Unmei Force Solitary Legends: Azure Seas, Black Space
Chapter 7: A Valkyrie's True Worth
Kiana was among the first who returned to the GFS Ryujin, as everyone else had followed after helping Yggdra and Gulcasa rebuild the damages in their world.
Kiana was in the room where Eriako was to be held at her memorial, as her body lay on the table. Kiana was sobbing loudly, the anguish from both herself and Void showing through in her anguished cries at the death of Eriako. Richard and Siege looked in, both of them having saddened expressions, seeing Kiana in anguish like this.
"...She did something that very few beings would do for another." Richard assured Kiana. "I know that it hurts to see someone who you recently gave your very blessings to, die in such a cruel manner, but such is war… We all lose something in our eternal battle. All we can do is to move on past the pain, and let this remind us what we fight for."
"You don't understand…" Kiana sobbed, looking at Eriako. "I gave her something that Void wanted to give all of her subordinates. An identity, some abilities to distinguish them… the ability to have a meaning to their life… other than being a pawn, that if they die, so what, they weren't important… now… if it was just me feeling this… I would have moved on… tried to be happy and make the most but… Void… she is in as much agony as I am, and it shows in us both… we… gave her so much… and in mere moments after she was created, and given purpose… she dies, right before our very eyes…"
Richard bowed his head in silence, as he understood Kiana's grief. "...I know." He responded back. "But…"
Suddenly, an idea struck through Richard's head. "Wait... there might be a way that we can…" Richard remarked. "It's a risky plan but it might just work somehow…"
"What are you thinking about?" Kiana asked back, before Richard then moved to the other side of the table where Eriako was laid to rest in.
"...Kiana, I need to ask you something. Are you willing to risk your own power to bring her back…?" Richard asked back, before he then saw Kiana's eyes change upon hearing it, as her eyes showed that she had no hesitation. "...How stupid of me, I shouldn't question you like that . That's why I'm glad you're the Void Herrscher now. Now, just place your hand over mine. Just trust me."
Richard then slowly put his hands out over Eriako, his palms facing up. Kiana took a deep breath, as she looked inside of her, as if acknowledging Void. Void wanted this as much as Kiana, though, and so, Kiana placed her hands on top of Richard's. "...We're ready, Richard." Kiana and Void spoke at once.
"This is going to require surgical precision for this with your powers… But I believe that you have a good chance of doing it." Richard answered back. "I will channel my magical power into you, so that you'll have more than enough power for what must be done. When you're ready, channel that power into Eriako, and focus only on her and her memories only. Do not let your mind wander. Let your wish for her existence to continue be the only desire within your mind. You created the Honkai, and you can change their form easily. Now take a step beyond… and grant those who have an identity a new life…"
"Okay…" Kiana said as she and Void, despite being two minds, both focused solely on Eriako. They yearned for her to be back, to breathe life once more, to continue her heroism. Kiana and Void focused on the events of when Eriako was alive, from her birth to her death, over and over, all while yearning for her to open her eyes… open her eyes…
"Open your eyes, Eriako. Your time isn't done." A voice spoke to Eriako's returned consciousness, as it was her Queen.
"My Queen…?" Eriako spoke quietly, as outside, her body faintly whispered the words, as the fatal wound began to mend itself, as if it didn't exist in the first place. As soon as the wound disappeared, Eriako's eyes slowly opened, as her voice was much more audible "My Queen…?"
She then slowly rose up to a sitting position, as Kiana and Richard stopped what they were doing, as they stepped back to see what the results were.
"It seems that she is alive after all… I took a gambit on your abilities… and it seems that it worked." Richard remarked with a relieved smile, as his appearance seemed to have changed, as parts of his hair were grey, and he looked fairly pale. "It turns out that with sufficient power… because you are the life and death of the Honkai, you can bestow them another life beyond death."
Kiana smiled warmly, as Void was as well, both of them shedding tears as Kiana hugged Eriako. "Oh Eriako… my precious Valkyrie… I have mourned your death so much so… I could not bear to let your legacy be so short… so I used my powers with Richard and brought you back to a second life… I want you to leave a longer legacy than what fate originally planned for you… That is my task to you now, Eriako, have free will. Live your own life, develop your emotions and nobility, and leave a heroic legacy like no other hero has before." Kiana said through a tearful smile.
"My Queen…" Eriako answered back, moved by her queen's actions, as the first tears she had, ran down her cheeks from emotion. "I… I am forever grateful for what you have done for me. I will ensure you that this second life will not go to waste, for it is my queen's greatest treasure."
"I am most certain, with such a resolve in your tone now… you will not disappoint me there." Kiana said with a warm smile. "...Go, Eriako… Your chance of a life no other Honkai has been given lies before you."
Eriako knelt for a moment, in respect of the queen, before she the left the room, ready to spend her new life being a proper hero in respect to her queen's wish.
Kiana and Void broke down in happy tears, as they smiled brightly. "Finally… the vision I have wanted…" Void said as she watched Eriako leave. "My Honkai… going out, and living their lives as free spirits… leaving legacies unlike any other."
"I'm happy that everything turned out well. Now then, I suppose that we should get moving back to-" Richard responded back, before his legs gave out for a moment, as Siege quickly caught him. "Thanks, Siege. I just…"
"Yeah, I could tell…" Siege answered back. "That took a lot out of you, didn't it? I noticed it from how some of your hair greyed out, and your skin looked far more pale."
"...Astute as always." Richard chuckled back. "Now I know how it feels to be Patchy right now. And I think that this will take a while to recover naturally. Don't worry, I can still fight and work as I am, but not to full capacity, that's all."
"Thank goodne-" Siege said, before he got a call. It was Nitori. "Oi… again?" Siege asked, answering the call. "Nitori, what's up?"
"I got some new ship-girl recruits. This time, I asked Yat Sen about any of her fellow ship-girls coming. She's got quite a few. Good thing there aren't any Sakura Empire ships, or we might risk another incident like before…" Nitori responded back. 'Anyway, just come over when you have the time."
"Roger that Nitori." Siege said, signing off. "New ship-girls, Richard. Many are from Dragon Empery."
"Good, hopefully I can get a certain duo to get used to being with Sakura Empire girls… if they are here." Richard remarked back, before gesturing for Siege to release him. "Come with me, Siege. Kiana, you've been through a lot, take a break, you deserve it."
"Thank you Richard…" Kiana said, before leaving them as Siege and Richard walked to meet the new ship girls. When they came inside, they noticed that the shipgirls had bunched up into groups again, although there were only three groups. One was single, one had a pair, and one had four, which the latter Richard assumed were the Dragon Empery ship-girls. Richard gestured for Siege to address the other group, while Richard walked towards the large group, who were conversing amongst each other.
"Sister, I'm hungry…" One of them remarked with her stomach growling a little, as she had short brown hair, with short curve-like pig-tails, tied together with golden bells on the sides of her head, with a white hair-band hidden under her head, and an anchor hair-pin on the right side of her head. She also had orange eyes, and a red oriental qi-pao, with a white coat wrapped around her back and shoulders, long stocking on one leg and white heels. She also had a mini-panda on her shoulder. "Does Commander have tasty food for us here?"
"Not so loud!" Another ship-girl shouted back, as she seemed to be similar to the previous ship-girl, with black hair instead of brown, as her thin pig-tails were tied into loops, and her qipao was purple, with a red chinese knot charm around her waist. "The Commander must not hear of such complaints! He has a high expectation for all of us, like Yat Sen has told us! We cannot simply let ourselves relax, lest he sees us fooling around!"
"I'm already here." Richard responded back, as the Dragon Empery ship-girls were surprised enough to jolt up a little. "Now then, I suppose that I should introduce myself, or has Yat Sen done that for you?"
"No need, Commander." The black-haired sister of the duo remarked back, regaining her composure. "My name is ROCN Ning Hai, the first ship of the Ning-Hai cruiser class. I hope that we'll have a proper navy around here. In order to do that, we live frugally to allow our savings to be used to make our navy great."
"I'm ROCN Ping Hai." The brown-haired sister responded back. "The first-"
"No! You're the second!" Ning Hai chastised her sister, chopping her sister's head with her hand, before turning to Richard with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry if that was disappointing, my sister is a glutton with a short attention span. I assure you, that's all the problems she will have."
"There is no need to apologise." Richard answered back, before turning to the remaining ship-girls of the Dragon Empery. "Now then, how about you two introduce yourself."
"I am the nameship of the An-Shan destroyers, and one of the Dragon Empery's first-generation 'Four Unbreakables'." One of them reported back with a dutiful salute to Richard, as she had long green hair that was tied into a long flowing pony-tail behind her, with small dragon horns on the side of her head, and green eyes. She was dressed in a white officer dress, with yellow shoulder-brushes, and a cape with a blue interior, and blue belts around her waist, as well as white laced boots. "As the flagship, I participated in many naval exercises, carried out surveillance, and engaged in confrontations, leaving behind lasting achievements that I can be proud of. Though I never participated in live combat, I am the destroyer with the most miles under her belt in the entire world!"
"The name's Fu Shun, second ship of the An Shan-class destroyers and one of the first-generation 'Four Unbreakables.'." The last of the ship-girls remarked with a jovial tone, as she was a girl with long red-brown hair who had very long twin-tails, and blue eyes, wearing a white naval uniform with leather belts around her waist, and a large red star on one side of the belt, and long white socks in brown boots, with yellow ribbons tied above the top of her socks, with leaf-like ends that were red at the tips. "Even though I accomplished a lot, I unfortunately never experienced actual combat. The closest I got was that one time, when An Shan and I almost opened fire! Anyway, please let me fight to my heart's content on the battlefield!"
"Hah… Just please keep an eye on her, Commander." An Shan sighed deeply, placing a hand to her face. "With that hot-blooded attitude of hers, she'll end up causing her fair share of issues here."
"Don't worry, I'll take well care of that." Richard responded back. "An Shan, Fu Shun, you are properly dismissed. Feel free to roam the nearby area, but don't go past the unauthorised sections without proper company."
"Will do!" Fu Shun responded back, as she dashed out of the break room, as An Shan hurriedly followed after her, trying to stop her sister from doing anything crazy.
"Do… Do you need time to speak with us, Commander?" Ning Hai asked with concern in her voice.
"Not yet. I need to finish speaking with the Royal Navy representative here. Until then, head for the side-room, I'll come in there soon, so wait there. Before I let you out, we need to have a talk." Richard responded back with a serious look on his face.
Ning Hai and Ping Hai looked at Richard with silence, as they seemed to feel fairly tense, before they turned to each other and nodded, heading to the side-room, and closing the door behind them.
Meanwhile, with Siege, he came over to the two ship-girls that he suspected were from Eagle Union.
"You two are from Eagle Union, yes? Care to introduce yourselves?" Siege would ask.
"Right… I'm USS Bush, Fletcher-class destroyer." A ship-girl with short purple hair, a blue beret with small ear-like protrusions on top, and purple eyes responded back, wearing a white hoodie and a white shirt under that, and white sneakers without any socks. "Like my sisters, I fought in the Pacific Ocean and took on tons of missions! Just please don't keep me near any planes, they scare me…"
"The name's Dace! My three favorite things are torpedoes, torpedo launchers, and uh, more torpedoes! My class?" The other ship-girl responded back, with short pink hair, with a short flowery stump at the back of her head and blue eyes. She wore a blue and white swimsuit that covered her chest and lower torso, while her legs were covered with blue stirrups. "Oh right, I'm a Gato-class… I believe in shooting torpedoes first, and asking questions later~ And as a submarine, they won't know what hit them!"
"A submarine, eh? You'll be incredibly useful. And don't worry Bush, I'll be sure you don't see any planes if I can help it. We have some stationed here for missions, but we'll make sure you stay away from that area of our base." Siege reassured thearine. destroyer.
"Thank heavens, you are far too kind…" Bush breathed out in relief.
Siege nodded, before dismissing them to leave. That left only one ship left. The lone Royal Navy ship seemed to be a small ship-girl, with short white-hair and and white maid hair-dress on top of her head, as well as dark blue eyes. She also seemed to be dressed in a white maid dress with a blue cloth around her skirt. She also wore white socks in black cloaks. Richard slowly approached her, as he knelt down to greet her.
"Hello, little ship-girl, what is your name?" Richard asked softly. "You seem to be fairly confused about your surroundings. My name is Richard Liu, and I am the Commander of this base."
"I am HMS Belfast, of the Edinburgh cruiser class." The ship-girl introduced herself in a fairly formal tone, doing a gently curtsy in response. "If you are the Commander, then you're also my Master. I am also a maid-in-training, so I might make mistakes, but it will be a pleasure to learn and serve you as best as I can."
"Well, you won't have much to do here, but if you could do some work, it would help." Richard responded back, patting Belfast's shoulder gently. "Now then, you should meet with your fellow ship-girls of the Royal Navy. They should take good care of you."
Belfast nodded back, as she left the room, while Richard turned to Siege with a chuckle. "Well, seems like I got fairly lucky to have one of the 'child' ships in my fleet now." Richard remarked.
"'Child ships'?" Siege responded back with raised eye-brows.
"Basically child-like versions of certain ships. Like this one." Richard answered back. "She is Belfast, but it's more like Belfast in her earlier years. She's far more mature in physical appearance, and hopefully I might one day summon her. Only their older selves know how to best take care of their younger counterparts. Who knows? You might actually get one yourself. It might serve as someone to nurture yourself."
"Hm. I'll keep that in mind Richard. For now… we should probably keep an eye out for more activities. I've heard there's a new era of villains on the rise recently, so I want to be sure we can catch them. Demigra may be gone for a while after his latest stunt, but other villains could still strike." Siege said.
"You have no idea…" Richard sighed back with a deep frown on his face. "We got so many unknown factions out there with potential to become the worst enemies, let alone the enemies that are apparent… I have fought with the Hero Alliance several times before, and I can say that they have their fair share of problems as well. From what I have seen and heard, there have been no less than 15 damn factions that have given them a harsh challenge, ever since their conception. I guess that's because they've got bigger hero numbers than us, so let's hope that their problems don't make way to ours… Especially with all of the crap that is happening right now… Rebellions at the far corner of the multiverse, with the Universal Government being targeted…"
"Right, so let-" Siege was about to say, when a hurried panting from Siege Alter came, as he ran into the room. "Alter…? What is going on with you?"
"Siege, Richard… Allison… Rachel… dark portal, with flowers, swallowed Allison and Rachel, Lingyue dove in after them!" Siege Alter said, as Siege paled, before grabbing his Alter roughly by the shoulders.
"Describe that portal to me again!" Siege said, a panic in his voice.
"Dark purple… it had… strange flower designs around it." Siege Alter said, making Siege pale as he stumbled back, gasping for air as he heard this.
"...No… not her… for the love of God anyone but her…!" Siege managed to get out.
"The hell?" Richard exclaimed back, before turning to Siege. "Is this someone that you really, really don't want to deal with?"
"...Freyja… embodiment of nightmares herself… the dokkalfar… the dokkalfar have come back to haunt me…!" Siege managed to get out. "This… this is what Freyr meant… when he told me in that dream… that now… his sister craves nothing more than to witness me destroyed and in nothing more than a panic…"
Siege looked at Richard, his pale expression staying. "Tell me… Tell me Richard… do you have any experience… fighting against dreams themselves? That is the war that is now upon us…."
"...I have a fair amount." Richard responded back firmly, thinking back to a certain incident in the Berserk world. "So it's a battle of the minds in there, as much as it is a battle of powers... I assure you, I won't bend easily. I might be tortured by waking nightmares, but they will not cause me to fail."
Siege, feeling better, turned his fear to seriousness and grabbed hold of Richard. "Tune your scanners to pick up the magic of dreams, specifically from Dark Elves, or dokkalfar, whichever you know better. Then see if you can pinpoint Allison, Rachel, and Lingyue's location! Freyja will not hesitate, bringing the power of dreams to the real world, and bringing us into a nightmare to slay us one by one! Except… it won't look like a death… we will just be asleep in the real world… permanently… the very thought gives me chills…"
"Very well…" Richard responded back, as he slowly let his mind slip into a deep mediation, focusing on energies of the world of dreams. He managed to follow several trails of energy, which led him to a large cache of energy, and within that large cache… "I found them."
"Take us there. NOW!" Siege yelled.
Meanwhile…
Lingyue had been the only one to remain conscious during the transition between realms. He soon saw Allison and Rachel, who had multiple warriors of different kinds approaching them to kill them, and they were still unconscious from the transfer.
"Tch… this is not good…" Lingyue growled, before he then parried a blow from one of the charging warriors, cutting them down with a series of quick cuts. "Come on, quickly wake up, the both of you… I cannot spare any effort to help wake either of you with the enemies surrounding us…!"
"Nnnh…" Allison grunted as she began to stir awake. "Wha…?"
"You're awake…" Lingyue stated, before one of the warrior's blades gashed his side, as he countered back with his blade through the enemy's chest. "Wake up, we are surrounded by enemies. Rouse Rachel awake, I will hold them off as long as I can!"
"O-okay! Rachel, Rachel wake up! Lingyue needs us!" Allison yelled at her, shaking her to try and get her awake.
"Mmmh, where…" Rachel mumbled, as her eyes fluttered open, before she then realised the danger they were in, as she sprung onto her feet immediately, spear at the ready. "Well, this is going to be a hard fight…"
The enemies soon retreated, recognizing a stronger presence approaching. Allison turned, hearing footsteps, as her eyes widened upon seeing who it was.
"N… no…" Allison said, causing Lingyue and Rachel to look.
Walking towards them, bound by spiritual shackles was the trio of death warriors who had given aid to Siege, Richard and Heiwa. Skjotr, Ragnarok, and the other Freyja, the one reminiscent of Heiwa, the death counterparts to them.
"...Allison…" Skjotr said, pain in his tone as he looked at the heroes. "We despise being forced to this… but Dream Queen Freyja has us bound to her will… we cannot disappoint her, or our chance of freedom will slip from our grasp… So…" Skjotr said, readying his blade. "Unfortunately, we must eliminate you. All three of you."
"...Gods…" Rachel muttered back.
"Do not show me mercy…" Ragnarok responded back with an expression indicating that he wishes to die immediately. "I know the real counterpart of me has been freed from servitude eternally... I am but a mere pantomime of him, but I too wish to be freed… Defeat me, and save me…"
"NOT ON OUR WATCH!" Yelled a familiar voice, as the three death warriors turned… to watch as Siege cleaved through their ethereal shackles with Dyrnwyn , the three of them gasping suddenly as their souls were freed, and with them alive, their bodies in the real world were revived of all damages.
"Siege… you…!" Skjotr said suddenly, seeing the shackles broken free. "We… Ragnarok, Freyja, we're… we've been freed!"
"The least I can do for seeing you three again." Siege said as Richard joined him, as a flood of warriors began to enclose on them.
"Why… Why have you…" Ragnarok remarked, looking towards Richard and Siege.
"...Unlike your original, your servitude is not imprinted into you." Richard responded back. "Fight with us, change your own fate to die, to a fate where you will stand strong."
(Cue - Annihilation - Karl Siggurdson)
"No time to talk, we have company!" Allison yelled, seeing the dream warriors charging at them, as a displeased Dream Queen Freyja began floating into the area upon seeing that the Death warriors she had captured had been freed.
"...Richard, Siege, thank you." Skjotr said, looking to Ragnarok and Freyja. "You heard Richard, we have been pledged to servitude and death by fate's cruel hands… it's time, by their help, to change our cursed fate and forge a new future for the three of us!"
"I will vow for the same!" Ragnarok remarked, drawing his tome. "For the mercy you have given us, we will stand by your side!"
"Come, young Freyja, take up your arms! I am sure your counterpart Heiwa would delight in getting to play with you when this is all over!" Skjotr said, looking to the deathly counterpart of Heiwa.
"Alright…" Freyja the fox-girl remarked back, as she drew her spear for battle. "If I can see my own counterpart face-to-face… Perhaps it will bring me some peace in my heart…"
With that, the group entered battle as Freyja watched from afar, Sindel and Salem gathering with her as they began preparing a combined attack, as multiple magical circles appeared, ready to strike down the heroes when…
"Hey, you guys didn't tell me there was a fight!" A familiar voice spoke up, before multiple voids cut many of the enemy soldiers in half, as Kiana rose from her own void, surprising Siege and Richard, as Eriako came by her side.
"Kiana!? Eriako!? What are you two doing here!?" Siege said.
"Well, we heard from some crew members that you and Richard had gone off to do some fighting. Word of this got to the both of us and well, here we are now. Oh, also." Kiana said, snapping her fingers as a wall of Voids came between Dream Queen Freyja, Salem, and Sindel. "I saw you charging that up over there! No way you're getting through now! Ha!"
"I follow my Queen into battle, and I will defend her allies!" Eriako remarked, before she fired a spread of flames that slowed the front-lines of the enemies down, as well as taking a large number of them down.
"Blasted… who is this… this… being!?" Dream Queen Freyja yelled in anger.
"Hmp. Just a mere nuisance. Sindel, you can easily warp around this pesky wall of void power, can't you?" Salem would ask, looking towards the wife of Shao Kahn/mother of Kitana.
"Ha. Easy." Sindel said, teleporting to the other side as did Dream Queen Freyja, as Salem made her own way over, as Kiana chuckled.
"So, you're smarter than the rest." Kiana mused. "Let's see if you can stay that way." Kiana said, summoning her guns as she prepared to charge at the Dream Queen.
"Be careful Kiana, she can nullify your powers!" Siege said.
"Nullify me? Ha! Do you really think she can nullify a power stronger than her very existence?" Kiana would ask, before charging at her foes. Dream Queen Freyja stopped Kiana in her tracks, trying to nullify her powers… when suddenly Dream Queen Freyja began getting shocked extremely, as the very nightmare world around them began to falter, the enemies fading as Kiana laughed. "And if she tries… this happens. Do you honestly have nothing left in you, almighty Dream Queen?"
"...Incredible… she… she isn't even trying, and that was all of Queen Freyja's might…" Skjotr said in fear. "Is… is this woman that powerful!?"
"Well, when you're a being tied to a certain concept of existence, you have a fair amount of strength." Richard answered back.
"Tied to existence itself… how…?" Skjotr asked yet again.
"She is linked to the very void itself, the very nothingness itself." Richard answered back. "Although I cannot say she is perfectly in sync with it, she is still very powerful indeed."
"...Incredible." Skjotr said in awe.
"Come on guys… they're not gonna cause us issues for a while." Kiana said, walking away. "What a bore…"
"Yeah… Let's hope it's enough to keep her down for the time being." Richard answered back, before turning to Siege. "Actually, now that we have a fair share of ship-girls with us, how about we do the rounds with them, check up on how they're doing?"
"Fair enough Richard. Oh, and Skjotr, Ragnarok, Freyja, do come see us when you find your bearings back in reality, okay?" Siege would say to the three death warriors.
"As you wish." Ragnarok answered back. "We will remain here for the time being. Do not worry, I don't think that we'll get ourselves into danger."
"Tell Heiwa I said hi… and sorry." Freyja the fox-girl answered back.
Richard acknowledged her request, before Richard and Siege led the group back to the GFS Ryujin, as the group dispersed, with Richard and Siege doing their rounds, starting with the Sakura Empire dorms. When Richard entered it, the room seemed to be packed with all of the current ship-girls of the faction, as Amagi was brewing some tea for the other senior ship-girls, who were enjoying the tea in their cups. Meanwhile, the trio of young destroyers were running abou, playing a game of tag, as Minazuki was the one 'it'. They kept their playing in a area far enough from Amagi and her fellow seniors, although they were energetic in their play.
Siege saw all of this and smiled, looking to see if any of the GFS Ryujin's other residents had come in to hang out with them. Naturally, he found Yae Sakura in there, helping with the tea making.
"Phwaa…" Shigure sighed with a satisfied expression, lowering her cup of tea. "Having tea brewed by our own Amagi never ceases to keep me relaxed, and even give me a taste of home…"
"It seems that we are not needed for now. I do not know whether to be happy, or to be slightly disappointed." Myoukou sighed, although out of slight worry instead of satisfaction. "Either way, we should make the best of the time to relax, for threats loom on the horizon."
"I agree with that notion." Hiei calmly answered back. "We do not know if the Sirens have followed us here, and if they did…"
"Oh, stop with the gloom and doom, have you seen what kind of power-up Amagi got?" Shigure laughed. "I bet that being the technical kami she is, she'll turn that Purifier that caused us grief into nothing but a head! I like to see what the Sirens can throw at us, when we got allies like the Commanders and Sakura-San, plus her band of friends!"
"Well, you'd be happy to see me then." Richard remarked, as the seniors turned towards Richard.
"Commander? Have you come to visit us, in order to check if we are settling well here?" Myoukou responded back.
"Yeah." Richard responded back, before looking towards Sakura. "I'm happy that you're getting along well with Sakura-san. How did she do with the little ones?"
"I can safely say that she has been a good sister-figure to them." Shigure answered back. "I often see her smiling with those young brats, and that's a good thing from what I can tell. Anyways, that's all you have come here for?"
"Not just that." Richard responded back, shaking his head. "Remember when I tapered off the areas that you guys have been visiting around the base? I'm planning on removing the restrictions. Seems like enough time has been passed for both sides to prepare for each other. Just make sure you make some good friends among the crew, they're fairly good people, and being of mostly the same culture, you should connect well with them."
"By the divine… Really?" Myoukou asked back, before Richard nodded in confirmations. "You have our word that we, and any future members of the Sakura Union who will be summoned here, will hold the highest respect for the personnel of this base."
"No need to be so formal, just treat them like you would treat any standard personnel around here." Richard chuckled back.
Siege soon caught on to something that soon made his eyebrow raise. "...Come again but did you just say Sakura Union?"
"That they did." Said a familiar voice, as it was Iowa, who came into the room, and her reception was warm from the Sakura Empire ship-girls. "You didn't hear, Commanders? Sakura Empire and Eagle Union have both declared eternal peace between our factions. The horrible events of the past between us, those are then, and both sides frown upon it. We charge forward, in hopes of making ourselves a brighter future. And so, they tend to call themselves the Sakura Union, considering they're no longer an empire, rather a union with us."
"Oh my, I did not expect this kind of development." Richard responded back.
"Well, here it is before your very eyes, Commander!" Iowa said with a smile, as the small Sakura Empire destroyer ship-girls ran to her, all smiling as Iowa knelt down to them, giggling and giving them head pats and hugs.
"My, my… So Sakura Empire is now part of Azur Lane, technically." Siege remarked. "That just leaves Dragon Empery left for us to officially declare that all factions can interact with one another freely."
"Yeah, this would be for the best. Although if the Iron Blood were here… It would have been the perfect penta-virate between the main warring factions." Richard responded back. "Then we would have it what it would have been before the doubt tore the factions apart, a single unified faction of ship-girls seeking the betterment of humanity."
"Speaking of which, do you want some burgers? I made some back at the Eagle Union dorms." Iowa offered. "I assure you, with my special recipe, it'll be something that'll blow your taste-buds to high heaven!"
"Oh, now I got to head for your faction dorms next then." Richard remarked. "Lead the way, brave Iowa, the land of mythical taste lies ahead!"
Siege laughed at that, before catching a glimpse of something out of his eye, as it was Allison and Rachel. "Go on ahead, Richard. I'll… catch up."
Richard gestured back, as he followed Iowa to the Eagle Union dorms. Siege soon walked to Allison and Rachel. "What's up, we're checking in on our ship-girls to see how they're faring."
"Something that… could be concerning." Allison said. "Apparently, somehow a small trace of dark magic slipped by our scanners, and retrieved all the Siren forces from Nitori's program, without her knowing."
"...You're serious." Siege asked with a deadpan tone.
"I wish. Now they're attacking a version of Earth, trying to stir up chaos, no doubt thanks to Demigra as a last ditch effort." Allison said.
"Well, we guessed it was the Sirens. We played a bit of the game ourselves, so we connected the dots." Rachel remarked back.
"Keep an eye on it. Only contact Richard and I if it gets too out of hand. If it does, you come to us straight away, and we'll take our unified fleet of numerous ship-girls to give them hell." Siege said.
"Right, and if anyone tries to interfere, I'll make sure that they'll have to get through us, before they get to the ship-girls." Rachel replied with a steely glare in her eyes.
"Good." Siege said, soon following Richard to the Eagle Union dorms… to see something very welcoming indeed.
Sitting at the main table while the other ship-girls of their factions were having a grand time was Enterprise and Yat Sen, no doubt talking about peace negotiations, as the Royal Navy's Leander was sitting in on the negotiations, beside the actual faction leader Valiant, to be sure that things were going smoothly. And amongst the table, was Richard scarfing down food rapidly, as he seemed to enjoy it greatly, as Siege chuckled a little at the humorous side of his battle-brother.
"Well, I'd say that this is a feast worthy of queens right here." Valiant smugly remarked, before she then took a sip of her tea-cup, and ate some butterscotch biscuits. "Truly, this place is far greater in terms of what it can supply, compared to the last base I was stationed at. I'm blessed to be in the presence of a true noble himself, who is able to afford all this and more."
"Indeed, the Commanders have great capabilities." Enterprise responded back. "From what I seen from their battle records, and from accounts by the very few personnel we interact with… They could be said to be the next coming of mythical leaders themselves. One would consider Richard to be a parallel to Liu Bei, who led his men to great victory, and Siege to be parallel to Alexander the Great himself, who conquered his enemies with tremendous might and leadership."
"So, I believe that everything is going well? Shame that the Sakura Empire are missing out on this little feast." Siege remarked, before tapping Richard on the shoulder. "Come on, Richard, there's no need to pig out on this food, however gorgeous it might be. You might ruin your figure eating this much."
'Ha, jokes on you, our metabolism burns that away like dust in a furnace!" Richard retorted back, before he then stopped eating, cleaning his mouth formally. "But still, yeah, I'm just about full, which brings me to another topic…"
Richard then walked over to the Hai sisters, who were eating a large gathering of baozi, as Ping Hai was scarfing down the buns like a vacuum, with sparkling eyes, while Ning Hai was slightly less motivated to eat, slowly eating her meat-bun.
"Right, I suppose that I should apologise for leaving you in there for so long…" Richard responded back, sitting down opposite of the ship-girls on the table. "I hope that you won't hold it against me too much. Now then, what I wanted to talk about alone with you two was-"
"There's no need, we understand it now." Ning Hai responded back with a slightly sad smile. "I suppose that you were going to make the same point that Yat Sen was going to tell us, and I suppose that it would be quite the earful. It was about the Sakura Empire, wasn't it?"
"...Indeed. I know it is a sour topic for you, but I needed to hammer that problem out, considering that Yat Sen herself caused a problem herself with them when she came here initially." Richard replied back with a stoic expression. "But now that you see that she has changed her opinion about them, did her words convince you?"
"...My hate for the Sakura Empire was deeper than Yat Sen's own, because of my fate in their hands…" Ning Hai responded back, clenching the half-eaten bun in her head tightly, before she loosened her grip. "But after hearing everything she had to say… I had no countering argument to what she told me as the truth. Everything that the Sakura Empire has done to my beloved country… I directed my anger to the ones who committed the act disproportionately compared to the ones who made the actual orders. We were loyal to our nation, as they were loyal to theirs, and so they did this without question, but they didn't do it without regret or disgust."
"...I'm sure that the Sakura Empire girls all collectively hate the Rape of Nanking with burning passion." Richard chuckled dryly. "Sorry, that humour was a little too dark, after what happened there."
"No, I understand. It was the ships who opened the path to that atrocity, but it was not them who committed the acts. I was sunken clinging to that hatred for so long that it burns with me, to become stronger so that I could return the pain they brought to me and my country." Ning Hai answered back. "But now that I have learned that my very enemies spat at the act of dishonour their countrymen had done, and sympathised with my pain… I don't know what to do… I wanted to just simply embrace them, but with the hate gone, I'm left with a hollow hole in my heart, something that stings every time I try to talk, as if I felt a sense of guilt for lashing out to them in the first place without proper reason."
"...Then slowly fill that hole. Force yourself to warm towards the Sakura Empire ship-girls. They'll know that you need time to heal that gaping wound in your inner heart." Richard advised Ning Hai. "And they'll do their best to help you, returning your hate with affection and friendship. It's an old saying in the country. 'Ji Wang Bu Jiu'... 'Blame not the past events'. What's done is done, and there is no point letting regret swallow you up. Do your best to turn that twisted opinion of Sakura Empire towards the truth, and you'll find happiness that you have long lost."
"...Commander… Thank you." Ning Hai answered back, as tears ran down her cheeks with gratitude, before she then went back to eating, as Richard smiled at her, knowing that a great grudge has been finally erased from this world.
As Richard conversed with the Dragon Empery ship-girls at that table, Siege sat down near Valiant, Yat Sen, and Enterprise. "So, how are peace negotiations going? I couldn't help but see this conversation as I walked in before you all discussed food." Siege said.
"Although I cannot truly speak for the Dragon Empery here…" Yat Sen answered back. "Once we have managed to make a proper foundation with the resources of this base, we will gladly join hands with the Sakura Empire and the Eagle Union, or should I say the 'Sakura Union' now? Perhaps that name will change eventually, but for now, I'll refer to the alliance as such."
"The same goes for us. As Azur Lane, we have been strong allies with the Eagle Union and Dragon Empery." Vailant declared. "We are willing to settle all grudges with the former members of the Crimson Axis, since all is forgiven in this new world, where we stand together and fight as one. Although there will be road-bumps, I'm sure that you and your friend will have enough leadership and charisma to keep us together, and wipe any dissent of this agreement out with proper empathy and understanding."
"I'm happy to hear such a plan. So, I suppose we shall hope for more Dragon Empery girls then so this can become official." Siege said.
"About that…" Yat Sen quickly addressed. "The only other member of the Dragon Empery that we are missing, is Chang Chun herself. Other than that, we have no other ship-girls. We were a small faction to begin with, and so relied on the help of the Eagle Union and Royal Navy to fight. However… There might be one more… just one more ship-girl that you might possibly bring to life… Although it is only a possibility."
"Tell me then…" Siege gestured for Yat Sen to continue.
"I once saw a ghost of a ship-girl. And when I stared into her eyes… I knew who she was… Chao Ho, the first of the Dragon Empery cruisers, a battle-sister of ours who was lost before we even knew of our existence." Yat Sen answered back. "No commander could have ever summoned her here… But you… you defied odds already. I am willing to put my faith that you can make another happen, by bringing to the waking realm. She will be old and slightly outdated, but her spirit and experience triumphs over any ship-girl we could receive, and she will have the leadership to make Dragon Empery an influential faction."
"I see… I will do all I can to bring her here." Siege promised back. "You have my word as your Commander."
"Thank you." Yat Sen gently bowed her head.
Siege, soon deciding to make that attempt for himself right then and there , soon walked out of the room, and towards Nitori.
"Nitori, I need a crazy lucky Gacha pull." Siege declared to her. "Is there any way you can alter what we receive from that world per summoning wise?"
"You're going to have to ask Erika about that, she's the one who has been gathering the fragments to make it possible for this to all happen." Nitori responded back, before Erika immediately opened up comms with Siege.
"I heard that you need to speak with me." Erika answered back. "So you're asking if I could alter the variables that determine the summoning?"
"Yes. I need a focus on Dragon Empery ship-girls. I want to summon 2 of them." Siege declared.
"After all of the summoning that has been done, I think that I can make it possible." Erika answered back. "However, this is going to… No, nevermind, at this point, I don't think the ramifications are going to matter. Just standby for a moment, it'll be ready soon."
"And at all costs, Erika, if it can be done… we need to attempt to summon Chao Ho or Chang Chun." Siege said.
After a while, the teleporter hummed to life, as it transferred someone across, as a girl dressed in a thick blue parka with long sleeves that went past her hands, with a hoodie around her head, that had fluffy cat-ears on top of it, and brown snow boots on her feet. Inside the hood itself, she had short blue hair, with twintails flowing out of the hoodie, and purple eyes.
Siege soon approached her, clearing his throat. "Ahem. I'm sure you're probably confused on why you have been summoned to this place. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Siege, commander of this vessel. You are of the Dragon Empery, yes? Your brethren will be very pleased to see you. Tell me, what is your name?"
"Chang Chun, the third ship of the Dragon Empery's An Shan-class destroyers, and one of the 'Four Unbreakables.'" The ship-girl introduced herself. "If you're telling me that there are my kin here, then I should meet with them. However, it's really nice to get to know you."
"Actually, I'm not the one who will be supervising you." Siege answered back. "He's in the room where all of your brethren are, and I'm sure that he'll take well care of you. He's also a commander of this vessel."
"Eh? It's like that?" Chang Chun answered back with a confused look on her face. "Oh well, at least nothing bad will happen here. Bye-bye~"
Chang Chun immediately left for the Eagle Union dorms, where the other Dragon Empery ship-girls were. Meanwhile, Siege noticed that the teleporter was already running up again, as his hopes soared.
"That was Chang Chun, and I hoped for her and Chao Ho so… could it be…?" Siege asked, watching the teleporter.
Soon, the teleporter flashed brightly, before someone stepped out of it, as he could see that it was black heels, before the rest of the ship-girl came out, revealing that it was a mature ship-girl, dressed in a long black oriental dress, as there was a golden dragon arm-band coiled around one of her arms. She had short black hair, which was fairly straight with some locks spreading outwards, and hovering over her head, partially covering her red eyes. When Siege looked at her, he felt something familiar with her, much like he did with Iowa.
"...Why is there this feeling… like I know you…?" Siege asked, as he approached the ship-girl. "Tell me. What is your name?"
"My name? Ah, it seems some people have forgotten my name it seems. I am Chao Ho, first of the Chao-Ho cruiser class, first cruiser of the Dragon Empery." The ship-girl introduced herself in a fairly terse tone. "...I can tell that you are a leader, but you're not specifically my Commander. It is someone else close by, and he is with the rest of the Dragon Empery. Tell me, where are they? I need to see him immediately."
"Chao Ho… yes, yes of course, my name is Siege, by the way, and I will direct you to your acting Commander, Richard. Follow me please." Siege said as he gestured for her to follow.
They soon arrived at the Eagle Union dorms, where Enterprise was in a greeting with Chang Chun, when the Dragon Empery girls fell silent at who Siege came in with, as Ning Hai did a spit-take on the tea that she was drinking, which luckily didn't hit someone, as the rest of the ship girls followed suit with the silence upon seeing who it was.
"Richard. Chao Ho wishes to see you." Siege declared in a firm tone. "I assume it is concerning her brethren."
"I see…" Richard answered back, before he then stood up and faced Chao Ho. "So like Iowa is to Siege, you're my splitting image.. But that doesn't matter now. Like Siege had told you, I am your Commander, Chao Ho. You must be aware of what responsibility that you will be taking from now on?"
"...I need no guidance on the matter. If Yat Sen has clung onto my memory, then I shall not disappoint her." Chao Ho answered back, before she stepped past Richard, to face the rest of the Dragon Empery. "Sisters. I have arrived, to lead you in times of strife. Although my presence will not change much for us in terms of strength, I will ensure that the spirit of the Dragon Empery will not die, no matter what adversities we face."
"You're here…" Yat Sen remarked, lowering her plate with a jubilant expression. "Then that means that there is hope for the Dragon Empery to rise to greatness once again."
"Then perhaps, with such an esteemed member of Dragon Empery before us, we can finally attain what our Commanders set forth for us, Chao Ho." Enterprise said, rising from her seat in a dignified manner, as she approached Chao Ho in a dignified manner, to show her professionalism. "Chao Ho, ever since the initial arrival of the multiple factions, we have done much to shift the tides of Crimson Axis, and we have stolen one of their armies right under their noses, that being Sakura Empire." Enterprise explained. "Your brethren have done well to have cooperation with those of Sakura Empire, now we ask that you join us in the same. In doing so, our alliance will continue to grow, for all of us to forge a future of greatness."
"So you ask, Enterprise, 'Grey Ghost' of the Eagle Union." Chao Ho answered back, nodding and giving a brief glance towards Yat Sen. "I have no objections to acting as representative to my faction for this great alliance of yours. I bear no grudge for the Sakura Empire, regardless of their actions in the past. If there is peace to be made between us, and war to be fought with our common enemy, I will let the battlefield speak for the truth behind our relationship. Perhaps Dragon Empery and Sakura Empire will one day lose memory of their grudges, and hold an olive branch of peace in their hands."
"We can only hope, Chao Ho. We thank you for your agreement to this alliance." Enterprise said, before alarms began to blare, causing Siege to bolt out of the room.
"Siege! Bad news, very bad news! The sirens… they're starting to destroy the world to a wasteland, with Demigra's aid!" Allison said in fear.
"Ha. Looks like the bastard is attempting one last attack before he goes into hiding. Unluckily for him, our army is vast, and ready for combat!" Siege yelled, soon going on intercoms. "All active ship-girls of Eagle Union, Royal Navy, Dragon Empery, and Sakura Empire! To arms! It's time to head to war!"
"So the Sirens have followed us here then…" Chao Ho muttered to herself, before she then turned to the Dragon Empery. "Sisters, we march to battle! Let the Sirens know that the Dragon Empery has fangs and claws serrated enough to tear them to pieces, despite our small forces!"
The Dragon Empery ship-girls all roared collectively, their spirit roused by Chao Ho's words, as everyone immediately prepared for battle.
"Eagle Union, we shall show those Sirens their mistake for following us to this realm! Prepare yourselves, we shall rip and tear them through to shreds!" Enterprise called, as the Eagle Union ship-girls let out a collective "OO-RAH!" at the command.
"Well then, looks like we have a battle of our own now, Leander." Valiant remarked, taking a sip from her tea-cup.
"Indeed we do. Hopefully, we can handle them, now that our numbers are fairly greater with all of us working together." Leander answered back. "I personally witnessed what we could do when we were the first ones to be summoned to fight. Now with more, we have hope of victory against whatever Siren numbers we face."
The factions immediately prepared for battle, as Amagi already heard the alarms, preparing the Sakura Empire for battle.
With all the ship-girls assembled, Siege, Richard, Allison, and Rachel, along with Kiana, Mei, Sakura, and Himeko, left to guide their factions to victory.