Prologue
Ever since I got back from the War, a persistent nightmare gripped my dreams. Every night, I imagined myself being buried out at sea. Each time was different. Unique. Vivid. The veil of reality ran thin - so thin that I could have convinced myself that I was actually dying.
In one dream, I was stuffed in a coffin and thrown onto a burning boat like a Viking funeral pyre. In another, I imagined my parachute failing me over the ocean during the War - deploying halfheartedly, entangling me and then dragging me down into the depths.
More recently, my dreams thought about the many gangsters that I butted heads with. Concrete shoes. The mobster special, made just for me. They'd send me off with barrages of their Tommy Guns too, just to make sure I stay down once and for all.
Within those dreams, I just sank in the ocean and disappeared into the darkness - a painless affair. Simple and clean. I thought about how I'd become fish food - or how my name would be on the newspapers when my body is found. Then I'd open my eyes and drown in my own, stark reality.
This time, beneath the surface of the North District Sea, I wasn't sinking. The coffin of the Rail-Road Amusement Train sank, but I didn't. Instead, I was in the arms of Gawr Gura - the Queenpin of the Shrimps.
I could only see the profile of her face in the dim, refracted light, but I could tell that she swam with all of her might. Her short legs and her shark's tail worked overtime to drag me up to the surface - to rouse me from my untimely eternal slumber.
And she succeeded.
My head broke through the surface. I gasped for air, relieving my aching lungs. Gura propped me up and continued swimming towards the shore with me in tow. Her pigtails undone by the rough waters. My mind was hazy from the lack of air, the shock of the impact and the sheer fatigue that gripped me, so I couldn't say for sure.
But Gura looked like a bona fide Atlantean goddess.
A goddess that could very well dispel that persistent nightmare once and for all.
…
Gawr Gura dragged Ame along with her towards the closest shore - the hidden beach of her beloved Strawberry Cove. All around them, gangsters from the Shrimps, the Deadbeats, the Rat Pack and the Owl Pals alike were helping each other.
The waves of the sea equalized them - and the shadow of the puppetmaster that played them loomed over, spurring them to set aside their differences in a hurry. They grabbed hold of each other, clung onto floating debris and helped each other come to shore.
The wounded Kronii Ouro was propped up on a floating plank that used to be a Poker table. Mumei Nanashi sat beside her, rowing towards the shore with a makeshift oar. Bae, on the other hand, organized her Rat Pack to rescue those that they could.
Not everyone made it out of the steel coffin of the Casino Train alive, but many did - thanks to everyone's efforts.
Once Ame was ashore, she sprawled out on the ground and looked up to the late afternoon sky. Gura sat down cross-legged beside her, perched on a small rock. The surf rolled into the shore, wetting the drenched shoes of the Queenpin and the detective that posed as her henchwoman.
"Amelon…" Gura broke the silence, "If that's really your name."
"It's Amelia Watson. My real name." Ame croaked, feeling all of her fatigue catching up to her, "Detective of City PD. Used to be in Administrative Vice, but I got kicked down and turned into a freelancer." She watched the clouds rolling overhead and revealed everything, "Chief Enma gave me and Kiara - my partner - the mission to infiltrate the Shrimps and the Deadbeats to stop the war."
"Stop the war? That bitch with glasses wanted that?" Gura's face contorted with bewilderment.
"She didn't give us any support. My partner and I had to do everything with our hands tied behind our backs. Hardly any police resources either." Ame explained, "I always thought that Chief Enma wanted us to fail our mission. Seeing all this crap that she did today - it all makes sense."
"All of us got played." Gura heaved a sigh, "To think that Bloop would stab me in the back like this…" The shark-girl's tail wagged idly behind her, "And that partner of yours, Erika…"
"Kiara Takanashi." Ame promptly corrected her.
"Right…" Gura hummed, "She's the one who came with Calli I'm guessing."
"Yup." Ame closed her eyes.
"This Kiara girl worked her way up the ladder at Swingwell, right?" Gura deduced, "She probably tried to put herself in between Calli and Death-sensei."
Ame just nodded.
"Is that so?" Gura sounded a little bit amused, "I've got all sorts of questions for you and your partner, Amelia Watson - but we can't take Chief Enma's mad schemes lying down."
"I'm with you on that one." Ame agreed. She found the strength to sit upright on the sand and glanced at Gura, "What's on your mind, Boss?"
Gura promptly kicked Ame lightly on the shoulder. Ame snickered.
"First thing's first, we've got to gather up the Shrimps and…"
Before Gura could finish her sentence, chains of explosions rocked the City. Ame and Gura shot up from where they sat and looked up to the sky.
Pillars of ominous blue smoke rose up to the heavens and dispersed in the winds.
"What the hell is that!?" Gura asked.
"HALU." Ame answered immediately. A frown formed on her lips, "That's the stuff that I saw in the baggage cars."
"The Pekoland stuff?" Gura's face went pale.
Ame nodded.
"Listen, Gura." Ame spoke frankly, "I know this might be a big ask, but we should coordinate our efforts with the Deadbeats. Kiara has a really good relationship with them and Calli, so I'm sure that we can work something out."
Gura rubbed her temples.
"This is a lot to take in." Gura started, biting her lip with frustration, "But we don't really have a choice - if that HALU stuff is as bad as you say it is." She snorted and folded her arms, "Fine. Let's talk with Calli and this Kiara person."
"Got it." Ame smiled, pleased by Gura's willingness to finally cooperate.
Ame looked around the beach of Strawberry Cove and searched for her partner and for Calli in the midst of the survivors. However, heads of pink and orange hair were noticeably absent.
"No…" Ame's heart sank.
Gura started fretting. She paced around, wondering what to do. Then, she heard a cry for help coming from the sea. Ame, Gura, Mumei, Kronii and Bae all look out to the water.
There, they saw Calliope Mori swimming and shouting.
"Help! Someone help!"
The Queenpin of the South swam desperately towards the shore with Ame's partner, Kiara Takanashi in tow.
However, unlike Ame, the Phoenix didn't seem to be moving.
…
Calli managed to bring Kiara ashore. The other survivors started to gather, horrified by what they were seeing and hearing before them. The agony etched on Calli's face, however, pierced Ame's heart.
"Hinotori!" Calli cried loudly. Her voice boomed and echoed in the confines of Strawberry Cove. She shook the Phoenix and urged her to speak, "C'mon! Say something!" Her voice started trembling, "Come on, kusotori ! Open your eyes!"
The more Calli shook Kiara, however, the more pronounced Kiara's lifeless silence became. Kiara's skin was pale and her hair was disheveled. More than that, the Phoenix didn't stir.
"No. No, no, no!" Calli wailed, "Not again!" She buried her face in Kiara's seaswept hair, "Every fucking time… everyone gets taken away!"
Gura shriveled up and froze in place.
Ame, on the other hand, clenched her fist.
"Ame…?" Gura turned towards the detective.
"It's not over. Not yet." Ame whispered beneath her breath.
The blond detective rushed towards Calli and Kiara, forcing her way through the small crowd. Calli saw Ame approaching her on the shore and shuddered.
"We might still be able to save her." Ame spoke firmly.
Calli paused, unsure if she heard Ame correctly.
However, Ame didn't budge. She continued her approach. Her expression was intense but measured.
That dispelled Calli's panicked fear somewhat - just enough to get her to listen.
"Tell me. What do I have to do?" Calli begged.
"Let me examine her." Ame urged, "Then, follow my instructions."
Calli did as she was told. She set down Kiara on her back on flat ground and let Ame assess the situation. Calli, along with all the other survivors watched Ame with nervous but hopeful eyes.
Then, Ame walked Calli through a peculiar, revolutionary technique. Something that medical journals of the time were only just starting to document.
Something called 'mouth-to-mouth resuscitation'.
Calli steeled her nerves. She was on the verge of tears, but she did everything that Ame told her to do without the slightest hint of hesitation.
Pinch the nose.
Press your lips against hers.
Blow for a second.
Chest compressions.
Check for breathing.
Repeat the process.
Try again.
Again and again!
Three minutes lasted like an eternity for everyone in Strawberry Cove.
Then, Kiara's chest rose and she coughed out sea water. Calli recoiled, shocked by the sudden reaction. Ame, on the other hand, cheered loudly.
"We did it!"
"W-we did?" Calli was dumbstruck.
"We did." Ame patted Calli's shoulder. She looked straight into Calli's eyes and smiled, "You saved a life today, Miss Reaper."
Hearing that old Army nickname from Ame gripped at Calli's heart. The cheers and applause of the other survivors echoed in the cove too, chipping away at Calli's usual mask of calm and restraint. Then, when the dazed Kiara looked up to Calli, all of the tears that the Queenpin had been holding back suddenly flowed free.
Calli threw herself upon Kiara and hugged her tightly.
"C-Calli." Kiara
"Welcome back…" Calli started, sobbing and crying into Kiara's shoulders, "Welcome back to the land of the living, kusotori ."
Kiara relished in Calli's embrace. In the midst of the unrestrained show of affection, Kiara's eyes met with Ame's.
It only took one look for Kiara to realize how she was saved. She weakly, albeit wholeheartedly to Ame.
' Thank you. ' Kiara's mouth seemed to spell out.
Ame, meanwhile, quietly nodded. She let Kiara and Calli have their moment.
Gura promptly approached Ame and leaned against her shoulder.
"You were really cool just now." Gura whispered sweetly, "Big damn hero."
This time, Ame managed to smile.
…
Queenpins
Resuscitated Hope
…
Epilogue
Ame's hopefulness - and the hopefulness of everyone at Strawberry Cove wouldn't last for long.
In the distance, the flashing red lights of police cruisers shone from the dirt road to Strawberry Cove. Through the thicket and trees, City PD officers loyal to Chief Enma emerged and fanned out through the cove. Chief Enma herself, along with Bloop and Death-sensei accompanied the officers too - but they were the least of the survivors' worries.
Hundreds if not thousands of Shrimps and Deadbeats emerged from the forest too. Even from afar, Ame and the other survivors could see them shambling forward with an inhuman urgency. Their eyes were loopy and their lips uttered absurdities that barely made sense.
They were gangsters gripped by the chemical HALU, shepherded by the noise of the police sirens to their final destination. All of them had their eyes on the survivors there at Strawberry Cove.
Beads of cold sweat formed on Ame's and Kiara's brow.
After all, these very same people were the ones that the Queenpins needed to take control of the situation - but now, they were whipped into a frenzy by HALU, unwittingly doing the bidding of Chief Enma herself.
Calli and Gura looked disappointed, but neither of them backed down/ They stood tall and faced down the advancing armies fearlessly. Their defiant stand drew Bae, Kronii and Mumei to join them too and form a united front.
"Not the best odds I've seen." Bae shook her drenched Tommy Gun and cocked it with a grin, "Not the best odds - but I'll play dice. Gotta make that bitch pay for wrecking my train, after all!" She looked over her shoulder and asked, "Don't you think so, Detective Ouro?"
"Seriously…" Kronii grumbled, counting the sheer number of hallucinating gangsters lumbering towards them, "Chief Enma really is gonna work me to the bone till the bitter end."
"You're free to leave, Kronii." Mumei chided. She gripped her hammer firmly, "Unless I've forgotten, you're very good at running away."
"Hah. As if." Kronii scoffed. She drew a peculiarly ornate revolve with engravings that gave no tactical advantage whatsoever, "This is gonna be on the headlines for weeks. I'm not gonna let this opportunity pass."
"Oh Kronii." Mumei brushed shoulders with Kronii, "Never change."
With that, the other survivors of the train crash picked up whatever weapons they could find and joined the fray. The two dozen Shrimps, Deadbeats, Rat Pack and Owl Pals alike stood together in a united front.
Calli and Gura saw their allies assembled beside them and smiled. They, too, drew their weapons. Calli unsheathed her katana and Gura drew her twin pistols, eager to do battle with their hallucinating foes.
Before they did, however, they turned to Ame and Kiara. They wanted their right hand gals to be at their side that day.
Ame and Kiara, exhausted as they were, drew their pistols and answered their Queenpins' calls.
And so, the Battle of Strawberry Cove was about to begin.
To Be Continued