Akagi and Kaga crashed into the wall of their battlefield then slid down. The pair rose to their feet and dodged an immediate barrage aimed at them. However, the second barrage hit them both and the sisters were sent flying back.
"I always knew she was a beast," said Kaga, struggling to get to her feet "but this is plain ridiculous."
"The rumours were true," said Akagi, standing up to face her opponent "if not for that disease, you'd be on the same level as Bismarck."
Her opponent, Hecate said nothing and stood her ground. Akagi sent several planes out at her and were summarily shot down by Hecate's AA guns. That was fine to Akagi who made a beeline to the enemy. Hecate perfectly calculated where Akagi would be and fired a few meters ahead of her. This caused her to stop and leave her open to a barrage that hit her in the face, chest, and arms.
Akagi was sent flying back unable to make any progress against the Siren soldier.
Hecate's fighting style was every bit the copy of the original. She did not use her fists or kicks or any melee weapon of the sort. Instead, she simply used the tremendous power of her rigging to do damage. That, combined with a sharp and keen mind meant she would always hit her targets while others would struggle to hit her.
Kaga recalled the times when she was young and saw her sister sparring against others like Kawakaze, Atago and later Jean Bart. She moved with elegance and speed. She read her opponents like they were open books and barely showed any openings.
It irritated her to no end that this thing over here was replicating her Sister's style of combat so perfectly. Nevertheless, Kaga had to think of a way to overcome this obstacle or else this will be the end of the line for her and Akagi.
With that in mind, she rose to her feet, formed her rigging and prepared for the fight. Hecate saw her coming and turned to focus only on her. Kaga started running while letting lose several planes as she did. Hecate meanwhile started firing them out of the sky one by one. Kaga saw her planes get torn to shreds but did not mind the losses. After all, the objective was to get close to her. In her mind, if she could turn this into a fist fight, she'd surely win.
Kaga managed to duck and weave her way through most of the attacks. Some barrages hit her in the shoulder, but she ignored the pain and pressed on. All that mattered to her was closing the gap. If she could do that, she'd finally take the fight to Hecate.
Kaga threw several planes that circled around Hecate rather than launch a head on attack. The planes were enough of a distraction that Kaga managed to cover the last stretch between her and the close. As she did, she immediately attacked with a leg sweep. But, to her shock, her opponent calmly took two steps forward and effortlessly escaped the attack.
She quickly rose to her feet just as Hecate turned around. The latter wasted no time and fired a barrage at Kaga but the former leapt to her side to dodge. Hecate was on her in seconds and appeared behind Kaga before she even realized it.
Kaga paid for this costly mistake as Hecate fired a point-blank barrage into Kaga's back, inflicting severe damage and sending her flying a good distance. She hit the ground, bounced forward a little then hit the ground again. She tried to get up, but the force of that attack was too much for her right now.
Akagi now took the opportunity to act. Rather than replicate Kaga's pattern, she instead charged at Hecate head on. In response, Hecate loosed a wild barrage in all directions. The goal of her attack was to fire as randomly as possible to force Akagi into making a mistake. When that happened, Hecate would switch to a focused attack and take her out.
Akagi bounded from one side to the next. The explosions going off all around her made it hard for her to keep sight of the target. It angered her to no end that she and Kaga were struggling to gain ground while her opponent was barely breaking a sweat.
Then, one of the volleys detonated a little bit ahead of her and she moved to the right. Hecate expected this and fired at both sides. One of the attacks hit Akagi in the leg, causing her to stumble a little. That momentary slip up was all that Hecate needed to fire a focused volley at the target. Akagi was pelted by half a dozen shots from the cannon before she finally collapsed in a heap.
Her body was screaming in pain and she could barely keep her eyes open. She struggled to stay awake because if she fell unconscious, that would put even greater pressure on Kaga to finish the task. At this point, where she was at her lowest, fate decided this would be the ideal time to kick her down a little more.
'I can't believe you're struggling so much,' said a familiar voice in her mind.
'Damn it Kagami, not now," she said, biting back the pain.
'You should just switch with me,' said Kagami in a matter-of-fact tone.
"What?"
"Switch with me. We both know I'm stronger than you and more determined. Switch with me and I'll take care of the rest."
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Although it was not the most ideal time to have a heart-to-heart, Akagi found herself in a dark space with the only other companion being Kagami. She looked at the woman dressed like her and narrowed her eyes. Kagami in response, narrowed her eyes as well. Were it not for the difference in the colour of their eyes, hair and fur, anyone could easily mistake the two for twins.
"Switch with me while you're still conscious," said Kagami "fact is you're still holding yourself back and that thing is wiping the floor with you."
"I am not holding myself back," countered Akagi, sounding furious "I am fighting with everything I have."
"Please," said Kagami, casting a derisive look on her "I'm you and I know you better than anyone else in the world. I know you're holding back because that thing looks like Amagi."
At this, Akagi had no retort.
"You still think of that thing as your sister," she continued "you think that if you try hard enough or even appeal to her, you'll somehow get it to join you. Then you, Kaga and James can live happily together as one big family."
Again, Akagi remained silent.
"I harbour no such feelings," said Kagami, placing a hand on her chest "I see that thing for what it is: a threat. Switch out with me and let me do what you can't."
"Is it really that easy for you to look at her and only see an enemy?" asked Akagi.
Now it was Kagami's turn to be silent. Rather than reply, she first glowered at her compatriot.
"Of course not," she said, looking away "in case you forgot, I can see all your memories. I know how much you love your sisters."
"But that thing over there isn't your sister," she added "that thing is a Siren puppet created by Omega and wears on your sister's face. If anything, you should be mad at them for trying to desecrate her memory."
"I wish I had your confidence," said Akagi "as much as I try to, I can never have the kind of determination the rest of my family has."
"It isn't about determination," countered Kagami "if I don't stop her, she kills Kaga and then goes after James."
Akagi's head immediately snapped up in shock at those last words.
"Didn't think about that did you?" asked Kagami "if we're struggling against her, imagine how hard it will be for James then? I won't let that thing get anywhere near him."
"So tag me in," said Kagami, stretching out her hand "do it and I'll end things. You just sit tight and let me move forward."
Akagi looked at her hand for a moment then shook her head.
"I realized something just now," she said "all this time, I've been relying on others to take me forward. At first, it was Amagi, then it was James, after that, Kaga, and now you."
"I'm the supposed leader of the Sakura Empire, yet I hide behind everyone and have them do the heavy lifting for me. But that ends today."
"Rather than sit back and let you do it all on your own, I want us to fight together. After all, we are the same aren't we?"
At this, Kagami could only let out a chuckle.
"That must have been a tough decision to make," she said then folded her arms "are you ready to see it through to the end?"
"Yes," said Akagi sounding confident.
"Alright, then let's do this."
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Back in the real world, Kaga and Hecate witnessed a strange sight. Suddenly, they saw Akagi's body began to float off the ground before a light started glowing from her chest. The light rose from her body, taking the form of a wisdom cube. The wisdom cube emitted a bright glow as it spun in the air for a moment.
The cube started glowing brighter as it went back inside Akagi's chest and covered her in a blinding light. Both Kaga and Hecate had to look away or risk losing their sight.
When the light finally faded, Kaga turned and saw Akagi standing before them looking visibly different.
The clothes she normally wore were now replaced by a typical Japanese archer's outfit. The only noticeable difference is she was wearing her usual red skirt instead of the rest of the outfit. Beyond that, her flamed runway was now replaced with a regular runway that formed on her right side.
As her body lowered to the ground, she extended her hands out and formed a long wooden bow. She grasped it in her left hand then opened her eyes. Contrary to before one of her iris colours changed from red to yellow.
"Aircraft carrier Akagi, retrofit complete."
This was followed by nine tails of energy emerging behind her to complete the look.
"Sister," said Kaga, not understanding what just happened "what's going on?"
"I will explain everything after the fight is over," she said, speaking with a degree of confidence Kaga never heard before "but for now, we must take down this threat."
(AN: I just realized Kagami is Akagi with an M thrown into the mix)