Zuikaku staggered as what happened did not fully set in.
She and Takao stayed back while the others went on ahead. They chose to fight Omega's Atago (Aerona) and drew their swords. Aerona for the most part let the others go without any trouble then shifted her attention to the two. Then, she moved to draw her sword and what happened next was too fast for Zuikaku.
All she knew was her opponent tried to attack her but Takao deflected the blade before it struck.
"Get your head in the game here," barked Takao and Zuikakau snapped out. She saw Aerona locking blades with Takao multiple times with neither side getting the advantage. Zuikakau moved behind Aerona then charged forward to strike. As she raised her sword up, Aerona leapt to the left putting Zuikakau on a direct path with Takao. This caused her to falter and slow down, allowing Aerona to charge in and ram the base of her sword into both of them. The force of the attack sent them flying back while Aerona also fired at them for good measure.
The pair staggered to their feet then launched a simultaneous attack from both sides. To their horror though, Aerona blocked, deflected and parried all their attacks with minimal effort.
Zuikaku leapt into the air and fired several planes at the target. Aerona shot them down with minimal effort. Zuikaku expected that and charged through in the hopes of catching Aerona off guard. The plan did not work as Aerona calmly blocked the blade with her own then leapt back to avoid a swing from Takao.
"We need to work together to stop her," said Zuikaku
"The only thing we need right now is an opening," countered Takao "take care of that and I'll finish the rest."
"But…" said Zuikaku, however Takao was out of earshot by then. Once again she attacked Aerona from multiple sides and her opponent overcame the wild barrage with minimal effort. Zuikaku watched Takao expend extra force trying to break through the enemy's defenses to no avail. Additionally, she had no openings with which to use her planes and create distractions or openings for Takao.
Takao clashed blades with Aerona then used her rigging to fire a point-blank barrage. To her horror (and Zuikakau's), Aerona sliced through the attack with several quick sword slashes.
"Impossible," said Takao in disbelief. As she recalled, even her sister couldn't manage such a feat.
Aerona saw the effect this display had on Takao and took advantage of it. She charged in with the sword raised and was about to strike, only to hit a plane instead of her intended target.
That momentary confusion allowed Zuikaku to grab Takao by the collar and fling her away.
"What the…"
"Takao, stop trying to fight her on your own," shouted Zuikaku.
"But…"
"Did you already forget our training?" she asked and Takao fell silent. She remembered the trouncing she and Zuikaku received from the PR class and how it took a combined front to stop their opponent.
Then, she looked ahead and saw Aerona return to form and wait for them to attack. She calmly pointed her sword at the pair and taunted them with a faint smile.
Takao paused and took a moment to collect herself.
"Yes, you're right. I am sorry," she said "the only way through this is together."
"How do you want to do this?" asked Zuikaku, drawing her sword.
"I'll attack from the front as usual," she replied "you provide support and search for any openings. When you find one, take it."
Zuikaku nodded and was about to move to position when Takao stopped her
"Be careful."
Takao slowly moved forward while Zuikaku remained at the back. Aerona seemingly ignored Zuikaku and focused solely on Takao.
Takao came charging forward with a downward swing and Aerona moved to the side. She replied with a thrust aimed for Takao's face but the latter quickly raised her sword up to deflect. She stared viciously at the clone of her sister then gripped the handle and hit Aerona with the flat side of the sword, forcing her to stagger back.
Zuikaku saw this chance and took the opportunity. Compared to Shokaku, she did not like being at a distance and preferred up close combat. This was one reason why she respected Enterprise and Essex who were capable of long and close range fighting.
Zuikaku's drive to capitalize on this opportunity made it easy for her to not notice she was charging into a trap. She fired several planes at Aerona, all of which did damage then came in close to deliver significant damage.
In the brief moment before Zuikaku could swing her sword and realize what was going on, Aerona's blade flashed out with blinding speed and landed a deep cut on Zuikaku's chest. A spray of blood shot out from the crane's body just as her opponent readied her sword to deliver a final blow.
Once again Takao came in clutch as her sword hit the tip of her opponent's causing it to change direction and narrowly avoid Zuikaku's chest. Using her back, Takao pushed her partner away then locked blades with Aerona.
The attack on Zuikaku only confirmed her worst fears. As much as she hated to admit it, this clone took Atago's style to heights she never knew were possible. She speed at which she sheathed and swung her blade was far beyond anything even the original could accomplish.
Aerona kicked Takao in the chest, then formed her rigging to fire. Unlike her sister, Takao resorted to dodge the attack rather than face it head on. This move was a costly one as Aerona expected this and moved to where Takao was then struck with an upward slash.
Takao's body tilted back at an awkward angle to avoid the attack. Aerona took advantage of this and swung her sword down. The result was her inflicting a long cut across Takao's body and forcing the heavy cruiser to stagger back. As if to rub salt on the wound, Aerona then came forward and perfectly replicated one of Atago's moves. This attack resulted in her landing several cuts on Takao's legs, severely limiting her movement.
Zuikaku ignored the pain in her chest and ran to Aerona before she could do anything worse. She rammed into Aerona and prevented her from landing another strike. However, this move caused the Siren warrior to shift attention from Takao to Zuikaku. She quickly stopped Zuikaku by ramming the base of her sword into the back of her head.
Zuikaku staggered back then shook her head. She had just enough time to see the blade coming down on her and quickly leapt to the side. She rose to her feet and used her own sword to block Aerona's.
Zuikaku fired several airplanes at Aerona and saw her utilize Atago's sword skills to cut through them with ease. Then, Aerona fired at Zuikaku but instead of dodging to the sides, she charged straight forward. The move caught Aerona by surprise and enabled Zuikaku to come in close. She swung her blade at an arc to try and land a wound on Aerona's side, but her opponent quickly stopped it with her sword.
Zuikaku could sense what was coming next what was coming next and raised her sword in a defensive position. Rather than use her swords, Aerona used her rigging to pepper Zuikaku's sides and force her to lower her guard. In doing so, Aerona landed another deep cut on Zuikaku's body.
As Aerona readied herself to deliver the final blow, she was completely unaware of the attacker approaching from behind. She paid for this as Takao landed a deep cut on Aerona's back then quickly came forward to grab Zuikaku.
"Zuikaku," she said, shaking the girl but got nothing in response. She quickly took Zuikaku to the edge of the room and laid her against the wall.
Time was of the essence now. Takao had some medicine that could help but her opponent would not let her administer it. She had to defeat Aerona before Zuikaku succumbed to her injuries.
The question was how?
As Aerona shot forward and attacked with a merciless barrage of swings and strikes, Takao wondered how she could best this opponent. Already she was far stronger than Atago and had better understanding of the sword styles than anyone else ever could.
'How,' thought Takao as Aerona landed a cut on her left hand then rammed an elbow into her nose. She skidded back and saw her descend with a downward strike. In a desperate move, Takao pointed her rigging to fire to her left and used the force of the attack to move out of harm's way.
As she struggled to catch her breath and regained her composure, she came to a realization.
'I'm going about this all wrong,' she thought and dodged several of Aerona's attacks 'All I've been doing is facing her like how I normally would. Time to change things up.'
Takao charged to Aerona then broke into a slide. The move caught Aerona by surprise as she dodged to her left. Takao expected this counter and used her rigging to fire. Aerona emerged from the explosion, slightly hurt but nothing too severe. Takao was not about to let up though as she came forward ready to attack with another swing. Aerona raised her blade to block it but Takao changed her attack at the last second to a leg sweep and knocked Aerona off her feet.
As Aerona hit the ground, she saw Takao come down on her with the sword pointed at her throat. She quickly rolled away and dodged the attack but Takao used her rigging to fire. Aerona did the same and cancelled the attack.
The momentary reprieve was cut short when Aerona was hit by multiple bombers courtesy of a conscious, albeit severely weakened Zuikaku. Aerona was about to turn and attack when Takao's blade flew by and hit the ground a little bit further from her. Aerona turned and saw Takao come forward with a fist aimed for the jaw.
Aerona staggered back while Takao grabbed her blade and landed multiple strikes on the chest. Aerona coughed up blood and tried to use her rigging but Takao quickly moved behind her before she could fire.
"Keep up the pressure," shouted Takao to Zuikaku who continued sending out bombers aimed at Aerona.
Takao meanwhile traded blows with Aerona, while bombs rained down around her. At this point, she understood her foe's weakness and had to do everything possible to take advantage of it.
Takao realized that Aerona was a perfect clone of Atago, almost too perfect. The clone effortlessly pulled off Atago's moves even better than the original did. But, that's the thing: the clone was an idealized version of Atago. It had all the positives and none of the negatives.
What Takao and the sword users of the Sakura Empire knew was that one of Atago's greatest qualities was her flexible mind. It was thanks to that flexible mind she was able to break away from her faction's rigid thinking to combat and develop a new style that helped the Sakura Empire for years to come.
None of that was translated to the clone and Takao confirmed this by combining her style of fighting with the Commander's. The real Atago would be able to counter this change, but the fake struggled to.
This, combined with the long range support from Zuikaku meant her plan was working. Aerona pushed Takao away and fired, but the latter tanked the shots and came forward without hesitation. Right now, all that mattered to her was defeating her opponent before her stamina gives out.
She landed several more strikes on the clone while the clone landed several cuts on her hands and legs. Takao coughed blood and fell to her knee then grabbed Aerona's leg and yanked her. The clone went back first hitting the ground with a thud while Takao leapt back.
"Give it everything you've got," she shouted and Zuikaku nodded.
The carrier summoned as many planes as she could on her runway then lined up her shot. As Aerona got to her feet, Zuikaku fired over a dozen bombers which targeted Aerona and rained fire on her position.
The pair watched as the clone struggled to overcome the multiple attacks. Takao kept her hand firmly on her sword while all this happened.
Zuikaku was terrified when she saw Aerona emerge from the flames, her body severely injured but still very much alive. That move took more out of her than normal and now she found it nearly impossible to stand up.
While Zuikaku wondered what to do, Takao took action. With her sword held firm in hand, she charged forward to the target.
'Form 1: falling petal,' she said in her mind as she used that technique. There was a flash of light and then there was silence.
Takao stood behind Aerona while the latter seemed rooted in her spot. Zuikaku watched in silence and feared the worst. Her fears were allayed when she saw a thin strip of red appear on the clone's neck followed by the head and body falling in separate directions.
Takao turned around ignoring the heap next to her and quickly marched to Zuikaku. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a small vial just as Zuikaku legs started to buckle.
Before she could hit the ground, Takao put one arm around the back and steadied her.
"Here, drink this," she said and put the vial of liquid near Zuikaku's lips. She did as told and slowly drank the medicine. At first, she felt a terrible bitterness on her tongue then a terrible heat in her stomach. Soon though, the heat faded and she felt her consciousness slowly fade.
"It's alright," said Takao slowly laying her on the ground "the medicine's taking effect now."
Zuikaku wanted to protest but her mouth did not move. All she could do was close her eyes and let the medically-induced sleep take her.
Takao meanwhile confirmed the clone was dead. Content that her opponent was never getting back up, she took a seat next to Zuikaku and let her mind rest a little.
When they wake up, they will go and help the others. But for now, they earned a little break.