From an unseen corner, far from the eyes and ears of anyone who would care, a tear hit the ground.
"This can't be. My poor luck… has it finally been rewarded? I have not only found him… but I found them too. They're all here… a few new faces too." A mysterious watcher spoke, unheard by anyone.
"True. You have found what you have been searching for. But is this truly what you want? Eventually, everything will catch up to them, and you will be left empty once more." Another watcher spoke.
The first watcher shook their head.
"The future is uncertain. You cannot claim such things with such certainty." The First watcher said.
The second watcher scoffed.
"Do not let your feelings blind you. It is inevitable. It always is." The Second watcher spoke.
"I don't care!" The First watcher yelled angrily.
"Calm down. I'm only expressing my concerns. I fell into that trap once before. I only wish to keep you from suffering that same fate." The Second watcher explained.
"Surely you can't be that cold. I mean look, she's there too." The First watcher said, pointing to a sector of Isaac's fleet.
"I refuse to allow myself to be swayed by emotions. I've accepted my fate." The Second watcher lamented.
"Suit yourself. I'll be sure to make her aware of your existence." The First watcher said.
"You wouldn't dare! That's taking it too far!" The Second watcher said.
"What? She looks like she's become stronger." The First watcher said.
"Yes. But she has been through enough. That pain. The fear. Making her aware would only add to the torment." The Second watcher explained.
"Ooo! The fleet is splitting!" The First watcher observed.
"Did something happen? The assault was proceeding fairly well. Why would he split the fleet now?" The Second watcher asked.
"Maybe something has developed. Look, they're heading North." The First watcher said as she returned to observing.
"What's with that stupid smile, you damn fox?" One of the Wolfpack members growled as he planted his boot of Musashi's face.
"You're… screwed." Musashi spoke.
"Huh? What was that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of your screams." The man spoke as he whistled over to a band of his men, who slowly surrounded Musashi.
"Beat me all you want. I'll take it all, just to watch your heads roll… when he gets here." Musashi spoke.
"He? Who's he? Have you had your head kicked too many times?" The man asked.
"Apollyon is coming. He's coming to kill you all. He will save me and my people." Musashi said as the men began kicking her mercilessly.
"You forget, bitch, he will have to kill your sister first. She stands between us and him." The Man said.
"He won't. I know he won't." Musashi said with a feral grin crossing her face.
"How do you know? You've never met him before." The Man said as he kicked at her jaw, but was stopped when she raised her battered arm to stop his foot.
"Because… I have faith." Musashi said as she slowly pushed herself to her feet.
"You forget, one word to him, and your sister is dead." The Man said as a bead of sweat rolled down his back.
"You won't though. You need her. Before, I listened because you didn't really have need for us, and could kill us without purpose. You only kept us around to entertain yourself, so killing us before didn't have any consequence. But now, my sister has been ordered to fight for your Siren overlords. She has a purpose, and you will be punished severely if she is not used for that purpose. But me? I no longer have a reason to fear you. She is safe by virtue of her orders. And me? This past month, despite the beatings, I have fully connected with my vessel. The only reason you were able to capture us… was because you attacked while we were defenseless. I'm not defenseless anymore. My sister knows I don't like to fight… but… where there is evil, a fight will be inevitable." Musashi said as her main batteries moved, lowering on their own until they were pointed as low as they could go.
"But we can still kill you. You're not safe." The man said as he pulled out a handgun.
"You won't get the chance. Not again." Musashi said as the man fired, dumping the magazine in Musashi's face. He opened his eyes as the last shell hit the deck, seeing Musashi standing tall before him, the last shimmer of a blue hexagon disappearing.
"Looks like my shielding is active." Musashi said as she watched the bruises on her arms slowly fade as her repair facilities took care of the light wounds.
The men on deck all scrambled for rifles and firearms to try and attack Musashi, only for their bullets to have no effect.
Musashi pulled down the hood on her robes, exposing her ears and hair to the light of the sun. Suddenly, a swarm of Sakura petals began to fall gingerly over the deck as Musashi relaxed.
"Freedom. Love. Peace. All things good in the world have a price. And that price… is the blood of those who would squash such good things." Musashi said softly as her rigging shimmered to life. It was wholeheartedly different from her sister's.
From a central tower on her back, three massive main batteries, just barely smaller than Musashi herself, made themselves known, connected by three strong looking metal arms, draped in shide and red shimenawa, giving her rigging the air of purity. Connected under the main guns via small platforms and metal arms, sat her secondary guns. Accenting her rigging, were the two scabbards that were previously attached to her hip. Now, on either side of her, attached to the sides of her left and right turret, sat two rigging sized Katanas. The deployment of her rigging ripped the chains binding her to her own deck, freeing her arms and neck to move freely.
Grabbing one of the katanas, Musashi's rigging burst forth with another round of Sakura petals.
"My baby sister. My Niece. My Older sister. And the Mysterious man who brought us all together. I thank them all. And I lift praise to the Gods for giving me the strength to accomplish what must be done. And to you demons… who would desecrate my home, my people. And my family. There will be no mercy." Musashi said as she drew her sword from her rigging, the very act causing all of the sakura petals in front of her to be shredded to bits.
"She can't hit all of us! Kill her!" The man yelled, moments before his head hit the deck after being severed from his body.
What came next was something that would turn the most vicious war-fighter into a pacifist. The sheer amount of blood that hit the deck of the Musashi was unprecedented, even by a war criminal's standards.
"To the Gods above, I raise this prayer. May the souls I release be led to the proper path, the one that will properly reward them for their actions. May your judgement be swift and merciless. May your punishment for these demons embody your power to the fullest." Musashi spoke softly as her blade danced effortlessly through the air, slicing rifles, bullets, and limbs alike.
A group of Wolfpack Members gathered behind one of the turrets and set up a firing line in a futile attempt to break through Musashi's shielding. Musashi saw this and turned one of the turrets on her rigging to face them, letting loose with a single shell that detonated on impact, killing the entire line in one fell swoop.
The sirens aboard the Musashi began blaring as hordes of armed Wolfpack members emerged from the depths of her vessel.
Musashi smiled.
"I will not falter. Not when freedom is right before me." Musashi spoke as she drew her second sword and went to work.
"Push off the beach! We can't sit here all damn day!" Odin yelled as she activated her rigging and lead a group of soldiers up the beach towards the seawall that led inland. Shots from her rigging blew open holes in the Dragon's teeth that the Wolfpack had set into the beach to keep Isaac's tanks from advancing.
"MacArthur! Get your tanks rolling!" Odin ordered as Nimi, Laffey, Heinrich, The Baltimore class sisters, Fusou, Yamashiro, and Tennessee all followed her lead, taking sections of 100 men behind them to storm the entrance into the main city.
"On your six, Vice Commander." MacArthur yelled as he turned to his tank crews.
"Well? You heard her! Get these tanks off the beach, now! I want this city locked down by nightfall!" MacArthur yelled as he climbed onto one of the Sherman tanks and hopped into the Commander's seat.
"All Armor, ahead full! Odin was nice enough to provide us a way through their defenses! Let's back em up!" MacArthur radioed his forces. Sure enough, the tanks fired up their engines and began the slow crawl up the beach, bouncing small arms fire and shrugging off shells from low caliber artillery.
Isaac looked back off the stern of the Amagi at the fleet.
"Please be safe. I trust you, Odin. Don't let them die here." Isaac spoke softly.
"Everything will be fine." Shinano spoke softly as she came up behind Isaac.
"Will it? Some of our most powerful vessels and Kansen are being used, on my order, to detain a battleship instead of supporting the ground invasion." Isaac said.
"A breeze has caught our sails, my love. Something has happened. Something that will make this easier for us." Shinano spoke enigmatically.
"How so?" Isaac asked.
"I cannot say for sure, but I have a feeling that we will not be the only ones fighting my older sister." Shinano said.
"Will they be friendly?" Isaac asked.
"I do not know. I catch glimpses now and then. Futures and events. Many come up as little more than empty promise. But… A sword. Sakura petals. And blood. My most recent vision provided me with those images. I have a feeling we will not be fighting alone." Shinano spoke as she pulled Isaac into a hug.
"I hope you're right. Facing Yamato… I'm not even sure we'll all make it out alive." Isaac said as he looked to the sky.