"What's your admiral like, Akagi?" Souryuu asked conversationally as she, her sister, Kaga, and Akagi waited around on the docks on the day of the sortie.
The slight sea breeze danced with Akagi's dark hair as the carrier wore a thoughtful expression. "Hm… He's all right, I guess. He's really serious, though, and kind of cold."
"What about his skills as a commander?" Hiryuu asked as she stretched a bit.
"He's a good tactician," Akagi admitted, recalling how their last sortie had gone mostly smoothly with no significant injuries aside from Haruna, despite the second unexpected enemy battleship. "I don't think we have to worry about him being incompetent or anything, at the very least."
Souryuu nodded. "That's good to hear. Our Admiral doesn't really command our fleet as much as he just gives suggestions. Nagato is really the one who's in charge."
"Are you sure you should be saying stuff like that, Souryuu?" Hiryuu cautioned as she raised an eyebrow.
"Who cares? It's not as if he's going to hear it, and even if he did, I doubt he'd do anything."
Akagi smiled softly as she looked out onto the ocean. "... Still, it's nice to be back together like this again. It's nostalgic, isn't it?"
"Sure is," Hiryuu agreed. "I never thought we'd get to fight together again after that day."
"Yeah! Now that we're together again, we won't lose to anyone!" Souryuu enthusiastically declared. She then glanced over at Kaga. "You've been quiet as always, Kaga. You're not even a little glad to be back with the Kido Butai?"
The stoic carrier shrugged. "I just think we should refrain from becoming overconfident. You all remember what happened the last time we did that."
"Kaga is right," Akagi said. "I'm sure we'll be able to defeat this Airfield Princess, but that's only if we are careful and composed."
"You two… Always being the responsible ones," Souryuu mused as she flicked some dust off her uniform.
"Hey, is that him?" Hiryuu then asked as she glanced over at a lone figure approaching the docks.
The four carriers turned to see the tall, broad-chested figure of Rear Admiral Richard Drake. As per usual, Drake wore a frown, and his dark brown eyes were fixed in their seemingly-permanent glare.
"Jeez, why does every admiral at this base aside from ours always look so angry?" Souryuu whispered to her sister.
The carrier task force saluted as Drake arrived, and the rear admiral returned their salute with one of his own.
"Good morning, everyone. My name is Rear Admiral Richard Drake, and I will be in charge of this fleet for today's sortie," he greeted. "I had some business to take care of, so I assume Kaga has already briefed you all on the specifics of this mission…?"
Kaga nodded to him, so Drake continued on.
"All right. So, as you all know, our mission is to seek out and sink the Airfield Princess, whom we assume is the one who bombed the base a few days ago."
Drake then took a moment to look over the four carriers, and he smirked. "An American commanding the famous Kido Butai… Nagumo must be rolling over in his grave right now."
That comment drew frowns from pretty much everyone, which Drake knew it would, but sometimes he just couldn't help himself.
"Anyway, let's hope that I can do a better job than he did. We're setting sail in thirty minutes, so get on the ship whenever you're ready."
As Drake walked back over to where the ships were docked, Hiryuu shook her head.
"He seems pretty rude, honestly."
"Well, he is American," Souryuu said.
"He's not rude," Kaga denied immediately, but blushed a bit when she realized everyone was staring at her in surprise. "W-well, I just mean that he has good intentions. Despite what he says, I know he will do his best to ensure the fleet's success."
"Oh? Didn't expect you of all people to rush to his defense," Hiryuu teased with a smirk.
"You must like him a lot, Kaga," Souryuu pointed out.
"Just because I said one good thing about him? Ridiculous," Kaga countered, scowling and crossing her arms.
"But you have gotten pretty close to him, haven't you?" Akagi asked, smiling.
"Because I'm the Secretary Ship, so I have to," Kaga bit back, growing frustrated. "Fine, I don't care. Say whatever you want about him."
Akagi giggled. "But I wouldn't want Kaga to snap at me…"
"That's it. I'm going to the ship," Kaga declared, getting fed up with the teasing.
"Ah, yes, go run into the Admiral's arms! He'll comfort you!" Souryuu called out after her, causing Akagi and Hiryuu to laugh heartily.
Kaga's blush deepened as she picked up her pace, leaving the three chuckling carriers behind. She knew they were just lightheartedly poking fun at her, but something about their words made her more frustrated than normal.
Not that I care, she tried to convince herself as he made her way up to the super jet cruiser that would carry the fleet around.
As she entered the interior of the ship, a short figure slammed into her, causing her to grunt in surprise.
"Ah! Sorry!" a submarine Kaga recognized as I-19, or Iku, apologized. She then ran off again, and Kaga sighed softly.
Must be late for a meeting with her admiral, she assumed. Rear Admiral Genji would also be accompanying the carrier task force on this mission, as he would be providing a submarine escort.
Kaga walked through the halls of the super jet cruiser until she arrived in front of the situation room, which would be the main command center for this operation. The ship, the Guadalcanal, was assigned to Rear Admiral Genji, but it was basically the same as its sister, so Kaga was able to find her way around easily since she had already been aboard the Espiritu Santo before. Super jet cruisers weren't very big since most of their space was allocated to housing the ship girls' equipment, so that also made it easy to find the command center.
When she got to the large room, Kaga paused before pushing open the door. She was a bit early, so she wondered if anyone would even be there. Even if nobody else was in there, she figured she could just wait in there for the sortie to start. Better than staying out with the rest of the carriers and being harassed by them…
Kaga entered the room and found it empty save for one figure, who had his back turned to her. Drake was staring out the window, his gaze fixed on the dark blue ocean. The skies overhead were clouded with gray, which would make visibility a bit difficult for the planes, and the waves churned lightly. Kaga was about to say something, but her words died in her throat as she looked at her commander. Drake's eyes were staring out at nothing, as if his mind was far, far away. He was biting one of his knuckles nervously, so hard, in fact, that blood could be seen underneath his white glove.
"Admiral," Kaga finally called out, snapping Drake out of his trance. He whirled around, surprise flashing across his face for a brief moment before he recovered.
"Oh, Kaga. I didn't hear you come in," he began, glancing down at his knuckles as he finally noticed the pain. He quickly hid his bleeding hand out of view. "Has everyone boarded the ship?"
"Not yet. It's just me." She couldn't stop her eyes from wandering to where his hand was hidden behind his back. "Admiral… Are you all right?"
Drake grimaced as he realized he had been caught. "... I'm fine."
Kaga narrowed her eyes at him. "Now that I think about it, you've been acting strange ever since the base was bombed."
"That's not true," Drake feebly denied.
Kaga frowned, but decided not to pursue the matter any further.
The two then stood around in the situation room, an awkward silence hanging over them. Drake resumed his staring out at the sea, though he made sure to keep his outward appearance more composed this time.
Damn it… Kaga probably thinks I'm some sort of coward now, Drake thought glumly.
Though he tried to hide it, the thought of facing the Abyssals again up close made him feel extremely uneasy. The bombing of the base only served to prove that he wasn't over Tangier yet, and the fact that he was being sent off to sortie against an Abyssal Princess didn't help much. The first sortie didn't bother him since he didn't have to see or even hear the Abyssals, but this time, he would be using himself as bait, and it was very possible that the battle could drift back towards his direction.
Drake grit his teeth. It's not as if I doubt my own tactical abilities… But why can't I get over this fear?
Before he could find an answer to his own question, the doors to the situation room opened, and the remaining members of the Kido Butai entered. Also accompanying them were Rear Admiral Genji and his three submarines, I-186, I-8, and I-19, who would be escorting the carriers. The submarines were all wearing school swimsuits, which Drake thought was kind of weird, but he supposed the fact that they were warships reincarnated as teenage girls was weirder.
"Looks like everyone is here," Genji noted as he glanced around the room. "Good thing too, since we're about to set sail. How is the visibility out there, Drake?"
Drake frowned as he turned his neck towards the windows. "Could be better."
"Great," Genji replied sarcastically. "Well, it doesn't matter. If we wait any longer the Airfield Princess is going to leave the area, and if our planes have trouble flying in this weather, then so will hers."
Drake nodded as the ship began to move. The speed of the super jet cruiser was impressive as always, and the group looked out the window as the dark waves were cut open by the ship's rapid run through the ocean.
"All of you should head down to the loading bay so that you are prepared to deploy at any moment," Genji said, addressing the ship girls.
The ship girls all nodded, and they silently funneled out of the room, leaving the two admirals alone with the dull sounds of the ship's engine and the parting of the waves.
"What do you think of this mission?" Genji asked as he joined Drake at the window.
The American shrugged. "I'm betting we'll just sail around for a while, waste some fuel, and then return to base empty-handed."
"And assuming we encounter the Princess…?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, then. I've got no clue what this Airfield Princess is capable of."
"You're the carrier officer, so actually you should have a better idea than I do," Genji roughly pointed out. "You don't think you can defeat her?"
"One, I am not a carrier officer. I keep saying that, but nobody listens. Two, like I just said, I don't know what an Abyssal Princess is capable of, so how could I possibly know if the Kido Butai can beat her?"
"There was an Abyssal Princess at Tangier, though."
Drake's eyes darkened. "... I guess there was. But I was a bit busy that day, so forgive me if I wasn't taking copious notes on her capabilities."
Genji scowled. "Then enjoy fighting blindly today. You might just end up dying instead of her."
Drake gave him an incredulous look. "You realize that if she sinks this ship and I die, you're probably going to die as well, right?"
"Yes. And?"
Drake just shook his head as he continued to watch the sea roll past.
The two rear admirals then sat around in the situation room for about half an hour, just waiting for something to happen. The ship had reached the area where the Princess was theorized to be hiding, so if she was still around, she should be appearing soon, or not at all.
Drake sighed to himself as took a sip from a water bottle. He looked over the map of the Eastern Pacific that was plastered across the large table in the middle of the room with bored eyes.
Genji made a noise of disappointment as he turned in his chair to face the ocean. "I'm beginning to think that Fleet Admiral Umi is an idiot. Why did she -"
His sentence was interrupted by a voice on the loudspeakers:
"Abyssal signature detected! Launch all fleet personnel!"
The admirals shot to their feet and rushed to the window. They frantically searched gray wastes for any sign of the enemy, but then realized that the abyssal was probably some distance away and couldn't be seen yet. The ship stopped moving soon after, staying in place in case it needed to reverse course and retreat.
"Admiral, we are en route to the enemy's last known position," Kaga's voice sounded in Drake's earpiece.
"All right," Drake replied as he moved over to the radar screen. He noticed that Genji was on the other side of the room, also presumably communicating with his fleet.
"It looks like the Airfield Princess has launched her planes… So many planes! And if they are flying at the altitudes that they attacked the base at, I don't know if our fighters will be able to reach them…"
"No need to panic. We planned for this," Drake said reassuringly. "We already saw how inaccurate they were at that height, so they're going to need to dive low to have any chance of hitting you… Everyone, launch your planes."
Drake was met with four affirmatives as the Kido Butai fired their first volley of arrows. He twirled a lock of his hair between his fingers as he stared at the radar screen, nervously wondering how the battle would go.
At the very least, it looks like I'm far enough away to avoid any direct hits from the enemy aircraft, he thought, relieved. But the carriers…
Kaga aimed her bow up at the air and towards the direction of the Airfield Princess, who at this point was still out of sight, positioning it so it would give her planes the best possible takeoff. As she let go of the bowstring and fired the arrow, she saw her three comrades doing the same out of the corner of her eye.
The quartet of arrows sailed through the air, and though four carriers had simultaneously launched their planes, only a measly total of eight aircraft appeared in the air once the arrows transformed.
"Split up," Kaga commanded after their planes took off, and the four carriers all sailed off in different directions.
The small air force of dive bombers the carriers had launched had been devoid of any fighter escort, and there was a reason for that. According to Drake's plan, the Kido Butai's initial strike was meant to be nothing more than a scouting force. The planes were supposed to go towards the Airfield Princess, flying directly under the Princess' own aircraft. The purpose was to see what the Princess would do when confronted with and enemy strike: would she ignore them and continue onwards with her own attack, or would she pull a few fighters out of their escort and shoot down the ship girls' planes? And if she chose the latter, how fast would she be able to drag her planes out of their high altitudes?
The splitting up of the four carriers was just supposed to be a way to throw off the enemy. If the Airfield Princess had to choose between four targets and divide her airstrike, then the carriers would have a better chance at evading and defending against her. However, the plan had the potential to backfire: if the Airfield Princess chose to ignore the other three carriers and only go after one of them, then that unlucky ship girl would face the full brunt of the Princess' strike and would likely sink.
Though it was a risky move, Drake thought that the Princess would act as he predicted because of her nature. Since the Princess had stayed in the waters near the base alone, she was clearly confident in her abilities. Therefore, Drake guessed that she would also trust that her airstrike could take out all four carriers even if she split it up and wouldn't bother going through the trouble of taking out each carrier one by one. Also, if the Princess did decide to send her entire air force after one carrier, then the other three would be free to attack the Princess with impunity since they wouldn't have to worry about dodging bombers, which would be terrible for the abyssal.
"Admiral, it appears the enemy air strike is splitting up," Kaga radioed as she checked her radar. "It also looks as if the Princess ignored our planes."
"Good… Now, all carriers, launch the rest of your planes! All of them!"
"All of them…?" Kaga asked incredulously. They hadn't really discussed what their counterattack would be after this point since there were so many possibilities and so little time between the bombing of the base and the sortie, so Kaga was surprised to receive such a bold order.
"Yes, and hurry the hell up! Don't bother with formations; just send out every fucking dive bomber you have at that thing! Do it fast, before the enemy airstrike gets to you!"
Kaga immediately complied, sensing the urgency in her commander's voice. She quickly notched an arrow and fired, repeating the process over and over again until her quiver was empty. By the end of it, her right arm ached from the strain, and the sounds of the enemy air force buzzed threateningly overhead.
"Prepare for air attack!" Drake's voice sounded over the radio channel. "Oh, and call your fighters back to guard you if you can! Should've said that earlier, but whatever…"
Kaga frowned as she remotely willed her fighters back to her position, and she narrowed her eyes as the first of the enemy's sleek black planes began their dives. She sped backwards, barely avoiding the first bomb. Seawater splashed her, drenching her clothes. The second bomb hit nearby as well, and for a moment, she panicked as the bursts of water blinded her.
Luckily, her fighter planes in the rear of her formation managed to return at that time and opened fire on the enemy bombers. This caused them to swerve and miss Kaga completely, giving the stoic carrier a brief respite. However, her break was interrupted when a massive rain of abyssal fighters burst forth from the gray clouds, easily overpowering and destroying Kaga's own fighters.
"Rush the enemy position! Sail that way while you're dodging!" Drake commanded.
As she carried out her new orders, all the while taking fire from the fighters, Kaga realized what her admiral was doing. He had them send out all their bombers because the enemy had already launched the bulk of her own airpower, and the abyssal's lack of interest in stopping the first eight bombers indicated that she wouldn't divert planes from her own attack to stop the ship girls', especially now that the Princess' force had already split off and was so close to the carriers. Even if the Princess did have some planes remaining after launching her initial attack, then she would be outnumbered anyway by the huge air force Drake launched, something that the Airfield Princess wouldn't expect.
Drake had told Kaga and Akagi during the planning for this sortie that carrier duels were like two boxers with extremely long reaches and glass chins duking it out, and this fight was certainly proving that true. The Princess had launched her punch, and the Kido Butai shot their fists forward almost immediately afterwards. Since both boxers were so focused on punching each other, neither had much time to defend.
As if to punctuate the analogy, a bomb detonated on Kaga's left shoulder, causing her to choke back a cry of pain. She briefly surveyed the damage as she sailed forward in a zigzag formation. Her clothing had been burnt off in that area, and her skin was blackened and hissing.
It looks mostly superficial, thankfully, she thought as she moved her left arm gingerly, wincing a bit.
However, another bomb crashed right in front of where she was sailing, blowing a rush of water into her face and forcing her to stop and change directions. Unfortunately, this momentary stoppage allowed another dive bomber to strike true, this time hitting her squarely on the back.
The explosion lifted her off her feet, tossing her a couple meters forward. Her face tightened in pain as she tried to rise from the ocean's surface, but her expression quickly shifted to one of horror as she heard another bomber approach from behind. Since she was a stationary target, the next bomb could easily sink her.
Fortunately for her, the rest of her fighters had arrived on the scene, and they blasted open the offending bomber with a flurry of fire and steel. Kaga took that opportunity to force herself to her feet, and she kept on sailing forwards, ignoring the searing pain in her back and shoulder.
Good thing they haven't hit any crucial areas, like my flight deck or engine.
She grimaced as she swerved to avoid another dive bomber. Kaga upped her speed, forcing her body into overdrive and consuming fuel and energy at the maximum possible rate.
Almost there…
"Bad news!" Akagi's worried voice sounded through the radio, and despite her words, Kaga was at least glad to see that she hadn't sunk yet. "It looks like our planes have run into some trouble before they could get to the enemy!"
After hearing her sister, Kaga focused her attention back to her dive bombers, allowing a small portion of her vision to be taken up by the live feed from the planes she had sent out. Sure enough, the bombers were being harassed by a squad of abyssal fighters.
"What!" Drake cried out after Kaga relayed this information to him. "She still has enough planes to pose a threat to a combined air force composed of every last one of the dive bombers from four different carriers?!"
"Looks like the fighters she sent after us are also going back towards the enemy," Hiryuu's pointed out, her voice strained. "She's going to trap our dive bombers in a pincer movement with her fighters and anti-air guns."
The girls could hear Drake growl over the radio. "You four, get over there, now! If your dive bombers don't take her out, you'll have to beat the shit out of her with your own two hands!"
"W-wha…?" Souryuu asked tiredly. "But we're not made for fighting like that…"
"I don't give a fuck! At least Kaga and Akagi are trained in CQC. Hiryuu and Souryuu, try and serve as distractions if you're not good for anything else."
The channel went silent after that frustrated transmission, and Kaga was left with nothing but the company of the enemy bombers again.
How many of these things are there? She grumbled to herself as she dodged another bomb. At least the Admiral's stamina training has proven to be useful… Normally, I wouldn't be able to go on for very long at this speed.
A bomb then exploded at Kaga's feet, causing her to lose her balance a bit. As the carrier tried to regain her footing, she saw another bomb heading straight for her, falling right above her head. Knowing that such a hit would mean certain death, she quickly raised her left arm above her head, shielding her body with her flight deck. The bomb landed on the deck with a thunderclap, and Kaga's entire left arm vibrated painfully. Her injured shoulder in particular cried out in agony, causing Kaga to screw her eyes shut and bite her lip hard enough to draw blood.
A final dive bomber made a run at her but missed, and then the sky fell quiet. Kaga sighed in relief as she continued on towards the Airfield Princess, her entire body aching and her flight deck destroyed.
Well, if I still have any planes left in the air, they certainly can't land anymore… Now all that is left is to engage and defeat the Princess in close combat…
In her heavily-damaged state, that certainly wasn't something Kaga was looking forward to, though, at the very least, she had three other carriers to help her… Assuming they were all still alive, that is.
"Fleet, do you read me?" Kaga called out, lifting a hand to her earpiece. "Is everyone all right?"
"Urgh… Depends on what you mean by 'all right,'" Akagi replied, her voice notably weaker than before. "I'm still alive, at least…"
"I'm not too damaged," Hiryuu answered, "but I think Souryuu was hurt pretty badly. She's still visible on our radar, so she hasn't sunk, but she's not moving either."
Kaga checked her own radar, and sure enough, Souryuu's position was static. Akagi was still slowly sailing towards the Princess, but it looked as if Hiryuu had broken off to go check on Souryuu. Kaga couldn't really blame her for that, especially since someone did need to go and make sure that Souryuu was still alive.
"Yeah, Souryuu's out of this sortie," Hiryuu informed the fleet after about a minute. "I don't think she's about to sink or anything, but her flight deck is completely destroyed, and she definitely broke a leg. She's also got a couple of nasty burns… What should we do? Should someone tow her back to the ship?"
"Leave her," Drake replied immediately.
Kaga blinked in surprise at the admiral's abruptness.
"What?! Did you not hear what I just said?" Hiryuu shot back angrily.
"Yeah, I did. You said she's not in any danger of sinking, so leave her there."
"Are you insane?" Hiryuu snarled. "She's still beat up, and what if her condition worsens? What if the Princess sends a dive bomber to finish her off?"
"Then you'd better hurry up and kill the Princess before she can do that," Drake said, his voice devoid of any sympathy. "I'm not wasting an able-bodied carrier on a run back to the ship while there's still an Abyssal Princess that needs to be defeated."
"But -"
"Shut the fuck up," Drake interrupted. "I gave you an order, and you will obey it. You three need to get to that Princess and sink her as soon as possible, so shut up and do as you're told."
Hiryuu was silent after that, and Kaga could see that she was now heading back towards the Princess. Even so, the former Second Division carrier would no doubt be extremely irate about this, especially if something did end up happening to Souryuu.
About half a minute later, Hiryuu and Akagi appeared in Kaga's vision as the three carriers converged together. Hiryuu didn't appear to be very injured, only sporting a couple burns. Akagi, however, was not as healthy; gray smoke emanated from her rigging, her clothing was torn and burnt in various locations, and she cradled her right arm close to her side.
The three carriers formed up wordlessly, and after thirty more seconds of sailing, they spotted the white figure of the Airfield Princess. Her long, snowy hair was torn and blackened, and her red eyes flashed angrily as the ship girls approached. She had two runways attached to her side, each one much bigger than the carriers' flight decks. However, the runways had numerous craters in them, rendering them mostly useless. Also attached to her right side was a monstrous jaw, and Kaga could see a sort of red light glowing from within the creature's mouth. A large gun was mounted on top of the jaw, but it had been damaged and bent out of shape.
Littered around the Airfield Princess were the corpses of the carrier planes, their wreckage bobbing among the waves and flames. Parts of the black abyssal planes were also scattered about the ocean, indicating the aftermath of a massive aerial battle. Though it appeared that the planes had taken each other out, the burns and dents on the Airfield Princess showed that at least some of the ship girls' aircraft had managed to land hits.
Despite her injuries, the Airfield Princess smiled wickedly when the carriers arrived.
"So you've finally come," she greeted in a malicious, distorted tone. "I've had to deal with your pathetic planes and submarines up until now, but I am glad to see that you have decided to show your faces so I can sink you while staring into your terrified eyes."
"Shut the hell up. It's three against one, you dumb bitch," Hiryuu spat, clearly still in a bad mood.
"Three? Ah, yes. Your other comrade must be so damaged that she cannot fight any longer. Or, could it be, that she has sunk already?" the Princess asked, her grin growing wider.
Hiryuu seethed with rage. "She hasn't sunk yet, Abyssal scum. In fact the only one sinking here today will be you."
The abyssal's response was to fire a high-powered beam of red energy from her monster's mouth. The burst of energy shot outwards at such speed that Hiryuu barely had time to dodge, and even then, she wasn't fast enough. As the light faded, Hiryuu looked down in horror to see that she was missing her right arm from the elbow down, the beam having disintegrated it but simultaneously cauterizing the wound.
Kaga took this opportunity to rush the Airfield Princess, and she once again burned through her fuel in order to increase her speed. The Princess hurriedly turned to intercept, but Kaga ducked under her outstretched hands and rammed her uninjured shoulder into the Princess' stomach, causing the abyssal to cough in pain. Kaga then gave her a savage uppercut, enjoying the feeling of her fist connecting with the Princess' chin. However, the abyssal soon recovered, and she swung her hips to the left and hit Kaga's legs with the edge of one of her runways. Kaga lost her balance and landed on her back on the ocean's surface, making her hiss in pain since she had already taken a direct hit to her back earlier.
Akagi, seeing all this unfold, rushed to help her adopted sister. The gluttonous carrier tried to land a punch on the Princess' side while she was distracted, but the abyssal managed to catch Akagi in the corner of her eye and turned her body slightly. Though Akagi probably could have connected with her punch anyway, the sight of the monstrous maw aimed straight towards her stomach made her flinch away in fear after witnessing what that thing was capable of moments earlier. Akagi retreated slightly, sliding out of the jaw's path of destruction.
This momentary diversion allowed Kaga to get to her feet, and the quiet carrier drew the Princess' attention back to herself by pulling harshly on a strand of the abyssal's white hair. The Princess yelped in surprise, and Kaga yanked on the hair harder, pulling the Princess towards her. The carrier then launched a haymaker towards the Princess' face and connected, causing the abyssal's head to spin due to the strength of the punch overpowering the opposing force of Kaga pulling on the Princess' hair. The Princess reached out blindly with her hands and managed to brush Kaga's injured shoulder, forcing the ship girl to grunt in pain and back off.
As Kaga moved back a bit, the Princess righted herself and tried to regain her balance. However, to everyone's shock, Hiryuu came rushing in at full speed and smashed right into the abyssal. Both their bodies went crashing on top of the ocean's surface, and they rolled together with the momentum, water splashing all around them.
Well, I suppose that's one way to fight if you aren't trained in CQC, Kaga thought as she rushed over to help.
Akagi joined her, and the two First Division carriers quickly pulled Hiryuu out of the pile and tossed her behind them. While the Princess was still struggling to get up, Akagi and Kaga beat her mercilessly with their fists, adrenaline flowing through their veins as they rained down punches on the downed abyssal. The Princess managed to grab Akagi's injured right arm, causing the carrier to cry out in pain, but instead of pulling away, Akagi reached up with her left hand and pulled her bow off her back. With fury in her eyes, Akagi brought the bow down on the abyssal's head with full force, snapping the weapon in half. This forced the Princess to let go off Akagi's arm, but before the two carriers could capitalize on the Princess' weakened state, they felt an intense heat emanating from the abyssal. The ship girls quickly leapt backwards as a powerful red beam erupted from the Princess' monster jaw and shot into the air.
As Kaga, Akagi, and Hiryuu got back into their formation, the Airfield Princess also managed to get to her feet. Glowing red blood dripped from her mouth, and she wore a look of pure rage.
"You… Insolent, degenerate, worthless -"
The Princess' tirade was interrupted by a sudden underwater explosion that threw her a few meters back.
Ah, yes, the submarines, Kaga realized.
Coughing and sputtering, the Airfield Princess rose to her feet once more, though she was visibly much more weakened than she had been at the start of the fight. The Princess shot a hateful glare towards the carriers, and Kaga stared right back, her brown eyes unflinching.
"Hiryuu, Akagi… Let's finish this."
Drake stared at the radar screen, his arms crossed and his trademark frown still in place. Aside from Souryuu, who was still in the spot she had stopped moving, the other three carriers were clumped around the Abyssal Princess, indicating that they were engaged in close combat. Drake couldn't tell how the fight was going from the radar alone, so he had no idea what was happening. He was tempted to contact them and ask for an update, but he thought it might distract them. Eventually, though, he gave in and reached a hand up to his earpiece.
"How's it going? Don't answer if you're busy."
"The Airfield Princess has been severely weakened," came Kaga's reply. "We should be able to sink her soon."
Drake smirked to himself. "Good. Try and capture her alive if you can, but if that's not possible, then just kill her. Just don't do anything too -"
The rear admiral's sentence was interrupted when the Guadalcanal shook violently, throwing Drake off his feet. He hit the floor of the situation room with a thud.
"What the hell was that?!" Genji growled from the other side, where he was hanging onto the corner of the large table in the center of the room.
"TORPEDO ATTACK DETECTED ON SONAR. ENGAGING EVASIVE MANEUVERS."
Genji groaned as he heard the automated announcement. "Great. The enemy had submarines this whole time?"
The super jet cruiser began moving again, and it rapidly built up speed as it took off.
"This damn jet cruiser can't maneuver well enough to avoid torpedoes," Genji grumbled. "The only thing it's good at is going fast, and even then, I don't know if it will be able to outrun abyssal torpedoes from this range…"
The IJN admiral reached up to his earpiece. "Submarines! The Guadalcanal is under torpedo attack! Get back here, now!"
Genji got to his feet and rushed towards the windows of the situation room to see if he could get a better look at the situation. To his horror, he saw a handful of black abyssal destroyers also popping in and out of the ocean.
Damn it! My submarines can't take on enemy subs and avoid destroyer depth charges at the same time! Genji cursed inwardly.
He then turned to Drake. "Drake, call back your carriers. We need to -"
The ship was then struck by another torpedo, and the cruiser groaned as the ship bounced up and down, throwing Genji back onto the floor. On his way down, his head hit the corner of the table, knocking him out.
Drake was still on the floor from the first strike, and the second hit caused his eyes to widen in fear. This feeling…!
His mind flashed back to Tangier, and he was back aboard the USS Freedom's Sacrifice once again. The lurching of the ship combined with the sirens made his head spin, and he couldn't bring himself to get up off the floor. He recalled the abyssal submarine he saw on that day: its eerie mask, long, black hair, and pale white flesh as it outstretched its hand towards him.
No… They're back to drag me underneath the sea… They're hunting me because I escaped like a coward on that day!
"Admiral! What is going on!" Kaga demanded over the radio, but Drake could barely hear her. His ears were filled with the screams and explosions of the Battle of Tangier.
Kaga bit her lip in frustration as she waited for her admiral's response. Only silence answered her.
"What's going on over there?" Akagi asked, not taking her eyes of the bloodied and beaten Abyssal Princess in front of them.
"I don't know…"
Kaga frowned as she wondered just what could have happened. One moment she was talking with her admiral, and the next, she heard a loud crash, and her admiral was no longer answering. Whatever occurred, it couldn't have been good.
"Carriers!" Imuya's voice sounded through the radio channel. "Be advised that you will no longer have submarine support! The Guadalcanal has come under torpedo attack, so we've been recalled to assist!"
The three carriers looked at each other in shock.
"But how…?" Akagi wondered.
"Submarines, should we return to the ship as well?" Kaga asked, desperate for more information.
Imuya took a few seconds to respond. "I don't know the situation there beyond that. Our admiral isn't responding to our communications anymore."
Kaga nodded, then got off the radio and turned to her fellow carriers. "That settles it, then: we're returning to the ship. Something must have happened there."
"What about her?" Hiryuu asked, pointing to the Airfield Princess, who was taking this opportunity to catch a much-needed breather.
The Princess noticed them staring at her. "What are you whores doing? Are you just going to stand there, or do I need to come to you and kill you myself?"
"Shut up," Kaga commanded, her eyes narrowing and her frown deepening. "You're lucky this time. Your pathetic tactic of attacking our defenseless command structure has saved your life today, but do not expect this to ever be allowed to happen again."
"What?" the Princess asked, clearly confused. Her red eyes then lit up in realization. "That bitch…"
"Forget her, Kaga," Akagi said. "If we're leaving, we need to go now."
"Wait, we're just going to let her go?" Hiryuu asked incredulously. "You can't be serious! She's almost dead!"
"And our admiral could die while we're trying to kill her," Kaga parried.
"Fuck the admiral! Wasn't he the one going on about sinking that Princess at any cost before? We're supposed to finish the mission, right? Isn't that why we left Souryuu behind?"
Kaga ground her teeth in frustration. "We don't have time for this right now. As the flagship, I am giving the order to return to the ship. Now go get Souryuu and meet us back there."
Hiryuu gave her a look of disgust, but obeyed the command regardless. Kaga then nodded to Akagi, and the two carriers sped off towards the ship. The Airfield Princess shouted at them to come back, but the abyssal herself was apparently too tired to give chase.
As they sailed back, Kaga and Akagi attempted to locate the Guadalcanal on the radars they were equipped with. Since their radars weren't very advanced or expansive, they weren't able to see anything just yet, leaving them in the dark once again. Despite her usual calm demeanor, Kaga found herself strangely nervous. As a proud carrier of the IJN, Kaga would consider it a great mark of shame if she allowed her admiral to die under her watch. But aside from that, she also felt something else.
Why do I feel as if I don't want Admiral Drake in particular to die…?
Though Kaga didn't want any of her comrades to fall in combat, there were some, such as Akagi, who she treasured in particular. She definitely didn't see Drake on that same level, but she had to admit that she felt different towards him than she did towards her past admirals.
"Kaga, look," Akagi said, her tone serious and her golden eyes fixed ahead.
The stoic carrier found her way out of her thoughts and refocused on the ocean, and she was greeted with the sight of the Guadalcanal zigzagging around at high speeds, apparently trying to avoid enemy submarines. The ship was smoking slightly, indicating that it had been hit at least once. Trailing the super jet cruiser were a pack of black destroyers, hopping in and out of the water like porpoises and firing their guns in bursts.
"Carrier Task Force, we're having trouble fending off the hostile submarines because the destroyers keep dropping depth charges," Imuya said through the radio. "I noticed two of you on my radar… If you can take out those destroyers, we will finish off the submarines."
"Consider it done," Kaga replied. However, even as she said that, she realized that both she and Akagi were completely out of arrows.
"We'll have to charge them, won't we?" Akagi sighed.
Kaga nodded. "It's not as if we have any other weapons outside of our anti-air guns, which are almost empty anyway. Either way, we have both been trained in close quarters combat, and we are only up against destroyers."
The two carriers resolved themselves to their task and chased after the ship, causing the destroyers to whirl around and face the more immediate threat.
"Submarines, we have the attention of the enemy destroyers! Hold off the enemy submarines!" Kaga ordered into her mic as she sailed straight for the abyssals.
The I-class destroyers opened their mouths and fired at Kaga and Akagi. The carriers swerved around the shells, but a few managed to hit them anyway. One clipped Kaga in her burnt shoulder, bringing tears to the corners of her eyes. Nevertheless, she continued on.
Finally reaching the first destroyer, Kaga used her momentum to leap over it and land directly behind it. She then picked it up, and with a ferocious warcry, cracked it over her knee. The destroyer's armor split open, spilling cyan blood and slick organs onto Kaga's tattered uniform. Though the destroyer's armor was not nearly as tough as hers, Kaga still felt a sharp pain go up through her leg as she broke the abyssal. She threw the shattered corpse into the ocean, and the remains of the destroyer sunk beneath the waves.
Moments later, Kaga heard the sound of another shell being fired at her. However, she had anticipated this and pulled her bow off her back beforehand. Since she could no longer move as quickly as she would like to given her injuries, she used the bow as a sort of shield. The shell tore right past the bow, snapping it in two, but the sturdy weapon managed to absorb a bit of the shell's strength, and so when it hit Kaga in the stomach, it only felt like a small punch to the gut.
Kaga then moved to finish off her last remaining destroyer, but the abyssal was faster than her and sped out of her reach. It opened its mouth to prepare another shot, but before it could fire, another abyssal destroyer came hurtling towards it through the air, colliding with it. The force of the hit threw the destroyer's aim off, and Kaga took this opportunity to eliminate it. She got hold of the destroyer's top and bottom jaw, and she grit her teeth as she used her immense strength to rip the destroyer in two.
Panting in exhaustion, Kaga turned to see Akagi sailing over to her, the red-clad carrier apparently having defeated her opponents as well.
"Good throw," Kaga said.
Akagi gave her a tired smile. "Looks like that CQC training paid off after all, huh…"
"Attention Carrier Task Force: all enemy submarines have been eliminated," Imuya informed them across the radio.
Kaga nodded before bringing her hand to her own earpiece. "All hostile destroyers have also been sunk. It looks as if that was the last of the Abyssals. Hiryuu, it is now safe to approach, so bring Souryuu and return to the ship. The rest of you should do the same. I would imagine that we will be retreating now."
Kaga then looked towards the Guadalcanal, which had slowed down to a stop now that the enemy had been defeated.
"Admiral, are you there? All Abyssals have been sunk," Kaga radioed as she sailed towards the ship, trying once again to contact Drake.
She received no response, causing her to clench her fists and frown. She and Akagi made it back to the ship, and the bay doors had been opened to allow them to return. Evidently there was still at least one person on the ship who was tracking the situation.
After the machines removed what little damaged equipment she had left, Kaga immediately headed in the direction of the situation room.
"Akagi, stay here and make sure that everyone else arrives safely. I am going to check on the Admiral."
Ignoring the searing pain and her sore muscles, Kaga walked up the flight of stairs and arrived in the main hallway. Quickening her pace, she made it to the situation room and flung open the doors.
Drake was leaning over the table, his face pale and his hands trembling. He was breathing as if he had just finished running a marathon, and when he looked up at Kaga, she could see that his eyes were bloodshot. Rear Admiral Genji lay on the floor, unconscious but evidently still alive based on the steady rise and fall of his chest.
"Admiral, are you all right? Are you injured?" Kaga asked worriedly, walking over to him.
Drake swallowed the lump in his throat. "Y-yeah, I'm fine… What happened?"
"The ship came under attack, so we returned to repel the enemy."
"... And the Abyssal Princess?"
Kaga looked away. "We dealt her massive damage, but she escaped after we sailed here."
"Why… Never mind. What about the others? Where's Akagi?"
"Akagi is fine, as is the rest of the Kido Butai. We are all heavily-damaged, but none of us is in any danger of dying right now."
Drake took another breath as he composed himself. "That's good, I guess. We're returning to base once everyone boards the ship. You should go to the medbay as well. Take Genji with you if you can, otherwise I'll call someone to come and get him."
Kaga nodded, but she couldn't help but wonder why Drake looked as if he would collapse at any moment. He had no physical injuries, but something must have happened which gave him such a haggard appearance and prevented him from responding to her messages.
"Admiral… Are you sure you are all right?"
Drake turned away from her as he adjusted his cap. "... I'm fine."
Kaga stared at his back. No, you are not 'fine,' Admiral. And this time, I'm not just going to accept that answer.