After Friedrich had allowed the Bulins to remove the submarines from her anchors, She and Richelieu headed out to the mouth of the port to protect the rest of the ships still resting there. Eldridge went out to join them so she could assist with her radar.
"Mikasa? Are you okay?" Surcouf asked as she went and sat next to the sulking battleship.
"No. Not at all. I have brought disgrace to my people and to myself." Mikasa said.
"How so?" Surcouf asked.
"That town back there was alive and well when I first arrived. I was ordered, by the enemy, to kill everyone who resisted. So I did. I... I... I killed the people I was designed to protect." Mikasa said as she broke down crying in the middle of the burnt out warehouse.
"Mikasa... you can't blame yourself forever. You were under their control. That black sludge that Odin reported was controlling your actions and receiving those commands for you. They used your body. Don't you want revenge?" Surcouf asked.
"I...I just don't know if I am capable of going on after such a horrific dishonor." Mikasa spoke softly.
"Mikasa. There is more to life than honor or dishonor. You were not in control. The Sirens are the ones who slaughtered those people, at least that's how I and the Commander see it." Surcouf said.
"The Shikikan?!" Mikasa asked.
"Yes. Before the fire, he and I had some words. More of a chat over some French Chardonnay. He agrees that you were not in control. So you are not to blame. At least the commander does not believe you are. And I'm sure the rest of the fleet sees it that way too." Surcouf said.
"I brought victory to Tsushima and held back the Parliament forces to bring honor to Sakura Empire. This... this travesty has tarnished my name." Mikasa said
"Mikasa. Listen to yourself. You know you weren't in control. You know there was nothing you could do. Stop beating yourself up!" Surcouf said as she backhanded Mikasa, knocking her off the crate she was sitting on.
"I deserved that." Mikasa said as she refused to stand.
"Oh, you're going to make me beat some sense into you, aren't you? Does honor truly mean so much to you? Would you rather be scuttled for your part in this?" Surcouf said as she attempted to lift the battleship off the ground.
"I want... to redeem my honor. To make myself whole again." Mikasa said quietly.
"Then shut up and get your rear in gear! As a submarine, i have to sit by quietly and watch things play out, but when my old enemy gets to sit there and mope when there's a war on, I refuse to sit by. Now dust yourself off, and go receive your orders. You will have your chance to redeem yourself once we leave this island." Surcouf spoke angrily.
Mikasa looked like she wanted to say more but decided against it. She instead smiled and looked directly at Surcouf.
"I guess I'll help build the Shikikan's ship. Thank you... for the pep talk." Mikasa said as she walked out of the warehouse.
P51's buzzed the base at Niue, attracting the attention of the French sailors and Akashi.
"What could that be, nyaa?" Akashi wondered as Intrepid came over the lab radio terminal.
"Hello? This is Union carrier Intrepid under the command of Isaac Garner. Can anyone read me?" Intrepid's voice came over the radio.
"Hai. Akashi can hear you, Intrepid-san. What can Akashi do for you and the shikikan?" Akashi asked.
"I have a destroyer onboard the lead wing of this squadron. She does not have a ship, and the commander said she is not to see combat. He was quite insistent of that." Intrepid said.
"Did she have to leave her ship behind, nyaa?" Akashi asked.
"According to Odin, she believes that the ship was sunk by the Sirens and the Kansen given as a hostage to the Governor of Fiji." Intrepid said.
"Nyaa?! Akashi will be at the airstrip right away!" Akashi said as she ran from the lab and up the hill towards the airstrip.
I-13 entered the docks as Akashi made her way up to the airstrip. The drone ship parked in a vacant dock as I-13 made her way onto the docks with the cubes that once made up the Second fleet.
"I wonder where she is off to." I-13 said as she walked into the lab with the cubes.
"Welcome home, Second Fleet." I-13 said as she laid the cubes down on the computer. She took a few minutes to stay with them as Akashi was occupied.
"Akagi? I don't know if you can hear me, or if you have left us for good. It's I-13. I know we didn't get along the best, with you and Kaga going out of you way to try and become God's with the aid of the sirens. But I still held out hope that you'd survive until we could see one another again. Your ship is a mess. I don't know how or why it is so torn apart, but something inside makes me think you did what you felt was best, up until the very end." I-13 said softly as she held Akagi's cubes.
The P51's screeched to a halt at the end of the airfield. Mutsuki trembled a bit, starting to cry as all the shaking slowly stopped.
"Mutsuki-chan." Akashi said excitedly as she pried open the canopy.
"Miss Akashi? What are you doing here? Do you have candy?" Mutsuki asked.
"Akashi is stationed here. Akashi has chocolate in the dorms. Come come." Akashi said as she picked up the small kitten destroyer.
"Akashi. I will keep a plane here, but we need any blank cubes you can spare as well as any control device blueprints. We are constructing a ship for the Commander." Intrepid said.
"Hai. Hai. Akashi will scrounge up any cubes she can make. And Akashi will cop the blueprint for Shikikan." Akashi said.
"Thank you, just contact me again when they are loaded. I will be waiting." Intrepid said as Akashi occupied herself with caring for Mutsuki.
"Akashi! Come quick!" I-13 yelled over the radio.
"Nyaa?" Akashi asked as she ran with Mutsuki down to the lab.
Akashi walked in to see a pair of cubes in I-13's hands begin to emit a soft blue light from the cracks on it's surface.
"What happened, nyaa?!" Akashi asked as she quickly took the cubes and investigated.
"I was giving my thoughts to Akagi's cubes. I had mentioned putting her to rest with her late shikikan and all of a sudden her cubes began to glow out of these cracks." I-13 said, thoroughly shaken.
"Akashi will do her very best. These cubes are missing a lot of data. We may be able to get something out of them still." Akashi said as she placed the cubes on the pad along with a small chunk of wisdom ore.
"Akashi has done some more research on this ore and found that it stabilizes and, on rare occasions like the prototype bulin, transforms whatever it is melded with." Akashi said as she hit the start button.
"We should speed up this build just in case." I-13 said as she noticed more of the cube beginning to crack.
"Agreed, nyaa." Akashi said as she threw in one of the last five speed builders that the bulins had found.
A blinding flash of light as the tube rose from the floor.
"What the hell?!" I-13 cried as the door flew open.
"Where is he!?" A pint sized kitsune spoke angrily.
"A-akagi?" I-13 and Akashi ask in unison.
"Yeah? What of it? Don't tell me you two have forgotten me already." The small Akagi said.
"Not at all... but you're... shorter." Akashi said as she knelt down to get eye level with Akagi.
"What do you mean?" Akagi asked as she walked over to a mirror that was hung by the door.
"WHAT?!" Akagi screamed as she began touching her body and face, trying to see if it was real or not.
"And who is 'He'?" I-13 asked.
"My husband, Forrest Shikikan." Akagi said as she turned and walked up to I-13.
"If you know where he is, you will take me to him before I boil you alive in a sea of flames." Akagi growled.
I-13 and Akashi shared saddened glances as they turned to Akagi.
"Follow us." I-13 said as the three girls and Mutsuki slowly made their way up the slope of the island.
"Where is he?" Akagi asked as she looked around at the top of the hill.
"Akagi..." Akashi said softly as she pointed out to the ocean.
"No... no it can't be." Akagi said as she fell to her knees.
"Garner Shikikan said that the on August 11th, Forrest Shikikan jumped from this cliff into the sea below. He did not survive the fall." Akashi said softly.
"This can't be..." Akagi said as she began to cry uncontrollably.
"Garner Shikikan has taken up his will and mantle to fight the Sirens and purge them. He also laid Forrest shikikan to rest here." I-13 said.
"You keep mentioning him. Who is this Garner?" Akagi asked as her tears slowly faded.
"Isaac Garner. He saved me from a pack of destroyers with nothing but a battleship." I-13 said.
"Shikikan has allowed Akashi to stay here instead of on the front lines. Shikikan got hurt defending Akashi." Akashi said.
"Where is he, then?" Akagi asked.
"Fiji. He is heading north up the island chain to retake the Philippines and then Sakura." I-13 said.
"Then I shall go." Akagi said.
"Akagi-chan can't go yet." Akashi said.
"What did you just call me? I am still just as powerful as I was before, you tiny green cat." Akagi said.
"Either way, nyaa. Akagi chan can't go. Not until the rest of second fleet is revived." Akashi said.
"How many of them made it?" Akagi asked.
"From the shape of their cubes, everyone did. Helena, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Belfast all survived." I-13 said.
"I'm glad... ashamed as I am to admit." Akagi said with a small smile.
"What happened?" Akashi asked as Mutsuki munched on a chocolate bar.
"We were met by a massive Siren fleet. They practically came out of nowhere. There was no time to react before they opened fire. Helena was up front and she was attracting the most fire. I managed to get fighters in the air only to see the sea had been flooded with a new torpedo I had never seen before..." Akagi began as the others listened intently.
"... one of them hit Helena, and to this day, her scream of pain still haunts my cubes. I was leading the Second fleet, so I ordered her to get behind me..." Akagi continued.
"No..." i-13 said softly as she covered her mouth with her hand.
"... I managed to get myself ahead of everyone after ordering the battleships to shield the cruisers. There were way too many. Thankfully my cubes dulled the pain at least a little bit. I lost count of torpedo detonations after the 19th..." Akagi grimaced at the memory.
"Akagi..." Akashi said as tears formed in her eyes.
"After that... it went dark. I... got to see my sister. Amagi. She told me not to follow just yet. She said I am still needed here. And then I heard you saying that my husband... and it made me angry. That anger is what I believe was enough to bring me back." Akagi said as she looked out to the sea.
"Once the fleet is revived. You should go to support Shikikan. He has Forrest shikikan's journal with him. So maybe he will give it to you." I-13 said.
"Then what are we waiting for? I do not like waiting, as I'm sure you recall." Akagi said.
Authors Note: As some of you will be quick to tell me, Akagi is not acting like herself. she isnt acting like Akagi chan either. I'm trying to keep her a bit more tame for now. I hope you all enjoy regardless. Thank you for 45 good chapters.