Super Robot Wars MG (Old)

by EpicLinkSam, Lilpumpkin2000

Summary:

Magic. Songs. Heroes.

There have been countless conflicts on the Earth, and it's up to the heroes to reach out and connect, to create a world of Love and Peace!

Discord Server: https://discord.gg/cReWrPZuv6

(This is the old version. New version coming soon!)

Chapter 1: Scenario 0: Backlit Wings (UC)

Universal Century 0098

Tensions have grown in the world. Last year, the Earth's population had split into two factions; The Confederate Treaty of Liberty Alliance and Great Zogila. While nothing has come of the merges since, unease has slipped into humanity.

Thus, several have taken it upon themselves to be uplifting in this time. The 13th Gundam fight brought fire into humanities hearts, lifting spirit through battles.

Though there are other ways to bring hope, as a duo of idol singers named Zwei Wing hope to achieve.

And in this very concert, the fate of the world will shift…

---

"Miku? Where are you? I'm at the stadium already!"

13-year old Hibiki Tachibana was talking into her phone, confused why her friend wasn't showing up. She was standing outside the stadium where the Zwei Wing concert was to take place.

"Sorry, something came up." Miku said, on the other end of the phone.

"Eeh?! Why? You're the one that invited me!" Hibiki exclaimed.

"My aunt in Morioka got into an accident, so Dad's gonna drive us there now."

"But I barely know these singers!" Hibiki added.

"I'm really sorry." Miku apologized again.

Hibiki sighed as she hung up.

"I'm starting to think there's a curse on me…" She muttered.

Nearby, a trio of girls about a year younger than her were really excited to go to the concert.

"I think this is the first time I'll be going to a Zwei Wing concert in-person. What about you, Wasshi?" Sonoko asked.

"It's my first time as well." Washio said. "Though I do have all of their songs."

"Well, I've been to a couple before with my whole family so I know very well how these work." Gin said.

"Well then, we'll just leave it to you to guide us. Lead the way, Mino-san!" Sonoko smiled.

"It's a concert. It's not that difficult to follow, Sonoko…" Gin sweatdropped.

"Plus we're in a line so we're technically following the crowd." Washio added.

Speaking of said line, a few steps ahead of them was a young man. He noticeably stood out among the crowd due to the fact he had a red cloak on, along with a red headband.

"I still don't understand why you want me to come here, Rain. I could be training for my next fight." Domon said, arms crossed.

"Because even a fighter like you needs to take a break to keep yourself in tip-top shape." Rain told him.

"But why an idol concert?" Domon asked. "I'm not into this sort of thing."

"Well, you never know. You might end up liking it." Rain proposed.

"Hmph. If that's what you think, fine." Domon said, arms crossed.

"Wonderful." Rain smiled.

Domon kept his arms crossed as he looked up at the stadium. He still felt there wasn't a need for him to be here, yet something felt off at the moment as he looked around.

Why can't I shake off this premonition…?

---

Backstage, the two idols of Zwei Wing were waiting for their time to go on-stage with Tsubasa crouching herself behind a crate.

"Hey Tsubasa, whatcha doing down there?" Kanade asked as she walked up. "It's almost time to start."

"You still feeling nervous huh, Tsubasa?" Kanade asked.

"Of course." Tsubasa said. "You know that Sakurai and the others said that the show today is suppose to crucial so-"

Flick!

Tsubasa blinked from her forehead being flicked, looking up as she saw that Kanade was the one who did it.

"Heh, why do you gotta be so serious about this thing?" Kanade chuckled.

"Kanade…"

At that, Kanade walked behind Tsubasa and gave her a hug, which caught Tsubasa off-guard at the sudden affection.

"You need to lighten up, Tsubasa." Kanade said, holding her close. "If you always stay this tense, you'll break down one of these days."

"I... I get it, Kanade." Tsubasa softly smiled.

Kanade grasped Tsubasa's hands. "You're my partner, Tsubasa. I can't have fun doing this if you're like this. Otherwise, how are we supposed to make the audience enjoy it if we can't?"

"It'll all work out as long as we're together." Tsubasa said, as the two stood up. "Then let's do this, Kanade!"

"Yeah! We're Zwei Wing, the two wings that can fly to the ends of the Earth."

"We can overcome anything!"

---

Everyone in the audience were sitting in their seats as the main concert stage started to light up as the Zwei Wing duo descended on down to the stage. Hibiki had started cheering already, as was Gin and her friends. Domon looked unimpressed until they started to sing.

The crowd of people started to cheer very loudly at the idol duo's singing. Hibiki was waving around a glow stick as they sang.

"Wow, it's so different hearing them sing in person compared to on albums." Sonoko noted.

"The real Tsubasa and Kanade, singing in front of us!" Washio added.

"And I get to see it with my two best friends…" Gin grinned. "I think I'll always cherish this day with you two."

"So what do you think so far of their singing, Domon?" Rain asked from their seats.

"It's... not bad, actually." Domon had to admit.

"See, I told you that you'd like it if you gave it a chance." Rain chuckled.

"I never said that-"

"Uh huh, sure, Domon."

"Hmm…" Domon was admittedly enjoying the song, but that odd feeling was still bugging him. Something feels off to me here but I can't tell what or why exactly…

Zwei Wing finished their song to a standing ovation.

"Whoo!" Hibiki cheered, finally understanding why Miku had invited her.

"We're not done yet!" Kanade declared.

BWOOM

But before they could get into their next song, an explosion went off in the center of the stadium.

"What the-?!" Rain shouted.

"Huh...?" Hibiki was confused at the sudden sound. It didn't seem like part of the event. Gin and her friends were on edge.

"We didn't get any alert... then that must mean-!" Sonoko realized.

Noise began to drop from the sky, as panic spread throughout the arena. The audience soon started to try and evacuate out of the concert as the Noise started to disintegrate the concertgoers.

"The Noise?! Why are they here?!" Rain shouted.

"I don't know." Domon grit his teeth, his premonition having come true. "But I'm not letting a single one get out! Rain, help evac-!"

"Croitzal ronzell Gungnir zizzl~"

"Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron~"

Upon hearing the song, Domon looked and saw that Kanade and Tsubasa had leapt off the stage and seemingly formed armor on their bodies. Kanade summoned a huge lance while Tsubasa drew a katana as they started to fight the Noise.

"What the...?"

Gin and her friends were also shocked at this development.

"Whoa! Are they also Heroes chosen by Shinju-sama?" Sonoko wondered.

"I really don't think that's the case, Sonoko." Washio narrowed her eyes.

Gin on the other hand, smiled. "Zwei Wing are just like us though... that's awesome! We gotta help them out!"

"But are our weapons going to be able to affect the Noise? They're not like the Vertex." Washio asked, knowing the destruction the monsters could bring.

"It doesn't matter to me!" Gin declared. "We're Heroes, aren't we? And Heroes protect people from monsters like these!"

"I'm with you, Mino-san!" Sonoko said.

"Well, I guess we can't leave Zwei Wing to fight for themselves." Washio said. "We'll help them, together!"

With that, the three girls pulled out their phones and pressed the button on the app. With a flash of light and petals, they all proceeded to transform into their Hero forms. The three of them all jumped down from their seats to help fight off the Noise. To their surprise, their weapons were working on the Noise just as effectively.

"See, our stuff is working just fine, Sumi!" Gin said.

"Then let's keep pushing forward!" Washio shouted, shooting down several.

Tsubasa and Kanade had noticed the three Heroes helping them.

"Huh? We got more Wielders?" Kanade stabbed out a Noise as she looked at the girls.

"No... their appearances aren't like ours." Tsubasa noted.

"Either way, it looks like we just got some backup!"

Back up in the seats, Domon and Rain had helped evacuate several more citizens. Using his skills, Domon had taken down a few Noise by kicking debris at them.

"Domon! That's everyone away from the North set of seats!" Rain shouted.

"Got it! Get to safety, Rain!"

He raised his hand to snap his fingers.

"COME OUT! GUNDAM!"

The girls fighting soon felt the ground start to rumble.

"Oh, what now?!" Kanade groaned.

The answer to that would come as they all soon saw the Shining Gundam rise up, smashing through the North side seats of the arena.

"Is that-?!" Tsubasa widened her eyes.

"The Gundam Fight representative of Japan! The Shining Gundam!" Washio recognized.

"Wait, it was under the stage the whole time?" Kanade asked.

The Shining Gundam's eyes flashed for a second as it stood up. It then pointed its vulcans towards a group of Noise and opened fire, taking them out.

"Noise... monsters of destruction that ruin lives... you're no better than the Dark Army!" Domon shouted. "As the King of Hearts, I will destroy every last one of you!"

The Shining Gundam rocketed forward, taking out the Noise in waves with devastating punches and kicks.

"Whoa, look at him go!" Sonoko said in awe.

"The Shining Gundam... I didn't think I'd get to see it so close today too!" Gin said with a grin.

Tsubasa raised a brow. "But if it was under the stage, how did-?"

"Hey, you five! I'm not sure how you're fighting the Noise like that, but don't just stop! We need to wipe out these bastards!" Domon shouted out of the Shining Gundam's speaker.

"Yes, sir!" Washio said.

The Heroes and Wielders fought alongside the Shining Gundam, now having the upper hand against the Noise. On the side of the stadium, Hibiki was still watching, having not moved from her spot in shock after she was knocked down by the Noise breaking the ground. As Kanade thrusted her lance through a few of the Noise, she soon took notice of Hibiki, before also noticing that there were some Noise trying to approach her.

"Hurry up and get out of here, kid!" Kanade called up.

Hibiki was snapped out of her shock by Kanade's command and tried to do just that, but she was forced to slowly limp away due to her leg having been hurt earlier.

"Look out!" Gin shouted.

Several of the Noise tried to attack Hibiki, but Kanade quickly got in front of her to protect her. Gin rushed in to support them, but couldn't reach in time before the Noise attacked Kanade and broke parts of her armor off. One of the shards hurtled its way towards Hibiki as it then proceeded to pierce itself straight into her chest, causing a gush of blood to erupt from her body. Kanade's pupils shrank in dread.

"She's hurt!" Sonoko noticed.

The Noise tried to capitalize on this, but the Shining Gundam clenched its fists. "Oh no you don't!"

It punched, firing beams of energy that pierced through them and kept them back. Kanade and Gin ended up being the ones to go over to the bleeding girl to check on her.

"Oh god, please be okay!" Gin said.

"Hey!" Kanade picked up the girl. "Don't die! Don't give up on life!"

Hibiki was losing consciousness, but she was holding on, to Kanade's relief.

"She's still clinging on, that's good." Kanade breathed out.

"Yeah, but I think she really needs to get medical attention as soon as possible." Gin said.

Kanade looked at Gin, and saw that she was wounded in a few areas as well from fighting the Noise.

"Hey, do you mind watching over her?" Kanade asked the girl.

"Umm, sure. I can do that."

Kanade gently leaned Hibiki against a broken wall, before picking up her spear. She looked out at Tsubasa, Sonoko, Washio and the Shining Gundam still fighting off the Noise.

"Even with all of us... there's still too many of them…"

"Miss Kanade…" Gin said.

"Hey kid, what's your name?" Kanade asked.

"Gin Minowa."

"You're a strong girl, aren't you, Gin?" Kanade asked. "Then mind watching my back?"

"What are you going to do?"

Kanade looked at her bleeding hand. "This might be my last song... but I'll wipe out every last one of these monsters. I want you to listen to it."

"Last song?" Gin said, alarmed. "Wait, hold on!"

Kanade raised her spear as she began to sing, her song a different tone compared to her other songs. While the others didn't notice, Tsubasa was the only one that realized what Kanade was doing.

"Kanade no! Don't sing that!"

But as Kanade sang, an alert went off on the phones of the three Heroes.

"Is that a phone alert?" Tsubasa noticed, looking at them.

Washio pulled out her phone and saw the notification. "Right now of all times?!"

"What's going on?!" Domon demanded.

His communication screen turned on to show Rain. "Domon! Something else is coming in from above!"

"From above?!"

Several grotesque looking monsters were floating down from the sky. They bore no resemblance to the Noise.

"What-?!" Tsubasa gripped her sword. "What are those creatures?!"

"It's the Vertex!" Sonoko shouted.

"Vertex? What do you mean?!" Domon yelled.

"It's complicated but they're essentially the monsters that me and my friends are used to dealing with." Washio explained.

"But why would they show up now...?" Sonoko questioned.

They noticed the Vertex were moving towards Kanade, who was still singing.

"They're going after-?!" Washio realized.

"Kanade!" Tsubasa screamed.

Kanade noticed them coming, but kept singing. Just as one was about to reach her, Gin managed to push it back with a slash from her axes.

"You're not getting near her! Not if I have anything to say about it!" Gin clanged her weapons.

"Gin!"

"You said you wanted me to hear your song, Miss Kanade! Well, keep singing!" Gin told her.

"Yeah! Let's do this!" Kanade grinned.

"I'll keep both of you safe!" Gin raised her weapons. "You monsters won't get past me!"

She rushed forward, and slashed at them to keep them away.

"Kanade!" Tsubasa called.

"Gin!" Washio shouted.

"If they said they have it covered, let them handle it!" Domon told the two. "Lend your support by taking care of the small fry! SHINING FINGER!"

The Shining Gundam's hand glew green, as it grabbed a Noise, incinerating it.

With that, Washio and Tsubasa reluctantly went back to taking care of the enemies that were near them.

Gin fought the Vertex and Noise, slashing through and pushing back with her axes.

"Agh!"

She took a nasty hit from one of the Vertex, making her hit the ground, but she got up, trying to ignore the pain. Hibiki was watching, barely holding onto her consciousness as she saw the two girls fighting to protect her, Kanade's song resonating in her ears. Gin slashed through a few more of the Vertex and Noise, but then took another nasty hit that caused her to almost collapse to her knees, but she managed to hold strong and still stand up.

"None of you… are getting past me!" She declared.

They kept on attacking, but Gin kept pushing forward, slashing with all her might, even as the Vertex tore into her.

"I'll return! I'll protect! You monsters wouldn't understand this kind of strength!" She roared. "This is what it means to be human! This is determination! This is willpower! THIS IS OUR SPIRIT!"

As Gin finished her declaration, Kanade finished her Superb Song. Blood dripped down her mouth.

"Thanks... Gin…"

A huge burst of energy shot out from Kanade, expanding as it obliterated every single Noise in the area. It even managed to take out a good chunk of the Vertex that were nearby, but it still left a few of them as the energy started to die down.

"It was... a wonderful song... Miss Kanade…" Gin smiled.

Her weapons dropped from her hands, embedding into the ground as she looked up at the Vertex. Kanade could only weakly nod, before falling, her armor shattering. Blood pooled around both of them.

The dust soon cleared for the others, letting them regain their sight as they soon saw that the Noise had all been wiped out. They then took notice of the states of both Kanade and Gin.

"Kanade!" Tsubasa screamed.

"Gin!" Washio and Sonoko both called.

Hibiki saw them run up to her friends, before closing her eyes as she finally let unconsciousness take her. Domon watched them as well, gritting his teeth in anger, before turning to the remaining Vertex that were struggling to stay afloat.

"These Vertex... they're just like the Dark Army and the Noise, taking away things we can never get back! That's something I can never forgive!"

The Shining Gundam started to glow gold as Domon shouted with rage.

"This hand of mine glows with an awesome power! Its burning grip tells me to defeat you!

The Shining Gundam clasped its hands together as a large blade of green energy erupts from it.

"Take this! My love, my anger, and all of my sorrow! SHINING FINGER SWORD! GO! GO! GO!"

Swinging it down the blade with exuberant force, he obliterated the remaining Vertex with a single strike.

With the Vertex completely taken out, the Shining Gundam stops glowing gold and returned to its original colors. Domon took a deep breath, before he turned to look down at the girls once more.

"Kanade! Please wake up!" Tsubasa begged.

Kanade groaned, opening her eyes as she spoke in a hoarse tone. "Tsubasa... is that you...? Is Gin... is she alright...?

"Gin?"

"The girl in red… that was protecting me and the kid… how is she?" Kanade asked.

Tsubasa closed her eyes, lowering her head.

"Tsu... basa...?"

The other two Heroes had approached their friend.

"You managed to hold them off long enough, Mino-san!" Sonoko praised.

"That was amazing Gin!" Washio added. "Serious... ly... G-Gin... the Vertex and Noise are gone now... Let's go to the hospital now, okay...?"

Gin did not respond. One of her axes still had her hand gripping tightly on it... the arm severed from her body.

"G-Gin… please say something..." Washio begged.

Their friend didn't say anything. Gin's expression was hollow, with a calm smile from hearing Kanade's song. The two girls soon collapsed to their knees and started to weep upon realizing that their friend had long since passed away.

The Shining Gundam had taken a knee to pay tribute to Gin's passing. Tsubasa gently held onto Kanade, who's eyes were wide in shock.

There's... there's no way that... she's...? Kanade felt her own tears falling.

"I'm sorry, Kanade…" Tsubasa said softly.

Before any of them could go towards the girls, there was a sudden appearance of odd figures dressed in traditional robes, covering their faces.

"Tsubasa… I'm not hallucinating those guys in the robes, right…" Kanade mumbled.

"No, you're not." Tsubasa quickly drew her blade.

The cockpit of the Shining Gundam opened, and Domon dropped down to confront the robed figures.

"You! Are you responsible for this happening?!" He demanded.

"It's fine everyone… they're here for us..." Washio said through her tears.

"What...?" Tsubasa said. Who are they?

"Hold it! We need answers! What were those new monsters?!" Domon asked.

The robed figures didn't say anything in response to Domon's demands as another set of them soon approached carrying an open casket with them.

"Are you all deaf?! Answer my question!" Domon yelled.

"They won't answer you…" Sonoko said.

"Well, maybe they just need some convincing!" Domon cracked his knuckles.

"Please just...!" Washio stood up, tears streaming down her face. "Just let them be… it's fine…"

"...at least let us know your names. Let us pay respects to your friend later." Tsubasa gently said.

"...Washio Sumi."

"...Nogi Sonoko."

"We'll be sure to remember that." Tsubasa gently smiled.

Sonoko turned to the Gundam pilot. "Mister Domon, Mino-san loved watching the Shining Gundam's matches... please win for her, okay?"

"I was already planning on it, so that's not something you'll have to worry about. ...go on, now."

With that, the two girls followed the robed figures away from the stadium, as the figures also took away the casket that now contained Gin's body in it.

"To lose a life at that age…" Domon closed his eyes.

"It's tragic…" Tsubasa agreed.

Rain had run onto the scene, as did the Section Two members that had survived the destruction of the stadium. They were accompanied by several paramedics to take care of Hibiki and Kanade.

"Domon!" Rain said.

"Rain!"

"Are you alright from facing those new monsters?" She asked in concern.

"Not a scratch on me, or the Shining Gundam."

A tall muscular man in a red suit walked up. "Domon Kasshu, we thank you for your assistance today."

"No problem. Though who exactly are you?" Domon asked.

"Genjuro Kazanari. I'm in charge of the organization Section Two."

"Section Two? What does this organization of yours do?"

"Well, our main priority involves combating the Noise whenever they show up." Genjuro explained.

"They're such a threat, yet your organization is unknown?" Domon questioned.

"Well, that's because it's top-secret!"

A woman in a lab coat with brown hair and glasses walked up.

"And you are?" Domon asked.

"I'm Ryoko Sakurai!" She introduced herself. "Head scientist for Section Two and the developer of the armor that Tsubasa and Kanade used to fight the Nose: The Symphogears."

"Well, I have to say, they're quite impressive from what I've seen." Rain said.

"Oh, that's quite the honor to hear from the mechanic of the Shining Gundam." Ryoko giggled.

"Again, I want to say thanks for you being here to help prevent any further damage, Domon Kasshu." Genjuro thanked.

"You should thank Rain. She was the one that pushed me into coming here." Domon said.

"Though I should ask, how did you get the Shining Gundam under the stadium-?"

Genjuro cut Ryoko off. "I expect nothing less from the student of Master Asia."

"You know my Master?" Domon widened his eyes.

"Yes. It seems that your Master and my father were sparring buddies of sorts."

Domon frowned. "...then you're also aware of...?"

"Yes, we've learned of his more recent actions regarding the Dark Army." Genjuro confirmed.

"That Dark Gundam, from what we've heard, seems like one nasty piece of work." Ryoko said.

"Domon, another thing is that we'd be willing to lend you assistance. Our organization has quite a few resources to help you in the Gundam Fight." Genjuro offered. "It's the least we can do after you helped us."

"Thanks, but Rain and I don't need the help." Domon said, turning down the offer. "I'll win the Gundam Fight on my own terms. But after seeing what happened today, don't hesitate to call me for assistance after the Gundam Fight is over."

"Spoken like a true man." Genjuro nodded in approval. "We'll keep that in mind should the time come. But for now, all I can do is wish you good luck with the Gundam Fight, Domon."

Domon looked over to see Kanade being put in an ambulance, with Tsubasa getting in with her. Hibiki was being escorted away in a separate ambulance.

"Will those two be alright?" He asked.

"I'm sure the paramedics will do the best they can to make sure they're alright." Rain reassured him.

"I can only hope so. Come on, Rain. We'd better get going."

"Alright, Domon."

---

In the hospital, Hibiki Tachibana opened her eyes as the surgeons worked to save her life.

I'm... I'm alive…

---

Pre-Battle Quotes vs Noise

Kanade: So you bastards just had to show up, huh? Well, I got more than enough for you!

Tsubasa: To show up now… unforgivable! I'll defeat you all myself!

Washio: From Vertex to Noise… it's like we're always fighting nowadays…

Sonoko: I just wanted to enjoy the day with my friends… I can't believe monsters like you would get in the way.

Gin: Fighting alongside Zwei Wing and the Shining Gundam… man, my brothers would flip if I told them!

Domon: You damn monsters, destroying life as you please! As the King of Hearts, I will put an end to every last one of you!

Chapter 2: Scenario 1: Awakening Heartbeat (UC)

Chapter by EpicLinkSam

War.

The world was at war.

Humanity has been split into two factions. America, Japan, Australia, and Western Europe have converged under The Confederate Treaty of Liberty Alliance, while China, Russia, and Eastern Europe have converged under the flag of Great Zogilia. With the 13th Gundam Fight ending in Japan's victory, many thought that this would be an end to conflict.

Yet this did not come to pass, as Zogilia openly declared war against the rest of the world. Neo-Zeon's remnants have linked up with Zogilia for currently unknown reasons, meaning that the Alliance is on the back foot. The White Devil and Getter Robo have long since left this world, and Mazinger Z is no longer in battle. It seems hopeless, and that only destruction would follow.

However, there is hope. Hope from this world that will join with another, with the power to change destiny.

---

At Lydian Private Music Academy, the now 15 year old Hibiki Tachibana was in the cafeteria staring at the television monitor. It was showing a news channel reporting on the current state of the world involving the situation with Zogilia.

Currently, Zogilia's invasion is being halted by the efforts of the Alliance and various other organizations across the globe. Their allies, the remnants of Neo-Zeon are not actively attacking, and the situation in space is currently unknown.

"Hmm..."

"Is everything okay, Hibiki?"

Hibiki turns her head from the TV and sees her best friend Miku Kohinata walking up to the table she was at.

"You've been awfully quiet." Miku noted.

"Oh. Sorry Miku, I was just focused on the news report they were showing." Hibiki looked back at the screen.

"That makes sense." She turned to the TV as well. "I still can't believe something like this is happening, even after stuff like The Axis Shock…"

"Yeah..."

"But still, with the Alliance defending us, and all those heroes out there, we should be safe." Miku pointed out. "But anyway, do you want to do something after school today, Hibiki?"

"I can't today. Tsubasa's new CD is supposed to go on sale today so I'm gonna go and get it after school ends." Hibiki said.

"Again with that, Hibiki?"

"You're the one that got me interested in them, Miku!"

"Yeah, but is there really a need to go and get physical albums in this day and age, Hibiki?" Miku asked.

"Limited edition CDs come with all kinds of bonus materials though, Miku!" Hibiki pointed out.

"Well, just don't come back too late, okay?" Miku said.

"I promise, Miku." She looked at her finished tray. "I should probably go and put this tray back."

As Hibiki was getting up to do so, she ended up coming face to face with Tsubasa Kazanari, who had been passing through the cafeteria.

"Ah...!" Hibiki looked up.

The two stared at one another for a bit. Tsubasa was silent as she looked at Hibiki.

"Umm...!" Hibiki's nervousness was clear as day.

Hibiki soon notices Tsubasa put her hand up and pointed to her own cheek. This made Hibiki look at her own and immediately realize that she had some bits of rice from her lunch stuck to her cheek.

"Oh…"

Tsubasa walked past her after pointing it out.

"...are you okay, Hibiki?" Miku asked.

"I just embarrassed myself in front of Tsubasa-san… she must think I'm a total weirdo now." Hibiki sighed.

"Well, she wouldn't be wrong." Miku teased her.

But maybe I can ask her later... about what happened two years ago. Hibiki thought. "Anyways, new CD!"

"You know school still isn't over, right?"

Hibiki sweatdropped at how she had forgotten that, considering she just finished lunch. "Oh, right…"

---

At Section Two's base of operations, Genjuro was talking to an Alliance leader on the screen.

"We appreciate you reaching out to us like this, Captain Kuramitsu."

"Likewise." Gengo Kuramitsu, Captain of the Alliance's Valiancer Unit said. "The higher ups were quite pleased with how quickly you accepted the invitation, with many of them sure Fudou Kazanari would have refused. Considering how spread out Section Two is, I'm surprised that we haven't officially considered it part of the Alliance yet."

"Well, my father hasn't been in charge of Section Two since the incident involving the theft of a relic and he's been content to just watch from the sidelines for now." Genjuro explained.

"I see. Well, I would've met you in-person, but we have a few things left to get in order. As such, we've sent one of our best soldiers ahead of time before us. He should be arriving soon."

"Very well. We'll make sure he's welcome with open arms." Genjuro promised.

"We look forward to working with you, Commander Kazanari."

"Likewise."

The comms turned off as the Section Two members discussed the Alliance member that would arrive.

"So, what do you think this Alliance member will be like?" Ryoko asked.

"We received a file ahead of time of who they're sending." Fujitaka said.

Aoi pulled it up onto the screen. "Ensign Dio Junyou Weinberg, a member of the Alliance's Valiancer Unit. He's actually younger than both Tsubasa and Kanade, at the age of 16."

"And he's already one of their best soldiers, huh? Interesting." Ryoko noted.

"He'll be arriving soon in that red machine of his; the Valiancer XV-7002 Bradyon." Aoi informed.

"Oh, I've always wanted to get a look at the Alliance's Valiancers up-close!" Ryoko grinned.

"Says here it's supposed to be a twin prototype for a new type of system alongside another Valiancer called the XV-7001 Luxon." Fujitaka read. "I'm guessing they haven't found a pilot for that one yet."

"Hearing that just makes me even more excited! I wonder what kind of pilot he'll be?" Ryoko wondered.

Kanade was leaning against the wall, listening with mild interest, but remaining silent.

---

The Section Two members had gone to the special hangar to meet the pilot of the Valiancer, as he had messaged them he was within a few minutes of landing. They were soon greeted with the sight of a red, white, and yellow colored mech with what resembled a shield attached to one of its arms, fly towards said hangar and land inside of it.

"Oooh! So that's the machine, huh?" Ryoko whistled.

"Huh, Tsubasa's missing out." Kanade said.

It attached itself to several of the supports, before the cockpit opened and the pilot stepped out. Seeing Genjuro, he did a salute.

"Ensign Dio, reporting." He said.

"It's nice to meet you, Ensign Dio." Genjuro greeted. "Captain Kuramitsu tells us that you're one of the Alliance's best soldiers."

"It's an honor to hear that, sir." Dio said with a small bow. "I'll be answering to you for the time being as Captain Kuramitsu and the others continue their preparations."

Ryoko walked past to look up at the machine. "So this is your Valiancer huh, Ensign Dio?"

"Yes ma'am, this is the Bradyon."

"Well, it seems like a very impressive machine."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Man, you're pretty by the book, huh?" Kanade said, noticing how stiff Dio was acting.

"You're... Kanade Amou, aren't you?" Dio recognized.

"That's who I am, yep."

"Would it be fine if I can get an autograph of yours, later?"

"H-Huh? Excuse me?" Kanade was taken aback a bit.

"It's not for myself. My younger sister is quite the fan of Zwei Wing, and she was heartbroken to hear you were retiring." Dio explained.

"Oh. Sure, why not? Anything for a fan."

"I appreciate it." Dio said with a nod.

So he's got a little sis to protect, huh? Kanade thought. Already doing a better job than me...

---

A few hours had passed, with Dio getting himself accustomed to Section Two's headquarters and members when he was greeted by Tsubasa, who had just gotten off from school. She was accompanied by her agent, Ogawa.

"Tsubasa Kazanari, right?" Dio asked.

"That's me. Who are you?" Tsubasa asked.

"Ensign Dio. I'll be working with Section Two for the time being." Dio said.

"We heard of you in advance. Good to be working with you, Ensign Dio." Ogawa said.

"Ensign… I'm assuming you're a soldier from the Alliance?" Tsubasa asked.

"That's right."

"Hm."

Something seems to be eating away at her. No doubt thanks to Kanade's retirement. Dio thought, before giving a bow. "I'll be looking forward to working alongside you."

"As long as you're very capable in combat, very well."

"Understood." Dio slightly frowned. Definitely different from what Fiona has told me about her.

It was at that moment the base's alarm system started to go off.

"An alarm?!" Dio looked up.

"The Noise Alarm...!" Tsubasa realized. "Damn, of all times for my relic to undergo maintenance!"

"Bradyon is equipped to combat the Noise. I'll go on ahead first." Dio said.

"Alright. I'll join you as soon as possible if I'm able to." Tsubasa said.

"Understood!"

---

Meanwhile at the location where the Noise had appeared, Hibiki was currently running away from them while carrying a lost little girl with her. She'd have said it would've been lucky that she was out trying to get the CD, but getting caught in a Noise attack is much more of a curse.

She kept on running with the girl, before climbing up to a building's rooftop with said girl as they appeared to have finally escaped from the Noise. Laying down on the roof, the two caught their breath.

"Are we... going to die...?" The little girl asked.

Hibiki sat up, giving the girl a reassuring smile, before widening her eyes to see that several Noise were atop the building.

Upon seeing them, the little girl ran over to Hibiki and latched onto her in fear as the Noise started to close in on the two.

What can I do? Hibiki wondered. There must be something I can do!

As she thought this, she remembered what had happened that day at the Zwei Wing concert and how Kanade rescued her. The words that she had said to her...

"Don't give up on life!"

Hibiki's heart began to beat rapidly, as she felt an odd power start surging within her. Her heart began to glow.

---

Dio was en-route to where the Noise were most active, having cut down a few strays on the way.

The war with Zogilia is already bad enough, and these monsters are just making things worse!

As she shot down a few more, he noticed a blip appear on his monitor.

"This is Ensign Dio to base; I've detected some sort of energy source Southwest of my position."

"We've detected it as well and it appears to be an Aufwachen Waveform." Aoi said.

"Aufwachen Waveform? What's that?" Dio asked.

"A unique wave pattern emitted by relics or relic fragments, activated by songs." Ryoko explained. "It seems like some relic is being activated there."

"I'll head over then to observe the situation." Dio said, as the communications ended.

---

Back at Section Two headquarters, they were trying to compare the Aufwachen Waveform signal and see if it matches anything in their records. To their shock, only one match came up on the holographic screen:

GUNGNIR

"Gungnir datto?!" Genjuro shouted.

Tsubasa and Kanade both widened their eyes. Kanade almost tried grabbing her own pendant, before remembering that she had Ryoko store it away while she attempted to repair it.

"How...?" Kanade muttered.

---

Back with Hibiki, she had been screaming in pain due to sudden chunks of machinery ripping out of her back before then returning back in, creating a cloud of smoke around her. When the smoke cleared, Hibiki was now decked out in black and yellow armor with an orange bodysuit.

"Huh?! Whoa, what is this?!" Hibiki shouted, looking at herself.

"You look so cool!" The little girl said in amazement.

Hibiki stares back at the girl, before she remembered the current situation that they were in. She held out her hand for the girl to grab before lifting her up in a protective hug.

I don't quite understand but I have to protect this girl no matter what, right? Hibiki thought to herself.

She quickly jumped off of the building, trying to get a safe distance away. But to her surprise, she jumped several dozen feet higher than what she expected.

"W-What?!"

Having jumped a bit too high, she soon started falling down to the ground. Thankfully, she managed to position herself to land on her feet, landing safely with a small thud. Looking back, she notices that the Noise from the rooftop had also leapt off and were falling down towards them. She was about to try leaping away again but they were soon taken out by a hail of bullets.

"Where did that-?"

Bradyon soon flew in, keeping its gun ready.

"This is Ensign Dio of the Confederate Treaty of Liberty Alliance! Identify yourself!"

"Ahh! Well umm...My name is Hibiki Tachibana, age 15!" Hibiki called. "My birthday is September 13th, and my blood type-"

"Not what I meant when I said "identify yourself"." Dio said with a small sigh.

"S-Sorry!" Hibiki apologized.

"Regardless, since you're fighting against the Noise, I'll lend you my assistance." Dio said. "Keep that civilian safe!"

"O-Okay!"

With that, the Bradyon pulls out a sword from its shield as Dio started slashing a group of Noise that was nearby. Hibiki kept on dodging the Noise, while kicking away the few that got too close.

First the Noise, then I transform, and now I'm helped out by a big mech? This is one crazy day!

One of the Noise tried leaping at her, but she backhanded it and took it out, while the Bradyon used its gun again on another set of Noise that were trying to approach Hibiki.

"Just keep holding on! Reinforcements should arrive soon!" Dio said.

"Reinforcements?"

It was at that moment that Hibiki heard the engine of a motorcycle as one revved onto the scene. She saw it plow through the Noise, before the driver leapt off as the bike slammed into a giant one and exploded. Said driver lands in front of Hibiki and she sees that it's Tsubasa.

"Tsubasa-san?" Hibiki said.

"I'll handle the rest from here, Ensign Dio. Protect the civilians." Tsubasa said, ignoring Hibiki.

"Understood."

"Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron~"

Tsubasa started singing and charged straight at the Noise as she transformed into her armor. She then brought out a katana that increased in size and swung it, unleashing an energy wave from it that tore through waves of the Noise.

"So that's the power of a Symphogear…" Dio said to himself.

"Just like two years ago…" Hibiki thought.

A large green Noise was looming towards the two as Dio was about to attack it with Bradyon's sword, but a huge sword drops down from the sky and impales said Noise, killing it and turning it back to carbon as Tsubasa stood on top of said sword.

"I see why you took on the rest yourself, now." Dio observed.

"So cool…" Hibiki got out.

---

With the Noise defeated, Section Two and the cleanup crew started to handle things. The girl Hibiki had been protecting had safely returned to her mother, who was speaking with one of the Section Two agents. Hibiki meanwhile was just standing aimlessly, still in her armor.

"Here."

Hibiki looked up and saw Aoi standing in front of her holding a drink in her hands.

"Have something warm."

"Oh, thank you." Hibiki said, taking the drink.

Hibiki drank it, before feeling her armor start to weaken. With a yelp, it shattered as she was back in her normal outfit. Before she could hit the ground, Tsubasa caught her, making sure she was staying on her feet.

"Ahh. Thank you-" "Thank you so much! This is actually the second time you've saved me!"

"That so?" Tsubasa said, though her tone was slightly harsh.

Dio walked up to the two, seeing Hibiki was back to normal. "You okay there?"

"Huh? Who are-" Hibiki then recognized the voice. "Dio?"

"Ensign Dio but yes, that's who I am." Dio nodded.

"Oh um, thank you for helping me!" Hibiki bowed her head.

"You did much more than I did, protecting that civilian." Dio praised. "You did quite well for what I can assume is your first time experiencing live combat."

"Only because you were the one taking care of most of the Noise along with Tsubasa." Hibiki said.

She reminds me quite a bit of Fiona. Dio noted. "Anyways, if you could come with us, Hibiki, we would appreciate it."

Several men in suits appeared behind Tsubasa.

"...eh?"

"You will accompany us to the second branch of the Disaster Relief Squad." Tsubasa stated.

CLICK

Hibiki looked at her hands and saw that there were heavy-duty handcuffs on her wrists. She then noticed that there was a brown-haired man standing next to her.

"We're really sorry but we're taking you into custody." Ogawa apologized.

"EH?!"

"This is the protocol they follow. Sorry about this." Dio apologized.

"WHY?!"

Hibiki yelled this at the top of her lungs as they put her in the back of a car and drove off.

---

The drive back lasted for a good while or so, but they were soon approaching their destination. Hibiki looked outside and noticed where they were was very familiar.

"Wait, why are we at the school?"

"So you're a student here? I guess it's only logical that you're unaware." Dio theorized.

"Huh?"

Hibiki was led into the school and into the elevator.

"I recommend holding onto something." Dio said, grabbing one of the railings.

"He's quite right. It'd be dangerous if you don't hold on tight." Ogawa advised Hibiki.

"Dangerous?" Hibiki asked as she grabbed the railing.

Hibiki found out what they meant as the elevator started to go down at an absurd speed. She let out a scream because of said speed being so sudden. Thankfully, the elevator began to slow down, as Hibiki looked out the glass walls to see intricate designs under a huge hollowed out cavern.

"Whoa…" Hibiki smiled in awe before looking at Tsubasa.

"Spare me the smile."

"Huh?"

"Smiles have no place where we're going."

---

The group was soon greeted with the sound of party poppers going off, as they saw that the room they had entered was decorated with a bunch of party decorations as the Section Two agents were all clapping. To top it off, Genjuro was standing in front, wearing a top hat on his head.

"Welcome to the fortress of the guardians of mankind, The second branch of the Disaster Relief Squad!" Genjuro greeted Hibiki.

Hibiki had wide eyes in confusion, while Tsubasa sighed in irritation.

"Huh... just as cheery as Valiancer Unit." Dio noted.

Ryoko walked over with her phone, putting an arm around Hibiki. "Come on, put on a smile! Let's take a photo to commemorate the first day of our friendship!"

Hibiki pushed away from her. "I really don't think me being in handcuffs will make for a cheerful memory in the photo album!"

"In hindsight, I don't believe the handcuffs were necessary. It seems she would've cooperated regardless." Dio said to Ogawa.

"Probably, but it was still protocol." Ogawa said.

"And I'd assume you knew her name and information since she's a student here?" Dio asked.

"Considering Section Two's nature as a secret service of wartime, looking into her past was easy as pie." Genjuro said.

Ryoko held up a familiar bag to emphasize it.

"Hey! My bag!" Hibiki exclaimed. "And what do you mean, looking into my past?! You just went through my bag!"

Tsubasa sighed. "Ogawa, if you would."

"Right away."

Ogawa then went over to Hibiki and took off the cuffs, freeing her wrists. Hibiki stretched them with how sore they felt.

"Thank you." Hibiki thanked him.

"No, we should be apologizing to you for this treatment." Ogawa said.

"Well then, allow us to introduce ourselves. I'm Genjuro Kazanari, the guy in charge of this place." Genjuro said.

"And I'm Sakurai Ryoko, the brains of this operation. Nice to meet you." Ryoko introduced herself.

"You've already met Tsubasa." Genjuro went on. "Ogawa is her personal assistant. And these two here are the head of support; Tomosato Aoi and Fujitaka Sakuya. And the blonde young man that helped you is Dio Junyou Weinberg, Ensign of the Alliance's Valiancer Unit. And lastly…"

"Hold on... aren't you...?" Kanade recognized the girl.

"Oh, Kanade-san!" Hibiki said, bowing her head. "I-It's very nice to meet you!"

"You're that girl from…"

"Yes, you saved me two years ago. I've always wanted to ask you about it." Hibiki said.

"Well, I'm glad to see that you're okay after that day." Kanade said with a small smile. "But… I really don't like to think back on that day…"

"But I have to know-"

"She said she doesn't want to talk about it. Do not push any further." Tsubasa said, narrowing her eyes.

"Ohh…" Hibiki looked a bit downtrodden, but didn't push further.

"...Hey, would you like it if I gave you an autograph later, kid?" Kanade asked, trying to cheer up the girl.

Hibiki's face lit up again. "I would love that!"

Kanade smiled as well. "There we go, there's that smile." Never thought I would see her again like this. Now I'm wondering how those other two girls are these days…

"With that out of the way, I need you to do two things for me." Ryoko said. "First, don't tell anyone about what happened today."

"Okay, I can do that." Hibiki said.

"And secondly... could you please take off your clothes?"

"...eh?"

---

Pre-Battle Quotes vs Noise

Dio: So these are the monsters plaguing Japan. This is my first time fighting them, so I'd better keep wary!

Hibiki: I don't know what's going on, but I won't give up on life! I gotta make it back home to Miku!

Tsubasa: Gungnir… but that should be impossible… Just what's going on…?

Notes:

Unit Acquisition:

 

SG-r03' Gungnir (Hibiki Tachibana)

Bradyon (Dio Junyou Weinberg)

SGr-01 Ame no Habakiri (Tsubasa Kazanari)

Chapter 3: Scenario 2: Encounter in the Sky (UC)

Chapter by EpicLinkSam

Universal Century 0026

---

A massive purple machine was wreaking havoc in a city. A young man, Aoba Watase, was avoiding the chaos, seeing it all unfold.

"What in the world's going on?! What's with that robot?!"

Within the machine was a man garbed in dark pilot gear, face covered by a helmet. He was chasing down Aoba, laughing maniacally in the cockpit. Ha ha ha! Cower in fear, Aoba Watase! No clue how it happened, but I traveled 70 years in the past! and I found YOU! Aoba Watase! Now I finish you for good!

The purple machine stomped towards Aoba, who shouted in fear.

"Run for it, Aoba!"

He saw a girl calling out to him, someone from his class.

"Hina Yumihara?!"

"Run if you want to live! Please!" She shouted.

"G-Got it!"

Aoba ran towards one of the school buildings, getting under cover.

"No way! NO WAY! Why...WHY?!" The pilot inside the purple machine slammed his fist. "Hina! What in the world are you doing here?!"

A dark pink machine flew out of one of the buildings. Inside the cockpit were both Hina and Aoba.

"Goodbye…"

Hina aimed her machine's guns and fired several shots at the other machine, causing it to crash.

"Target enemy signature eliminated…" Hina breathed out.

"Umm… so you beat him?" Aoba asked, still confused.

"Yeah…"

"I can't make any sense of everything going on today!" Aoba said, putting a hand on his head. "First today's seating change put me right next to you, and then that robot attacked me! And then you suddenly jumped into a robot and defeated the other one! Yumihara, I heard you lived abroad for a long time, but what the heck is going on here?!"

Hina was silent at the outburst.

"Can you tell me something?" Aoba asked.

"What?"

"Everything."

"...Fine." Hina nodded. "This might be hard to believe but I actually came here from the same future as the guy in the other robot."

"Wha? Are you saying what I think you are?"

"That's right. We're from the future. Both me and him." Hina revealed.

"So what about this? Is the robot from the future too?" Aoba asked.

"It is. Exactly the same future as me. Though the situation's messy in many ways."

Aoba was left in further shock as Hina continued.

"I've actually been watching over you ever since I came to this era."

"Me?"

"That's right... You, Aoba Watase. Or the version of you from before I actually met you. I was actually really surprised when my seat ended up next to yours today. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that the two of us would ever sit next to each other."

Aoba was left silent, trying to process everything.

"You seemed puzzled. But I could never have left your side… You see, I knew the guy from earlier would one day come here to kill you."

"Why?"

"Well… because you told me." Hina said.

More silence as Aoba took it all in.

"Aoba... get off."

"Huh?"

"My work is finished... I defeated the guy trying to kill you. Now you need to resume your life here. And forget about people from the future." Hina explained.

"Hold it, Yumihara! What are you going to do?!"

"I'll flee. Things could get very troublesome if I stay here." Hina told him.

"So you'll go back to the future?"

Hina shook her head. "No, I don't know how to do that. So I'll just flee."

"Yeah but where to?! If anyone ever finds this gigantic robot…" Aoba said, looking around the cockpit.

"I get that! But I don't have any other choice right now!"

Aoba looked outside and saw that the purple machine had recovered, and stood back up.

"That guy's moving!" He yelled.

"Wha-?!"

"RAAAAAARGH!"

The purple machine charged forward, grabbing Hina's as it dug its hands into the shoulders.

"Eek!" A few sparks went off inside the cockpit as Hina winced.

"Hina! I still have options even if I can't fight!" The other pilot roared.

"No…" Hina's pupils shrank. "You plan to self-destruct?!"

"Exactly!"

"You wouldn't!"

"Well, I never expected to find you here, Hina!" He yelled.

"I knew you'd come here." Hina narrowed her eyes.

"Is that so? Then you must know what happens next, right?"

Hina grit her teeth.

"You die right along with Aoba Watase and me!"

Before anything else could happen though, a yellow wormhole suddenly formed itself in the sky.

"What the heck is that?!" Aoba pointed.

"A singularity…" Hina recognized, before she seemed to have an epiphany. "Oh... I think I see…"

"Huh?"

"Hang on tight!"

She started pushing the purple mech, pulling both of them closer to the singularity.

"What are you doing, Hina?!" The other pilot screamed. "What are you thinking?!"

"I finally figured it out. This is how our destiny goes." Hina said calmly.

"Destiny?" Aoba asked.

"I could never quite figure out why you appeared before me and why I could never forget you." She said, looking at him.

"Yumihara…"

"Call me Hina."

"Hina?"

"Aoba... Just trust me."

"...Okay, Hina."

"Here we go!"

With one final push, they all fell into the wormhole together, as it sealed up behind them.

---

Inside of the wormhole, the robot Aoba and Hina were in was traveling through it while the purple robot that had attacked Aoba had seemingly vanished.

"What is this place?!" Aoba was looking around in awe.

"Aoba... This is where we part ways." Hina said.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You're going to the future." She said.

"To the future? But what about you?"

"Dio is waiting."

"Wha? Who's that? What's going on, Hina?! What is all of this?!"

"Dio is waiting, Aoba." Hina started to fade as Aoba was dragged further into the singularity.

"Hina! Hinaaa!"

---

Universal Century 0100

---

Tsubasa had brought Hibiki back to Section Two's base under the school... though she was noticeably in handcuffs again.

"Tsubasa, you really didn't need to bring her back here in handcuffs again." Kanade frowned.

Tsubasa said nothing as Ogawa undid the cuffs.

"Anyways, here are the results of your medical examination from yesterday!" Ryoko said.

Ryoko brought up Hibiki's body scans on the screen.

"Besides some signs that the shock of your first transformation affected you, there are no notable abnormalities." Ryoko said.

Hibiki rubbed her wrists. "Nothing notable, huh?"

"Shouldn't you actually explain that power to her?" Dio asked.

"Right. Tsubasa?"

At Ryoko's word, Tsubasa reached for her neck and pulled out a necklace that was made from what appeared to be a red gemstone.

"The necklace that Tsubasa has bears the first relic, Ame no Habakiri." Genjuro said.

"Relic?" Hibiki repeated.

"Relics are powerful artifacts documented in legends from around the world." Ryoko explained. "They were created by heretics in ancient times, yet are beyond our current technology."

"Most of them can be found in old ruins but a lot of them have lost their power due to being worn out over time. So it's kinda a rarity to find ones that still have their original power." Kanade further clarified.

"Ame no Habakiri is one such relic, though it is a mere fragment of what was once a blade." Genjuro said.

"I've heard of such relics before, but this is the first time I'm really seeing one like this." Dio said. "What exactly activates them?"

"The only thing that can amplify and free the sliver of power left in the fragments are waves of a specific amplitude." Ryoko said.

"Waves of a special amplitude?" Hibiki repeated.

"She's talking about songs." Kanade said. "They're activated through the act of singing."

"Songs? Oh, right! I remember the song I sang filled my entire mind!" Hibiki recalled.

"Yep." Ryoko nodded. "You break down the power into raw energy and reconstruct it as the Anti-Noise armor you and Tsubasa have - the Symphogear."

"Huh… Wait, how come you didn't include Kanade in that?" Hibiki asked. "Because I definitely remember her wearing one back then at the concert."

Kanade winced at the reminder, as Tsubasa slightly glared at Hibiki.

"Kanade's relic took a lot of damage two years ago." Ryoko said. "I've been working on repairing it, but it's been a long job."

"There's also… other factors that we won't get into but the point is that Kanade is unable to transform for the time being." Genjuro said. "Thus leaving Tsubasa and now you as the only Attuned we have."

"Attuned?" Dio repeated.

"We call those few people who can activate the relics and sing the songs to construct Symphogear the "Attuned."" Genjuro clarified.

"I see." Dio put a hand under his chin. It's similar in concept to one of Bradyon's functions…

"So?" Ryoko asked. "Do you think you understand the basics of the power that awakened in you now?"

"Well… no." Hibiki admitted. "I still really don't understand."

A few of the Section Two members sweatdropped.

"Well, explaining such terms to someone who was only recently a civilian would likely elicit this reaction…" Dio sighed.

"And you did use some really big words, Ryoko." Kanade added.

"Fair. For now, it'll be enough to remember that I'm the scientist behind the Sakurai Theory, which describes the extraction of power from relics." Ryoko said.

"Okay…"

"But what confuses me is that you said you'd need a relic to activate a Symphogear." Dio said. "Unlike Tsubasa's pendant, Hibiki does not have one."

"Right, that part. Well, if you all look back at the screen." Ryoko said, pulling up a clicker.

The screen then pulls up an image of Hibiki's X-ray, which shows what appeared to be shards of glass in her ribcage.

"Do you know what that is?" Genjuro asked Dio and Hibiki.

"Are those... shards?" Dio raised a brow. "Foreign bodies in her ribs?"

"Wait, isn't that where I got the wound from the stadium two years ago?" Hibiki recognized.

"Indeed." Ryoko nodded. "It appears that there are multiple fragments that are so close to your heart that it makes it impossible to remove them. And according to our research, those fragments are from Kanade's relic, Gungnir. Aka the third relic."

Both Tsubasa and Kanade widened their eyes.

"So her abilities come from those shards?" Dio asked.

Ryoko nodded in confirmation. Putting a hand over her face, Tsubasa left the room. Kanade watched as she left, briefly reaching out her hand and wondering if she should follow her, but didn't know if it was a good idea.

"Um…" Hibiki said.

"What's wrong?" Genjuro asked.

"Do I really have to keep this to myself?" Hibiki asked.

"If word got out about you having a Symphogear, it would endanger the lives of those close to you like your family and friends." Genjuro said.

"It's best if you keep this info silent. The risk factor to them would be significantly lowered, especially with the threats of Zogilia and Neo-Zeon always looming over us." Dio added.

"I see…"

"On the behalf of the second branch of the Japanese government's Disaster Relief Squad, I would like to ask for your cooperation. Hibiki Tachibana, will you use the power of your Symphogear in the battle against the Noise and possible other threats?" Genjuro asked.

"I can... help people with this power, right?" She asked.

The Section Two members all nodded. Kanade however, didn't.

"The decision is up to you." Dio said.

"Well…"

Before Hibiki could give her answer, the alarm system in the base started to go off.

"The Noise alarm!" Kanade said.

"We're getting a transmission from Captain Kuramitsu!" Fujitaka said.

The screen changes from the medical information about Hibiki to an image of Captain Kuramitsu.

"Captain Kuramitsu, what's the situation?!" Dio said, stepping up.

"Ah, sorry to make a sudden call like this, but we were on our way to link up the Cygnus with Section Two when several Noise suddenly appeared." Kuramatsu said. "The other Valiancers are defending the ship, but the number of foes are surprisingly quite high. We're requesting backup, as we're transporting important cargo."

"Important cargo?" Kanade repeated.

"Important cargo...?" Dio said, before realizing what his Captain was talking about. "I got it, Captain! We're sending reinforcements your way!"

"We appreciate it, Dio. See you in a bit."

The transmission ended, as Dio got ready to leave the room.

"Wait Dio, what's this "important cargo?"" Ryoko asked.

Dio turned around to face them. "The Valiancer unit that's meant to sync up with mine; the Luxon."

"I see." Genjuro crossed his arms. "I know this is a sudden situation, Hibiki-kun, but…"

"No, I understand." Hibiki stood up. "If it means protecting lives, then I'll fight!"

Dio chuckled. "Your resolve is striking. Then let's move out!"

---

At an empty highway at night, the Alliance battleship Cygnus was hovering overhead, as its Valiancer unit was squaring off against the horde of Noise that had shown up. Kuramatsu sat in the captain's chair, as the bridge crew directed things.

"What's the status of the shields?" Renee, the executive officer asked.

"67% power! We're holding out relatively fine!" Anessa reported.

"And our Valiancers fighting the Noise?" Renee asked.

"Lee and Jarl are handling things fairly well at the moment, but at this rate, the Noise are going to overwhelm them!" Mayuka, the other operator informed.

"Is it possible for us to fall back if need be?!" Renee asked.

"Negative. We'll likely expend all our resources if we try retreating from the Noise, or push past them." Anessa said, turning to Captain Kuramatsu. "Captain, our best chance of survival is remaining put."

"Then we'll remain put until Dio arrives." He said, leaning back in the chair.

"Captain, as skilled as Dio is, the Bradyon is still only a single Valiancer." Renee reasoned.

"Oh, he won't be arriving alone." He smiled.

---

The Bradyon flew onto the battlefield, with Hibiki and Tsubasa landing nearby. They saw the Cygnus flying overhead.

"Whoa! Is that-" Hibiki said.

"Yes, that's the Cygnus." Dio said.

"An aircraft of that size…" Tsubasa said in awe.

Dio tapped his communications line. "This is Ensign Dio to the Cygnus! I've arrived with two of Section Two's Symphogear users! Providing backup!"

"You've arrived in the nick of time, Dio." Kuramitsu's voice came in.

"Hibiki, Tsubasa, I'll provide support in the air. You two handle the two on the ground." Dio said.

"Fine." Tsubasa nodded.

"I-I got it!" Hibiki said.

With that, the Bradyon flew up towards the Cygnus, while firing down at a few Noise in its path. Tsubasa slowly started to walk forward, holding out her blade to the side as it increased in size. Suddenly, she broke into a sprint as she started slashing apart the Noise.

"Whoa…" Hibiki said in awe.

Hibiki soon noticed one of the Noise leapt at her, before she quickly ducked out of the way. It then tried striking again, but Hibiki smacked it with her hand. To her surprise, it exploded into carbon upon impact.

"Right... I can do this!" Hibiki said.

A few more Noise come after Hibiki, but this time she starts throwing a few punches and kicks that take them out with each hit. Up in the sky, Bradyon sliced through several more Noise, breaking apart the main force attacking the Cygnus.

"Yo, Dio!" Lee grinned.

"Lee! Jarl! Let's wipe out the Noise!" Dio said.

"Might as well!" Jarl agreed.

The two in their Valiancers link up with Dio as they fired and sliced through waves of Noise.

"Ugh, I'm not gonna get used to fighting these creeps!" Jarl groaned.

"Keep your head in the game, Jarl!" Lee commanded, as he shot up another Noise on Cygnus.

The two Valiancers kept attacking and pushing back the Noise. Dio did the same, but did notice they were struggling ever so slightly.

We should be able to pull through this one, but any future battles we'll need more allies... I only hope the pilot of Luxon will be capable. He thought.

The Noise in the sky were all dealt with thanks to the combined effort of the Valiancers.

"Status report. Are there any more Noise still remaining?" Renee asked.

"No, ma'am. We're not detecting any more Noise signals in the sky." Mayuka said. "The few on the ground are fading."

"Anything else to report?

"Jarl and I took a bit of a beating in that fight. We'll be retreating back to the Cygnus to work on repairs." Lee said.

"Dio, stay in the air for now in case there are any more." Kuramitsu commanded.

"Understood." His radar beeped. "Wait, what…?"

Back down below, Hibiki and Tsubasa had both finished off the last of the Noise.

"So it's over…" Tsubasa said.

"Tsubasa-san!"

Hibiki ran up towards Tsubasa, who didn't turn around to look at the rookie Gear User.

"Sorry, Tsubasa-san! I know I'm probably slowing you and everyone else down right now as I am but I'll do my best to improve! So, please let me fight with you!" Hibiki said.

Tsubasa gripped her blade, and was about to speak her mind to Hibiki before Dio came in on the comms.

"Hibiki! Tsubasa! Look alive!"

"Ensign Dio?" Tsubasa raised a brow. "What's-?"

"We just picked it up on the radar; several Valiancers and Mobile Suits are approaching fast- ones that don't fly the Alliance flag!"

"What?!" Hibiki yelled.

A squadron of Zogilia Valiancers and Neo-Zeon mobile suits flew into view.

"What?! Why are they here?!" Tsubasa said.

"They likely had a spy network learn about Cygnus taking off, and also learned about Luxon's transportation." Kuramitsu presumed.

"So they're here to either steal or destroy the Luxon then!" Dio realized.

"We're... going to have to fight humans?" Hibiki asked.

"This is the reality of war, Tachibana. If this scares you, feel free to run." Tsubasa gripped her blade.

"Hibiki, your Symphogear should be strong and fast enough to keep up with mobile suits and Valiancers. Just stick with disabling the machines instead of outright destroying them; we do need to interrogate some of them, after all." Dio said.

"A-Alright!"

In the back behind all of the Zogilia and Neo-Zeon forces was a purple Valiancer from Zogilia, inside was one of their soldiers observing the situation.

"So that red one is the new model we've been after… The secret weapon of the Free Pact Alliance…" Bizon said. "We'll start by gathering data. Keep your eyes open on those two armored girls as well, and avoid underestimating them; they're an unknown enemy. It was dumb luck that they're in this situation in the first place thanks to the sudden Noise attack."

"Roger, sir!"

While the fight was going on, the Cygnus hangar had Luxon, standing and ready for takeoff. The cockpit glew, and Aoba found himself sitting in it.

"Huh?! What just-?!"

On the bridge of the Cygnus, the dashboard began to beep.

"Whoa!" Mayuka saw the alert.

"What happened, Mayu?" Elvira asked.

"The Luxon's feeling-match index is rising!" Mayuka reported.

"That can't be, Mayuka! No one's riding it, right?" Elvira asked.

"But this response... And the Luxon's achieved a strong match with Dio!" Mayuka realized.

"What?! Who's matching up with me?!" Dio asked.

The enemy Valiancers fired at the Cygnus, causing a few explosions on the side.

"The hangar has been blasted open! Luxon's vulnerable!" Anessa shouted.

The hanging doors revealed the Luxon standing in the hangar.

"So the Luxon's been brought out into the open!" Dio grit his teeth.

"Defend the Cygnus! Don't let the enemy get near the Luxon!" Kuramitsu ordered.

Now that the hangar doors were opened, Aoba was able to get a good look of his surroundings from inside the Luxon and saw the situation that was currently unfolding.

"Where the heck am I? And what am I doing in these clothes?" Aoba looked down at himself, before remembering. "Hina! Where's Hina?!"

"You in the Luxon!" Renee came up on the communications line. "State your name and affiliation!"

"Umm… I'm Aoba Watase, a Seio High School freshman." Aoba answered.

"Seio High School?" Tsubasa repeated.

"Someone from the lab...?" Renee guessed. "At any rate, you're in danger there! Move the Luxon! Now!"

"Um... how do I do that?" Aoba asked.

"What, you don't have a category A license?!" Renee yelled. "It's against military regulations for someone with no license to be in a Valiancer! Get out now!"

"Wait, there's licenses for piloting giant robots?" Hibiki asked.

"If they're military-grade productions, yes." Tsubasa said.

"Get out... but how?!" Aoba was about to start rapidly pressing buttons.

"Mayu, what was it you said earlier?" Kuramitsu asked.

"Readings indicate that the Luxon has achieved a nice coupling with the Bradyon…" Mayuka said.

"If that's the case… Couple it and the Bradyon." Kuramitsu ordered.

"Captain?!" Renee said.

"We're in a bad situation. If we don't do something, the Luxon will be captured without resistance." Kuramitsu reasoned. "If Dio can share his abilities with the new arrival, he should be able to get the Luxon out of there even without experience, right?"

"Do you seriously want to couple up Dio with someone we don't even know?!" Elvira asked.

"Well, the readings show that we can, right?" He said.

"But!"

"What about the confidentiality issues?!" Renee added.

"I'll take full responsibility for that. If we just leave him in there, we'll be in as much danger as him." Kuramitsu slightly smirked. "And I really do hate losing. You know that, right, Lieutenant Commander?"

Renee sighed before she turned back to the communications. "Luxon, Bradyon, commence the coupling process!"

"Roger!" Elvira shouted.

"That's not going to be possible at this rate!" Dio dodged the enemy gunfire. "There are too many enemy Valiancers and mobile suits, and the Symphogears aren't designed for aerial combat! I won't be able to couple without a significant amount of covering fire!"

"Wait, another mobile suit signal has entered the area!" Anessa reported.

At that moment, an all-white mobile suit with a single horn on top of its head flew onto the battlefield. It pulled out a black rifle and pulled the trigger, firing a red and blue beam at one of the Neo-Zeon mobile suits, destroying it.

"What?!" Bizon shouted.

One of the Neo-Zeon soldiers recognized it. "It's a Gundam-!"

His mobile suit was slashed in half from a beam saber slash. The white Gundam turned to the Cygnus.

"This is Ensign Banagher Links of Londo Bell! Providing backup!" The pilot made himself known.

"Londo Bell, huh…" Kuramitsu said. "Guess we can count ourselves lucky."

"Ah, Londo Bell! I remember learning about them in school!" Hibiki said, recognizing the name.

"Commander, your orders?" Dio asked.

"Continue with the coupling process if you don't mind." Kuramitsu said.

"...Roger. You listening, Luxon rider?" Dio said.

"You mean me?" Aoba asked.

"Yes, you! Get ready, we're about to couple!" Dio said.

"Couple?"

"Just do exactly as I say!"

Bizon was watching things from the back, gritting his teeth. "The new model will get away at this rate! Detachment, get in there!"

"Roger! Heading in!"

Several enemy Valiancers broke away from the main group, steering clear of the white Gundam as they charged at the Cygnus. One sped forward at the hangar.

"An enemy Valiancer is closing in on the Luxon fast!" Anessa said.

Aoba widened his eyes. "Ahh! Stay away!"

"Quick, say "Connective Dio!"" Dio ordered.

Dio! That's the name Hina mentioned! Aoba remembered.

"Hurry up!"

"Dio! I'm Aoba Watase! Hina said you'd be waiting for me!" Aoba yelled. "Connective Dio!"

"Acception!"

Luxon shot out of the hangar, flying towards Bradyon. The two Valiancers flew together, their backs to one another as wings of blue and red extended from their backs, and black visors lowered on their faces.

"Rrraaaaaaaargh!"

With blinding speed, the two Valiancers drew their blades and slashed at the approaching enemy Valiancer, cleaving it into 4 pieces before it exploded.

"Whoa, what the hell is with that speed?!" Bizon shouted.

"Alright!" Kuramitsu smiled.

"Coupling…" Anessa started.

"Successful!" Elvira finished.

"And it's a perfect match!" Mayuk added.

"Incredible... To think he'd be this compatible with me!" Dio said in awe.

"So that's the weapon of the Free Pact Alliance in action…" Banagher said, also impressed.

"Did I just… move this robot?" Aoba said.

"That's right. Thanks to your coupling with Dio, you now have his piloting knowledge." Elvira explained.

"Really?" Aoba said in surprise.

"That's right. You now know how to pilot Valiancers." Mayuka confirmed.

"That was amazing, Dio!" Hibiki cheered.

"I could barely keep track of it myself…" Tsubasa admitted.

"Bizon, we have orders to fall back now due to the Unicorn Gundam's appearance." A Neo-Zeon soldier said. "I suggest you and your squad do the same thing as well!"

"Very well. It would be risky to take on the Unicorn Gundam and the Alliance's new weapon with the numbers we have." Bizon reasoned. "All units, fall back!"

"The Zogilia and Neo-Zeon forces are retreating!" Renee said, seeing the signals disappear.

"We've driven them off. Thank goodness." Mayuka said in relief.

"Have the Luxon and Bradyon return to the hangar, and request the same to the Gundam." Kuramitsu said. "Oh, and pick up the two Symphogear users as well."

"Roger, sir!" Mayuka said.

As the Luxon returned to the hangar, Aoba let out a breath of relief now that the fight was over. Leaning over, he felt something brush his fingers, seeing it was Hina's hairpin.

"Hina…"

He didn't get to relax for too long however, as the cockpit opened, showing Dio had aimed his gun at him.

"...who are you?" Dio asked.

---

On the Cygnus, everyone had been brought aboard on the battleship and were currently in the hangar with Dio escorting Aoba out of the Luxon by gunpoint.

"Is the gun really necessary, Dio?!" Hibiki exclaimed, seeing the firearm.

"He suddenly appeared in the Luxon, with no idea of how he arrived in it, and no prior existing information. It's only natural to be wary of him." Dio said.

"I really don't think he's the threat that you're setting him up to be." Banagher said.

"And he did say he was a high school freshman." Hibiki added.

"Though we should ask this. Ensign Banagher, what is a Londo Bell soldier like yourself doing on Earth?" Tsubasa asked. "I was under the belief you were fighting Neo-Zeon in space."

"That's a bit more of a complicated explanation. I was going to link up with Section Two to further explain the situation." Banagher said.

"Londo Bell? Neo-Zeon? What are you guys talking about?" Aoba asked.

"Wha-? Are you serious?" Dio said, not believing what he was hearing.

Something's odd about him... but he doesn't seem untrustworthy. Banagher thought. Those aren't the eyes of a liar.

Captain Kuramitsu and Renee soon walk into the hangar room and approach the group.

"Glad to see you all made it aboard." He said.

"Glad that I made it in time with Section Two." Dio said.

Kuramitsu turned to Hibiki and Tsubasa. "We'll thank you two for supporting Dio."

"Oh uh, I'm pretty new so, you should say that to Tsubasa-san only." Hibiki rubbed the back of her head.

"Regardless, you did help quite a bit."

"It was no issue." Tsubasa said.

"And you must be Ensign Banagher from Londo Bell, right?" Kuramitsu said, turning to Banagher.

"That's right, sir." Banagher said with a salute.

"At ease. Why did you suddenly appear to lend your assistance?" He asked.

"I was under orders of Captain Bright to relay a message to Section Two, and temporarily join up with them." Banagher said. "I contacted Commander Kazanari and found out about the situation here, so I promptly arrived to lend my support. I'll explain the situation further once we join up with Section Two."

"Very well. And lastly… Aoba, right?" Kuramitsu turned to him.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Would you mind explaining how you ended up in the Luxon?"

"Umm… that might be a bit difficult to explain..."

"Why?" Hibiki asked.

"Well, you see…"

---

Sometime later, the Cygnus docked into Section Two's special hangar. Waiting to meet them were Genjuro and Ryoko. Genjuro and Kuramitsu shared a handshake.

"Glad to see you all made it here." Genjuro said.

"We'd be in a bit of a pickle without those Symphogear users of yours." Kuramitsu said.

"It was no problem at all." Genjuro said.

"So I hear we actually have a Gundam with us now, huh?" Ryoko grinned.

Several of them looked up in the hangar, to see white white Gundam towering over them.

"What's this one called?" Ryoko asked.

"The Unicorn Gundam, Ma'am." Banagher said.

"...you know, with that horn, I should've guessed."

"But… it really doesn't look that much like a Gundam to me." Hibiki said, remembering seeing the Gundam fights on television.

"From what I know of it, the Unicorn's other functions are... locked off at the moment." Banagher said.

"Other functions, you say? That sounds very intriguing!" Ryoko had sparkles in her eyes.

"I wouldn't poke around it. Word of advice." Banagher suggested.

"That only makes me even more curious, but I suppose the pilot is the expert." Ryoko sighed.

"Hibiki-kun, Tsubasa, what is there to report?" Genjuro asked.

"Well... it's complicated, Commander." Tsubasa said.

"Complicated how?"

"The Luxon suddenly gained a new pilot during the battle, but…" Tsubasa started.

"He says he came from the past." Hibiki said.

"What?!" Genjuro said, surprised.

"Oh my~!" Ryoko lowered her glasses.

"It seems quite ridiculous, but he had several forms of identification on him, dated back by 76 years." Kuramitsu said. "He's back on the Cygnus, waiting for interrogation."

"Considering who you're talking to, something like that wouldn't be that ridiculous to us." Ryoko said. "Now I definitely would like to talk to this young man."

"With that decided, Ensign Banagher, what do you have to report to us?" Genjuro asked.

"Well, it's about the current actions of Neo-Zeon." Banagher said.

"Neo-Zeon, huh? What are they up to exactly?" Kuramitsu asked.

"While the main force is still in space, they seem to have moved most of their actual actions onto Earth." Banagher said.

"Why down here exactly?" Ryoko asked.

"We're not quite sure ourselves, which is why Commander Bright sent me down to try figuring it out."

"And you would like us to assist you with figuring out their intentions?" Genjuro asked.

"That is the reason we contacted Section Two, since this sort of thing is their specialty, from what Commander Bright heard." Banagher explained.

"Gathering intel is something we're very good at." Ryoko nodded.

"And we'll lend our aid to you and Londo Bell in finding out Neo-Zeon's intentions." Genjuro said.

"Thank you, Commander Kazanari." Banagher gave another salute. "I'll be sure to let Commander Bright know. In turn, the Unicorn and I will lend our support to Section Two."

"Welcome aboard then, Banagher." Genjuro smiled.

"Hmm…" Anessa stared at Banagher.

"What is it, Anessa?" Mayuka asked.

"Well, Ensign Banagher somewhat reminds me of Dio." She said. "I'm not sure why, exactly."

"Ensign Dio, was it?" Banagher turned to Dio. "You and that other pilot were pretty good out there."

"Your covering fire helped. You weren't too shabby yourself." Dio praised.

"It's like hearing things in stereo…" Hibiki noted.

---

Pre-Battle Quotes vs Zogilia/Neo-Zeon

Aoba: I don't know what's going on… but I guess I have to fight! I'll survive this and find you, Hina!

Dio: Zogilia… I won't ever forgive you! And you're equally as guilty, Neo-Zeon!

Banagher: Neo-Zeon… what are you planning with Zogilia…?

Hibiki: Fighting another person like this… I'm sorry!

Notes:

Unit Acquisition

Cygnus (Gengo Kuramitsu, Renée Kleinbeck)

Luxon (Aoba Watase)

Unicorn Gundam (Banagher Links)

Chapter 4: Scenario 3: Mysterious Encounter (UC)

Chapter by EpicLinkSam

The crew of Section Two had requested a meeting with Aoba and asked him to tell his story to them one more time. Just to make sure if the details remained the same.

"So that's your story." Genjuro said, as Aoba finished recounting his tale.

"Yes, it is." Aoba nodded. "I know it sounds crazy but-"

"No need to get your knickers in a twist. We believe you." Ryoko said with a wave of her hand.

"Wait, really?"

"Of course." Genjuro nodded. "Strange things like what you've experienced is what Section Two specializes in dealing with."

"And you don't think I'm an enemy spy like that one lady and Dio were thinking I was?" Aoba asked.

"Honey, of all the things an enemy spy would say to try to convince his captors that he's not one; saying that he's a time traveler from 70 years in the past would not be an excuse they use." Ryoko said, fixing her glasses.

"Y-Yeah, I guess that's true." Aoba said.

"But still, that is one amazing story." Ryoko had to admit.

"We'll try looking into this incident in the past, though there's a good chance that such an event would be covered up." Genjuro said.

"But that won't stop us." Ryoko added.

"Still, thank you very much for believing my story." Aoba said with a bow of his head.

"Believing stories is what we do here at Section Two!" Ryoko said.

"Captain Kuramitsu's working on registering you as a crew member on the Cygnus, so take it easy for now." Genjuro advised.

"Alright then." Aoba nodded. "Again, thank you."

---

Meanwhile in another room at Section Two's base, Banagher was explaining to Hibiki, Kanade and Dio on how he got involved with Londo Bell. Tsubasa was elsewhere, training.

"Whoa, that's some tale, Banagher." Hibiki said, awed.

"So only recently you were a civilian?" Dio asked.

"Yeah. Never in my life did I think I'd find myself working like this." Banagher admitted.

"So guess you're kinda feeling a kinship with Aoba considering you two's circumstances are kinda similar." Kanade guessed.

"Something like that. Although I didn't come from over 70 years in the past." Banagher said.

"So you believe him?" Dio asked.

"Well, a story as outlandish as that isn't a very good lie." Banagher reasoned. "Plus, I saw the way he looked... I know he isn't a liar."

"Plus Dio, you are standing in the base of an organization that deals with ancient relics possessing great power and whose main combat power relies on armor powered by the act of singing. So time travel being real isn't really out there." Kanade added.

"But still…" Dio frowned.

"Does it have to do anything with that whole Coupling thing?" Hibiki guessed.

"Yeah, what is exactly that whole Coupling all about, anyways?" Kanade asked.

"Do you remember when Bradyon and Luxon grew wings and gained visors?" Dio asked.

"Yeah, we do." Hibiki nodded, remembering the battle.

"Coupling is a process that allows the pilots of Coupling Valiancers to sync up their brain patterns. It allows the pilots to share experiences, abilities, and skills; all while increasing the abilities and output of their Valiancers." Dio explained. "Before I coupled with him, Aoba Watase was a complete novice, but now he's essentially gained enough skill to pilot the Luxon with expertise."

"So you two essentially linked your minds and souls with each other?" Banagher said, awed.

"Exactly." Dio nodded.

"With something like that, it'd make school so much easier if I Coupled with Miku…"

"I don't think you'd be able to. Only a select few individuals are capable of Coupling, and they'd require similar wavelengths." Dio went on. "There are lethal consequences if the two pilots aren't compatible."

"Sounds like Aoba is your perfect partner then if you two were to Couple with each other immediately after meeting each other." Kanade said.

Dio was silent, not saying anything.

Seems he has some trust issues... Banagher thought. I can only hope that he can overcome this hurdle.

Hibiki's communicator began to blip, before she pulled it out.

"Hibiki-kun? Could you bring the others with you to the bridge?" Genjuro asked.

"Is there an emergency?" Hibiki asked.

"But the alarm didn't go off." Kanade said, seeing it wasn't flashing red.

"This is something a bit more small scale. We'll explain further once you all get here." Genjuro said, as the comm line closed.

---

The four of them arrived in Section Two's bridge. Both Tsubasa and Aoba were already there.

"Oh, you're here, Aoba!" Hibiki said.

"Yeah." Aoba rubbed the back of his head. "Guess I'll be sticking around for a while to help."

"You're giving him free reign already?" Dio asked the commanders.

"He'll be kept under supervision until Section Two fully figures things out for him. Until then, he'll be the pilot of the Luxon." Kuramitsu explained.

"I heard about the situation the world is in right now." Aoba said. "I might not be from this time, but it's still the same planet I grew up on, so I want to help."

"Glad to have you on board!" Hibiki smiled.

"So, what exactly were we called for?" Banagher asked.

"Well, we picked up something very interesting on our scanners. There was a small spike in magic in town, a few blocks away from Seishou Elementary School in one of the more abandoned parts of town." Ryoko said, as the location appeared on the screen.

"Magic?" Aoba repeated.

"Wait, I thought Symphogears aren't magic." Hibiki said.

"Magic is used to describe things we can't really define normally." Genjuro explained. "Symphogears, Valiancers, Gundams and even Aoba's time travel story can be analyzed by science."

"But there are some relics and phenomenons out there that we cannot truly define, no matter how much we try." Ryoko added.

"And this magic spike came up near an elementary school?" Dio asked.

"Yes, so we'll be sending you all to investigate this." Ryoko said.

"All of us? Is that really necessary if this magic was a small spike?" Banagher questioned.

"Unlike the mostly more predictable science, we can't really predict how encountering this source will go. Whenever something like this comes up, Section Two treats it as a high level emergency as a simple precaution." Ryoko explained.

"Is it really this dangerous…?" Hibiki wondered.

---

The team arrives in the abandoned part of the city, where the magic signal was last traced.

"So... what are we supposed to look for, exactly?" Aoba asked.

"Anything that sticks out unnaturally will likely be our target." Tsubasa explained.

"They did say it was a magic spike so we should be looking for something magical-like, I think?" Hibiki said.

Banagher used the Unicorn Gundam's systems to try and pick up on anything. There were several red blips… far too many of them. "...huh? What the-?!"

"What's wrong?!" Dio asked.

"There are multiple signatures scattered throughout the area, several of them from under the ground!" Banagher reported.

"Under the ground?" Aoba looked down.

The ground beneath them began to quake, as several cracks tore through the pavement.

"Whoa! Is it an earthquake?!"

Rising out of the ground were several cyclopean mobile suits, all with glowing red eyes.

"Huh?! Where did these things come from!?" Aoba shouted.

The others, however, recognized these monstrous mobile suits.

"Impossible!" Tsubasa shouted.

"Dark Army mobile suits!" Banagher grit his teeth.

"Dark Army? What the heck is that?" Aoba asked.

"It's a long story, but these things are bad news!" Hibiki answered.

"Well, whatever they're doing here, we need to wipe them all out!" Dio said.

"A-Alright!" Aoba said.

The Unicorn Gundam aimed its rifle and started blasting down several of the enemy. Hibiki and Tsubasa rushed forward, punching and slashing at them, respectively. Aoba had the Luxon bring out its blade as he started slashing a few of the Dark Army mobile suits. The Bradyon meanwhile was firing its rifle and shot down several of them.

"I'm still not used to fighting other people like this…" Aoba muttered.

"They're not human, Aoba Watase!" Dio shouted.

The Bradyon had shot off parts of a Dark Army Mobile Suit, revealing the "pilot" inside. A skeletal husk with wires plugged in all over its body. It moaned, before Dio shot its head, shutting it down.

"Ahhh! What the hell?!" Aoba yelled. "What is that?!"

"The Dark Army mobile suits bring human corpses back to life using DG Cells to empower them." Banagher said, as he slashed through a few.

"But the monster behind this should have been defeated already…" Tsubasa narrowed her eyes.

"That's right, but the remnants of its evil continue to plague this planet!"

The group turned their head towards the top of a tall building as they saw a blue, white, and red mobile suit with a yellow v-fin standing on top of it with everyone, excluding Aoba, immediately recognizing it.

"Is that-?!" Dio realized.

"No doubt about it!" Banagher said.

"The champion of the 13th Gundam Fight. Domon Kasshu…" Tsubasa said, remembering the pilot.

Hibiki remembered watching Domon's fights on the television, but more importantly, remembered he was one of the people that was back at the concert two years ago.

"Whoa. Is he like a really famous person or something in this era?" Aoba asked.

"He's a legendary hero that saved the planet two years ago, in that equally legendary mobile suit, the Burning Gundam." Banagher said.

The Burning Gundam dropped down from the building, ready to fight. The Dark Army was ready to advance on him, though they failed to realize he didn't come alone.

"Noble Hula Hoop!"

A yellow ring of energy shaped like a hula hoop comes sailing towards the Dark Army and slices straight through several of them. The hula hoop then continues on and is caught in the hands of another mobile suit with the same color scheme and v-fin like the Burning Gundam, but it had a more feminine appearance and looked a bit like it was wearing a dress.

"...eh? What's up with that one?" Aoba said, a bit less impressed.

"That's the Noble Gundam and it belongs to Allenby Beardsley, who was also a competitor in the 13th Gundam Fight and is an ally of Domon." Banagher said.

"Good move, Allenby." Domon said, as the Noble Gundam ran up to him.

"No worries, I got your back!" Allenby gave Domon a thumbs-up through her Gundam.

The Burning Gundam turned to the others.

"I see someone familiar among your group. Would you mind assisting us in taking out the Dark Army's remnants?" Domon asked.

"It would be a pleasure to fight alongside you again, Domon Kasshu." Tsubasa said, cracking a rare smile.

"You two know each other?" Aoba asked.

"He was one of the individuals that saved Kanade's life two years ago." Tsubasa explained. "I'm indebted to him."

"Whoa, I didn't know you knew famous idols, Domon!" Allenby said, impressed.

"It was way back during the beginning of the Gundam Fight." Domon said.

"Can we save this reminiscence for later? Domon Kasshu, why are there remnants of the Dark Army here? I thought you and the Shuffle Alliance handled them two years back." Dio asked.

"We did, but it turns out that a few DG Cells had survived on Earth. Allenby and I have been traveling the world to wipe them out. I'll explain further once we've handled these ones." Domon said, before turning back to the Dark Army.

"Very well." Tsubasa said. "We'll follow your lead."

"Then let's move!"

The Burning Gundam shot forward, delivering devastating punches and kicks that obliterated the Dark Army mobile suits, one by one. The Noble Gundam leapt down and delivered a dive-kick to one of the Dark Army mobile suits that crushed its head. It then brought out a beam saber, but the blade extended and changed shape into a ribbon form. It swung the weapon forward and slashed through a whole row of the Dark Army suits.

"Whoa, look at them go!" Aoba said in awe.

"As to be expected of competitors in the Gundam Fight." Dio said.

"It's so cool!" Hibiki said in awe.

Banagher was about to assist the other Gundams, before seeing a notification on his screen. "I've found the nearby spike of magic!"

Tsubasa slashed through one of the Dark Army suits. "Where is it then?!"

"Over there!"

The Unicorn aimed its beam rifle towards one of the larger Dark Army suits. It began to start glowing brightly, practically blinding them.

"What's going on now?!" Aoba asked.

"Don't know, but the magic spike seems to be increasing because of it!" Dio said, seeing the readings.

The glow soon began to die down, as standing in place of the Dark Army mobile suit was now a very large bulky Gundam that Domon and Allenby immediately recognized.

"Impossible! The Grand Gundam?!" Domon shouted.

"The heck is a Grand Gundam?!" Aoba asked.

"Long story short, it's a mobile fighter that was already defeated!" Allenby said.

"The magic signal is rising rapidly within it!" Banagher didn't need the Unicorn's readings to let him know.

As the magic signal rose, the newly appeared Grand Gundam also started to enlarge itself in size.

"It's getting bigger?!" Hibiki exclaimed.

"The other Dark Army suits are converging onto it!" Dio realized.

What is this feeling? Banagher thought. I don't sense anything from the zombie soldier powering it, but this power feels... unnatural…

The Burning Gundam and Noble Gundam immediately leapt forward towards the massive Gundam and started to deal multiple attacks to it, but no damage seemed to appear as the Grand Gundam whacked the two away from it with its arm.

"Whoa!" The Noble Gundam landed upright.

"Tch! It's tougher!" The Burning Gundam kicked off a building to land properly.

"Did they do any damage to it at all?!" Aoba asked.

"Its defense must be very formidable then." Dio narrowed his eyes.

"Then what do we do?" Hibiki asked.

"Wait, everyone! Another magic source has appeared on the radar!" Banagher reported.

"Where?" Tsubasa asked.

"Approaching from the East!"

From said direction, a pink beam of energy blasted through the air and hit the Grand Gundam in its face, causing it to stumble back from it.

"Whoa, that blast managed to faze it!" Aoba said.

"Indeed, but who fired it?" Dio said, looking at where it had come from.

Flying into view was what appeared to be an elementary school girl, dressed in white and blue robes. She carried a large staff on her, resembling a wand.

"A girl?" Aoba said.

"Umm, hi there, everyone!" The girl waved.

"Uh, hello!" Hibiki waved, being friendly.

"This is Ensign Dio of the Confederate Treaty of Liberty Alliance. Please state your name and business here." Dio said.

"Umm well… my name is Nanoha Takamachi, age 9! I'm a elementary school student and-"

"Not what I meant when I asked you that!" Dio facepalmed inside his Valiancer.

"Huh, deja vu." Hibiki noted.

That girl... she has some sort of power in her… Banagher sensed.

"Repeating what Ensign Dio said; what exactly is an elementary school doing here and how were you able to do what you did to the enemy?" Tsubasa asked.

"I can give a quick explanation!"

The group then noticed a small ferret-like animal making itself known on Nanoha's shoulders.

"Did that ferret just talk?" Aoba asked. "Man, things just get weirder and weirder."

"That's pretty weird for me too!" Hibiki said.

"My name is Yuuno Scrya and the reason we're here is because that machine over there has possession of a Jewel Seed, a very powerful magical artifact that is classified by the term Lost Logia." The ferret said.

"So that explains the magic spike we picked up." Banagher said.

Dio closed his communications. "I've contacted the Cygnus. They'll be over here soon to help with the situation, alongside Ryoko. Until then, we need to handle the Grand Gundam."

"If you all can help us retrieve the Jewel Seed from it, it should return to its original state." Yuuno said.

"Then we need to use all of our strength to defeat it." Tsubasa gripped her blade.

"Domon!" Allenby said.

He already knew what she was suggesting. "Right! Everyone, keep it distracted! Allenby and I have an idea!"

"Alright!" Hibiki clenched her fists.

"Nanoha, provide them with assistance!" Yuuno suggested.

"Right! Raising Heart!"

"Mode Change: Cannon Mode."

The headpiece on Nanoha's staff changes to a two-pronged shape with white and blue parts on it. A blue firing grip also appears on the staff with Nanoha grabbing a hold of it. She fired a trio of pink beams that hit the Grand Gundam and caused it to stumble again from more damage.

"Whoa!" Hibiki said, impressed.

"What power…" Tsubasa said, impressed.

"Aoba, the situation here calls for us to Couple again!" Dio said.

"R-Right! Connective Dio!" Aoba said.

"Acception!"

The two Valiancers gained visors as their wings sprouted again. They flew towards the Grand Gundam in unison and fired a barrage of shots from their rifles, circling around it to continue the blasts. Hibiki and Tsubasa rushed in and jumped back to avoid the Grand Gundam's strikes, keeping it distracted. The Unicorn Gundam kept aiming towards weakened spots in an attempt to target a vital spot. As the others kept fighting to distract the Grand Gundam, Domon and Allenby raised the hands of their Gundams.

"This hand of mine is burning red!" They both shouted.

"Its loud roar tells me!" Allenby called.

"To grasp victory!" Domon yelled.

The hands of the two Gundams started to glow a bright red-orange color, as the two then shot forward towards the Grand Gundam.

"Erupting!"

"Double!"

"Burning FINGER!"

"Everyone else, fall back!" Tsubasa ordered, knowing the power the two were capable of.

The others all jumped out of the way, as the Burning and Noble Gundams slammed their palms into the Grand Gundam, one on each side. They pierced through the steel, palming the metal inside.

"And now! HEAT END!"

A big explosion occurs within the Grand Gundam, with the Burning Gundam and Noble Gundam stepping back after finishing their attacks. Everyone then soon saw that within the chest of the Grand Gundam, there was a small crystal-like jewel floating inside of it.

"Is that...?" Aoba asked.

"That crystal is giving off the magic readings we sensed earlier." Banagher reported.

"That's the Jewel Seed! Now, Nanoha!" Yuuno called.

"Right!"

A pink magic circle forms beneath Nanoha's feet as three pink wings of light emerge from her staff's headpiece. Magical energy starts gathering into a large pink orb in front of her and Raising Heart.

"Divine… Buster!"

The orb then erupts into a large pink beam of energy that sails forth and engulfs the Grand Gundam, sealing the Jewel Seed's energy and causing the Grand Gundam to revert back into the Death Army mobile suit. It crumbled away due to the power of Nanoha's attack.

"Whoa, that's insane…" Aoba said, impressed.

"Kid's got a lotta power in her." Allenby commented.

The Jewel Seed floated over to Nanoha and Raising Heart, as it soon vanished into the red jewel on top of the staff.

"Internalize: #5"

"The magic level in this area has dropped significantly now." Banagher reported.

"Then all that remains is that girl." Dio said.

"You're not gonna handcuff her, right?" Hibiki quickly asked.

"...Handcuffs?" Nanoha asked, a bit afraid.

"It's a part of Section Two's protocol, Tachibana." Tsubasa stated.

"She's 9 years old, Tsubasa!" Aoba said.

"I don't think that'll be necessary. She looks willing to speak with us." Banagher said, before looking upwards to see a familiar ship. "The Cygnus and Section Two's commanders are arriving, so we can let them handle it."

"Hm…" Tsubasa still looked unsure.

Tsubasa Kazanari... she's changed quite a bit since we last met. Domon thought.

"It does seem like it wouldn't be much of an issue at all, Tsubasa." Dio said.

"...Very well."

Nanoha let out a small breath of relief.

---

The Cygnus had arrived, and the others escorted Nanoha onto the ship, while also putting the Burning and Noble Gundams into the hangars.

"Domon Kasshu, it's been quite some time. Congratulations on your victory in the 13th Gundam fight." Genjuro greeted.

"Thanks. It has been a while." Domon said, shaking Genjuro's hand.

"So you know these folks, Domon?" Allenby asked.

"Yes. Rain and I were at the final Zwei Wing concert two years ago. I helped fight off the Noise that had attacked." Domon explained.

Kanade looked at Domon, before looking back at Allenby. "So are you and Domon like… together together?"

"M-Me?!" Allenby stammered. "N-No! Domon's already seeing someone else."

"Well, I don't see that someone else here." Ryoko noticed, looking around. "Where is Rain, Domon?"

"Rain's currently traveling the world with a certain anti-terrorist organization to try and narrow down the DG Cell hotspots. They requested I keep their name silent, but you've worked with them before." He explained.

"Ah, so she's with them, hm? Understood." Genjuro said, already knowing who Domon was talking about.

Seeing the opportunity, Hibiki nervously walked up to Domon. "Umm… Mr. Domon, sir?"

"Hmm?"

" You probably might not recognize me since it was two years ago, but I was there at the concert on that day…"

Domon looked at Hibiki, before recognizing her. "Wait... you were that one civilian, right? The one that Kanade and... so you're alright."

Kanade had a pained expression on her face at the reminder.

"Yeah, I made it out all right thanks to you all." Hibiki said with a small bow.

"So, Mr. Kasshu, would you mind explaining to us why the Dark Army has returned?" Kuramitsu inquired.

Domon nodded. "When the Dark Gundam was destroyed, we thought the threat was over. But the abilities of the DG Cells proved too strong to simply die off after the main body was destroyed. In the time since I defeated the Dark Gundam, several places around the world where it had appeared had leftover DG Cells, which started evolving and adapting in a twisted way to carry out the Dark Gundam's will."

"So even with its main body gone, these leftover DG Cells still have enough of its processing to continue what they were programmed to do?" Banagher asked.

"Yes. Allenby and I have been going around to these DG Cell hotspots to try and keep the threat down, as have the other members of the Shuffle Alliance. Rain's trying to see if she can figure out a way to reverse-engineer them." Domon explained.

"I see." Genjuro had his arms crossed.

"Pardon me but would someone mind explaining to me what exactly this Dark Gundam is?" Aoba asked.

"It would take... quite a bit of time to explain everything about that, since we'd also have to delve into the Gundam Fight and all. I'll try and give you a quick rundown later." Ryoko told him.

"Alright then…"

"Anyways, we'll be lending our help here, since the other Shuffle Alliance members are covering the rest of the planet. Glad to be here!" Allenby said with a thumbs-up.

"Well, we're glad to have the two of you on-board with us." Genjuro smiled.

"Now, for the elephant in the room and the ones that can explain the magic spike to us." Ryoko said.

Everyone's attention then turned over to Nanoha and Yuuno. "

"O-Oh! Well, this is something mainly Yuuno would be able to explain very well so…" Nanoha said, rubbing the back of her head.

"I got you, Nanoha." Yuuno said. "So let me properly introduce myself: My name is Yuuno Scrya and I'm not actually from this planet, but another world."

"Ooh, not just a talking ferret, but an alien talking ferret?" Ryoko said, impressed.

"Is the future really this nuts...?" Aoba asked.

"On my homeworld, I'm an archeologist. And one day at an archeological dig that I was working at, I stumbled across some old ruins and found the Jewel Seeds." Yuuno said.

"Jewel Seeds?" Kanade noticed the plural. "Meaning that there's more than the one that the Dark Army was using?"

"Precisely. There's 21 in total that I found at the dig. And after doing so, I contacted the Administrative Bureau to take them and transported them to somewhere safe."

"Administrative Bureau? What's that?" Hibiki asked.

"Right, you all wouldn't know about that. Well, their full name is the Time-Space Administrative Bureau and they're essentially an interdimensional security force that's a union of several worlds, with their main objective being to monitor cultural growth and provide disaster relief to worlds under their jurisdiction." Yuuno explained.

"So like... a space police or something?" Aoba asked.

"But I'll assume something happened to the transport." Genjuro said.

"Yes. The dimensional ship that was transporting them met with an accident en-route and all 21 of the Jewel Seeds ended up being scattered over this planet. Because of that, I came here to this planet in order to try and retrieve them all. But my first attempt after coming across a few of them ended pretty badly for me. At which point, I was forced to use my magic to try and contact anyone that possessed sufficient magic power to help me."

"So that was actually magic you and her were using?!" Aoba said, amazed.

"Yes. Magic is a form of technology that we use on my world and the others governed by the Administrative Bureau." Yuuno nodded.

"Oh, so this type of magic can be explained by science...!" Ryoko realized. "...somewhat."

"And judging from your story, young Nanoha was that help you found?" Genjuro asked.

"Indeed. She was the only one nearby that was able to answer my telepathic call." Yuuno said.

"Yeah. When me and my two friends first came across Yuuno, he seemed really hurt so we took him to the nearby veterinarian." Nanoha explained. "Then later that night, I heard him call for me again, so I went out to find him and I saw him being attacked by this weird monster that the Jewel Seeds created. He then asked me if I could help him, and he handed me Raising Heart to use. Oh, and this is Raising Heart, by the way."

"Hello." The small red pendant spoke.

"Hm, brings to mind some of the Super AI we've seen on this planet." Kuramitsu noted.

"Looks like a cuter, mini relic, if you ask me." Ryoko chuckled.

"So there are still more of these Jewel Seeds, correct?" Domon asked.

"Yes. Including the one we found today, we only have 4 of the Jewel Seeds." Yuuno said.

"Well, if you would permit it, we would be willing to assist you." Genjuro offered.

"Would that be okay, Yuuno? They do all seem like very nice people." Nanoha asked.

"More help in finding them would be very appreciated." Yuuno said.

"Well with Section Two's assistance, that shouldn't be a problem!" Ryoko said.

"Is it really safe though?" Kanade asked. "She did say she was 9 years old…"

Domon and Tsubasa were silent, knowing why Kanade was asking this.

"We already have a lot of people helping us, so I'm sure it'll turn out okay!" Hibiki smiled. "Nice to meet you, Nanoha! I'm Hibiki Tachibana!"

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Miss Hibiki!" Nanoha also smiled.

"Wow, they got along pretty quick." Aoba noted.

"They do seem a bit like-minded." Banagher noticed.

"I can't help but wonder if this'll be the source of future headaches…" Dio sighed.

---

Pre-Battle Quotes vs the Dark Army/Grand Gundam

Banagher: The Dark Army, back from the dead? Looks like I'll have to put them back into the ground!

Hibiki: I've only seen the Dark Army on TV, so this is kind of scary. But I'll keep fighting to help people!

Aoba: This is totally nuts… but I won't lose here! There's someone I need to find!

Domon: Dark Army! As the King of Hearts, I'll end you all! I'm burying you all here!

Allenby: Man, the Dark Army love just showing up like flies. All the more reason to swat 'em!

Nanoha: There are other people fighting too… and here I am, one of them. I need to do the best I can!

Notes:

Unit Acquisition

Burning Gundam (Domon Kasshu)

Noble Gundam (Allenby Beardsley)

Barrier Jacket Raising Heart (Nanoha Takamachi)

Chapter 5: Scenario 4: The Great Hero (UC)

Chapter by EpicLinkSam

A few days had passed since the last incident, with Nanoha and Yuuno joining the team. They were getting along with most of the members quite well.

"So your family actually owns a cafe?" Hibiki asked Nanoha.

"Mm! It's called Midori-ya!" Smiling with a hint of pride.

"Oh, maybe I should go with Miku and the others some time!" Hibiki said.

"Sure!" Nanoha grinned. "I'm positive you all will like the baked goods that my family makes!"

"Oh, now I have to make sure that we go!" Hibiki promised.

The others watched as Hibiki and Nanoha talked.

"Well, the two of them seem to be getting along pretty well." Aoba said, smiling at the two.

"They do say birds of feather, flock together." Kanade pointed out.

"Yeah. And a certain someone could use that as a guideline for their relationship with another person." Allenby added, sneaking a glance and Aoba and Dio.

"...why are you staring at me?" Dio asked.

"I think she's talking about how you and Aoba aren't really connecting that well." Kanade said.

Dio was silent as he glanced at Aoba.

"I guess you still don't really trust me, huh?" Aoba rubbed the back of his head.

Yuuno was sitting on a shelf nearby. "Well, considering what everyone told me about your story, it's probably only natural to be on edge."

"This coming from someone who's essentially a talking space alien ferret?" Aoba pointed out.

"Oh, right. You come from an era where space travel hasn't advanced yet, so you're unaware of the many different life forms aside from the ones on Earth." Yuuno remembered.

"Other life forms?"

"Earth has been attacked by three alien groups multiple times in the past decade." Domon explained. "The Andromeda Country, the SSSP-Identified Aliens, and the unidentified Space Monsters."

"Seriously?!" Aoba said, surprised.

"The Andromeda Country are still attacking Earth even now, while most of the SSSP-Identified Aliens have significantly died out in the past decade." Banagher said. "Then you have the Space Monsters, which haven't been seen since their last attack where they were stopped by Captain Yuzo Takaya, sacrificing himself to drive them off in the Luxion spacecraft in what came to be known as the "Luxion Disaster.""

"The Luxion?" Aoba said. "Wait…"

"One of humanity's first near-lightspeed spacecrafts." Dio said."I believe that the Luxon was named similarly in tribute to the late captain, as the creator was an old friend of his."

"Huh…"

"But from what I have read, there are other, more benevolent species out there." Yuuno said.

"Oh, there are?" Allenby said, interested. "Like what?"

Before Yuuno could say, the alarm went off. This one was noticeably different from the Noise alarm.

"What's that?!" Nanoha asked.

"That one... the international alarm!" Kanade realized.

"International?" Dio repeated.

"I'll let the boss man explain things. We gotta get to the bridge!" Kanade said quickly.

"Got it!" Hibiki said.

---

A few moments later, everyone had gathered on the bridge. Both Genjuro and Kuramitsu were already there, expressions grim.

"Commanders, what's the situation?" Banagher asked.

"We have a visual of the current situation. This should explain things better." Genjuro said.

Pulled up onto the screen was what appeared to be a power plant within a dome.

"What is that? Some kind of futuristic power plant?" Aoba asked.

"That is a Photon Power plant located within Texas." Genjuro explained.

"Photon Power?" Aoba repeated, confused.

"Photon Power, or its other name Photonic Energy, is a type of energy that was discovered by the late Professor Juzo Kabuto, that greatly surpasses that of nuclear energy." Banagher explained to him. "It's become quite commonplace around the world, though it's mainly in Japan."

"Is the plant having a malfunction of sorts?" Dio asked.

"It's not the plant that's the issue, it's what's approaching it." Kuramitsu said grimly.

The camera zoomed out to a satellite view, showing that several miles away were several mechanical monsters, eliciting a similar reaction to when they saw the Dark Army remnants.

"Are those Kikaiju?!" Hibiki said, a hint of fear in her voice.

"Kikaiju?" Aoba asked.

"Mechanical monsters deployed by a mad scientist named Dr. Hell." Domon clenched his fists. "They were thought to have been stopped several years ago by Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger."

"We'll be sending the team there immediately as fast as possible to stop the Kikaiju, and lend our assistance to the one currently defending it." Genjuro said.

"So we're heading to Texas?" Nanoha asked.

"We will." Kuramitsu nodded. "We will. The Cygnus is fast enough to get there in time, so everyone aboard."

"Understood Captain." Dio said with a salute.

"Kikaiju, I thought they would be a thing of the past for good…" Banagher frowned.

"Then it's up to us to make it history!" Allenby stated, punching a fist into her palm.

"That's right, Allenby. Let's do this!" Domon shouted.

---

A few hours had passed, and the Kikaiju had arrived at the Power Plant. The barrier was holding up, as several Ichinana were held off.

"Scramble Dash!"

A huge black and gray machine with red wings and crest took off to engage the Kaiju. It landed in front of a large group of Kikaiju, as the v-shaped fin on its chest started glowing bright red.

"Breast Burn!"

A blast of flaming heat erupts from said chest fin and strikes the group of Kikaiju, heating and melting them until they all explode. But even with several destroyed, more Kikaiju came to take their place.

"So you bastards keep on coming huh?" The pilot of the machine gripped his controls. "Bad idea, since the Great Mazinger and Tetsuya Tsurugi are here to take you on. THUNDER BREAK!"

Lightning shoots up from Great Mazinger's side horns into the sky before traveling down to its raised finger. It then launches the bolt of lightning towards the newly arrived Kikaiju, annihilating them.

"GREAT TYPHOON!"

A hurricane of wind came from Great Mazinger's mouth, turning several more Kikaiju into rust, but more Kikaiju just came to replace the ones that were destroyed.

"More of you, huh?" Tetsuya frowned.

Great Mazinger's comms turned on to show a young adult.

"Tetsuya! I just got off the phone with the head of Section Two! The backup should be here soon!"

"So hold out till then. Gotcha, Shiro." Tetsuya nodded.

"Oh one more thing, but the SSSP sent in their backup ahead of time! Heads up!" Shiro said, as the comm ended.

Great Mazinger looked skyward to see a jet fly overhead. Jumping out of them was a small figure, as he caught glimpses of red and silver.

"A person?" Tetsuya asked.

Slamming down into the ground to crater it was a small human in mechanical armor. Standing up, his chest glew blue while his eyes glew yellow.

"This is Ultraman of the SSSP! I'm here to back up Great Mazinger against the Kikaiju!" The figure said.

"Ultraman?!" Tetsuya said in shock, recognizing the name.

"Alright, Kikaiju! You might be bigger than the aliens I'm used to fighting, but I'll take you down all the same!" ULTRAMAN declared, before rushing forward. He created an energy disk and threw it at the monsters. Despite the small size, it managed to cleave several Kikaiju apart.

"What power!" Tetsuya was impressed. "Especially when he doesn't have the size advantage!"

Running forward, ULTRAMAN grabbed one of the Kikaiju by the tail.

"Rrrrrrrraaah!"

He spun the monster around, tossing it into a row of several other Kikaiju, before he put his wrists together.

"EAT THIS!"

From his arms, he fired a massive beam of energy that punched straight through the Kikaiju, before they exploded from the damage.

"Don't forget about me, Kikaiju! Mazinger Blade!"

A sword pops out of a port on one of Great Mazinger's legs. Grabbing it, it sped forward and started hacking Kikaiju in half with it. Most of the Kikaiju were cut down by ULTRAMAN and Great Mazinger, before a noticeable blip appeared on their radar, bringing in reinforcements. Tetsuya's communication line started to beep in alarm.

"The Kikaiju are inside the barrier!"

"Tch! Great Booster, ignite!"

The screen inside denied Tetsuya's order.

"What?!"

"CRC to L41! We can't authorize usage of special weaponry that could damage the plant!" One of the soldiers reported.

"Damn it!"

Great Mazinger and ULTRAMAN both landed inside the barrier to confront the Kikaiju that had swarmed in.

"Bah. It would seem they were a failure." Two voices boomed.

"Huh?" ULTRAMAN looked around to find the sound.

"Failure?" Great Mazinger looked up. "Aren't you-!?"

A dual-colored purple and black robot with a mask-like face on it, floated in the air above the two, shrouded by a cape.

"Greetings, Tetsuya Tsurugi, Ultraman. My name is Ashura. I am the loyal servant of Dr. Hell, the world's greatest scientist. Address me as Baron Ashura!"

"Baron Ashura?!" ULTRAMAN realized. "But aren't they supposed to be-?!"

"These guys… these aren't Kikaiju that we never mopped up." Tetsuya said. "They're old war phantoms that are back from the dead."

"Old war phantoms?" Ashura said. "Then I suppose you won't mind if we bring a few more, Tetsuya Tsurugi."

The ground started to shake, as Dark Army mobile suits rose from the ground to join the Kikaiju.

"The Dark Army!" Tetsuya grit his teeth.

"No way, I thought the Shuffle Alliance beat them!" ULTRAMAN said, stunned.

"We did, but they're still a total pain!"

Baron Ashura's Kikaiju dodged several huge bullets, whizzing past its head.

"Who dares?!" Baron Ashura demanded.

A red and blue Gundam jumped into view, holding a pair of smoking pistols.

"I'm the one who dares, Baron Ashura!"

"Chibodee Crocket!" Tetsuya grinned.

"The USA representative of the Gundam Fight!" ULTRAMAN recognized.

"It's been a while, Tetsuya!" The Gundam Maxter did a quick salute.

"Indeed it has, Chibodee. Glad you could make it down here." Tetsuya said as the Maxter joined his side.

"Well where the Dark Army goes, the Shuffle Alliance ain't far behind! Even though it's just me today." Chibodee chuckled.

"It'll still be more than enough to deal with these old relics!" Tetsuya said.

"It'll take more than a few fools to defeat us." Baron Ashura declared.

"Oh, so what about that big ship in the back coming to help us out?" The Gundam Maxter pointed behind Baron Ashura.

"What?!"

Indeed, the Cygnus came into view inside of the barrier. It was soon followed by the team onboard being deployed and arriving onto the battle.

"Chibodee! Tetsuya!" Domon called.

"Domon, Allenby, good to see you." Tetsuya said.

"Looks like you got my message!" Chibodee smiled.

"Domon, are they some old friends of yours?" Aoba asked.

"Chibodee's the USA representative of the Gundam fight and the Queen of Spades of the Shuffle Alliance. Tetsuya Tsurugi's the pilot of the Great Mazinger, and a legendary hero that helped us out on a few occasions." Domon introduced.

"Tetsuya Tsurugi…" Dio said in awe.

This presence, it's one of an expert pilot! Banagher thought, feeling Tetsuya's will.

"Um, what about the small person down by their feet?" Nanoha asked, noticing the small figure by Great Mazinger.

"I'm Ultraman of the SSSP." He answered.

"Ultraman?" Aoba asked.

"Oh, I've seen him on the news! He fights rogue aliens!" Hibiki said.

"Rogue aliens are a thing here?" Aoba asked.

"We'll have to save this conversation for later." Tetsuya said.

"So several more fools join the battle. No matter." Baron Ashura said.

"Baron Ashura! You're using the Dark Army?!" Domon shouted.

"How the heck did someone like you get your hands on them?!" Allenby asked.

"How I got my hands on them is not what you should be worried about." Baron Ashura said, before raising an arm. "Attack!"

The Kikaiju and Dark Army Mobile Suits charged at the team.

"We're gonna send you all back packing to hell, Baron Ashura! Double Mazinger Blade!" Tetsuya shouted.

Two swords popped out from Great Mazinger this time, as he sliced through Kikaiju and Dark Army mobile suits in order to reach Baron Ashura.

"Focus on whittling down the Kikaiju and Dark Army for now! Baron Ashura comes later!" Kuramitsu ordered.

"Roger!"

The Bradyon flew up into the air and started firing on the Kikaiju down below, with it also pulling out its sword to cut down any airborne Kikaiju that came at it. The Luxon joined him in the air to assist.

"Connective Dio!"

"Acception!"

The two Valiancers coupled, and started tearing through the monsters. Meanwhile, Domon and Allenby punched and kicked their way through the Dark Army to reach Chibodee.

"Like old times, eh, Domon?" Chibodee chuckled.

"Yeah! I hope you haven't gotten rusty over the past 2 years, Chibodee." Domon smirked..

"Me? Rusty?" Chibodee scoffed. "Just watch this! Cyclone Punch!"

A pair of blue knuckle dusters flipped onto Maxter's fists, as it throws a punch, generating a blue cyclone which riped through a row of Kikaiju.

"Ooh, not bad!" Allenby grinned.

"We're gonna turn these Kikaiju and Dark Army into scrap metal!" Domon held up a fist. "Let's go, Chibodee! Allenby!"

"Yeah!" They both agreed.

"Yeah!"

Elsewhere, Hibiki and Nanoha were fighting side-by-side with each other. Hibiki was punching away Dark Army Suits that got near them, while Nanoha fired bolts of magic from Raising Heart.

"Hraaaah!"

Slugging through one of the Kikaiju was ULTRAMAN, as he landed by the girls.

"SSSP's agent…" Tsubasa said.

"So you guys are from Section Two, huh? Let's fight together!" ULTRAMAN said.

"Okay!" Hibiki took up a stance as the enemy continued to approach.

ULTRAMAN held up his wrists, as energy blades appeared on his arms. With a shout, he dashed forward and started slashing at the Kikaiju. Tsubasa did the same to the Dark Army, but used the blades on her legs, spinning with kicks. Back up in the sky, the Unicorn Gundam used its beam saber to take down a few Dark Army mobile suits, before switching to its beam rifle and firing a barrage of shots that took down a couple of Kikaiju. Great Mazinger took down several more Dark Army mobile suits, before facing off against the Ashura P1.

"Tetsuya Tsurugi! I shall see to it that you die a horrible death!" Ashura declared.

"Koji was right about you, Ashura. You're a real talker." Tetsuya said.

"What?!"

"Warriors don't need words." Tetsuya simply stated. "Allow me and Great to demonstrate!"

"Rapid Rocket Gun!"

A hail of rockets fly out from the chest of Ashura P1, which Great Mazinger cuts down with its swords before then flying towards the piloted Kikaiju to do the same.

"Double Mazinger Blade!"

With expert skill, Great Mazinger swung its swords, slashing at Ashura P1 and sending it back. Ashura P1 sends the tendrils on one of its hands towards Great Mazinger in order to ensnare it, but said tendrils would be stopped by the Burning Gundam flying in and slicing them off with one of its beam sabers.

"Domon Kasshu!" Baron Ashura grit their teeth.

"Your plan ends here, Baron Ashura! We've dealt with the Kikaiju and Dark Army!" Domon shouted.

"Surrender looks like a really good idea, Ashura." Allenby said with a hint of mockery.

"Curse you, Tetsuya Tsurugi and the Shuffle Alliance!" Baron Ashura fumed. "You may have won today, but you will not stop Dr. Hell's plan!"

Part of the Kikaiju and Dark Army remains started to glow, before they exploded, shrouding the area in smoke. When it faded, Ashura P1 was gone.

"He got away…" Dio said.

"Yeah, but we managed to protect the power plant though." Hibiki said.

First the Dark Army, now Baron Ashura. Domon thought. Is the past still haunting us even now?

---

The Cygnus had docked on a landing pad outside of the power plant, where the Ichinana soldiers were working towards rebuilding it, being led by Shiro's. Tetsuya, ULTRAMAN and Chibodee met up with the Alliance and Section Two members that had assisted them.

Several of the younger members were in awe at Tetsuya's presence. "Whoa! It really is Tetsuya Tsurugi."

"I remember my big brother always saw him as an idol." Nanoha recalled.

"Good to see you're doing well, Tetsuya." Domon held up a fist.

Tetsuya returned the fistbump. "Same to you, Domon. How's Rain, by the way?"

"She's been doing alright."

"Glad you guys got my message." Chibodee said.

"Well, we were already on the way when we got your call." Allenby said. "So you knew Ashura had the Dark Army with him?"

"Well when I first heard reports of Kikaiju around America, I thought to check it out. And here in Texas I find the Dark Army was marching alongside them." Chibodde said.

"So the Dark Army remnants are working with these Kikaijus?" Aoba asked.

"Can't say for sure if they were helping Baron Ashura willingly, or if Dr. Hell got his grimy hands on the DG Cells. Either way, it ain't good." Chibodee said.

"Is it really possible that Dr. Hell is still alive?" Banagher asked.

"Considering the fact that we encountered Baron Ashura, who was also thought to be dead; it's a very likely possibility that he's still kicking." Tetsuya said grimly.

"Dr. Hell? Who's that?" Aoba asked.

"He was an evil scientist that Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger beat years ago." Hibiki said.

"I remember the stories that my family used to tell me about them." Nanoha said, remembering how her brother idolized Tetsuya while her sister fell for the dreamboat that was Koji (as did a majority of teenage girls back then and even now).

"He was indeed seen as a great threat to Japan and the world back then." Tsubasa nodded.

ULTRAMAN was staring at the group... or at least that's what they guessed, since his helmet didn't let them see his expression.

"...can we help you?" Dio asked, getting a bit annoyed by his silence.

"Ah, sorry!" ULTRAMAN apologized. "It's just that I think I recognize one of you. Isn't that you, Hibiki?"

"Huh? You know me?"

There was a small hiss of smoke as ULTRAMAN's helmet retracted to reveal a young man with black hair.

"Eh?! Shinjiro!" Hibiki recognized.

"Is he a friend of yours, Hibiki?" Dio asked.

"Yeah! He goes to a different school, but he comes to Flower a lot." Hibiki explained.

"Well that's mostly at Chidori's insistence since she knows you and Miku go there every other day or so." Shinjiro said with a shrug.

"So you guys are essentially school friends then?" Dio asked.

"Something like that."

Hibiki was excited to see her friend, before she realized something. "...wait-"

"And here comes the delayed realization…" Shinjiro sighed, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"YOU'RE ULTRAMAN?!" Hibiki shouted.

"Yeah. I'm the new Ultraman." Shinjiro confirmed.

"New Ultraman?" Aoba asked.

"Nearly 40 years ago, a giant of light had descended from space, and defended the planet from aliens trying to destroy it. He came to be known as Ultraman." Domon said.

"Once it seemed like the threat of aliens had subsided at the time, Ultraman left our planet and returned back to space." Dio said.

"However, the alien threats had recently resurfaced. As a result, the Science Special Search Party, or the SSSP, was reinstated, led by Shin Hayata, the Japan Defense Minister and former host of Ultraman." Tetsuya finished.

"Host?" Aoba raised a brow.

"Yeah." Hibiki nodded. "Ultraman needed a human host during that time in order for him to be able to fight against the aliens. But I didn't know that said host was your father, Shinjiro!"

"I didn't know about it myself until only a few years ago, when my powers started developing." Shinjiro admitted. "But enough about me; I'm surprised to see you out here, Hibiki. What happened with you?"

"Well that's a bit of a story to tell." She rubbed the back of her head.

"You can tell him on the way, since these three are coming back with us." Kuramitsu said.

"With the Kikaiju driven off for now, I'll be linking up with Section Two as per the orders of the Photon Research Institute." Tetsuya said.

"And you know I gotta back up my old pal Domon now that we've met up with each other again." Chibodee said with a thumbs-up.

"Mr. Ide told me that I'll temporarily be assigned to Section Two at the moment, as alien attacks have been pretty minimal as of recent." Shinjiro said.

"Well, it'll be an honor to have you three join up with us." Kuramitsu greeted.

"Well, the Commander and Kanade are going to be thrilled." Tsubasa said.

"Hm? Why?" Dio asked.

"Domon Kasshu is one thing, but they've both wanted to meet someone like Tetsuya Tsurugi." Tsubasa explained.

"Tetsuya's got fans as always, eh?" Chibodee chuckled.

"He and Koji are pretty famous after all." Allenby nodded.

"Yeah! To top it off, we got another Gundam Fight representative, and the new Ultraman!" Hibiki said.

"It is pretty exciting." Nanoha had to admit.

How can they be so carefree? Tsubasa narrowed her eyes at Hibiki and Nanoha. Old threats like Dr. Hell's forces and the Dark Army are returning, and they're more concerned with this? I'll never see eye-to-eye with them...

---

Pre-Battle Quotes vs Kikaiju/Dark Army

Tetsuya: You old buckets of bolts from the past think you can beat me, huh? You're going to have to try harder than that!

ULTRAMAN: Size doesn't matter to me! I'll take down you Kikaiju, as the new Ultraman!

Chibodee: You schmucks from the past don't learn. Guess I gotta drill that lesson into ya again!

Domon: Now Kikaiju, huh… well, I'm not gonna back down! You ghosts of the pasts are heading back into the grave!

---

Pre-Battle Quotes vs Baron Ashura

Tetsuya Tsurugi:

Ashura: Tetsuya Tsurugi! I shall see to it that you die a horrible death!

Tetsuya: Koji was right about you, Ashura. You're a real talker.

Ashura: What?!

Tetsuya: Warriors don't need words. Allow me and Great to demonstrate!

Domon Kasshu:

Domon: So you're still alive, Baron Ashura!

Ashura: Domon Kasshu. You had best get out of the way, lest you receive a crushing defeat.

Domon: Not a chance. I won't allow your evil to exist in this world any longer! Here I come!

ULTRAMAN:

Ashura: What a small pest, buzzing around! I'll destroy you!

ULTRAMAN: You better not underestimate me! You're going down, Baron Ashura!

Banagher Links:

Ashura: A Gundam! I haven't fought one of those for quite some time!

Banagher: Commander Bright has told me about monsters like you. Baron Ashura, I won't let you win!

Aoba Watase/Dio Junyou Weinberg:

Aoba: Wha-?! Do they have two faces?!

Dio: Don't lose your focus, Aoba Watase!

Ashura: Already faltering? You'll be easy to destroy!

Hibiki Tachibana/Nanoha Takamachi:

Ashura: Bah, now they're sending mere children after us!

Nanoha: Are you afraid, Miss Hibiki?

Hibiki: As a kid, I was… but now… I can make a difference!

Nanoha: I remember being scared of the stories, but now I feel like going at full power, full throttle!

Hibiki: Let's do this, Nanoha! We'll show Baron Ashura we're not just kids!

Notes:

Unit Acquisition

 

Great Mazinger (Tetsuya Tsurugi)

Gundam Maxter (Chibodee Crocket)

Ultraman Suit B-Type (Shinjiro Hayata)

Chapter 6: Scenario 5: A Maiden's True Heart (UC)

Chapter by EpicLinkSam

The Cygnus was flying back to Japan, with the team talking with the newly joined members.

"So this is what you've been up to, huh Hibiki?" Shinjiro said. "I was wondering why you haven't been coming to Flower as often."

"Yeah. I only recently joined up with Section Two." Hibiki said.

"Well, I've been working with the SSSP for a bit longer, so I can help show you the ropes for this secret organization sort of thing." Shinjiro offered.

"Really? Thanks, Shinjiro!"

While Shinjiro was explaining a few things for Hibiki to keep in mind, the others were talking to Tetsuya.

"So Jun is pregnant now?" Allenby said with a smile.

"Yeah." Tetsuya stated simply. He appeared stoic, but it was clear he was happy.

"Congrats, Tetsuya. You're both gonna be great parents." Domon said.

"Thank you, Domon." Tetsuya nodded.

"So what about you and Rain, huh?" Chibodee asked Domon. "You guys want to have any little munchkins in the future?"

"Wha-?!"

"Whoa, Chibodee! You can't just say something like that!" Allenby said.

"He does have a point. It has been quite some time since the Dark Gundam incident." Tetsuya pointed out. "I would've imagined you two would've gotten married, at least."

"Yeah, like Tetsuya said; you two should have tied the knot by now." Chibodee said.

"Well, with the DG Cells making a reappearance, I haven't really gotten that chance." Domon explained.

"Guess that's understandable." Tetsuya said with a nod.

"Speaking of marriage though, how about Koji and Sayaka?" Allenby asked. "Are they… you know?"

"Nope." Tetsuya shook his head. "Jun, Shiro and I have been hoping something could be that last little nudge."

"Oh jeez." Allenby sighed.

"Who are they talking about?" Aoba asked.

"Koji Kabuto, pilot of the Mazinger Z, and Sayaka Yumi, chief of the Photon Power Laboratory. They've been professional and private partners ever since the Hell Uprising years ago." Dio explained. "...although there have been zero notable updates in their relationship in a decade."

"So they're in a relationship rut?" Aoba concluded.

"Essentially." Tsubasa said.

Nanoha looked confused. "But they love each other, right? So shouldn't they...?"

"The world of adult love is so complicated…" Hibiki said with her arms crossed. "I bet Miss Ryoko could tell us more."

"I… don't think you two are old enough for all of that yet." Allenby said with a sweatdrop.

Tetsuya heard a beep on his phone, and saw a notification.

"Hmm? What's this...?"

---

Sanshuu Middle School was normally a quiet school, but right now it was in the middle of a crisis. A large horde of grotesque monsters had suddenly appeared above the school and the general area around it, which caused the students and any other nearby civilians to fall into a panic as they tried to hide or run away. Inside the school building, students were being escorted to the basement floors, directed by a certain club of the school.

"Don't panic! Just keep moving!" Said a blonde 3rd year as she guided the other students.

"There's no need to push each other, everyone!" Said a pink-haired 2nd year.

A dark-haired 2nd year in a wheelchair was looking out the window, seeing the Vertex attack.

"Those aren't Noise... why... why is this happening?"

"Onee-chan! Everyone's downstairs!" Said a blonde 1st year.

"Good. Now that they're all safe…" Fu pulled out a phone, looking out at the monsters.

"You know what's going on, don't you, Fu-senpai?" Tougo asked.

"Huh?" Itsuki looked at her sister.

"What do you mean by that, Tougo-san?" Yuna asked her friend, before looking at Fu.

"...those monsters. They were kept secret from the public because they stopped showing up a few years ago, but... now they're back…" Fu explained.

"Wait, how do you know about them, Fu-senpai?" Yuna asked.

"I'm one of the few people chosen by the Taisha to learn about this." Fu said.

"The Taisha?" Itsuki said, confused.

"They're a religious group that worships the Shinju-sama, a god that's the protector of humanity, and the mortal enemy of the monsters attacking us called the Vertex." Fu explained.

"The Vertex…" Yuna repeated.

"I'm one of the few people that can fight those things, but I'm not the only one here that can." Fu said.

"What do you mean?" Itsuki asked.

"When I was picked by the Taisha, they gave me another assignment; to find others that had the aptitude needed to be able to fight against the Vertex, and have them assemble when the time came for us to be called for duty."

"Wait… us?" Itsuki said.

"We can... fight them? How?" Yuna asked.

Another explosion went off outside as the building shook.

"I don't have any time to fully explain. This is gonna have to be a watch and learn thing!" With that, Fu opened up the nearest window and jumped out of it, which naturally shocked the others.

"Onee-chan!" Itsuki called.

"Fu-senpai!" Yuna shouted.

Fu quickly pulled out her phone, opening an app and taping the screen. Several flower petals fluttered out of the phone, covering her.

"Wha… ?" Tougo watched in shock.

The flower petals eventually dissipated after a few seconds, as they revealed that Fu's hair had become a bright shade of yellow, and she had now donned a yellow dress-like outfit. She landed on the ground and held her hand. She grabbed a large greatsword that had materialized out of the air, as a small blue dog-like creature also appeared floating next to her.

"Alright, Vertex!" She aimed her weapon at the monsters. "I'll bring all of you down!"

Both Itsuki and Yuna were awed by her transformation, and cheered her on. With expertise, Fu jumped forward, slashing at the Vertex and pushing them back. Tougo however, looked concerned as she watched her senior fight off the Vertex. Fu saw a couple Vertex moving in towards her, which she responded with by enlarging her sword to a giant-like size and swinging it horizontally, slashing through a group of them.

"You're not gonna get any closer to our school!" Fu declared.

However, Fu was soon caught off guard as a few of the Vertex launched a set of projectiles that managed to hit her. They exploded, sending her flying and crashing into the wall of the school, leaving an indent on it.

"Fu-senpai!" Yuna and Tougo shouted.

"Onee-chan!" Itsuki screamed.

"Ugh…" Fu winced, but stood back up, gripping her sword. "I'm not gonna give up! It's up to me to protect everyone!

"Well said! You've got the brave heart of a hero!"

"Huh?" Fu looked around. "Who said that?"

A train-like plane flew into view, accompanied by three large humanoid robots that had train-like designs.

"The Brave Express Corps have arrived!" Maito Senpuji declared, saluting from Might Wing.

Yuna was awe-struck at seeing the giant robot heroes, ones she always dreamed of meeting. "Whoa! The Brave Express Corps!"

"Amazing... but why are you here?" Fu asked.

"Wherever there's evil, we'll be there to stop it!" Tri Bomber declared.

"But these monsters are something new to us, so we can't underestimate them." Guard Diver said.

"We'll lend you our support!" Maito said. "The front line is yours, Gaine!"

"Roger, Maito! We'll stop these creatures!" Gaine said.

With that, the Brave Express Corps robots moved in to begin their attack against the Vertex.

"Gaine! Shot!"

Gaine pulled out a gun with a flashing red siren on it, as he fired a couple shots at the Vertex.

"Eat this! Bomber Gauntlet! Soiyaaaah!"

Tri Bomber thrust his hand into one of the Vertex, before tearing it out and causing it to explode.

"Now! Hydro Cannon!"

Guard Diver's two shoulder cannons shot high-pressure streams of water, cutting through two Vertex.

"Amazing...! They're handling the Vertex pretty well…" Itsuki said in awe.

"Of course! They are real heroes after all!" Yuna grinned.

They watched as Maito piloted Might Wing to lend air support to Fu, who had recovered and started fighting again. Yuna pulled out her phone, seeing that there was a new app on it. She could feel power from it, as odd as it sounded to her.

"We... We should go out there too!" She said.

"Yuna!" Tougo turned to her friend.

"Not just because I want to fight alongside my heroes! If I can help protect people, and our school, I want to do it!" Yuna declared.

"I… I want to go too!" Itsuki said.

"Itsuki?" Tougo said, shocked.

"The idea of fighting those things scares me… but if Onee-chan is willing to charge in battle against them, then I want to fight by her side and do the same!" She said.

"But…"

"It's okay if you don't want to fight." Yuna put a gentle hand on Tougo's shoulder. "Just stay safe for us, and that's enough."

"...okay then. Promise me you'll stay safe too."

"I will!" Yuna nodded. "Let's go, Itsuki!"

"R-Right!" Itsuki said.

Yuna and Itsuki proceeded to jump out of the window like Fu had done and brought out their phones, which already had the app loaded up from them. They then pressed it, as different colored flower petals surrounded the two of them.

"Bomber Crash!"

A diving kick from Tri Bomber obliterated another Vertex.

"Alright, who's next?!" Tri Bomber called out in challenge.

"Bomber! Behind you!" Maito warned.

A Vertex flew towards Tri Bomber, aiming for his blind side. But before it could hit, a resounding punch was heard, as the Vertex was sent flying. Landing gracefully was Yuna, now garbed in a unique pink garment, with her hair a similar bright shade.

"Alright! Yuna Yuki of the Sanshuu Hero Club is here to assist!" Yuna took up a pose, holding up a fist.

Guard Diver was pushing back several Vertex with his hydro cannons, as they were ensnared by vines.

"Huh?"

The red Brave turned to see that the source of the vines came from Itsuki, now garbed in green garments. A tambourine-like ring attached to her arm was where the vines came out of, as she also landed on the ground.

Fu grinned. "So you two decided to join us, huh?"

"We couldn't just let you fight them by yourself, Fu-senpai!" Yuna declared

"Y-Yeah!" Itsuki nodded.

"I can already tell; they've got the makings of a great hero." Maito said with a nod.

"Itsuki! Let's back up Tri Bomber and Guard Diver!" Fu said. "Yuna, you help out Maito and Gaine!"

"Right!"

The two sisters went over to support the two machines, while Yuna joined up with the leaders.

"I want to say, it's a big honor for me to fight alongside heroes like you guys!" Yuna said, stars in her eyes.

"No problem at all. Now let's take these creeps down!" Maito said.

"Yeah, let's do it!"

Yuna jumped forward and started slugging several Vertex, while Maito and Gaine provided support by shooting at any of the ones that got too close.

Meanwhile, Itsuki used her vines to restrict a couple of the Vertex's movements, which left them open for Fu to slash them while Tri Bomber thrust his hand through one of them.

"Heh, not bad for your first fight!" Tri Bomber pulled out his hand and punched the Vertex away.

"But remain alert at all times." Guard Diver advised, before blasting away another. "Never let your guard down!"

"Y-Yes sir!" Itsuki said.

"Gotcha!" Fu nodded.

It was at this point that the Cygnus had appeared in the air above, as said ship had its turrets fired on some surrounding Vertex.

"Whooa!" Yuna said in awe.

Tougo was watching from the school. "A big ship...?"

The mechs all deployed from the giant ship, as the power armor members landed on the ground.

"A school?" ULTRAMAN said, looking around.

"Not what I was expecting, I'll admit." Tetsuya admitted. "But we're not letting these monsters win."

"Tetsuya! You got my message!" Maito smiled.

"Heh, anything for a former student of mine." Great Mazinger gave the Might Wing a nod.

Yuna had stars in her eyes, seeing so many heroes. "Wow, it's really Tetsuya Tsurugi and the Great Mazinger! And Domon Kasshu and the Burning Gundam! And Ultraman! And-!"

"Calm down, Yuna. You're gonna run out of breath if you keep doing that." Fu said.

"Sorry, Fu-senpai!" Yuna said. "But all these heroes coming in to help us fight the Vertex, it's so cool!"

"These monsters...!" Tsubasa widened her eyes.

"The Vertex! They've returned?!" Domon grit his teeth. And the girls fighting them... they look just like…

"I-Is that Tsubasa Kazanari?!" Itsuki recognized.

"You inhumane creatures…" Tsubasa gripped her sword, as her allies noticed her anger.

"W-Wait a sec, Tsubasa!" Aoba called.

Without waiting for an order, Tsubasa rushed forward to start cutting down the Vertex.

"Tsubasa-san?!" Hibiki said in shock.

"These monsters... they stole the life of that girl... robbed Kanade's love of singing! I'll never forgive them!" She screamed.

She created a massive blade, swinging it down and cutting several of the Vertex in half.

"Tsubasa, wait!" Domon warned. "You left yourself open!"

Tsubasa didn't appear to hear Domon's words, as she was focused entirely on cutting down all of the Vertex. This left her open to get blown back by some explosive pods that a couple Vertex had launched at her.

"Agh!"

"Tsubasa-san!" Hibiki screamed.

Tsubasa hit the ground as several of the Vertex glided towards her. But before they could attack again, several shots rang out from near the school, the bullets hitting the Vertex that got close.

"What…?" Tsubasa said.

Gently being lowered to the ground was a dark-haired girl in a blue and white garb, carrying a large gun-like weapon. She wasn't standing, as her outfit's ribbons supported her by lifting her off the ground.

"Tougo-san!" Yuna said with a smile.

"Are you alright, Miss Tsubasa?" Tougo asked.

Tsubasa's eyes widened, seeing the girl. "You... are you here to haunt me as well?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm here to help! Because, I'm a hero too!" She said.

With that, Tougo switched her attention back to the Vertex, as she fired a few more shots from her rifle that managed to take down five that were nearby.

"That girl…" Tsubasa narrowed her eyes.

"Whoa! Is that a friend of yours?" Nanoha said, amazed.

"You bet! She's my best friend!" Yuna said proudly.

"Well, your friend seems to be really skilled!" Hibiki complimented.

"Yeah…" Domon agreed, looking at Tougo.

Before he could say anything else, several more Vertex showed up.

"Tch, more of them!" Tri Bomber said.

"Gaine! With me!" Maito called.

"Roger, Maito!" Gaine responded.

As the two got next to each other, everyone heard a train whistle, as a large blue train started bustling towards them.

"A train?" Aoba said. "How is it traveling without tracks?"

"The Locomorizer!" Hibiki recognized.

"Oh, I know where this one is going." ULTRAMAN said. "You guys aren't gonna want to miss this!"

"Let's go, Maito!" Gaine shouted.

"Alright!"

Maito pressed a button on his wrist device, as it started to beep.

"LET'S MIGHT GAINE!"

Gaine, Might Wing and Locomorizer flew upward, as the three started to shift their parts around and combine. Within the cockpit, Maito grabbed two levers, pushing them forward.

"Might Gaine, start up!"

The transformation was completed, as Gaine was now a larger robot that was ten feet taller than his normal height, with a bulkier body and darker blue color scheme.

"Whoa!" Aoba said, awed.

"There it is! The heroic Might Gaine!" Yuna said in amazement.

"Yes, that's right!" Maito smiled.

"Carrying hope on silver wings, the green light signaling peace shines! The Brave Express Might Gaine has arrived right on schedule!" Might Gaine recited with a salute.

"So cool…!" Hibiki said.

This aura of justice… it's not just from Maito Senpuji, but from Might Gaine as well! Banagher realized.

"An intro expected of a true hero!" Yuna smiled.

Sensing the Brave Express robot's transformation, the Vertex started to focus their attention on Might Gaine, and launched a couple projectiles towards him.

"Mighty Slicer!" Train wheels popped out of the back of Might Gaine, who grabbed them and tossed them at the projectiles. Spikes popped out of said wheels and sliced through the projectiles before then slicing through two Vertex.

"Gaine, Drive Wheel Sword!" Maito said.

"Roger! Drive Wheel Sword!" Gaine repeated.

A compartment opened up on Might Gaine's side, as he pulled out a massive sword. Might Gaine then charged forward and started slicing through the Vertex with no difficulty.

"So that's the Brave Express in action, huh…" Dio said, impressed.

"Well, we can't just stand around and let them do all the work. It'd be rude." Tetsuya said. "Mazinger Blade!"

Great Mazinger drew out its sword, as it rushed in to assist Might Gaine.

"Yeah, let's go everyone!" Hibiki said.

With that, everyone else moved in to take out the remaining Vertex that were still around.

"It might have been some time since I last faced you bastards, but I've only gotten stronger since then!" Domon shouted. "BURNING SLASH!"

The Burning Gundam drew out two beam sabers, and slashed through the Vertex.

"Follow my lead, Aoba Watase." Dio said.

"Right, Dio!"

The Luxon and Bradyon opened fire on the Vertex and took down several of them.

"Eat this!"

Flying forward, ULTRAMAN punched through several of the Vertex, before throwing energy disks at several of the others. The Unicorn Gundam brought out its beam saber and slashed a couple Vertex with it, assisting both the Maxter and Noble.

Hibiki meanwhile, leapt and delivered a punch through one of the Vertex and ended up landing next to Yuna, who had also taken out a few with her punches.

"Whoa, you're really good!" Hibiki complimented.

"Well, this is my first battle as a hero, so I gotta do my best!" Yuna held up her fist.

Hibiki nodded in understanding. "I feel the same way!"

Another Vertex came into view of the two and they were about to attack it, but it was soon blown up by a pink beam that came from Nanoha. Seeing them, she quickly floated over to the two.

"Whoa, so cool!" Yuna said, awed.

"I guess this puts all of us in the same boat." Nanoha said, having heard them earlier. "So let's work together!"

"Yeah!"

Nanoha started to blast several more of the Vertex, while Hibiki and Yuna each started slugging at them. Before long, most of the Vertex had been wiped out thanks to their teamwork, only for a much larger Vertex to descend upon them.

"Whoa, that's a big one!" Yuna looked up.

"A really big one!" Hibiki added.

Said Vertex then started launching its projectiles at the three girls, who dodged out of the way of the explosions.

"Looks like you could use some assistance!" Maito called.

Might Gaine slashed at the Vertex, pushing it back, before turning to Yuna.

"I will weaken it first, then you finish it off. Do you copy?" Might Gaine asked.

"Okay!" Yuna nodded.

"Now, Gaine!" Maito said.

"Signal Beam!"

Might Gaine saluted, as beams of red and blue light shot out of the stoplights on his forehead. They shot at the Vertex, stunning it and burning through.

"Now!"

At that, Yuna leapt up from the ground and landed on the shoulder of Might Gaine, before leaping off him towards the large Vertex as energy gathered in her right arm.

"Hero Punch!"

With an explosion of pink energy, her fist smashed into the Vertex, sending it up in a burst of petals. That last attack signified the end, as all of the remaining Vertex had been wiped out by the others.

"Alright, we did it!" Fu raised up her fist.

"Whew." Itsuki breathed out.

"This is Tetsuya Tsurugi to the new faces." Tetsuya's voice was magnified by Great Mazinger's communicator. "Would you mind coming aboard the Cygnus for questioning?"

"I'm fine with it if the others are." Yuna said, turning to her friends.

"Well as Club President, I say we should probably talk to them about this. Any objections?" Fu asked.

"None, Onee-chan." Itsuki said.

"I'll need my wheelchair first, but I'll be fine with it." Tougo said.

"Oh, your wheelchair should come back once you detransform. Well, if you were in it before." Fu explained.

"Whoa, really?" Tougo was impressed.

"Looks like we're gonna have a lot to discuss with these four." Dio said.

"Seems like it, yeah." Aoba agreed.

As everyone was getting ready to head back to the Cygnus, Tsubasa and Domon were giving Tougo curious glances. She bore such a similarity she had to one of the girls they met two years ago, back at the concert.

---

On the Cygnus, everyone gathered in the hangar. The Hero Club had all transformed back to normal, while Maito climbed out of Might Wing, accompanied by eight robots.

"We appreciate the quick assistance, everybody." He said, taking off his helmet.

"Wait, I thought there were three robots? Why are there so many now?" Aoba asked.

"The Brave Express Corps consist of several robots that combine into larger, more combat-efficient ones." Shinjiro explained.

"Whoa, really?" Aoba said, impressed.

"Indeed." Maito nodded. "You've already met Gaine, but the others can introduce themselves."

"I am Leo Bomber." The green robot spoke. "This is Dino Bomber and Bird Bomber."

"We're the Animal Express Bombers team." Dino Bomber introduced.

"And we combine to fight as Tri Bomber." Finished Bird Bomber.

"I'm Fire Diver. And with me are my teammates; Police Diver, Jet Diver, and Drill Diver." Spoke the red bot resembling a firetruck.

"Together, our team is known as the Rescue Express, the Divers." Police Diver said.

"And the four of us combine into Guard Diver." Jet Diver explained.

"It's nice to meet you all." Drill Diver said with a smile.

"Whoa, it's like talking to a person." Aoba said, amazed.

"The Brave Express Corps are all equipped with a Super AI, letting them think and feel like us humans." Dio explained.

"Wow… the future just keeps impressing me when it comes to stuff like this." Aoba rubbed the back of his head.

"The Brave Express will be lending their support to Section Two's group for the time being, as there have been reports of certain criminals we're chasing in the area." Maito said.

"Well, it'll be nice to have you and the Brave Express Corps helping us out, Maito." Kuramitsu greeted.

"I hope you've been keeping up with your training." Tetsuya said. "Now, for the other elephant in the room."

Several of them turned to the Hero Club. Itsuki and Tougo looked a bit nervous, but Fu and Yuna were both confident (the latter was still grinning at being surrounded by heroes).

"Right. So you mind telling us who exactly you guys are?" Kuramitsu kindly asked.

"Wel-" Fu started.

"We're the Hero Club!" Yuna said proudly, interrupting her club president.

"Hey, what did I say about stealing my thunder, Yuna?!"

"Hero... Club...?" Banagher repeated.

"This thing is a club?" Chibodee raised a brow. "You kids do this thing on a regular basis?"

"I do, but it was the first fight for the others." Fu said. "Though that's not the point of the Hero Club."

"Then what is the point of it?" Aoba asked.

"We basically do good deeds around and help people out." Tougo said. "For example: we do puppet shows for the younger kids in our area from time to time."

"Ooh, a puppet show?" Nanoha said.

"A good deed club, huh? Sounds cool!" Hibiki added.

"But what of the creatures we fought?" Dio asked. "They don't resemble Noise, Kikaiju or any other monster on Earth."

"Those monsters were the Vertex." Domon said.

"Wait, you know about them?" Tougo asked.

"It's not the first time Domon and I have fought against them." Tsubasa said. "They showed up back then at the concert two years ago."

"Which brings us to ask something. Do the names Gin Minowa, Washio Sumi and Nogi Sonoko mean anything to you?" Domon asked.

"I never heard of those names before." Yuna shook her head.

"Same. How about you, Fu?" Tougo asked.

"Hmmm... no, I don't think so. And if I don't know, Itsuki definitely doesn't either." Fu said.

They don't appear to be lying... Tsubasa thought to herself. But why does this girl, Tougo, look so similar to one of them...?

"You guys mind telling us who those three you mentioned are?" Aoba asked.

"Those were the names of three girls garbed similarly to the Hero Club, who assisted us in battle against the Vertex." Domon explained.

"However, one of them tragically lost her life helping Kanade, while the other two have seemingly disappeared since that day…" Tsubasa said quietly.

"Oh…" Tougo said softly, seeing this wasn't a pleasant memory of Tsubasa's.

"You'll have to forgive me for what I said earlier. You just... looked a lot like one of those girls from back then." Tsubasa said.

"I do?"

What is this feeling I get from her? Banagher wondered. It's... different from the other girls, but she doesn't seem to be hiding anything.

"Well, for now we'd be wondering if you girls would be willing to join up with us." Kuramitsu asked.

"Captain?" Dio said in shock. "They're just-!"

"I'd have to agree with the suggestion. I believe if these Vertex are to appear again, we'd need those experienced to lend their support." Maito agreed. "I've dispatched a few of my workers to help deal with the damages to their school, in the meantime."

"Your workers?" Aoba asked.

"Maito is also the C.E.O of the Senpuuji Concern, the world's largest transportation business." Tetsuya explained.

"So Hero Club, what do you say?" Kuramitsu asked.

"Well, I don't see any reason why we all can't work together!" Yuna smiled.

"Yuna, don't just make decisions for the Hero Club!" Fu chided.

"But you were gonna say yes, weren't you Fu-senpai?" Yuna asked.

"Umm well…" Fu thought carefully. I don't really know if the Taisha would be fine with us working alongside non-Heroes. But at the same time, we were able to deal with the Vertex because of their help…

Well, working with them couldn't be that bad. If the Taisha had anything to say about it, they could handle it later. Besides, she doubted they'd be against Heroes working alongside legends like Tetsuya Tsurugi.

"Alright, we'll accept the offer." Fu said.

"Yeah!" Yuna whooped.

"Well, she seems excited about this." Allenby noticed.

"What do you expect? She's a kid excited to work with some of her favorite heroes." Chibodee said.

"But still, I'm a bit concerned with how young they are." Domon admitted.

"I suppose it's a further sign that the next generation is more ready than we think." Tetsuya said.

"You were really great out there!" Hibiki complimented Yuna.

"Yeah, you were all natural." Nanoha agreed.

"Thanks for that!" Yuna briefly bowed. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Yuna Yuki, age 13 from Sanshuu Middle School!"

"I'm Nanoha Takamachi, age 9 from Seishou Elementary School." Nanoha introduced herself.

"And I'm Hibiki Tachibana, age 15 from Lydian Private Music Academy!" Hibiki introduced.

"I'm looking forward to working with heroes like you two!" Yuna smiled.

"Eh? But I'm younger…" Nanoha said, a little embarrassed.

"Hero? I've been doing this for only a little while though…" Hibiki rubbed the back of her head. "You should ask Shinjiro about something like that. He is Ultraman, after all."

"Oh! That reminds me! Can you tell me how you became friends with Ultraman?" Yuna asked, stars in her eyes.

"Well, they're getting along well." Dio sweatdropped, watching the three talk together.

"Getting a sense of deja vu again?" Banagher asked.

"Absolutely." Dio said.

---

Pre-Battle Quotes vs Vertex

Fu Inubouzaki:

Fu: Alright. No time for me to get nervous. Time to fight!

Maito Senpuuji and Gaine/Might Gaine:

Maito: These monsters aren't like the criminals we normally deal with! Stay sharp, Gaine!

Gaine/Might Gaine: Roger, Maito! We'll show these creatures true justice!

Tri Bomber:

Tri Bomber: Make way, you freaks! The Animal Express Bombers will pulverize all of you!

Guard Diver:

Guard Diver: Attacking a school like this! You monsters are unforgivable! Us Divers will save their lives by stopping you!

Itsuki Inubouzaki:

Itsuki: This is scary, but I'll fight to protect Oneesan and everyone!

Yuna Yuki:

Yuna: I'm Yuki Yuna of the Hero Club! I'll stop you monsters, because that's what a Hero does!

Mimori Tougo:

Tougo: I can't believe I can fight like this… but this is for Yuna-chan and everyone else!

Tsubasa Kazanari:

Tsubasa: These monsters… It's like the concert all over again…

Domon Kasshu:

Domon: Steel yourselves, Vertex! Once I'm done with you, you'll wish that you never existed! I won't allow any further tragedies to occur!

Notes:

Unit Acquisition

Hero Fu (Fu Inubozaki)

Tribomber (Tribomber)

Guard Diver (Guard Diver)

Hero Itsuki (Itsuki Inubozaki)

Hero Yuna (Yuna Yuki)

Might Gaine (Maito Senpuuji, Might Gaine)

Hero Togo (Mimori Togo)

Chapter 7: Scenario 6: The Thrill of Adventure (UC)

Chapter by EpicLinkSam

The team had returned back to Section Two's base, helping the Brave Express and Hero Club get used to the place. Ryoko was quite intrigued by the Super AI Braves, as well as the Hero Club's abilities.

"Well now, I never thought I would get the chance to see a Super AI Robot in person but here we are." Ryoko said, amazed.

"Greetings, Ryoko Sakurai." Gaine greeted. "Your name is in our database fairly often regarding the Sakurai Theory."

"Oh so I'm famous among Super AI?" Ryoko grinned. "Keep the praise coming!"

"Simmer down with your ego, Ryoko." Genjuro chuckled, before turning to Maito. "It's an honor to work alongside you, Maito Senpuuji."

"It'll be nice working with you as well." Maito said, shaking his hand.

"Now, as for this Hero Club…" Genjuro started.

Yuna was running around the hangar, getting closer looks at Great Mazinger and the Burning Gundam. She had stars in her eyes. "I'm really here... in the presence of so many heroes!"

"Alright Yuna, calm down now." Fu chuckled.

"Miss Fu Inubouzaki, would you mind explaining this power of yours?" Genjuro asked.

"Yes indeed! I'm just dying to know!" Ryoko said, excited.

"Yeah, you really didn't get a chance to explain how we were able to actually transform, Onee-chan." Itsuki added.

"Oh uh, we do it with these." Fu riffled through her pocket. To the surprise of nearly everyone, Fu merely pulled out her phone.

"A phone?" Aoba asked.

"Well, the Taisha actually calls it a terminal." Fu said.

"...But it's basically a phone though, right?" Aoba asked.

"...yeah." Fu said.

"We've got people transforming with relics and gemstones, but a phone is a new one." Kanade noted.

"How exactly does a phone let you transform?" Dio asked.

"Well, on it is an app developed by the Taisha that lets us resonate with the Shinju and give us divine abilities in order to fight the Vertex. It's called the Hero System." Fu said.

Hibiki was confused. "Shinju? Taisha? Hero System?"

"It's a lot to explain." Fu admitted. "The simple thing is that we can use this to become heroes and fight."

"Well, that sounds very interesting indeed!" Ryoko said, amazed. "Would you all mind if I can borrow one of these terminals to see how they tick?"

"Erm... I'm not comfortable doing that considering the others only just started out and need training." Fu said. That and I think the Taisha would probably respond badly. I'm probably already on thin ice here.

"Just one little quick peek is all I'm asking." Ryoko asked.

"Ryoko..." Genjuro said in a condoning tone.

"Poo." Ryoko pouted. "That's no fun."

She's scaring me a bit. Aoba admitted.

"Oh, before I forget!" Tougo wheeled over, turning to Tsubasa and Kanade. "Could I get your autographs?"

"Huh?" Kanade said, surprised.

"Tougo is a really big fan of Zwei Wing." Yuna explained.

Tougo pulled out their first ever album. "I have all your albums!"

Wow, I feel like I got a rival here. Hibiki thought.

"I see. Well, we don't mind giving you our autographs then. Right Tsubasa?" Kanade grinned.

"Ah... yes." Tsubasa said, looking as Kanade pulled out a pen. Does Kanade not notice how Tougo looks similar to that girl from several years ago? Did she block it out of her memory...?

"Just try not to have them sign all the albums you have, Tougo." Fu said.

"Fu, I wouldn't have them sign all of them…" Tougo said, before muttering under her breath. "Not right now at least."

As Tsubasa and Kanade finished signing the album (and Tougo was internally giddy), an alarm went off. This one was noticeably different in comparison to the other ones.

"Oh wow, it's actually going off!" Ryoko said. "Never thought I'd see the day!"

"Umm… does that alarm mean something dangerous is happening?" Yuna asked.

Ryoko waves her hand. "No, no, no. Well… maybe a bit dangerous."

"Allow me to explain." Genjuro said. "That's a special alarm we have for a relic we have stored known as Gjallarhorn."

"Gjallarhorn?" Domon repeated.

"It was a special Relic that was briefly thought to be a Precious." Ryoko explained. "It was given to us by the Search Guard Successor Foundation, or SGS for short."

"What's so unique about it?" Banagher asked.

"That's the interesting thing about it. The SGS gave it to us to find out the exact use of it, but we're not making too much progress. But from asking certain other groups that the SGS knows, what we know so far is that it resonates during activity related to parallel worlds." Ryoko said.

"...did you just say Parallel worlds?" Aoba asked.

"Eyup. Parallel Worlds are pretty common actually, but not everyone has the access or knowledge." Ryoko said, before her expression became serious. "...in fact, I have to kindly request that you don't mention this anywhere outside of the base."

"So the reason it's going off now has something to do with another world?" Tougo asked.

"That's what we're guessing. So we'll be sending everyone over to check the situation out." Ryoko said.

"Oh wow, our first official mission!" Yuna said, amazed.

"We'll trace the signal first before sending all of you out. So prepare well." Genjuro suggested.

"Yes, sir." Dio said.

"I wonder who it could be…" Nanoha wondered.

"Hopefully they're friendly!" Hibiki said.

---

Off by Japan's oceanside, a massive rift had formed on the surface of the water. Nearby on the land were several clay-like monsters, alongside a large wolf creature.

So this is the world the Magic Knights originated from... I can understand why Master Zagato is interested in it.

Inova then looked back at the rift in the ocean, as he started to sense something from it.

"Something's coming…"

Flying out of the rift were three large creatures. They all had animalistic traits, but seemed mechanical in nature. One red, one blue, one green.

"So they followed us here...!" Inova realized.

"Inova!" The one in the red machine shouted.

"So you followed us here, Magic Knights!" Inova snarled.

"That's right!" The red machine's pilot shouted. "Wait, here? What do you-?"

"Hikaru, Umi... this isn't Cephiro's scenery." The pilot in the green creature said.

The blue machine looked towards the land. "Isn't that the coastline of Japan?"

"I think it is…!" Hikaru said, amazed.

"Did that rift actually lead us back home?" The pilot in green asked.

"It has indeed, Magic Knights. It appears your Rune Gods helped you make it back." Inova said, before looking back towards the ocean rift. That odd feeling is still there... that wasn't the Magic Knights?

"What are you trying to do by being here, Inova?!" Umi demanded.

"I am only following Master Zagato's orders, Magic Knight. He has a vested interest in your world." Inova informed them.

"Interest in our world? Then we can't let that happen!" Hikaru shouted. "Umi! Fuu! We have to stop them!"

"Right!" The other two agreed.

All three of the Rune Gods drew swords and charged at the Golems.

"Take this!" Hikaru was the first to reach one of the Golems, as Rayearth slashed them with its sword.

"It's not just Cephiro we'll protect…" Fuu said.

"We'll protect our world too!" Umi declared.

Selece and Windam both cut down several more Golems with their swords.

"You will not interfere in my master's plans anymore, Magic Knights!" Inova declared.

Inova's body began to glow as he started creating bolts of black and white lightning, which he then launched towards the Magic Knights. The Rune Gods flew out of the way to avoid getting shocked. But there were so many lightning bolts that it was difficult for them to get in close.

"Dang it! I hate when he does this move!" Hikaru said, annoyed as Rayearth dodged another blast.

"Even in our world, Inova's still that powerful...?" Umi said, gracefully dodging a lighting bolt.

Windam used a small gust of wind to direct the lightning away as Fuu strategized. "If only we had some more allies to call upon...

The roar of several vehicle engines seemed to answer Fuu's call.

"Did you guys hear that?" Umi asked.

"Yeah! Is that a car or something?"

Five vehicles arrived on the scene. A red dump truck, a black race car, and a yellow bulldozer. In the air was a blue hovercraft, while a pink submarine rose from the water.

"Who dares interfere?!" Inova snarled.

"Big talking dog and some giant machines. Huh, not what I was expecting today." The pilot of the racecar said.

"Only natural for our line of work, Black." The hovercraft pilot said.

Hikaru's eyes widened in awe. "No way… It's the 30th Super Sentai team! GoGo Sentai Boukenger!"

"Sakura, send Section Two a message that we found the rift." Bouken Red asked.

"Roger!" Bouken Pink got to work letting them know.

Bouken Red pressed a button on the dashboard to activate a speaker. "Pilots of those machines! Mind if we talk?"

Hikaru was ecstatic to meet with such legendary heroes. "Sure!"

The Magic Knights are familiar with these machines? Inova realized. Then I can't take any chances!

Inova fired a bolt of black lightning towards the GoGo Vehicles. The sea and air machines got out of the way, while the land vehicles tanked the blast, resulting in only a few sparks in their cockpits.

"Whoa! What's the big idea?!" Bouken Yellow shouted.

"None shall interfere with Master Zagato! Be they Magic Knights or the inhabitants of this world!" Inova snarled.

"Huh. Sounds like we got another world conquering warlord on our hands." Bouken Black snarked.

"He called you three Magic Knights, right?" Bouken Red asked. "We'll lend our assistance to you. Further backup is on the way as well."

"By further backup, do you mean like one or more of the other Super Sentai teams?" Fuu asked.

"The other Sentai teams are occupied, so our current allies might surprise you." Bouken Blue said.

"With that said! All units, initiate GoGo Combination!" Bouken Red commanded.

The Boukengers each pressed buttons on their Accellulars.

Combining Shift On! Dump! Formula! Gyro! Dozer! Marine!

Bouken Red spun the turbine on the Accellular, initiating the sequence.

Bouken Formation!

The five machines came together, shifting and combining. The Dump Truck formed the body and legs, before the submarine and bulldozer formed arms. The racecar made the chest and head, before the hovercraft finished by making the back and helmet. The Boukengers were all in a single shared cockpit, as the mech armed itself with a massive pickaxe and equally massive shovel.

"DaiBouken!" Bouken Red announced.

"Combination complete!" The Boukengers all shouted.

The giant mech struck a battle pose, as the ground exploded behind it.

"Oh wow! It's the actual DaiBouken!" Hikaru said in amazement.

"What?! They combined into a machine over five times taller than the Rune Gods?!" Inova shouted.

"Attack!" Bouken Red snapped his fingers.

To emphasize its strength, the DaiBouken took a step forward and completely crushed a handful of the Golems, before swinging its shovel and sending a row of them flying.

"So strong!" Umi said, impressed.

Inova snarled and tried to charge at it, but the DaiBouken stomped on the ground, creating a shockwave that sent Inova into the water by the rift.

"Bad dogs get baths!" Bouken Black chuckled.

The three Rune Gods then took the opportunity to fly over next to the DaiBouken.

"Wow, you guys are handling him very easily." Hikaru praised.

"Being part of the Super Sentai for so long, you stop getting surprised by what the enemy can do." Bouken Black dismissed.

As soon as he finished the sentence, the ground started to rumble, with the water by the rift bubbling.

"What's going on now?!" Umi said.

"Think we made him mad?" Bouken Pink asked.

All the casual air with the Boukengers disappeared, as the waters began to part. Inova was sopping wet, but standing on solid ground rising out of the ocean. It was a rocky island; one that the Boukengers recognized.

"So this was the power that I sensed...!" Inova realized.

"Did we just see a whole island rise from the ocean?!" Hikaru asked.

"No way!" Bouken Yellow recognized. "That's the-!"

"Yeah…" Bouken Red gripped his controls. "Looks like things are about to get more dicey."

Part of the island had crumbled away due to the water weathering away at the rock. Inova crawled over to what appeared to be a stone coffin. Placing a paw on it, it started to glow from it, before creating a blinding light.

"So bright!" Fuu raised her arms.

"Yes! I can feel the power hidden in this coffin!" Inova shouted.

The light faded, and the coffin was open. Standing next to Inova was what appeared to be a man in white robes with bone-like armor on the top half of his body.

"So I am awakened from my slumber!" He boomed.

"No way!" Bouken Black leaned forward.

"He's back…" Bouken Blue muttered.

"Arch Priest Gajah!" Bouken Red shouted.

"Arch Priest Gajah?" Fuu parroted.

"He's a bad guy! A very bad guy!" Bouken Yellow said.

"And one of our greatest enemies…" Bouken Pink muttered.

Gajah turned to Inova. "Are you the one who awakened me from my sleep?"

"I am, yes." Inova asked.

"Why have you done so?" Gajah asked.

"I sensed your power, and I require your assistance against the enemies of my master." Inova said.

Gajah turned to see the Rune Gods and the DaiBouken.

"Ah, the Boukengers?" He recognized.

"That is what they called themselves." Inova said. "And they have aligned with my master's enemies, the Magic Knights."

"Well, if you are enemies with the Boukengers, then that already makes us allies, no?" Gajah asked.

"It appears so."

"Then allow me to do this!"

Gajah raised his arm, as several of the Golems began to glow. They increased in size until they neared the DaiBouken's height.

"Looks like that heart of his is still functioning fine." Bouken Blue realized.

A few Golems stomped and slugged the DaiBouken, creating sparks and sending it stumbling back.

"Tough guys, huh." Bouken Red commented. "But it's a good thing we called for backup ahead of time!"

It was at this point that the Cygnus appeared in the sky above the Magic Knights and Boukengers.

"Whoa! Is that an Alliance battleship?!" Hikaru shouted.

The hangar doors opened, and the various mechs and fighters sortied.

"This is Ensign Dio of the Alliance, with the backing support of Section Two and their allies!" Dio announced.

"Perfect timing!" Bouken Red said.

"So it's the Boukengers…" ULTRAMAN recognized.

"Do you know them, Shinjiro?" Hibiki asked.

"SSSP mentioned working with Super Sentai teams before, but I never met them myself." ULTRAMAN explained. "But... what are those other three?"

"No clue. I've never seen those types of robots before." Banagher admitted.

"They're with us. We'll save introductions after we mop up these monsters." Bouken Red said.

"Very well." Kuramitsu said. "All units, we're supporting them!"

"Alright! This is our first mission, Hero Club, so be careful!" Fu said.

"Roger!" The other members said.

"Hero Club…?" Hikaru repeated, recognizing the name, but focused on fighting the Golems for now.

The Unicorn Gundam brought out its Beam Magnum and fired a couple of shots, taking out a few Golems by destroying the heads. The Luxon and Bradyon decapitated the creatures using their swords, as did Great Mazinger and Might Gaine.

"Yuna! Give me a hand here!" Hibiki called.

"On it!" Yuna said as she sped over.

The two went to the feet of one of the Golems, before each of them threw a punch. The resulting hit destroyed the feet of the monster as it tumbled over, crashing into some of the other Golems.

"Yeah!" The two shared a hi-five.

"Look above, you two!" ULTRAMAN called.

Another Golem was about to stomp on them.

"Flame Arrow!"

A stream of fire blasted the Golem, turning it into slag.

"Are you two okay?" Hikaru asked as she flew down towards them.

"Yeah! Thanks!" Hibiki thanked.

"We appreciate the assist!" Yuna saluted.

"Wait, aren't you-?" Hikaru started.

"Hey, red fire mech!" Bouken Red called. "Lend us a hand over here!"

DaiBouken had grasped hands with a significantly larger Golem, pushing back against it.

"Ah! Okay!" Hikaru shouted.

Rayearth then flew towards the larger Golem fighting DaiBouken and used its sword to slice off both of its hands.

DaiBouken combined the pick and shovel together

"GoGo Sword! Adventure Drive!" The Boukengers shouted as it slashed.

The DaiBouken moved its blade in a circle, before swinging it down and slashing through all the remaining Golems.

"Whoa! It took them all out just like that!" Aoba said in amazement.

DaiBouken turned around, as all the Golems exploded behind it.

"Hmm. I see the Boukengers haven't gotten rusty since my imprisonment by them." Gajah crossed his arms.

"Curses... we'll have to retreat." Inova said.

Gajah turned to Inova. "Will you allow me to meet your master? I wish to discuss things with him for the imminent future."

"Very well. Come."

The two turned into orbs of light and entered the swirling vortex.

"Both enemy signals have disappeared." Bouken Blue reported.

"So they slithered away, huh?" Bouken Black said, leaning back.

We're back in our world, but... Hikaru furrowed her brow. What does Zagato want with it?

---

The team returned back onto the Cygnus along with the Boukengers and the Magic Knights. The DaiBouken had separated into the 5 GoGo vehicles, as the Boukengers all stepped out. With a flash of light, their transformations were dispersed.

"Satoru Akashi of SGS?" Kuramitsu stepped up. "It's an honor to meet you."

The man who detransformed from Bouken Red stepped up to shake his hand.

"Well, we thank you for responding to our message that quickly." Akashi said.

"It's no problem at all." Kuramitsu said.

Akashi turned to the others as his team walked up. "Considering we'll be assisting all of you on future adventures for the time being, we'll introduce ourselves. As he said, I'm Satoru Akashi. The Fiery Adventurer, Bouken Red."

"Masumi Inou." The man wearing black said. "The Fast Adventurer, Bouken Black."

"I'm Souta Mogami." The man with a blue coat said. "The High-Up Adventurer, Bouken Blue."

"I'm Natsuki Mamiya!" Said the girl with the yellow coat. "The Strong Adventurer, Bouken Yellow!"

"And I'm Sakura Nishihori." Finished the girl with the pink coat. "The Deep Adventurer, Bouken Pink."

"Oh wow! I can't believe we're in the presence of the Boukengers!" Yuna said in awe.

"Heh, we got a fan." Masumi chuckled.

"We'll be accompanying you all back to Section Two to check up on Gjallarhorn, as well as lend our assistance in battle." Sakura said.

"It'll be a pleasure to work with you all." Tetsuya said with a nod.

"Indeed." Kuramitsu turned to the Magic Knights. "Now then, would you three mind telling us who you all are?"

"Well, I'm Hikaru Shidou, Magic Knight. I fight in the Flame God Rayearth." Hikaru said.

"I'm Umi Ryuuzaki. I fight alongside Hikaru in the Sea God Selece." Umi said.

"My name is Fuu Hououji. I lend my aid to the Sky God Windam." Fuu finished with a small curtsey.

"They're just... kids? Even younger than me and Hibiki?" Shinjiro said, surprised. "Though not as young as Yuna and Nanoha…"

"Hey, are those school uniforms under their armor?" Hibiki asked.

Now that the Hero Club got a better look at the girls, they actually recognized one of them.

"Hey." Fu looked at Hikaru, up and down. "You're wearing the school uniform they give us to use for field trips."

"Uh, yeah. I go to Sanshuu Middle School." Hikaru rubbed the back of her head. "Um... nice to meet you, Hero Club!"

"Nice to meet you too!" Yuna grinned.

"Oh, so this is the Hero Club you told us all about…" Umi said, before turning to Hikaru. "You never told us they also had powers, or were members of the Alliance."

"We just recently joined up with them after they helped us protect the school from a Vertex attack." Tougo said.

"Wait, the school was attacked?!" Hikaru said.

"There was minimal damage, and it's currently being fixed up." Maito reassured her.

"Whew, that's good…" Hikaru breathed out.

"More to the point, so you three are from Earth? Why did you come out of a rift?" Domon asked.

"We were summoned to the world of Cephiro by Princess Emuraude." Umi explained.

"Cephiro, huh?" Kuramitsu said.

"Cephiro is currently in a state of chaos thanks to the actions of the High Priest Zagato." Fuu said. "That monster you fought, the monsters called Golems, were sent by him."

"What exactly did this Zagato do that threw it into chaos?" Allenby asked.

"It's all happening because Zagato abducted Emeraude." Hikaru said with a frown.

"Just because he kidnapped the princess?" Banagher raised a brow. "Sounds like a fairy tail."

"Princess Emeraude is the Pillar of Cephiro." Umi explained.

"The "Pillar"? Like, what people use for buildings?" Hibiki asked.

"From what we were told, the Pillar of Cephiro is someone who watches over the world and helps to keep the stability of it." Fuu said.

"She hasn't been able to pray since Zagato abducted her, and it's causing Cephiro to fall apart." Hikaru said, grimly.

Nanoha was confused. "But this High Priest kidnapped her? Won't that mean his own home will be destroyed too?"

"Well, it seems like this Zagato might be trying to conquer our world now as a solution to that from what the big wolf guy said." Masumi guessed.

"But why were you three summoned?" Souta asked.

"The Magic Knights are spoken of in Cephiran legend as the ones who will save the world." Fuu continued.

"Princess Emeraude summoned us there, and we've been fighting with the Rune Gods to defeat Zagato." Hikaru said.

"Rune Gods?" Tsubasa repeated, raising a brow.

"Hold on, those aren't machines you're piloting?" Dio asked.

"Not entirely, no. They're actually god-like entities that act as the guardians for Cephiro." Umi said.

"Whoa, so they're actually alive?" Natsuki said, amazed.

"Yeah, they are. Rayearth actually spoke to me after we passed through the gate." Hikaru said.

"What did they say?" Kuramitsu asked.

"Apparently we're not strong enough to pass through that gate as we are." She answered.

"But... you came through it?" Fu pointed out.

"Apparently it's not the same coming here from Cephiro as it is going to Cephiro from here." Fuu explained. "That gate is something Zagato created, so any who might try to travel through the gate without his permission…"

"So it's basically his way of making sure no enemy tries to go through and strike back at him." Domon concluded.

"I thought maybe the power of the Rune Gods could do something about that, but…" Hikaru said.

"As the Rune Gods themselves are saying, the next time we pass through that gate will be the day we fulfill our mission." Umi said.

"Whoa…" Yuna was in awe.

"I suppose this means that the Rune Gods will guide us there themselves when we are strong enough to bring our mission to an end." Fuu guessed.

"We've got to become stronger, somehow. I think fighting the enemies of peace here is what we need to do to accomplish that." Umi said.

"The mission of the Magic Knights is to save the world. Which world it is doesn't matter!" Hikaru declared.

"So please everyone, allow us to lend you our aid." Fuu said, bowing her head.

Akashi turned to Kuramitsu. "What say you? Personally, I like this sense of adventure and heroism they have."

"I see no issue with this." Kuramitsu said. "Especially since it does seem like this won't be the last we'll hear of this Zagato and his army."

"Especially if he's going to team up with Gajah." Sakura frowned.

"Who is this Gajah exactly?" Aoba asked.

"Arch Priest Gajah was one of the many enemies of the Boukengers, if not the strongest." Domon said.

"They were only able to seal him away, not completely defeat him." Tetsuya recalled.

"It looks like that wolf, Inova, they called him? His magic seemed to cause Gajah's island to rise, letting him reawaken." Akashi theorized.

"He must have a lot of power if he was capable of doing that." Maito frowned.

"Regardless, we will defeat him again. It's the duty of the Super Sentai to preserve this planet." Akashi declared.

"Yeah!" Yuna cheered for yet another group of heroes joining them.

"This really is Yuna's dream come true, huh…" Fu sighed with a smile.

---

"Master, I have brought him here." Inova bowed his head.

Gajah stepped forward to see an imposing man garbed in black armor and robes. "So you are this High Priest Zagato?"

"Indeed." Zagato said. "So you are one of the inhabitants of the other world…"

"Shall we discuss our future working relationship?" Gajah asked with a smile. "From one priest to another?"

---

Pre-Battle Quotes vs Golems

Hikaru Shidou/Umi Ryuuzaki/Fuu Hououji:

Fuu: The monsters are now in our own world…

Umi: Don't lose heart, Fuu! We need to push them back!

Hikaru: That's right! We won't just protect Cephiro; we'll protect our world too!

GoGo Sentai Boukenger:

Bouken Blue: So these are the monsters from another world.

Bouken Yellow: Yuck! They look so goopy!

Bouken Black: And pretty dang ugly, too.

Bouken Pink: Chief, your orders?

Bouken Red: I think it's pretty obvious. Attack!

Notes:

Unit Acquisition

Flame God Rayearth (Hikaru Shidou)

Sea God Selece (Umi Ryuuzaki)

Sky God Windam (Fuu Hououji)

GoGo Gattai DaiBouken (Bouken Red, Bouken Black, Bouken Blue, Bouken Yellow, Bouken Pink)

Chapter 8: Bonus Scenario 1: What makes a Hero? (UC)

Chapter by EpicLinkSam

Some time had passed, and the Cygnus had returned back to Section Two's base. The team reported about what had happened at the rift, as well as introducing their new teammates. Before they could have time to rest, the Noise alarm had gone off. Fortunately, it appeared that it was just a small gathering of them compared to their usual numbers, so only Hibiki and Tsubasa were sent out to deal with them. In this time, Yuna took the chance to ask all the heroes around her everything she could about, well, being a hero.

"Fook at her go…" Fu said, watching Yuna zip around.

"She's really all in on this hero stuff, huh?" Aoba asked.

"Yuna-chan is, at heart, someone that wants to help everyone that she possibly can. And she sees being a hero as meaning just that." Tougo said.

Yuna was recapping one of Shinjiro's early battles as the new Ultraman.

"That was such a cool moment, when you fought that alien serial killer and protected all those people!" Yuna said, stars in her eyes.

"You can lighten up on the praise, y'know." Shinjiro rubbed the back of his head. "I haven't been doing this whole superhero business as long as people like Tetsuya and Akashi have."

"Nonsense. You chose to take up the name Ultraman and fight. That alone makes you a worthy hero." Tetsuya reassured him.

"Yeah. Don't sell yourself short here, Shinjiro." Akashi said with a nod.

"Heh…" Shinjiro smiled.

"But I have a question I want to ask all of you. What makes a hero for you?" Yuna asked.

"What makes a hero?" Maito repeated.

"I always wanted to be a hero so I could help people, but sometimes I wonder if there's more than that." Yuna admitted.

"I see. But I don't we can really give you a single definitive answer about what makes someone a hero, Yuna." Tetsuya said.

"Eh?"

"It's not a straightforward answer, as everyone thinks differently." Akashi explained. "Even all the Super Sentai teams would have differing ideas of what being a hero is."

"Anyone can be a hero, but it's always a choice." Maito said. "Like how you made the choice to help people."

"Some of us never even intended to be known as a hero." Domon said. "Like my goal when it came to stopping the Dark Gundam initially was so I could get revenge on my brother for actions I believed him guilty of."

"If you do want some advice Yuna, don't try to live up to us or anything of that sort." Tetsuya advised. "Strive to be a hero that you yourself can be proud of. Same for you, Shinjiro."

"Huh?" Shinjiro raised his brow.

"You're afraid that you won't be able to live up to the legacy of your father, the original Ultraman, right?" Akashi asked.

"Well…"

"You don't need to have that worry. I can tell you're a great Ultraman already." Akashi said.

Shinjiro smiled. "Thanks guys."

The alarm started to blare as the other Boukengers ran in.

"Chief, Kikaiju have been sighted in the city!" Sakura reported.

"How many?" Akashi asked.

"Not a large group. I'd say they're scouting the area." Souta guessed.

"Odd. That's not how Kikaiju normally behave." Tetsuya frowned.

"Either way, we should go there and stop them!" Yuna said.

---

Deploying onto the city were Great Mazinger, Might Gaine, DaiBouken and the Burning Gundam. ULTRAMAN and Yuna landed on a nearby rooftop. A smaller group had been chosen since the enemy group was smaller this time around, alongside attempting to avoid the chance of any excess damage.

"Well, this is where the Kikaiju were reported being seen at." ULTRAMAN said.

"There they are!" Yuna pointed.

They saw around a dozen Kikaiju near the edge of the city, causing havoc. They were led by a larger one carrying a club.

"Only a dozen of them, huh?" Tetsuya noted.

Bouken Black scoffed. "Doesn't look like it'll be a problem."

"Yet at the same time we can't underestimate them." Domon said, taking up a stance.

"That's right." Bouken Red raised his hand and snapped fingers. "Attack!"

The small unit advanced towards the Kikaiju and began their assault against them.

"Eat this!" Domon shouted.

The Burning Gundam brought out one of its beam sabers and managed to slice off the head of a Kikaiju.

"Get in close, Gaine!" Maito shouted.

"Roger! Drive Wheel Sword!" Might Gaine drew out his sword.

"Mazinger Blade!" Tetsuya shouted, as Great Mazinger drew a sword.

The two rushed forward, cutting down a duo of Kikaiju down to size.

"Take this, Kikaiju!" ULTRAMAN shouted.

ULTRAMAN lept towards a Kikaiju and used one of his energy blades to bisect it down the middle. The DaiBouken slammed its shovel into one of the Kikaiju, before using its pick to tear apart a second.

"Haaaaaaaah!" Yuna shouted.

Yuna jumped at a Kikaiju and kicked it, knocking it into several of its kind.

"Thunder Break!" Tetsuya roared.

Great Mazinger channeled and launched its lightning attack at a few Kikaiju grouped up together and annihilated them. Eventually, only the massive Kikaiju remained. It held up the club in its hands and charged.

"Not a chance!" Bouken Red shouted.

The DaiBouken held out its hands and pushed the Kikaiju back, keeping it in place.

"ULTRAMAN! Maito! Aim for the legs!" Bouken Red called.

"Right!" ULTRAMAN shouted.

"Get him, Gaine!" Maito pulled a lever.

"Mighty Slicer!" Might Gaine shouted.

Might Gaine threw his wheel discs at the Kikaiju's leg, with ULTRAMAN doing the same using his energy discs. The two's discs together managed to cut straight through the Kikaiju's legs, causing it to lose its balance. With it weakened, the DaiBouken charged up a punch and knocked it back.

"Now!" Bouken Red shouted.

"Drill Pressure Punch!"

"Burning Finger!"

"Hero Punch!"

The three slammed their respective attacks straight into the Kikaiju's chest, with the monster immediately detonating into a bright explosion, unable to withstand the combined power of the attacks.

"Yes, we did it!" Yuna cheered, raising a fist in the air.

"Excellent work, everyone." Tetsuya said. "That's the last of the Kikaiju now."

"Good job!" Bouken Red gave a thumbs-up.

"We'd better head back now to report things." ULTRAMAN said.

"Right!" Yuna nodded.

Tetsuya looked back out at the city. The Kikaiju... just what were they up to here?

---

The team returned back to Section Two's base and reported about the outcome of the fight.

"Thanks for the report, everyone. And good work out there." Genjuro said.

"Thanks, Commander." Shinjiro nodded.

"You made good time getting back. Hibiki and Tsubasa have just finished their mission as well." Genjuro said.

"Glad to hear it." Maito said.

The two Symphogear users entered the room. Tsubasa's expression was still stern, while Hibiki looked a bit tired.

"Reporting in, Commander." Tsubasa said. "We completed our mission."

"We heard about the Kikaiju attack." Hibiki said to the others. "Thanks so much for helping keep the city safe while we were busy!"

"It was no problem at all, Hibiki." Tetsuya said.

"Yeah, I learned a lot from it too!" Yuna nodded.

"You have, huh?" Maito asked.

"I did! Being a hero, it's all about doing the right thing!" Yuna declared. "There's nothing wrong with helping people, whether it's getting a cat down from a tree or fighting off giant monsters!"

"I… don't know if those two are really comparable, but I get what you're saying." Shinjiro said.

"You help get cats down from trees as well?" Hibiki asked.

"Of course!" Yuna nodded with a proud smile. "What kind of hero would I be if I didn't help cats from a tree?"

"I do the same thing too!" Hibiki grinned.

"I think I remember a certain cat in the tree scenario regarding a friend…" Shinjiro recalled.

"Is it who we're both thinking of?" Hibiki asked.

"Yes."

The more experienced members of the squad watched as the fresh and less experienced members discussed saving cats from trees.

"Seeing that, it makes everything always worth it to keep fighting." Tetsuya smiled.

"Mm." Akashi nodded. "It's our job as more experienced heroes to inspire the next generation."

"I'm not a fan of being considered old, though." Masumi said.

"Well, you'll have to learn to deal with it, old timer." Natsuki teased.

"I'm not sure how to feel about being grouped in with this…" Domon said, considering he was notably younger than the other experienced members.

"You had that entire adventure last year fighting the Dark Gundam while the kids have only really started out." Akashi pointed out.

"There are rules to this?" Domon asked, a bit exasperated.

"Seems so, apparently." Shinjiro said.

"How does it feel, since you're the youngest of us but still grouped here?" Souta asked.

"Well, it's something…" Shinjiro said. But it's not a bad feeling. Was this how it was like for you, Dad?

---

Pre-Battle Quotes vs Kikaiju:

Maito Senpuuji and Might Gaine:

Maito: Gaine! Let's show these mechanical monsters our justice!

Might Gaine: Roger, Maito! I'll be the shining example of a hero for Yuna!

Boukengers:

Bouken Black: A hero, huh?

Bouken Blue: Still not used to it? I can understand.

Bouken Yellow: But it's a nice feeling.

Bouken Pink: Then let's not disappoint Yuna. Right, chief?

Bouken Red: Right. I wouldn't want to dampen that girl's sense of adventure. Attack!

Tetsuya Tsurugi:

Tetsuya: Yuna's got a good head on her shoulders, and a good heart too. I'm not planning on disappointing her! Let's show her what a hero can do, Great Mazinger!

Domon Kasshu:

Domon: A year ago, I would not have cared about the title of being a hero. But if it's to inspire a new generation, I'll gladly support it with these hands of mine!

ULTRAMAN:

ULTRAMAN: Yuna's going all in on the hero thing and younger than me… well, I guess they're all right; I can't doubt myself now. I'm Ultraman for a reason!

Yuki Yuna:

Yuna: With all these heroes with me… I can't lose! I'll be a hero that can stand alongside them all!

Chapter 9: Scenario 7: The Chosen Child of Getter (UC)

Chapter by EpicLinkSam

It had been some time since the Magic Knights and Boukengers got used to Section Two HQ. The Magic Knights in particular were being brought up to speed on what they had missed during the time they were gone.

“So all of that happened while we're in Cephiro, huh...” Hikaru said.

“Yeah.” Fu nodded. “You three definitely missed quite a bit.”

“We didn't really stop to think about how things would have changed here while we're dealing with trying to help Cephiro.” Umi admitted.

“I mean, from the way you girls explained it, you didn't have much of a choice when you got warped there.” Shinjiro said.

“Not really, no.” Fuu shook her head.

“Still, this Cephiro place must've been pretty amazing to see, right?” Yuna asked.

“Well, after the initial shock wore off, yes. It's quite the magical place.” Umi nodded.

“Which means we need to make sure to save Princess Emeraude.” Hikaru said, determined. “We can't let a place as beautiful as Cephiro wither away.”

“Well, that's definitely the right attitude a knight should have.” Akashi said with a nod.

“That determination'll carry you for sure. Kinda reminds me of Tsubasa.” Kanade grinned.

“Kanade…” Tsubasa said, a bit embarrassed.

“Yeah! I'm sure you'll be a great knight, Hikaru!” Hibiki smiled. “Same to you two, Umi and Fu!”

“Um, actually Hibiki, my name is Fuu. As in with two “U”s, not one.” Fuu explained.

“Eh?”

“Yeah. You say her name a little longer than mine.” Fu said.

“Wait, really?” Yuna asked.

“She's Fuu. I'm Fu.” Fu said. “Fuu. Fu.”

“It’s just starting to sound the same…” Nanoha said, a little dizzy.

“Might as well just call yourself Fu 1 and Fuu 2 at that point.” Chibodee chuckled.

“I suppose that's one way to differentiate us…” Fuu fixed her glasses.

“I don't see the problem!” Yuna shrugged. “Fu-senpai is Fu-senpai and Fuu is Fuu!”

“Yeah that works out! Cause our Fuu is Fuu and your Fu is Fu!” Hikaru agreed.

“I think I'm getting a bit of a headache now.” Allenby muttered.

Thankfully, Maito had walked in to change the subject. Though his expression looked a bit grim.

“Everyone, I just got back from the commanders. We have an emergency on our hands.” Maito informed them. “Tetsuya, you might want to hear this too.”

“What's going on, Maito?” Tetsuya asked.

“We got word that the Saotome Institute is under attack by an Andromeda Country swarm.” He said.

“Damn! Them again!” Tetsuya cursed.

“Saotome Institute? What's that?” Aoba asked.

“It's a research institute that studies a supernatural radiation form known as the Getter Rays.” Domon explained. “The scientists there were behind the creation of the machine known as Getter Robo.”

“Getter Robo!” Yuna said, amazed. “I remember the stories of it and how it fought alongside both Great Mazinger and Mazinger Z!”

“Is Hayato alright?” Tetsuya asked.

“He called the commanders recently, so he should be fine for now.” Maito said. “Mithril is currently supporting them at the moment, but the superior numbers of the enemy won't let them hold out for long.”

“Mithril?” Itsuki asked.

“They're a private military organization that mainly handles terrorist threats.” Dio explained.

“Then we'd better move out, everyone!” Tetsuya commanded. Hayato, you'd better not die!

---

At the Saotome Research Institute, things weren't looking so good as the Andromeda Country attacked. While Mithril was able to fend off the threat for the most part, the Getter Robo D2s were getting slaughtered.

From inside the safety of the Tuatha de Danaan, Hayato Jin and the evacuated research members were observing the situation. Sitting at the captain's seat was Teletha "Tessa" Testarossa, the Captain of Mithril, while standing nearby was a teenager with blue hair and a young woman with short brown hair.

“Status report on the D2s!” Tessa asked.

“Unit 2 is the only one functioning with a live pilot!” Clouseau reported.

One of the monsters in the sky was shot down by Kurz. “Once it goes down, we'll be sitting ducks against these fliers!”

“Is there any chance of outside reinforcements?” Mao asked.

“A call has been made for it but it seems likely that they won't make it in time with the rate this battle is going.” Hayato said.

“Then we will simply make time. Their airship should be able to make it here quickly if we hold our ground.” Sosuke said.

“That's easier said than done, Sosuke!” Kurz complained.

Chidori looked concerned at the battle that was going on, but then sensed something, and looked in a different direction. Rain noticed the girl staring off.

“Chidori? Is something wrong?” She asked.

“N-No.” Chidori shook her head. “This feeling... is someone else about to arrive?”

---

A little way off from the battle, two young men were standing amidst all the rubble. One had jet black hair that was slightly slicked back, and the other was bald with beads around his neck.

“You're sure it's here?”

“Yep. No doubt about it.”

The man with black hair was about to walk forward, but the bald man held out his arm.

“Careful. You don't want to go any further than this.”

“Can you see it?”

“Yep. It's still blurry but getting clearer by the second.”

The thunder above started to crack, as the two waited.

“Takuma! It's almost here!”

There was a red flash in the sky as a red horned mech with wings on its back fell down from the sky towards the ground, with Takuma managing to catch a brief glimpse of the mech's face before it crashed into the rumble. The impact of this caused a big cloud of dust to erupt as Takuma and his companion were blown back by the impact.

“Hahaha! My premonition was right on the money!” The bald man cheered.

Takuma grinned. “So this is the Getter Robo, huh?”

---

“Reporting. The last D2 has just crashed.” Sosuke informed Tuatha.

“Status on the pilot?” Hayato asked.

“All his vital signs have gone flat.” Closseau said, looking at his monitor.

“Damn!” Mao cursed.

“Unit damage?” Tessa asked.

“60 percent.” Sosuke reported.

“Then we can still use it.” Hayato said.

“Sorry to speed things up, but the enemy's big weapon is descending now!” Kurz shouted.

“Seems like it wants to destroy the D2 for good.” Closseau guessed.

“Commander Jin.” Tessa turned to the man.

“I know what you're going to say, but sending Arc out right now will just make it easy prey for them.” Hayato shook his head.

“Well, I was going to say that, but I just got an alert on the radar that reinforcements have arrived.” Tessa informed him.

“So they arrived just in time then.” Hayato smirked.

---

The Cygnus came into view above the skies of the battlefield as the team soon deploys from it. Great Mazinger was the first to land, announcing the arrival of the reinforcements.

“This is Tetsuya Tsurugi to all surviving combatants!” Tetsuya shouted. “The backup from the Alliance has arrived!”

“Whew!” Kurz breathed out. “If we got backup like that, things'll be smooth sailing now!”

Sosuke tapped the monitor to look at the arrivals.

“ULTRAMAN is here?” He raised a brow. “That's a bit surprising-”

He widened his eyes slightly, seeing Hibiki among the others.

“...well, Chidori's going to be in for a bit of a surprise.” He said.

“Tetsuya.” Hayato came in over the comms.

“Hayato. Good to see that you're still kicking.” Tetsuya smiled.

“What's the situation?” Bouken Red asked.

“Several Andromeda bugs got through and all the D2s are down.” Hayato explained. “Mithril was the only line of defense for the Institute until you came along.”

An alarm started to blare which the Alliance heard through the communicators.

“What's that noise?” Dio asked.

“We just got an alert! Someone has made contact with the last functional D2!” Mardukas informed everyone.

“What?” Hayato said, surprised.

---

With the crashed Getter D2; Takuma's companion, Baku, was trying to gain access into the D2 using a laptop.

“The security on this thing is absolutely top of the line stuff but in order to maximize compatibility with the pilot, they utilized a neural network. And that's our way in.” Baku explained.

“Skip the tech babble and hurry it up!” Takuma said, impatiently.

“No need for any tedious instruction manuals!” Baku went on. “You can handle it! Just hop in, focus up, and let instinct be your guide!”

With a click, the hatch opened up.

“Yahoo!” Baku whooped.

---

“What in the world? That hatch has been opened!” Mardukas said.

“Are you serious?” Hayato was further surprised. “How the hell did they get past the security?!”

“These readings indicate someone alive is sitting in the cockpit…” Tessa read the monitor. “Bring up the screen and project it to all of our allies!”

The screen turned on, but they didn't see anyone. Instead...

“Is... that a rice ball?” Hibiki asked.

“And can of cola?” Fu raised a brow.

“Oops. Can't see anything like this.”

The two objects were moved out of the way to show Takuma sitting in the D2's pilot seat, with a hard hat on his head.

“There we go.”

While most of the others were confused, Hayato and Tetsuya were the most shocked.

That expression... isn't that...? Tetsuya narrowed his eyes.

“I recognize that face!” Hayato realized.

“Who are you?! Report immediately!” Mardukas demanded.

Takuma was eating the rice ball, unfazed at the yelling. “Yeah yeah, keep your shirt on. I'll launch this thing in a sec.”

“Listen here, you're interfering in a military operation and are attempting to steal some important tech!” Mardukas reprimanded. “So get out of there immediately or el-”

Takuma loudly slurped down his cola. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, old dude. You got nothing to worry about. I'll keep Getter safe. More importantly, is Hayato Jin there?”

“You brat! Listen here-”

Tessa held up a hand. “Wait, let him speak.”

Hayato stepped up. “I'm Jin. Just who the hell is asking?”

Takuma smirked, but didn't get a chance to answer.

“Takuma, it's heading your way!” Baku shouted.

“Crap, I don't have time to waste. Go, go, go!”

The eyes of the Getter D2 flash on as Takuma manages to get the robot to upright itself.

“He knows how to pilot it?” Mardukas widened his eyes.

“But the danger with doing that; he won't last more than 3 minutes without an augment suit!” Rain shouted.

The Getter D2 got blasted with lightning from one of the descending monsters. The Alliance members and Mithril were too far away to lend their assistance. But the smoke cleared to show the D2 was kneeling, having blocked the lightning with its wings.

“Whoa, it just tanked all that lightning!” Aoba said, amazed.

“He can't take off from that position! His body will be torn to shreds!” Rain shouted.

Hayato smirked. “Not the first time I've seen this kind of recklessness. Hey kid. Tell me your name.”

Takuma chuckled as he felt the force of the Getter. “My name is Takuma Nagare!”

“What?!” Tetsuya and Hayato shouted.

“Nagare?!” Maito repeated.

“That last name…” Dio put the pieces together.

“Unbelievable. Who is your father?!” Hayato demanded.

“My old man is...!” Takuma pushed the controls as the Getter D2 took off, his nose bleeding from the pressure. “RYOMA NAGARE!!”

“Ryoma?!” Hikaru repeated.

“That guy of all people actually had a kid?!” Allenby said, stunned.

“Save the surprise for later! All units support the Mithril and the Getter!” Kuramitsu commanded.

“Right!” Everyone shouted.

With that, the team started to make their assault against the monsters of the Andromeda Country. While that was happening, those on the Tuatha de Danaan were still processing Takuma's parentage with a few having also noticed that Hayato currently had a smile that would make the devil proud.

“Yeesh, that smile is creepy…” Chidori shivered.

“Commander Jin?” Tessa asked.

“Things are about to get interesting, and we can't allow that boy to be killed.” He said, before tapping the communication link. “Kamui.”

“Sir.”

“You understand the situation, right?” Hayato asked.

“Yes, sir.”

Hayato’s rather insane grin grew wider. “It's finally time... for the next generation of Getter to launch!”

---

Back on the battlefield, the Alliance was handling most of the monsters on the ground while Takuma was in the sky facing off against the fliers.

“That thing's lightning is especially effective on machines not powered by Getter Rays, so stay away from it!” Tetsuya commanded.

Hibiki and ULTRAMAN punched away some of the monsters, before a shotgun blast blew away a few that tried getting in from behind. The Arbalest landed nearby, holstering its weapon.

“Thanks for the help!” Hibiki waved.

Inside, the artificial intelligence aboard the Arbalest, Al, asked a question to the specialist inside. “Sergeant, shouldn't you reveal yourself to your friends?”

“That can wait for later. The shock could distract them from the battle.” Sosuke said.

“Understood, then.”

“Mazinger Blade!” Great Mazinger brought out its swords and sliced apart a couple of the monsters. Looking skyward, Tetsuya watched as the Getter D2 was fighting against the bug-like creature in the sky.

Ryoma's son... I still can't believe it. He thought in disbelief. Koji isn't going to either.

Up in the sky, Takuma tapped on the screen looking for weapons, before grinning.

“Yes! Eat this!” The spikes on the shoulders popped out, creating two massive axes. “GETTER TOMAHAWK!”

The Getter D2 attempted to chop the tentacles that the monster kept sending its way, but they proved to be too tough for the axes to cut through. The monster began firing lasers at the D2, which it managed to evade by flying around, with it even managing to deflect one of the lasers by using its axes.

---

“Amazing. He's still alive! Any normal person would've been crushed without the proper equipment.” Rain said.

This is his first time in a Getter. Hayato thought. Is he piloting it by intuition alone?

---

The others noticed that the Getter D2 was slowing down, now smoking all over its body.

“Hey, why did it stop?” Nanoha asked.

“It didn't seem to take any hits during that fight.” Tougo noticed. “What's happening to it?”

“The Getter D2 isn't able to keep up with his skill!” Maito realized. “He pushed it far beyond its capabilities!”

“So this is how skilled your own son is, Ryoma…” Tetsuya said, impressed.

“Damnit! I can't win like this!” Takuma shouted, as he started looking through the visual controls. “Isn't there anything better that I can use?!”

Seeing a certain option, he grinned before grabbing a switch.

“Alright, eat this! GETTER BEAM!”

The Getter D2 blasted a beam of green energy from its forehead, but it bounced off its metallic hide. It shot out a tentacle and stabbed it into the gut of the machine.

“A direct hit… it’s over for him.” Dio grimaced.

Takuma used a tomahawk to slash off the tentacle, but that left the Getter open to get zapped by lightning, shouting in pain. The monster shot out several tentacles, tearing into the Getter.

“Oh no! They caught him!” Yuna shouted.

“Shit! This is nothing like I expected!” Takuma winced. “Is this all the power that Getter's got?!”

The monster emerged from the clouds to reveal more of its body, with its tentacles still pierced in the D2's as it looked above and saw a robot that resembled the Getter D2, but was currently cloaked in a green aura hovering above the two.

“The hell is that?!” Takuma shouted.

The Alliance also saw the machine, and were stunned to see it.

“I don't believe it…” Kuramitsu said, amazed.

“No way!” Chibodee was shocked.

“Is that... a new Getter Robo?!” Tetsuya’s eyes were wide.

Inside the new Getter, Hayato was communicating to the pilot. “Kamui! Beams won't work on that thing's armor. You need to aim for the spot that Takuma tore open.”

“Roger.”

The new Getter swiftly dodged the tentacles from the monster, before speeding forward in a burst of green. The blades on its arms unfurled as it opened its mouth, roaring as it ripped open the shell. The machine leaned inward, wrenching out wires with its teeth.

“Whoa, it's actually tearing into that thing!” Kurz said, impressed.

The new Getter turned to Takuma.

“Oy, you.” Kamui addressed. “We're going to fire Getter Beams directly into its body.”

Takuma widened his eyes as he steeled himself.

“GETTER BEAM!”

The two Getters fired their beams straight in the exposed area of the monster, with its body unable to handle the extent of these two attacks. A chain reaction of explosions soon occurred in its body before it finally detonated in one large explosion that brightened the skies.

“Whoooa!” Yuna said, amazed.

With the last of the monsters defeated, the new Getter slowly flew down, carrying the damaged Getter D2 in its arms. It dropped it onto the ground as Baku ran over to the open cockpit.

“Dude, you okay?” Baku asked.

“Y-Yup…” Takuma wheezed.

The team from Section Two and the Mithril pilots soon started to gather around the two Getters to see if their pilots were okay. Both the Cygnus and Tuatha de Danaan docked nearby, as the cockpit of the new Getter opened. The pilot had a helmet on, hiding his face.

“How're you feeling?” He asked Takuma.

“What kind of question is that? Like shit, obviously.” Takuma groaned.

“You held up well. I didn't think humans could be as tough as you are.” Kamui admitted.

“Huh? "Humans"?” Takuma repeated.

“I'll admit, you've got potential.” There was a small hiss of smoke as he took off his helmet.

“Huh?!”

The clouds parted away to show the full moon as the light from it perfectly showed off Kamui's face to Takuma and everyone else. While humanoid-looking, it had several reptilian traits such as scales, looking almost dinosaur-like.

Those traits... is he of the Dinosaur Empire? Tetsuya wondered.

“So we're all gathered now. Good.”

As Baku helped Takuma out of the cockpit, Hayato walked up, with Tessa and Rain behind him.

“Rain. Good to see you're alright.” Domon nodded.

“Same to you, Domon.” Rain smiled.

“Come on, you two! That's how you greet each other after being apart for a while now?” Allenby asked.

“Yeah, guys. Unless those sparks are gone already!” Chibodee teased.

“I thought you said Miss Rain was busy, Mister Domon?” Nanoha asked.

“I said she was helping out with an organization.” Domon clarified. “That organization was Mithril.”

“I was traveling with them to DG Cell hotspots.” Rain explained. “Commander Jin asked for their assistance, and I went with them.”

“Oooh.” Nanoha said.

“It's nice to meet you, Miss Rain!” Hibiki smiled.

“You're that girl that Domon saved, right? I remember you.” Rain recognized. “Well, someone's been wanting to meet you and Ultraman.”

“Us?” ULTRAMAN asked.

The cockpit of the Mithril Arm Slaves opened as the members all got out. Though Hibiki and Shinjiro both widened their eyes seeing the pilot of the Arbalest that had helped them earlier.

“Good to see you both. Shinjiro. Hibiki.” Sosuke Sagara greeted.

“Ehhh?! Sosuke-san?!” Hibiki said, stunned.

ULTRAMAN's helmet lowered to reveal Shinjiro's surprised face. “You-?! You're a member of Mithril?!”

In hindsight, remembering the antics Sosuke could get up to made him realize this wasn't a joke.

“I could say the same.” Sosuke admitted. “While I've been aware of your role as Ultraman for some time, Shinjiro, I'm surprised to see you're a member of Section Two, Hibiki.”

“Wait… you knew I've been Ultraman for a while now?” Shinjiro asked.

“Indeed.” Sosuke nodded. “I did do extensive research on you and your background after all.”

“Dude…”

“Though before Commander Jin explains things, there's one more person you two need to see.” Sosuke said.

“Eh? Who?” Hibiki asked.

“Sosuke, what's even going-?” Chidori ran over, skidding to a stop. “What the?! Hibiki?! What are you doing here, and what are you wearing?!”

“EHHHH?! Chidori?!” Hibiki shouted.

“Wha-? Chidori?!” Shinjiro was also shocked. “Why are you here?!”

“Shinjiro, I can say the same to you-!” She then noticed his ULTRAMAN suit. “What are you wearing?!”

“Sergeant, is this why you didn't reveal yourself earlier?” Al asked from the Arbalest’s cockpit.

“Yes.” Sosuke bluntly stated.

While that was going on, Tetsuya had walked up to Hayato and Tessa.

“Hayato.” Tetsuya said.

Hayato smirked. “Tetsuya. I see life has been treating you well, appearance wise.”

“Good to see you've been managing to hold on.” Tetsuya said, before he turned to look at the huge new Getter. “So that's what you've been working on in secret?”

“Yes. The final legacy of Dr. Saotome: Getter Robo Arc.” Hayato said.

“Getter Robo Arc... incredible…” Tetsuya was impressed.

Kamui walked over with Takuma and Baku.

“I brought them over, sir.” Kamui said.

“Thank you, Kamui. And you, Takuma Nagare.” Hayato walked over and grabbed his face. “Show me.”

“Hey! I'm fine. I'm not even bleeding right now.” Takuma said.

“I'm not looking at your injuries.” Hayato said.

“Huh?”

“I'm looking at the blood that’s flowing through your veins, boy.” Hayato said. “The blood of Ryoma Nagare!”

“My dad...?” Takuma repeated.

“Looking closer, you do resemble Ryoma quite a bit.” Tetsuya agreed. “Even that reckless attitude.”

“If by reckless attitude you mean his stupidity, then it seems so.” Hayato chuckled, letting go of his face.

“You're Baku Yamagishi of the long lost Green Earth Religion, correct?” Tessa asked.

“Huh? Yes, I am.” Baku nodded.

“Green Earth Religion?” Tetsuya recognized. “Wasn't the leader of that group-”

“Messiah Tahir.” Hayato said. “Aka the one who took my place in Shin Getter alongside Go and Ryoma during its final deployment.”

“Yeah. He was my older brother.” Baku nodded.

“I see.” Hayato said, putting a hand under his beard. Both Ryoma's son and the brother of Tahir being together and arriving here at the same time an attack happens? That can't just be a coincidence....

“Hey, Hayato Jin! I've got a question for you!” Takuma suddenly barked.

“And that is?”

“10 years ago, a bunch of scientists from here came to my family dojo and demanded access to me for use in Getter Ray research! Was that done under your orders?” Takuma demanded.

Hayato didn’t react, but raised a brow.

“Well, say something!” Takuma leaned forward.

“Pardon me, Mr. Takuma. But the laboratory was closed 10 years ago.” Tessa spoke up. “So it would be impossible for these scientists you mentioned to have been working here.”

“If anything like that was done under Hayato's orders, I would've likely learnt of it.” Tetsuya added. “This is the first time I've even heard someone's been to Ryoma's dojo since he passed.”

“Damn it!” Takuma cursed.

“Why are you looking for them?” Tetsuya asked.

“For revenge. Those sons of a bitches not only burned down the dojo while trying to find me but they also killed my mother!” Takuma shouted, clenching his fists.

“You want revenge, huh?” Hayato turned to Takuma. “Then I can make a proposition for you.”

“Huh?” Takuma looked up.

He looked at Takuma and Baku. “You two, join Kamui and become pilots for Getter Robo Arc.”

“What?” Baku looked confused.

“It's no coincidence you two managed to find this place. You boys were summoned here by Getter!” Hayato declared.

“In that thing?” Takuma pointed over his shoulder at Arc. “I'll pass.”

This surprised many of them with the declaration.

Ryoma's son refused to pilot the Getter? Tetsuya thought in surprise..

“What's the problem?” Kamui asked.

“I just wanted answers and I got them, even if it was nothing.” Takuma turned around. “I'll find the bastards that killed my mother myself. C'mon, let's go Baku.”

“...I think I'd better stay.” Baku said, looking down.

“What?!” Takuma whipped back around.

“Listen, man. I know my powers aren't as good as my brother's. But even so, if there's a role for me here and they claim it's my destiny, then I get the feeling it might be true.” He looked at his hands. “I can't really explain it well but I definitely had the sense that we were being led here from the very start! The vortex of Getter energy at this lab was what guided us. Even I'm certain of that much.

“Baku…” Takuma said.

“Sorry, Takuma!” Baku clasped his hands. “I hate to bail on you! I'm sorry! Seriously! Forgive me!”

Takuma clicked his tongue, but sat down with a sigh. “Man, you've saved my ass more times than I can count. I was only able to stay alive that day because of you. So that's why… I can't just be "whatever" and leave you here, dude. It's my turn to follow your lead for once.”

Kamui smirked at the decision.

“But wait!” Baku knelt down to Takuma. “There's nothing left here to help you find the guys who attacked your dojo!”

“What those guys wanted were Getter Rays and my body.” Takuma dug a finger in his ear. “Which means they're bound to show up here eventually!”

He's Ryoma's son, alright. Tetsuya crossed his arms with a smirk.

“Hayato Jin! You've got yourself a deal!” Takuma said.

“You'll regret agreeing to it without actually knowing what you're in for.” Kamui warned.

“What, you mean going around and raising hell in a giant robot? Sounds like a cakewalk to me!” Takuma grinned.

“I'm here to say that unfortunately, you won't be just "going around and raising hell."” Kuramitsu spoke up.

“Indeed. Mithril will be linking up with Section Two and the Alliance.” Tessa added.

“So Getter Robo Arc will be under their deploy.” Hayato finished.

“As long as I'm able to kick the ass of any enemies in front of me, I don't really care who's in charge.” Takuma said.

“Then it's good to have you on board, Mr. Nagare. Mr. Yamagishi.” Kuramitsu said.

“Thank you for having us!” Baku bowed.

So your son is now a Getter pilot. Hayato thought. ...Ryoma, are you watching from beyond?

---

Pre-Battle Quotes vs Andromeda Country

Tetsuya Tsurugi:

Tetsuya: The Andromeda Country… I’ve always wondered how things would be if Ryoma and the others were still with us. But I can’t get lost in thoughts now. I’ll defeat you all in their name!

Sosuke Sagara:

Sosuke: Al, how is the situation?

Al: The Arbalest is being pushed to the limit against the Andromeda Country, Sergeant. 

Sosuke: Then grit your non-existent teeth, Al. We’ll push them back, one way or another!

Takuma Nagare:

Takuma: Alright you bug-faced freaks! You’re all going down, or my name isn’t Takuma Nagare!

Notes:

Unit Acquisition
Tuatha de Danaan (Tessa Testarossa, Richard Henry Mardukas)
9D Falke (Belfangan Clouseau)
M9 Gernsback (Melissa Mao)
M9 Gernsback (Kurz Weber)
ARX-7 Arbalest (Sosuke Sagara)
Getter Robo Arc (Takuma Nagare, Sho Kamui, Baku Yamagishi)