A/N: A couple minor changes were made to the first chapter. I changed Samantha's rank from First Lieutenant to Commander to her rank more suited for being an Executive Officer. I also changed her starting uniform from the Summer White Service to the Navy Service Uniform. Thanks to Breakaway25 for the information. I try to be as accurate as possible when I write, but I do make mistakes.
Also, to those who asked, thank you for reminding me about the Royal Australian Navy. To be honest, I completely forgot as I was mainly focusing on the major navies of WWII. At this point in time, I do not know how big of a role they'll play, but I intend to include them.
-2-
An Unexpected Homecoming
It had never occurred to anyone that such a tragedy would happen again. An attack carried out by an unknown enemy, one considered to be nonexistent and implausible. But it happened; on the same month, on the same day, at the same time. An entire fleet at anchor, now sits at the bottom of the harbor. Just like seventy-four years ago.
Pearl Harbor stands in flames once again.
Black smoke covered the sky making it darker than it already was for a cloudy day. The crackling of fires were briefly disrupted by explosions and gunfire as the Fleet of the Abyss carried on with their assault.
However, not every participant was on the offensive. There was one woman who stood at the bow of the antiquated warship, her yellow eyes scanning the harbor to admire her comrades' handiwork.
She had a tall and slender figure with pale skin and a matching bodysuit. Her hair was long and was as bleached as her skin. On her head was a large 'hat' with one double-gun turret on each side of its head as well as four tentacles and a large toothy mouth. She wore a black pair of high-heeled boots, gloves, and skin-tight pants.
She is a Wo-class aircraft carrier; the main carrier class of the Abyssal Fleet.
The Wo-class carried a staff with her. She planted it in the deck in front of her and rested both hands on top. She watched the carnage as her cape slowly waved in the wind.
Not far from the battleship she stood on, there was a full size aircraft carrier under attack by the Abyssals. Aircraft strafed the flight deck and Abyssal vessels shot with their cannons. The carrier soon buckled under the intense fire. An explosion erupted near the stern, launching an F/A-18 Super Hornet into the air and in the Wo-class's direction.
The woman expressed no concern.
The jet was blown to bits before it could reach her. One of the larger chunks continued on and smashed into the battleship's mast, snapping some of the spars.
The Abyssal responsible for the shot jumped out of the water and landed in front of the battleship's front gun turret.
The newcomer was similar to the Wo-class. She also had pale skin and long white hair, but she was not a carrier. She wore a sailor shirt that was small enough to expose her midriff. Her cape was white and she wore no pants, only her black panties. There were multiple double-gun turrets on her person.
She is a Ta-class battleship; one of the main battleship classes of their fleet.
"Nice shot," the Wo-class said without moving.
"Thank you," the Ta-class responded.
The Wo-class continued to admire the show of destruction before her. The Ta-class shifted uncertainly as silence settled between them.
"Do you think this will work?" the Ta-class asked.
"It has worked before."
"I know about the completely out of proportional response Forty-Eight has to this type of event, but what would they do?"
The Wo-class turned her head slightly.
"There is a high chance that they attack the wrong enemy. They have done it before. I wouldn't put it past them if they do it again."
The Wo-class stayed silent, but narrowed her eyes as she understood where the battleship was going.
"If they do attack the country that they assume is responsible for this, then how do we make ourselves known? We want them to come after us, don't we?"
"If they do decide to attack another country, we will attack them while they are on route," said the Wo-class.
"They have no Kanmusus, however," the Ta-class noted.
"So what? They'll send their regular forces after us."
The Wo-class turned her head far enough so she could see the Ta-class. The carrier's mouth slowly curled into a grin.
"They do that and I get to kill a whole lot more of them," the Wo-class finished.
"You really dislike them, don't you?"
"I have my woes. You do too if I recall."
The Abyssal battleship's face hardened, her red eyes drilling holes into the Wo-class. Only moving her eyes, she quickly broke her stare as she flicked her eyes to a ship in the entrance to the harbor.
"There's a ship over there," the Ta-class said coldly.
"I noticed."
The Wo-class signaled her aircraft. Five of her bombers made a pass over the ship and released their payload. The majority of the ordinance hit their target and obliterated the cruiser.
Arizona gently set down another body on the slanted flight deck of the USS Nimitz. This time it was a young girl, no more than twelve years old. The battleship sniffed and covered her mouth as she tried to hold back the tears as well as the dreadful smell of thousands of decaying corpses. She stood up and walked down the flight deck, rows upon rows of bodies that she had fished out of the harbor.
It has been two days since she arrived back at Pearl Harbor. Two days since the spirit of the Arizona called upon her.
Since then, she had been collecting the bodies from the harbor and taking them to dry land or on a ship, a boat, a dock…she just wanted to get them out of the water. She had found body bags and did what she could, but she, unsurprisingly, ran out of the supply she had scavenged. There were definitely more around the island.
There was only one problem.
Her equipment. It was too wide and prevented her from fitting through most doorways. She has not figured out how to remove it either. Basically, she had no choice but to stay outside. As for sleeping, she resigned to sitting upright in the Nimitz's hangar with a surgical mask over her mouth.
Arizona walked onto land and to a vending machine. She reached into the pocket of her NWU and pulled out some cash that she had looted from the bodies. She did not like her actions, but there was not much else she could do. The pocket her wallet should be in was now gone. Probably from the explosion that launched her into the sea.
She inserted the money and got water from one machine, and a bag of cookies from another. She popped the cap open and took a drink when it dawned on her.
How did I survive that explosion anyway?
She reached up and felt her cheek where she remembered the searing pain before it stung from the salt water. Moving by a show window, Arizona checked her reflection.
Nothing.
She was unscathed. Or at least her skin was.
Her uniform was another story as it was charred and she was missing part of her right sleeve.
After finishing her food, she dumped the waste into a garbage bin and headed back out onto the water, ankle deep.
It was almost noon by the time she filled the flight deck of the carrier and moved onto the bodies around Ford Island.
She had filled the piers near the USS Utah Memorial and went around the island towards the Missouri.
Arizona felt a twinge of guilt and nervousness being in such close proximity to the old battleship.
She felt sorry for Utah. Not only has Utah been sunk on the same day as herself, but she was long forgotten. Arizona had taken the spotlight as she is the most remembered, the most visited, the most mourned for.
And then there was Utah, cold and alone on the opposite side of the island.
Arizona bowed her head as she passed the wreck.
Hour upon hour, one by one, she continued to fish bodies out of the water and lay them on the pier. Each time she set foot on land, she felt like a beached whale. The burden of her equipment on her back weighed her down significantly and it felt like she was getting crushed every time she went ashore. But it was the least she could do. She wanted to these men, women, and children to have a proper burial.
Unlike her crew. But which one?
Arizona had gathered her final body for the day. It was an adult male. She set him down next to an adult female who was still holding her child in her arms, though she did not do so at random. While she was scavenging corpses for money for her next measly meal, she had noticed this group of three very close to each other as if they shared their final moments. The battleship could not hold back her tears this time.
An entire family…gone.
Standing up again, her heels clicked along the cement until she had reached a pair of vending machines. One was for beverages and the other was for snacks. She inserted the money and pushed the button for water. The vending machine went to work as Arizona put coins into the other machine. But the noise one would expect from a vending machine did not come.
Arizona opened the flap where the bottles would be dispensed. It was empty.
Really?
She hit the button that should give her back the money she had spent, but the machine did nothing.
Hate it when this happens.
She slapped the side of the machine to try and shake the bottle loose. No luck. She shook the machine and she could hear the bottle move, but it did not fall all the way.
Come on!
Arizona planted her metal boot heal into the machine with a thunderous "Bang!"
The force of her kick broke the front of the case, revealing the lights inside it. There was a pathetic thud as the machine finally surrendered the water bottle. Arizona grabbed it and twisted the cap open.
"Remind me why I don't buy from these things?" she asked sarcastically before taking a sip.
She turned her attention to the other machine. Right before she placed her order, her finger froze mere millimeters away from the button.
Why don't I just break the glass? I'm strong enough or at least will find a way to break it.
Arizona placed her hand on the glass.
I could be getting this food for free. But then I would be stealing.
She halfheartedly made a fist and lightly tapped it against window continuously as she argued with herself. Finally, she pressed the button for a snack bar and another bag of cookies. The coils in the machine turned as her chosen food items were brought to the edge and dropped down. Picking up the bags, she put them on the first turret on her left and walked back to the Missouri.
Once on the battleship, she walked to the fantail and sat on the helicopter pad and watched the setting sun.
I'm saddened. The first thing I do when I return was see the horrific sight of Pearl Harbour and steal from the deceased.
"Terrible reintroduction to the world," Arizona said aloud. "But is it really stealing? I mean, they don't need it anymore."
What am I doing?
"Trying to convince myself?"
Sighing, she leaned back as far as her equipment would allow her as she watch the sinking orange ball of flame. It was behind some clouds now. The rays filtered through the clouds and made a striking resemblance to a different sun.
"Bring any memories?" Arizona said. "Happiness, sadness, regret? This is probably the first time I watch a sunset peacefully in a while. I mean, you saw the rising sun twice on the same day, but not the sunset. Yeah, those are bad memories."
She leaned against her equipment and opened her bag of cookies.
"Hm. While Japan gets to enjoy their rising sun, America can look up and enjoy the shining stars."
"I do wish you came back," Arizona said as she rubbed her hand on Missouri's deck. "To enjoy this view with me."
Morning had arrived and Arizona was exactly where she settled down last night on the fantail of Missouri. She shivered as her body slowly came back to the waking world.
"Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to sleep outside," Arizona groaned as she tried to shift into a more comfortable position only to find that her equipment hindered her movement again. Instead she stretched and let her body fall limp.
The battleship drifted in and out of consciousness as the morning grew older. Once when she was awoken by an irritating buzzing. She tried to ignore it, but it insisted and grew louder. She cracked open her eyes and put her hand up to block the sun that filtered through the smoke. Looking between her fingers, she saw a shape moving about in the sky. Squinting her eyes, she saw a jet of some sort and a...a United States military aircraft insignia!
All hint of exhaustion disappeared as she jumped to her feet with her arms up.
"Yeah! AV-8 Harriers!"
The jump jets made a pass over Missouri and headed off towards the mouth of the harbor. In the distance, Arizona could see a lone flat top.
"One assault ship? Oh no. If the enemy is still around, they'll be in real trouble! I need to warn them somehow."
She remembered that she was able to listen in on radio transmissions, but she still does not know how to send. On top of that, whatever frequency she was listening to was dead silent.
"Guess I'll just have to do it the old fashioned way."
Arizona walked to a portion of the edge of the Missouri where the railing had gone missing. She was about to jump into the water when she spotted something in the distance. Two LCACs (Landing Craft Air Cushion) and multiple attack and transport helicopters were heading towards another part of the island.
"Looks like they are headed to Honolulu."
She jumped into the water and sailed out of the harbor, passing the Ticonderoga-class cruiser, USS Chosin, which lay in the harbor entrance.
...
US Marine Private First Class Nicholas Kerns disembarked the LCAC and onto the sandy beach of Ala Moana Beach Park. Almost immediately after stepping foot onto the sand, blood trails and bodies were seen.
"Oh, god," he gagged as he moved his shamagh over his nose and mouth. "Have you seen anything like this?"
"No, nothing like this," answered a veteran.
Engines rumbled as Humvees and LAV-25s rolled off the hovercrafts. Jets and helicopters flew overhead as each squad received their orders.
Ever since the United States had lost contact with Destroyer Squadron 23, a few hours later, the entire island of Oahu went dark. Once the mainland had heard about the dastardly attack on Pearl Harbor, the US Marines and Navy scrounged up what they could as quickly as possible. The only ship that was ready for immediate deployment was the Wasp-class assault ship, USS Essex. Reconnaissance aircraft flew back and forth across the sky searching for any threats. They have been at it for several days and nothing showed up. Essex was given the green light to launch the amphibious landing.
The marines' mission was to search the island for any survivors and eliminate any threats.
It had been a while since Kerns first set foot on the island and he is now walking with his squad and an LAV down a road just outside of downtown Honolulu.
"I saw movement," an AH-1 Viper pilot said. "About a hundred and fifty meters to your front."
"Roger that," Kerns's squad leader said. "Keep your eyes open."
"Could it be a survivor?" Kerns asked the squad mate next to him.
"I hope so," he said. "But judging by the bodies, it could be anybody."
Kerns continued to walk for the next hundred meters when he heard some noise down the street to his left. He broke off from his group and slowly walked down the street. There was a hollow clatter coming from a street up ahead and it became slightly louder as he approached the intersection. Rapid metal clinking came from the right.
Suddenly, a woman slid out from around the corner. Her legs were not moving and her shoes sparked as they scraped against the asphalt. She slid until she hit a police car that was in the middle of the intersection.
"Owww..." she groaned as she picked herself up.
She did not notice Kerns until she lifted up her head. The marine was dumbfounded at what he was seeing. A woman in a heavily charred NWU with metal all over her body. On top of that, she had what resembled a ship's hull attached to her body along with many large caliber rifles. This woman was literally a walking battleship!
Kerns raised his M16 in panic and confusion.
...
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" panicked Arizona, holding her hands up in front of her. "Don't shoot me!"
"Who...What are you?" the marine demanded.
"I'm Arizona," she said.
"Arizona?"
"Yeah, as in battleship Arizona."
"Wha-"
"Are there any other ships in the area?" Arizona interrupted.
"No, just the Essex."
"You need to get out of here now! It's not safe here at all!"
She saw the marine's eyes flick to the side for a split second.
"Why are you staying? You can be an enemy!" Kerns said.
"What? No, I'm not an enemy!" Arizona said completely shocked. "Why would I attack my own country?!"
"You could be a terrorist! Or-or-or..." he stammered.
"I am not!" She let out a sigh of frustration. Her eyes saw his nametag and decided to get straight to the point.
"Look, Kerns. Please stop pointing that gun at me. I'm not the enemy. I saw the enemy and-"
"Hey, Kerns!" someone shouted. "Where the fuck did you go?"
"Down here, lieutenant!" Kerns responded.
Arizona saw a squad and an LAV appear from behind Kerns.
"What the..." a marine said.
Similar remarks were made and Arizona's situation did not change. What did change was that she now has many more rifles and a Bushmaster chain gun pointed at her.
"Guys, I'm not the enemy!" Arizona's voice went up an octave with panic. "I'm here to help! What do I have to do to prove myself?!
No change in response came from the marines. A UH-1 Venom stopped behind the marines and Arizona saw the door gunner take aim.
The turret on her right hull began to move with a soft whir. The guns elevated and she, along with the marines, instantly became uneasy.
"This is insane!" Arizona screeched.
The turret fired with a thunderous boom. The three solid armor piercing shells went through the tail boom without exploding. The control surfaces were destroyed and the helicopter entered a spiral and crashed behind a building.
As shocked as she was, Arizona managed to turn her head to look back in front of her. The marines were...unhappy to say the least.
"Fire!" the squad leader ordered.
"SHIT!" Arizona cried out.
The rifles and machine guns opened up. Arizona shielded herself as well as she could and had stumbled backwards under the weight of fire. The bullets harmlessly bounced right off her body. It felt like getting lit up by an entire team with paintball guns, only a hundred times more painful.
Even though her body was immune, her clothes were not.
When the marines stopped to reload, Arizona got up and sprinted down the street.
"What was that? What happened?" someone asked over the radio.
"We got a contact," Kerns's squad leader said. "Lone target heading south towards the harbor."
Arizona ran as fast as she down the street. As she gained separation, the LAV started to open up on her with its main gun. The twenty-five millimeter shells missed quite often, but when she did get hit, the pain was exponential compared to the regular rifle rounds.
Other teams of armored vehicles and foot soldiers appeared, cutting off any possible escape routes. Well, it is not like she did not have any plans to escape to begin with.
Why did they react like this? Can't they see that I just want to help?
She ran along Nimitz Highway until she was cornered on a bridge. Panting heavily, she had one hand on her knee and the other trying to hold the remains of her tunic over her chest.
"Can I have a minute to explain?" she pleaded, nearly begging.
"You can start by explaining why you declared a one man war on America," someone said.
"Woman," a female marine said under her breath.
"Now wait a second," Arizona said, her voice laced with frustration. "I did not attack anybody."
"Says you," someone said.
The intensity between them skyrocketed.
"It's true!" Arizona held her hands up when the marines tensed. "I didn't-"
Arizona interrupted herself when she took a step back and fell backwards over the railing, landing in the ocean with a splash.
Groaning, she lifted her head off the surface of the water.
I need some way to get though to them. I need to be somewhere where they will not threaten and question me at every word I say.
Arizona got to her feet and started water skiing out of Honolulu Harbor. It did not take long for her to be under fire yet again. This time from the AH-1 Viper attack helicopters. The Vipers' nose-mounted cannons chattered as they pursued Arizona.
Go to the Essex?
"Gah!" Arizona's back was pushed forward by the impact of a rocket.
What am I thinking?! That's like going into the lion's den!
She took evasive maneuvers as more ordinance was sent her way.
Nimitz? No, with all the bodies there and how they reacted, they'd assume it's my fault.
A hailstorm of rockets rained all around her. Some had hit with a vicious impact.
Maybe back to my memorial? It's a grave as well as a memorial and it is an important symbol to the American people. It would be considered blasphemous to damage me or the structure.
Arizona looked towards the harbor. She dreaded the sight. The sky above Pearl Harbor was crawling with combat aircraft.
"This will be my best shot," she said aloud.
Arizona made a sharp right turn towards the mouth of the harbor while dodging more rockets. She had just passed the Chosin which sat at the fork when Hellfire missiles slammed into her.
"Goddamn it!" she felt her speed dropping and her legs encountering much more resistance than usual. Looking down, her legs were almost knee deep in water.
She was sinking!
"I'm going to do this! I will make it there!" Arizona screamed. "SHUT UP!"
Another missile struck, knocking the wind out of her. The force knocked her forward. It tore away her tripod mast and damaged her bridge.
"No..." Arizona croaked. Blood dripped down her face and smeared into red splotches. Moving her legs forward, they tripped on harbor floor and she collapsed onto the shore at Hospital Point. Holding out her hand, she reached for her memorial. Her arm fell limp as her consciousness slipped into darkness.
...
The marines inspected Arizona. Despite most of her clothes being destroyed, she was unscathed herself besides a few open wounds. After some words were exchanged over the radio waves, they had come to the conclusion of what they will do. The LCAC arrived and dropped its front ramp. They wrapped a cable around Arizona's body and, using an LAV, they towed her onto the hovercraft.
There was one thing that no one noticed, however.
A tiny girl fell out of Arizona's partially destroyed bridge. She had brown hair under a yellow hard hat, a denim collared shirt, denim pants, and brown leather shoes. She held a tiny hammer as well.
After landing on the ground, she looked around frantically to see where her ship went. She saw Arizona slowly disappearing behind the ramp of the hovercraft. Sprinting as fast as her little legs will allow her, the girl jumped. She managed to grab onto the ramp before it was raised too high. She pulled herself over and tumbled down the slope and landed on her head. After sitting upright, she adjusted her helmet and ran towards Arizona, hiding in the remnants of the battleship's pants pocket.
Once the craft departed, Pearl Harbor was left in silence once again. Smoke continued to billow into the sky, catching the current as it rose. The breeze picked up and the flag of the United States of America, flying at half-mast at the USS Arizona Memorial, broke off its hooks and was swept away on the wind.
Water splashed onto Arizona, rudely waking her up. She tried to open her eyes, but she was met by a daze of blurry shapes and gloomy colors. After blinking and wiping the water from her eyes, she looked around and found herself in a dark, cement cube. Her hands and feet were shackled and a metal belt kept her tethered to the wall. She was able to move, but not too far.
She was not the only person in the room.
There was a girl who was attached to her. She was restrained as well, but with more restrictive and modern handcuffs. A cloth gag dug into her cheeks and mouth. She was squatting and whimpered as she looked around frantically, clearly terrified.
Arizona quickly figured out why she was frightened out of her skin. Once she became aware of her surroundings, she saw four women in front of her chained together in a similar manner as she was with the girl. At the very front was another lone female, but she lay on the floor, eerily still. As for the others, they were all locked in combat with unknown assailants.
One of the attackers held something that resembled a meat cleaver and swiped it at the woman who was farthest from Arizona. The woman held her throat and made dreadful gurgling sounds as she drowned in her own blood.
A shriek of agony could be heard above the clamor. When Arizona looked behind her there was a woman who was trying to free herself of her own shackles who had just noticed the most recent murder. Witnessing the event only made her attack her restraints savagely.
Still in a world of confusion, Arizona felt a sudden pain shoot up her arm. Looking down, she saw the green fletching of an arrow sticking out of her upper left arm. She gingerly reached for it, but another arrow nailed her hand to her shoulder. Screaming in pain, a flurry of arrows came from the dark side of the room and skewered her. Gasping for breath as blood filled her lungs, she saw a shadowy figure step past the girl she was chained to and stopped in front of her.
Arizona could not see any features on tis person's body, but it is most definitely a female. Her assailant raised her foot and stomped on and broke the arrow that was in Arizona's leg. The battleship would have dropped to her knees, but the woman grabbed her by the neck and 'stood' her back up. She had an arrow in her hand and she buried it in Arizona's gut.
Impaling me with eight arrows. This woman is some kind of sadist!
Arizona defiantly spat the blood she had onto the woman's face. She could feel her candle slowly dimming, but she wanted to make sure she does not go without a fight.
Suddenly, a flash of yellow caught her eye. Looking behind the woman, she could see another approaching. Arizona's eyes widened as she could see a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun in her hand.
The newcomer grabbed the assailant by the side ponytail and pushed her away. She put one hand on Arizona's shoulder and raised the shotgun to her chest. Completely mute, the last thing Arizona saw when the both barrels went off was a red circle on the woman's headband.
With her heart obliterated, Arizona fell to the floor in a growing pool of her own blood. She did not move. She could not breathe. As darkness slowly overtook her, she saw the woman that was chained behind her run towards the metal door before being intercepted and someone looking through the door's window, pounding against it in vain.
"Ha!" Arizona gasped, her eyes flying open. She breathed heavily, her heart racing as the nightmare came to an abrupt end.
"Not that one again..." she groaned as she buried her face in her hands...or attempted to anyway.
Halfway up to her face, her arms were forced to stop. Looking down, she saw that her hands were handcuffed. Instead of being handcuffed together, they were chained to the concrete floor. She could only move her hands as far as the top of the table in front of her. Her ankles were restrained to the legs of the metal chair she was sitting in.
On top of that, her equipment was missing. She still had her vambraces, corset, and boots, but everything else was gone. There was not much left of her clothes either. The only things left were what was under her armor and most of her left pants leg. That did not mean she was completely exposed. She had a white T-shirt on and what was left of her pants besides the leg did a decent job of covering her up.
Looking around, she saw another chair on the opposite side of the table, a metal door, and a mirror along one of the walls.
"Why am I in an interrogation room?" she asked herself.
The door opened and a man in NWUs walked in.
...
Lieutenant Lindsey Helfmann had just entered the observation room. She had been summoned to take a look at a peculiar case. From what she was told, the marines who were sent to Pearl Harbor have captured "something". Apparently it was a woman who thought of herself as a battleship coming back to the world to fight an enemy only she could defeat.
Whatever the case may be, Helfmann wants to find out what is in this person's mind.
When she walked through the door, she froze and watched the two people on the other side of the glass.
"Lieutenant," the man in the observation room said.
"What has she said so far?" Helfmann asked.
"It hadn't made any sense. It keeps repeating itself. Something about monsters, aliens, and the Arizona. Not to mention that she had this on her."
He handed her several pictures of what seemed to be miniaturized structures and weapons of the Arizona as well as a cutlass. Helfmann looked up.
"How did you manage to get this off of her?"
"Oxy-fuel cutting."
"Hm..." she rubbed her chin thoughtfully as she watched the man and woman of the interrogation room.
"I said tell me the truth!" the man demanded.
"I have been telling you the truth!" the woman said. "What more do you need from me?! I saw those creatures! The marines' bullets couldn't hurt me! Bloody hell, I can stand on water! What else do you want?!"
"The truth!"
The man back-handed the woman across the face, making Helfmann quietly face-palm.
"You should not have let Alvarez talk to her," Helfmann said. "Get him out. I'm going in."
Helfmann stopped before exiting completely.
"And until I prove otherwise, it is a woman."
...
Frustrated would be describing Arizona's mood lightly. She told the truth to every single person that entered the room and none of them believed a word she said. The story does sound farfetched, but she assumed that after Destroyer Squadron 23 and Oahu were wiped off the map, she would be well received. There is nothing more painful than trying to help the country you love, only to be rejected with hatred.
The room door opened and a woman with dark-blonde hair and brown highlights in NWUs walked in with a paper cup.
"You can wait outside," she told the guards.
The guards seemed hesitant.
"Do I need to make it a direct order?"
They responded with a "No, ma'am" and went out the door. She closed the door behind them and sat down in the opposite chair.
The woman pushed the paper cup toward Arizona.
"Here's some water if you want it."
Arizona timidly held the cup in her hands.
"What did you put in it?" Arizona challenged.
"Nothing. I used the water dispenser thing outside."
The battleship went through the possible consequences and decided that none of them that could affect her would be too severe. She took a couple small sips before realizing how parched her body was. She chugged what was left in the small cup, spilling some of it due to her restraints.
"Feel better?"
"Much," Arizona panted. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," she said. "Now, I have questions I want to ask you. Answer them truthfully please."
"I have been."
"What is your name?"
"Arizona."
"Your real name?" she asked. "For example, my name is Lindsey Helfmann."
"That is my real name," Arizona said. "I am USS Arizona, the second ship of the Pennsylvania-class battleships. A super-dreadnought."
Arizona visibly made a sharp twitch with her head. Helfmann lightly tapped her thumbs together.
"Okay," Helfmann said. "What was the name your parents gave you?"
Arizona's eyes widened.
"You do have parents, I assume?"
Arizona's heart-rate shot up as did her breathing.
Let me talk to her.
"No," Arizona said to herself, clenching her teeth.
This is getting nowhere. Let me talk to her.
"No. They need my help."
Our help. And the only way we can help anybody is if we aren't fucking stuck in here! So let me talk!
Arizona keeled over as she let out the breath she was holding in.
"Are you okay?" Helfmann asked.
"Yes. What was the question again?"
"What was the name your parents gave you?"
"Yes, that. Samantha Isis Ackerman. That's the name they gave me."
"Isis?"
"Yeah . Named after the Egyptian goddess," Samantha said. "It sort of runs in my family. Like my sister's is 'Athena' and my mom's is 'Hera'."
"Those are Greek though."
"Hey, I didn't get to choose my name. Anything else?"
"Yes. You are part of the US Navy, correct?"
"Commander. Second-in-command of the USS Samp...son," Samantha's voice trailed off.
"What happened to the Sampson?"
"We were attacked. The entire of DESRON 23 was attacked."
Samantha went on about the monster, the air attacks, and the demise of the squadron. She was the only survivor and somehow got infused with Arizona's spirit which allowed her to survive and return to Pearl Harbor under her own power. When she had arrived, the entire harbor was a graveyard. It was not until she started fishing bodies out of the water when she realized that the entire island was quiet.
"And you probably know the rest."
"Sure," Helfmann responded. "I heard that you shot down one of our choppers."
"That was a complete accident!" Samantha exclaimed. "I was trying to explain myself to the marines, but they wouldn't listen and kept threatening me! I was frightened and the guns went off by themselves!"
"Mm, hm," Helfmann nodded. "So let me recap your story. You were on your way to Japan to see what they were up to with this 'ship girl' enemy story. On the way, you were attacked by an unknown creature that had sunk the John Paul Jones, the Howard, the Pinckney, Sampson, and Spruance, and the Vandegrift."
Samantha nodded.
"After getting caught in a lethal explosion, you somehow became the sole survivor because the Arizona's spirit picked you."
Samantha nodded enthusiastically.
"Then after hearing radio conversations, you heard that Pearl was under attack and you tried to make your way there, but you found out that you could walk on water."
Samantha nodded again, a smile forming on her face.
"You arrived at Pearl, everything in dead, destroyed, or on fire and that's when you got your equipment and armor. The next day you started pulling bodies from the sea and you continued until the Essex showed up. Aware of the type of threat this new enemy poses, you went to warn them and they didn't believe you. So now here you are telling me that you are here to help."
"Yes! Exactly!" Samantha would have jumped out of her chair if she could.
"That's an interesting story."
Helfmann got up and headed towards the door.
"Don't you believe me?!" Samantha begged.
Helfmann said nothing as she paused before the door then left.
"No!" Samantha cried. "All this effort. All this trouble. And they still don't believe me!"
Tears ran down her cheeks as she wept. She was not able to help. Arizona could not help. There was no one left that wants to help.
"Maybe this is why they said no," Samantha said as she opened her eyes.
When she did, she caught sight of a tiny girl in front of her on the table. The girl held a tiny hammer and was waving her arms to get Samantha's attention.
Lindsey dropped a couple dollars into a donation box and headed back into the main part of the museum. The enclosed space amplified the conversations of hundreds of people, many of them tourists. The distinct scent of churros wafted up to her, briefly masking the conspicuous smell of fresh paint and steel. It probably is not the best place for one to gather her thoughts, but everyone has their preferred location.
Then her phone rang.
She dug her hand into her pocket and answered.
"Hello?"
"Hello? Lindsey?" the incoming voice was mixed with static.
"Tiana?"
"Yes, it's me," she answered. "Are you in a tunnel or something?"
Lindsey looked around as she realized the problem.
"Hold on."
The lieutenant slowly jogged to and up the staircase that led outside.
"Can you hear me now?" she asked.
"That's better," Tiana said with some interference. "Where are you anyway?"
"On the Midway."
"That makes sense. She has an armored flight deck, or have you forgotten?"
"Oh, shut up," Lindsey smiled. "How's it going?"
"Same as the last time I talked to you."
Lindsey's lips twitched into a frown.
"How's David?" she asked, concerned.
"He's doing well. Got promoted to commanding officer."
"Oooh." Lindsey breathed through her teeth the let out a heavy sigh.
"What was that about?" Tiana asked.
Lindsey rubbed her forehead contemplating whether to tell her mentor or not.
"I can hear your nail tapping on your phone. If it's troubling you that much, get it off your chest," Tiana said.
"Okay," Lindsey sighed. "I was called in to interview a woman that was captured at Pearl. She seems like a normal person except that she believes that she is a battleship."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. She described the enemies she encountered. One was a giant monster and the rest were UFOs. She claims to be Samantha Ackerman, the XO of the Sampson and sole survivor of DESRON 23."
"Do you believe her?" Tiana asked.
"Uh..."
"Do you?"
"I...I don't know," Lindsey admitted. "I don't really have experience with aliens, ya know?"
"What about her gear? Did you see it?"
"Yeah. Four turrets with three guns in each. And she has an armored corset and arm braces."
"If she was a battleship, it sounds like she's a dreadnought," Tiana stated. "Did she mention what class she was?"
"The Pennsylvania-class."
"Pennsy or –"
"Arizona."
"Fuck," Tiana said nearly inaudible.
...
The tiny girl was working furiously, trying to pick the lock of Arizona's ankle shackle with her hammer. She showed a cute face of strain until an audible click. Leaving Arizona to remove the cuff herself, she ran to the other ankle. Again, she worked as fast as she could but something caught her attention.
She looked up and around. Dropping her attention on the restraints, she climbed up Arizona's pants leg and pulled something out of the pocket. It resembled a Bluetooth headset without the microphone. The girl held it up above her head. Arizona took it and put it into her ear. There was no sound. The only things she could hear were the girl's clinking hammer and the electrical buzz from the lights. A couple seconds later...
Ping!
Arizona tilted her head.
Ping!
The noise continued as whatever she was picking up grew in size and numbers.
"What does this mean?" Arizona asked.
The girl looked up and stuck her arms out, mimicking a plane before violently moving her arms back and forth, this time imitating machine gun fire.
"Oh, no!"
...
"If what she says is true, we are in big trouble," Tiana said.
"Why? Shouldn't we be grateful that to have something to combat a threat?" Lindsey asked.
"Yes, but have you seen the Arizona's service record?"
Lindsey stayed silent.
"The Arizona hasn't done much more than a celebrity's bodyguard. She escorted President Wilson to Europe after World War I had ended and stayed there for one day. In the '30s, she escorted President Hoover on vacation. Other than that, she has done nothing notable other than being one of the biggest man made explosions ever. Get what I mean now?"
"Ye...Yes," Lindsey responded.
In the background, people were clamoring as they spotted something in the distance.
"If America stands to get the slightest chance, you need to-"
Lindsey never heard the last of Tiana's words. Machine gun fire tore through the air, tracers flying everywhere. She dove for the ground and covered her head.
After the initial attack, she looked up and saw many civilians screaming and crying on the flight deck. Some lay motionless while others grabbed their wounds. A bomb dropped on the 'Top Gun' F-14 Tomcat at the stern, completely destroying it and damaging the aircraft nearby. Another bomb dropped, but thankfully this one bounced off the deck and into the harbor.
"Get to the hangar deck!" Lindsey shouted to anyone that could hear her as she ran for the stair case. "Get to the hangar deck! You'll be safe there!"
Lindsey ran back and forth along the deck, assisting and carrying anyone that needed help. She had just helped a young couple to the stairs. Before turning back, the man raised a question.
"Are you sure we'll be safe there?"
"She has an armored deck. She can take the hits," Lindsey said.
The navy lieutenant ran back out to help everyone else get to cover.
...
The building shook and the lights flickered in the interrogation room. Arizona and the tiny girl froze. They looked at each other briefly, then went to work on the last cuff that was on Arizona's wrist. At last, with a satisfying click, she was finally free. Picking up the girl, she went to the door. Unsurprisingly, it was locked.
"Great," Arizona growled in frustration. She looked back into the room and flicked her eyes between the chairs and the mirror. She set the girl down on the table and picked up a chair. With a swing, she brought the chair into the glass. The mirror spider-webbed and she swung again with similar results. One more strike and she is out, but this time it was a home run. The glass shattered, opening up into a dark empty room.
Arizona grabbed the girl. Before she did, the girl was patting her own head. Taking a guess at what she meant, Arizona put the girl on her head. The girl held on tightly as Arizona climbed through the window and sprinted through the halls.
When she burst through the door and into the sunlight, she was met by a familiar, yet frightening, sight. The aircraft that she had encountered out on the Pacific Ocean were now here attacking everything. No one seemed to notice her presence as they all ran frantically or were trying to shoot down the aircraft.
Near the water's edge, several soldiers were gunned down. Arizona picked up one of their M4A1 rifles and fired a decent burst into the aircraft. The gun clicked empty and she grabbed two spare magazines from the soldier, reloading one into the weapon and pocketing the other.
The girl pounded on Arizona's head with her tiny fist.
"What?" Arizona looked up and saw a bomb falling on her position. She jumped off the pier and landed ankle deep in the harbor.
"That was close," she panted. "Thanks."
The girl slid down her hair and onto her shoulder. The girl pointed ahead.
"Do you know where you're going?" Arizona asked.
The girl nodded.
"Guide me then." Arizona put the girl back on her head and skated through the harbor.
The girl looked behind them and yanked on Arizona's hair with her left hand. The battleship turned around and shot down an incoming aircraft. Three more approached her from the front and she took them down with the remaining rounds in the magazine. She was under the Coronado Bridge when she reloaded. A bomb exploded on the bridge, causing the middle section to collapse. Arizona dodged the falling debris easily despite being a battleship.
Looking ahead, she saw a aircraft launching torpedoes at the Midway.
...
Lindsey was searching around the helicopters, making sure that no one else was left on the flight deck. She was about to go below decks when several geysers shot up at the Midway's waterline. Lindsey was thrown off her feet by the impact. She picked herself up and sprinted for the island which was the closest sort of cover. Her path was cut off when an incendiary bomb spread a fire right in front of her. Another bomb started a fire and slowly backed her into the railing. With nowhere else to run, she vaulted herself over the port side and into the water below.
Arizona had just emptied the magazine into the retreating torpedo bombers when she saw Lindsey jump overboard. She tossed the rifle away and skated as hard as she could to the lieutenant. Lindsey broke the surface of the water when she saw Arizona approach with her hand outstretched. She was absolutely awestruck.
"Come on!" Arizona snapped Lindsey out of her daze.
She grabbed her hand and hauled her out of the water. Arizona backed up against the Midway's hull to avoid a strafing run. Once it was over, she broke away only to be blocked by another wall of bullets. Arizona knew she could take some hits, but there was no way Lindsey could survive a burst. The battleship zig-zagged back and forth as she tried to get to the USS Carl Vinson, which was moored in front of the Midway. They were about to cross the net when the super-carrier erupted into flames. Arizona broke off, pushing her tired legs to a place where she can run aground.
Several minutes later, Arizona collapsed onto the sandy beach just outside of Naval Air Station North Island at the northern end of the Coronado peninsula. Lindsey exhaustedly fell down next to her. The tiny girl plopped down onto the beach and was clearing her boots and helmet of sand. The two women panted heavily and did not say a word.
Finally, with a gulp and a deep breath, Arizona broke the silence between them.
"Do you believe me now?"
"I never said I didn't," Lindsey responded as she sat upright. "What are we supposed to do now?"
"Honestly, I have no idea," Arizona admitted.
Steps echoed through the stony halls. No shadows were cast in the mysteriously lit cavern as a woman dressed in black walked away from the deployment area.
She is a Ru-class battleship; another main battleship class of the Abyss.
The battleship was passing through the section of the base where they could heal and recuperate if they were damaged in battle when she heard a low moan from one of the rooms. She stopped and heard a woman's soothing voice.
She took a couple steps back and peered into the room.
There was the horned woman. Her dress was ripped at her waist, showing a large scar.
She was comforting her monstrous pet.
"Oh! My sweetheart!" she whispered to her pet. "They hurt you really bad didn't they?"
Her pet moaned in confirmation.
She patted the top of her pet's head comfortingly.
"It's okay now. You are safe at home with mama. I'm here with you."
She continued to pat its head as it descended onto the floor. Its breaths turned into soft and gentle snores.
"We'll kill them all for revenge. Revenge for what they did to you and revenge for what they did to me," she whispered to it before carefully getting up to leave to not accidentally disturb it. After she exited the room the light dimmed and a thick stone door lowered.
The woman walked pass the Ru-class.
"Hey, Hime," the Ru-class said.
The other woman ignored her and continued walking. The Ru-class followed.
"Hime," she repeated, raising her voice.
No response.
The Ru-class made a disgusted sigh.
"Princess!"
The horned woman turned around.
"Answer me when I address you!" the Ru-class said.
"Call me by my proper name then," the Princess said simply.
The Ru-class flicked her hair and ignored the response.
"Why do you still want to go and attack them?" the Ru-class asked. "You already took out an entire squadron of human destroyers."
"I have a score I want to settle," the Princess said.
"So does every girl in this fleet. We all want something."
"Not as much as I want mine."
The Ru-class groaned as she pushed her index finger on her forehead.
"Sometimes I think you only got this powerful because of all that pent up anger inside of you," the Ru-class said.
"If you knew that some diva was dancing on your grave, you would feel the same way."
Night has fallen. On a regular night, lights of many different and beautiful colors would illuminate the San Diego skyline. However, this night is not a regular night. The city glowed in the predominant color of flames as fires continued to burn. Smoke choked the night sky out of any stars or moonlight.
Even the USS Midway has lost all her seasonal colors. Normally at this time of the year she would be lit up like a Christmas tree, adding to the skyline. Tonight, she stands in darkness, abandoned, charred, smoldering, and covered in blood. Today, she had just experienced the death and pain that her elders had to endure. The only difference is that Midway was not able to fight back.
Then there was a soft pat. It originated from near the stern. The quiet pats slowly passed the island as it neared the F-8 Crusader on the catapult. Finally, a gorgeous woman emerged from the smoke. She continued to walk towards the bow, her long, dark, silky hair waving in the wind. She put the hands on the railing and closed her eyes. Breathing in, the familiar scents hit the roof of her mouth.
"Hm..." she breathed out and opened her eyes. "I never thought I would find it so comforting. The taste of the salt on the ocean breeze, the distinct scent of fresh paint and steel...the iron smell of blood."
Looking across the harbor, the light of the burning Carl Vinson reflected in her eyes.
"Mm, pity. Looks like United States of America will call upon me for assistance once more," she remarked. "And I was starting to believe that I received my well earned rest."
"'There is no peace,' says the Lord, 'for the wicked.'"
The woman turned around and walked back the way she came.
"Especially when one has been an awoken giant," she said as she disappeared into the smoke.
A/N: *A tiny girl walks in with a piece of chalk and starts writing on a black board*
Apparently Wolf did not expect this chapter to be so long. There was also a small mistake. Apparently the Vandegrift was decommissioned already by the time this story starts. She was decommissioned in February 19, 2015.
Arizona also is (or was) on the list of one of the largest man-made none-nuclear explosions. In any case, it could be comparable to Hood, but has nothing on Yamato.
Wolf is a bit of a pinhead if
*Gets picked up and moved away*
I think they get it. Yeah, as stated at the beginning of the chapter, I do make mistakes. Don't we all?
Ready for some random discussion? Yes? No? Maybe so?
Anyway, I had spent some time in the Five Nights at Freddy's/RWBY crossover section. Yes, I do have some interest in the FNAF back story, but got annoyed after the first game. Like how Call of Duty: World at War had a good story for the Zombies mode, but they completely screwed it up after Black Ops.
Getting off topic. So I was wondering why there were not any Kantai Collection/FNAF crossovers, especially with the characters in Kancolle. What I picture is something based in FNAF 1 with the Kongou sisters taking place of the animatronics and the admiral as the night guard. Another version I pictured would be Fubuki, Mutsuki, Yuudachi (in full Nightmare of Solomon mode), and Shimakaze (as Foxy). Another set up I thought of would be FNAF 3 with various destroyers as the night guard (Akatsuki sisters mainly) with Nagato as Springtrap. Of course, she would be in full on Nagamon mode.
These were just some possible Kancolle/FNAF crossovers I thought of. I could write them myself, but I don't believe I would be too good at it. If anyone out there wants to take a shot at the crossover, feel free to do so.
So that's about it for now. Please leave a comment or review and feel free to send me a PM if you have any questions. I hope to see you guys in the next chapter. Stay smart, stay safe, and I wish you a Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.