Make Them Love Me Or They'll End The World

Back aboard the Vaelion, alarms screamed through the corridors, crimson lights strobing against the steel walls. The ship had been on alert for a full minute now, klaxons howling without pause.

Why?

Because another Alberline had appeared, this one directly beside Aria.

Tenka shot up from her commander's chair, boots clanging against the metal deck. On the towering command screen before her, a massive red word pulsed in bold letters: EMERGENCY, flashing like an open wound.

"What the…" She muttered, voice tight.

Haruka's fingers flew across her tablet, pulling up telemetry data with rapid, practised motions. The room was filled with the sound of beeping diagnostics and scrolling code.

"Commander," Haruka said finally, adjusting her glasses with a sharp push.

Tenka glanced at her, jaw set.

"It's confirmed," Haruka continued. "Another Alberline just manifested, right next to Aria. Movements stopped completely… And Drone's dispatching footage to us now. But from the readings, there are definitely two Alberlines down there."

Tenka's stomach tightened. "Who else… Who the hell could be with Aria?"

Drone's voice crackled through comms. "Commander, we've got visual!"

The flashing emergency display shifted, pixels reforming into shaky live footage. It wasn't clean, but it was enough to make every muscle in Tenka's body tense.

There was Aria, pinned in a brutal crossfire, but the second Alberline made Tenka's blood run cold.

"R-Rin…" She whispered, the name escaping her lips like a curse.

Even Haruka, normally composed, froze, her eyes widening a fraction. "Impossible… She's there?"

Tenka's hand tightened on her tablet. "What's Rin doing down there… And with Aria? Why…?"

Haruka exhaled, her voice oddly quiet but edged with tension. "Honestly, Commander, nobody knows. Every Alberline we've met has a reason for what they do… Some form of pain or purpose that drives them. But Rin… She's different. She moves like a bird flying without a destination. No one knows where she's heading… Or why."

Tenka already knew this, but hearing it out loud didn't ease the knot twisting in her gut.

She slammed a hand on the comms panel. "Listen up, team! We've got an unexpected visitor. Eyes open, look alive!"

*

The hotel room was quiet except for the sound of Shogo's boots hitting the floor. Kentaro stepped inside to see his friend seated on the bed, adjusting his gear.

Shogo looked up, face uncharacteristically serious. "Listen, Kenny-boy, we can't have you sliced up and diced like some stray animal out there. Stay sharp. Don't be rash. We need you alive, got it?"

Kentaro nodded once, the weight of the mission settling like lead in his chest.

They rushed out, boots pounding the hallway. At the entrance, Serica and Yura stood ready, tense but resolved. The four exchanged silent nods before sprinting for the exit, startling hotel staff as they blurred past.

Outside, the Halcyon van screeched up, Yumi leaning on the horn impatiently. "MOVE!" She barked through the window.

They piled in, doors slamming shut. Yumi slammed the gas, tyres squealing as the van shot into Tokyo's neon-lit streets. Their destination: Aria.

*

Deep inside Cradle's darkened control room, banks of monitors bathed everything in a cold blue glow. Dozens of operators typed feverishly, routing communications, tracking troop movements, and feeding constant updates to the supreme commander herself.

Akio stood at the centre, eyes fixed on the massive central display. The live visuals showed chaos. Aria cornered, surrounded by armed forces. But what drew her breath short was the silver-haired figure beside her.

"That girl… Silver hair… Rin," Akio muttered, biting her lip.

An operator broke the silence: "Supreme Commander! Kira's squad has located the boy, Kentaro Takamiya. Orders are to pursue and monitor."

Akio nodded slightly, not taking her eyes off Rin's image. "Good. Keep an eye on him. I don't trust Vale… Never have. But for some reason… I don't think he's lying this time." She exhaled slowly. "This boy… He's something Vale either fears… Or wants. And I need to know which."

On the screen, Rin clashed with both Cradle and Spire operatives simultaneously. The battle was fierce, her abilities cutting through squads like they were paper. Siren barely moved, drained, overwhelmed, her attempts to fight back feeble.

Akio's fists clenched. If Rin wasn't there, Cradle could have ended this tonight.

"Too many variables," she muttered under her breath, voice tight. "Damn it… What's your move, Rin?"

*

In his towering office overlooking the sprawling cityscape, Reiden Vale sipped wine casually, eyes locked on a live feed projected against a glass wall. The silver-haired Alberline, slicing through forces below, drew a thin, dangerous smile to his lips.

"Ahhh, now there's a woman I'd enjoy breaking," he said softly. "But patience. Siren comes first."

The office door slammed open, no knock. A Spire soldier rushed in, breathless.

"Sir! Another Alberline has appeared beside Siren, it's-"

"I know," Reiden cut in smoothly, never turning. "Keep operations running. Velza's already moving in. Don't panic, soldier… Just move."

The soldier saluted stiffly and retreated.

Reiden let out a low chuckle, swirling the dark wine in his glass as moonlight spilled across his back.

"Well then…" He murmured. "It seems the party's finally begun. I wonder what our brave boy Kentaro will do when pushed into the fire…" His smile widened, eyes gleaming with curiosity. "And you… Mysterious silver bird… What's your true game? Show me soon… I do so hate waiting."

*

Down below, chaos churned like a living storm. Cradle and Spire troops clashed in a hellish blur of gunfire and energy blasts. Sirens wailed, tyres screeched, and Alberline powers tore through the city, streetlamps bent like soft wire, asphalt cracked from sheer kinetic force, and shattered glass rained down like glittering knives.

Bullets whistled past, ricocheting off concrete as Rin stood unflinching, her slender frame shielding Aria from certain death.

Aria, trembling and breathless, could only whisper: "Why…?"

Rin's expression didn't change. She didn't even turn to face her. A faint, knowing smile curved her lips as gunfire sparked harmlessly against an invisible barrier around them.

"I can't let you die on me now," Rin said softly, her voice steady and almost playful against the chaos. "If you die… Everything I've worked for fails miserably."

"CRADLE TEAM, TAKE THE REAR! WE'LL PIN HER FROM THE FRONT!" The Spire commander barked.

Though hesitant, the Cradle squad followed, encircling Rin and Aria, rifles rising in synchronised precision.

Rin clicked her tongue, her crimson eyes narrowing slightly. "Persistent pests…" She muttered.

She tightened her grip on Aria's hand, not a gesture of comfort, but raw necessity. Aria's body was too weak to resist even if she wanted to. Rin's gaze flicked across the soldiers boxing them in, her smile widening in mock amusement.

"Well, well… Looks like we're trapped," Rin whispered, voice sweet but edged with danger.

Aria's pulse spiked. "How? How do we get out of this?!" she shouted.

Rin didn't answer.

The first volley of gunfire exploded from both sides, but in that same heartbeat, Rin's figure blurred.

"Afterimage Step."

To the soldiers, it was like reality itself skipped a frame. One second, Rin and Aria stood dead centre in the crossfire. Next, they were simply… Gone.

"What the hell?!" a Cradle soldier shouted, spinning wildly.

"There! On the rooftop!" another cried out, pointing a block away.

High above them, Rin crouched at the edge of a building, Aria beside her. Wind tugged at Rin's silver hair as she finally released Aria's hand, setting her gently against the rooftop.

"Well," Rin said lightly, straightening her posture. "We're out of that little pickle now, aren't we?"

Aria's lips parted, eyes wide with disbelief. She had never seen speed or power like that.

Rin's teasing smile sharpened as she stepped forward, arms spreading slightly. "Now… It's time for a proper counterattack."

Pink sparks of light began to swirl around her hands, growing denser with every heartbeat. The glowing motes converged, twisting into shape, metallic, sleek, dangerous.

From nothing, Rin conjured her weapon: a long, elegant sniper rifle. Thin luminous lines traced along its obsidian frame, pulsing with pink light. The magazine extended sideways like a mechanical wing, and a glimmering scope shimmered atop the barrel.

The troops below froze.

"What the hell is that?!" One soldier shouted, voice cracking.

"READY YOUR WEAPONS!" The Spire commander roared. "TAKE HER DOWN, NOW!"

Rin rested the rifle against her shoulder, gaze playful but eyes deadly. "Ah… My sweet Rosengarde." She exhaled, steadying her aim. "Shall we give them… A taste of Rose Requiem?"

The rifle hummed as Rin pulled the trigger halfway. Pink energy crackled violently, the luminous veins along Rosengarde flashing brighter, faster. The air itself warped at the barrel's end as a massive condensed bullet formed, glowing like molten glass.

"FIRE!"

Dozens of rifles unleashed a storm of bullets upward.

But Rin's shot detonated first.

BOOOOM!

The recoil sent shockwaves ripping through the rooftop, knocking Aria backwards. A colossal beam of pink energy spiralled downward, hitting the battlefield like an artillery strike. Concrete erupted in a blinding explosion. Cradle and Spire soldiers were flung through the air, many knocked unconscious, the rest scrambling for cover.

The shockwave flattened cars, bent steel barriers, and silenced every gun in a two-block radius.

As the smoke cleared, Rin lowered Rosengarde casually. The weapon shimmered, then dissolved into glittering pink sparks that floated away like dying fireflies.

Aria slowly pushed herself up, eyes trembling in awe. "Rin… What… What was that?"

Rin glanced over her shoulder with a playful smirk, eyes glowing faintly.

"Oh, that?" she said softly. "Just one of my toys."

*

The dust still clung to the Tokyo skyline, ash swirling like ghostly snowflakes as emergency sirens wailed faintly in the distance. Rin and Aria had vanished from the battlefield, leaving behind a cratered street and two squads of battered Spire and Cradle agents scrambling for medical support.

Though no lives were lost, Rin's single sniper shot had left several soldiers sprawled on the ground, weapons scattered, radios sputtering static. Smoke curled from shattered pavement where Rosengarde's blast had struck, glowing faintly pink in the moonlight.

Across the district, another Spire commander received Vale's encrypted message.

"Commander Riko," Vale's cold, clipped voice ordered through comms, "Get to the explosion site. Bring everyone you can muster. Siren is with another Alberline. This time, don't let them escape."

Riko didn't hesitate. "Yes, sir!"

Boots thundered as he rallied surviving Spire units. Gunships took to the sky, drones zipped overhead, and armoured vehicles roared toward the blast coordinates like a steel tide.

*

Inside the Halcyon van, tension was razor-sharp.

"Yumi," Haruka's calm voice came through the comms, "the Alberlines are moving again. Their pace has slowed. I'm afraid you'll have to push the van even harder."

Yumi's gloved hands tightened on the wheel, the neon-lit streets blurring outside the windshield. "Yeah, yeah, I'll drive faster, but this van's not built like a race car!"

In the back, Kentaro sat rigid, seatbelt digging into his chest as the vehicle swerved violently through Tokyo traffic. Serica and Yura flanked him, their eyes locked on the windows, scanning for any sign of Aria.

But Kentaro wasn't just watching.

He was burning.

The memory of failing Aria once before gnawed at his gut. This time, there would be no failure. He'd drag her out of this chaos himself if he had to.

Tenka's voice came firm over comms: "Yumi, their movement patterns are erratic. Cut through the next left alley; backstreets are tighter, but you'll close the gap. The van can handle it."

"YES, SIR!" Yumi barked back.

She yanked the wheel, tyres squealing as the van skidded sideways into the narrow alleyway. Trash bins and loose bags exploded into the air as they barrelled through, sending stray cats scattering into the shadows. The dim passage was claustrophobic, lit only by the faint glow at its far end.

In the back, Shogo groaned dramatically, gripping his stomach. "Ahhhhhh, this ride's making my head spin… If I die here, know this, Riku, you'll inherit my mantle as the second-strongest!"

Riku placed a solemn hand on his shoulder. "Brother… Your sacrifice will not be forgotten. I shall bear your legacy with honour."

"Oi! SHUT UP AND LET ME DRIVE!" Yumi roared, slamming on the horn as she narrowly avoided a delivery bike.

Finally, they burst out of the alley in a flash of light, the van's shocks jolting as they hit the main road. But what met their eyes wasn't relief; it was devastation.

A massive crater carved into the street stretched before them, buildings nearby blackened and warped from the shockwave. Sirens from distant ambulances echoed off broken glass.

The van screeched to a halt. Kentaro lurched forward, palms pressed against the window as he stared in disbelief.

"What the hell… Happened here?" He muttered.

"This is Alberline-level destruction," Yura said quietly, her voice tinged with awe as she leaned toward the glass. Serica nodded, her hands trembling slightly.

Then Kentaro froze.

Above the wreckage, on the jagged edge of a nearby rooftop, strands of silver hair danced in the night wind, ghostlike, unmistakable.

Kentaro's heart slammed against his ribs. "Rin…" He whispered.

For just a heartbeat, her silhouette was there, standing in the moonlight, watching silently from afar. And then, as if sensing him, she vanished into the shadows.

"TENKA!" Kentaro shouted into the comms. "It's Rin! She's here!"

Tenka's voice came calm but urgent. "We know. She's with Siren. We need you to keep pursuing and get there before Cradle or Spire. Serica, Yura, use what power you can. You'll help Kentaro close the distance. Even half your strength will let you fly for short bursts."

Kentaro didn't hesitate. He turned to Yumi, who already had her foot slammed down on the accelerator. The van roared forward, swerving around the crater and hurtling toward Rin's trail.

This wasn't just another mission.

For the first time since this nightmare began, Kentaro was finally going to see Rin again, face-to-face, after all this time....