Chapter 18: Sailing Toward the Truth
(Enterprise)
The white-haired carrier stepped out of the doors of the medical building, her arm had been redressed looking more pristine than it had been in the morning. A numbing feeling as if sand had been poured inside her arm reached her senses. She mildly grunted with her fingers cautiously flexing within the bandages. "That strain from before is gone… or maybe my fingers are still numb." She sighed with the conclusion that she'll have to decide later. "Hmm… I sure was in there for a while." Her thoughts shifted to the plans with Unicorn and Belfast and wondered if they were still up for having a meal together. She did feel slightly full as it was unavoidable that she had to have a small bite of food after the procedure was over. Still, she was sure she could make room in her stomach if it involved food with company. Overdoing it wasn't the highest of her worries anyway.
A loud whistling cry sounded from above that immediately pulled her out of her thoughts. It was her eagle that circled the roof of the medical building.
Dread and confusion filled her face by the urgent bodily language from her bird. The frantic eagle didn't waste a second and flew around her to express that following her was of the highest priority.
"Hold on—what's happening?! Did you find anything odd just like we discussed?"
The eagle whistled loudly in anger and flew straight down the road.
"You have…," she concluded with unnerving worry under her breath. She held onto her injured arm firmly and sprinted down the road with her bird leading her to the trouble.
(A fleeting attachment of an ended dream.)
The faithful companion of Enterprise was a courageous winged bird that held justice and freedom into his ideals. He would follow his owner into the harshes of battlefields, however, the eagle counterpart of that bird was shaped from a different mindset.
The companion of the pseudo-eagle union was a dark eagle. This dark eagle was loyal; not loyal to nations and groups but definitively loyal to only one. Justice and freedom was a state of mind long since torn down from his mindset, or perhaps he never had those ideas to begin with. Justice was replaced with injustice that seeded survival at all costs. Freedom was a more selfish take for the dark eagle for if he never tasted such a notion, then why should others have it? The winged creature was by no means a coward for he had followed his owner into the most infernal of waters and embraced the cold silence that was ultimately a given from those encounters. Yet, he did not diminish with each encounter. No, it was more like erupting lava cooling off and building more rock to weather the more deadly encounters to come. Perhaps this was how his owner was, or maybe that's how he wished to see her. This encounter before him was no different… just another enemy battle.
His first task was removing the control operator that was one of the many cartoonish feathered creatures called the manjuu that were also residents in Azur Lane. They were an auxiliary group that helped with the basic yet essential tasks, like cooking, repairing, cargo moving, etc. This one, in particular, had a yellow hard hat on.
The dark eagle laid its sharp eyes at the odd bird, merely waiting for an opportunity. He was not aware that another eagle was observing the observer before that eagle flew off to warn his owner.
The dark eagle stayed like that for some time, until his opportunity came in the form of a shift when another manjuu entered to relieve the duty of the other. A simple transition was expected but it appeared that the two manjuu were emoting about certain items that they had in their lunch boxes. It grew to a full-blown argument about which lunch box was better.
The leering eagle narrowed its eyes at the comedic banter between the two manjuu with impatient twitches.
The time was now, the dark eagle flew into the open window while the two manjuu were so distracted with each other that a rhino could have dived through the window with them none the wiser. He used his talons and gripped the lever that controlled the restraints to his owner's carrier ship. Then, with a stroke of an idea, he hit other switches and levers that locked down carrier vessels all around the shipyard. This meant that repositioning them was out of the question, and if a shipgirl wanted to merge, then she would need to be closer than usual to their vessel since it was restrained.
A startling sound was heard from behind the eagle and he quickly noticed that the two manjuu finally caught wind of his sinister presence. Without hesitation, he flew towards the first manjuu and headbutted them into unconsciousness. The second manjuu utterly paralyzed, stood frozen as the eagle pounced on him and knocked him out.
The dark eagle landed back on the window shortly after the quick assault. He turned around to admire his handiwork of a now utterly damaged control panel with claw marks and pulled out levers. He then flew out the window and landed on the outside rail that was attached to the walkway that connected the control room. The presence of his owner enraptured the bird with the gentle warmth he knew all too well.
"Is everything ready?" She said sternly.
The eagle nodded and began to fly to where the unrestrained carrier now laid.
"I see. Good... then let my will flow through you. Become my medium to my severed connection. While I can't command my ship because of this device on me, I'm still able to instruct you. You have the authority to use the fleet as you see fit, my friend. All I ask is that you gain no casualties." The eagle oddly reflected on the command but made no protest as it cried out excitedly regardless. "Make haste and come to me. Your priority is to escape and only engage if you need to," she said before severing the connection once she was done with her instructions.
No one had noticed the restrains gone from the enemy Enterprise carrier and soon it would be too late. The time was now and the dogs of war were itching to tear through the sky once again.
(Enterprise)
She sprinted toward the straight direction that her feathered companion was leading her. Her eagle was flying faster than she could catch up but from the direction, she could tell that they were heading to the shipyard even if she could no longer see her bird. The tightness in her chest grew more viciously, and her gaze remained focus to face this unknown looming danger.
"Miss Enterprise!" As luck would have it, Belfast spotted the injured woman right before she entered the shipyard. She was ready to lay out her feelings to the woman she loved. Even if the Eagle Union archer felt reluctant, she still needed to show her how much she loved her. After that, then she will figure it out as she went.
The injured carrier's nerves relaxed when she heard the soothing voice of her Royal Navy maid friend, but only for a second as the ominous danger ruled her thoughts with worry. "Bel, there's trouble in the shipyard!" She said without pausing and taking the time to inform her friend properly.
The steadfast resolve the maid had to express her love to the other woman was now lost. Replaced with the full seriousness of whatever danger was happening. She then joined her on the mad dash toward the danger. "What kind of trouble?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but… if my eagle is leading me to the shipyard, then… it must be related to her ship," said Enterprise seriously.
Belfast made a pained face from those words. "You can count on me for support, Enterprise." She pulled out her phone and grimaced once her screen lit up. "No signal? I can't contact Cleveland or the others."
Before Enterprise could make sense of that, a loud piping cry from two creatures grabbed their attention once they turned a corner where a large shipping container rested.
The shocked expressions from both of them were directed at two eagles clawing and colliding with each other high in the air.
A while back before Enterprise's eagle had sought her out, he had caught wind of the spying rival eagle near the control room. He had raced off to inform his owner. But now, the enemy eagle had moved on from observation and was heading for the enemy Enterprise's aircraft carrier.
Back to the current event, a ferocious battle for dominance circled the two eagles. Their beaks and claws were relentlessly used to take the other down.
The dark eagle, with more riding on this mission than his counterpart, found the resolve to claw at the other's wing, even though it left him open for a beak injury around his neck. It wasn't fatal, neither was the claw wound to the wing. However, Enterprise's eagle could no longer hold himself in the air and started to plummet.
When Enterprise witnessed the final clash between the two eagles, she shouted in horror seeing her feathered companion fall. At that moment, nothing else mattered to her more. She jumped from the concrete and dived herself forward to make the catch. She landed on the ground with her injured arm breaking her fall.
Belfast sprinted to her aid and kneeled next to the injured carrier. "Enterprise! Oh no... oh no... your arm is bleeding!" She frantically shouted.
"Ugh... I don't care." The white-haired carrier hurtfully hissed. The impact had awoken whatever dormant pain she had from the numbing sensation and multiplied it greatly. She could already hear Vestal sternly lecturing her. "... are you okay?" She softly spoke through the hot fresh pain coursing through her. Her eagle was in her arms—wounded, but alive as it weakly made sounds. "Don't speak. Rest... just rest. I told you not to engage…," she said with tears streaming down her face.
Her eagle weakly gazed at her with his dark pupils looking sad and vacant.
"You're not allowed to go... she left you with me... she wanted me to take care of you. Stay with me, Grim." A few of her tears landed on the beak of her feathered friend while she softly patted her eagle with words that Belfast could not comprehend the depth of them.
Explosions rang from all around them and then, the roaring sounds of airplanes filled the air.
Both Enterprise and Belfast grunted from total fear as an airplane zoomed past them, dropping payloads at random structures in the shipyard.
"Miss Enterprise! We need to move; this is an attack!" She lifted the injured carrier from her good arm and the maid used her other hand to help hold the white-haired woman's feathered companion.
"Thank you," she said softly to the maid.
Belfast made sure to bear the majority of the weight of the eagle since Enterprise was forced to hold him with her bandaged arm that oozed fresh red blood.
Over where the dark eagle was, more airplanes shot out of the runway with the dark eagle hanging above them outside the command deck. The dark eagle controlled all aspects of the carrier with the exception of the command deck. To use the full power of the command deck would mean that he would have to dawn his owner's bow. But for obvious reasons, that wasn't possible. What was available to him was the planes, armaments, and carrier mobility. The fleet of planes at his disposal looked like they had seen better days. A reflection of the overall condition of the carrier vessel as it still looked like a patchwork of steel, metal, and concrete. Also, there was still the massive crack from where Enterprise's arrow did the most damage. It had been sealed up, but now had a sharp bump going vertically up the runway floor. Taking off from that runway proved to be challenging for the fighter planes, but after a few or so, they found a decent take-off pattern. The only excellent aspect of the current carrier was that its speed had not been affected or maybe Akashi had worked on that first for whatever thought process she had.
The dark eagle, understanding the crippling limitations of the aircraft carrier, knew just how to operate it to its fullest.
(Prinz Eugen)
The white-haired Iron blood stared transfixed at the rotating antenna box that was a unique signal jammer under the cannon barrel of her ship. It wasn't until an explosion pulled her back into reality.
She peered over the rail of her ship deck to stare horrified at the massive explosions coming from the shipyard. "I guess that's the signal," she said with a deep worried breath. She turned off the signal jammer since that part of the plan had come to an end. If she kept it on any longer, they would quickly pinpoint that the jamming was coming from the base itself. Her heavy cruiser then activated into her rig form. There was no time to waste and she sailed at top speed toward the danger. Even at her top speed, she could not block out the sight before her of a wide landscape of destruction from the blown-out shipping containers to destroyed roads, vehicles, and other ships that had been on standby— no longer operable for the owners.
"There's so much destruction in its wake... much more than I feared to imagine. Damn it, Akagi." She spotted the hauntingly worn down carrier vessel making a progressive dash to open water. Fighter planes circled above it like bodyguards. She looked back at the wide landscape of destruction, seeing waves of airplanes causing random havoc. It was all for anarchy's sake; to cause mass confusion and panic to draw everyone's attention away from the aircraft carrier.
Prinz Eugen then glanced in the direction it came from to see fire and destruction from where the aircraft carrier had rested. But that wasn't the only thing she saw, following the tail of the carrier, the Cleveland class fleet was hot in pursuit. "Those fools! Just let it leave," she cursed under her breath desperately.
(Cleveland)
Just shortly after the world around them drown in chaos, Cleveland, along with her sisters had their rigs warmed and ready. They were currently getting their stretches in near the shore closest to the shipyard.
"Alright, how are we doing?" Happily said the blonde Eagle Union with a grin.
"Pretty great, and the weather is pretty great too," said Columbia. She had on black shades and looked completely in her element.
A sigh was heard from behind her. "Why don't you take this more seriously?" Said Montpelier with an annoyed look in her red eyes at how laid back her sister was being.
Columbia cracked a grin toward the typical harshness that her sister would exude. "Who says that I'm not taking this seriously? Look, I'm popping another piece of gum in my mouth to show you how serious I am," she said just before blowing a bubble with the newly invigorated gum flavor in her mouth.
Blue eyes exaggeratedly rolled over. "Hmph, how do you carry all that swagger?" Said Denver with a side comment that she didn't expect anyone to hear. Of course, that wasn't the case.
"Ah, cheer up both of you. It's not my fault that my swagger is second only to best big sis in the whole wide world—ah!"
Cleveland casually snatched the black shades from her overly happy younger sister. "Cut that out, please. I wanted us to go over some new tactics and this horsing around isn't going to cut it." Her expression looked stern like that of a parent.
Colombia felt so small for being reprimanded by her older sister that she unintentionally swallowed her gum.
A soft giggle from both Denver and Montpelier could be heard from behind Colombia.
"Hey, don't you two start stirring the flames," Cleveland said with a sigh.
It took a few seconds before her three sisters calmed down to be at a better level to communicate. It was no surprise that once Cleveland took center stage, that the three of them had a habit to drop personal grudges among themselves and follow their sister's instructions.
"So what kind of new tactics are we talking about?" Asked Denver.
Cleveland closed her eyes and pridefully flicked her front blonde hair. "Hehe, I got the new tactics right here." She pulled out a few sheets of paper from underneath her white poncho-style cape.
Her sisters went over the tactics dutifully for a few seconds before beaming at their older sister.
"Holy smokes! This is like on a whole new level than anything we ever did!" Excitedly screamed Colombia.
"Big sis never fails to amaze us with her masterful battle mind," said Denver as she raised a red gloved fist into the air.
"I bet she didn't even have to spend too much time thinking about this. Be honest, did these come to you in a dream?" Said Montpelier rather shyly behind the paper.
Cleveland stood a bit flabbergasted and rubbed the back of her head with her hand. "Came to me in a dream? Well…" She tiredly recollected the last few nights she had been secretly staying up to iron out the positions and tactical benefits from her new battle plans. To protect her 'cool' image that she didn't mind her sisters seeing her in, she didn't dispute the whimsical claims from the three light cruisers in front of her. "Hehe… it was something like that."
"Wow. Cool and humble," said Colombia.
The moment then changed to a more dire one when a loud explosion was heard. "What the…?!" Cleveland, on high alert, scanned the area around them.
"Big sis! Over there!" Shouted Montpelier.
The blonde knight of the sea turned her head to where her younger sister pointed. Smoke ascended into the air from the direction of the shipyard. "That's where the doppelganger's ship is—" Her frightened thoughts were confirmed when a wave of six fighter planes emerged from behind the smoke and continued to decimate the shipyard with relentless payloads.
"Ah! Big sis, we need to do something! Our friend's vessels are all resting there ready to get blown to bits!" Shouted Colombia.
"Yeah… the enemy is attacking the heart of our firepower. No doubt that our friends will be helpless in defending the base," said Denver.
Cleveland gritted her teeth, yet composed herself. "We have our rigs with us, so it falls to us to control the situation before it gets out of hand. Come on girls—let's show them the power of the knights of the sea!"
Her three sisters grew elated, well, elated as the situation would allow. They would be lying if they said that their big sister's encouraging speech, didn't light a fire in their eyes.
Cleveland lined her guns and fired at the nearest fighter plane. Her shots were pinpoint and the first plane went down near a bunch of shipping crates. She shut her eyes, anger, and shame filling her up for adding to more of the needless destruction.
"Big sis, I know how you feel, but we can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs," wildly shouted Columbia while she fired upon two fighter planes that were deviating from the shipyard and heading deeper into Azur Lane's populated locations like the shopping district and academy grounds. The two planes spun around in the air and luckily enough, they landed on the sandy beach.
"Depending on how you might see it, we're in luck," said Denver. Their assault had caused the remaining fighter planes to turn their aggression on the Cleveland-Class fleet.
"That's just fine. Better for us to deal with the brunt of their destruction than our home," said Cleveland.
"Right, give us the game plan big sis and we'll do the rest," said Colombia. Her seriousness was more visually shown as she filled her mouth again with another flavorful piece of gum.
"Okay, what say we use this opportunity to get some hands-on experience over the new plans I made?" She declared with a prideful smile.
"Yes!" Came the combined shouts of her three sisters.
The fight had been an uphill battle, to say the least. Cleveland and her sisters' combined efforts were more than a match for the tactical fleet formation of the enemy planes. However, whoever was giving them orders must have had a wide array of field experience. The fighter planes never missed a beat to adapt to the evolving tactics from the Cleveland class and the way it was going was similar to that of a game of chess.
They reached a turning point when they were able to go around the shipyard and make progress across the sea to close the gap between them and the enemy aircraft carrier.
Columbia then started to get a bit nervous once she laid eyes on the enemy vessel. "Oh man, I hate this feeling as if we're going up against Enterprise."
Her feelings were shared by her other sisters who found themselves unable to point their gun barrels at someone who highly resembled someone they greatly respected to the same level as their big sister.
"Colombia! That statement doesn't make this easier on me either, but she isn't Enterprise. And if Enterprise was here, she'll tell you to hit that imposter with everything you got!"
Colombia widened her eyes in enlightenment after hearing the championing words of her older sister. "She would say that… especially to someone that is pretending to be her," said the other blond.
Cleveland nodded with a proud smile. "There you go. I want you all to remember that. Besides, our focus is immobilizing that carrier instead of blowing it to kingdom come."
"Right!" They all said.
They fearlessly charged forward toward the incoming barrage of fighter planes. Denver and Montpelier dashed forward and aimed their guns at the backside of the aircraft carrier.
Their actions were quickly met with an incoming airstrike from various fighter planes that forced them to scatter. The waves grew violent and pushed them further away from the aircraft carrier.
"Make way!" Shouted Columbia. Unlike her sisters, she managed to endure the barrage of incoming fire with her wits and balance unabated by the rain-like attack. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn that those attacks were designed to push them away instead of inflicting major damage. Just as she was about to use her anti-air guns, her steadfast nerves were knocked down when out of know where the enemy fighter planes started to attack each other.
"What in the…?" Cleveland stared at the outrageous scene with her mouth open. She wasn't the only one as her sisters stood horrified at the insane self-inflicting onslaught the enemy wave of planes were doing to themselves.
Destroyed metal and debris rained from above along with copious amounts of oil.
"Big sis… has she gone insane?" Said Montpelier.
"That carrier ship might look like Enterprises', but she would never do something so heartless and reckless. If she thinks falling junk is more effective than actual artillery then she's like a monstrous siren!" Shouted Denver.
Cleveland couldn't help but think about what Denver said. "Effective…? What's her tactical advantage…?" Her eyes widened when it all clicked into her head. All around them, oil had filled the area. "All of you fall back!" She cried desperately like a crazed lunatic.
A collective set of question marks danced over the heads of her younger sisters. Unfortunately, they had to experience what their older sister was so terrified firsthand.
One of the remaining fighter planes fired upon another ally that made that ally plane dive like a fiery phoenix into the water, causing the oil to ignite over the area of the sea like a wave of falling dominos. Montpelier and Denver were forced back by the raging flames that cut them off from moving forward.
Colombia managed to push forward before the fire could cut her off completely. "This is my big chance to show big sis how dependable I can be!" She gritted her teeth and went full speed. She lined up her gun barrels and fired a continuous stream of shots.
With a stroke of misfortune, her shots fail short on hitting the enemy as the aircraft carrier luckily veered to the right to evade the attack.
The enemy carrier launched a fresh wave of planes toward the gum-eating blonde. Since she was cut off by her sisters, the battle before her was going to be a daunting one.
She pulled herself out of her frightened nerves and aimed her guns at the first two in front of her.
They dropped payloads toward her but her evasion kept her afloat. Little did she know that they were not aiming at her directly. The chaotic ripples dared to swallow her up and knock her off her balance. She persevered and lined her cannons toward the next enemy.
"Colombia look out!" Shouted Cleveland.
The younger blonde turned her head at the same time an enemy plane sneaked from behind and caused an explosion from behind her. Her world went upside down and in her panic, she fired randomly in the air that hit a stray plane.
She adjusted her balance back but it was too late as the falling plane was coming her way. She closed her eyes, but the impact never happened. Instead, she heard cannon fire close by in succession. Her fearful eyes opened to see all the enemy planes around her falling into the water. Even the one heading her way was blasted backward to avoid her.
"Are you alright little blonde?" Said Prinz Eugen.
"I... I think so. Thanks." Colombia breath a sigh of relief with a look of admiration toward her Iron Blood savior.
The admiral hipper-class smiled politely at the young girl. "You can thank me by sitting this one out."
"What!? N-No can do! I'll repay you back for the save but right now the Cleveland fleet has a job to do!"
"Colombia, are you alright?!" The combined worried shouts of Denver and Montpelier got her attention from the fascinating woman in front of her.
"Yeah, forget about that small incident, and let's stay on target girls." She refused to be the one to cause the loss of momentum that would cost them to be unable to capture the carrier ship.
All three of the sisters raced past a displeased Prinz Eugen.
The Iron Blood then saw Cleveland slow to a halt in front of her. "Prinz Eugen, I'm forever eternally grateful for you saving my sister. But, I'm afraid I can't chat. Please, lend us your assistance in capturing that runaway ship or provide support back at the base," said Cleveland.
Another explosion sounded off from Azur Lane.
The Iron blood angrily gave the knight of the sea a sour look. "Hmph, why haven't you and your sisters regrouped with the others who are defending their home as we speak? Instead, you chase the shadow of the Grey Ghost."
Cleveland recoiled with confusion and also with a sting of guilt in her heart. "Huh? T-That ship is the enemy's armaments. Where do you think it's even going?!" She shouted rhetorically.
Eugen inspected her nails, giving off that there was nothing new that could faze her by that question. "Back to the Sakura Empire, I'm guessing. But it's no issue that they can't handle. Whether it's blown up here or by them means nothing compared to the wasted time you could have been helping out the vast majority of girls who were not able to arm up."
"Damn it..." Prinz Eugen had valid points. In the beginning, they were doing right to draw the planes toward them, but that meaning was lost when they proceeded to chase the enemy carrier even though, more planes had zoomed past them to their home.
"I... have to do this. How can I look Ent in the face and say that I almost had it but... didn't?"
The white-haired woman crossed her arms. "You think too harshly of her. She'll understand. If she doesn't, then she's no better than her counterpart."
The blonde guiltily stared back at the base to see the detachment wave that remained behind still stirring chaos. "Columbia, Montpelier, Denver... stop pursuing the enemy carrier," she said into her comms.
A chorus of shocked 'what?' filled her ears.
"The base is getting beat up without our help. The safety of our friends is more important right now."
That logic was one that none of her sisters could refuse.
Prinz Eugen gave the Eagle union a genuine smile of approval.
"I still feel bad," the blonde said with slumped shoulders.
"Trust me, there are more pressing issues." The next set of words were drowned out as explosions from far away overpowered them. However, Cleveland was the only one close enough to hear them.
The color of her skin turned white and traumatic bodily shakes soon followed with her balance compromised.
The Iron Blood held her by the shoulders to avoid the blonde girl from falling into the water. "USS Cleveland! Get a grip and stay with me now!" She strongly said.
"This is going to destroy Enterprise..." she said with a far-off stare. Her friend had been through so much already and for her to find out that her sister had been taken would be a blow that she couldn't fathom what Enterprise would do.
"I promise you, with an oat of steel and blood that she will return to us safely. But for now... we must assist our allies."
Cleveland caught her breath and calmed her nerves. She still felt slightly shaky and weak but that would soon pass. "You're right, let's go."
(Enterprise)
She could not bear to witness the world around her. While her burning hot pain ate away at her, destruction and disorder were circling all of Azur Lane.
Belfast moved through the roads and avoided collisions with allies fighting their own battles with the fighter planes. The luxury of staying and knowing she had to keep moving instead of assisting was a forgone conclusion as she had two allies in need of urgent care. Her hope reignited once she had made her way back to the medical building.
Outside, Vestal and Hammann were dealing with a fighter plane that circled the medical wing.
Hammann had her rig with her, making her one of the few lucky ones to stand a fair fight with the enemy. "Rrgh! Hammann has had a rough day already! Die!" The teal-eyed destroyer took down the approaching fighter plane. It spun around until it crashed near a tree right next to the medical building.
"Gah! Hammann, you almost took out the west section!" Shouted Vestal near the doorway.
"The cat-like destroyer stiffened from the words. "Eh? What do you want Hammann to do... put pillows down anywhere that they might crash? News flash—I'm a destroyer!" She said with a pout to her cheeks.
Vestal did not respond as she spotted Belfast and Enterprise. She let out a small horrified gasp once she saw the fresh blood on the fresh bandage she applied. "Forget about it. Go and assist San Diego in getting those carriers back up and running!"
"What?! So her ship didn't get blown up this time around? I bet she's going to be bragging about that for a while. But... are you sure that's a wise decision for me to leave?!"
"Right now we need any available ally that was lucky enough to have their rig near them to make progress in getting back the shipyard. We do that and they will come to you!" Sternly said Vestal.
"Hammann is on it. I'll show these fakes that they picked the wrong Yorktown carrier to copy." She then dashed toward the shipyard.
Vestal could admire the adoration that the sims-class destroyer had in her heart, and she let out a sigh of relief that she went the other way and had no idea that Enterprise and Belfast were approaching. She shook the thoughts away and the purple-haired medical ship raced over to help Belfast with Enterprise. "What happened? How bad is the damage to the arm? And What happened to Grim!?" She referred to Enterprise's eagle with his name. However, her frantic words were hard to digest between the pained-induced carrier and the worried maid.
"She dived forward after he was hurt in a fight that made him plummet to the ground," said the maid.
Vestal sadly rubbed the damaged wing of the eagle. "You poor thing. Let's bring them inside right now." She took the eagle from them, giving Belfast a better hold on the injured carrier as she rested her other hand on the archer's waist.
Enterprise faintly felt relaxed upon the touch of the other woman on that spot. She dispelled her feelings and grunted to get Vestal's attention. "W-What's the situation here?" Her words were filled with shame that planes modeled after hers would be the ones to deliver this chaos.
"Miraculously, no one has gotten critically hurt. If you ask me, it feels like they are only causing destruction."
"One can tell that they are merely a diversion. The enemy carrier must have found a way to free itself from the restraints we placed on it. But the question of how or who is piloting the carrier is a more confusing matter," said Belfast.
"We need to get that ship back," stubbornly urged Enterprise but could hardly freely move on her own because of Belfast's iron grip. And besides, the pain right now was like a ringing in her head that would surely make her fall and hurt herself more.
Vestal signaled with her head, some manjuus that were hiding inside the building and looking through the window. With her signal, they ran outside with a medical stretcher bed. "That's not possible right now. There's a cluster of fighter planes patrolling the shipyard and docks around them. All available carriers are on lockdown until we can reach the control deck. If only this was an outside attack, then our defenses would have been better. We were not prepared for an inside attack like this."
The stretcher bed came to them and Belfast gently placed the carrier on it. Enterprise sighed calmly to being off her feet.
Belfast looked back to the medical ship. "How could we have known? The point of taking the doppelganger to the Sakura Empire was so that she didn't have the option of commanding her carrier again, but it looks like she found a different means."
"That eagle... I know he had something to do with this," grunted Enterprise.
Vestal looked shocked and interested in what Enterprise had said. Her curiosity would have to be satiated later though. "Relax now. We'll get through this ordeal first," she said to the carrier. They wheeled her inside the medical building while explosions, gunfire, and cannon fire filled the air.
(Sakura Empire)
The world moved forward and hours went by, making it nighttime. It was deep in the night now, the windy night remained undisturbed, and in the warehouse, the white-haired prisoner laid on the ground. The white sheets of her bed had been wrapped around her injured arm to perform a double bandage to keep the fresh blood at bay.
Her eyes looked vacant like a candle that had burnt out. Just a few hours ago, hot pain assaulted her arm, causing her to convulse on the ground in pain.
The pain was an indicator. Something must have gone wrong during the assault that she ordered her companion to undertake. Her concentration was failing from this pain and she couldn't establish the connection again to see what had happened.
There was one hope that satiated her heart. And that was the presence of her companion getting closer and closer to her. He had succeeded, and she owed him the highest of honor. She pondered the conclusion to the attack on Azur Lane and if her counterpart had gotten in the way, but it didn't matter since she also still drew breath. In the end, even this pain was a means to an end.
Her agony had diminished now. Most likely from the assistance of the people tending to her counterpart. She couldn't say the same for herself. She had no one in this infernal place that cared for her and merely wanted to use her for their own gains. No one had even bothered to check up on her since her 'unlikely of partners' gave her the device to her freedom.
She spoke too soon when the doors opened. Her vacant eyes came back to life with dread, annoyance, and anger. She didn't expect anyone to show up at this late into the night. She didn't expect her to show up. She picked herself off the ground and leaned on the glass behind her bed from the view of the one that just entered.
It was Takao, and she gasped in horror at the bloody sight before her.
The injured woman stared daggers at her but her expression changed when the black-haired woman carelessly opened the door of her glass cell.
Takao went down on one knee. "What happened?" She didn't wait for an answer as she reached out to undo the bloody sheet that was amateurishly used like a bandage add-on.
"Stop! What are you even doing here?!" She angrily spat to the other woman that dawned nothing on her face but concern.
Takao flinched and looked away. "I was trying to ask myself that same question. I... I came because I couldn't accept your hurtful words about Hornet."
That statement felt more like a joke to the doppelganger. Maybe it was her tired mind from dealing with the pain from before or perhaps it was the early stages of lunacy, either way, she laughed. "You fool... you utter fool."
Takao drowned out the negative comments from the other woman. "You can call me whatever you want but it's my job to keep a watch over you."
"Some job that is. You would do best to follow the others and leave me to rot—only to bring me out when they need to experiment on me."
It was that comment that shook her balance and her eyes downcasted. "I... we've had our hands full with Hornet being taken. I'm sorry that today, you have felt neglected."
E-2 gave off a mocking breath of annoyance. She didn't care if she was neglected. What was infuriating her now was the fact that her escape was so close and to have... a casualty here went against the agreement with Akagi.
She tiredly threw her head back, asking herself why she even cared. She agreed to play along with the deal but now that she had everything, she wasn't obligated to keep playing the partnership game. She never intended it from the start.
"Let me see." The heavy cruiser inspected the bandaged arm slowly as to not hurt her in any way.
The white-haired woman knew she needed to think fast or else a trip to their medical facilities would be the last thing she needed.
"Don't bother. That idiot Enterprise was to blame for this. She probably tried playing the hero again and got burned. Pfft, all she needs to do is keep herself away from trouble but that's too much to ask. Anyway... the pain is under control, it's been a while since it has hurt meaning that her allies have her under control. If she's getting the proper treatment then that means I'm getting that too," she said.
Takao didn't know how to feel about the rude backhanded insult to the Eagle Union's strongest but the logic about Enterprise's shared injury eased her mind. "Mm... fair point. She must have done something reckless after finding out about Hornet. I hope that she doesn't overdo it."
There was a slight look of empathy from the injured woman once she heard that Enterprise knew about Hornet. "She's wasting her energy. If that's the case," she played along with that reason to keep the black-haired woman in the dark. It clicked in her mind that Takao like all the others here appeared to not be informed about what transpired in Azur Lane. Meaning that they didn't know that her ship was fastly approaching their waters. She allowed herself a small passing smile knowing full well that the devious fox woman definitely had the ability to back up her talk.
"That's her sister... but I guess you can't see how much she's willing to sacrifice to keep her safe," she said with sad eyes.
The doppelganger held her words back for Takao didn't need to know her true feelings about Hornet. "You got me there," she said coldly. In honesty, she said those cold comments before as a means to push the swordswoman away.
Takao squinted her eyes and lifted herself from the ground. "I'm getting some supplies to clean that arm up. While you might be right about piggybacking off of Enterprise's treatments, it's irresponsible of us to not make an effort on our end. First thing tomorrow morning, I'm taking you to our medical wing... just as a formality if nothing else."
She left quickly, making sure to seal her again before leaving.
E-2 sighed in relief that the situation hadn't escalated where more unneeded people would be flooding into the cell or unwillingly enough, forced to go right away to the medical wing.
She closed her eyes to connect with her eagle, but she wasn't strong enough yet. She cursed Enterprise's name under her breath for getting injured and rendering her weak. Being unfocused and unable to talk to her companion was the last thing she needed. Her head turned to see a few stacked pallets that were resting at the back of the warehouse beyond her glass cell. With her good hand, she felt the device hidden in her sweat pants. It was all coming along and soon, she would be free.
Takao came back about ten minutes later with a medkit in her hands. She failed to see the agitated strained expression of the white-haired woman as if she didn't expect to see her again.
The Sakura Empire woman began working on the stained bandages. Her stomach was not ready for the sight before her. It dawned on her that she hadn't been the one to check on her bandages. If anything, her sister was probably more suited to handle this situation.
Her arm looked blackened up to the shoulder. Her fingernails were nonexistent as they were blown off by the origin of her injury. There were some spots of pink flesh and even smaller spots of regular skin tone riddled all over, indicating that treatments were working. Her gaze landed on a spot on her shoulder. "I see the cause of the new injury. The skin on your shoulder was scraped away... maybe from a fall. I'm going to apply an ointment then bandage it again," she said.
E-2 winched from the cold cream on her tender and charred skin. She reflected on the woman before her and she couldn't help but feel shame. "I can't understand you... the kindness you show for me."
"Huh?"
The white-haired woman mentally slapped herself for showing weakness. "Forget it... maybe I'm not allowed to understand."
Takao stopped her work and puffed her cheeks. "I think you can. Kindness comes from empathy that makes you understand the pain and sadness of others."
"Hmph, and when I have ever been kind to any of you?" She mocked.
"When you accepted my food despite the rude comment that you used to mask your contentedness. You even asked me for my name instead of keeping to call me a Sakura Empire."
The archer denied the swordswoman her reaction by looking away; that said more than she could have said with words.
"You also rescued Hornet on that fated day you were born," she decided to go with her hidden info that the blonde had revealed to her.
E-2's eyes grew tired and vacant as she remembered that day. "She told you?"
"She did. This is why I can't accept how disinterested you are in the fact that she's been taken. If we don't do anything for her then she's as good as dead. Do you understand that?" She finished reapplying new bandages to the injured woman. The handiwork of the bandages was impressive with E-2 feeling how secure it felt around her arm.
"I do," the white-haired woman said after testing the flexibility of her arm.
"Then can you tell me anything about where she might have taken Hornet? Are there any secret Siren strongholds that we are not aware of? I just figured you might know something and please don't think that it's because you are a Siren."
There was almost something endearing about how the black-haired woman treaded with her words, hoping to not insult, yet find out information.
At that moment, E-2's eyes unknowingly flashed yellow, an indicator that her eagle was within range. Both of them were not aware of this quick change in color since Takao had looked away to close the medkit. E-2 merely felt the presence of her eagle and nothing more. She sighed and gave Takao a sad long look. "It doesn't matter. In the end, only the one she wants can stop her."
"Huh?" The heavy cruiser would not be able to inquire further after that when the warning alarm sounded for the second time within twenty-four hours, signaling that the Sakura Empire was being attacked.
The archer's gaze grew cold and determined. She pushed herself off the glass while Takao was distracted by the alarm.
In the corner of her eyes, Takao saw that E-2 one-handedly lifted the bed to its side like a protective barricade. Then she felt the rough hand of the injured carrier grabbed onto her white collar. A pain in her stomach vibrated throughout her body, and she quickly realized that E-2 had kneed her in the stomach. The blow was enough to make her go weak in the knees and light-headed. However, before she blacked out, she felt herself be pulled toward E-2.
The front metal wall frame of the warehouse caved outward and exploded in a dance of fire and shrapnel. The glass cell shattered harmoniously all at once, and fire and destruction poured into the once fortified room. The bed that had become a barricade, was pushed across the opposite side of the room until it landed between two stacks of wooden pallets that housed a gap next to the wall.
This was all calculated by the carrier, the only thing that wasn't… was Takao.
After the wake of the explosion, fighter planes sounded across the visible black sky.
E-2 pushed the remains of the mattress bed away and slowly lifted herself off the ground. Half a warehouse now stood damaged and riddled with fire. Her ship came into view across the dock where the ocean was.
Embers and smoke danced around her as she couldn't help but marvel at her companion's timing. It was late at night and before the Sakura Empire could even make sense of anything she would be long gone.
She pulled out the device which was a remote control of sorts. With the click of one button, the limiter rig unlocked and dropped to the ground. She paused for a second to breathe in the wonderful surge of energy that poured throughout her body. She could sense the connection with her ship again.
She moved across the shattered glass and fire until something latched onto her leg.
Takao coughed heavily from the dust and smoke. Her body had accumulated a few minor bruises yet she was still very much alive. "I can't let you leave..." she said weakly. Her eyes gave off a look to that of a wounded puppy as her hope for thinking there was good in the carrier vanished.
The doppelganger of the Grey Ghost loomed over her with a stern look. "Do not delude yourself into thinking your permission matters. Fare well, Takao." She descended a vicious kick to her face that laid her out cold.
The inviting scenery of freedom welcomed her with open arms and she met that freedom with a full sprint toward the edge of the dock. She dived off the edge while a fighter plane intercepted her before hitting the water.
The wind felt wonderful against her skin and she looked back once to see a wave of her planes that would distract any Sakura Empire resistance against her.
Off in the ocean, her ship waited for her. With an outstretched hand, her ship conformed to the shape of her rig as both were reunited in a show of light. She dropped down onto the steady waves of water.
The power that had been taken from her had now been reunited with her once again. Her bow resided in her left hand while her eagle touched down on her left shoulder. She cracked a pleased smile that needed no words.
The sound of airplanes could be heard launching from a far off-platform. She quickly noticed that it was two carriers in the distance. "If we don't throw them off our trail, they'll track us down to the ends of the earth. My friend, be my hand."
The eagle accepted happily and got ready. She lifted her bow and produced an arrow, holding it loosely with her injured hand. She placed it securely on her bowstring. Her companion positioned himself to grab onto the bowstring with his beak—making sure to not snap it in the process. He pulled towards his owner and released the string with a wild exuberant cry of chaotic content that even a few feathers fell from his body.
She chuckled at the wild enthusiasm of her eagle and at the fact that it worked. For her, all she was doing was holding the arrow in place and confirming the trajectory and it was her eagle that was doing the strength work.
The arrow flew off into the sky and exploded into various arrows that were intended to hit the water. They caused giant waves that distracted her enemies while her remaining fighter planes dealt with the enemy planes.
When the Sakura Empire carriers got their focus back, she was long gone.
Wow, I didn't intend to write this much and I did think of cutting it into parts, but after not uploading for a few weeks I thought it was needed. I know that I've been jumping around a lot with locations and different people but these last two chapters have a lot going in them. There were about two more scenes I wanted to show during the attack on Azur Lane, but not to worry. Those will be included in the next chapter in the form of flashbacks. It was two scenes that I thought would go perfect even though I had finished that part already. Hehe, I did figure how to include it in the next chapter so please bear with my unorganized ways and I apologize if the story is all over the place. Lately, work has been keeping me busy and I couldn't get this chapter up soon because it still needed work. I'm happy with how it turned out and I'll see you in the next one because that one is going to be very impactful.