Disclaimer: I do not own the image and Azur Lane.
"There's no end to this!"
Overwhelmed, for a group so large to suffer this kind of anxiety, they were not prepared. The once blue sky was blanketed by a shadowed mirror of its former self; its horizon spreading across beyond whatever the infinite calm sky had once occupied. It was as if nature had suddenly resented everything from that day and decided to let loose its obscuring anger in a deluge fashion. The atmosphere was only the calm before the storm, however.
"We could be in trouble."
Lightning wasn't present in the vicinity, yet the sky was filled with nothing but horrendous jolts coming from the clusters of planes, its presence burning the entire atmosphere, painting the entirety with their hellish roars. Who could rob the peacefulness of the morning and turn it into their own sick definition of fun? Indeed, only a cowardly act would be the root of this entire problem. To stoop so low as to surprise your enemy with a preemptive assault, it proved to be quite effective among people who are far too relaxed for the day. Expectations were brought to the wrong doorstep… and now impending tragedy looms over everyone on the defensive line.
In the high seas of the pacific, in the middle of everything and somewhere in the beginning, an island was born from the ideals and visions of humanity's desire that band together to keep the balance of peace and chaos in order. Despite their upbringings and good influences, other factions rose through the tide with opposing views.
They had the same drive and ambition in achieving their goals. However, their approach and tactics were quite far: siding with the sirens… or at least the other side would like to believe. In truth, the best they can make to each other is a guess. Settling two sides of different values is one thing, fighting what is being aided by another is… well, another thing. Power alone did not drive the two opposing factions to venture off on their own path, for it was the work of otherworldly beings that gave them life; beings called Sirens. Ironically enough, they are being taken down by the very beings that they had created out of humanity's will and technology … shipgirls.
Once, they roamed the seas with weaponized steels. And now, they roam once more with newfound existence while retaining their rearmaments for their sole purpose of combat in the vast seas. Yes, what humans called warships have been blessed with life, thanks to Sirens. Ideologically, it was a heaven's leap for humanity. Truthfully, it was a mistake to put their trust over outsiders, as humanity is thrown in the brink of war and extinction once more, thanks to Sirens yet again. The path to peace has been driven short as the assault on Azur Lane's base has started, sparking imminent conflict against each other.
On Azur Lane's end, their morning was met with ships blazing and battle stations rolling in action. Despite their efforts to gun down the perpetrators, they were met with more Siren warships and aircrafts. Needless to say, every able shipgirls had to join the front line with their full-on defensive approach to the sudden threat that was slowly looming over them. Words were laid out to encourage the group, led by the proud knight of the sea herself, which worked well enough as they had managed to take down a few aircrafts. In fact, the short war cry worked too well that the real perpetrators showed up.
Upon the hundreds of swirling cherry blossoms, two intimidating aircraft carriers corresponded with unison as they barraged the sky with flurries of blazing planes, almost entirely regaining a foothold in Azur Lane's territorial waters once more as they tested the might of the faction's power and defense. Perhaps the Siren technologies were mere puppets for them to use as part of their trial against the big blue faction. Regardless, their supremacy in air combat was met hard as shots rained heavily upwards the flock of blue and red aircrafts raging in the sky. For a moment, the scene became a painting, a mix of continuous blaring lights splashing the ever-burning sky with more bright colors. It looked pretty in the distant clear, but one knows how it ugly things turned out when endless rounds are drawn. That was, until a small splash of new color smeared the canvas. From out of the corner and into the blue, several planes materialized right into the frying pan that is the swarm of harmonious blue and red planes, intercepting a few as it rode the air space for potential dominance.
"Interceptors?" In the face of overwhelming danger, Cleveland couldn't help but gawk in awe, as what she just witnessed gave them a glimmer of hope, and perhaps a short-lived breather. Relief soon took over as she turned to see who the aircraft carrier was.
There stood the HMS Unicorn, a few feet away from the blonde girl, a young girl with an innocent unicorn doll clasped between her tender arms. Several dark ribbons laced on each side of her pure white dress, complimenting her overall petite stature. A homing beacon stuck to the side of her wavy light purplish hair, while a makeshift bun on the other side of her head gave a picture perfect for her innocence. Her main attraction, however, were the flight decks that were attached to each side of her hips.
"Don't bully my friends!"
In a flash, the once stuffed animal turned into a galloping horned Pegasus. On its back was no other than the purple-haired girl, her steed directing their course into harm's way. Her flight decks readjusted in a frontal position before shooting out rays of planes to meet the ongoing barrage of enemy aircrafts. The numbers somehow slowly dwindled, a struggle turning into their favor. Before long, however, it caught the attention of one of the enemy aircraft carriers.
"That girl, she's an aircraft carrier."
Floating in midair was no other than Sakura Empire's Kaga, the cunning yet alluring fox sister of Akagi, who happens to be the main source of this cataclysm. Both strikingly resembles one another, albeit the fact that Kaga bears a bluish white motif while Akagi adorns the devlish red and black theme. Another thing to point out is their hairstyle. Kaga's short silver bob-cut-like hair contradicts Akagi's smooth long dark brown hair.
"Such a lean body, she's not much of a meal… but a prey is a prey." Yet disappointed as she was, Kaga instilled upon herself the thrill of the hunt once more, her fox mask glimmering along with her carrier. A brilliant intermingling of lights and cherry blossoms overtook the behemoth of a ship. And almost immediately, the petals gave way for the main attraction of the fight. Those who were in the midst of naval artillery quickly halted to a stop as from the shadows of the fluttering cherry petals emerged their biggest threat yet.
From where her once aircraft carrier was stood a surging well of energy, a few notable parts of her ship linked together to form one massive fox. Its vicious roar welcomed anyone near with paralyzing intimidation.
"I shall devour you!" Kaga's manifestation of hunger unleashed fury, the twin flight decks adjacent to the fox's head mobilized dozens of planes, their azure flames burning with wrath as it took off the moment they were summoned. It quickly brought awareness to her prey, Unicorn, who was now redirecting her flight path away from the incoming Zeros. The odds were painstakingly against her. A sliver of hope that was in the form of another shipgirl had come up to intervene. But another joined the fray to cancel the help out, leaving Unicorn all alone with her predator in tow.
Through unreasonably sheer luck, Unicorn and her steed avoided the attacker's squadron. Notwithstanding the fact that she's overpowered against the beast carrier and its possessor, the purple-haired girl's bravery and unyielding passion to help her fellow shipgirls carried her back into war's teeth. With a clear view for a good shot in a compromising position, Unicorn mustered her remaining might as she unleashed several Seafires directly towards Kaga's carrier fox. Oh how poorly her choice was…
The fox's energy tail burst out flames of horrific intensity, energy shells coming out from every angle towards the light carrier. Her planes melted into sparks as every shell inched their way to the defenseless girl's frontal view. A landscape drawn from a nightmare, a sight no one would dare head-on. Some of the spectators can only hold their breath as they watched in horror, hoping for a miracle to happen or anything to save the cowering girl.
"Is that it? Was I a fool to expect a challenge?" Kaga couldn't help but rub salt to the wound. Could it be that she expected a bit of a struggle against a mere maintenance carrier?
"Oh, Kaga, you're enjoying this." Needless to say, her mockery drove Akagi out of her spectator mode for a second, before watching the havoc in front of her that is the Azur Lane defending against their waves of endless planes once more. Truth be told, she was enjoying the spectacle well. Their hidden agenda is a success so far. The only thing missing now is the inevitable casualty for Kaga to claim.
*BOOM!*
Like two asteroids hitting one another, the shell blasted Unicorn into flames of great energy. It was to come sooner or later, yet some of the shipgirls still had their expressions plastered in disbelief. Just as it was written, she had finally succumbed to her untimely demise. Perhaps bravery was an idea brought upon by mankind's stupidity to embrace death without regret.
As she plummeted downwards to her last haven, the cold embrace of the ocean slowly comforted her sorrow thoughts for a moment. Her once mighty steed had reverted back to its original frail form, clinging to her damaged body. The ocean waves quiver to the incoming steps of the carrier fox, who has come to claim its prey after proving little to no resistance at all. Even when death is at her doorsteps, her body still had the strength to face her adversary, although only for a second as the jaws of hell itself opened in front of her to take her life in the form of Kaga's fox.
There was no moment of hesitation. Unicorn braced herself as the end days of her happy thoughts have come. She had hoped that this was all a bad dream, a nightmare that she's ready to wake up to and have some fun and hangout with her friends, big sister, and the rest of the Azur Lane people. But reality dejected that wish, as she was now in the hands of death.
If only…
Enterprise had been ready to strike and pierce through the ill-fated event, no matter how far her target was. This was to be expected of her. Eagle Union's standing leader is a fierce warrior, a battle-hardened veteran, the aircraft carrier that carries humanity's hopes and dreams. Yet, as shocking as it was, her arrow did not hit her target. Her hand still held the string true, but there was something else that stopped the fox.
A blinding flash of light from where Unicorn was helplessly floating, followed by the disappearance of the light. She didn't have the time to completely analyze about the sudden occurrence, as confusion took over her mind. Of all things she'd seen in her lifetime, this was the first for her to see.
There it stood, a being clad in white and purple combat armor, his arm cradling the badly beaten Unicorn. His other hand reached up to meet the perplexed predator in front of him. Wordlessly, a weapon materialized in his very hand, before a trigger and a blast broke the silent atmosphere.