Part Ten –Coming home to roost

The crack of the backhand could be heard all through the docks, shortly before the sound of someone falling to their stern, the tall woman in a white uniform with a red cross against her right shoulder stood over the silver-haired woman on her stern and said so very coldly to her, "Just what were you thinking? Was this something you and that little half-pint thought up?"

The woman on the ground got herself to her feet again and before she could speak, another backhand was delivered as the blond continued, "No, deliver your answer from your back; being on it seems to be what you are best at, after all."

A third woman with long red hair pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed before speaking with a Scottish accent, "Sovereign, I dunna think you need to go that far."

Sovereign shook her head as she spoke with her London accent, "No, Conqueror, this is exactly what she needs at the moment, for what she did to our brother." She paused and tugged on her glove before adding, "Correct, Illustrious?"

"Oh, I agree that she hurt Thundered, an' badly. But beating her like this, I'm not so sure is the right move." Conqueror paused and gestured to the crowd starting to form as she adds, "I think between Howe, Duke of York, Formidable, and Victorious, she's going to get a much more in-depth interrogation."

"Fine," Sovereign said in a cold tone, turning and starting to head up the docks, before looking over her shoulder at Illustrious and adding in an icy tone, "but if I hear about you causing any more trouble, I will have you refit as a biowaste barge."

Illustrious slowly nodded as she held the side of her face before looking to her side and seeing the crowd starting to disperse while her sisters came forward, her youngest sister folded her arms under her bust and said, "Lusty, what happened?"

"She got slapped around." Victorious said as she looked up the docks at Sovereign as she was walking away.

"No, I saw that happen, I mean why did you do it?" Formidable asked, tilting her head to the side and adding, "He really loved you."

"You wouldn't understand." Illustrious said as she started to get up.

Victorious put her foot onto Illustrious' shoulder and forced her back down as she said, "You heard Sovereign, from your back."

Rolling her eyes and laying on her back Illustrious said, "I got scared, this was really happening. I know I had agreed to Her Majesty's plan, but when the day really came…"

"You had to run off to Littorio, for one last romp?" Formidable asked with a tone of disbelief.

"I think she finally clued into how she really felt." Victorious said as she took her foot off of Illustrious.

"Yeah, and look how that turned out? Still separated from Littorio, and now slapped around and humiliated by our flagship!" Formidable said as her arms flew up in the air.

Illustrious placed her hands on her face and groaned out, "I know, I know, I've made a mess of things."

"That you have." Victorious says as she starts to look around at the harbor before adding, "Maybe apply for a transfer to the home fleet?"

Illustrious sighs out, "There is no place in the Royal Navy I cannot avoid serving with one of his sisters."

"No, no you can't. But at least with the Home Fleet, you would have a buffer or two between you and Dominion." Victorious says as she offers a hand to Illustrious.

Formidable comes over and extends a hand as well as she adds, "Come on, we'll help with the paperwork for the transfer request."

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After she had filled out the paperwork and dropped it off at Sovereign's office, Illustrious went to return to her apartment. About halfway there she looked up and saw a figure with long red hair walking towards her, her pale skin against the deep red of her jacket. Illustrious bowed and stepped off to the side as she said, "Good evening Duke of York."

In a burst of speed, the Duke of York closed the distance and gripped Illustrious by the chin, lifting it so that the carrier could look her in the eyes as the Duke asked, "Anon what shouldst we doth with this wh're, Howe?"

"I don't know, Yorky." Spoke a second voice from behind Illustrious.

Duke of York opened her mouth to show off her fangs a little as she said, "I shouldst taketh a biteth and seeth if 't be true h'r blood is as sweet as r'd wine."

The second woman came around into Illustriou's view and she brushed some of her long blond hair behind an ear as she said, "Yorky, you and I both know you don't actually drink blood, so stop the act."

Duke of York rolled her eyes and let go of Illustrious as she protested, "Wherefore wilt thee rid mine own excit'ment?"

"Because making her terrified doesn't serve our goal at the moment." Howe said as she folded her arms under her bust. Frowning Duke of York moved to sit down on a bench as Howe frowned at Illustrious and asked her, "Why? Why would you hurt Mitchel like that?"

Illustrious looked off to the side as she said, "I made a mistake."

"That much is clear." Howe says as her lips compressed, and she adds, "The question is why?"

"It doesn't concern yo-" Illustrious started to say before Duke of York got up and gripped her chin and again and say, "T v'ry much conc'rns us, wh're."

"Yorky, that's enough." Howe says as she pulls Duke of York's hand away from Illustrious.

Illustrious felt tears starting to well up as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand as she called out, "Fine! I was lying to myself for years! Are you happy now? I didn't really understand what Elisabeth was asking of me at the time, and now I've screwed everything up!"

Duke of York rolled her eyes and walked in a little circle as Howe slapped Illustrious and said to her, "And don't forget that you hurt someone so sweet that all he did wrong was trust and love you."

Illustrious held her cheek again and nodded slowly as Howe looked to Duke of York as she said, "Let's go find some good red wine, I've had enough of this."

"Most wondrous hie on with thy life, wh're. I doth not wanteth to did lie eyes on thee, again." Duke of York said as she linked arms with Howe and gestured forward to add, "Onwards, in searcheth of valorous wine!"

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When she finally returned to the apartment and turned on the lights the sight that greeted her surprised her. Pictures were down, glass broken, damaged doors, and fist-sized holes in the walls. Illustrious looked around the ruined home and spoke softly, "What have I done?"

Illustrious jumped as she heard a voice with a Scottish accent behind her say, "You ruined him."

Turning slowly Illustrious put up her hands as soon as she saw Conqueror standing there, her arms folded under her bust. Getting ready to take another hit Illustrious said to her, "Are you here to hit me too?"

"No," Conqueror said as she walked in and started to pick up the broken pictures off the ground as she added, "I think you know you hurt him badly, but I want to know why you went through with it."

Illustrious sighed and started to pick up broken shards of glass and pictures, stopping to look at the one of her on his back at the beach as she says, "Honestly if it wasn't for Elizabeth, I don't think I would've even gotten involved with him."

"What do you mean?" Conqueror asked as she dropped some picture frames in a bin.

Illustrious sighed as she said, "It wasn't my choice. Sure she had asked me if it was what I wanted, but that was done for show, for Mitchel. Elizabeth knew he was there, behind us as we discussed this."

"That wee bitch, did she use those commands on you?" Conqueror asked as she went over to more broken pictures.

"At first, yes, during the trip to the Med, it was clear to me I'd have to use sex appeal to peak his interest and keep his interest." Illustrious said as she sat on her stern and picked up another picture as she continued, "I did everything I could to avoid becoming invested in it, but after a while, I ran out of ways to avoid being invested."

With the drop of more ruined pictures into a bin, Conqueror asked, "So, why did you stay involved?"

"Before or after Elizabeth stopped being the flagship?" Illustrious asked as she stood up and dropped two pictures into the bin before going over to pick up bits of other things that had been damaged.

"After, I figured Elizabeth forced you to stay involved at this point." Conqueror mentioned as she started to adjust the pictures that were still on the wall.

"After so long, how do you break someone's heart? Every time I thought about bringing it up, things kept moving forward and I got more invested." Illustrious said as she moved to the kitchen.

"And before you knew it, eternity was looking you in the eyes." Conqueror said as she followed.

"Exactly, and I panicked." Illustrious sighs as she looks down and adds, "I should've just run to Formi or Vicky, not to Italy."

"That would've been the smart play, but you didn't do that." Conqueror said as she leaned against the counter and added, "If you'd done that, you would've either broken him just as bad or you'd be going through with something that wasn't what you wanted."

Illustrious nods as she opens the fridge and takes out a couple of beers, handing one to Conqueror as she turns to sit on the counter and say, "No matter what I did, someone would've been hurt."

Conqueror sips from the bottle and looks around the flat as she says, "Likely, but the real question is would this place still look like it was turned into a warzone?"

Illustrious shrugged and said, "No idea."

Conqueror started to pull at the label of her bottle and asks, "Are you going to try and make up with him?"

Illustrious looks down at the bottle in her hands and shakes her head as she says, "No if I did, I'd only make things worse… Maybe one day we'll be able to be in the same room with one another, but for now, I've applied to be transferred to the home fleet." She pauses to drink some beer as she says, "That way I won't have to be here with memories and all the hate, especially when he comes back."

"Sounds like a good plan, I'll talk to Dominion about getting that fast-tracked." Conqueror said as she drank more beer.

After a moment Illustrious asked, "So why aren't you trying to beat me for hurting your brother?"

Conqueror shrugged as she said, "I figured there had to be a reason for why you did what you did and I hate never having the full picture."

Illustrious nodded and tilted her beer towards Conqueror as she said, "Well, thanks for listening and for help cleaning up."

Knocking the necks of the bottle together Conqueror said, "Don't take this as me approving of what you did, I really don't."

Drinking from her bottle Illustrious admitted, "I don't."

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After some time with the Iron Blood

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I wiped the sweat from my face with a towel as I came to a stop at my Y turret; it'd been good to go for a jog to clear my head after what had been a couple of weeks of drinking, laughing, and talking. Most of that talking had been done with Bismarck actually. Now that confused me a little, I had heard that she is often playing the same game as the rest of us, just several steps ahead. And because of that, she is often seen as distant by those around her. Just as I sense someone jumping onto my stern, I hear Bismarck call out, "Catch."

Using the gunsights on my turrets, I stick out my hand to catch a bottle of water as the towel comes down and I take a sip before saying to her, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she starts to say before coming over to lean against my Y turret, this time however she was in her usual black uniform. Taking off her cap and brushing the top of it she continued, "how are you feeling today?"

Leaning against my turret beside her I rest the back of my head against the plate armor, drinking more water before I answer, "A bit of a hangover still."

She shakes her head, a smirk on her lips as she states, "You've got to moderate yourself with drinking."

"I'm working on it, but Agir and Eugen were very clear that I needed to match them shot for shot." I say with a little smirk.

Bismarck rolls her blue eyes as she says, "Let me guess, they told you the honor of the Royal Navy was at stake, ja?"

Nodding my head as I say, "That's the gist of what happened last night."

To my surprise, she reached over and squeezed my shoulder as she said to me, "Have you had fun here?"

"Yeah, I think I have. I've spent more time laughing than I can think of over the last couple of years anyway." I pause to drink more water as I say, "I always figured that the Iron Blood were much sterner."

"We can be, but as stern, as we are we do know how to have fun." She says letting go of my shoulder as she adds, "But I know you have a beast lurking in you, deep. As much as I hate to admit it, I think a stop with the Sakura Empire might help you get a handle on it."

I spit out a little water and pound my chest as I cough out, "Why would I want to go there? The last time I dealt with one of them, she drugged me and tried to rape me."

Bismarck blinks a few times before I can sense her mind working as she says, "I doubt very much that they would allow that to happen a second time."

Shaking my head I answer, "That's the problem; I don't think they would've allowed it the first time, but it still nearly happened."

Bismarck sighs and shuffles a foot forward and back against my deck as she says, "That is a fair reaction, but now you have much more control over yourself, I doubt you would allow it to happen a second time."

"I'm still not too sure about that." I say giving her a sideways look.

Bismarck smiles at me as she says, "As much as I would enjoy keeping you here, I know you are a ticking time bomb unless you get this beast under control and I would be doing a disservice to your mother if I kept you here."

I groan and drink down more water as I say, "Did you know she wants me to find a wife, she says it would be good for me, but," I start to say as Bismarck starts to laugh as she says, "That if you were to find one here, she would expect me or Tirpitz?"

I nod and lean forward a little as I pour the water over the back of my head as I confirm, "Yeah."

From my position I wat as she shifts her legs back and forth, crossing them at the ankles as she's quiet and thinks for a moment before saying, "That's not a bad idea, actually."

Blinking a few times I ask, "Wait, what?"

Turning my attention to her, I can see that she has her hands behind her head as she's looking skyward as she continues, "You and I are near equals in terms of status, you are equal to Tirpitz. But sadly, I think you and Tirpitz are a little too alike for it to be viable. Don't get me wrong, I love my sister dearly, but she isolates herself as much as she can."

"You can't be serious?" I ask in a dry tone as I give her a sideways look.

Bismarck shrugs as she says, "It's worth considering at the very least, I mean you are not likely to find what you're looking for in the Royal Navy after all." She pauses and looks out to the water before pushing herself off of my turret and starting to walk away as she adds, "I'll take my leave now, I think someone wants to say hello."

I arch an eyebrow as I watch Bismarck walk away and I hear a familiar voice say, "Hello, Mitchel."

Standing up tall again I twist around to see my Mother standing on my stern, she was giving me a warm smile and her arms were out wide. I felt a smile on my face as I started to walk towards her and wrap her in a tight hug as I say, "Hi Mom."

She rubs my back as she asks, "How's Germany been?"

"Good." I answer, I'm not entirely sure why she's here at the moment.

She whispers in my ear, "You haven't been sticking it in anyone here, right?"

I laugh and place my forehead against her shoulder as I say, "No Mom, though a few have tried to get me to do just that, I think."

She pats my back and lets me out of the hug as she leans back and smiles before saying, "Good, good. What did Bismarck want?"

My brow knits together as I say, "I'm not entirely sure, but she suggested I take a trip to the Sakura Empire to learn how to better control the beast inside of me."

My mother nods and moves over to lean against my X turret as she sighs, "That's not a bad idea actually. I don't want to see it consume you, I worry what such a thing would do to the world." She pauses and looks back at me and adds, "I've known Bismarck a long time, and it's rare that I see her walking away with a thoughtful expression from any conversation, what did you say to her?"

I shrug and go to stand beside my mother as I say, "I just mentioned how you seem to want me to find a bride."

She's silent for a moment and I see her features fall a little as she says, "Mitchel, above all else, I want you to be happy, even if that means you go through life alone. But speaking from personal experience, it's better when you have things to share your triumphs and your follies with. I understand that Illustrious hurt you, but don't let that be the end of you opening up to others."

I nod and sigh, "I get it, mom, I do, it's just complicated."

She reaches up and strokes the side of my face as she says, "I know, I know." With a pause as she takes her hand away she adds, "But if you are going to go there, I secured you an escort at least."

"Who?" I ask with some curiosity in my voice.

"What am I going to do with you?" asked a very familiar voice.

I reach over and hug my mom quickly as I whisper, "Thanks, Mom."

She laughs and makes a dismissive gesture as she says, "Now, I'm going to go and find Eugen, she owes me a drink."

As she leaves I turn around to see a soaking wet woman with long dark hair smiling at me as she pushes some hair back, I grin back at her and walk over to wrap her in a bone-crushing embrace as I say, "I've missed you Forty-Seven."

She pats my back as I lift her off the ground and says, "Easy there big guy. Sorry about your wedding."

Putting her back on the ground I move to stand at the railing on the side of my hull, looking down I see her submarine hull beside mine. With a shake of my head, I say to her, "I know it's only been seven or so weeks since then, but I'm starting to feel better."

U-47 comes over beside me, bumping me with her hip as she says, "And sorry I never gave you a heads up about Gneisenau."

I shrug again as I say, "It's alright, Hans seems like he's doing right by her."

She nods and smiles at me as she says, "How are you doing? I heard what you did in Italy, and I don't mean knocking Littorio around."

I can't help it but I laugh and hang my head as I say, "Yeah… yeah." Pausing for a moment I look at her and ask, "Are you up for a trip to the Sakura Empire?"

U-47 looks thoughtful for a moment before answering "Let me get a good night's sleep, a good meal, soft bed, and a hot shower in first and sure."

I reach over and place a hand across her shoulders as I say, "Done, I'll meet you at the harbor entrance in the morning."

She reaches up and rubs my arm as she says, "It's kind of funny, we first met sailing along together."

"And may we have many more." I answer as I take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

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A/N: So, we saw Lusty get some justice, some darker deeds from AMH brought into the light and some forward movement in the story. Stay tuned for the next chapter!