[X] Start a proper analysis of your 'relic fusion' state; you really want some more data on what's happening to you and where it's likely to lead if at all possible.
"Alright," Elfnein begins as you enter her lab, "just lie down on the bed and we can begin." As you do so, her hand lights up with a golden alchemical symbol and she begins to study a newly-formed window into your internal systems.
"You have prior records of relic fusion specimens, right?" You ask as you peer into the window yourself. It's been a while since you saw your own internal structure so clearly and you can't say that you are excited about the thorny purple vines spreading throughout your body.
"Only the one specimen, I'm afraid," Elfnein replies, "and Hibiki was no longer fused with her relic by the time I joined S.O.N.G., so all of my knowledge is either from old records or purely hypothetical." That's not exactly ideal, but under the circumstances you'll take what you can get. "What I can say is that your fusion has advanced further over the past few days than hers did over the course of nearly three years. While it doesn't seem to be life-threatening thanks to your artificial nature, I would still be careful about how often you use your transformation just to be safe. In addition, I've noticed that your generator has changed its composition slightly compared to your first scan when you arrived here. Its shape is the same, but its output is increasing." Your generator is changing?
"That's absurd!" You reply. "I would have noticed if my central generator had changed… right? Actually, hold on a minute, take the image back for a moment." Elfnein does so, and the change is immediately apparent to you. Your antimatter generator always glowed a faint white, but now it's glowing green. "Are the Getter Rays… changing me?"
"Have you felt different from your usual self at any point since arriving in our dimension?" Elfnein asks you. At first you feel inclined to refuse, but then you think back to the battles of the past few days and your excited, almost feral smiles even as you were coughing up blood. Have the Getter Rays begun to affect your personality, or is it just your changing circumstances forcing you to adapt accordingly? You can't say for certain, and that frightens you. Will Sis even recognize you when you finally see her again?
"On the bright side," Elfnein interrupts your pondering, "the rapid progress of your fusion has allowed your sync rate to grow at an exponential rate. I wouldn't be surprised if you could induce X-Drive through your Superb Song alone, though for the sake of your health I would recommend that you not attempt that if at all possible."
"You never did tell me what a Superb Song actually is," you say as you continue staring at your changed, or perhaps corrupted, inner mechanisms.
"That's right!" Elfnein frets briefly before returning her attention to you. "The Superb Song is the Symphogear's deadliest weapon, a song that generates extreme phonic gain by burning up the user's very life force. Someone fused with a relic can handle the backlash better than a normal wielder, but it is still extremely dangerous to the user. Please promise me that you will never use it unless you have absolutely no other option whatsoever." Her sudden switch into a stern demeanor shakes you; is this what she's like when she's being serious about something?
"I promise. I certainly have no intention of injuring myself unless absolutely necessary." You agree without a second thought, as it only makes sense. Why would you ever use a deadly upgrade unless all of your other options were exhausted?
"Excellent!" Elfnein returns to her usual expression, her labcoat shifting as she does so. "Now then, let's see what else we can learn about your fusion, shall we?"
The next several hours are simultaneously productive and frustrating. On the bright side, studying how the Getter Rays affect your transformation have given you plenty of data on how you might incorporate Super Alloy Z into the other girls' Symphogears. By modifying the converter crystals with only a small shard of the material, the same mechanism that reconstructs the relic will also be able to create additional Super Alloy Z ex nihilo and strengthen the Symphogear's resistance to damage. Unfortunately, directly incorporating Photon Power alongside phonic gain will be impossible without also turning the girls into relic fusions, a process that they would be unlikely to survive even if you were monstrous enough to subject them to it.
The worse news is that while your fusion is unlikely to ever be life-threatening, it is almost certainly irreversible. While a strong enough will can reverse some of the effects of the Getter Rays, the newly modified state of your reactor is now reliant on them; removing them would cause you to shut down. As it stands, you have no choice but to constantly monitor your own behavior and mental state and try to avoid being further overtaken by the mentality that the Getter Rays have been provoking within you. You also learn that while introducing Getter Rays directly into the other Symphogears would likely give the girls life-threatening complications, careful usage of them could allow their relics to incorporate additional materials like Super Alloy Z more easily. The wielder in question would likely need to focus all of their willpower on avoiding being fused with their relic, but if it gives them all upgrades similar to the one from Great Mazinger to Mazin Emperor G then you'll call that a victory.
As the hours wind down and the time of the likely enemy attack approaches, Elfnein heads for the bridge while you join the other wielders on the deck of the submarine. Hibiki is the first one to notice you, and of course she immediately bounds over and crushes your spine with a tight hug. Personal space, woman! Personal space!
"Are you alright, Nine? You look kind of gloomy." Hibiki asks you after she lets go and backs up a step or two. She then gasps. "Oh no, your relic fusion isn't killing you too, is it?"
"Not physically, it isn't," you reply, "but it's a long story that we don't have time for right now. Are you ready to fight?"
"Honestly, I'm hoping we won't have to." She says. "If we can talk to this Ishum guy, maybe we can hold hands and settle our differences peacefully!"
"I hope so too," you tell her, "but something tells me it won't be that simple." Then the alarms go off as the sky distorts and a small army's worth of figures appear before you.
There they are, right on schedule. However, something is different this time. There are no MP Sarcophagi this time, only Karma-Noise. And that is a lot of Karma-Noise, monsters of all shapes and sizes, some flying and others ground-bound. And there he is, floating lazily in the air as if gravity were a mere suggestion. The Anunnaki's watchman of choice and your supposed executioner, R. Ishum. Now that you have better lighting to see him by, you notice that he's a close match for an android version of Enki. His hair matches the image on S.O.N.G.'s files, while his body is close save for the glowing lines running up and down his arms. He even has a bracer on one arm that matches the one worn by both Enki and Shem-Ha.
"Puppets of the Anathema!" His arrogant voice rings out through the night. "Surrender the android and the contaminated relic, and you will be permitted to live! I have no wish to harm the humans that our creators once guided and cherished!" You take note of his usage of 'our creators,' which has interesting implications. Is he too merely a creation of the Anunnaki and not properly one of them? "I only wish to protect you from that which cannot be reasoned with and must not be tolerated!"
"How can you say that about Nine?!" Hibiki shouts, with the other girls all supporting her. "She's not an enemy, she's our friend! Whatever it is you're worried about, I'm sure we can work something out if we just talk to each other!" This girl… if only more people were like her, the world might be a better place.
"Would that I could, young warrior," R. Ishum replies, now seeming… sad? So she gets empathy and you don't, you see how it is. "But to prevent Armageddon, I must destroy the source of the Anathema! Stand aside, or you will risk joining it in its fate!"
"We really don't have to do this!" You shout at him, desperately trying to avoid what some part of you already believes to be inevitable. "Just tell us why you're so afraid of the Getter Rays! We're already taking steps to mitigate the risks, steps you're negating by continuing to attack us! Just get off your high horse and talk to us already, dammit!" Oh dear, you haven't even transformed yet and it seems that your blood is already starting to burn hot.
"Anathema," he spits at you. "Do not take me for a fool. I shall exterminate you entirely, no matter the cost!" He then raises his arm and… speaks into his bracer? "Bring on the dawn!"
For a moment, all is still. Then, there is a roar of rushing air as a pillar of flame reaches down from the heavens and engulfs him entirely. By the time you can all see again, the machine is already taking shape, flame solidifying into metal as what can only be a genuine super robot rises forth to oppose you. This is bad; as if dealing with R. Ishum on his own wasn't going to be bad enough, he's a pilot as well? "Rise from the ashes, Dawnbringer!" His voice rings out from the machine's speakers as it assumes a ready stance.
The machine reminds you of Cybuster more than anything else, but if its glowing green elements were instead orange and if its wings were constantly burning red hot and extruding flames behind them. This is clearly a robot build for speed and aggression; it only makes sense, if its goal is to burn away the Getter Rays before they can spread. You're not sure why it resembles the Elemental Lord of Wind so closely, but you're not looking forward to fighting it; if it's even a fraction as deadly as the machine you fought alongside, the lot of you are in for the fight of your lives tonight.
Unfortunately, it appears as though a battle is inevitable, at least for tonight. The only question is what part of the battlefield demands your attention first.
[] Focus on clearing out the Karma-Noise with everyone else first; that is a distressingly large horde. Change Dragon!
[] Take the fight to R. Ishum and Dawnbringer directly; if he wants a battle, he's got one! Summon the simulated GranVang so you can fight on a level playing field.
[] Write-In
A/N: Basically imagine a mix between Cybuster and the Phantom Light system from the Phantom Gundam and you have the Dawnbringer. Have fun!
