Yet Still We Sail
Part 5

It was a beautiful day. In Tally's eyes, probably the first beautiful day since the Abyssal attack, if only because it was the first one she'd been outside since that day. They'd finally been released, but with the dorms still under repair aboard the schoolship, Kay had offered to let Tally and Lou stay at her place for a few days, just over the weekend until classes resumed. Though, said home being in Sasebo was rather unexpected.

What wasn't unexpected, however, was the argument that almost immediately brewed up in the back seat of the M3A1 scout car that Kay's mom was driving.

"I get it, you think our tanks suck," Tally's tone was bitingly sarcastic. "With teams running around with Panzer IIs and 38(t)s, the Stuarts and Locusts of Turkey Company are totally outmatched. Nevermind that I've managed to outfight most of those during this last Tankathlon season. Do you know how many other teams there are where the 37mm is completely ineffective? Two. Kuromorimine and Pravda. So, you know what we do against Kuromorimine and Pravda? We bring Izumi, we bring a Locust, and we use them as passive spotters and active recon. Not as flankers. We don't need Chaffees!"

"Is it really that hard for you to allow a more potent tank in?" Louise retorted exasperatedly. "I'm not saying you Turkeys fight badly, which you guys obviously don't, mind you, and neither am I asking you to completely take out your tanks and replace them with Chaffees. I'm just suggesting that maybe getting a few examples of a more powerful tank that's meant for and actually excels in the exact same job the Stuarts and Locusts are meant for will prove significantly beneficial for the team, and will allow us to fight back against not only said Panzer IIs, Panzer IIIs, 38(t)s and whatever other opponent light tanks, but also heavier tanks as well. I'm sure you guys do run into them at times, so what do you want to do in Stuarts and Locusts, keel over and die?"

"Since when is Turkey Company 'keeling over and dying' when we run into enemy tanks?" Tally asked, rhetorically. "What people always seem to forget is that while the 37mm is less than effective against medium to heavy armor, it's still perfectly capable of knocking most of them out. Need I remind you that I've knocked out a Panther with Izumi?

"And you know what? Most of the teams around here are made up of that lighter armor that we can properly engage!" Tally continued. "We really don't need this sort of upgrade, nor do we want it. I've asked; If anything, we want more Locusts!"
"So, this is the girlfriend and the girl you've practically adopted as your little sister," the elder blonde in the vehicle asked, keeping her eyes on the road. Tally held up a finger to Lou, indicating a need for silence while she listened in on Kay's mom. "Not what I expected at all."

"Moooooom!" Kay whined. "They're normally not this bad. I don't know what's gotten into them!"

"Little sister…?" Lou blinked, a look of surprise on her face.

"I'm not too surprised," Tally said, shrugging. "You do have that dynamic at times, just without much of the arguing."

"H-huh, I didn't think of it like that…" Tuckerman blushed before smiling happily. "B-but I love it!"

"I bet that'll make things a little awkward with Sachi~" the scout teased with a grin.

Lou's cheeks turned red. "H-hey, I haven't d-decided yet…" she stammered.

Tally laughed at her friend's reaction. "That's good to hear. I've got good money on you and Elle hooking up before I graduate!"

"L-like I said, I s-still haven't decided y-yet!" the younger girl's face flushed redder. "Both of 'em a-are really good, so…"

"Word of advice, don't keep them waiting too long. I nearly lost my chance with Kay because I delayed and delayed."

"Damn, that gives it so much pressure now…"

"Language!" Tally's grin reformed as she scolded Lou.

"Oh, yeah, whoops!" Lou returned the grin. "Which reminds me, why exactly are you against swearing this much?"

"I'm against casual swearing. It's a habit that was drilled into me when I was young, mostly, and it's one of the ones that actually stuck," Tally explained.

"Sounds like you should undrill it sometime," the younger girl suggested. "You're missing out so much on colorful vocabulary! Never was a problem to me."

Tally just stared at Louise for a moment, her grin fading. Then, in Russian, she spoke. "I'll do whatever I damn well please, you moron. I never require that you actually listen to me calling out your fucking cursing."

"Uh… huh?"

"I just cussed you out in Russian. I've got plenty of colorful vocabulary," Tally explained, swapping back to English.

"Oh," Lou nodded, interested. "Russian doesn't sound better than French though," she grinned, speaking in French.

"I don't speak a lick of French." Despite Tally's deadpan, she returned the grin.

"I know," was the cheeky English reply. "Good luck figuring that out."

"Well, Russe probably means Russian, and I think Français means French. So you were probably comparing the two languages."

"Tch, you move fast…" Lou feigned a grumble. "But yeah, I was. Basically said French sounded better."

"Makes sense," Tally nodded. "I called you a moron and said that I never actually require you listen to me calling you out, with a few extra curses thrown in for good measure."

"Meanie…" Lou teased. "This is persecution, what did I ever do to you?"

"You mean beyond trying to take Izumi away and replace her with a Chaffee?"

"... Apart from that," Lou scratched her cheek in embarrassment and guilt. "I really didn't know…"

"You said my vocabulary was lacking because I don't swear and don't like swearing. I proved you wrong," Tally said. "And I don't blame you too much for that. I've forgiven you; I'll just never forget it."

"Sounds good to me," the French-American girl nodded. "Thanks."

"Just be mindful that just because you want everyone else to get better tanks doesn't mean we do."

"Yeah. Oh!" Lou suddenly realized. "So you do admit the Chaffee's better than the Stuart and Locust!"

"I've never claimed it wasn't. I just don't want one, and neither does anyone else on Turkey."

"Back to this already?" Kay complained from the front seat.

"Well, we are concerned about the wellbeing of the team," Lou replied. "Why aren't you, Commander?" she snickered cheekily.

"Because it's not fair to all of the rest of the teams! We have answers in our lineup for KMM and Pravda's heavies, and everyone else just has to deal with basic M4s, which are overwhelming enough as is, without adding 76mm guns or Hellcats in support!"

"Well, if the team commander says so, who am I to argue?" Louise shrugged. "I still feel my idea's safer overall," she commented, leaning back before whistling the tune of The Invincible Eagle.

"Safer for securing wins, maybe. But if we continually beat the smaller teams, they might stop enjoying playing against us. And if we can't get any matches outside of the tournaments and ourselves…" Kay countered. "Everyone should be having fun, not just us!"

"You're a good team captain, Kay," Kay's mom said, though Tally only glanced her way for a moment. She wasn't trying to avoid any of the shipgirls, but at the same time, she wasn't looking forward to interacting with them. "But you'd make an awful soldier, and I'm very happy for that fact. Tally, Lou, our home is on the base at Naval Activities Sasebo, so there will be shipgirls around if you have any questions about what's going on. We're not going to force anybody into anything, and if you so much as think someone is trying to pressure you into it, call me, and I will personally come and kick their asses."

Well… there went that plan…

"Got it," Lou acknowledged. "Thanks, Miss Yorktown!"

"Don't worry about it," Kay's mom said, "and please, call me Hornet. Yorktown is my sister."

"Sure thing!" Lou smiled, but a moment later her eyes furrowed. "Yorktown… Well," she sprung up again, brushing it aside, "don't carriers suck at close range, though?" an amused grin spread on her face.

"Who said anything about close range?" Hornet asked with a laugh.

"Ah, sucks to be whoever that is then," Tuckerman chuckled. "... I need my new phone soon."

"If Fletcher was correct, they'll be in Nagasaki in the next few days, and she'll bring them to the base once they arrive," Kay said.

"This is killing me..." Louise grumbled.

"I know exactly how you feel," Tally commiserated. "At least you can walk around with the assistance of crutches. I can't even do that!"

"We'll just blame the Evans and St. Louis for our injuries," Lou replied, a hint of sarcasm and doubt audible to the redhead. "How the hell did we end up like this?"

"I mean, they probably ended up like that Jumbo during that one practice match against St Gloriana. Shot to bits but somehow still combat effective," Tally guessed with a shrug.

"Eh, Faye Faith mentioned that St. Louis fainted," the brunette recalled. "If anything, Evans seemed like the one that was more alive and kicking between the two."

"Well, if our injuries are roughly analogous to the hits we take-"

Tally was cut off by Hornet's confirmation. "They are."

"-Thank you. Then you and St. Louis were still the lucky one. You got off fairly lightly, except for your chest. I've only got one working limb." Tally waved with said still functional limb.

"Yeah, doc says I can take off my bandages later and stop using crutches tomorrow if I can," Lou agreed. "I still feel like shi-... iiirious internal damage happened," she quickly stopped herself in Tally's presence. "The hell happened to her?"

"Good catch, Sean Connery," Tally smiled. "Which her?"

"St. Louis, of course!"

"Sounds like you took a couple big rounds to your citadel," Hornet commented. "Northampton had something similar happen to her at Sasebo, and I had to tow her back."

"Citadel…?"

"Basically, all the important stuff is hidden behind your thickest armor," Kay explained, turning in her seat to face the two in the back. "Stuff like your magazines and engine spaces. A few hits there that punch through will make any warship hurt, no matter how big she is. As a destroyer, Evans just lacks armor, and therefore also lacks a citadel."

"So, business as usual for me?" Tally asked. Kay smiled and nodded.

"Chaffees have more armor ya know," Lou whispered loudly cheekily.

"Not enough to make a difference in most situations!"

"For fuck's sake you two, knock it off!" Kay exclaimed. "Lou, you're in the guest bedroom tonight, Tally, you get the downstairs couch just so I don't have to listen to you bicker all night!"

"But Tally needs a bed," Lou raised the problem. "Her limbs!"

"It's a hide-a-bed."

"Ah."

"Plus, we don't have an easy way to get Tally upstairs. We don't exactly have wheelchair ramps," Kay added.

Tally shrugged. "Yeah, that's fair."

"Speaking of which, i-is Sachi home today?" Tuckerman asked, a light blush on her face.

"She should be. A couple of the destroyers might have grabbed her while we were out picking you up," Hornet answered.

"Oh, that's nice! She's gonna hug me the moment I step in for sure," Lou giggled shyly.

"I see it runs in the family…" Tally observed. More than one occasion of being glomped by Kay immediately sprung to mind.

"Seems like it," Tuckerman nodded. "For Elle, that'll be a tackle."

Tally laughed a little before she looked up and out of the scout car. They were pulling into the base at Sasebo now, and it was shockingly different from the schoolship and Nagasaki. For one, there were girls her age running around, playing what looked like basketball. They paused in their game as one side scored a 2-point shot, and waved at her. They were mostly Benson and Gleaves-class, if she had to guess, but there was a Fletcher in there.

She would have loved to join their game, but it just wasn't to be. Not with two busted legs. Instead, she did all she could, which was smile and wave.

After a while, the M3A1 arrived at its exact destination, pulling into a parking spot.

"Alright, we're here!" Kay announced cheerfully as her mother engaged the parking brake and shut the engine off. "Stay there, we'll help you out!"

The brunette and redhead nodded as the mother-daughter pair tended to the two injured girls at the back. While Kay went over to Tally, Harriet- or rather, Hornet went over to tend to Louise.

"Easy there," the older woman said as she noticed the young Tuckerman wince in pain, getting the brunette to use her as support.

"T-thanks…" Lou nodded, limping forward.

"Kay had been telling me a lot about you, Miss Tuckerman. You enrolled in Saunders under quite remarkable circumstances, didn't you?"

"Yes I did," Louise smiled. "I was very lucky to have met your daughter and everyone else."

The blonde woman chuckled in response. "Just like your ship half. You know, you're known as the Lucky Lou around us."

"Am I?" Louise raised a curious eyebrow. "Wow, so many parallels… Well, I like to think it's not just luck that got me this far."

"Of course it's not," was the warm answer as Hornet sat Lou down at the open door, reaching over and passing the younger girl her crutches. "Luck can only get you so far. You've definitely got the personal merit to boot as well."

"T-thanks!" Lou blushed proudly as she stood up. In front of her, Kay had already pushed Tally ahead on her wheelchair, going at a concerningly high speed.

"Not to worry, they'll have to wait for us anyway," the Yorktown-class carrier reassured. "All at our own pace."

"Yeah!" Lou grinned as they walked ahead, Hornet walking right beside her.

"So, Miss Yorktown?"

"Hornet, Louise."

"Right, Hornet," Tuckerman corrected. "Um, can Miss Hornet do?"

"Of course."

"Nice! So Miss Hornet, how does it feel being a shipgirl?"

"It's…" Hornet paused, considering her words. "A lot of the time, it feels as if I had been blind until I manifested, and only now can I see. There was a whole other life I had lived that I never knew about until that moment. But it also feels as if the world is resting on your shoulders, though that could just be because I'm the flagship here at Sasebo until one of the other carriers relieves me. The sense of community with the other shipgirls is also amazing, but it is most certainly a double edged sword. Shipgirls are much more social than humans, from what I've discovered, much more comfortable in a fleet, but also much lonelier when you're on your own."

"I see…" Lou muttered, thinking about her words. "Sorry if that was out of the blue, I just want to know more. 'Cos…"

"Yeah, that is perfectly and completely understandable," the Yorktown-class carrier smiled warmly. "On the other hand I'd be worried if you never asked. You need to know what you're stepping into."

"Yeah…"

"Is there anything else?"

"Well…" Tuckerman pondered for a few moments. "Why was… she called the Lucky Lou?"

"That's because she was the first major ship to clear Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941," the older woman explained. "At least you know what happened that day, I suppose?"

"Yeah, fully awar-"

RATATATATATA-

Lou froze, utterly shocked. Just as it had appeared, it disappeared into nothing, and she was back at where she was.

"What's wrong?" Hornet asked concernedly.

"I… don't know…" Lou muttered, clutching her crutches tightly, confusion and fear written all over her face. "I… I saw Japanese planes. They weren't supposed to be there. My crew was already at general quarters, my anti-aircraft guns were busy blasting away… Wait," she blinked, turning to look at the carrier, "what am I saying?"

"Looks like St. Louis was showing herself," Hornet observed. "Maybe she got fed up with you trying to shove her all the way down to the depths of your mind."

"W-what do you mean?"

"Well, I've noticed that you refer to your ship half as a separate entity rather than being an innate part of yourself," Hornet elaborated as the two of them resumed walking.

"That's because she's not," Lou defended herself.

"See what I mean?"

"But…"

In response, the blonde woman ruffled the brunette's hair. "You'll get past it, no worries."

"I don't know…" was the sulky reply. "But enough of me. What is your nickname, Miss Hornet?"

"I go by the nickname of Fighting Lady, for one," Hornet smiled proudly. "There's also Happy Hornet, too! And there's…"

The blonde woman trailed off, a blush appearing on her cheeks.

Lou raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Nothing."

"You sure…?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you only when you get older," was the cryptic reply.

"Come on now, I know you were about to say something," Tuckerman pushed on curiously. "And I'm old enough for things!"

"Mmm… No you're not."

"Oh come on!"

And for the rest of the walk, Hornet's answer remained out of reach, despite Lou's repeated prodding.

"Hey Lou!" Tally waved from her wheelchair. "This is Nicholas! She said she was stopping by to help make sure we were settled in."

The girl Tally was chatting with was slightly taller than Kay, with a shock of white hair that was barely contained in a short ponytail. Her uniform closely resembled the one Fletcher had worn, a blue seifuku with white skirt, though the collar of her shirt had stars sewn into it. Lots of stars.

"Louise? USS Nicholas, Fletcher-class destroyer. It's nice to meet you," Nicholas said, casting her gaze over the brunette. She stepped forward and offered a hand for Lou to shake. "You're shorter than I expected."

Louise's expression immediately darkened.

"Ohno…" Tally muttered, just loud enough to be heard.

Several painful moments of silence passed.

"... Never call me short. Ever. Again," Lou finally broke the silence, her expression immediately lightening before she shook the destroyer's hand. "Louise Tuckerman, nice to meet you."

"Noted and logged," Nicholas said, ever the professional. "I'll pass word around, and you shouldn't have any trouble with the destroyers about that. Please, call me Nikki when I'm off duty."

"Sure thing, Nikki," Lou smiled, feeling strangely fond of the Fletcher-class ship, as if they were old friends. "You seem like the very helpful type."

"I've been around the block a few times," Nikki said with a half shrug. "I've seen more battles than Enterprise has, over the course of a few more wars."

"I see. Well, if you're around, I'm sure all's well!" Tuckerman smiled warmly. "Glad to see you're still running about."

"You okay, Lou?" Tally asked from the sidelines.

"Huh? Of course I am. Why'd you ask?"

"You're crying." It was a simple statement, but Tally managed to put weight behind those two words. Worry and concern, mostly.

"... Huh?"

Finally feeling it on her face, Tuckerman moved her hand up to her cheek and wiped it.

She stared at her damp fingers.

"Oh. That's… weird."

Nikki straightened her posture. "I think I know why. I picked up survivors from Helena when she sank at Kula Gulf. I might be reminding you of that with my presence."

"Helena? Isn't that the younger sister of St. Louis?" the brunette asked, remembering what Faye Faith had told her a few days ago, back at the hospital.

"Yeah," Nikki nodded. "The two of you were close, and you didn't handle her sinking well."

"Huh," was the reply from Lou. "Losing a close sister… yeah, if I was her, I wouldn't be able to take it either," she agreed sadly.

Nikki raised an eyebrow, but refrained from further comment.

"Anyway," Hornet interjected, bringing life back to the conversation, pointing at her front door, "shall we?"

"Sure!" Lou smiled eagerly, wiping off her tears. "You think there's a computer for me to borrow or something? The lack of Net's killing me!"

"Ask Kay or Sachi," Hornet suggested. "One of them should have a computer you can borrow if you really need it."

"Perfect! Fucking finally!"

"Language!"

"Ah, yeah, whoops!"

Hornet led the way into the condo. The first thing that caught Lou's eye was the decorations. While sensible people might have wallpaper or doilies to decorate, Hornet had books. Lots of books.

"That's quite the library you have there," Lou commented. "All yours?"

Hornet shook her head. "Most of it is, with my husband having most of the rest, but Kay, El, and Sachi all have a bookshelf of their own."

"Lou Lou!" a familiar voice called out from above a flight of stairs. The girl who came flying down a moment later really looked a lot like Kay, only if Kay was two years younger and had her hair done in a ponytail.

Louise's eyes immediately lit up. "Sachi!"

"Lou Lou!" Kay's younger sister beamed as she rushed over and gave the young Tuckerman a bone-crushing hug.

"Oof! S-Sachi-"

"Sooo nice to see you again, Lou Lou!" Sachi beamed happily, not letting up at all. "I was so worried about you when Kay said you were hospitalized! So sorry for not being able to visit you!"

"Y-yeah, it's- S-Sac- t-too tig-"

Despite seeing her friend's face turn increasingly pale, Tally remained quiet, amused at the unfolding scene.

"Sachi, you might want to loosen up a bit," Hornet commented, looking concernedly at the struggling brunette.

"Oh! Sorry Mama!" the youngest sibling of the family finally noticed, releasing a very-relieved Louise from her vice grip. "I'm so happy you came~"

"Yeah, r-really nice to see you too!" Lou stammered in embarrassment, her cheeks flushed red.

"Oh, hey Tally!"

"Hello Sachi!" Tally waved at the blonde.

"Is everyone else going to come today?!" Sachi asked her mother excitedly.

"Fletcher and Henley will be coming tomorrow," Hornet answered.

"What 'bout Capps and Hadley?"

"They're staying at Saunders to stand guard."

"Aw…" Sachi pouted. "I wanna invite them for a sleepover! But Lou Lou is here, so it's all great! Come Lou Lou," she grinned, helping Lou along to the stairs, "I'll show you my room! You can sleep on my bed with me!"

"Sachi!" Hornet scolded.

"Aw, but Mama…"

"Sachi, we've talked about this already," the mother of three stood firm.

"Okay…" the youngest daughter sulked. "So, who's sleeping in the guest room?"

"That'll be me," Lou raised her hand.

"Oh, good! Follow me anyway!" Sachi's smile returned and the two of them went up the stairs. Slowly, of course, with the blondie helping the brunette. "Then we'll stop by my room-"

"Sachi!"

The next morning, Tally found herself restless. She hadn't slept well, dreaming of fire and smoke. With Hornet out doing her job, and Kay having been called away for something, she was left alone with little to do. The normally energetic girl cursed her injured limbs keeping her stuck in the wheelchair, watching a group of destroyers and cruisers playing on a makeshift softball field instead of being able to join them.

"Morning," a voice called from on top of the stairs. Louise slowly limped down the stairs, revealing that she had removed her bandages. Well, at least the ones that others could see. The cast over her ankle was removed as well, but she still kept one crutch around.

"Mornin'," Tally replied, looking up from her seat near the window. "There's coffee in the kitchen if you want it. Word of caution, it's that sludge that Kay drinks by the gallon but nobody else can stand. Well, nobody except her mother, apparently."

"Ah, that," Lou noted. "Well, at least it isn't that viscous 'better-than-coffee substitute' I saw a few years ago. Ew…" she grimaced, the memory of that abomination still painful.

"Do I want to…? No, I don't want to know. I don't need to hear of any crimes against humanity that are worse than Navy Coffee," Tally said, shaking her head. "How are you doing this morning?"

"Pretty alright!" the girl smiled as per her usual mood. "And you?"

"Tired," Tally admitted, "and I've been thinking about, well, that."

"Mmhmm…" Tuckerman nodded as she reached into her pocket, bringing out a small, red rubber ball. "Well, I bought this at the hospital before we left! It's a stress ball, and it's very bouncy! Wanna try?" she offered.

Tally gave Lou an aside glance before shrugging. "Sure, why not?"

The brunette tossed the ball to the redhead, who caught it with ease. Tally considered the red ball for a moment. Then she raised her good arm and bounced the ball off of the wall, catching it in that same hand.

"Nice, isn't it?" Lou grinned, taking a seat on the couch beside her friend. "Let's see who can catch it after the other bounces it off the wall."

"... I had a dream last night," Tally said, almost absentmindedly as she continued to bounce the ball. No matter how hard Lou tried to snatch the ball away on the bounces, Tally managed to keep it away from her.

"Tch," Lou grumbled as she missed yet again. "What's it about?"

"Okinawa, May 1945," Tally answered. She fumbled her catch, letting Lou finally snatch the ball. "There were just so many planes overhead, so many hits taken… I took four kamikazes that day."

"Gotcha!" the brunette grinned as she finally caught the ball. Now her turn, she bounced it off the wall, but Tally didn't even bother to try to catch it.

Again.

Again.

But Louise continued. "It's quite a specific dream, isn't it?"

"Feels more like a memory or nightmare…" Tally hesitated, snapping out of her fugue for a moment. "I'm scared, Lou."

Lou's throwing frequency slowed down. "Of what?"

"Of all of this. The attack, the dreams, apparently being a shipgirl. It's hard to keep a brave face on," Tally admitted. "What do you think of this? Of everything?"

The ball bounced off the wall and came flying back to Louise, who caught it. However, it was not thrown again.

Lou looked down, a look of uncertainty and worry on her face. "... I don't know," she finally muttered, breaking the silence. "I genuinely do not know."

"I don't blame you…" Tally said softly. "These dreams, these visions we've been having… I fear they're only the start of things."

Lou remained silent.

"Even without going through with the manifestation, I know Evans is down there," Tally continued after a moment of silence. "I remember things I've never been through, know knowledge that I've never studied in my life, recognize places I've never been to. If she's affecting my memories like this, why… who's to say she can't mess with other stuff in my head? Will there come a day where I look in the mirror and realize that I don't recognize the woman that I'm staring at?"

"If you can even wonder about that, that is," Tuckerman muttered softly. "If what makes us us doesn't actually all vanish in a flash. And if we're never going to be ourselves ever again after this, not even in the least bit, in a way we don't even know something's wrong… then we're effectively dead. Our minds long gone, completely replaced by strangers."

She gripped her stress ball tightly. "I don't wanna lose you, Tally. Not ever. And…" she looked up, pure, unadulterated fear in her eyes, "... I really don't wanna die…"

I…" Tally stuttered, her inability to speak betraying the fear she wasn't letting show. "I don't want to die either. And you're a good friend who I would hate to lose… But… but I feel like we're screwed either way. J-just look at what happened when the Abyssals attacked. Evans and St. Louis took charge, and got us beaten up badly enough that I can't even walk right now!"

"We didn't even know they came…" Lou agreed. "They can literally kill us right now and we won't even see it coming. Or even feel it."

"I talked about this stuff with Hornet and Nicholas after you and Sachi disappeared upstairs last night, and…" Tally said, "I think manifestation might be the best call. Beyond some basic training so that we don't hurt ourselves or others, we don't have to participate in the war. And if we're manifested, we control it, not Evans or St. Louis."

"No…" Louise shook her head. "That's being irresponsible. We're unlocking our warship selves, selves equipped with massive power to fight against a global threat; we can't just say 'no' and waste everyone's time and effort. They're going to be so disappointed, and the fight gets tougher for them too."

"Not unlocking them would be just as irresponsible! Are you saying you want to go to war?" Tally asked. "We can't just walk away from this, not when we don't know when St. Louis or Evans will pop up next!"

"Of course not!" Lou defended herself. "I'm the last person to want to fight in a war!"

She took a deep breath. "And that leads to another point; we still don't know if we'll still be ourselves after being manifested, either. I think there's a fair chance our ship selves can be more than willing to jump right into combat, and if we go in thinking we can just abstain from fighting we could be going to be in for a disappointment. Our normal selves, that is; Tally Evans and Louise Tuckerman."

"I can live with disappointment," Tally stated firmly. "We can absolutely waste everyone's time and effort, because it's a hell of a lot safer to have someone who knows what they're doing with this than a spirit who randomly takes control of my body and makes me do whatever the hell she wants!"

"Yeah, but they need us!" Lou refuted, her voice shaking. "I don't want St. Louis to eradicate me, but what if she could've won a battle that the others ended up losing? I'll never be able to live it down knowing I can make a difference! If all it takes for the world to have a future is for St. Louis to live and me to die, I…" she swallowed, "... I-I don't know…"

"Hey!" Tally said, trying to force a commanding tone through her voice. Already, she was settling on a course of action. "Don't talk like that! You are not going to die because of St. Louis!"

"But I could!"

"But you won't!" Tally insisted.

"I-I'll be stupid if I don't recognize the possibility, and if that day was any indication of things to come…"

"Do you know why you won't die to St. Louis, Lou?" Tally asked.

"Why?"

"Because I'm going first." It wasn't a question, it wasn't an offer, it was a statement. "My mom is former US Army, and she always told me and my sisters stories about her time in the service. One story that stuck with me was about the bravest man she ever knew, Major Xander Vance. Major Vance, he had this saying… 'We do what we must, because we must.' He ended up sacrificing himself to allow the rest of his team escape a trap in some small village, and that line… it became one of his unit's mottos. We do what we must, because we must." Tally paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "As a scout, it is my duty to see that the path is clear for everyone else, and to warn them of any dangers ahead. Whether it's in Sensha-do, or for anyone I consider my younger sister, or just because I'm always the girl in the front, I'm the one who goes first… A-and… I'm going first. If I don't come back... if… if Evans is some completely different person, or if I'm so radically changed that I'm me but not really me… you run. Find a way to… to escape this war. You take Ace and you get out of here, go back to France, or join your family in the States, or just go somewhere inland where you can escape the A-Abyssals."

Lou stared at her friend, shocked and horrified. "No. Nononononono, not this time! Don't do this to me!" she pleaded. "If we're leaving, we leave together! If you're staying, I'll stay! If someone has to stay, I'll do it!"

Tally locked eyes with Lou, and gently put her hand on the brunette's shoulder. She could feel the tears gathering in her eyes, and she fought hard to keep them down, to keep putting on a brave face for the younger girl. "Louise, please. I'm not asking your permission. I want to do this. Let me do what I do best."

"At your expense?! No!" Lou replied defiantly, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "I can't live like that knowing you took the hit for me…"

"We do what we must…" Tally started.

"Then you mustn't die for me!"

"... because we must. And I damn well can't let you go in blind!"

"P-please, Tally…" Lou's tears were now flowing down her cheeks. "Don't leave me alone… We can leave together, so don't just throw your life away like that…"

"I… I've got to…" Tally choked on her own words, the tears she'd been suppressing running free. "As your friend, as...as your scout, as a convoy escort and radar picket, and as one of your COs in Tankery, i-it's my duty to know what you're going into, what's ahead of us."

"N-no, not like this!" Lou sobbed. "Y-you can't just g-go like t-that…"

"Then why not?" Tally asked. "Why… why are you so willing to make that sacrifice while not being willing to go to war?"

"B-because you're worth it y-you idiot! I-if you will n-never experience the- the pain, t-then i-it'll all be a-alright!"

"I've already lived through that hell once!" Tally exclaimed. "The Pacific War haunts my dreams every night, and both of my parents have deployed to the middle east during my lifetime. Sure, I've never seen it directly, at least in this life, but I know how war is hell just as much as the next military family." Tally looked down at her hands, both the loose one and the one still confined to a sling. They were shaking.

"T-then don't do it again!" Lou countered defiantly, not changing her stance. "J-Just don't put yourself t-through it again for me! W-what am I gonna do k-knowing I only m-made it out because o-of you?!"

"You'll… you'll do what tankers always do," Tally said, a sad smile forming on her face. "K-keep moving f-forward. Be always a-advancing…"

"N-not like this…" Lou continued sobbing. Suddenly moving closer, the brunette threw her arms around the redhead and pulled her into a hug. "P-please…"

Tally returned the hug with all the force she was able - which wasn't much with only one good arm, but she did her best - trying to convey through her actions, not her words, that everything would be alright. She gently patted Lou's back as the brunette let it all out.

The crying went on for minutes, until Louise's tears were all cried out. She did not feel any better in the slightest, though, still keeping her grasp on Tally as she continued resting on her damp shoulder.

"Lou…" Tally let the word fall for a minute. "I've been thinking about this since last night. I… I want to do this. I… I kept Nikki and Hornet up half the night just asking them questions. If you're scared, let me take the risk that I was going to take anyways."

"... I should've… came down I guess…" Lou muttered, still hugging the redhead. "B-but since you've put it that way… I… I guess I've got no reason to say no."

"I probably could have headed this whole discussion off if I'd just led with that…" Tally mused. "But it's good to get some of that off my chest."

"Yeah, you could," the brunette grumbled a bit before finally breaking the hug. She wiped her tear-stained face. "... I still don't know. What is the right thing to do…?"

"I don't know," Tally admitted. "That's why I want you to wait til I go."

"... Sure."

"Knock knock!" someone announced from the other room. Tally glanced up just before Lou did, shocked to hear and see Faye Faith just waiting in the kitchen.

"Faye Faith?" Lou sat up.

"T-Trips! How much of that did you hear without letting us know you were here?" Tally asked.

"Enough. What you're doing right now is really brave, Tally," the shipgirl said, as she approached. She sat down on the couch next to them, and pulled a pair of boxes out from… somewhere. "But I brought cell phones!"

The brunette's eyes lit up! "About fucking time! Which one's mine?"

"Language!" Tally reprimanded. Not that it mattered, because Faye Faith dropped a cellphone in her lap, and passed the other over to Lou.

"Wait a minute…" Tuckerman noticed as she picked hers up. "... No way. You're kidding," she gasped in awe, turning to look at the blonde girl. "Is this for real?!"

"Only the best for you girls," Faye Faith said with a bright smile. "Even if you don't manifest, Lou, consider it a thank you for what happened that day. I doubt we would have made it without your assistance."

"U-uh…" Lou stammered, looking at her brand-new top-end phone in her hand. "I… I don't know what to say other than 'thank you'..."

"You're very welcome!" Faye Faith had only barely gotten the words out before Tally pulled her into a tight hug.

"You're the best, sis!" Tally cheered.

Author's Note:

Kay's little sister Sachi does not belong to Salo or myself. We would like to give a big thanks to Miho Nishizumi (yes, that is their username) for allowing us to use her! We would also like to give a shout out to Rosy the PIAT-teer for letting us use their character Roselle, who has only been mentioned so far, but will be appearing at a later date. Go check out their story Speedster and Spymaster: An Unlikely Love Story!