Chapter 19: Sisters' Lane Part 1
(During the attack on Azur Lane)
The assault that was orchestrated by the rogue enemy carrier had reached its breaking point. One by one, the left behind detachment had lost the momentum. The ship girls maintained a strong foothold on their base until the sky was once again clear from threat.
The last fighter plane crashed onto the lush green grass of the academy grounds with an explosion filling the ears of the observing ship girls. Those ship girls were Ayanami, Z23, Helena, Prince of Wales, Laffey, Unicorn, and Javelin. A collective sigh from all of them could be heard once all the sounds of airplane engines were silenced.
Z23 and Ayanami maintained their weapons active out of fear that a silent lone enemy would swoop down from the sky and get them while they were open. It was worth noting that the Sakura destroyer and Iron Blood destroyer were the only ones that had their rigs with them.
Wales had her trusty sword that had helped her take out an adequate amount of enemies with a few platform jumps when they got close to the ground, but it wasn't the same if she had her full arsenal. The others were forced to wave the white flag and stay on the sidelines as spectators.
Ayanami and Z23 scanned the air one more time for any more signs of the enemy until they were granted the feeling of assurance.
"All enemies have been defeated, and no one got hurt... very good," said Ayanami with a satisfied smile.
During the chaos, they all had banded together to make it through the storm. Along the way, Wales had grouped with them to ensure the safety of Unicorn. Helena had been picked up near a bakery shop in the shopping district as they were making their way to the academy grounds.
"If only we could say the same for our surroundings," jumped in Z23 that got Ayanami's attention.
The academy grounds had been left like a true battlefield with the water fountain, the lush green grass, and the pristine buildings all looking like set pieces in a post-nuclear war.
"Unicorn, are you hurt anywhere?" Asked Wales once she sheathed her sword. Even though her role had been destined as support and stray destroyer of any unlucky airplanes, she utterly felt useless for not being able to unleash her full might like Z23 and Ayanami. The only solace she accepted was that she kept Unicorn safe.
Unicorn had been hugging her U-chan extra tight when she looked at the blonde Royal. "Yes, Miss Wales. Thanks to Z23 and Ayanami for keeping us safe. You also did marvelously, too. If only Illustrious were here to see your bravery."
Wales let out a breathy laugh. "Oh, if she were here, then I doubt we would have been in any danger."
Everyone was then drawn in by a groan of pain from behind them. They all looked to see Javelin tending to the blue-haired light cruiser underneath a tree.
Before they could get a word in, Javelin urgently locked eyes with all of them. "We need to get her to the medical wing!"
Helena had suffered two injuries from fallen debris from the airplanes, one hitting her in the left arm and the other in her right leg.
Javelin and Prince of Wales were the ones to take Helena to the medical wing while the others helped clear the debris away and assist in the chaotic aftermath that was left in the base. It was simple to say that there was no shortage of desire for immediate assistance throughout the base. Everyone needed to do their part and help the others rise from the destruction.
"W-where's Cleveland? D-do you think she's alright?" Said the blue-haired light cruiser. She gave both of them a fragile concerned expression that tensed both Royals. "I'm sure she was able to brave this assault… she is our dependable Cleveland after all," said Javelin with a warm smile to ease the mental woes that the injured Brooklyn-class felt.
"Indeed. Will find her once we get you properly resting," said Wales.
When they reached the medical wing, Cleveland, her sisters, and Prinz Eugen crossed paths with them.
The blonde knight of the sea was the first to spot the blue head of hair that clung to the other two Royal Navy women. A cold sting penetrated the blonde once she verified who that blue-haired girl was.
"Ghaa! Helena?!"
The blue-haired light cruiser spotted the blonde and pulled herself away from the assistance of the two Royals. "Cleveland!" Her injury made her unable to stand and move properly. Out of sheer force of will, she made it a few feet until she started to fall forward.
The blond light cruiser acted quickly and snatched the blue-haired girl off her feet. Everyone else witnessed the memorable act as if it was played in slow motion. Their breaths grew dangerously still, wondering what was playing before their eyes.
Time slowed to a crawl for both blonde and blue-haired cruisers, all outside presence might have not even existed for them, as their gazes were solely on the other.
"What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming back until two days from now?" Said Cleveland with worry and equal elation on her face.
Helena shared the same ratio of worry and elation while she unwaveringly gazed at the blonde. "The expedition went well that we managed to return early. I wanted to surprise you with a cake but..."
Cleveland glanced at the Brooklyn-class's fingers to see stained blue icing that had faded. "Oh. Shame about the cake but... you know that you coming back early is more than enough of a surprise for me."
They stared lovingly at each other until they were pulled back by Cleveland's sisters' frequent hand gestures and throat sounds in an attempt to get their big sister's attention.
"Umm... big sis..." said a speechless and nervous Colombia. The other two said nothing as they remained silent to see how this would play out.
Cleveland finally let it register in her mind about the compromising position she was in.
She didn't receive any backup from Helena who had red cheeks. "Didn't want people to find out like this but we're together. Been like that for some time now," blurted the blonde light cruiser feeling rather small all of a sudden.
Helena merely smiled and hooked her arms around Cleveland's neck, much to the pain that her arm was in.
"Congratulations!" Shouted Javelin to deter the moment from being awkward. The sheer impact of the reveal felt too much for her that she could only say that much without allowing her tone of voice to express how shocked she was.
"Indeed. My, I didn't think Miss Cleveland would be so daring in following her heart." Wales retreated her smile when her gaze landed on Prinz Eugen. "Why are you here?" She said with a long hard red gaze at the Iron Blood woman.
Prinz Eugen recoiled once she let it sink in that Prince of Wales was also there. "Wales! I'm… here to deliver the grave news to Enterprise that Hornet has been captured by the Sirens!" The words spewed out of her mouth like vomit thanks to the presence of the King George V-class.
In her defense, she had no right to make a lie to cover up the info about Hornet. Yes, she was an Iron Blood and keeping closely guarded info close to her chest was almost like second nature to her. Of course, Hornet's news didn't conflict with Iron Blood's way of keeping Iron Blood related secrets to them only.
A collective gasp all around filled the air with Cleveland sadly closing her eyes.
"That's terrible? But wait... didn't you said that you were here to refuel? " Said a confused Javelin.
The burning gaze of Wales returned once she heard such confusing disparity between two sources of info that had the same topic. "Really?" Added The blonde Royal with a skeptical eye to the Iron Blood.
The gray and red-haired woman turned her gaze anywhere but to Wales. It felt like an intense spotlight whenever she would look at the woman.
"Everyone make way! I need to get Helena to Vestal pronto!" Shouted Cleveland who, for obvious reasons, was too distracted to even analyze what Javelin meant.
Cleveland's sisters followed suit and Wales signaled Javelin to go with them. This left the red Royal and the Gray Iron Blood by themselves.
The air grew heavy with static like the prelude to a storm brewing. "What can I say? Is it not possible to do both while I was here?" She said with a nervous and half-charming smile that was immune to the King George V-class.
Wales closed the gap and pulled Eugen under the shade of a nearby tree. The tree shook as Eugen was slammed into it.
"What did you do?" Asked Wales with her red eyes looking concerned and hurt.
Since it was just the two of them, the Iron Blood shifted her gaze to a soft one. "Do what?" She played it off with ignorance.
"Why would they send you as a messenger when they could have sent a relay message instead? The fact that you're here makes it suspicious enough without being attacked by a carrier that didn't have her owner nearby."
"I'm not allowed to visit Azur Lane? Last time I checked, we are allies now."
"You told me that this place wasn't your scene… that's why you would never come even if I asked you to come with me," said the Royal with a rare dejected look that Eugen was one of few to ever see the blonde with that face.
"They… told me that communication wasn't properly being sent out to Azur Lane. It might have been anything from bad natural signal or our enemy could have done something—it wouldn't surprise me if that doppelganger had something to do with it."
There was a glimmer of spark in the royal's eyes; a kind of spark that wanted to believe the Iron Blood. "That's possible. And you decided on waiting to fuel up to then tell us this urgent news? That isn't like you unless you had reason to idle around."
It was brief, but the Iron Blood shifted her gaze within a second, but it was enough time for the blonde to finally find a conclusion… even if it wasn't what she wanted. "Y-you're overthinking it..."
Wales sighed and grabbed the chin of the Iron Blood. "You almost had me, Eugen. But I can tell when you're fibbing like you always try. I thought we were past that."
The look of hurt in the blonde's eyes was like taking multiple Siren attacks to the face. Her initial reaction was to hold Wales's shoulders in a tender and comforting manner. "We are! I... damn it. Wales... do you trust me?"
"Ah, you did do something! You always say that when you do anything questionably horrible!"
The Iron Blood closed her eyes to how readable she was to the King George V-class. "But you know that my reasons are always sound, right?"
"Not the ones that involve you throwing yourself in danger. Ugh, what has the Iron Blood command made you do this time?"
"It wasn't from command, this was a request from Akagi... and believe me that doing what I did had merit."
"Then spill it or else I'm walking away from this... from you." There was dramatic meaning in those words that meant more than her removing herself from merely being an ally.
"You know where to hit all the time," said Eugen with a dejected look.
"Forgive me if I sound harsh but with the attack on the base and you clearly hiding something is not a good combination."
Eugen took a deep breath and laid it all out for Wales to take in. She was a fool to always try and lie to the Royal that meant so much to her. Was it her conditioning as an Iron Blood to always hold back secrets? Or was she afraid to be seen as a monster to the only one she cared about how she was perceived? The blonde royal widened her eyes as every second went by. "... and there you have it. She asked me to use the signal jammer so that the base wouldn't know of Hornet's capture until the Grey Ghost copycat ship was ready to escape. This base would have been on high alert otherwise with ships patrolling nearby waters and this shore."
Wales rubbed her forehead tiredly. "You used modified Iron Blood and Siren infused tech to jam our communications... oh Eugen..." She sounded as if she conjured up a headache from a previous night of alcoholic delights.
"Listen, it's the only way that Enterprise's sister can be saved. Akagi told me that the copy knew where she was being held. And that she would rescue her."
"And you believe that twisted reflection!? Both of you believe her?!"
"I've had the chance to meet her and she doesn't act evil like those Sirens. She acts more cold and bitter if anything. Besides, I owe Akagi a debt… and as a friend."
Wales grunted in annoyance. "She's delusional if she thinks siding with the enemy will bring back her sister. Did she not learn that lesson with the Orochi incident?"
"She's just trying to do what she can. And if you ask me, that copy stayed true to her word."
"What do you mean?" Asked Wales with crossed arms.
"There were no casualties... nothing but structures that can be rebuilt again." As soon as those words left her lips, a hard slap came across her cheek.
"Tell that to Miss Helena," said Wales with a look of disgust on her face.
The slap hurt, but it was nothing compared to the vicious gaze of hurt betrayal that she had instilled on the King George V-class. "I'm sorry, Wales. I won't lie to you. I would have preferred you never found out. But… I'm destined to fold upon your gaze… your beautiful gaze. I understand if you wash your hands of me and tell the others of my hand in the incident."
"Stop talking before I have the urge to slap you again you... you..." She was angry and filled with burning love by the words of the Admiral Hipper-class. A part of her felt like the Iron Blood was still manipulating her with sweet words to butter her up, but she knew that was her anger trying to find some valid reason to keep burning. She knew Eugen rather well, and while she had a habit of playing people to her liking, she wasn't a monster to play with those she loved. She pushed past her raw emotions and kissed the Iron Blood passionately under the shade of the tree.
The Iron Blood felt taken aback by the action and allowed herself to receive the one-sided kiss. She felt that she didn't deserve the kiss and didn't lean into it.
The blonde pulled away with a less stern expression than before. "... you hopeless fool. My hopeless fool. You're not getting out of this easy and you're going to volunteer in helping rebuild. I fear that one day I will be unable to help you cover your foolish messes."
A boulder had been removed from the heart of the Iron Blood and relief soon began to warm her. Her fingers traced the lips of the royal that she valued as her most precious treasure. "Well, by then I hope you succeed in making me an honest woman," she said with a smirk that had a double meaning to both of them.
Wales closed her eyes with a content smile. "I plan to. And I sure hell hope that Enterprise's sister is brought back. But I don't understand why that copy would even care about her enemy's sister."
"There's more to her than meets the eye, my little royal. By the way, I'm sorry. If I had known you were visiting Azur Lane, I would have been more hesitant to keep everyone blinded without communication."
"I think what you meant to say is that you would have contacted me with an urgent reason to depart the base so you could stir your trouble without guilt."
Prinz Eugen blushed shamefully and looked away. "Fair point. Just trust me that everything will turn out fine in the end. I'll even find a way to make it up to Helena."
"Without telling her that this whole chaos was your doing? She bought a cake for Cleveland that got smashed when she tripped trying to outrun a plane."
The Iron Blood sighed, accepting her mistake that caused so much trouble to the others. "It won't be easy I admit. Now, I should really talk to Enterprise." She turned her body toward the doors of the medical wing.
"She's here?" Said the Blonde.
"Yes, Cleveland got a call from Belfast that she had been injured in the battle."
Wales gave her another mean look.
The Iron Blood then felt minuscule from her mean look. "What? I'm being honest with you," softly cried the Iron Blood.
(The Sakura Empire)
Shortly after E-2 made her escape that night, the roaring flames of the wreckage of the warehouse continued to burn without remorse. A large group of Sakura ship girls surrounded the area of the dock as they extinguished the flames permanently.
Nagato stood in the foreground of the burning hellscape with an unreadable face. "How could this have happened? Why were our defenses delayed? Who was watching her?" She turned around to train her eyes on Akagi who gazed at the burning warehouse with awe.
She composed herself from Nagato's gaze and cleared her throat. "It would seem that we were lax during a crucial moment that she took advantage of. I, myself, was tending to the needs of my sweet sister Kaga," she said sadly.
Nagato decreased her stern gaze to the fox woman as she did feel shame and failure as a leader for having no success in bringing Kaga's consciousness back. She sighed tiredly. "Then where is Zuikaku, Shoukaku, Atago, and Takao?"
"The crane sisters headed to Azur Lane as soon as they heard about Hornet being taken. Zuikaku is very close to Enterprise and… well… need I explain? As for Atago—"
"She was cut off when the heavy cruiser they were talking about suddenly dived headfirst between them. "Ah! I came as soon as I heard the incident. Lady Nagato, forgive me for not keeping my watchful gaze on the prisoner. My sister told me that she would check up on her…" realization quickly crept into her mind around the same time it did for the other two.
"If she was coming to check on the prisoner—When was the last time you saw her?!" Shouted Akagi.
All three gazed at the burning warehouse with dread at the implications that Takao had come here. Atago dropped to her knees with tears in her eyes as she covered her mouth in realized horror.
"We got someone here!"
All three turned their heads at the voice that shouted into the night sky. It was Ise with Hyuuga, and they were holding an unconscious Takao in their arms.
"She's alive—Ah!" Hyuuga shouted, but within the next second, Atago had reached them like a mad demon. She forcibly pushed the redhead and gray-haired Sakura girls aside, taking over holding the unconscious heavy cruiser.
"Takao! Takao! Can you hear me!? Oh, my sweet sweet sister—that witch is going to pay!" She dramatically proclaimed into the air much to the crazed confusion of both Ise and Hyuuga. For them, and mostly the wide population of the Sakura Empire, they didn't know much about the prisoner as she was secretively kept away from the public.
Akagi and Nagato sighed joyfully that they didn't have to bury one of their own tonight.
"The best course of action is to wait for her to regain consciousness so that she can tell us the details in how our prisoner managed to escape," said Nagato.
"Y-yes…" said Akagi with a nervous chew to her thumb. She feared if Takao had seen anything that might raise suspicion toward her.
"While we do that, it's time we brief the Sakura Empire about our prisoner. The time for being secretive is lone overdue with an ally missing and a prisoner on the run. We will capture her with the full force of all our allies."
(E-2)
Daylight had come and the doppelganger took respite at the sandy shores of an abandoned tropical island. She had moved away from the territory of the Sakura Empire, and thanks to her trusty eagle, she was able to stay away from patrolling Sakura ships that were relentlessly looking for Hornet.
She laid on the sand while she inspected her bow. A concerned expression painted her face when she analyzed the overall strength and durability of her current weapon.
Her dark eagle swooped from the sky and snatched something from the surface of the ocean water before returning to his owner. In its beak, he had caught two fishes and he dropped them on the sand to admire his handiwork.
"It won't hold for much longer… I figure it has about four or so usages left before the integrity of it is compromised and falls apart in my hand," said the short-haired carrier as she raised the weapon over her head.
The dark eagle made an angry piping sound at his owner. It was clearly obvious what concerns he was voicing toward the carrier.
"It does matter. We're going after someone before retreating somewhere for repairs," she said without looking at him.
The dark eagle tilted his head at her in confusion as to who had garnered his owner's ire.
"It's a Siren just like…" She held her head with her hand as a fragmented memory of her taking out Sirens filled her mind. "… just like the old days…" she said with hesitation.
The dark eagle screeched in combined anger and excitement. He then picked up one of the fishes and threw it at the carrier's side.
E-2 made a face and looked back at her companion. "You can have both," she said with a reserved face of disgust. The gesture was appreciated but she could see some fruit hanging close by that looked more appealing than raw and sandy dead fish.
The dark eagle didn't object to her and consumed both of his catches. About ten minutes later, they were departing the tropical island. If all things went well, she considered returning to this bastion where she could work on her repairs undisturbed.
(Flashback)
Her eyes landed back on the other woman. "Tell me about this deal," she declared. She was in the warehouse with Akagi standing outside her glass world.
The fox woman broke a smile of elation at the words that sounded like a faraway dream. She didn't know that she had been holding her breath until the wild-haired archer had broken the silence. "It's a deal or more like a pact. To help the other save their sister." She then heard a sigh from the doppelganger.
"I told you that I can't save her. Hornet resides in this world and your sister is off in some singularity dreamland. Which one do you think is reachable?"
Akagi crossed her arms with a killer stare at the woman. "If I was talking to a regular ship girl then it would be impossible but I'm not… am I?"
Silence filled the air for a while and E-2 had closed her eyes. Maybe because of the frustrating stubbornness of the fox woman. In the end, she opened her eyes again to face the red-dressed fox. "Fine, I'll play along and agree. But you're going to be disappointed."
Akagi relaxed her stance and a sad expression painted her face. "I have no other options available, but Kaga... means everything to me. I only wish I didn't drag her into my Siren affairs."
There it was again. The feeling that the archer could almost understand the sorrow of the Sakura woman. Was it truly empathy? She forced herself away from her emotions and leaned on the glass wall. "Your plan?"
Akagi could feel the coldness from the woman at the fact that she brushed off such sorrowful words. "Heartless to the end. The plan is to break you out of here."
"That won't be enough. I need my vessel."
Akagi pondered over ideas until she pushed them aside with a rejecting face. "I'll have to leave that up to you. I can provide you with a clear path of escape; one where heavy resistance will be delayed at the most."
"Fine. I didn't really mean for help with an escape option. No… that's already taken care of," she said ominously.
"I knew it! Well then… you're a woman who is always prepared. Perhaps you tell me your original plan and I might be able to work around it—make it easier…" she said enticingly like someone offering fish to a cat.
Anger filled E-2 at the interrogating nature of the devious fox woman. "I need you to understand that you were the one to come to me, right? As you say, I'm the only one capable of freeing your sister. So, you tell anyone about my plans and I will be coming after you, got that?"
Akagi let out a soft chuckle at the flustered anger induced archer. "Hmm… your face is quite adorable when it's so lively like that," she said out loud like a passing thought. "You're barking up the wrong tree… dog." Murderously said the doppelganger.
Akagi's sly smile melted just as quickly as it had come. "Hmph, boy… do I wish Atago was here because, with that insult, she would have been sitting on the back of your head. All seriousness, I won't tell anyone—there isn't a damn thing anyone else could offer me compared to what you can—"
"—Could. Remember that I'm not guaranteeing anything."
"I know," she said with less energy than before. Anyone in her position could tell that she was getting the raw end of this deal.
E-2 paused for a second before taking the dive and laying out her plans. "I have a companion… a feathered ally that has been observing Azur Lane… along with my slowly repairing ship."
Akagi widened her eyes. "So just like her, you have an eagle as a sidekick?"
"Shut up. That's hardly the fact to ponder on. What matters is that my eagle is ready to take full control of my carrier ship at a drop of a hat. All he needs is my order."
"Wait… how do you know all this to still be viable? It's not like you have the means to communicate with him." The silence in the air from the white-haired carrier was enough to bring back a smile to her face. "You do. Pray to tell, what means do you communicate with? I can only assume it's something biological and not anything external. We made sure to check you thoroughly for any devices when you got here."
The memory of the sister of Takao washing her and exploring every inch of her body sent shivers down her spine. She thought long and hard about telling her. Something in her won, perhaps it was having someone else's take on the odd connection she had with her eagle. "I'm able to communicate with him with my mind. I can see what he sees."
"Fascinating…" The fox woman was spellbound from this revealment. She kept it to herself out of fear that the other woman might hide behind her anger again and get nowhere. But at that moment, she knew that that was an ability that sparked hope that she was a Siren. "So… what's keeping you from doing the order?"
"I'm not at full strength. If I were to give the order now, there is a high degree of failure. Even if my eagle was able to escape Azur Lane, invading the Sakura Empire would lead to fully realized failure."
"And yet… you are willing to throw all your hope against the wall until it breaks… all for Hornet."
"That Siren wants me, not her. She has no business to be thrown into my affairs."
"But you do it all for love." The white-haired carrier was about to let the fox woman have it until the Sakura held a hand out. "Then it settled. Hear me out. If I remember correctly, I have an ally close to Azur Lane at this very moment, and she has a little Iron Blood secret project up her sleeve."
"You said you wouldn't tell anyone," E-2 said with a stern murderous voice.
"I promise you that it will benefit us greatly. My ally and friend, Prinz Eugen, owes me a favor. And she's not one to blabber secrets to others. That's just the Iron Blood way." She did have to ponder on her provocative claim as there was one who could get the Iron Blood to suddenly go all honest, but she figured that was a long stretch.
E-2 grumbled under her breath. "What could she possibly do?"
"At my request, she can dock Azur Lane and jam their communications. I'm sure that any hour now, a message will try to reach out to Azur Lane and drop the bomb that Hornet has been taken. If that happened at any point before your eagle can get into position, then they will be on high alert throughout the base. Wouldn't you rather want your bird to be sailing away with them still in blissful ignorance or confused panic if anything else? And before you say anything, I'll persuade Nagato that Prinz Eugen is already en route to tell them. Two birds with one stone as they say."
"Hmm… I would prefer my eagle to not be one of those birds," she said seriously.
"That was an idiom… an old saying, my innocent ally. No real stones are being used; only security for your feathered friend," she said with a soft chuckle.
"I see. My eagle should move around without suspicion. Fine… I'll allow it."
"Good, I'm so happy."
"But what's to stop them from contacting the Sakura Empire? You keep that signal jammer on for too long and they'll start growing suspicious of the origin of it. Do you have a signal jammer here as well? Even if you had one, they could tell foul play and send a fleet as a response," She said with a mock.
"You leave that part to me. All that Azur Lane needs to know is that the warning was received when they try to warn us that your ship is coming this way. Simple as that, and no allies need to be sent over if that's the case."
"You really are ambitious, fox woman. I'm surprised that this place hasn't been razed by your burning desire."
Akagi looked upon her with a sour face. "Please don't see me as a villain. I do have one request."
"Your making requests now?"
"Considering that my benefits from this deal pay only after you succeed in rescuing Hornet, then yes. Aside from rescuing my sister, I urge you to not leave any casualties in your wake—let that bird of yours know. If it comes to that, then my Iron Blood friend will be there… I'll tell Nagato your plans. Even if it leads to my demise."
"And here I thought you were willing to do anything for one person… just like me," she spoke dryly and disappointed.
Akagi lowered her gaze as she knew that she loved her sister. Sadly, she refused to match her bloodshed to that level of love. "I don't want no one to die."
E-2 closed her eyes and nodded. "Very well. It's not like I have a say in the matter. I already spilled my guts about my plans."
"Good, then that takes care of everything." Akagi placed her hands behind her back and began to walk away.
"Wait a minute! There is one more hurdle aside from a clear getaway path." She pointed to her chest that had the limiter rig around her.
The fox woman smiled softly. "As a token of seriousness that this is to me, I promise you that you will have the key to your freedom before the last ray of the sun touches this land today."
(E-2)
She had reached the coordinates of the vile Siren. The drifting mist; true to its name, was a mysterious area composed of open water with small land masses scattered that had a mist floating around it like clockwork. This area that encompassed the territory of the drifting mist was said to be a cursed area to both Sirens and ship girls alike. The reason for that is that the drifting mist had odd properties that would make wanderers start to hallucinate their darkest fears. Some would be driven to madness and sink into the forgotten waters while those who survived would never tread those waters again as they would be the storytellers that fueled the mystery of the drifting mist.
The white-haired woman scanned her surroundings that invoked an eerie calm. The sun had risen partly to its peak compared to a few hours ago, serving as a reminder that she hadn't had any sleep yet since before she escaped from her prison. Her drive to stay awake was because of Hornet… Hornet.
She pondered on the blonde girl and what she meant to her. The only response she got was muddled emotions and fragmented memories of long ago.
Her bird screeched loudly and pulled her out of her thoughts. "I'm fine. I already told you that."
The eagle hardly looked assured of that fact.
She could tell what her companion was thinking. "Save that jabbering screech for the enemy," she said warmly or whatever came close to her definition of warmth.
Her bird accepted the comment and remained silent.
She soon made it to the point of no return and eventually, the mist would consume her faster than she could escape it at this point. The drifting mist was so wide that one couldn't see the edges of it from being this close. She could understand why hardly anyone would sail this close as they would have to go around it, wasting precious time in the process. The mist moved toward her without a pause and her dark eagle screeched again to voice his concerns.
"If you're asking me to remind you why we are here, then I don't have to remind you of anything. That Siren is here and it's about time I put her in her place."
The eagle screeched with a mocking sound to his tones. "No, It has nothing to do with that Eagle Union Carrier! She's...," she sighed heavily and gave her eagle an honest look. "I don't know what she is to me. My brain starts to hurt when I see her and my heart beats faster than ever. She's just a runt who doesn't deserve to be used as bait by this Siren." Her words were filled with half-truths as the crisp memory of Hornet waking her up during that memory-induced dream that left her heart with a yearning warmth. She felt almost protective of the blonde like a guardian. No matter how hard she forced herself to make sense of these emotions, there was nothing to shed light on. However, her body was a different story. It was true that when she first saved her, her body reacted on its own as If it remembered what she meant to her. That was also true with how worried and agitated she felt when she learned she was taken.
The mist ensnared her, drowning her into its world that even her brave eagle lowered his head close to her. One whiff of the air encapsulated by the mist made her cough harshly. Unknown to both of them, her eyes flickered yellow a few times before they returned to their purplish color.
"Grow a backbone already… it's just some weak fog," she said harshly while she cleared her throat, doubt could be heard during her tough stance on the mist. She would be lying if she said that she didn't feel the same ominous feel that her eagle was showing, but she needed to be strong.
(Hornet)
Within the drifting mist, Hornet laid tied up on a makeshift raft. Her hands were tied behind with a wooden mast sticking up from the ground. She looked dehydrated and bruised. The perky energy that she normally exuded had been stripped away when the Siren Tester had captured her rather easily that it brought great shame to her. She pulled at her ropes, causing the raft to shake uneasy. The fear of possibly damaging the raft and sinking to her demise caused her to go docile once again. "Sis… please help me…" she let out a tear, wondering how much longer she had. The fact that the Siren had neglected her after tieing her up made her fearful of the unknown. Unlike Purifier, Tester didn't idle around and reveal her master plan; shame, because at this point, she desperately wanted to hear someone's voice compared to this silent void.
"Hornet!"
Her green eyes ignited with hope and she hesitantly raised her head toward the voice. That voice was unmistakable to any others'; it was the voice of her sister. From the shadows, Enterprise emerged like a valiant knight approaching with the rising sun behind them.
"Ent…" She smiled happily with tears of joy on her face.
Her sister looked perfect like the champion she was. From her captain's hat and to her pristine uniform that hardly had any dirt on it. The blonde was so enthralled by her savior sister that she failed to process a critical key fact that was lacking from Enterprise's appearance.
"It's okay, Hornet. Let's get you out of those restraints," she said with a sisterly smile as she extended her right hand out.
A blast fired from beyond the mist, painting Hornet's face with blood. The blonde Yorktown-class carrier stared in unparallel horror at the scarred visual image in front of her.
Her sister's helping hand dropped down to her side and blood soon cascaded from the corners of the white-haired carrier's mouth. A massive hole forced itself open from the stomach of her older sister. A vacant and broken stare locked with the blonde as her sister fell forward into the water.
"No! N-no! Rah! Ent! Ent!" Her cries of agony sounded throughout the drifting mist. Her eyes spotted a shadowy figure from behind where her sister had fallen. The figure had a cannon barrel that emitted heat with ghostly yellow eyes.
The blonde suddenly felt reality shift and the bloody image in front of her vanished along with the shadowy Siren.
Her heartbeat raced in silence while her eyes resembled a one-thousand-yard stare. Were it not for a looming presence above her, she would have been frozen in her shock for who knows how long.
Her head looked up to see the Siren Tester with a smug smile on her face. "You were hallucinating." She let those words sink inside the blonde who still looked visually shaken.
Tester continued to smile evilly as she squatted close to the blonde, making the raft uneasily shake. "That's just a byproduct of this wretched watery graveyard. Please... pray tell, what horrors did you see?"
"Go... choke on saltwater, you pale figure skater," she defiantly barked at her enemy.
Tester's face shifted to displeasure. Without uttering a single word, she dug her fingers into the open wound that the Yorktown carrier had in her arm.
The mist was then filled with Hornet's screams of agony. The Siren pulled away and lifted one of her blade legs to rest dangerously on the chin of the blonde.
"You ship girls are so vulgar when faced with near death." She cracked a wicked smile and lowered her leg. "Good, anything else would be boring. I promise you that the sweet release of death is approaching... I think that's merciful than having you bear these hellish hallucinations." There was a strain in her voice this time as she sounded distracted while she gazed at something that was only in her mind off in the distance.
"My sister... will come for me," said Hornet once her pain was under control.
The Siren focused her attention back on the blonde then turned away to move above the water. Her gaze trailed off into the vast mist. "Yes, we shall see about that," she said grimly.
Hornet's reality shifted and where Tester once had been, two tombstones stood out of the water.
The names on them had both of her older sisters etched on them. "They're not real... they're not real..." she silently coached herself. She needed to face these fears or else they would be the ones killing her.
(E-2)
The doppelganger roamed the sinister mist. She wondered how much this mist stretched for and how long until it would pass her by. "Tester! I'm here just like you wanted! Show yourself now!" She heard no response from the mist that agitated her.
Her dark eagle screeched in equal annoyance.
"She has to be here. She did too much for me to leave me at a dead end."
An odd sound of water parting sounded from behind her. Quickly turning her head, she was greeted with nothing. Then it happened again, more water parting around her as if she was being stalked. The sound of metal connecting with water perked her ears. Yes, she could feel that she was being stalked by some stealthy ship.
Her eagle oddly glanced at the defensive stance she took while her eyes anxiously scanned all around her.
"Huh? You don't hear that?" She asked her bird. Once those words left her, a loud unearthly blaring alien-like sound washed over her, instigating fear throughout her body.
Her eagle worriedly glanced at his owner who stood rigid like a statue.
Rapid fear poured through her heart and her hands started to shake once she saw three lights appear in the sky. "No. No, that's impossible! You can't be here!" She lifted her bow to take a shot until it registered that her eagle hadn't taken position. He floated above her with angry cries toward her as if she had gone insane.
"What are you doing? The enemy is right here—in front of us!"
The three light sources combined to form a giant cannon that trained on her. She gritted her teeth at her companion and decided to launch her fighter planes toward the enemy.
Three planes flew directly toward the enemy, but the enemy phased out of reality like it did in her nightmares. "Where is it? Where did it go!?" In the deepest levels within her psyche, she reverted to her basic emotional response from the bane that ruled her nightmares. Fear ruled her mind as she was unable to compose herself to command her planes. From the confusion and disorder, the planes crashed into each other by the lack of proper commands. The enemy ship continued their predatory game with her as whenever she would spot the enemy ship, it would phase out of reality again.
It was mocking her and was enjoying every second of it. Her breath grew haggard and she started to lose her footing from the disorienting tracking to find the ship. All she could hear now was her heart pumping loudly in her ears as she started to hyperventilate. Her fear resurfaced memory of her laying on top of a rock, her body completely burned while the sinister ship loomed over her. She lowered herself close to the water with her left arm holding her head in agony.
Her dark eagle stood there, watching his owner succumb to unparallel madness before his eyes. He knew what he had to do, much to his discomfort.
While the archer shot upward and screamed frantically against the mist, he blocked her view and delivered a sharp stab on her forehead with his beak.
She silenced her maddening screams and staggered slightly, light blood cascading down her nose. Her purple eyes opened again with a rekindled clarity.
The sinister presence that the massive ship encroached with had vanished. And it was a full minute that she couldn't feel any hostility in the mist. "It... was a hallucination?" She weakly uttered to herself while feeling the blood on her face. Once she focused on the pain that her eagle inflicted, the nightmare ship no longer ruled over her.
Her eagle screeched to confirm what she had deduced.
She sighed with alleviation and gazed at her companion. "That'll do... that'll do… thank you," she said with kind eyes that made her eagle flinch at how sincere and happy she looked.
Reality shifted again like before. She turned around to see bodies floating in the water as they floated toward her. "Do you see bodies?" She asked her eagle, trepidation on her nerves to where these bodies had come from.
The eagle responded with a shake of the head. Even with the confirmation, she moved forward across the sea of dead. Among those dead, it was Sakura Empire, Iron Blood, and Sirens that greeted her with soulless eyes. She traversed straighter ahead until she spotted a shadow figure off in the distance. As she adjusted her eyes to the distance, it vanished.
"So you've come?" Said a voice filled with displeasure and scorn.
E-2 scanned her surrounding but could find no one else. "I have," she responded to the void. She only had two encounters with her in which they spoke but the first time was more than enough to remember such a voice filled with sinister temptation.
The figure emerge from the mist and stared down at the doppelganger with dim yellow eyes.
"What's the matter with you? It looks like you're low on batteries," mocked the short-haired carrier.
The Siren stared at her with daggers. "This place... it affects Sirens just as much as it does for ship girls. It's one of the many unobservable mysteries in this world. But it does still have its uses. Now tell me, what made you come here? Was it to see me?"
The white-haired woman remained silent and pondered on it. "Yeah... I've come to kill you for not leaving me alone, but after dragging me into this forsaken place, I want to make you suffer first," she declared murderously.
The siren frowned and folded her arms. "The second part is understandable, but the first part doesn't sound as genuine. You lie. Originally, I can tell that you think coming after someone like me is beneath you. You've come for her. Admit it, because this mist cannot be lied to."
The rest of the sea of dead bodies finally floated past her, but there was one more body that had yet to reach her. Her eyes widened in horror as a dead Hornet floated lifelessly toward her. "No!" She dropped down to the level of the water and held Hornet's lifeless body in her arms.
Her eagle screeched at her but she ignored him as her emotions took over.
"There you have it. I doubt that's me you're holding in your arms," spoke the Siren with a tone of displeasure.
"Huh?" The injured archer looked down to see that no one was in her hands. This mist was an oddity that scared her to her core. She could have sworn that she could feel Hornet's cold body and wet hair just a second ago.
The full sweep of the mist soon reached its end and the sky returned along with the sun.
Her eyes flickered yellow briefly as she looked at the Siren.
For Tester, her eyes were back to the haunting full radiant yellow like before. Behind her, Hornet laid tied to the raft, looking very out of it.
"Hornet!" The carrier shouted with an open mouth of pure joy that was rare for her to express.
The blond looked up and gazed at the white-haired woman. "Ent...?" She said in a mid-delirious state
That name was like a backhanded slap to the carrier that made her look away. The brief joy she felt was then replaced by a cold empty feeling.
The Siren laughed and shook her head. "Oh, that's rich."
Hornet's eyes finally refocused and she saw the doppelganger clearly. "It's you..." she said with a taken aback breath.
"Yes, that is her. The mist has passed us and with it, its hallucinogenic effects. What you are seeing is the broken reflection of your sweet sweet sister—who managed to do the impossible all for you." Disappointment and intrigue were shown on the Siren's face. That was soon followed up by a hopeful smirk. "Now, my dear... it is time for you to choose your purpose."
There's going to be a part two to this since I feel like having a lot of characters rolled into one chapter is a bit tricky for me, I want to do it right by taking my time. If you're wondering what Enterprise is doing this whole time, the next chapter will shed light on that. Thank you all for reading and I'll see you in the next one!