Final Chapter
An Unbelievable Story
Enterprise slowly opened her eyes and was met with the sun shining down onto her face. Bobbing up and down, she realized that she was floating on top of water. "What… What happened…?" she wondered.
Suddenly, Akashi's face appeared over her. "You're awake-nya!"
"Akashi? What happened? Where are we?" asked Enterprise as Akashi helped her up by her hand. Looking around, Enterprise found that the other 19 ship girls were all present, floating in the middle of the sea, with nothing in sight.
"After our bodies began glowing, we were seemingly warped away to this place-nya," replied Akashi. "I think I may just have the idea on where this is…"
"There's a ship approaching from there," said Alabama all of a sudden, pointing at the horizon. Everyone looked and saw a large warship approaching.
The ship girls watched with curiosity as the ship came closer and closer, and then someone appeared on the deck and was seemingly waving at them while shouting something. Upon closer inspection, that person turned out to be someone familiar. "It's Cleveland!" said Javelin in surprise.
Several more girls then appeared on the deck, standing next to Cleveland. They were all familiar people consisting of Hornet, Rodney, Hiryuu, South Dakota, Honolulu, and Takao.
"Hey guys! It's so great to see you again!" shouted Cleveland with joy while waving her arm in the air nonstop. The ship girls with her were equally overjoyed to see their comrades floating out at sea as well.
"Well look! It's look like we are back in our own world!" said Prinz Eugen happily.
"I didn't expect it to happen so suddenly…" said Kaga.
"We didn't even get to say a proper farewell to the people we've met there…" said Dido.
"You should be glad that the Sirens kept their words, which honestly surprises me," said Zuikaku.
Soon afterwards, the 20 ship girls were brought onto the warship, which actually belongs to Honolulu.
"Where have you all been? We've been searching for you for more than a week already!" Cleveland said to them.
"We were almost ready to give up and accept the fact that you were all sunk," said Takao, "but then the commander didn't want to give up and insist that we continue searching for you all."
"And it was the right decision after all!" said Rodney happily.
"Sorry to make you all worried," Bismarck said to them, smiling.
"Where have you been anyway?" asked Honolulu. "Were you not able to contact us?"
"You're never going to believe what we're going to tell you," said Gangut. "And honestly, I'm still having a hard time believing all that happened and the possibility of it being me drunk all this time…"
The operation at Delta Island was over. Several pirates were captured by the Marines, while some of the more powerful ones managed to escape.
Needless to say, the Marines returned to their HQ to report to Sakazuki everything that happened, including the ship girls going missing. After hearing the circumstances regarding how they disappeared in flashes of light, Sakazuki thought about everything he knew about the ship girls, including how they got here, and then said, "If what I think is correct, then it's likely they have returned to their own world."
"I was thinking of that possibility as well," said Kizaru.
"If that is the case, then we should be glad for them, as they are finally able to reunite with the people they know in their own land," said Fujitora.
"They could've at least give us a proper farewell first…" grumbled Sakazuki.
"Nothing we can do about it now," said Kizaru with a shrug.
"Good for them, I suppose," said Sakazuki. "They have their own issues back in their world too, so perhaps they should stay where they really belong. Anyway, regarding the issue of the Eternal Pose leading to Laugh Tale…"
As he said that, his hands began to glow in red and cause smoke to come up from the desk. The lower-ranking Marines in the room became nervous, knowing that the fleet admiral wasn't happy with not being able to get his hands on the Eternal Pose."
Garp, who was also present in the room and sitting on a chair at the side, simply laughed and then said, "That totally is the kind of thing my grandson would do! Destroying an Eternal Pose! Hahahaha!"
On the Thousand Sunny, Luffy had recovered from his injuries. The whole crew was on the deck when he told them that he destroyed the Eternal Pose that leads to Laugh Tale. "YOU DESTROYED IT?!" Nami said in shock and rage. "Don't you realized what you just did?! We could've gone straight to Laugh Tale and find One Piece with that thing!"
"Why should I take the easy way there when I can take the hard and long way instead?" replied an annoyed Luffy. "If I go there right away, I wouldn't be able to come across the various kinds of islands filled with fun and adventure! It's more fun this way!"
Usopp laughed and then said, "C'mon, you know the kind of person our captain is! I knew right away when I saw what it was that he wouldn't want something like this! Him destroying is totally in character!"
"Heheh! Our captain sure is unique!" said Robin as she chuckled a bit.
"Deal with it," Zoro said to Nami. "You've been with him a long time already, so you should be expecting this sort of thing."
"Fine… It's no use arguing with someone like him…" grumbled Nami in defeat.
"If the captain wishes to take the long way, then I shall respect his decision and support him to the end," said Jinbe. "We will have to be more careful as well. After what happened, I am sure that the Marines will become more persistent in coming after us pirates."
"That would mean running into those giant battleships…" said Franky. "But those things are incredibly awesome! I would love to be able to stand on one of those!"
"Speaking of which, how come that Marine girl Luffy was fighting disappeared?" asked Chopper.
"And those giant battleships disappeared in the same manner as well," added Sanji.
"Strange indeed… It would seem that the Marines have gotten themselves some insane weapons," said Brook.
"I sure hope we don't run into anything like those again…" said Nami. "And by the way, Luffy, you were going easy on that Marine girl, weren't you? Why did you do that?"
"Eh… Dunno why… Pity, I guess," said Luffy.
"Doesn't sound like something you would do…" said Zoro.
"Obviously, he's trying to show restraints in hitting a woman," said Sanji. "It's not nice to hit women after all!"
"You and your chivalry…" grumbled Zoro.
"Eh, it's all in the past for now," said Luffy. "I'll continue to win fights against her if I run into her again. I'm sure all of you should be able to defend yourselves from whatever threat is thrown at us!"
And thus the Thousand Sunny sailed across the sea, heading for the next island, while the Straw Hats decided to relax in the meantime after going through such a huge event earlier.
They were unsure what sort of dangers and adventures they would run into, but they would be prepared to take on all of those.
The 20 ship girls who just returned from the world of pirates were back at the HQ, gathered inside the meeting room. Ship girls who are faction leaders, or at least considered high-ranking ones serving as representatives, were present in the room.
They consist of Queen Elizabeth, Nagato, Sovetskaya Rossiya, Littorio, Yat Sen, and Richelieu.
According to them, the commander was currently doing business outside the base and wouldn't return until later.
The 20 ship girls explained to the aforementioned faction leaders that they were sent to another universe by the Sirens. From the cooperation with the Marines to battling the pirates at Delta Island, the ship girls didn't miss out any important details.
Needless to say, the faction leaders were in awe at what they heard and had a hard time believing all those.
"A world where pirates run rampant and have superpowers from eating fruits?" said Queen Elizabeth. "That sounds like an imaginative child's story!"
"I have to agree that it sounds very unrealistic," said Rossiya.
"Trust me; we all had a hard time believing it when it happened to us," said Gangut.
"We are telling the truth!" insisted Javelin.
"You said the Sirens granted you the ability to change your riggings into new forms, right?" asked Littorio. "Why don't you show it to us as proof?"
The ship girls looked uneasy when they heard that. "We would love to, but it doesn't seem to be possible now…" said Prinz Eugen.
"Why is that?" asked Nagato.
"While we were on our way back here and told the others about what happened to us, we tried to show them our riggings' new transformation, but we were unable to do so," explained Kaga. "It is as if the ability to do so has been removed from us…"
"I guess the cost of coming back here is being unable to do those…" said Taihou.
"Which makes sense, because I doubt that the Sirens would let us keep those powers and thus giving us an advantage over them," said Belfast.
"So you have no proof that everything you said is true?" asked Yat Sen.
"We may not have it, but we can assure you that everything we told you is true!" said Bismarck in a serious tone. "Do I look like someone who would make up stories?"
"I believe you," said Richelieu, causing everyone to look at her. "Your tone and expressions are that of someone who is adamant that she is not lying. It is doubtful that all twenty of you would agree to come up with such a story to explain your disappearances. I know that some of you are not known to be liars too, like Gascogne. There is no other way to explain why you disappeared off the map completely. Furthermore, when people make up stories, they are unlikely to make up ones about them being weak and losing to their enemies."
"Don't remind us…" grumbled Shigure, unhappy about the times she lost.
"For this reason, I have reason to believe that everything you said is true," Richelieu told those 20 ship girls.
"Thank you for willing to believe us," said Enterprise in response.
"You better hope that the commander will believe everything you said. I'm still having a hard time believing all this…" said a skeptical Queen Elizabeth.
"Speaking of the commander… How is he?" asked Graf Spee.
"You do not have to worry about him. He is doing good as always," replied Rossiya. "He is worried about you all though."
"Of course he would be worried that I'm not at his side!" said Taihou.
"Surely he misses my presence! I'll be sure to give him a special treat tonight!" said Akagi with enthusiasm.
Taihou glared at her and said, "I call dibs on him first!"
"You're free to fight me for a space next to him tonight," Akagi said to her with an intimidating glare, to which Taihou responded by closing in on her face and glaring right into her eyes.
"The commander hasn't abandoned me, even though I've been gone for so long! I am so relieved!" said Dido happily.
"I can't wait to give him a huge hug when he comes back!" said Javelin happily with her hands on her cheeks, and she was blushing as well. "I'm sure he will give my lots of pats on my head and say to me, 'It's all right, Javelin. I'm on your side once again, so there is nothing to be afraid of!'"
On an island out at sea that had a large wrecked ship marooned on the shore, Observer Alpha was reclining on her octopus-like rigging, which was on the deck of the ship, while Arbiter was in front of her, sitting on an old metal box. The latter looked messed up, as if she had just returned from a huge fight, which is indeed the case.
The other Sirens that went to the other world had returned as well and were recuperating from their injuries.
"Never tasted such a huge defeat, huh?" Observer said to her.
"Don't even speak about it!" said Arbiter with a voice filled with venom.
"It's your fault for wanting to pick a fight with those folks," Observer told her. "We have observed enough of that world already to know that the humans there are not your everyday humans. Still, they're a lot stronger than I thought… I thought that you would at least be able to give them quite a beating before you lose."
"I'll get back at them one day! I will show them the true terror of the Sirens!" said Arbiter angrily.
"It's not up to you to decide whether or not we should go back," Observer told her. "The Creator and the Inquisitor decides what we do. Even if you are the empress of the Sirens, you must still answer to them. They have yet to give an order to go back there, so until they say so, you are to stay put."
"I'm your superior, and you dare command me?!" Arbiter angrily shouted at her while standing back.
Undaunted, Observer said, "I am merely passing you the words of the Creator and the Inquisitor. They are of higher status than you, so you are defying their orders if you do not listen to the words they told me to relay to you. Do you really want to go against them?"
Arbiter growled in frustration as she sat back down. She had no choice but to comply to the orders of her superiors.
"But regardless, we have gathered quite a bit of data from this… trip," said Observer with a smirk. "I'm sure they will come in handle in the future! It was fun while it lasted! I sure hope Azur Lane enjoyed this trip as well! It will be fun to talk with them about this experience some day!"
After the meeting with the faction leaders was done, the 20 ship girls went on to do their own things, which mostly consisted of going to meet their fellow ship girls to let them know they were back and also share their stories with them.
Javelin, Laffey, Z23, and Ayanami were hanging out with the younger ship girls such as the Little Beavers and the Sakura Empire "kindergartener" destroyers, who were amazed at what they heard from those four regarding the world of pirates and what that place had to offer.
Akagi, Kaga, Zuikaku, and Taihou were inside a Japanese-style room, talking with some other Sakura Empire ship girls. They had sake and snacks as the former four shared their experiences with the others.
Shigure went to meet her best pals Yuudachi and Yukikaze, whose eyes were sparkling with excitement and tails wagging nonstop as they listened to the former exaggerate the things she did there in order to make herself look more competent.
Belfast and Dido had insisted on getting back to work in cleaning the place after being gone for so long and leaving everything else to the other royal maids, but Queen Elizabeth insisted that after what they've been through, they should take a break and be treated by the others instead. And thus, the two maids and Hood were seated alongside other Royal Navy ships, enjoying snacks with them and being served by the royal maids.
Gangut was with her Northern Parliament comrades, drinking alcohol while boasting about her feats, both actual ones and non-existent ones, in that world. While they do believe that she went to another world, they had doubts about the over-the-things they heard from her.
Bismarck, Prinz Eugen, Graf Spee were hanging out with several Iron Blood ship girls, and U-556 was especially glad to see Bismarck back.
Alabama was hanging out with other Native American ship girls. Gascogne was back with her Vichiya Dominion comrades.
Akashi was in her shop, checking to see that nothing was missing during her absent, despite Shiranui having already assured her that she had been keeping watch of everything during her absence.
As for Enterprise, she was standing on top of a cliff outside the base, looking at the sea. Watching the horizon, thoughts of everything she had been through in the other world flowed through her mind, especially the battle with Luffy.
While still somewhat bitter over losing to him multiple times, she still felt some form of respect from him. During her clash with him, she thought he didn't exactly give the vibe of an evil and merciless person like the Marines claim him to be. Perhaps the Marines were exaggerating things to her. Perhaps if she got to know the Straw Hat Pirates better, things might have turned out differently.
Whatever the case is, it's too late to look for answers now that she and her comrades were back in their own worlds, and it was unlikely that they would ever be going back there again.
What happened had taught her that there were several kinds of enemies and threats out there, and the universe was bigger than she thought.
"I have to get stronger," she thought. "Straw Hat Luffy… If someday we ever meet again, I won't lose to you again!"
THE END
And that's the end of the story!
Thanks to all those who stayed with this story until the end! I hope you found this story concept to be fun! It's not every day that you find a crossover concept like this (protagonists vs. protagonists till the end), which is why I wanted to make something like this in the first place. I hope you enjoyed this change of pace!
I do not have plans to make a sequel to this story. Is it possible that I change my mind? Perhaps, but I think I've done all I can for this crossover already, and I'd rather do different kinds of Azur Lane stories instead, so please look forward to anything new I may potentially come up with in the future!
