7/12/20XX

Today has been…lonely. This has been the only day where I've had the entire base to myself, and a few more like this to come considering the girls won't be coming back for at least 3 days. Without the expedition and patrol reports the paperwork has seriously lightened up, so it's practically like a holiday to me, and it has been…when I could get my mind off WHERE my girls are and WHAT they're doing. Not exactly much for me to do though without internet. For the most part I just took the sub back up to the surface with some food and a good book and spent the afternoon relaxing to the fresh air. I really need to find some hobbies, but I'm probably too old to take one up by now…yeah I'm just in my early thirties, but still, people like artists and musicians start in their childhood, AND they usually have inborn talent, unlike me. Oh well, reading's not that bad.

Anyway, this should be the one then. All of the girls are off to Paris to aid the final push there, once they return I'll send my prison inspection request to HQ. I should be happy all things considered, now I'm one step closer to freeing Yuu and the others…but I just can't shake this sour feeling in my stomach…it's like knowing I did horribly during an exam and now all I can do is sit here waiting for the score to see how bad I screwed up.

Plans have changed slightly. This world does need its sacrifices, but if those trash back at the military think they can manipulate us however they want any further they can think again. Even if humanity's fate depends on me and the Fleet Girls, if we're doing this, we're doing this my way. For now however, I'm more worried about Luna…this is her first actual sortie against the human forces. I doubt any harm will come to her, but if it's a fight, that means she'll have to…maybe she DOESN'T have to. Inazuma never directly killed anyone even after becoming an Abyssal and she's had more than a few sorties. The odds are low, and Inazuma was explicitly given shields to defend with, but…I can dream, right? Hoping for the best, for hers and mine.

Explosions and carnage everywhere. The Destroyer Princess thought the scene familiar, yet she was still unprepared. Contrary to battles on the wide open ocean, the rubble and the dead don't simply disappear beneath the churning waves, and there was no water to wash away the blazing embers that consumed building after building. How pretty this place might've been before the battle began, she mourned. Hovering just above the buildings, she could see a singular tower reaching up to the sky amidst a sea of orange, created by the setting sun and the raging inferno that surrounded it. Chased away from the main group by a squad of Witches, it had taken her awhile to force their retreat, and now she'd have to make her way back…huh? What's that sound? It sounded like…someone crying down there? And now a loud crumbling…!

She wasn't sure why she did what she did. A second later and both her and the child would've been buried under the falling rubble, but she had dived down anyway and lifted him up in the nick of time. The boy had stopped crying, now held in Luna's arms. He was maybe…8? All the civilians should have evacuated now, did he get separated from his parents somehow?

"Merci, Mlle Witch! Tu me as sauvé!"

What did he say? She couldn't understand him, but it seemed he thought she was one of the Witches? She supposed it was somewhat similar the way they flew, yes…Better he think of her as an ally instead of an enemy anyway.

"Uhh…do you understand English?"

The kid just shook his head with a look of confusion. Looks like she won't be getting any information off of him. However, if the intelligence was correct, the escape convoys should all have headed east. If she flew that way, maybe she'll find someone she can hand him to? Wait, what was she doing? She had to get back to the others, she didn't have time to fly solo into the midst of the enemy just to hand a random human child back! But…she couldn't just leave him here all alone, not now… It wouldn't take too long, yes?

"Alright, just hang on tightly!"

Could anything else go wrong today? The blonde Tank Maiden wondered as she rollerskated alongside the convoy with her 3 sisters. Conway got shot up and needed medical attention, the entire west has been overwhelmed, Delta Squad identified Northern and F*CKING MIDWAY before their feed cut off…She's always called Conway a Negative Nancy but for once, she's starting to believe it herself, they're going to die here aren't they? There's far too many enemies and they only keep getting stronger…No, no they are NOT dying here! They're going to escort this last convoy of civilians to safety, get Conway patched up and then get the hell out of this place alive! She was too young to die, there was still so much she wanted to do, and getting blown up by those Abyssal gits was the last thing on the list!

Just then she noticed something coming at them from the air. Squinting, it didn't take long to identify the rapidly incoming object.

"Look out, some kind of new Witch Abyssal incoming! Get ready to- WAIT NO DON'T SHOOT, SHE HAS A HOSTAGE! She's holding a kid hostage!" There's a kid riding piggy back on her! Was this for real?! What did this git want, to force the convoy to turn around so they'd get more hostages? Use the kid as a meat shield while she took out the escort force? Meanwhile, one of the survivors, some crying woman in the convoy had heard her shout and poked her head out even, what the hell you crazy bint, you wanna get shot or something?

"R…Richard?"

"MAMAN! Ce est maman! Se dépêcher, Mlle Witch!"

Oh great, it's even mother and son, as if this didn't need to get more complicated. Huh, Witch? Did the kid think he's with a Witch? The Abyssal's coming closer now, they'll have to do something, but if they shot her down the poor kid's going to go tumbling to the ground at a less-than-healthy velocity…actually, something's not right here, shouldn't the Abyssal be holding him in FRONT of herself to meat shield with? Ah, she's reaching back to grab him and hold him out now, speak of the devil. That STILL doesn't explain why she's coming so close tho-

"Quickly, take him!"

"H-Huh?" Utterly confused, the Tank Maiden cautiously lowered her gun and took the boy from the flying Abyssal, who zoomed up into the air and did a u-turn back the way she came immediately, as if afraid they'd shoot her…which WAS what they were planning to do before she just handed the kid over. With a little difficulty, the mother, now crying tears of joy instead, retrieved her son through the window, who was still waving goodbye to the strangely altruistic Abyssal. That was…weird, the Tank Maiden thought. No complaints though, that went much better than expected, the less trouble the better. However there was no time to celebrate, they had to stay alert. She doubted the next Abyssal they come across would be so nice.

That was nerve-wracking, the Destroyer Princess breathed a sigh of relief as she sped back to where her fellows should be. Why did she risk herself just to get the boy to safety? That spent a lot of valuable time, and she could've gotten both the kid and herself shot! She wasn't tough like the other Princesses and the boy weighed her down, if she ran into more Witches or those Tank Maidens opened fire…She couldn't just LEAVE the poor boy trapped in a war zone though! It didn't feel right to do so. Plus, the second she saw the boy's eyes full of hope when she first rescued him, she knew she couldn't just abandon him. At least the deed was done now, he's safe and she can head back, yes…Somehow she felt her commander would approve of what she just did, even if it was technically helping the enemy.

It wasn't too hard to find the main group again after that considering the ruckus and carnage in their wake. Despite orders to keep collateral damage to a minimum, subtlety was not the two Demons' forte. That and the initial shelling to scatter the enemy's line of defense hit a gas pipeline and the whole city went to hell from there… Maybe one day when they've taken over they can rebuild this city and all the other ones to their former glory…hopefully in the near future, yes…but now wasn't the time to think about that. Shaking her head and refocusing on the task at hand, she suddenly noticed something, or should she say someone, up in the air. The faint silhouette of a cloaked Witch was hovering there, aiming a portable railgun down at the Abyssals. It'd be next to impossible to see the cloaker from even beyond 50 meters, but within that she could just about see the shimmering figure. Luna's heart raced; a weapon like that could pierce even a Princess, she had to do something! The floating sniper had her back turned towards the Abyssal, this was her chance! She raised her armcannon, took aim, and…

It was at that moment a strong gust of wind struck them both, causing a slight misaim right when they fired, yet with a severe difference in results.

"OW, MY LEG!" The sniper Witch's shot missed Yorktown's head, striking the nearby Hornet. Instead of a critical injury for the former, it just smashed a large chunk of armored boot off the later with some extra bruising. "WHO DID THAT?! Oh, Lunie, you already got her. We were just wondering where you flew off to, nice shot!"

But it wasn't a nice shot, not for Luna. She was aiming for the sniper's legs to break her Flight Unit and force her to the ground…instead, the Witch had been forced to the ground…by a gaping hole in her chest. The flying Abyssal could only watch as the slain sniper's cloak disengaged, dropped her gun, looked down at where her lungs used to be, desperately but futilely tried to cover the hole with hands twitching from the suffocation and agonizing pain, before both she and her Flight Unit expired and crashed onto the rooftop beneath. In that moment, everything else seemed to fade from focus, it was as if time itself had slowed down, allowing her to take in every detail of her handiwork while she tried to process what she'd done. She just…she just KILLED someone…she wasn't trying to, but…it was her JOB to kill them though, it was only natural! She was SUPPOSED to do that! So why did it feel like there was a hole through her OWN chest? Why did she feel so horrible watching her target writhe in pain?! WHY-

"POTEZ! COMMENT OSEZ-VOUS, MONSTRE-"

BOOM…eh? That explosion brought the rest of the world back. Who was that screaming just now? What just splashed on her back? Why was one of the barrels on Hornet's Demon smoking, pointing just next to Luna…? With a growing sense of dread, the Destroyer Princess slowly turned her head to look. It was another Witch, likely sisters with the one she shot down based on their matching Flight Units. She was likely speeding towards Luna with that white-hot sword just before the shot stopped her dead, literally. What used to be the right half of her upper torso was still flying away from the hole that took its place; yet nothing disturbed Luna more than the split second where their eyes met before the life ebbed out and the corpse fell away to join her sister's, a split second that felt like a decade. The emotions she saw, the agony, the despair, but most of all, the sheer hatred…

"Geez, that was close! There, we're even, now stop spacing out and lets- Whoah there, you alright?"

"Did you eat something wrong, Luna? Why are you throwing up?"

"Ah she probably just saw your face, Yorky!"

"Shall I erase yours, insect?"

"Go ahead and try, Yorky! Don't worry, if I end up erasing yours instead, I have JUST the thing for it~! Finally you can fap to yourself, you'll look just like all the beefcakes in your room!"

"I WILL END YOU!"

Normally Luna would be giggling at their banter, but she was in no mood for that then. Looking down at the two sisters who had been murdered in cold blood, all she could do was wipe the puke off her chin, and give the two Witches one last salute of mournful respect…before the bombs implanted in them suddenly detonated after sensing disappearance of vital signs. Why…what…the corpses…where the corpses were…there's…on the floor…the WALLS…ALL OVER HER…EVEryWHeRE…HRRRRGG…After some time, Luna wiped the puke away again, not much left in her stomach after the second time, before continuing the mission, trying her best to ignore the blood and gore that soaked into her hair and clothes. Hopefully these would be the last deaths she'd see, much less cause, that day…that was already too much…yes…

"Clean diagonal bisection, and a hole to gouge the bomb out. Is this your work, Yorktown?"

"Yep, Yorky did it. There was some kind of insult rap battle going on, that girl called Yorky some particularly fruity names at the end and she took exception to that~"

"Shut up, she didn't ask you, insect."

It was two days later. The fires have all but died down, the surviving human forces retreated, the remaining Abyssals securing the perimeter and salvaging what they can from their fallen foes. A lone Tank Maiden stayed buried under some rubble. Try as she might, she had grown too exhausted to move the concrete off her legs, and was stuck there ever since the scuffle that left her there for dead. As the voices drew closer, she considered setting off the bomb in her body, but the images of her own comrades violent demises stayed her hand, unable to go through with it. All she could do was close her tear-filled eyes tightly and grit her teeth as the rubble was easily picked up and tossed away, cursing herself for her own weakness.

Before she even dared open her eyes, something impaled itself into her body, just below her ribs, forcing a scream of agony from her before the object was removed. "Oi, guys! Got a live one o'er here!" Through the pain-induced hazy vision, she could see a Re-Class jumping and shouting before throwing a red chunk of something from her bloodied hand high into the air, where it soon exploded, making everyone flinch except the Tank Maiden herself, who could only slump down again in absolute defeat. It was too late now, she was completely at her enemies' mercy.

"Good throw Reggie~ F*cking bombs…" The Wo-Class and two Princesses hurried over to their companion. They beheld her for a second, her tattered and torn army uniform, destroyed armaments, both legs crushed along with her tank treads, and the fresh bloody hole where her self-destruct device used to be. The Abyssals weren't much better off themselves, all of them with some part wrapped in bloodied bandages and many smaller wounds they didn't bother dealing with yet covering their bodies. She tried to say something, but the pain was too great, and all that came out were strained wheezes and groans.

"Hey Woverly, bandage her up before she bleeds out, R&D's gonna love this~" The one she recognized as the Carrier Water Princess waved her hand, signaling for the Wo-Class to patch their prize up. However much she wished to object, she couldn't find the strength, and the Tank Maiden could only sit there allowing the one known as Woverly to treat her wounds, namely her legs and the one caused by the Re-Class who was staring at her curiously. Wincing from the frequent jolts of pain, she gave Reggie a glare for her current predicament, earning a "playful" bop on the head which still hurt like hell.

"Oi, don't glare at me for getting that outta ya system! Ya should've seen what happened to one a' ya flying friends I couldn't get ta on time! SPLOOSH, blood and stuff ALL o'er my face, and it ain't mine! Found an arm left, not much ta do with that! Bleh, just thinking about it makes me want a shower…" Should've seen? The only reason I'm still here for you to taunt is because I HAVE seen what happened, you psychotic bint, the Tank Maiden thought resentfully. By then even anger was becoming too tiring an emotion, so she closed her eyes and let the Wo-Class finish up, somewhat appreciative of her silence, at least compared to the carefree chatter her fellow Abyssals were having. She ignored them, it was mostly just the two Princesses mocking each other over their respective injuries anyway. Eventually she could feel the pain dull and relaxed herself, considering and dismissing the thought of thanking the enemy medic.

"That should do, thanks Woverly~" The Princess did it for her anyway. "Reggie, drop her by Lunie, she can keep an eye on her for now."

"What happened ta Luna anyways? She seems really outta it…"

"I dunno, same reason Middi kept Hoppy off the front line I guess. Exploding corpses aren't pretty, but she'll get over it~ We did, didn't we?"

Curious of who this Lunie or Luna person is, the Tank Maiden heard someone shout something down the road, though she couldn't hear what, only the Carrier Water Princess' response.

"Found something? Pfft, what the hell's that on your head? Yeah yeah we're coming over, keep your panties on! Alright Reggie, hurry up, chop chop!"

"Aww, but I wanna see what's going on!"

"Put blondie over with Lunie and you can rush right back, now go, geez…"

Her eyes still closed, she could hear the receding footsteps and feel herself being lifted by the grumbling Re-Class. It took a few minutes of travel, dangling loosely over her captor's shoulders like some broken burlap sack, during which she allowed herself to look around at what was left of the place she and her sisters had been deployed to defend. Practically all of the greenery were gone. Some buildings were scorched, but still largely standing, while others had collapsed into piles of unidentifiable rubble. Splotches of dried blood both large and small occasionally covered the walls and ground, sometimes with pieces of broken equipment belonging to both sides abandoned near them. For a terrible second she thought she saw the bloodied and crumpled cannon of one of her sisters, hand still attached, but it was different, thankfully it was some other unfortunate soul's, though "thankful" wasn't exactly what she felt knowing one of their own still likely perished there. There was still hope the others made it out fine at least, not much more she could ask for. Eventually they made it to the outskirts of Paris, where a line of supply trucks in and out of the city were waiting.

"Finally! Hey Luna, ya okay? Brought another live one! Just keep an eye on her, alright?"

She couldn't see who the Re-Class was talking to from her position, but there was no response.

"…I'll take that as a yes."

The Abyssal propped the Tank Maiden up inside the back of the truck and sped back into the city after one more worried glance at her strange Abyssal friend. Now the Tank Maiden could see the one known as Luna, sitting opposite her, and recognized her at once as that one strange Abyssal who saved the kid. The first thing she noticed were her missing legs. She thought the Abyssal had weird Flight Units or something and she just couldn't see clearly, but it turned out she really didn't have legs! A crippled Abyssal? It didn't look like her legs were shot off, it was as if she naturally had no legs. In fact, the stumps ended in what seemed to be rocket thrusters. The work of those crazy gits who made the Re-Class and the other mutants? Would this happen to her too? She hoped not, she was quite fond of her own legs, and arms, and all of her body parts in fact. The second thing she noticed about the strange Abyssal though were her eyes. Staring down at the floor of the truck, supposedly at her own missing legs but her eyes weren't actually focused on anything. She wasn't like this when they first "met", that was for sure. What was something like this called, the thousand yard stare? The Tank Maiden wondered. The eyes of someone who's died inside, or EXTRA died inside in this case since ALL the Abyssals were essentially dead inside to begin with, right?

"C-Churchill?"

A weak voice from deeper in the truck caught the Tank Maiden's attention. There were three more prisoners in there, all Witches with varying injuries, though only one was just waking up, a girl with long orange hair and the tattered remains of a British Royal Air Force uniform, bandaged similarly to Churchill herself, with the addition of some more covering her left eye.

"Tempest…they got you too, huh. Knocked out when they found you? Would've thought you'd go through with it."

"Nah, Phoenix, ripped it out of me mid-air soon as she shot me down. I ain't even mad, that was amazing, heheh. Would've thought blood loss'd get me, but no such luck. Poked me eye out though, but where we're going we don't need no depth perception, right? Heheh…f*ck."

"…Your sisters alright?"

"I dunno, I didn't SEE them go down before I crashed, but we were up against Midway so…" The originally smirking Witch looked away, a cold emptiness worming its way into her once the topic was brought up. "…Unlikely. I guess it's one of the perks of being the first to fall, you don't have to see your comrades go down. Yours?"

"Better luck, I think they got out alright, I know Conrad did, she didn't get her bleeding ass sent back in after the convoy escort. My comms got smashed up though, can't confirm."

They both sighed with worry and regret, though after a brief respite, Tempest managed to get a sad smile back on her face. "At least I gave her a run for her money, rocket right to the left shoulder, drew blood right before those feathered sods ripped me out of the sky. Y'know what's funny? Midway could've simply closed up her shell and blasted us with impunity, not like we could do jack to that Demon's armor, but she didn't! I dunno if she's soft in the head or what, her skin's sure hard enough."

"Probably just a combat junkie like the rest of them. Since you told me your story I guess I'll tell mine just to be fair. We were sent back in after a few distress signals, basically go in, try to save someone and get out with them, lord knows we're short on manpower as it is. While I was tracking down mine, I came across that Carrier Water Princess, the one with the big boots, you remember her right? She was pretty much surrounded by 5 Tanks Girls, I think they were from Kingforce, y'know, those PMC guys with the cool guns they refuse to share? Her Demon was pretty much wrecked since it had crap mobility on land and the mercs had energy cannons that could turn its armor into swiss cheese. For a second I figured, hey this might be our chance, the Princess didn't have a piece of firearm on her, I could back them up and maybe we could actually take ONE of those royal bints down at least. Except then, she jumped off her bloody Demon, almost caved one of their skulls in with a somersault kick, then actually kicked another's head clean off! Literally, it sailed right past my own and then I booked it out! Call me a coward all you want but nope, I was NOT dealing with some…FREAK who jumped right into a crowd of enemies and started slaughtering them unarmed! She was even shouting stuff like attack names or something like it was Fist of the North Star! Anyway, turns out fate is a whore, and I ended up running into some more guys, got shot into a building that collapsed on me, and by the time I woke up my legs were squished. I knew I was screwed, I should've just blew myself up, but cowards will be cowards, I guess…"

"…I wouldn't call you a coward just for not turning yourself into a splat of blood and guts."

"It's either that or we let them surgically remove our sanity and send us back to kill our sisters."

"…Good thing I don't have to worry about the latter part now."

…

"Hey, Tempest. Think we'll end up like her?" The Tank Maiden nodded at Luna, who hadn't moved a muscle or whispered a word throughout their entire exchange.

"Maybe. I'd rather end up like that 'Freak' you were talking about honestly, or better yet, Midway. If the Abyss are going to make me their bitch, at least make me a badass bitch. What's up with her anyway? All the other Abyssals were pretty lively. The ones that aren't dead of course."

"Strange one, this, met her before while escorting the convoy. She just swooped in with a human kid that some mother in the convoy was missing, handed him over and swooped out fast as she came. I'm guessing she's one of those rare fortunate unfortunate cases where she kept her sanity, though I'm not too sure about her now."

"Fortunate unfortunate?"

"Well, if you had to spend the rest of your life hunting and killing your former friends and family, would you rather still have your memories and conscience while doing it, or would you rather be a giggling psycho playing Murder Time Fun Time?"

"…I'll get back to you on that."

…

"…Psst, Churchill. Think we can make a run for it with her like this?"

"Sure, why not. We can just crawl outside dragging our broken legs behind us and pray to every imaginable deity that none of the several hundred or so strong Abyssal Army will find us or send a search party after us until we make it ALL the way across Paris. We can just stealth around like MGS, it's not like the Phoenixes have INFRA-RED or anything! Nothing could go wrong with that, no sir!"

"Oh shut up, at least I'm still THINKING of resisting…"

"Lady Admiral, the fleet has returned."

"Welcome back. Thanks for all your…What's up with the hats?"

"Do you mean these?" Woverly pointed at the beret her jellyfish-like hat was wearing, which everyone else also had some variation of on their heads. "We found them in a burnt down store, it seemed some crates in the storeroom survived the fire. Hoppou wanted one and it was somewhat popular among our ranks, so Hornet decided we should all take one. We have a few spares as well, would you like one, Admiral?"

Wasn't there a rule about looting and war trophies somewhere? Does it even apply to aliens though? "...Maybe later. As I was saying, thanks for all your hard work, everyone. Since our docking space is limited, the most wounded shall dock first. Please be patient until it's your turn."

"Isn't it nice, insect? You get to dock before me. I'm almost jealous."

"Only because I took every shot for you, Yorky! Haven't you heard, the knight in shining armor is the guy who never had his mettle tested~"

"Yorktown, Hornet, enough."

"I'msorrypleasedon'thurtme." The two muttered in unison and hurried away from Middia who appeared behind them. The admiral just sighed and looked for her secretary. Everyone else seemed in high spirits, but she wanted to know if what she dreaded happened…and when she found the Destroyer Princess, despite the cute little beret hanging off her headwear's horn, her thousand yard stare told the admiral everything.

"…Would you like to come to my office?"

"…Please, yes…"

14/12/20XX

The Fleet has returned, with souvenirs to boot. Spirits are high, and casualties are low, though existent. 4 unfortunate deaths, other than the pile of light cruisers. However, their bodies are mostly intact and have been salvaged, and being Abyssals, they'll be resurrected by the end of the week according to Woverly. Having semi-immortality on top of all the stuff they can do, it does make me jealous, though I'd never trade away my humanity for even that caliber of power. Speaking of deaths though, it was as I feared with Luna.

5 kills. That's a pretty low body count all things considered, but the first always hurts the most. I must admit I'm a little disappointed…I'm not blaming her for killing combatants of course, that's just a necessity of war, and she's killed her fair share of Abyssals as Harusame, but…call me biased if you want, her killing humans is still upsetting, and yes I consider the Fleet Girls, Tank Maidens and Witches just as human as the rest of us folk. Now don't get me wrong, the Abyssals aren't "lesser" than humans or anything, I'm buddy buddies with some of them for crying out loud, but I still can't see them AS humans is what I'm trying to say, I guess? That and the whole immortality factor…Why am I trying to justify myself in my own diary? Maybe I just feel guilty about how I feel, I don't even know at this point.

Changing topic back to the originally intended, I'm pretty worried about her mental state. I remember she had a similar expression after her first kill against some Fleet Girl Abyssals, but not to this degree. Hell, I've killed insurgents before, I still remember how sickening it felt when I first blew someone's life out the back of their head, and I don't even consider myself the sentimental type. Harusame however…can't even imagine how she must have felt. Since most of the combat were in the first two days they were there, looks like she's been in this state for a long time, holding on until she came back…She's sleeping in my office now, after letting her emotions out. It was heartbreaking watching her bawl her eyes out. I tried my best to convince her not to take it so personally, she did what she had to do, but lord knows it won't be that easy to help her come to terms with it. Maybe I'll be the one to invite her for another night on the surface this time, hopefully that'll help her feel better. That girl…even as a Fleet Girl, no matter how strong she forced herself to be, in the end she was never meant to be a soldier…Yet another reason to hate the puppetmasters on both sides for starting this mess and dragging innocents like her into it.

Come on, silver lining, silver lining. The request will be sent tomorrow. I'm expecting a reply within the day, though WHAT the reply will be I'm not sure. Hoping for the best, but if in the end they still won't let me, I'll have to come up with something else. Hang in there, Yuudachi, Shigure, everyone!

The screams resonated in her ears. Scene after scene replayed before her eyes. The one who fell in the fire after she destroyed her Flight Unit. The one who had a building collapse on her after she smashed her into it. The mangled corpses strewn across the burning wasteland, the blood and gore that soaked the landscape.

"…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…" She stood alone crying amidst all the fire and death, her entire body drenched in blood. She shouldn't be feeling so bad about it, she had to protect herself, protect her allies, friends! Everyone else was fine with the killing, so why wasn't she?! Why did she feel so horrible, witnessing the pain she caused? It wasn't her fault, she tried to convince herself. It wasn't her fault they died! She did what she had to do! It wasn't her fault!

Suddenly the bodies changed. They shifted, becoming someone else, Fleet Girls. She had never seen these Fleet Girls before, she was sure of it, yet they looked so familiar, she instantly felt a connection to them, much like she had with the commander…right before the scenes began reenacting with them instead of the original victims. A young girl with long blue hair falling screaming into an inferno before she was roasted alive…a brownish-blonde girl with two side ponytails being crushed into a messy bloodstain under great slabs of concrete…a dark brunette with her hair in a small braid, her right torso nothing but a gaping bloody hole, looking into her with those eyes full of despair and hate…

"No…Stop! STOP!"

With a gasp she bolted upright, covered in cold sweat, eyes wide open, heavy breathing. Slowly calming down, she looked around. She was on the sofa in the commander's office, covered by a soft blanket. It was…all a dream? No, that hellscape just now was a dream, but the battle...the fights, the deaths, they were all too real. She had killed those people, she had been the one who reduced those living, thinking people with their own friends and sisters into lifeless piles of flesh. But…she had to fight, for her friends, for the mission…if she didn't fight, it would be her and the other Abyssals who'd suffer the same fate…she wasn't trying to kill them, they were all accidents…their agony, their suffering…it wasn't her fault…yes…?

A gentle knock came from outside the admiral's bedroom.

"…Luna?"

"Y-yes…may I…may I sleep with you tonight?"

"…Nightmares?"

"…"

"...Sure. Come in."