CHAPTER 3

FUN AND DREAMS

Prinz groaned and opened her eyes. The room was dark, and Prinz really couldn't make out shapes in the darkness. She yawned quietly and looked over her shoulder. Behind her, Nürnberg was pressed up against Prinz, her arms tightly wrapped around Prinz.

"Nürnberg...hey." She mumbled, moving one of her arms down. Nürnberg yawned and murmured something incoherently. Prinz sighed and slowly sat up, taking a better looked around the room as she didn't get a good view of it last night.

It's was nothing special, an old meeting room in the barracks that had the chairs and table pushed to one end. This was done to make room for the fleet girls who had made the crossing and didn't have a place to sleep. Wall to wall, the floor was covered in sleeping bags, cots, and mattresses.

Prinz pushed herself up off the mattress, staggering to her feet, stopping when she felt a hand tug on her leg.

"Where are you going?" Nürnberg mumbled, face down on a pillow.

"Up," she frowned, trying to navigate the sea of fleet girls out cold on the floor, being careful not to step on anyone.

"That's descriptive." Nurnberg groaned and rolled over onto her back.

She made her way across the rest of the room towards the door. She slowly opened it and Nürnberg quietly called after her. "Hey, hol-" Prinz closed the door behind herself and sighed, pausing for a brief moment in the drab hallway. She let go of the door knob and rubbed her head. She was not a morning person.

Prinz spent the next ten minutes trying to navigate the confusing layout of the barracks. She eventually stumbled across the washroom, and immediately looked in the mirror.

Her eyes were red from crying, and the very little makeup she actually wore had been washed away. Her uniform was wrinkled from having slept in it, but that didn't bother her. For a brief moment, she considered putting her makeup back on but decided not to. She looked down and felt a lump form in the throat, causing her to bite her lip. Prinz looked back up in the mirror and gulped.

"Calm down...it's okay…" She murmured, reassuring herself as a few tears slipped down her face. She sniffled and grabbed a piece of paper towel blowing her nose.

" 'Scuse me, might I get you to move over just a smidge." Prinz froze for a moment and turned around to face Prince of Wales. She was already dressed in her uniform and had a small let her bag in it. Prinz could see when Wales saw her tears, her expression turned to that of concern.

"Oh dear, are you alright?" She stooped down a tiny bit to Prinz's level and put her hands on her shoulders.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Prinz mumbled and lowered her gaze to the floor.

"You just wait outside, okay." Wales said, but it was less of a request and more of a demand. Prinz nodded meekly and brushed past her, leaving the washroom and standing outside the door. Every part of her body wanted to run, to leave and hide somewhere, but she couldn't, hiding wouldn't solve anything.

"Let's go grab some breakfast," Wales said suddenly, making Prinz jump. "The first shipment of food came in, Ukrainian grain, French eggs, German pork." Wales looked like she was gonna start drooling just talking about the food. "Potatoes from Russia...sorry, we just haven't had good food in a while." Prinz nodded, but she knew she couldn't really understand how rare a full course meal was here, in Germany, they had all that on demand, no one bothered to think where it came from, or that it could run out.

"Sounds nice." That was all she could really say. Wales nodded and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Well don't keep me waiting," Wales said jokingly, the two of them beginning to walk. Just like all the other buildings, this one too appeared to be falling one disrepair. The paint fading from the walls, the floorboards were old and scratched all to hell, and the light fixtures hung crooked. An eerie quietness hung about the building, The only sound being that of their shoes tapping against the floor.

"So...we leave tomorrow...exciting stuff huh?" Wales mumbled and tugged at her shirt collar, The silence obliviously making her uncomfortable. Prinz simply nodded and looked at the floor, Wales letting out a sigh. "Yeah...well, I'm excited, the only glimpse I've seen of the rest of the world was at Dover, you can see France from there." Prinz just gave a nod and the two continued to walk in silence.

The duo walked through the halls of the building and they had soon found the exit. Outside it was still quite dark, with the sun only slightly emerging over the ocean, the low light faces a sense of calm, but that feeling was contrasted by the noise, which was anything but.

"What's going on? Prinz asked, looking at Wales.

"I have no idea...we'll just have to investigate," She said and made the motion of holding a magnifying glass as if she was a detective. Prinz cracked a small smile, which Wales, unfortunately, noticed. "We have found a clue, my dear Watson!" She exclaimed and turned, inspecting Prinz's face with the imaginary magnifying glass.

"W-what are you doing?" Prinz asked and her cheeks turned red, giggling a bit. Wales poked Prinz's cheek, face contorted playfully.

"We have found a shred of happiness, but we must not be distracted." She turned and bent over as if looking at footprints. "We must find the source of this commotion!" Wales walked forward, still bent over.

"You're gonna hit your head on something," Prinz called out and fell in behind. Wales merely continued, 'hmm'ing and 'haw'ing.

"Absolute nonsense, I would never allow such a thing." They kept walking before Wales suddenly stopped. Prinz, who hadn't been paying attention, walked into her, causing Wales to stumble forward.

"Oh...s-sorry" Prinz put her hands over her mouth. Wales turned around with a smile and brushed off the back of her skirt.

"Well I do say, I had no idea you would be interested in such a thing." Wales teased. Prinz turned a bright red and lowered her hands.

"That was not what that was!" Wales just rolled her eyes, grinning ear to ear lecherously.

"Suure thing~." What Prinz couldn't tell was that Wales knew full well it was an accident and was just doing this to distract her.

"No matter, the great detective Sherlock figured out the noise!" Wales whirled around and pointed forward. Prinz followed her arm and had to squint to see what she was pointing at. Far at the end of the docks, two transport ships were waiting in the harbor. Onshore was the source of the commotion, about 300 soldiers, milled about, loading boxes and bags into the back of a few trucks.

"What's going on?" Prinz mumbled, and Wales smiled.

"Britain is exporting democracy! Those men are going to travel Europe, and across Asia to end the war in China; seems the King is determined to put this world back together." Prinz couldn't help but notice her warm smile, and she felt her spirits lift. Not much, but it was enough. Then the statement caught up to her.

"They are going to cross Asia...on foot?" Prinz mumbled, amazed at the idea of such a task, part of her mind flashing back to the failed attempts of invasion in the past.

"That's what will have to happen, they can't follow us on our journey, so they will have to take their own." Prinz nodded, frowning at the reminder of their own impossible mission.

"You...um…" she paused, "Let's go get something to eat." The two left the soldiers behind and navigated their way through the base, and eventually found the mess hall. Prinz could hear a faint melody echoing through the door. Wales' eyes lit up and she quickly opened the door, letting the song flood out. Prinz followed behind her and was surprised by what she saw.

Compared to the quiet and miserable atmosphere of yesterday, the room was lively. British fleet girls milled about, eating and laughing, and a few ships turned one of the tables into a stage, filling with space with an elegant melody.

"It's almost like we're not at war…" The battleship exclaimed and put an arm around Prinz. "Let's find a place to eat." Prinz nodded and Wales guided her to a table with two open seats. The two took their seats and Wales smiled to the others at the table.

"Mornin' Wales." One of the girls groaned, her head rested down on the table. "Who is she?" The ship raised her hand and pointed at Prinz.

"Well, you could introduce yourself first!" Wales snapped. "This is Prinz Eugen, and this miserable sap is Vanguard."

"Oi, I'm not miserable-"

"Prinz Eugen!?" Someone else shouted and leaned in across the table. She was short, probably a destroyer. She placed a finger on her lip and threw her right hand up. "SIEG HEIL!" Prinz stared at her and raised an eyebrow. The girl frowned and slumped down. "No one likes my jokes…"

"And this hyperactive destroyer is Blean," Wales said with a sigh. "Prides herself on being a comedian."

"I AM a comedian!" She snapped and leaned back across the table at Wales, who patted her on the head.

"Sure, whatever floats your boat." Prinz smiled and looked around. "So...where do we get food?"

"Oh, right, you stay here, I'll grab us some food." She left Prinz with the other two ships.

"So!? What is it like out there?" Blean asked and placed her elbows on the table, looking up at Prinz."

"What do you mean?"

"The sea? The North Sea!"

"It's...alright, I guess, the waves are rough but otherwise, it's fine." The destroyer didn't smile as much as she grinned predatorily.

"Big waves!?"

"I uh...maybe…" The destroyer squealed with excitement and Prinz raised an eyebrow.

"She is on convoy escort, that's why she is asking." Vanguard mumbled and raised her head up a bit."

"I wanted to tell her! And don't let Vanguards ATTITUDE annoy you, she just found out she is being scrapped." Vanguard groaned.

"Not scrapped, decommissioned, I have to make way for the new Vanguard. A Lion Class."

Prinz hadn't heard of fleet girls being decommissioned before, but then again, German ships always found themselves in constant demand, no matter how old. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll probably just mill around London for a while, tour the kingdom so they can see what an accomplished ship looks like. And then in two years, I don't know, I'll probably be scrapped then, older ships are on the way out." Prinz frowned and patted her on the shoulder.

"I'm sure you'll get called back into service." The three then just kinda sat there. That was when someone else captured Prinz's attention.

"Alright girls, I'm sure you know this one." A voice echoed out of a speaker and Prinz looked to the nearby stage. "And that means, I do expect you to sing along." Prinz didn't recognize the girl.

"Who is that?" Prinz asked Blean.

"That's Glasgow." Prinz smiled, She had heard of Glasgow back in Germany when she guided the Icelandic refugees back to Britain. Prinz waited as the room fell quiet, and that was when Glasgow began to sing.

"What care we how light the spray is, What care we for wind or weather, Let her go, boys, every inch is sailing homeward to Mingulay." Her melodic voice filled the space and Prinz couldn't help but smile. Soon everyone had joined her, except for Prinz.

"Hill you ho boys, let her go, boys, heave her head round into the weather, Hill you ho boys, Let her go, boys, Sailing homeward to Mingulay." The harmony flowed through the room and once Prinz figured out what the chorus, she said it with the group. She didn't do it out of enjoyment, but more so to distract herself, and anything to lift her spirits.

When the song was over, Glasgow gave a simple bow and climbed down off the table, everyone giving her a clap. "Well, that was nice," Wales said as she walked back, two plates in hand. "Hope this is alright," She set a plate in front of Prinz, "Hashbrowns, eggs, and sausage."

"Yes, thank you!" Prinz exclaimed and grabbed a fork, cutting a piece of the sausage and putting it in her mouth. "Mmmmm" She murmured quietly and Wales laughed.

"Is it good?" Wales asked and Prinz nodded. Wales smiled and took a bite, her eyes widening. "Oh! I wanna melt."

Prinz chuckled and the two of them finished their meal. After which, the group at the table talked and joked. This happy atmosphere made Prinz feel at home, even if she was far away from it, and she was doubted she might ever see Germany again.

Very suddenly, the room fell silent, and Prinz looked back to the makeshift stage, but no one was there. Instead, everyone was looking at the door. In walked two ships, one Prinz recognized as Westfalen. The other had her arm over Westfalens shoulder, using her as support as she hoped in with one leg. The British ships stood up and immediately cleared the space, as one by one, the crippled ships were guided in and sat down. Most of these ships would never sail again, and likely would be scrapped.

After they were seated the rest of the European ships entered the building in silence. The few Russian ships gathered in one corner, and the French and Polish sat together at one table. Prinz scanned the crowd as they filled in, and the British ships Slowly filed out. She saw Nürnberg pushing her way through towards her.

"Hey!" She called and squeezed through a group of destroyers. "How's the food?" She said once she got close.

"Oh, it's good."

"That's great, listen, you wait for me outside okay." Prinz raised an eyebrow. "Just...do it...please?"

"Alright, I will." Nürnberg smiled and gave her a pat before heading back into line. Prinz made her way outside and found a bench to sit at. Soon she was joined by Nürnberg, who waved her up.

"Come on, we gotta grab some stuff."

"Like what?"

"Just come on." Nürnberg smiled and took off in a jog. Prinz sighed and stood up, running after her.

They jogged for several minutes. It would have been more pleasant if it wasn't in the morning cold of English fog.

"Where are we going?" Prinz asked in between breaths.

"Mein Gott, can't you let it be a surprise?"

"Sorry…" Nürnberg sighed and stopped, turning to Prinz.

"You don't have to apologize, I just want to surprise you, I want to have some fun before we leave tomorrow okay?" Prinz just nodded, anxious to see what was in store.

"Yeah...okay, sorry- damn it!"

"You are kind...too nice. Now come on, they're gonna beat us there!" Nürnberg started running again and Prinz just about asked who, but she figured she would let herself be surprised. Nürnberg led her out of the naval base and to a large field behind it.

It appeared that they had been beaten to their destination, as a large group had already gathered. Prinz, eyes darted about the field, on both ends, two sets of pylons marked out goal posts. The field was circled with German and British flags, limp in the lack of a morning breeze.

"Nürnberg...why?" Prinz laughed jokingly. Nürnberg looked at her and bushed.

"I wanted to help you unwind, we got a big day tomorrow. I know it's hard for you right now but I just wanna make sure that you're ha-" Prinz smiled and gently placed her finger over Nürnberg's lips.

"Thank you," She smiled warmly. She brought her hand back and looked over at the field. "Now let's have some fun."

The atmosphere on the field was electric as the two teams gathered, everyone was riled up, and those who chose to sit out on the sideline with flags and made up cheers and chants. Prinz had of course elected to play. She was one of the best shipgirls Germany had in soccer, and she felt like beating her old rivals.

Nürnberg herself sat in the crowd, and before the game started Prinz could hear her shout, "Das Runde muss ins Eckige!" which Prinz couldn't help but smile at. Eventually, the crowd calmed as Secretary Ship Hood walked out onto the field with a megaphone.

"Thank you all who could make it here on such short notice. This is truly something very special, especially because the World Cup has been postponed for a...few...year now." The crowd laughed. "But here we are, brought together not just by sport, but by necessity. In the past we have proven to be...bitter enemies," her voice lowered, glancing at Eugen in particular. "But now we need each other. The very world needs us to come together. So let's enjoy this one moment of rest, shall we?" The crowd cheered wildly, already riled up with face paints and banners.

"Now let's get started." The teams organized themselves and Prinz went to go sit on the side as the eleven players for each team gathered on the field. The whistle was blown and the game started.

This may have been a 'casual' game, but that didn't stop people from being competitive. Throughout the game, punches, kicks, and curses were thrown, and when Prinz was on the field, she had gotten kicked in the face; not entirely on purpose, but not entirely by accident. They played well into the afternoon as the food was brought out. It was about four long games before everyone was burnt out.

"That was fun!" Nürnberg shouted as she ran over to Prinz who was chugging down a bottle of water.

"Y-yeah," Prinz gasped as she lowered the bottle. "But wait, you didn't even play!"

Nürnberg just grinned.

"Yeah I know, but I had fun watching you have fun."

Prinz just raised an eyebrow. 'Is she blushing?'

That was, until Nurnberg started coughing slightly. "You need some water or something?"

"No...I'm good," Nürnberg said and sighed, looking away. Prinz was about to press Nürnberg when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"That was so much fun!" Wales shouted as Prinz turned around. She threw her arms around Prinz and mashed her face into her chest.

"Mmmph…" was all Prinz managed. She felt a pair of hands on her shoulder and was pulled back.

"Alright, you!" Nürnberg snapped at Wales, eyes a bit wild.

"That is enough." Prinz' voice was uncharacteristically harsh, but she had no idea what her friend had against Wales. Granted, what the British battleship had done was embarrassing.

She stared at Nurnberg, who looked down at her feet.

"Well if you can make traveling as much fun as football, tomorrow won't be so bad." Wales laughed, seemingly oblivious to the cruisers' friction. "See you tomorrow, bright and early, go grab some rest." Wales ran off, leaving Prinz next to Nürnberg.

"What was that about!?" Prinz snapped at Nürnberg.

"I...I'm sorry, just….nevermind." Responded Nürnberg meekly. Prinz shook her head and sighed.

"I'm gonna go to bed, alright?" Nürnberg just nodded as Prinz walked away.

"Sorry…." Was all that Nürnberg could mumble as she watched Prinz walk away. Strange, how they had suddenly switched roles on apologizing...

Prinz wiggled her way into a large military t-shirt and sighed, taking a look at herself in the mirror. "I guess this will have to do for tonight." She debated taking her leggings off but decided against it seeing as everyone was sleeping in one small room. She smiled a bit as she let her hair down. Flicking out the bathroom lights, she headed to the door of the makeshift bedroom. She cracked open the door to see if anyone was sleeping and to her relief she was alone. Prinz settled into one of the beds and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

The first thing she heard was the screams, then the cannons. She opened her eyes to a scene of pure, absolute horror. The smoldering ruins of a city laid ahead, illuminating the night sky in oranges and reds from the flame. In the distance, she heard Air Raid Sirens, and a handful of piercing beams light the night.

Above planes danced, twisting and turning in intricate loops as each tried to get behind the other. Again she heard the cannons fire and she turned to see two ships standing just behind her. She flinched at the sound of an explosion, then a scream, when she suddenly felt a numb cold. She fell to her knees as the two mysterious ships came closer.

"Who...who are you?" The two figures were completely covered in shadow even as they moved closer.

"You know who we are," one of the figures echoed. It extended an arm, stroking the side of Prinz's face, sending a chill through her body.

"Hipper…." Prinz gasped, eyes tearing up. "I….I didn't want this...any of this, to happen." The second figure, Blücher, let out a small laugh and took her hand.

"It's better like this. We thought you would join us." Prinz pulled her hand back.

"N-no...I want you back, but not like this. Please…" Her voice was nigh shattered, the desperate plea swallowed by the night. Hipper leaned forward, face to face, and Prinz could make out a smirk.

"Oh, but this is so much easier," Hipper said in a sultry voice. Without warning, Hipper had her hands on the side of Prinz's face. Prinz hardly had time react before Hipper placed a kiss on Prinz's lips. Prinz tried to pull away but she was frozen in place. Her eyes teared up in shock and let out a muffled cry for help.

"Is something the matter?" Blücher teased and ran a finger down Prinz's neck. She squinted and suddenly felt something trickle into her mouth. The trickle turned into a steady flow as the same chilling liquid filled her throat and lungs. She gargled for air as her mouth filled, causing Prinz's struggle to slowly stop. Ever so gently, Hipper pulled back gently and licked her lips.

"Isn't that better?"

Prinz crumpled forward into Hippers arms. Hipper let out a playful laugh and lowered Prinz down, resting her head on her lap. Prinz body felt like it was made of ice as it continued to chill. "You'll get used to it," Hipper whispered gently, stroking her hair.

"We better see if it's working." Blücher giggled and grabbed Prinz's hand. Inspecting her wrist, she smirked before turning it for Prinz to see. "Look at that."

Prinz knew she shouldn't look, that she couldn't, but she couldn't help it. She watched as her veins slowly turned from blue to black. The strange liquid drained into her body, leaving her gasping for air.

"Please...please stop…" She gagged.

"Guess it's my turn to have some fun." Blücherlet out a sinister laugh and sat down on Prinz's stomach. Prinz tried to fight but soon Blücher had kissed her, with Hipper locking her head into place. Blücher made a small humming noise before a torrent of ice cold liquid streamed into her. This time it didn't pool up as Prinz struggled to swallow lungful after lungful.

"Awww, she must like that. Look." Hipper smiled and grabbed her hand, holding it up, her skin slowly turned a darker and darker shade until it was an inky black. Bücher giggled and the flow finally stopped as she pulled back, leaving Prinz to draw heavy breaths.

"That was so much fun, and just look at you." Prinz tried to shake her head but her body wouldn't respond. She tried to speak, scream, cry even, but nothing.

"I think it's time for you to take a little nap now~," Hipper giggled and let go of Prinz. The duo was waving as she sank into the water, sly grins draped on their faces. What little light remained slowly give way to pitch black.

"Are you awake?" A voice echoed and Prinz flinched, opening her eyes. She looked around and sat up. Nürnberg was next to her. "Can you mo-" Prinz cut her over when she threw her arms around her and sobbed.

"Hey...shhh, it's okay." She whispered warmly and laid Prinz back down. "I'm here…..what is it with me waking you from nightmares all the time?" She uttered under her breath, too quiet for the sobbing Heavy Cruiser to hear. They sat like this, waiting out the long night.

((Once again, thank you all for taking time to read this next chapter, also I have to give a huge thank you to CabooseHelpsU, who reviews and edits my work. Pleas leave a review if you enjoy, or if you didn't.))