Chapter 9
The sea, burned.
Enterprise stood staring out over the darkened water, watching as the flames rose and fell with the waves as though a great leviathan was lurking below the surface. The flames rose high enough to consume any battleship. Hell. They could have swallowed the Orochi and left nothing but molten slag in their wake.
Sweat beaded on her forehead. Just over a month prior, she had stared down the monstrous vessel with little hesitation. But the way the flames stabbed at the sky, threatening to engulf the world-
Is this what it means to feel insignificant?
"What is this?" She asked aloud.
"I don't know."
Beside her, her doppelganger frowned at the wall of fire that surrounded them.
"This is… different…"
Enterprise cast an uneasy glance at her. "Different? You've experienced this before?"
"We have."
Enterprise frowned. "Explain." She ordered before a phantom voice chided her. "Please."
Her mirror self was silent.
Seconds ticked by. Then one minute. Two. Five.
Enterprise was beginning to fidget with unreleased tension. Every fiber of her being screamed at her to fight. To find the enemy. A target. Destroy it. Strike before it could get her.
"It's not so easy when your target is not of the conventional sort."
Enterprise jolted, drawing her bow as a bolt of golden energy manifested between her fingertips. Her counterpart remained unphased, despite the bolt aimed at her chest. Even just out of arms reach, Enterprise would not miss.
"How did you do that?" She demanded.
Silence.
"Answer me!"
As though exasperated with a small child, her copy sighed and reached out, gripping the tip of the bolt in two fingers. The golden light vanished in a puff of sparks leaving Enterprise dumbfounded.
"I already told you. We are one in the same." Her 'other' slid her hand along her bow, as though caressing the face of an old friend, long gone. "We share the same essence. Our skills and power." She locked eyes with her. "Humans may even refer to it as a spirit."
Enterprise felt her breath catch in her throat as the memory of meeting Kooper sprang to the forefront of her mind.
Her grip on her weapon tightened.
"You and I are not that alike." She growled. "I don't know what happened to you, but-"
"An eventuality."
Enterprise blinked. "A what?"
"An eventuality." Her other turned away without breaking contact with the bow. "We are not the only two of Us to ever exist. You are simply the latest. And I am the last."
Ice filled Enterprise's veins and she took a defensive step back.
"Relax. I'm not here to fight you." Her other sounded annoyed. "Even if I was here to fight, we don't have that kind of time."
Enterprise's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
As if to answer her question, the flames all but vanished, exposing dozens if not hundreds of wrecked ships, siren and kansen alike. Enterprise blinked in surprise when she spotted two figures at the far end of the carnage.
Beside a sinking siren destroyer, stood Cooper and…
Cooper?
Enterprise moved to approach but stopped as her other barred her path.
"Get out of my way." Enterprise snarled and shoved the limb aside.
"There is nothing you can do. Save yourself the effort. It will be over shortly."
"What?"
Her head snapped back to her other self who stared impassively ahead. Upon following her gaze, she saw Cooper… Her Cooper, get sucked beneath the waves as though a great gaping maw had just swallowed her alive.
"Cooper!" She lurched forward, desperate to reach the destroyer before she could slip too far beneath the waves.
The world suddenly shook as though kicked by an angry deity. Enterprise's vision blurred and she collapsed to the waves, her world suddenly spinning out of control.
"I warned you…" Her other sighed.
The sensation crushing pressure pinned Enterprise where she was. She gasped for breath, clawing at her top to rip away the tie and buttons threatening to strangle her. Her legs kicked feebly but found no purchase on the waves.
All the while, her other stared down at her with a look of disinterest and making no move to intervene. Instead, she looked back at the other Cooper. "Let's go Black-Cat. Our time here is up."
Cooper, or 'Black Cat,' seemed to slump a little, but came as ordered. She looked down at Enterprise, a look of barely hidden sorrow flickering behind the magenta eye unobscured by her bangs. The two held their stares for a long moment before Black-Cat broke contact to look up at Enterprise's copy.
"Are we done here, Ash?"
Enterprise's mouth went dry as her… as 'Ash' nodded solemnly. "Yes. Let's return for now."
Black-Cat gave Enterprise one last passing glance, before striding past, an odd patchwork drone floating along behind her.
Enterprise's eyes widened as a dense blue fog formed from out of nowhere, swirling into a cloud of vapor before the battered copy of Cooper. The destroyer waited for the mass to grow enough to envelop her before stepping into it. Her figure vanished from view and a heartbeat later, there was a flash of yellow.
Before Enterprise had time to process what she had seen, Ash approached the mist, its mass reaching for her like wispy tendrils, preparing to pull her inside.
"We'll meet again." Ash glanced back over her shoulder but only held eye contact for a heartbeat. "And just so it does not come as a surprise later… We will be watching."
With that, Ash stepped into the mist.
"W-wait!" Enterprise attempted to reach out to her. But her limbs felt as though they were anchored to the ocean's surface. "Who are you? Who's We?"
The mist flashed yellow before vanishing a few heartbeats later.
"Cooper!" A faint voice called. "Cooper, wake up!"
San Francisco?
The sound of the heavy cruiser's alarmed voice gave Enterprise a target to focus on. With her mind still spinning, she turned her radar senses in the direction of the voice as another exclamation reached her ears.
"Cooper! Snap out of it!"
WHACK!
An impact.
A cry of pain and surprise.
Enterprise gritted her teeth and forced her eyes open, only to have her head rock about like a destroyer in a tropical storm.
She let out a sickened groan as her stomach lurched and shut her eyes tight.
Please, don't throw-up.
She brought a hand to her forehead, finding it burning hot and slick with sweat.
The voices of alarm and confusion continued in the background of her senses as the hammering pulse in her ears took over.
What was that? Am I… Is Cooper… Are we going to turn-
Her thought was interrupted by a gentle hand curling around hers, giving it a light squeeze. Even through gloves, Enterprise could recognize Belfast's touch anywhere.
Cracking an eye, she cast a glance and was rewarded with a blurred visage of the maid leaning over her, a look of genuine worry on her features.
I'm fine Belfast…. I'm fine.
That's what she wanted to say. But all she could manage was inaudible twitches of her lips as she tried to form words.
"Stay still Miss Enterprise." The cruise whispered. She brought out a folded handkerchief and dabbed it to Enterprise's head, releasing a cool breath between her lips.
Enterprise sighed.
Words could not describe the amount of relief that small gesture brought to her still-rattling nerves.
"Easy now." The maid continued to whisper. "Try to relax."
Enterprise's first instinct was to shut that down. She was no damsel in distress. She was Enterprise. A woman of action. Of integrity. She would not lay still if there was danger afoot.
She was in the process of attempting to sit up when the maid's pressure on her hand tightened. Belfast's expression quickly transformed from concern to stern, daring her to try otherwise.
Enterprise heaved a couple more breaths, pleading with the cruiser to let her do her job. But the maid inclined her head ever so slightly and smile as if to say, "Do you want to test me?"
"Alright." Enterprise managed to wheeze after a tense breath. Her shoulders slumped as she relinquished control of the situation and leaned into the cruiser's touch.
For the next several minutes, Enterprise watched through a daze as Cooper was escorted out of the room by Vestal, as well as a disgruntled San Francisco who sported a bloody nose. With the destroyer gone, Kaga helped ease an alarmingly pale Akagi into the vacant seat. The Sakura carrier looked to be fighting a nasty migraine herself, making Enterprise wonder.
"Ákagi…" She let out a strained groan and tried to sit up, but Belfast held her down.
"You need to not strain yourself Miss Enterprise."
This time, Enterprise ignored the order, opting to roll onto her side to stare at her fellow carrier.
"Did you see anything just now?"
"See?" Kaga looked between her sister and Enterprise, her ears flicking with curiosity.
It was a long moment before Akagi managed to crack an eye to stare weakly at Enterprise. "I'm not sure what you mean by 'see,' but…" She winced and clutched at her head.
"Sister…" Kaga had a hand pressed to Akagi's forehead and neck. She must not have liked what she felt, because she recoiled and shot a frantic look to Zuikaku. "Please! Fetch Akashi immediately! Akagi is-"
"It's alright Kaga." Akagi let out a low wheeze, trying to put on a brave smile.
For a heartbeat, Enterprise wondered if she looked like that to Hornet during those times when she knew her little sister feared for her safety.
"What do you mean, Grey Ghost?" Akagi's attention was back on her, and Enterprise was snapped out of her guilty recollection. She shot a wary glance at Belfast, Elizabeth, and Bismarck.
If she revealed what she experienced, not once, but multiple times now, they would think she was losing her mind. They very well could deem her unfit for service and subject her to the same tests Cooper was being forced to undergo. And should the sirens attack whilst she was in the metaphorical dry-dock…
Enterprise shook her head, banishing those thoughts. She had a duty. A responsibility to be forthcoming with her sisters in arms. The only way she would get to the truth was if they knew the truth.
"I am not quite sure how to feel about this information." Bismarck stated once Enterprise had finished regaling her experiences. "While I commend you for your honesty, I am left with far too many questions and too few answers available."
The knowledge of the being known as Ash, and Enterprise's visions of a sea covered in death and destruction had brought no comfort to those present. If anything, the chill only grew more apparent.
"I can accept a lack of answers." Elizabeth grumbled. She adjusted her crown, but Enterprise caught the faintest hint of her massaging a growing headache in the process. "However, I cannot accept a lack of ability to find those answers." She fixed Enterprise with a vexed look. "An alternative you? Capable of being independent of your own thoughts and actions… How does something like that happen in the first place?"
"It's not as impossible as you might think." Kaga spoke up. She had moved during the explanation to sit beside Akagi, her nine tails practically engulfing the brunette in a protective barrier of fur. "The sirens…Or possibly Orochi itself…They're capable of projecting Illusions so realistic, they can put you under their spell." She ground her teeth as she glared into the middle distance, her ears flattening to her head. "It's… terrifying how well they knew me… I wasn't strong enough to-"
Kaga paused when a gentle touch from Akagi graced her hand.
"Was this because of your interaction with the black cube?" Bismarck asked, seeming genuinely curious."
"It would seem so." Enterprise stated glumly.
"If that is the case then perhaps the black cubes affect individuals differently." Shoukaku spoke up, giving Akagi and Kaga a look that was both statement and question.
"It is possible." Akagi rubbed at her forehead. "I did see things after being in contact with the cube before." She closed her eyes with a pained expression. "Memories of Amagi. My earliest days with Kaga… It was like I was living it all over again. But at the same time… It did not represent the feelings I had from that time."
A look of hurt darkened Kaga's features, and her tails wilted.
Bismarck hummed to herself, paying the two little mind as she stared through the floor.
Beside her, Elizabeth watched the Iron Blood flagship intently, hands resting on her hips, but fingers clenched tight, a sure sign of her anxiety over the increasingly uncertain situation.
Finally, the petite queen's nostrils flared, as though agitated. "A pound for your thoughts Lord Bismarck?"
The larger battleship blinked as though waking up and glanced down at the queen who arched a brow.
"Apologies. I must have gotten away from myself."
Elizabeth's frown deepened. "More like gone on holiday I would say." Her tone was measured. Not upset, or annoyed, but anxiously curious. "What has you so troubled?"
Bismarck blinked again. "Am I that easy to read?"
"Consider it a mutual understanding from one leader to another." Elizabeth replied and gestured with a wave for Bismarck to stop deflecting. The battleship cast a furtive glance around the room, finding all eyes on her with varying levels of trepidation.
Bismarck let out a low sigh and cast her eyes in the direction of the black mental cube which lay nearly forgotten on the floor between Enterprise and Akagi. "Reports stated that the siren super weapon was implemented with the combat data collected from such things. Did you simply have to witness the events? Or did you need to actively partake in them?"
"Both seemed to suffice." Akagi rolled her head, staring down at the cube. "However… I do recall the sirens being particularly pleased when we returned the cube when we had taken part in the conflict directly."
Bismarck tilted her head in such a way that only one blue eye could be seen from beneath the brim of her cap. "So would it be prudent to say that the sirens were not only studying the battles themselves, but also you as well?"
Kaga bristled.
"Damn them!" Her voice was loud enough to cause Akagi to jump. "They knew the whole time! Even if we caught onto their deceptions, they knew how to keep us under their thumbs!"
"They targeted your love for Amagi." Shoukaku spoke gently.
Kaga squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists tight. "I made myself an easy target for them."
"We all have breaches in our hulls." Bismarck's words brought the First-Division carrier's eyes up, blue meeting blue. "If you wish to avoid being sunk, you must play to your strengths, while never giving your enemy an opportunity to see those weaknesses."
A soft huff came from Warspite. "I thought Iron Blood loyalty was a form of honor. So how can you say that after what you did to your sister?"
Bismarck's eyes widened and for the first time, Enterprise saw the battleship's face contort in a flash of rage. But just as quickly as it arrived, it vanished as the Iron Blood sucked in a deep breath.
"You know nothing of what happened."
"That's correct." Warspite conceded with a bob of her head. "But I have heard enough to know your actions contradict your words."
"That's enough Warspite." Elizabeth chided, casting a sharp glance over her shoulder. "Lord Bismarck's family matters are not our concern." She looked back to the Iron Blood. "But I do hope you can see her point in the hypocrisy of your statement."
Bismarck's nostrils twitched slightly, and Enterprise found herself reaching for her bow that wasn't there. But a steadying hand from Belfast stayed any further action.
"Would you not do the same for your sisters?" Bismarck asked the smaller battleship.
"I very well could. And if I were to be honest, I bloody well should. But that is not how I rule over my subjects, and furthermore we are not here to discuss family matters."
Bismarck scrutinized Elizabeth for another moment before giving a slow, measured blink. "Perhaps our understanding of one another is only finite."
Elizabeth looked less than impressed. "We can discuss that later if you so wish. But for now…" She glanced back at Enterprise, "Do you believe we are in any immediate danger of an attack? From either the sirens or this Ash character?"
Enterprise had to consider that for a long minute. The thought of her other self being a hidden enemy was not lost on her. But it also may just as well be a siren trick if Kaga's testimony was anything to go off. She could say anything she wanted to put the queen and everyone else's minds at ease. But what if the sirens were subtly manipulating her the way the Sakura Empire had been? There was no telling what the sirens could make her say or do or how she might be influenced and not even notice.
A what about Cooper?
If she was experiencing something similar with learning that she had an alternate persona, then she could be in just as much danger as the rest of them. Maybe more so.
At last, Enterprise forced out a sigh and shook her head.
"I think if we're going to get to the bottom of this, we're going to have to come up with a plan." She looked at Belfast with steel in her eyes, briefly causing the maid to mouth a silent 'Oh.' "And we'll need a few contingencies."
