Shokaku's crew had extinguished the fires, stopped the flooding, and started pumping water out. Her Zeros that are still circling and were almost out of fuel when they received the order to land. Shoho had refueled and rearmed her fighters and bombers and they are ready for launch.

"Shokaku-san, do you want me to launch an attack now or wait for you?"

"No. Launch your strike now."

She nodded, "Launching now." Her Zeros took off. Followed by her B5Ns and then her D3A1s. The attack plan called for them to swing around the Abyssals and hit them from the stern. While Shoho's next strike is inbound the First Carriers Divisions' first strike was returning home. Unknown to them a scout plane had spotted them and reported their position before leaving.

The CAP spots a strike wave ten minutes later and reports it to Akagi before entering a climb. The First Carrier Division and their escorts train their guns on the indicated bearing. Sixteen Zeros of the CAP are now above the enemy attack wave. Eight Abyssal fighters are at their altitude and heading toward them. Six Zeros break away to intercept leaving ten Zeros to attack. They dive for the bombers, blow past the twelve fighters escorting them, and fire! 7.7 mm and 20 mm rounds tear into the bombers sending six plummeting to the ocean! They enter a climb and position themselves to attack again. As they swing around they see the fighters climbing up. They'll get one more pass but the fighters will be in a position to attack them. They attacked again shooting down another five, the fighters dived after them.

The guns of the fleet opened fire. Flack shells exploded around the bombers creating an aerial minefield. Their 25 mm guns opened fire sending hundreds of rounds toward the Abyssals. Multiple bombers are shot down as they closed in on the carriers. They nosed over and entered a seventy-degree dive heading for Akagi and Kaga! Kaga turned hard to port while Akagi turned hard to starboard. High explosive bombs slammed into the ocean creating gazers of water!

More bombers started their dive and dropped their bombs! Kaga cut her speed and turned to starboard. Two bombs found their mark. One exploded at the fore-end of her flight deck while the second missed her flight deck but destroyed one of her 127 mm guns. A third bomb came in ten seconds later and landed directly in the middle of her flight deck! Wi

Akagi was hit by three bombs. The first had impacted right next to her island. The second had hit the rear of her flight deck. The third landed next to one of her elevators and jammed it. Three large fires had started and her crew was trying to keep them under control! Soryu found herself being targeted but most of the bombers had attacked Kaga or Akagi so it was easy for her to avoid the few bombs aimed for her.

"Akagi-sama! Kaga-sama! Are you alright!?"

"We are fine, Hiryu-san. Worry about yourself."

"The CAP reports torpedo bombers with escort is inbound."

"Understood. Ready yourselves, we are not done yet."

The six Zeros who engaged the first group of fighters are climbing to position themselves to attack the torpedo bombers. As they climb they spot twenty-four fighters flying top cover. The Zeros level out slightly above the bombers and bank right. They fire a long burst into the formation shooting down eight bombers. They dive away and see another formation of dive bombers. The surprisingly heavy defensive armament of the bombers catches the Zeros off guard. Two Zeros are shot down and they attack!

The bombers are far tougher than the other dive bombers and only two are shot down. The Zeros dive away with eight fighters chasing them.

The second group of Zeros, now eight in strength, spotted the dive bombers the first flight just attacked. They attacked them from below shooting down four. They turned for another pass as tracer rounds flew past them, one of the Zeros are shot down. They attack again shooting down three but losing another Zero during the attack. They dived away from the bombers as the fighters attacked them. As the Abyssals approached the torpedo bombers started to circle just outside of range while the dive bombers continued on.

The guns of the fleet opened fire directly hitting one of the bombers; it burst into flames and started to dive straight for Akagi! Her guns targeted it hitting multiple times with 25mm shells! Its right wing tore off and it spun wildly into the ocean!

Four bombers broke away from the formation diving for Akagi and Kaga! Kaga focused her fire on them shooting down one and setting the second one ablaze. She turned to starboard and it crashed into the ocean right next to her hull blowing open a hole allowing water to rush in!

Akagi set one of the attackers on fire and it broke off the attack! The second one had its tail blown off and entered a flat spin! It crashed onto Akagi's stern as a burning wreck. Four seconds later, it exploded creating a huge fireball! Now, the second one came in from her port side! Her AA guns opened fire and both of its wings are shot off! It glided into the ocean and exploded kicking up a huge amount of water and peppering Akagi's hull with flaming shrapnel!

The remaining eight Abyssals split themselves into two groups of four and dived on Hiryu and Soryu! One of them was shot down and Hiryu turned to port! Another was shot down but the third slammed into her island! The last one slammed into her flight tearing through it and exploded in a devastating strike destroying a massive portion of her flight deck and creating a huge fire!

Only one attacker managed to hit Soryu but it destroyed a part of her flight deck and started a fire! Now, the torpedo bombers started their attack. They broke into three groups; two groups attack Kaga and Akagi while the third group attacks Ryujo.

Kaga came under attack first. Her AA guns lashed out as her escorts also blazed away. Akagi added her firepower to the mix but the bombers still got through. They dropped their torpedoes and Kaga turned to face them bow on! The bombers attacking her banked and came in at an angle before dropping their torpedoes. The first torpedoes harmlessly swim past. She turns to face the second set but three find their mark and she starts to list! Akagi is hit next taking two torpedo hits!

Ryujo turned in to face her attackers and they swung around to attack from a different angle. Now coming in off her port side Ryujo turns away as they drop their torpedoes. Two of her escorts are nearly hit but avoid them while Ryujo takes a single hit to her stern that breaks one of her screws cutting her speed!

"Status!?"

"No hits sustained," Jun'yo reported.

"I've lost one of my screws! I can still launch and recover aircraft," Ryujo reported.

"Island was hit, my flight deck is destroyed and the fire is spreading," Hiryu reported.

"My flight deck is out but the fire isn't spreading," Soryu reported.

"Sister?"

"Fires are starting to rage out of control, I'm listing and my flight deck is a mess," Akagi reported. "You?"

"My crew is counter-acting the flooding and handling the fires. My flight deck may be permanently out of action," Kaga reported.

"Jun'yo, Ryujo you are the only operation carriers right now. Refuel, rearm, and repair your aircraft as quickly as possible."

"Understood Akagi-sama."

With Shoho's strike group they have spotted the enemy carrier force. One carrier was listing and fighting a fire but the other carriers didn't appear to be damaged. Shoho's planes picked out the damaged carrier and attacked it! The Zeros spotted eight dots and moved to intercept them while the torpedo bombers dropped altitude.

AA guns opened up on the bombers as they closed in. The fire was split between the dive and torpedo bombers reducing its effectiveness. Two dive bombers were shot down and one torpedo bomber before they dropped their munitions. The carrier turned to avoid but with the number of bombs and torpedoes dropped a hit or two is guaranteed.

Three bomb hits are followed by four torpedo hits! It started to slow and list. The bombers exited the combat zone and the Zeros followed. Even from two kilometers away they could still see the smoke from the carrier.

Sixty nautical miles from the main fleet one of Oyodo's floatplanes is searching for Abyssals. After searching the sector, it moved on to the next but before it did it spotted shapes on the surface. It banked right and headed toward the shapes. As it approached, the shapes became clearer. It's an Abyssal fleet consisting of three battleships, three heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and seventeen destroyers. It radioed this information to Oyodo and continued its search.

"Ise-san. There's an Abyssal fleet heading in our direction. Distance, sixty nautical miles, composition, three battleships, three heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and seventeen destroyers."

"Understood. Formation Beta!"

Formation Beta called for the destroyers to screen the fleet in three line formations. The battleships formed a battle line behind them while the cruisers formed a battle line behind the battleships with Amagi leading the line.

The enemy fleet drew closer and they started working on the range. Their guns elevated and the 356 mm guns of Ise and Hyuga, followed by the 406 mm guns of Amagi, thundered! Their shells screamed through the air and plunged into the ocean! The Abyssal battleships fired and missed as well.

As the battleships and battlecruiser engaged their lines slowly got closer bringing the cruisers into play. Kako, Maya, and Yura targeted the heavy cruisers while Oyodo targeted the light cruiser.

"Shokaku-san do you copy?"

"Affirmative."

"We are engaging an Abyssal surface fleet. Can you provide us with air support? Over."

"I'll send half of my B5Ns to provide support. Out."

Ise's guns fired and the shells landed on the far side of her target. Hyuga's salvo landed long but Amagi's salvo scored three hits.

A few kilometers away, Shokaku's B5Ns are closing in. They split into two groups. One group came in from the starboard side while the second swung around and came in from the port side. They selected the lead battleship as their target and moved in.

Heavy fire meets the bombers shooting down three. The first group dropped their torpedoes and banked away. As the battleship turned the second group dropped their torpedoes and flew over the line of battle. One more bomber was shot down as they exited the combat zone.

Five torpedoes slam into the battleship! It rapidly slows and lists to starboard slightly, Ise followed up with six hits.

Far away from the battle Shokaku's second strike is inbound on the enemy carrier force. Reports from Shoho's planes stated they had sunk one of the carriers. Now, their objective is to sink the remaining two carriers. Their escorts spot a squadron of fighters and six Zeros break off to intercept. They break off the head-on attack and fly underneath them. They swing around and catch the Abyssals at the end of their turn. They smoke four fighters and damage another two which fall away.

A second squadron is spotted off their right wing and ten Zeros move to intercept. Suddenly, Abyssals attack from above! They dive past the formation and pull up leaving five fireballs in their wake! The tail guns of the bombers opened up while the Zeros turned around. Two of the fighters are shot down and the Zeros shoot down seven in a head-on losing three of their own. The Abyssals shot down three more bombers before they roared over them and climbed, the Zeros climbed after them.

Bursts of flack started to appear around the bombers. They could see the enemy carrier force and one carrier was missing confirming the report from Shoho's planes that they had sunk a carrier. They split up and targeted the two remaining carriers. AA fire grew more intense and five bombers are shot down before they begin their attacks.

As the D3A1s start to dive one more is shot down before they drop their bombs! The carrier was slow to react indicating it was hit before. Seven bomb hits are scored in rapid succession! The torpedo bombers come in and drop their torpedoes scoring five hits! Five seconds later, a huge explosion rocks the carrier as the fires in the hanger bay set off ammunition and aviation fuel!

The second carrier is hit by three bombs and four torpedoes. It starts rapidly listing to port and the bombers start to leave. AA fire continues to rock them until they get out of range.

BOOM!

The eighth salvo from Ise's guns smashes into her target! Return fire scores five hits on her but she shrugs them off! Her sister is hit five times and a fire breaks out on her port side! Amagi's salvo scores eight hits tearing one of the turrets apart and a huge fire appears from its starboard side! The return salvo only does light damage but one of her turrets is damaged and unable to fire.

The destroyers create a smokescreen making it impossible to see where their shells are landing. They continued to fire, hoping to score a lucky hit, but after the fourteenth salvo their guns fall silent.

"Report!"

"I can still fight big sister!"

"One of my guns is disabled. It will be operational in forty minutes."

"No hits received for Kako-san or myself," Maya reported.

"No damage," Oyodo reported.

"Ah, that hurts. A took a hit from an AP shell. Hurt but didn't do much damage," Yura said.

"We destroyers are good!"

"Cowards didn't even let us fire our guns! My guns and torpedoes are getting antsy!"

Ise smiled, "Shokaku-san, the enemy fleet has retreated. Over."

"Copy. The last two carriers in the area were just sunk. We're preparing a strike against Midway now. Out."

With the First Carrier Division, Soryu had extinguished the fires and gotten her deck back in operation.

Hiryu had the fires under control but her flight deck is a complete loss. According to her crew, it would take a month in the baths to repair the damage.

Akagi had gotten some of the fires extinguished and others under control but she is still burning pretty badly. Her crew had stopped the flooding so at least she wouldn't capsize.

Kaga had stopped the flooding and was pumping the water out while the last couple of fires were being extinguished. Her flight deck could be operational but it will take time.

"Sister, my Zeros just reported the position of an Abyssals carrier and it's larger than anything we have seen. According to my Zeros, it's escorted by twelve destroyers and two light cruisers. Here's its location."

"That's a small escort for such a carrier. Has Yamato-san reported contact with the Abyssal fleet?"

"Negative. I believe they turned back to help defend that carrier."

Akagi nodded, "Yamato-san. I need you to bring your force back to us. We have an unknown carrier in the battle. Out."

Shokaku and Shoho launched their warplanes. They took to the skies and headed towards Midway. The flight to Midway was quiet for the most part. When they got within twenty kilometers three of the B5Ns reported seeing wakes behind them and off their left wing. Shoho informed Shokaku but they ordered their planes to continue on.

Flack started to come in quick and heavy downing six bombers in just a few minutes! The closer they got to Midway the heavier the fire got! It didn't look like they were attracting all of the fire through. They could see flack fire and tracer rounds from Midway's second island along with multiple fireballs falling from the sky!

The D3A1s start their dive while the B5Ns begin level bombing! Through their bombsights, they see large coastal guns. They carry two two-hundred-and-fifty kilogram bombs and drop them! The bombs whistle through the air as they fall on their target!

As the D3A1s rapidly approached the ground they spotted smaller coastal batteries! They dropped their bombs on the lighter guns and multiple fireballs rose up as they are destroyed! The bombs from the B5Ns hit next! Their bombs slam into the coastal batteries creating balls of smoke and fire!

With their bombs drooped and increasing losses from heavy AA fire, the bombers head back. They meet up with the Zeros and begin the flight back to their home carriers.

"Ise-san, the airstrike destroyed some of the coastal guns on Midway but there're still too many guns for you to start bombardment. You'll need to hold off a little longer. Out."

With the First Carrier Division, their fleet had reformed. The carriers are in the middle of the fleet in two lines of three. Closest to them are the battleships, then the cruisers, and finally, the destroyers.

Kaga's flight deck is now operational but Akagi's is a wreck and won't be operational anytime soon. The First Carrier Division has four operational carriers. They are Jun'yo, Ryujo, Soryu, and Kaga. Akagi's aircraft are starting to land on Kaga and her crew ditches the aircraft that are too damaged. Hiryu's aircraft are landing on Soryu and she is also ditching the aircraft that are too damaged. Jun'yo and Ryujo are preparing their aircraft for a strike against the enemy carrier.

The fifteen Zeros flying CAP report enemy fighters approaching, they start to climb. They flew over the fighters and searched for the bombers. After seventeen minutes, they spot torpedo bombers flying low with six fighters in escort. They dive on them and attack! 7.7 and 20 mm rounds tear into the bombers! Their tail guns open fire but the Zeros are already out of their ark of fire! The fighters climb after them.

The Zeros looped around and dived past the fighters who couldn't get a shot at them. The tail guns opened fire shooting down one and damaging another causing it to break off! The Zeros broke away and climbed again. The Abyssals fighters tried to attack them but the Zeros avoided it and six broke away to engage them. The seven other Zeros are about to attack again when they're hit from above! Two Zeros are shot down before they go evasive! Four Abyssals chase after them leaving one Zero free to attack. It targets the closest fighter and forces it to break off, it follows it into a dive. It fires five bursts and on the fifth one sets it on fire! It fires a sixth and the fighter explodes!

A second Zero moves to assist another which is trying to shake its pursuer! It slotted in on the Abyssal's tail and shredded its eye in a burst! The other two Zeros had been shot down and the Abyssals climbed away. The three Zeros regrouped and chased the torpedo bombers. They spot eight Abyssals escorting them and decide to shadow them instead of attacking. They are joined by three more Zeros a few minutes later.

Flack clouds start to appear around the bombers! Their escort breaks off and the Zeros attack! They brave their own AA fire and the fire from the bombers shooting down five The break off and the last bombers are shot down by the fleet before they can drop their torpedoes. As the Zeros climb twenty-five dive bombers are spotted! The Zeros level out to try and catch them in their dive. A second group of twenty-five dive bombers is spotted followed by a group of eighteen torpedo bombers coming in low! The six Zeros decide to engage the torpedo bombers.

A profuse amount of AA fire met the first group of dive bombers! Yamato's 460 mm guns elevated and fired! The sound of her guns is louder than thunder and seems to reverberate across the ocean! The shells exploded in a wall of fire tearing apart any Abyssal caught in the firestorm! Despite the heavy AA fire the bombers get through and target Kaga!

Furious AA fire shoots down three more bombers heading for Kaga! One's fuselage explodes in a fireball and a second explosion follows throwing it to the left! Kaga turns hard to starboard as the bombs start to fall! They explode in front of her, and off her port side! A second set of bombers come in and she turns to port! Three bombs slam onto her flight deck in rapid secession! A fourth bomb smashed into her deck a few seconds later!

Yamato's main guns roared again creating a wall of fire above Soryu! The bombers were cut to pieces and fall to the ocean in flaming pieces! Some bombers still got through and dropped their bombs but Soryu avoided them! Ryujo is hit four times by bombs and two of the Abyssals crash into her setting half of her flight deck on fire!

The torpedo bombers now attack but they aim for the battleships, specifically Yamato. Ten bombers drop their torpedoes while the other four target Nagato! Two of the bombers are shot down and both slam themselves into Yamato! Of the fourteen torpedoes dropped five hits are scored, three on Yamato and two on Nagato. The torpedoes did more damage to Nagato then they did to Yamato. Soryu and Jun'yo immediately start launching their planes for a counter-strike.

A large explosion rocked Ryujo sending pieces of her flight deck hundreds of meters into the sky. "Ryujo-san!"

"Help her fight the fires!"

"Understood!"

"Change course to bearing 210! We need to move now while that carrier can't see us!"

The Fifth Carrier Division was preparing a second strike against Midway. They had just launched their planes when Akagi radioed Shokaku. "Shokaku-san, I have a priority target in the form of an Abyssals carrier Demon." Her voice was filled with anger and Shokaku could see her eyes blazing.

"Here's its location. Assist Soryu and Jun'yo in sinking it. I. Want. It. Dead. Out."

"Well, she's enraged."

"Why?"

"I guarantee that Demon hurt Kaga. They're practically sisters, her and Kaga. Let's not disappoint."

Shoho nodded, "Agreed."

"Ise-san, we're diverting our aircraft to strike an Abyssal carrier Demon. You are clear to bombard Midway island. Out."

"Set a course for Midway." The fleet turned North-East and steamed at full speed towards Midway. As Midway appeared on the horizon shells landed in front of them! More shells start to land but the fleet keeps moving. At a distance of 22 kilometers, the fleet opens fire!

Smaller columns of water started rising up around the fleet mixed in with much larger columns of water! Ise was hit by multiple of these smaller shells but they bounced or shattered off her armor. Behind her, the cruisers are firing as quickly as they can and multiple fires have broken out across Midway's shores indicating their success.

Three shells screamed in and hit Ise. Two shells hit her superstructure doing minimal damage. The third shell penetrated her deck armor and exploded doing a moderate amount of damage and causing her to wince a little. The fire from Midway started to get accurate with Ise, Hyuga, and Amagi taking multiple consecutive hits in a short amount of time. The cruisers also started taking hits with fires breaking out on Maya and Kako. The destroyers are also taking fire but they use their maneuverability to avoid the shells.

"Aircraft are taking off from Midway!"

Twelve dots are now heading towards them. Their AA fire shoots down six before they dive. Two more are shot down but the remaining four press the attack on Amagi! She turns as they drop their bombs taking one hit that penetrates her deck armor and explodes damaging multiple decks and starting fires!

"PT boats incoming!"

"Destroyers, focus on the PT boats!"

"On it!"

"They won't stand a chance!"

"Come! Have a taste of my guns!"

Two dozen torpedo boats are charging the fleet! The destroyers blazed away with their guns but found it difficult to hit the small and maneuverable boats. Karukaya, Sagiri, and Ushio launched their torpedoes. They are easily avoided but two hit erasing two Abyssals from exitance! They get so close to them their AA guns start firing! They raced past the destroyers allowing Ise's Hyuga's and Amagi's secondary batteries to fire! Oyodo and Yura also target them! They closed to a distance of one kilometer before launching their torpedoes and continue charging towards Ise and Hyuga!

The fleet broke formation taking evasive action to dodge the torpedoes swimming towards them! Ise and Hyuga turned toward the torpedoes and dodged a few but are hit numerous times! Ise is hit five times with her sister being hit four times! Behind them, Amagi is hit three times, Kako is hit once, and Yura is hit once!

The PT boats charge in! Ise and Hyuga unsheathed their katanas and cut through them! One slams into Ise and explodes staggering her! She doesn't have a chance to recover before two more slam into her! She grits her teeth, and holding her stomach with her left hand kills the last three boats! She almost fell over as the flooding in her port side gets worse. She can feel her crew enact counter flooding and her balance slowly increase.

She called it, "Destroyers lay a smoke screen! We're retreating!"

A/N

Happy late Christmas everyone! I hope everyone had a good Christmas this year despite everything happening right now. I actually had a white Christmas this year which was nice as it doesn't happen very often where I live.

I'll see you in the next one.

Echo08, sighing out.