Here's the next chapter everyone. Before we start, I like to give a shout-out to the mystery guest reviewer that caught that Yu-Gi-Oh GX reference. It came to mind while writing, and it felt natural to write it to give Hornet and Enterprise a sisterly moment. Anyways, enjoy the chapter everyone.
Chapter 6: Waves That Break
After the wonderful moment exchanged between the two Eagle Union sisters, everyone had huddled around Enterprise's bed to share a small meal with her.
"Hey, Ent, have some of my banana pudding," encouraged the brown-haired Sakura Empire who had her spoon pointed toward the white-haired Eagle Union.
"She doesn't need sugary treats while she's recovering. What she needs are vegetables like broccoli and Zucchini," stated Belfast. It wasn't lost on everyone that she had a plate full of the stuff as she pointed her fork at Enterprise that contained a piece of broccoli.
"I… I don't need to be fed. I still have the use of my left hand, and I can feed myself just fine," she said as she head dodged the spoon of pudding and the fork of broccoli.
"I don't really get why both of you are acting so strange, besides, she should be eating her eggwich first—it's bad luck if you don't," Hornet stated while she shoved the sandwich close to her sister's face.
"Not you, too, Hornet. I'll just take the fruit salad with some of the chicken," replied Enterprise with a definitive remark.
Shoukaku, which was the only one who wasn't invading Enterprise's personal space, ate her dumplings in silence. She couldn't help but pout at the sisterly interaction that Zuikaku was offering to the Eagle Union, and she wished that her little sister would tend to her that way if she was ever injured like that.
The quirky food date had ended quickly when Vestal barged in with a stern lecture to all of them about the one-person limit. They all pouted in their own way and agreed to clear out of the room in a few minutes.
Hornet was first to break the silence that befell them. "She has a point. It's still daylight, but Ent needs her rest. Vestal is going to start her treatment tomorrow, and my sister needs to be ready for that."
"The nerve repair for your arm will be a difficult recovery, so sleep is ideal," sighed Belfast who wished she could spend more personal time with the Eagle Union.
"I see… then Hornet should be the one to stay and look out for her sister," said Zuikaku.
Hornet shook her head. "I'm already going to be staying the night, so it's no problem if you'll take turns among yourselves."
Hornet's words were like a flag that signaled a race to start as both Zuikaku and Belfast immediately locked gazes with each other.
"Oh… since you bring that up, then I guess I'll volunteer to go first since you're okay with that," said Zuikaku with a cheeky smile.
Belfast quietly sucked air in at the words of the Sakura Empire. "Why should you forcibly decide that you should be the one? She should choose since it is ultimately her say," stated the maid.
Zuikaku couldn't find any way to argue that logic, yet she wasn't going to throw in the towel. "Forcibly? Yeah… no… that is the last thing I would try to do. I worry about Enty. Besides, you already had your time to speak your peace," said the swordswoman with a challenging face toward the Royal Navy.
Enterprise, Hornet, and Shoukaku dawned on confused faces as they watched the two banter back and forth.
"W-while that may be true, that doesn't give you the right to take control of that choice. We all care for Enterprise, but Vestal has made it clear that she should not exert herself. The one guest limit is the answer to that. I… I…" She knew that she had no concrete reasons to have more time with Enterprise while she had already had her alone time. Everything that related to that situation had made it clear that she wasn't in the correct corner. As more bad luck would have it, her phone had begun to ring. One look at the name had told her that this call couldn't be ignored, as the caller would meet an unfortunate end. She politely pardoned her rudeness to the others that were in the room, of course, Zuikaku crossed her arms with a triumphant smirk when the maid turned around to answer the call. "Edinburgh, what seems to be the problem?"
A short pause had lingered in the room as the face of the maid changed from agitated to serious. "You what?! A-are you sure you can't find a way inside?"
Another pause had formed as Belfast's face now appeared to be tired and disappointed. "Maybe this is a sign that you need to stop being forgetful."
One more pause had appeared as Belfast wavered between agitation to reluctance. "Oh, very well, Edinburgh. I'm only doing this once, and if you do it again, then I'll leave you to the fate that Sheffield will bring down on you." Belfast finished her call with a small sigh as she turned back around to face her companions that were confused and curious about what the call related to. Belfast cleared her throat and bowed slightly. "Miss Enterprise, I'm afraid that I must be leaving for a little while," she said with downcast eyes.
Enterprise looked hurt at the news. "Huh? Is there an emergency with the Royal Navy?"
Belfast couldn't help but smile at the Eagle Union's mindset that jumped to serious conclusions that made Enterprise dawn a cute, yet worried face. That was one thing that the maid loved about Enterprise, the fact that she would selflessly jump to serious conclusions that told people that she would assist if they needed help.
"It's nothing of the Siren's world-ending nature. My fellow maid is in distress after a slight… error on her part. Forgive me for being vague, but it's nothing noteworthy to pass on. Nevertheless, she is my dear sister that I must help out. I'll only be gone for a few hours at best," said the maid.
"Hey, it can't be helped. Your sister needs you, but I'll keep Enty company in the meantime," said the brown-haired Sakura Empire with a hand gesture to tell the maid to move along.
"Are you sure that it's alright?" Said Enterprise.
Belfast held back a genuine laugh with her hand. "Miss Enterprise, it's sweet that you care, but you should be more concerned about your current state. You're in no liberty to offer assistance, and I assure you that it's nothing life-threatening." She found herself second-guessing those words, as Edinburgh's predicament could spell fatal only to herself.
"I see… I still feel sad that you have to leave," spoke the Eagle Union, who felt useless even though Belfast had made it clear that it wasn't an overly serious situation.
Belfast frowned at the look that the Eagle Union had on her face. With all the things that have happened in the short span of about twenty-four hours, she could see that Enterprise needed to be surrounded by her loved ones during this dark time. "Fear not, Miss Enterprise. Before visiting hours are over and Hornet takes her permanent shift for the night, I shall be back to see you lastly," stated the maid, making Zuikaku frown.
"I would love that, Bel."
The Eagle Union's casual nickname was not lost on the maid as her cheeks grew red. She was lucky that she turned her head slightly to hide it. "I shall take my leave then. Until later, Enterprise," she said as she made her way out of the room with a slight reluctance to her pace.
"I guess it all worked out in the end. Zui, you and Belfast seemed pretty heated about picking who wanted to stay first," said the blonde Eagle Union who didn't think too deep into what she was stating.
Zuikaku tensed nervously, and she laughed it off as her mind quickly found a good counter. "Hey, Enty's my friend...," she began with a hollow feeling in her heart when she said, friend. "… I just want a one-on-one with her to see how's she's doing. I also have some things I want to discuss," she said with half a seriousness that made Enterprise understand the possible importance of it.
"Well, alright. Shou and I will be heading out. I'll come back later tonight, sister."
Enterprise nodded, and Zuikaku happily pulled her chair closer to the bed resting Eagle Union which made her express a quick laugh at the swordswoman's goofy actions.
Shoukaku laid a hand on her sister's shoulder to get her attention. "I'll keep myself busy and wait for you on base," she said with a kind smile that made Zuikaku nod at her sister.
Just as Hornet and Shoukaku were about to leave the room, Hornet stopped herself. "Oh, hey Ent. I almost forgot to mention that Shoukaku along with some of the other shipgirls retrieved your rig last night."
Enterprise gasped softly, and her smile grew. "Thank you, Shoukaku. I'll be sure to thank all the others when I'm able to be let go."
Hornet smiled briefly for she had more to say. "That's… not all. They also retrieved your doppelganger's ship, too."
Enterprise visibly looked hurt and confused. "Why would you bring that… thing here?"
This time, it was Shoukaku that stepped forward. "Miss Grey Ghost, your rig is an exceptional piece of hardware as it should be since it's an extension of you. Your imitator emulates that hardware to perfection from what we all witnessed. To leave it out there would pretty much mean that we would be okay to let your rig be stranded too. Anyone could come across her ship and do anything with that hardware if they wanted to. I have no doubts in my mind that the Sirens would like it back as I believe that, even though it was created by their hand, they lack the means to replicate it again."
"What makes you say that?" Asked Hornet who looked intrigued by what she had to say.
Shoukaku pridefully smiled at the blonde Eagle Union. "Don't you listen to people's monologues? Purifier did mention that Enterprise's data was stored in that black mental cube and that she was going to fuse a warship into her. This isn't news-shattering as she did state that she wanted to merge her body with Enterprise's data. When I recalled the story to the shipgirls that helped me bring the ships back, I thought about the report Akagi had to disclose."
Everyone in the room looked at Shoukaku with disbelief except for Enterprise who already knew those details, minus the other shipgirls knowing the truth.
"You told them what happened?!" Shouted Hornet in disbelief.
"Hornet, it's okay. They would have eventually started to talk among each other until wild rumors birth from the confusion. I'd prefer they find out the exact facts, so we are all on the same boat."
"That's what I was trying to do, Miss Grey Ghost. Forgive me if I stepped out of line. They already knew that you were critically injured and that by itself would have caused wild rumors to start, especially after they already saw the other one," she said with a reasonable and sad tone.
"I guess it does makes sense, and if Ent's okay with this, then I can forgive you, Shou," said Hornet who sounded apologetic when she raised her voice to the woman that brought her sister's vessel back.
Shoukaku made a face at Hornet as she would prefer, she stays mad at her if it meant that she would stop calling her by her nickname.
"Wait a minute, what's this report of Akagi you briefly mentioned?" Said Hornet.
"Oh, that. That's how I know they can't replicate Enterprise's ship again. Akagi had disclosed about her dealings with the Sirens and the Orochi warship when you saved her. She was brought back to the Sakura Empire, and as much as Nagato and some of the elders wanted to keep involvement with the Orochi warship covered up, the people did deserve transparency. I'm not sure if they knew about the Siren observer that Akagi stated she partnered up with. Regardless, I quickly got my hands on the newest reports much to the wonderful sadness of our elders. In short, Akagi stated that the black mental cube was used to control the Orochi warship and to collect data from targets that the Sirens had wanted. Enterprise was the prime target they had their eyes on, and the only data that they had of her was in the black mental cube."
Enterprise found herself letting out a breath as most of this stuff she did know but wondered if Akagi had withheld some info when they last encountered each other during the assault on the Orochi warship. "You catch on quick, Shoukaku. Yes, the black mental cube is now gone, replaced by her. During the chaotic battle, I hit it with my arrow causing the black smoke to appear. It acted like a wisdom cube at that moment that brought her into our lives."
This news about it acting like a wisdom cube shocked all of them including Shoukaku who didn't anticipate another layer into this event. "Are you saying that she's another version of you?!" Fired Hornet.
"T-that can't be. She's a Siren masking herself as your look-alike, she had ghostly yellow eyes, Enty!" Said Zuikaku.
"Miss Grey Ghost, that's not possible. Akagi would have mentioned that it also acted like a wisdom cube if that was the case. I don't see her lying or withholding something like that, especially after…," she trailed off from what she was going to say as she remembered the fate of what happened to Kaga. There was no doubt, that Akagi was done covering for the Sirens after what they did to Kaga.
Enterprise deeply wished she knew the answer to that question. "I don't know what she is, only that she isn't me. They stole my data during my weakest moment, and if they think they can try again well… that will be the last thing they do. I'm no longer mentally weak and conflicted about where I stand in my life. I now know why I fight." Those words of strength that came from the recovering Eagle Union had made Hornet and Zuikaku smile with joy. Enterprise couldn't help but feel rejuvenated over her own rant she spewed at the moment. "Shoukaku, I'll take comfort knowing that ship isn't in their hands anymore, and even when they had my data in their hands, I tried not to feel restless about it."
"Not a problem, Miss Grey Ghost. I do also believe that your doppelganger's ship is safe here compared to any other base you might have, well… here or… you know what? It's not my place to finish that sentence," she said with a smile. The only one that knew what Shoukaku was going to say was her sister, who pondered over the other alternative.
Shoukaku then left with Hornet. It was worth noting that with all the new info that Hornet had learned, she ended up tagging along with Shoukaku to continue to pick her brain about what other things the older Crane sister knew.
The only ones that were in the room now were Zuikaku and Enterprise. The Eagle Union looked tired from the overwhelming news that she had been supplied with.
"That was a lot of heavy stuff that got unpacked," said Zuikaku to break the tension in the room.
"No, it's alright. I needed this clarity that my data was one of a kind to them. Knowing that they no longer have that as a trump card brings me peace," said Enterprise.
"Now, all we need to figure out is what to do with your… well, her…," she trailed off nervously as she tried to find the right words to address the other Enterprise.
"Zui, before we continue this, I want to get this out that I already know about my connection to her."
Zuikaku's expression of shock was comedic as she did a double take. "H-how did you?"
"You're talking to the one that felt the force of her own arrow almost completely incinerate her right arm when she tried doing it to her imposter. I also had a chat with Belfast about this very topic, too. So, if we are going to be talking about this stuff, I would like if we could both be transparent with each other," replied Enterprise with a small smile.
Zuikaku violently shook her head in agreement. "Of course, I would never want to lie to you, Enty. I was going to tell you like I told Vestal, but I wanted you to recover some strength first before we had to tell you."
"Of course. How's your hand?" Replied the Eagle Union.
Zuikaku made a strong fist to show Enterprise. "It's all better- look, see for yourself."
The Eagle Union smiled happily at the playful nature of the Sakura Empire. "That's amazing, Zui."
"Don't mean to brag, but I have an incredible tenacity to bounce back from danger. Your… um… look-alike sure can shoot an arrow." The pride she started with had turned small and sincere to the feelings of the Eagle Union she loved.
"Zui… I…"
"Enty, don't. You weren't the one that shot that arrow. And I have no anger toward you for holding back so much. I mean, when we trained together, it's obvious that you would hold back. I'm not insulted by that and seeing what you can bring to the table was a learning experience for me to keep growing."
Enterprise defeatedly accepted that response. "Your reserves of positivity seem boundless, thank you. But understand that what I said back then about you keeping me on my toes is all still true. You might lack the power, but you do make it up with an unyielding tenacity to keep going forward. Just remember that; power will come with training, but tenacity is something more deeply ingrained that will serve you further."
Zuikaku wished she could believe that, but every time she tried, the intensity of the arrow from the other Enterprise would vibrate the fortress that was her positivity. She understood that in a fair fight, she would be taken down quickly, and she didn't understand how tenacity would keep her alive. "Since we got that serious discussion out of the way, I have something that will elevate your mood." She reached inside her Crane coat that made Enterprise do a double take that she had pockets in there.
The hand of the Crane remained hidden for a few seconds until she pulled it out to reveal a captain's hat.
"My hat!" Said Enterprise with a beaming look of surprise. She wasn't currently wearing her usual outfit since the incident had done a number on her clothes, she hated to see how her coat fared now, but aside from that, she figured that her most prized article of clothing had been lost to the sea.
Zuikaku let herself bask in the praise she could feel coming from the Eagle Union. "Your sister was rightfully busy tending to your injured state that she left your hat floating out at sea. I picked it up for you. It fits no one else better." She gave her a smirk and planted the hat back onto the Eagle Union, resulting in covering her eyes briefly.
Enterprise scoffed at the action as she pulled it higher to get a look at the Sakura Empire. "I feel like I'm thanking you left and right."
Zuikaku giggled. "Hey, I'm not stopping you," she happily jabbed at the woman she loved.
"This hat means a great deal to me, Zuikaku." A tear soon showed itself on the left cheek of the white-haired carrier.
"Enty! A-are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, I don't know why I'm suddenly crying. It's just… you're a great friend to me, Zui. It feels very cruel that it took our nations to become enemies to be able to be aware of the other's existence. We were enemies on our first encounter and yet, you've found a way to overshadow those days in such a short amount of time."
The brown-haired woman silently looked away during the Eagle Union's crying spree to grit her teeth in irritation. She wasn't mad at Enterprise; she was mad at herself for allowing herself to feel hurt by this. As much as those words brought a warmth to her heart to be seen as a good friend, she jealously yearned for something more; she yearned for the look of love from the Eagle Union. "Thanks, Enty. That… means a lot to me that you see me that way. If only we met as allies first. I guess I can put it behind us now that our nations can agree about the dangers of Siren tech," she said with a smile.
"Indeed. And it only took a giant Siren-level warship to nail the point across," she said with a playfully ironic tone to her voice.
Zuikaku laughed heartily at the dry joke from the Eagle Union. She then grew flustered as she contemplated what she was going to say next. "You know, I did know your existence before Red Axis formed. It's kinda hard not to know your fame as the Grey Ghost extended far. I used to look at a picture of you all the time- just wondering how far I could push you in battle." Her cheeks grew redder with each passing word, and it didn't help when she glanced at Enterprise to find that she had grown silent with a captive gaze to her.
Zuikaku knew she already dug too deep, now she needed to dig her way out. "Enty, I was obsessed with you from the first story I heard about you. The ship of unlimited strength, the ship that brought the waves of victory wherever she went. I wanted to be you that I tried to learn everything about you, and you know what? I didn't. Everything I learned from reports, tales, and records—they were all useless once I got to meet you in person, and once I finally saw passed my fantasies of wanting to beat you. My obsession no longer yearned for your defeat by my hands…," she said silently as if she wasn't all that there.
Enterprise felt confused as she didn't know where this was going. "By that, you mean that once we settled the score with each other when we did that mock battle?"
This was a turning point that the Sakura Empire could feel. She feared that once she said her peace, they would never look at each other the same way again, and that scared her. "Y-yeah, no more obsessive rival induced desires of beating you. These days, all I want is to learn from you, be there for you, and to push myself into being a capable fighter that can fight on her own." This was only a half-truth as she desired more than what she had told the Eagle Union. Her rival obsession didn't die, rather it was transformed into the burning love that she felt for the Eagle Union.
Enterprise smiled warmly at her. "Zui, you are a capable fighter, and don't think for a second that relying on others, like your sister or your allies makes you weak. There is a lot of pain when you're alone at the top, you feel this crushing sense of responsibility that eats away at you. You don't have room to be your own person when you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders."
"Wow, when you put it that way… eh, yeah, you're right," she said dismissively to herself. "… you are my friend, Enterprise."
Enterprise should have been smiling at that, but she found herself getting caught up in the fact that she didn't use her nickname. She wrote it off as Zuikaku being somewhat formal.
Zuikaku remained silent for a second, making both shipgirls feel like there was a divide between them. She contained her emotions that wanted to break out as she looked at her friend to ask her a serious question. "Ent… Enty, f-feel free to say no, but… I think I have a plan to deal with this Siren/mystery shipgirl that's bonded with you."
The Eagle Union perked up from this new topic that made her hold her breath. "And what plan do you have in mind?" She said with a willingness to listen to her Sakura Empire friend.
(Belfast)
Belfast sighed to herself as she got on her knees to stick a paper clip into a locked keyhole.
"Thank you very much for helping me out at the last minute," said a royal maid ship girl with glasses.
Belfast looked at her sister, Edinburgh, while she messed with the locked door. "This is very like you to lock yourself out of your dorm room, Edinburgh. You even left the water running that adds you extra points," spoke the head maid with a deep sigh.
"Ah, Miss Belfast, I know that I'm such a clutz, and I promise that it won't happen again," stated the other maid.
"No, it's fine. This is your nature at the end of the day. Let's just be glad that Sheffield wasn't here to further drive the point home since this is her room as well." Belfast wiggled the paperclip until she heard a click that put a smile of relief on her face.
The door opened with the head maid looking rather proud of herself. "There we go, another door unlocked by yours truly," she said with a giggle.
Edinburgh blasted into the room as she made a B-line to the sink. Water had been continuously running that overflowed past the sink and onto the floor.
"Good heavens, Edinburgh! If we waited any longer, you'd need your rig to get through this water."
"I know, thank you again, Miss Belfast."
"You know, Belfast will do just fine, dear sister. Now, where do you keep the mops?"
Edinburgh looked away with a distant gaze from her sister's words. It wasn't lost to them or anyone else that there had always been a level of distance between them that caused them to act like maid acquaintances instead of sisters. Regardless of their issues, they would always have each other's backs when the other needed it the most, and Edinburgh knew that if she locked herself again, then her sister would always help her again.
They both cleaned up the mess on the kitchen floor with their mops. When the deed was done, Belfast stood triumphant with another task put to rest. "That was indeed a lot of water, Edinburgh. What were you even doing that took you away from the kitchen?" Belfast walked to the living room and she sat down on the couch to allow herself a small break.
"I… I can't even remember why I left in a hurry," she said with a red face as she angled her glasses to hide her gaze.
Belfast didn't believe her while her gaze was evasive. The head maid scanned the room until her eyes landed on a colorful card that stood out among the rest. She couldn't help but noticed it as it lay open and about on a small table. "Is this a love letter?" Belfast picked up the letter and began to read, "Your hair is as golden as the gold bars I protect. Your eyes are as red as the fiery passion in my heart..." There was more to the letter, however, she didn't get to read the rest as Edinburgh caught wind of the reading.
"Ah! Miss Belfast, what are you doing?!" She snatched the letter from the head maid who blushed with a small bow.
"F-forgive me, Edinburgh. My curiosity got the better of me. I saw the colorful letter discarded on the table, and my mind did the rest."
Edinburgh held the card close to her chest. She carefully looked at Belfast to determine if she should vent out to her. "Did you read the name at the end?"
"I did not," said the head maid.
Edinburgh sighed with relief. "Good, because the embarrassment would kill me."
"W-would you like to talk about it? As the head maid, I must make sure my fellow maids are not caught up in inner conflict."
"This won't hinder my capabilities as a maid, Belfast," she said harshly that was a surprise coming from the clumsy and shy maid.
"Fair enough, then how about you vent with me as… sisters?" Said Belfast with a warm smile as she knew a sensitive hand was required.
Edinburgh felt like mocking those words, but they did sound genuine. She caved in on the offer after giving it more thought. Since the subject was difficult, Edinburgh made tea to give her nerves that extra edge to say what she wanted. She sipped her tea elegantly and placed it on the table. The expression on her face relaxed as she looked at Belfast. "What you were reading was a love letter addressed to Cleveland." Her relaxed face shifted to a blush that she couldn't control.
"Cleveland? W-what brought this on?"
"She's amazing and so cool, Belfast. She has helped me to reduce my clumsiness with confidence, and she never gives me a hard time about it. I left the water running because I raced to this bakery store that had one spot open for a special dessert request. If I missed it, I would have still been on the pending list."
"You're planning on confessing to her?"
"S-sort of! The dessert is to show my appreciation for helping me reach cool confidence. The card is there for... well... to express my love- there I said it!"
"Edinburgh, what if she doesn't return the love? I'm sure she helped you out because she sees you as a friend. This could... jeopardize that friendship." Her eyes lowered as she thought back to Enterprise, and this situation reminded her of her own problems. She found her own irony in how she would help her fellow maids deal with their internal conflicts, yet she harbored a great one that she continued to push down.
"I'm aware of that, Belfast. But... I need to. If I don't, then the answer will always haunt me. I'm willing to put my friendship on the line to gain something more… something that my heart wants."
"Something that the heart wants...," recited Belfast to herself.
"Indeed, and if it fails, I don't believe that our friendship will diminish because I'll always be there for her."
The head maid took in those words in stride. "Then I wish you the best of luck, dear Edinburgh."
Edinburgh goofily smiled with her glasses lowering. She fixed them and sipped her tea. "Thank you. So, how's Enterprise after her accident?" She spoke after enjoying her sip.
"She's recovering as we speak. I was actually over there when you called."
"Oh my, forgive me if I pulled you away from her."
"It's fine. I'll be seeing her later anyway, and your predicament couldn't wait."
"I heard that there was a girl that looked like her hospitalized as well..."
"Word travels fast, I see. Yes, but only in looks. She is far removed from Enterprise, and at this moment, we don't know that much about her. Enterprise claims that she was created from a wisdom cube that used to be the infamous black mental cube."
Edinburgh nearly choked on her tea from the info. "Excuse me!? That can't be. If she was brought out by a wisdom cube, then isn't she a shipgirl?"
"I don't have the answers to that. She is an enigma all around, and I firmly believe she's a Siren masking behind Enterprise."
"I didn't know that Sirens could do that," spoke Edinburgh.
"Neither did I."
"Why don't we talk about something different. We've been talking about Siren doppelgangers and my love life, but what about yours?"
Belfast tensed slightly, as she smoothed out her gloved hand. She figured that she should take a sip of her tea to avoid speaking but understood that it would be rude. "What are you saying? I don't have a love life that I'm aware of."
"You don't? I figured that you and Enterprise were rather close."
Belfast held in a deep blush as she pulled back a piece of hair behind her ear. "Close as in friends and nothing more!"
"F-forgive me, Belfast. It's just that rumors fly all over the place, and I thought that you both were keeping it under the radar."
"No, we are not together. She's... not looking for romantic pursuits," she said with downcast eyes.
"What about you?"
"That is irrelevant, Edinburgh," she said with a stoic face.
Edinburgh cheerily laughed as she sipped her tea. "You're just like me then; the difference here is that you're not honest with yourself."
"I... I just don't want to lose her."
"You won't... dear sister. A strong friendship will last even if she doesn't think of you in that way. You have this special connection with her that not many have. You did change her outlook on life for the better, and don't think that nobody has noticed. They even noticed the growing relationship she has with the Sakura Empire carrier."
An ugly side of her tried to break free and make itself known via her facial expression. However, she suppressed that side. "Miss Zuikaku chases a dream that she can't catch. There is admiration in that determination, but I am not her. I know what I value more, and it's my friendship with Enterprise." She refused to let her heart take her down into a hole of despair once Enterprise rejects her. In that hole, the only thing she will find will be the ugly side of her she refuses to let win because every time she allowed her heart to control her, that ugly side is close by.
(Zuikaku)
Zuikaku stared at a wall with vacant eyes. She had just left the room of Enterprise to allow her to rest and think over what she had proposed to her. Her hand balled up into a fist, and she punched a vacant room door a few inches to her right, resulting in the metal of the door bending slightly.
"Stupid, stupid, and stupid... why did I waver? Everything was perfect. She was happy with her hat returned to her, and she looked at me with respect and love." Her face changed quickly into a pained one when the former pain in her right hand still lingered slightly. "Ouch, I shouldn't have done that, oh, going to feel that tomorrow morning," she comically moaned from her newly wounded hand.
"Zui, is everything alright?"
Zuikaku stiffened up when she heard her sister's voice behind her. "Shou, yeah... it's all good," she said with a fake smile.
The older Crane sister scoffed at her smile and reached out to hold her little sister's hand firmly. "No, you are not. You're going to strain this hand again if you go punching metal doors like that. Did something happen?"
"Tsss... no... nothing happened. I'm just venting my anger."
"Zui, I'm your older sister, why won't you talk to me about what's going on?"
"Because it's not important, okay?"
"If it's bothering you, then it's important to me," answered the older sister.
"I... look, I'll tell you, but right now I need to send a message to the Sakura Empire."
"What for?"
"I can tell you that as we walk," she said to her sister.
(Unknown)
A vast sea wrapped in the cover of the night. The night was so dark that the light of the moon wasn't visible to anyone watching. A woman with a bow stood out in the middle of the sea as she remained motionless. The sounds of the mocking waves filled her ears with their forceful sloshes that would hit her knees with water.
This girl looked up from her motionless state to witness shifting shadows of darkness all around her. She instinctively pulled back her bowstring and fired into the black night. A flicker of ash and ember painted her limited world with light as her arrow had hit something that burned it up.
She repeated the process again and again. More ash and ember continue to light her way through the darkness, like some sickening bread trail.
She was indifferent to what she was hitting that caused the brief sources of light, and her only desire was to go forward. She felt that nothing else mattered as long as she continued to fire her arrows and keep going forward.
Her world soon reached a dead end where the sea cut off, and she stared at an expansion of dark nothingness.
She felt a ping in her heart from seeing such empty vastness of nothing that allowed her to turn around to gaze where she had come from. Her eyes widened slowly as a trail of burning remnant ships illuminated her dark sea. Those floating ships were a mixture of Siren, Sakura Empire, and Iron Blood that now lay destroyed.
Her eyes landed on floating charred bodies that once used to be shipgirls and Sirens. Something metal had touched her feet that made her look down. At that moment, she saw a floating katana that looked familiar to her as if she had seen it before.
She looked away from it with indifference in her eyes.
Another light had appeared before her, only this light resided in the dark expansion of nothingness. It was three light sources that shined brightly with an indication that whatever was generating those lights, had a massive structure to it. A blaring alien-like sound filled her limited world with discomfort, and then, the three lights combined to form a massive cannon.
The cannon fired at her, and she retaliated with an arrow. Her arrow failed to stand up against this otherworldly power. She then felt the right side of her body take the hit that somehow felt like an old friend that had visited one too many times.
An unyielding pain was the last thing she experienced as the mocking waves drowned her into oblivion. This felt familiar to her… but then… it stopped feeling that way. She was still here, only, she couldn't see anything. This was different than the dark sea as she could feel a pull guiding her in that sea. In this place, everything about her felt different. She felt tired, heavy, limited, and thirsty.
Her ears picked up shifting footsteps followed by the sounds of a machine monitor. She then realized that her eyes were closed, and she opened them with a grunt to her voice as the light of the room blinded her.
A soft gasp drew her into this blinding light as she saw the face of a pink-haired and soft blue-eyed medical ship.
"You're finally awake," she said with a still breath.
The wild-haired girl looked stunned for a second as she looked around the medical room. Her head started to throb with jumbled-up memories crashing into her like waves. Her only respite was one memory that wasn't jumbled up. "Enterprise!" She yelled frantically with a dry and raspy voice to her vocals.
Vestal recoiled in fright when she heard the crazed version of Enterprise's voice.
The Pseudo-Eagle Union found herself restrained to the bed with straps that hardly gave her room to move an inch.
Vestal detached herself from her fright and ran to the IV with a syringe.
The Pseudo-Eagle Union weakly grunted as her vision darkened once again.
She must have been out of it for a few hours because when she came to, there were two other people in the room.
"Oh, looks like she's finally awake," said the royal maid who had been talking with the other person in the room.
"No kidding. Guess it's finally time to start the interrogation," declared the Sakura Empire carrier as she folded her arms.
The wild-haired girl appeared to be more relaxed. She searched her surroundings to see if anything had changed, and she couldn't find any major alterations.
"You caused quite the startle for Miss Vestal earlier today… miss…?" She paused to see if maybe she could get a response from the doppelganger.
The pseudo-Eagle Union merely gave her a perpetual death glare from before that earned her no friends in the room.
Zuikaku scoffed lightly to herself as she removed herself from the wall. "Give it up, passing maid. If she was that chatty, we wouldn't need to go into these twenty questions with her. I think, Miss Brooding, over here just wants to stay silent." She pulled up a chair to sit next to the doppelganger. "Hey, remember me? I'm the one who you played dirty with and knocked my sword out of my hand."
The wild-haired girl switched from giving Belfast the death glare, to glaring at Zuikaku instead.
Zuikaku tensed up yet pressed onward. "You know, you got that look down to perfection, you should learn to smile a bit. But… I guess that's not your style. Yes, I can see you like playing this old song and dance where we'll keep asking questions, and you'll just brood."
"It's alright… I think all she needs is a little persuasion," stated the maid as she walked forward with a glass of water.
The doppelganger stared at the glass of water as her death glare eased up a bit.
"It's her eyes, you know? Even without the furrowed brows, she still gives off that glare," said Zuikaku.
"That's enough mockery or else she might come after you if she gets the chance," said Belfast.
"Pfft, I'm already on her hit list from way earlier—we are all on it at this point," pointed out Zuikaku.
Belfast ignored Zuikaku and walked closer. "So, what do you say? We don't want to hurt you; we only want answers. If you can provide us with that, I can give you what you want," she said with a friendly and charming giggle.
Her giggle had caused something to throb inside the wild-haired girl's brain. She grunted in pain that made her look away from Belfast.
"Whoa, is she okay?" Asked Zuikaku.
"I'm not sure. Do we have a deal?" She asked sternly this time. Belfast felt another glare toward her as a response that didn't spark much joy for the maid. "First question: Why did you attack Enterprise?"
There was no response from the doppelganger as her pain had faded away.
"Hey, if she's in pain, shouldn't that mean that Enty is going through that?" Asked Zuikaku.
"I don't think so. Vestal would have already told us that by now. This feels like a mental pain that isn't really there."
"What?! That's stupid. That makes no sense!" Shouted the Sakura Empire carrier.
"I'm a maid, not a doctor, you… you… tempura eater," said the maid as she failed on her insult.
"Huh? wow, that hurt… I guess," said Zuikaku with a tired shrug.
Belfast sighed from her frustrations with herself. "Look, I'm sorry for calling you names. I don't know where that came from, and I rather we focus on the real enemy at hand."
"Don't sweat it, passing maid."
"Stop calling me that!"
"Okay, okay, I had my fill. Let's get serious." She walked up to the doppelganger until she was a few inches from her face. "How about question two: What are you? It's clear now that you had something to do with the black mental cube. It's a popular guess that you were created from the data of Enterprise, and we would like to know how that works. Are you a Siren or something else?!" Zuikaku got no response as once again, she received another death glare. "You really are stubborn. We know that you can talk, so say something!"
Zuikaku felt like she was talking to a wall with staring problems, and that irritated her. She paused her anger as she caught a strange scent. "Hey, she was cleaned up, right?"
"W-what does that matter? Yes, Vestal did say she was cleaned up."
"Hmm, then why does her hair still smell of… sea salt… salt water?" She couldn't pinpoint it but the doppelganger's hair smelled of the ocean. Her curiosity got the better of her when she received an impactful headbutt by the Pseudo-Eagle Union. "Yeowch! Ugh… my nose… she got me in the nose! Hey, what's your problem?! Do you see that?—She headbutted me?!"
"Well, you were asking for it when you started to smell her," sternly explained Belfast.
Zuikaku blushed madly through her new injury as the only one she would enjoy smelling their hair would be Enterprise. "She's wild and we're wasting our time here. She hasn't even answered any questions."
"She has no say in the matter. We are done playing around with you, Miss Doppelganger. If you don't humor us with words, then you can forget about this glass of water. I can tell that you are dying of thirst, so if you don't talk… then…." She turned around to head to the nearest sink and started to angle the glass of water.
"You… will… give me that… water."
Both Belfast and Zuikaku stood alerted to the identical sweet voice that they both loved from their true Eagle Union.
Belfast turned around slowly to face the wild-haired girl with a still breath. Even Zuikaku had taken a step back when she felt creeped out at how identical the voice was to Enterprise.
"And why would I do that?" Challenged the Royal Navy.
"Because… she will die." A small and broken smile had formed on the lips of the doppelganger. "I know that we are bonded together. It would be hard to ignore that when your failed assassination only resulted in grazing her arm; an arm that you also earned a wound from," she said dryly.
"You knew you were bonded?" Angrily said Zuikaku.
"I did, and I didn't care… I still don't care. If I knew that Purifier's shield would have deflected the blast more to the right, then I would have settled for Enterprise and me to die. After all my struggle, she still lives…"
Belfast hid her aggression from sight as those words were the same that Enterprise had said toward her counterpart. "You are a fiend," she said sternly.
"Tell that to someone that cares. Give me the water, now. If not, then she will soon start to feel a painful dryness in her throat… if she hasn't already started to feel it. Could you imagine that torture? To have an urge that you can't satisfy at all, no matter how hard you try. No amount of water she drinks will remove that thirst, only until you satisfy the other."
"Why should we believe you?" Said Zuikaku.
"My body speaks for me. A bullet wound here… and a torched arm over there… do you really think that basic living urges aren't shared? Your friend was smart to use water to get me to talk. I bet she was thirsty when she came to," she said with a small laugh.
"She played us from the start," said Zuikaku.
"She's very observant, just like Enterprise. She was able to guess how far their shared experiences went," said the maid.
"Well… go ahead and give her the water. You did want to give Enterprise water earlier, right?"
"This is different, and you know it." Belfast reluctantly walked closer to the doppelganger and placed the water near her mouth.
The doppelganger drank from the cup with heavy gulps as if she had never experienced the sensation of drinking. When she was done, she gave Belfast a mocking look.
Belfast snapped as she held her firmly by the black tank top she had on until they were inches away from each other. "Listen here, the only reason you drink from this glass is that you are tied to someone I love very dearly. We will find a way to separate her from you if it's the last thing we do. You are right that we can't hurt you, and it's a shame as Royal Navy torture is quite effective in getting someone to talk. However, there are other methods of torture that don't involve pain." Belfast released her as she quickly stormed out of the room with Zuikaku in tow.
The doppelganger dropped her head on the pillow as she stared at the ceiling. She was unaware that there was still someone observing her from behind the one-way mirror.
Zuikaku and Belfast funneled through the doorway of Enterprise's room with a frantic beat to their steps.
"Where's the fire?" Joked Enterprise dryly.
Both Zuikaku and Belfast close their gaping mouths of worry to address a confirmation.
"Enterprise, did you feel thirsty just now?" Asked Belfast.
"Now that you mentioned it, I did. There was also this hard pressure on my forehead earlier too. The dryness in my throat was mild, and I was going to request some water, but it went away. W-why?"
The two love-stricken rivals' fears had bloomed as the doppelganger's sharp guess had been confirmed.
(Hornet)
The younger Eagle Union had seen it all. She had seen the interactions between her friends and the doppelganger of her sister. She had been silently observing behind the one-way mirror with one repeatable memory playing on a loop.
"Screw this," she remarked finally. She pushed her way into the room of the doppelganger.
The doppelganger had expected the two to come back, but she didn't expect her. Her death glare eased up tremendously to the point that it looked more like a one-thousand-yard stare for a brief moment.
Her eyes refocused with sternness to them along with her brain throbbing again that made her look away.
Hornet grunted in annoyance. "Hey, you can at least look at me when I'm talking to you."
The doppelganger ignored her as she twitched from the pain that continued.
"Grr, fine, don't look at me. I heard it all from the interaction with you and my friends. I'm not here to keep probing you. All I want is to ask one simple question, and it's not even related to my sister."
The doppelganger continued to ignore her, but now and then, she would look her way only for the pain to intensify.
"I can see that my being here does something to you. Then it's best if you answer my question. Why did you save me from that Siren destroyer? I know it was you. I called out for my sister, and you responded." She waited for a full minute, and she didn't get a response from the other woman. "My friend says that you're a Siren, but why would a Siren save someone else?"
The same song and dance continued, making Hornet feel like she was at the end of her rope. "Hmph, fine, Ash. I guess you don't want to talk." She pretended to give up and cross her arms as she turned around.
"Ash?" Said the doppelganger with a confused hesitant look.
Hornet paused briefly from hearing her sister's voice, yet she knew it wasn't from her true sister. "Yeah, Ash... your whole arm is burned up and black. Ash sounds like a good name for you to go by… or maybe Charred sounds better."
"Mockery won't get you anywhere with me, I don't have a name."
"Sure you do, it's Enterprise." She knew that would ignite a fire in the doppelganger's heart.
The Pseudo-Eagle Union raised her voice in anger. "I'm not a siren, and I'm not Enterprise either. What I did back then was… a reflex. You mean… nothing to me," she said with a stern voice at the end.
Hornet felt a sting in her heart at the weight of those words. She not only felt a crushing blow but also a sense of confusion as to what her statement meant. "Then why don't you say that while you look at me?"
The doppelganger gritted her teeth and continued to not look her way.
Hornet gave up on her tough act and spoke with honesty about what she felt. "I don't see you as the enemy. However, you want to hurt my sister for who knows what reason, and I won't let that stand."
The doppelganger forced herself to stare at the Eagle Union. Every second she did that, was like waves crashing into her. "It's the only way I'll be free..."
Hornet didn't get anywhere else after that.
This chapter felt jam-packed with a lot of things that I felt I couldn't leave out. This chapter, along with the last one felt very heavily dialog-focused, and I will try to ease up on that when the next chapter is done as the last chapter, and this one felt like part 1 and part 2. The next chapter will close off the overall setting to make way for the next phase of this story. I give it a lot of thought when it comes to explaining things and story flow, but I would still love to hear from all of you on how the story flow is progressing. Is it understandable? Are there confusing parts? I also want to get feedback if you guys don't mind the heavy dialog-focused chapters where it's just talking.
Thank you all for reading. I wish I could push out chapters quicker, sadly, work and other things are taking up a good portion of my time. I've lately found myself getting into a good pace with uploading once a week with either my twin seas story or my Neptunia story. Until next time, take care!