Cooper woke to the shrill bleat of her phone's alarm clock. She had slept with the damned thing right next to her ear, for fear she might not wake up in time and now she was resisting the urge to chuck it across the cabin. The alarm managed to ring four times before her hand shot out from the covers and slapped it off.
She stared sleepily at the time.
Five o'clock.
With a sigh, she curled into a ball, relishing in the warmth of her blankets for a few more precious seconds. Drawing in a deep breath, she hurled them off and sat bolt upright. The cold air of her quarters hit her like a blast of ice and she let out a hoarse wheeze. Briefly, she contemplated diving back under the sheets and sleeping until Ingraham came to get her up. However, a cursory glance to the corner of the cabin, where her racket and running shoes lay, convinced her otherwise.
Time to get some training in.
With a heavy groan, she stretched and swiveled on her mattress before launching herself out of bed. The bare floor of her cabin sent another icy shiver up her spine bringing her sleepy mind to full-alert status. She hustled to her drawers, stumbled as she shed her pajamas as quickly as possible before the chill could settle into her bones, and donned her black sweats and hoodie. Minutes later she was armed with her racket up on her deck.
The first hint of sunlight was barely making itself known through the morning fog and Cooper let out a breath, watching it hang in the air. The world was silent. No caw of gulls. No whisper of the wind or splash of water could be heard against her hull. Everything was completely still. It was just her, and her ship.
With a roll of her shoulders and wistful sigh, Cooper threw herself into her stretches. What followed was a ten-lap jog around her deck, then a dozen wind sprints from bow to stern in quarter-length intervals. Once she was good and sweaty, she walked to her aft deck, and stared at her rear-most gun. Sucking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes and envisioned her target before her. Bremerton stood across the net on the tennis court, a confident smirk on her face. Cooper gripped her racket tightly, bending forward with knees bent and shoulders hunched, ready to start the match she was destined to win.
Bremerton served the ball. Cooper leapt backwards and swung. Her racket swooshed through the air as she knocked the imaginary ball back at the heavy cruiser. Bremerton shifted her position and parried the attack to Cooper's right. Cooper hopped sideways and slammed the ball, hard. Bremerton side stepped and returned it. Cooper shuffled left and reached with her racket, knocking the ball high and just barely clearing the net. Bremerton took two confident steps forward and swung again. Cooper shot towards the net, seeing that her opponent was about to take advantage of her shorter stature and knock the ball high. With a determined huff, Cooper leapt high, intent on bringing every ounce of her strength to bear on the ball and knock it back onto Bremerton's side.
"What are you doing?"
Cooper's eyes shot open with a sharp gasp. Realizing she was in lurching forward in mid-air, she had a split second to yelp in surprise before slamming into her main gun and falling to her back with a thud. She lay there, whimpering in pain and clutching at her throbbing forehead. A hissing inhale drew her attention towards U-556 who winced at her from over the portside of the deck.
"Holy hell! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Cooper gave a nasally to growl as she sat up but was too dazed from the impact to threaten more than a fly. "I'm too young to be having heart attacks."
U-556 rolled her eyes. "We're ships. We don't get heart attacks."
"You'd make me the first." Cooper shot back. She felt around for her racket, having dropped it when she hit the deck. But the burning in her face and vision blurred by tears hindered her. "How long were you watching me?"
"Since you started your back and forth runs." U-556 said with a smirk in her voice. "Guess I snuck up on you pretty good."
Cooper's posture stiffed and her eye gave an annoyed twitch. Through her tears she could see U-556 only continue to give her a mischievous smile as she rested her head on her deck. After a moment of glaring, the destroyer sighed, wiping the sweat and tears from her face. "Fine… You got me this time you little weasel."
To her relative disappointment, U-556 only beamed prouder.
"It won't happen again." Cooper warned with a raised finger gun. "Fool me once, shame on you."
"Fool you twice and you're sunk." U-556 chirped with a wink. "I'll take that challenge."
Cooper gave a mock glare, admittedly finding the little sub to be somewhat amusing.
And mildly good company.
"So, what were you doing?" Seeing as their little jest was over, the sub clambered aboard, dripping water as she stooped to pick up the racket which lay alarmingly close to the edge of the deck.
Cooper let out a sigh of relief, thankful she had not lost it and wiped more sweat from her face. "Training." She replied plainly.
U-556's rosy-pink eyes might as well have rolled out of their sockets and down the deck. "I'm not blind."
"You didn't specify." Cooper shot her a smirk to which the sub scowled adorably.
"What is the reason for your tennis training?" She asked through clenched teeth. Her face was growing red with a pout.
Cooper couldn't help her snicker.
"Sorry, had to get you back. But it's for a tournament coming up. I'm planning to win it this time and so I'm spending all my extra time preparing for it."
"Oh, I see." U-556 held her racket, eyeing it as though she were inspecting a new piece of equipment.
Cooper found herself clenching her jaw while anxiously tapping her foot as the U-boat took several wild practice swings with it.
"Have you ever won a tournament before?" She asked, snapping Cooper out of her moment of fretting.
"No."
"Not once?"
"Not once." Cooper repeated, her voice taking on a solemn tone.
U-556 stopped swinging to look at her in confusion. "You must not be very good then."
Cooper's face reddened with indignation. "I'm plenty good. I've won plenty of games before." Her temper subsided as she stared into the slowly dissipating morning fog. "I just really want to win a championship."
U-556 followed her gaze, seeming to expect to see something in the distance. But after a moment she shrugged and went back to swinging the racket as though it were a sword. "That sounds like a lot of work for no payoff."
Cooper had to bite her tongue and not give an outburst at the remark. But she crossed her arms and cocked a hip in challenge. "And why do you say that, huh?"
U-556 froze for a heartbeat but did not back away. "It just seems like you could spend your time doing something else that you can succeed in more." She turned her back to Cooper, still swinging with reckless abandon. Cooper really wanted to take it back, but she had been in enough fights with her sisters to know that could end in more than one unpleasant way.
"If I were to go into a tournament then I'd be darn sure I was going to win before I even signed up."
Cooper's brows furrowed and her mouth twisted into a frown. "I'm not sure if that's arrogance or confidence in the extreme."
"Confidence obviously. Why take part if you're not going to be the strongest?"
"Maybe some of us like a challenge." Cooper's lips were beginning to curl into a defensive snarl. Her earlier amusement was quickly eroding. This girl was really getting under her skin, likely without even trying, and it was grating on her nerves.
"So why not train to be the best then and never mind the competitions?"
"Because how can you really gauge yourself without the feedback from others?"
"And if you fail?"
Cooper held up three fingers. "I've lost in this tournament three times straight. And if I lose this year too then I'll try again. Because every year I've gotten just a little bit better. And that tells me my hard work is paying off."
U-556 eyed her for another moment, spinning her racket in her hand. She looked uncertain of how to take that.
Cooper couldn't understand why. It was the truth after all. What was so hard to believe about that?
U-556 finally shrugged dismissively. "Perhaps I may have to request Lord Bismarck to allow me to view this tournament of yours. I might find it interesting to see if this path you've set for yourself is really worth my time."
Cooper clenched her fists and jaw. "You can start by giving me my racket back."
U-556 blinked as though she hadn't realized she'd been fondling it this entire time. "My apologies." She said sheepishly and went to hand it back.
Suddenly, U-556's foot slipped in the puddle she had left on the deck, and she fell backwards. Cooper's eyes widened as she watched the sub flail, letting her racket fly out of her grip. Cooper managed to grab the girl, but her fingers just missed the handle of her racket, as it arched high and over the side of her ship. Her heart sank as she watched it disappear from view.
There was a lout whack followed by a pained yelp.
"Ow! What the hell!"
Cooper's brow furrowed in confusion, and she rushed to the railing. Down below were two girls on subs, parked next to U-556's sub-doo. One girl with salmon-pink hair was rubbing at her head, with Cooper's racket in her lap. He seemed to noticed Cooper staring at her and glared.
"Did you throw this at me?" She demanded.
"I know that voice!" U-556 chirped. "U-81!"
"U-556?"
The blue-haired ship girl pushed past Cooper, diving overboard with an excited squeal. A startled squeak answered her before she tackled the pink-haired girl, 'U-81' off her sub-doo with a loud splash. Cooper could only watch in horror as her racket spun through the air yet again, this time being caught by a girl with silver hair who had been beside U-81. Cooper breathed a sigh of relief as they exchanged bewildered looks, before staring at the expanding wave of ripples. A moment later, U-556 broke the surface with U-81 held in a crushing hug.
"Need…air, 556!" She wheezed, slapping at the girl's arms.
U-556 loosened her grip but did not release her. "I'm so glad you're here! It feels like ages since we last worked together!"
The silver-haired girl chuckled at that and leaned forward, resting her hands on her sub-doo's handlebars. "It might happen more often if you weren't attached to Lord Bismarck's hip."
U-556 blushed and released 81. "I am not!" She protested. "Y-you don't know what you're talking about U-552!"
U-552 snickered as her sister subs clambered back onto their vehicles.
"Ahem!" Cooper cleared her throat and gave U-552 a pointed look, extending her hand to her. The sub looked at her blankly for a moment before looking at the racket in her hand. "Would you be so kind?" It took all her effort to keep most of the bite out of her voice, but she could not help but let a bit of annoyance slip through.
"Who throws a tennis racket?" U-81 demanded as 552 tossed it gently up to her.
Cooper caught it and gave U-556 a pointed glare. "That's a very good question."
"It was an accident." U-556 pouted.
Cooper fought herself to not snap at the girl but sighed after a deep breath. It was clear her workout was over, and it was time to get back to business. "Go check in with the admiral." She said to the two new girls before giving a sharp incline of her head towards U-556. "I'll shower and then we can continue where we left off from yesterday."
Before U-556 could reply, U-81 pressed her fists into her hips and gave a disapproving glare. "And just who are you to be giving Iron Blood orders?"
"She's Eagle Union's number one anti U-boat specialist." U-556 piped up almost immediately. "She's pretty good. She managed to detect me before our first meeting."
The other two subs' eyes widened as they gaped at Cooper who gave them a proud grin.
"Mind you it was only once." U-556 continued unabashedly. "But that's still impressive."
And just like that, Cooper's smile vanished. "Hey! Why don't you chicks stop gaggling about and go do what I said. Don't make me have the admiral discipline you for your lack of it."
U-81 and U-556 both gave her a flat look while U-552 smirked, seeming to consider testing her. Cooper made a face, aiming a finger gun at the silver-haired sub. The Iron Blood giggled and revved her vehicle's engines before speeding off with the others around the bow of Cooper's ship.
Once they were out of sight, Cooper sighed explosively, cradling her racket to her chest like a mother holding her baby as she made her way below deck. As much as she wanted more time to train, right now she wanted to get back to Azur Lane base and put in for those upgrades Hipper had talked about.
She was not going to have any more submarines sneaking up on her from now on. Once was enough. And whether the two newcomers knew it or not, she'd just had three sneak up on her within less than an hour.
Her pride... No. Her honor as a specialist demanded she step up and show them who was boss.
An hour later, she stood on the water, showered, and fully rigged. Munching on a ration bar from Essex, she casually skated along the outskirts of the ruins. Below her, she could sense U-556 gliding along what had once been a street, now littered with vehicle wreckage and building debris. She couldn't see all of it, but her trolling sonar was picking up quite a bit of the detail and relaying it back to Ingraham through her.
Cooper tried not to think of her position in relation to was rested below. It was already dizzying looking down at the city from her vantage point nearly four stories above street level, and trying not to think of what this place might have been like had the war not had a part in its desertion and destruction. Thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people and vehicles driving the streets. Shoppers and business owners going about their days, greeting one another. Families and friends spending time together. Cooper let out a sigh as the pretty imagery in her mind was swept away with the current.
"Are you okay sis?" Ingraham's voice came over the radio, snapping Cooper out of her thoughts. "That's the fifth time you've sighed in the last minute."
Cooper blinked, still staring down at the street. U-556 came doubling back from an intersection and seemed to be staring quizzically up at her.
"I'm fine." She answered. "This place just gives me the willies."
"Is that all?" Essex chimed in, a noticeable tone of worry in her voice.
Cooper couldn't help shiver that ran up her spine as her gaze swept over the dilapidated cityscape before her.
"When the war is over… When we finally win… Do you think it'll be possible for people to resettle here? Or anywhere?"
A pregnant silence followed.
"No one knows really." The carrier finally spoke. "I suppose that will be up to the humans."
"I guess that makes sense." Cooper said with a shrug.
"We'll win." Essex reassured her. The carrier's smile could practically be felt through the comms. "And then you'll see for yourself."
"And what about for us?" Ingraham asked. "What do we do once we've won?"
"Are you working or is this a tea party with the Royal Navy?" Hipper demanded, sending a sharp crackle over the radio.
"Our apologies Admiral." Essex said, seeming to wave down the uppity Iron Blood. "Let's stay focused everyone."
Cooper huffed out another sigh.
Man, that Iron Blood has got a torpedo lodged up her-
"I will say this though…" Essex spoke up. "I have a working bucket list for when that day finally comes. Maybe you girls should think of some things too."
The comms went silent, and Cooper found herself trying to think about the carrier's words. How long would it take for them to win this war? She may not have been a high-ranking ship, but she was aware that most of their engagements with the sirens had been defensive or reactive. Not once had they gone on an offensive strike. Not that they had been able to with how the damned things seemed to quite literally pop out of nowhere whenever they pleased.
How was that even fair? If she could do that, she'd totally have them on the ropes by now.
A soft tug on her chord drew her attention downward. U-556 was gliding beside her sonar, steadily surfacing to meet her with something in her hands.
"Look what I found." She said, looking pleased as she held up a rather nice-looking tennis racket.
Cooper's eyes went wide as she held it as though it were a newborn child in her palms. She let her fingers wrap around the soaked leather handle, feeling its weight. It was definitely a professional grade piece of equipment.
"So? Do you think you can use it?" U-556 asked, beaming.
Cooper blinked, surprised by what the sub was implying. Giving the racket a gentle bounce in her hand and a couple practice swings, she sighed. "This is nice. But it's something Bremerton might use compared to me."
"You mean the big-boobie cruiser?"
Cooper sputtered and burst out laughing. Her guffaw was like a cannon blast that echoed throughout the city. She tried to cover her mouth and recompose herself but Hipper was already on the radio.
"What did I say about not playing around? Or do you intend to make us stay here longer?"
"I'm sorry!" Cooper hastily apologized, stifling another round of giggles,
"U-556, stop encouraging her." Essex added.
U-556 didn't answer as Cooper put a hand on her head and held a finger to her lips, still giggling.
Cooper waited several minutes for the radio silence to return before whispering to the U-boat. "I appreciate the gesture. But to be honest, I think it would be best to leave this here." She handed the racket back to U-556 who looked taken aback. "It'd feel like robbing a grave if I take it. And besides… it's a little heavy for my liking." She scratched U-556 between her twin tails. "Thanks though."
U-556 smiled with a slight rosy tint to her cheeks. "You're lucky that you interest me. Otherwise I might not be so gracious with my gifts."
Cooper rolled her eyes. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"As well you should." U-556 nodded, taking the racket back. "And I expect you to explain later why the weight of such a thing matters in this game of yours."
"Deal." Cooper nodded and shooed her along before continuing her sweep.
Like the previous day, most of the chatter was kept to periodic updates on everyone's position. Cooper relayed the whereabouts of the three subs who were making it a game to see how well they could slip under her sonar senses as frequently as possible. It passed the time, but it continued to bother her each time she overlooked one of them and they would pop up to make a splash to catch her attention.
"Keep doing that and I'm going to figure you out soon enough." She warned when the four of them had stopped for a lunch break. The Iron Blood subs only laughed as they sat on their doos while Cooper sat cross-legged on the floor of a partially collapsed building, her feet dangling just a couple meters above the water.
"So tell us," U-552 asked, leaning forward to eye Cooper like a hungry fox eyes a mouse. "How did you get to be a specialist."
Cooper felt her cheeks warm slightly as she stared into the water below. A rainbow of colors danced along the surface as the afternoon sun shone through a stained glassed window behind her. "Truthfully it was by accident." This got a round of raised brows from the U-boats but they kept silent waiting for her to continue. "My sisters all have their own areas of expertise. Ingraham is a destroyer but is a very capable combat mechanic."
"The one with the glasses?" U-81 asked. "She seems rather timid to me."
Cooper frowned. "You're free to make your assumptions. Just remember that I know her better than all of you."
The smaller girls all blinked at her sudden abrasiveness but nodded respectfully after a moment.
"And then there's my eldest sister who is a pretty good all-arounder. I initially wanted to be like her. I mean, what little sister wouldn't want to live up to be like their big sis?" Cooper gave a soft chuckle as some old memories surfaced.
Thoughts of her first sortie. How she had been so unstable that she had been thrown off balance when her main batteries fired simultaneously. How Allen had literally held her hand as they dodged oncoming fire, all the while coaching her how to manage herself whilst returning fire on the enemy. The joy she had felt when she finally managed to hit her target. And months later after countless hours of practice, when she had brought down a siren destroyer all on her own. Only to be immediately rescued by Allen as an enemy fighter had swooped on her. It had been harrowing and exhilarating all at once, and she could not help but feel proud and grateful.
"Hey, are you okay?" U-556 spoke, poking Cooper's foot.
Cooper blinked herself out of her memories and shook her head. "Yeah, my bad. Just took a trip down memory lane there." She coughed into her fist to compose herself, the noise echoing in the cavernous room. "Anyways, I was out on patrol with some of the Royal Navy girls one day when I picked up a faint disturbance in the water. It was like I could feel some sort of vibration under my feet." She paused and nodded to U-81. "Just like that."
Both U-556 and 552 glanced at their sister sub who looked a bit sheepish as she removed her hand from the throttle that had been out of sight. The faint trail of bubbles behind her vehicle stopped and she nodded for Cooper to continue.
"Anyhoo, I felt this disturbance, and before long I began hearing things. But no one else around me could."
"Did they think you'd gone mad?" U-552 asked, putting on an exaggerated Royal Navy accent.
Cooper chuckled. "Oh yeah. Apparently, I was getting on their nerves because they eventually told me to zip it and stop causing a raucous."
"So what did you do?" U-556 asked, leaning forward eagerly.
"Well, I shut my mouth as ordered but kept listening to the noise. It was the damnedest thing too cause it was like whatever I was tracking was toying with us, the same way you do." She nodded towards the blue-haired girl. "It wasn't you, was it?"
U-556 let out a huff. "If it was you wouldn't be here to be boasting about it."
Cooper shook her head with a roll of her eyes. "Whatever. When I got back, I asked the subs on base if any of them had been on patrol near us. And just my luck, not one of them had been."
"So what was it?" U-81 asked. "A siren?"
"I'll get to that." Cooper waved. "Whatever it was, was following us the next two patrols I went on. Still, no one would believe me that there was something tailing us. That's when I got this baby." Cooper bat her left hip where her trolling line had been reeled in. "Best purchase I'd ever made. Because the next time we went out, I was able to detect the thing far better than I had initially. And do you know what it was?"
"What?" All the subs leaned forward eagerly awaiting her answer.
Cooper paused, grinning widely at them.
Too easy.
"A school of sardines."
The U-boats all gaped at her with jaws hanging slack and looks of incomprehension plastered on their faces.
"Sardines…" U-552 deadpanned before blinking and shaking herself out of her stupor.
Cooper laughed. "Yeah! That girl who told me I was hearing things? Turns out she had been feeding them for weeks and they had learned to trail after her as she usually brought something for them to snack on when on patrol. The noise I was hearing was them all going into a frenzy whenever she dropped some food in the water." She continued to laugh but the U-boats only stared at her, looking utterly dumbfounded.
"You heard a school of tiny fish…" U-552 restated.
Cooper wiped her eyes with a final giggle. "Yeah. Who knew, right? But after I figured that out, I got Ingraham to boost the performance of my ship's sonar and began experimenting with identifying subsurface activities."
The subs all watched like cats tracking a laser as she let her trolling sonar plop into the water. Letting the reel spin for a few seconds, she stopped and let her eyelids droop as she listened. The pings she received were gentle, like fingertips touching her scalp. "Right now, seven floors below us, there's a school of fish, possibly mackerel, judging by how big the cluster is just hanging out in the lobby."
The subs all glanced at one another before diving down. Minutes later, the three resurfaced all wearing looks of awe. Cooper gave them a toothy smile. "Pretty cool, right?"
"So you're a specialist out of curiosity, rather than selection." U-81 nodded in understanding. "Different, but not bad."
"And makes sense why your sister said it was a self-proclaimed title." U-556 winked. Cooper only smirked and stuck her tongue out. "It's still rather impressive." She gave a half-hearted shrug. "Not as impressive as Lord Bismarck, but still admirable."
Cooper let out a snort. "Please, I have enough inner battleship to last me for days without needing to be one."
"If you say so." U-556 snarked, finishing off her ration bar and tucking the wrapper into her jacket pocket. "Shall we continue before the admiral decides to poke her nose in on our conversation?"
Cooper stood up and gave a big stretch. "That would be a good idea." She stashed her own trash and hopped off the ledge to continue her sweep of the sector.
The subs fanned out below her, making back and forth sweeps of the street, occasionally pausing to peer into buildings. As Cooper watched them, her mind began to trail off as she listened to the rhythmic hum of their motors and the steady pings her sonar gave off as it mapped out their surroundings. Her pace began to slow without her realizing it, and before long she had lost sight of the Iron Bloods. She stopped and looked around, trying to spot one of them, possibly trying to sneak up on her again. As she scanned the depths, she realized that the shadows of the buildings made for far too many hiding spots for the subs to jump out at her.
If they tried to sneak up on her again…
It was then she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. A soft glow could be seen from inside one of the buildings a couple dozen yards back. Her first thought was that it might have been the light shining through another stained-glass decoration. But as she drew closer, she realized that the light was pulsing. It was only a couple stories below her and covered in part by a collapsed billboard.
Definitely would have missed that.
She pondered silently for a long moment before turning about and skated back towards it. As she approached, she realized that the subs had missed it as well. And speaking of which, she was picking up the sound of a rushing motor and she turned sharply to see a wake heading towards her. U-556's head popped above the surface with a gasp and a shake of her hair. "What's keeping you? Did you find something?"
"Did you guys see that when you passed by?" Cooper asked, pointing to the spot where the light was emanating from.
"See wha- Ohhhh…." U-556's brows knit together as she noticed the light as well. "How did we miss that? Is there still an active power grid in this city?"
"Hell if I know." Cooper shook her head.
"What are you guys talking about?" Ingraham asked over the radio.
"I think we found something." Cooper replied. She and U-556 gave a quick glance at one another and began to slowly approach the billboard. By now U-552 and 81 were doubling back, skimming the surface as they approached.
"We're heading to your position." Essex chimed in. "Wait for us to get there before you do anything."
Cooper acknowledged the order with a radio blip but continued to approach the building, stopping only to squat down and peer under the billboard.
"What is that?" U-81 asked as she brought her vehicle around to try and get a better look inside as well.
"If we knew, we wouldn't be playing guessing games now would we?" U-552 jabbed at her sister.
"What I want to know, is how you all missed that." Cooper spoke up, not unkindly, but squinted into the shadows below. She didn't see any debris or wreckage, but she didn't have a fish's view of the area.
The three subs exchanged anxious glances before diving down and running their sweeping pattern up and down the street. They retraced their paths twice before resurfacing. "It's difficult to see because of our positioning to the floor it's on. And even then, the light from above makes it difficult to discern if it's a reflection or a source."
Cooper rocked her head from side to side. "That's more or less my line of thinking."
The sound of skimmers on the water announced the arrival of Essex and Hipper as the two banked around a turn at an intersection before slowing to a stop. Essex looked ready to ask a question when her eyes fell upon the spot Cooper was standing in front of. She looked at the billboard with a frown, seeming to chastise herself for what some might see as a clumsy oversight.
Hipper seemed to be sharing the carrier's thoughts as she too gave an annoyed frown and huff. "I think we may need to reconsider the effectiveness of our search pattern." She stated with a look to Essex.
The carrier sighed and nodded. "Agreed." She stepped closer and Cooper moved as the taller girl bent down to try and peek inside. The subs all fidgeted anxiously as she tried to work her way in between the scaffolding only to find she was too big to fit. "We're going to have to find another way inside." She said once she had freed herself from a snag of wire that had caught on her coat.
Hipper stepped forward, eyeing the scaffolding before giving it a slight tug. Dust rained down on her and she coughed, waving a hand in front of her face. "We might be able to pull this junk aside to allow one of the subs to slip in to investigate."
"We'll have to be careful." Essex warned. "This thing doesn't look very sturdy."
"Obviously." Hipper said with a roll of her eyes. "Now let's give this a shot."
The heavy cruiser and carrier positioned themselves along with Cooper to pull on the billboard. All three of them pulled simultaneously, causing the metal groan loudly as it bent even more from the strain. Dirt rained down from above but this time there were more than a number of stone slabs that followed, narrowly missing them.
"U-81, get inside!" Hipper grunted when the rubble had stopped falling.
Immediately, the sub hopped off her vehicle and scurried inside as fast as she could. Essex Hipper and Cooper all released their hold on the billboard with a collective gasp, collapsing to their rears.
"Those things are way heavier than they look." Cooper breathed as she wiped her forehead.
"U-81, are you alright?" Hipper asked drawing closer to the opening.
"I'm all right." Came the U-boat's reply. There was a pause.
"Are you sure?" Essex followed up, giving Hipper a worried look.
"You're not going to believe what's in here."
"What is it?"
There was a splash as if the sub had just dove under water. Outside, Cooper found herself fidgeting anxiously. She brought her sonar senses to bear on the building itself, trying to get the sound waves to bounce off whatever she could to get a better view inside. No luck. She just wasn't in a good position to effectively detect what was in there. But when a small gasp reached her ears, she perked up.
"Admiral, can you reach inside?" U-81's voice called.
Hipper exchanged a glance with Essex who shook her head in confusion. Hipper frowned before replying. "Are you not planning to come out?"
"There's a lot in here. I'm just handing you the first one I grabbed."
"First one?" Hipper arched a brow as she looked to the other subs who shrugged.
Without waiting for more explanation, Essex gestured for Cooper to help her and the two began grunting as they pulled again. Hipper pushed against the scaffolding as she flattened her back to the crumbling wall, but her attention was on squeezing as close to the corner of the building where the glow had intensified. A moment later, U-81 poked her head out and reached for Hipper. The heavy cruiser and Essex both gasped, nearly letting go of the scaffolding. Cooper couldn't see what had startled them and didn't have time to dwell on it as she fought to keep the metal from crushing Hipper. Essex pulled again allowing Hipper to leap back and out of the way before letting the metal hit the wall with a resounding clang.
With Hipper safe, Cooper released her grip and plunged her burning hands into the water with a pained hiss. "That's going to be a blister for sure."
When her comment went unanswered, she looked up to see Essex and Hipper looking at what the sub had found, and Cooper's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
In Hipper's hands was a wisdom cube. However, unlike the blue ones that Cooper was used to seeing, this one was black, its core swirling with a pastel aurora of pinks, yellows, greens and blues.
"Is everyone okay?" Ingraham's voice came over the radio. "What was that noise?"
"We're fine." Essex replied, seeming to find her voice. "Just structural obstacles. But we've found a wisdom cube."
There was a distinct pause before Ingraham spoke up. "I'm sorry, but did you say you found a wisdom cube?"
"There's a lot!" U-81 called from inside the building.
"How many do you count?" Essex asked.
"I don't know. They're scattered all over the place."
Hipper seemed to jolt out of her stunned state and looked at the scaffolding just barely holding the sign in place. "It's going to be a headache if we have to move that thing out of the way each time she gets a new one to us." She looked to the two other subs. "Swing around the building and find another way inside. Without compromising any structural integrity."
U-556 and 552 acknowledge the order, diving beneath the surf and disappearing down an alleyway.
Hipper turned towards Cooper. "I'm starting to think you might have been onto something."
Cooper met the blonde's eyes for a brief moment before looking into the cube. "I'm not sure if that's entirely a good thing or not."
"We'll find out in due time." Essex said, extending a hand towards Hipper. The heavy cruiser paused but set it in the carrier's palm. Essex shivered. "But for now, we at least have something more to report to headquarters."
"Should I go ahead and send out a message to them?" Ingraham asked. "See what they want to do?"
"Please and thank you." Essex nodded in the direction of her ship. She passed the cube to Cooper, who was prepared to feel a considerable weight in her palm. But the thing hardly weighed more than a feather.
Giving it a couple heaves, Cooper found herself staring into it as the voices of Essex and Hipper faded to the back of her mind. The yellow swirls were rather prominent as were the pink. The two danced around one another like intertwining serpents, slowly glowing brighter. A ping from Cooper's sonar tickled her eardrums and seemed to settle there for a long moment. The pink began to swirl faster, becoming a vibrant red.
A double sonar ping.
Cooper could feel her pulse in her ear drums sounding like the distant boom of cannons.
Ping-ping.
Cooper's senses spread out from her body as her heart beat in time with the sonar.
Ping-thump.
Cooper's skin prickled as heat began to spread from her chest throughout her body.
Thump-thump.
Essex turned and said something, but her words never reached her ears.
Ping-ping. Thump-thump.
Hipper turned as Essex drew in closer, her mouth still moving but making no sound. The carrier's expression was quickly warping from concern to something bordering on hysteria. Cooper felt hands on her shoulders as her body began to rock violently as Essex shouted at her.
Thump-thump. Ping.
Cooper could feel it. The surrounding buildings above and below the waterline. She could sense the subs just around the block swimming inside the building and over to U-81.
Thump-thump.
A ripple of sound cut through the water like a blade and shook Cooper out of her trance just enough for Essex's voice to reach her ears. But the carrier's voice was muffled as though she were speaking from the opposite end of a bulkhead. She turned her head to look at a crumbling apartment complex a couple blocks down the street.
Ping-Thump. Thump-thump.
It was coming from there.
Cooper felt herself whipped back around as Essex began trying to pry the wisdom cube from her grasp.
"Admiral, I need an extra hand!" She hollered when she was unable to budge the thing. Hipper grabbed onto the box as well, prying with all her might alongside Essex to no avail.
"Has she always been this strong?" She snarled, planting a foot on Cooper's stomach before heaving again.
Cooper remained unmoved.
"Guys, what's going on?" Ingraham's voice was frantic on the radio now.
"Ingraham, radio HQ!" Essex barked. "Tell them we have a situation and to be on standby." She shifted her position to try and bend Cooper's arm in an effort to make her budge. "We'll provide details once we get this under control."
"Y-yes ma'am." Ingraham stammered and clicked off her mic.
Essex and Hipper both tried one last time to budge Cooper who could only watch as though she were viewing the events from a great distance. Both carrier and cruiser last their grip and splashed onto the water, gasping for breath.
"What do we do?" Hipper asked as she wiped the water from her face. "I'm tempted to suggest slapping her out of it but, she's not my subordinate."
"I may just have to." Essex huffed as she swayed slightly upon getting to her feet. "It might be best to recall yours. Whatever is happening, we don't need them being affected either."
Hipper nodded in agreement, turning away to speak into her radio as Essex brought her face to Cooper's level. Essex looked her dead in the eye and did not appear to like what she saw. After giving the cube one last glance, she sighed and stood up to her full height.
"Don't take this personally Cooper." She said, raising her hand. Essex paused, settling herself, and swung.
Cooper shot backwards before the slap could hit, sending Essex off balance and stumbling forward. "Stop!" She shouted, causing Hipper to whirl around, bringing her guns to bear as Cooper continued to put distance between them.
Essex lurched forward but Cooper had already put in a good hundred meters between them and was still going fast. Hipper paused, taking a few steps towards them, but stopped when she seemed to remember the subs she was in command of.
The roar of piston engines tickled the edges of Cooper's radar senses. She banked sideways as a dive-bomber shot so close that she could feel the prop wash threaten to knock her off balance. The aircraft pulled up hard and away, having tried and failed to serve as a distraction.
"Snap out of it Cooper!" Essex shouted and put on a burst of speed, quickly closing the gap between them
Cooper could only stare at her as her sonar sense picked up another return ping. Just as Essex got within arm's reach of her, Cooper ducked under her attempt to grab her and sprang into the air. She caught a brief glimpse of Essex's wide-eyed stare as she performed a graceful backflip, landing almost silently on a balcony railing five stories up.
"Cooper!" Essex grabbed Cooper's trolling line as she attempted to reel it in and managed to get yanked up from the water level in the process. She only managed to reach the third story before she lost momentum and had to release Cooper's line or risk getting smashed into the roof of the third story balcony.
Cooper turned and stepped through the shattered glass door before Essex could reach her, stepping over broken and mangled furniture and drapes as she made her way through the room and out the front door.
"Wait!" Essex vaulted over the railing like a gymnast and dashed after her. Within a few strides, she was in front of Cooper, trying to stop her with hands pressed against her shoulders. "Cooper, if you're still in there, tell me what you're doing so I can at least understand you. Please!"
Cooper seemed to pause at that, and Essex sucked in a sharp breath. Slowly, Cooper lifted her hand with the wisdom cube, pushing Essex out of the way before moving forward. The carrier watched her with uncertainty but followed close as Cooper proceeded down the hall.
Their shoes crunched over broken glass and splinters from shattered picture frames that had been hurled from their mounts. The carpet squished underfoot, causing Essex to wince at the sound. Boxes lay plastered against the far wall having been smashed against it by the blast or clear through, leaving gaping holes into other rooms or out of the building entirely.
As they turned down another corridor, there were more boxes laid against the walls, but in considerably better condition. Blankets, shoes, clothes and cans of food were piled high inside and Essex furrowed a brow. She began actively scanning the rooms they passed, noticing that many of the doors had been broken off their hinges, or bent as though something had been hurled through them.
When Essex finally spoke, her voice had taken on a tone of apprehension. "Were there people still living here?"
Cooper stopped and sent out another ping. The return came back stronger than ever, and she turned to push aside a half-smashed door. She heard Essex follow her as they walked by a thoroughly thrashed kitchen and dining room before stopping in the living room. The back of the apartment was gone, leaving a wide-open space to the city beyond. A cold breeze washed over them for a moment before Cooper turned and looked at a crumbled wall. Before Essex could speak, Cooper bent down and with a single hand began to hoist up the rubble.
Essex let out a gasp, taking a cautious step backward, but then her eyes drifted in the direction Cooper's were staring. In a flash she was on her knees, pulling the body out from under the rubble. Cooper waited until the carrier was clear before setting the wall back down with a soft crunch.
"Ingraham!"
The destroyer must have been anticipating the hail because she responded instantly. "I'm here!"
"Update HQ. We are returning to base at best flank speed. We found a survivor in need of immediate medical attention."
"Consider it done." Then a pause. "How's Cooper?"
Essex glanced up at her for a moment. "Minimal response. I'm keeping an eye on her though." Her eyes fell upon the wisdom cube still clutched tightly in her grip. "Admiral, I'd like your subs to return to my ship and grab as many crates as they can for unknown asset delivery. Whatever those wisdom cubes are, we're not leaving them in case Cooper's hunch was correct."
Hipper's voice barked out orders in her native language before switching back to English. "Do you think it's a good idea to bring such things back to the home base?"
"It's better than having you stay here to guard them. If something happened to any of you like it has Cooper… Let's just say I'm not willing to risk it when there's so many unknowns here."
Hipper was silent for a moment. "You know we're not helpless right?"
"That's not the issue here." Essex sounded ready to snap at the cruiser but was barely holding herself back. "Now let's get going and if you want to discuss this further, we can do it enroute."
"Fine." Hipper growled and her mic gave a sharp click off.
Cooper watched as Essex knelt over the emaciated body. It was a young man in his late teens with the makings of peach fuzz around his jaw line, with a bit more facial hair on his chin. His long, curly brown hair was tied back into a ponytail with wiry frayed ends, giving it a very ratty appearance. His clothing was not much better. His feet were bare and black from dirt and grime. His shorts and shirt looked like they were three sizes too large for him, though that may have been due to his malnourished state.
Essex brushed some loose strands of hair out of his face and pressed her fingers to his throat. After a moment, her brows lifted in surprise and she looked up to Cooper who could only stare blankly back. "How did you know?"
Cooper could not answer. She was dimly aware of a creeping chill throughout her body, bringing her out of her dream-like state. Essex had just turned away and had begun rolling the boy onto his back when Cooper felt herself blink as though waking up. The sound of the wind throughout the city and halls sounded like wailing cries as her hearing returned. The wisdom cube tumbled from her hand and impacted the carpeted floor with a resounding thump in her ears. Her entire body trembled as though she were struggling to hold a mountain on her shoulders. She let out a grunt and clutched at her head, taking a staggering step forward. The world was beginning to spin and when she blinked, she saw double.
"Essex…" Her voice was barely a squeak, but it got the carrier's attention. Essex snapped her eyes up to Cooper, relief washing over her features until Cooper noticed that she was tilting sideways.
No. Essex wasn't tilting. She was falling. Time seemed to slow as she felt her eyelids grow heavy. Just before the darkness overtook her, she saw Essex's mouth open in a shout as she reached out to catch her. And then the void swallowed her.
