She awoke with a groan, rolling carefully over as her hull protested her sleeping arrangements through sore and stiff joints.
Sitting up, she, yawning slightly, still covering her mouth despite the pitch blackness and utter solitude, habits carrying her politeness even to here.
She stretched dramatically, trying to move in any way that allowed her to rid herself of the pains in her joints or the intense hollow feeling in her belly.
Glancing downwards, the woman noted that the tiny forms of her marines lay strewn about and sleeping, save for one, who bore his rifle stoically up and down the concrete floor of the structure. Stopping only when he noticed the warship was awake to deliver a crisp right face and textbook salute, which almost would have been inspiring were it not for the high pitched squeak of a report he gave.
"Any luck on finding anything useful in this place?" The woman asked nervously, "empty boilers mean we're stranded until we find something."
The figure delivered a squeak in the negative.
The woman sighed, "I expected as much," she smiled slightly, gazing at the faint light of the tunnel entrance, "at least when the Japs get here we've got a few rounds left. God willing we can go down fighting at least."
The marine gave an excited squeak
"I suppose it is a better end." The warship muttered with a bittersweet grin.
=xXx=
The rock splashed down, echoing from deep within the cave as a loud roar. Ardent, brushed her Auburn hair aside and picked up another rock near her seating place at the edge of the cave. Experimentally she hefted it slightly, judging the weight before being satisfied and giving it an overhead heave straight into the dark maw of the sub pen, this time echoing loudly with the sound of rocks hitting rocks. She grinned slightly before checking the rubble around her for more rocks.
"We think this may be a bad idea," Zubian murmured, kneading her cap nervously as she eyed the entrance to the cavern.
Ardent grunted in an unladylike fashion as she judged the weight of a particularly hefty chunk of rusty rebar with a bit of old concrete at the end.
"You're going to make her mad." Zubian muttered nervously, nervously holding her cap by the name on it and glancing about for support, but finding none, their Japanese counterparts elsewhere on patrol.
Ardent measured up another piece of rubble in her hand before turning to Zubian with a weary glare, "mate, we've been here here better part of three days waiting for the Yanks to sort their shit, I'm entitled to a bit of fun."
"But what if she comes out and tries to hurt us." Zubian muttered weakly, eyeing the distant forms of the two Japanese destroyers for support, despite their considerable distance preventing them from hearing or interjecting.
"Different brand of fun," Ardent replied with a shrug.
"What about Atlanta?" Zubian desperately called out, "we know she already doesn't like you, she'll probably try and get you punished, she's probably coming soon."
"Probably." Zubian muttered, throwing her rock, "but she just mentioned delays on the radio, besides what are they going to do, put me halfway across the world from England with an antiquated and childish destroyer under my charge?"
"Oh," Zubian relented worriedly and with slight hurt.
Ardent reached down for another rock picking it up before stopping midway in her weighing process, suddenly curious. "Don't you know about Atlanta's delay already?"
"We don't do our radio much," Zubian laughed with a mixture of relief and embarrassment.
Ardent raised an eyebrow with interest.
"It confuses us." The older destroyer explained, suddenly very interested in the writing on her hat. "We weren't built with in a time where that was well understood. Besides, it makes me think I have more voices is my head."
Ardent laughed lightly before thinking the sentence over and giving Zubian a concerned, wide eyed look. The younger ship dropped her rock with defeat, "okay, nevermind that then." She muttered quietly, now avoiding Zubian's gaze.
Zubian didn't seem to understand, but offered a friendly smile, relieved Ardent had seen her way.
Ardent took to staring at the mouth of the cave and trying to ignore Zubian's incessant cheer, made significantly harder by the circles the Tribal class began sailing in.
It was only after several short minutes and the beginning of the loud out of key humming of Rule Britannia that Ardent felt it too much to ignore. Sighing audibly, She reached down onto the pile of rubble and took a large rock, testing its weight in her hands she glanced over her shoulder to the dark maw of the cave, then shook her head and gave a hard stare at the back of Zubian's head, pulling her rock holding arm back.
"Ardent!" A happy and familiar voice called out, causing the British vessel to drop her improvised missile in a flustered with a loud clattering.
"Hey Fran!" She returned, turning with slight apprehension that the American had noticed her attempted ambush. But Franks just offered a happy wave, which Ardent returned, standing up and biting her screws into the warm pacific waters she moved towards the task force, noting that Zubian was already doing an enthusiastic full armed wave.
Ardent eyed the crowd steadily slowing down as Franks embraced her, grinning happily.
"How's it going?" The American offered. "It's good to see you."
"Likewise," Ardent agreed, breaking the hug, "we've been waiting for days."
Franks laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head, "it's been an odd few days, Iowa went to jail, I'll tell you later."
Ardent laughed. "Sounds like a right good story."
Iowa joined the crowd shortly after, as her already overtaxed engines coasted her into the group next to Hailey, who eyed the two British ships with uncharacteristic suspicion and below the breath and slightly accented mutterings about imperialism.
Iowa's half formed question died underneath the startled squeals of Ushio being bear hugged by Zubian. Drawing a grin from the battleship as she eyed the flustered destroyer squealing underneath her enthusiastic British counterpart.
"Right." San Juan began, breaking the reunions, "Ardent, report, what do we have?"
Ardent blinked with surprise and glanced past her friend at the American light cruiser. She pointed simply to the entrance of the cave, "your girl's in there."
San Juan raised an accusing eyebrow.
"Right." Ardent relented, "she doesn't talk much and she's been trying her best to keep us out, she's been rather upset about the Japanese being here," she explained with a shrug, "that's all I know."
"Right," San Juan muttered, glancing into the cave, "where did the Japanese go?"
"Patrol. They decided it might be best to keep a distance to avoid provoking your little damsel in distress here." Ardent reconsidered briefly, putting a finger to her chin in thought. "actually, Fubuki decided and she outranks Akeboner."
"We thought it was Akebono." Zubian muttered on the aside.
"Well, we're here now, if you think you'll be able to sneak past that Abyssal we saw earlier, you all should be good to head back, we'll take it from here." she glanced down to the one present Japanese destroyer, "you should probably take Ushio with you. If she wants to go."
"Right than. Nothing bigger than me ever gave me a hard time," the British destroyer saluted, eliciting a scowl from Franks, unnoticed by the British destroyer turn towards Ushio and Zubian's hug based struggle, "we're off. Come on Ooh-shoes, Zubian, let's Fubuki and get back home."
"And Akeboner!" Zubian added cheerfully, finally releasing the Japanese destroyer, who let herself go with an embarrassed grin.
"Especially Akebonoer." Ardent laughed as she set her course and took off at a leisurely pace.
Iowa shook her head as the three girls headed off, returning Zubian's enthusiastic wave and Ushio's nervous but happy one, before returning to San Juan, who had apparently put herself in "business mode" again.
"What's the plan?" Haggard asked, mirroring Iowa's own thoughts.
San Juan ignored her, churning her screws in the water and setting her rudder on an inbound course to the cavern entrance, pausing just outside, the other Americans curiously congregating behind her.
San Juan hesitated, offering a sheepish and unsure grin to the assembled Shipgirls before turning back to the rubble strewn passage.
"Uh-hello?" She called, the echoes of her own voice being the sole response to a damning silence. Giving obvious consideration to her words following the long awaited but not forthcoming response she called out again, "This is the Atlanta Class light cruiser USS San Juan, CL fifty four. Are you still there?"
"Just leave me alone!" The voice mewed pathetically, the tone carried by the cavernous walls.
San Juan frowned slightly, "This is USS North Dakota rifht? We're here to take you home. To the US, a lot of ships from the war have come back. You probably have some friends waiting for you."
"I don't want to go home." the voice quietly called out again, "I'll just stay here."
San Juan cursed under her breath, mulling her options over, "But don't you miss the United States?"
The voice was silent again. San Juan sighed in frustration, rubbing a hand through her hair and turned herself back towards the group with a frustrated shrug.
"Aren't you at least hungry? We have food. If nothing else you need that." San Juan mentioned, frustrated at her lack of results. The damning silence that followed again led her to cross her arms in frustration. "For fuck's sake, I'm an Anti-Air cruiser not a psychiatrist" she complained to the girls behind her, gesturing towards the cavern in exaspiration, "If anyone else wants to give this a shot feel free."
Iowa shifted herself to the front of the group, pushing past an irate Haggard and a frustrated San Jua. "Excuse me? Miss North Carolina?" She called. "My name is Iowa, I'm a battleship too. We-" she began.
"Liar!" The voice cut off loudly, echoing through the cavern before several seconds of confused and stressed silence overtook those outside the cave, "you can't be Iowa…" the woman in the sub pen continued, her voice breaking slightly, "Iowa is gone." she muttered, carried only by the echoes, "they're all gone. You killed them."
"What the shit Iowa?" Haggard called suddenly to the stunned battleship.
Iowa sighed, "I'm still here." Iowa responded, ignoring the teasing deatroyer, "I may not be the Iowa you know, but I'd still like to talk if you're willing to listen."
"Just leave me alone!" The woman muttered again, her voice choking up, "Why can't you just leave me alone?"
"Look, I'll promise you that we won't force you to return, can we just talk?" Iowa asked, noting that her promise had put a scowel on San Juan's face.
Iowa shot a dirty look towards the light cruiser but said nothing. and stared towards the cave entrance. "Hey, uh, North Dakota?"
As the battleship expected, there was no response, even the light crying had stopped.
Iowa turned her course towards the cave entrance, building steam and increasing speed to a slow but steady pace towards the gaping hole. The twisted rebar and broken concrete forming an imposing hole that swallowed the slow moving battleship up.
Inside was illuminated near only by the light from the entrance, and the battleship found herself slowing her pace and examining her path more clearly, as she meandered her way through the maze, eyeing the path up ahead, she pressed forward, activating her searchlight as she reached the clearing.
The main chamber was large, as expected of a chamber expected to hold a submarine. Iowa swept her light across the room, the once impressive maintenance hall was now cracked root strewn concrete, twisted metal, rusted steel, and faded kanji.
"I-Iowa?" A quiet voice asked, interrupting Iowa's revere and causing the battleship to snap her light to the corner.
Sitting there, a tattered, looking woman shielded her eyes from the searchlight. A tattered looking woman, whose unkempt hair, muck covered glasses, and tattered salt stained clothes did little to hide the strength of a Battleship, even without the battery of thirteen and eight inch cannons pointed threateningly at the entrance way.
Though the expression of confused awe on the face, gave Iowa pause as she tried to recognize the figure, lowering her light, to avoid blinding the woman and trying to focus more on her face, examining the figure closely in an attempt to break past the grime.
"It can't be you! They killed you." she spoke in a low voice, with a mixture of disbelief and desparation. "They took you out and they killed you. Just like the others."
"I came back." Iowa answered with a shrug, "I don't understand either, but I did." Iowa set her props into motion again, bringing herself closer to the newcomer.
"Stay back!" The woman shrieked, frantic tears forming in her eyes, "I don't know what you are!"
"It's okay," Iowa answered hands held up in reassurance as recognition coming at last. The battleship rubbing her eyes past her joyful smile, "it's me, your sister."
The figure mewed slight protests of confusion and terror. Pulling herself further into the corner, though not turning her guns to bear at the interloper, her circle of faeries dispersing slightly in confusion krag-jorgensen ridles brandished.
"We fought in Cuba together, remember, big sis Indiana was there too!" Iowa explained, drawing closer, "We did so well together, you were the first one in."
The figure in the corner buried her head between her legs and begin making choking muttering sobs into her legs. Iowa managed to hear a pitiful protest, "it can't be." among the tears
"Please" Iowa controlled, Finally reaching the stairs, "don't be scared. It's me, I promise. I know how much you loved Hong Kong and the rest of China. You never stopped talking about it back in San Fran."
Iowa reached the top of the stairs, thought the woman appeared not to notice, pushing herself ever further into the corner through the frantic tears.
The approaching warship brought herself down behind the pitifully frightened figure, drawing her arms around it and pulling it into a deep hug, eliciting a surprised and frightened gasp.
"Please, Oregon, it's me, Iowa, it's your sister. I'm here for you." Iowa consoled into the back of the saltwater email encrusted figure, drawing her into a deeper hug, "I'm not leaving. I'm here."
Though the tears didn't stop, Iowa knew the ship well enough to know that the shaking and sobbing was brought now by relief instead of worried fear.
It was then Iowa cried too.