The day started off like any other. The inhabitants of the island went about their tasks as usual with no change. It was only when the intel division began their work, did they see something worrying. The team of Arizona, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and California checked the information, then rechecked it again before coming to the conclusion. The four girls exchanged a look of confirmation before hitting the alert button.

The sound echoed through the island and the mainland. Everyone that heard it stopped what they were doing and shifted to crisis mode. That alarm meant it was time.

Omega was making her move.

James, Alec, Akagi, Richelieu, Rossiya, Yorktown, Tirpitz, Queen Elizabeth, Yat Sen, Saint Louis and Curtis were in the briefing room when Pennsylvania and Arizona came in.

"Please direct your attention to the screens," said Arizona and Pennsylvania keyed in something. The screen before them displayed multiple images of a large structure that seemed to stretch past the sky and go into space.

The structure was cylindrical in shape with four 'legs' attached to it. At the base of the legs were bright bands of yellow light that were moving up the length of the leg. The cylinder itself seemed embedded into the ground while the top was churning out what initially looked like smoke but were actually clouds.

The audience saw a storm swirling around the structure and knew at a glance it was not a naturally occurring storm.

"She's terraforming the planet" said James and Alec nodded.

"How did our satellites at the central division miss this?" asked Alec to Pennsylvania.

"Omega was smart," replied Pennsylvania "rather than bringing the parts in via air, she brought it by sea, under the sea to be precise."

"Give Omega's reliance on air superiority over water, we did not devote enough resources to scanning the sea till it was too late," said Arizona "Sorry Commander."

"Don't beat yourself up, at least you got it in time," said James.

"Whatever the case," said Alec, looking closely at the legs and the structure. Whether it was the image quality itself or something else, Alec could see hundreds of small dots floating around the structure. That gave him an overall idea of what they're facing.

"She's making her move. James, what's the play here?"

"Get everyone ready," said James to the girls who nodded "this time, we're ending the war."

As the meeting ended and the girls went out one after another, the only ones left were Alec, James, and Curtis.

"So boss man," said Curtis to James, "how are we doing this?"

"We can certainly assume Omega's going to set up defenses to keep us from entering the structure," said James "that means heavy resistance around the legs. She'll be using everything this time, including those tanks we saw in the last encounter."

"I also get the feeling she's going to use the Capital Class ships," said Alec and James remained silent.

Alec briefed James a while back about these new Siren ships they encountered during his time leading the girls. James did not face off against them during any of their missions and assumed they were all gone. Now though, he understood that Omega was saving them for this moment.

"Any idea how many?" he asked and Alec shook his head.

"Don't know, but I imagine Gamma will use them to their fullest in this battle."

"Our first objective is to set up an entry point," said James and started outlining the plan. He also noted that the Antiochs and Omega will not participate during the first half of the fight as they'll be waiting inside.

"Inside?" repeated Alec "what makes you so sure?"

"Its in keeping with her character," replied James.

Hence, the first phase of the plan is to get a team inside the structure. Once that's complete the second phase revolved around Alec using the remaining fleet and soldiers to defeat Gamma.

James turned to Alec, silently asking him if he'd be up to the task.

"No question about it," he replied "I've got this."

"My soldiers will do everything they can to help you as well Alec," said Curtis "once we help the Commander get in, we'll commit our forces to ending Gamma."

"Take care of yourselves out there gents," said James to Alec and Curtis, who nodded "I expect to see you at the end of this."

"The same goes for you too," said Alec to James.

With that said, the three men left the room and headed to their respective places. Alec went to review his plans, James went to check his equipment and Curtis went to gather the troops.

"Alec," said Alexis, coming to him "the whole fleet's on edge all of a sudden. Is it true?"

"Yeah, this one's for all the marbles," said Alec and Alexis nodded.

Elsewhere, James first changed into his uniform then took his sword. He looked at himself in the mirror and after seeing this was enough, he left. He first met with the girls who were going to fight the Antiochs. After all, they had the hardest mission compared to everyone else.

He entered the training room he usually used to spar with Takao and saw everyone was checking their rigging or doing a few warm up exercises.

"Commander," said Z23, noticing him and everyone lined up.

James looked at all of them for a moment and said "the fight ahead will be the toughest any of you have had to face. Not only is this a physical one, but an emotional one. You've trained long and hard for this day and I am confident that when the dust settles, you will be the ones standing tall."

"Do one last equipment check and meet the others in the central courtyard," he said and turned around.

As the girls were doing their final checks, Akagi and Kaga left the group and went after the Commander.

"James," called Akagi, stopping him. He turned around and looked at them. He could tell from their expressions what was on their mind.

"This is about Kagami, isn't it?" he asked and they nodded.

"I'm worried that she might try to interfere with the fight," said Akagi.

"We're already facing an uphill fight with that clone of Amagi," said Kaga "if anything happens to Akagi during that fight then…"

"Kagami isn't going to do anything," he said, stopping her "she may go about it in a strange way, but she wants what's best for Akagi."

"You seem pretty confident about that," said Akagi.

"If she had ulterior motives, she'd have tried something when she kidnapped me," said James "that's how I know."

"I won't tell you how to do it Akagi," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder "but I believe you are strong enough to overcome the task ahead. Don't forget, there are plenty of people there to help you."

"Brother is right," said Kaga, sounding a little relieved "you can always rely on me Akagi."

Akagi took a moment and calmed down. She looked at James and rested her cheek on his outstretched hand. He had plenty to deal with already and yet here he was taking time to help her. She could her Kagami make a comment, but did not reflect on it.

"Thank you," said Akagi, with renewed determination in her eyes. With that said, the two sisters turned and headed back to the group while James went on.

James took a moment to fly back to the mainland to greet Curtis and the troops. Unlike before where he saw the fear, doubt and hesitation in many of the soldiers, now he saw confidence and determination. They were all ready to end the war today, even if it meant paying the heaviest price.

After that, he headed back to the base and went to see the kids. Unlike before, where he'd normally leave a guardian in charge, this time he did not. The little ones have proven themselves strong enough to be alone and can defend themselves if required. They had grown a lot in the time since he first saw them.

"Big bro," said Unicorn, extending out her pinky "I want you to promise."

"Hmm?"

Understanding where she was going with this, the remaining members of the group also did the same thing.

"Promise us you'll come back this time. Promise us all you'll come back," said Unicorn.

James understood their fears and worries. The kids wanted to do everything possible to ensure history did not repeat itself again.

James held out both pinkys and tapped each of the kid's fingers. Then, he finally came to Unicorn, used his right pinky with her and spoke.

"I promise to come back to my little sisters," he said and Unicorn nodded.

"Now you have to come back," said Charles Ausburne

"If not… Eldridge will be angry," said Eldridge.

James simply smiled at the kids then got up and left. It was time now. Time for one final speech before everyone took the plunge.

Everyone assembled in the designated area and waited patiently. There was a heavy silence hanging firmly in the air as the girls all thought about what was coming.

Then, they saw James arrive and walk up the stairs to meet the faction leaders. As he did, they saw his posture and expression change and said nothing.

The Commander saw the gathered masses and was silent for a moment. Compared to the last time, this time he was addressing the girls and the soldiers so he felt a little nervous.

Then, he swallowed those doubts, took a step forward and spoke.

"I know you all have a lot to do so I'll keep this brief."

"Everyone here standing before me has gone through a great deal. The world as you knew it is gone, the lives you've led are gone, your friends, family and loved ones: gone. But, through all that adversity, that strife and that difficulty, you persevered and are standing here today."

"Whether it is through determination, tenacity, or in my case: sheer dumb luck, you all stand here today, ready to take the final plunge. What lies ahead of us will be the hardest battle we've ever faced. The enemy outnumbers us, has the superior technology and is led by a zealot who will fight till her last breath."

"There will be times when you find it difficult to move forward, maybe even impossible. When that comes, I want you to remember one thing: You are not alone. You are part of the greatest army the world has ever seen and together. It will not be humanity single-handedly claiming this victory nor will it be the Shipgirls. Today, victory will be earned through our combined efforts."

"Now," he said, drawing his sword and pointing it at the sea "let us face the oncoming darkness without fear or hesitation. Let us send the enemy to the hole she crawled out of and bring peace once more to our world. NOW, let us bring an end to the Siren menace, ONCE. AND. FOR. ALL."

The crowd cheered as they all began heading to the waters and taking their positions. Curtis' soldiers were carried on the aircraft carriers while James and Alec made their way via a specialized Command ship.

As they left the shores of the island, the Commander recalled his friend's mantra once again.

'Whatever it takes.'

It was the same prayer he used for a long time, but the motivations were different. For so long, he'd committed to doing everything possible to completing the objective, regardless of the toll it took on him. Now though, things were drastically different.

The Commander was no longer the lone soldier that protected his team and ensured success. Now, he was a leader, a husband, a brother and a friend. He had the one thing his past self did not- a reason to come back. And that, made him modify the mantra to suit his current self.

"Whatever it takes, I'm coming back," he said and the fleet was on their way.

00000000000000000000

Omega stood in her position while Gamma saw the last ships come into place. This was the first time she'd seen so many Siren ships in a single location. Cruisers, destroyers, battleships, carriers and Capital ships. Add to that the thousands of Hybrids ready to strike and the hundreds of special tanks and Gamma didn't even want to tally up the number. It was too great to count. It both shocked and amazed her that her leader still had so much to spare despite losing consistently to the enemy.

Omega, seated in her place waved her hand and saw a digital map of the area appear before her. She made her move, placed the Antiochs where they were supposed to be and now all that's left to do was wait.

She looked at the screen before her and the side of her lips curved up. She saw the dots entering the area. There were quite a few of them, a little more than predicted. However, none of this was outside of her calculations and none of this was her concern. To her, all that mattered was the one leading the charge, her polar opposite.

"My lady," said Gamma through the communicator "orders?"

"Hold till they're in range," said Omega and Gamma agreed with the move. It's not that she was stupid or anything, she knew this was the right move. However, she only wanted Omega's input to confirm it was the right choice.

As the dots drew closer, Omega felt a surge of anticipation coursing through her body. This was the first time in her entire life she felt eager to face such an opponent. Not even the accursed six that she fought and defeated could make her feel so excited.

Now more than ever, Omega wanted to clash blades with the Commander, test her skills against his and take her place as the uncontested ruler of the three worlds.

She saw the dots entering the firing range and heard Gamma roar.

"FIRE"

And with that, the battle had begun.

(AN: Its time for the final arc. Fair warning, this will be the longest one I've done)