I wake back up in this horrid cottage, wishing I would just wake up at home. Remission is in the room already, humming a song to herself.

She notices I'm awake and smiles, beckoning me to follow her. I follow, against my better judgement. She takes me outside, and I finally get to see outside this prison.

It truly is a prison.

I am in a field of white flowers, all looking towards the Sun in the sky. There is a stone pathway to the left of the field, going up to a small cottage at the top of a hill. When I look into the distance I see nothing but an endless sky, no clear distinction of up or down. There are tall lumenflowers along the edge of the landmass, with a fence behind them, and a natural stone wall behind those.

There is a great tree at the end of the field, with branches hanging a quarter of the way through the field, with white petals falling from it.

Remission smiles, gesturing wide with her arms. "Beautiful, is it not? I made it just so, because it reminded me of you!"

I look at her, confused.

"Well, these flowers around the field are white, beautiful and even capable of surviving the harsh environment of a dream, despite their tenderness when cared for. They are difficult to raise, but will never die from being trampled!"

She walks towards the tree, beckoning me with her hand. When she sees that I'm not following, she sweetens the deal, "C'mon, I have something to tell you about Reprisal and I."

I hesitate, before following anyways. 'Maybe it'll be something that'll let me escape.'

She sits in the flowers under the tree, patting next to her. I sit, and she begins talking,

"Reprisal and I, you know of our births, right? Well, I found out the truth, our mothers were impregnated by a great one, mine by Fauna of the sun, and hers by Flora of the moon."

When she sees my confusion, she elaborates, "Great ones are akin to gods, to keep it simple. A more accurate answer, though, would be to say that they are to us, what we are to ants. Their world is infinitely more complex, and we are just small insects. However, they still are animals, and they still want to have kids. But there is a second issue; that no two great ones are the same. The only solution is a surrogate, forcing someone else to have the child in her stead."

She looks for me to respond, but I stay silent. "Well, I tried to learn how I could have a kid with you. I found out that, just like my predecessor, I can't just have a kid. First, I would need to impregnate you, not the other way around, that way the child maintains a shipgirls body.

Second, and more importantly, I would need to die to do it. Fauna and Flora both died in making sure Reprisal and I were born. If I wanted to have a child, something similar would happen to me. In my case, it would take a lot of my power, so much so that my cube would be left empty."

I nod, looking at her with relief. 'Good, she can't do anything crazy with me. Then again, neither can Reprisal, but- wait. She said she would need to sacrifice her wisdom cube, but why not Reprisals?'

She sees my expression change into worry, and she nods. "Exactly. I could just use Reprisals cube to permit the child to exist, sparing my own life. You might be wondering how I could ever manage to kill her, after all, I'd have to fight all of Azur Lane to do that. If we really are doubles, then it would be a 50/50 at best."

I nod, and she smiles a wicked smile that goes ear to ear. "It's simple really. I promised Akagi her sister back, as long as she builds the Orochi, and allows me to get you here by using a spell to weaken the border between the realms.

The Orochi, a ship with an extremely powerful payload inside, will be used by the Sakura Empire to destroy Azur Lane in the midst of the night, before Amagi turns on the Sakura Empire and directs it at her prior allies.

A great plan, is it not? I would both be taking care of her allies, preventing them from ever finding out how to get here and ruin our lives, but also take care of Reprisal, allowing me to take her cube for myself."

I look at her in horror, terrified at the thought.

She nods, "I expected that reaction. Well, no matter. Either way, I will soon take care of these loose ends, and finally get to live my life with you, my Cinna-Bun."

I stand up, running back into the house, slamming the door behind me. 'This can't be happening. It can't be!'

The song Freesia by Naoki matches really well with this chapter, IMO, so listen if you would like to.

I wake up in a familiar bed, and my head is killing me. 'Ugh… What happened? Is this what Laffey was talking about with hangovers… wait, Laffey… she's… she's gone. She's truly gone, huh?'

I turn over, burying my face in the pillow, letting my tears spill out. 'If only I were faster! I could have gotten her out of the way, or if I didn't hit Enty, it never would have happened. Hell, if only Kaga didn't start this damn war, maybe this shit wouldn't be so bad!'

After a few minutes of crying into the pillow, (Or maybe longer, I don't know.), I hear a knock at the door. After a moment of silence, they enter, revealing themselves to be Takao and Atago.

They only need to take a look at me to see how I'm handling the situation. Atago is immediately on me, wrapping me in a hug, and Takao is right behind her. I cry into her chest, crying myself to sleep after some time.

…

I wake up again, my headache still there, but not quite as bad as before. I shakily sit up, my body's needs calling. I step into the bathroom, using the bathroom before deciding whether or not to take a shower.

'I don't really want to… I'm going back to bed.'

I decide against it, laying back in bed, falling asleep to nightmares of what occurred. I have one strange dream, however.

In it, there is someone a bit taller than me, with heterochromatic eyes, blue and purple. They look down at me, with a look of disgust on their face.

I don't remember what they said, but it felt hurtful. Whatever it was, it was encouraging enough to get me out of bed, but not much else.

I look around the room, seeing a glass of water next to the bed, and a book next to it.

I grab the glass of water, taking a sip before realizing just how thirsty I am, chugging it through the pain.

I sit up, hearing the door to the room open as I put my legs over the side of the bed.

Takao walks in, looking at me concerned. She sits down next to me, asking "Do you want to talk about it, or be distracted?"

I look at her surprised, but I guess it wasn't visible on my face with my puffy eyes. I try to say something, but my voice is nothing but a whisper. "distract.".

She nods her head, leading me to the bathroom to wash up, before I hear her step out.

This time I take a shower, stepping outside the bathroom to see my clothes washed and folded on my bed.

'thanks.'

I put them on, stepping outside to see Atago waiting for me. She grabs my hand, taking me with her in the direction of the Sakura Trees. When we get there, Takao is waiting there on a picnic blanket, with sushi, pocky sticks, soda, and beer all sitting out and prepared for us.

Atago sits me down between her and Takao, and I grab chopsticks. I attempt to pick up the sushi, failing to grab it with how shaky my hands are. Atago grabs it for me, and I take it into my mouth. 'tastes bland.'.

I try again, and this time I manage to grab it. I try to dip it in the wasabi, but Atago pats me on the back, making me drop it. She lets out a little "sorry.", and I manage to pick it out of the wasabi.

I eat it like that, thankfully feeling the spice on my tongue.

Takao offers me some tea, and I take a sip, feeling it help soothe my throat from lack of use. I take my time sipping on the tea, and Atago seems to be bothered by something.

I finish the tea, not noticing that Atago seems to be bothered, grabbing the bottle of Sake and pouring myself some. 'Mom always said not to drink. I wonder if it's as good as Laffey… says…'

I down the cup in one shot, feeling the warmth settle into my stomach. My migraine seems to settle a little at that. 'That's a little better.'

Atago takes the cup from me, before Takao hands me a cup of water. I look at Atago confused, before she says "Your Mom wouldn't want you drinking.". Her voice sounds tired.

I nod slightly, drinking the water in my hands. 'It doesn't feel like anything.'

Takao grabs me by the hand, taking me out to the sparring area. She throws me a bamboo sword, before grabbing one herself.

She settles into a stance, and I do so as well, mostly out of habit.

She rushes me, and I barely block her strikes. She quickly feels how little I'm putting into the spar, and she stops. "Sigh, Reprisal, do you want to talk about it?"

I stop, dropping my sword to the ground. Atago comes up next to her, and they both look at me expectantly.

I look at them with what I think is a tired expression, "what is there to say? my girlfriend died. I'm depressed. that's it."

Atago nods her head, looking at me sadly. "Is there… anything you want to do?"

I shake my head no, and she nods in understanding. Takao grabs ahold of my hand, leading us to a cliff that overlooks the ocean. It's the middle of the night, and the full moon is looking down upon us, its pale light illuminating the ocean in its tremendous push and pull.

Takao sits at the edge of the cliff, patting next to her. She looks at Atago, and she leaves us be, walking back to where we came from.

I look to Takao for a reason why we came here, but she gives me none. 'Why? Is there something here I'm missing?'

I look at the waves, my headache slowly returning to me. I attempt to shake it off, and it clings to the back of my head, only a little painful.

I look back at her, finally opening my mouth to speak. "why?"

She looks down at me, confused."I just like this spot. It's calm. And reminds me of you."

I shake my head, "That's not what I meant. I mean… why do you care so much?"

She looks at me like the answer is obvious. "That's a conclusion you need to reach, Sis."

I look at her confused, wracking my brain to understand her. 'I don't get it. I'm just a shell of myself, and yet they still try so hard. Why? I shouldn't be that important to them, it's not like I'm their Mom or… something…

oh.

Oh.

She just told me. I'm like a sister to them. The same way Mom, or Enty cares for me, they do as well. I'm so stupid.'

Takao seems to notice my epiphany, wrapping me in a hug. "Thanks, Takao. Thanks for reminding me why I'm here. Even if Laffey is gone, I'll keep living the way she wanted me to."

Takao smiles at me, and I finally notice the bags under her eyes. "Were you… unable to sleep? Because of me?"

She nods, wrapping me back into the hug. I feel a few tears touch my neck, and I cry into her just the same.

'I'll live on, for you, Laffey. No, for everyone in my family. I'll live for all of you. I'll give back what you've put into me.'

I'm still stuck in this house. It looks like a cozy cottage, but it feels like I'm in a prison. I've noticed her using the same door when she leaves this place, going through it and disappearing on the other side.

I plan to sneak out next time she leaves, although it will be difficult to sneak out without her hearing me. She seems to always hear whatever is going on in the house.

I hear the door unlock, and she enters the room. "Honey, I'm home!" She spots me on the bed, placing a tray of food on the bed. It has water, with a cheeseburger also on the plate. I glare at her for calling me that, but she ignores it.

She tries leaning in to give me a kiss, but I push her away. "Aww, why do the good ones play hard to get? Whatever, do you at least like the burger? I saw it in this one show I watched with my sister, where a girl who acted like a machine was shown humanity through a burger! The music was really good too!"

She catches my attention with that, "Music?"

She looks ecstatic at me finally speaking to her. "Yeah! It was really good! Here, why don't I play it while I go out to work, would you like that? I'm sure you'll like it."

I give her a slow nod, and she takes a CD and puts it into a dvd player at the other end of the room, in the wall. 'Has that always been there?'

She walks to the door, "Oh, and I figured you would like to know that, today is the day! I hope you're excited!"

She walks out, not bothering to look at my expression turned sour. Well, more than usual when trapped with her.

I wait another five minutes, before I walk to the door. I summon my rigging, blasting through the lock in the door.

I walk into the yard, looking over the edge. I see an infinite expanse of black, swirling into my head. I hear Reprisal's voice echoing in my head, "When the Abyss Calls Out, are you consumed by fear, or does it fear you?". I fight myself free of my stupor and growing headache, jumping into the unknown.

… …

…

… …

When I can see again, I'm laying on the hull of a giant ship. I see Remission and Akagi in front of me, with Amagi(?) behind her. Remission is looking down at me, a look of surprise on her face. "How did you end up here, my little cinna-bun?"

I try to stand up, only for Remission to hold me down. "Sorry, but I can't let you see the important stuff going on. Top secret, you see."

She looks up at Akagi, handing her the dial. "This dial is important, so I made sure to retrieve it for you. Don't lose it again."

She nods, and Remission continues, "Anyways, remember how I needed you to use that spell for my goal? Well, this was it. I was finally able to reunite with Laffey. Of course, it was a difficult thing to bring her to my world, and the trip left her confused at first. Normally I wouldn't act like this with her, but sometimes you've gotta hurt the ones you love to protect them from even greater threats, right?"

Akagi looks at Remission with concern, and Amagi(?) looks unbothered.

Remission places her foot on my back, pressing me into the hull of the ship, unable to look up anymore. "Sorry, but I can't let you see anymore."

I hear footsteps rushing towards us. "LAFFEY!". My headache worsens, but I can only think of one thing to do.

I fire shots from my rigging into the ceiling, calling out "Reprisal, save m-".

Suddenly my vision turns dark for a moment, and I'm back at the house with Remission.

I fall to my knees, breaking down, crying at how close I was to freedom. I hear Remission approach.

She grabs me by the hair, lifting me up and throwing me to the wall. I slam against the wall, my rigging being summoned on instinct. "How dare you try to escape! I tried to be good to you, and respect that you wouldn't try to harm me!"

She grabs me by the throat, lifting me to look at her. Her canines look longer than I remember, and her bad eye is burning a fiery orange. "But no. You just couldn't help yourself! Why?! I take care of all your needs, and treat you like you're my queen! What, do you want me to abuse you or something?!"

She raises a hand to smack me, before dropping it, dropping me to the floor. As I gasp for air on my hands and knees, she turns around. "No, I could never hurt you like that. It would only give you reason to hate me."

She puts her hand to her chin, before coming to a realization. She nods, turning back to me and placing a foot on my back. "I know just what to do. To make sure you can't pull a stunt like that again."

She grabs my rigging by where it connects to the base of my spine, and I freeze in her grip. "P-please, no."

She frowns, tears falling from her eyes. "Sorry, just know that this hurts me more than it hurts you."

She rips out my rigging by the spine.

"AHHHHHHH!"

The pain is excruciating, my mind going blank from the pain. I slam to the floor despite my protests.

She grabs me, lifting me up and moving me to the bed. She places me face down, wrapping my torso in bandages after cleaning the wound.

I passed out, having run out of breath to scream, yet continuing to try until the lack of oxygen caught up with me.

Laffey passed out from the pain. "I do truly feel bad for this, I really do. But, sometimes to protect the ones you love, you've gotta hurt the ones you love."

I grab her rigging, placing it into my ship's storage for now. "Of course, you did this to yourself by ruining my plans. Now I have to rethink a strategy to kill her."

I shake my head, before dragging a chair from the kitchen into her room, placing it by the window. "There, now when you wake up you can see the show."

I nod my head, walking outside. "It is frustrating that the plan with the Orochi failed, since Reprisal is on the ship. Now I can't just kill her with the rest of the Azur Lane. Well, no matter. Either way, I have much more experience than her, thanks to the hunt, so it should be fine. But… just in case."

I walk into a large field of flowers that is overlooked by a great tree. Under that tree is a seat I will await Reprisal in. "She will appear on the opposite end, using the Dial. At least, if she's got any true connection to Flora."

I grab Laffey's rigging, placing it behind where she will appear.

"Perfect. Now she will be in an emotional rage. After all, the easiest beasts to hunt, are the ones without thoughts."

…