A Sea on fire…

A sea filled with the wrecks of ships and planes as far as the eyes could see, disturbing its once peaceful blue surface.

Beyond it, laid an island that matched its destruction. Massive columns of smoke rising from its former buildings and facilities. The largest one originating from several connected docks, their impressive size resting on its coast.

Fire was sweeping through them at an alarming rate, continuously consuming the stocked supplies of oil, wood, and gunpowder, fueling its now uncontrollable growth.

Around the countless wrecks of steel laid girls of all shapes and sizes dead, their blood slowly joining the oil in tainting the now burning ocean. At rest from an endless war that did not see it fit to find its own slumber.

Massive ships, red and black, demonic in form, still roamed forward. Crushing any and all debris that happened to come their way, destroying the former ships as if they were mere paper, not steel. But their endless advance was not without resistance, the roar of blazing guns accompanying them every step of the way. As the victor for this battle had yet to be decided.

Lasers and planes flew wildly in the air, their roaring sounds deafening everything and all. Two cruisers, Belfast and Housten, stood strong against the oncoming onslaught of siren weaponry, defending a heavily injured Pennsylvania desperately. Safeguarding her from further enemy attacks.

Out of the two cruisers had Belfast sustained the most injuries. Her right arm hanging limp after one particularly lucky bomber who had sneaked through their Anti-air defenses.

Houston had been more fortunate, yet to sustain anything serious. Though her never ending smile had disappeared a long time ago, replaced with a much more serious expression.

Pennsylvania, who floated on the surface, could barely be counted as alive. Much of her rigging blown away, only one turret still seemingly operational. She laid silently on the water, the sounds of her ragged breaths the only thing managing to escape her mouth. Behind her, far away, were shipgirls fighting their own battles, much of the fleet formation having collapsed long ago.

Belfast risked a look back to Pennsylvania and the others beyond, seeing only a few left. Enterprise was still putting up a fierce fight. But her continued resistance had caught the attention of several humanoid sirens, making her unable to lend assistance to anyone else. Queen Elizabeth and Bismarck could be spotted standing back to back, both firing their riggings as fast as physically possible. Trying to put any sort of dent in the endless stream of mass produced siren ships entering the fray.

It hurt how she could not stand beside her queen at this crucial moment, but looking down at Pennsylvania's ever whitening skin reminded her that others needed her more.

She knew others were out there. The beaver squad for one, seen a while ago firing a wave of torpedoes at the enemy. But now, with all the smoke filling the air, made it impossible to find their small bodies skating around on the water. That's at least what she hoped for, disregarding more unsavory theories.

She reached up to her ear for what felt like the hundredth time, attempting to reach Vestal, their most prominent repair ship. In an effort to procure severely needed emergency aid to Pennsylvania, but was once again only met with the sound of static.

She could still hear the Commander shouting orders over the radio to all those that still lived. But all strategic directions had become near useless with their unified front destroyed. In the end, there was little he could do but watch as his radar lost one green dot at a time.

The island had already been evacuated long ago, housing only the Commander alone in the communications office. Hands clasped firmly on the corners of the wooden desk before him, frantically looking over several maps spread upon it. He had denied any request to personally flee or relocate, already accepting that this would be his final resting place in the long war against the sirens.

And that would be his fate, as a giant explosion drew all eyes to the island, fighting or not, with a soundwave that could be felt for miles. A sound Bismarck recognized almost instinctively, her eyes widening. The fires had reached a large ammunition stock on the docks, and with a roaring explosion, silenced the Commander forever. The radio channel replacing his once frantic orders with the sound of light static, signaling his passing.

A single tear ran down from Belfast's cheeks, falling down into the sea and joining it forever, as she soon would too. Because now, with the Commander gone, so was her hope.

Leaving the sights of the battlefield, going far up in the sky. Could three sirens be seen overlooking the battle decisively going in their favor, but no smiles could be seen on their faces. Instead, they all sported variations of irritation or apathy.

"Another failure huh?"

One of them said, breaking the silence. The culprit being the tallest of the three.

"Failure… yeah. But only because of your needless overmicroing of parameters this time, I foresaw this a nautical mile away."

The smallest answered matter of fact, losing her face of boredom and apathy to one of a smug grin.

The long figure stared at her smaller compatriot, her irritation turning into full-blown anger.

"You foresaw this outcome yet didn't interfere?! Should I remind you that we don't have infinite trials, throwing them away like this is wasteful, Alpha!"

The now named siren, looking even more joyful at her tauntings effectiveness, replied almost haughtily, putting one of her hands up to rest on her chest.

"Me? Wasteful? It would seem like you don't know me as well as you'd like to think my dear old Tester. In fact, this timeline has been most helpful in gathering crucial data for our next initialization."

Alpha finished, head held high. Her satisfaction with the current events plain to see by the others in her company.

Although that expression changed quickly to one of irritation as the third siren burst out, screaming in frustration. White hair, tied in a long ponytail, flailing wildly from side to side as she threw a tantrum upon her rigging. She had been more than content just watching the battle unfold for some time now, but it would seem that that wasn't satisfying enough for her anymore, her patience running out.

"Alphaaaa."

She whined, dragging out the name of the smallest siren as long as she could.

"Could I join the battle now? It's nearly over and it would just be boring watching till the end."

She laid down dramatically on her rigging, letting out an exaggerated sigh, and with a slight pout, she looked over at her two companions.

"And your nerd talk isn't really helping me to concentrate either."

Alpha could almost feel her right eye twitch as she looked over to the source of all her problems. All the while forced to be satisfied with only letting out a small sigh of her own.

"Zero has already permitted the purge of this simulation with the destruction of the Key. If you want to have some fun you better be quick about it, Purifier. I've already requested an initialization of another timeline."

It would seem that that was enough for the disgruntled siren, pout quickly transforming into a giant grin.

She quickly rolled over onto clear sky, leaving the top of her rigging. Letting gravity do its work as she swiftly descended to the few leftover pockets of fighting that still remained. Though not before shouting a quick thanks to Alpha and leaving both sirens with an ever more distant sound of laughter. Its sound slowly disappearing the farther down she went.

Alpha simply stared down, following Purifiers course. Silently thanking the Creator for this single moment away from the annoying siren. Though even in that moment of perfect silence, was her fate to be disturbed. Tester breaking the tranquility almost immediately with a question of her own.

"Ready to begin the nerd talk again or are you just gonna daydream about how much you wanna strangle Purifier all day?"

Tester asked, a small smile resting on her lips as she finished her sentence.

It was now Alphas turn to glare in irritation at her fellow siren, widening Testers smile.

feeling quite victorious, Tester continued;

"No, actually. I'd like to keep the silence going for a bit. I want to enjoy how easily I turned the tables against you. It would be a shame for this moment to pass so soon."

Alpha, now displeased more than ever, activated her rigging. Her eyes shone a brilliant yellow as a black mass appeared from behind. It bore eight giant cannons, all with several tendrils twisting around them. A foul face of a Kraken as their center. Her appearance now more of a terrifying monster from the depths, than the small girl you could see before. The darkness distorting the light around her.

With silent scowl were several cannons aimed at Tester. It would be the only answer given to the gloating siren, the only one needed at that.

Tester realized she had overstepped her bounds, immediately holding her hands up in a show of surrender to her smaller counterpart. Which at least seemed to satisfy the siren to the degree of at least aiming her guns elsewhere.

Even so, to the taller siren's dismay, continued the rigging to be active. A constant warning to any would-be future misbehaving. Its own eyes continuously scanning Tester, making her think that it too felt irritation towards herself.

But even with the large mass of cannons and tentacles before her, could Tester still be heard muttering under her breath as soon as the immediate danger had gone.

"Can give but not receive, huh? What a sore hypocrite…"

But that was something Alpha felt lenient enough to ignore, instead opting to continue their previous conversation.

"As I was saying, before all the annoying distractions… You were too wrapped up in managing every detail, every battle. Even the timeline of events couldn't escape your invasive touch. When frequently changing the parameters of what the simulation and mirror seas are allowed to do, you also take away the cubes' ability to develop as they would naturally otherwise."

She continued;

"I am much more in favor of selecting predetermined parameters and keeping them without much interference. It's usually in these types of simulations that we've seen more success. I believe when we let the Key and the power of the wisdom cubes run on a much freer degree, then we also give them the chance to truly surprise us… There was also something that I wanted to be confirmed with this little simulation of ours."

Alpha stopped momentarily, looking over the now somewhat bored Tester. It was obvious that she was still paying attention though, as the pause made her look over to where Alpha floated. Without thinking, her innate instinct to seek knowledge, to experiment with new data, forced her to speak. Her consciousness automatically connecting to the network, ready to share any new information that would be useful.

"And what would that be, Observer?"

Observer Alpha only rested her chin in her hands, crossing her legs, a small smile gracing her features.

"Oh? Getting formal now, are we? Perhaps your curiosity for knowledge finally managed to learn you some manners, Fu fu fu ~

Observer Alpha let out a burst of small laughter, finding the situation extremely comical.

Though that laughter was soon stifled, making Tester not wait too long for the answer that she was longing after.

"What we've learned today is that no matter how perfect a battle goes from our perspective, how much new data is collected to process, or the sequences of events are handled. Even with the perfect strategy is humanity destined to fail. We need to find other factors to fine-tune our simulations… Or we will never succeed in our goal."

Tester was becoming extremely frustrated. The network bombarded her with data as several small-scale simulations played out simultaneously. Countless calculations were sent her way, trying desperately to validate what Observer Alpha had just told.

Though that soon became too much for her local matrix to handle, forcing her to disconnect, no definitive answer near.

Observer Alpha only watched as Tester's face twisted in anger and irritation to poorly hidden pain as the continuous flood of information stopped. She could even see several sweat drops that had formed on the siren's forehead, snaking down and dropping towards the sea far below.

"Then how…"

Tester began speaking, nearly forcing the words out from her mouth.

"How are we supposed to achieve our purpose, the reason for our sole existence? Why are we even running these simulations if our best attempts will amount to nothing in the end?"

Observer Alpha floated over slowly, gently cupping Testers' face with both her hands. Her usual haughty smile replaced with one you would only see on a mother, talking to her child, sweet and pure.

"Amount to nothing, my dear Tester? You've got the completely wrong image in all of this. We will continue changing the parameters of testing, the rules, and the timeline of events. Like we always have. We will force the wisdom cubes to grow into the beautiful little butterflies we want them to be. Driving them, forcing them forward. Each and every step of the way if we have to. Taking them further and further to their breaking point, unleashing all of their hidden potential."

Observer Alpha slowly let Tester go, turning her back from her siren brethren and looked out over the horizon.

Tester in turn was somewhat calmed at Alpha's words. The news that the routine would not change considerably motivating her a great deal. As it atleast suggested that her previous actions were not for naught, that they had purpose.

The small siren continued with the same soft tone as before, making Tester almost shudder at how unnaturally artificial it all sounded. Its perverse imitation sounding sickeningly sweet.

"This simulation contained what I deem all things wrong with our current methods in testing the human race. Over reliance on pure numbers and calculations in an attempt to form the ultimate path for them to walk on, the golden bridge to safety… Which of course has not yet proven to exist."

As if to punctuate Observer Alphas' words, an explosion, gigantic in size, filled their vision.

It would seem that Purifier had let loose a bit too much in her fight against Enterprise, both of them alone in their bitter battle.

Purifier had most likely recalled all other siren forces, probably in an attempt to capitalize all the fun for herself. Her maniacal laughter not escaping the two sirens far up above. Its sound even surpassing the volume of the gigantic explosion before them.

Enterprise was holding strong against the siren's unending fire. But with intensifying salvos from the hammerhead rigging and building pressure from Purifier, was the fight not looking to be in her favor. The already long battle taking a great toll on her, withering away on the shipgirls' stamina.

To the sirens up above, the battle going on down at sea was of little importance. Neither of them giving it much attention, continuing their conversation as usual.

"The human spirit is more… anarchic. Numbers and calculations, even plain facts can be overridden by their will alone. That is the power I want to unleash on our forces. I want to see humanity make the impossible possible."

Alpha's face slowly morphed, looking more akin to Purifier than herself, eyes filling with unrestrained insanity as she talked.

"When they can fight us with no restraints, even destroying the playing boards that we create, casting away their rules and restrictions. When they have achieved that, I'll know they are ready to fulfill their destiny."

Observer looked over at Tester again, her distorted face gone. Her expression now something one would've expected from the small siren.

"What you missed here, and what I chose to personally ignore, was the bond between the key and the incarnates of the wisdom cubes, the chemistry between shipgirls and Commander. It should never be underestimated, having been recorded bringing forth several favorable irregularities and codes before. For all this time these singularities have been treated as just that. Something that's been created by pure luck, not being able to be recreated and out of our reach forever again."

Alpha paused for a second, gathering her thoughts.

"What I propose is that that is false, a defeatist attitude so to speak. I have a theory that releasing the limits on their bond could bring out these singularities we've been searching for on a massive scale. With this, the bond between the Commander and shipgirl in our next simulation will grow forever, never stopping. Their bond will make them strong, able to withstand any challenge. Growing infinitely stronger and closer alongside each other forever."

As Observer finished speaking, could Tester only stare quietly, still tense over her fellow sirens' rapid personality shifts. Quietly questioning if one of her personality modules had gotten corrupted.

However, giving an honest thought to the statements Observer Alpha had provided, she quickly concluded that her ideas were not that far fetched, even understanding the logic behind Observer Alpha's suggestions. But there were still some practical caveats that needed to be questioned, instances that were still cloudy, and parameters not explained.

"I could understand why removing the restrictions on the wisdom cubes affinity parameters could be seen as an excellent experiment on a larger scale, foregoing our usual proceedings in the creation of timelines. But where I must question your plan is that no bond between the Key and cube can be forced, it MUST grow naturally. It would take several timelines for their bond to grow to the levels you would find acceptable, let alone satisfactory for our little test."

As Tester finished speaking, her thoughts clear on the situation at hand, had Observer Alpha only continued to hold a small smile on her lips, not shaken by the news at all.

"Yes, this would be a project requiring… certain preparation, wouldn't it?"

Observer Alpha stated, putting a finger to her chin, eyes pointing up to the sky in fake pondering.

Tester just crossed her arms and waited, refusing to play along with the smaller sirens games. Which, After a while, forced Observer to look down at her, a small pout visible on her features.

"Jeez… You know you're supposed to ask me a follow up question right? You're a total mood killer, no fun at all."

Tester was quick to shoot back though, her earlier frights forgotten with the possibility of a new breakthrough.

"Why should a probe or come up with solutions when I know you've probably already got something planned for ages. You might not think I know you well Alpha, but I do know you well enough to clearly see through this whole charade you're putting up. Now… How will you accomplish all of this?"

Observer Alpha sighed, her gaze once again leaving Tester as she looked down towards the sea, the battle looking like it would wrap up any second now, and began speaking.

"You know how we always as a rule keep the bond at a regulated level, so wisdom cubes can be compatible with all kinds of Keys. This doesn't mean that the bond can only go to a certain level and then simply stop progressing, but that we lock any successively gained progression away so as to not disturb any of our operations elsewhere."

Tester continued Observer Alphas' line of thought.

"So we're just gonna need a key that has been used in several sim-"

She paused, her eyes widening slightly.

"Don't tell me… You're using him, aren't you?"

Alpha froze, carrying herself in a more defensive posture, leaning slightly away from Tester. A few tentacles on her rigging twitching slightly. Though if the source was from agitation or nervousness could not be interpreted.

But whilst her body and rigging gave her away quite clearly, her face and voice did not. looking straight at Tester, eyes narrowed to slits. A dangerous smile resting on her face as if to dare Tester to push any further.

'Yes… I will be using him, why wouldn't I? He has the most simulations behind him, both from official simulations run by the engine and on my own personal matrix. He has by far the most Affinity shared to all wisdom cubes locked away. Unlocking that would complete our thesis almost instantly. He is simply the best sample we have for this test."

Observer Alphas' intimidation attempt fell on deaf ears however, Tester meeting her glare with matching force. Not willing to back down on this matter.

"I'm not questioning the quality of the sample or his role as the future key. What I am questioning is your seemingly unstoppable obsession with this specimen, even keeping him saved on your own matrix as Zero ordered him purged."

Observer, surprisingly not mad, but seemingly amused by Testers' defiance, rested her head in one of her hands, smiling with a slightly open mouth.

"You know I should punish you for stepping up to your superiors like this, but as I'm in a good mood, perhaps finally finding the solution to our little problem, I will let it slide just this once. But not to worry my little Tester, as this test will corrupt countless timelines I have gotten explicit approval from both Zero AND Empress. So for your sake, I at least ask you not to question their judgment as well."

At the mention of the second name knew Tester that all her complaining or questioning would amount to nothing… or worse. Therefore backing down quite quickly from their argument, though her face of discontent was not hidden. Being quite the contrast to the victorious expression Alpha was wearing.

As silence reigned over the two could a ping be heard, signaling Observer Alpha to a message in her field of view. A translucent yellow rectangle floating in the air that only she could see, It's text waiting to be read.

"Ah!"

She exclaimed, clasping her two hands together with a bright smile on her face.

"It seems the simulation has completed its initialization. Tester, bring back Purifier will you? Force her if you have to, she's had more than enough fun for the day and we're jumping in just a short moment."

Tester gave a silent nod, descending quickly. Though keeping it controlled all the way down. Never letting it go to the freefall that Purifier had done before her. Her descent filled with thoughts about Observer Alpha, the small sirens' end goal unclear.

Left in the sky was Alpha now floating alone, standing upon her large rigging. Arms stretched out from her sides, gazing at the now setting sun. Her expression of pure delight, not comparable to her previous joyful mood. A heavy blush adorned her cheeks, resting under crazed eyes. She could be heard humming to herself, spinning in place and wrapping her arms around her body in a hug. Though a more accurate description would be herself clinging to her own body, her small knuckles turning ever more white as they grabbed onto her black dress with terrifying strength.

She let out a sigh of content

"Ahhhhh… it would seem that we are finally gonna meet again my little Commander. Oh, how I wonder what you'll do this time, in our never ending game of cat and mouse."

Her fingernails drew blood from piercing the skin of her own palms. A thing that did not impede the siren's mood, only staining her black dress. Undisturbed, she began quietly talking to herself, clear excitement in her voice;

"Now then, and without further ado… Let Project Affinity begin."