Cleveland sat quietly in the speedboat, next to Montpelier, as they sped off into the open sea, the Sakura carriers following behind. When the ruins of the CROSS-ROAD facility had vanished in the distance, Zuikaku jumped onto the boat, her rigging vanishing in a flash of light and reforming as her two hundred and fifty-eight metre carrier namesake. Far larger and more detectable than the speedboat, it was still no doubt more suited to long-distance travel than the tiny vessel.

"Where...going?"

Enterprise looked coldly at Zuikaku. "Back to Union land, of course."

Zuikaku blanched. "Not… go there! Dangerous…"

Cleveland understood perfectly well, despite the Sakuran's lack of eloquence.

After what they did here-no doubt analysed and stored as video evidence-the Union simply wasn't safe any more.

Zuikaku clenched her teeth and curled her hands into fists, staring at the floor. After a few moments, the carrier reached a hand out to Enterprise. "Follow… us. Going to… Spain. Neutral during war… safe."

Enterprise glanced at the Cleveland sisters and raised an eyebrow. Denver answered for all of them.

"Where will you go… Enterprise?"

Cleveland sat on the deck of the Zuikaku, cradling Independence's cube in her arms.

"Montpelier…where has Independence gone? She was with us just a while ago…"

The second ship of the Cleveland-class inhaled sharply and turned away. Something shiny fell from her chin.

"Sis… Independence has gone somewhere far away. She won't be coming back for a very long time."

Cleveland stroked Independence's cube. "Well, I have this, so she shouldn't be gone long…and just after we met again, too!"

Zuikaku stood in front of Kaga at the helm of her ship, steering it with slight mental commands, the hull adjusting its course infinitesimally. To avoid detection, they had decided to travel around the tip of South America, pass through the frigid waters of the Atlantic, then move upwards through the Atlantic to hit the coast of Spain, where they could simply infiltrate the population, posing as humans.

A plan devised by Akagi.

"We'll have to go back for Suzutsuki soon…"

When Kaga didn't answer, the crane turned back to look at her senior. The nine-tailed fox was staring at a crushed red paper cross, carrying it in her hand like it might simply cease to be at any moment.

The small group of Royal Navy ships watched as the black hole above Wilhelmshaven crumpled in on itself, rubble smashing into the ruins of the city like artillery.

"I'm going back to get her."

Warspite started walking towards the ruined city.

She made it three steps.

The battleship collapsed to the ground, scraping her knee, before her diaphragm contracted and bloody vomit spattered all over the ground.

"Lady Warspite!"

Warspite felt her injured knee sting, and realised it wasn't healing.

Warspite stood, swaying on her feet, before collapsing into Belfast.

"I cannot allow you to return to Wilhelmshaven. The radiation levels there have already affected all of us, and you will not survive if you approach the area." Warspite could feel Belfast's body heat-it was already dangerously high, and the normally unflappable maid was drenched in sweat. She tried to pry herself free of the cruiser, but her body barely mustered the strength to even squirm.

"We have to go."

"No-you can't-"

"Warspite!" Valiant snapped.

"She wouldn't have wanted this."

Valiant turned to Belfast, the battleship barely standing stable on her feet. "Belfast. As of now, Lady Warspite is unfit to issue commands. I am-" her voice cracked and her eyes filled with tears, "I will be taking over. Take Warspite out of here, now."

Belfast nodded, and began to carry the unresisting battleship away.

Warspite stared, uncomprehending, as the burning wreck of Wilhelmshaven fading in the distance got smaller, and smaller, and smaller.

"Aaah!"

Hipper let the strange Ironblood girl's broken arm flop back down to the ground.

"Stop whining. It's just a broken arm."

Grabbing the KAN-SEN by the collar of her coat, the cruiser asked, "State your designation and hull number." The cruiser didn't answer.

Hipper poked at the uncooperating girl's arm again, eliciting another yelp. "Answer the question."

"I am KMS Odin… Hull Number Plan-16."

"Well, Odin, you're coming with us. Nobody is going to question someone with a broken arm coming out of Wilhelmshaven."

Hipper turned and shouted to Roon. "Roon! Is the Royal alive?"

Roon was sitting on her haunches, watching Friedrich cradle an unfamiliar blonde head in her arm. "Yes… but barely."

Hipper picked Odin up and slung her over her shoulder, the KAN-SEN's pained gasps filling the air.

"Come on, Weser. Let's get out of here before we fucking die of radiation poisoning."

"Where are we going?"

"No clue. As long as we're out of here before the military arrives in force, we'll figure it out."

Observer Alpha stood in front of a bank of screens, the tentacles on her rigging twitching nervously. Purifier stood behind her superior, biting her lip and looking furtively from side to side.

"What was that?" Tester Beta walked up to the screens and began rearranging the holographic surface with her hands, discarding some and enlarging others. Finally a composite image of an unfamiliar girl floated in front of the three Sirens, with white hair, a dirty scarf, gripping a long, metal compound bow as she vanished into a crackling purple portal. A bald eagle, its feathers tattered and rugged, followed after her.

"What is she doing here?"

Observer swallowed. "I… have no idea."

Tester walked away from the screens. "We don't have the authority to send her. Hell, no one does. All we can do is ask nicely and hope her goals align with ours."

"Fucking random variables…"

Observer felt a strange presence manifest in the room, oppressive and domineering. She whipped around and stood to attention, her pupils shrinking into tiny pinpoints.

The Third Arbiter stalked into the room, eyes flashing with cold fury.

"You… are a troublesome bunch. We gave you free rein, let you play around with the Cubes, and what do you give me in return? It was bad enough that this instance didn't produce results for more than ten years, but I was content to withdraw our forces and leave it at that. Now what crops up? "An almost-full cell of corrupted simulations." Empress's voice rose in mock surprise. "Two hundred and fifty-five, Observer. I had to ask G to stop whatever shit you cooked up, and guess who's going to have to deal with the brat when she wants the favour repaid?"

Tester stepped forward. "Lay off her, Arbiter. We had no way of-"

Empress slugged Tester across the face, sending the smaller Siren careening into the holoscreen bank. She slammed into it with a sickening crunch and didn't get up.

"Stay out of this."

"So, observer. Explain yourself."

Observer took a deep breath. "As Tester said, Master Arbiter, we had no way of knowing that the Cube would have caused such a...potent reaction after laying dormant for so long. We-"

Empress raised a finger. "Thanks. That's all I needed to hear."

Observer let out a long breath that she just realised she was holding in, only for it to be cut off as the Arbiter grabbed her by the neck. She gasped as she felt the artificial vertebrae creak under the force of fingers that could fuse coal into diamond.

"I should vitrify this instance right now, with you in it."

Observer rasped, trying to speak.

Empress smashed her face against the corner of the holoscreen console and Observer felt the bones of her skull grind against each other. Dropping her unceremoniously to the ground, the Arbiter spoke. "Speak up. I can't hear you."

"No… right to."

Empress kicked Observer viciously in the solar plexus. "I'm an Arbiter. I deal with threats to the cells larger than you can even comprehend. Your "rights" and red tape don't concern me."

Empress moved to the console and began pressing buttons.

"No! You… can't."

Empress laughed. "Getting attached to those paper dolls? You know, as someone who's made from the seed of Antiochus, you sure are defective. Can you still tell the difference between what's real and what isn't?"

Observer grimaced on the ground, Empress's boot grinding against the side of her head. "Just because… it isn't real to you… doesn't mean it isn't real."

Empress stomped down, hard, on Observer's head. "Excuse me?"

"As long as those girls in there believe they're alive… then they are." Observer struggled to free herself from under her superior's heel. "I won't let you kill them… just to satisfy your wounded pride!"

Empress laughed. "A beautiful sentiment, coming from someone whose job is to watch them tear each other apart. I've seen the ten million ways the world can end, observer. One more Armageddon barely concerns me."

"Heel, Empress."

The Arbiter's head whipped around. "Who the fuck… oh."

"Heel, Empress. Remove your heel from the observer."

The Arbiter glared at the owner of the voice, but deferred. Observer sat up, her head ringing.

"We are cold, not cruel, Arbiter. What the observer does is her duty, nothing more. Do not hold it against her."

"What brings you here, Zero?"

The first Siren smiled lightly. "What are you doing, Empress?"

Empress was visibly annoyed. "Purging and vitrifying this instance, of course."

"And why are you doing that?" Zero asked pleasantly.

Empress opened her mouth, then closed it. "It has proven… detrimental to our cause."

"Detrimental to our cause or detrimental to your ego?"

"You piece of shit!" Empress stalked towards Zero. She didn't get far, though, Zero's tendrils wrapping around the Arbiter and dangling her in the air. The Arbiter gasped as she slowly felt the life being squeezed out of her, her monstrous strength virtually mouselike in front of her progenitor.

Zero walked slowly to the console, closing the vitrification command screen and pressing a few keys.

"The results in this instance have been… interesting. Arbiter, I'm reclassifying this instance as an ULTRABLACK experimental instance. You no longer have the authority to vitrify or modify this instance without explicit authorization from me."

"But..!"

Zero smiled faintly.

"Need I remind you this is one of the only instances where a copy of him still exists, after that fiasco at New York?"

Empress fell quiet.

"Now leave. Also, I'm cancelling your furlough to recreational instance RED-15543A. You need to learn the right way to talk to your superiors."

The third Arbiter slunk from the room like a whipped dog once Zero released her. Observer felt herself being lifted gently to her feet by one of Zero's mechanical dendrites. She felt one of the tendrils pat her on the head. Tester was also being helped to her feet by Purifier, who had stood petrified at the side for the entire time Empress was in the room.

"I apologise, child. But please understand-Empress is not who she once was, after all she's seen. The only way for her mind to survive what it saw was to enjoy it. All of us need ways to cope with our ghosts."

Observer nodded slowly. She didn't have the right to question Empress's callousness when she herself had displayed it on so many occasions, trying to forget the fact that what she was doing was being done to living, feeling souls and not mindless puppets. She looked down at the ground and mumbled something. Zero cupped her chin and pushed her face up until they were face-to-face.

"What is it, child?"

"All of this, the pruning, the reenactments, the killing, all of it...is it really necessary?"

Zero nodded solemnly, her face clouded with a determined sort of sadness. "All of it. Every single atrocity, every single death...each one terrible in its own right, each one damnedly necessary."

After that, Zero turned and left the room, and the observer returned to her screens.

The End