AN: Yes, I know, another series of omakes while I hammer out the main fic. It's almost getting predictable... But I swear I'm TRYING to limit it! It's not my fault the plot bunnies keep multiplying! Skuld can only mallet to death so many of them at a time! Send help! Before we're overrun!
[Why... Out of all the hellholes the Abyss could have sent us, are we out here in the middle of a fucking desert?] Lucina thought to herself as the Ta-class trudged across the sand, spitting out an errant strand of her own hair as it was blown into her mouth by the wind.
[It's not a desert, it's a mountain plain,] replied the Chi-class cruiser next to her, whose name Lucina hadn't bothered to remember.
[It's a barren, lifeless purgatory, covered in sand, rocks and cactus in the direct polar opposite of home. It's. A. Fucking. Desert.]
[Can we just keep to the mission please? If Intel said that this is the planet that Leviathan came from, I REALLY don't like the idea of having her or one of her friends hearing us jabbering before we spot them,] came the voice of their leader for this mission, the Anti-Air Demon known as Pyrite. The woman was technically a battlecruiser, but had been rebuilt to the point where she may as well have been an up-scaled Fletcher. She'd been fitted with numerous AA mounts and dual-purpose guns, but was also sporting their newest anti-ship missiles, something that their destroyers and cruisers were getting fitted with more and more now that they'd managed to crack the technological barrier in making them.
To be honest, Lucina was more nervous about the planet itself rather than its inhabitants. Though they'd figured out how to get from Earth to this world, 'Reach' they'd heard it named, it didn't change the fact that this was, technically, the Abyssals' first real attempt at going beyond their own homeworld. It should have been a proud moment for them, something to write in the history books, but the fact that they knew so little of it while their worst enemy called it 'Home' made it a nerve-wracking endeavor nonetheless. Some of the reports rumored to have come back spoke of monsters that could straddle a battleship's deck while others talked of creatures in the deep that ate Destroyers for snacks, but the Ta-class wasn't really itching to find out if they were true or not the hard way... Still, at this point, they'd been walking for DAYS with little sign of anyone being around except for the occasional whisper over the radio. One of the broadcasts had been narrowed to being in a canyon-like area on one of the continents, and despite the distance from water, Deep Command had decided to send them as a recon team. The only problem was, the deeper into the mountains they got, the more that the Abyssals got the feeling that they were walking into a graveyard...
[Hey, I think I got something. Scout plane's picking up something other than rock up ahead...]
[Please tell me it's somewhere we can stop for a break? If I have to walk another mile, I swear my screws are going to snap off...]
[Good news then. Looks like a series of structures or the like, according to the report.]
[Oh thank the Abyss...]
[Bad news is, it's five miles ahead.]
Lucina's rather unkind response naturally went unheeded, though the rest of the flotilla agreed with her.
[Ummm, is anyone else getting that 'ghost town' vibe here, or is it just me?]
Despite the casualness of the question, Lucina had to agree with the Chi-class at this point. The 'structures' that they'd found sprawled all over the valley in a series of gantries, warehouses, and barracks-style facilities, all of which looked like they were being kept in repair, but with no sign of any personnel. What's more, there were signs of large objects having being dragged about, and gigantic cranes also dotted the area. If it weren't for the fact that they were landlocked, the fast battleship would have thought that this was a dockyard.
[Do you think that this is where Leviathan came from? Maybe her home port?] a Ni-class Destroyer spoke up as she peeked around a corner, but saw nothing there.
[Maybe... The place definitely seems like a shipyard of some kind. But if that's the case... Where are the other ships? There should have been an oil-farm or the like around here, right?]
[She's a space-ship though. Didn't someone say she uses a reactor?]
[Shh!] Lucina said as she held up a hand, listening to something on the edge of her hearing. As the others all paused and keyed in, they started hearing it as well... A sound that occasionally rose or lowered in pitch. Priming weapons, the group moved along in a leapfrog method, covering angles of approach even as they kept their radars tuned in. After several minutes, it became obvious that the sound was someone singing, a rather soft and feminine voice that nonetheless carried through the alleys and corridors as the Abyssals approached, even through the wind that seemed to swirl through the area with an accompanying rattle... like bones...
Coming to another area that looked like a drydock, they saw a woman standing in front of a series of crates, her hair spilling down her back like a waterfall of black velvet, concealing most of her figure from view. In her hands they could see that she was holding something, stroking it as though it were a child while she sang. Her legs were covered by a long skirt, and thick work boots stuck out from the bottom of the hem, while a series of tool-belts hung along her waist. Lucina looked over to Pyrite, whispering as she brought up her cannon. [Should we attack?] she asked.
The Demon grinned. [No, I don't think so. Look at her. Do you not see it?]
[See what?]
[She has no rigging...]
Lucina blinked and looked again, and sure enough, the woman in front of her didn't seem to have any rigging at all. A human? Smiling to herself, the battleship stepped forward along with Pyrite as the horned Demon approached, calling out as she did so. [Don't move,] she said. [We have some questions we'd like you to answer. Cooperate, and you may live through this...]
The woman seemed to bring her song to an end, setting down the object in her hands next to another on the crates in front of her. Now that Lucina was close enough, it looked kind of like... No, it was a helmet. The one that the mechanic(?) had been holding was white with an orange face-plate that looked like it would cover half the head of whoever wore it, the image of a skull carved into it with scratchmarks. The other one was grey, with a smaller visor that looked like something had pierced it... Still, the woman did not turn to them, merely speaking in response. "And what is it that you wish to know?"
[Who are you, and what is this place, first of all... Turn around now, and no funny business,] their flagship demanded.
"Who am I?" the woman said, chuckling lightly as she gave the helmet one last pat on the top of it, in a way that had some of the Abyssals feeling a chill up their keels. The woman took hold of what looked like a pole before turning to face them, and the smile on her lips froze Lucina in her tracks.
"My name... is Asźod,] the woman said, her glowing emerald eyes looking coldly at the Demon in front of her, causing Pyrite to swallow as she brought up her weapons. The mechanic... No, the Abyssal, in front of them wore only a shoulder-less, arm-less top that also revealed her midriff, leaving her pale skin on display for them all to see, while a welder's mask shaped like a stylized skull was flipped up to let her face be seen. Oil and blood-encrusted worker's gloves held onto a pole that ended in a nozzle of some kind as it rested on one shoulder. Around them the gantries and cranes suddenly shifted, and on their tips large cutting tools and torches came to life, like the limbs of a massive spider that was waking up, along with two MASSIVE cannons...
[And this...] the Abyssal, the Installation Lucina realized they were looking at, said with a toothy grin as the pole she held lit up at one end, a plasma torch flaring out in a way that looked far too much like the Reaper's scythe... It occurred to her only now that the reason that they hadn't seen her rigging wasn't because she didn't have any. It was because they'd been walking in it...
[This is where ships come to die.]
The Abyssal cruiser known as Helas looked at the ship-girl standing on the shoreline, seemingly staring at something further inland, as though there weren't over a dozen other Abyssals surrounding her at the moment. At any other time, the cruiser would've simply chuckled and blasted the human-loving skank off the face of the planet, but the fact that the other Abyssals were ALSO staring inland next to her made her pause. There was something... off about them, just like she could feel something off about the ship-girl. Like some of the other newest ship-girls that had joined the human navies, this one seemed to have a spaceship's thruster engine on her back, and missile ports along her rigging as well. A priority target to be certain, but... why did there seem to be some kind of growths along her hull? Brown hair that was once put up in a pair of pigtails, but one had come loose, and the hair itself now looked stringy and unkempt. And her uniform... it looked stained with something greenish...
[Hey, what're you girls all doing?] she asked, cannon held at the ready.
Helas fully expected one of them to turn to her to respond, but she didn't expect the ship-girl's head to spin around like an owl's to stare directly at her. Helas had to take a step back as she looked into the girl's eyes. They were hollow... Not the hollow of despair or such, but flat out removed like someone had scooped them out with a rusty spoon, and in their place were two glowing fronds of some sort that seemed to focus on the Abyssal. Slowly, the ship-girl's body turned around to match her head's unnatural twist, facing her directly before speaking with a voice that was more male than female, and echoed with something terrible...
T̖͇̘̘͓̻h̐ͩ̒̎ͥͅi̘̙͍͍̫̪͕ͣ̊ͪͬs̘͙̠͚̬̮̭̔ͩ͊ ͙̫̯͓̱ͨͥ̇͋o͙̯̜̻̱̬̔ͩn̜͚̯̲̫̖̒̔̄̌̾̽́ė͆̎̓̔̍̚ i̼̘̫̖̜̳s̘̻̬̩̖̠̭ͮ̀̀ͫͤ̐ ͗͊̓̆͊̓ͯb̳̪̓̑̔̏ȗ͍̩̜̮̓͌̄͛̉̋t͙̗͍̖ͨ̂̿͆͐̍ͫ ̗̳̭̒s̖̠͍̙̞̻ͅṯ̖͖̲̺͚ͪͯ̐ͤe͓̩̼͚̻ͅeͧ̓̀͒ͨl̟̖͚̆̉ͧ̔ͥ͌ ͇͉̬͚͕̎ͣ̍ͅͅa̗͔͖̗ͥn̬̘d͙̮͛̿͛̾ͣ̐́ ̰̪̮̻̯̠̠̆̑̃̑̚g̟ͧ̃r̗̟̙ͣͤ̚u̗̗̘̮ͭ̍̾̋ͤ͛d̩͉̠̗͎̩ͥ̌ͨͣgͮ̃ͤ̑̆̎ȅ̼̯̺̿ͬ̅̂͊ͨ,̠͎͙͓͎̹͗̾ͯ̌̍̚ ̌i̱̭͙̥̓͐ͩͯ̉t̟̱s̖̭̤̫͕̱̣̅͌̈̆̓̊̋ ͓̱̣͎̠̥̟͐f̝̾̾̉͒̂̓̃a̭̻ͫ͆͐̆ͩt̰̹̃ͥ͂̃ê̦̝̹̝͖ͨ̐͐̑̊̈́ ̖̭̜̞̆ͮ̀̓ͩs̭̰̜͂o̱̙̜̘̣̓͛ͮ̋̐ ͦͬ͆ͣ̎ͨ̚l̘̮̼͉̹̙̩ͫó̦̻̼̺ñ͖̳͉̞̱̫g͕̥͙̍͗ͪ͆͗̍ ̮̣̖͔̞̖ͯ̑ͧ͊̌̍c̙̫̓̀́o͖͑̂ͅṇ̳͇̱̱̑̔͌̽̐ͥc̖̫̱̬̥ͥ͆̑ͫ̃l͇͍̩ͧ̑͑̈̓ͭṵ̫͚̥̏̾̒d̘͉͈͓̟̮͙e̗͛ͩͣ͛̐̔d̻̰͎ͅ,̜̞̖̰ ̈́́͂y̘̯̥͍̖̔̏e̞̻̝̼ͧt̹̲̱̣̓͊ͧ̈̚ ̙̳i̖͚͇͕̮͕̝̽͋̃̏ͮ̂̂t̄ͨ̓s̠͒͋ͦ̈́ ̯̰͇̣͎͂̇͗ͤ̊ͫ̐f̿ͪͤͭ͋l̤ͩ̋͐̂e̤͈s̝͖͒̔h̙̰̯̥̣͚̱ ̤̺̰͂s͎̦̠̾̐̓h̪̯͍̖a̳ͪ͊͋̎ͭ̓l͉̩̽̽͌̇̅͌ͤͅl̠ͫ̂ͭ̿̂ ̼̈̋̆̓ͥͪ̆b̭̥̖̦̍e͖̭͓̭ ̺͖͉̻̳͌̄̊s͈̯̱̟̭͚͎̉ū͙̻͇̹̘͖͎ͥ͛̓̏͂b̳͉̬ͦ̉ͯ́̍s͖̼ͧͬ̆́̔ͥȕ̯̗͖m̼͚̳̭̩̈̌e̩͖͙̬ͅd̙̳̺̫̋ ͎̥̗͚t͇͖͚ͫ̚oͩͭ ̞̭͔̯͔̈ͧb̟̪̦͙̫̯͉̔̑r͇̤̬ͦ́i̹̰͕̜n̤̺̏̃ͭͣ̏g̠̣͓͈͔̦ͦͦͤ ̜̠̯̳̠ͣͨä̯̭̣̘̲͉̃̚ͅb͙̟̖̹̤͊͋́̿̇ͩ̇ȏ̰͓̭͓̟ͤu͇͖̰͊͗t̥̫̠̅̽͊͐ ̠̿ͫͬͬț̠̺̻̼̘̘ͪͧh͎̺̜̟̗͇͓ͨͪ͑ͣ̐͂e͚̋͐̾͒̚ ̭͈͕̩̣̝̍̈́ͬ̏s̫͖̀ͬ̚ͅȍ͇̳͒̾ͬ̅ͯl̯̪u̙̖̔t͙ͦ̽ͅi̘̩̳͎̣ͬͪo̼̯̭̭̭͎̯ͧͨn̬̯͎ͣ.̣̘͙̈́̂ͭ.͈̘͕͑͋.͚͔ͤͥͥͯ̃̔
Helas took another step back as the alien woman started walking towards her, bringing her cannon up to zero in on her torso. [Girls, I don't know about you, but I think this one needs to die... Girls?] she said, looking to the other Abyssals... only to realize that they were all looking at her as well. Like the spaceship-girl, their eyes were gone, and their limbs looked to be... infested with something that was both plant-like, and yet not. The fronds in their empty sockets all glowed as they started walking towards her too.
Y̫ͦ̂̿͆̔̃ò̠͕̖̯̞̣̥͆uͫr̯̣̙͉̣͔̠ͬ͐̾͆͂̓̏ ̮̯̲͒̎ͅd̘͈̳̩̠͐͛̏ē̼̙̼̳f̗̰̘͇͇͐ͬ͌ͫ̀i̯̝̗͍͖̋̒ͧȁ̘͇͔͍̪n̝͇̯͎̲͈͑̑c͚͖̠̭̦̮͋ͫ̎̆ē̱̖ͬ̈̾ ̞̘͙̩̩̦ͫs̃͊h̥̭ḁ͈̖̲̜͚̯ͮ̍̈́ͩ́̎l̟̫̓̚l͈̟̩̤͐ ͖̮̥̝̮̫͋͒̿̑̌n͙̝̳̟̐͆̒͛o̥͉̙͙͉ͣ̒̍t͙̲̩̞̟͈͇͑ͭ ͯ̔̒̾̒a̤͈̳̬͖̺̳ͪͮ̍ͧ̿v̗̼͔̻͍͗̈́̊ã̖̥͈̜͎͐ͬ̈ͨ̊̚i͍̓l̠̪̮̰̙̠̐ͯ̊́͂͌ͨ ̦̥̣̳̩̞͈ͨ̌̐ͮ̇͑ͥy͙͈̻̲͕͉͛ͥͧo̭̠̭̘̺̬̹ͨ͗̐͋u͙̅.̣̞̣̈́ͤͪ̽ ͓̟̥ͭͥ ̮͉͋ͤ̑ͩY̙͓̑ͥ̿̂ͪo͖̯͕̬̰̘̝ͨ̽ͬ̽ũ̟̜̔͗̋ͯ ̯͙͕͚̖̪s̰̠̩͚h̰͚̬͋̓̂̽a̪̙̫͍͕̠̋́̾ͮ̾l̥͚̿ͨ̀̾ͬl̇ͤ̿̎̿̚ ͚͎̻̦̅̂̽b̫̤̲͈̾͛̐͋e͂ͪ̊̈́ͧ̚ ̘̙̗͈̦ͨ̑̎̉ͣͅm̑a͍̭͕͆ͮͫ̃͂d͎̣͖̺̳̰̘ͨȅ̮̳̖̭̳͙̄̋̾̂ ͧ͑̃͊a̋́͛̿n̮̲̝̝͇͓͕̒e͚̗̠͕̬̓̂ͭ͐w̃̒̄̋ͥͭ̊.̜͚̗̬̺͚͆.̦̥̻ͦ͒̄ͬ̅ͧ.͚̘͍̱̝̣̭ͬ̄
At this point, Helas knew she wanted NOTHING to do with these girls, and fired her weapons at the target in front of her, watching as the shell slammed into the brunette's hull and explode, only to leave a smoking dent and little else. [Fuck this!] she said, and turned to sail away as fast as she could... only to see three destroyers lazily floating there, cutting off her escape. [No... No no no no! Get out of my way!]
Another salvo was fired, smashing one of the destroyers and destroying its guns, but if it caused any change in the infested Abyssal's mind there was no indication of it as the three pressed in. Another salvo, creating holes in its hull as it got closer, and another that blew off the torpedo mounts of a second destroyer... Yet nothing fazed them.
[Get away... Get away! GET AWAY!] she cried out as she scrambled to reload her guns, only to feel a hand grab at her shoulder. Turning to see the spaceship-girl again, Helas couldn't help but notice that the pinky and ring finger on the woman's hand were gone, and that in their place were small tentacles as something moved beneath her skin and against the cruiser's own.
Ỷ̤̪̘͚̪̼͗̚ͅo̺̦̫̥̫͐͊̋ú̘̯̲͕̹͑r͚̺͍̜̗͉͔̽ ̺̙̼̽͒͗ŝ̲͔͉͖̞̤̲̾͆̉̽͐ͨt̜ͨ̎ͥ̽̓̆r͎̲̜͍̜͙̘͑̋̄͒u͚̞ͅg̙̰͍̹̣̻͉̍̿͒ͥ̓gͬ̾͌͛ḷ̖̜ͦͨͦ͛̔ͩ̿e͔̳̐͒̄͆̋s̭̜͇̦ͯͭ̒̒ ̱̻̻̮̻͎́̄d̜̩̱̪̃ͮ̐̃ͦ̚o͆͛ͫ̓͐̆ ̙͓ͯ̅ͦͨ̌̇n̗̯͈͙̟͒͌͐ͬ̆̓ͨͅa͉͔̍̄̏u̻͓̭͈̪̞̘̾̌̊̅ͯg͋ͬh̩͚̭̙͗̾͑t͈̦͇̩ͯ̽̾̚ͅ b͕̮̻̳̽̏ṵ̻̭̖̏̽̀t̹̣̭̫̥̥̃ ̻̰̿͌p̿ͩ̎̇͑ͨͨͅr̹͚͇̠̆õ̭̦̦̣̦͙̔ͬ͋͐̿l͎̻̠̄̉ͦ͆͂̊̑o̫͚̟ͭͭn͕̱͈̍́̀̋̚ͅͅͅg̱̠̱̯̉̃ͯͧ̊͑ ̼̠̹̫̼͇ͧ̎ͥ͗t͓̖̜̱̻̳̏ͭͨ̉̏̊̾h̖̙͚̅̂͑e̜͂ͧͩ̂̚ i̪͖n̦̺͉̝̿͌e͈ͮͫv̼͓̱̣̓͆ͪì̹̮͙̪͎̥͖̄̋̈͑t̪̩̲̯͇̱ͫ̓̀̾a͉̖͓̞̜̫͈ͪ̈́̇b̼̼͓̌͐̾l̹̫͑ͨé̲ͪ̉.̭͋̑ ̲̜͕̫̑ͪ̽ͪͫ ͈͉̺̘̫̳̹ͬ̃͛̐̏̚Ḙ̣̅n̙̦̗ͧd̖͍̲̩ͣ̇ͫ͑̑ ͎͎ͦ̀̎̏͒̄ͩy̝̓ͧ͐̀͌́o͆̈́̄̃u͉̺̓͆̽r͓̮̖ͤ̎̓̀́̇ͅ ̃̌͂̃ͮẗ́ͅő̜̌͆̿̉ͯ̉r͔̠͖̖͙̎̈́ͮṃ̞̗̣͐e͖̦̗͎̐ͯ̃̏ͭn͖͑̾̏t̖̞̮͛ͨ̈́.̱̯̓̑̓̀͋̓.̫̭̖̪̖̦͋͒͌.̩̞ ͓̺͚̋͋̽͛̂̓a̯̳̟̘̪͚̼n̥̗̰̽̓͊ͅd̲̯̘̞͈͔͌ͥ͑̀ ̈́͌ͨ́̉̒̚em̘̠̻̦͖̲͍͆̓b͍͛͛̉̇̏͆͊rͮä̖̘̺̳́̉̎ͩc͎̠͇̰͕ͪ̒͂̚e͔̯͉̔͊͐͌ ̔o̮̿͂b̫̤͈̰̭̙͎l̪̙̭̼̤̱ͦ͆i̬v̘̬̙ͧͦͮ̄͂ỉ̩̯̜͚̦̟͓̈̿o͈̠͓̬͇̿̃nͭ̇ͯ͛ͯ!̞͔̯̯̰ͯ
[NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!]