watch?v=2fngvQS_PmQ
I had flung myself onto the confused form of Chitose as the bombs had hit. Wrapping my arms over her head and hunching over her head and upper torso with my small body.
I'd squeezed my eye shut, not interested in getting it shattered by another explosion. My crew registered a large pressure wave wash over us, but nothing my pressurized hull couldn't handle. I opened it now, and all I saw was Chitose's face, inches from mine.
Well, that, and the fire that now engulfed us both.
All I could see above us was thick, oily smoke, and below that, deep orange flames that stretched up at the sky, dancing as the rain pattered down, the fat drops doing little other than helping spread the flames. I made to suck in a breath, and was reminded rather forcefully by the intake of carbon monoxide that in this kind of inferno, breathable air was not a thing.
I sealed my lips and held my breath.
I looked back at Chitose, who was beginning to panic. I looked down and, sure enough, most of her Rigging that hadn't been covered by yours truly was practically immolated. Chitose's face and upper torso was clear, having had me as a shield, but the rest? I swiped at some that had landed on her right arm. The gel clinging to my hand as I wiped it off of her. I whipped my now-flaming hand, trying to get the gel off, but it stuck fast, burning fiercely.
Then I noticed the white rubber tiles covering the hand begin to melt.
"A-Ah, I can't..." I snapped my gaze back to Chitose, who had spoken. The woman was blinking rapidly, looking at nothing in particular, trying to get up as she brought a hand to her throat. All this did, of course, was smear more burning gel on her collar, "I can't breathe!" She said, eyes beginning to bulge.
I shook the writhing woman, getting her attention on me. I put a single flaming finger to my lips, careful not to smear any gel onto it, "Do not speak, you'll expose your HVAC!" I said over our radio, shortly. Chitose took a second to register the words, before nodding. She pressed her lips together, looking pained, as I got to my feet carefully. I'd have offered her a hand but it was covered in fi- Right, hers was too, what difference did it make?
I offered Chitose a hand, which she took after a moment. As soon as we stood up, we couldn't see each other, the fire was thick, the smoke moreso. It went on for as far as I could see, which wasn't saying much. I held onto Chitose's hand as I started forward in a random direction, if we could get out of this fucking hellpit we could swipe some of this damn gel off and hopefully be able to-
*BOOM!*
The flames around us billowed outwards briefly, as something on Chitose exploded, popping like a firecracker. The woman dropped to her knees, clutching at her right shoulder, where her remaining turret on that side had exploded, tearing a chunk out of her hull where it had been mounted.
The pain must have forced a yell out of her, because when I bent down to look her over, she was gasping again, trying to take in a breath that just wasn't there to take.
She looked up, her eyes meeting mine.
"My ammunition is starting to cook off, get away from me!" She radioed, looking at me desperately.
I snarled soundlessly, "No," I swept my arms under her, getting hold under her knees as I grabbed her upper back as well, getting a grip under her back-mounted Seaplane hanger. Chitose made a choking noise I could only assume was a gasp as I threw her over my shoulder in a rough fireman's carry.
I started to sprint in the direction we'd been going. Trying to get out of the flames as quickly as possible. My running feet splashed in the burning gel below us, sending up agitated gouts of flame. Chitose's hands started slipping around on my back, which I belatedly realized must be on fire as well.
A few seconds into my dash, Scooter arrived, my Rigging a flaming comet as it hovered over the flames after us, the wonder twins following shortly behind, in a similar immolated state.
"AAAAH-AAAH-HAAAH-HAAAAAH!" Lao continued to scream into the dirt in short gasps, curled into a ball facing the ground, hands over her head and knees tucked into her stomach.
"Let me go! NOW!" Anne, until now slowly ambling forward at the fastest pace she could muster, looked at the sudden seriousness in Ky's tone. The minesweeper pointed a childish finger at the screaming Frigate. Anne's gaze followed the gesture.
"Hnn." The tall woman knelt, letting Ky jump off of her and sprint to the other Kanmusu, as Diane and Robin petered to a halt nearby.
The shrieking whine of the hostile aircraft shrieked overhead, as Diane aimed her paltry AA ahead of the direction the sound was coming from in the overcast sky.
Robin reached over a hand, stopping her with a gesture, "That was one of Kitty-Hawks jets!" Robin said worriedly, "She will not be satisfied with one strike if she thinks we survived! Best to avoid firing upon her and giving her reason to continue!"
Diane looked at the 'Prize ship', a little incredulous, before looking back at the sea of flames they had only narrowly avoided. She looked back at her body's erstwhile sister and nodded in agreement.
Ky reached Lao, practically leaping onto the Frigate in a tight hug, "It okay! It's not on you! It's not on you!" She said loudly, repeatedly, into the ship's ear.
Lao's screams gradually receded, slowing to short, shuddering breaths, as the smaller minesweeper nuzzled her tightly.
Hakone would have joined to try and help the Kanmusu's efforts to help her fellow, but one, she was still on fire, and likely would just make things worse. And two...
"Mom, Dad..." The heavy Cruiser shaded her gaze with an arm, standing at the edge of the fire, looking in at the desolation before her. Smoke swirled almost as if alive, the fire almost seeming alive as the rain intensified, fat, chilling drops doing little other than spreading and agitating the oily flames.
Something started to bead at the corner of the Ri's eyes, and a single tear, black and oily, ran down her face.
The black streak started to smoke in the heat, luckily evaporating fully off her face before igniting-
Hakone suddenly perked up, as in the swirling flames a large figure came into sight.
Georgia, carrying Chitose over her shoulder, came into sight. The girl was hardly recognizable, wreathed in flames as she was. Her rubber tiles were burning, and large patches of her white rubber 'skin' had sloughed off, leaving the gleaming black Abyss-steel of her hull bared. The only part of her that remained untouched was most of her conning tower, covered by the Bridge she wore over it.
"GIRLS" Hakone got the attention of the other ships, and with a deep breath ran into the flames, sending up puffs of fire as her booted feet splashed in the flaming gel.
She reached the pair shortly, grabbing Georgia by the shoulder and helping her forward. She was soon joined by a running Diane as well, the Battleship catching up and grabbing Georgia's opposite arm, the pair using their combined strength to carry the two other ships out of the fire.
They exited the sea of flame, Diane plucking Chitose off of Georgia and setting her down, as Hakone tried to help the submarine wipe the clinging flames off of her.
The mindless smearing did make the flames die down a little, but didn't put them out completely. Chitose was unresponsive, her mouth slightly open with glazed eyes. Parts of her, mostly her extremities, glowed a cherry red.
"What's wrong with her?! What do we do What do we DO?!" Hakone said, lip beginning to tremble as Georgia opened her mouth-
"Smother it!" The trio of conscious ships looked over at Lao, who had Ky hanging off her like a scarf. The Frigate had her gaze locked firmly with the ground, arms hugging her knees to her chest, "S-Smother the fire with dirt! Water won't do anything, I've tried."
"Smother..." Georgia looked at Chitose with alarm, the one eye visible through her skull mask widening, "She couldn't breathe! We need to get air into her!"
Georgia, what parts of her tiles that hadn't sloughed off still burning, reached up, ripping the ad-hoc 'helmet' off her head. She knelt to the unresponsive, limp Chitose, as the two other girls started frantically piling dirt over her. Georgia grabbed Chitose's head, bringing their lips together.
*PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF~!* Highly compressed air filled Chitose's frame, as Georgia blew out her ballast tanks, heavily compressed air forcing itself directly down into Chitose' HVAC system.
Flames billowed in certain spots, as air escaped Chitose through cracks in her hull and the imperfect seal between her and Georgia, feeding the napalm covering her. These puffs were quickly shoveled on by Diane and Hakone, working in tandem to pile the thick, black mud of their surroundings on the pair of vessels.
Georgia waited a moment, before leaning in and doing it again, taking care to seal her lips more fully this time. She'd thought of doing compressions, but that would probably just crush some of her compartments and dent her hull, as it had the first time she'd tried it, so long ago.
*PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF~!*
Chitose's chest rose on its own, and Georgia leaned back, letting the Seaplane Tender exhale. This repeated a few more times, as Hakone and Diane continued to slap mud onto their burning forms.
Eventually, the gel covering the pair was extinguished. Hakone sighed in relief, before being reminded by Diane that her back was still on fire. The Cruiser promptly fell backward into a mud puddle.
*PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF~!*
Georgia leaned back, her face almost hidden by a curtain of hair, now stained a deep black from the mud and soot coating it. Despite the fact most of her 'skin' was gone, despite the fact she was now coated in mud and gelled gasoline that could ignite again at the slightest opportunity...
Chitose was breathing again. The Tender's eyes slowly coming into focus as she looked at the submarine blearily.
Georgia smiled.