"She's... ready?" Isaac asked, shuddering at the thought of what Shinano could mean.
"Yes, you idiot, her water just broke!" Zeppelin snapped as she pushed Isaac out of the way.
"She's giving birth now?!" Isaac exclaimed.
"Yes, and she isn't waiting. VESTAL!" Zeppelin yelled as she and Alice worked quickly wo prep the room for the birthing of Shinano's child.
Otto walked over to Isaac and quickly pulled him from the room.
"Go find Vestal. Your wife is giving birth to your child and we need Vestal here to ensure everything is okay." Otto said.
"Who helped you and Zeppelin!?" Isaac asked.
"Perseus did right before we left the waters of the Royal Navy. That's not the point! Time is of the essence, get Vestal quickly." Otto said as Isaac could hear Shinano groaning in pain.
"Shit." Isaac said as he ran towards the radio receiver at the end of the hall.
He picked up the receiver and quickly radioed Vestal.
"Vestal, come quickly." Isaac said frantically.
"Is everything alright, Commander?" Vestal's voice came over the receiver.
"She's coming!" Isaac replied.
Isaac heard ice dropping on the other end.
"I'm on my way. How is she?" Vestal asked.
"I can hear her groaning, it doesn't sound pleasant." Isaac replied.
"Where are you?" Vestal asked.
"I was pushed out to get you." Isaac said as he heard a sharp cry from Shinano's room.
"Please hurry, I think Shinano is in pain." Isaac said as his eyes locked on the door to Shinano's room.
"I can only run so fast. It's not my fault that the Sakura decided to use such a massive hull for their carrier." Vestal said.
"I don't want excuses, damn it! Just get here." Isaac said as he felt a knot forming in the pit of his stomach.
"I'm on the same deck now. Calm down or else my foot is going somewhere you don't want it." Vestal said as Isaac could hear her coming down the hall.
"She's in the room." Isaac said as she ran by him.
"No shit, Sherlock. How'd you figure?" Vestal spat sarcastically as she ran into Shinano's room, dragging Isaac along with her.
"Otto, did you bring the cubes?" Isaac asked as Vestal tended to Shinano, who was breathing deeply in an effort to dull the pain of the slowly worsening contractions.
"Nein. I will have to quickly make a couple." Otto said.
"Go quickly. I don't think she has much time left before the baby arrives." Isaac said as he watched Alice and Vestal prepare Shinano for the birth, giving her breathing advice and telling her how to position herself for the least amount of strain.
Otto rushed out of the room, leaving Isaac to watch as Vestal covered Shinano with a blanket in preparation as Alice laid towels down on the bed. Things were moving smoothly until the ship shuddered beneath them as Isaac heard the engines shut down.
"Shinano?" Isaac asked.
"Isaac?" Shinano asked as she extended a hand his way. He quickly went over and grabbed it, almost losing a few fingers to Shinano's monster grip strength.
"Is everything alright? The engines shut down." Isaac whispered.
"I feel... fine... well... as fine as one can... when preparing to give birth." Shinano said as she looked at him with a dreamy look in her eyes.
"You look... so beautiful." Isaac said after a few seconds of silence, as her eyes bored into him, breaking down every single fear he had been holding onto.
"Isaac... stop it." Shinano said softly between breaths as a healthy blush crossed her face.
Shinano's face twisted in a clear show of pain, to which Vestal reassured Isaac with a look and a nod.
"Just breathe, my love. In in out." Isaac said softly as he rubbed her clenched hand.
"Alright Shinano. I don't think Yume is willing to wait any longer." Vestal said as she looked out from under the blanket.
"She has to, Otto hasn't returned with the cubes yet." Isaac said.
"Would you want to wait if something is actively trying to push it's way out of your body?" Vestal snapped.
"Not exactly..." Isaac said as he turned back to Shinano just as Friedrich appeared in the doorway.
"Dear Husband, is everything alright? Shinano's engines have stopped." Friedrich said before she realized what she had walked into.
"Mein Gott..." Friedrich said as she inadvertently found herself watching from the door.
"Mein Tochter, please move, quickly." Otto's voice came from the hall as Friedrich stepped into the room, seemingly free of her initial shock. Otto ran over to Isaac with a pair of perfectly sculpted wisdom cubes.
"Please tell me I'm not too late." Otto said.
"Right on time, she's crowning." Alice said as Shinano began breathing rapidly in an attempt to soothe the pain.
"Look Tenn! I think that's New Guinea!" California said excitedly.
"So it is, Cali. I can see a few ships in port." Tennessee said.
"Why are you two so calm, we haven't heard anything from Enterprise in over a week!" One of the sailors aboard the California said. Tennessee heard this and decided to respond.
"Shut up, sailor. She was sucked into a Mirror sea. For all we know, Enterprise and those aboard her vessel could be dead, so now we have to try and find a place to lay low so this Apollyon can find us. And since there appears to be an Iowa class battleship in this port, I'm going to assume that we're in friendly waters." Tennessee said, her tone one of distain and agitation.
The sailor stopped talking and left the bridge of the California to alert the others.
"Tenn, isn't the Iowa class what New Jersey is?" California asked.
"Yes, Cali. New Jersey is the only Iowa class Battleship to take to the wisdom cubes." Tennessee said as both ships received a message in Morse code.
"This is Iowa. Hello. California and Tennessee and Alwyn. These are friendly waters. Crew has secured port. Come." The message read.
"The radio operator knows we're here?" Tennessee asked.
"I mean, we are the only two ships of your class, Tenn." California said as another message came in.
"No operator. This is Iowa. I have no body. Can't talk normal. Friends here. Come." The new message read.
"No operator... and no body? I haven't heard anything like that before. How is the Iowa contacting us if there isn't an operator in the radio room?" Tennessee asked as Alwyn spoke up.
"Maybe... the crew tried to see if she would take a cube?" Alwyn asked.
California and Tennessee went silent for a moment as they contemplated the possibility.
"I mean... if they didn't use enough cubes or they used a damaged cube... They may have given the Iowa a will of it's own, but no body to enact it. Iowa, is this what happened to you?" Tennessee asked.
A brief silence followed by a single letter in Morse code.
"Y"
"So you can hear us?!" Cali asked.
"I can hear you on radio. But no body. Can't talk back." A new message emerged.
"And you said this port is friendly?" California asked as she saw two tall pagodas as well as several other vessels sitting in port.
"Port Safe. Friends Here. Come."
"Well. I don't need too much more convincing. If Iowa says it's safe, then I think this is a good a place as any." California said as she turned her rudder hard to starboard and made her way towards New Guinea.
"Cali!" Tenn yelled but to no avail. With a sigh, Tenn steered hard to Starboard and chased after her sister. Alwyn took the turn in stride and easily caught up to the lumbering battleships in no time.
"Obviously... it's a girl." Alice said as she handed a pair of shears to Isaac to cut the umbilical cord.
"Wait, before we do that... Otto?" Isaac asked as he held the cubes Otto had made.
Otto nodded.
"It would be best to introduce them now while she is still protected by her mother." Otto said as Isaac placed the cubes on the tiny stomach of the baby Kitsune that Yume was holding.
A bright flash of white light and the cubes were instantly consumed, followed by a pained groan from Shinano and the other Kansen as the radio's lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Girls, are you alright?" Isaac asked.
"Yeah... everyone started talking at once. Issue is that apparently... there's a new vessel that just appeared in the formation." Friedrich said.
"A new vessel?" Isaac asked.
"Yes. It appears to be an Aircraft carrier... but smaller." Friedrich explained.
"Is it keeping speed?" Isaac asked.
"No. It's dead in the water." Texas said.
"Get tow lines on it. Does it have any markings?" Isaac asked.
"Azuma says... Yume." Zeppelin said as Isaac looked at the ball of skin and fur that was curled up in Alice's arms.
"Looks like you were right, Otto." Isaac said as he looked at Shinano, who has slipped into a deep sleep to attempt to recover her energy.
"Are you going to cut the cord?" Vestal asked.
"Yeah... yeah." Isaac said as he cut the cord, seemingly awakening Yume from her slumber. Her tiny arms and legs moved a bit and her tails swayed eagerly as Alice transferred her, in a towel, to Isaac's waiting arms.
"Make sure to support her head, Isaac. She doesn't have the muscles in her neck strong enough to support her head." Alice said as Isaac looked down at the bundle of fur in his arms.
"This... this is Yume." Isaac said as a tear came to his eye. A gasp came when the kitsune opened her eyes, revealing light purple eyes.
Isaac stood, shocked as Friedrich came over and looked at the child in his arms.
"Isaac... she's... adorable." Friedrich said after finding the words.
"Hi... Yume. Welcome to the world." Isaac said as the hand he was going to pet her ears with was stopped by her own tiny hands grasping his finger.
Friedrich had to steady herself to keep herself from fainting from the sheer adorableness.
"Look at her tiny hands!" Friedrich said softly as she looked at the tiny Kitsune in Isaac's arms.
"She is really small..." Isaac said as he looked at Alice.
"According to Zeppelin, she's perfectly normal in terms of size." Alice said with a shrug as Laura came in.
"Mommy! There's a new boat outside!" Laura said excitedly.
"I know, sweetie. Hey, say hello to our new fleet member." Zeppelin said as she pointed to Yume.
"A baby?" Laura asked as Yume's ears twitched.
"A fox?!" Laura asked as she ran over to look. Isaac knelt down to allow Laura to see.
"She's so pretty!" Laura said as she touched Yume's ears, causing Yume to wince a little.
"Laura, I don't think she likes that." Isaac said as he played with his daughter's hands.
"How can you tell?" Laura asked.
"I... don't know, but something about the look on her face says she doesn't like her ears being touched right now." Isaac said as Friedrich looked at Laura.
Yume grimaced a little bit before Laura took her hand away.
"Commander." Texas said as she appeared in the doorway.
"Texas?" Isaac asked.
"Oh... I can see that you're busy... it can wait." Texas said as she laid eyes on the small fox.
"Alright." Isaac said as he looked down at his daughter.
"Okay little one. I bet you're hungry. Let's get you to mama." Isaac said as he looked over at Shinano, who was being shaken lightly by Vestal.
"Wake up, Shinano. You have a visitor." Vestal said as Shinano managed to open her eyes.
"Visitor?" Shinano asked as her eyes focused on Isaac and the bundle of fur in his arms.
"Say hi to mama, little one." Isaac said as Shinano's eyes shot open and she reached out for her newborn child.
"Yume?" Shinano asked. Isaac nodded as Yume found her way into Shinano's kimono and made herself at home.
"She's beautiful." Shinano said softly.
"Just like her mother." Isaac said as Friedrich grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Dear Husband?" Friedrich asked as Isaac could feel his shoulder straining.
"Yes, dear?" Isaac asked.
"When will I get mine?"