The sound of cannon fire, missiles and explosions forced him to ignore all the voices coming from the insertion team and focus entirely on what was ahead.
"Battleships spread out and return fire," called Alec "Carrier division: start sending out planes right now. We can't have the enemy establish air superiority over us."
"They're targeting the ships that have the human soldiers," called Ranger "we can't move around too fast and risk the soldier's safety."
"Cruiser and destroyer division: how long till you can get in range of attacking?"
"Five minutes," replied Javelin, dodging her way through a swarm of enemy fire and bombs "they were never this fierce before."
"Something's different this time," said Alec in a low voice. It was only now that Alec recalled his past conversations with James.
According to him, during the end of the second war, Omega used a device to summon a giant dreadnought to the battlefield that turned the battle in on its head. She had the technology on her side and used it to convert humans into Siren ships or Hybrids.
'But what if,' thought Alec 'what if there were humans that couldn't become ships or Hybrids? What does she do with them?'
Omega had access to an arsenal of advanced and powerful weapons on the Siren planet, so why bother converting humans?
What if she was purposely making everyone think that her only resources came from captured humans while secretly amassing a stockpile of weapons the likes of which the world never saw before?
Before he could speculate, the answer came to him when he saw a beam of light tear through the waters.
"What the hell was that?" barked Saint Louis "what fired what?"
"I'm getting a closer look," said Essex, using her planes "what the… there's a whole line of them."
"I need pictures," said Alec, aboard his command vessel. Essex complied and now Alec's view was filled with a line of what looked like advanced, heavily-armored tanks each equipped with a rail gun as the main cannon and two missile packs on either side. Additionally, it had three machine guns on the front, and spiked treads. The fact that they were all coloured black with streaks of blue light coursing through the body only confirmed his fears.
Omega's finally showing off her real arsenal.
"Damn it our fighters are facing hell here," shouted Enterprise.
"Their AA is killing anything we send out," said Ark Royal "if this keeps up, it won't be long before they're raining hell on our heads."
"Alec, what do we do?" asked Intrepid.
All around Alec could hear the girls asking him questions and looking for a solution. As much as he was initially scared by this show of force, his emotional side was quickly quelled by his rational side.
"We continue as planned," he replied, with zero hesitation in his voice.
"The goal of this show of force is to catch us off guard and disrupt our ranks," he elaborated "with that done, Gamma will press her advantage and use it to pick off our divisions one by one. Do NOT give her that advantage."
"The Azur Sky has survived hell and are all the better for it," he declared "we will weather this and we will overcome the enemy forces."
At first, there was silence on the other side. Then, there came a question, the one question he was hoping on.
"How do we do it?" asked Friedrich.
And with that, Alec outlined the plan.
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Back in the city that was once a hub of life and activity, the leader of the Sirens leapt onto a rooftop then leapt to another one to avoid her opponent's blade. She turned around and once again smiled at him.
"You're so silent all of a sudden," she said, "what happened to all that bluster you normally have?"
But the Commander did not respond with any words. Instead, he ran across the rooftop, leapt forward and swung his blades. Omega quickly stepped back but he knew it was coming and broke into a leg sweep.
Omega then leapt up to avoid it, but he was faster. Halfway through the attack, the Commander shot forward and punched Omega in the chest, sending her staggering back.
The smile from her face vanished and she looked at the slight injury it caused. Then, she looked back at the Commander who cracked his knuckles. He would let his fists and swords do the talking for him.
On the ground, the third fight broke out between the girls that accompanied the Commander and the six robed figures that came with Omega. She called them her 'Antiochs' before the Commander charged towards her and began their fight.
It did not take long for one side to attack. Queen Elizabeth fired a barrage at the six who moved in different directions to dodge the attack. As the six spread out, one leapt up and attack. As the attacker revealed its weapons, the girls felt as if time slowed. What appeared on either side of the enemy was a series of miniaturized guns attached to parts of a ship that were all seemingly attached to the back. In other words, rigging.
The attacker fired and though the girls dodged it, there were questions circling their mind. The presence of the rigging itself was not what boggled them. They had seen it on several high-ranking Sirens and even the Valkyries had it. The thing that everyone wondered was why the design seemed eerily similar to someone they knew.
Now, they saw the other cloaked figures form their rigging and all of them looked unnervingly familiar. Based on the rigging, the girls could tell they were dealing with a light cruiser, a heavy cruiser, two battle cruisers, and two battleships.
"No," whispered Tirpitz, as if realizing something the others did not "this composition… it must be a trick… it has to be."
But when she saw the same terrified look on Queen Elizabeth's face, she knew that her fears were justified.
Now they saw a heavy cruiser brandish a katana and charge straight at the group. The heavy cruiser swung the sword in a downward arc and Takao blocked it. However, her opponent moved back a little then attacked with a swift and almost imperceptible flurry of slashes. The speed and the ferocity of that attack was something only Takao could see and block. One of the attacks did cut her on her stomach, causing her to stumble back. Before the heavy cruiser could fire though, Zuikaku launched several planes at the attacker, causing them to flee.
"Something's not right about that heavy cruiser," said Takao, as Zuikaku came to her "the design of that rigging and those sword movements…"
Zuikaku knew what Takao was referring to and prayed they were wrong.
In the sky above, the Commander and Omega continually clashed blades with neither side getting the advantage. Despite the many attacks he let out, Omega was able to block, deflect or dodge them all. She landed on a roof then fired at him in the air. He flew around and avoided then barrage then charged down at her. Omega leapt back and avoided the attack but he quickly went on the offensive again, this time with a kick to the chest. She used her arms to cover her stomach but the force of his kick was enough to break her guard.
The Commander closed the distance, about to land the first strike on her when Omega raised both blades up and blocked his sword swing.
"Tut, tut Commander Harper," she said, smiling at him "you're going to have to try a lot harder than that to beat me."
There was a confidence in her voice that he did not like. As far as he knew, Omega should be desperate and on the edge, doing her best to protect her last stronghold. Yet, here she was playing with him like a cat playing with a cornered mouse.
"Sorry about that Omega," said the Commander, breaking his silence "I keep holding myself back because, the last time I tried so hard, your lackey Alpha was vaporized."
In response, he noticed her expression shift ever so slightly to one of annoyance then back to normal. That confirmed what he was suspecting. Omega's mind was certainly focused on this fight here. However, there was a part of her that was concerned about something else and that troubled him.
His thoughts shifted to the cloaked figures she called Antiochs. They were engaged in combat with the girls and despite having the number's advantage, they were struggling.
One of the battlecruisers on the ground fired a relentless barrage of cannon fire at the girls. Akagi and Kaga dodged their way through the barrage and sent out multiple airplanes at the attacker. In response, several small guns on the attacker's rigging spun around then focused on the planes. The sisters watched as the small guns fired concentrated energy beams that cut through their planes with minimal effort.
Once again, the battlecruiser turned to them and started firing. The sisters separated and flanked the battlecruiser on the right and left. From one side, Akagi fired several planes while on the other, Kaga came forward intending to engage in a one-on-one.
The battlecruiser leapt forward and avoided the planes. Kaga changed direction and attacked her opponent with a flying kick but the battlecruiser was faster. Despite coming from a blind spot, Kaga's opponent nimbly moved out of her way. Before Kaga could react, the battlecruiser grabbed her foot and effortlessly flung her into Akagi, sending both of them crashing back.
Tirpitz saw the rigging on her opponent and hesitated. Her opponent did not and fired at her, forcing Tirpitz to dodge. She moved to her left and the battleship pursued her with terrifying precision. Just as she avoided the barrage, the battleship came on her like a predator and rammed their fists into her head.
Tirpitz could feel her skull shake but there was no time for that. She saw the kick coming to her and rose her hands up. Though she blocked it, the force of that flying kick caused her to drop her guard. The battleship shot forward and grabbed Tirpitz by the collar then punched her in the stomach.
Tirpitz gasped for air and tried to break free but her opponent's grip didn't budge at all. Instead, she pointed all her rigging at the battleship with the intent to fire. The attack might damage her but it'll hurt her opponent much more.
The Iron Blood leader fired at her opponent with all her rigging, enveloping them in a cloud of smoke. She felt the grip on her relax and she used that opportunity to leap back.
However, when the dust fully cleared, Tirpitz saw the face hiding under the cloak and grew unimaginably pale at the sight.
Before the words could even leave her mouth, the battleship lunged forward with unimaginable speeds and crashed their knee into Tirpitz's face, sending her flying back.
Cleveland tried attacking her opponent with several punches but saw the battleship counter them all with minimal effort. The clock in her head counted to zero and she immediately leapt back. Richelieu pointed her cannons at her opponent and fired. Cleveland thought the attack hit, only to see her enemy charge towards her through the smoke. Her only instinct was to duck down and narrowly avoid the two arms meant to trap her in a bear hug.
"Cleveland, run," called out Richelieu and Cleveland did exactly that. When she was a good distance away, Richelieu once again fired at the battleship, this time coming a little closer to prevent her enemy from escaping.
Despite her efforts though, her opponent once again dodged the attack and now came at her. Richelieu waited for her to come close before turning on one foot to deliver a kick aimed at the head. Unfortunately for her though, the battleship mimicked the move perfectly with their own kick.
For a moment, the two battleships looked like they were about to fire at each other. Then, that changed when Cleveland came in with a sliding kick, knocking the battleship off balance. While it teetered in the air, Richelieu pulled Cleveland up, threw her into the sky then fired at her opponent, sending it flying back. Cleveland meanwhile also fired her own barrage in the sky, adding an exclamation point to their combined attack.
Richelieu remained where she was as Cleveland landed beside her. The pair did not attack and instead waited for their enemy to rise up. They were both sure their attack was not enough to down this enemy.
Their attention then shifted when Omega came crashing down before them followed by a descending Commander. The Siren leader rolled away just as the Commander's blade rammed the ground she was lying on. A few seconds later and the battle between the two leaders would be over.
Omega quickly rose to her feet and saw the state of the battle. She raised her left hand, snapped her fingers and in response, the Antiochs assembled beside her. It was in that moment, where four of the six combatants removed their cloaks did the girls confirm their worst fears.
The Commander looked at the six faces standing beside Omega and thought he was dreaming.
The one on the extreme left wore a black Cossack with a black sleeveless top with a skirt that was short in the front and long at the back. Additionally, she had on black warmers around her arms while her flowing white hair was tied into two braids. Her eyes glowed a fiendish yellow, indicative of Siren presence. She was Avrora.
Next to her stood a woman wearing a black navy admiral's uniform, a complete colour inversion of the clothes she normally wore. Her hair was now pale white, similar to what the Sirens had but the two ears at the top of the head and the way she held her katana confirmed her identity to everyone. She was Atago.
Beside her was a woman that by all accounts should not be standing there. Her short blonde hair was replaced by the shock white that the Sirens had. Her formal, flowing blue dress with a single slip to show the white frock underneath was now completely white, save for the gold designs at the tips of her dress. Even the Royal Navy-themed scarf she proudly wore on her left side was replaced by the flag of the Sirens. She was Hood.
To Omega's immediate right stood a woman dressed in a tight-fitting modified admiral's shirt with the top opened and a pair of short black pants that only covered half her thighs. Her typically slightly tanned skin was as pale as the rest of them and her yellow eyes seemed to glow like lights. There stood Jean Bart.
Next to her was a woman dressed in a black kimono with a long white jacket covering her. There was absolutely no question of who she was. Her red jacket was now white, her eyes were yellow like the rest and her hair and tails were pitch black and now their typical brown. The ears, the tails and the way she carried herself unmistakably confirmed her identity. She was Amagi.
Lastly, stood the only one that seemingly had little changes compared to the others. Her black dress with gold accents were the same. The two metal pauldrons that held her cloak in place were also the same. Even her flowing black cloak and long blonde hair was untouched. The only thing about her that was different were the eyes. Gone were those bright blue dazzling eyes. She no longer had the eyes of a lion, the eyes of a leader. In their place was now the eerie yellow glow that came from all Sirens. There, to the horror of all and the delight of one, stood Bismarck.
"Do you like my beautiful creations?" asked Omega, enjoying the fear she instilled on them. Yes, she enjoyed it a great deal because till now, she never once overcame the Commander in a battle of willpower. Now though, the sight of his friends turned enemies was more than enough to shake him and those around him.
"Now you understand why I could not come to greet you all those other times," she added "I'll admit that you've progressed much faster than anticipated. And to that, you can congratulate yourself. However, this is where it ends. This is where it all ends for you."
In that moment, time slowed. At least in the Commander's mind it slowed. The girls that came with him and he himself were so taken aback by the sudden new entrants, none of them saw the Atago look-alike charge towards them. The Commander referred to them as look-alikes or clones because that's what they were. They had to be.
He could see the Atago coming to strike with her sword raised and saw the target. It was Takao. Usually, Takao would have no problem reacting and drawing her own sword but this was not a regular enemy. Could she draw her sword on her sister even if it were a clone?
The Commander knew the answer screaming in the back of his mind and forced his body to move. At once, he felt this terrible pressure weighing down on him and saw the Bismarck clone staring directly at him. The stare warned that if he disobeyed her, death would follow.
'To hell with that,' he thought and forced his jet boots to propel him forward. Meanwhile the Atago clone came closer and closer, ready to draw blood while Takao and everyone else was too scared to move. Just as her blade neared the edge of Takao's uniform, another blade hit it on the side and deflected the strike.
The clone turned to see the Commander with his sword extended out, the very tip of his blade the reason why her attack failed. But before he could find his footing, this other Atago spun her blade around, came forward and stabbed the Commander right in the chest. She swung her blade out of his body sending out a gush of blood.
The Commander fell to one knee, covering the gushing wound with his right arm. He had to think of something or do something that'd wake everyone else out of this trance. There's no way he could take on all seven of them at once, that's like fighting a fleet of tanks with a toothpick.
No thought materialized in his mind and as he struggled to rise to his feet, the Commander saw Jean Bart hovering in the air. His mind, experience, and instincts knew what came next. She spun her body around with a kick aimed for his head but he raised his metal arm and his sword to block it.
What the Commander did not account for was the force. The immense power behind that attack tore through his sword, shattered his metal arm and hit him in the ribs. He could feel his whole body shake and heard the bones shatter to dust.
In response, blood seeped out of his mouth and his vision blurred. His mind screamed at him, yelled at him to continue but even raising his other hand now seemed impossible. All he could do, with the little strength he had left was utter one loud cry.
"RUN," he yelled, using the little bit of air he had in his lung before the world around him turned to black.
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1 minute remained.