The ocean was shaken with a series of tremors. Not the earthquake or tsunami kind of tremors, they were very different in their nature. Suddenly, Nagato has found herself conscious for the first time in over seventy years. Surprised and stupefied, she was quickly overcome by an intense feeling of fear of the unknown. Deep inside, however, her long gone sense of duty was being set alight once again.
After the initial shock passed, she gathered her thoughts and could focus just enough to recognize her surroundings. She was lying right below three, enormous propeller screws. Screws she's known all too well. She was back, back with her long dead body. Was this hell? Purgatory? Unable to move, her head was filled with thoughts and possibilities. How long has she been unconscious? Was she the only one awake? If not, maybe that person will come to her help? That person… She couldn't remember her face or even the name. Just that warm, motherly smile…
Far in the distance, she could see barely noticeable sun rays breaking the ocean's surface. She's suddenly felt a mind crushing craving. Craving for the surface, the wind, the clouds and, most of all, the sun. She tried moving again, but her body stayed motionless, trapped alone with her thoughts, in her own grave.
Time was passing by unnoticed. Nagato didn't count days or hours, they were irrelevant. Her head was filled with just three thoughts, one of the surface, one of her homeland and one of that person. Images of blooming clones and cherries were going through her mind, mixing with those of raging waves and cutting winds. And that warm, motherly smile. No matter what she saw, that smile was always there. However, these happy images were slowly becoming darker. Memories of battles and her ultimate powerlessness started to gradually sneak in, just like the sea was slowly turning from azure to crimson.
Her apathetic routine was finally broken after what felt like eternity, Nagato felt a strong pull, a pull towards the surface. Passing between her propellers, she realized that her body is no longer paralyzed. Turning around, she saw her hull, covered in coral, being slowly consumed and returned to the nature. It kept getting smaller and smaller, until ultimately disappearing as Nagato broke the surface. She found herself amidst rough waves, in the middle of a light rain. Despite dark clouds gathering, the surface was still much brighter than the bottom of the Bikini Atoll, so it took her a while to adjust. Filled with more questions than before, her mind began wandering away, in search of some answers. She was back on the surface, yet her hull was still lying at the bottom. She could still feel it with her own body, however this connection was quickly fading away.
With her eyes finally open and vision as clear and sharp as ever, she's noticed a bunch of shapes in the distance. At first Nagato thought that they are ships and tried standing up to be easier to spot, but this attempt proved futile as she quickly fell down with a splash, unable to keep the balance. Upon second look, she realized that the shapes were actually humanoid in their form, albeit awfully disfigured. Despite being unable to see any details, she was filled with rage and desire to kill them all, send them to the bottom where they belonged. All the doubts and questions that she had momentarily disappeared.
As minutes passed the shapes were getting closer, with Nagato's sight, firmly fixed on them. It wasn't until several splashes followed by a ball of fire, that she noticed yet another formation. Turning her head to quickly, the vision became blurry, and few seconds have passed until she could make anything out of the newly arrived shapes. A mysterious wave of nostalgia and warm feelings came over her, making her want to scream, but the words didn't want to come out.
Even from afar, she could notice that members of the second formation didn't wear unified colours, making her think of some sort of coalition. Among them 3 figures stood out. Two of them blue, and one orange. Both lines were nearing each other in an orderly and well-organized fashion, on a course leading directly to her. She was in awe of both commanders, capable of maneuvering wildly while keeping the line in check. Despite numerical advantage the disfigured shapes were taking a heavy beating from splendid gunnery and, what she assumed were torpedoes. When about seven hundred meters from each other, the colourful group broke apart, a move that surprised Nagato as much as it outraged her. What kind of commander would do that when the victory is so near!?
What followed next, was even more surprising. The orange figure, followed by two more charged the enemy, wreaking havoc and disrupting any organization still left in the battered line, and the other three continued their course while providing fire support. It was then that she noticed that these shapes are actually young girls, donning equipment stylized in warship's image. After a while, Nagato has realized that she knows at least one of these girls! At the head of the line was admiral Mikawa's flagship, Choukai! They've fought together at Leyte, where the cruiser met an unsightly end, but Nagato has always admired the stories of her performance at the First Battle of the Solomon Sea. Was this the Valhalla that Kongou kept talking about? The eternal battlefield where only the most outstanding warriors could go after their death? Choukai sure was one.
Surprising and outrageous tactics quickly bore fruit and enemy was no more, or so she thought, but the guns were still raging. Suddenly the battleship has noticed a flash right above Choukai's formation. "Dive bombers!", she wanted to scream, but yet again, her throat failed her. As it turned out, her warning wasn't necessary, as second and third girls in the line opened a heavy anti-aircraft barrage, quickly dispatching the enemy and hitting each other's open palms as they passed one another – a weird gesture but emanating with trust and enthusiasm.
Soon after that the friendly, as she assumed, fleet was back together, although in much looser formation, reminiscent more of infantry or tanks, than ships. The firefight continued with a lot of freedom to maneuver on both sides, and despite seemingly endless waves of enemies, both in water and skies, Choukai's fleet was surely and methodically moving forward. Nagato was in awe of the cruiser and her identically dressed friend, probably another Takao-class that she didn't remember. Calculated and well-planned maneuvers of Mikawa's past flagship, combined with erratic and seemingly random moves of her sister ship, resulted in danse macabre, sinking more and more enemies who had no idea how to defend against this duo. Between them, the second girl responsible for the turkey shot from before, was acting like an overly enthusiastic band conductor waving her hands and turning around. It took Nagato a moment to notice that her turrets are moving on their own, circling around the fleet to provide air cover against ever stronger air attacks.
Despite all this, as the battle went on and more enemies arrived at the scene, Choukai's fleet was slowly getting surrounded. It became obvious that they can't keep fending off their adversaries forever and will sooner or later run out of breath or ammunition. Just a moment ago, enemy looking like a small, disfigured whale, broke through, jumped out of the water and fired a point-blank salvo hitting one of the girls which Nagato couldn't name, before being taken down, and she could already see yet another attempting to close in. Suddenly the focus of the fleet changed, and all guns were pointed in her direction, disregarding enemies in front of them. Nagato's mind went blank. Are they taking her for the enemy? She could clearly hear the blast from their guns, despite the entire area being filled with explosions. She closed her eyes, preparing for yet another end.
But none of the shells landed even close to her, falling way long. Being sure that the salvo wasn't aimed at her, she turned around to have a better grasp of the situation. What greeted her, was a pair of dead, blue eyes, placed on a rotting face, surrounded by fish-like scales. "If gods of death are real, that's how they look like", Nagato thought, as the monster was reaching its slimy, scaly hand towards her. But it never came to be. She only heard a long "Pooooooooi!", before a blonde girl, not older than 16, charged directly into the god of death, punching it with her gun, and melting its head away with a point-blank blast. Its dead body slowly subsided to the surface and disappeared in the bloody crimson waters.
"Oooh, toys are breaking too fast these days, poi…", her savior said irritated. "Now, c'mon, we have to get outta here, poi.". Maybe? The fleet was sure to get overrun and she's still not sure about it? This girl had to be wrong in the head.
"Can you stand, poi? Oh, my name is Yuu…", but she was unable to finish the sentence, as an explosion arose from her arm and sent her flying several meters far. All that was left with Nagato was a severed palm. Getting herself together, Nagato looked in the direction from which the shells came. Few hundred meters from her, stood four figures. One of them was especially repugnant, looking like a two headed, bald gorilla with heavy guns strapped onto its body. Its teeth were the size of Nagato's head. It kept throwing itself around like a wild, rabid dog, controlled only by a feminine looking figure which Nagato has immediately recognized.
"Now… Cry out… Sink!", the figure spoke in cold, reverberating voice, flowing directly into Nagato's mind, as if omitting her ears.