The training ground was populated by the members of the 1st Fleet and the Infiltration Fleet, and Shigure could see that her fleet now consisted her, Ayanami, Naka, Jintsuu, Saratoga and Haruna while the Infiltration Fleet consisted of Shiranui, Kagerou, Chitose, Kuroshio, Arare and Sendai.
The new member of the Infiltration Fleet was a Kagerou-Class destroyer, and she wore the same uniform which Shiranui and Kagerou wore, which was a black vest covering a white collared, short-sleeved shirt as well as white gloves, black compression shorts and skirt.
She possessed short gray hair as a white hairpiece secured her fringe, looking forwards with emerald eyes while wearing a bright smile as she was exuberant and outgoing like Kagerou, wearing a blue neckerchief in contrast to Shiranui's red and Kagerou's green neckerchief.
She also wore light-grey socks which reached up to her calves, along with brown school shoes which were shielded by her boat slippers, and much like her Kagerou-Class sisters, her boxy rigging was attached to her back along with mechanical arms which brought up her torpedo launchers and cannons.
Her rigging was armed with a quadruple torpedo launcher and a twin-barrel cannon, Anti-Air turrets which were strapped to her thighs and another twin-barrel cannon which was slung over her left shoulder.
She was friendly to everyone regardless of ship class, chatting with Ayanami while Kagerou occupied Shiranui and Arare's attention and Sendai chatted with Jintsuu, Shigure noticing all this while she was talking to Naka about her second career as a fleet idol, Saratoga politely listening in on the conversation.
It was interesting to find out what drove her to perform as an idol in her off time in order to maintain the naval base's morale, the Sendai-Class cruiser explaining herself as they waited for the training session to begin.
"Well," Naka began.
"I know that everyone fights with all their might, and I think that as someone who has a passion for being an idol, I feel that I have a responsibility to try and relive some of our comrades' stress through my songs.
And that's why I host a concert every three months for the ship girls and sailors of this base to attend, free of charge."
Lifting an eyebrow in order to express her interest in Naka's reason behind her aspirations, Naka nodded as she turned to look at the ocean's horizon, elaborating on how her older counterparts had retired long ago in order to launch successful musical careers.
"And I understand that my senior Kai Ni counterparts have retired after serving their time, so it's clear that there is a legitimate career in singing.
But it's quite the interesting conundrum where a lot of Nakas possess the same voice, so it's difficult for a newly-retired Naka to distinguish herself from the other established Naka idols, although this can be accomplished by branching out from the over-saturated 'Pop Idol Naka' genre."
Nodding along with the light cruiser's explanation, she understood that due to so many senior Nakas retiring and becoming professional singers, it would cause a problem wherein similar-sounding ship girls who all specialized in one genre would over-saturate said genre with songs that were seemingly sung by the same person.
Fortunately, as her research showed, there was friendly competition between the various retired Nakas, because,
One, they were all retired war veterans, and were mature enough simply to be happy that they survived long enough to be able to focus on their idol career full-time after retiring from the navy.
Two, Naka was a lovable and friendly idol, and she would certainly find an upside to the situation by seeing it from another point of view, where they could perform at many concerts around the world since they could be in many places at once.
Three, there were many Nakas who had successfully branched out into other genres like rock, jazz, girl-group singing and experimental, amongst others, since as talented androids, they were perfectly capable of hitting the high and low notes and pushed the boundaries of what could be achieved in the music industry.
Naka seemed excited about being a respected singer amongst the pantheon of Naka idols some day, explaining herself to both Saratoga and Shigure.
"I suppose every Naka is created as a small-time singer, but for us, those seniors are whom we aspire to become in the future, simply because they're both strong seniors and talented singers.
It's always interesting to see how every Naka comes into her own as an established singer, and they live a modest lifestyle in order to fund the ship girl war effort and various charities with their earnings.
It's what I'd do too, in order to help as many people as possible while doing what I love!"
Saratoga nodded, now joining in the conversation as she understood Naka's motivations to some extent, but was still interested to know more about her as she inquired.
"But don't your senior counterparts feel a little too, I don't know…
Un-unique, in a sense, when you see so many clones around you, possessing your voice and looks?
I'm simply asking how you try and distinguish yourselves from everyone else when you're all essentially the same person, so please don't take this the wrong way."
Saratoga tried to ask her question in a way which wouldn't come off as insensitive, but Naka nodded understandingly as her expression softened from her usual 'bright cheery idol' demeanor to one of patience and understanding as her eyes and expression belied her three-and-a-half years worth of experience, answering sagely.
"Well, I think it boils down to a simple question.
Two Nakas who are recently built can be classified as the same person since they share the same interests, mannerisms and views.
Now raise them in separate bases, and taking into account all the events which could change them for better or for worse, after a decade of service in the navy, can you really say that they're exactly the same person?
After all, which characteristics define us as 'same' or 'different'?
Is it our looks? Personalities? Passions?
Or is it the amount of accumulated experience over time?"
Saratoga and Shigure contemplated the question, Naka appreciating the gentle gust of wind which blew in from the ocean as she eventually answered.
"Well, Saratoga-san, you're not exactly wrong when you say that we're the same person, but in some sense, it's strangely easy for the senior Nakas to tell each other apart.
This is partially because of their unique tics and mannerisms, as well as the subtle differences in their lifestyles which were shaped by their experiences, after interacting with a myriad of people and growing up differently.
So when they meet again, it's only fair to treat them as two different people.
They certainly would, since every one of their experiences would change them in order to produce two different Nakas by the time of their retirement."
Saratoga lifted an eyebrow in agreement, seeing her point as she remarked.
"So I suppose we're shaped by our experiences and our interactions to become unique individuals.
And even if there were two ship girl clones in the same base, there's no guarantee that they'll turn out to be exactly the same after several years, right?"
A vibrant smile was what they were treated to, Saratoga and Shigure feeling a little refreshed upon seeing the fleet idol show them her genuine feelings and express them so freely, Naka adding her own thoughts.
"Well, I personally feel that each and every ship girl ever conceived is unique in her own way, and that need to preserve a sense of self amongst a crowd of clones is something which is ingrained in all of us.
And for us Nakas, that desire to be unique despite everyone technically being the same person is what drives us to distinguish ourselves from everyone else while fulfilling our dreams as idols.
The result is a wide variety of unique idols who have carved out careers of their own in the music industry, and becomes a role model which every serving Naka aspires to be."
Naka looked towards the both of them as she gave them a wry smile and responded in a manner which one would use when discussing about a lifelong dream of theirs.
"I can't quite see what they see right now, since unlike all of them, who are at the top of the world and have earned their place up there, I'm starting out from the bottom like they did back then.
But one day…"
Naka raised a gloved hand as she clenched her fist, and the Sendai-Class light cruiser looked determined to rise up the ranks while following in the footsteps of her seniors, and eventually finding her own path on the international stage.
"I'm going to join them!
It's going to take a while, but my dream is to be an idol when I retire, and help energize everyone's spirit with my songs!
To stand on the national and even the international stage is but a means to an end, amplifying my voice for our comrades all around the world to hear, no matter where they may be!"
Naka broke out into a wide smile, but despite Saratoga's attempt return the smile, the American carrier found that while everyone had a dream to work towards, she was lacking a direction to begin with as she asked hesitantly.
"A-As much as I'd like to congratulate you on your dream, I can't help but feel that unlike everyone here, I don't have much to work with since my home's halfway around the world.
I'm not really sure where to begin…"
But Naka was there to help her as she raised her clenched fist in order to gesture to Saratoga as she remarked confidently.
"Well, the basic dream every ship girl has is to protect her own comrades and friends!
Look around you!
Even though we're from different countries, we're still comrade-in-arms and friends, right?"
Shigure could see Saratoga's eyes widening in surprise as she looked around in order to take in the sight of Ayanami, Shigure, Haruna and Naka, amongst others, all of whom were friends who were fighting alongside her.
Shigure leaned in to reach for Saratoga's hand, and while the little move surprised the Lexington-Class carrier as she looked down at Shigure's little hand fitting into the carrier's older, and thus larger palm, Saratoga returned Shigure's reassuring smile as she wordlessly comforted her.
Being the first friend to the American carrier had its perks, as Saratoga's dispirited tone shifted into a heartened one as she spoke to Naka, but looked down at Shigure whilst sharing her newfound goal.
"I understand, Naka-san.
Making friends with Japanese ship girls is certainly a new experience, but you're all my friends nonetheless.
I want to protect all of you, in spite of what happened between our countries in the past."
"That's a wonderful goal, but you need to become stronger in order to make that dream become reality.
In this world, you can't protect anyone if you're weak."
Everyone turned to face the incoming Tone, another senior ship girl who was close to achieving her Kai Ni remodel much like Naka.
She looked at the recently created Saratoga, stating a fact of life which every ship girl learnt sooner or later after seeing the disparity between the ship girls and Abyssals in terms of numbers and firepower.
"You're a strong ship girl with lots of potential.
But potential requires effort on your part to fulfill, otherwise it's meaningless.
Out there on the battlefield, potential means nothing, and strength, everything.
And to that end, how about we start our training session?"
Tone's expression brightened up with that last sentence as it morphed into one of excitement and anticipation, a sentiment which was shared by the two fleets who were gathered around her as they all nodded once.
Standing at a fair distance away were six Abyssal bots, all of whom were recreated faithfully in order to replicate the looks and abilities of their living counterparts as they held their position, and Tone explained the situation to them as they stood around the heavy cruiser.
"Alright, when you reach the edge of the Safety Zone in the day, it's like the American frontier, where anything beyond that area is a danger zone.
We can't guarantee that we can send out reinforcements in time in order to cover your escape or back you up in battle.
So whenever you're sailing towards the Safety Zone, you need to keep a constant eye on your radar as well as your sonar, and in the event where you meet an Abyssal fleet, you have to think twice about whether you wish to engage them."
Tone's expression hardened as she explained how the ocean was, for an Abyssal, a three dimensional playground for them to maneuver in.
"Look, Abyssals often surface in order to ready their weapons before engaging in combat, but in certain situations, especially in fierce firefights, backup Abyssal fleets sometimes try to sneak up on distracted ship girls in order to drag them down into the depths.
Based on our records, the use of this technique is commonplace in areas beyond the Safety Zone, simply because the backup Abyssal fleets can arrive quickly enough to pull this off, unlike in the Safety Zone where they have to travel a fair distance, before which the battle would be long over.
So, when you head out there, be cautious of anything on, and in the ocean."
Shigure looked towards the Abyssal practice fleet, which still held their position as she noted the single I-Class and dual Ha-Class destroyers, a Ho-Class light cruiser, a Ne-Class heavy cruiser and a Wo-Class carrier on the ocean surface.
Shigure paid attention to Tone's continued explanation of the Abyssals' modus operandi as she kept an eye on the enemies, noting the experience seeping through Tone's voice which was borne of years of sorties and battles.
"Every Abyssal fleet which you encounter beyond the Safety Zone, you'll have to constantly ask yourself:
'Will there be a tougher Abyssal fleet out there which I'll meet?'
Being so far away from a naval base means that you have to take your ammo and fuel reserves into account.
And even if you know that you can take down an Abyssal fleet, you may need to consider fatigue build up, the weak Abyssal fleet being a possible bait for a stronger Abyssal fleet to ambush you, or the Beast of an Abyssal Princess swimming up into your undercarriage as it tries to tear a new hole into your va-"
"Yes, yes, Tone-san.
I think we understand the dangers of sailing into the Safety Zone.
But if I may ask, can we start the training session now?"
Jintsuu interjected in order to stop Tone's language, and Tone nodded in agreement before giving a quick explanation on how this training session was going to go for the newcomers to understand.
"Well, this training session's going to be a horde-mode training session in order to see how far you can go while working together.
And if you don't understand what horde-mode is, I'll send easy Abyssal fleets to fight you, but the Abyssals after that get progressively harder to defeat."
Kuroshio, being a cheery ship girl who wanted to do her best alongside her comrades, slapped Shiranui lightly on the back and earned herself a narrow-eyed aside glance as she asked.
"So, in a sense, we just 'ave to beat as many Abyssals as possible, right?
That's what we usually do, and that don't sound too hard."
Tone lifted an eyebrow as she responded to Kuroshio's question as to what this training session was really about.
"Well, not exactly.
I understand that both your fleets aren't very strong, so while other fleets can dispatch Abyssals with ease, you need to know the limits of your capabilities in order to gauge how many Abyssals you afford to engage without succumbing to fatigue or running out of ammo.
Besides, if we train like this, we can help you familiarize yourselves with each other's abilities in the first few rounds, before we get you to rely on each other more in order to defeat stronger Abyssals."
Nodding, Saratoga asked the Tone-Class heavy cruiser as she clarified.
"But how far do you think we can go with our current fleet members, Tone-san?"
Lifting a fist in order to cup her chin as she considered the question, Tone eventually responded with a rough estimate on how many rounds they could last.
"I'd say three rounds, and I think you're capable of facing an Abyssal Demon in the fourth round and beat it."
"But not beyond that?"
Naka and Sendai pouted as Naka puffed out her cheeks while the level-headed Jintsuu held them back, Naka bringing her fists up to her chin while Sendai retorted along with a slightly miffed Kuroshio and Kagerou backing them up.
"We're not so weak as to tire out after confronting an Abyssal Demon!"
Tone raised her palms in a placating gesture as she calmed the ship girls down, clarifying herself.
"Well, it's not that you're weak, but think about it.
The 1st Fleet isn't as strong as you, and they don't need to run their stamina into the ground in their first training session together.
And sailing to the edge of the Safety Zone often means engaging in about four battles on average, so it's best to start with four rounds for now."
The four ship girls all drew back as their expressions softened, Kagerou agreeing with the logic behind the heavy cruiser's reasoning for utilizing horde mode and limiting it to four rounds.
"Urgh…
Well, I can't exactly argue with that…"
But Shiranui was the one to point out the fact that even with the 1st Fleet backing them up, they couldn't simply engage every single enemy they saw.
"Well, the current 1st Fleet is still rough around the edges, and it's out of the question to expect them to drastically improve their teamwork to the point where it matches that of the previous 1st Fleet.
When we're sailing towards the Safety Zone, we may need to utilize stealth in order to conserve our stamina and ammo if it's clear that we can't maintain our performance over several battles."
Tone nodded as she acknowledged Shiranui's point that even when horde mode meant that hordes of Abyssals swarmed you round after round, the 1st Fleet was a newly formed fleet and was the reason why Tone was going to end their training early.
"Well, this is the first time the newly formed 1st Fleet's hitting the ocean, so I'll put a limit on the number of rounds you girls will fight to four in order not to tire you out."
Everyone nodded understandingly, acknowledging their current limits as Shigure saw that the Abyssals had started moving, the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer uncoupling a 12 cm Single Gun Cannon from her battle backpack as she notified everyone.
"Careful.
The Abyssals are moving."
Everyone's attention was drawn to the Abyssal Wo-Class, who was summoning her bomber planes, Chitose preparing her rigging while Saratoga readied her firearm in order to summon their planes, Tone retreating as she announced,
"Alright, everyone!
From here on out, beware of enemies coming from all sides!
Watch each other's backs, and keep fighting!"
Chitose's rigging possessed two flight catapults that stuck out from above each shoulder, dual-wielding another two flight catapults as she grasped their handles and triggers in order to launch her planes, with Anti-Aircraft turrets stuck to the front for self-defense.
On her legs were two midget submarine racks which could send out Kouhyouteki midget submarines as she possessed several more Anti-Aircraft turrets which were fitted on platforms located near her hips and armpits in order to protect her.
Her rigging was prepped with two Type 0 Reconnaissance Planes on her shoulder catapults along with two Zuiun Seaplane Bombers, sending them all out with a press of the trigger as Saratoga did the same with her Thompson sub-machine gun, Kagerou calling out to the 1st Fleet.
"Yo!
Chitose-chan's gonna send out her Kouhyouteki midget submarines, so even if you're gonna dump your torpedoes in the water, watch out for the little guys!"
Shigure and Ayanami nodded as Shigure saw the position of the sent out Kouhyouteki being mapped out by a blue submarine symbol, which differed from the symbol used to mark out allied submarines.
Firing her torpedoes along with the Combined Fleet, it was clear that this Abyssal fleet wasn't hard to beat, calling out warnings for the Lexington-Class carrier in order to make sure that she didn't get injured so soon into the battle while noting the Abyssal Torpedo and Dive Bombers headed for them.
Shigure, together with Ayanami, followed Haruna's lead as the previously silent battleship took charge of the situation and gave out orders, being a capital ship with considerable experience in both lives.
"Saratoga-san, get behind me!
Everyone of you, utilize whatever Anti-Aircraft armaments you have to deny the Abyssal bombers air superiority!"
Saratoga complied as the Anti-Aircraft cannons on everyone's riggings lit up the sky with white-hot lead, while an incoming Abyssal Torpedo Bomber was flying close to the surface of the ocean in order to drop its payload.
Naka fired at the incoming torpedo bomber with the cannons on her arms, which were set to consecutive fire in order to sustain a steady rate of fire, churning out shells in order to stop the Abyssal bomber plane.
This paid off as a shell hit the Abyssal Torpedo Bomber right on the nose, causing the steel exoskeleton to cave in and implode before exploding in a fireball of steel shrapnel as its torpedo detonated prematurely, a nearby Kuroshio shielding herself as she turned in order to allow her rigging to take the brunt of the explosion and deflect any shards of steel which flew her way as she cried out.
"Oi!
Too close, girl!"
Naka wanted to apologize, but had to evade an incoming torpedo as Shigure saw that, in exchanging torpedo salvos with the enemy, a few of the Abyssals had been torpedoed into oblivion around this point in time, several explosions rocking the ocean as an I-Class destroyer was eviscerated by an incoming torpedo.
The Ne-Class heavy cruiser weathered the torpedo, but Shigure could see that it was hurt by the resulting explosion, which scorched her entire left leg and left her limping out of the smoke as the Abyssal pointed her cannons in their direction.
Shigure shouted,
"Move!"
As she and Arare moved out of the path of the Ne-Class's medium-caliber shells, which were already flying out of the three cannon shells sticking out of each tail, six water columns towering above even Haruna as everyone shielded themselves against the spray while the Infiltration Fleet advanced.
Haruna quickly composed herself after wiping the seawater from her face, grimly ordering as her cannons pointed in the direction of the Abyssal fleet, ready to lay down cover fire.
"Everyone!
Move up and protect the Infiltration Fleet while I lay down cover fire!"
Everyone nodded except for Jintsuu, who offered.
"I'll stay behind to protect Haruna-san so she doesn't get ambushed, should another Abyssal fleet attack us from behind!"
Everyone nodded in order to acknowledge Haruna's orders, but Saratoga warned her new Kongou-Class teammate about the dangers of such an order.
"Alright, Haruna-san.
But be careful, the Abyssals may try to swarm you if you get caught out."
Haruna nodded, her attention shifting back to the Abyssals as her cannons reverberated throughout the air, Shigure's bones shaking a little as Haruna's 35.6 Cannons let fly a barrage of large-caliber shells, a cauliflower of flames and smoke erupting from the muzzles of the cannons which adorned her rigging.
Her shells hit home as she scored a hit on a Wo-Class carrier and a Ha-Class destroyer, Haruna's shell punching through the unfortunate Wo-Class's face and instantly killed her, Shigure shivering upon witnessing how powerful a battleship's cannon really was, blood, brains, steel and cerebrospinal fluid spraying everywhere as the Abyssal's head fell apart, thankfully covered by the Wo-Class's collapsing headdress.
Snapping back to attention as Shiranui shouted,
"Shigure!"
Scanning her surroundings in order to determine any threats, she saw that a torpedo was headed her way, but was still quite a ways away as she sailed away from the trajectory of the incoming torpedo, using her 12 Cm Cannon and her shoulder cannons in order to shoot at what remained of the Abyssal fleet, keeping track of her sonar in order to watch out for any potential ambushes.
And as predicted, another Abyssal fleet was trying to ambush them by sailing to where they were before surfacing, intercepting them as the ship girls were sailing towards the pretty much destroyed Abyssal fleet before them, Kagerou giving orders as the Abyssals rose from the bottom of the ocean with surprising speed.
"Evasive maneuvers!"
Everyone physically strafed as two Abyssal Ro-Class destroyers leapt up from the ocean, and several ghostly hands reached up from the ocean to try and catch their ankles, thereby trapping them and allowing their teammates the chance to take them out.
Shigure ducked as soon as she noted the raised arm cannon of a Ri-Class cruiser pointing at her as the Abyssal's head barely peeked out of the ocean, its flaming greens eyes trained on her as the muzzle flashed.
The Abyssals were rising from the ocean as Shigure noted that the Abyssal signatures of the first fleet were erased from her radar, surmising that they had been finished off.
The second Abyssal fleet consisted of a Ri-Class heavy cruiser, two Ro-Class destroyers, a Ho, He and Nu-Class light cruiser.
Everyone performed evasive maneuvers as Kuroshio, Ayanami and Arare, having reloaded their torpedo launchers in time, dumped their torpedoes into the water in order to keep the Abyssals moving even if they couldn't hit them.
Evading the cannon shells fired in her direction and sailing away from the torpedoes which were in the water, Shigure was suddenly struck with a question,
'How does an Abyssal submerge and surface?'
Now, Shigure wanted to focus on the battle going on around her, but being unable to leave a pressing question unanswered, and a lack of a information source to answer said question in order to sate her curiosity, Shigure's curious mind made a choice to believe that her teammates could handle themselves as she started pondering the question.
Firing at a Ro-Class destroyer distractedly while sailing in a meandering course, she started thinking about how the Abyssals were capable of submerging so deep into the ocean without being crushed like a pretzel, before rising again to fight the ship girls.
They could behave like submarines, who shielded their insides from the harsh pressure and temperatures with their thick armor, while using ballast tanks to manipulate buoyancy in order to surface or sink.
Firing at a Nu-Class light cruiser's helmet, Shigure was inclined to believe that this wasn't the case, since this would mean that every part of their body would have to be reinforced in order to resist the external pressure, something which she doubted since the eyes, amongst other human weak spots, were structural weaknesses, especially so for the humanoid Abyssals.
The 'submarine body' theory would mean that their low-pressure insides would be compromised the second they dived deep enough, and a structural weakness presented itself for the pressurized water to exert pressure on, enlarge and crush the Abyssal.
And that meant that damaged Abyssals weren't able to submerge due to the damage to their bodies, which contradicted her observations of Ru-Class battleships submerging while on her first sortie, so it meant this hypothesis was unlikely to be the case.
But the ballast tanks were still an interesting mechanism which Shigure kept in mind for later analysis.
If the 'submarine body' theory was unlikely to be the case, was it possible that they used biotechnology to engineer their bodies to be able to live comfortably under water by pumping the air from their bodies and replacing it with water, thereby controlling their buoyancy by manipulating the amount of air in their bodies as they sank or surfaced, so that their bodies wouldn't need to resist the deep sea pressure?
Shigure noted a torpedo approaching her as she raised her right boat slipper in order to allow the underwater projectile to pass by harmlessly, sailing along as she continued her thoughts, oblivious to whatever was going on around her even when a nearby water column threw seawater on her face.
It would be a mistake for her to assume that they'd go that far to copy a human's impressive, but ultimately limited survivability while they inhabited the deep ocean, which was an extreme environment in of itself, and she had to assume that a Abyssal's lungs were perfectly capable of working despite being filled with water.
For underwater cruising at several hundred meters beneath the ocean surface, they probably pumped air out of their systems in order to partially fill their ballast tanks with water.
A ship girl inhaled oxygen, which was then sent into her bloodstream via the lungs, feeding the cells of the ship girl along with glucose (and fuel in ship girl mode for a higher energy output) in order to produce energy and carbon dioxide.
And in the same vein, every breath of water for an Abyssal at cruising depth contained dissolved oxygen for their lungs to transfer into their bloodstream to in turn feed their cells.
Since they carried weapons and were relatively heavy when you considered their steel bodies and armor, they invariably sank, and the air which was stored in ballast tanks helped them cancel out their own weight with buoyancy force in order to stay at a certain depth.
But that didn't work in the deep sea, where the amount of dissolved oxygen dipped considerably, and in such extreme environments, possessing any air cavities in your system would be lethal as the pressure within would be far less than the environmental pressure, crushing you in a matter of seconds.
Another medium-caliber shell flew in her direction and caused her to flinch slightly, firing at the Ri-Class heavy cruiser with her 12 Cm Single Gun Cannon and her torpedo launcher as she furrowed her eyebrows in irritation upon being interrupted, racking her mind before recovering her train of thoughts and thinking about how the Abyssals would adapt to live in the deep sea.
Perhaps by completely pumping out all the air from their bodies and causing their bodies to consist only of incompressible, solid flesh, steel and seawater, this helped them to balance the pressure within the body with the environmental pressure of the ocean floor.
Any air cavities which the human body possessed was likely removed from the Abyssal body in its design phase or was designed to be capable of being filled with water, to make sure that a lethal implosion didn't crush their steel bodies.
Shigure leaned to the left in order to evade another medium-caliber shell as she considered the first part of her question, and how oxygen would be supplied to the Abyssals while on the ocean floor where the light didn't reach, causing plant life to be scarce, which would in turn result in a lack of dissolved oxygen down there.
But wait, being hyper-advanced bionic beings, wouldn't they engineer themselves to be able to live off of other energy sources?
Due to the lack of sunlight, deep sea organisms utilized chemo-synthesis in lieu of photosynthesis to convert sulfides, methane, carbon dioxide and various natural chemicals, which were found in abundance on the ocean floor, into energy in order to fuel their bodies while surfing the deep sea, said chemicals being produced by hydro-thermal vents and other geographical features.
The Abyssals, living in an environment which lacked dissolved oxygen but had an abundance of methane gas and sulfides, would likely be able to replicate this feat in their cells, inhaling seawater to allow their lungs to diffuse these chemicals into their bloodstream, which in turn would feed these chemicals to their cells to be converted into energy via chemo-synthesis.
While their humanoid hearts would pump the blood and fuel through their bodies, their second heart would keep their core organs at a functional temperature with extremely efficient burning of fuel reserves within their bodies, while their metabolisms would slow down due to the chilling temperatures in order to conserve their fuel and nutrient reserves, similar to a bear in hibernation.
Since light didn't reach down into the abyss, they had to utilize sonar in order to navigate the dark ocean floor and may possess enhanced night vision abilities in order to pick up any light in the world of darkness which was the abyss.
Shigure didn't even notice the chaos around her as she fired at anything which was an enemy and occasionally looked up to check if any bombers were dropping their payload on her.
And if there were indeed incoming bombers, she simply sidestepped the dropped bombs whilst lackadaisically firing her Anti-Aircraft cannons and bracing for the inevitable splash caused by the detonation of the dropped payload, continuing her thought process amidst the fierce battle, whatever round it was.
Their armor would easily protect them from underwater predators as ship girl armor did for shark attacks (an increasingly rare, but still present occurrence), and she read somewhere that the Abyssals had a heightened resistance to toxins and were immune to certain underwater hazards, lest they be killed by brushing against the tentacles of some killer jellyfish.
But how did they combat decompression sickness?
Shigure noted out of the corner of her eye that the other destroyers, looking slightly worse for the wear, launched another torpedo salvo in order to greet another fleet of Abyssals.
She did the same a beat later as she evaded the incoming salvo of enemy torpedoes, thinking about the Abyssals' hypothetical capabilities.
Decompression sickness was when dissolved nitrogen was absorbed into their bodies due to the insane pressures while underwater, and if the Abyssal rose up to the surface of the ocean too quickly, the dissolved nitrogen would form bubbles in the bloodstream due to the drastic drop in environmental pressure, possibly forming a lethal air bubble in their blood steam.
Being deep-water denizens, it was likely that an Abyssal would be trained to slowly rise to cruising depth in order to allow their body to adapt to the environmental pressure and allow their bodies to expel these gases through underwater exhalation.
And in the worst case scenario where an air embolism was caused by the rapid depressurization, Shigure assumed that much like the nanobots in a ship girl's body which performed rudimentary repairs from within, the Abyssals likely had their internal air-manipulation system in place to quickly remove the air embolism from their bodies before it did any damage to their bodies.
Shigure was then distracted by someone calling out for a break, likely Tone since she was the one who called the shots in this training session.
"... take five.
You'll be facing the third round after this break, and after that, the fourth!"
Shigure looked around, and even checked her clock in order to confirm her fears.
Had time passed by so quickly while she was thinking to herself?
Everyone sailed towards her in order to regroup, and only now did Shigure see that despite everyone's best efforts, almost everyone was hurt to some extent, although thankfully not sustaining injuries which would classify them as 'medium damage'.
Naka and Sendai's dresses were smeared with a fair bit of soot and blood and was faintly charred, and while Naka's dress was slightly torn on her left sleeve, Sendai's right shoulder glove was torn as a bruise plagued her upper arm.
Kuroshio's rigging was dented, and Shiranui's rigging was slightly smoking, although Shigure could see that the Fairies on Shiranui's rigging was trying to repair the damage, and Kagerou, like Shigure, was undamaged.
Shiranui's abdomen was bleeding as a shell likely hit her on the diaphragm, and although the Kagerou-Class destroyer was still standing, Shigure could tell that it took a significant toll on her if the slight sheen of sweat and increasing rate of breathing were anything to go by.
A cannon barrel on one of Haruna's cannons was warped to the point being unusable, and Haruna herself was forced to discard her unwieldy miko sleeves in order to free up her arms, bleeding a little on her right forearm and left shoulder.
Ayanami was bleeding a little from her right temple while Arare's uniform was torn up by fighter aircraft fire, and Jintsuu was likely hit by enemy shells, because she came close to sustaining medium damage after withstanding shell impacts to her chest and stomach.
Ayanami gave Shigure a tired smile whilst greeting her with a slightly weary tone,
"That was quite the fight, eh, Shigure-san?"
Shigure could only give her an awkward wave as she sat down with the resting destroyers, consisting of Kagerou, Ayanami and Shiranui, since Kuroshio and Arare were talking to Saratoga, Chitose and Haruna while the Sendai-Class cruisers were huddled together in order to pass the time by distracting each other with small talk before jumping back into battle.
Shigure squatted down on the ocean surface along with the others, everyone looking at her with a sense of uncertainty and awe, due to both her complicated expression and her evasion skills, Ayanami taking the initiative by starting the conversation.
"U-Um, Shigure-san.
You looked as if something was on your mind just now, and even though we were looking out for you while you were brooding over something, we were awestruck at how you evaded everything which was thrown your way, as well as how you killed that Nu-Class with a headshot."
Huh.
Shigure quickly looked through her memory archives in order to verify Ayanami's statement, and she found that the Nu-Class light cruiser whom she fired at had possessed a damaged helmet.
The Nu-Class was taken out as soon as Shigure distractedly fired at the Abyssal's cracked helmet and killed it instantly, likely in part due to her luck causing her shell to hit a vulnerable area in order to score a critical strike, and while Shigure wanted to lie about her being in control of the situation, she didn't want to make others worry about her lest they get the wrong idea about her situation, answering them honestly.
"Huh.
Apparently I did.
W-Well, I was thinking about how an Abyssal was capable of diving down into the ocean floor, and how their bodies adapted to the crushing pressure and low temperatures.
My final hypothesis is that they can control the amount of water and air in their bodies like ballast tanks in order to sink or swim.
To survive in the crushing depths, I theorized that their bodies can function even when filled with water in lieu of air in order to make sure that there are no air cavities within their bodies, and their internal air-manipulation systems can protect them from a potential air embolism as they surface."
Every destroyer turned to face her as silence ensued, and Kagerou raised a hand to confirm what Shigure had just implied.
"Um, not to say that I disbelieve you, but did you say that you were thinking about an Abyssal's inner workings while in the heat of battle, and basically killed an Abyssal without being aware of it?"
Shigure could only give an awkward smile as she shrugged, weathering Shiranui's withering gaze since she knew that the pink-haired Kagerou-Class destroyer didn't hold anything back with her words and her opinions.
And when she said that she was going to teach her not to make a rookie mistake, her harsh glare was more than enough for her to realize that she had committed one, shrinking beneath her cold stare.
Ayanami was the one to come to Shigure's defense as she shielded Shigure with her left hand before defending Shigure.
"I-I'm sure that Shigure-san wanted to leave this question for later, but I think that the first few waves of Abyssals were easy enough for her to deal with, and she allowed her mind to wander.
And even though it certainly wasn't the best time and place to think about these matters…"
Shigure raised an eyebrow in order to concede the point which Ayanami made about this being a rather inappropriate time to wonder about the anatomy and inner workings of an Abyssal.
" … I do have to point out that her hypothesis is mostly correct, and she simply needs to learn that there's a right time and place for everything."
Shiranui's stoic expressions never wavered while Shigure's other eyebrow raised upon learning that her hypothesis wasn't that far off the mark, and Kagerou cocked her head in order to concede the point as Shigure heard the Kagerou-Class destroyer speak up in order to express her problem with what seemed to be the development of a bad habit for Shigure.
"I understand the need to learn more about the enemy, but there's no point in being the smartest destroyer in the world if your pretty little head gets blown apart by an enemy shell.
But I understand that you have your reasons to think about this question while evading incoming shells and torpedoes with both your luck and your evasive skills, so mind sharing 'em with us?"
Shigure nodded, the three other destroyers leaning in slightly in order to listen to her as she explained herself to everyone.
"I understand Kagerou's point when she said that I had to focus on the battle, lest I get a shell fired into my head, but I think that this question was an interesting topic to think about when considering the natural environment which the Abyssals live in.
And while I'll do my best not to do this in the future, my curiosity and the lack of a challenge in the earlier Abyssal fleets meant that I could trust all of you to keep yourselves alive.
I just never expected the time to pass by so quickly after I finished my thought processes and heard Tone-san announcing that we'd be taking a break."
Lowering her head as she watched the ocean shift underneath her immobile boat slippers, she continued softly.
"While I wish to have this question answered after training, I simply need to think about it now in order to satisfy my curiosity, otherwise this question will plague my mind for the entire session.
I may forget about this question, which is rather unlikely, or I may very well find something else which catches my interest later, forcing me to abandon this question until further notice."
Shiranui was the one to point out her flaw, her expression stern and authoritative as she deconstructed Shigure's need to sate her curiosity in order for everyone to be on the same page regarding what Shigure had to improve on.
"While I do believe that you're skilled enough to hold your own in small-to-medium scale engagements due to your experiences and your capability to respond appropriately to various situations, your greatest weakness, as you've so aptly demonstrated, is what's up here."
Raising a slightly bloodied gloved finger in order to place it on Shigure's forehead, the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer crossed her eyes in order to look at her senior's finger, her expression morphing into a worried grimace as Shiranui continued her lecture on Shigure's incessant need to satisfy her curiosity.
"Unlike other ship girls who are predictably at risk of allowing their emotions to overrule their reasoning, you're slightly different from them.
You allow your imagination, curiosity and need to learn to overrule your reasoning, because for you, the prospect of pondering and answering questions in order to sate your curiosity is of higher priority than keeping yourself alive.
And that is your greatest flaw; to allow yourself to be distracted by your curiosity and the questions it presents, and how you have to contemplate and answer every question you think up of."
Slightly applying pressure on her finger in order to push on Shigure's forehead in exasperation, Shiranui exhaled in a tired sigh as Kagerou leaned in to meet Shigure's gaze before consoling her.
"To be fair, like Ayanami said, your conclusions are rather accurate, so will you please focus on the battle from here on out?"
Shigure nodded meekly, understanding that she had to try harder from here on out in order to make up for the fact that she got off light in the first few rounds compared to everyone else, who sustained some damage.
And when Tone got them to get back up in order to get back into the fight, Shigure focused her attention on the next fleet of Abyssals, facing down two Ru-Class and Ta-Class battleships each, three Ri-Class heavy cruisers, two Tsu-Class light cruisers and three Elite I-Class destroyers.
And they were to expect reinforcements to arrive in the midst of battle.
She didn't like their odds.
But as a hand placed on her shoulder slightly startled her, she immediately relaxed upon finding out that it was Saratoga who supported her, with Haruna and Jintsuu standing closely behind the Lexington-Class carrier as they encouraged.
"It's alright, Shigure.
We'll protect you."
Haruna nodded along with Saratoga, the demure Kongou-Class fast battleship expressing her determined will to protect others.
"Haruna is alright.
And because Haruna is alright, Haruna will make sure that no harm will befall you in battle, Shigure-san."
Blinking in surprise at how much her friends wanted her to be safe, Shigure swallowed the uncomfortable lump in her throat before hardening her expression, giving everyone a resolute nod.
Haruna, being the flagship of the 1st Fleet and was thus responsible for giving orders to everyone, looked to Chitose and Saratoga as she requested,
"Chitose-san, Saratoga-san, please send out your reconnaissance and bomber planes.
We'll commence our shelling phase when you get your planes close enough for a bombing run."
But Shigure then piped up, offering another option which she saw as a better alternative to Haruna's strategy.
"Haruna-san, I respectfully disagree with the second part of your stated orders.
We should hold off on the shelling phase until we move closer to the enemy fleet."
Saratoga nodded and prepared her Thompson submachine gun while Chitose's rigging readied her planes, but Kuroshio was curious about the Shiratsuyu-Class's choice to weather enemy fire in order to get closer, before opening fire at the enemy fleet.
"No offense, but what's the point in doin' that?
Why not fire everythin' now?"
But Shiranui spoke up for her, sharing Shigure's views of ammo preservation in the face of worsening odds, and a broad salvo wasn't going to cut it from here on out, Shigure keeping half an eye on her radar whilst noting Saratoga and Chitose launching their planes in the midst of Shiranui's intervention.
"Shigure wants us to conserve our ammunition.
From here on out, we need to make every shot count should we wish to save our ammunition for a stronger Abyssal fleet which we are likely to encounter beyond the Safety Zone.
We're not too badly damaged, so getting closer for a more accurate salvo won't be a problem for us."
Kuroshio raised an eyebrow to concede the point, and in the brief moment which Shigure met Shiranui's gaze, she shot the Kagerou-Class destroyer a quick smile in order to express her thanks, Shiranui recognizing the gesture with a downwards shift of her gaze before turning away, Kagerou noticing this and raising an 'interesting' eyebrow whilst looking in Shigure's direction.
Haruna looked down at Shigure, and the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer looked up at the Kongou-Class battleship in order to assert herself, and Haruna eventually closed her eyes as she nodded in order to acknowledge Shigure's suggestion, everyone noting the gesture as they lowered their cannons in order to sail up and increase their odds of hitting as many Abyssals as possible with their salvo.
Shigure looked away in time to watch the Dauntless and Suisei bombers drop their payloads, and it was satisfying to see that the upper half of a Ri-Class heavy cruiser was engulfed in a blinding explosion, while a Ru-Class battleship and a Tsu-Class light cruiser were caught in the splash damage caused by the Suisei bombers.
Haruna ordered upon seeing the bombardment phase end with moderate success, and they now had to move onto phase two, which was sailing towards the enemy whilst holding their fire.
"Everyone, move up!
Please, make sure to wait until you get close enough for a guaranteed hit!"
Everyone nodded once, their boat slippers whirring to life as they started to move forwards, Shigure barely flinching in the face of the Ru-Class and Ta-Class's large-caliber shells miss them by large and small margins, everyone performing basic evasive maneuvers by sailing in zigzag patterns and making unpredictable turns.
She kept an eye on the ocean in order to watch for incoming torpedoes, Ayanami sailing into a generous gap in between two torpedoes while calling out to Haruna, who reluctantly allowed the nameship of the Ayanami-Class to scout ahead.
"Incoming torpedo, Haruna-san."
Haruna grimly nodded as the destroyer and battleship duo sailed into the gap without much fuss, but Shigure noted an incoming shell being fired from the barrel of a Ru-Class battleship, and estimating its trajectory whilst noting Ayanami and Haruna's attention focusing on the incoming torpedoes instead of the flying shells, Shigure did the first thing which came to her mind.
She sprinted towards Ayanami and tackled her to the ocean floor, the large-caliber shell barely missing them by millimeters as Shigure felt the sonic boom and vacuum which the shell left in its wake before landing on the water, shielding Ayanami with her body.
Barely being grazed by the large-caliber shell still caused her bones to rattle as the seawater smashed into her back and engulfed them both in the resulting water column which was caused by the landed shell.
The world became a mess of entangled limbs, steel and wet uniforms as Shigure tried to get off Ayanami in order to check on her, gulping down seawater against her will as she shook the water from her eyes and pulled the soaked hair from her face in order to scan her surroundings.
A strong female hand wrapped around her armpit as she was hoisted from the ocean surface, which was still rippling due to the shell impact, and she noticed the golden headdress of her savior, Haruna lifting her with relative ease due to her overwhelming might.
Ayanami got up shakily with help from Saratoga's free hand as Haruna turned to everyone and simply ordered,
"FIRE!"
Before all hell broke loose and everyone fired their cannons, Shigure wincing as she heard the symphony of cannon fire resound throughout the battlefield, and while her ears possessed noise dampeners in order to protect her sense of hearing, the shock-wave of Haruna's large-caliber cannons caught her off guard and caused her to stumble into Haruna's embrace, the Kongo-Class battleship shielding Shigure with her body.
Shigure's suggestion paid off as Sendai and Shiranui's shells killed a Tsu-Class by hitting her on the forehead and right breast, while Haruna's shells heavily injured one Ta-Class battleship whilst sending the other into medium damage with help from Arare's torpedoes.
The two Abyssal destroyers were blown up by Kuroshio and Jintsuu's torpedoes as Shigure spotted one of their corpses being blown out of the water, gaining air time as the corpse fell apart and splattered blood, wires and guts everywhere, the two pieces of the deceased Elite I-Class destroyer hitting the ocean simultaneously.
Naka tanked a large-caliber shell which was fired into her kidney courtesy of the remaining Ta-Class battleship, who was then distracted by Sendai flinging a torpedo in her direction as the Abyssal ducked before the torpedo sensors detected her presence and detonated its payload.
Naka coughed out a fair bit of blood as she collapsed onto the ocean, the Abyssals trying to box them in while evading their shells and torpedoes, Tone upping the difficulty as the Abyssals were clearly adapting to their techniques and successfully hurt them by bottle-necking them with their torpedo salvo before firing at the ship girls, who were forced to sail through the gaps in the incoming torpedoes.
Shigure felt an uncomfortable feeling well up within her as she swiped the wet mop of hair from her forehead, feeling guilty about seeing Naka tank a shell, shaking off Haruna's hands in order to join the destroyers who were in the midst of battle, ordering Haruna and Ayanami.
"I'm going on ahead!
Cover me!"
Haruna was clearly less than thrilled at the prospect of a destroyer charging into the fray, calling out in vain.
"Shigure-san!"
But Shigure could hear Saratoga's voice sounding out behind her, her pace a step slower due to her larger build which meant that she could easily keep up with her, the Lexington-Class carrier announcing.
"Don't worry, Haruna-san!
I'll cover her!"
She could see that two Avenger torpedo bombers were sent out, their engines droning on and became softer upon reaching the enemy as it swooped down in a practiced run in order to drop its payload into the water.
The dropped torpedoes scared off an evading Ta-Class battleship and a Ri-Class heavy cruiser, and Shigure took this chance to sail in whilst drawing a torpedo from her launcher, lobbing it in the Ta-Class's direction.
Assuming that Shigure was as strong as Sendai or even Shiranui, the Ta-Class ducked but didn't move from her spot on the ocean, and this was a fatal mistake as Shigure's throw came up short.
The spinning torpedo landed at the Ta-Class's feet and promptly blew the Abyssal to kingdom come, Kagerou scrambling to get out of the way as she wanted to sail in close to the target in order to land a critical strike, exclaiming.
"Yo!
Watch where you throw those things!"
Shigure could only shouted out a quick,
"Sorry!"
Before being forced to dodge another incoming torpedo, pushing off her left boat slipper in order to strafe to her right as she noted that the barrel of a Ru-Class was aimed at her, ready to empty a round in Shigure's direction should she stop for a second.
A Ri-Class heavy cruiser sailed towards her, ready to fire her cannons in her direction, but she spotted Saratoga coming in fast by sprinting towards the Ri-Class while dual-wielding her Thompson sub-machine gun.
With the stock of the firearm tucked into her left elbow and her right arm on the fore-grip, she delivered a nasty blow by swinging her left elbow towards the Ri-Class's temple while wearing a fierce expression, the Abyssal's head snapping to the right as a result.
Raising a heel in order to deliver a mean kick to the Ri-Class's gut sent the Abyssal stumbling back in the process, Saratoga leapt into the air while pulling her knees in to deliver a drop kick, send the Ri-Class flying back into a waiting Sendai, who was waiting with an Anti-Abyssal knife and was poised to strike.
And as the Ri-Class stumbled backwards into the Sendai-Class light cruiser, Sendai slammed her knife into the neck of the Abyssal, and must have severed something in the Abyssal's nervous system, as the Ri-Class suddenly broke out into a fit for an entire second, before collapsing to the floor like a rag doll.
Sendai held her bloody knife in a similarly bloody, gloved hand as she readied a 14 Cm Single Gun Cannon with her free arm in order to finish the job whilst standing over the corpse of the quickly sinking Ri-Class.
This slightly unsettling scene sent chills down Shigure's spine, before she registered that feeling and suddenly felt thankful that her spinal column was still in one piece, whipping out her 12 Cm Single Gun Cannon in order to fire at the remaining enemies.
Chitose was sailing in with her Anti-Air cannons all firing in moderate bursts in order to help chip in with whatever she had on hand, Shigure noting the rising Abyssal signatures which weren't there before, warning everyone as she turned to face the two fleets.
"Another fleet's surfacing!"
Kuroshio cracked her knuckles in anticipation while Kagerou licked her lips in excitement, Shiranui cracking her neck while Saratoga slammed another magazine into her submachine gun in order to reload, the previous drum magazine ejected and stored in her dress until the indicators on the magazine were in the green.
Shigure fired the remaining ammunition in her 12 Cm Single Gun Cannon into the face of the moderately damaged Ta-Class, blinding her as one of her shells hit the Ta-Class's eye through sheer luck, the Abyssal bot staggering back and covering her damaged eye, an amazingly lifelike replication of what a real Abyssal would do in this situation, right down to the pained scowl.
However, a Zuiun was there to perform a bombing run before the Ta-Class could retaliate, accurately dropping its payload onto the chest of the recovering Ta-Class and damaging her enough for Jintsuu to fire a medium-caliber shell in her face, putting her down for good.
The underwater Abyssals were now less than ten meters from the surface of the ocean, and while Shigure reloaded her cannons in order to prepare for the next wave of Abyssals, she knew that the situation was spiraling out of control.
Shiranui and Naka were moderately damaged, she could see the exhaustion setting in since everyone's movements was a little more sluggish compared to the start of the training session, Shigure noting the sweat which soaked their clothes and their increased rate of respiration belying their fatigue.
Shigure could see that one Abyssal was surfacing close to her while Haruna was sailing towards her, seemingly oblivious to the threat beneath them.
But when she raised her hand to warn and halt Haruna's advance, Haruna also held up a hand in order to gesture to her, her expression expressing the fact that she knew what she was doing without saying a word, angling a cannon downwards in preparation for what was to come as Shigure could spot the pale mop of hair which was hidden beneath the surface of the shifting ocean.
Haruna fired her large-caliber cannon just as the crown of the Abyssal heavy cruiser's head broke the ocean surface, and a barrel-rolling Shigure was treated to a front row view of the large-caliber shell flying into the back of the Ne-Class's head before she fully emerged from the ocean.
The Ne-Class had decent armor which made up its skull, but that did nothing to stop a battleship's shell from punching through her head with considerable ease, Shigure unfortunately picking up on every brain bit, eyeball and drop of cerebrospinal fluid which flew everywhere as her curiosity worked against her.
She struggled to look away in order to escape the gruesome scene as the resulting fountain of blood and fuel spilled onto her, the air and ocean itself quivering from the shock-wave of the meek battleship as Haruna mumbled a sincere,
"I'm sorry."
Before sailing away, bits of brain and blood floating on the surface of the bloodied ocean as the deceased Ne-Class submerged back into the abyss from whence it came, missing a majority of its head as whatever flesh, blood and steel which made up its head fell apart like an ungraceful slow motion shot of a smashed porcelain shell, releasing its bloody and mushy contents everywhere.
Shigure could now see that there were now another two Abyssal fleets which engaged them, and this time, it consisted of two Elite Wo-Class carriers and normal Ru-Class battleships each, and another four Elite Ho-Class light cruisers and Ne-Class heavy cruisers each, making up a small armada.
Fortunately, since Haruna was able to dispatch one Ne-Class Abyssal without much fuss, it wasn't exactly hopeless for them, and because the ship girls had vacated the area where the Abyssal fleet surfaced, it resulted in the Abyssals being stuck in the center of their formation while ship girls surrounded them, and Saratoga and Chitose sent out dive bombers beforehand in order to greet the Abyssals.
Anti-Air fire from the Abyssals managed to take out a Suisei dive bomber, but that didn't stop the second Suisei and two Dauntless dive bombers from avenging their fallen comrade as they dropped their payloads, a Wo-Class being protected by a Ho-Class Elite as the two Abyssal carriers sent out two Abyssal Fighter planes and Torpedo Bombers each.
Chitose was weathering the machine gun fire of the incoming Abyssal Fighter, sparks flying off of her rigging while her flame-emblazoned jacket was shredded by the minuscule yet deadly bullets as she shielded the downed Fairy pilot with her own body and rigging, wincing in pain as Sendai rushed in to help her out.
Sendai transitioned from a sprint to a stop in record time, swiveling her body to the left while pivoting on her left foot to allow her right foot to catch up as she bent her knees and swung both her arms backwards before leaping into the air.
Using her boost gauge whilst jumping in order to increase her air time, she reached towards the sky with her right hand like a basketball player attempting to block a shot, and the boost gauge came in clutch as Sendai caught the shell and exhaust port of the overhead Abyssal Fighter.
She miscalculated.
The Abyssal Fighter immediately pulled up, and even when the Sendai-Class cruiser was weighing the enemy plane down, Sendai was dragged away by the wildly careening Abyssal Fighter, screaming along with the drone of the plane's engine upon realizing her blunder as her skirt flared up with the wind.
"AAAAHHHH!"
Everyone was retreating to one side of the battlefield, since if they were to open fire while surrounding the enemy from all sides, they risked friendly fire since if a shell missed an enemy, it might hit an ally behind the enemy.
And when they surrounded the Abyssals in a semicircle in order to avoid friendly fire, Haruna ordered out loud,
"FIRE!"
Everyone opened fire with her cannons and torpedo launchers, Chitose firing her Anti-Air turrets and Kouhyouteki midget submarines in order to participate in the torpedo launching phase.
Amidst the explosive hemispheres of seawater caused by the torpedoes detonating their payloads in order to hurt or outright kill the Abyssals, she could see that two Elite Ho-Class light cruisers shielded the Ru-Class battleships from the torpedo salvo and protected them with their lives.
This allowed the monochrome battleships to respond in kind with a cannon salvo of their own along with the three remaining Ne-Class heavy cruisers.
She could hear someone shout,
"Evasive maneuvers!"
But she was already diving down onto the ocean much like everyone else, hearing a few unfortunate, unidentified ship girls scream out in pain as she heard the squeamish sound of a hard shell crunching steel and flesh.
She noticed a salvo of torpedoes heading towards them as she saw the wake of the incoming torpedoes on the surface of the ocean, pushing herself off with both her arms in order to roll out of their projected travel path.
Firing her 12 Cm Single Gun Cannon in order to provide cover fire in order to protect those who were damaged, she could hear Tone's announcement over the radio inside her head,
"Naka and Kuroshio are too damaged to continue the battle!
Continue!"
Looking behind her with barely restrained concern for her friends, she could see that Naka's lower jaw was covered with blood as her abdomen suffered a bloody wound, Jintsuu supporting her by slinging Naka's left arm around her shoulders.
Kuroshio's left leg was engulfed in a light burn, likely as a result of a dummy torpedo simulating the amount of damage a real torpedo explosion would do whilst minimizing the amount of actual damage done, Kagerou and Arare tending to her wound while Shiranui covered them with everything she had on hand.
Shigure looked to Ayanami, and they both understood the need for them to step up their game as they sailed into the fray, Haruna's cannons and Saratoga's planes covering their admittedly suicidal entrance.
Learning from Haguro's fighting style, she knew that a horde of Abyssals could work against them, especially when you were fast enough to evade before the enemy got a lock-on on you, and having another Abyssal between you and the aiming Abyssal made them hesitate, allowing you time to sail away safely.
Shigure talked to Ayanami over the radio, expressing her intent to try and weasel her way in and out of the Abyssal horde, ordering.
"We'll soften them up with another torpedo salvo before entering, and make sure you don't get caught out."
Ayanami's response was a simple yet solid,
"Acknowledged."
As they unloaded whatever torpedoes they had left into the water, forcing the Abyssals to evade their barrage either by sailing in between the gaps in the salvo or by crash-diving.
But Shiranui joined them as she fired her own torpedoes at the gaps in Shigure and Ayanami's salvo in order to hit several Abyssals which safely evaded their initial torpedo salvo, engulfing them in another series of deafening explosions as Shigure could see the partially destroyed carcass of a Ho-Class be thrown up into the air by the shock-wave of two torpedoes combined, dousing the immediate area with copious amounts of alien blood.
The remaining Ne-Class and Elite Ho-Class Abyssals provided cover fire for the Ru-Class battleships to buy time for them to reload, and Saratoga's two F6F Hellcats covered their entrance by returning fire whilst Chitose's Suisei dive bomber delivered death from above, Shigure anxiously waiting for her torpedo launchers to reload.
She knew that her torpedoes were perhaps the only viable weapons she possessed when going up against stronger Abyssals, and upon noticing a Ne-Class heavy cruiser locking onto her, she ducked behind another Ne-Class heavy cruiser, causing the aiming Abyssal to hesitate while the other Abyssal turned to face her.
But a thrown torpedo detonated on the chest of the Ne-Class, and was enough to make everyone focus their attention, and eventually their cannons on the incoming Sendai-Class light cruiser as the damaged Abyssal bot collapsed due to its smoking upper half revealing a severely damaged Abyssal possessing a hollowed-out chest, Sendai wearing a shit-grinning grin on her face as she roared.
"I'm back, bitches!"
Before jumping on the collapsing Ne-Class, firing a shell into her face before jumping off of her corpse in order to fling even more torpedoes in every direction while airborne, every Abyssal cruiser now focusing their main cannons and Anti-Air turrets on Sendai.
Haruna took this as the chance to sail closer in order to fire at the two Ru-Class battleships, being one of the few ship girls who stood a chance of taking them down with her large-caliber cannons, distracting them long enough for Ayanami to perform a drive-by shooting by sailing up to one and emptying her torpedoes into the Ru-Class's flank, sailing away as the slow battleship was engulfed in an explosion of unprecedented proportions, Shigure having never seen how big of a explosion an entire salvo could cause when all the torpedoes hit.
And Ayanami was suddenly flung to the floor by the other Ru-Class's large-caliber shell, having been blindsided by the incoming shell as the Ru-Class aimed not at where the Ayanami-Class destroyer was at, but at where she would be, the nameship of the Ayanami-Class screaming,
"ARRGH!"
She hit the ocean hard.
Shigure didn't even think twice before sprinting over to Ayanami's side, ducking underneath a Wo-Class's cane as the Abyssal carrier attempted to smash her face in with a swing of her conducting cane, feeling the wind caused by the swing of the cane tickle strands of her hair as she heard someone else engaging the Abyssal carrier behind her, sliding to a stop as she got on her knees in order to inspect Ayanami's injuries.
Ayanami was instantly sent into critical damage with one large-caliber shell, breaking out in a profuse sweat as her respiratory rate drastically spiked, her left breast deformed as it flattened due to the shell impact as it left a bloody, oily crater on the destroyer's uniform.
Another announcement rang out in her head, Shigure paying it no mind since it told her the obvious, attempting to determine how best to carry Ayanami without disturbing her wounds.
"Ayanami is too injured to continue the battle!
Continue!"
Fairies were already climbing out of Ayanami's rigging while donning X-ray glasses and stethoscopes in order to access the damage, and Shigure, wanting to help Ayanami leave the area, gently carried the injured destroyer in a bridal carry so as not to cause the Fairies to fall off Ayanami's limp body.
Ayanami's eyes were glazed over, and while Shigure lowered her head after hearing a medium-sized shell fly over her head, she could see Ayanami's taut neck and jaw muscles straining against the intense pain, resisting the impulse to simply break down and start crying out in pain, Ayanami doing her best to look at her as she huffed.
"Leave me... with Tone-san...
Everyone needs you..."
Shigure, despite wanting to protest the point, knew that Ayanami was right, and she did her best to swallow the lump in her throat as she approached Tone, who was ready to receive Ayanami and carry her over to the group of damaged ship girls, where Kuroshio and Naka sat while resting up.
Tone had already treated their injuries with a small waist pouch of medical supplies which she brought to the training grounds in case of emergencies, likely predicting a few casualties today.
Giving the Tone-Class heavy cruiser a simple nod of acknowledgement before turning back to the battlefield, she could see that even though they lost three of their members, they were still holding their own as Saratoga's Dauntless dive bombers pulled up after dropping their bombs on the remaining Ru-Class battleship.
Shiranui and Kagerou tag-teamed in order to catch two Ne-Class heavy cruisers in their torpedo cross-fire, the last Ho-Class nowhere to be seen as the Elite Wo-Class was riddled with medium-shells courtesy of the remaining Sendai Sisters.
And as the dust settled, Shigure sailed up to everyone as the dead Abyssal bots collapsed onto the ocean, before slowly sinking into the depths.
Everyone was visibly worn out by now, although not to the point where they could collapse at any point due to their accumulated fatigue, relaxing their postures whilst scanning their surroundings and checking their radar for the next Abyssal wave.
Shigure felt bad about coming out unscathed again, but the reassuring hand of Saratoga resting on her right shoulder attracted her attention as she looked up at the Lexington-Class carrier, the American consoling her with a tired smile as though predicting her thoughts through her expression.
"It's not your fault that you got lucky.
You threw yourself into the heat of battle, and there was nothing you could have done to save her.
But you can avenge Ayanami-san by doubling your efforts in the battle to come."
And she raised an eyebrow in order to state a condition to her suggestion, tilting her head as she added wryly.
"Of course, personal safety is paramount.
And we are fighting an Abyssal Demon, so please be careful."
Shigure nodded, not wanting to disappoint her foreign friend as she looked around in order to check on whoever was left, her gaze resting on Shiranui for a split second longer due to their newly formed friendship and also to check if Shiranui's injuries were serious enough to warrant her aid.
Jintsuu was taking slow, deep breaths as she had her eyes closed, Sendai following suit as she had her hands on her hips and had shifted her weight onto one leg while Jintsuu was standing upright with lowered fists, but was ready to retaliate at the drop of a hat.
Saratoga suddenly looked up as her expression and posture tensed up, warning everyone about the threat on the horizon which was unlike anything she had felt before today.
"Something strong's coming this way!
I'm not entirely certain what it is, but it's certainly powerful!"
Everyone turned to look over the horizon, and even at this distance, Shigure could suddenly feel the familiar vengeful aura of hatred and destruction which radiated off of the Demon herself.
A Demon was a slightly weaker version of an Abyssal Princess, but nobody was foolish enough to underestimate an Abyssal Demon's might, since they were still capable of holding their own against entire fleets with their Beasts.
And this Demon was no different, the female Abyssal riding atop her unholy steed as they made up the two halves of the Demon, the Beauty and the Beast.
The Abyssal predictably had pale skin along with long, flowing white hair (with blackened ends) and blood-red pupils to complement it, and while she wore a form-fitting, sleeveless one-piece black dress which ended where her hips were and barely covered her nether regions, she wore dark steel cogs around her upper arms, neck and thighs.
The steel cog around her neck acted as a choker while the others held up the ends of the black shoulder gloves and thigh-highs which she wore, and she wore two dark hairpins which were placed on the mop of hair which covered her forehead.
She carried some sort of black steel skull in her left arm, possessing one luminescent, blood-red eye socket as it looked towards nowhere in particular, and immediately behind the Abyssal Demon was a large-caliber gun turret which looked a little like an unmanned machine gun, except looking more like an autocannon due to the caliber of the shells it was capable of firing.
The Beast which the Demon rode in on was hardly a looker, being the steed which the Horseman rode in to battle as it was heavily armored, possessing a triangular muzzle not unlike a crocodile with a pronounced sharp chin, and a second mouth was located where the eyes would be, possessing two rows of deformed and exaggerated human teeth as the Abyssal Demon stood within this jaw in order to ride on her Beast.
On its snout was six crimson-red exhaust holes, and propping the abomination up was two pale arms which were obviously masculine due to the sheer amount of muscle mass it possessed, clearly capable of crushing something important should a ship girl get trapped in those giant hands.
And even though an obnoxiously large attachment on the Demon's dress started from her hips and swept down in order to cover the Beast's hind and flank, it did nothing to hide the fact that it used its arms to waddle forwards like a crocodile performing the belly crawl, Shigure hypothesizing that the Beast's arms could push off the ocean surface for great bursts of speed in dire situations.
As it opened its main jaw in order to let out steam, again, much like a crocodile opening their jaws in order to prevent overheating, crimson-red steam was expelled from its throat into the atmosphere, and everyone was treated to the sight of the Beast's burning, steel-melting insides as it yawned, showing them that being swallowed by its jaws was the same as receiving a one-way ticket into the fiery underworld.
Following it were two Ho-Class light cruisers, a Ri-Class heavy cruiser and two Ha-Class destroyers, all surfacing beforehand in order to prepare for combat.
Saratoga gulped, now sweating a little as she took a step backwards, Shigure keeping an eye on her as well as the incoming enemy fleet, since this was the first time Saratoga had faced off against an Abyssal boss unit with less-than favorable odds, hearing the Lexington-Class carrier squeak.
"I-Is this what you had to face off before finding me, Shigure-san?"
Shigure lifted an eyebrow and tilted her head in order to agree, although she noted that her circumstances back then were a little different.
"Admittedly, yes, but I think that the Southern War Princess had a more menacing aura and higher stats, since she was a Princess while is this is a Demon.
And the 8th Fleet had a lot of experience in slaughtering Abyssals, so I allowed them to take the spotlight while I supported them from the sidelines."
Kagerou sighed, dreading the battle that was to come when they were short of three ship girls, which meant that their lightweight Combined Fleet was further weakened by the absence of one-fourth of its members, drawing a 12.7 Cm Twin Gun Cannon as she bemoaned.
"Well, shit.
That's the aviation battleship, Anchorage Demon, and even if she's relatively weaker than other Abyssal boss units as an old-school Demon, she's still tough to beat.
I'm not sure if we can take her down if we're down several ship girls."
Shiranui was the one to try and boost Kagerou's spirit as she prepared her torpedo launchers, looking over at her sister ship as she reassured Kagerou as best she could.
"I won't say it's impossible, but we need to step up our game if we're to survive this battle.
She possesses quite the posse and has a strong Beast to protect her in close quarters, so we need to keep our distance and take out the other rank-and-file Abyssals in order to isolate her.
And make sure that you're not caught in those huge arms."
Looking towards Saratoga and Chitose, Shiranui highlighted the two most important ship girls who were still with them, and while the destroyers and light cruisers had their torpedoes, they still needed air superiority in order to make sure that the Abyssal bombers didn't take them out with bombardment strikes.
"Saratoga and Chitose will be the most important fighters in this battle, since their fighter planes will deter the Abyssal bomber planes from dropping their payloads on us and pick us off as a result.
We also need their bomber planes to bombard the Anchorage Demon in order to take down her shields, and Haruna will also be useful in that regard with her large-caliber cannons."
Everyone nodded solemnly in order to acknowledge Shiranui's points, but Saratoga was still slightly afraid of someone else getting taken out and sent off the battlefield due to their injuries.
"But, I'm still afraid that we can't take down the Anchorage Demon even with our combined firepower and air-power, and what should we do on the off chance that we can't finish the fight?"
Shigure looked up at her friend and slowly reached for Saratoga's hand, surprising both the Lexington-Class carrier and everyone around them as Saratoga's head snapped down and met her caring gaze, Shigure assuaging her concerns.
"Don't worry, Saratoga-san.
We'll do our best, and you can count on that."
Saratoga's eyebrows creased as she still looked rather unconvinced of their odds even with two bird carriers and a battlecruiser on their side.
Shigure eventually tilted her head as she raised an eyebrow in order to concede the point, noting that the Abyssals were closing in on them as she kept their conversation short by admitting the severity of their situation.
"Well, alright.
I'll admit that retreat is an option, since the armor seems next to impossible for anything less than a large-caliber shell to crack, much less penetrate.
Since she possesses large-caliber cannons, shields and a Beast which can squeeze the life out of any one of us, I agree that we should consider turning tail and retreat like frightened little girls running away from a flying cockroach if it becomes apparent that we can't beat her."
Everyone turned to look at her with a strange look on their faces after hearing her strange analogy, but eventually nodded in agreement as they prepared their cannons and torpedo launchers, the stoic Abyssal Demon looking down at the two fleets whilst sitting on her Beast as she remarked in the classic Abyssal voice upon sailing close enough for her voice to be heard.
[You are here...]
Haruna led the charge as they prepared their weapons, staring down the Anchorage Demon as she grimly ordered,
"Open fire!"
And the world was once again engulfed in a chorus of deafening cannon-fire as the two sides opened the battle with devastating cannon salvos, the recoil and shock-waves of the mass discharge of cannons causing the ocean and skies to tremble in fright as the final round began.