Once again, I found myself out on the open ocean, listening to the waves break upon Dunkerque's bow as we sailed forward, hopefully to victory. Fortunately, the sky remained clear and the sea remained relatively calm, so we had a pleasant trip at the very least. I tore my eyes away from the window and headed back to the holotable, where Dunkerque was currently studying the feeds relayed from all of the other kansen. "Anything interesting? I asked, already sure of what the answer would be.

"Non, Amiral," she replied, not taking her eyes off the screen. "No patrols, no submarine contacts, and no aircraft spotted. Should we launch our own floatplanes?"

I shook my head and checked my watch. "No, not yet. Don't wanna spook the Sardegnians just yet. Although, Algerie should be making some sort of contact here shortly…"

As if on cue, the radio crackled to life and Algerie's voice flooded the bridge. "Algerie to Command, I have something on radar, looks like the Sardegnian main fleet. Request permission to detach for reconnaissance."

My pulse began to quicken as things shifted into their next phase. I thumbed the receiver and replied. "Roger that, Algerie, you're cleared to detach. Good hunting."

"Understood. Algerie, moving out!" The radio cut off and I looked over at Dunkerque, taking a deep breath.

"Well, here we go. Let's get into position while Algerie draws them in…"

Littorio awaited her new servant's arrival with could only be described as barely-restrained joy. After all, it wasn't every day when a prize like this dropped into her lap. Freely turning over all of the Iris Orthodoxy ships, and capturing the commander of the Azur Lane to boot? When she first heard about it, she thought it was too good to be true, it had to be some kind of trap. But thanks to quick work on the part of her spy network in Toulon, she discovered there had been some sort of bitter argument the day of her defeat, and the Azur Lane commander was on the outs with both Dunkerque and Algerie.

She sighed happily as she ruminated on the victory to come, all those beautiful kansen, hers to command. Perhaps she would be able to capture a few of those Royal Navy girls as well, trade them for the beautiful Illustrious. More than likely not, but considering her string of luck lately, well...it wasn't beyond the possible. Sadly, those thoughts were interrupted by a single contact on the horizon. While she had her suspicions as to who it was, there was no sense in being caught off-guard, and she signaled her fleet to full readiness. Carabiniere, who was always a little too gung-ho, darted forward, her musket at the ready. The battleship chuckled softly and gently pushed the destroyer's rifle down, chiding the destroyer.

"Now, now. We must be alert, but not threatening. After all, she's an ally."

Carabiniere sighed and stood down, if only a little bit. "Aye aye," she sulked.

As the figure grew closer, Littorio could make out the distinctive white hair and rigging of Algerie, confirming her suspicions. A few moments more and the Vichya kansen skidded to a stop in front of the Sardegnian commander, saluting sharply.

Littorio returned the salute with one of her own, along with a gracious bow. "Ah, beautiful signorina, it is good to see you in person at last. I take it everything is going according to plan?"

Algerie smiled grimly and nodded, still hesitant about betraying her people to save them. "No last-minute changes. They're sailing between Corsica and Sardegna, hoping to catch you off guard by attacking from the north."

"A bold plan," Littorio mused, "And it probably would have had some measure of success. A shame we have to ruin it." She fixed Algerie with a pointed look. "And you're sure that your countrymen will come with you when the trap is sprung?"

Algerie's smile died completely and she fidgeted nervously. "Most of them. I'm...I'm not sure about Dunkerque. She seems to have patched things up with the Commander, and I don't think she'll leave him willingly…"

That got Littorio's attention, her eyebrow raised. "Oh? 'Patched up'? Are we interrupting a torrid affair between the Ammiraglio and Dunkerque? He moves fast…"

"So it would seem," Algerie remarked dryly, and Littorio wondered if she'd hit a nerve.

"In any case, if she won't come willingly, we'll have to take her by force." She gave the Vichya kansen an apologetic look. "I know I made a promise, but you also promised they would all come willingly."

Algerie looked like she'd just swallowed a mouthful of cod liver oil, but nodded in agreement. "I understand. I don't like it, but I understand."

"Brava," Littorio smiled. "Now come, we mustn't leave our guests waiting. And let's try to be gracious victors…"

"Here they come," Dunkerque announced, pointing to the shapes appearing over the horizon. I grabbed my binoculars to see if I could make them out just yet. Sure enough, it looked like Algerie was bringing the entire damn Sardegnian fleet with her. For a second, I wondered if we had enough ships to pull this off. Dunkerque must have sensed my apprehension, as I felt her gloved hand on my shoulder and when I turned to her, she had a calm and reassuring smile on her face.

"Have faith, mon amour," she said softly, and I immediately relaxed as I smiled back at her.

"I will," I nodded, placing my hand on hers for a moment. We both took a deep, calming breath in preparation for what came next. I cleared my throat one last time, I lifted the receiver to my mouth and tried to sound as indignant and surprised as possible. "Algerie, what the hell is going on? What's the meaning of this?"

Algerie skated to a stop with the rest of the Sardegnian fleet, and while they were still too far away to see her reaction, I could hear the pain in her voice. "I...I'm sorry, Admiral. I think it's best for everyone if you just stand down. It's over."

"Like hell it is," I growled, "I'm-"

The smooth, sultry tones of Littorio cut into the comm, much to my genuine surprise. "Now now, monsignor Holland, there is no need to be hostile about this. You fought bravely when we last met, and none can doubt your courage. But as your former associate said, this is over. I will be gracious, however, and allow you to dictate the terms of your surrender. Within reason."

I looked over at Dunkerque, who appeared equally surprised to hear Littorio's voice over our frequencies. I paused a moment longer before speaking. "Algerie, you gave her our codes, too?"

"Just this one!" she protested. "She wanted to talk with you directly."

"I cannot believe this...I stick my neck out for you and this is how you repay me…"

Algerie exploded over the comm, stomping towards us over the calm seas. "Are you serious? You barge into our home with this self-righteous self-sacrificing garbage, start a fight on our home soil, then propose we leave it for the enemy while holding Strasbourg hostage! How Dunkerque doesn't strike you down right now I'll never know."

"Because she understands what's at stake. She sees the big picture, and oh yeah, she lets me finish explaining my plans!" By this point, Algerie was halfway between the Sardegnian fleet and us, and I signaled to Dunkerque to start the next phase.

"Enough!" Littorio shouted both of us down, having had enough of our shenanigans. "Admiral Holland, the terms of surrender, please. Or we will open fire."

I sighed and hung my head. The ruse had gone on long enough. "Very well. My terms are as follows: disarm yourselves, and your ships, self-destruct any pawns, any kansen serving as pawns are to be immediately released, and you will report to Malta for internment."

There was a pause on the other end as Littorio tried to work out what I was playing at before it clicked for her. "What? No, your surrender you cretino!"

I grinned over at Dunkerque, who rolled her eyes, but smiled back all the same. "And why would I surrender? I have you outnumbered and outgunned. You're not the only ones who have a Case Anton."

Upon the prearranged signal, the kansen who had been hiding in the towns on either side of the narrow strait emerged from hiding, already locked and loaded. Saint Louis, KGV, La Galissonnaire, Foxhound, and Vaquelin were now on either side of the Sardegnian fleet, flanking them, no matter which way they turned. Algerie had, at this point, gone to flank speed, heading directly towards the safety of our fleet, and away from the vengeful guns of the Sardegnians.

"You...you...you witch!" Littorio spat towards Algerie. "This was all a trick to lure me out here."

"Indeed it was," I answered. "All carefully pre-arranged with Algerie, who, I have to say, has been a fantastic actress. A few bumps along the way," I added, glancing back a Dunkerque with an apologetic smile. In hindsight, I should have told her much sooner what I was planning, but in the end, our little spat helped sell the illusion. "We made it work, however. Sadly, though, the curtain must fall on one of us today, and it won't be me. Surrender, Littorio, and I promise you will be treated fairly and humanely."

"You'll find that the Iron Blood aren't the only ones who will fight to the last shell," Littorio defiantly declared. "Come and get me!"

"All forces, engage the Sardegnians and switch to Frequency Macron," I ordered, and began switching the ship's communication over to the preassigned frequency. "Dunkerque, full speed ahead and begin firing on their mass-produced ships."

"Oui, Amiral," She answered, and the ship rumbled as the engines deep within surged to life, pushing us forward.

As soon as I had the new frequency selected, I raised the radio receiver back to my lips. "Dunkerque and I will handle the mass-produced ships. Richelieu, take the Orthodoxy girls and subdue the enemy kansen. Warspite, you and the other Royal Navy ships take out the Pawns."

"Understood."

"Roger."

I set the receiver back into its holster and watched as the battle began to unfold. The girls on either side surged forwards, the fire and smoke from their guns visible as they began to open up. Their opening volley was met with a counter-battery from the Sardegnian's ships, although their accuracy suffered from suddenly shifting targets. Richelieu and her group sailed past, the Cardinal in the lead, her spear held high, the banner of the Iris Orthodoxy proudly waving in the breeze. She turned to us and tossed a quick salute before speeding off again, her cannons opening up with a long-range volley.

"We'd better get into the fight ourselves," I remarked as I strode back to the holotable. "And mind the coastlines, we don't have a whole lot of room to maneuver out here."

"It's a good thing that all of my guns are up front, then," she replied with a wink, punctuated by the first full volley of those guns. The ship shuddered as the guns thundered, belching smoke and fire that momentarily clouded our vision. As we pushed through it, I could see the geysers of water explode around the Sardegnian mass-produced ships as Dunkerque began to find the range. As she loaded her next volley, dozens of plumes of fire rippled along the Sardegnian battle line, and she quickly changed heading, heeling hard to port as the incoming shells splashed harmlessly around us. With the sound of shutting gun breeches echoing throughout the ship, Dunkerque concentrated, made several final adjustments, and fired. This time, her volley was on target, with most of her shells hitting a Zara-class cruiser, the sheer force of the impact breaking its back with a fiery explosion. It slowed, rolling over before finally splitting into two halves that quickly sank beneath the waves.

The response from its comrades was swift and strong. Shellfire rained down around us, great curtains of water obscuring our vision. Several shells found their mark, however, exploding deep within the ship. One, in particular, landed right above us, slamming into the radar and knocking us to the ground. My ears were still ringing as I picked myself up off the deck just in time to see Dunkerque doing the same. "Are you okay?" I yelled although I could barely hear it. She nodded grimly and turned back to the battle as I looked once again to the holotable. We had indeed lost radar, and we had no way of fixing it out here. Fortunately, the other areas of the ship that were hit were all non-essential and did only minor damage. In any case, I wasn't terribly worried about the loss of radar considering we had other ships in the area who still had it equipped and communications were still up.

Dunkerque let loose with another salvo, this one striking a Littorio right in her forward guns, smashing them to pieces, the gun barrels bent and twisted up and around in a smoking ruin. As it slowly turned to bring its rear guns to bear, she fired again, catching her opponent in the broadside. At this close range, even the Littorio's armor belt couldn't withstand the firepower Dunkerque was dishing out, and with a horrific shudder, the battleship heeled out of line, her machinery spaces a complete ruin, the vessel now literally powerless.

A Sardegnian destroyer that had been making an emergency turn to avoid the Littorio found itself directly in our path. To this day, Dunkerque denies this(with a tiny smile, I'll have you know), but I swear I felt her accelerate before she slammed into the escort's port side. The Dunkerque's bow bit into the smaller vessel's hull and quickly snapped in two, and I grimaced as I heard it grinding against both sides of the ship. But the readouts all stayed in the green and I let out a quiet sigh as the screeching of tearing metal faded with the wreckage now left in our wake.

Outside, we suddenly found ourselves looking at the open sea, and when we checked the tactical map, it showed we had actually punched through the Sardegnian battle lines. Dunkerque began to bring us back around into the fight in a relatively tight turn(well, tight for a battlecruiser, that is), her secondaries thundering away at anyone still in range. As we completed the turn, a salvo came flying in from extremely long-range and blasted apart the Littorio we had disabled earlier. That quickly got my attention as there wasn't supposed to be anyone that far back, and with our radar knocked out, we had no way of identifying anyone outside of visual range.

"Who the hell was that?" I barked into the comms. "Anyone have them on radar?"

The voice that answered back was one I never expected to hear at that moment. "What are you scallywags doing startin' fights without me?" An irascible voice broke through over the radio, but even through all the static, there was no mistaking the smile in her voice. My head shot up, looking at Dunkerque, who was beaming with joy. The radio erupted in spontaneous cheers and whoops, and even though I knew it could only be one person, I still had to ask.

"Jean Bart, is that you?"

"Who else would it be?" she snapped back. "Admiral Holland, right?" Before I could even ask how she knew that, she answered. "Terrible filled me in. You seem an alright sort, and you brought my sister back, so I'll follow you for now. Where do you want me?"

"I think you'd fit in right in the thick of it," I grinned. "Give your sister a hand."

"Aye aye, Cap'n!" she shot back. "Now you landlubbers will see how well the Richelieus fight! C'mon, sis!"

"Together at last, praise be to God!" Richelieu's joyful cry echoed over the comm. "Vive la Orthodoxy!"

"Vive la Orthodoxy!" came our reply as we plunged headlong back into the fray.

The fight didn't last much longer. With the mass-production fleet in disarray, and the Pawns swiftly falling beneath the kansen's blades and guns, it wasn't long until the Sardegnians were forced into a circle. They still put up a valiant struggle, giving everything they had against a superior enemy. But one by one, they were knocked out of action until only Littorio remained. Against such hopeless odds, and with the lives of her remaining kansen to consider, she finally relented, and surrendered.

Her head still held high in defiance, Littorio was escorted onto the deck of the Dunkerque, flanked by a rather triumphant-looking La Galissonaire and Algerie. Dunkerque herself remained by my side, her hand on the hilt of her blade, but kept it sheathed for now. The Sardegnian cooly eyed me up and down before speaking. "It would seem I underestimated you, Admiral Holland," she sighed. "I didn't think you had it in you, and you outplayed me. Brava. What is to happen to us now?"

"Exactly what I suggested earlier," I answered, still trying to keep my demeanor calm and impassive. "You will be disarmed, any surviving Pawns and mass-produced ships scuttled, and you will be interned in Malta for the duration of the war."

"Better than what you had intended for us," Algerie muttered bitterly.

Littorio's eyes darted over to the Vichya cruiser, but let the slight go unremarked and nodded to me. "I see. Then there is one last act on my part, if I may."

I had an idea of what she was about to do but knew if she made a wrong move, Dunkerque would cut her down in a heartbeat. "You may. But very slowly."

Littorio nodded once, and very slowly, drew her sword, her hand only briefly on the hilt of it before offering it to me. "I, Littorio, surrender to you, Admiral Holland."

I take the proffered blade and salute her with it before pointing it down at the deck. "I accept your surrender, Littorio of Sardegna." She smiled briefly as I gestured to Algerie. "Take her to Malta and once she's secured, I want you to escort Strasbourg and her destroyers back to Toulon."

Delight danced in Algerie's eyes and she grinned at me. "Aye aye, mon Amiral." With a sharp salute, she turned and began leading Littorio away. I watched them go for a moment before taking a few test swings with the blade, feeling its heft.

"Think this would look good in the office?" I asked Dunkerque as I turned to her. She giggled and nodded.

"As long as you stop swinging that thing around like that," she teased. "Your swordsmanship is terrible."

"Maybe someone could give me lessons on that?" I suggested with a playful grin. Her laughter echoed over the open ocean.

With the majority of the Sardegna's strength shattered, the battle for the Mediterranean was over. Toulon was now firmly in Azur Lane's hands, along with a vast majority of the southern coast of Europe. All in all, not a bad week's work…

That evening, Dunkerque and I found ourselves on the rooftop of her apartment, watching as the fireworks blossomed above us. As before, we paid them little attention, focused as we were on each other, unable to stop the smiles that we'd had on for almost the entire day.

"So, how did it go with High Command?" she asked, scooting closer to me as she wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Rather well," I answered, planting a soft kiss on her forehead before continuing. "They were pleased with the entire situation, and we're already getting reports that Sardegna is looking to rejoin Azur Lane. Supposed to be sending negotiators out in a few days."

She lifted her head, a worried look in her eyes. "Will you go with them?"

I chuckled, both at her concern as well as High Command's response, and shook my head. "I asked the same thing. They, ah, emphatically assured me I would not be conducting negotiations this time around. They felt my previous negotiating style was a bit too...cavalier, shall we say? No, I'm not going anywhere. Not for some time…"

Dunkerque peered at me in the dim light, her worried expression growing. "What does that mean?"

"It means," I started with a grin, "That as of today, I put in to have my HQ transferred from the Pacific to here. As of today, they approved my request to transfer my HQ here."

The worried look was gone in an instant, and her face lit up in a way that had nothing to do with the fireworks going off around us as she sat up. "Are you serious?"

I smiled and nodded, taking her hand in mine. "Absolutely. This city, these people, mean so much to me. And you. I know you would come with me if I asked, but I wouldn't want you to. I love you, Dunkerque, and I want you to be at my side forevermore, here, in Toulon."

Her eyes welled with tears, and without warning, she grabbed me and pulled me in for a passionate kiss, her arms wrapping me up in a fierce embrace. As we finally broke, she looked me in the eye and breathlessly whispered. "And I love you, Bernard. There is no place I would rather be than here with you."

And while this wasn't the end of the war, nor our struggles together, it marked a beautiful new beginning and the end of my troubles in Toulon…

~Fin~

A/N-Here we are, finally at the end of our tale. Fun fact-at a word count of over 43,000 words, Trouble in Toulon (barely) qualifies as a novel! So if you had "read a novel" on your list of new year's resolutions, congrats! Now that's out of the way, I want to know what you thought of this entire endeavor. Did you like this format? Hate it? What did you like and didn't like? Do you want to see more long-form content like this from me or do you prefer the 4-5 chapter shorter stories? Every little bit of feedback helps me get better, so please, let me know. As for what's next, I have a New Year's Anthology next week, and then a bit of a break to work on the next project plus a few more New Year's posts. What that next project is, well... it's going to be one of three. Mikasa and Gangut are still on the list, but they're being kind of a pain and I'm still struggling through the overall outlines of those. Someone I thought I was finished with has surprisingly returned with a vengeance, and has been inspiring enough for me to get the full outline finished already, so it's possible they may yet take center stage. Once again, for everyone who's read this, upvoted, left a comment or a kind word, in public or in private, thank you SO MUCH. It's your support that helps keep me going. Until next time, fair winds and following seas!