"Convenient." Kara glances upward toward the ceiling and what lay beyond. "And far enough from the jet that I probably won't total it if I transform. This secluded enough for you or do you want to go find a shady alley or whatever instead?"
Laylah shook her head.
"We shouldn't have to worry about being seen here. No sense in wasting the opportunity, right? So, it's just a matter of using this..." Laylah trailed off, holding up her ring hand.
Laylah's heart began to beat faster. She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel some amount of trepidation. The implications of what Charon had said to them before administering the drug were still fresh in her mind. Assuming his drug didn't work, or if something else went wrong... well, if that was the case, she wouldn't be worrying about it for much longer anyways, so best not to dwell on it.
Deep breath.
"If I explode or something... punch Charon in the dick."
With that Laylah closed her eyes and began to chant as Charon had instructed. Her voice was soft, but the melody she sang seemed to carry a threatening edge to it. The words in the chant were foreign, their meanings utterly lost to her. Laylah felt oddly distant as she sang, the words and rhythm coming to her on mere instinct. As the chant came to a close, the ring on Laylah's left hand suddenly exploded into wind and blinding light.
Within the light Laylah's clothes dissolved away, briefly leaving her naked. Her deep red hair was now freed from its ponytail and allowed to whip around freely in the wind. A skin hugging black suit, seemingly made from scales, materialized to cover her body. Her body was then gradually encased from the bottom up in plates of black armor decorated with swirling red patterns. A spiny, lizard-like tail extended from the back of the chest piece. A half mask resembling the snout and maw of a dragon's head formed around the upper half of her face, hiding her eyes behind a red visor. Her ears were completely encapsulated by headphones resembling horns. With one final burst of light her relic appeared as a red gem, wrapped around her throat.
The entire transformation lasted mere seconds and from the light emerged Laylah, clad in her draconic symphogear: Andvaranaut. She was hunched over and breathing heavily, her heart racing a mile a minute. Part of that was caused by the stress of maybe almost killing herself, but even more so than that was the massive rush she was getting. It was amazing! She could feel the strength and power of her Gear coursing through her like a raging inferno. Laylah began shaking and her panting soon gave way to uncharacteristic giddy laughter, growing gradually more manic by the second. She clutched her head tightly, a crazed smile trying to force its way onto her face.
With a sharp intake of breath Laylah clenched her teeth tightly, her expression contorting into one of anger. With a low growl at the back of her throat she balled up her right hand into a fist and wound back before slamming it into the reception desk. The heavy piece of furniture was shattered into splinters which began to rain down around the lobby. A small crater was left in the marble floor below where it had stood.
"Ha... ha... Sorry... Needed to get that out..." Laylah mumbled, staring at her armored hand with wonder. Her breath was ragged as her heartrate started to come down and she began to return to her senses.
