Chapter 4: Hello, My Enemy

"DesDiv-7 reports negative contact, extending search pattern Five-Zero miles to the Southwest, repeat Five-Zero miles Southwest." Reported I-Class 034. Even as her group of 5 other I-Class destroyers searched she began to… think. Never in the history of this war did a single Abyssal vessel turn their weapons on another. And yet here she was, searching for an allied Wolfpack with the intention of stealing the Fire from them. "By any means necessary," were the orders from her Princess. Which meant if she had to, she was ordered to sink the friendly Wolfpack.

Her nature vs her loyalty.

Loyalty would win every time. She didn't agree with what her Princess was trying to accomplish. Humans were the enemy. They had been since her creation. But… the humans in the Marshalls were a part of her Princess' fleet now. She had a duty to protect her fleet, and to serve her Princess. Even if it meant doing things she didn't agree with.

PING

"Sonar contact Zero-Two-Zero miles southwest, bearing: 079. Ready depth charges. I-229; ready hedgehog."

At least they would have the element of surprise. The Wolfpack was sailing through "friendly" waters.

Well… time to commit a cardinal sin.

But if it was for her Princess… she would do whatever was ordered.

Nabu Island was… quaint. Peaceful. It had some of the lowest crime rates in the entire world and had been almost entirely ignored throughout the entirety of the Abyssal War. Most would attribute it to the fact that Nabu Island had little to no strategic importance, in reality it was much more mundane.

Most Abyssals… didn't even know people lived there…

For the "Scourge of Humanity," the Abyssals' data was horrendously out of date, with some princesses still using maps and charts from the Second World War. Luckily for Indiana, her princess actually used in-date information. Unluckily for her, she was currently holding trident nuclear missiles in her hold, and should the Japanese shipgirls get a bit trigger-happy they would turn Nabu Island and the surrounding area into a nuclear exclusion zone. Should the three destroyers under her command get a little trigger-happy, the Japanese shipgirls would fire back, and would result in the same thing.

No pressure, this was an excellent plan!

Inaiana's tail swished back and forth in agitation, the longer this went on, the further they traveled into enemy territory, the more likely something would go wrong. On top of that, she also had three jumpy destroyers to look after and reel in. The only bright side was that her princess had sent in a deep fog to cover their approach from unfriendly eyes.

Soon enough her radars picked up small contacts approaching fast, "keep your guns down girls, one wrong move and this is over." Soon enough she heard the rumbling of aircraft engines. Oh how she longed to send up CAP of her own, every single instinct was screaming at her to shoot them down, that she was about to be struck by 800kg bombs or type 91's. She held her cool though. She may not have been quite the veteran that her princess was, but she still had a good century under her belt. A tense minute passed and soon the drone of aircraft engines went over her.

Visual confirmation, Zeros? No, Reppū's! A7M's, which meant one thing. "They're taking this seriously, very seriously." There was one carrier that fielded Reppu's; the Kaga. She was being covered by the vaunted Kidō Butai, the First Air Fleet, or the First Carrier group.

The First Carrier Group was made up of two carriers, the Akagi and the Kaga, half-sisters and veterans older than she was. If the Japanese didn't honor their agreement, then getting away from the island would be much harder that she thought. This wasn't even taking into account what other ships would be there.

Soon enough the island itself came into view, through the fog she saw their destination. The marina would be the meeting and transfer point would take place. For safety reasons the admiral wouldn't be there, and she would instead meet the chosen representative. She played the same role for her princess.

As they got closer she started getting radar contacts, and even closer visual confirmation.

She was right on the money, both Kaga and Akagi were there in their traditional women's archer outfits. She saw three cruisers; maybe lights, and a substantial number of destroyers, Akatsuki and Kagero classes? She wasn't sure. There were also two battleships, a Nagato class, maybe Nagato herself, the oldest shipgirl alive.

The shock of that though was overshadowed by a number of other people that made no sense, dressed colorfully and uniquely. Skintight bodysuits, capes, personal designs.

There were going to be heroes at this meeting.

Among them, wearing red, white, and blue; smile on his face and standing tall, was All Might.

Shit…

To say the marina was tense would be a monumental understatement. For the first time in probably the entire Abyssal War, Nagato of the Big 7 was staring at the face of a Re-Class battleship… and not attacking it. And vice versa, the Abyssal capital ship wasn't attacking her.

The number of heroes alongside the shipgirls only made the situation weirder. Apparently when the admiral got the call from Wake Island, the Hero Public Safety Commission had coincidentally learned of the exchange not long after. Because of the nature of the exchange, they had… "recommended" that several heroes be present to foster good relations between the navy and heroes. Nagato knew that was bullshit, but she didn't know the real reason why, and her admiral was being tight-lipped about it. No matter, all that was important was that the nukes were transferred safely into Japanese hands.

"I am the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force battleship Nagato, representing Admiral Toyoda of the Yokosuka Naval Base. Please state your name, affiliation, and intentions," Nagato said in her typical authoritative voice.

"I am the battleship Indiana, representative of the Wake Island Abyssal Fleet and stand-in for the Supply Depot Princess. We are here to transfer several trident nuclear missiles to the Japanese Navy in order to prevent a possible nuclear strike against civilian populations." Replied the Abyssal; now identified to be Indiana.

Murmurs rippled across the small crowd. Confusion, doubt, worries. Why would the Abyssals give up, willingly give up, nuclear devices. Was this a trap? We're the Abyssals sending the equivalent to a suicide bomber? And most importantly, did the Abyssals have more of these missiles at their disposal?

She banished the thoughts from her mind, they were here for a reason, the shipgirls under her command didn't want to be there, and despite her efforts to hide it the Abyssals really didn't want to be there.

Despite the tension though, not once did Indiana do anything suspicious. Throughout the entire event, unloading the missiles from her hold, waiting for them to be inspected, her guns were centered and held at maximum elevation. The three destroyers under her command hadn't moved an inch either. Dare she say it, everything was going well.

Now came the most awkward part, they had a tech on hand that would help to disarm the warheads, and for whatever reason the Abyssals wanted to be present for it. The realistic side of Nagato rationalized that they wanted to make sure the nukes wouldn't be used against them in the future. So now they just had to… wait.

Apparently though, and honestly it should've been expected, a destroyer's childlike curiosity was impossible to reign in even in such an event as this. One of the destroyers, a member of DesDiv-6 approached one of the Abyssal destroyers to chat. Everybody was tense, staring, waiting, ready to fire at a moment's notice…

But nothing happened. Today was a day of firsts it seemed, because before their very eyes, an Abyssal and a Japanese destroyer were having a very awkward conversation, about candy of all things. And it seemed that the curiosity of a destroyer transcended all hate, because when Inazuma pulled out a lollipop, the other Abyssal destroyers came to see what all the fuss was about. Probably emboldened by the lack of conflict, the rest of DesDiv-6 joined the small group, and soon they were all chatting and giggling as if they had been friends their entire lives.

"I can't help but draw parallels to something similar," came the voice of the Abyssal Battleship, "During Christmas of 1914, British and German soldiers met in No Man's land after singing carols. They exchanged gifts, played football, held a mass, and buried their dead."

Nagato looked at her Abyssal counterpart, who was staring at the destroyers with a neutral expression on her face. "It happened all along the Western front if I remember correctly, enemies turning to friends and forgiving each other." Indiana looked Nagato in the eyes. Despite the peaceful situation it still made her tense, and she had to forcefully keep her guns still.

"Is the same thing happening here?"

The question was left in the air, either of them could've asked it, neither answered.

"Why?" Nagato asked. Indiana quirked an eyebrow. "Why are you giving us the nukes?"

Indiana looked back at the destroyers, "… Abyssal Princesses operate differently than each other. As you've seen throughout the war, a good amount are sadists, who enjoy causing suffering and cruelty. It isn't our way. My princess, my fleet, isn't like that. WMD's have no place in naval warfare. It scars the land, poisons the air, defiles nature. Those who survive get to experience a death unimaginably painful compared to conventional weaponry. Abyssals fight for the earth, these weapons will destroy it."

Both were silent after that. The answers Nagato received only led to more questions.

"Tell me…" Indiana began, "when the day ended, and the shelling began again after Christmas, the soldiers who had made friends, who played games with each other, fought and killed each other. Hate festered, and it never happened again." The Abyssal battleship gave Nagato a sidelong look, "how's this gonna end? You have enough ships and heroes here to sink me ten times over."

How would this end? So far the Abyssal delegation, the enemy that Nagato had fought for centuries, had not only kept their word, but had had a philosophical conversation with her.

In just two hours it felt like Nagato's entire world had flipped upside down… What a mess…

Nagato watched as her radar gave one last ping before going silent. The Abyssals were officially out of range, and not a single shot was fired. The nuclear missiles were being loaded in secure transports that very moment. All in all the meeting was a major success, but to Nagato all it resulted in was questions…

"I think that was an amazing thing that you accomplished today." A voice from behind her said, she knew who it was before turning around.

"All Might," she greeted courteously. "It wasn't anything that special. It was just a trade, even if it was unprecedented," she finished. Nagato wasn't an avid fan of heroes like so many of the fleet. She didn't dislike them, but she rarely found herself operating with them. On occasion she coordinated with Selkie or Gang Orca, but she was a battlewagon, one of the 'Big 7' even. Destroyers and cruisers joined the Coast Guard for joint-ops sometimes, but battleships like her weren't exactly… quick. Nagato wasn't disappointed, she knew where she was useful. That just didn't include many patrols anymore.

"HAHA! Don't sell yourself short there! I might not be the best historian, but even I know that this has never happened before! You negotiated a trade with your avowed enemy and nobody fought. That shows just how calm and steady you are!" He said with a smile. She was still unsure though. Apparently she wasn't as good at hiding it as she thought she was.

"You seem troubled young Nagato, what's on your mind?" Young? She raised a slender eyebrow at him, deadpanning.

"I'm probably triple your age, All Might," she said, causing the man to laugh in agreement. But still… "It's exactly like you said. And I even asked her… They had an extreme tactical advantage, their entire goal is our destruction. And they just… gave it up? Because they want to fight fair?" She scoffed, agitated.

"I would take hope from this. Maybe it's an olive branch. Maybe it's that princess' way of showing that some Abyssals are tired of the war. That they want it to end," All Might looked out to the ocean, "Generations pass, attacks aren't as common as they used to be. I'm not saying that we should forgive them, but if they ask for an armistice, would that be such a bad thing?"

There was a long moment before anyone said anything. "I don't know what reason they had, but I can't believe that it was peaceful," she held up a hand before All Might could interrupt her, "my experiences have made me jaded. You could look at Japan and almost forget about what's happened."

Nagato took a breath, "You weren't there to save us in the early days, and it wasn't your fault, but…" she lost herself in her memories. Seeing friends die, near-death experiences, cities on fire, entire nations collapsing, "… I don't know. Maybe I'm just old." She gave a small, amused smile to All Might before continuing. "Thank you for coming, even if you just stood around you and the other heroes did amazing for the morale of the girls. Good day."

All Might Watched her as she leapt onto the water and joined her comrades. "Most people may have forgotten what you women have gone through, but you're all heroes to me." He knew better than most what it meant to fight against an overwhelming enemy, and especially when you lose someone to them. Even with her words though, he was still hopeful. Peace might be on the horizon.

"She did what?!" I screamed. The poor cruiser quivering in front of me didn't deserve my rage, and it wasn't directed at her, but an angry princess was… a sight… to say the least. My eyes blazed blue as I ground my teeth together. The fucking nerve.

"A-As of 17:35 this afternoon the Battleship Princess… t-the Battleship Princess killed the Pacific Princess, and has c-claimed her position as her own.

In her words; "it had come to my attention that our leader in the Deep was drafting a treaty to be presented to the United Nations, where we would sign an armistice and halt our campaign against the humans. The Pacific Princess had lost sight of our purpose, grief had driven her to the brink, and she was no longer fit to lead. When I confronted her, she resisted. This may seem like a radical change, but believe me my sisters, I will not lose sight of our goal. The earth will be cleansed of the vermin that desecrate it. We have sat idly by for far too long. The humans have forgotten fear, and we will teach it to them. Even their so-called "heroes" will be powerless to stop us. We will be victorious! We will lead a campaign of fire so deadly that the survivors won't ever come out of their holes!"

"There will be time to grieve our fallen princess, but soon our attacks will begin in earnest. Be ready my sisters, our time is now!"

The room was deathly quiet, you could split the tension with your finger if you wanted.

"Clear. The room." I said coldly. Everyone moved, packing up what they were working on and walking out of the door. All except for one.

"If it wasn't fabricated… it could've been our one chance for peace." I sounded hollow, tired. I didn't move as I felt a hand gently rest on my shoulder. "Dione… what do we do?" I begged her for an answer. An answer that I knew didn't exist. I was the Supply Depot Princess, I didn't have the option of sitting out the inevitable battles. My fleet was the lifeline for the entire Abyssal force in the Pacific Ocean. Every princess played their role, mine was to supply my allies everywhere.

When no answer came I looked at my friend's face. It held the same shock and grief that mine did. The Pacific Princess was a friend, a gentle soul that was often seen talking with her subordinates or playing with destroyers. Not only that, but in recent years she was the leader of the 'moderate faction.' The barrier between us and a total war that would leave us in ruins. The Abyssal Pacific Fleet was the last major force in the world. The Mediterranean Fleet was all but gone, and there would be no help coming from the Atlantic. If we went on the offensive like this, we wouldn't just be facing the Japanese. The Americans would mobilize. The Russians would too. Hell, even the Royal Navy and the Regia Marina would probably join in.

We would not be able to win. There would be no victory, only a defiant cry as the humans drove us into memory. A long time ago I might've been happy with that end, but not now.

All I wanted was prosperity for my fleet and those under my command, that they could be happy and safe. There wasn't a reason to fight the humans, not anymore. It took a long time but I finally understood that. How was I supposed to do this when that madwoman wanted to go full speed towards our destruction?

"You know that there's going to be a War Summit," Dione finally said.

"Yeah…" I sighed, "I'll have to attend it, you'll have the island while I'm away. I'm also going to stop by the Marshalls soon. If things really are going to escalate then… somehow they'll have to evacuate. They'll be right in the line of fire, either by the humans who don't know about them or other Abyssal forces when they're eventually discovered."

"They won't leave, you know that. It's their home. It has been their home for hundreds of years, even before we discovered them."

"I know!" I yelled. "But I have to try! They're part of my fleet! They are under my protection! I don't care if they're Human or Abyssal, they are part of my family and I'll be damned if that battleship whore decides to kill them!" It took all of my control not to bring my fist down on the desk I was leaning on.

Damn it.

The Marshalls were proof. That group of islands was proof that our kinds didn't have to be at war with each other. They made friends on that island, couples, there was even a marriage between an abyssal and a human scheduled sometime in the coming months. To think that all of that, all of the effort I put into making that reality possible, was under threat turned my blood to ice.

The Battleship Princess had made it abundantly clear that she was willing to kill her own, no matter how powerful their position was. There was nothing I could do publicly to defend the Marshalls without ousting myself as a traitor to the entire Abyssal Fleet. Then not only would the Marshalls suffer, but everyone under my command would be put to the sword.

There would also be one side effect that guaranteed that the Battleship Princess would get her way. Fear.

There was no one left that could oppose her, other than me and maybe one other. It wasn't out of cowardice either, they just simply didn't have the tonnage to stand up to her. In reality, there probably wasn't a single shipgirl or abyssal that matched her in tonnage. Why? The Battleship Princess was an A-150.

The A-150 was a possible plan for a battleship that would succeed Japan's famous 'Yamato' class battleships. Instead of the nine 18.1in guns, she had eight 20in guns. She weighed close to 85,000 tons, and had 200,000 ship horsepower. She had 18 secondary armaments and 36 anti-air batteries. She was, simply put, a monster. The only reason I could technically stand up to her was because I am literally an island. I, again, am Wake Island and its supply depot. The other princesses weren't.

They were cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and a few aircraft carriers. They were right to be scared, I was terrified.

Before either of us could say anything more we heard the radio receiver go off. The lines and dashes may have sounded like normal beeping to a human, but we instantly translated it as it came through. A War Summit, and a time to be there. A day from now. Great…

"New plan. You do your best to get the Marshalls to begin evacuations. I'll go to the summit and see what that madwoman is planning," I took a breath. "I'll send a secure transmission with the summary, and contingency plans should something happen. Until I get back you have Wake and Indiana has the Marshalls." I heard a brief "yes ma'am" as I walked out of the radio building. The staff was outside, looking fearfully at me. Uncertain. Nervous.

"Return to your posts, Diona has command until I get back," I paused as I passed them, turning to face the group of cruisers. "The future is uncertain right now. It might get worse. Remember your duty and your oaths. We'll get through this, we have to."

I had no idea just how right I was. It was going to get worse. So, so much worse.

It was an impressively slow day for the cruiser Ooyodo, and even taking on more civilian and coast-guard transmissions didn't help. That was when her communication station started going nuts. Rolling her chair over to her desk she put on her headset and started translating the morse code as it was printed onto paper. By the time she had finished her blood had turned to ice in her veins.

-SECURE TRANSMISSION-

To: [Admiral Mato], Location: Yokosuka Naval Base

From: [UNKNOWN], Location: [UNKNOWN]

LARGE ATTACK IMMINENT,

TARGET: TOKYO,

MULTIPLE CAPITAL SHIPS PRESENT,

MULTIPLE PRINCESS CLASS VESSELS PRESENT,

PREPARE LARGE-SCALE EVACUATIONS,

ALERT ANY NAVAL AND LAND FORCES, AND ANY AVAILABLE HEROES

-END TRANSMISSION-

The admiral was in a meeting, miles away at the HPSC HQ! This couldn't have come at a worse time. It could be a trick, but she wasn't willing to risk that. She'd happily take the punishment if it ended up being a false alarm.

As fast as she could she opened a channel to Nagato, "Nagato, call back all of the patrols! Tokyo is about to get hit, and it's gonna get hit hard!"

"Ooyodo? what are you-" she was cut off.

"Just do it! I'm sending you the transmission, do what you need to do. I'm gonna try and contact Admiral Mato, meeting be damned!" with that, she cut the line and started making calls faster than she ever had before. If this transmission was legit, she would kiss whoever sent this warning.

I'm not dead! And look! An actual chapter!

We had some familiar faces, and things are getting crazy! An averted disaster, philosophical conversations, a political coup, a genocidal psychopath in charge of the entire Abyssal navy? When will our poor girl get her happy and fluffy ending?!

Things are ramping up, the next chapter is going to be hectic, a storm is coming, but where will it hit? And when?

Heh

I'll see you next time~

EDIT: No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the Morse Code to properly translate. Instead I just re-wrote the last bit. -_-