Omega saw the fleet assembled before her atop her flagship and smiled. She had to commend Gamma for her efforts. Despite not capitalizing on the moment and giving her enemy's time to escape and regroup, she was confident that her forces were now capable of delivering the final blow.
After all, she now had her ultimate weapons ready and their first real test proved more or less a success. Through her proto-wisdom cubes (she called them Blackboxes), Omega had been able to resurrect Amagi, Hood, Bismarck, Atago, Avrora, and Jean Bart of the famous Azur Lane. And, combining these creations with her Siren technology resulted in a force that could single-handedly turn the tide of this war.
Omega looked at her creations and smiled. She had named them Hecate, Cessair, Agrona, Aerona, Alekto, and Keres as they were names of infamous mythical monsters. She chose those names as it felt like the final way to insult the original six that stood before her so long ago.
"Lady Omega," said Gamma, landing on the deck before her. She immediately fell to one knee and lowered her head in respect.
"Everything is ready," she said "all that is left is for you to give the order."
Omega took a moment to savor this time. Was it wrong for her to want to enjoy things a little bit? She did not think so.
The Siren leader opened her eyes and turned to Gamma. Then she said "today, everything the Azur Sky built comes crashing down. All forces, forward."
The ships that dotted the sky, the Hybrids that seemed like ants in the distance and the tanks that were hovering over the waters now started to move.
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Even from his position inside the base's information center, Alec could feel the tension and anxiety everyone felt. The lack of the Commander on the front lines had a negative effect on troop morale and that was clear on everyone's faces.
Alec went over the plan again and again, looking for any flaws in the logic or openings that Gamma could take advantage of. This was the first time he'd been given complete control of a force so large and the weight of it all was weighing down on him.
'Is this what you felt?' he thought, wondering to himself 'every time you planned something or before a mission, is this how you felt?'
Then, he recalled Curtis' words during their previous meeting and shook his head.
"That's right, I'm done running,' he thought and looked at the screens.
Outside the room, everyone was silent and waiting. They all watched the waters and waited for any signs. It was Ark Royal and Suruga who spotted it first. Numerous small dots on the horizon and like a sheet of black on the waters.
Curtis, standing alongside the others of the frontline also saw this and said "remember your training, remember what you're fighting for and remember what brought you here."
The sound of guns clicking, planes loading and cannons whirring echoed through the island. On the other side, the girls with excellent vision now saw what looked like rain coming from the dots in the sky. However, as the incoming forces came closer, they saw it was not the rain, it was troops.
"Omega's going all out now," said Saint Louis watching the scene unfold.
Soon enough, a sea of bullets came from the attackers. Curtis' troops immediately went into the small mounds they dug while the girls started attacking. The carriers began sending out planes while the battleships hammered enemy forces with a steady, barrage.
In the office overseeing this, Alec saw a large chunk of the enemy growing closer. The sheer numbers they had indicated they were Hybrids.
On the ground, Curtis could sense the approaching Hybrids and rose up to fire. He peered through his gun's sights and fired. The bullet sailed through the air, attacking a Hybrid in the chest and sending bits of shrapnel out.
Following him, the other soldiers rose up and also started firing. Their initial barrage did take down several hundred of the Hybrids, but the sheer number made those losses practically negligible. The Hybrids continued their charge, all the while firing and ignoring their fallen comrades. Several Hybrids managed to kill their attackers while others recklessly charged at the enemy.
The two clashing sides met in a middle where an intensified exchange of bullets ensued. While some of the Hybrids tried to leg it over that ten meter distance, they were almost instantly cut down by enemy fire.
For a moment, this stalemate lasted with neither side gaining much of an advantage. That came to an end when the one called Keres appeared in the middle of this untouched land. The human soldiers unleashed a concentrated stream of bullets at her. To their horror though, they watched as the bullets bounced off her and did absolutely no damage at all. All they were doing with her was wasting ammunition. Keres started for the humans and Curtis knew what was coming. He ordered his troops to move away in all directions just as Keres came down with a raised leg.
The power of her kick created a small crater in the ground while the force sent sand, men and bullets flying.
Keres turned, about to use her rigging to fire when she bent back to avoid a spear aimed for her neck. She immediately flipped back a little as her opponent made her presence known.
"Sorry," said Saint Louis with a wicked gleam in her eyes "you'll have your hands full dealing with me."
The leader of the PR class shot forward like a bullet with her spear thrust. Keres raised both arms to protect herself from the thrust. Halfway through the attack, Saint Louis stomped her left foot in the ground and used that as a base to spin her body around and attack with a strike from the side. Keres did not react to this in time and paid for it when Saint Louis' spear crashed into her rigging and sent her flying back.
Keres was not done though. Before she could hit the ground, she spun her body and fired at Saint Louis, covering the latter is a puff of smoke.
The soldiers that were near looked in terror and wondered if she was okay. They were very relieved to see a spear cut through the smoke and swipe it away. Saint Louis stood ready to continue the fight.
As Alec expected, Omega wasted little time in sending out her trump card. The Antiochs charged through the battlefield, wiping out their own forces with the intent of cutting through the front lines. Alec in response, had the PR class move to intercept them. Each girl now reported making contact with the Antiochs and began their battles.
Much of Alec's understanding of these new opponents came from guesses. They were educated guesses mind you, but still guesses. He understood their power based on how the fake Jean Bart destroyed James' metal arm when none of Omega's forces could do that. As for how strong, they were not as powerful as the Big Three, which meant they were as strong as the PR class. This assumption was confirmed when Roon and Saint Louis briefly engaged with one during their retreat.
There was sufficient engagement from both sides. Alec saw the soldiers were deeply entrenched in dealing with the Hybrids while the PR faced off against the Antiochs.
"Cruisers and destroyers," he called out "make your move."
On the battlefield, several openings started forming among the soldiers engaged with the Hybrids. The enemy soldiers saw this and pushed through, only to be met with the cold fury of several destroyer torpedoes.
Through these small gaps in the formation, the cruiser and destroyer division broke through and started pushing back the Hybrids. Typically, Z23 would lead the destroyer division, but she had another role to play with Queen Elizabeth. In her place was Yukikaze, backed by the help of her sisters Yuudachi and Shigure. Further bolstering her was Javelin, Ayanami and Laffey who all used their strength to cut a hole through the enemy forces.
Similar to Z23, Cleveland did not lead the cruisers as she normally did. This time, it was Belfast leading the charge along with the rest of the Royal Maid squad. The group went through the Hybrids with little effort and had their goal set on reaching those tanks.
Gamma, watching all this unfold from a similar position as Alec did bit the nail on her thumb. If she were honest, she expected a more haphazard defense in the wake of the Commander's demise. However, that was not the case here.
"You seem concerned for some reason Gamma," said a voice that seemed to read her thoughts. She started around and saw Omega standing behind her, looking at the same screens she was.
"Apologies my lady," she said, lowering her head "I had hoped to have brought you victory by now, but instead."
"Do not be deterred by this resistance," said Omega "this is simply the work of that other human, the one that we meant to execute long ago."
Omega came to the monitors and looked at the enemy movement closely.
"They are putting up a good fight, I'll give them that. The human managed to bring them back from the brink. But rest assured, this is nothing compared to their usual ferocity."
"Watch as I show them the despair that comes from facing the Siren war machine."
With that said, Omega rose to the sky and flew towards the battlefield. Gamma wanted to protest such a move but then stopped. She almost immediately understood the approach her leader was aiming for and smiled.
The maids in the cruiser division were the first to notice. Suddenly, Belfast felt something powerful crash into her chest and send her staggering back. She looked ahead and saw Omega standing before her, swords drawn and ready to fight.
In response, the head maid, Sirius and Dido attacked. Two of them flanked Omega on the left and right while Belfast charged down the middle. The trio converged all at once but Omega leapt back to avoid them. Before they could react, she fired at them from a distance. Omega landed on the ground then darted forward and grabbed Sirius and Dido by the neck. Neither of them reacted in time and paid for it as Omega rammed them both into the ground.
She was about to form her swords again to kill these two in a quick motion when a kick crashed into her face, sending her flying. Her Hybrids quickly rose up to shield her and she saw her attacker was the head maid. Omega recalled this one was one of those that came back during the Second War. Although she never had the pleasure of killing her the first time, this time things would be different.
Belfast and Omega clashed once again with the latter pulling back then attacking with a sword thrust to the head. Belfast tilted her head to the side then came at Omega with an elbow. The attack hit and she followed this up by shooting Omega with some of her guns. The Siren leader skidded back further but was not deterred. She flung her swords at Belfast who dodged one and flicked the other to the air.
Omega leapt up and grabbed the sword then swung it down intending to land a deep cut on her enemy. That did not work as the sword was blocked by both Sirius and Dido.
Omega extended her free hand forward then let loose a point-blank energy blast that sent the trio back.
Dido tried getting up but Omega kicked her in the face, drawing blood in the process. Other maids came to attack Omega, but that did not stop her advance.
The problem was that Omega's presence had a noticeable side effect on the Siren forces. Roon was the first to notice this. Her opponent, Agrona fought with the kind of ferocity expected from the greatest Iron Blood in history. However, he training with Friedrich ensured that this was nothing she couldn't handle.
Trouble started when Agrona fired at Roon and the attack did land a few cuts on her hands. She paused to review the damage, allowing her opponent to draw in. Roon moved at the last moment, narrowly avoiding a strike that would have lopped her head off. The force of the attack itself was enough to land a slight cut on her cheek.
Roon stepped back then came forward with a flying knee but Agrona stopped it by raising both her arms. Roon expected this and while in the air, she spun around then kicked against Agrona to send her higher into the air. Here, Roon fired several shots at her opponent, covering her in smoke.
However, she did not have time to relax as a hand shot out from the smoke and grabbed her by the leg. Roon then felt her body swing violently forward as Agrona rammed her into the ground. The force behind that was enough to knock the air out and leave her gasping. The second made her hold both hands out to brace for impact.
Elsewhere, Curtis noticed how the Hybrids were moving with greater energy than before. As if they were seemingly revitalized by an unknown force, they attacked. Left and right he saw several soldiers get taken out and those that did survive were struggling to hold their positions.
Alec meanwhile saw the tides turning and could not understand why. Why did their advance suddenly stop just because Omega entered the fight?
The answer came to him and caused a chill to rush down his spine. Omega was following the very same trick the Commander did. Her presence on the battlefield was enough to motivate these mechanical soldiers and cause them to fight with greater intensity. On the other side, the fleet that was reeling from the lack of their Commander was slowly but steadily falling against this unstoppable force.
Alec racked his mind, ignoring the advancing Siren forces and tried to think. There had to be a way, there had to be something that he could do to turn things around.
"Damn it," shouted Enterprise through the communicator, followed by an explosion.
"Do not falter one bit," shouted Yukikaze, as she and Shigure destroyed a tank and moved to the next.
Despite his best efforts though, there was nothing he could think of. Omega's presence itself was enough to win this psychological battle and both sides knew it. All they were doing now is dragging things out.
"No, I can't let it end like this," he said to himself "I'm not letting it end this way."
Yet on the ground, things were a different story. The Hybrids managed to break through the cruiser and destroyer division and were now attacking the battleships and carriers. Some of the girls like Enterprise, Essex, and Suruga attacked these enemies while also attacking the ships, but that was nowhere near enough.
Everyone could see their planes get overwhelmed by the enemy jets and the Siren tanks shelled them at random intervals. It was damn near impossible for any groups to come together and launch an attack. Hell, the sheer number of Hybrids alone were enough to put the Big Three on the back foot.
Curtis watched as several of the maids were sent flying back and hitting the ground with a terrible thud. The cause of it was none other than Omega, who landed by throwing Sheffield into the ground then ramming a knee into her chest.
"Take a good long look humans," she declared to the soldiers that fought "you are nothing in the face of the Sirens. Even the great shipgirls are nothing in the face of my almighty power."
Her words echoed throughout the battlefield and further emboldened the Siren forces.
"Struggle all you like, but this story is at an end," she continued as she walked off of Sheffield's unconscious body and marched to the humans.
"Come and face me if you like," she said "I might be kind enough to give you a quick death."
She noticed how none of the soldiers took up the challenge. In fact, it looked to her as though a few of them were even running away.
"Is this is? Is this all the courage that humanity has to offer? Is there no one left who can stop me?"
Her answer came when she turned around and was greeted by a thin object shooting past her, followed by something else. She failed to turn around in time and felt a terrible pain in her back. This was entirely because there was now a large cut on her back, courtesy of a sword.
Instinctually, she turned around and swung her leg out only to have her attacker dodge then crash their foot into her face. The force sent her spiraling back, but it did not do much damage.
It was only when she rose to her feet that she saw who had attacked her.
"No," she said, her eyes widening in growing shock "this can't be. You're not supposed to be here."
There, standing opposite to her, his back facing the whole host of Siren forces stood James Harper. He was not dressed in his usual uniform and was instead wearing a hospital shirt and pant. The shirt was unbuttoned and the left sleeve fluttered in the wind. The open shirt revealed the surgical tape around his stomach and the many stitches on his body.
Sheffield, who had borne the brunt of Omega's latest attack rolled to her side, got up and did a double-take when she saw who was now standing here. The typically calm maid rubbed her eyes a couple of seconds just to make sure she wasn't seeing things.
"What's the matter Omega?" asked James, resting a seemingly normal looking sword on his back "you look like you've seen a ghost."
Alec, watched the scene unfold from a distance and in that moment, the gears in his head started turning. Against all odds, he found a way.
(AN: sorry for not uploading sooner.)
