Yeah, gonna be egg on the face for the UN if Elfnein is able to prove that those robots were derived from Autoscorer technology. The Four Horsemen are reverse engineering Heretical Technology and using it to get a leg up on everyone else tech-wise. If the UN weren't being so anal about things, a lot of those dead marines wouldn't be going home in boxes.
Distortions (Symphogear) (Spoilers for Those Who Haven't Seen XV!)
- Thread starter obssesednuker
- Start date
Yeah, gonna be egg on the face for the UN if Elfnein is able to prove that those robots were derived from Autoscorer technology. The Four Horsemen are reverse engineering Heretical Technology and using it to get a leg up on everyone else tech-wise. If the UN weren't being so anal about things, a lot of those dead marines wouldn't be going home in boxes.
- Location
- College Station, Texas
My friend, it's already biting them in the ass. Had General Shaw not pleaded to Commander Ogawa to let the Symphogear girls into the fray, the Four Horsemen would have won the battle without any trouble. The U.S. military doesn't have anything that can get inside that facility. The best they'd be able to do without our main characters is get medieval and launch a siege warfare, a campaign that would cost them a lot of lives and be largely ineffectually at impeding the Horsemen's plans.
Most politicians in-universe would agree with you; they've found even less plausible excuses for warfare before. Unfortunately, the Chinese government is purposefully being anal in its interpretation because they have a giant hate-boner for anything that they can't exercise some level of control over, and the European countries are going along with them because they are basically pawns of the Chinese at this point. You can expect that to get worse after this chapter.
obssesednuker
Commander of 10 Million Men
- Location
- In the Kremlin, activating Perimtr.
Well, that by itself probably wasn't enough for them to get this anal about it. They tolerated the massive Japanese influence over SONG, albeit grudgingly. Suddenly finding out about SONGs connections to WW2 Japan smashed rather hard on a Very Unpleasant national memory (the bloody tail end of China's "Century of Humiliation") in a way that drove them out of tolerating it.
All according to keikaku, as far as the Horsemen were concerned.
The Europeans are in a bit of a more complicated spot then that. They want Chinese and American support for the respective sides of their regional Cold War, yet don't really trust either of them (China because it's still politically a authoritarian police state or has interests that run counter to theirs somewhere else and the US because of all the stuff it got up too in-series). At the same time, they want SONGs support if something supernatural happens, yet are worried about setting a precedent about SONG getting involved in human conflicts where the supernatural isn't a factor since the only realistic counter any of the major powers can think of to a Symphogear going all out in battle can be summed up with the words "tactical nuclear ordinance" and that's a very messy solution in a number of ways. So they find themselves walking this tight rope act where they need to simultaneously support and restrain SONG in a way that won't either piss off the Chinese or the Americans.
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Paleb05
A Believer of Optimism in the World
- Location
- Pennsylvania
Tsubasa certainly has a way to fluster Maria on constant basis.
Really, you certainly at times act like you are younger. Then again both of you act like you are ten years younger than you actually are at times.
I understand the reasons for doing so, but this decision is going to blow up in SONG's face, I'm very certain of that.
- Location
- College Station, Texas
It was either doing that, or letting the American Marines get slaughtered like animals by an army of killer robots.
obssesednuker
Commander of 10 Million Men
- Location
- In the Kremlin, activating Perimtr.
Well, it's not like Maria doesn't find her own way to hit back occassionally...
Relevant line from a one-shot fic titled "A Cozy Winter Day":
Paleb05
A Believer of Optimism in the World
- Location
- Pennsylvania
Well, Maria isn't wrong about how disorganized Tsubasa (Miss "Made her hospital room so messy that Hibiki thought she had been kidnapped" is just one example) is.
Do you have a link to that fic so I could read it?
Grue
滅亡迅雷
- Location
- -
I've now got the hypothetical mental image of series-era SONG going up against enemy 'Gears who aren't backed by Noise, and throwing a missile at the problem with their other realistic counter to a Symphogear.
(You know exactly what I'm referring to there.)
Probably not a reasonable option for most countries I'd assume, for reasons varying from 'We inadvertately pissed off the local freaks of nature enough that they don't want to play ball' and similar variants to 'The Illuminati has been hoovering up freaks of nature whenever they find them for the past centuries'. Heck, priority 1 for the Horsemen in this very fic was 'remove Freak Of Nature from playing field ASAP with the overkill we can reasonably manage'.
obssesednuker
Commander of 10 Million Men
- Location
- In the Kremlin, activating Perimtr.
First one on the list, although I recommend you check the other two as well. They are easily the best written Hibimiku fluff one-shots available, as small a pool as that is.
Well, by XV, Tsubasa was able to take down Fudou and Fudou beat Genjuro so if our hypothetical enemy Geah's were at least on that level (as improbable as that is)...
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Grue
滅亡迅雷
- Location
- -
To be fair, that took Amalgam, which hypothetically has its own weaknesses with its minmaxing nature. If you can actually hit them in Amalgam Imago without hypothetically switching back to Cocoon, the defence at best is going to be the same as normal Gear mode.
(I'd factor in the legitimate(historically-inaccurate) Relic involved in that fight, but it didn't actually help; Genjuro manouvered around it and Tsubasa eventually shattered it)
((This mostly applies to Miku who has the least experience among the cast rather than the others; the Amalgam keyword outright says "This is inflexible, but this is SONG's Gears we're talking about."))
Chapter 12: The Black Horse
obssesednuker
Commander of 10 Million Men
- Location
- In the Kremlin, activating Perimtr.
Author's Notes: I don't quite think I succeeded in aligning the song lyrics with the story. Perhaps it got better in the second part of that scene since someone took it upon themselves to write out the rest of it while I was asleep. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. In any case, if you're going to listen to Bayonet Charge when reading this chapter's opening scene, I recommend waiting until you see the sentence starting with "Tsubasa and Chris knew".
"-authorities have imposed a media blackout over the expected area of operations. No statement has been issued by SONG or the American military over whether any of the Symphogears will be deployed. However, the Symphogears Tsubasa Kazanari and Chris Yukine have not been seen since-"
"Could you turn that off, please?" Hibiki asked Souji Ogawa from the back seat. The severe-looking man nodded, switching to find a channel playing some music.
"Worried about Chris and Tsubasa?" Miku asked from right next to her.
"A little," Hibiki admitted. "The Americans are supposed to be landing in Panau in an hour, and a part of me still says we should be there with them." She gave a nervous grin, rubbing at her right arm. "Honestly, I'd rather be there on the front lines than see your parents again."
Miku tilted her head in slight confusion. "Why? You've met them before, right?"
"Yeah, but that was before we started dating!" Hibiki squirmed.
Miku raised an eyebrow. "So are you worried about Chris and Tsubasa, or are you worried about yourself?"
"Yes! I mean, both! I mean… erm." Hibiki closed her mouth before she said something else she regretted.
Intellectually, the Gungnir wielder knew Miku's parents had already given their blessing over the phone. But emotionally, the prospect of actually seeing them face-to-face when they knew felt more daunting than duking it out with Shem-Ha.
Particularly Miku's father. Matsura Kohinata was a perfectly reasonable man most of the time, but he had quite a protective streak when it came to his family. When the bullying had been at its zenith, he tried to forbid Miku from seeing Hibiki out of fear of the backlash extending to the Kohinata family. Hibiki counted herself fortunate that Miku had defied her father's prohibition every way she could. In many ways, Miku's own protectiveness and stubbornness was a mirror of her father's.
With a slight sigh, Miku reached out and took Hibiki's hand. "It'll be fine, Hibiki. After all, I'm not w-worried that we'll be seeing your family afterwards."
Hibiki opened her mouth to reply, then paused as her brows furrowed together and something about her girlfriend's reply clicked. "Miku, did you just stutter?"
Miku flushed. Oh god, why did Hibiki have to be so perceptive when it came to things like this? "Well," She finally admitted. "You never told them prior to now, did you?"
"What? What do you mean? I'm sure…" Hibiki trailed off as she ran through her memory. When did she tell her parents that Miku and her were dating? She did, didn't she? She could remember when she told her mom and grandma about the Symphogear but…
Oh. Oh no. "AH! I never DID tell them about us!" The chestnut haired girl panicked. "Oh, god! They would have learned from the press conference! No, wait, maybe they didn't see-no I got a text from grandma saying they would be watching it for support, so they definitely did. Oh, Miku, what are we gonna do?!"
"D-do you think they would disapprove?" Miku asked hurriedly, her own nervousness now fully showing through.
Hibiki stopped, thought about it for a moment, and then snorted. "Ah, no way. You know they adore you."
Miku couldn't help it. She giggled at Hibiki's complete and utter mood whiplash, her own nervousness suddenly washing away. Although, now that they were talking about it, maybe Hibiki's parents already had figured they were together. So many other people did, after all.
Still, despite their nervousness, they were actually glad to get away. The new training regimen had left them both more than a bit uncomfortable. Yes, intellectually they knew that the Horsemen's soldiers were no more "people" then the Noise were. They had managed to get beyond any sense of hesitation at seeing the simulated soldier's blood. But they couldn't find it in themselves to become comfortable at the sight. They were made somewhat embarrassed that Kirika and Shirabe seemed to have adjusted to it entirely within just a day.
Maria though... the first time they had run the scenario, Maria had locked right up after she had drawn the first bit of blood. The sight of the bloodied and broken bodies seemed to have dug up some old regrets she thought she had gotten past. Though she claimed she'd get over it soon, the episode had caused everyone to worry about the pinkette.
"I hope Maria's alright," Hibiki voiced her concern out loud.
"The incident yesterday?" Director Ogawa inquired, his eyes still on the road.
"Yeah. She seemed so scared and in pain. As if the simulation brought up bad memories." Hibiki looked out the window with a worried look on her face.
"I'm sure she appreciates your concern, Tachibana, but we all have to face our demons by ourselves," The Ninja spoke cooly as he navigated his vehicle through an intersection in the Chiba prefect. "There's nothing you can do for her right now, and if you spend too much energy worrying about her, you'll only tear yourself apart. As an adult, Cadenzavna Eve is more than capable of handling whatever problems she has. Believe in her."
Hibiki sighed. She knew that Director Ogawa made a certain amount of sense, but there was something wrong with the logic regardless. Having your friend going through some struggle without anyone to help was never a good thing in her book. Why couldn't one believe and help?
As if to voice her objection, Miku spoke up. "We can't just sit here and do nothing when our friend is suffering."
The man closed his eyes and then opened them. Then he looked up at the girls' expressions in the rearview mirror. It was then that Tachibana saw the coolness in them. They were the eyes of a man who had been through much hardship. "I think it's more important to get things in order with your house than to pry into others' business. That's why we're going to your home. We need to make sure everything with your parents is okay before we do anything else." He turned his eyes back on the road. "Don't make the mistake of focusing your efforts on what may resolve itself."
As they were contemplating that piece of advice, Souji made one last turn and slowed down the car before clearing his throat. "We're here."
—
"Dear," Okamura Kohinata called from the closet. "Do you remember where we put our special camera? I know I kept it in our closet somewhere…"
From the living room where he had just finished fluffing the couch's pillows and sweeping the floors, Matsura Kohinata gave a long-suffering sigh. "Okamura, I haven't seen your special camera anywhere. And quite frankly, I think it'd look better if we took a picture with our phones."
"No! Don't you understand! Our Miku's coming over with her special someone! We have to be ready and everything!" His wife shouted.
As much as Matsura loved his wife, there were times when the woman seemed determined to drive him up a wall with her quirks. It seemed as though all of the women in his family had their own obsessive hobbies: from Miku's extreme competitiveness in sports to his wife's love of twentieth-century photography to his late mother-in-law's tragic hobby of sky-diving. It made them all charming in their own right, especially his wife, but it also made moments like this feel like he was only sane person in the room.
The doorbell rang. Matsura glanced at the clock. It certainly fit the time. Heck, if anything they might be early. He hoped it wasn't another reporter looking for an interview, but he had scared many of them off with the threat of a harassment suit. He had little to fear from them.
"Ah!" Okamura called down. "Could you get that?! And call me if it's Miku and Tachibana!"
"Sure, sure!" He called back, getting up. As he crossed towards the door, he thought about the news that had turned his life upside down just two weeks ago. The news that Miku was now an honest-to-god superhero still left him gobsmacked whenever he really thought about it. He was only just starting to come to terms with the idea that the Kohinata family name would now be in the history books. Yet he was still upset at the way Miku had gone behind his back, and he continued to have serious reservations about her participation in SONG.
But in regards to her relationship with Hibiki Tachibana? Well, compared to those other shocking revelations, 'my daughter is in a homosexual relationship with her childhood friend' came off as rather second-rate. But he had nevertheless taken the time to consider his own feelings on that as well. And Matsura quickly realized that after all he had seen and heard about what had happened between the two, he didn't mind the idea one bit. Hibiki Tachibana had saved his daughter's life several times over. His approval to date his little girl, hell to take her hand in marriage, couldn't even scratch the surface of what he owed her.
He opened the door. Miku and Hibiki stood before him, hand-in-hand. The latter was shifting on her feet in a manner that screamed nervousness and hurriedly glanced away with a blush when she saw him. Miku, on the other hand, had a bright smile on her face that warmed his heart. Behind them was an unfamiliar man in a suit with slick purple hair and severe eyes.
Matsura hadn't seen his daughter outside of photographs in two years, so one thing very quickly leapt out at him. "Miku," He said, unable to stop a bit of wonder creeping into his voice. "You've grown."
"Well, that's what we teenagers tend to do, father." Miku came up to him and gave him a big hug. "How are you, papa?"
"Apparently rather forgetful, if that sort of detail slipped my mind." He returned the hug and glanced over a Tachibana, who couldn't help but flinch when his eyes met hers. "Tachibana, it's been awhile."
"Y-yes!" Hibiki quickly said, almost throwing herself into a bow. "T-thank you for having me, Kohinata-san!"
Matsura chuckled. "Come now, Tachibana, don't be so formal. You can call me Matsura."
Hibiki blinked a few times at that, trying to recall if Miku's father had ever let her call him that before. She couldn't remember him ever doing so. Her nervousness starting to melt away, she smiled gratefully. "Alright, Matsura. Then call me Hibiki!"
"Of course, Hibiki." He nodded. But then he looked at the man, who was directing a rather inscrutable and strange stare at the hallway clock, and his small smile fell away. "And you are?"
The man looked back down. "Souji Ogawa," He introduced himself. "I'm with SONG. I hope to help address any questions or concerns you might have about your daughter's involvement."
"Ah, very well. Come on in." Matsura acknowledged, turning to lead them in. As they entered the living room, he called up. "Okamura, dear! It's Miku and Hibiki!"
The sound of something crashing upstairs caused them all to jump. All except for Souji, who was curiously eyeing a bookshelf at the living room's entrance.
"I'm okay!" Okamura shouted quickly. A few moments later, a woman with black, shoulder-length hair hurried down the stairs. "Miku! It's so good to see you!" She called, rapidly coming over to hug her daughter. As she did so she glanced over at Hibiki. "And Tachibana… no, I really should call you Hibiki, shouldn't I? How's Harumi?"
"My mom's doing fine, Kohinata." Hibiki replied, uncertain whether she should entirely return the familiar address. "We'll be going to see them after our visit here."
"Now, now. After everything you've done for us, I insist you call me Okamura," Okamura said quickly. Releasing Miku from the hug, she stepped back a bit and looked between the two. "Oh, my. How you two have grown."
"Papa said the same thing." Miku giggled.
"Mm, I suppose you both will be turning eighteen in the fall." The older women shook her head wistfully. "I still remember the day you two first met…" She trailed off as she first noticed Souji. "And you are?"
"Souji Ogawa here is with SONG." Matsura pre-empted the ninja's own introduction. "He says he'll contribute to the conversation we'll be having about Miku's future there."
Both Hibiki and Miku shuffled at that, some of their nervousness returning. For his part, Souji glanced up from the couch he had been eyeing. "Perhaps we should have that discussion over lunch. I saw a cafe on the way in that looked quite lovely."
"Oh, I figured I would whip up something here." Okamura said, glancing towards the kitchen.
"I wouldn't want to impose that much," Souji replied. "And I'll foot the bill. It is SONG business, after all."
Matsura narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Is that a bribe?"
"Not at all," Souji said, a polite smile on his face. "It would be improper to make you pay for a lunch from our visit after all the times your daughter has helped us. We are technically her employer, after all."
Okamura glanced at her husband, implicitly leaving the decision to him. Matsura remained quiet for a few more moments, eyeing the ninja. Miku and Hibiki glanced between the two, not sure what to make of the sudden tension in the room. Finally, Matsura exhaled through his nose and nodded. "Very well, a meal out does sound like a good idea. Let me get my hat."
—
In the back of a van parked inside a parking deck in an adjacent commercial district, well out of sight of the Kohinata household, three men listened in on the conversation with great interest. Though Director Ogawa had tried to sound casual, they all had the same gut feeling that the jig was up.
"Think he noticed them?"
"Given who he is, yeah. Definitely."
"I'm calling it in."
—
"Erm… Ogawa." Okamura said as Souji began to turn down a residential alley. "The nearest cafe is that way." She indicated the road they had been walking down.
"I saw another one over this way while driving into town," Souji replied matter-of-factly. "It should be closer."
Both Okamura and Matsura frowned slightly as neither of them recalled any nearby cafe in that direction. From just in front of them, Miku and Hibiki also exchanged glances. Something definitely felt wrong here. They didn't know the older Ogawa brother like they did Shinji, but given that he was the commander's older brother surely he wouldn't lead them astray? With only a bit of trepidation they followed Souji, compelling Miku's parents onwards.
They were halfway down the alleyway when Souji abruptly stopped, reached into his jacket's vest, and drew a handgun.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Matsura demanded, immediately moving between Souji and the rest of them.
Souji ignored him, instead raising his SONG communicator to his mouth with his other hand. "This is Director Ogawa, requesting immediate extraction for the Kohinata and Tachibana families."
"Director Ogawa?" Hibiki asked in slight alarm.
"Tachibana and Kohinata." Souji continued, clearly addressing Miku and Hibiki. "I need you two to keep a lookout." The two girls glanced between each other and the ninja before nodding, each of them turning to watch a different side of the alleyway. Souji turned around to look Matsura square in the eyes. "My apologies for the deception, but I had to make sure we were some place where we could not be overheard."
"Overheard?" Okamura asked, unable to take her eyes off of the gun. "What do you mean?"
"Your entire house was bugged," Souji answered. "And even now, it is possible we are being followed."
"Followed?" Matsura abruptly turned to look around in alarm. "Who would-" He paused, recalling there was only one group that might be following them which would prompt a SONG agent to draw a gun.
"You think it's the Four Horsemen?" Miku asked, keeping her eyes on the end of the alley they had just come down. She couldn't see anyone, but now she felt very much on edge. Already in her mind's eye, she could see the blue optical goggles of the Horsemen's gas masked soldiers, their rifles raised, appearing at the alley's entrance. The black haired girl hand reached up to clasp at the silver diamond of the Shenshoujing around her neck, and her lips drew together in determination. She would not let them hurt her family.
"S-surely not." Okamura's shaky voice was rather at odds with her assertion. "Surely it's just some more reporters. They've been quite a bit persistent since the news got out."
But Souji shook his head. "That would have been a gross violation of privacy almost no reporter would have dared undertaken. Even if it was one bold enough to do so, the bugs were far too well placed and hidden for it to have been a civilian job. I was barely able to pick them out, and believe me when I say I know a thing about surveillance. Whoever set them up were professionals, and very good ones at that."
"W-wait." Hibiki abruptly turned, worry rising in her voice. "If they were watching Miku's parents then that means-"
"Yes, Tachibana," Ogawa nodded. "They probably are watching yours as well."
A look of panic started to sweep across Hibiki's face. "Oh no. Dad was coming today since we were going to go and visit after-"
The ninja quickly cut her off, trying to sound soothing. "Don't worry, I've called for them to be picked up as well. We'll make sure they're safe."
[Alert: Fifth Seal Cell 107 Reports Probable OPSEC Breach. Verifying.]
[OPSEC Breach Verified. Recalculating.]
[Fifth Seal Mission Parameter Update:]
Cell 107: Subjects Kilo-India-Alpha Redesignated HVTs Kilo-India-Alpha. Liquidate. White Unit Killteam Release Authorized. Effective Immediate.
Cell 108: Subjects Tango-India-Alpha Redesignated HVIs Tango-India-Alpha. Secure Primary. Liquidate Secondary. Effective Immediate.
Next Chapter: The Fifth Seal
Author Notes: Time for another raise of hands! Back when I tossed you guys the "White Unit ID Codes" and they had Kanade and Serena listed under them, which of you suspected that was for more than just the sake of completeness?
This chapter was fun because I got to write how normal people see and react in-person to the Geahs when they're transformed, both in and out of action. I hit upon the idea quite early on in writing the story that the Geahs when transformed have this awe-inspiring otherworldly aura to them, as befitting a source of miracles, that can be quite stunning to an ordinary person who isn't used to or prepared for it when meeting them in person. But since the combat segments of the story up until now has been told overwhelmingly from the Geah's perspective, I haven't been able to do much more than hint at it until now. Expect it to be something that comes up a bit, since this story will feature the Geah's fighting around, and with, ordinary people quite a bit more frequently than in the series.
Also writing Geah's finally being able to go full house against a modern(ish) army. That's something I've been waiting to do for awhile now.
Shenshoujin being a silver diamond instead of a red crystal is a cosmetic nod to its different origins as a Faust Robe. It has a bit of canonical support too, from the end of XV's episode 8.
Finally, split story arc! Originally, this chapter was supposed to cover the entirety of the Panau battle arc, then time jump backwards a bit to cover the start of what I've dubbed the "Day with the Tachibana's and Kohinata's" arc. But after I started writing this chapter, me and my beta's quickly agreed that it would probably work better if we split between the two arcs. Not only does this let us emphasize that these events are chronologically occurring parallel to each other, it also let's us cliffhanger you guys TWICE in one chapter! Now that's efficiency!
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Distortions
Chapter 12
The Black Horse
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Distortions
Chapter 12
The Black Horse
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The Four Horsemen saw them coming, of course. It wasn't like SONG had a monopoly on Aufwachen-detecting technology these days. Red Unit took note the moment the sub-routine devoted to monitoring that particular sensor picked up the Symphogears activating. Had it been capable of such emotions, Red Unit might have been confused or panicked. Instead, it simply flagged the news as priority, recalculated its defensive plan, and issued new orders to compensate. All done efficiently and without question in the time it would have taken a human to just recognize the information.
An instant later, another subroutine devoted to controlling the air defenses of Black Unit Facility 5-012 detected another cruise missile inbound from the ocean. Initially, the subroutine determined it to be a land-attack weapon, likely sub-launched and outfitted with a cluster-munition warhead based on its trajectory, and flagged it for medium-priority interception. Then it passed the information up to its senior routine, which immediately cross-referenced the moving location of the Aufwachen Waveforms the other subroutine had detected with the missile's own location. It then sent the order back to upgrade the interception priority from "medium" to "immediate". Again, this was done faster than it took a human to blink.
Barely another instant later, the next VLS tube devoted to the air defense of Facility 5-012 finished its loading cycle. In accordance with the current targeting priorities, the sensor net locked the loaded SAM onto the aforementioned cruise missile and fired. Simultaneously, a battery of White Unit self-propelled guns received orders to open fire with salvos of Anti-LiNKER cluster shells at an updating set of coordinates.
The SAM met the cruise missile over a Panau National Guard communication post that had been commandeered by the Marines just a few kilometers from the advancing Four Horsemen spearhead. The rear service personnel hastily preparing for the defense of the facility barely paid any attention to the distant explosion as the SAM's warhead blew its target to pieces. After all, it wasn't as though the sound and thunder of explosions was anything new to the men on the ground by this point. The pair of young women in skintight magitech armor abruptly falling from the sky, on the other hand, was enough to draw considerable attention their way as they landed, cratering the ground underfoot. But before the Marines could react to their presence, Tsubasa and Chris had already taken off.
Tsubasa and Chris knew they had fallen short and didn't waste any time springing into action. They hit the ground running, the music in their hearts swelling as they charged towards the sound of gunfire, explosions, and energy weapons. As the two closed the distance, a distant rumble grew in volume until it matched the loudness of a hundred freight trains. Anti-LiNKER munitions burst above them, filling the air with the translucent red gas.
They might have cared, had they not already dropped their armor combinations in anticipation of exactly that. With their superhuman pace, it took them barely another few minutes of running to cross the few kilometers to the spearhead.
"There is no time for a greeting as it is time to fight with this sword.
As we walk into the depths of hell, we come across Enma's castle."
The first of the androids barely had time to turn at the sound of Tsubasa's song before Ame no Habakiri flashed and its right arm fell off in a shower of sparks and twisted metal. Its remaining hand lashed out at the swordswomen, but Tsubasa had already ducked in anticipation of such a reaction and swept her sword up to slice diagonally through the android's mid-section. Impressively, Tsubasa could feel a degree of resistance as Ame no Habakiri worked its way through the android's innards.
But no sooner had her sword finished cleaving the two halves of the android apart did a series of graser beams strike her from the side. Tsubasa hissed in surprise and pain. Those, it seemed, were powerful enough to actually burn. But she pushed through and swiftly rolled forward. Turning, she tossed her blade at the small group of androids that had fired on her. Immediately the sword enlarged into the length and width of a truck and Tsubasa leapt after it, kicking out and firing her armor's rockets as she landed on it's top. Several more beams glanced off the tip of the sword before Heaven's Wrath collided with the androids, shattering mechanical parts everywhere and continuing onward to impale a Horsemen's tank whose turret had been slinging around towards Tsubasa, which exploded.
"The first one to shoot will be the next to shoot.
The third or fourth will be troublesome, for our bonds."
Chris sang as her crossbows spat out energy bolts. The androids she targeted staggered under the force of the impacts, some of their armor denting without being penetrated by the barrage of energy arrows. Seeing this, the Ichaival gunner decided to up the ante. As she rolled away from the retaliatory graser fire, her crossbows folded away for the triple-barrelled, quad gatling guns of Billion Maiden. They did the job quite satisfactorily, and the androids' bodies jerked about as the magical high-caliber bullets ripped them to shreds. In seconds, they were little more than piles of scrap metal.
A company of tanks rolled towards the red armored girl, their turrets swivelling to train right on her, and Chris ducked away just before they fired, a series of railgun rounds flashing through the spot she had just been standing in. She mentally swore at that; those rounds had moved fast enough that, even with her superhuman reflexes, she would have not had a chance to dodge. They probably wouldn't have killed her, but they would have hurt. She turned Billion Maiden upon them, but despite the guns being rated to penetrate composite tank armor, they didn't even dent whatever sort of super-armor the Horsemen had decided to build their tanks with.
A cocky grin spread across Chris's face as she again ducked aside just in time to avoid the next volley of rail gun rounds. Well, if Billion Maiden didn't work, she'd just have to up the ante again. The compartments on her legging popped open and a MegaDeth Party of missiles screamed towards the tanks. The first of the rockets to be fired promptly fell victim to the tanks' active protection systems, but the rest hammered home and the heavy armor slewed to a halt as they were rent apart in a series of explosions.
"No licking right now!" Tsubasa sang as she flipped forward into a spinning handstand to dodge another barrage of graser fire, the long blades on her ankles unfolding to slice into another group of androids in a Reverse Rakhasa.
"Geez, I'm sorry!" Chris gave her line simultaneously, opting to run-and-gun with Billion Maiden before turning and dispatching another approaching armored company with MegaDeth Party.
A barrage of rocket artillery roared in, sweeping the area in a dervish of explosions and smoke. Both Tsubasa and Chris were knocked away by the barrage of blasts, but they rolled with the shockwaves, coming to their feet to continue to charge forward, guns blazing and swords flashing.
Another wave of infantry and androids rolled forward in the wake of the barrage. Chris quickly turned her guns towards them. "With our growing power, let's run swiftly in at full throttle!" Chris half-sang, half-yelled her lyrics as she responded to the assault with a barrage of bullets that reduced many of the offending attackers into human-shaped swiss cheese.
"There is nothing to fear about the path you take," Tsubasa sang breathlessly as she leapt out of her headstand onto her feet, sword in each hand. With a thought, One Thousand Tears rained down upon the remaining infantry and androids. Though the androids weren't all destroyed by the attack, their bodies were pierced by the falling blades, making them easy targets for her swords. The infantry wasn't so lucky.
Chris looked to her senpai and smiled. Moments like these, fighting alongside her friends to protect others, were what truly made her happy to be a Symphogear user. "You always used to never look back, but now you do."
"So I'll support you," Tsubasa responded in song, giving her friend a knowing look.
"But I'll push back," Chris replied in turn, readying her guns for the next assault. One more wave of infantrymen, androids, and tanks were rushing in to take the place of the spearhead the girls had just destroyed. It was one final gasp of the counter-offensive. Behind them, the surviving Marines regrouped and began to form up their own gunline. The troops and vehicles spread out behind Tsubasa and Chris, getting ready for what they knew in their bones was coming.
"We gotta 'believe…'" Tsubasa sang as she crouched down, as if she were a runner ready to sprint off. The blades on the side of her legs extended as she combined the two blades in her hands at their hilts, turning them into a single two-sided blade.
"In never giving up!" The girls sang in unison. As if on cue, the thrusters at Tsubasa feet ignited as she rushed forward at a great speed, spinning her now-fiery dual blades as she did so. All the while, Chris and the Marines gave her covering fire, picking off any of the infantry that may have impeded her.
Tsubasa sliced through everything in her path with her Wind Ring's Fiery Blades like a hot knife through butter. Given her speed, only the rounds of the railgun tanks or the grasers of the androids had a chance of even touching her, and that required one to actually aim the shots, something the wielder of Ame no Habakiri allowed no time for. And with Chris and the Marines providing covering fire, the enemy might as well have been sitting ducks waiting for her blades.
As she charged through with her Fiery Blades, she sang in unison with Chris. "The time has come for anyone to choose what they'll do in life."
"I don't want to translate equality," Chris shouted over the gunfire as she and the Marines mowed down as much as they could without hitting Tsubasa. The two adaptors knew each others' moves so well, Chris could predict where Tsubasa would be with her eyes closed, and the Marines were competent enough to follow Chris' lead.
"I have to make sure you aren't lonely though," the girls harmonized as Tsubasa approached another tank. Her blades slashed through it as easily as it had everything else. It seemed as though a flaming sword had much less difficulty cutting through whatever metal the Horsemen made their machines out of. Good to know.
Closing in on the remaining tanks, Tsubasa's flaming blades rushed towards them at breakneck speeds, dodging and weaving to prevent them from drawing a bead on her. Some of the tanks instead aimed at Chris and the Marines behind her, but a barrage of Ichaival's missiles combined with Billion Maiden properly dissuaded them.
"Do not forget about the dream you keep within yourself!" Tsubasa continued the song. Chris, meanwhile, sang the counterpoint, to which Tsubasa would respond. All the while, the girls tore apart the Horsemen's army.
"Even in the snow,"
"Even in the wind,"
"Even in the flowers,"
"Even people,"
"Have a courageous heart because they won't lose their own true colors."
Tsubasa sliced through the last tank, causing it to explode.
"We won't be doing this alone." The girls finished the last line of the song.
—
"Sweet Jesus," Private First Class Harley Gibson breathed in awe. One moment, he was making peace with his maker as one of those androids had him in its red-eyed sight. The very next, an ethereal blue beauty had bisected the 'droid straight down the middle while her red counterpart summoned a host of missiles and bullets to destroy the same mechanical monstrosities. Now those same otherworldly valkyries were cutting a swathe of devastation through the force of tanks and androids that had just been tearing apart his company's flanks.
"Certainly a story to tell your kids, if you have any," Corpsman Teagan Everett agreed as he glanced up from a fellow marines shrapnel wound. It was only for a moment, since the man he was treating had taken a nasty hit to a vital artery. As beautiful as the swordswoman was in her element, he needed to concentrate on saving the injured man's life, ensuring he was stable at least long enough for a medevac.
"We didn't stand a chance against those things," Gibson continued, in total awe of the sheer presence that was radiating off the singing women. "And those girls just…"
"Just like samurai," the wounded man slurred, although it didn't seem like he knew what he was talking about through the painkillers. "Samurai for the world!"
Gibson glanced down at the wounded man then back up at the distant swordswoman as she carved through the gun of one of those Horsemen tanks, ignoring the blasts from anti-boarding systems that would have reduced a man like himself to a mist of blood and flesh strips. Those words may not have been spoken lucidly, but he could see they fit.
—
Chris and Tsubasa had torn through the front and sides of the Horsemen's spearhead as swiftly and decisively as those forces had previously shredded the Marines. Now they were charging their way down the shaft, which consisted mostly of the regular masked soldiers and lighter armored personnel carriers. As expected, the Horsemen's soldiers resisted with tenacity. Bullets, handheld rockets, grenades, Anti-LiNKER canisters, autocannon shells, and tube-fired anti-tank missiles lashed out at the two again and again.
It was just like the training sims. Bullets slid off them like water off a rock, and the missiles that found them were more annoyances than anything else. Blood and burning oil from shattered bodies and detonating vehicles soaked the ground. The only wounds they bore had been from dealing with the earlier forces of tanks and androids: some light burns from the grasers and a few bruises from railgun rounds that had found their way home. They missed some of the regular soldiers, but those scattered remnants would be easy meat for the Marines following in the adaptors' wake.
The Marines had spent all day struggling to overcome the defensive line across the river, and yet Tsubasa and Chris only noticed they had smashed through it when, as they paused to catch their breath, they found that the incoming gunfire had slackened considerably. Chris shifted Ichaival away to her Hornet Pistols, figuring that with the most severe threats dealt with she could afford to sacrifice some firepower for additional mobility. Tsubasa glanced over her shoulder to check on the Marines' advance and was satisfied to see their armored transports fording across the river, the few positions they had missed now easily suppressed by the Americans' fire.
The girls suddenly heard their communicators crackle with Ogawa's voice. "Kazanari, Yukine. Come in."
"Tsubasa here." The swordswoman answered. "We've broken the main defense line. What's the overall situation?"
"The enemy's northern forces have broken off their assault and look to be falling back to the reserve defense line." Ogawa reported. "The Marines there are regrouping."
"Heh, guess the Horsemen know they'd just be more meat for the grinder," Chris chuckled. It felt so satisfying to finally just let loose against the force that had been tormenting her and her friends for almost a month now.
"What about the Chinese?" Tsubasa asked.
"General Shaw managed to talk them down for the moment." Fujitaka replied. "They've set-up a line along the coastal road just north of the combat area and are holding there."
"So where are we needed next?" Chris inquired, tilting her head back. High above their heads, the contrails of jets and missiles crisscrossed the sky. She frowned a little. That was one battle she could do nothing about, not without her X-Drive. Although, come to think of it, Miku could fly… the silver-haired girl filed that thought away for the next time she had the opportunity to chat with the Shenshoujing user about potential Gear uses.
"The Marines are forming up for an assault on the reserve line, but those are anchored by the installation's fixed defenses, which could prove to be difficult to overcome." Ogawa answered after a moment. "Some other Marine advance units are reporting they've found what they believe is one of the hidden entrances to the underground sections of the facility."
"Send me the location." Tsubasa said. "I'll head into the underground. Yukine can breach the defense line on the surface and help the Marines mop-up." She glanced at her partner.
Chris just nodded back. She was a bit curious as to what was down there, but the combat logic couldn't be argued with. Ame no Habakiri would be much more suitable in the confines of underground corridors then Ichaival.
"I don't know what to tell you Cap'." The company's demolitions man said. "TNT, C4, RDX, HMX… nothin' is doing more than scratching this thing. Hell, I'm half sure the way the Thermite reacted actually made some of it tougher. Whatever these assholes made this thing out of should've been used to build skyscrapers instead of bunker doors."
"Alright, thank you specialist." The voice of the Captain responded. "That will be all."
His head tilted back and eyes closed, Gibson idly listened to the company commanders desperately try to figure out how they were going to breach the bunker door from where he was resting. The entrance was easily large enough to drive a tank through and cleverly built into a dimple in the hillside. They probably would've missed it completely if a Navy strike fighter's bomb load hadn't stripped away all of the camo netting.
Then they discovered that none of their breaching tools seemed to work. On the one hand, that was disappointing. On the other, it was also an immense relief; the Horsemen's advanced weaponry had proven a nasty surprise. If it weren't for SONG and their Symphogears, Gibson's whole company would probably all be guarding the streets of heaven right now.
"Captain, I'm here to support you." A female, officious voice with a noticeable Japanese accent cut in.
Gibson heard the Marines around him stir in surprise at the newcomer. Opening his eyes, he looked up and felt his mouth go dry. It was the blue Symphogear swordswoman. The one many grunts were already referring to as 'The Samurai', Tsubasa Kazanari.
The mystical aura flowing from her had been impressive enough from far away, but up close and personal, it felt overwhelming. Even the officers couldn't help but stare at her as if she was a warrior angel descended from Heaven to assist the faithful in smiting their foes. The Captain in particular was doing quite a remarkable impression of a fish.
Tsubasa ignored the stares, just walking forward towards the door that had been confounding them for the past half-hour. The Marines in her path respectfully stepped aside, many of them unconsciously stiffening to attention.
She then turned to them and asked "This is the way in?"
Those words seemed to snap the Captain out of his fugue and the man visibly took a moment to adjust himself to the Symphogear adaptor's presence. "Yes, ma'am. But we're not having any luck trying to breach it."
Tsubasa "hmm'd" aloud at that, raising her sword and prodding it at the mesh of metal and composites that made up the door. The blade rested against the surface as she applied more and more pressure. Then finally, it visibly pressed into the structure surface. The sight of this made her smile in grim satisfaction.
"I can cut through it," She concluded, stepping back away from the door. "Assemble your men, I'll take point."
The Captain paused for a moment before deciding that it probably made sense that the bulletproof girl was the first one through the ominous, concrete-looking door. Turning away from the adaptor, he started barking orders to his platoon commanders to round up the men on the perimeter.
Tsubasa stood and waited, her sword in the ground in front of her while her hands rested on its hilt. The Marines still standing around didn't know whether to approach her or maintain a distance. After a few moments, Gibson figured that he should at least thank her for saving him from the androids. So he started forward towards her, his posture straightening out as if he were approaching an officer.
He thought he could hear her humming softly, but she stopped as she realized he was approaching and looked at him questioningly.
"I-ah…" Gibson began before realizing he didn't quite know how to address her. Marine basics didn't exactly cover 'etiquette when talking to a superhuman,' and he had received no briefing on where the Symphogear adaptors fit in the chain-of-command. Hell, weren't they technically civilians?
Fortunately, she seemed to recognize his dilemma. "Kazanari will suffice."
"Kazanari then, ma'am," He continued. "I just wanted to say thank you. You saved my life earlier. Though I guess you wouldn't really remember…" He trailed off at that.
The glance she sent him told him that she didn't, but she welcomed the thanks. What she said next though, was quite different. "What's your name?"
"Gibson, ma'am," He replied. "Harley Gibson. Private, First Class."
"You have people you care about waiting for you back home?"
"Of course, ma'am. My parents, my girlfriend, a couple of friends from civilian life, my brother." Gibson shifted a bit uncomfortably, deciding to try and go for a joke. "Can't tell you more about them though. Don't want to jinx things."
He thought that got a brief smile out of her, but if it did it was gone as fast as it appeared. Tsubasa simply looked away towards the horizon, where the smoke from the previous battles still rose, and Gibson detected a hint of sadness in her eyes.
"Treasure them dearly, Gibson," She answered at last. "You never know when they might be taken from you."
"First Platoon!" One of the Lieutenants called. "Stack up to breach!"
"It's time," The blue-haired adaptor said in a tone that seemed to say 'good luck'. Gibson nodded back respectfully, before turning away to rejoin his fellow Marines, pressing themselves against the hillside on either side of the door. For her part, Tsubasa stepped forward again towards the door, raising Ame no Habakiri.
"Ready on your mark, ma'am," The Captain called.
The anticipation among the Marines was so thick you could cut it with a knife. They didn't know what to expect from the swordswoman. They certainly didn't expect her sword to abruptly double in length and size as she darted forward. In a blink, she jammed the immense blade straight into the bunker door, causing the screeching sound of metal on metal to fill the air. Sparks flew as she slashed through it in four swift strokes.
There was a crash as the composite, concrete-esque material fell away. Almost immediately, a positive blizzard of automatic weapons fire lashed out from the freshly cut archway, but the Marines didn't actually see any of it connect with Tsubasa as she had already darted forward through the entrance. There was a crash of metal and a hiss of severed electronics before the adaptor shouted "Clear!"
The Marines, who were still processing what just happened, filtered in. The strewn wreckage of several sentry miniguns that now laid all over the floor in neatly cut pieces. They had been perfectly positioned to make utter mincemeat of anyone coming through the doors. Beyond the immediate entrance lay a darkened tunnel stretching ominously into the black.
"Do you need any NVGs, ma'am?" The Captain called out to the adaptor.
The swordswoman shook her head. "My armor has some low-light functionality."
As he reached up to flip down his NVG's, Gibson wondered about Tsubasa Kazanari. He wondered about the song he had heard her humming. He wondered about the sadness that had been in her eyes when she spoke about treasuring family and friends. But the one thing Gibson did know was that she was a goddamn lifesaver. He resolved from then on that, if he ever heard anyone badmouth a Symphogear adaptor, he'd punch them in their goddamn face. He owed her that much.
Lieutenant Erik Ruiz pressed his back against the side of the hill like his life depended on it. Which was fitting, since it did. The remnants of his platoon had pressed just a little too far ahead from the rest of his company, and now, they were stuck behind enemy lines and pinned down by heavy machine gun fire coming from the nests by the artillery battery in front of him. Earlier, he was told that the artillery battery was his objective. Except, in a typical case of Marine intelligence FUBAR, nobody had told him the goddamn battery was positioned in hardened bunkers.
The radios were worse than useless at the moment with all the jamming, so he couldn't raise any other units or call for support. Not that they'd do any good. He'd been here long enough to see one of the Navy's cruise missiles, undoubtedly with a bunker buster warhead, fly straight into the gun bunkers and do little more than strip away some of the camouflage. Whatever the fuck the Horsemen built their emplacements out of, it was tough shit.
He was glaring down at his map at the moment. They couldn't go forward, too much machine gun fire. Couldn't go back, either; the platoon's rear guard reported Horsemen troops had moved in behind them and pretty clearly knew they were here. Although, if they knew that, why hadn't they called down any fire support or tried to flush them out with grenades? What the hell were they waiting for?
The answer to that question was provided by Sargeant Bates. "SHIT, 'droids!"
Ruiz felt his heart leap up in his throat at the shout. He twisted his head around and swiftly spotted a trio of the mechanical monsters marching out of the tree line on his platoon's right flank. The Marines' weapons snapped up and spat automatic fire, but it was more a gesture of defiance than anything. Ruiz had seen the damn machines shrug off tank fire. They might as well have aimed BB guns at the incoming androids. The androids' right arms snapped up simultaneously, and Ruiz could tell one of them had already identified him as the CO and had a bead on him. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the end.
Ruiz heard was that crack-hiss of their energy weapons and the sizzle of their target being flash-melted, but he felt no pain.Realizing he wasn't dead, he opened his eyes to behold an ethereal red valkyrie interposing herself between the thirty men under his command and the infernal machines. Machines which currently stood still with smoking holes in the center of their bodies, their cycloptic eyes no longer glowing. A network of what seemed to be red jewels hovered on either side of the otherworldly woman, creating a reflective barrier.
The barrier abruptly vanished and the crystals floated down into the large, butterfly wing-shaped compartments on the girl's hips, which then folded together so there were now only two of them. Turning around, the silver-haired girl jogged over to the platoon, a cocky grin plastered over her face. "Need some heavy fire support?"
The Marines just gaped right back at her. Compared to any of them, she was physically quite short. Hell, some of them had daughters taller than her. Yet her raw, otherworldly presence made them all feel like she dwarfed them, akin to a goddess among mere mortals. And even without the prior light show, they could practically taste how much more firepower she had packed into her small frame. Was this the power of the Symphogear they heard so much about?
The grin fell off of her face at the lack of response, replaced by a serious frown. "What's the situation, Marines?!" She barked.
The authoritative voice was enough to kick the daze out of Ruiz's mind, his training and discipline reasserting itself. "We're pinned down by machine gun nests from those bunker emplacements, ma'am," he reported, indicating the bunkers as best he could without exposing himself. "We've got heavy caliber guns in there that are shelling the river crossings, but even cruise missiles aren't scratching that armor."
"That all?" The cocky grin was back on her face. "Let's see how they like my missiles then."
And before the Lieutenant could do anything to stop her, she lept around the hillside his platoon had been covering behind since they got up here. In an instant, the machine guns opened up on her and the Marines could do little more than gape again as the rounds simply pinged off of her armor… hell, off of her skin. The compartments on her hips shifted again, transforming into a large braced backpack with a pair of massive missiles, larger than any of the men standing around, much less the girl herself, extending across either of adaptor's shoulders.
Completely unphased by this development, the machine gun fire continued. Some of it even shifted onto the missiles, clearly trying to detonate them. With their engines roaring, the Symphogear adaptor fired both missiles at once. The missiles blasted across the hundred or so meters of killzone, straight into the slits through which the artillery guns fired.
The shockwave from the blast blew the silver strands of her hair about as she stood confidently, a wide grin on her face. As the roar of the detonations faded, she turned back to the once-again stupefied platoon of Marines. She opened her mouth to say something, then abruptly scrunched up her face before spitting something into the grass.
Lieutenant Ruiz stared down at the flattened 14.5mm heavy machine gun round in total amazement. Taking a bullet head-on, chewing it up, and spitting it out was the kind of bullshit he always thought only existed in comic books. Yet in defiance of what Ruiz thought was common sense, this bright red girl had done so right in front of him. The other Marines were equally gobsmacked.
"Come on," The otherworldly woman said, stepping past them. "I'll help you guys hook back up with the rest of your company."
Ruiz nodded, unaware of how dumb the expression on his face looked. Maybe after this battle, everything would start making sense. In any case, he guessed he was grateful someone like her was on his side.
"Excuse me, ma'am," one of the younger Marines called out to the adaptor as she passed. "Would you mind telling us what the hell was that?"
"MegaDeth Fuga," She replied casually, not breaking stride. "It's one of my missile attacks."
"Huh…" The Marine muttered as the platoon fell in behind her. "And what's that thing where you fire a whole buncha smaller missiles called?"
"MegaDeth Party."
"So, wait," Ruiz asked. "Do all your missile attack have 'MegaDeth' in their names?"
"Most of them, yeah," She glanced over her shoulder. "Why do you ask?"
Chris didn't realize it at the time, but she had just earned herself a Marine Corps nickname.
—
Before long, Tsubasa realized that when SONG had said the bulk of the facility was underground, they weren't kidding. The underground section of the facility was a positive labyrinth of barracks, motor pools, warehouses, and, above all, production facilities. The sheer number of cavernous rooms filled with machinery and conveyor belts packed to the brim with partially assembled parts, weapons, vehicles, and other equipment made it pretty clear what the primary purpose of the facility was.
There was, of course, resistance. It came as no surprise to her that the Horsemen had decided to flood the hallways with Anti-LiNKER. The Marines with her had reached for their gas masks when they first encountered it until she informed them it was harmless to them. Beyond that, the Horsemen's infantry seemed to contest every corner and every intersection, never giving up regardless of how many the Ame no Habakiri user and the Marines cut down. Tsubasa had already lost count of the number of times she had turned a corner and immediately been sprayed by machine gun fire or had a rocket streak down at her.
Inevitably, there had been casualties among the Marines. The web of hallways offered too many approaches, and there were too many Horsemen soldiers to ensure the safety of everyone. The worst invariably occurred when one of those androids showed up in a place she wasn't. Tsubasa could not afford to take even a moment to grieve for the fallen troops, instead leaving the mourning to their comrades. She would have time later to reflect upon those she failed. Intermittent contact with the surface told her that more Marine units were entering the facility to secure sectors they had already cleared and that Chris was doing fine work smashing the last defensive line.
She and the Marines eventually worked out a solid enough method for clearing rooms. When it came to the breach, either the Marines would kick it down or Tsubasa slice out a hole, depending on whether the door was armored or not. Then, the Marines would toss grenades in. Tsubasa would always be first through the door, prioritizing any androids or heavy weapons (in that order), with the rest of the Marines only sweeping through a second after her.
Through it all, Tsubasa kept an eye out for any sign of heretical technology or alchemy. There hadn't been a single sign of any of it. To be sure, a technical understanding of the technology she did see eluded her. She wasn't sure how most of this machinery worked beyond "inputs here, outputs there."
But one could tell just by looking at what each contraption did and how it fit into the larger whole. Raw materials fed into this machine to be refined into alloys that were transported over to that machine and assembled into a part. Then, the conveyor belts brought the parts to another machine which assembled them into a larger part. These parts were then taken by service robots over to a series of machines which steadily assembled them into armored vehicles. Or aircraft. Or vests. Or whatever was being assembled. All very straightforward and factorylike. No matter how she looked, it all fit together neatly in a way the sheer arcanity of Frontier or the Château De Tiffuages did not. It was all simply too… comprehensible to be based on relics or alchemy.
None of the machinery was functional right now, however. The acrid stench of burnt electronics lingered heavily in the air, a sign that a lot of the electronics and key components had self-destructed. There were plenty of computer terminals connected to machines or hanging on the walls of the halls, but they all displayed the same message.
[SYSTEM ERROR. FACILITYWIDE PROTOCOL-9 IN EFFECT. ALL NONESSENTIAL PERSONNEL: EVACUATE]
The first time she had seen that, Tsubasa had paused to wonder what sort of people willingly worked for the Four Horsemen. The only ones she had encountered to date had been the White Noise, yet it seemed implausible that the great mass of people required to construct and operate such a large facility all had the sorts of reasons the members of the White Noise squad did. And it seemed equally implausible that the rest of the organization would all be nerve-stapled clones and robots.
The question of who worked for the Horsemen inevitably raised the next obvious one: who was the Four Horsemen's leader? Who was their Adam, their Carol, their Fudou? Did they really want all the relics destroyed, or was that just some kind of fig-leaf for a world domination scheme? Tsubasa didn't spend too much time dwelling on that. If the answers were to be found here, they would be found by SONG and the other UN technical teams once her, Chris, and the Marines made the facility safe enough for them to come in.
The Marine sergeant counted down. "Three, two, one… GO!"
At the shout, Tsubasa darted forward, carving another hole in another armored door. In through the gap went the Marine's grenades. She waited for the crump of detonations before charging in. Gunfire slammed into her to no effect. A glance told her what the room was for. It was the first time she saw what had to be one of the Horsemen's cloning banks.
What had to be the main cloning machine took up most of one side of the room to Tsubasa's right, a mess of unidentifiable chemical tanks and workstations attached to it. Extending from the machines output exits were a dozen conveyor belts, each extending most of the rest of the way across the other side of the room. Atop the idle belts lay freshly created clones, having exited the machine feet first and buck naked. These fresh clones were not doing anything though. They simply lay there staring blankly at the ceiling with eyes like dead fish, the rise and fall of their chests the only indication they were alive.
Above the end of each conveyor belt, a robotic arm extended from the ceiling. The tip of the arm contained some sort of electronic-glass visor. Once past the arms, the belts simply and abruptly ended. It was clear that a clone was expected to then simply walk the short distance to a series of ordinary doors labelled "Equipment & Assignment."
The Horsemen's soldiers in this room were sheltered behind the conveyor belts or the naked clones laying on them. One soldier was even using a fresh clone's chest as a prop for his light machine gun's bipods.
Ignoring the bullets, Tsubasa vaulted over the first set of conveyor belts and into the midst of the first group of soldiers, Ame no Habakiri flashing. They fell like wheat before the thresher, yet still they never broke or hesitated to try and strike back. The swordswoman would have called them brave if she hadn't been aware of their true nature. With the first belt cleared, she charged over to the next to repeat the process. Behind her, the Marines stormed through, taking advantage of the gunfire being drawn onto Tsubasa to make for the cover of the first conveyor belt. Between her swordplay and the Marines' fire support, clearing the rest of the room took only a matter of minutes.
Tsubasa flicked the blood off her sword and then turned to stare thoughtfully at the robot-arm visors extending from the ceiling. Now that she had a moment to look, she could see the small amount of smoke rising from the edges where the microchips must have been. The visors' appearance poked at her memory, but no matter how hard she looked and thought she couldn't place where she had seen those before.
"Ma'am!" A Marine's voice snapped her from her reverie. "You might want to see this."
The swordswoman looked over and saw that in the opposite corner of the room from where they had entered was a somewhat smaller armored door. The sign above it said in bold, glowing red letters:
5-012 Pale Unit Sub-Section, Laboratory-3B, AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY
This was the first room they had seen which was labelled as a 'Laboratory.' Tsubasa was fairly certain neither she nor the Marines constituted 'Authorized Personnel,' but it wasn't like she was here to respect the Horsemen's regulations. She nodded to the Marines, who moved to stack up on either side of the door as she readied Ame no Habakiri.
Her sword flashed and yet another door now had a permanent man-sized entrance. This time, however, no bullets or rockets lashed out at the new entranceway. Tsubasa still rushed through, her blade raised, only to find the next room completely devoid of any living creatures.
Well, that wasn't quite true. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the giant glass tube taking up the center of her vision and, more importantly, the very familiar figure floating within. The swordswoman froze. She recognized who it was floating in that tank. Someone she hadn't seen in person for a long, long time.
"Kanade?!"
An instant later, another subroutine devoted to controlling the air defenses of Black Unit Facility 5-012 detected another cruise missile inbound from the ocean. Initially, the subroutine determined it to be a land-attack weapon, likely sub-launched and outfitted with a cluster-munition warhead based on its trajectory, and flagged it for medium-priority interception. Then it passed the information up to its senior routine, which immediately cross-referenced the moving location of the Aufwachen Waveforms the other subroutine had detected with the missile's own location. It then sent the order back to upgrade the interception priority from "medium" to "immediate". Again, this was done faster than it took a human to blink.
Barely another instant later, the next VLS tube devoted to the air defense of Facility 5-012 finished its loading cycle. In accordance with the current targeting priorities, the sensor net locked the loaded SAM onto the aforementioned cruise missile and fired. Simultaneously, a battery of White Unit self-propelled guns received orders to open fire with salvos of Anti-LiNKER cluster shells at an updating set of coordinates.
The SAM met the cruise missile over a Panau National Guard communication post that had been commandeered by the Marines just a few kilometers from the advancing Four Horsemen spearhead. The rear service personnel hastily preparing for the defense of the facility barely paid any attention to the distant explosion as the SAM's warhead blew its target to pieces. After all, it wasn't as though the sound and thunder of explosions was anything new to the men on the ground by this point. The pair of young women in skintight magitech armor abruptly falling from the sky, on the other hand, was enough to draw considerable attention their way as they landed, cratering the ground underfoot. But before the Marines could react to their presence, Tsubasa and Chris had already taken off.
Tsubasa and Chris knew they had fallen short and didn't waste any time springing into action. They hit the ground running, the music in their hearts swelling as they charged towards the sound of gunfire, explosions, and energy weapons. As the two closed the distance, a distant rumble grew in volume until it matched the loudness of a hundred freight trains. Anti-LiNKER munitions burst above them, filling the air with the translucent red gas.
They might have cared, had they not already dropped their armor combinations in anticipation of exactly that. With their superhuman pace, it took them barely another few minutes of running to cross the few kilometers to the spearhead.
"There is no time for a greeting as it is time to fight with this sword.
As we walk into the depths of hell, we come across Enma's castle."
The first of the androids barely had time to turn at the sound of Tsubasa's song before Ame no Habakiri flashed and its right arm fell off in a shower of sparks and twisted metal. Its remaining hand lashed out at the swordswomen, but Tsubasa had already ducked in anticipation of such a reaction and swept her sword up to slice diagonally through the android's mid-section. Impressively, Tsubasa could feel a degree of resistance as Ame no Habakiri worked its way through the android's innards.
But no sooner had her sword finished cleaving the two halves of the android apart did a series of graser beams strike her from the side. Tsubasa hissed in surprise and pain. Those, it seemed, were powerful enough to actually burn. But she pushed through and swiftly rolled forward. Turning, she tossed her blade at the small group of androids that had fired on her. Immediately the sword enlarged into the length and width of a truck and Tsubasa leapt after it, kicking out and firing her armor's rockets as she landed on it's top. Several more beams glanced off the tip of the sword before Heaven's Wrath collided with the androids, shattering mechanical parts everywhere and continuing onward to impale a Horsemen's tank whose turret had been slinging around towards Tsubasa, which exploded.
"The first one to shoot will be the next to shoot.
The third or fourth will be troublesome, for our bonds."
Chris sang as her crossbows spat out energy bolts. The androids she targeted staggered under the force of the impacts, some of their armor denting without being penetrated by the barrage of energy arrows. Seeing this, the Ichaival gunner decided to up the ante. As she rolled away from the retaliatory graser fire, her crossbows folded away for the triple-barrelled, quad gatling guns of Billion Maiden. They did the job quite satisfactorily, and the androids' bodies jerked about as the magical high-caliber bullets ripped them to shreds. In seconds, they were little more than piles of scrap metal.
A company of tanks rolled towards the red armored girl, their turrets swivelling to train right on her, and Chris ducked away just before they fired, a series of railgun rounds flashing through the spot she had just been standing in. She mentally swore at that; those rounds had moved fast enough that, even with her superhuman reflexes, she would have not had a chance to dodge. They probably wouldn't have killed her, but they would have hurt. She turned Billion Maiden upon them, but despite the guns being rated to penetrate composite tank armor, they didn't even dent whatever sort of super-armor the Horsemen had decided to build their tanks with.
A cocky grin spread across Chris's face as she again ducked aside just in time to avoid the next volley of rail gun rounds. Well, if Billion Maiden didn't work, she'd just have to up the ante again. The compartments on her legging popped open and a MegaDeth Party of missiles screamed towards the tanks. The first of the rockets to be fired promptly fell victim to the tanks' active protection systems, but the rest hammered home and the heavy armor slewed to a halt as they were rent apart in a series of explosions.
"No licking right now!" Tsubasa sang as she flipped forward into a spinning handstand to dodge another barrage of graser fire, the long blades on her ankles unfolding to slice into another group of androids in a Reverse Rakhasa.
"Geez, I'm sorry!" Chris gave her line simultaneously, opting to run-and-gun with Billion Maiden before turning and dispatching another approaching armored company with MegaDeth Party.
A barrage of rocket artillery roared in, sweeping the area in a dervish of explosions and smoke. Both Tsubasa and Chris were knocked away by the barrage of blasts, but they rolled with the shockwaves, coming to their feet to continue to charge forward, guns blazing and swords flashing.
Another wave of infantry and androids rolled forward in the wake of the barrage. Chris quickly turned her guns towards them. "With our growing power, let's run swiftly in at full throttle!" Chris half-sang, half-yelled her lyrics as she responded to the assault with a barrage of bullets that reduced many of the offending attackers into human-shaped swiss cheese.
"There is nothing to fear about the path you take," Tsubasa sang breathlessly as she leapt out of her headstand onto her feet, sword in each hand. With a thought, One Thousand Tears rained down upon the remaining infantry and androids. Though the androids weren't all destroyed by the attack, their bodies were pierced by the falling blades, making them easy targets for her swords. The infantry wasn't so lucky.
Chris looked to her senpai and smiled. Moments like these, fighting alongside her friends to protect others, were what truly made her happy to be a Symphogear user. "You always used to never look back, but now you do."
"So I'll support you," Tsubasa responded in song, giving her friend a knowing look.
"But I'll push back," Chris replied in turn, readying her guns for the next assault. One more wave of infantrymen, androids, and tanks were rushing in to take the place of the spearhead the girls had just destroyed. It was one final gasp of the counter-offensive. Behind them, the surviving Marines regrouped and began to form up their own gunline. The troops and vehicles spread out behind Tsubasa and Chris, getting ready for what they knew in their bones was coming.
"We gotta 'believe…'" Tsubasa sang as she crouched down, as if she were a runner ready to sprint off. The blades on the side of her legs extended as she combined the two blades in her hands at their hilts, turning them into a single two-sided blade.
"In never giving up!" The girls sang in unison. As if on cue, the thrusters at Tsubasa feet ignited as she rushed forward at a great speed, spinning her now-fiery dual blades as she did so. All the while, Chris and the Marines gave her covering fire, picking off any of the infantry that may have impeded her.
Tsubasa sliced through everything in her path with her Wind Ring's Fiery Blades like a hot knife through butter. Given her speed, only the rounds of the railgun tanks or the grasers of the androids had a chance of even touching her, and that required one to actually aim the shots, something the wielder of Ame no Habakiri allowed no time for. And with Chris and the Marines providing covering fire, the enemy might as well have been sitting ducks waiting for her blades.
As she charged through with her Fiery Blades, she sang in unison with Chris. "The time has come for anyone to choose what they'll do in life."
"I don't want to translate equality," Chris shouted over the gunfire as she and the Marines mowed down as much as they could without hitting Tsubasa. The two adaptors knew each others' moves so well, Chris could predict where Tsubasa would be with her eyes closed, and the Marines were competent enough to follow Chris' lead.
"I have to make sure you aren't lonely though," the girls harmonized as Tsubasa approached another tank. Her blades slashed through it as easily as it had everything else. It seemed as though a flaming sword had much less difficulty cutting through whatever metal the Horsemen made their machines out of. Good to know.
Closing in on the remaining tanks, Tsubasa's flaming blades rushed towards them at breakneck speeds, dodging and weaving to prevent them from drawing a bead on her. Some of the tanks instead aimed at Chris and the Marines behind her, but a barrage of Ichaival's missiles combined with Billion Maiden properly dissuaded them.
"Do not forget about the dream you keep within yourself!" Tsubasa continued the song. Chris, meanwhile, sang the counterpoint, to which Tsubasa would respond. All the while, the girls tore apart the Horsemen's army.
"Even in the snow,"
"Even in the wind,"
"Even in the flowers,"
"Even people,"
"Have a courageous heart because they won't lose their own true colors."
Tsubasa sliced through the last tank, causing it to explode.
"We won't be doing this alone." The girls finished the last line of the song.
—
"Sweet Jesus," Private First Class Harley Gibson breathed in awe. One moment, he was making peace with his maker as one of those androids had him in its red-eyed sight. The very next, an ethereal blue beauty had bisected the 'droid straight down the middle while her red counterpart summoned a host of missiles and bullets to destroy the same mechanical monstrosities. Now those same otherworldly valkyries were cutting a swathe of devastation through the force of tanks and androids that had just been tearing apart his company's flanks.
"Certainly a story to tell your kids, if you have any," Corpsman Teagan Everett agreed as he glanced up from a fellow marines shrapnel wound. It was only for a moment, since the man he was treating had taken a nasty hit to a vital artery. As beautiful as the swordswoman was in her element, he needed to concentrate on saving the injured man's life, ensuring he was stable at least long enough for a medevac.
"We didn't stand a chance against those things," Gibson continued, in total awe of the sheer presence that was radiating off the singing women. "And those girls just…"
"Just like samurai," the wounded man slurred, although it didn't seem like he knew what he was talking about through the painkillers. "Samurai for the world!"
Gibson glanced down at the wounded man then back up at the distant swordswoman as she carved through the gun of one of those Horsemen tanks, ignoring the blasts from anti-boarding systems that would have reduced a man like himself to a mist of blood and flesh strips. Those words may not have been spoken lucidly, but he could see they fit.
—
Chris and Tsubasa had torn through the front and sides of the Horsemen's spearhead as swiftly and decisively as those forces had previously shredded the Marines. Now they were charging their way down the shaft, which consisted mostly of the regular masked soldiers and lighter armored personnel carriers. As expected, the Horsemen's soldiers resisted with tenacity. Bullets, handheld rockets, grenades, Anti-LiNKER canisters, autocannon shells, and tube-fired anti-tank missiles lashed out at the two again and again.
It was just like the training sims. Bullets slid off them like water off a rock, and the missiles that found them were more annoyances than anything else. Blood and burning oil from shattered bodies and detonating vehicles soaked the ground. The only wounds they bore had been from dealing with the earlier forces of tanks and androids: some light burns from the grasers and a few bruises from railgun rounds that had found their way home. They missed some of the regular soldiers, but those scattered remnants would be easy meat for the Marines following in the adaptors' wake.
The Marines had spent all day struggling to overcome the defensive line across the river, and yet Tsubasa and Chris only noticed they had smashed through it when, as they paused to catch their breath, they found that the incoming gunfire had slackened considerably. Chris shifted Ichaival away to her Hornet Pistols, figuring that with the most severe threats dealt with she could afford to sacrifice some firepower for additional mobility. Tsubasa glanced over her shoulder to check on the Marines' advance and was satisfied to see their armored transports fording across the river, the few positions they had missed now easily suppressed by the Americans' fire.
The girls suddenly heard their communicators crackle with Ogawa's voice. "Kazanari, Yukine. Come in."
"Tsubasa here." The swordswoman answered. "We've broken the main defense line. What's the overall situation?"
"The enemy's northern forces have broken off their assault and look to be falling back to the reserve defense line." Ogawa reported. "The Marines there are regrouping."
"Heh, guess the Horsemen know they'd just be more meat for the grinder," Chris chuckled. It felt so satisfying to finally just let loose against the force that had been tormenting her and her friends for almost a month now.
"What about the Chinese?" Tsubasa asked.
"General Shaw managed to talk them down for the moment." Fujitaka replied. "They've set-up a line along the coastal road just north of the combat area and are holding there."
"So where are we needed next?" Chris inquired, tilting her head back. High above their heads, the contrails of jets and missiles crisscrossed the sky. She frowned a little. That was one battle she could do nothing about, not without her X-Drive. Although, come to think of it, Miku could fly… the silver-haired girl filed that thought away for the next time she had the opportunity to chat with the Shenshoujing user about potential Gear uses.
"The Marines are forming up for an assault on the reserve line, but those are anchored by the installation's fixed defenses, which could prove to be difficult to overcome." Ogawa answered after a moment. "Some other Marine advance units are reporting they've found what they believe is one of the hidden entrances to the underground sections of the facility."
"Send me the location." Tsubasa said. "I'll head into the underground. Yukine can breach the defense line on the surface and help the Marines mop-up." She glanced at her partner.
Chris just nodded back. She was a bit curious as to what was down there, but the combat logic couldn't be argued with. Ame no Habakiri would be much more suitable in the confines of underground corridors then Ichaival.
---
"I don't know what to tell you Cap'." The company's demolitions man said. "TNT, C4, RDX, HMX… nothin' is doing more than scratching this thing. Hell, I'm half sure the way the Thermite reacted actually made some of it tougher. Whatever these assholes made this thing out of should've been used to build skyscrapers instead of bunker doors."
"Alright, thank you specialist." The voice of the Captain responded. "That will be all."
His head tilted back and eyes closed, Gibson idly listened to the company commanders desperately try to figure out how they were going to breach the bunker door from where he was resting. The entrance was easily large enough to drive a tank through and cleverly built into a dimple in the hillside. They probably would've missed it completely if a Navy strike fighter's bomb load hadn't stripped away all of the camo netting.
Then they discovered that none of their breaching tools seemed to work. On the one hand, that was disappointing. On the other, it was also an immense relief; the Horsemen's advanced weaponry had proven a nasty surprise. If it weren't for SONG and their Symphogears, Gibson's whole company would probably all be guarding the streets of heaven right now.
"Captain, I'm here to support you." A female, officious voice with a noticeable Japanese accent cut in.
Gibson heard the Marines around him stir in surprise at the newcomer. Opening his eyes, he looked up and felt his mouth go dry. It was the blue Symphogear swordswoman. The one many grunts were already referring to as 'The Samurai', Tsubasa Kazanari.
The mystical aura flowing from her had been impressive enough from far away, but up close and personal, it felt overwhelming. Even the officers couldn't help but stare at her as if she was a warrior angel descended from Heaven to assist the faithful in smiting their foes. The Captain in particular was doing quite a remarkable impression of a fish.
Tsubasa ignored the stares, just walking forward towards the door that had been confounding them for the past half-hour. The Marines in her path respectfully stepped aside, many of them unconsciously stiffening to attention.
She then turned to them and asked "This is the way in?"
Those words seemed to snap the Captain out of his fugue and the man visibly took a moment to adjust himself to the Symphogear adaptor's presence. "Yes, ma'am. But we're not having any luck trying to breach it."
Tsubasa "hmm'd" aloud at that, raising her sword and prodding it at the mesh of metal and composites that made up the door. The blade rested against the surface as she applied more and more pressure. Then finally, it visibly pressed into the structure surface. The sight of this made her smile in grim satisfaction.
"I can cut through it," She concluded, stepping back away from the door. "Assemble your men, I'll take point."
The Captain paused for a moment before deciding that it probably made sense that the bulletproof girl was the first one through the ominous, concrete-looking door. Turning away from the adaptor, he started barking orders to his platoon commanders to round up the men on the perimeter.
Tsubasa stood and waited, her sword in the ground in front of her while her hands rested on its hilt. The Marines still standing around didn't know whether to approach her or maintain a distance. After a few moments, Gibson figured that he should at least thank her for saving him from the androids. So he started forward towards her, his posture straightening out as if he were approaching an officer.
He thought he could hear her humming softly, but she stopped as she realized he was approaching and looked at him questioningly.
"I-ah…" Gibson began before realizing he didn't quite know how to address her. Marine basics didn't exactly cover 'etiquette when talking to a superhuman,' and he had received no briefing on where the Symphogear adaptors fit in the chain-of-command. Hell, weren't they technically civilians?
Fortunately, she seemed to recognize his dilemma. "Kazanari will suffice."
"Kazanari then, ma'am," He continued. "I just wanted to say thank you. You saved my life earlier. Though I guess you wouldn't really remember…" He trailed off at that.
The glance she sent him told him that she didn't, but she welcomed the thanks. What she said next though, was quite different. "What's your name?"
"Gibson, ma'am," He replied. "Harley Gibson. Private, First Class."
"You have people you care about waiting for you back home?"
"Of course, ma'am. My parents, my girlfriend, a couple of friends from civilian life, my brother." Gibson shifted a bit uncomfortably, deciding to try and go for a joke. "Can't tell you more about them though. Don't want to jinx things."
He thought that got a brief smile out of her, but if it did it was gone as fast as it appeared. Tsubasa simply looked away towards the horizon, where the smoke from the previous battles still rose, and Gibson detected a hint of sadness in her eyes.
"Treasure them dearly, Gibson," She answered at last. "You never know when they might be taken from you."
"First Platoon!" One of the Lieutenants called. "Stack up to breach!"
"It's time," The blue-haired adaptor said in a tone that seemed to say 'good luck'. Gibson nodded back respectfully, before turning away to rejoin his fellow Marines, pressing themselves against the hillside on either side of the door. For her part, Tsubasa stepped forward again towards the door, raising Ame no Habakiri.
"Ready on your mark, ma'am," The Captain called.
The anticipation among the Marines was so thick you could cut it with a knife. They didn't know what to expect from the swordswoman. They certainly didn't expect her sword to abruptly double in length and size as she darted forward. In a blink, she jammed the immense blade straight into the bunker door, causing the screeching sound of metal on metal to fill the air. Sparks flew as she slashed through it in four swift strokes.
There was a crash as the composite, concrete-esque material fell away. Almost immediately, a positive blizzard of automatic weapons fire lashed out from the freshly cut archway, but the Marines didn't actually see any of it connect with Tsubasa as she had already darted forward through the entrance. There was a crash of metal and a hiss of severed electronics before the adaptor shouted "Clear!"
The Marines, who were still processing what just happened, filtered in. The strewn wreckage of several sentry miniguns that now laid all over the floor in neatly cut pieces. They had been perfectly positioned to make utter mincemeat of anyone coming through the doors. Beyond the immediate entrance lay a darkened tunnel stretching ominously into the black.
"Do you need any NVGs, ma'am?" The Captain called out to the adaptor.
The swordswoman shook her head. "My armor has some low-light functionality."
As he reached up to flip down his NVG's, Gibson wondered about Tsubasa Kazanari. He wondered about the song he had heard her humming. He wondered about the sadness that had been in her eyes when she spoke about treasuring family and friends. But the one thing Gibson did know was that she was a goddamn lifesaver. He resolved from then on that, if he ever heard anyone badmouth a Symphogear adaptor, he'd punch them in their goddamn face. He owed her that much.
---
Lieutenant Erik Ruiz pressed his back against the side of the hill like his life depended on it. Which was fitting, since it did. The remnants of his platoon had pressed just a little too far ahead from the rest of his company, and now, they were stuck behind enemy lines and pinned down by heavy machine gun fire coming from the nests by the artillery battery in front of him. Earlier, he was told that the artillery battery was his objective. Except, in a typical case of Marine intelligence FUBAR, nobody had told him the goddamn battery was positioned in hardened bunkers.
The radios were worse than useless at the moment with all the jamming, so he couldn't raise any other units or call for support. Not that they'd do any good. He'd been here long enough to see one of the Navy's cruise missiles, undoubtedly with a bunker buster warhead, fly straight into the gun bunkers and do little more than strip away some of the camouflage. Whatever the fuck the Horsemen built their emplacements out of, it was tough shit.
He was glaring down at his map at the moment. They couldn't go forward, too much machine gun fire. Couldn't go back, either; the platoon's rear guard reported Horsemen troops had moved in behind them and pretty clearly knew they were here. Although, if they knew that, why hadn't they called down any fire support or tried to flush them out with grenades? What the hell were they waiting for?
The answer to that question was provided by Sargeant Bates. "SHIT, 'droids!"
Ruiz felt his heart leap up in his throat at the shout. He twisted his head around and swiftly spotted a trio of the mechanical monsters marching out of the tree line on his platoon's right flank. The Marines' weapons snapped up and spat automatic fire, but it was more a gesture of defiance than anything. Ruiz had seen the damn machines shrug off tank fire. They might as well have aimed BB guns at the incoming androids. The androids' right arms snapped up simultaneously, and Ruiz could tell one of them had already identified him as the CO and had a bead on him. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the end.
Ruiz heard was that crack-hiss of their energy weapons and the sizzle of their target being flash-melted, but he felt no pain.Realizing he wasn't dead, he opened his eyes to behold an ethereal red valkyrie interposing herself between the thirty men under his command and the infernal machines. Machines which currently stood still with smoking holes in the center of their bodies, their cycloptic eyes no longer glowing. A network of what seemed to be red jewels hovered on either side of the otherworldly woman, creating a reflective barrier.
The barrier abruptly vanished and the crystals floated down into the large, butterfly wing-shaped compartments on the girl's hips, which then folded together so there were now only two of them. Turning around, the silver-haired girl jogged over to the platoon, a cocky grin plastered over her face. "Need some heavy fire support?"
The Marines just gaped right back at her. Compared to any of them, she was physically quite short. Hell, some of them had daughters taller than her. Yet her raw, otherworldly presence made them all feel like she dwarfed them, akin to a goddess among mere mortals. And even without the prior light show, they could practically taste how much more firepower she had packed into her small frame. Was this the power of the Symphogear they heard so much about?
The grin fell off of her face at the lack of response, replaced by a serious frown. "What's the situation, Marines?!" She barked.
The authoritative voice was enough to kick the daze out of Ruiz's mind, his training and discipline reasserting itself. "We're pinned down by machine gun nests from those bunker emplacements, ma'am," he reported, indicating the bunkers as best he could without exposing himself. "We've got heavy caliber guns in there that are shelling the river crossings, but even cruise missiles aren't scratching that armor."
"That all?" The cocky grin was back on her face. "Let's see how they like my missiles then."
And before the Lieutenant could do anything to stop her, she lept around the hillside his platoon had been covering behind since they got up here. In an instant, the machine guns opened up on her and the Marines could do little more than gape again as the rounds simply pinged off of her armor… hell, off of her skin. The compartments on her hips shifted again, transforming into a large braced backpack with a pair of massive missiles, larger than any of the men standing around, much less the girl herself, extending across either of adaptor's shoulders.
Completely unphased by this development, the machine gun fire continued. Some of it even shifted onto the missiles, clearly trying to detonate them. With their engines roaring, the Symphogear adaptor fired both missiles at once. The missiles blasted across the hundred or so meters of killzone, straight into the slits through which the artillery guns fired.
The shockwave from the blast blew the silver strands of her hair about as she stood confidently, a wide grin on her face. As the roar of the detonations faded, she turned back to the once-again stupefied platoon of Marines. She opened her mouth to say something, then abruptly scrunched up her face before spitting something into the grass.
Lieutenant Ruiz stared down at the flattened 14.5mm heavy machine gun round in total amazement. Taking a bullet head-on, chewing it up, and spitting it out was the kind of bullshit he always thought only existed in comic books. Yet in defiance of what Ruiz thought was common sense, this bright red girl had done so right in front of him. The other Marines were equally gobsmacked.
"Come on," The otherworldly woman said, stepping past them. "I'll help you guys hook back up with the rest of your company."
Ruiz nodded, unaware of how dumb the expression on his face looked. Maybe after this battle, everything would start making sense. In any case, he guessed he was grateful someone like her was on his side.
"Excuse me, ma'am," one of the younger Marines called out to the adaptor as she passed. "Would you mind telling us what the hell was that?"
"MegaDeth Fuga," She replied casually, not breaking stride. "It's one of my missile attacks."
"Huh…" The Marine muttered as the platoon fell in behind her. "And what's that thing where you fire a whole buncha smaller missiles called?"
"MegaDeth Party."
"So, wait," Ruiz asked. "Do all your missile attack have 'MegaDeth' in their names?"
"Most of them, yeah," She glanced over her shoulder. "Why do you ask?"
Chris didn't realize it at the time, but she had just earned herself a Marine Corps nickname.
—
Before long, Tsubasa realized that when SONG had said the bulk of the facility was underground, they weren't kidding. The underground section of the facility was a positive labyrinth of barracks, motor pools, warehouses, and, above all, production facilities. The sheer number of cavernous rooms filled with machinery and conveyor belts packed to the brim with partially assembled parts, weapons, vehicles, and other equipment made it pretty clear what the primary purpose of the facility was.
There was, of course, resistance. It came as no surprise to her that the Horsemen had decided to flood the hallways with Anti-LiNKER. The Marines with her had reached for their gas masks when they first encountered it until she informed them it was harmless to them. Beyond that, the Horsemen's infantry seemed to contest every corner and every intersection, never giving up regardless of how many the Ame no Habakiri user and the Marines cut down. Tsubasa had already lost count of the number of times she had turned a corner and immediately been sprayed by machine gun fire or had a rocket streak down at her.
Inevitably, there had been casualties among the Marines. The web of hallways offered too many approaches, and there were too many Horsemen soldiers to ensure the safety of everyone. The worst invariably occurred when one of those androids showed up in a place she wasn't. Tsubasa could not afford to take even a moment to grieve for the fallen troops, instead leaving the mourning to their comrades. She would have time later to reflect upon those she failed. Intermittent contact with the surface told her that more Marine units were entering the facility to secure sectors they had already cleared and that Chris was doing fine work smashing the last defensive line.
She and the Marines eventually worked out a solid enough method for clearing rooms. When it came to the breach, either the Marines would kick it down or Tsubasa slice out a hole, depending on whether the door was armored or not. Then, the Marines would toss grenades in. Tsubasa would always be first through the door, prioritizing any androids or heavy weapons (in that order), with the rest of the Marines only sweeping through a second after her.
Through it all, Tsubasa kept an eye out for any sign of heretical technology or alchemy. There hadn't been a single sign of any of it. To be sure, a technical understanding of the technology she did see eluded her. She wasn't sure how most of this machinery worked beyond "inputs here, outputs there."
But one could tell just by looking at what each contraption did and how it fit into the larger whole. Raw materials fed into this machine to be refined into alloys that were transported over to that machine and assembled into a part. Then, the conveyor belts brought the parts to another machine which assembled them into a larger part. These parts were then taken by service robots over to a series of machines which steadily assembled them into armored vehicles. Or aircraft. Or vests. Or whatever was being assembled. All very straightforward and factorylike. No matter how she looked, it all fit together neatly in a way the sheer arcanity of Frontier or the Château De Tiffuages did not. It was all simply too… comprehensible to be based on relics or alchemy.
None of the machinery was functional right now, however. The acrid stench of burnt electronics lingered heavily in the air, a sign that a lot of the electronics and key components had self-destructed. There were plenty of computer terminals connected to machines or hanging on the walls of the halls, but they all displayed the same message.
[SYSTEM ERROR. FACILITYWIDE PROTOCOL-9 IN EFFECT. ALL NONESSENTIAL PERSONNEL: EVACUATE]
The first time she had seen that, Tsubasa had paused to wonder what sort of people willingly worked for the Four Horsemen. The only ones she had encountered to date had been the White Noise, yet it seemed implausible that the great mass of people required to construct and operate such a large facility all had the sorts of reasons the members of the White Noise squad did. And it seemed equally implausible that the rest of the organization would all be nerve-stapled clones and robots.
The question of who worked for the Horsemen inevitably raised the next obvious one: who was the Four Horsemen's leader? Who was their Adam, their Carol, their Fudou? Did they really want all the relics destroyed, or was that just some kind of fig-leaf for a world domination scheme? Tsubasa didn't spend too much time dwelling on that. If the answers were to be found here, they would be found by SONG and the other UN technical teams once her, Chris, and the Marines made the facility safe enough for them to come in.
The Marine sergeant counted down. "Three, two, one… GO!"
At the shout, Tsubasa darted forward, carving another hole in another armored door. In through the gap went the Marine's grenades. She waited for the crump of detonations before charging in. Gunfire slammed into her to no effect. A glance told her what the room was for. It was the first time she saw what had to be one of the Horsemen's cloning banks.
What had to be the main cloning machine took up most of one side of the room to Tsubasa's right, a mess of unidentifiable chemical tanks and workstations attached to it. Extending from the machines output exits were a dozen conveyor belts, each extending most of the rest of the way across the other side of the room. Atop the idle belts lay freshly created clones, having exited the machine feet first and buck naked. These fresh clones were not doing anything though. They simply lay there staring blankly at the ceiling with eyes like dead fish, the rise and fall of their chests the only indication they were alive.
Above the end of each conveyor belt, a robotic arm extended from the ceiling. The tip of the arm contained some sort of electronic-glass visor. Once past the arms, the belts simply and abruptly ended. It was clear that a clone was expected to then simply walk the short distance to a series of ordinary doors labelled "Equipment & Assignment."
The Horsemen's soldiers in this room were sheltered behind the conveyor belts or the naked clones laying on them. One soldier was even using a fresh clone's chest as a prop for his light machine gun's bipods.
Ignoring the bullets, Tsubasa vaulted over the first set of conveyor belts and into the midst of the first group of soldiers, Ame no Habakiri flashing. They fell like wheat before the thresher, yet still they never broke or hesitated to try and strike back. The swordswoman would have called them brave if she hadn't been aware of their true nature. With the first belt cleared, she charged over to the next to repeat the process. Behind her, the Marines stormed through, taking advantage of the gunfire being drawn onto Tsubasa to make for the cover of the first conveyor belt. Between her swordplay and the Marines' fire support, clearing the rest of the room took only a matter of minutes.
Tsubasa flicked the blood off her sword and then turned to stare thoughtfully at the robot-arm visors extending from the ceiling. Now that she had a moment to look, she could see the small amount of smoke rising from the edges where the microchips must have been. The visors' appearance poked at her memory, but no matter how hard she looked and thought she couldn't place where she had seen those before.
"Ma'am!" A Marine's voice snapped her from her reverie. "You might want to see this."
The swordswoman looked over and saw that in the opposite corner of the room from where they had entered was a somewhat smaller armored door. The sign above it said in bold, glowing red letters:
5-012 Pale Unit Sub-Section, Laboratory-3B, AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY
This was the first room they had seen which was labelled as a 'Laboratory.' Tsubasa was fairly certain neither she nor the Marines constituted 'Authorized Personnel,' but it wasn't like she was here to respect the Horsemen's regulations. She nodded to the Marines, who moved to stack up on either side of the door as she readied Ame no Habakiri.
Her sword flashed and yet another door now had a permanent man-sized entrance. This time, however, no bullets or rockets lashed out at the new entranceway. Tsubasa still rushed through, her blade raised, only to find the next room completely devoid of any living creatures.
Well, that wasn't quite true. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the giant glass tube taking up the center of her vision and, more importantly, the very familiar figure floating within. The swordswoman froze. She recognized who it was floating in that tank. Someone she hadn't seen in person for a long, long time.
"Kanade?!"
----
"-authorities have imposed a media blackout over the expected area of operations. No statement has been issued by SONG or the American military over whether any of the Symphogears will be deployed. However, the Symphogears Tsubasa Kazanari and Chris Yukine have not been seen since-"
"Could you turn that off, please?" Hibiki asked Souji Ogawa from the back seat. The severe-looking man nodded, switching to find a channel playing some music.
"Worried about Chris and Tsubasa?" Miku asked from right next to her.
"A little," Hibiki admitted. "The Americans are supposed to be landing in Panau in an hour, and a part of me still says we should be there with them." She gave a nervous grin, rubbing at her right arm. "Honestly, I'd rather be there on the front lines than see your parents again."
Miku tilted her head in slight confusion. "Why? You've met them before, right?"
"Yeah, but that was before we started dating!" Hibiki squirmed.
Miku raised an eyebrow. "So are you worried about Chris and Tsubasa, or are you worried about yourself?"
"Yes! I mean, both! I mean… erm." Hibiki closed her mouth before she said something else she regretted.
Intellectually, the Gungnir wielder knew Miku's parents had already given their blessing over the phone. But emotionally, the prospect of actually seeing them face-to-face when they knew felt more daunting than duking it out with Shem-Ha.
Particularly Miku's father. Matsura Kohinata was a perfectly reasonable man most of the time, but he had quite a protective streak when it came to his family. When the bullying had been at its zenith, he tried to forbid Miku from seeing Hibiki out of fear of the backlash extending to the Kohinata family. Hibiki counted herself fortunate that Miku had defied her father's prohibition every way she could. In many ways, Miku's own protectiveness and stubbornness was a mirror of her father's.
With a slight sigh, Miku reached out and took Hibiki's hand. "It'll be fine, Hibiki. After all, I'm not w-worried that we'll be seeing your family afterwards."
Hibiki opened her mouth to reply, then paused as her brows furrowed together and something about her girlfriend's reply clicked. "Miku, did you just stutter?"
Miku flushed. Oh god, why did Hibiki have to be so perceptive when it came to things like this? "Well," She finally admitted. "You never told them prior to now, did you?"
"What? What do you mean? I'm sure…" Hibiki trailed off as she ran through her memory. When did she tell her parents that Miku and her were dating? She did, didn't she? She could remember when she told her mom and grandma about the Symphogear but…
Oh. Oh no. "AH! I never DID tell them about us!" The chestnut haired girl panicked. "Oh, god! They would have learned from the press conference! No, wait, maybe they didn't see-no I got a text from grandma saying they would be watching it for support, so they definitely did. Oh, Miku, what are we gonna do?!"
"D-do you think they would disapprove?" Miku asked hurriedly, her own nervousness now fully showing through.
Hibiki stopped, thought about it for a moment, and then snorted. "Ah, no way. You know they adore you."
Miku couldn't help it. She giggled at Hibiki's complete and utter mood whiplash, her own nervousness suddenly washing away. Although, now that they were talking about it, maybe Hibiki's parents already had figured they were together. So many other people did, after all.
Still, despite their nervousness, they were actually glad to get away. The new training regimen had left them both more than a bit uncomfortable. Yes, intellectually they knew that the Horsemen's soldiers were no more "people" then the Noise were. They had managed to get beyond any sense of hesitation at seeing the simulated soldier's blood. But they couldn't find it in themselves to become comfortable at the sight. They were made somewhat embarrassed that Kirika and Shirabe seemed to have adjusted to it entirely within just a day.
Maria though... the first time they had run the scenario, Maria had locked right up after she had drawn the first bit of blood. The sight of the bloodied and broken bodies seemed to have dug up some old regrets she thought she had gotten past. Though she claimed she'd get over it soon, the episode had caused everyone to worry about the pinkette.
"I hope Maria's alright," Hibiki voiced her concern out loud.
"The incident yesterday?" Director Ogawa inquired, his eyes still on the road.
"Yeah. She seemed so scared and in pain. As if the simulation brought up bad memories." Hibiki looked out the window with a worried look on her face.
"I'm sure she appreciates your concern, Tachibana, but we all have to face our demons by ourselves," The Ninja spoke cooly as he navigated his vehicle through an intersection in the Chiba prefect. "There's nothing you can do for her right now, and if you spend too much energy worrying about her, you'll only tear yourself apart. As an adult, Cadenzavna Eve is more than capable of handling whatever problems she has. Believe in her."
Hibiki sighed. She knew that Director Ogawa made a certain amount of sense, but there was something wrong with the logic regardless. Having your friend going through some struggle without anyone to help was never a good thing in her book. Why couldn't one believe and help?
As if to voice her objection, Miku spoke up. "We can't just sit here and do nothing when our friend is suffering."
The man closed his eyes and then opened them. Then he looked up at the girls' expressions in the rearview mirror. It was then that Tachibana saw the coolness in them. They were the eyes of a man who had been through much hardship. "I think it's more important to get things in order with your house than to pry into others' business. That's why we're going to your home. We need to make sure everything with your parents is okay before we do anything else." He turned his eyes back on the road. "Don't make the mistake of focusing your efforts on what may resolve itself."
As they were contemplating that piece of advice, Souji made one last turn and slowed down the car before clearing his throat. "We're here."
—
"Dear," Okamura Kohinata called from the closet. "Do you remember where we put our special camera? I know I kept it in our closet somewhere…"
From the living room where he had just finished fluffing the couch's pillows and sweeping the floors, Matsura Kohinata gave a long-suffering sigh. "Okamura, I haven't seen your special camera anywhere. And quite frankly, I think it'd look better if we took a picture with our phones."
"No! Don't you understand! Our Miku's coming over with her special someone! We have to be ready and everything!" His wife shouted.
As much as Matsura loved his wife, there were times when the woman seemed determined to drive him up a wall with her quirks. It seemed as though all of the women in his family had their own obsessive hobbies: from Miku's extreme competitiveness in sports to his wife's love of twentieth-century photography to his late mother-in-law's tragic hobby of sky-diving. It made them all charming in their own right, especially his wife, but it also made moments like this feel like he was only sane person in the room.
The doorbell rang. Matsura glanced at the clock. It certainly fit the time. Heck, if anything they might be early. He hoped it wasn't another reporter looking for an interview, but he had scared many of them off with the threat of a harassment suit. He had little to fear from them.
"Ah!" Okamura called down. "Could you get that?! And call me if it's Miku and Tachibana!"
"Sure, sure!" He called back, getting up. As he crossed towards the door, he thought about the news that had turned his life upside down just two weeks ago. The news that Miku was now an honest-to-god superhero still left him gobsmacked whenever he really thought about it. He was only just starting to come to terms with the idea that the Kohinata family name would now be in the history books. Yet he was still upset at the way Miku had gone behind his back, and he continued to have serious reservations about her participation in SONG.
But in regards to her relationship with Hibiki Tachibana? Well, compared to those other shocking revelations, 'my daughter is in a homosexual relationship with her childhood friend' came off as rather second-rate. But he had nevertheless taken the time to consider his own feelings on that as well. And Matsura quickly realized that after all he had seen and heard about what had happened between the two, he didn't mind the idea one bit. Hibiki Tachibana had saved his daughter's life several times over. His approval to date his little girl, hell to take her hand in marriage, couldn't even scratch the surface of what he owed her.
He opened the door. Miku and Hibiki stood before him, hand-in-hand. The latter was shifting on her feet in a manner that screamed nervousness and hurriedly glanced away with a blush when she saw him. Miku, on the other hand, had a bright smile on her face that warmed his heart. Behind them was an unfamiliar man in a suit with slick purple hair and severe eyes.
Matsura hadn't seen his daughter outside of photographs in two years, so one thing very quickly leapt out at him. "Miku," He said, unable to stop a bit of wonder creeping into his voice. "You've grown."
"Well, that's what we teenagers tend to do, father." Miku came up to him and gave him a big hug. "How are you, papa?"
"Apparently rather forgetful, if that sort of detail slipped my mind." He returned the hug and glanced over a Tachibana, who couldn't help but flinch when his eyes met hers. "Tachibana, it's been awhile."
"Y-yes!" Hibiki quickly said, almost throwing herself into a bow. "T-thank you for having me, Kohinata-san!"
Matsura chuckled. "Come now, Tachibana, don't be so formal. You can call me Matsura."
Hibiki blinked a few times at that, trying to recall if Miku's father had ever let her call him that before. She couldn't remember him ever doing so. Her nervousness starting to melt away, she smiled gratefully. "Alright, Matsura. Then call me Hibiki!"
"Of course, Hibiki." He nodded. But then he looked at the man, who was directing a rather inscrutable and strange stare at the hallway clock, and his small smile fell away. "And you are?"
The man looked back down. "Souji Ogawa," He introduced himself. "I'm with SONG. I hope to help address any questions or concerns you might have about your daughter's involvement."
"Ah, very well. Come on in." Matsura acknowledged, turning to lead them in. As they entered the living room, he called up. "Okamura, dear! It's Miku and Hibiki!"
The sound of something crashing upstairs caused them all to jump. All except for Souji, who was curiously eyeing a bookshelf at the living room's entrance.
"I'm okay!" Okamura shouted quickly. A few moments later, a woman with black, shoulder-length hair hurried down the stairs. "Miku! It's so good to see you!" She called, rapidly coming over to hug her daughter. As she did so she glanced over at Hibiki. "And Tachibana… no, I really should call you Hibiki, shouldn't I? How's Harumi?"
"My mom's doing fine, Kohinata." Hibiki replied, uncertain whether she should entirely return the familiar address. "We'll be going to see them after our visit here."
"Now, now. After everything you've done for us, I insist you call me Okamura," Okamura said quickly. Releasing Miku from the hug, she stepped back a bit and looked between the two. "Oh, my. How you two have grown."
"Papa said the same thing." Miku giggled.
"Mm, I suppose you both will be turning eighteen in the fall." The older women shook her head wistfully. "I still remember the day you two first met…" She trailed off as she first noticed Souji. "And you are?"
"Souji Ogawa here is with SONG." Matsura pre-empted the ninja's own introduction. "He says he'll contribute to the conversation we'll be having about Miku's future there."
Both Hibiki and Miku shuffled at that, some of their nervousness returning. For his part, Souji glanced up from the couch he had been eyeing. "Perhaps we should have that discussion over lunch. I saw a cafe on the way in that looked quite lovely."
"Oh, I figured I would whip up something here." Okamura said, glancing towards the kitchen.
"I wouldn't want to impose that much," Souji replied. "And I'll foot the bill. It is SONG business, after all."
Matsura narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Is that a bribe?"
"Not at all," Souji said, a polite smile on his face. "It would be improper to make you pay for a lunch from our visit after all the times your daughter has helped us. We are technically her employer, after all."
Okamura glanced at her husband, implicitly leaving the decision to him. Matsura remained quiet for a few more moments, eyeing the ninja. Miku and Hibiki glanced between the two, not sure what to make of the sudden tension in the room. Finally, Matsura exhaled through his nose and nodded. "Very well, a meal out does sound like a good idea. Let me get my hat."
—
In the back of a van parked inside a parking deck in an adjacent commercial district, well out of sight of the Kohinata household, three men listened in on the conversation with great interest. Though Director Ogawa had tried to sound casual, they all had the same gut feeling that the jig was up.
"Think he noticed them?"
"Given who he is, yeah. Definitely."
"I'm calling it in."
—
"Erm… Ogawa." Okamura said as Souji began to turn down a residential alley. "The nearest cafe is that way." She indicated the road they had been walking down.
"I saw another one over this way while driving into town," Souji replied matter-of-factly. "It should be closer."
Both Okamura and Matsura frowned slightly as neither of them recalled any nearby cafe in that direction. From just in front of them, Miku and Hibiki also exchanged glances. Something definitely felt wrong here. They didn't know the older Ogawa brother like they did Shinji, but given that he was the commander's older brother surely he wouldn't lead them astray? With only a bit of trepidation they followed Souji, compelling Miku's parents onwards.
They were halfway down the alleyway when Souji abruptly stopped, reached into his jacket's vest, and drew a handgun.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Matsura demanded, immediately moving between Souji and the rest of them.
Souji ignored him, instead raising his SONG communicator to his mouth with his other hand. "This is Director Ogawa, requesting immediate extraction for the Kohinata and Tachibana families."
"Director Ogawa?" Hibiki asked in slight alarm.
"Tachibana and Kohinata." Souji continued, clearly addressing Miku and Hibiki. "I need you two to keep a lookout." The two girls glanced between each other and the ninja before nodding, each of them turning to watch a different side of the alleyway. Souji turned around to look Matsura square in the eyes. "My apologies for the deception, but I had to make sure we were some place where we could not be overheard."
"Overheard?" Okamura asked, unable to take her eyes off of the gun. "What do you mean?"
"Your entire house was bugged," Souji answered. "And even now, it is possible we are being followed."
"Followed?" Matsura abruptly turned to look around in alarm. "Who would-" He paused, recalling there was only one group that might be following them which would prompt a SONG agent to draw a gun.
"You think it's the Four Horsemen?" Miku asked, keeping her eyes on the end of the alley they had just come down. She couldn't see anyone, but now she felt very much on edge. Already in her mind's eye, she could see the blue optical goggles of the Horsemen's gas masked soldiers, their rifles raised, appearing at the alley's entrance. The black haired girl hand reached up to clasp at the silver diamond of the Shenshoujing around her neck, and her lips drew together in determination. She would not let them hurt her family.
"S-surely not." Okamura's shaky voice was rather at odds with her assertion. "Surely it's just some more reporters. They've been quite a bit persistent since the news got out."
But Souji shook his head. "That would have been a gross violation of privacy almost no reporter would have dared undertaken. Even if it was one bold enough to do so, the bugs were far too well placed and hidden for it to have been a civilian job. I was barely able to pick them out, and believe me when I say I know a thing about surveillance. Whoever set them up were professionals, and very good ones at that."
"W-wait." Hibiki abruptly turned, worry rising in her voice. "If they were watching Miku's parents then that means-"
"Yes, Tachibana," Ogawa nodded. "They probably are watching yours as well."
A look of panic started to sweep across Hibiki's face. "Oh no. Dad was coming today since we were going to go and visit after-"
The ninja quickly cut her off, trying to sound soothing. "Don't worry, I've called for them to be picked up as well. We'll make sure they're safe."
----
[Alert: Fifth Seal Cell 107 Reports Probable OPSEC Breach. Verifying.]
[OPSEC Breach Verified. Recalculating.]
[Fifth Seal Mission Parameter Update:]
Cell 107: Subjects Kilo-India-Alpha Redesignated HVTs Kilo-India-Alpha. Liquidate. White Unit Killteam Release Authorized. Effective Immediate.
Cell 108: Subjects Tango-India-Alpha Redesignated HVIs Tango-India-Alpha. Secure Primary. Liquidate Secondary. Effective Immediate.
----
Next Chapter: The Fifth Seal
----
Author Notes: Time for another raise of hands! Back when I tossed you guys the "White Unit ID Codes" and they had Kanade and Serena listed under them, which of you suspected that was for more than just the sake of completeness?
This chapter was fun because I got to write how normal people see and react in-person to the Geahs when they're transformed, both in and out of action. I hit upon the idea quite early on in writing the story that the Geahs when transformed have this awe-inspiring otherworldly aura to them, as befitting a source of miracles, that can be quite stunning to an ordinary person who isn't used to or prepared for it when meeting them in person. But since the combat segments of the story up until now has been told overwhelmingly from the Geah's perspective, I haven't been able to do much more than hint at it until now. Expect it to be something that comes up a bit, since this story will feature the Geah's fighting around, and with, ordinary people quite a bit more frequently than in the series.
Also writing Geah's finally being able to go full house against a modern(ish) army. That's something I've been waiting to do for awhile now.
Shenshoujin being a silver diamond instead of a red crystal is a cosmetic nod to its different origins as a Faust Robe. It has a bit of canonical support too, from the end of XV's episode 8.
Finally, split story arc! Originally, this chapter was supposed to cover the entirety of the Panau battle arc, then time jump backwards a bit to cover the start of what I've dubbed the "Day with the Tachibana's and Kohinata's" arc. But after I started writing this chapter, me and my beta's quickly agreed that it would probably work better if we split between the two arcs. Not only does this let us emphasize that these events are chronologically occurring parallel to each other, it also let's us cliffhanger you guys TWICE in one chapter! Now that's efficiency!
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- Location
- in between
....HOLY SHIT!!!!
Edit: Having become slightly less what the fuck internally, I'll note that I'm surprised there isn't anyone watching the Tachibanas/ Kohinatas anyways. SONGbird, at least the way I had his character in my head, probably would have two guys in the area just as a matter of course, given their the family of the person he's been bodyguarding for two years now. Not that two SONG mooks would make an overwhelming difference here, but I would have expected he'd think of it. Admittedly, he wouldn't have thought the Tachibana family not Hibiki would ever need said two guys, but eh, your call. SONGbird is my character, but it's your story.
Edit: Having become slightly less what the fuck internally, I'll note that I'm surprised there isn't anyone watching the Tachibanas/ Kohinatas anyways. SONGbird, at least the way I had his character in my head, probably would have two guys in the area just as a matter of course, given their the family of the person he's been bodyguarding for two years now. Not that two SONG mooks would make an overwhelming difference here, but I would have expected he'd think of it. Admittedly, he wouldn't have thought the Tachibana family not Hibiki would ever need said two guys, but eh, your call. SONGbird is my character, but it's your story.
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Four Horsemen Mook Appearance
obssesednuker
Commander of 10 Million Men
- Location
- In the Kremlin, activating Perimtr.
Yep, that's rather the sort of reaction I was expecting for this chapter.
As people get over the shock of dat reveal, I figure I might as well discuss the appearance of the two main types of Horsemen mooks since they've both been introduced. And to help people visualize what exactly these guys look like.
The Staples, so-called because their nerve-stapled clones obviously, that make up the main rank-and-file (as well as man combat vehicles and heavy weapons) are just wholesale the Blackwatch troops from the first Prototype game, appearance-wise. It's an aesthetic that just flat-out works for a faction that emphasizes it's militarism and reliance on high-technology yet still views both it's opposition and own personnel through a lens of clinical dehumanization.
For the appearance of the Automen, I reached to a somewhat more obscure game that nonetheless still had that same "militaristic-technological" aesthetic. To that end, the Consortium's "Punisher" unit from Act of Aggression fit the bill nicely:
The main difference between the concept art above and an Automen would be the combat vest would lack most of the sort of accessories you see up there: the belts, magazine pouches, and etc would be gone. What looks like body armor would actually be the centerpiece of their body. They'd also wear more layers of Kevlar-fabric over their arms to help obscure the integrated graser weapon built under their right forearm.
- Location
- College Station, Texas
The Kohinatas and the Tachibanas do have people watching over them.
- Location
- in between
Oh. Well now I feel like an idiot. Sorry, guys.
Paleb05
A Believer of Optimism in the World
- Location
- Pennsylvania
This is a small bit of what they can do but all things considered, the reaction is appropriate.
This does give a good look at the amazing hammerspace that the gears happen to have, especially Ichaival.
Congrauations Chris on your new nickname.
I believe that I only have one response about this: HOLY SHIT!!!
Do note that I have no problem with it, I just wanted to give my reaction of what went through my mind when I read that bit.
- Location
- College Station, Texas
You shouldn't feel sorry at all. It was a small mention from last chapter, so it'd be easy to miss.
- Location
- College Station, Texas
Yes. But you have to keep in mind that the Four Horsemen are going up against the Symphogear users.
obssesednuker
Commander of 10 Million Men
- Location
- In the Kremlin, activating Perimtr.
Now imagine if they were in X-Drive. Marine's would probably be forming religious cults dedicated to them right then and there.
"And then on the seventh day, Hibiki Tachibana OVERSLEPT AGAIN! This prompted Chris Yukine to smack her. And it was good."
Chris: Thanks, I hate it.
Wait, are the triple-a's intentional or not?
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FelOnyx
Love and Peace!
- Location
- Gunsmoke
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Have you met my friend Luuke? He's pretty handy.
obssesednuker
Commander of 10 Million Men
- Location
- In the Kremlin, activating Perimtr.
I thought it was a reference to that. Ah well...
- Location
- in between
....Oh God, I just realised. The Horsemen are lucky they have Anti LiNKER. Otherwise, those marines basically WOULD have been seeing them in X-Drive. Or at least, the power level of the GX X-Drive. Which is probably why they put so much effort into getting good Anti LiNKER, because if you have a choice between fighting X-Drive and not doing that, don't do that. And if they went Burning.... hoo boy. I can only imagine how the Chinese would react to THAT can of bullshit. And the marines, for that matter.
FelOnyx
Love and Peace!
- Location
- Gunsmoke
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Why make one clone joke when you can make two?
obssesednuker
Commander of 10 Million Men
- Location
- In the Kremlin, activating Perimtr.
It's not exactly so much "lucky" as it is "intentionally planned for". Otherwise, put a pin in that.
Hmm...
Tsuubasa
Hibiiki
Chriis
Maaria
Kiriika
Shiraabe
Sereena
Mikuu
That all sound about right?
I mean, I figure there'd also be some more speculation about why the Horsemen have a Kanade-clone.
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