"A blonde with a sword? Are they attempting to hail you?" Norfolk asked.
"What did you find?" Isaac's voice permeated the radio once more.
"Shinano found a singular woman with a sword standing where I detected a mirror sea opening. We don't know anything more yet. We're attempting to ascertain an identity now." Norfolk spoke.
"A woman with a sword? Norfolk, you're a verifiable Siren encyclopedia. Is it a Siren?" Isaac asked.
"No. Which is really confusing me. She's no siren… but she feels familiar." Norfolk spoke.
"Feels?" Isaac inquired.
"I don't know why… but she feels familiar somehow." Norfolk said as Shinano turned to her.
"I am being hailed. Shall I respond?" Shinano asked.
Norfolk nodded.
"We need to know if she's hostile before dedicating members of the fleet." Norfolk said.
Shinano nodded.
"I will answer her hails then." Shinano spoke.
"What is taking so long?" The woman wondered as a sleepy voice filled the air around her.
"My name is Shinano, Yamato class aircraft carrier in the Service of… Azur Lane." Shinano spoke after a moment of inflection, not willing to risk outing Isaac to this stranger.
"Shinano… I remember the name. Tell me, does he reside here? With this fleet? Or is he elsewhere?" The woman asked.
"He? Who might you be referring to?" Shinano asked.
"Who else? Isaac Garner. Tall American man. Dark colored skin with curly hair. Strong both in body and mind? Sound familiar?" The woman asked.
"Who are you? And let me be clear. If I do not like your answer, you will be attacked by myself and a portion of this defending fleet." Shinano said.
The woman sighed.
"Could you patch me through to Isaac, please? I'd like to at least hear his voice." The woman asked.
Shinano went quiet for a moment.
"I hesitate to do so due to your unwillingness to identify yourself." Shinano spoke skeptically, all notions of sleep banished from her mind the moment the woman spoke Isaac's name.
The woman audibly sighed.
"Fine. I shall tell you, if only to gain your trust. My name is Elizabeth. Queen Elizabeth. Aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy." The woman spoke.
"Nonsense!" Shinano spoke in an elevated tone as her zeros dove to attack. The mere mention of the name was enough to enrage Shinano.
"You would dare to speak that name here!?" Shinano spoke as her Zeros opened fire on the woman who, despite claiming the title of Queen, managed to deflect any rounds that would have hit her with by using the flat of her sword.
"I do. Because not only is my name Elizabeth, but I am still the ruling member of the Royal Navy… at least where I come from." Elizabeth spoke. This gave Shinano a moment of pause.
The Zeros pulled off for the moment and held formation in the air overhead.
"What business do you have here?" Shinano asked, attempting to smooth over what had just occurred.
"I have come to see Isaac. And… God permitting, join this merry band. I may have managed to force the sirens into retreat where I came from… but I lost my Isaac in the process. If I can find him again and join him here… I will happily fight the Sirens once more in this new form." Elizabeth spoke coldly.
"Your Isaac?" Shinano asked before the line was forcibly cut.
"Shinano?" Elizabeth asked.
"Identify yourself." A cold voice spoke. Anyone in the fleet would have recognized it as Zero's tone immediately.
"Observer Zero. So it seems you are alive in this world as well." Elizabeth spoke.
"You. You're from another timeline. Aren't you?" Zero asked.
"Why would I waste my breath explaining things to the Siren that murdered Isaac?" Elizabeth spat, a seething rage filling her tone.
"Ah… I see. Well… if it's any consolation… I have surrendered to this fleet… and this Isaac." Zero spoke.
Elizabeth's eyes sparkled if only for a moment.
"Where is he? I lost sight of him after he went North." Elizabeth spoke.
Zero hesitated.
"He is returning to the fleet now. Who are you and what occurred in your world to bring you here?" Zero asked.
"My name can wait, but I will not be shy in explaining how I found a piece of technology that you left behind in my world when I and the remnants of Azur lane drove you from it. And after months of testing, I managed to open a mirror sea that connected me to here… somehow." Elizabeth spoke.
"When did you arrive here?" Zero asked, her focus clearly put into obtaining information from this strange woman.
"About a month ago. I arrived in this world within the boundaries of Australia. Heaven knows why considering I originally departed from London." Elizabeth exclaimed.
Zero went silent.
"Siren… it would be prudent not to force me to come to you to make you talk." Elizabeth said.
"Perhaps that might have done it…" Zero said softly.
"What?" Elizabeth asked.
"A month ago was the second battle of Australia, as this fleet prefers to call it." Zero spoke.
"What does that have to do with me?" Elizabeth asked.
"I used a mirror sea to bring forth Allies after… a certain incident. That may have pulled you here." Zero speculated.
Elizabeth remained silent for a moment.
"What incident?" Elizabeth asked.
"I'm sure you'll understand once Isaac sees you. I am giving you permission to approach the fleet while I work things out with the Admiral." Zero spoke.
Elizabeth sighed but nodded.
"To think… I'm being escorted in by the being that murdered my fiance…" Elizabeth muttered as she stepped from the beach and onto the waves, deploying her rigging to carry her across the waves.
"Run that by me again?" Isaac asked.
"The target to the rear is not a hostile entity. In fact, at mention of your name… she has become rather complacent and is following commands to keep herself from being targeted by the fleet. I gave her permission to approach, but I would like your permission to grant her access to the Norfolk so we can detain her until you arrive." Zero spoke.
"I am almost there. I'll have Texas bring me in. Have this person on the bridge for my arrival." Isaac said as he tapped his helmet.
"Texas. Come in please." Isaac called.
"Commander. You have need of me?" Texas asked.
"Yes. It seems we have attracted a strange individual from an island to the South. Zero, Shinano and Norfolk are preparing to detain her on the Norfolk's bridge until we arrive. Would you mind escorting me over?" Isaac asked.
"Not fancying a swim today?" The battleship joked as she took to the waves.
"Not really. It's already December and the ocean doesn't tend to get warmer during the winter." Isaac spoke sarcastically.
Texas chuckled.
"Cute. No problem. I'll escort you back. Not a problem, Commander." Texas said as she hopped onto the deck of the battle stricken Yamato.
Elizabeth sat on the bridge of the Norfolk. The guns of Musashi, Roon, and Norfolk trained on her to keep her from acting out.
"Is this necessary?" Elizabeth asked.
"It is. Nobody knows who you are. The Admiral will decide your fate." Norfolk said.
"Can you drop the Admiral bit? His name is Isaac. I'm sure he would feel much more comfortable being addressed as such." Elizabeth said as Norfolk approached her.
"Do not claim to know anything about my husband. Were it not for him, you would not be sitting here right now." Norfolk spoke, the nervousness in her voice was undeniable.
A knock on the door drew everyone's attention.
"It's open." Norfolk spoke.
"Good. I just figured I'd be polite." Isaac said as he walked in, removing his helmet as he walked through the door. The moment he saw the blonde in the chair, his helmet clattered to the ground.
"Isaac!" Norfolk yelled as she ran to his side.
Elizabeth smiled as a tear fell from Isaac's eye.
"How?" Isaac asked.
"What?" Norfolk asked as she placed a hand on his chest.
"I watched her die. I watched her fade away after… Lizzy?" Isaac asked softly.
"Lizzy?" Norfolk asked as she turned to Elizabeth.
"Lizzy, huh? That's a new one. Mine used to call me Elizabeth. But… Lizzy works for me." Elizabeth spoke as she stood.
Isaac looked at Norfolk.
"What's going on?" Isaac asked as Norfolk felt his body shaking slightly.
"Roon, A chair." Norfolk spoke as Roon nodded, dragging a chair over to allow Isaac to sit and hold his head in his hands.
"Is he okay?" Elizabeth asked as she walked over, only to be stopped short by Shrimpy who stood guard over Isaac.
"Say the word, Kommandant. I'll end her." Roon spoke coldly.
"No… Roon… stand down… I just… don't know what's going on." Isaac spoke as he looked up to see Elizabeth standing a few feet away.
"You died in Australia. We used your cubes to save Warspite. How… how are you here?" Isaac asked.
Elizabeth smiled sadly.
"Well… that answers that question. Isaac… I'm not your Queen Elizabeth. The 'Lizzy' you remember is in fact gone… but… between what you have said, and what that thing told me… it looks like I was brought here to fill a void left behind. My world no longer needed my power… so I came here." Elizabeth said.
"Thing? Your world? But you look just like a grown up Lizzy…" Isaac spoke softly.
"That thing." Elizabeth spoke as she pointed at Zero, who had appeared on the bridge.
"Zero?" Isaac asked.
"That… thing… killed my world's version of you." Elizabeth spoke bitterly.
"Your version… of me?" Isaac asked.
"Remember when I told you about differing timelines, Isaac?" Zero spoke.
Isaac nodded softly.
"This is one of many possible results of such a thing. From what I recall and based on the limited information given by this Queen Elizabeth… We killed you during the first battle of Australia. It seems the timeline this Elizabeth came from is quite similar to this one, differing only before the First battle of Australia." Zero explained.
"This is beginning to make my head hurt…" Isaac spoke as a small line of blood streaked down his face from his nose.
"Long story short, This is a different Elizabeth who has many of the same memories as the one you lost during the second battle of Australia." Zero spoke as Norfolk and Roon both turned to see Isaac bleeding, and quickly went about tending to him.
"That is correct. I do not know what events transpired here, but you died aboard the Hood during the Battle of Australia, or the First battle as you call it." Elizabeth spoke somberly.
Norfolk held a handkerchief to Isaac's nose as he looked up at her.
"The explosion." Isaac spoke.
Elizabeth nodded.
"You had become trapped under some of the barrels. You had managed to convince Odin and Friedrich to let you go to attempt to defuse the boilers that had been rigged to blow. A secondary explosion knocked a pile of barrels onto your body… you died without pain. I spent the rest of that war under Admiral Nimitz, who then passed command to another Admiral. Years we fought, gaining and losing ground to the Sirens. Until we eventually forced the Sirens to retreat… Warspite passed not too long after. Her vessel was deemed too old to continue. She received full honors. I was kept up until my country began building a new Aircraft carrier. They gave it my name… and asked me if I would like to try and link to it. I did… and now…" Elizabeth spoke as she activated her rigging.
Elizabeth's rigging now consisted of two flight decks, one on each side of her slender hips. A sword hung from her belt, the same style as Warspite's. And a rifle held firmly in her hands. An alien array of sensors adorned the crown on her head, which only stood to amplify her newer and more mature frame.
"Now I have become an Aircraft Carrier through my world's hard work." Elizabeth spoke.
Isaac looked at her with a softness in his gaze. The memories of him and his Lizzy were holding strong in the forefront of his mind.
"So… why have you come here? This seems like it could be the heralding of my death or something absurd…" Isaac asked, his psyche far too conflicted to keep a filter on his thoughts.
Elizabeth made a show of gasping and looking offended.
"How dare you?" Elizabeth said as a small smile crept onto her face.
"I figured that if I'm stuck here, in a world where my Fiance is still alive and well… then maybe fighting the Sirens for a little while longer won't be so bad." Elizabeth spoke, causing the room to go silent.
"F-fiance?" Isaac asked.
Elizabeth nodded.
"I was going to ask you… well… him after we had saved Hood. But being reduced to atoms tends to keep one from responding to a marriage proposal." Elizabeth spoke, chuckling softly as her eyes lost their sparkle as she relived the moment that her world shattered.
Isaac saw this and did the only thing he could think of. Before anyone could stop him, he hugged Elizabeth tightly.
"Well… if it's your choice to stay… I won't refuse the help. And it would be nice… to have you around again… Lizzy." Isaac whispered.
Elizabeth's eyes returned to normal as she allowed herself the moment to wrap her arms around him and return his hug.
"That will take some getting used to… but I don't hate it." Elizabeth said as she smiled. The pain of losing her lover, washing away like dirt in the rain.