Chapter 9
And thus, things began to get stranger after that.
Lieutenant Anderson
Okay, so it turns out the Charlie guy may or may not have had a lot to do with the dark knight we were facing. The same could be said about Richard, but we knew he didn't have a lot of knowledge about him. In fact, from the looks of it at least, neither did Charlie, but it would appear the knight knew something about him. What that was would have to wait as I finished the discussion with the rest of the military branches. Lelouch had made a very valid point in that leaving could potentially remove his advantages, no civilians, no collateral damage, and we can unleash all sorts of hell in an open field. The Army agreed that maybe moving over to Iowa or some other state were there weren't many people could change things in our favor.
However, neither the Air Force nor the Marines wanted to risk dooming Illinois if that theory was wrong. So we were still in the base in Illinois, waiting around for the other shoe to drop.
Well, no, not just waiting around.
"Which one feels better?" I asked the 3 people in the room.
Iowa had almost instinctively gone for the Marine SOC, better known as the M45, which was essentially a 1911 but with more contemporary.
"Are you sure about-?"
"Yup!" she said as she began to disassemble the handgun.
Okay, American stereotype… got to keep that in mind. I wonder if she would prefer the Garand over the AR…
Richard had picked up a Glock and a Berreta, weighing the two in his hands. He thankfully kept his finger off the trigger.
"Which one is less likely to blow up in my face?" he asked, clearly unsure.
"Mine, but you can't have it." Iowa said, now reassembling the piece.
"Keep it, it's heavy and a bit-" she cut him off.
"I did not ask for your opinion, private." She said, with a grin.
Technically Iowa is an acting commander of her unit of fairies, but on paper she isn't even a real recruit yet. The uniform and rank are mostly to make her think she's still in the Navy. Thankfully, Misaki has kept quiet about the truth. It didn't really matter though, cause Richard hadn't joined yet.
But having our weaker guests know how to defend themselves when they don't have the upper hand is useful.
"Neither of these really feels right in my hands… they're all heavier than I expected." The young Royal stated while holding one of the US military's new handgun options, unsure if agreeing to the training was a right idea.
Maybe if he exercised more…
"Well, we have some lighter handguns, but they're not in the army's arsenal."
The young royal nodded, placing the SIG on the table and grabbing the Glock Richard had just placed down.
"Remember, you don't have to do this." I stated.
Iowa pouted.
Richard frowned.
Lelouch accidentally caused the handgun's magazine to drop to the floor, awkwardly moving down to pick it up.
"Well, alright then." I said. Richard seemed comfortable with the Berreta, Iowa was holding the reassembled .45 in her right hand, and Lelouch seemed comfortable enough with the Glock, so I motioned for them to follow me into the range.
This wasn't us just giving them handguns; this was just training them with a weapon they were comfortable with. Iowa… okay, she could have a holster and carry hers around the base, but Richard would have to go through the proper channels in order to carry any weapon around… thankfully he was getting on that…
As for Lelouch…
"Hey, quick question… How are the weapons here different from your world?"
"They're clearly heavier, but I'm assuming they also pack a heavier hit."
Probably…
"Alright, we have the place to ourselves, pick a target, point shoot, I already explained the rules of gun safety, don't make me repeat them."
…
"Damn it..." Richard said, reloading.
Yeah, he's not exactly a great shot. Oh, he's hitting the target, but not because he's aiming at it. His aim is a bit off, and some of the actual hits he's scored appear accidental. For example, he tried shooting three rounds in rapid succession and accidentally blew up the higher top off the cardboard model, which could technically be viewed as a headshot. Too bad he missed the other two shots entirely. He needs to keep his arm steady and under control, the Berreta has a fair amount of recoil, but it isn't a bad or inaccurate handgun, it even has less kickback than the 1911, but to an inexperienced shooter… unfortunately it's all we have right now.
Lelouch was only fairing slightly better, about half of his shots were hitting the target.
"I suppose I'm much more accustomed to shooting up close… I'm not exactly one to fight up close." He admitted.
"You kids need to train more; I know Royal isn't used to shooting, but Rich you should know better." Iowa said, pointing to her mostly accurate shooting.
"Excuse me, Pax Americana, but did you say something?" Lelouch said, removing his noise reducing ear muffs.
"Bah, you heard me…" Iowa huffed, happily taking a few last shots at her target.
Richard put the Berreta down, and sighed. Hey, he'd actually gotten a few shots into his target.
"Same time tomorrow, lieutenant?" he asked me, as if I didn't have anything better to do.
"Nah, it'll look suspicious for a lieutenant and three kids to show up at the training area before the sun rises. Ill figure something out later."
He nodded, quietly heading off to his classes for the day.
At least he was much more proactive than the other one.
…
I went over some of the newer information Bogart had sent. Okay, so some Richard had brought up an arts club, and the fact that other kids in his class liked to draw, blah-blah-blah, one was a girl who had a yet to be identified skin condition…
No records of her exist in the school's system.
"Misaki?" I called.
The blonde looked up from her breakfast, she was still wearing her pajamas, and her hair was a mess, but you could still tell she would easily win any middle school, high school, and arguably some college beauty pageants. Still exhausted from incident a few days ago, she gave me a questioning glance.
I figured she didn't want to get up from her table so I went over to her.
The wiki wasn't kidding about telepaths being lazy as hell…
She stuck her tongue out at me.
"Hey, look, Bogart is thinking of visiting the old school Richard attended as a kid. Maybe there's a lead there, maybe there isn't, but I went to a private school as a kid and I know how sensitive the staff can get over records, so…"
"You want me to go there, see if the staff is lying when I ask about… what's the girl's name?" she asked.
"Richard doesn't remember, and apparently there aren't any records of her."
She blinked and narrowed her eyes.
"I don't like it… something's wrong there… I'll help you out, sure."
I nodded, we already knew they'd deleted several documents on Richard's attendance, but deleting the fact that a student attended to that school is just… suspicious.
"Lieutenant! Possible arrival of another visitor over Lake Michigan!" a man yelled across the room.
Charlie
… I didn't…
…I couldn't…
I didn't understand how this was happening…
One moment I'm on the ferry to… where was I going?
Mom?
Dad?
*splash*
Did I go overboard?! What the hell is going-? oh yeah…
Reality had broken around me. The ferry had ceased to exist as well as the coolness of the North American climate. Those thoughts had rung in my mind as I plummeted to the water below.
A single yelp escaped my mouth as I hit the water.
To my surprise, it's was pretty warm in comparison to Lake Michigan. I awkwardly swam up (it is way harder to keep yourself afloat wearing jeans, shoes, and a jacket) and the second I gasp for air a series of explosions rang above me in the sky. There was smoke for a second and a few seconds later several miniature Japanese Zeros flew out of it. But… that's impossible… I have to be seeing things… I just…
A girl's voice screamed "They're not letting up! Pull back!"
I turned my head a few degrees to look at her…
"Watch it!"
No…
NO!
I can't believe it… I just… I couldn't believe it… but there she was.
Green hair tied in… girlish pigtails that made her look much younger than her actual age, a stylish uniform based on a mix of traditional Japanese clothing, but also employing the trope of Zettai Ryouki to give her this overall youthful air, that was just… amazing… she skated on the ocean water gracefully, almost as if she was a professional ice skater competing in the Olympics. Her bow and basic body armor completed her almost medieval design that gave her a vibe that said she was innocent but deadly.
An ideal girl…
I realize I sound like a creep, but I was caught off guard, and it literally made me forget for a second that I was slowly drowning.
Desperate, terrified and with few options but to believe my favorite fleet girl was right in front of me and I was still alive and not slowly on the way to hell, I screamed at the top of my lungs for help.
"Zuikaku!"
As the three syllables left my mouth, a strong hand pulled me out of the water and a pale, ghostly figure stared back at me.
I almost panicked if it wasn't for the kind look in the girl's eyes.
"Huh? Are… are you a civilian?!" she half asked, half exclaimed.
I couldn't reply as several explosions occurred a few feet above us.
Oh yeah… a battle was going on… OH CRAP!
An abyssal destroyer hopped right out of the water, getting slapped away by… wait…
"You're… Shoukaku?" I asked quietly.
I noticed then that she was carrying someone over her shoulder, her face was somewhat ashen, and her hair was all messy.
"I, uh… I, uh…"
"Zuikaku! Pull back, we have to get back to base!" she commanded through her radio. Around us, several miniature Zeros circled, a few dropped torpedoes into the water, which headed towards an Abyssal type I couldn't quite identify due to the distance.
"What-? And just let them through?!" I heard her voice through the radio.
She sounds exactly like her anime dub…
"The Admiral is hurt and we have a civilian in the crossfire! We can't stay here any longer!" she said in a commanding voice.
Wait a sec, that's the admiral?! He looked… off. How did this even happen? Isn't he supposed to command from the base?
I looked around, the torpedoes hit the abyssal off in the distance, wounding it, but not sinking it. I could assume there were a few others nearby… but up in the air, several Abyssal fighters were losing the air battle with the miniature Zeros.
If anything, it looked like the two sister ships were winning this fight on their own.
A shrill in the distance challenged the thought, though.
Oh, God…
Shoukaku had looked sort of like a creepy albino up close, but that's because I didn't recognize her.
I recognized this enemy, though.
All white, her clothes reminded me of a bride, her white hair was the same color as her skin, she was sitting on a mass of… something, as if the abyssal orbs with mouths had morphed and created a throne for her to sit on, and her eyes, blood red, and haunting.
Midway Princess.
"Oh my God! Retreat! Pull back! Pull-" I almost yelled as I was suddenly silenced by her appearance.
You know, now that she's up close… yeah, she looks way younger than I thought…
I mean, with some of her designs I figures she was about my age, if not a year or two younger but now that I'm seeing her…
An Abyssal fighter exploded a few feet above us.
Looking can wait! We gotta get the hell outta here!
"Zuikaku, hes still conscious, you take him!" the white haired girl half requested, half ordered.
She nodded, and in an admittedly embarrassing move, Shoukaku placed me on the small girl's back. I held on to the small girl's shoulders while awkwardly standing on the long metallic fins on her legs. We thankfully didn't sink as she whirled around, fired an arrow that held a small plane on it, and began to retreat along with her sister ship. The arrow seemed to catch fire and the small plane took off, firing directly at the ghostly figure in the distance before pulling up as anti-air fire attempted to knock it out of the air. The white haired sister ship began calling for reinforcements.
"This is Aricraft Carrier Shoukaku, does anyone-" she stopped, almost causing her sister to crash into her.
Four more Abyssals surrounded us, but didn't open fire despite the miniature zeros dropping bombs on a couple of them.
Above them, a man floated above the waters.
"Well, this is nice, isn't it, Charlie?" he asked, looking at me.
Him… I realized finally how serious the situation Richard had described actually was.
The white haired girl worriedly glanced in my direction about to ask me something. Even now I was doubtful Richard had been entirely truthful about the supposed knight that brought fictional characters into the real world.
But when he appeared, I realized what he was about to do. I was about to say something, maybe start begging him not to attack, but it would have to wait. Suddenly and unnaturally quick, the beautiful midday sky vanished around us and was replaced with the early morning sun I had left a few minutes earlier, the temperature dropped, and the lakes water went from salty to fresh.
The man grinned, and began to disappear.
"Wait!" I yelled, but all he did was look at me, smile and fly way, dropping what I quickly realized was my cell phone into the lake.
"What just-" Zuikaku asked, only to be interrupted by a round from a Ni class destroyer, which she just barely evaded.
"Shoukaku! Keep trying to contact the fleet, I'll hold them off as best I can!" the girl carrying me yelled, putting herself between her sister and the admiral. The battle above us began to descalate as the planes and abyssal fighters retreated to their own carriers. I saw a few of them land on the landing strip Zuikaku had on her arm before small fairies folded its wings and placed it on the satchel that hung from her skirt.
It looked like the air battle was over when another Wo class carrier appeared out of nowhere, sending dozens of small fighters and bombers.
"You've got to be… Shoukaku, are you getting through?!" she yelled as she readied another arrow.
The white haired girl returned a nervous look.
"No one… no one's answering…"
I swallowed, realizing what was happening.
"Hah? Try the other stations, we can't just-"
A bomb fell right next to her, not damaging her but burning a chunk of my pants right leg off.
I prayed we were back in the real world, and I prayed Richard wasn't lying when he said there was a team ready to help in a situation like this.
Lieutenant Anderson
God, if it isn't one thing, it's another…
A little bit before seven in the morning the radar identified an anomaly and then things got really bad. The CIA and the FBI teams both began sending information like crazy, but it was the feds that managed to send us the video first.
It was a security camera footage from the ferry's inside, where we saw Charlie get up to walk through the main floor only to stop, check his phone and then literally vanish into thin air, his phone dropping to the floor a fraction of a second later, as if it had taken the device a second to realize his owner had disappeared. In the video you could see one agent get up to check the area, only for our bizarre knight to materialize, grab the phone, and fly away after exiting the ferry.
So… that was officially the second case of someone getting sucked into their own electronic device, except that this was a phone and we had video proof.
The next few minutes were an intense panic here and in the other headquarters.
"…His parents don't even know he's gone, what the hell are we going to tell them?!" Bogart said over the video feed.
"You think that's bad? What if he brings out a dragon or something? I say we scramble those F-18s right now." and Army commander stated.
"What if he kidnapped him and isn't planning on bringing out anybody?" Bogart asked.
"Experience suggests otherwise, why he sucked Charlie into this doesn't matter much, all we know is that he did and we have to be ready for the worst." The Marine General replied courtly.
"If I may, I highly recommend we ready our gun boats and prepare for a potentially hot extraction. We're assuming Charlie got sucked into his phone then we have to assume he'll pop out of it sooner or later, possibly with company, and possibly with hostiles." I said.
Several of the officers nodded, better to be ready now than later.
I turned, glancing at the teenagers that shouldn't exist just kind of sitting around, except for Iowa who seemed to be expecting something.
I noticed the almost pleading look in her eyes.
"Yeah, you get ready too." I told her.
She grinned and ran back to her room.
I rolled my eyes as I followed my men into the armory.
We had been there for a solid two minutes when I overheard something.
"Pax Americana, that is not the most wise-"
"Out of my way, royal! Lieutenant! Lieutenant!" she yelled.
One of my men glanced at me with a look that implied pity.
"W-wait, Iowa! Don't you dare! Stop! This isn't very lady like!" this time it was Misaka freaking out.
The armory's doors burst open as the Blonde, wearing half her gear raced inside with Misaka literally holding on to her legs.
Some of us were in our underwear but that didn't matter unless Iowa was freaking out over something stupid.
"Lieutenant! Look- I mean- Listen!" Iowa exclaimed as she pointed to her command center of a hat she wore.
A girl's voice was barely audible.
"Aircraft carrier- reinforcements… Civilian-"
It was strangely gargled, but the implication was there.
"Lieutenant! Coast guard has just made contact with a ship claiming to be an air craft carrier, they're asking for back up!"
"They're fleet girls, they have to be!" Iowa exclaimed.
I ran in my boxers to the warehouse to check on the situation.
God, if it isn't one thing, it's something else…
There was a CIA drone flying over the lake, and the agents had redirected to the deeper part of the lake in order to find the new arrivals, but it didn't take it longer than a few minutes.
It was a firestorm of chaotic aerial combat.
Although the drone couldn't give us all the details from that height, we could see at least ten figures over the water, two clearly running away, moving away from each other and then almost intersecting while the others seemed to fire on them. Above them tiny aircraft twisted and turned trying to take out as many as they could.
"…Just… two of them?" Iowa asked, worried.
"Can we patch them through?" I asked.
The soldier nodded handing me some headphones and a microphone.
"This is Lieutenant Anderson with the United States Navy, do you read me?"
"Ah- I got through! You're… American?" a frightened girl asked.
"That's an affirmative, you are several miles within Lake Michigan, one of North America's great lakes, any idea how you got here?"
I heard an explosion over the radio, and on the drone's feed I could see that a thing jumped out of the water and exploded near the white haired girl, who seemed to be carrying someone. In fact, the other girl seemed to have someone holding on to her back… what the hell?
"Negative, Lieutenant, we just… we'll answer your questions the best we can, but we need reinforcements! We have our admiral and a civilian with us, and we can't hold the enemy much longer!" she said, half pleading.
I glanced at the drone's feed…
"Understood, turn sixty degrees starboard and head straight ahead, we're deploying reinforcements as we speak, we'll keep in touch, but prepare for an extraction." I ordered, handing the radio back to the communications officer.
Iowa was quickly attaching her second and third guns to her hips, which might amuse the Marines if they weren't busy getting their weapons ready.
"Lieutenant, are you confident your firepower will overwhelm the abyssal fleet?" the young Royal asked as I zipped up my Kevlar.
"We may not have to… You were able to use your power on the Wo class that arrived last time… think it'll work on the entire fleet?" I asked, only to be shut down by the Marine general.
"Belay that order, Lieutenant, we can't risk Lelouch being sent into combat, he's still a civilian, and if his ability fails he could be a liability."
Before I could object, a certain chestnut haired girl interrupted.
"But I'm not, general. Maybe I can't control their minds, but I could stun them long enough for your men to subdue them." She said.
I felt my jaw clench. Yeah, Lelouch would be awful at combat but if we could get him to make eye contact… damn it, it was risky regardless…
"I think she has a point. You have Iowa, Mikoto should be able to delay if not outright stop the enemy vessels in the water." Lelouch added, seemingly confident in the choice.
The idea could work… I glanced at the commanding officers.
No objections to that.
"Alright, but that's only if our firepower fails. Until then, you stay down… and put this on." I said, handing her some armor.
"And let's get those jets scrambled!" Iowa yelled as she gunned it for the docks.
6-18-1-14-11 3-1-19-20-12-5
I stared as the Knight flew in rather slowly. He looked satisfied.
"So… how did it go?" the doctor asked him.
"I got eight of them… eight. Sure, some of them are damaged but Airfield Princess has arrived along with the others. Convincing her wouldn't have been possible without your help, doctor." He said, handing the doctor his hat.
The doctor smiled, placing the hat by his jamming equipment. I hadn't been able to use it, but it supposedly made it possible to manipulate the human mind, inserting thoughts, or suppressing senses, it was a poor clone of what Misaki could do.
The knight communicated with the abyssals using it.
"Unfortunately, two fleet girls also arrived. But theyre being chased down as we speak. Even if the military gets to them first, I have ordered the abyssal fleet to retreat once they get serious resistance. One way or the other, this day is a win."
I smirked.
We were finally getting what we needed.
Charlie
This… was a difficult situation.
Upon closer inspection, the abyssal fleet chasing us was an insane force consisting of now two Wo class carriers, a single Chi class torpedo cruiser, two heavy cruisers, one a Ri and one a Ne class, a single Ru class battleship, the midway princess and several destroyers that would just appear out of nowhere, bunching up only to get bombed to oblivion.
Including the destroyers, that gave us eight abyssal ships and the dozens of little fighters said ships could unleash.
The Ru fired as it slowed down in what looked to be an attempt at firing accurately.
It landed way too close for comfort.
"Damn you!" the younger of the aircraft carriers yelled as she fired another airplane arrow.
"Zuikaku, did you get the transmission?" the sister ship asked over the radio. She was keeping her distance, trying to dodge since she was carrying the man the pair claimed was their admiral and doing so made it difficult to fire.
Wait, what transmission?
"What are you- whoa!" she barely dodged a torpedo that quickly went through our left… starboard? Port! To her port!
"The… the Americans… there's an American base nearby! They said to turn and head back south! Their lieutenant will meet us half way!" she said, her voice a little shaky.
Wait, turn back?
"…alright, sis, lets test how far we can push our own luck…" the green haired girl replied after a second.
"Wait! Y-you're not gonna-"
"Shut it! You'll speak when you are spoken to and when we are away from combat!" she yelled at me, slapping the side of my head.
Jesus, I knew they made her tsundere in the anime, but God damn!
Both girls whirled around and began to head into the abyssal fleet.
The Re class attempted to get a shot at point blank range when we passed past her, but to our delight, she fired on one of the Wo class carriers instead.
The enemy fleet was caught off guard, but the princess remained way back, keeping an eye over the battle.
Out of nowhere four abyssal destroyers appeared and leaped into the air, clearly attempting to slam against us.
I yelped as Zuikaku ducked, but I was way too tall to completely evade the monster, so out of panicked instinct, I threw my left hand up in a pathetic attempt to slap it away.
It knocked me from the girl carrying me and I fell into the cold lake.
Before it could fire or drown me, another hand grabbed a hold of my right leg.
The green haired girl wordlessly dragged me at her top speed holding only to my not burned pant leg.
I saw the abyssal fleet turn around and begin to give chase, which they did fast enough, but we were already in retreat, and I could see the planes beginning to land back on the girl's landing strip. After a second, she slowed down a bit, allowing me to climb back on.
"T-thanks…" I said, worried, and yes, shivering.
She groaned a response and accelerated ahead.
Immediately several explosions rang in the water behind us.
God, how long can we keep running?
I turned to her.
"Sorry, but… how are your supplies?" I asked, worried.
She glanced at me, not slowing down before saying "I still have more than enough, just stay put and don't fall off again." She said, probably trying to sound polite. I wondered if she was like this with all the other people she knew, cause I remember her being much more docile than this… but then again, combat and what not… also more torpedoes…
OH CRAP!
I thought as fast as I could, and I kicked off my shoe.
To my surprise, it worked, blowing up one of the torpedoes, but not really doing anything to the other ones.
Overall, my actions were pointless as she dodged to the left a second before they hit her.
I worriedly glanced around, hoping for help to arrive, because ewe could only dodge and run for so long before the abyssals get a lucky hit in.
Shoukaku found that out the hard way.
A single shell from a destroyer hit her back armor, getting a pained yelp from her. She moved awkwardly as she tried to regain her balance without dropping the admiral.
Zuikaku responded by firing some Anti air at the Wo class carrier that was nearest, and as I soon noticed, much to my horror, was quickly gaining on us.
"Shoukaku, let's switch! Ill carry him for a little bit! You can fight that way!"
I was a bit worried on how they'd do all that while getting shot at by the freaking battleship Abyssal, and I really didn't want to find out, but the white haired girl shut it down.
"We can't afford to slow down, we have to keep moving."
I felt Zuikaku suck in a breath to argue, but it was immediately silenced by a voice over the radio.
"This is Lieutenant Anderson, do you read me?"
"We read you lieutenant! Are you-?" she was cut off when a round slammed a few feet in front of her.
"Shoukaku, Zuikaku and any other fleet girls in the area, if you read me, keep moving forward, we are about to provide fire support."
Another voice broke in then.
"Hold on girls! Sixteen inches of hell are about to be unleashed on these bastards!" a woman's voice… who the hell is this? Was I really back on my version of earth, or…?
"Shoukaku, keep moving! Are you okay?" the green haired girl asked, worried when her sister ship began to slow down.
The white haired girl nodded, and pressed onwards.
Behind us, a destroyer type I couldn't quite make out raced towards her at a terrifying speed, but as it got into range… a whistling of sorts was audible before-
BOOM!
Large explosions that made my ears ring engulfed the abyssal fleet.
Both fleet girls stopped right there, stunned by the explosions.
My ears were ringing, but I suddenly heard… motor boats?
Not too far away, a pair of boats raced over the water, barely visible, but they were there.
"Shoukaku, hurry!" the girl yelled as we began to make our way to the fast boats.
The abyssal fleet charged after us.
The Wo class unleashed several bombers and fighters, which began to make their way towards the boats.
Zuikaku grabbed another airplane arrow and prepared it only for her radio to come to life.
"Don't! We don't want to risk friendly fire!" it was the lieutenant's voice.
"But you're on crappy little-" before she could finish her critique of the small American boats, a low, steady growl was heard over a deep thumping.
Above us, dozens of tracers slammed both into the aerial abyssals, and then they moved to the main fleet.
The effects were instant, the ones in the sky scattered as they were literally mowed down by the machine gun fire. The abyssal fleet was knocked into the water on impact with the high caliber rounds, but unlike the smaller ones, the abyssal fleet got back up.
"Fire! Fire! Keep them down!" a guy yelled as he directed the second boat to circle around, unloading whatever gun that was into the fleet, trying to keep them from getting into firing positions. Abyssals weren't dumb, though. They went under the water, moving slower, but mostly unseen.
"They… retreated?" one of the soldiers asked.
"No, they're trying to strike at you from the bottom, we have to run!" the white haired girl explained quickly.
"Alright, everyone on the boats!" the guy that sounded like the lieutenant ordered as he aimed his rifle at the water.
The girls quickly but carefully put the admiral on the boat while the second one circled the area.
"Alright, take them to your base, we'll hold the enemy here." Zuikaku attempted to order as she dumped me onto the small boat.
"Negative, we're taking you back as well!" the soldier said in return.
"But-"
"Boat! Now!" he ordered the girls, actually picking up Zuikaku like a little kid and putting her into the smaller boat.
"Now, Misaka!" he yelled into his microphone.
Wait, misaka?!
The brown haired girl placed her hand in the water and the whole area suddenly glowed blue.
It took two seconds for the first abyssal to hop out of the water in an attempt to escape the electric onslaught brought by what I now had to admit was indeed, the level 5 Richard had told me about. It wailed and writhed in agony, the screeching reminded me of the ghostly wails from old horror movies that used the wind for its sound effects. The others soon followed, trying to escape, but locked in place as the girl continued to electrify the lake's waters.
As the monsters fried, the ghostly Midway Princess managed to sink back into the water suddenly, as if she had gotten a second wind.
"What the f- damn it she's trying to escape! Iowa, adjust six degrees to port and fire for effect!"
Iowa?!
"Aye!" the woman's voice came over the radio.
A few seconds later…
BOOM!
The explosions shook the waters, causing Misaka to remove her hand from the water.
We looked at the water and saw nothing.
"Misaka?" the lieutenant asked.
She shrugged and shook her head.
"Right, well at least we have the air force on the way." I heard him mutter as he took a breath. He then turned to me.
"Oh, you're Charlie, right?"
I nodded nervously.
"I think you have plenty of questions to answer." He said with an odd smile on his face.
"Can it wait?! The Admiral is still injured!" Zuikaku yelled as a medic checked the young man over.
The lieutenant nodded.
"We'll fix him up, don't you worry." He replied, nodding as the boats began to race back to the base.
It was then that I realized that I needed to vomit, so I turned to the side of the boat and did just that.
And I stayed there until we reached dry land.
Richard
"See, what I don't understand is why Annie is still encased in that unbreakable crystal, like, can't they just break her out at this point?"
I smiled as Joan ranted about her favorite series to read right now. it was nice to relax after such a crappy few days.
"Well, I guess the author wants to surprise the fans by not waking her up at all but teasing she will anyway." I replied.
"Nooooo! She deserves to be with Armin!" she whined.
I chuckled lightly.
She frowned and asked "Is something wrong with you?"
"What gives you that idea?" I asked, a little nervous.
"You've just been quieter, I guess. Am I boring you?" she asked dramatically.
I shook my head, laughing ever so slightly.
"Nah, I'm just busy. You know how it is."
"Well, you should take a note from Yuru Yuri and proudly declare that if you can leave it for tomorrow, you don't have to do it today!" she declared boldly.
I blinked.
"At least… I'm pretty sure its Yuru Yuri…"
"Is that what you're into now?"
"What- no! I just know stuff about things…" she said awkwardly.
"Well, that's fine, as long as you don't hurt anybody I don't judge." I said, trying to annoy my friend so that she would think everything was normal and I wasn't worried about having a dinosaur dropped on my head.
"Uh huh… So… have you seen Charlotte yet?"
"Uh, kind of… I didn't find it very realistic." I replied.
"Ah come on, can't you just appreciate the music and animation?"
"Joan, I'm studying literature, I kind of have to tear these things apart or else my professor I might get complacent, something my professor doesn't seem to like a whole lot."
"College professors are ultra-complacent! They were freaking hippies in the sixties for crying out loud!" She exclaimed.
"The same hippies that chained themselves to trees and doors just to make a point?" I asked.
"Well, yeah, but they're old now and… whoa…"
Whoa? What is she- Oh God, No!
Why? Why did fictional characters think following me to college is fine? Can't they just wait for me at the bus station? I can't use my car until it gets out of the shop after what Erza and that sniper did to it.
The red head was still wearing the casual jeans and blouse she had on when she ran off a few days ago. Behind her, Wendy appeared and quickly approached the table. Most of the students that weren't too busy found themselves staring at the two girls with unnatural hair colors… well, maybe not the color, but the bizarre perfection of it was eye catching on its own.
"Hi! Um… Richard, right?" she asked.
Joan gave me a look.
"Err… yeah… hi… again." I said, moving my hand to grab my phone only for the little girl to grab my hands and wrap her own around them.
"Thanks for helping us back there! Think you can still help us?"
Whether she knew she had grabbed my hands so I didn't call the team or if this was how she honestly asked for help was irrelevant.
I glanced at Erza, then at Joan, who was waiting for me to introduce the two.
"Uh… this is Wendy… I met her at… a school… thing…"
"Um… Richard, I can tell you're not being truthful here, but as your friend I will respect your privacy and… who am I kidding? Who are you and how did you get your hair like that? Is that a wig? Did you paint it yourself? Can I know who combed it for you-?"
"Uh- well, my friend combed it, but I… uh…" the little girl became flustered, turning to her friend, I was unsure if she was asking for help or trying to get her to calm down. Erza looked like she was about to start something bad, so I intervened before she cut my friend's hands off.
"Uh- actually, I have a thing… with her… I'll tell you about it later, and I think Wendy can give you some… advice… later!" I said, getting up, grabbing my backpack and walking away, the two girls walking behind me with Joan awkwardly waving.
The second we exited the library I grabbed my phone and marked the number for Bogart, who should be nearby.
"Wait! We just want to talk!" Wendy exclaimed.
I glanced at her, and noticed that Erza was avoiding eye contact.
I rolled my eyes before saying "You have until Bogart picks up the phone." I said.
"I'm sorry!" the red head yelled suddenly.
I winced at her intensity, but stood my ground.
"I'm sorry I… jabbed you with my weapon…" she said, relaxing.
My eyes narrowed… Bogart picked up the phone, so I put it on speaker, but made it look like I'd hung up.
"Okay, I'm assuming you want to talk to me about something if you came this far… what is it?"
"Erza and I have come to the conclusion that we could act as an in between for your team and the Knight!" Wendy said cheerfully.
"Come again?" I asked.
"Right now we're our own faction, not working with your military or the knight that brought us here. I want to see how the world works and meet the people before deciding who to side with if at all… but I can't do that under your military."
"I don't understand you… you know bad things happen during wars-" I began before being cut off.
"What angered me is that these actions did not occur during wartime, they occurred when a country decided not to bow to your superpower of a nation. Even if… even if your country has changed since then… I don't want to risk the possibility that they'll use us in a similar manner or attempt to use similar treachery to get what they want."
I sighed, unsure of what I could say that hadn't been said already. Although I'm pretty sure Lelouch would gladly explain the paradox of evil to her. Before I could argue anything, however, Wendy spoke up.
"B-but that doesn't mean we don't want to stop the bad guys! We're just… not sure if the Knight is truly evil yet…" the little girl said quickly.
"I know, he told us he wants revenge, but I think we can find a better way. One both parties can work with." Erza said.
"A better way to what?" I asked.
"I think that if we can get the world to know that our worlds are real too, then the writers will work to make things happier in our stories instead of writing sad things." Wendy replied, an optimistic smile on her face.
I wasn't sure how much sense that would make… assuming the writers could control all that, and it wasn't just their minds being subtly influenced by some connection to that reality, then… maybe?
"We're also prepared to give your team some information… to show that we're willing to work with you as well." Erza added.
Wait- Information!?
I opened the recorder application on my phone and put it up like a microphone. I hoped Bogart was doing the same on his end since I didn't hang up.
"Here, I can record it. What do you want to share with us?"
Erza looked at Wendy, who simply nodded as she whispered "Just tell them the truth."
So she took a breath and said "He has three others helping him for the moment, that we're currently aware of. One is the bizarre, ghostly, water creature that he seems to be fond of. She was very docile with us, and didn't appear to be any more monstrous than a kitten. Then there's also that doctor, what was his name?" she asked the little girl.
"Gensei Kihara? I think that was it… definitely a Kihara. He's a very nice man!" Wendy added, smiling.
I felt the blood drain from my face. Kihara? I know the Kiharas are a whole family in the index series that is essentially made up of mad scientists, and I mean the scary realistic types that have no problem with killing kids in order to advance their own research.
I stayed quiet and let Erza continue.
"Yes, he's very grandfatherly… he gave us some money along with the third person. He's an older man who says he was in the military, he only gave us his last name, Castle." Erza said.
Oh great, a guy with Castle as a last name… well, better than nothing.
"They're not out for blood, and Mister Castle even helped us find an apartment in the city!" Wendy said happily.
"Err… not to burst your bubble, but how do you think he got that money?" I asked.
"Oh, he said he had it when he crossed over into reality. Anyway, I hope this information will help you come to a peaceful resolution with the Knight and his team. I think it can even open a door to peace between our worlds." Erza concluded.
"I don't know… the Kihara you described is most likely a manipulative psychopath from Misaka's series." I said.
"Because he was written that way! Knight guy has the power to free us from our shackles, but from what I can tell it's very limited. Yes, he wants revenge, but I think we can achieve justice through different means… but that is entirely up to your leaders." Erza replied, a fire in her voice.
I nodded, not wanting to piss off the girl that could snap me in two.
"We'll take that into consideration, Erza, and as act of good faith, we will gladly supply the two of you with money and food if you wish to." Bogart spoke up suddenly through my phone.
The red head glared at me, I think I had in fact fooled her when I pretended to hang up the phone, but Wendy spoke up before the situation could escalate.
"Thank you so much for the offer! I think that could work, right Erza? The FBI isn't as bad as the CIA or the military. And I doubt the other side will object."
The red head begrudgingly agreed with a huff.
"Thank you for the information, if you want we could also go and pick you up." He said.
"Actually, we took the bus, but you can meet us there if you want!" Wendy replied.
Once that was settled I hung up and began to ask them my own questions.
"Okay, how the hell did you find me?" I asked. I didn't remember telling them where I studied in the short time they spent with us.
"Erza saw a sticker on your car, so when she saw that there was a school with that same design, we figured you were here." Wendy said.
So… they were here all day, just looking for me?
"Plus, one of your friends said you spent a lot of time in the library so we went looking… I think his name is Cal, right?"
"Yeah… I heard you got shot, you okay?" I asked the smaller girl.
"I'm fine. It hurt, but this energy around us kept me safe… for the most part. I still don't understand why the team decided to shoot me, though…" she said, getting a melancholy look on her face.
"I don't think they shot you…" I half blurted out without thinking.
"Oh? Then who would? Mister Castle is a kind man, and he said he saw the CIA agent shoot us, so he took him out and fired on the CIA men to protect us." The red head said.
"Yeah? And what if he lied?" I answered, getting a glare from her.
Whatever, I have class in a minute anyway.
"Whatever, I have class in a minute, and it's not like I can prove what I said, so maybe you're right. But I'm telling you, Kihara is a dangerous person and the Knight actually tried to kill people around my neighborhood. Keep that in mind when you decide who you want to help. Take care." I sighed, and began to walk back into the library… only to walk right back outside to ask something of the pair.
"Uh… sorry, but my friend here really wants to know how to get your hair to look like that." I said, pointing at Wendy.
Lieutenant Anderson
"Friends!" Iowa yelled as she threw her arms around the two new (and much smaller) additions.
"Hey! Get this bimbo off of me!" the green haired girl yelled while the white haired girl sort of went limp and resigned herself to her fate.
We had just barely gotten back to the warehouse, where Iowa was waiting like a Labrador. The second she saw the other girls she sprung towards them like a laser guided missile. Unfortunately, I couldn't help the reincarnated carriers, as the supposed Admiral was unconscious and we had to take him to the infirmary.
Thankfully, the team was waiting with an ambulance Humvee to drive him back there, and all I had to do was give the okay.
"Iowa, you're going to suffocate them." I heard Misaka attempt to dissuade the blonde from crushing the other two fleet girls with her affection.
The blonde put the two girls down, both bewildered.
"Sorry, I've been the only real fleet girl here for a while! USS Iowa, at your service!" she stated, introducing herself.
Both girls looked awkwardly at each other before giving their own formal introductions.
"First of the Shoukaku class carriers… Shoukaku."
Redundant much, redundant?
"Aren't you just adorable?! Misaka, look at her armor! You're like a samurai warrior, yeah?"
While Iowa swooned over the white haired girl, the green haired one discretely snuck away, trying to approach me.
"Are you sure the Admiral will-?" she began before I cut her off.
"For the eigth time, yes. He seemed to have been drugged, which is odd, but unless he has an allergy to it, he should be fine. We're going to take good care of him."
The poor girls had been worried sick, as if the young man was a family member, maybe even a parent. I worried about telling them the truth…
"Oh-ho-ho… where do you think you're going?" Iowa said, trying to approach the smaller girl, Misaka was behind her, talking to the white haired one that called herself Shoukaku.
"Ah- are all Americans as scary?!" she half whispered, half hissed at me.
I shook my head, and was about to tell Iowa to compose herself when the other person we picked up from the lake decided to ask questions.
"Wait… wait a minute… you're… the Iowa? The American slut-ship the kancolle developers decided to include?" he stammered out, shaking, probably still in shock over what had just happened to him over the course of the last hour.
Not that his questions didn't bother Iowa.
"S-slut ship?" she asked, shocked, before sitting on the ground and hugging her legs, mumbling incomprehensively about something.
Mikoto glared at him, earning this response from the startled boy "It- I didn't come with that! I just heard it on a forum and it kind of stuck…"
"Right, how about you go inside, I bet the investigative team will have plenty of questions for you later on." She said in a tone that implied that she didn't really believe him. The young man nodded, and slowly made his way to the warehouse.
The second carrier turned to me, looking like she was about to ask something, but her sister beat her to it.
"Kancolle developers? What is he talking about?" she asked.
"Um…" Misaka began to speak up before I spoke up.
"Well, in this world… there are no abyssals… there isn't a fleet girls project, or anything like that. we're in the middle of a conflict with a strange individual who seems to be capable of bringing characters that in this world are fictional here, but making them real." I said bluntly.
Both looked at me like I was crazy, but Iowa backed me up.
"You must;ve seen him, right? some bizarre knight that just flies around and looks stupid?"
The sister ships glanced at each other before the white haired one said "He appeared, but didn't say anything other than this is nice, isn't it, Charlie, and then we were here… "
I narrowed my eyes… he reffered to Charlie by name… yeah he knew him, but Charlie got sucked into this the same way Richard did…
"Wait, so in this world… we're just a game? Our war is just entertainment for guys like him?!" the younger one yelled.
"Zuikaku…" the white haired girl warned.
"Sis, if this is true, then all our battles have been for nothing! I…"
"Zuikaku?" Iowa asked in a calm voice.
She got up and walked over to her before saying "You're that carrier that survived till the 1944! You kept dodging our own strikes until the battle of Cape Engaño! The last surviving aircraft carrier that attacked Pearl Harbor! The Lucky carrier!" she said in an unreadable tone.
For a second I thought Iowa might hit the girl, but she just tapped her shoulder in a friendly manner.
"You really inspired the current generation if they decided to write your story into their game! You should feel proud about that!" Iowa said, smiling.
The other girl winced, seemingly unsure what to say.
Her sister turned to me.
"So… lieutenant, are we going to return to Japan? Or is it a different country in this timeline?" she asked.
I looked at her, uncertain.
Why would japan be a different nation in this…? Well… come to think of it… it isn't a far out possibility considering how differently World War 2 could've gone down if Russia managed to invade Japan before we dropped the nukes…
"Um… they exist, and they're actually one of our stronger allies in the pacific, but I don't know if… I have to discuss this with the admiralty. With what navy was your actual admiral with?"
The two girls glanced at one another before Zuikaku said "I want to say British, but ever since he signed up with us, his past isn't as important."
Oh, so the admiral has no known past? Great, now I had extra work to add to the mound of paper work I would have to do after the battle.
Damn it all…
"Well! While the lieutenant goes do that, how about I show you two around? I'll introduce you to our A-team!"
She then grabbed the pair and led them into the warehouse.
Mikoto looked at me, worried.
"Go on, make sure she doesn't call them chinks or something racist that'll make them want to blow up the base." I said, waving her away.
Right now, we needed all of them, even if keeping them together would be difficult.
And then there was Charlie… and the Abyssals… and the knight… and the Admiral with no name…
God damn it all, if it isn't one thing it's another…
Richard
So… something had happened while I was at the university.
I noticed on my way inside that things were hectic, and the driver that picked me up at the entrance was worried, but he didn't say much.
Once inside the warehouse, I saw every man and woman in uniform scrambling around like ants as they coordinated in an attempt direct the Air Force over the lake seemingly to look for something.
"What the hell is…?"
"Richard!" a familiar voice called from the disorder.
Charlie?
My high school friend ran up to me and started blabbering about something.
"It happened, okay?! It happened to me! He showed up and I wasn't in the lake anymore, and then I was in the middle of a battle, and my parents are going to freak out when they find out-"
"The freaky knight showed up and dragged you into a show or something?" I asked loudly.
"Yes! And he dragged two Kancolle girls with me! Ah- Zuikaku looks way too much like a kid, man! I thought she was more adult than the anime made her out to look, but now that I'm seeing her… and you met Iowa?!"
I nodded, understanding his peaking adrenaline. Looking at him, the guy looked like he'd been through hell. His clothes were dry, but torn, his hair was a mess and he looked as pale as the girl back- who is that?!
A ghostly, white haired girl in what looked to be a Kimono grabbed some drinks and headed downstairs.
"He brought two girls with you?" I asked Charlie.
"And their admiral and a bunch of abyssals… the guys over there are trying to find them using radar, but I think they're in deep."
So now we have more abyssal treachery to deal with.
wonderful.
"Where's the admiral, and who are the two girls?" I asked.
"Oh, the admiral was unconscious and the lieutenant sent him to the infirmary, while the two girls are both Japanese air craft carriers."
I love how he just said that like it was normal, like he's getting used to things already.
We're going to need that adaptability…
"Anyway, the lieutenant said to wait up here for some men who are going to ask me some questions…" he added nervously.
"Probably Bogart, he's cool. I'll go check on the kids, then."
I moved fast, even though Charlie looked like he wanted to apologize, but I was a bit worried about how the newcomers were interacting with the rest.
Down the hallway I realized that my worries were unfounded cause Iowa was just hoarding them to herself.
While the other displaced characters stared at them from the hallway, she was touring the two around her room.
"…so you see, girls? We have the facilities to re supply your teams! Worry not! Here in America we have- oh hi, Richie Rich! That's the first guy to get sucked into his computer."
The two girls looked like they were barely out of middle school, not helped by the fact that the two were each drinking a juice box.
I waved my hand awkwardly, they replied in the same manner. Unsure of what to make of their new situation, of the fact that their lives were entertainment… but unlike Erza, Misaki, or even Lelouch, I could tell these girls wanted to help.
"You just… went straight to showing them that you have a factory in your room?" well, it was more like a supply cache, but still, the small fairies Iowa usually left in her heated room had seemingly kept themselves busy by building small huts to make munitions from the supplies the military handed them.
"Well, we asked her if she had a line of supplies in case we need to go into combat again." The white haired one stated.
"Right… how many enemy vessels came through?" I asked.
"Technically eight, but a bunch of them carry other smaller ships and planes, and that's not including the one that showed up when the knight attacked us." Misaka stated.
"They also brought a Midway Princess, which is really bad for the situation here." The green haired girl said.
"Wait, why?"
6-18-1-14-11 3-1-19-20-12-5
I watched as the creatures swam out of the water. Several were badly wounded, but I think they could tough it out.
I glanced at the knight who walked forward and kneeled in front of the ghostly looking woman who had a dead look in her eyes.
"My princess…" he said, aloud, but communicating with her via the device the doctor had created.
"You have one of North America's great lakes ready for you to strike with unending vengeance. Will you help us in our quest to punish those who escape punishment?" he asked aloud.
The "princess" looked at him, no emotion in her eyes that I could read, before nodding and directing her children back into the water.
As the bizarre girls left, the knight grabbed the hand of the one he'd been caring her for a while now.
"Remember the importance of hitting and running. Ill visit you when I can." He told her aloud. The creature nodded before joining her peers.
I stared at him, he seemed, satisfied?
He turned to me and said "I'm glad I have this power… even if it isn't absolute… now lets leave before the air force decides to napalm the entire area."
"Do you think the princess will be able to continue to produce abyssal fighters?" the doctor asked him.
"She only requires food in order to produce the vessels, of which I am willing to personally deliver. But if it's a problem I suppose there are still plenty of other classes I could bring."
"Right, your recharge time… Erza and Wendy went to talk to Richard, I don't know if keeping them alive will prove beneficiary." I told him, trying to change the subject from the bizarre sea monsters to something that could easily blow up in our face if we weren't careful.
"You are correct, but Erza is a fickle one, she wants to remain in some level of control, I think. But once she finds out what this world takes her for, I think she will be a valuable asset to our cause."
"And Wendy?" the doctor asked, struggling to climb up the hill.
"She could work as a catalyst if we want to truly convince her that this world needs to suffer."
I didn't like the idea of killing the girl, but if she wanted to side with the devils that wrote our stories to make us suffer…
No, there will be no mercy for them. I glanced behind me at the lake and grinned. Assuming this "Midway Princess" could produce more of these abyssals, lake Michigan would turn into a battlefield in the coming days, and while the US military focuses on handling that mess, we get to fully set up a base in the heart of Illinois.
Suddenly, I understood why some bastards on the movies loved to laugh as their plans came to fruition.
Even with the level 5s, Lelouch Vi Britannia, and now 3 reincarnated battleships and their admiral, there was nothing short of a nuclear bomb that could easily dispatch the abyssal threat from the lake, and if they did use that, the entire water supply would be forever ruined.
But, cautious optimism… I was still worried, at least slightly about the fact that Erza was now a wild card, and the fact that we knew so little about the Admiral from that game.
No matter what, I will avenge those who've been created just to suffer…
And no one would stop me from doing that.
This war was just getting started.
Keisha
My story began late one night in March.
This was before things started to get weird in Chicago… at least, weirder than usual. I had recently graduated college, and a bachelor's degree in nursing wasn't something I wanted going to waste, so I began working at a certain hospital in the city. One of those community health clinics where the pay sucks, but you get to help out plenty of people, you know? I wanted to do something with my life, and this seemed like a good start.
It was about eleven or so, when I got informed of a recent admission, some kid had stumbled into the hospital, barely able to walk, and was almost unintelligible. I was told to help doctor… well, let's call him Doctor Mark… sound good?
Doctor Mark is an older doctor who started off as an Army medic in Vietnam and he'd actually been very helpful when I signed up to work here. he had ordered some scans for the kid, but at that point I hadn't even seen who it was.
At about twelve or so in the morning I bumped into Doctor Mark at the coffee machine.
"Hey, Keisha, how's it going tonight?" he asked me as I grabbed my black coffee.
"Same old, I guess. You?"
He shook his head as he put the quarters into the machine.
"The most bizarre person showed up at the front door. He's a kid, who just stumbled in here barely able to talk, clearly dealing with some trauma, but he seemed unhurt."
"Ah yeah, I heard about the kid… you get assigned to him?"
"Yeah, he's an albino, but… a strange, strange variation… I checked his eyes and they were blood red, like actually blood red, which is something I haven't ever seen, but the bizarre thing is this... weird battery on his neck." He said as the machine finished his coffee with cream.
"A battery?" and on his neck?
"Yeah, with cables going up into his head. I don't know what sicko did this to the poor kid, but I'm worried about calling the police on this."
"What, why?"
"Oh, I called them anyway, they're taking his prints now. But, something feels weird about the kid… hopefully we won't have some scientists showing up telling us he's an experiment of sorts. He didn't have any ID on him, or even money, so this will probably go to missing's persons." He half joked.
I was soon assigned to check up on him, and when I saw him I was taken aback.
He looked… weird, face, hair, everything. Skinny to the bone, and… even unconscious he looked freaky. Like some kid had gotten his cosplay glued on and kept looking like a horror movie poster.
I went to check on his pressure when his eyes shot open and he glared at me.
"I'm sorry, can you talk?" I asked, earning a ragged breath as a response.
I shook my head.
I hope they hang whoever did this to you…
As I worked on his pressure, he kept trying to speak.
"Don't force yourself, you're going to be just fine." I told him, trying to keep him from hurting himself.
"Ah- ah… ash… Grr" he growled in frustration as he seemed to be trying to say someone's name.
"Oh, can you write?"
He managed a shrug, so that should be encouraging. I grabbed my IPhone and handed it to him with the notes app open.
He looked at it before typing awkwardly. After a minute he handed my phone back and I read what he wrote.
"Where am I?"
"Chicago, Illinois…"
He reached for my phone again. This time he asked "Do you know who I am?"
I shook my head.
He smirked, a low, eerie, dry chuckle escaping him.
"Can you give me your name?"
He shook his head, typing "Does the name Academy City mean anything to you?"
What the hell kind of city is an academy? Is that a thing?
"Never heard of it." I replied.
He sighed, muttering some other unintelligible noises.
He sort of just sat there for a bit, not lying down to sleep, not trying to move at all. I wondered if he was even breathing or blinking.
He stayed like that for a while, but when I went to check on him at two in the morning, he extended his arm to ask for my phone.
"Can you get me to walk again?"
I wasn't sure if it was possible but I tried to encourage him.
"We'll try our hardest to get you back on your feet, but we need you to work with us to do that. Will you work with us?"
He nodded.
"Alright then, can you tell me your name?"
He typed it in.
"Call me Accel." however, he had this look that screamed that he was not happy with me calling him that, which struck me as odd.
And thus, things began to get stranger after that.
A/N: So this chapter felt more like a bunch of strung together scenes and I feel like I rushed it a bit, as I really wanted to start developing Charlie's character (hopefully he wasn't unbearably annoying this chapter), especially with the Admiral that just got introduced and the advancing search for the author of the mysterious Knight, so sorry if this feels rushed. Anyway, this was more of a set up for things to come which I will hopefully be able to deliver on. Anyway, Zuikaku and Shoukaku, much like Iowa, I really liked the idea of these two ships that have been essentially reincarnated as girls are now walking around in the real world with memories and mentality from World War 2, thankfully they're not out to die for the emperor anymore. Now to write how that situation changes them … how hard can it be? Moving on, I'm trying to write Erza as in character as I can, someone thankfully reminded me in the reviews that Erza is a bit of a control freak so that kind of factored into this chapter, but will hopefully be more noticeable later on, with Wendy basically playing the voice of reason here. And yes, Gensei Kihara is in the picture alongside Accelerator now. What do you think? Is Erza right and can a guy like Gensei who is literally okay with sacrificing children change? Or is he too far gone at this point? Also these next few chapters are probably going to take a while longer to finish due to multiple reasons, but hopefully it won't take me two weeks. Hopefully… Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and once again feel free to leave a review if I screwed something up so that I can better write the story, I greatly appreciate that. And before I go I do have one question for the readers that I would really appreciate some feedback on… What would you like some of the current displaced cast to interact with in the real world? So far I've had them mess around the mall, with modern cell phones, and this chapter a few used guns, but let me know what you would like to see, maybe I can include it in the main story. Once again, thanks for reading Erasure, I hope to have the next chapter up soon!
