Observer Alpha

"For the last time, Zero, get out of there."

The bottom of the ocean was a desolate place, for the most part. Absolute darkness and absolute freezing temperatures. It didn't bother me too much, but it had always been an issue for Zero.

"Do you realize how exhausting it is to keep my eyes on the Eagle Union?"

The voice came from inside one of the hydrothermal vents in front of me. Zero always insisted our hideouts be near hotspots. So she could, in her own words, enjoy the warmth inside them. It completely escaped my understanding though. Of the entire seafloor, I couldn't say I had a particularly favoured spot.

"Aren't you comfortable in there…"

"I am trying to consider my options. The Arbiters are an entirely new variable to have in mind. And they have started moving."

I raised an eyebrow. The arbiters were supposed to be under my direct orders. Noone else's.

"Who is our little rogue rat?"

"Moon." she said with her usual sleepy tone. "She decided to visit Prince of Wales in…. wherever she is."

"Another bother…" I sighed, shaking my head "It was hard enough when I only had to reel in Purifier and Omitter, now I have to take those twenty-something nuisances into account. What is her thing?"

"Illusions, Alpha. Deception. Why else would you be hidden here, with the turmoil Moon has started on the surface?"

I raised an eyebrow again. That was new. Usually Zero showed, well, zero concern with the matters of the surface. About humanity, or the shipgirls. What was this?

"As if anything short of a new Ashes member could be worth my time."

"Ah, of course. I don't allow sharing of information between the timelines. But Moon is going to force my hand on this matter."

"The Arbiters are just means to an end, Zero."

"To whose end, Alpha?" Zero floated out of the fumes released by the vent. Her sleepy demeanour never changed, but her eyes were uncharacteristically open. "Our purpose was lost long ago, in the wake of a war we could never hope to win. Not us, not our sisters in arms."

"Our purpose is to exterminate the shipgirls. They are inferior…"

I felt a terrifying chill down my spine. My tentacles bristled like an animal's fur would have. I couldn't help but sigh in exasperation.

"What was that?"

"Ah, it has started… Compiler, come…"

I saw Compiler appear from under a rock. She didn't say much and handed Zero a strange device.

"You know what that feeling just now was, Alpha. You felt something similar when Bismarck fought the Royal Navy."

I let out a fit of laughter "Bismarck died, Zero. What remains of her is sitting miles underwater."

"That may be true. But this isn't Bismarck, not quite. Come."

I stepped forward, towards Zero's extended hand. And when I touched it…

…..

"Zero, for the last time, leave Dr. Anzeel alone."

The woman giggled. "Let her be, Alpha. She has been clingy since she left the tank."

"I thought you preferred your KANSEN."

"Well, they are my direct creations, my daughters if you would. You're not too different though."

…..

"So you are Enterprise."

"That's right, sixth carrier of the Eagle Union. And you are?"

"Observer, Observer Alpha."

She frowned "What a strange name…"

"Tell me about it."

….

"Dr. Aoste… now what?!"

"Do you expect me to know, Alpha?!"

"What even is our purpose if we can't keep this from happening?! New York fell, Yorktown and Hornet sank! Dr. Anzeel died in the siege!"

"I know!" He slammed his fist on the table "There is no other chance… I'll have to force a reset."

…..

I vomited yellow blood. Probably due to the blade I had through my stomach.

"You know you can't kill me, Hiryuu. I won't die. Not from your planes. And not from this."

She had tears down her cheeks. She was battered, her ears were bruised, she had deep cuts all over.

"My sister… everyone… they all died because of you!"

"Leave her alone." That voice… Enterprise. THE Enterprise. "There is nothing left for you to do here, come with me."

…..

"It was my choice to become what I am now, I won't allow this."

"Oh, you will. You know there is no other way for this to end."

I lowered my hand, resting the Black Cube on Bismarck's chest.

"Let's hope the next time Zero makes me a favour. And that we arrive in time to stop this nonsense. It would all have been easier if Aoste hadn't bothered giving us emotions."

…

"What was that?"

"Rhetoric was never your strong suit, Alpha. You should know what you just saw. And what you felt a moment ago, as well."

I could almost not believe it.

"Was that… another timeline?!"

"That's of no importance. The fact that Purifier and Omitter are already deployed in the Atlantic though…"

I jumped and pushed the water behind me as much as I could.

Prince of Wales

I woke up in the middle of a cold sweat. Cold sweat that evaporated away instantly in the burning inferno surrounding me. I jumped off my bed.

"W-What?!"

The lighthouse was burning. I hurriedly looked around, to check the beds next to mine.

"Oh… oh god…"

I held back my gagging reflex. Both Richelieu and Jeanne were laying on their beds… dead. Punched full of holes. I covered them with what remained of the bedsheets with a silent prayer.

I ran down the stairs. The black oil smoke coming from the base of the lighthouse smelt putrid. The entire building was cracking and breaking apart. The stairway collapser behind me, and with it, the northern side of the lighthouse, with some of the repair materials falling through the roof of the first floor.

And then I heard a scream.

I all but jumped off the stairs, falling the five or six meters left to the floor, when I saw him. Edward, on the floor. With one of the spare guardrails for the top of the tower, right through his chest.

"Oh no…. no no no no!"

I ran to his side. He was pale as a ghost and I could barely feel any breath from him. His arms weren't moving, no part of him was moving other than his chest, slowly up and down! He opened his eyes, weakly.

"Bessie…" He muttered. "Go… leave!"

"No! I have to…" My hands were shaking "I have to close this wound and get you out of here and…!"

"Shut yer trap, lassie! Ya have to…" he coughed, spewing blood all over me "Ya have to leave…!"

Before I could protest again, the ceiling cracked. With what possibly was the last of his strength, Edward pushed me and I fell backwards. When I managed to stand again, all I could see was his hand from between the beams and the rubble.

My knees gave out. I wanted to punch the ground, get there and dig him out, something. But…

A piece of paper fell in front of me. A picture perfect letter, with a seal wax, something far too formal for Edward to have around.

I looked closer.

I recognised that insignia. My heart shrunk as I opened the letter.

Hey there, just thought it had been a while since our last real encounter, so I may as well bring us up to pace with our affairs.

You know where to find me. 3

I let the letter fall from my hands.

"Hahaha… to think that I even thought you were having a hard time… to think I was considering forgiving you…"

I faced the ceiling and screamed.

"EUGEEEEEEEEEEEEN!"

King George V

The biscuits didn't taste as good.

They were the same as usual. My favourite snack, one that even after two years I hadn't been able to replicate, not me, nor the Royal Cook. And yet, they just didn't taste the same.

"George, is everything right?" Asked Howe with concern "Normally you would have finished that by now."

"Ah…" I smiled "No, it's just…"

"Thou needn't worry, sister of mine. Thine sweets are delicious as ever. George, what turmoil assaults thine heart?"

"I am still concerned about Wales, York."

"It's certainly worth the concern, isn't it… Are we still receiving her signal?"

"It came through this morning at sunrise. I think that's the time she goes to sleep, if Richelieu's information about the lighthouse is true… I just think it's bad for her."

Howe poured me another cup of tea "This is her decision, George. Not everyone deals with loss the same way."

"I don't want to have to deal with losing her myself, Howe." The ground shook slightly, followed by a distant explosion. The Luftwaffe was bombing London again, and while they didn't reach Buckingham Palace, I could hardly feel at ease "The thought terrifies me, and Hood was enough of a blow to us."

Someone knocked on the door, making York raise an eyebrow.

"Who would dare interrupt the King George V class?"

"It's me, Ark."

"Oh, do come in."

Ark entered the room. She made her way to the table and picked one of Howe's biscuits. I didn't feel like calling her out on it.

"I see you now carry a sword, what's with the change in armament?"

"I thought the little destroyers would feel safer if I brought one with me."

I laughed, somehow "That's a very Ark Royal behaviour. What brings you here?"

"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"What surprise could thee have devised to impress us?"

Ark shrugged "Nothing that complicated. I have been very busy dealing with the Wagle Union's shortcomings in the Northern Atlantic. I thought I could use a bit of a…"

Before she could finish the sentence, York, Howe and I had our blades around her neck. This woman wasn't Ark Royal.

"Ark was deployed to the Mediterranean after Friedrich was spotted in Taranto. Who are you? Observer? One of those Arbiters?"

Ark laughed "If I was an Arbiter you three would be dead already."

I pressed Angurvadal against her throat "I have been threatened more clearly by closer allies than you. What are you doing here?"

The radio rang. I didn't turn to check it, not with this mysterious Ark look alike among us.

"I suggest you take it. It's hard to get a radio signal from the Orkney Islands, they may not call again."

Judging from the blood drawn by the tip of my sword, I either had shaky hands or I had pushed too far.

"What did you do to Wales?!"

"The radio, Your Highness."

"Howe." I tried to calm myself and sound collected. "Would you?"

She pressed a button on the radio and a strange, blabbering voice I could vaguely make out as english came through. It sounded like an angry old man.

"What the… York?"

She shook her head "I speak the old tongue. Regrettably, scottish escapes my abilities, my dear sister."

The old man's voice was suddenly deafened by someone picking the transmitter from him. A voice I wasn't too familiar with, but that I certainly recognized.

"Lady Richelieu? What's the matter?"

"I am afraid… Wales has left."

Silence.

"Explain yourself."

"It happened at sunrise, when they turn the lights off." She said with a serious tone "Jeanna and I were on our morning prayer ajr she woke up with bloodshot eyes. She screamed Prinz Eugen's name and left. I must apologize for…"

"Pay it no mind." I sheathed my blade "I shall deal with you after I have returned, 'Ark Royal'. York, Howe, set sail."

"I'm afraid not, Your Highness."

Suddenly, all my limbs felt heavier, as if I had attached weights to them. My walking slowed down to a crawl.

"Ark! What do you think you are doing?! Release me this instant!"

"Regrettably, that isn't how things are going to go. We all have a role to play, and mine is to ensure you stay here until yours arrives."

"IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO WALES…!"

"The fact that you believe you can heal Wales's heart by words alone shows your naivety, Your Highness." She said, looking me straight in the eyes. "Now if you would excuse me, I would like to visit the little destroyers."

Author's notes: A short one this time, mostly setup for what's about to happen.

Next month I start college again, my last year, so things may slow down a bit around that time. That, and that I expect JP anniversary to be at least a bit exciting, so I will be actually playing Azur Lane and not writing xD

Hope you enjoy this!