Location: Rose Kingdom port facility

"Guh..."

As she sat restrained in captive rope, Ark Royal could scarcely believe her luck: captured by the enemy - while on patrol, no less. It was said that even the best had their fits of misfortune, but she could tell this was going to be a moment that no one would never live it down.

The carrier lurched from a forceful shove. "Geofon, we've returned from our combat patrol… and with a captive."

The Kingdom's carrier turned to face their prisoner, leering dismissively even before she saw who it was. "Hmph. One of the inferior ships. But someone our enemy holds to a degree of respect. You have done well, Raven. You are dismissed."

Wordlessly, Raven and her Aquilas quietly shuffled out of the room, leaving Geofon alone with their prisoner. Ark Royal clambered up, expecting an overt response, even a hit from her captor, but instead found her still turned away as if the austere wall was more captivating than she was.

The Royal carrier peered at her adversary. Though bound and disarmed, she was not without a fight. "... So who will talk first? Shall I talk first or should you talk first?"

"There will be much time for talk," Geofon replied, unmoving. "Much time indeed. And who talks first does not concern me; our questions will elicit answers. What should concern you… are what your final words will be once you are no longer useful to us."

Ark Royal gulped as a shadow fell over her.

Keys in hand, Geofon eyed their captive guest, now free from her bonds but not free behind sturdy bars. "The prisoner is to remain here for the duration of the questioning. You will lead the guard detail."

Like the others, a look of appalling shock spread across Herne's face. "Are you kidding me?!"

"No, I am not," the carrier replied with cold apathy. "Your task is to simply ensure our prisoner does not escape - vocal complaints are not needed."

"Aye, but… it's that bilgerat!" Beluga objected. "I be tellin' the truth when I says she be up to no good, I swear on me life!"
"Seconded," added Kolga. "Having us watch over that… person sounds like a joke."
"W-were there really no one else up for the task…?" Lazuli squeaked timidly.

"Oh I could not have asked for anyone else!" All heads turned to Ark Royal who suddenly chimed in. "In fact, I find no objections to the security detail laid out for me. I shall be on my best behavior so long as the cute destroyers keep me company- er, keep watch!"

Looks of disgust swiftly erupted among Herne, Beluga, Kolga, and Lazuli. Though nowhere on the same level as her subordinates, Geofon couldn't help but regard their prisoner with a newed sense of contempt.

"Are you… so enthralled by these creatures?" Unbeknownst to her, Herne shot the carrier a dirty look.

"Can you blame me? There's no better sensation in the world than cusping tot cheeks in my hands. Ahh, youth… so treasured yet so fleeting~~." A look of pure bliss decorated Ark Royal's visage, contradicting the clear circumstances she was in (as in finally locked in a cell. Again).

None of the Rose Kingdom ships could muster a suitable response. Geofon exhaled sharply before liberating herself from the Ark Royal's presence. "... You have your orders. Keep watch of the prisoner until relieved. I will see to preparing our… sessions."

The carrier marched off, dismayed stares having as much effect as rain on aluminum-alloy hulls. Geofon's departure brought quiet grumbling in her wake. "Uptight carrier telling me what to do..."

Now left to their own devices, Herne's first order was to glare at the Royal carrier. "... Don't try anything funny."

"Worry not, I shan't do anything so reckless," Ark Royal chuckled as she settled down on an oaken chair, the only luxury provided for her in the cell.

The destroyers remained unconvinced. Grabbing her rifle, Herne waved the muzzle. "Then turn away! If I catch you tryin' to eyeball us, I'm shooting you dead! I don't care what Geofon says!"

"Fair, fair," Ark Royal heartily agreed, turning her smirk away. Now facing a drab cracked wall, her expression widened. Her ears picked up shuffling feet - her captors dispersing as they settled into their dreary duties. For all her dignified guise, she was anything but deep down as Ark Royal began plotting her next moves. She had assured her captors that she would be on her "best behavior"… but only for as long as she would be in their clutches.

'It won't be long until they begin the interrogations. As pleasant it would be to await rescue, I must see to my own escape. An opportunity will present itself surely.'

A tingling sensation rolled down her spine, stroking her sense of pleasure. Ark Royal fidgeted. 'Ohhh… what I wouldn't give to cuddle with them right now... Got to focus now. Escape. An opportunity will present itself. Heh heh...'

Quiet stares continued to find home on Ark Royal's back, almost boring into her like lasers. Although her head was turned back to them, the four destroyers couldn't help but feel unease from their prisoner.

"I-I wonder if she's asleep..." Lazuli wondered with cautious interest.
Kolga groaned. "I swear if she talks in her sleep..."
"Arr, what I wouldn't pay to be out fishin' right about now..." Beluga muttered.

Herne tapped her foot impatiently. "Rrr, this is stupid. If all we're doing is to watch the prisoner then why bring us all here? Especially to watch over her?"

Producing the set of keys given to her, Herne stared at it with disdain. A vital component not meant to be lost but in her eyes it represented a nuisance, not a responsibility. "I just wish the relief party would get here already. The sooner we don't have to think about that degenerate, the better."

A small thought popped in Kolga's head. "Why did we even imprison her to begin with? What information could Geofon even get out of her?"

"Heck if I know. The Aquilas came back dragging her sorry butt, so blame them for having us waste our time. Stupid Raven… I bet they didn't even wash their hands bringing her in..."

"Surely that filthy bilgerat be knowing some secrets," suggested Beluga. "She is a carrier after all."

Herne snorted. "Don't make me laugh. First, a ship like her belongs in a scrapyard; no self-respecting carrier in this day and age uses fricking prop planes made of tarp. And second, you're implying that the freaking Deltas or Azur Lane or whatever trust her that much with state secrets."

Beluga shrugged. "Ye can tell that to Geofon. She wouldn't be putting the screws on that scumbag unless she thought there was somethin' of note from her."

The sniper turned her glare upon the destroyer. "I'll tell her that I'd rather use our prisoner as target practice. At least I know she'll be useful! And we'd all sleep easier!" Herne gave a frustrated huff. With the keys still in her hand she began twirling them in an attempt to extol the slightest bit of mindless entertainment she could from them.

"Wish I could just throw these keys away, let her rot in there."

"Well well well, if it isn't Herne."

The destroyers jumped at the sound of an intruder. Turning, their surprise quickly turned to loathing as they recognized who it was. Stepping forward, Ceto laughed. "Never a day without the queen's brat complaining about something yet again."

Instantly Herne's face twisted with anger. "Why you-!"

A hand rose up in defense of the Rán cruiser. "Please ease up, will you?" Thalassa chided. "Impulsive behavior won't help your image."

"No one asked you, you second-rate," Herne bit back. Where Kolga, Beluga, and Lazuli assembled around her, Herne faced the cruisers head-on, hiding behind nothing her own pride. "Now what did you two drag your worthless afts here for, other than wasting our time? In case you haven't noticed we're busy here."

"Busy voicing your lamentations it seems like..." Thalassa muttered. "Too preoccupied from your current task, even. All the more appropriate given that we intend to relieve you."

Herne sputtered in disbelief. "Pffft! Seriously? Says who?"

Ceto prodded the destroyer's head. "We did, shorty. So move over."

Herne slapped the finger away as though it were an annoying bug. And like so, she frowned in distaste. "Yeah well I don't take orders from you. You could be Dysnomia's girlfriend, whatever - I ain't doing squat!" Right as she said that, Thalassa turned away in fluster, struggling to keep a straight face with the mere thought in mind.

Ceto stepped ahead in clear trespass, bringing her face up close to the destroyer's in provocation. "Whatever. Cough up those keys and make it easy on yourselves."

"Over my dead body, goat-face!"
"Arr, that be the spirit! Some fighting words! We be not handin' over the wheel of the ship!"

Amid the commotion, Kolga leaned over to Lazuli's ear. "... Come to think of it, when did we suddenly decide we wanted to be guarding that creep? Talk about flip-flopping."

"Um… y-yeah I guess..."

It wasn't long until the confrontation between Ceto, Herne, and Beluga began to boil over. "This is our job, so screw off!"
"Got quite the fight in ya, don't you short-cake? What're you gonna do, run half an ocean away just to shoot me? Better start growing so your head can fit your ego!"
"You rapscallion! You be prattling bird manure if you think you know a real fighting spirit when ya see one!"
"Oh you wanna go, huh? I'll take you on anytime, anywhere! See these? I could flatten you flat with just these guns!"
"Oh so you admit to being a meat-head! I know you're a real animal so don't give me your bull."

Ceto's grasping hand snapped out, seeking the keys in Herne's hand. "Enough's enough. C'mon!"

The two wrested for the item, grunting in the tug-of-war. "Get off of me, you damn dirty Rán ape!"
"You get off, you Aegir pipsqueak!"
"We won't be sharing any booty with you scalawags, so scurry off!"
"You Aegir brats take all the glory and us taking your job for once is stealing? Give me a break, Captain Crunch!"
"It'll be stealing because we didn't agree to it!"
"Like you ever agreed to anything, stupid girl! Why don't you grow up and step aside before you take a missile to the face?"
"Arr, ARR!"
"H-hey watch it! The key-"

A reaction, like a bang. A smashed atom to be more apt, as everything tumbled back reeling from the point of contention as the deadlock split into an inconclusive stalemate. As both parties fell back, the keys sprung into the air like a stretched rubber band. They sailed high in the air, arcing across the room, some pairs of eyes just barely tracking its trajectory as it made its way-

The keys slapped Ark Royal who, jostled from her dormancy, found the keys resting in the palm of her surprised hands. She whirled in the direction they had come from, her gaze meeting those of her captors through the barred wall. Her perplexed stare slowly turned mischievous as the implications dawned on her. An opportunity had now presented itself.

"... Goddammit," Herne groaned.

Twirling the cell keys, Ark Royal stood tall with a confident smirk. "Now then. It seems I now have the upper hand."

Herne looked uneasy. "Urgh..."

Ceto slapped her on the side. "Oh sack the hell up. There's just one of her and six of us."

"Everyone, relax," Thalassa cautioned. "If we maintain a cool head we can salvage this situation."

"Hehehe..." The keys danced in her hands as a smug smile spread across Ark Royal's mouth. "Without these keys, you would not be able to contain me here for long, nor would you obtain what information I possess. Of course, should you want these back, I ask only for one thing."

"And what would that be?" Thalassa wondered.

Ark Royal leaned in, unable to resist the twitching grin on her face. "I… ahem, desire the companionship of one of the destroyers present in my cell, of my choosing."

The Rán cruiser looked at the carrier weird. A peculiar request - perhaps a little too peculiar - but Thalassa could not think of why not to consider it. An easy and harmless sacrifice, all in exchange for the very object that dictated the situation. The cruiser thought it was a simple decision to fulfill.

"... Okay. Who will it be?"

The four destroyers all looked aghast. "Are you freaking kidding me?!"

"What's the matter, scared of an 'inferior' ship, you brats?" Ceto mocked.

"It's not that, you dolt!" Herne shouted. "You don't even know what you're agreeing to!"

"Come on, we need the key," Thalassa fussed. She turned to the other Aegir destroyers who, like Herne, all bore visages of great distress. "Really now? No volunteers?"

"No! Hell no!"
"Eeeeep!"
"Not I, not I! I'd rather walk the plank that'll lead me to Razgriz's Depths than be in that wench's clutches!"

Thalassa had no words for the scene that played out before her. Not until she groaned loudly from the depths of the palm of her own hand. "... This isn't going to work out."

She turned to their prisoner who still retained an expectant face, almost giddy and jumpy as if wildly entertained by her foes' folly. "Now now, if none of you cooperate, you'll never get the keys back! And then I shall make my escape when you least expect it!... That is, unless you really do send one of your finest girls to attend me, for it can get awfully lonely here! Pleeeease!"

Thalassa raised a curious eyebrow. "I honestly can't tell if you genuinely want to escape or not. Who is it you have in mind?"

"An excellent question, friend! To be honest, I have not yet decided. Hnng... they are all delectable choices… it would be rather hard for me to make a concrete decision."

"Screw it. You, get in the soup!" A pitched squeal, and all eyes turned to see Ceto with Herne in her clutches. The screaming cries of the destroyer rang like murder, like a cattle knowing being led to slaughter (which in this case the sentiment was identical).

"No! NOOOOO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! AARRRRRGHH!"

Through gritted teeth Ceto clung the destroyer tight in her arms. "Stay - still - you - fu-"

The cruiser's eyes widened as her head reeled back in evasion. Her vice-like grip of the struggling ship was undone by the sudden presence of mechanical armatures and exterior of her rigging. Once flinging wildly into a blur, Herne's arms found themselves home to her signature rifle - it too was being waved wildly around. Despite its length Herne made concerted effort to ensure that the muzzle found home in Ceto's gullet.

The bystanders all looked in horror at the blatant display of reckless gun usage. "H-hey! Hey! Watch where you-"

Too late. A shot rang out. In close proximity all were blinded by the flash and the ensuing dust that choked the room. Missile fire hissed forth, further obscuring the scene with mayhem as debris rained everywhere. Fits of yells and coughing struggled to fill the air as much as the dust.

Thalassa groped about the air, impatient to make herself scarce. Upon grasping a figure and barely confirming she was Ceto, she made her dissatisfaction abundantly clear. "Forget this - we're leaving!" Without even waiting for a whining response, the Rán cruiser pulled her partner away.

By now the smoke had begun to settle and the smoke began to break up. Finally glad to breathe and see (and free from nearly being violated), Herne scrambled to take back control of the situation. "Ack! Where'd they go? Where did the Rán cowards go?!"

"They must have fled. Ugh..." Kolga assessed the damage, unamused by what she saw. "Great job making a mess, Herne."

"Shut up."

"Well blow me! The iron bars be still standin'!" At Beluga's exclamation, all turned to see that amid the ruined plaster and cratered concrete, the cell walls of Ark Royal's cage remained intact. Dented and blackened, but still standing, with the lock continuing to hold firm. Even the Royal carrier shared the destroyers' astonishment.

The sight brought a secured sigh of relief from Herne. "Whew. Good thing the cell wasn't blown wide open. Can you imagine how much trouble we'd be in if I had accidentally busted her out?"

"You mean how much trouble you would be in?" Kolga corrected.

"Shut up. Now we got to think about how to get that key back from her..."

A light groan, but not from anyone's mouth. Right as it could be heard, the barred wall fell with a deafening clang. Sinking into the crumbling foundations, a rift was now open, a scissored hole precisely where the barrier once was. In one fell swoop, the prisoner was now exposed, now unbarred.

The two parties shared another look of surprise before all hell broke loose.

"Run away! RUN AWAY!" Screaming, Herne broke for the exit. "CREEP ON THE LOOSE! SOUND THE ALARM!"

Ark Royal barely took her first steps out of her cell before she was left alone, the afterimages of the other destroyers and their shrieks leaving a fleeting trail of where they fled. Already having caught their scent, Ark Royal salivated at her freedom. Stepping over the rubble that was once her prison, the carrier's maniacal giggling cemented her monstrous aura.

"Little girls, little girls… where can you be~~?"

Following their trail, Ark Royal rounded a corner to find herself in a nondescript hallway. Corridors and entrances branched out, each as bland and ambiguous as the next. In that brief moment, Ark Royal's sense of freedom soured into uncertainty.

'Oh dear, I'm lost… Which way leads out? They escorted me here, I must try to recall.' Ark Royal concentrated, the confusion expelling her lust but as much as it cleared her head she struggled for answers. She looked around, studying for clues to provoke any familiarity. Elsewhere, faint alarms echoed from the facility's depth.

Ark Royal was running short on time. Her feet were in rapid motion. 'I've got to move. I don't have the luxury to think my escape thoroughly.' By random, she darted down a passageway, soon finding herself near what seemed to be the base canteen, a wide crowded environment now open to her. Her eyes dashed left and right, deciding where to go next.

'Hm. Where to proceed… A shame, to think I must abandon myself from those destroyers. Oh, the missed opportunities. But alas, duty calls. Now... if the layout is anything like ours, then the closest path to the exit must be-'

A sensation like electricity crept along her spine. It jolted her firmly but passionately, Ark Royal feeling every tingle as it crawled along her back. It ended as swiftly as it happened, but the experience left her only wanting - desiring for more.

Ark Royal's whole body shivered, her stomach full of butterflies. She recognized the sensation.

There was a destroyer close by - very close by. Her "Destroyer Senses" had been triggered. There was no going back now.

Eyes on the alert, Ark Royal hunched like a prowling leopard - her desire, even hungrier than one. It called to her, yelled at her. She couldn't ignore or suppress it this time. The escape can wait - for now.

Ark Royal's hands swept like minesweepers, her fingers slithering like snakes as she sought the source. She had honed her instinct; she had no reason to distrust it now. Over the dining tables, under chairs, within the canteen's innards, the carrier rummaged passionately and thoroughly.

A freezer was yanked open as Ark Royal stared inside. Her heavy breaths frosted as she gazed over the ration supplies with thirsty eyes, but it was never the food that satiated her appetite. "Little girl~... where are you~~?"

She popped open an oven, greeted only by a blackened tray. "Where can you be hiding~~?"

Towers of canned goods, toppled over like props of a miniature kaiju movie set as Ark Royal gleamed behind them. "Hiding is futile!..."

She searched. And searched. In every nook, over every canny. She turned over every rock she could find, but the ensuing mess she made only created more rocks to turn over. Just where was the source? Where could this elusive child be?

The question plagued Ark Royal's dogged mind as she swept the room yet again, her dusted blue dress trailing behind her. But unbeknownst to the carrier, her coattails had brushed past the sitting figure of Aphaiah, glued to her seat by fear. Petrified, she ever so carefully tracked the carrier, afraid to look at her but unable to turn away from the grave threat. She could hear Ark Royal's rabid mumbling, her perverted whispering as she went to her frenzied activity. It was fortunate that she had not caught her when she inadvertently barged but having already sensed her presence through some means, Aphaiah felt that her luck was cutting it way too close.

'Oh why did it have to be today~?' Aphaiah (quietly) wept. She continued to remain deathly still, transfixed in her only avenue of safety from this… woman. Likewise, she continued to ransack the canteen, completely oblivious to the fact that her target (i.e. victim) sat in open view inches from her.

The destroyer curled tighter with bated breath, thanking her quirk but also cursing her misfortune.

And the more dogged Ark Royal searched, the more Aphaiah lamented.

'Why won't she just leave…?' she cried internally.

"Guh..."

Ark Royal had no real words for herself as she once again found herself tied and bound before a standing Geofon. The Kingdom carrier towered over her with a scornful look. The whole scene was déjà vu.

"Bold to attempt escape so soon. But to be caught no less than fifty paces from your cell despite the guards' 'mishap'? Very illogical and inept of you."

Beside the carrier, her contempt was shared by Herne who, as always, kept her distance from the recaptured prisoner. "Grr. Well we caught her again. So this time let's-"

"Denied, Herne. It is time she and I return to our intended… discussions. She will not escape us this time."

The destroyer pouted in annoyance. "Oh c'mon!"

"Argue, and I will reassign you to guard duty," Geofon quietly threatened.

Herne sulked. She turned to storm out in a huff. "Once I tell Tanager about this..."

The carrier ignored the remark, save for a twinge in the corner of her mouth. But that was as far as her reaction went before she promptly dropped the matter to attend to their prisoner. Next to her, Ark Royal was made full aware of the tray, the platter gleaming with malevolence through the nest of implements that rested on top. Geofon's fingers hovered over the tools as if deciding which to pick, an artist contemplating which color to begin painting on their canvas. Soon, a decision was made and a tool plucked - all with the same indifferent pace. No pressing concerns, no hurries - it was complete confidence, confidence of the inevitable.

Ark Royal gulped. There was to be no escape this time - Geofon had seen to it.

*fffff...WIIIIISH*

Geofon stopped in her tracks. A bright beam of light jetted from the ceiling above, its unbearable glare and heat repelling the carrier. Unable to move, Ark Royal winced as it moved. As suddenly as it had appeared, the laser-like beam had ceased, and when Ark Royal was able to see again, she noticed its scorched-black trail that encircled her.

She heard something above her. "Huh?"

A chasm opened in the ceiling, yanked aside by a smiling Reno. "Never fear, the hero's here! Time for your great escape!"

Aiming her palm, a pillar of tranquil-blue energy enveloped Ark Royal. Before Geofon could materialize her own rigging, her prisoner was already away - chair and all.

"Beamed you up, Scotty! Now let's get out of here!"

Both the cruiser and the carrier swiftly vanished from sight. Left alone in silence, Geofon merely stewed at the sudden escape, no doubt a more successful attempt this time. The base personnel would be put on alert yet again, but yet again this would be another incident today, so soon after the first. Their captive had certainly proven to be very troublesome.

The carrier exhaled sharply as she packed up her interrogation tools, never to be used. "Infuriating..." she muttered.