Chapter 24: At the Door Part 2
Shapeless would describe the journey into the Siren-constructed prison housed within the mind of Akagi's sister. It was only until she felt squeezed through a narrow-like tube that she felt her shape and weight return to her.
A sense of lightness and freedom filled her mind once that trip concluded. She searched her surroundings to only find darkness and a wave of dread weighed her heart down.
She squinted to see into the dark distance. That was when her yellow eyes activated involuntarily. This time around, she could feel them turn on like a light switch within her mind. It all felt surreal to her as random information started to fill her sight; all related in some way to this mental world created by the Sirens. Deciding to make the most of her current condition, she willed the area around her to become more visible compared to its dark aesthetic.
Alt found herself in a gray corridor and the walls were composed of fusion material to that of memories and flesh. Such an amalgamation would be beyond understanding in the real world. The ground was also composed the same way; however, Alt wasn't worried about such a sight. What she was more worried about was that they were decaying and showing no signs of life.
She dropped to the ground, feeling the grave pain the world around her resonated with.
"No... she's dying." That's what the world invoked to her. These colorless and decaying walls were once a network of brain activity from the conscious mind of Kaga. For them to be like this, meant that her self-awareness as a person was deteriorating.
Pulling herself away from observing and analyzing, she noticed that her right arm was healed with no signs of scarring or bandages. A bewildered expression showed on her face, as she donned the clothes she wore when she was born into her new reality. It was the same clothes she had always worn during her agonizing days in the dark sea.
In truth, she disliked the return to such an outfit that felt no different than the captive clothes she had been forced to wear.
Her current issues aside, she placed a hand on the ground again, letting her eyes and mind guide her in operating the inner workings of this Siren construct. Her senses grew connected to the cold and gray world around her. Her will pushed out and the best way to describe such a feeling would be to that of sonar waves.
She searched through the pathways of this mind, her concerns growing. "There's no brain activity anywhere." She grunted and forced herself harder to find any light of activity; for Akagi's sake.
Yellow eyes bounced left and right, as If seeing through the many layers that made up Kaga's mind similar to layers of an onion. A semblance of brain activity rippled through the mind, no different to that of a heartbeat, and her yellow eyes sharply stopped. "There you are." The place she had to go was deep, yet she was driven to keep her word. She would be lying if she said this was all for Akagi. In fairness, she yearned to do something good with this life she had before she had to meet her end.
Her conscious mind desired a means to get there. With that in mind, an odd terminal glowing with light appeared a few steps across her path. With there being nowhere else to go, she made her way forward. With each step she took, ripples emanated as if she was on water.
The terminal stood before her, and she observed the odd design and alien-like appearance.
"Admin Authentication," said a voice of a woman that stemmed from the terminal.
She stood still, feeling unease from the voice that she remembered she heard once. It was from one of her nightmares when it mentioned that she might have been remembering past lives she had lived. It wasn't Tester or Purifier, but it still invoked a disturbing feeling of association.
"Admin Authentication." It asked again and Alt swallowed hard, her hands shaky. Tester's provocation about her origins lingered in her mind.
Feeling bold, and a bit wild, she spoke that name that was nothing short of an endless chasm of mysteries. "Observer..." She said with a dispirited tone of voice.
Machine whirling sounded brief, then it roared back to life. "Admin Authentication verified. Imprint Profile Verified. Kansen: Kaga. Clearance: Yellow. Be advised psychological shutdown imminent."
"Cancel shutdown," she commanded. There was an eerie pause with the machine glowing steadily.
"Invalid command. Psychological shutdown imminent."
"Khh... figures they wouldn't have an easy button," she cursed under her breath.
"Procedure error of mental shutdown nominal. In the scenario of needed preservation of assets, direct contact is required. Be advised, not recommended. The clearance is now yellow. Psychological shutdown imminent."
The mystery woman's voice was starting to annoy her to an insane degree.
Alt removed herself from the terminal, weighing her options. "There is no fail-safe for Akagi's sister." They never intended Kaga to be set free, and direct contact was the only option. Regardless of what the terminal said, she commanded a route to Akagi's sister. A hole opened behind the terminal and knew that was her pathway to reach Kaga.
She sighed when she gazed into the bottomless pit. "I'm really doing this, aren't I?" She said to herself, a sense of doubt now eating away at her. After a deep breath, she jumped into the hole and began her descend.
She floated endlessly into a tube structure that looked more like Siren architecture rather than the flesh and memory walls that she saw earlier. Most likely this was the Siren influence that seeded into Kaga's mind like a parasite.
Her descend halted upon a red barrier. With a quick glance, its security was nothing to scoff at, and she was sure that not even a full power arrow could rupture it. She grunted with a perplexed stare toward it, desiring within her heart to bypass this blockade. As a response, the same terminal appeared floating next to her.
"Input command." It spoke, and Alt finally figured out why she disliked it so much; it was happy.
"Deactivate all barriers!"
A whirl of noises filled the air before dying down. "Containment barriers lifted."
It was hard for her to not feel a bit of pride considering she felt like she was toppling their precious toys with their own methods. She spoke too soon as the red barrier came back up.
"Input command unknown. Input command unknown," it recited with that insufferable happiness to her tone.
Alt narrowed her eyes in concern. "Kaga... are you trying to keep me out?" She spoke grimly.
The terminal shined with a red light. "Unable to reach the core mental construct. An alternate route through asset's—Redacted—possible." A hole opened up to her left that hummed with a low radiance of energy.
Alt made a sound of discontent from that ominous withholding of information from the terminal. "Guess I have no other choice." She went through the hole, unaware that another pair of eyes were looking at her from above.
Those eyes radiated yellow before silently pushing through into a transient hole that it created.
Alt pushed through a pathway that looked similar to the flesh-like walls. However, these had veins of circuitry running across them like an infection.
They further accentuated how much of a parasite the Siren construct was to the mind of Akagi's sister.
A wave of light washed over her at the end, and she found herself in a spacious room. Alt's eyes landed on a hole in the other side of the room with the same radiant light as before. She took a step and found herself face to face with Akagi's sister. "Kaga?!"
The Kansen ship appeared before her like an apparition, dressed in white with her snow-white hair.
Their eyes, one a vacant sea of blue, and one brimming a ghostly yellow, looked toward each other. The woman looked unfocused and motionless.
Alt made her decision and walked forward, that's when the blue-eyed woman came to life and growled at her with a murderous expression.
"Enterprise! I hate you! I hate you!"
The archer gasped as an inferno of blue flames bathed the room like hellfire. Destructive geysers of pure hot flames shot out, adding to the nightmare of heat. One almost collided with her, but in that instance, a barrier produced from out of nowhere. It turns out that her Siren eyes had activated in response to the danger.
"What the hell!? I'm here to rescue you. Your sister Akagi sent me to get you!" Shouted the archer.
The Sakura carrier's white fox ears perked up along with a horribly enraged face. "I hate you! I hate you all! I hate Akagi!" The blue flames grew in intensity.
She gave Kaga a frustrated look and that's when her eyes made her see something about her that she didn't see earlier. Perhaps she had to get closer to see that detail. It was a detail that conveyed that the properties that made up Kaga had missing components. "Khh... You're a fragment of Kaga..." She didn't know why she knew to say it that way, as if it was the identifier phrase used by the Sirens.
The flames grew larger and engulfed the image of the Sakura carrier. Alt widened her eyes and the flames exploded in ferocity, engulfing her as well.
Through the blue inferno, a light shined defiantly within it. Once it was gone, the blue flames were forcibly separated by the sheer aura of Alt's rigging manifesting. She advanced through the parted flames like a creature born from it.
The blue flames quickly advanced on the ground they lost. Visibly annoyed, she took a wild tactic and raised her bow, ready to fire an arrow in the direction of the wall where the hole resided.
As it flew out of her hand, the shockwaves from her arrow pushed back the flames and made a clear path. With her path in sight, she dashed forward before she even gave it a second guess.
The arrow was absorbed by the decaying walls as if made from some gooey membrane, but that mattered little to the doppelganger. Just before the last moment, she passed through the hole before the room glowed blue with the heat of an inferno that could harbor no life.
Feeling like she earned a respite, she let out a held breath. "Grr... it was hot as hell in there. Why is she trying to reject me?" She wouldn't find the answer to her question just by muttering to herself.
The next room she entered was the same as the other, decaying and gray. These walls were supposed to be the representation of Kaga as a person, and how she viewed the world around her, yet for them to be drained of activity was too cruel.
Her steps halted when she spotted another fragment of Kaga. That fragment stood motionless and gazed at her with vacant eyes.
"Fake..."
Alt sucked in air with a displeased face. "Kaga, your sister misses you."
From the shadows around the doppelganger, more aspects of the pale and white-haired Sakura carrier emerged. "Fake. Fake. Fake." They chanted in a monotone and sickening feel.
Aside from the first Kaga, six more surrounded the pseudo eagle union, all saying the same word. They lunged at her, their eyes feral with bloodlust but with her bow, she twirled and bashed them aside. They turned into black shadows and dissipated.
Her guard was still raised, and her eyes grew alerted by her warrior's intuition kicking in. Pivoting sharply, small glowing blue planes filled the room. Like rain, they mercifully assaulted her without pause. She evaded their assault as best as she could, losing ground in the process before hitting a wall.
The aspect of Kaga on the other side of the room kept muttering while her eyes glowed blue. A vast number of more planes appeared, and they all rained down on the doppelganger, exploding on contact and creating a cloud of dust in their wake.
"Fake... Fake... F..."
"Is that all you ever say!?"
The fragment of Kaga acknowledged the voice within the cloud of smoke.
From the cloud of destruction, Alt stood on both feet. Her anger was back, renewed, and invigorated as the area around her was scorched. A yellow barrier had been enacted around her with her yellow eyes glowing. "You've gone and done it now." She angrily stated while advancing toward the fragmented being.
The blue-eyed woman grunted and yelled. "You fake, you don't deserve to live!"
Alt summoned an arrow and fired it toward the chest of the fragment. Her eyes grew irritated when it was intercepted by one of the blue planes. Taking a more straightforward approach, she summoned another arrow and swiftly advanced.
The blows of the tiny blue planes vibrated throughout the yellow barrier she enacted. It was hard for her to believe how proficient she was becoming in using Siren-related resources and tactics. The barrier she summoned was a visualization within her mind's eye. It was like second nature to her to rely on these methods as they flowed through her. All the information that her Siren eyes deposited into her helped guide her, it showed her the best course of action for the appropriate threat. It was one of the many Siren failsafe when venturing through battles or data streams.
The pushback could be felt by her, and her barrier started to whine. She was more than halfway there. With her arrow in hand, she used her rigging and propelled forward, closing the final gap between them.
The fragment of Kaga widened her eyes when the doppelganger hugged her followed by a skewered arrow tip cementing itself deep within her chest.
The fake Sakura carrier stopped muttering and her knees gave out. Alt held her firmly and gently placed her on the ground.
"Fake... Fake..." her voice was more subdued and fragile now as she gazed upon the ceiling of the fading room.
"Are you calling me a fake? Well, won't argue with you. I really don't care what you call me, though. I owe your sister one captive sister," she said determinedly driven.
"Amagi... I'm a fake."
Alt grunted in shock from hearing her say another word that wasn't the same.
Her eyes looked far away, expressing that she had never been yelling at her, but at herself and the ghost that she saw. "She will never see me as a sister. It's you she wants; it's always been you. I'm a fake that can't replace you." She dropped her hand on the ground as her breathing grew haggard. Tears flowed freely from the blue-eyed carrier.
Alt faltered and lowered her eyes. "You're wrong. So, what if you can't replace her? If you allow yourself to keep comparing yourself to others, then expect pain and sadness to follow you. She values you for who you are and not what you try to be."
Kaga mechanically cocked her head toward her, as if seeing her for real, and smiled at her. "This coming from you? How human of you." The fragment of Kaga vanished and the room grew deathly silent.
Those final words were imbued with a sinister undertone that felt like the fragment saw through her heart and all the turmoil. All that she said reflected her and her struggles against Enterprise.
Alt exhaled nervously; her ears perked up to the humming of the energy that swirled inside the hole. She had to keep going.
Light from the other end of the hole shined once she pulled herself out entirely. Her feet touched the ground and something fleshy. Her mouth hung slightly open at what lay before her.
If she could find one group of words to describe this perfectly, it would have to be a mad butcher's graveyard. In every square inch, the visage of Akagi lay dead, mutilated, and defaced. The methods of death varied as well, with some having stab wounds, laser cannon burns, and dismemberment. There were so many that some had died on top of each other, forming a mountain of flesh. The floor was partially wet… the blood of Akagi acting as veins of red liquid all around her.
Alt closed her heart to the tormented sight before her that would have driven anyone who devoted their love to Akagi to madness. Her gaze steeled and mental fortitude raised to not let the images get to her. If one good thing came from her receiving and her inflicting pain during her time in the dark sea, perhaps this moment would have made up for it. Perhaps her battle-hardened experience of seeing dead bodies in her dark sea finally gave her something to use positively. She pulled her vision up, seeing the heavens of the massive room she was in.
It was nice for her to look up, giving herself a brief respite from the gruesome sight before her. However, there was more reason as to why she looked up. She couldn't help but observe the properties of the ceiling. All around her, it was obvious she was inside a transparent cube, resonating a singular word: prison.
Behind her in the sky, she could see past the transparent walls and see the red barriers that had closed off the fastest route she had willed. Beyond that, nothing but black fog surrounded the prison cube.
It was rather cruel to be able to see outside your prison yet have nothing to see.
"I'm strong... I'm... strong... I'm..."
Mutterings of a mad and broken woman perked her ears, making her gaze look down from the sky. That was when she came upon a sight both horrifying and beautiful that she had completely missed when she had been engrossed from the sight of dead bodies.
Akagi's sister, Kaga, stood on her knees while gazing at the ground. A type of straight jacket bounded her, rendering her unable to use her arms. The ground before her was vibrant and lush with green grass. A bed of flowers covered where she rested, and a warm heavenly light shined down on her like a spotlight.
She gazed at the portion of the healthy green area and noticed it getting smaller, the tiny flowers in the edge succumbing to decay.
This was the area she felt was still alive when she sensed the pain of this place. "Kaga!"
The woman's white fox ears perked up and lifted her head. Her eyes looked distant and vacant. It was as if she had acknowledged her through a waterfall. "Huh? It's finally here... my solitary confinement is over. Please, I beg you... just let me die. I can't take more torment anymore," she pleaded with a shaky tone in her voice.
Alt didn't know whether to emulate disgust at how feeble and broken she was, or pity her greatly, knowing how tormented she must feel to feel this low. "I'm not here to torment you." The doppelganger moved closer to her yet had reservations about stepping into the light. The light appeared as an unknown, and her flesh being seared from her body upon contact could very well be a reality.
"I'm strong... I'm strong..." Kaga muttered to herself aimlessly, contradicting what she said earlier.
"Hey, listen to me! You need to pull yourself out of this prison. Your mind is decaying and if you don't stop it, then it's literally lights out for you."
Kaga looked at her again and gave a broken smile. "Maybe if I die, Amagi will come back," she said with a crazed look in her eyes.
"Amagi…? You can't swap with the dead, Kaga. Whatever feelings of inadequacy you feel toward that woman, you must resolve them but not in here."
Kaga's eyes widened curiously. "Who are you? I can see your outline but... this light... it's been a long time since I allowed myself to perceive images from outside."
Alt tightened her fists and stepped into the light that bathe Kaga. In that one small step, she crossed another prison within the mind of the Sakura carrier. While the first prison was meant to seal her mind, this was meant to seal her heart. It was one she imposed on herself as a means to retreat further into herself to not deal with the Siren-constructed torture. That was what she felt when observing with the sight of her yellow eyes.
From Kaga's cognition, the small bastion of grass was a wide meadow of a garden while she sat underneath the shadow of a cherry blossom tree.
Alt stood behind her, watching what the white-haired Sakura carrier had been looking at this whole time.
A good way from them, the image of Akagi and another woman that looked a lot like her were laughing and conversing. They had this sisterly aura around them that even gave Alt a pregnant pause of jealousy. "So... this is your final gasp of brain activity? The idea or memory of a melancholy scene that you're not even a part of? You're not even trying to escape." The disdain in her voice was high and she no longer felt sorry for her.
Kaga acknowledged the voice of the spectator behind her, and her eyes filled with tears. "It was this or keep watching my sister Akagi die by my failures," she said somberly. "Besides, this is all I will allow myself to see."
The doppelganger's anger flared, causing strands of hair to slightly perk up along with her heated gaze. "This is no better. This image is strangling your will to live and decaying your mind," said Alt with reason in her voice.
"Amagi… I... I... miss her and yet, if she ever could come back, I think I would hate her."
Alt remained silently brooding, her face showing concern and intrigue at what she heard.
"...That makes me a bad person. One who is selfish and horrible. I would hate her because I would have no place by Akagi's side. I know I'm a fake, and I can never replace her."
Alt grew quiet, her anger coming down. She suddenly felt small by how similar insecurities they had. She wondered what she would do. "Enough." Her words echoed and the illusionary world around them melted away by her command.
"No! Bring it back, please have mercy! It's all I have now!" She choked on her words when the dead that lay scattered started to reanimate.
Alt moved forward, with her bow at the ready, yet they made no advancement and merely held their ground, their physical appearance plentifully enough to torment the broken fox woman.
Alt turned around to see Kaga burying her face in the dirt. This whole time, she shielded herself from hardship, and right now was no different.
Alt grabbed her by her straight jacket and lifted her. "Listen to me, your sister has been by your side this whole time and she had to go behind her own allies to get you back."
"What form of torture is this? You can't be who you say you are. No Kansen can ever cross into this Siren world," cried Kaga into a mad fit of delusion, completely avoiding the gaze of the doppelganger.
Alt frowned and her grip loosened. "Your sister told me this... Kaga... is very diligent. Work and finding opportunities to prove herself has always been her priorities. She's the ideal embodiment of the strong always prevailing."
A whimper of fright echoed from the Sakura carrier.
"But that's not all of her. Deep down there's a softness to her that she tries to bury from the world. I think... she does that because she believes that she too is weak."
Kaga let her tears fall and she slightly opened her eyes. "Akagi... she said that?"
"Yes, get it through your head. There is nothing wrong with filling roles that others had once filled. Akagi accepted you and in turn, you inherited that role. You didn't steal it. Besides, she has room in her heart for both." She paused, unable to not think about Hornet and how she yearned to harbor two sisterly loves. A desire that the doppelganger had rejected as an impossibility.
"I... you're right." A whisper that only the omni-tailed carrier could hear filled her ears and her small breakthrough had been short-lived. "No, I deserve this. I'm a bad person. I need to be punished for such disgusting thoughts I have of Amagi!"
Alt, feeling lost and confused, noticed the jacket constrict tighter around Kaga and the light around them started to grow smaller. She grunted when the reanimated and mangled copies of Kaga's sister started to finally move. She focused her eyes on the jacket like a laser and her eyes widened in horror at its TRUE form. "Kaga! Stop shielding yourself from reality. Stop being pathetic and take responsibility!" She grabbed onto the white straight jacket and tore it from her body.
When the restricted jacket came off from her body, it was as if a dark cloud had removed itself from Kaga's state of mind. This whole time, the light that soaked her had felt like nothing. But now it felt warm and inviting. Remnants of fonder memories started to bleed through the one singular memory she had been replaying like a broken record.
Memories of Akagi tending to her wounds after a battle or Akagi making meals for them both that she poured her heart in. They all came flooding in and filling her with life. It was too grand that the light around them pushed outward, reigniting the barren landscape with happier memories that washed away the tortured versions of her sister like tidal waves. In its wake, a healthy scenery of cherry blossom trees and flowers blanketed the field.
Kaga lay resting on a bed of flowers while her eyes were opened up to the light of her own heart. "Akagi... my god. What was I saying? I'm able to think clearly now for the first time in a long time." A sense of relief and bewilderment cast on her blue eyes.
Alt's eyes had returned to her purple version, and she looked at Kaga. "This jacket was the reason."
"Huh?!" A chilling fright washed over Kaga just as it did with Alt when its true form was revealed. The item in question started to move in the wild-haired woman's hands. Instead of a white straight jacket, a set of detached tentacle appendages were writhing in agony, desperately trying to reconnect with someone.
Kaga quickly averted her gaze at anywhere but the horror that had been attached to her body. She did not see the look in the doppelganger's eyes that held a sort of melancholy and attentive look to them before she came back to her senses, tossing the horrible monstrosity away. It continued to convulse, and it shriveled within seconds.
"Khh... disgusting." Commented the glaring archer.
There was an awkward silence in the room, mostly composed of Kaga unable to come to terms that someone else had seen her deepest and darkest fears. "So... my sister sent you?" She asked hurriedly without even looking at her and keeping her gaze at the light above.
Alt looked jumpy from the sudden response. "Yes, and that's the truth," she declared.
"How did she send a Kansen?" Her blue eyes switched from gazing at the light above to the other woman that kneeled next to her on the bed of flowers.
"There will be plenty of time later. For now, let's leave this place to crumble."
Kaga, for the first time, finally caught a good view at her savior. "Enterprise... is that you?"
The mysterious woman looked upset for the briefest of moments until she scoffed. "You have me confused with someone else," she spoke casually.
Kaga looked into her harsh and tired purple eyes, then to her unscrupulous-like hair, and then to her worn-out clothing. "I see, my mistake. You are not her." She said hesitantly.
Alt took those words for what they were. "You don't seem to be spouting ramblings of a mad person anymore; that's a start. You didn't make it easy on me to get here either," she grunted while picking her up and slinging the fox woman's arm over her shoulder.
"Huh?" A visually confused face washed over Kaga.
"Those fragments of yourself. The delusionary effect from that tentacle monstrosity and your deeply seeded guilt must have been severe to let those fragments loose on me. No doubt under your delusion, you sought punishment."
Kaga gave her a hesitant look. "That wasn't me. I didn't even know you were here until you approached me." Her voice caught in her throat as her mind kick-started a piece of critical information she had suppressed. "Was there anyone else you saw in here?!"
Alt gave her a raised eyebrow. "You can choose not to believe me, but I scanned this whole place and didn't find another pulse of activity except for yours," she said reassuringly. Although, the barriers being locked and the aspects activating had made her argument shaky.
They each gave each other a look, both understanding each other's dread. From above, the glass prism roof that was a part of Kaga's prison had started to crack.
"We should go now," was all Alt said.
"Right, I can walk. It's fine. But how are we supposed to get out of here?"
Alt looked away, avoiding Kaga's gaze as her eyes glowed yellow and a shining doorway appeared in front of them.
"How did you do that?!" She took a step back, feeling guarded and unsure.
The battle-worn woman turned to her with a shifty look in her eyes. "Siren tech can be easy to manipulate, don't think too hard about it." They entered the doorway, but not before a pair of scornful yellow eyes watched them leave from outside the prison where the fog resided.
When they entered the doorway, they were walking on a single-path corridor.
Alt casually glided her hand across the wall, feeling it alive with activity and color. She could also feel the burrowing eyes of Akagi's sister who probably had a thousand questions about her identity. "How are you feeling?" She decided to break the ice.
"I feel... good actually," said the Sakura carrier.
"I'm glad to hear that. Once I removed that... thing, you were able to regain a foot hole into your own mind. The ground underneath us and these walls tell that your desire to live is growing."
Kaga saw the woman smile slightly, yet her smile's beauty was one of tragic weariness. "Are you Iron Blood? You seem to know a lot about things you shouldn't know. That… or you're making this all up," she said most cryptically and skeptically.
"I'm just a friend of your sister. Come on, the decay is leasing but if you don't regain consciousness, it will take hold again."
"R-Right. I guess I'll take my savior's word to heart," she said, skepticism still permeating through herself.
They walked for what seemed like minutes until they reached a glowing doorway at the end of the corridor.
One step forward and a gut-wrenching feeling stopped Alt in her tracks.
Before Kaga could inquire why she stopped, a distorted effect appeared between them and the exit.
Appendages came out of the distortion first, followed by a massive animal-like fur body. Its horrid appearance was a quadruped with black and yellow fur. Its snout was a long and sharp one with death-like yellow eyes. A pair of pointy yellow fox ears perked when it spotted them. Its nine tentacle-like appendages moved wickedly behind it.
This creature… was a bastard amalgamation of a nine-tailed fox and the aesthetics of a Siren tentacle rigging given birth.
Kaga gasped and took a few steps back. "I knew it was too good to be true if it suddenly abandoned me to rot in silence. My mysterious savior, if this place truly was my prison, then this is my warden."
Alt gasped and her head started to hurt. "I... I know you…" Her vision grew dizzy, and she reached out to it subconsciously with her right hand. In response, her left hand shot out to restrain her sudden odd movement. Her yellow eyes activated and the two exchanged a silent depth of understanding that only two Siren-like beings could do. "I understand now. It was you that was keeping me from reaching her, and you used her image to throw me off."
It snarled at her, its wicked claws and teeth sharp like blades.
"Huh?" Kaga questioned.
Alt, without any words, grabbed Kaga and a doorway appeared next to her. Without wasting a second, she tossed Kaga into it. "Whatever you do, keep heading straight."
"Are you insane, come with me!" Shouted the nine-tailed fox woman with hectic anger.
Alt's yellow eyes never moved from the Siren-nightmare creature in front of her. "I can't leave this creature here. I see that escaping isn't enough. This thing needs to be eliminated to keep the decay from growing back."
The doorway closed leaving her by herself and alone with the eldritch-looking horror.
From discerning eyes, she knew all she needed. "You must be Observer... no. You're just like me, a remnant forced to take up the shape of something else. The only difference is that I'm just held better together than you. But I guess our methods are the same in the end. You feed on Kaga's sense of self, decaying her mind in the process, while I feed on the sense of self of a woman I despise. Look at us, nothing but two ugly reflections." She allowed herself to give the monstrosity a sad and broken smile that said nothing more than a tale of self-destructiveness. She then raised her bow and the Fox Siren creature charged at her.
Kaga continued to run through an expansive black room. It was as if she was in space and the only thing that kept her grounded was a literal road of light, a beautiful personification of a lifeline that showed her the way to freedom. She ran until her legs felt like they would break underneath her. "Good grief. If this is within my mind, why do I even need stamina?" A light caught her attention and she looked up to see the exit bathe in a glowing light above her. A row of platforms appeared that acted like a staircase. Hope and joy resonated within her until she realized that her mysterious savior hadn't come back. As If her wish had been granted, loud bangs and rumbles resonated throughout the black void around her. The bangs grew intense, and she looked up when a section of the black nothingness above her shattered like glass, and two figures fell from above and onto the pathway of light she was on.
The mysterious woman crashed with the monstrous amalgamation composed of a fox and Siren. The wild-haired woman thrashed on the floor while the creature appeared to be trying to restrain her instead of outright killing her.
Its nine tentacle-like tails continue to invade her body while releasing a black goo that fully intended to encase her completely.
The archer grunted while she fought with all her might, yet the way it was going, she was fated to lose.
Kaga helplessly watched the sight before her, unable to have the means to help her. She furrowed her eyes and rejected such a notion. All her anger and resentment surfaced, and she held her hand out. From her will within her mind, she manifested her katana.
Alt was starting to lose strength from the suppressive nature of this being. A fear that she had never felt suddenly filled her world, and her heart panicked as to what would happen to her in the real world if she let this Siren invader assimilate her.
With terrified eyes, she eyed the face of the monstrous force above her. A face, one that appeared to be melting, perhaps to emulate a human-like face that was wickedly smiling down on her. "Observer... reunite..." it echoed with feral energy to it.
A blade pierced its side and forced it back, giving Alt the chance to completely remove herself. Kaga had skewered her katana into the mad creature and pulled Alt to her feet. "Are you okay?"
Still visibly shaken, she nodded hectically. "Yeah, thank you," she said with a sigh.
The eldritch Siren backed up and loomed over them with a deathly growl that would even scare the battle-harden of Kansen.
The nine-tailed white carrier propped up the other woman and pulled her by her shoulder. "You shouldn't have left me alone. This is also my fight, in the end. That thing is a distorted imitation of me, and I aim to put it down," she barked at the archer.
Alt closed her mouth and acknowledged her with her eyes. "I see that now. Sorry, it's just that I've never had the luxury of a battle buddy," she said half-humorously.
Kaga scoffed and diverted her eyes, as she too would rather fight alone. However, the current situation needed teamwork if they both wished to survive. "I suggest you grow out of that awkward phase and start trusting others." She materialized her rigging and her sword returned to her.
Alt continued to take her lectures in stride and gripped her bow. "Then what do you have in mind? I shot its head clean off and it still came running for more. I threw planes, payload, and gunfire at it. I cut off its legs and other parts… and still, it kept coming."
"There must be a method. This hulking mass must have a system core somewhere in its body if it's able to create my prison and siphon all that encompasses me onto itself."
Alt activated her ghostly yellow eyes and scanned the beast again for any vulnerabilities. "Khh… that thing is insane to read accurately. Alright, let's do it the old fashion way—swiss cheese style!" She yelled while she summoned arrows.
Kaga smirked at the woman's choice of words and her runway strip engulfed itself in blue flames. Her nine-tails also glowed blue, fueling her with power for this fight that was upon them. Having established a foot hole into her own mind, she changed the battlefield into one with multi towers that provided height and cover that benefited them the most.
The glowing doorway stood above all three, like a grand prize dangling enticingly.
The alien-like fox amalgamation tried to reestablish dominance over the mind of its prisoner, however, Alt used her own authority to cancel it out.
Planes, gunfire, and bombs colored the new arena with combat. Planes were quickly swatted down by the extending tentacles of the beast. The gunfire did nothing to it but mildly annoying it as the bullets either bounced off or absorbed themselves from its blob-like body under its fur. The bombs exploded parts of its body similar to balloons popping, yet its regenerative ability regrew them back instantaneously.
Alt slid underneath its feet while Kaga distracted it and fired a full force arrow underneath it. The blast propelled it into the sky where a wave of Kaga's planes bombarded it. From the mid-air explosion, it emerged and landed on a platform near Alt, its body badly burnt. The Fox Siren extended its nine tentacles and launched them toward the doppelganger. Its nine tentacles merged into a massive drill-like weapon with unyielding range.
Quick on her feet, Alt used the side of her bow to deflect the devastating attack, while also causing her bow to fly off her hand.
The fusion monstrosity lunched at her, its mouth absurdly wide.
Alt jumped upward, nearly evading it. Her angered face expressed her otherworldly frustrations, and she used her left leg to deliver an impactful kick across its face.
The beast whimpered as she had hit its eye, causing it to move away. "Serves you right, you mangy bitch!" She could feel something move near her leg and her eyes widened from residual black goo trying to climb up her leg. She quickly ripped it away from her, throwing it back at the beast who accepted the piece that it had lost.
A swift blue slice appeared across its neck, detaching its head clean off.
Kaga appeared, holding her blade as she had quickly dashed past it with extraordinary speed.
The Fox Siren roared and staggered horribly until the stump it now brandished extended unpleasantly toward its fallen head.
The Sakura carrier gritted her teeth and charged, creating rapid and fleeting blue slices across its body. Her rapid flurry of attacks appeared like a hot butter knife slicing butter or even cheese into blocks. Her desperation started to grow as with every cut she made, the older one would heal rapidly, leaving the monstrous Siren in a state of paralysis. "Why won't you die!? Where are you hiding that core!?"
Alt had retrieved her bow and jumped onto an elevated platform. Seeing her ally lose ground, she loaded another arrow and aimed at the feet of the monster. The arrow hit the front left leg of the Siren horror, completely shredding it with a vaporizing strike. There was hardly time for celebration as it quickly started to regenerate the loss portion of the mass it had lost. However, it now convulsed on the ground, trying to desperately regrow its leg while its tentacle tails swung aggressively around, enduring Kaga's wild slices.
"Grr... you just don't quit. Fine, how about this! Kaga, get back!" Her warning caused the fox woman to retreat from her wrathful slicing.
Internally, while this mysterious Kansen looked altered in comparison to Enterprise, that bow of hers was hard to mistake. Her curiosity won and she waited to see what would happen.
The doppelganger produced a handful of arrows and fired them into the air. The arrows split and came crashing down upon the monster like volatile raindrops.
Kaga widened her blue eyes, knowing full well that attack was one of Enterprise's patented moves. The deadly assault rain had connected with the beast, leaving it struggling to stand with holes filling its body like swiss cheese. Anything alive and in its right mind would have cleanly died from that, yet it still wasn't enough for this monstrous beast.
Kaga propelled herself and launched a swarm of blue flame-covered fighters toward the creature. Their inferno heat engulfed it and it dropped onto the floor into a pile of burning hellfire. The Sakura carrier laughed in crazed victory from being the one to deliver the final blow.
"Kaga!" Frantic and concerned shouts perked her ears up and before she had time to react, the half fox and half Siren-tentacle demon arose from its dead-like state.
Its nine murderous tentacle appendages stretched out like sun rays, with Kaga's blue flames further accentuating such display. Its mouth started to glow blue from internal energy that it harbored and fired a blast in the shape of a plane.
Alt had already been halfway toward Kaga when the Siren monstrosity had unleashed its surprise attack. Her hand reached out to Kaga and she, without thought, covered her with her body. Her yellow gaze then stared down at the incoming flame projectile as her barrier activated.
The barrier whined under the impactful intensity from the attack yet held steadfast. From the blue dying flames upon her barrier that briefly blinded her, numerous appendages began to smash themselves against her defense.
She could feel the unparallel hunger and desire from the beast that yearned for nothing more than to become whole. She couldn't look away because she needed to keep gazing at it to keep the barrier active, but she could feel Kaga look at her with lost eyes.
Its tactics changed and it wrapped its appendages around the barrier, almost trying to strangle the force of energy around them.
Alt could feel her barrier whine and grow weak as if it was being unconsciously powered down. The beast was using their identical Siren profile to gain access to her ability like two people having an identical key to a door.
"Hey, I see the core!" Shouted Kaga once she forced herself out of her thoughts. Through the burning black and yellow flesh goo of the creature, a bright red core revealed itself. Due to the combined attacks from both, it had sustained a massive amount of trauma that it had not fully healed from, and with Kaga's burning flames still plaguing it, it couldn't heal. "Can you fire an arrow!?"
"Yes." Strained the doppelganger as she adjusted her new arrow into her bow.
Kaga placed a hand on Alt's shoulder, getting ready to signal her when to strike. "Then together now!" She revealed five flat-blue plane cut-outs and spread them across her fingers like a fan.
A sweatdrop formed on the pseudo eagle union's face. "Aren't we a little too close for comfort?"
Kaga determinedly kept her gaze at the horrible beast that was a living mockery onto herself. "Keep that shield up then," she said deathly serious.
They both fired their respective attacks, a combined arrow, and a wave of small blue planes through the barrier. Upon contact with the appendages of the monster, they ignited and obliterated all nine appendages into dust. The beast staggered and roared in abject pain.
"Ah!" Kaga switched to her sword and thrust it into the now defenseless monster that no longer had most of its body due to heavy burn damage. The thrust fractured the core, yet it was holding itself together.
Kaga began to sweat from the proximity of the blue flames covering its body and she refused to back away. She noticed that its singed front legs were getting ready for a swipe from their deadly claws.
Two arrows flew past her and obliterated the front legs, causing the beast and Kaga to drop to the ground. Even then, she refused to let go of her katana that was firmly buried in its evasive core up to this point. She felt another set of arms wrap themselves around hers and she gazed at the determined look from the mystery woman.
"Go on. Do it!" She encouraged as they both used their collective strength to split the core, shattering it in the process.
The Fox Siren howled in agony and finally succumbed to all the damage they dished out.
"Is it dead?" Asked Kaga with a shaky breath.
"Y-yeah…" Alt's heart skipped when her eyes connected with the final gasp of activity from the beast's eyes. An image burned into her mind, one where two people stood amid a heated naval battle.
A fleet of black warships was fighting in the distance while black tentacles were holding up a woman from her neck. The image grew clearer, and Alt was able to see the one being strangled was Kaga. On the other, her image was obscured but one could tell she was small and had yellow eyes that resonated similar to the doppelgangers'.
Alt could feel the emotion that was going through the obscured figure as they were one and the same. That feeling felt, was one that made her sick to her stomach as she had been enjoying the tortured look from the Sakura carrier.
"With your body… I'll be able to observe all the day-to-day life within the Sakura Empire." The memory ended and she shakily returned to her current self.
"Whoa, hey, I got you," came the concerned voice of Kaga.
Alt gazed at her, and she looked away, feeling a disgusting shame invade her body. They both watched the remains of the beast grow dull and gray until it became a husk. Every particle in its body then blew away into nothingness.
"Kaga… never… stop hating her," she spoke with unresolved aggression toward a being that she couldn't put a face on her source of hate.
Kaga worriedly gazed at her, completely confused as to who she meant." Before she could ask her to clarify, a burning glow above them caught their attention.
Expecting it to be the glowing exit, they both stood petrified to see a massive giant ball of energy that resembled the sun loom over them.
Alt grew angry when she analyzed what its true nature was. "It's a logic bomb!? That thing is planning to take us all down by overloading your mind before you can gain consciousness and snuff it away like a bad dream." She cursed the mad beast; she cursed every single Siren for being sore losers.
"A logic—what?! How do you even know that?!" Cried the white-haired fox carrier. She didn't receive an answer as Alt grabbed her and the two started to run toward the exit. The area around them changed back to what it used to be, it being a singular bright pathway with the burning ball of energy the only alteration.
The platforms below the shining exit transformed into a staircase that would be their method of escape.
"Ah!" Kaga yelled behind her as she started to float toward the darkness in the sky, toward the burning time bomb of energy. Alt's hand grabbed her while they were merely two more platform steps until they were home free.
"Grrr… we're too late!" She started to see the pathway and staircase around them crumble and float toward the giant ball of energy. Quickly turning around, she snatched Kaga's katana and buried it into the architect underneath them. The pull of its force was too much, and Alt's grip would eventually give out. That, or the visibly growing cracks on Kaga's blade would be the one to do them in. It was at this crucial moment that she made her decision. She gripped the Sakura carrier by her white miko attire and gave her a look that told the white-haired fox woman what her plan was.
"No!" Cried Kaga as both of their destinations were fated to deviate.
"It's okay. Please don't pity me. This is your only way out, but I never said that it was the same for me."
"Will I ever see you again?" Asked the Sakura carrier with shaky eyes.
"Maybe not in the way you hoped for," she said with a morbid grim smile. "I'm sorry… for all the pain I caused the both of you." She summoned all her arm strength and threw Kaga toward the shining exit.
Kaga passed through the exit, leaving Alt to break her grip and float hazardously higher and higher toward the energy ball. She knew what it was doing. It was accumulating more resources within Kaga's mind before exploding. However, with Kaga, the core component that held this mind prison together, no longer here, this place was nothing but a fading construct simulating Kaga's actual mind. All it would blow up would be empty walls, a shattered prison, and her. Kaga was now conscious, and her mind would survive unaltered and indefinitely.
A happy sigh escaped her mouth, feeling for the first time she was ascending instead of drowning. A bitter taste of the knowledge that she had failed to kill Enterprise directly by her own two hands cemented in her heart. At least she will die with her, so why was she still bitter about it? No, bitter wasn't the right word… sad. She was sad, and not from failing.
Hornet's child-like grin flashed across her mind, and the words that Akagi spoke to her while she had regained consciousness from the assault on the beach began to haunt her. Was she truly okay to deliver Hornet the worst feeling imaginable? A ping of selfish guilt mocked her for being empathetic to someone that she wouldn't be around to take responsibility for. She would be gone, and the dead have no right to feel sorry for the living. And yet… she selfishly allowed herself to feel guilty.
She battled with her mind, unable to go through with all she had desired. "Dammit—dammit!" She glared at the ball of energy as it grew brighter and hot. "I'm not afraid of dying. I have no place in that world, but still… she gave me a place. A reason to belong. Enterprise! Damn you! I can't even decide if these conclusions are truly mine or from your conditioning. All I used to have was my hatred, that alone was mine and mine alone!" She let out an exhausted breath, half-crying, and half-scornful. Her emotions settled and she took in the eerie silence of everything around her as if she was in the water. "Hornet… until the day you no longer need me, I'll always be with you, sister."
She reached out her right hand and tried to grasp something that wasn't there. Her purple eyes saw past what lay beyond the burning death ball. "If I must persist until the day you outgrow your love for me, then so be it." Her fire in her eyes rekindled and her desire to survive grew. "It's not over yet," she said toward the ball of energy. "There is someone I must live for." Her yellow eyes activated while she silently ascended toward her fate.
The ball began to hum loudly before the dark expansive black room flashed white. The white light showered her from head to toe as she felt her body turn shapeless.
The first thing to come back to the white-haired fox woman was her sense of touch. The soft sheets that wrapped around her, coupled with the gentle breeze put her at ease from the start. The smell of the ocean invaded her nose that brought a smile to her sleeping face.
Her sense of hearing returned with her remaining senses when she heard and ultimately saw her sister Akagi; watchfully gazing over her.
Kaga lifted her upper body from the confines of the bed and longly stared at her sister.
Akagi remained motionless as if seeing an illusion that she was afraid to touch out of fear that it might fade away.
Kaga cleared her throat, using her vocal cords that probably had been a while since she last used them. "Akagi... I—" She remained formal in her tone, but the arms of the dark brown-haired carrier wrapped themselves around her with love and warmth that had felt like years to both of them.
"Sister... please forgive me." Cried the nine-tailed red fox carrier.
Kaga sucked in air, and her heart vibrated with warm beats. She leaned into the hug and accepted the return of herself back into the world. "Sister, sorry for worrying you," she allowed herself to use the title that she still felt like she didn't deserve.
It seemed like time had slowed down for them to be properly reunited and it was time for the world to advance. A piercing scream brutally pulled them out of their sisterly moment. What happened next, was merely the result of the consequences of playing with fire.
The scream had come from both Takao and Prinz Eugen while the black-haired ponytailed woman had been holding a body in her arms.
Kaga gazed in shock to see her mysterious savior on the floor, her eyes tightly shut with blood profusely coming out.
"I'm… alive. Takao? I can't see you. It's too bright," she weakly spoke.
"Don't fall unconscious now, dammit. I'm taking you to the medical wing!" Declared Takao.
"Wouldn't dream of it," spoke Alt with a haggard smile despite her condition and pain. The burden of her body finally reunited with her brain, causing her to wince in more pain from various sources. Her bloody eyes were the new addition to all her ailments. Despite it all, her smile never faded as she was rushed to the medical wing.
(Belfast)
Before the kiss that transpired within the walls of the Eagle Union archer, Belfast had been standing outside on the balcony of her room.
She had remained distant with Enterprise when the assault on the doppelganger had ensued. The sight of it horrified her while she contemplated if that was truly Enterprise. To say she was lost was an understatement, and her whole understanding of the woman she loved was unraveling before her eyes. She stayed at the same inn as the distraught archer keeping a watch on her but remaining ephemeral.
Her room was the neighboring room that Enterprise had checked in.
Her mind far off, she held her phone in her hands, wondering who she should call. Her fingers moved by themselves and before she knew it, her phone was reaching out for a response. "Hello, Edinburgh... how have you been, sister?" The conversation flowed nominal with day-to-day topics being discussed. That was when her dear sister, had sensed Belfast's true feelings for the call.
"Belfast, you seem... reserved—in a dazed, really. What's going on?" Asked her older sister from the other line.
"I... I'm sorry to throw my worries onto you…" She said with a stressed tone of voice.
"No—no, please do. I'm your older sister and this is what older sisters do!" Edinburg had sounded hyped up and ready to do her sisterly duties as her sister Belfast rarely sought help from others. She had always been steadfast and decisive with whatever decisions she desired to pursue, and she respected her because of that.
A happy sound of content resonated from the head maid. "Thank you... I know we don't talk much and..."
"Belfast, let's discard our aloof relationship status and start from zero, how's that?"
"Yes, I would like that... big sister." What followed next was a shriek of surprise and joy from Edinburgh as her heart was not truly ready to hear those words.
Belfast then grew serious. "It's Enterprise, she's changed." She explained the events that happened from the Eagle Union archer finding out that her sister had been taken and from the brutal assault she delivered to her reflected twin.
"Oh my, I didn't think she would ever engage in fisticuffs. I guess I wouldn't put it past an Eagle Union girl," she said as somewhat of a joke.
"She's not normally like that. She's kind-hearted and would never stoop to such savagery," replied the head maid with an iron resolve.
"I believe you. In fact, you telling me what happened to her and Miss Cleveland…. well, I'm absolutely livid that she hurt such an amazing woman like Cleveland." There was a suppressed tone of ire from the maid on the other line.
Belfast then remembered that her older sister had a crush on the blonde Eagle Union light cruiser. "Sister, I beg you to let me handle that issue. I rather not hear that you challenge Enterprise to some duel because of that."
"What?! I wouldn't dream of it. It wouldn't be a fair fight as Miss Enterprise would clobber the living daylights out of me. I'll just sip my tea and give her the cold shoulder the next time she comes looking for my help," she said half-jokingly. "But back to the topic, her reactions on your drifting mist mission were highly uncalled for, and that fight sounds like a tale of violence from a novel."
"Sadly, it did happen," replied the head maid.
"Do you still love her?" She asked the hard question to the head maid.
"I am her maid," replied Belfast with a tense tone of voice.
"Oh, sister, how romantic. But how do you mean it? Your job from the Queen is completed and you still use that to justify you being around her."
She faltered with a sad grunt. "Despite it all, I do love her. Part of me wishes to curse our dear Queen Elizabeth for setting my fate toward Enterprise, yet… I can't allow myself such childish urges. If it wasn't for the task of watching over Enterprise, I'm sure my love life wouldn't be this dramatic—it might even be non-existent. I helped change her for the better and I know that my fate was meant to cross with her. The both of us found value from our encounter, how could I ever wish to undo such a beautiful thing? I am her maid, in every sense of the word."
"Then go to her, sister!"
"It's not as simple as that, Edinburg—" Fired the love-sick maid with a red blush on her face.
"—yes, it is! Belfast, hearing your devotion for Miss Enterprise has inspired me to tell Miss Cleveland my feelings toward her."
"Sister!" The head maid held in her breath, still having a hard time processing what her older sister said.
"There are only two outcomes; she says yes or no… it doesn't get as simple as that," spoke the older sister with a somber tone to her voice.
"But your friendship!"
"In love, one must be ready to make the hard decisions to win. It's no different from war and those who make the first strike have a clearer path to victory."
"But…"
"No buts! I bet she's alone and depressed right now. You must strike while the iron is hot!" Cried the older sister.
"I will not seek her while she's so vulnerable."
"Then you will lose her. Belfast, allow yourself to be selfish and give her the chance to understand if there is indeed something deeper between the both of you. If you approach her with tender kindness and show her that possibility, then your friendship will be saved."
Belfast removed the phone from her ear and took in fresh air before holding the phone close to her again. "Alright, I'll do it. I love her… I love her with every cell of my body!"
"Yay! I'll be there in spirit, my dear younger sister!"
"You cut deep, Edinburg. Thank you for setting me straight from my muddled mindset." They talked a bit longer and then she composed herself to make her way to Enterprise's room. She stood at the door of the Eagle union carrier, fixing her dress and making sure her headpiece, along with her hair, were in proper order. A hesitation stopped her, yet she adjusted her breasts to look visually more appealing. A sweatdrop formed near her forehead, almost shaming herself for even allowing herself to think like that. "Proper… a lady must be proper, but she mustn't be afraid to show off her… strengths." She raised her hand to knock and that's when she heard the sound of an object hitting the floor. Fearing that the archer might have fallen, she jostled the door and found that it was already unlocked. The door opened and she came face to face with the image of Zuikaku and Enterprise engaged in a heated kiss for dominance.
(Enterprise)
Enterprise felt like shattered glass when she witnessed the maid struggle to speak and exited the room with fresh tears on her face. Behind her teary eyes, she could see sadness and hate. She knew that type of hate, it was one that originated from betrayal, and she urgently reached out, wondering why she felt that way.
Zuikaku suddenly felt cold and discarded when the woman she had finally told her how she felt suddenly let go and raced after the maid.
Her eyes showed visible hurt and sorrow as she watched Enterprise urgently look toward the Royal maid. In a blink of an eye, she found herself alone in the empty room.
"Belfast!"
The maid turned around with tears and surprise on her face. "What do you want!" She yelled viciously, making the archer flinch in fright. She had never seen the head maid so utterly flared in terms of emotions. She was always calm and composed and her showing this type was rare.
The injured archer grew shy and felt petite from the angry tone of the maid. "Belfast, why did you run?" She asked with worry.
The light cruiser looked at her with an incredulous face. "Why did I run?! Forgive me if I rather not see a display of private intimacy between two people." Discontent oozed through her words like hot magma that was only rivaled by her glaring anger. She continued to walk away, still hearing the footsteps from the persistent and fatally clueless Eagle Union. She turned the corner and found herself at a dead-end where a storeroom closet and a vending machine resided. She heard the footsteps stop and she sighed, confronting the archer.
"That..." It was all that came out of Enterprise. She didn't know what to say. She had kissed Zuikaku. That feeling that she never felt before was like having food that she didn't know she would like that much. It made her feel ashamed of herself for succumbing to such desires.
The maid crossed her arms under her breasts and gave the other woman an annoyed stare. "What? You and she are together now. That should be obvious, so stop following me if that's what you're going to say."
Enterprise grew tensed, sweating with an anguished look. "I... I... that wasn't what it looked like!"
Belfast was never an angry person. She learned in her life that anger was never the answer to anything, but if she allowed herself to get angry, then this was the one. "You...," she took a step. "... were kissing her..." She took another step, "... to the fullest." She stopped until she was in front of the Eagle Union. "How does that not look like what I saw?" She said with a weighty tone.
"I..." Her wavering eyes were hectic and fearful as she struggled to convey her words to the maid.
"You're cruel, Miss Enterprise. To come racing after me and leaving your partner behind like she's yesterday's forgotten thoughts."
Her eyes widened as it hit her like a baseball. She had left Zuikaku and yet... her body and mind wanted nothing more than to understand why the maid was crying. "I... don't like seeing you cry," she spoke with dejected honesty.
The head maid bit her lip to stop herself from saying it. Alas, the dam had been broken. "Idiot..."
"Huh?" Said Enterprise with a sweat drop on her face.
Belfast gave a stare full of daggers. "You idiot. How can you keep saying that when you go and do that? Now you have double the tears on your hands."
The archer swallowed and moved forward. "You calling me an idiot is uncalled for. I ran after you because you were crying. Please, what happened? Did I do something to you? Belfast, you're my friend... my... please, just make me understand," tears had started to flow from the injured archer.
Belfast cracked a strained smile. "I never met anyone so dense, so clueless, so utterly inept at grasping the concept of emotion that lays in front of them... until I met you. Well... you did have a hard time even understanding the value of friends, along with yourself as a person who didn't even know how to relax and enjoy herself."
Those words hurt, yet they were true. "But you showed me..."
Unable to allow herself to get soft upon those words, the maid gritted her teeth. "Shut up. You don't get to talk. You know why I'm crying?"
"Is it because of me...?" She pointed the vague obviousness with a despondent tone. She fearfully winched when Belfast's advancements had moved her back up against the nearest wall. A hand flew past her and held her trapped against the nearest wall.
"Bel...?"
A shadow cast over Belfast's eyes as she determinedly stared her down. "You hurt my feelings, yet you don't know why. Then how can I even be mad at you?" She used her other hand and grabbed her by the necktie. Enterprise grew still as she remembered this same technique the maid had used to make sure her attention was fully devoted. "I am your maid, Enterprise. I will always be there for you, but I've put you first too many times. It's not your fault, for it being that way. I'm too selfish and it's time I embrace that. Love... does terrible things to you yet it comes with clarity, and in that clarity, I can say without a shadow of a doubt… that I love you."
A sharp fright sounded from the Eagle Union carrier.
She pulled on her necktie and brought her in for a kiss. While it was far below the quality of kiss that she witnessed earlier, it was enough to connect the bridge of love she yearned for the archer to understand.
She pulled away, a strain of saliva struggling to remain connected before it snapped.
Enterprise returned from the state the kiss left her in and stared at the maid with a blank expression.
Something had happened within the Royal Navy maid. Her body tingled and grew hot all over. Her lips triumphantly smiled, much to her refusal. "It's best that I take some time away from you. Until we meet again, use this kiss to understand yourself. I've given you all the tools to come to your conclusions. There is something between us and if it's only friendship, I want you to be the one to tell me as I've grown weary of answering that myself." Just as she said those words, she was gone from the injured woman's sight.
When Enterprise returned to her room, Zuikaku was nowhere to be found.
So… I made a big error. Whenever I wrote that Akagi had six tails, I took the information I saw online as fact. I should have checked other sources to make sure it was accurate. It was only after playing Azur Lane Crosswave and looking into Kaga and Akagi's character, that I noticed that Akagi doesn't have only six tails. She's supposed to have nine-tails—which I should have known all along because that's a big character trait of hers. An oversight on my part and I hope there wasn't too much confusion.
I'll try to go back and maybe fix them, but since they might be spread out, I'll probably leave the old chapters as they are, and describe her accordingly going forward. I read up on Kaga and decided to write her like this, so I do hope I was able to capture her character well.
The next chapter will probably take some time to come out because it will probably be the closing chapter to Act 2 and then the final Act will start. Hope to deliver it soon and see you all later!