Chapter 22: Commander

We found ourselves in what appeared to be a quite spacious room at first, but the enormous machines towering before us, the poor illumination, and the odor of the accumulated stagnant air-born fruit from the deficient ventilation-created an oppressive atmosphere.

About a dozen people wearing white coats and face masks came and went around us, pressing switches, writing down numbers and complicated words, and moving control knobs on various apparatuses that barely made sense to me. Everyone seemed too busy to even acknowledge our presence, and the few that did just pretended we weren't there. No one talked or even got near us, and the few stares we got were quickly dismissed the moment I returned them, as if just the act of looking at us was a transgression punishable by death.

"They are afraid of her." I thought, looking at my companion.

Formidable meanwhile didn't care about the scientists, her gaze decidedly fixed at the sorry state of the shipgirls of her own faction. The seven of them were floating inside huge capsules filled with a bluish liquid, eyes closed in deep slumber similar to a coma from what little I understood. Various wires were connected all around their naked and bruised bodies, said wires running to the top and out of the capsules and then towards a bigger machine in the center that occupied almost half of the room. And in the heart of that titanic machine rested something I was vaguely familiar with: A shining light blue cube that periodically released static shocks against the glass walls of its container, the so-called 'Wisdom Cube.'

While it looked different from the one that had entered my body, they were similar enough to make me feel a bit uneasy around it. That blue cube was apparently the genesis of the Shipgirls, an artifact made of pure energy and impossible to comprehend even with the use of magecraft. And such an artifact was being used by the military heal the wounded Shipgirls in a process also beyond my comprehension.

My eyes fell on Formidable once more.

She had not moved a muscle or said a word since we arrived here; she only watched her companions with grief. I could only imagine how she must have felt, knowing she was responsible for the state of her friends, irregardless of being in control or her actions or not.

I wanted nothing more than to put a hand on her shoulder and tell her that everything was going to be okay, that they would eventually wake up.

But I stayed silent; two conflicting ideas battled in my mind.

On one hand, I wondered if all this circus was necessary. Maybe if they let me have direct access to the Shipgirls I could just heal them or at least quicken the process, even if that would drain my magical reserves, but on the other, walking over and antagonizing the military seemed like a very bad idea at this point. Even if I could restore them to a healthy state I had no way of supporting these girls alone. What would we do if it came to blows? Would we run and hide from the military? Where would we even go? Escaping from this country didn't seem plausible.

Perhaps I was being too arrogant.

I was still a below-average magus; someone like me saving all of them just with my weak use of magecraft was almost laughable.

"Fujimaru."

I didn't have time to pursue either line of thinking any further, because I heard someone calling my name.

Marcia Haydes was leaning against the doorway, watching us with a serious expression, one that didn't look particularly happy. With a ting of pain in my heart, I left Formidable behind and followed the officer.

"You knew who those unknown prototypes were, right?" She said, and not a second after, Marcia locked the door behind us.

"…what makes you say that?"

We were in what I assumed was her office, far from the turmoil of the laboratories. The rather spartan room consisted of a sterile metal desktop, two equally dull chairs of the same material, and a pole in the corner sporting a worn British flag. The only items in the desk were a closed laptop, a bunch of documents and a line phone. The only decorations on the faded white walls were some military medals and framed titles.

However, upon closer inspection, I found that the names on the titles weren't hers, but rather, the letters spelt "William Davis" in fancy italics.

Marcia wordlessly moved towards the laptop, which she opened turned toward me, the screen showing a picture of me healing the Sakura Empire Shipgirls.

"We have security cameras around the building." She pressed the arrow keys to show more pictures of us from different angles. "For strangers, you seemed to be on rather friendly terms with them; you even helped them to run away."

"I found one of them in my room, and we had a conversation." I shook my head. No point in lying at the undeniable proof. "But I had never seen either of them until today."

"I want all the details." She crossed her arms.

"Alright." I sat on one of the chairs. "You might want to take a seat, though; this could take a while."

"When we made this deal, you promised me the truth, Fujimaru." Marcia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Do you really expect me to believe that sentient weapons from Japan raided this base just to have a couple of words with you?"

"As I told you, they wanted me to come with them, but I refused. The fact that they are from Japan has nothing to do with me."

Marcia was about to voice her complaints but stopped before a word could leave her mouth. Instead, she slumped into the desk, her face sinking into her hands. She remained like that for a good while.

It was not like I couldn't understand Marcia's position. Her direct superior was killed, and she was forced to take charge of apparently uncontrollable living weapons and a man who claimed to be a mage, mage who also happened to be her superior's killer, on top of the news of more of the living weapons coming from a foreign country to apparently just parley with that mage.

She really needed a break, and I could empathize with that because I too needed one.

"Tell me the truth, Fujimaru." She finally spoke after being silent for five minutes straight. "What's your end goal? Did you come to this country to sabotage the sentient weapon project?" Under the dull glow of the lamp of the office, I could finally see big, dark bags under her eyes when she faced me once more. She wore the expression of someone who was done with everything. "Or perhaps to take it over? To win over the prototypes and put them against us? Was that your mission? To take our technology for your government?"

I threw myself back on the chair and stared at the ceiling at her accusations, letting myself sink in my own exhaustion if only for a moment as well as I thought how to answer.

Sabotage? Stealing technology? What exactly was her image of me?

"You know, when I was a child, like eight or nine years old, my dad would take me to fish on the nearest river."

Haydes gave me a weird look, but didn't interrupt me.

"He really loved fishing, and I think he wanted to pass that love to me. So when that day of the month came, he would wake me up early in the morning and drive us to the river. Then he would rent a boat and sail, fishing rod in hand, and we would stay in the river for hours in silence." I chuckled dryly. "I was so bad at it; I didn't have the patience to stay quiet for more than five minutes, and the rod constantly slipped from my hands. I don't think I ever caught a single fish despite my dad's constant tips. If I am being honest, I kind of hated it, but I could never tell my dad about it." A sad smile crept on my face. "Though, I think he eventually found out, because he stopped bringing me with him one day all of a sudden." I lowered my head." I could never ask him why. And now I will never be able to."

"And why are you telling me this?" Marcia was getting impatient.

"Because I am not the monster you think I am." I raised my head again. "I, too, have memories I cherish and things I regret doing. I can tell you the truth a hundred times, but it will be for nothing if you see me as nothing but the enemy."

"Do you really expect me to receive you with open arms after what you have done?"

"No, but if neither of us gives the other a chance, then this partnership will never work; and I assure you, Haydes, we both need each other right now."

She fell silent and looked the other way.

"Think about it." I said simply. I was about to raise from the chair when she continued.

"If…" She stopped me. "If you really want to prove that you are on our side, there is something you can do."

I raised an eyebrow at her sudden request.

"The country is currently defenseless against Siren attacks, all our prototypes are in critical condition." She released a deep sigh. "The only one available is Formidable, but she would not hear orders from us, only from you."

"And you want me to ask her to cooperate with you?"

"You just said it; we need each other." She didn't seem very happy to repeat my words. "Unless you would gain something by purposely leaving this country unprotected."

"…No, I don't want the Sirens to hurt innocent people as much as you." I chose to ignore what she was trying to imply. "I'll… see what I can do."

Marcia didn't say anything and just wordlessly handed me the key to the room.

"You asked me what my end goal is." I said as I rose from the chair. "I want to save enough money for my retirement, maybe buy a house in a quiet neighborhood, far from the city. Heck, even a rural area would be great."

I made a slight pause, trying to force the next couple of words out of my mouth.

"And when I come back to that house every night after a long day, I want to find someone there, waiting for me. It doesn't matter who, just someone I can call 'family'." I turned my head to her."That's what I want, Haydes, a normal and mundane life far from all this. Is it the same for you, I wonder?"

I didn't wait for an answer and left the room.

I was on my way back to the laboratories when I noticed a soldier standing next to the door of my room. He turned to me, and our eyes met for a couple of seconds before he simply moved his face away to continue staring at the wall in front of him, totally disregarding my presence.

I did wonder what reason Marcia gave for me-a civilian-to be allowed to wander around a top-secret base without a clear purpose. How exactly did all these soldiers and scientists interpret my presence here? Or did they not actually care and just follow orders?

I was about to ask him when I noticed that Formidable through the open door, seated on the bed and quietly staring at her left hand. I passed the soldier without acknowledging him.

"Formidable, you are here." I quietly closed the door behind me. "Are you alright?"

It was probably a stupid question to ask after everything that happened, but I had to.

"Commander." She turned to me. "Yes, I am getting used to it. I was right-handed, so a few things feel… different now." She opened and closed her hand a few times more.

She then brought her hand to the loose right sleeve of her dress, as if trying to feel something that was no longer there.

I felt a lump forming in my throat; I didn't dare to ask how it had happened, but I could easily guess she must have lost it in the battle with the Royal Navy, against her own companions.

"Does it hurt?" That was the only thing I could mutter.

"No." She shook her head unsurely, and after a brief pause, she added. "Not right now, at least, only sometimes."

I had heard about soldiers still feeling their limbs after they had to be medically removed to save their lives, still feeling the pain as if they still were there. A phantom pain as real as any other.

"They should be able to do something." I said, not entirely sure if I was trying to reassure her or myself. "They created you, and they are healing the rest of the Royal Navy, so they should be able to do the same with your arm."

"Marcia Haydes said that all their equipment and manpower is being used to heal them, which means they can't spare anything for me." She said with resignation. "But it's fine, Commander. As a Royal Lady, this is nothing I can't put up with." She showed me a weak smile.

I didn't know if she realized it or not, but I could see her left hand trembling as she said those words, clenching it into a fist.

"I am sorry." I lowered my head towards her. I couldn't imagine how much pain she was feeling right now, emotionally and physically.

"Commander? Why are you apologizing for…?"

"My magecraft… I can heal most wounds, even if it leaves me drained afterwards. However, I can't restore missing limbs even with this power." I lamented. It would be a different story if Irisviel was the one doing it. "I can revert things as how they were before with some degree of precision, but not recreate them out of nothing or cure complex illness, not even if I put all my magical energy into it."

"Please Commander, don't lower your head before me. It's unbefitting of someone of your caliber." She moved her face away as if refusing to accept my apology. "I am not worthy of such a thing." She lowered her tone a bit.

Those words…

"It was not your fault, Formidable." I raised my head to look at her, but she quickly evaded my gaze. "You were being controlled by the Sirens; you were a victim as well."

"I remember everything. Every single detail of that night is engraved in my mind." She began somberly, closing her eyes. "I can still see myself there, ordering the drones to shoot at them when they could not defend themselves; I see myself ready to kill them without mercy. That was me, I was the one who did that to them. And if they don't wake up, I-"

"Please don't say that." I interrupted her. "If you keep torturing yourself over it, the guilt will destroy you."

She still refused to look at me, so I kneeled down to match her gaze. Tears were starting to run down her eyes, the color of beautiful copper shade.

"I understand how you feel; believe me, I truly do. But everything will be over if you give up now. You have to keep moving forward for them." I made a slight pause, thinking carefully what was about to say. "And for me."

She finally looked at me; an expression of surprise was drawn on her face.

"You are the only one I have right now; I don't trust anyone in this base other than you." I gently clasped my hands on hers. "You were there when I needed you the most, even though we were complete strangers, so I shall do the same for you." I brought our hands between us and looked her straight in her eyes.

"I am here for you. We can overcome this together."

"Commander…" The surprise on her face slowly turned into a small smile. "I have shown you such an unladylike sight, even though I should be the one supporting you."

I still remember seeing her for the first time: She looked like an emotionless robot ready to carry out orders at any second. There were no trace left of that Formidable, the one in front of me right now was the real one, the one that was tormented by her past actions.

She moved closer and spoke in a thin, hushed voice. "Can you perhaps… entertain my selfishness for a little longer?"

"Whenever you need it."

She got even closer and leaned against my shoulder. In response, I gently wrapped my arms around her and embraced her.

We said nothing more and the room fell silent, only a quiet sobbing could be heard.

Despite the eagerness of my claims, I could not actually remain by her side forever. More regrettably, I had to stay in the backlines when a Siren attack finally came, as I could not traverse the sea like Formidable did, nor did the military want to lose sight of me.

"So this is how Roman felt..." I muttered dryly under my breath, watching how the enormous screen depicting a map in front of me changed every few seconds or so. A small red dot on it showed a satellite-picked signal of a Siren, which suddenly appeared an hour ago a few kilometers into the North Sea. A similar blue dot also moved on the screen, slowly approaching the red one, restlessness growing on me the more they neared one another.

"I hope you know what you are doing." Marcia was next to me, arms crossed in clear dissatisfaction. She spoke to me in a low voice so as not to show her doubts to her subordinates.

"While I didn't have direct involvement, I do have some commanding experience under my belt."

"Is that so? I wonder how a civilian could have acquired that kind of experience." She asked with a sarcastic tone.

"By this point, It should be obvious I'm not just a civilian."

"And that's the reason I can't trust you."

"Yet I'm the only hope you have to defeat that Siren. We can bicker all you want or you can help me to defend this country. The choice is yours, Haydes." I prevented further discourse by slotting the communicator in my ear.

Frankly, I would have gladly left the commanding position to her, as I was sure she had real naval commanding experience. However, Formidable refused to accept her orders, so I had no choice but to step in.

Marcia only answered with a sigh, and instead addressed one of her subordinates.

"Status report."

"The Siren signal has been steadily moving to the northeast for a while, Commander." The man pressed a few keys on his computer as he spoke. "It appears its course is not directed to any of our coasts but we can't discard that possibility yet."

Once the man had said that, Marcia shot me a glare as if signaling it was my turn to step in.

"Formidable." I spoke through the communicator in my ear. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes, Commander. I have been getting closer to the coordinates you sent me." Her voice resounded in the room so everyone could hear it. "However…"

"However?"

"I have encountered some kind of dense fog blocking my path." Her voice adopted a graver tone. "No matter how much I try, I can't go around it. It's like the fog extends for kilometers."

"Don't step into that fog." I quickly ordered. "It's a Siren ploy. I repeat, don't enter that fog."

"Fog?" Marcia asked.

"This happened once before. Belfast, Edinburg, and Sheffield had also encountered some kind of unnatural fog when dealing with the Sirens. All our communications were cut off the moment they stepped into it."

"We are still receiving the Siren signal from within, however." She noted, not entirely convinced of my claims.

"They are trying to lure us, Haydes." I shook my head. "It's a trap."

"I have sent planes to try to map the area, but the visibility is limited." Formidable indicated. "How should I proceed, Commander?"

"Remain on standby, we'll think of something." There was no way I could send her to such a clear trap. Should we just wait until the Siren come out of it? No, it was most likely following her around. Was there another way to disperse it?

"The signal is continuing its path to the northeast, Commander." One of the soldiers said to Marcia. "We'll lose it at this rate."

"If we don't do anything, the Siren will get away." Marcia reaffirmed. "If we let it escape, there is no telling what it could do."

"I am not ordering her to enter that fog, Haydes." I refused once again. "Not when we don't know what lurks there."

"Commander, something is happening!" Before our discussion could get more heated, Formidable spoke again. "The fog is clearing up!"

"What!? Do you see the enemy, Formidable?" My voice rose higher than I intended.

"Yes, but something is wrong." Her voice was laden with confusion. "The Siren ships… they are destroyed."

"Eh?"

"I can see remnants of their ships floating on the sea. The red marks on their hulls prove that they are Siren ships, but what could possibly-"

Without warning, a strident sound assaulted my ear. No, it wasn't only on my ear; it was ringing in the entire room. I had no choice but to take the communicator off and cover my ears to stop that sound from piercing my eardrums.

After a few long seconds, it just stopped, as sudden as how it had started.

I looked dumbfounded at Marcia, only to see that she was equally confused.

"Soldier, what was that!?"

"We don't know! Our instruments started acting up and-" The man desperately pressed key after key on his computer until he came to a sudden stop.

"Commander." He turned towards us, seemly at a loss of words. "We… lost it."

I did not understand the meaning of those words until I raised my head to look at the radar screen. Now, instead of showing a map, a couple of big red words could be read on the static-filled screen.

"SIGNAL LOST."

"Commander? Commander!" Formidable shouted trying to make her voice reach Ritsuka again, but it was useless; she could no longer hear him. It seemed she had been completely cut off after that sudden piercing noise.

Unsure of what to do, she studied the sight before her: the fog had dispersed enough to reveal even more wrecked ship parts. It was clear that the Sirens had been fighting something or someone, most likely another group of Shipgirls like the ones from the 'Sakura Empire'. If they really were fighting the Sirens, then she would gladly help to destroy them.

However, the remnants of their battle suggested otherwise, whatever the Sirens had fought; their battle was strictly one-sided.

She began to scan the sea in search for clues until her recon planes notified her of a pair of large yellow lights shining beneath the sea surface. She deliberated for a moment, and ultimately decided to cautiously approach them.

When she was just some feet away from the source of light, they suddenly moved and a person emerged between the blue waves; it was a woman, riding some kind of aquatic vehicle that resembled a shark, colored black and black and clearly made of metal. She had long black hair with a few strands of white adorning it, and her red eyes glowed like torches amidst the wreckage; her face however was partially hidden with what appeared to be an also black motorcycle bandana with what Formidable identified as a teeth design. Her body was still half submerged, so it was difficult for Formidable to see her full attire, but she could distinguish a black, red, and white vest with the zipper open on the front to let her see a part of her chest.

Neither Formidable nor the mysterious guest said a word; they just looked at each other in silence, though while the Royal Navy girl could only stare in surprise, the black-haired girl's eyes gave off a feeling that only could be described as pity.

"I didn't see you here. Go away, if you don't want to die." Her voice had a tinge of exhaustion, as if Formidable was nothing more than a minor annoyance to her.

And with those enigmatic words, she submerged again and disappeared completely from view.

"Wait!" Formidable tried to follow her to no avail, as the mysterious girl disappeared into the dark depths of the blue ocean.

A hundred of questions raced on the Royal Navy Shipgirl's mind. Who was that? Was she the one responsible for the destruction of the Sirens? Were they also from that "Sakura Empire"? Or did she belong to a completely different group? And most importantly: Did her words mean they were hostile towards them?

Whatever the case was, this new information had to be brought to her Commander. She felt bad for retreating empty-handed, but the Sirens seemed to be already defeated-

And then, a sudden burst of wind made the remaining fog wall disappears, finally revealing the entire battlefield. Various larger segments of the siren ships could be seen still afloat, some could even be confused with operative ships if it wasn't for huge missing portions that would soon make them sink like the rest.

And among that siren ship cemetery, a woman stood.

Like the submarine girl, she was wearing a similarly dark outfit, though this one resembled more to a military uniform. She had short strawberry blonde hair with a few traces of red, and what seemed to be black horns on each side of her head. But Formidable didn't take note of any of this, as she was too focused on what-or rather who-that Shipgirl was holding.

It was a Siren, the white hair, eerily pale skin and yellow eyes were a big giveaway, but she was completely beaten. She was being violently held from her silver hair by the uniformed woman; red blood ran fresh from both her nose and lips and what remained of her clothes were nothing but tattered rags, exposing a naked body of eerily pale skin contrasted with a wide array of violet, bleeding wounds.

"My death…." She coughed as she seemed to have trouble speaking; the mystery and enigma that usually surrounded the alien ships were nowhere to be found. "…will not change anythi-" She was promptly shut up, as the woman gripped her face with her free hand.

"You talk too much." Her captor said calmly… and closed her hand.

An indescribable mix of brain matter, blood, and bones was brought together into a gross paste, that soon began to drip out of her armored fingers, down her arms and legs and onto the sea. The uniformed woman didn't seem to care about this horrible sight and sank her other hand inside the Siren's chest, where her heart was supposed to be.

When she withdrew her hand, however, it wasn't the sight of a dying heart that greeted them, but instead but a black crystal cube.

The dark woman released the body of the Siren like if she were discarding something with no value at all, instead focusing her attention on the cube she had retrieved, without minding the carnage or destruction around her.

Eventually, she sighed.

"No luck. And you even made me come all the way here." She said in a perfectly calm manner and crushed the cube with her bare hand just like she had the Siren's head. She stroked her hair as if fixing it, seemingly ignorant that she was dirtying it with the disgusting remains of the Siren.

Her eyes moved, only to find Formidable who had been completely paralyzed by such sadistic display. She looked at her for a while and then smiled, and Formidable revolted at the utter, honest glee that she displayed.

"You saw me, didn't you?" Her voice was also incredibly sweet, as if she was talking to a co-worker or maybe even a friend, but Formidable could see that her pupils constricted like pinpoints no matter how amiable she appeared.

She was a predator looking at its prey.

"You did see me." She giggled cheerily, and Formidable could feel an immense pressure emanating from her like a deadly aura. "It's rather unfortunate."

The Shipgirl in dark uniform began to approach her slowly.

Trepidation crept into every pore of Formidable's being. The Royal girl stepped back and instinctively manifested her rigging, but the display of hostility didn't seem to deter her approaching foe, and if anything, it only seemed to make her more… excited.

"I'm truly sorry, but…" Her voice began sweetly, but it quickly decayed. "Can you do me a favor and die quietly?"

Those words were enough warning.

A few dozen miniature planes manifested on Formidable's back and were quickly sent towards the dark Shipgirl. The planes came to the skies like a flock of birds and rained their bullets toward the uniformed woman, who manifested her own rigging in response. Four black metallic slabs guided by robotic arms came to life out of her lower back and intercepted the shots just like shields.

But Formidable wasn't done yet. While the woman was busy defending herself she moved her left arm and instructed a group of newly deployed bombers to move past the formation and drop their torpedoes just above the uniformed woman. A series of loud explosions followed, quickly covering the impact area in a cloud of smoke and fire.

"Is that all?" But that wasn't nearly enough to stop her, as the woman exited the smoke, seemingly unharmed and in perfect condition other than minuscule scratches on her uniform.

The woman then accelerated, shooting towards Formidable like a bullet.

"Don't move an-!" Before Formidable could properly react, she was already next to her, her fist rapidly moving towards her.

The first punch hit her in the face and broke her balance, which made her unable to defend herself when she received the second one on the stomach, taking the air from her lungs. In that defenseless state, a point-blank gunshot of the uniformed woman's rigging was enough to send her flying like a ragdoll.

Before she would impact the water again, Formidable ordered her planes to attack once more, but it was a futile effort, as they were shot down by the monstrous rigging's artillery. Formidable took the opportunity to gather her bearings in that window, clenching her stomach with her only arm, as her torso burned and ached from the shellfire, on top of her bleeding (and likely broken) nose and quickly swelling eyes. Formidable's ashen hair had come undone, covering her face and daintily floating on the sea's surface below her feet.

"If every faction is this weak, then our leader has nothing to worry about." The woman in black calmly walked towards her while her rigging destroyed the rest of her planes; even when some of them managed to land a hit on her, their bullets were easily stopped by the shields.

Something was unraveling in the assailant, however. The more she approached again, the more she seemed incapable of holding back the bloodlust.

"Come, show me something, anything." She said, her voice fluctuating erratically, as a beastly undertone made itself clearer and clearer.

Formidable tried to incorporate fully again, but she received a kick to her ribs. She spit out a breadth she didn't know was holding.

Then she received another kick, and another.

And another.

"YOU ARE FIGHTING THE SIRENS AS WELL, GODDAMMIT! HOW CAN YOU BE SO USELESS!?" The woman snarled, and gave Formidable another kick, one that sent her skidding across the ocean surface once more. But Formidable held.

"The fact that you are supposed to be my ally repulses me." The rage was barely reeled back once more. "For you to be so weak…it's unforgivable." With a hand gesture, her rigging changed once more, now manifesting a large mechanic black serpent on her back, its body outfitted with artillery guns all along.

"Now, disappear from my sight."

The serpent locked unfeeling glowing eyes on Formidable, and following the command of its master, it opened its jaws, big enough to swallow her. Her eyes widened at the sight of a barrel extending from within, one that was even bigger than those of any guns along its body. A mechanical, unnatural whirring resounded in Formidable's ears, as the beastly rigging began glowing with a golden light across its shell.

Eventually, the monstrous jaw started emitting immense heat, and the same golden light across it gathered in it. Formidable instinctively knew that she wouldn't survive whatever that thing was going to unleash.

Gathering every ounce of will left within her, damning if she was bruised, if she had only one arm left, Formidable planted her heel and stood up. Her breathing was ragged and it seemed like her posture could break at any moment, but she still stood up.

Desperation it may be.

"STAY DOWN!" The beastly girl growled. "DON'T YOU GET IT YET!? YOU WILL DIE HERE!"

But Formidable persisted.

"D-don't move an inch!"

"Where do you think you are going?"

"That's none of your business."

I was ready to leave the military base, but I found myself interrupted by Haydes again.

"You suddenly stormed out of the command room, and now I find you here, carrying that thing." She pointed towards Lord Camelot, that at that moment rested on my right hand. "I feel that you are trying to do something incredibly stupid."

"Out of my way." I didn't answer and moved to get past her.

"Whatever you are trying to do, you won't make it in time." She stepped to directly block my path."Even if you could somehow teleport various kilometers away into the sea, how do you plan to help her? Your presence would only be detrimental, a weak point to be exploited by the enemy."

"And what am I supposed to do then!?" I directed a furious gaze at her. "Wait here until the situation is resolved itself!? Or until she gets killed!?

"You need to be here, ready to take charge when the situation demands it." She didn't flinch. "You are not some knight in shining armor, Fujimaru, you aren't supposed to run into the battlefield the moment something goes wrong. You are a Commander, your job is to stay back and look at the bigger picture as coldly as you can."

"I can't look at the bigger picture because I have no fucking idea what's going on out there!" My hand hit the nearest wall with force, making a dent in it due to my reinforcement. "Formidable might be fighting for her life right now I am stuck here unable to do anything like a worthless piece of trash!"

Even when I didn't fight directly during my time in Chaldea, I was still there, side by side with my Servants. Staying so far from the battle wasn't for me; not knowing if Formidable was even still alive was killing me from the inside.

"I promised to support her no matter what, Haydes. I promised to be there for her whenever she needed me and now I am just…" I clutched my fist until it started to hurt. I felt useless, unable to do anything for someone that trusted me. Just like before... I could still see it whenever I closed my eyes, her smile, her last smile before everything ended. "I cannot let her die, Haydes. I wouldn't be able to bear it… not again."

I didn't know if Marcia understood what I was trying to say, but she didn't say anything for a while.

"Do you know how we first became aware of the Sirens' existence?" She asked, all of sudden.

"No?" I was confused by the change in topic.

"The Queen Mary, that was the name of the commercial cruise that was attacked." She started, her expression unreadable. "Four thousand three hundred and seventy-five lives, counting the crew and tourists, were lost that day. Their bodies were never found, only some wreckage of the ship was discovered a few months later when they were dragged by the sea towards our shores."

"…They said it was an accident." I remembered it was all over the news for some time. No matter where you went, you could hear someone talking about the tragedy of the Queen Mary; of the relatives of the victims filing lawsuits against the cruiser company, asking for justice; and the uncountable wild theories of what could have happened to those four thousand missing people.

"We thought it was until it happened again. One of our fleets was ambushed by black ships with red symbols on their hulls; they came out of nowhere and started firing their weapons, destroying half the formation in seconds. Our fleet tried to fight back, but all our weapons, missiles, planes, and torpedoes were proven to be ineffective against them and the fleet was completely annihilated; only a single ship managed to come back to tell the tale."

Marcia paused briefly.

"I was on board that ship, as the acting Lieutenant Commander." She brought a hand to the insignia of her uniform. "I received my promotion a few weeks after that, only because my ship happened to survive." She said those last words with a self-deprecating tone. "It wasn't even a matter of luck; the Sirens could have destroyed us as well, but decided to let us go so we could be their messengers, my ship was just chosen instead of one of the other ten." Her tone became even more somber as she lowered her head. "I hated myself because of that. I hated my rank and I hated the high command for giving it to me….until I understood it."

"What did you understand?"

"What it means to fight in this war." Her eyes gazed at mine again. "Just like the admiral and my predecessor, it's highly likely that I won't survive to see the end of this war, Fujimaru." Even though she was talking about her own death, I didn't see fear or doubt in her eyes, she was completely calm. "Same goes for the soldiers patrolling the seas right now or the ones that were in the command room with us. Ironically, the prototypes you are so worried about are the ones with more chances of surviving, common soldiers wouldn't have survived the wounds they sustained."

"Are you trying to tell me that Formidable is going to be fine? Because you are failing horribly."

"No. It's quite the opposite, in fact." He shook her head. "I am telling you that no matter what you do, people will inevitably die. That's the nature of war and as soon as you understand that reality the sooner you'll become a proper soldier. Saying something like you can't bear the idea of losing a single person, while romantic, won't make you a better leader and it won't help the people you desperately want to save." Her eyes narrowed in a defiant look. "If you can't face the reality of war at once, then you are just not fit to be a commander."

That made me flinch.

I wanted to refute her, to scream that she was wrong and everyone could be saved if we tried hard enough. Perhaps my younger self would have done that, but I was no longer that person. The man I was now understood that her words were nothing but the truth.

After all, how could I even begin to save anyone when my hands were already drenched in blood? When I had already failed so miserably?

"Commander!" The voice of a soldier could suddenly be heard, as he came running towards us. "We have-" He didn't finish, his mouth hanging open in confusion upon seeing the cracked wall, my fist still indented on it.

"Soldier?" Marcia redirected his attention.

"Ah… y-yes, Commander! We just received a communication from the coast guard: The prototype managed to return to the shipyard."

"What did you say!?"

"Though it seemed it has taken some major damage and fell unconscious soon afterward. We are already moving it here so-"

"Take me to where she is." I interrupted him.

"As I said, it is already on her way here. It shouldn't take more than an hour for it to arrive."

"No, you don't understand." I repeated. "I can save her, but we have no time! I need to be there with her!"

"What the hell are you even saying? For starters, you are not even part of-"

"Soldier. Prepare a car and do as he says." It was Marcia the one that interrupted him this time. "No matter how this looks like, he is telling the truth. This time at least." She couldn't help but add that last bit.

"…Yes, Commander." Somewhat conflicted, the man followed his orders and left.

"And you." He stopped me just as I was about to follow the man. "We'll continue this conversation once you return. Go and make sure she survives."

"You don't have to tell me." I said with conviction. It was true that I couldn't save everyone, but at the precise moment and in that precise situation, I could save Formidable. I was damn sure of it. "I will save her, no matter what!"

Formidable's return to consciousness was accompanied by an intense pain all over her body. She had taken the beating of a lifetime but was still alive.

Aching, she weakly sat on the familiar but rather uncomfortable bed, noticing how her body was wrapped in bandages from face to bottom, and she had been switched out of her usual dress and into a patient's gown. In other circumstances she may have shrieked about her modesty, but right now her thoughts were slowly unraveling with the memories of the last few hours numbing her. The room was barely lit, but she soon identified it as her own room within the base.

She was also not alone.

"Commander…?"

Fujimaru was lying on a chair next to her, the top part of his body was lying face down across the bed. With a worried twitch, she quickly put a hand on his neck, and released a sigh of relief upon feeling his pulse, and further calmed down when she heard his breathing. He was just unconscious.

"Commander… were you healing me?" She thought to herself, and with some initial reluctance, she found herself incapable of not caressing his hair.

"You keep doing so much for me, even if when I don't deserve any of it." She whispered, deep shame slowly but surely filling her.

She had lost. Such was the result, set in stone the moment that unknown woman laid eyes on her; the mere memory of her insane gaze alone was enough to paralyze her. Those eyes had not belonged to a Shipgirl, but a monster. A rabid beast that couldn't be talked to or reasoned with, a being that was moved only by a violent desire to kill.

So when the opportunity presented itself, she decided to run, abandoning her mission.

And so she survived, but at what cost? What would the Queen say if she knew that one of her vassals had run away terrified of the enemy? Would she blame her? Would she say that she was a disgrace to the Royal Navy? She couldn't imagine how she would face Elizabeth when she woke up.

What about the Commander? He was worried about her, so worried that he had healed her until losing consciousness just like that time with the rest of her faction. He really did care about her but…would he be disappointed upon learning the truth? Would he turn away upon finding out she was a coward?

Formidable's chest ached, and it wasn't just because of her wounds. The idea that the Commander might hate her hurt, so much it was unbearable. He was the only one she had right now, her only ally.

"Commander…." She repeated weakly, but of course the man couldn't answer, as he was submerged in a deep sleep. She searched for any ounce of willpower to push those intrusive thoughts aside, finding that thinking only of him worked. "It's not good if you sleep like that, you might hurt your back."

Formidable quietly got up off the bed from the other side, and was washed by residual pain the moment her bare feet touched the cold concrete ground. She bit her tongue and powered through, quietly walking to Ritsuka's side, finding herself stopped once she was right beside him. She feared that even being gentle would wake him up, as she had only one arm to move him, on top of her own aching body restricting her movements.

"I should carry you to your room." She ultimately decided.

Formidable didn't know whether to pull him back on the chair or just pick him up somehow. While she did have the strength to carry his entire body on her shoulder, she didn't want to hurt him by accident.

She had no choice but to go back on her decision.

So she decided to put him on her bed, she'd just look for another. And so she would.

He was still slumbering, and it was still a very awkward maneuver, but eventually Formidable managed to prop him up into the bed by pulling his legs up first and then pushing him properly on the mattress.

It was only after that endeavor that she managed to take a good look at her Commander's sleeping face, and she was disheartened to see that his expression wasn't one of peaceful rest, as his closed eyes scrunched together in clear distress.

"…"

It started with just a thought.

Maybe, just maybe, if she took his hand, then that would help him to overcome whatever nightmares might be haunting him. She wanted to pay him back, to be there for him just how he was for her; so she did just that and placed her hand on top of his. It was big and rough, but it wasn't uncomfortable to the touch, rather it was warm, and touching it gave her a feeling of peacefulness.

However, the man in question still wore a painful expression, as if he was suffering.

Perhaps if she tried with a more thorough contact, then it would work.

She didn't mean to get into the bed with him at first; she just wanted to be as close as possible to him, to make him feel that she was there for him. So Formidable lay next to him, and gently placed her head against his chest. She could hear the quiet beating of his heart; the sign that he was alive gave her tranquility, it made her feel at ease… so much that she couldn't help but to want to remain there.

"Just for a moment." She moved the bed sheets to cover both of them, the night was chilly and her Commander wouldn't catch a cold on her watch. "Just one moment."

So she thought before her eyelids began to feel heavy, and she slowly fell asleep.

"Just one moment is all I need."

I opened my eyes.

She was there, peacefully sleeping with her head on my chest; her body was so close to mine that I could feel how it slightly moved each time she breathed.

I couldn't help but smile.

She was beautiful, I knew that from the very moment I first saw her, but she looked positively stunning at that moment, like I was sleeping with a goddess (And did I know a few). Was this what it felt to be truly in love? I had never felt anything like that before. It was like I couldn't conceive the idea of being with another person anymore, that being with her was how it was always meant to be.

And yet our time was limited. Soon we'll have to leave this room and face reality once more. To fight and risk our lives, all to save humanity, even though there was no future for us.

I moved my hand to caress her face, but I stopped myself at the last second; I didn't want to wake her by accident. Instead, I gently placed my arms around her. I wanted us to enjoy this moment just a little longer.

"I love you, Mashu." I called her name in a whisper and slowly began to close my eyes.

If only we had more time… if only this happiness could last a bit longer…

"Co…er…"

If only this moment could last forever…

If only we had more time…

"Co…ander…" I heard a voice in the distance, a voice that became clearer as the seconds passed. "Commander…" It was Formidable's voice.

Formidable?

I opened my eyes again startled, but I wasn't in Chaldea anymore and the person next to me wasn't Mashu. It was Formidable; she had her head buried on my chest and I was hugging her so tightly that our bodies were practically stuck together.

"Wha-? Formidable, I..." The words stumbled in my mouth while I quickly took my arms away from her and tried to give her some space. "I am sorry, I don't…"

However, she reacted the opposite way, holding onto me tighter.

"Com….mander… don't…" She mumbled some words without much coherence.

"Formidable…?" I took a more careful look and realized her eyes were still closed; she was still asleep.

"How did it come to this?" I asked myself. The last thing I remembered was staying the night in her room and healing her with magecraft. How did we end up in the same bed? I had to ask her later, now I needed to get up before anyone could see us and get the wrong idea.

That was the plan at least; however her head was just on top of me and she was holding me pretty tightly. If I moved too much I would surely wake her up, and she seemed to be sleeping so peacefully…

"It's just like that time." After so many years, I had forgotten what it felt to lay on bed with someone else, to fall asleep embracing each other and wake up together with the first rays of the sun.

It was a pleasant feeling.

"…"

I wonder, would you hate me if I said I wanted to experience this again? Would I be unfaithful to you if I sought the warm of another person again, Mashu?

"Here I am, sharing the bed with a woman after so long and still thinking about you." I couldn't help but release a dry chuckle. "What a pathetic excuse of a man I am…" I threw my head back and stared at the ceiling.

What I said to Marcia was true; I missed being surrounded by people, by friends. I missed being able to share everything with someone else, I missed being able to feel this warmness so close.

However, I also knew I kept clinging to my past, my memories. Mashu, she would forever be a part of me, and I doubted that would ever change.

"Commander..." Formidable said, still sleep-talking.

"Yes, I am here." I said, even though I knew she couldn't hear me.

"Stay." She said with frightening clarity. "Don't… leave me."

My heart twisted, even though I continued being haunted by the ghosts of my past, these girls had accepted someone like me as their commander. Someone that incapable of controlling his emotions and that lost his cool at the first inconvenience.

Maybe it was like Marcia said and I wasn't truly fit to be a commander.

"…I won't." I answered, and wrapped my arms around her again. "I promise I won't, Formidable."

But if these girls needed me, then that was all I needed. I would do everything to the best of my abilities to support them, just like in the Chaldea.

I wasn't fit to be the last master of humanity either, after all.

In the darkness of the night, someone stared at the military base with a cold, dead gaze. Formidable thought she had managed to lose her at some point, but as the predator that chases after their wounded prey, she had followed her all the way there.

In truth, she wasn't supposed to be there, her mission was only to search for the true Black Cubes and return. But she had ignored Friedrich's orders, and now stood in front of the base of another faction.

Her fists trembled with the idea of killing them all, it would be so easy to manifest her rigging and exterminate all those vermin. They didn't even know, but their pathetic existence rested on her bloody hands at that moment.

But even someone like her knew when to hold back, she did it all the time in the Iron Blood headquarters after all. Like when someone talked to her as If they were friends or every time Friedrich put that unbearable mother act as if she was superior of her…!

So she calmed the rage of her heart and engraved that building on her mind. When the time came and Friedrich decided to act, then she would personally end their lives.

So was the purpose of a weapon, and the only thing that truly bring joy to Roon.

END OF CHAPTER 22

AN: Remember when I said I wanted to do short chapters focusing more on romance? well, here is a long chapter focusing a bit on romance.

The idea behind the short chapters was that I would release them more quickly, alas it wasn't possible. I am going to try to do that in the next couple of chapters but at this point, I shouldn't promise anything.

As always, thanks to Fleece for the proofreading and lower for the editing and making everything flows better.

blah blah discord blah blah, you know the drill (discord. gg / kvRCbruzaT )

And with that, it's my time to disappear.

ADIOS.