DAY 5, 1039 hours

FOB Truk Island, Combined Fleet Central Command

No. 467 Harekaze, Kagerou-class destroyer, kanmusu

Emergency sortie to intercept incoming Abyssal fleet

"Taihou," Nagato's imposing tone blared out of the speakers in the launch bay. "I know your group just got back from the rescue mission. But an Abyssal fleet is on its way here. Your fleet is the only available force to make the intercept."

"I understand, Nagato-san," Taihou stood by the edge with her initial roster of kanmusu. "We're ready to sortie on your command."

"Can you do it with just the five of you? Harekaze's still…"

"We'll manage."

"Very well. I'll send reinforcements once they become available."

"Roger that. Task Force Taihou, move out!"

The trails of five kanmusu setting out to fight another battle streaked across troubled waters. The ship of terrified people they saved, anchored not far from Truk, watched the girls put their lives on the line once more in the name of humanity. The sight stirred up a hornet's nest of emotions among the innocents caught in the crossfire: a potpourri of inspiration, despair, rage, and indifference. But they shared a common wish: to return home.

But it didn't fall on the world of kanmusu to fulfill that wish, let alone help them. The world's age-old lore had no such chronicle of two worlds colliding, much less picking out random individuals from those worlds to be immersed in each other's circumstances. No kanmusu, however resolute or kindhearted, could be of any help beyond keeping the ship of misfits safe.

Such a responsibility fell on an unlikely character: Akeno serving as the persona of her beloved ship. As confused as she was, she held the key to the gate back to their world. Where the gate was located still remained a mystery, however.

Still, the gate is out there. No key exists without a door to unlock. And it's for that reason she found herself face-to-face with Nagato for the umpteenth time. This time, however, the Admiral made his presence known albeit in total silence.

"How are you feeling?" Nagato asked.

"My head still hurts a bit," Akeno replied. "But I'm fine."

"Good to hear. Now, let's get down to business."

The pressure of an important meeting shook Akeno, which elicited a chuckle from the Admiral's secretary. "Calm down. I'm not here to reprimand you."

"Oh no," Akeno replied. "I…I get nervous when facing the higher-ups."

"It can't be helped," Returning to her no-nonsense self, Nagato eyed the Regal Ocean anchored off the coast of Truk. "Seeing the ship from your world convinced me. Something strange is going on and we can't bring it to light alone. We need your help."

Akeno lacked a confident answer. "But I…I don't know how…"

"That's why we're here. Tell me what happened before you came to this world."

A frame-by-frame recollection of the events followed, with Nagato and the Admiral lending an ear to every word. Every frame provided a piece, most of which fit in the jigsaw painstakingly formed through hazy testimonies. Their attention darted between Akeno and the map on the Admiral's table, playing detective on the exact place.

Nagato's finger landed on several spots in open waters, realizing a tight group of coordinates. "Her testimony more or less matches Mutsuki's report," she told the Admiral.

Indeed, they managed to drag part of the mystery into the limelight. The tight group of coordinates may just be the door they were looking for. Opening that door, however, was a different story. In an effort to shed more light, Akeno rummaged through her memories for more clues. Despite the mess inside her head, one recurring term spoke out to her: the signal.

"The signal!" she yelled, to everyone's surprise. "We picked up an unknown signal before coming here. It might have to do something."

Nagato's sleuthing finger landed at the heart of the tight group. "The report did mention a signal. We never confirmed if it came from a friend or foe."

In minutes, two worlds working together shed enough light on the mystery that would've taken an eternity at most. The pieces once isolated from the big picture soon came to Nagato and the Admiral as a tsunami of critical intelligence.

"This area," said a shocked Nagato. "This is supposedly where Operation M's target is."

Akeno asked to be enlightened. "Operation M?"

"The operation Tone helped you prepare for a while back," Nagato explained. "The target is a major Abyssal anchorage that could strike our rear. That's why I was reluctant to send out a rescue party to support you at first."

"Oh. So that's why."

"But it seemed the Admiral was onto something. Everything we need to know may be found here. Point Echo."

"Point Echo…"

As if the trove of information didn't suffice, Ooyodo came in with news from the front. "Nagato-san, Admiral, I'm sorry to interrupt. Task Force Taihou reports that they intercepted the Abyssal fleet. But…"

"What's wrong?" asked Nagato in reply.

"You'll never believe this. The Abyssal flagship is requesting a parley."

"Say what?"

~O~

Perhaps not even the kanmusu of old would've lived to see an odd milestone unfurl. Some of them might be rolling in their resting places 20,000 leagues deep. Their memories are probably crying foul over such a disgusting sight.

But the world of kanmusu witnessed it: kanmusu and Abyssal sailing in formation to the beaches of Truk. The parleying fleet of Abyssals matched Task Force Taihou class for class: one fleet carrier, one battleship, two torpedo cruisers, and one destroyer. Tense gazes edged the two parties closer to open war, yet the battle was settled without so much as a salvo fired.

Akeno, Nagato, and the Admiral welcomed the returning kanmusu on the beaches, a certain, irate secretary demanding an explanation to this hubris. "Taihou! What's the meaning of this?!"

"They sent me an encrypted message using our frequency," Taihou kept her cool, as she always does. "They want to negotiate a ceasefire with the Admiral to combat an even greater threat."

The secretary's fury grew. "You expect me to believe that crap?!"

"I wouldn't bring them here if it were otherwise, Nagato-san," Taihou replied. "My task force can attest to this. There's infighting among the Abyssal ranks for reasons unknown."

"Infighting?"

"Yes. We barely escaped with the Regal Ocean, locked between two Abyssal fleets in combat."

Taihou's report failed to calm Nagato's nerves on fire, much less convince her. Feet wet, Nagato grabbed the Abyssal flagship by the collar, attracting the barrels of its escorts. The rest of the kanmusu task force pointed their barrels at the escorts point blank. The standoff threatened to blow the entire beach with itchy trigger fingers, yet Nagato tightened her grip on the enemy she grew up to loathe over her lifetime.

"Your kind have killed many of our brethren over the years," Nagato's speech carried her pent-up fury forward. "You drove us out of the sea. And here you are with the audacity to ASK FOR PEACE? Give me one good reason to believe in your tall tales! ONE!"

For a moment, the standoff descended into silence albeit all guns still poised to blow each other's heads off. Then, in one of this world's greatest oddities, the Abyssal carrier let out a chuckle—and soon a hysterical laugh. Gazing at Nagato and the other shocked kanmusu around her, the carrier gave what Nagato wanted in a demonic voice.

"You have no choice. Be it us or they, you will ALL be destroyed."

After which, the carrier went on to laugh some more, feeding off of the despair of everything.