X
The Island of Storms
The Princess eyed Nagato with curiosity. The kind of superior glance you spare for an interesting insect, before squashing it and moving on.
"I WAS HOPING FOR A CHALLENGE..."
Her rigging was massive, just as the reports said. Plates the size of destroyer's whole equipment have been combined to make an elegant, sleek shell that seamlessly transitioned into a jet-black body armour. Four triple turrets aimed towards Nagato's chest, ready to execute her at any second.
But the Abyssal didn't fire, savouring every moment of her immediate victory . Nagato's body tensed, mind desperately thinking of a way out of the trap. Sounds of battle raging around them became distant and muffled. Everything beside the imposing titanness she faced was an irrelevant blur.
Salvation came from outside the small bubble her universe shrank to.
"A CHALLENGE?! I WILL GIVE YOU ONE, BASTARD!"
With a furious battlecry, Hiei slammed into the Princess, throwing the giantess out of balance. Even with all her mass applied, the Kongou-class barely managed to move the opponent - at least the massive broadside no longer aimed for Nagato.
"OUT OF MY WAY."
With a single blow in the stomach, the Abyssal made Hiei fold in half. Breaking spine's sickening, wet crunch was followed by a weak yelp of pain - and the battleship collapsed onto the waves. The Princess did not spare any more second on the distraction; her attention returned to Nagato, icy fury burning in her glowing eyes.
But shipgirl was already on the move, zigzagging to keep the enemy from regaining aim. She steered away from Hiei, letting Haruna and Kongou approach and tow their sister away from the heat of battle. Somewhere to their side, Kirishima fought off a group of enemy Ta-classes, each of their blows returned tenfold.
Nagato knew she had to lure her opponent away, give the Kongous time to evacuate Hiei.
A lone Ru-class moved in for intercept; Nagato's point-blank salvo blew half of its exoskeleton away, along with a better part of the torso. She passed by the crumbling corpse, turning to face her main opponent. Firing as soon as her artillery reloaded, she could only watch her shells haplessly shatter against the Princess' plating.
"I WAS CONCEIVED TO CHALLENGE YOUR CHAMPIONS" an expression of insane, overpowering exaltation dominated the Abyssal's face. "AND YET YOU THINK YOU STAND A CHANCE?!"
The Princess retaliated with full force, Nagato only barely managing to dodge the salvo. Massive shells bracketed her position, geysers of churning water erupting high above their heads.
The enemy advanced, relentlessly closing distance. They exchanged another salvo - and again, Nagato's shells barely dented the Abyssal's armour. The Princess scored a single direct hit in return, bending Nagato's armour inwards. Rivets and splinters scattered all around like shrapnels, slashing the shipgirl's body.
The universe around them shrank again, a tiny bubble of ocean becoming Nagato's only reality. With every second, the Princess reduced the gap between them, her bloodthirsty gaze never leaving her prey for a second.
But this was no place to show fear.
"I am the fleet's champion! I am your opponent and I shall vanquish you here and now!"
"HUH?" the Abyssal's voice became viciously playful, her distorted laughter filling the air. "YOU ARE BOLD. BUT YOUR FIGHT ENDS HERE. AGAIN. AND THIS TIME, NO FOOL WILL GIVE HER LIFE TO DELAY THE INEVITABLE."
This time the salvo was far more accurate; reinforced front of Nagato's turret managed to shrug off a single hit, but even angled, her rigging was not able to withstand the rest of the blow. Huge chunks of steel got torn away by the blast, its tremendous force scattering them on the patch of sea behind her.
Pain spread across her limbs as the impact reached her body. Time slowed down, each of the Princess' movements stretching into infinity. Nagato's frantic thoughts jumped between present and the battles she fought, but could not remember. Of the skirmishes she participated in since her rebirth. Of the blinding light, separating those two episodes. Of the cold embrace of abyss she felt in-between.
Again, said the Princess.
Was she really doomed to repeat the cycle? Come to life with promises of glory and triumph, only to die at the hands of some unspeakable terror? To live through this endless struggle over and over again?
No.
She will break the cycle.
And there was only one way to do so.
She rushed forward, just as the Abyssal unleashed another barrage. Her mind filtered out the shock and pain. She didn't care if the sudden lightness she felt was due to adrenaline rushing in her veins, or to her own rigging being obliterated under the onslaught.
Dashing forward, she sped up to cross the last few metres separating them. She barely felt another blow land below her waist.
It took her half a second too long to realize the Abyssal split her salvo in two, the second shot delayed just long enough to counteract Nagato's plan.
The second blow zeroed on her rigging, a desperate attempt at a dodge making the shipgirl miss her target. Instead of latching onto her opponent, she passed by the Princess by mere inches, all her momentum turned into even more pain, as she impacted the grey waters.
She rolled to her back, facing the Abyssal again. There was a trail of rusty sea in her wake, slowly spread all around by waves. Mangled and broken, her legs were little more than bloodied sacks of flesh and bones. But she was afloat. And her guns were primed at the Abyssal's exposed side. The Princess' portboard guns turned quickly, racing against the time.
Nagato yelled with fury, slamming the trigger with all her might. She felt a sting of regret that she could not see her opponents eyes, be the final sight burnt into the Princess' dying mind - but in the end, it was but a small splinter, compared to the hellish fury that erupted when the Princess fired her guns a split of second later.
"Haguro! Gather the destroyers and make sure they hide in Akashi's workshop! Myokou! Grab a gun from Akashi, get to the frontline and coordinate the defenders! I'll get to HQ, we need to have the admiral evacuated!"
There was no time for formalities or deeper thought. With floaters zooming across the sunny sky, the sound of cannonade coming from the seaside and Abyssal crawlers skittering all over the place, it was time to act.
Akashi's arsenal had spare sets of rigging for each of them - so hopefully, Myokou and Haguro would not be helpless against the invasion. She didn't have that luxury. The HQ was too close to the seaside for her to waste time suiting up. It might have already gotten overrun.
Ashigara spent but a second to watch her sisters go, before moving out herself. The Abyssals outsmarted them. The majority of their firepower was gone, fighting on the high seas. The base was manned by injured or inexperienced shipgirls. And there was no one to coordinate the defences.
At least she could do something about the last point..
She passed by the hospital. Through the ground floor windows, she could have seen Tatsuta and Sendai coordinating the evacuation of their wounded comrades. Anti air emplacements on the roof - some automated, some manned by fairies - did their best to keep the floaters away. But it was only a matter of time before the crawlers and Abyssals reached their location. Their only hope of surviving this onslaught was evacuating to the underground part of Akashi's workshop and hoping the main fleet returns before the Abyssals win the siege.
Her wounds ached. The adrenaline rush was as painful as it was driving, her body still not recovered completely from the strain of that damned night battle. But injuries were no excuse. There was no time. She had to hurry.
They have broken through.
Rushed and ill-prepared, the defence line set up by the shipgirls managed to stop the assault for a while - but cracked once the battleships focused their bombardment. Buildings collapsed. Screams of pain and terror echoed among the rubbles, abandoned positions quickly overran by the advancing few of her comrades unlucky enough to get injured were pulled back into the Abyss' safe embrace, specialized crawlers seeing into it.
The invasion spilled into the base's plaza, defenders retreating deeper inland. It was but a pointless gesture of defiance. The shipgirls hoped to retreat to Akashi's entrenched foxhole - where they would meet only despair and starvation, futilely waiting for the aid to come. They'd be forced into submission, sooner or later.
And once their defective shells got peeled away, their souls would return to the Abyss. Away from the drylanders and theirs schemes. To the only place they could rightfully call home.
The Princess climbed over an improvised barricade, her sight briefly landing on a red shrine visible on the distant mountain slope above the base. An irrelevant drylander construct, of no tactical value. One she would personally demolish once the island got pacified. Once that final tempest silenced this Island of Storms forever.
Victory was at hand.
A guttural, distorted chuckle escaped from underneath her helmet.
Shigure ran onto the plaza, gun heavy in her hand. Kasumi and both Kamikaze sisters followed close by. Their position on the base's flank got overwhelmed, so she ordered the only thing reasonable - retreat towards the HQ, and then to Akashi's workshop.
But she did not expect to see the other lines fall so quickly too.
The whole seaside part of the base of was devastated, no building left intact. Crawlers and Abyssals were all over the place, searching the rubbles for survivors. Luckily, it seemed her comrades managed to retreat in order.
A single Abyssal, clad in a tight body armour, was making her way towards the HQ. The exact same as the one mentioned in Haguro and Myokou's reports. According to Hacchi's report, both Princesses were supposed to be a part of the main force that departed the Pearls the previous day. She was supposed to be there, on the high seas.
Yet there she was, leading the onslaught.
And there was no one to stand between her and the HQ.
Shigure acted without thinking. She beelined to intercept the Princess, finding herself between the Abyssal and the base's heart. Her little squad followed suit, four guns aimed at the invader.
This is madness, she thought, feeling the sense of dread overcome the brief rush of adrenaline. But she stood firm. Somebody will come here soon. Somebody will save them from the dreadful being in front of them. They just had to delay the Princess. Stop her. Do something. Anything.
"Fire!"
Their guns blasted away, as the cruiser jolted to the side. The closest of Abyssals tried to rush to the princess' aid - but the Princess gestured towards it, apparently commanding it to stand down.
She didn't take them seriously, Shigure realized. She just wanted to toy with them.
Fast as a lightning, the cruiser closed the distance - sending Matsukaze flying with a single blow of her clawed gauntlet. Using the momentum, she proceeded to grab Kasumi's arm. A wet crack mingled with the girl's cry of pain, as the Abyssal tore the shipgirl's limb out of its socket. Kasumi's suffering was cut short by a powerful blow to the head - slamming her against the ground and knocking her unconscious. A small pool of blood spilled from beneath the girl's twitching body, red against the bright grey cobblestone.
Shigure and Kamikaze dashed to the opposite sides. The Princess did not catch the bait - she just rose her arm, wristguns firing a shot at Kamikaze's landing spot. The explosion sent the destroyer back into the air, slamming her against the closest building. She tried climbing back to her feet - but the princess was faster, a single slash across Kamikaze's chest ripping her uniform to shreds and leaving four deep gashes. Crying in pain, the destroyer collapsed to the ground, a kick to the head knocking her lights out.
This allowed a single blast from Shigure's gun to connect. The shell hit the side of the princess' helmet, the impact forcing the Abyssal to take a step back. The ivory plate shattered, bits and pieces scattered all over the place. The lower half of her faceplace was blown clean off - but as the Princess turned towards the lone surviving destroyer, it became apparent no actual damage was done.
The Princess grabbed the remaining part of her mask and pressed hard, her long fingers wrapping around the jagged rim. Cracks stretched and branched out across the faceplate - and after a few seconds, it crumbled completely.
"IMPRESSIVE."
Shigure felt another wave of dread as the Princess looked directly upon her, a pair of sickeningly yellow eyes finally in full sight - and with them, the Abyssal's face. A face she saw so many times during classes in the Academy. A face belonging to the teacher she used to respect and trust implicitly.
The Princess didn't even need to dash towards her; she just approached the paralyzed Shigure without any rush, grabbed the destroyer by the throat and effortlessly slammed her against the HQ wall, knocking the wind out of her chest.
"A SHAME YOU WASTED YOUR POTENTIAL, CHILD."
The second slam sent Shigure straight into the dark, unconscious nothingness, the last defender swept away from the Princess' path.
Blood dripped out of Shigure's mouth, thin streaks of red tainting the Abyssal's alabaster skin. Each shallow breath whistled through her strangled windpipe, chest moving up and down almost imperceptibly. The Princess loosened her grip - and the destroyer collapsed to the ground, like a broken puppet.
She would be recovered. Restored. Rebuilt. Freed of drylander slavery, free of pain and suffering that was an inseparable part of their existence. And once this was done…
The girl had grown a lot since their last meeting. Pitiful as it was, her stand was a impressive one as well. Once her reconstruction was complete, she would make a fine addition to their fleet.
The Princess smirked at the thought. This was but a first addition. Soon, more would come.
Soon, her whole family would be reunited again.
HQ oaken doors were blown to pieces by a single blast of her guns, the gateway to Okada's hideout opened. She crossed the threshold slowly, savouring the taste of victory with the tip of her tongue.
"NAGATO-SAN!"
They reached the location a few seconds too late to stop the battleship's suicidal charge. Unleashed at point-blank range, there was no way for the combined salvos to miss. Two fireballs blossomed, merging into a brief maelstrom of fire and smoke. They rushed inside blindly, not waiting for the billow to disperse.
Aoba found Nagato first; half-sunk, the battleship floated lifelessly, blood seeping into water from her countless injuries. Her legs practically ended at the knees, only carnage and bloody mess below. It was hard to tell what was keeping what remained of her rigging together - but it was no short of a miracle.
"QUICK! TONE-SAN! WE NEED TO TOW HER TO SAFETY!"
Japanese cruisers followed the cry, coming to the reporter's aid. But Kirov's attention was focused elsewhere. Through the commotion, she felt another presence in the thick billow. Through the sounds of battle still raging around them, she heard a barely audible sound of something huge lurking around.
The Princess was still there. And after all they had seen, it would be foolish to believe Nagato's strike knocked her out of commission.
Then she saw it; a silhouette across the thinning smoke, dwarfing everything she knew from Vladivostok or Raiushima. But there was something strange in the way it moved - and it took Kirov a second to realize the exact reason.
It was listing. Damaged. Possibly crippled.
"Aoba! Comrade Tone! The Abyssal is fleeing! We must pursue!"
"What?!" Kako looked across Nagato's wreck, disbelief in her eyes. "Listen up, Russian, if we don't help Nagato-san first-"
"Three of us will suffice to tow her away!" Kirov's spared but a second for the Japanese cruiser, quickly setting her sight back on the escaping Abyssal. "We can finish this here and now, and I will do this alone if none of you dares to help!"
Her propellers whirred furiously, pushing her away from the squadron, towards the fleeing Abyssal. The distance between them closed rapidly, the damaged battleship unable to maintain full speed. Around them, battle turned into a series of skirmishes, remaining Kongous and torpedo squadrons picking out individual Abyssals to eliminate.
Kirov fired her salvo, shells bouncing harmlessly off monster's armour - but attracting its attention. Out of four turrets, only one remained operational, slowly turning towards the Russian cruiser. Its movements were jerky and uneven - Kirov barely needed to zig-zag to throw the aim off.
Her only option to strike the monster down was getting close enough to launch torpedoes. Possibly use the shashka, if any part of its rigging was damaged enough for the blade to penetrate. The only problem was getting that close without being hit…
Three massive cannons roared, Kirov easily dodging the salvo. Water behind her exploded, churning foam spraying all over the area. Two Abyssals - a cruiser and a Vila-class battlecruiser - noticed the commotion and rushed to their flagship's help. The former was quickly crippled by Kirov's guns, shells piercing through its armour and ripping off chunks of flesh. The battleship, however, quickly approached, murderous intent in its eyes…
...until a blast from the back threw it off balance - too weak to cause any heavy damage, but enough for it to lose aim and be overtaken by the assailant. A single shipgirl emerged from behind the battleship, a flurry of short, pink hair splayed by the battle's maelstrom.
"Aoba!"
"Furutaka and Kako are evacuating Nagato-san, Tone rejoined joined the main force! Let's go Kirov-chan, we can do this together!"
"Yeah" the Russian cruiser nodded as Aoba caught up with her, the Vila-class now in relatively safe distance. Another salvo from the flagship landed in their vicinity, the monster getting closer and closer. Its secondary guns blazed away, their fire more accurate - but with the majority of emplacements already blown away during the engagement with Nagato, they didn't pose any serious threat to the approaching cruisers.
Another salvo was a near miss - and came from behind. The Vila-class used its speed and agility to catch up with them much quicker than Kirov would anticipated - and got much too close for her comfort.
The Russian cruiser grit her teeth, thinking of a solution. They needed all the firepower they had to bring down the flagship… but leaving the battlecruiser behind was a foolish risk to take.
Before she could have reached a conclusion - but not before they were forced to evade yet another salvo, this time a combined one, coming from both sides - her radio crackled, Kaga's emotionless voice coming through:
"Aoba-san, Kirov-san. I'm sending a bomber squadron your way. Stay clear from the Ta-class behind you. We are leaving the flagship to you."
"Tak tochno!*" Kirov squeezed every last drop from her propulsion, the Princess almost in torpedo rage. Aoba did the same - and they split up to flank the enemy. No other salvo came from behind - instead, a series of rumbling explosions sounded, the Vila-class forced to evade an airstrike, finally dropping out of the race.
Kirov's torpedo launchers swung to the side, ready to fire. The Princess' single remaining turret followed her trail, its movement barely able to compensate for short distance separating the combatants.
"Do svidaniya!**" she grinned, pulling the trigger.
"No…"
Ashigara stopped in her tracks at the sight of what remained of Shigure and the rest of her improvised 'squadron'. Kamikaze was the only one conscious, crawling towards her closest companion.
"Wait!" the Wolf kneeled next to the destroyer, gently rolling her to her back. A nasty cut ran across her torso, not deep enough to be lethal - but sufficient to explain the bloody trail left in her wake. "What happened?!"
"The P-princess…" croaked the girl, barely able to focus her sight on Ashigara. "S-she's in the… HQ... "
Footsteps sounded from behind them - Tenryuu and Hibiki ran across the plaza, heading towards Ashigara's position.
"What's the situation?"
"Bad" Tenryuu spat, sending some ill-aimed shot towards an Abyssal cruiser climbing across the seaside rubble. "The facilities are gone. Second line of defense is barely holding, I am coordinating retreat towards Akashi's bunker. We need to-"
Two floaters wooshed above them, dropping bombs on some target behind the HQ. The explosion and subsequent shockwave rocked the whole island.
"Evacuate them to safety!" Ashigara screamed over the piercing ring the detonation left in their ears, pointing at the fallen destroyers. "I need to salvage what we can from the HQ!"
"Is the admiral still there?"
"He didn't leave his quarters, so I hope he's still there! Now, GO!"
She grabbed the closest gun in reach - a pitiful peashooter, dropped by Kamikaze - and ran across the devastated doors.
It was an impulse that she first went for private quarters, rather than for the command room - but whatever gut feeling spoke through it, turned out to be right. For when she blasted the doors away, her eyes fell upon a primitive barricade. An upturned desk, toppled bookshelves and other pieces of furniture laid across the room in a delightfully pitiful attempt at a defense line.
"OH, COMMANDER" she chortled, her voice no longer muffled by the faceplate. "WHERE IS YOUR HONOUR? TO RUN AWAY? TO HIDE?"
It was so tempting to just fire a few times, to blow Okada and his every cherished possession to tiny bits. But that would spoil the fun. Be… dishonourable.
That was one point where her old self would easily agree with the new one.
It required little effort to shove the closest section of the barricade away. And there he was - pressed against the room's far wall, a wreck of a commander. Dark bags under eyes. A face that didn't see a peaceful sleep in a very long time. Shaking hands, barely able to hold a handgun. A look of of surprise, slowly morphing into an expression of terrified revelation.
"ADMIRAL! GET OUT OF HERE!"
The Princess froze, hearing the familiar voice coming from the hallway. This time, she didn't mind the hunt got interrupted. Quite the contrary. It meant she could kill two birds with one stone. And the timing was so very fitting...
"IT'S BEEN A WHILE, HASN'T IT?" she turned towards the newcomer, barely holding back a laughter.
No.
It was not being face to face with the Princess that horrified her.
This can't be.
It was seeing the face itself.
Why...?
The head was bald, the ponytail gone. The eyes were sickeningly yellow, instead of hazelnut brown. Even the shape itself was off, deformed by the helmet partially merging directly with the flesh. But there was no mistake.
"YOU SEE, NEE-CHAN?" a smirk of triumph made the familiar face even more alien. "I AM ALRIGHT."
She just stood paralyzed, unable to act, while her mind raced. It was an Abyssal. It was the Princess. She had to fight. She had to kill it. She had-
It was Nachi.
"LURING YOUR MAIN FORCE INTO OPEN WATERS WAS SO EASY. OKADA TOOK THE BAIT WITHOUT FAIL. AND NOW, WITH THIS... BASE OF YOURS IN RUINS…" she made a wide gesture towards the plaza, flames and billows of smoke rising from the rubbles "...IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT KAGA AND THE REST OF YOUR COMPANIONS ACHIEVE. VICTORY... " she let that word roll off her tongue slowly, inhuman distortion in her voice making it sound like an insult "...IS DECIDED HERE."
"Onee-san…" Ashigara said weakly, each action forced with inhuman effort. "W-why…"
"YOU WILL LEARN SOON ENOUGH" Nachi rose her arm, wristguns extending towards Ashigara's face. "I WAS WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT EVER SINCE I HAVE SEEN HAGURO NEE-CHAN FOLLOWING MY REBIRTH. AND NOW, TODAY… WE WILL ALL BE REUNITED. AWAY FROM DRYLANDERS AND THEIR SCHEMES. SISTERS IN ARMS, BACK TOGETHER."
The sight of barrels pointing towards her finally forced the chains off Ashigara's legs. She dashed to the side, just as the guns roared, their sound amplified by the enclosed space. The whole building shook, dust fell out of the spiderweb of cracks that covered the ceiling and the walls - but she was alive. Rolling, aiming, getting ready to pull the trigger…
"REALLY?"
Nachi was already on her way. Before Ashigara could fire, a powerful blow struck her hand, knocking the gun out of her grasp. She tried to fight back, but her injuries took their toil - and the Abyssal effortlessly grabbed her fist mid-punch, twisting her arm and almost tearing it out of the socket.
"STOP IT" Nachi hissed, yellow eyes burning. "ONCE YOU RETURN TO THE ABYSS, EVERYTHING IS GONE. THE PAIN. THE SUFFERING. THIS WAY WE CAN FINALLY BE BACK TOGETHER. YOU. ME. MYOKOU. HAGURO. ISN'T THAT WHAT YOU YEARN FOR, ASHIGARA?"
The Abyssal's other hand grasped her throat. She felt herself rise into the air, all effort futile against Nachi's armoured body. She tried saying something, screaming at the monster her sister became - but she could produce no voice, the gauntlet strangling her mercilessly. Darkness crept up from her vision's corners - and the more she trashed, the harder she choked, the quicker the blackness encroached.
"PEACE, NEE-CHAN" yellow eyes looked at her with a twisted mockery of care. "I DIDN'T WANT TO BREAK SHIGURE-CHAN. I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU. THIS WILL MAKE THE WHOLE PROCESS SIMPLER. AND THEN… YOU WILL BE SURPRISED HOW EASY OUR DREAMS WILL BECOME TRUE. YOUR VICTORY. HAGURO'S WORLD WITHOUT WAR. MYOKOU'S HAPPINESS TOGETHER, AS A REUNITED FAMILY."
Darkness practically filled her vision, even Nachi's face a blur. Her body felt numb, all consciousness shrinking to the tiny point inside her mind. Her wounds no longer ached. Her mind was blank - no anger, no fear, nothing.
Is this what Nachi felt back then?
The Abyssal kept talking, but she couldn't understand a word, sounds slurred and meaningless; instead, the darkness closed in front of her, and what remained of her mind sank into the bottomless abyss of oblivion.
Kirov didn't see her torpedoes reach their target. A brilliant, fiery flash blinded her, as Abyssal guns blazed in their last ditch effort to prevent the attack. A deafening roar drowned out the sounds of battle, making them distant and barely real. The sudden slam to the side swept her off her feet, throwing her face-forward into dark waves. Everything became a timeless, blurry haze.
The next coherent sensation came in the form of a hand slapping her face hectically. Then an otherworldly voice reached her ears, slowly turning into a familiar, panicked cry:
"Kirov-chan! Kirov-chan! Wake up! Please, say something!"
She blinked. The haze dispersed a bit, a blurred outline of pink hair and green eyes just barely visible from behind the milky veil.
"Gdye ya? Chto… chto proizoshlo?***"
"Thank goodness!" Aoba's relief manifested in her embracing Kirov tight enough to force wind out of her lungs. "When that Abyssal fired… Thank goodness it was a near miss! But it looked awful! Totally, totally awful!"
"Peace, Aoba-dono, peace!" Tone's laugh came from outside Kirov's field of view. Before the Russian cruiser knew, she felt somebody grab her by the shoulders and lift her back to her feet. "Our valiant cavalier barely survived the charge, it would be a shame if she gave up the ghost because she choked on your gratitude!"
Her head spun like mad - but Tone and Aoba provided firm support. She looked around, trying to make sense of her surroundings. All around them stretched a silent, debris-littered battlefield. The Princess was nowhere in sight.
"D-Did I make it? Is the target gone?"
"Most unfortunately, no" Tone shook her head, no sign of disappointment or sadness in her voice. "That dastard has incredible resilience! It ate at least two of your torpedoes, and Aoba-dono's one as well to boot, and still managed to remain afloat! That salvo looked like it finished you off, so Aoba-dono gave up the chase in order to come to your aid and hailed me for assistance. Alas! The Princess got outside our range, and Kaga-dono refused my request to resume pursuit!"
"And the battle? Comrade Nagato?"
"Safe and sound, albeit unconscious!"
"So…" Kirov looked around one more time, trying to focus her shell-shocked senses. "...did we… win?"
"Yes!" Aoba's cry almost deafened her, as the pink-haired cruiser clutched her arm to get her attention. "Yes, we won! And you almost gave me a heart attack! First Gassa, then Nagato-san, now you! Don't you dare do this again, you hear me?! You hear me, Kirov-chan?!"
"Y-yes…" the Russian cruiser smiled weakly, trying to put as much apology as possible into her feeble voice. "I promise-"
Their radios crackled at the same moment, Kaga's voice filling the open channel:
"To all units combat-worthy units. Set course for home base, flank speed. Raiushima has fallen under Abyssal attack. I repeat, Raiushima base has been attacked. Over and out."
For the first time ever, Kirov saw colour completely leave Tone's face.
Nachi's vicious voice, distorted by whatever the Abyssals did to her vocal chords, still ringed in his ears. A pair of sadistically playful eyes burnt into his retinas, their yellow afterglow visible even after she had turned her gaze towards Ashigara. No amount of training, no program back in the naval academy, could have prepared him for facing his own shipgirl turned into an Abyssal abomination.
A feeble, cowardly thought in the back of his mind hoped that Ashigara was the cavalry coming to save him. That the Hungry Wolf would overcome the terror incarnated, just as she saved the day so many times on the battlefield.
He didn't care about his honour. He didn't care about his ambition. He didn't even think about looking Ashigara or Kaga - or any other shipgirl - in the eyes again. He just wanted to vanish, get replaced. To see the string of his failures finally come to an end, one way or another.
All those hopes and wishes were shattered at the sight of Ashigara being so easily overcome by the monster that used to be her sister. His thoughts crumbled, got ground to dust, leaving only a void behind. A cold, sharp emptiness slicing the insides of his mind.
He didn't know how he found the strength to stand up and take aim. There was no courage in that - for courage meant a conscious decision, and he was not capable of one. He pulled the trigger, even though all his instincts screamed to run.
The Abyssal didn't even flinch when the bullet flattened on the back of her helmet. But she loosened the grip on Ashigara, the Myokou-class falling limply to the ground. The Wolf's empty, half-opened eyes looked past Okada for a split of a second - and she collapsed to the floor without life.
The second bullet hit the side of Nachi's neck, ricocheting. Third one bounced off her arm. By the time he pulled the trigger for the fourth time, Nachi was facing him again. She took her time; the pistol was but a mere distraction for the advancing warship.
"A CORNERED RAT DECIDES TO BITE" she mused, blocking the fifth shot with her extended hand, as she aimed her wrist guns at Okada. "I WAS BEGINNING TO WORRY, COMMANDER. BUT IN THE END, I AM GLAD TO SEE YOU CAN ENTERTAIN ME FOR THE LAST TIME."
The terror he felt overcame all instincts, including the one forcing him stand up and fight. Even if he wanted, there was nowhere to run. His base has fallen. His fleet has been defeated. And his death had the face of one of his most trusted shipgirls.
"FAREWELL, COMMANDER" the guttural chuckle was completely unlike Nachi's - but at the same time, strangely familiar. Like everything about the Abyssal standing in front of him.
He closed his eyes, ready for the blast to come.
She must have hit her head during the fall - and somehow regained consciousness in time to muffle a desperate gasp for air her mind forced through. Her vision swam, whole body screamed in pain, the world around was but a colourful mess of chaotic sensations - but what she could make out of that was sufficient. She had to act.
Kamikaze's gun was in her reach. Her fingers grasped the handle weakly, the weapon feeling heavy like a battleship turret. In her triumphant gloat, Nachi didn't notice the slow, painful movement behind her back, giving Ashigara a chance to take aim.
The shell exploded against Nachi's backplate, a spiderweb of cracks tarnishing the ivory armour. The blast was not enough to knock her over - but threw her off balance long enough for the mechanism to load another shell. The second shot got through the plating, close range making up for lack of raw penetration.
Recoil almost tore the gun out of Ashigara's hand - but she clenched her teeth, ignoring the pain and forced her fingers to pull the trigger for the last time. The shell impacted Nachi's exposed torso, tearing off a chunk of flesh and spraying everything around with black ichor. The agonal, primal roar of fury filled the air, as the Abyssal spun in place, one hand clenching the wound, while the second aimed for Ashigara's face…
"YOU!"
Suddenly, Nachi's whole body jolted, the armoured figure falling to her knees. At first, it seemed that it was the pain forcing the cruiser into submission - but when their eyes locked gazes again, Ashigara's heart skipped a beat.
Yellow glow in Nachi's eyes faded out, replaced by her old, brown colour. A grimace of untold pain - one far worse than any wound could cause - twisted her face.
"Nee-chan…" the Abyssal distortion was still in her voice, but much, much weaker. Wrist guns retracted, and she grabbed her head with her free hand, as if fighting an unimaginable headache.
"Nachi!" Ashigara scrambled towards her sister, casting the gun aside and crawling on all fours across the ruined floor. She got there just in time as Nachi collapsed completely, falling into her arms.
"Ash… Ashigara…" she heaved, each breath heavy and spasmatic. She could barely focus her sight - and whenever she tried, the yellow flame in her eyes rekindled, as if the Abyssal within fought to regain control, only to be subdued back in the very last moment.
"It's okay Nachi… it's okay… I'm here… I'm here…"
"I… am sorry… I-" an inhuman howl cut Nachi's words short, escaping from behind her clenched teeth, Abyssal, distorted fury mixed with a desperate cry of agony. For the few horrifying moments, Nachi's face contorted beyond what should be physically possible.
"...I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" she whispered as the fit ended as suddenly as it had begun. A completely human tear rolled down her cheek, leaving a damp trace against ivory white skin. New ones joined it - this time dropping from above, from Ashigara's eyes.
"We can fix this. We can. We will take you to Akashi, she can fix this. She can fix you-"
"NO…" Abyssal distortion overcome Nachi's voice again for a second, before reverting back. "...it's-it's too late… Please…"
Another howl - this time one of primal, insatiable rage - filled the air, as Nachi started trashing and spasming, falling out of Ashigara's arms. The Abyssal fell to the floor, both hands grabbing at her head, weapons extending and retracting chaotically as two minds fought for command of the body.
Eyes glued to the gruesome struggle in front of her, Ashigara blindly felt Kamikaze's gun handle. Nachi's body contorted and twisted, her cry changing from an incoherent cry for help, through animistic snarls of a bloodthirsty monster, all the way to threats and insults. Her eyes pulsated, sickening yellow rekindling and dimming back. The wound in her side seeped thick ichor, oily filling the air. Ashigara's legs trembled as she stood up, shaking hands barely able to keep the barrel aimed.
"I BEG YOU! I DON'T WANT, I DON'T, I DON'T, IDON'TDON'T-"
Below her, Nachi suddenly calmed down. The painful grimace still contorted her face, her breath was laborious and uneven - but the trashing stopped.
And then many things happened in the span of but a few seconds.
"N-Nachi?" an uncertain question escaped Ashigara's lips.
A response came in the form of a low, guttural chuckle.
Nachi's eyes shot open, hazelnut almost completely consumed by the rekindled, corrupted, yellow glow.
A spasm of primal, unspeakable horror crossed the girl's face for a blink of an eye, before she bared her teeth and rose her arm, guns extending for the shot.
A single blast rocked the building, as Kamikaze's shell obliterated what remained of the Abyssal's helmet and its contents.
The Hungry Wolf looked down upon the defeated Princess with an unseeing gaze, eyes widened and breathing rapid. The gun fell out of her hands, hitting the floor with a hollow thump. She fell to her knees, picking up her sister's cold, lifeless body in a sisterly embrace. This time, there was no Abyss clinging onto Nachi, trying to tear her away, pull into the darkness.
Because this time, there was nothing left for the Abyss to take.
Outside, the battle raged on, sounds of combat mixing into a singluar, neverending, chaotic cacophony.
* tak tochno (rus., такточно) - affirmative
** do svidaniya (rus., до свидания) - goodbye
*** Gdye ya? Chto… chto proizoshlo? (rus., Где я? Что... что произошло?) - Where am I? What... what happened?