CHAPTER 1
EVERY GIRL LEFT BEHIND
((Alright, to set up this fanfiction based on the confusing as balls world and of KanColle, I have to establish and retcon stuff right now so everyone is on board. So, within this version of the Story of KanColle, the events of the anime take place of the coasts of Japan, the movie has not happened yet, and any ship that did not appear in the anime is open for a redesign. So lets enjoy.))
"As soon as we move out past the coast of Denmark, you will be in Abyssal waters. No matter what, you must push forward, you cannot stop! The English are counting on you...good Luck." A sigh escaped form Prinz Eugen's lips when the secretary ship's voice cut off. The Denmark coast was moving past her, the ruins of small fishing villages doting the coast. The sound of lightning snapping her back to reality.
One hundred and fourteen fleet girls were cautiously moving to where the Baltic Sea met with the hazardous waters of the North Sea. Operation Ice Breaker, it was called; a plan to bust through the main Abyssal fleet in the North Sea and create a direct supply link from Germany to the British Isles. With Britain and Ireland under a full naval blockade, the people were teetering on starvation. The fact the Britain was a completely industrialized island nation meant that the amount of farmland needed to feed her people was impossible on their own. The only reason Britain was still standing was the fact that the Royal Navy made sure not a single Abyssal got close enough to do damage.
This however was a problem Germany had yet to face. The Kriegsmarine may have not been as numerous as the British royal Navy, but with the help of Poland and and what remained of Western Russia, they had managed to keep the Abyssal fleets from being able to set their eyes on Copenhagen. Germany and the rest of mainland Europe also had a vest wealth of resources to draw on, and it was time for those resources to have a way to Britain.
"Battle group A, this is Bismarck, assume formation behind me and be prepared for enemy contact. We should be able to slip through and join with the British fleets." Prinz looked around for the distinguishing turrets of Bismarck. The super battleship had pulled in front of the force, and the others began to fall in behind, taking a wedge formation. Prinz was third in the formation, right behind the French battleship, Dunkerque. Across the wedge was Blücher, one of Prinz's sister ships.
"Nervous yet!?" Blücher called out to Prinz, who gave a nervous laugh in reply. "A bit, yes. How about you?"
"Not at all! This time, we finally take the fight to those Abyssal bastards!" Blücher cheered and a small smile grew across Prinz's face. Blücher was always the confident one, and never really hesitated to let anyone know. Unfortunately, her confidence didn't help Prinz. Even as she took deep breaths, her hands trembled and shook.
"Don't worry, it's gonna be okay." A calm voice said behind her. Prinz looked behind her to see the warm smile of Nürnberg. Nürnberg had always been one of Prinz's closest friends; she had been the one to show her the ropes as a cruiser of the Kriegsmarine. She was just a bit shorter than Prinz, but not by much, standing at roughly five foot four. Her white hair was the same colour as snow and it waved back in the wind. She was clad in a large brown fur snow coat, and a pair of woman's dress pants. She bore three triple 15cm cannons; the first two on her shoulders, and the third turret peeped over her shoulder. Upon her legs were two sets of torpedo tubes. Her smokestack and aircraft catapult could be seen on her back.
"Thanks, but it still doesn't help me feel more confident about the fact that this is my first major fight. Sure I've been shot at on coastal patrol, but I've never spearheaded an assault like this!" Prinz replied. Nürnberg glanced over, and gave her a confident nod.
"Don't worry, Bismarck and Dunkerque are gonna be the ones busting through, we just follow behind. Trust me." At this, Prinz smiled. Leave it to her best friend to be so confident.
"Thank you, Nürnburg." The other fleet girl nodded and smiled back. Once again, Prinz turned her gaze forward and noticed Bismark. She was frowning, gazing far into the distance.
"Contact. We have two enemy Battleships and three Destroyers ahead. Wait 'till you have a clear shot to open fire!" called Bismarck, and Prinz scanned the sea ahead. Sure enough, the five ships had spotted them and were now positioning to fire. Prinz held her breath and leveled out her two forward turrets, taking aim at one of the Destroyers. Bearing locked, four 8" cannons armed and at the ready.
"Incoming!" Blücher yelled as the sound of the Abyssal guns opening fire rocked the air, releasing the first volley. Quickly the group darted to the left, leaving the shells to splash harmlessly into the waves. The distance was closed until the Abyssals were at prime range.
"FIRE!" Bismarck screamed. Bismarck's 38.1 cm guns let out a deafening blast, which was shortly followed by the barking of Dunkerque's 33 cm rifles.
"Turrets one and two opening fire." Prinz responded and the two shoulder mounted turrets opened fire in turn. Shots from behind her raced past, as her sister opened fire too. Both Bismarck and Dunkerque found their mark, sending the battleships up in a fiery blast, soon followed by a second explosion as Prinz Eugene's shells blew one of the destroyer to pieces. Bismarck grinned as scraps of metal went flying. Nürnberg's shots also hit home, taking out the second destroyer, when the third Abyssal made its move. Closing the gap in a suicide charge, it unleashed a salvo of torpedoes, speeding at Dunkerque.
"LOOK OUT DUN-" The explosion cut her off as Dunkerque screamed, a spray of water blinding Prinz. Fire licked at her face, causing her to stumble back. Her ears rung wildly, and echoed screams were muffled. As soon as Prinz regained her focus and opened her eyes, Dunkerque was slipping beneath the waves. Prinz lunged for Dunkerque's hand before she slipped away and caught her by the wrist. Prinz heaved the battleship upward, her gear groaning under the pressure.
"Wh...what are you...doing, y-you have orders...go..." Dunkerque groaned in a weak voice as her head surfaced. Prinz shook her head and winced, every part of her body aching as she started to get pulled down.
"I...I can't!" Prinz yelled out. Her kee's started to buckle and Dunkerque slipped below again.
"NO!" Prinz gritted her teeth and pulled back. Another set of hands wrapped around hers and pulled as well.
"She's right, we're not leaving you!" Nürnburg cried out as the two cruisers heaved the Battleship up, only her legs dangling under the water. Prinz coughed as they threw arms over each other's shoulders.
"Damn...you fools," Dunkerque mumbled. The two pushed forward, wind, waves, and rain, hindered their every movement. Prinz raised her headset to her ears and frowned.
"I'm not getting chatter over radio." She looked down and found the headset cord had been ripped from the transmitter and receiver, its wires dangling loosely. "Damn..."
"I'm not getting anything either," Nürnberg mumbled, glancing down forlornly at Dunkerque.
"I can't believe this! Is your electric power is online?" she asked. Prinz looked over at Nürnburg who shook her head.
They continued as the sky darkened, giving a dreary atmosphere to the already terrible situation. After what seemed like an hour without incident, Prinz stopped, squinting at the horizon..
"That's it, the coast is just ov-" A massive roar and towering column of water cut her off.
"WHAT WAS THAT!?" Nürnburg screamed as Prinz struggled to scan the horizon, eventually spotting four Heavy Cruisers coming up on the rear.
"We...can't outrun them, leave...leave me." Dunkerque choked out.
"No, we won't lea - AHHH" Prinz cried as felt a shell smash into her back, sending her to her knees she heard the sound of electricity shorting out and her turrets seized up. She clung to the Warship with all her might and tears appeared in her eyes. "We are all gonna make it..." She croaked. More explosions went off around them and Nürnburg took a direct hit.
"This it...this is where...where we...no" Nürnburg started to cry silently and closed her eyes tightly. The Battleship slumped down beside them and sunk down to her waist in her water. The sound of cannons made Prinz grab Nürnburg's hand tightly. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, waiting for all her efforts to be snuffed out. The seconds seemed like hours as the three ships sat in silence, the only noise being the splashing of the waves and the raindrops on their gear. It was an explosion that broke the silence and Prinze winced, but nothing.
"Did..." Nürnburg mumbled. Prinz slowly and shakily looked up. She turned around to look behind them. Two of the Abyssal Heavy Cruisers were ablaze, floundering about in the waves. The other two had taken their aim off the crippled ships ahead of them and focused on something ahead of them. She looked forward and a hopeful smile appeared on her face. The shapes of three fleet girls were visible in the distance.
"L-look." Prinz said and the two others looked up. The three other girls unleashed another volley. Prinz watched the volley as it traveled through the air, turning around to watch it obliterate the last of the Abyssals.
"We...gotta go," Nürnburg mumbled and staggered back to her feet, putting one of Dunkerque's arms around her shoulder. Prinz staggered up and immediately fell back to her knees with a gasp.
"I can't...move" Prinz cried out. She tried again and fell over. The others were slowly coming towards them. As they got closer, Prinz could make out their appearance. The first girl was clad in a bright red military jacket, with a black knee length skirt. Her short black hair was tucked under a Brodie helmet. The stern of a ship hung from both her hips, two turrets mounted on top, each with four cannons. The other two girls vaguely resembled her in appearance and armament.
"What seems to be the problem ladies?" One of them asked and got down on one knee once close to them. Nürnburg winced and mumble in reply.
"My cannons are knocked out, and the Battleship's hull is completely compromised. We're the only things keeping her on the surface. I don't know what's wrong with her." Prinz watched drop of blood drip from her forehead and into the water before looking up.
"Electrical is out, same with all hydraulics." She said, wiping blood from her face.
"Right, these two will take the her there. And I'll take this one." She motioned to Dunkerque, then to Prinz. The two others moved in tandem to raise the crippled battleship out of the water, her arms supported on each of them. The other pulled Prinz up, having wrapped the cruiser's arms around her neck. Slowly, the girls inched their way to what Prinz assumed was their Naval Base.
"Don't suppose you three are Battle Group A?" asked the red coated ship.
"Yeah" Prinz mumbled. "What's left of us, anyways. Why?"
"We were ordered to be your reception fleet, but there was gonna be five of you." At that, Prinz winced and looked down.
"We got left behind...are you sure the two others didn't go past you?" Nürnburg asked hopefully as she came over beside Prinz, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"The corse you plotted lead directly to us, and we're the first reception fleet. None of the other reception fleets have reported in, so that means they are probably still out there." Prinz gave a soft cry, her eyes brimming with tears. Nürnburg just frowned, and put an arm around her friend
"Shhhh, I'm sure they're still out there, searching for us." At that,Prinz looked over at her and forced a smile.
"Yeah...they wouldn't leave us...they probably turned back as they noticed we had fallen behind, and we passed them without notice." Dunkerque sighed, choosing to remain silent.
Soon they could see the English coast peeking over the horizon. The ragtag fleet quickly got close, hugging the safety of the coast. Prinz could see civilians, standing on shore and waving the Union Jack. They could now be heard cheering out for the ships. Some even had the flag of Germany, waving around in the flurry of blue.
"Hey George, shouldn't ya radio command and let them know we got the girlies with us?" One of the Girls helping Dunkerque asked the Girl towing Prinz. George nodded and raised a hand to her ear.
"This is Reception Fleet One, reporting. We have received three members of Battle Group A. We are currently two hours past Newcastle." She lowered her hand and smiled. "There we go, once we get back, we'll get you gals right to the docks." Prinz nodded and sighed. She peeked back at Nürnburg, who was looking at her hands with wide eyes; her trembling hands stained a dark crimson.
"Will you be okay?" Prinz asked worriedly. Nürnburg hurriedly looked up at her and gave a weak smile.
"Yeah...I just got hit in the side, but I'm fine." She rubbed Prinz's shoulder and sighed. "Don't worry, it's me who should be worried about you. You took a pretty nasty hit, you know." Prinz just shrugged.
"I'm really light headed, and...and I can't feel my legs." Startled, Nürnburg glanced up and down Prinz' body, looking worriedly at her.
"I'm sure you'll get better. We need you after all." Prinz laughed a bit, looking forward.
She replied, grinning wryly, "Trust me, Hipper or Blücher can do twice as much as I can. They have much more experience."
"Don't say that, in a week or two you'll be just as experienced as them, I'm sure." At that, Prinz just nodded and looked forward. She watched as the British coast rolled by, and soon they were entering a base near Edinburgh. British ships were waiting in the harbor, staring as the three warships were slowly brought in. They watched deadpanned, expressionless, as if nothing phased them.
The base was massive, Prinz noticed; what appeared to be over one hundred various structures. To the far left, an airfield and multitude of hangars sat, and to the right loomed what appeared to be an administrative building. This was nothing to speak of the bristling fortifications and guns scattered all about the harbor. Once ashore, they were quickly stripped of their gear rushed to the repair docks.
"Well, hope this will help. Ah, who am I kidding, it always does. You've got a nice view of the water as ships come in, and Wales will keep you company." George said and walked back towards the door, gave them an open palmed salute, then stepping out. Prinz immediately was up against the window and watched as ground and mechanical crews below ran around and prepared for other ships to come in.
"Girlie, it's best not to watch, you'll see things you wish didn't." Prinz turned around and saw Prince of Wales in the central pool. Her chocolate coloured hair was at neck length and choppily cut, freckles dotting her nose and under her eyes.
"I've seen combat wounds before. I'll be fine, and I need to find my friends." Without thought, she turned back turned back to view the water. Squinting, Egen saw yet another group of warships, staggering into the harbor. She didn't recognize any of them but... it didn't take away from her shock. Two ships in the back were stained crimson, one of which was missing an arm. She backed away from the window, fighting the urge to vomit.
"Oh God." The words were all she could muster. She sank to her knees and looked down into the water, horrified.
"I told you." Wales murmured.
"Can you lay off her, she's just worried, our friends are out there!" Nürnburg snapped back.
"No, she was right..." Prinz mumbled, frowning as she went to the edge of her pool, resting her head on her hands on the tile floor.
"Sorry, we're just used to it here. The Abyssals have been trying hard to crack our defenses and things usually get pretty brutal." Wales said, coming to the edge of the central pool. She sighed and grabbed Prinz's hand.
"It's okay...and I still haven't said thank you." Prinz Eugen said, looking up just as the door was suddenly thrown open. The screams of agony echoed through the room and Prinz turned to see what was going on. A girl was being guided to one of the pools. A bright red cloth was wrapped around her head, covering her eyes.
"Oh my god..." Nürnburg gagged, hurriedly looking anywhere but the injured shipgirl. Prinz gulped and stared in fascinated horror as the girl was placed in one of the pools across the room.
"Wales, we need you out there! The main transport fleet got ambushed in rough seas. It was a massacre, we won't have enough room in the docks," barked a ship girl. Wales nodded, standing up. She was soon gone, and the three wounded ships alone. Sighing, Prinz rested her head back down, closing her eyes. The whimpers and cries echoed in her mind as she drifted off to sleep.
Prinz Eugen was confused.
"Prinz!" A voice echoed. She was standing in the middle of the ocean. All around her, a crimson sky seemingly glared at her, and a sea of oily black water rippled. "Wha-..." She strained to see where the voice had come from.. "W-where am I?"
"You left us...why?" The voice echoed again. She...she recognized that voice!
"H-Hipper, where...where are you? Did you make it safely without telling me?"
"It's so cold, join us." Moaned another voice. Prinz shuddered, recognizing Blücher's voice. She felt tears in her eyes.
"S-stop it...you, you're scaring me!" She cried out. Only then did she she notice the black water, slowly creeping up her legs, coating her, turning her as dark as the water. She tried to wipe it off with her hands, but they too became covered in the dark substance. Her fingers locked up, her hands felt colder than ice."See, doesn't that feel better?" Hipper's voice crooned, eerily.
"What are you doing!?" She cried before collapsing to her knees. The water started crawling up her arms, even faster now. Screaming, she looked up to the sky in despair. "STOP!"
"It's okay, its better here. You can be with us now," came the voices. The water crept over her chest, her equipment and rigging falling away. Air was sucked from her lungs, her entire body freezing up. The dark substance had reached her neck, now flooding and pooling into her mouth. She gurgled as it flooded down her throat, tears streaming down her face.
"Hussshhhh, it's okay now, just rest with us," Hipper said, facing Prinz and laughing a cruel, harsh laugh. Prinz choked and writhed, her lungs overflowing with the chilling fluid. It streamed through her nose, and Eugen closed her eyes.
"Hey. Prinz. Hey! you can leave the docks now," A new voice said. Prinz screamed and opened her eyes. She was back in the docks, with Nürnburg standing over her in uniform. "Are you alright? They said we are good to go now."
Prinz looked up, cheeks flushing.
"Oh...y-yeah." She sitting up, she sighed as she stretched her arms over her head.. "Thanks, I was just resting."
"Yeah, well hurry up, so we can get you something to eat." Nürnburg said, smiling as she walked out. Taking in her surroundings, Prinz saw that every single pool was occupied with other ship girls, and most of which were sleeping. Several carried agonized expressions, twitching and groaning in pain. Prinz took in a shaky breath. What had just happened? It was just a dream right!? But it was so real…
She rubbed her head and slowly stood up. She grabbing the towel hung from the railing, covered herself as she climbed out of the pool. Taking one last glance at her surroundings, she saw that Dunkerque was still there, passed out and leaning up against the wall of her dock. She didn't see anyone else that she knew, but winced at the sight of the girl from earlier that had a bandaged face. Prinz shook her head and walked across the tile floor. Pushing the door open, she was immediately met with a girl in a brown trench coat and thick framed sunglasses.
"Name?" Prinz just blinked. "Well!? I haven't got all day!"
"Oh...Prinz Eugen," She blurted. The girl in the trenchcoat nodded.
Turning her head over her shoulder, she called, "You can cross Prinz Eugen of the list; send in the next one!"
"Roger that!" Came a muffled voice out in the hallway. Soon a another ship hobbled in with a pair of crutches, and slowly lowered herself into the berths. Prinz sighed again, wandering into the dressing room. She found her uniform folded neatly in a locker. Slowly getting dressed, she gazed into her reflection of the adjacent mirror. Her dirty blond hair was still tied back in a ponytail, and her green eyes had dark rings of fatigue around them. A pair of kriegsmarine headphones hung loosely around her neck, complemented by night goggles on her forehead. Her top was an M1910/14 field blouse over a dark green dress shirt. Her dark red skirt and black leggings finished off the uniform, along with a pair of red hiking boots. A tiny smile emerged from her face as she walked back out into the hallway, brushing past the girl in the trench coat without a word. She was greeted with a line of the wounded, strewn across the floor like the flotsam of a storm.
"Why are they all just sitting here?" Prinz asked Nürnburg, who was leaning against the wall.
"The docks is crowded, as I'm sure you saw for yourself." Prinz grimaced, and looked around. Her eyes drifted to a girl with a clipboard, standing next to a large whiteboard. At the top it was labeled 'Casualty List'. Below were about fifty or sixty names, some of them crossed out. She started to walk closer to read the names, but stopped when Nürnburg grabbed her arm.
"Come on, let's go." She said with a smile, pulling her away. Prinz made to follow her, but not without wistfully glancing back at the casualty board. Exiting the dockyard, they strolled along a road that ran through the middle of the base. Prinz Eugen was glad to leave the dreary building, depressed by the morbid atmosphere. Outside though, the mood was very different. A group of girls were playing of game of football, using jackets as goal posts. To the side of the field, another bunch of girls were chatting and eating snacks. Walking past, Nürnburg smiled, "We could have a game later, if ya want. I know how much you like to play." Prinz shrugged, not feeling any motivation. "Yeah, perhaps."
They continued on their way, passing buildings labeled in English, with paper signs with the German translation tagged below. Coming to the mess hall, Nürnburg grinned cheekily, bowing."After you."
Prinz just rolled her eyes and marched through the door. The room that greeted her was spartan, with only basic wooden tables in columns of two to populate the space. The walls were dotted with black and white photos of warships. The tables were empty, except for two tables next to each other.
"Place is kinda drab, huh?" Nürnburg grumbled, Prinz rolling her eyes.
"Not like they've had the time to take a break and decorate like we have, remember?" Prinz exclaimed, sighing.
"Spoilsport," was all that Nurnberg said. Seeing that none of the tables were very inviting, Eugen was just about to suggest they leave when someone stood up, calling."You gals wanna sit with us?"
Prinz was about to respond in the negative when Nürnburg placed her hands on her shoulders.
"We would love to!" Nürnburg cheered, pushing Prinz forward. They made their way to the table, sizing the scene. Three girls were playing a game of cards with a couple pounds thrown in the middle of the table.
"Grab a menu and order something," suggested a younger looking ship girl. A light cruiser, perhaps? Prinz grabbed a menu off the table, sitting down. Nothing seemed decent; chicken noodle soup, eggs, and creamed corn was all they had to choose from. Folding up the menu, she decided to watch the card game.
"What game are you playing?" Whatever it was, it wasn't familiar to her. But then again, Prinz never played cards.
"Kings in the corner. Ever heard of it?" Prinz shook her head, and the cruiser rolled her eyes "We'll deal you in, if you got any cash."
"I don't, sorry."
"Eh, whatever. Oh, I'm Dublin by the way, and this destroyer right here is Sherwood." Prinz raised her eyebrow, and Nürnburg grinned.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Nürnburg and this is..."She paused as if expected Prinz to fill in. "Prinz Eugen, but she appears to be very quiet right now."
"All good, mate. All good." Sherwood looked at the other girls at the table. "Did ya hear that some secret service chap is supposed to stopping by today?" The other two shook their head.
"Why? When would they show up?" Prinz asked.
"I have no fu-" Nürnburg glared at the destroyer, silencing the vulgar outburst. "Flipping clue..." she sighed."Here we can explain this to you. So, first yo-" She was once again interrupted, this time by the intercom system.
"Could ships Hood, Prince of Wales, Tirpitz, Prinz Eugen, Nürnburg, Dublin, Lancaster, Churchill, and Ark Royal please report to the Admiralty's office, effective immediately." Dublin slammed her hand on the table, hard.
"Really, we were just…the higher ups need to f* off..." Prinz looked at Nürnburg, and they frowned.
"What do you think this is this about?" Prinz asked, quietly.
"Only one way to find out…" Nürnburg gave a predatory grin.