroyed or corrupted. The Horsemen's automatic purge functions are ruthlessly efficient. Fortunately, hitting two facilities back-to-back has helped us cross-reference and fill out more data. " Tomosato noted. "We have a much better idea of the Four Horsemen as a whole."
"The leader of the Horsemen is an individual who is referred to only as 'the Lamb'." Shinji Ogawa said, the word appearing on top of the main screen.
"Rather a dumb name if you ask me," Chris muttered, leaning against the wall. "What kinda terrorist leader names himself after a sheep?"
"It's consistent with the motif." Elfnein replied. "The Lamb in Revelation is the one who opens the Seven Seals of the Apocalypse."
Chris paused for a moment. "I stand corrected, then."
Shirabe put her hand on her chin. "The Seven Seals of the Apocalypse? Are they trying to bring about some apocalypse right now?"
"It's… unclear at the moment." Fujitaka answered. "The first four seals are the eponymous Horsemen the organization is named after. White, Red, Black, and Pale. These also are the names of the four major 'units' that make up the Horsemen themselves."
"The White Horseman is the first seal," Commander Ogawa began. A picture of some members of the White Noise as well as a squad of staples appeared on the screen. "The White Horseman is 'conquest' and symbolized the spread of Christianity around the world. As the combat arm of the organization, this would be the unit responsible for the terrorist attacks they carry out to enforce their ideological beliefs. The White Noise, the Automen, and the staples operate under the 'White Unit' umbrella"
"Basically, what we've been fighting against up until now." Tsubasa summarised.
"White Unit, and indeed the entire organization, is controlled and coordinated by the Red Unit." Commander Ogawa continued. He glanced at his elder brother. "And if the conversation you overheard during our last operation is any indication, it isn't a group of people or even human at all, but a superintelligent artificial intelligence."
"Clones, Korean ninjas, 'droids, energy weapons, and now a HAL 9000 knock-off. Great." Chris grumbled.
Elfnein, on the other hand, looked like she had an epiphany. "A high technological superintelligence?! That's a potential explanation for the Horsemen's technological innovations. Such an entity would be able to assist research at an incredible rate! Not to mention the cyberwarfare capabilities… they'd be able to run circles around any firewall in the world."
"Well, that explains how they were able to hack into SONG's computers and dox us." Shirabe thought out loud.
"Obvious question: where did they get it?" Maria interjected. "Last I checked, AI technology research had been in a rut since the mid-2030s."
"Sefer Hachaim, maybe?" Fujitaka offered. "I mean, we've ruled out them using the relic itself, and even just the record would be impossible for any high technology device to handle. But perhaps a pertinent section of the record that dealt with such technology allowed them a solution to the programming problems?"
"That still wouldn't explain how any of it survived Balal exploding, much less how they got their hands on it." Chris pointed out. Fujitaka shrugged, conceding the point.
"I can't help but feel as if we're missing something obvious on that front." Miku mused. "Something else." She shook her head. "Maybe it's just me."
"Whatever the case, the third seal is the Black Horseman. Or Black Unit in this case." Commander Ogawa continued. "They're the production and logistics arm of the Horsemen."
Tsubasa thought back to the immense underground production networks of the Panau facility. "The facilities we've stormed both seemed to have been production centers."
"They were. Those facilities were mostly dedicated to the Black Unit's operations. But Black Unit doesn't just handle manufacturing and transport either." Fujitaka confirmed. "We've pulled information from both facilities on investments made into a number of reasonably large companies. It seems Black Unit is the reason why the Horsemen are able to afford the materials they need to buy to make their weaponry."
Kirika had an "ah-ha" face as she put her fist into the palm of her other hand. "That explains what happened at the Tokyo facility. The soldiers weren't attacking their own people. They were eliminating innocent pawns."
"The survivors from the second facility weren't aware of who they were working for." Director Ogawa affirmed. "They believed they worked for a legitimate robotics company."
"Technically speaking, they are correct. The companies' day-to-day operations are legitimate. That's how Black Unit operates: using the front companies as a cover for their misdeeds while using their profits and manufactured goods, all the while exploiting unsuspecting, honest workers." Tomosato replied, she glanced over at Tsubasa. "We still haven't found any evidence they are behind Lifewyze yet, although the timing of that company's rise is pretty suspicious."
Tsubasa nodded. "We should continue the investigation. It would fit Black Unit's MO too well."
Hibiki said nothing but tightened her fist. The Four Horsemen treated innocent people as resources to use? She didn't want to believe it, but it fit the facts. The same Black Unit that dealt with turning raw materials into killing machines also turned people into unwitting money machines that could be disposed of at a moment's notice. She wondered if she or her friends had purchased a product that was actually manufactured by the Horsemen. Wasn't there some sort of saying involving people paying for their own hanging rope that fit here?
"The fourth seal is the Pale Horseman. The Pale Unit is the research and development department." Elfnein explained. "And out of the four units, I consider them to be the most dangerous. They are the minds behind the technological advancements the Four Horsemen have made. Fittingly, the Pale Horseman is called 'death' in the Book of Revelation. I'll be going over their projects in a little bit, as they are of the utmost importance."
Tsubasa recalled the laboratory she had found in Panau and how it was labelled a 'Pale Unit Sub-section'. She thought about the clones and the experimental logs Elfnein had shown her detailing what they did to those clones. Involuntarily, she shuddered.
"The Fifth Seal," Commander Ogawa continued, "is the group that attempted to kidnap the Tachibanas."
"Heh, I heard you put 'em through a windshield." Chris grinned over at Hibiki. "Good job."
But the Gungnir user glanced away. "I was angry. Angrier than I had been against any other foe we ever faced. The thought of them doing anything to my family, of hurting people that close to me… if mama hadn't called out to me at that moment, I don't know what I would've done to them."
Chris put her hand on Hibiki reassuringly, a gesture the latter seemed to appreciate.
"Thanks to some very insightful conversations I had with the attempted kidnappers, we were able to gain greater insight on how the Fifth Seal operates." Director Ogawa spoke up. "From what we know, they are the Horsemen's network of spies and human collaborators who don't really fall into the other units. Essentially, the Four Horsemen find normal people who may be sympathetic to their cause and recruit them into a self-contained cell. Each cell is independent and operates on a need-to-know basis so that if one of them is captured, the rest of the organization won't be compromised. Red Unit coordinates and issues orders to each cell, giving them simple and usually dedicated tasks."
"In the Book of Revelation, the Fifth Seal was the Christian martyrs, the ones who died for the faith." Elfnein exposited. "Given how consistent the Horsemen have been with their motif, I think we can all guess their views of the Fifth Seal operatives."
"Either pawns, true believers, or both." Maria muttered.
"So that's what we've been able to uncover about the structure of the Four Horsemen as an organization." Fujitaka added.
"Wait." Miku immediately pointed out. "Weren't there 'Seven Seals of the Apocalypse?' You've only named five."
"Well, the sixth and seventh seals aren't described as individuals or groups in the Book of Revelation." Elfnein answered. "They were events. And indeed, the records we've recovered do make mentions of a 'Sixth Seal' as something the Horsemen appear to be working towards. Whatever it is, we don't know for sure." She frowned. "There isn't anything about a Seventh Seal that has been mentioned so far, though."
"Any indication of what the Sixth Seal is?" Commander Ogawa asked.
"Well, the Biblical description indicates it's some sort of great catastrophe." Elfnein mused. "A great day of wrath where the stars fall to the ground and the earth shakes. Interestingly, one modern interpretation of the passage says that it prophesies a future nuclear holocaust."
Tsubasa abruptly straightened up. "You don't think… the mysterious 'Chinese' and 'American' units that fired upon each other were actually part of the Horsemen's Sixth Seal?"
"Well, a global thermonuclear war between America and China would certainly spell the end of SONG." Fujitaka observed. "And probably a good chunk of humanity as well."
"Could this entire 'destroy all supernatural' ideology be a fig leaf for world conquest?" Maria spoke up. "Something like Dr. Ver's idea: destroy human civilization with a fiery apocalyptic event, and then recreate the world in your own image."
"Yeah, that totally makes sense." Chris agreed. "Hell, eliminating us and our relics might be their way of getting rid of resistance to their future rule."
But Tomosato shook her head. "No, they do seem to be serious about destroying the supernatural. There's simply too much evidence pointing in that direction. Like this part of the list we managed to pull from the second facility, even if the full list was damaged."
On the screen, a series of names popped up.
Trident of Poseidon - Liquidated, White Unit
Armonica - Liquidated, White Unit
Nehushtan - Liquidated, SONG
Solomon - Liquidated, SONG
Argus Eye - Location Identified, Inaccessible
Brisingamen - Location Identified, Accessible
Hermes Sword - Liquidated, White Unit
Carbuncle - Liquidated, White Unit
Gjallarhorn - Location Identified, Accessible
Grauswein - Location Identified, Accessible
Annabelle - Location Identified, Accessible
G'harne - Location Identified, Accessible
Gram - Liquidated, White Unit
"It's a list of relics." Kirika observed. "But what does 'liquidated' mean?"
"'Liquidate' is an old euphemism for killing or destroying something." Elfnein informed. "The Horsemen seem to favor it a lot."
"So wait, by my count that means they've successfully destroyed just over thirty-eight percent of the relics on this list." Maria observed. "Discounting Nehushtan and Solomon brings that up to just under half. Assuming the same proportion applies to the full list, then the Horsemen have already tracked down and destroyed half the relics left on Earth."
Commander Ogawa frowned. "Yes. We've received word from German officials that an Illuminati splinter group called the Eclectic Alliance was wiped out by the Four Horsemen over the weekend. All of the members and their families were found dead, and the relic this group possessed was completely disintegrated. There's evidence to suggest that the members of White Noise were involved."
"So targeting us and our loved ones isn't the only thing the White Noise does." Chris muttered.
Fujitaka continued, "But the point is that the amount of resources they devote to tracking down and destroying these independent relics means expending tons of resources for nothing. If it was pure selfishness at work here, they'd be taking these relics for their own use, not destroying them. Whether they wish to rule the world or not, their desire to destroy the supernatural appears genuine and separate from that. Not to mention the information on the research projects we've recovered…"
On screen, a list of scientific projects, some with English names, popped up.
"The Automen were a result of Project 54R301." Elfnein observed, highlighting the names as she mentioned them. "It's the biggest stretch of their ideological philosophy we've identified so far, since they reverse-engineered non-alchemical Autoscorer parts to create them. We found the alchemical parts in a scrap heap. The process by which they were separated would have been deliberately wasteful if not for their anti-supernatural ideology. In any case, the information we've recovered indicates that there are actually a series of different Automen models - the Horsemen use the term 'concepts' - that have been developed."
"So there's versions of those things we haven't encountered yet." Chris grimaced. "Fantastic."
"Yeah," Kirika groaned. "Those laser-beams they shot at us hurt."
"They're grasers, technically." Elfnein corrected. "Those models use gamma radiation produced by miniature nuclear fusion reactors to fire a beam of pure gamma radiation. Although I'm curious as to how they overcame the incompatibility between gamma ray amplification and acquiring sufficient nuclear inversion."
Everyone stared at her blankly.
"Nevermind. Rather more concerning is Project 01D666-" Elfnein interrupted herself with a giggle. "Sorry, I just thought of something Carol probably would have said about that designation. Anyways, codenamed 'Wormwood'. Its stated purpose is to develop a high-technological weapon capable of killing a Custodian using Shem-Ha's maximum power as a baseline."
"Seriously?!" Chris couldn't help it. She started laughing. "Shem-Ha… AT FULL POWER?! We fought her at one ten-thousandth of a percent of her max power and almost lost! Who do they think they are kidding?!"
"The leading concept - concept one - is to shoot a black hole at them." Tomosato answered, her tone deathly serious.
Chris abruptly stopped laughing, instead staring at Tomosato in disbelief. After a long moment, the Ichaival user finally asked incredulously. "They'd… how do they… would that even work?!"
Elfnein shrugged. "The Horsemen seem to think so, based on what we've been able to recover. We managed to retrieve accompanying equations that form the mathematical basis for the theory behind such a weapon." Her eyebrows creased worryingly. "I only understood around a quarter of it. And I couldn't begin to estimate how much of what I did understand would advance humanity's understanding of quantum gravitational physics if we were to publish it."
"A Custodian's power is immense, but still finite. The same cannot be said for the gravitational forces of a spacetime singularity." Fujitaka said. Everyone stared at him for a moment. "A line in one of the research notes we recovered that stuck out to me."
Maria crossed her arms. "Well, they certainly don't do things halfway, I'll give them that."
"No." Elfnein grimly said as she highlighted the next project on the list. "They don't."
"Project 51E141, codenamed 'Sabin'." Shinji Ogawa stated solemnly. "Almost all of the information on this project has been scrubbed, in both facilities. All we know is its objective: to develop a mass-production weapon specifically designed to kill Symphogears adaptors. Some of the reports we've recovered indicate it's close to completion, and they've assigned it maximum priority."
"They want us dead that badly?" Hibiki asked, her voice filled in disbelief. "So badly they'd build something specifically designed to hurt us? Our relics, sure, but why us? Why do they want to kill us so badly?"
Tsubasa and Elfnein looked at each other. "Go ahead," the blue-haired girl said. "It's time they all knew."
"Oi." Chris looked back and forth between her senpai and the diminutive alchemist. "Is this that thing you didn't want to tell me about earlier?"
"All bridge crew personnel, save Elfnein, Fujitaka, Tomosato, and my brother are to leave immediately." Commander Ogawa ordered. "This information is exclusive to us and the adaptors until further notice."
Some surprised murmuring filtered through the bridge as the lower ranking personnel hesitated for a moment, not quite believing that there was anything so secret that they couldn't be trusted with it. But Commander Ogawa just stared down at them all, his expression becoming almost as steely as his brothers. Quietly, the crew stood up and filtered out. As the door slid shut behind them, Ogawa glanced over at Elfnein and nodded. "Show them."
A widescreen image taken of the Pale Unit lab Tsubasa found flashed up on the screen. The reactions were abrupt. Hibiki's jaw dropped. Shirabe and Kirika clutched each other. Fujitaka looked like he wanted to pass out. Tomosato jerked back. Even Souji looked taken aback. Tsubasa simply bowed her head and squeezed her eyes shut.
"SERENA?!" Maria's scream was so loud everyone in the room would have winced if they were not in such a state of shock.
"Is that us?!" Miku asked, not quite as loudly.
"Buddha preserve us!" Chris swore. "What the fuck is this?!"
"Are those… an evil clone army?!" Kirika asked frightfully as she clung to her girlfriend.
"Not an army." Elfnein corrected sadly. "Control groups. Baselines. Bio-samples. These clones were specifically created to be test subjects. As far as we've been able to tell, they are all brain dead."
"What kind of experiment would require clones of my dead little sister?!" Maria hadn't felt this mentally lost since the Frontier Incident.
Elfnein winced, looking like she wanted to be doing anything else. "They used the clones in many different experiments. However, they were primarily used in Project 13B545, a project undertaken to confirm a scientific hypothesis. I believe the findings of this experiment form the justification for their personal attacks on the adaptors." At Elfnein's signal, the screen showcased one word in all-caps and bold font.
"Sumphonia?" Hibiki read aloud.
"The head of the Four Horsemen's Pale Unit, Professor One-Oh-Eight, has hypothesized that, with the destruction of Balal and Yggdrasil, synchronization between the adaptors and the relics that form the core of their Symphogears will lead to the transformation of the adaptors into a new subspecies of humanity dubbed Homo sapien sumphonia. When fully actualized, this new subspecies would be considered 'godlike' compared to normal humans - biological immunity to all diseases, enhanced physiology, and even immortality are possible features. And that's just what we've been able to gather from his incomplete notes."
"Custodians." The realization filled Chris with horror. "They think we're becoming Custodians. That we're all… we're all baby Shem-Has!"
"Yes," Elfnein said softly. "Professor One-Oh-Eight's research seems only to confirm such suspicions, and, as galling as it is, it appears he's the world's foremost expert on the Symphogear. I haven't managed to find a single flaw in any of his insights into the system, at least not among what we have managed to recover. There were some details he pointed out that even I didn't know about until I double-checked them against the system."
"How is that even possible?" Tomosato asked. "You have the notes belonging to Ryouko Sakurai, the inventor. You've figured out more about the Symphogears than she had." Elfnein just shrugged.
"We're not going to remain human?" Kirika's voice quivered, her thoughts flashing back to when she believed Finé was going to take over her body. "We're… we're not going to be ourselves anymore?"
Shirabe hugged the blonde, but this time it was for her own comfort as much as Kirika's. The thought that her friends, her Kirika would become something else sent chills down her spine.
"Oh god." Chris muttered, raising her hand to her mouth as she staggered at the thoughts flying through her head. The Ichaival user wanted to throw-up. "It's the fusion incident all over again. Except it's happening to all of us."
Dead silence fell, a choking atmosphere of gloom and despair hung over the room. Then Hibiki spoke up, her voice filled with steel. "No. I don't believe it."
Everyone turned in surprise to stare at her. The Gungnir user had drawn herself up and was glaring at the word up on the screen as if it would set it on fire.
"What do you mean don't believe it?!" Chris snapped. "Do you think Elfnein's playing a practical joke on us or something?"
"That's not what I mean!" Hibiki shot back. She turned to her girlfriend. "Miku, do you remember the last thing Shem-Ha said to us?"
Miku stared back for a moment in confusion before what Hibiki meant clicked in her mind. "Then fulfill your duty," She repeated aloud. "Because you now control the future."
"Exactly." Hibiki said. "We control our future now. Not the custodians, not the alchemists, not..." She waved her hand at the viewscreen. "Whatever this is. We might become something else, but we'll never let it control us. We'll still be people in the end. We'll still be ourselves in the end, not whatever the Horsemen think we will become!"
There was a long silence following Hibiki's proclamation. Nobody knew quite how much stock to put into words they never heard, uttered by someone they only knew as a mad god. Finally, Maria spoke-up. "Tachibana's right. Even if this changes our bodies, we can't let it change who we are. We can't let it isolate us from each other, from our lives, from mankind."
"It might not be so simple." Fujitaka pointed out. "The possibility of mental changes-"
"Is there any evidence of that?" Miku interrupted him, looking at Elfnein. "Any evidence that this will change us mentally?"
Elfnein paused to look over the notes. "With such drastic changes to your physiology, I doubt your minds will be completely unaffected. But that goes for all physiological changes, including normal human aging. I see no evidence that there will be any changes that are specifically mental." She added a note of caution. "However, even in the incomplete data, Professor One-Oh-Eight seems confident that significant changes in psychology are likely to take place as the physical transformations accelerates. He specifically cites temporal dissociation causing alienation from the rest of humanity and the potential formation of a superiority complex."
"He may know everything about the Symphogear, but how much does he know about us?" Hibiki pushed back with determination. "We've done the impossible before! If there's a danger we'll lose ourselves, then we'll just have to face it head-on like all the other times." She seized Miku's and Chris's hands, sweeping her gaze across the others. "And we'll beat it together, just like all the other times!"
Tsubasa stared at Hibiki in surprise. Even though Tachibana's speech made no sense on its face, it actually made sense. She shook her head, a smile breaking across her face. "I really should have come to expect this from you by now. You always know exactly what to say in these situations, Tachibana."
"Beat it…" Kirika muttered thoughtfully, lifting her head from the crook of Shirabe's neck to look at Hibiki.
"... together." Shirabe finished - and affirmed - her girlfriend's statement, latching onto the words as hard as she had onto Kirika.
Miku gave her girlfriend a smile, her own fears melting away, and turned to take Tsubasa's hand. "Well, if Hibiki says it can be beaten, then it must be so."
"So long as we remain with each other." Maria agreed, taking Tsubasa's other hand. Breaking their own hug, Kirika and Shirabe likewise rushed over to finish the chain.
"And we'll support you as long as we are able to!" Tomosato called out. Fujitaka, Elfnein, and both Ogawa's nodded in support.
Only Chris remained silent, chewing on her lip in thought, although she didn't move to pull away from Hibiki's grip. She wanted to believe what Hibiki was saying. She desperately did. Hell, had this news come just six months earlier, she would have in an instant. But one thought kept passing through her mind: Elfnein had said that this may lead them to become immortal. If that was true, could she bear leaving Komichi behind?
----
They met in a back alley restaurant in Hong Kong. A nondescript sort of place rather used to serving the sort of office workers who were high up enough that they had to wear a suit-and-tie ensemble to work but by no stretch of the imagination could call themselves wealthy. Neither 'Wei Ma' nor 'Qiang Du' were their actual names, but it simply wouldn't do for them to have known each others' actual names.
"Your group is extraordinarily difficult to get in contact with." Qiang Du began.
Wei Ma shrugged. "When waging what amounts to a war against the UN, we have to be."
"Yet we were able to arrange this meeting." Qiang challenged.
Wei smirked in reply. "Because we permitted it."
The two shadowy men and their respective entourages took their seats in the seedy restaurant. The walls were a dark and wooden, and bamboo lamps lined the ceiling. Small, private tables covered in white tablecloths lined the room. The atmosphere of the place was eerily empty in spite of it being dinnertime; there was nobody else in the establishment besides the two parties. Neither party could allow any witnesses, after all.
The two men were seated in a table by a young woman, while their respective entourages were seated at a nearby table, just out of earshot. The two men stared each other down, looking for any sign of weakness.
"Suffice to say," Qiang Du, the agent from the Chinese government's Ministry of State Security continued as he looked over his menu. "There are some members of the Central Committee who are sympathetic to your organization's viewpoint."
"Yes, and I imagine General Fai's report on what just two adaptors managed in Panau had nothing to do with it." His counterpart, a Fifth Seal agent, replied off-handedly. "Nor the fact that six of the seven Symphogears are Japanese nationals and the last one might as well be."
"Well, those are factors, we will admit." Qiang allowed. The conversation lapsed for a moment as a waiter came around to take their orders. The two men waited until the restaurant employee was out of earshot before Wei continued.
"That being said, we are pleasantly surprised to hear the Central Committee has come around to our viewpoint. Given the recent announcements by the Party's Chairman, I thought they were all on board with the Australians' proposal regarding reforms to the SONG Oversight Committee."
"I never said everyone in the Central Committee was sympathetic. Professions of democratic centralism aside, we're not a monolith. I represent a faction interested in… alternative ideas on how to address the imbalance."
Wei frowned. "Is your faction powerful enough to fulfill your end of any bargain?"
Qiang shrugged. "That depends on what can be worked out."
"Hm…" Wei reached into his jacket and pulled out a folder to slide across the table. "Could you possibly obtain these machine parts and this quantity of raw materials for us?"
Qiang opened the folder to scan the contents. After a minute of reading, he finally replied. "The raw materials should be no issue, but I'm afraid some of these machine parts would be too difficult to acquire without keeping an acceptably low profile."
"Which ones can you obtain for us?" Wei asked.
Qiang placed the folder down on the table to point out the particular lines. "This, this, and this. We could also get you these," He indicated several more items, "But not in those numbers." He glanced at one line under the raw materials section that rather stood out. "Out of curiosity, why do you need so much beryllium oxide?"
"I was only told what to request, not why." Wei shrugged. "In any case, that is acceptable."
"And what would you offer in return?" Qiang asked. "This is, after all, supposed to be an exchange."
"You mean besides continuing to attack SONG?" Wei grinned, leaning back in his chair. "The high technology produced by our organization is the envy of the world, and unlike heretical technology, it can be mass-produced through mundane means. I'm sure China would greatly benefit from it given how troublesome the Americans are being right now. How about some Anti-LiNKER to start, since the main threat comes from those Symphogears?"
"SONG already shared-" Qiang began.
Wei cut him off. "They shared their formula of Anti-LiNKER, which isn't even as potent as the type produced by Doctor Ver, much less what we use. With the current batches you can produce, you couldn't even knock a Symphogear's synch rate down enough to prevent them from using their Superb Songs, much less something like Amalgam."
Qiang raised a skeptical eyebrow, leaning forward. "And yours can?"
"Of course. Why do you think we drop it on them every time we fight?" Wei looked him dead in the eye. "You think what they achieved in Panau is impressive? You should see what they would be like if they weren't fighting under Anti-LiNKER conditions. They're capable of toppling nations with the firepower they wield. We know what your military solution for them is… if you can really call 'drop increasingly larger tactical nukes' an actual solution. It's the same contingency plan every other major military power has."
Qiang considered the issue for a few more moments. "I'll have to go over this with my superiors."
"There's a number in the files. If they accept our offer, call it, and we'll be able to arrange issues like transport locations and timing then. Just… well, you can try to trace it. You won't succeed, but I'm sure whoever's in Red Unit could use the laugh."
----
'Apotheosis. Becoming gods… or, at least, more godlike.' Miku contemplated as she did her warm-up run alongside Hibiki. The two had agreed that they should continue with Miku's physical training. The number of reporters camped out at their apartments had slackened considerably since the second press conference, to the point that the two actually were generally able to sneak out the back now so long as they made sure to don a cap and sunglasses. The trickier part was generally how to avoid getting attention on the street while doing their exercises.
The black-haired girl's history on the junior high track team meant she could slip easily enough into thought while maintaining her pace. And invariably, her thoughts turned to the issue of Sumphonia. 'Hibiki is insistent that we won't lose ourselves. I believe her. But even if we do, what about everything else?'
They might wind up becoming immortal now, after all. A part of Miku couldn't really find fault in the idea of eternity with the others, particularly Hibiki. But there were so many other imponderables about the notion that scared her. First and foremost: what would happen when other people found out? SONG were doing their best to keep the information secret, but given the girls were already forced into the public eye, it was an inevitability that people would notice when they stopped aging. Not to mention the possibility of the Horsemen just releasing the details. They'd already done it once before, with their identities.
Humanity's opinion on the Custodians was already warped so much by the collective experience it had suffered at the hands of Shem-Ha. She couldn't imagine how the public would react to finding out they were becoming proto-Custodians. As it was, the knowledge that they were Symphogear wielders had created alienation from most of their peers, though it was an alienation of awe and wonder. Would the revelation of Sumphonia transform that into fear and hate?
Miku was so lost in her thoughts and worries, that she didn't even notice when Hibiki stopped running until her girlfriend called out. "Hey, Miku! We've done the four miles."
"Ah!" Miku muttered, coming to a halt before turning to jog the few feet that had opened up between her and the Gungnir user. "Sorry, I was thinking."
"Oh, you mean about…" Hibiki trailed off for a moment, not certain really even how to bring it up even on an otherwise deserted park path. She shook her head and offered Miku a water bottle. "Don't worry, we'll beat it."
"That's not what I'm worried about." Miku replied, taking a sip and passing the bottle back. "It's more… how other people will react when they find out."
"Huh." Hibiki mused, clearly now considering it herself as she also took a sip. "Yeah. I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it, huh?"
"I wonder how the alchemists handled it." Miku wondered. "Managing to hide themselves away for centuries at a time without anybody noticing."
They lapsed into silence for a few moments, considering the difficult question and coming up with no answer. Finally, Hibiki opened her mouth to suggest they start training, but a new voice interrupted her. "Hey! Bikky, Miku!"
The two looked over to see the familiar brunette twin-tails of Yumi, clad in her own exercise clothing and jogging down the path towards them.
"Yumi?" Hibiki asked in surprise. She had never seen the Otaku girl in her gym clothes outside of gym class.
"Fancy meeting you two here!" Yumi answered as she stopped her run, jogging in place. "You doing your exercises?"
"Just finished our warm-up run." Miku confirmed, also a bit surprised to see her friend indulging in a more physical enterprise. "When did you take up running?"
"Oh, about a week now." Yumi shrugged. "Just felt like something I should start doing. I'm surprised how easy it became once you get a few days."
"Your form is very impressive for a beginner." Miku observed, recalling exactly how the other girl was running. Even jogging in place, Yumi was doing everything right: chin level, shoulders moving opposite of her legs, arms pumping in line with the body, tight core. It was like she had been running for a lifetime. "You managed to figure all this out in a week?"
"I think I read some tips on proper form somewhere, that probably helped." Yumi shrugged. Then her eyes lit-up with enthusiasm. "Oh, yeah, that reminds me! The NERV set, it really does work!"
"Really?" Miku rolled her eyes.
"Still skeptical? Well, I have proof!" Yumi finally stopped jogging and puffed herself up. "Guess who already finished her summer homework?"
"Eh?!" Hibiki's eyes widened in astonishment. "But you're usually always so last-minute about it!"
Miku gave her girlfriend a flat look. "Are you sure you should be saying that? Have you even started yours?"
Hibiki laughed uncomfortably and averted her eyes. "I'll get around to it."
"Nah, I'm telling you!" Yumi answered. "Particularly after I finished modding it. All the answers came super-easy! I'm going to get a great grade, I'm telling you."
"I'm sure Shiori is holding you to that." Miku replied.
"She is." Yumi nodded. "We even made a bet on it: we're planning a dinner outing once our summer homework grades come in. I get good grades, she pays. I get bad grades, I pay. It was her idea."
Miku stared at the twin-tailed girl. Did Shiori leverage Yumi's obsession with this VR thing into getting a date with her crush? It sounded certainly sounded like something the blonde was devious enough to try. Perhaps she should try that sometime with Hibiki. But what would they have a bet over?
"You know, Yumi," Hibiki piped up. "That sounds like she was inviting you on a date."
Miku resisted the temptation to facepalm. Leave it to Hibiki to completely fail to notice how their friends' relationship was developing.
"Well, since Kuriyo moved out, I think she's been a bit more lonely in the dorms." Yumi answered, equally oblivious. "So how are you guys handling everything? I heard you really busted up some terrorist heads during the weekend, like out of a superhero anime."
"Yes," Miku answered. "We can't talk much about the details though. And some of the things we've discovered have been…" She paused, searching for the right word. "Uncomfortable."
"Ah, yeah." Yumi shifted awkwardly. "I did see the video from the uh… from that school. Erm…" The otaku trailed off, a rare look of seriousness coming over her.
"It's quite different fighting them, compared to our past enemies." Hibiki said solemnly.
Yumi nodded emphatically "I can imagine. From what I've heard, the White Unit battlegroups all fight to the death."
Miku frowned slightly, something about that sentence bothered her but she couldn't quite place what. Hibiki, on the other hand, had become melancholy. "We've never fought anyone who so obviously understood they were doing the wrong thing yet didn't care. Finé, the Alchemists, and even Shem-Ha all thought what they were doing was right. But the Horsemen…" She shook her head. "I don't understand. How can they care so much about the relics and not care about who they hurt when they know it's wrong?"
Yumi frowned. "Well, I guess… some people let their emotions run away with them. They charge into a situation making one mistake after another. There are a lot of anime characters like that."
"It feels a bit too real for an anime though." Miku observed.
Yumi shrugged, "It's the best answer I can give you." She gave a reassuring grin. "Besides, it's not like anime has steered me wrong in the past!"
"Who knows? We might be living in an anime." Hibiki said with a teasing grin.
"Eh, maybe all the prior stuff. What's happening right now feels more like the fanfic to an anime." Yumi said with a serious face. There was a beat before the girls all laughed.
"Anyways, Hibiki and I need to finish the rest of our training and get back to the house. We don't want to stay out long enough to let any reporter swarms home in on us." Miku said.
"And I'd better finish my run. See ya around!" Yumi took off, waving as she ran.
"Say hello to Shiori for us!" Hibiki shouted after her friend, likewise waving.
"Hibiki," Miku stared thoughtfully the way Yumi ran off, realizing what had been bothering her. "Has the information we've learned about the Horsemen's organizational structure been made public?"
"Eh?" Hibiki paused for a moment, thinking it over. "I don't think so. I recall Director Ogawa saying that it's kept classified right now. Something about not wanting the Horsemen to know what we know about them, I think."
"Then how did Yumi know that the Horsemen's combat arm is named the White Unit?"
----
Next Chapter: Bound Feelings
----
Authors Notes: Someone on AO3 asked back in chapter 14 whether Doctor Ver would make a cameo in this fic. I replied "that while he doesn't put in a direct appearance, the legacy of the Last Action Hero will loom large in this story." I just never said precisely what I meant by "legacy". Exact words are fun! Regardless, that reveal was supposed to be the cliffhanger of last chapter, but then the chappy started getting a fair bit long so we had to shift it into the early part of this one.
In other news, Happy New Year everyone! Though the main series may have ended (for the moment), we still have so much to look forward too in the fandom this year: the 2020 live show in september, XDU going global, XDU also getting Season 5 and a Season 4.5 story, and finally, an abridged series coming out on January 7th.
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- in between
....Strange. How does Yumi know that? Given the ridiculous number of bombshells dropped this chapter, I'm not going to say it's impossible she has some connection to the asshole brigade, but I definitely wouldn't consider it likely. But if so, then how did she know that? Ugh confusion. Other notable things:
The reveal of Ver's kid.
There aren't many Relics left, but they're likely going to be placed under extreme guard from now on.
I honestly agree with Chris' reaction to the Horsemen thinking they could fight a full power Custodian. The Divine Power is such bullshit. They'd probably be strong enough to just flatly alter physics until it didn't work.
The reveal of Ver's kid.
There aren't many Relics left, but they're likely going to be placed under extreme guard from now on.
I honestly agree with Chris' reaction to the Horsemen thinking they could fight a full power Custodian. The Divine Power is such bullshit. They'd probably be strong enough to just flatly alter physics until it didn't work.
Ironically enough, by killing some, but not all of the Symphogears, they might just create the monsters they fear the Adaptors will become.
Well, I guess it's in charakter for her ...
Paleb05
A Believer of Optimism in the World
- Location
- Pennsylvania
I almost thought that his agreement was out of fear, but no it's a smart man seeing a way to increase his profits (while possiably making himself a target for the Four Horsemen, but that is minor, to him at least, compared to money he can earn).
Tsubasa, you better talk about what you found at that base about the "New Version of Humans" or there is going to be some major trust issues occurring very soon.
It looks there are some standers for what do for experiments in the group.
Well, here is a line that would be considered for the Wham Line section of a TVTropes page for the fic. Now as for my true reaction:
Dr. VER?!!!!!!!!!!!! WTH?!! Is it a sibling, a clone, did he somehow come back from the dead?
Reminder that Symphogear takes place in the mid-2040s.
Yes, but I don't think you are going to turn into anything resembling a Eldritch Abomination.
Leave it to Hbiki to give a pep talk to prevent the others from spiraling into despair.
That's a good question. Maybe the NERV Headset System is actually a brainwashing machine backed by the Horsemen?
Googled Beryllium Oxide.
List of things it can be used for:
Sauce
My guess is that the Horsemen need the stuff for Lasers, Gasers or Powerplants in some kind of underwater reactor. Maybe some kind of super-submarine?
This boat has the means to end heretical technology in a definite and elegant manner!
List of things it can be used for:
- rocket engines
- transparent protective over-coating on aluminised telescope mirrors
- high-performance semiconductor parts for applications such as radio equipment
- high-performance microwave devices
- vacuum tubes
- magnetrons
- gas lasers
- has been proposed as a neutron moderator for naval marine high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (MGCR), as well as NASA's Kilopower nuclear reactor for space applications
Sauce
My guess is that the Horsemen need the stuff for Lasers, Gasers or Powerplants in some kind of underwater reactor. Maybe some kind of super-submarine?
This boat has the means to end heretical technology in a definite and elegant manner!
obssesednuker
Commander of 10 Million Men
- Location
- In the Kremlin, activating Perimtr.
This specula pleases me. Try and try to connect the plot threads~
- Location
- College Station, Texas
Hm...
The girls are literally international celebrities at this point, and he's a small business owner. He's nervous because five time saviors of the world are in front of me OMG, but he smells opportunity.
Yes. Those standards are "don't do something the Lamb wouldn't like."
Sibling, clone, son... all are possibilities. Regardless, since our fanfic is mostly canon compliant, I will say the OG Dr. Ver is dead and gone by now.
obssesednuker
Commander of 10 Million Men
- Location
- In the Kremlin, activating Perimtr.
So, skipping back to this: the name "Ver" when translated into ultimate l33tspeak comes out as \\/3|2. I modified that into 312 and got Professor-312. Professor-145s designation comes from |\\|45. I'll let you hunt down a l33tspeak translator to see what it decodes into it.
Professor-108's number, on the other hand, is a bit different. Those of you familiar with Buddhism (or even East Asian culture) may recognize it as a quite significant number, as it represents the number of temptations which entraps a person in the cycle of suffering, death, and rebirth and which have to be overcome to escape that cycle. Here, the significance of the designation is more that it's "the number of human temptations" rather then related to being able to overcome those temptations.
"But wait, Nuker" I hear you asking, "Not only does that break the Horsemen of the Apocalypse motif, but it's a completely different religion's symbology altogether!"
To which I reply: I'm glad you noticed! What do you think the significance of that may be?
Let's also not forget, from chapter 12:
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neutronium95
Mad Rocketeer
- Location
- The test site
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Is anyone else freaking out about a Dr. Ver making science babies of the Symphogear pairings?
Given how crazy the last one was, I legitimately don't know if he thinks it will help the Horsemen, if he wants to do it for kicks, or if he's planning on switching sides and sees this as a path to redemption.
obssesednuker
Commander of 10 Million Men
- Location
- In the Kremlin, activating Perimtr.
The second answers the closest. Believe it or not, his answer there in-story is the genuine honest truth. He legit wants to see what such a kid would be like, for science.
While I was drafting the original premise of this story, I did entertain a sub-plot planned where the adaptors rescue a test-tube baby of one of the couples only for her to turn out to be a laser-guided tykebomb. Then as I developed the Horsemen's ideology and various plot points in regard to Sumphonia, I realized that they would sanction such a thing when hell freezes over. Doctor Ver wanting to do that is a reference to the original idea. It's not an idea he's going to give up on per-say, but it is one he is going to be stymied from.
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- in between
Ah, I see. So that nervegear thing is trying to brainwash Yumi. Good thing Miku noticed.
Paleb05
A Believer of Optimism in the World
- Location
- Pennsylvania
Well that is one way to get new
It is a good thing that Miku noticed that, but what are they going to do now?
obssesednuker
Commander of 10 Million Men
- Location
- In the Kremlin, activating Perimtr.
- Location
- in between
I'm not sure how Miku realising that the Horsemen are selling a commercial brainwashing device could make the situation worse.
Paleb05
A Believer of Optimism in the World
- Location
- Pennsylvania
Or is it?
How could it be worse? Miku isn't one to keep quiet (that doesn't involve her feelings about Hibiki) on things like this.
obssesednuker
Commander of 10 Million Men
- Location
- In the Kremlin, activating Perimtr.
Your making certain assumptions there, both about what Miku knows and what's happening to Yumi. I will neither confirm nor deny these assumptions, but I will say It'll be interesting to see your reaction once this sub-plot really unfolds. It'll be fun~
INCONCEIVABLE!
And the Horsemen have Doctor Ver, or at least A Doctor Ver, working for them.
Well, well, well. Foreshadowing of a visit from XDU?
Is that the cursed doll from the movie series? If you can destroy it without just displacing the curse somewhere else, more power to ya.
Maybe because if they are after world conquest, someone who managed to activate a leftover Relic could become a one-man army capable of going Action Hero on the opppressive evil army. Every Relic that survives past the conqyest of Earth is a potential for effective rebellion.
The probale with that plan is if the Custodians can't stop the Siungluarity, neuither can the guys who fired it, so the entire solar system would be a write-off.
Good ole' Hibiki, a beam of blazing idealism burning away the despair.
Ah, the greatest pain an immortal can feel: Watching their loved ones grow old and die one day at a time, outliving lovers, children, and grandchildren while remaining exactly the same.
They weren't public figures. They just stayed in the shadows for centuries. The Bavarian Illuminati were barely footnotes in literature, obscure historical persons at most, and IIRC the opposite gender for Prelati and Caligostro. Carol came out of nowhere, more or less. The Symphogear Adaptors are unlikely to be able to fade into the shadows for a long time.
Heheh. Same old Hibiki.
I was wondering when she'd get to her usual comparing stuff to anime.
Huh? How'd she know about that?
That is a very good question.
If the Horsemen're really dedicated to getting rid of SONG, they'd need to take out the HQ, which is a submarine. If they fail to achieve the absolute surprise needed to take it out while it's docked or on the surface, they'd need a way to chase down and destroy SONG HQ if SONG decided to hide beneath the waves.
Maybe he's an alternate Dr. Ver that came through the Gjallarhorn?
For starters, probably have Elfnein take a NERV Gear apart and analyze the hardware and software to check for brainwashing programs like subliminal messages.
- Location
- College Station, Texas
My favored theory: they want to destroy the relics and take over the world, but they prioritize the former over the latter.
And why do you think that's a problem for the Four Horsemen?
- Location
- in between
Well, I'd say because they'd be dead, but you can never tell with this brand of lunatic. Which is why they're scary.
Grue
滅亡迅雷
- Location
- -
IIRC the Gearwielders and Noise are the only ones to be able to travel via Gjallarhorn, so it'd need to be one with a Relic arm.
- Location
- College Station, Texas
"Give me freedom [from the Custodians] or give me death!"
-The Four Horsemen