Fortune let out a tired sigh as she sailed through the waves with her comrades.
It had been a few days since that cursed encounter with that weird Siren. From that engagement, the METAs hadn't just lost two sisters and an entire batch of Wisdom Cubes; they had also attracted the attention of the Arbiter's scouts tasked with patrolling the surroundings. Soon after the fight, the Enforcers began loitering around the place, too close for comfort to their Mirror Sea; for that reason, Cinder decided to lay low for a while and had them hide inside until the storm passed.
After a few days, the enemy scouts seemed to have given up on searching around the place, and it was time for the METAs to go out on another hunt; the Mirror Sea had almost run out of energy, and they were in desperate need of Wisdom Cubes to replenish it. This time, instead of sending a single group, they opted to send multiples out in different directions, and Fortune was with one of those groups… along with Yamashiro.
To say that the shrine maiden didn't take well to the fact that her sister sacrificed herself to save Fortune would be an understatement. Yamashiro was furious with her; probably, the only reason she didn't try to kill her was because Renown and the others were always there with them. Even now, Fortune could feel her murderous scowl piercing the back of her head, sending shivers down her spine.
"Where the hell are the Sirens?!" Renown's frustrated bark broke the silence.
Indeed, they hadn't encountered a single alien vessel since they set out, not even those puny patrol boats, which was concerning. If they couldn't recharge the Mirror Sea, they'd find themselves literally kicked out of their shelter, and they'd be completely exposed to the Arbiters.
"I hate to say this, but I think we should go back," Junyou said as they all came to a stop after many hours of fruitless sailing.
"I agree, we've been out in the open for too long; we can only hope the others had better luck than us…" Hiyou said with a defeated tone of voice.
They five of them stood like that in silence, waiting for someone to object, but in the end, they turned on their heels and began reluctantly making their way back, unaware that they were being observed from afar.
"Found you~" the Arbiter smirked, the lantern dangling in front of her face pulsing in excitement.
Lenin was upset.
They had been at sea for days, following Helena's directions to the source of the signal she was receiving.
He thought he'd get to summon his hull and have his brothers all to himself like the good old times, while the other Kansen would make do with their own; instead, when he called out his ship, they all just assumed he was offering a ride, and everyone in the fleet climbed aboard, showering him with gratitude. Those Howe and Hermione ladies even patted him on the head affectionately, praising him for being "a little gentleman." The nerve!
He figured he could still spend some time with his brothers even with the other Kansen loitering around his hull, but Leviathan was too busy helping that Iron Blood heavy cruiser with her gauntlets, and Emperor seemed a bit off, as if something was troubling him. When Lenin asked him about it, the carrier reassured him, saying it was nothing.
In the end, he opted to lock himself inside his command bridge after setting his vessel on the course Helena told him. Being the youngest ship of the group and not being a warship meant his interiors weren't designed for spartan living conditions; they were more spacious and comfortable than other ships, and he decided to take advantage of it to bring a couch in his command bridge for him to nap whenever he wished… but even that wasn't feasible now.
Imagine his surprise when, upon entering the bridge, he found his spot already taken by none other than Le Malin herself. He was about to lash out at her in frustration, but then stopped in his tracks. The destroyer was snoozing peacefully, hugging a pillow to her chest, her long, snow-white bangs framing her round face, making her even cuter to his eyes than she already was.
He found himself staring at her, too entranced by her appearance, his heart hammering in his chest, and a blush forming on his face.
He was so entranced that he didn't notice the door he had left open slowly closing on itself until it slammed shut and made him jump with fright.
Of course, the noise was more than enough to wake her up. Her head snapped to him in attention, her eyes still glazed over with sleep as the shipboy desperately looked around for an escape route.
"Crap," he thought. She'd definitely accuse him of being a creep for staring at her while she was sleeping.
"Bonjour, Lenin; is it morning already?" Le Malin asked him before bringing a hand up to her lips to stifle a yawn.
He blinked; apparently, he was out of danger.
"Morning? It's five in the afternoon, I'll have you know!" He informed her.
"Oh, good, it seems my nap can last a bit longer," she said, stretching her arms and back with a satisfied hum before grabbing the pillow again and letting herself fall back on the couch, much to the shipboy's stupor.
"Hey, how long are you planning on sleeping?! And why don't you go back into your cabin?!" He said before she fell asleep again.
"Hm? Because this couch is so comfy... Why? Did I steal your spot?"
Another blush came to adorn his face. "O-of course not; what makes you think that?"
"The fact that this is your bridge," Le Malin stated.
Lenin averted his gaze in frustration and internally winced. What was with her always rubbing him the wrong way? And what was with him not minding it in the slightest?
He knew the answer. She was the one who helped him get out of the Sirens' control. Without her, he'd probably still be a mindless puppet in their hands. Sure, she did it by beating the crap out of him, but that only made him hold her in even higher regard.
Seeing that he wasn't responding, Le Malin said, "So... wanna sleep together?"
As if his mind wasn't already in a spiraling mess of embarrassment, his brain short-circuited for a second. She was looking up at him from her lying position with her big, bright, blue-sky eyes, and his gaze fell on her lean figure sprawled before him. It was mind-blowing to him that she didn't even realize how defenseless she was making herself.
"W-w-what?! Do you even realize what you are saying?! Not gonna happen!"
He knew she didn't mean it that way, but still... Though maybe he denied it a bit too vehemently, as a glint of disappointment passed through her eyes and a pout appeared on her face.
"Is the idea of sharing a seat with me so unappealing to you?" She said, sending him a sideways glance.
"N-n-n-n-no, t-that's not what I meant! I'd love that! You're just too cute and..." "Shut your mouth, idiot, and get out of here! You're digging your own grave!" He screamed internally as his mouth stammered out an excuse.
"You think I'm cute?" She asked him, hugging the pillow she was holding to hide a blush at the sudden compliment.
He paused his stammering at the adorable display, incapable of forming a complete sentence. An embarrassed silence fell on the pair as they awkwardly stared into each other's eyes. He couldn't deny her charm, and for a second, his mind conjured the image of the two of them snuggling together like a couple of lovebirds, and his heart began beating faster. Lenin was seriously considering taking her up on her offer and joining her on the couch, but before he could muster the courage to do so, Helena's voice came in from his radio and interrupted them.
"Um, guys, we have a problem. I can't sense the presence of the other me anymore…"
"What do you mean, Helena?" Enterprise's voice was next.
"I don't know, something's disturbing the signal… It almost feels like jamming," Helena explained.
Everyone on the ship paused what they were doing, and Enterprise took a second to ponder her words, then addressed the whole fleet. "I understand… Everyone, get into formation; from here on, we proceed with caution."
"Roger that!"
"Shine! Shine! Shine!" Yamashiro bellowed in anger at the humanoid Sirens swarming around her as she blasted them with her rigging, the subsequent explosions raising copious amount of water around them.
"Yamashiro, please, you need to calm down-!"
"Shut up! Don't talk to me! Or I'll send you to hell with these fuckers!"
Fortune recoiled at her biting words, trying her best to defend herself from the enemy with her own rigging.
Some time after deciding to go back, a thick fog fell over the group. They didn't think too much about it in the beginning, but then Renown took off on her own in a random direction, yelling her deceased sister's name. The others tried to follow behind her, but the further they went, the thicker the fog around them became; suddenly Fortune found herself alone with Yamashiro, and with no idea where the others had ended up.
They tried to reach their comrades with their radio, but they found their comms jammed, and before they could even try to take their bearings, they were assaulted by a group of enforcers—a bunch of Determination units.
Yamashiro used her rigging to tank a hit from an Enforcer before aiming her guns at her and firing a full broadside. Another blast hit her in the side, making her growl in pain and anger. She stumbled, but she managed to turn toward the Determination that had just shot her and returned the favor. She leaped over another volley and aimed her rigging at the attacking Siren midair, blowing off her head with her shot, her crazed grin widening even more as she landed on the water.
Fortune watched as her comrade weaved through the enemies' attacks, dodging or taking hits and retaliating with her rigging resembling her hull's deformed superstructure. She tried her best to keep up with her, but Yamashiro seemed too lost in her battle frenzy. The fact that the catgirl was taking her anger out on those Enforcers instead of her was good, but if she kept fighting like that, she was going to get herself killed, and Fortune didn't know what to do.
After reducing another pawn to smithereens with a point-blank volley, Yamashiro turned to face the last humanoid Siren remaining, but before she could lunge at her, she was forced to stop in her tracks.
"F-Fusou-neesama…?" She breathed out, her mouth agape in shock and surprise.
Her sister was standing on the water right in front of her, alive and well.
Fusou smiled softly and opened her arms, beckoning the shipgirl closer for a hug as Yamashiro felt a sudden, slight dizziness take over.
Feeling a bit lightheaded, the catgirl complied, limping toward her elder sister, her lips quirking up in an elated smile, and her eyes welling up with tears.
Right before she could jump into her sister's arms, Fortune's iron maiden-like rigging appeared behind Fusou and crushed her into its deadly embrace, reducing her body to pieces and replacing Yamashiro's smile with an expression of horror and dismay.
After taking care of the last pawn remaining, the destroyer ran up to the battleship with concern clearly showing on her face. "Yamashiro, are you okay? Why did you stop all of a sudden? That Siren was about to shoot you!" Fortune said as she tried to shake the other Kansen out of her stupor.
Yamashiro couldn't hear her; she turned her gaze to look at the destroyer, and her face twisted in a mask of pain and anger as a dangerous red glint passed through her eyes. With a rage-filled scream, she lunged at Fortune, knocking her down with her back on the water, straddling her.
Before the poor destroyer could voice her surprise, Yamashiro grabbed her neck with both hands and began squeezing. Fortune's eyes widened in shock as her breathing was suddenly cut off.
She struggled with all her might, flailing her legs and trying to pry her hands off her neck, but the battleship's rage-fueled strength was far superior to hers.
"Yama… shiro… please… stop-" she pleaded with a raspy voice.
"Drop dead, you piece of shit! It's your fault I lost my sister! She died because of you! It should have been you, not her!" Yamashiro tightened her grip on her throat, the menacing glow in her eyes becoming even more intense.
A single, lonesome tear came out of Fortune's eye, mixing with the spit drooling out of the corner of her mouth. The lack of air filling her lungs made her vision blurry as she slowly lost both her strength and will to fight back.
Before she lost consciousness, a miniaturized aircraft appeared in her vision, a Grumman. It crashed into Yamashiro's temple at high speed, shoving her away from the destroyer and knocking her down.
With her airways finally free, Fortune sucked in a deep breath before doubling over on her knees in pain. A coughing fit assaulted her, making her eyes well up with tears.
Then she felt a hand come to rest on her back, rubbing it in a soothing way as an unknown voice reached her ears.
"There, there, Little Miss. I know it hurts, but you need to stay strong," Emperor said with a comforting tone. "Take a deep breath, in and out... Good. Here, let me help you."
Fortune followed his instructions, and once her heartbeat calmed down, the man helped her up on her feet, and she could finally take a good look at him. He was taller than her and was wearing a black and white Royal uniform and a tricorn hat on his head, which partially hid his short, dirty blonde locks. He was looking at her with a soft smile and hazel eyes full of fondness and relief.
For a second, she didn't know what to say, so she mumbled an uncertain "thank you," but before he could reply, Yamashiro sprung up to her feet, cradling the side of her head as she winced in pain, her scowl still very much present on her face. "Argh! It hurts! Where did that come from? Who the hell are you?!" She yelled, aiming her barrels at him.
A sly grin appeared on his face. He took off his hat to perform an exaggerated curtsy to the catgirl, saying, "Ruler-class escort carrier, HMS Emperor, at your service, kitty~"
Both women were baffled for a second; this man had just introduced himself as a Kansen. The shock and surprise were enough to make Yamashiro forget the reason for her previous outburst; she was about to lower her barrels, but then shook her head angrily and adjusted her aim again, the light in her eyes growing in intensity.
"You bastard… Why did you get in my way? This doesn't concern you!"
"Well, I just so happened to pass by and hear all the commotion," Emperor said, shrugging. "I'm pretty sure this girl just saved your life, so why are you trying to hurt her?"
"She killed my sister! She deserves to die!"
Fortune winced at her words, the guilt of Fusou's death still very much present in her mind.
"Oh, did she? Are you sure that's exactly what happened and it wasn't just your mind playing tricks on you?"
"SHUT UP!" Yamashiro yelled. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! If you keep getting in my way, I'll kill you too!" Yamashiro was about to fire and fortune grabbed Emperor's arm to drag him away, but he didn't budge. Her shot missed them by a lot, as the shrine maiden lost her balance because of the chain that wrapped around her ankle, making her trip.
Once she fell on her knees, that same chain began wrapping around her torso like a snake constricting its prey, binding her arms first and then her legs, keeping her down, and her rigging aimed away from them.
"You are slow, brother," Emperor said with a sarcastic tone.
"You know I can't help it, bruder," Leviathan replied, appearing from the mist behind the shackled battleship.
Fortune was flabbergasted. Was that another male Kansen? Where the hell did these two come from? Why were they here?
"So, what's your name, Little Miss?" Emperor turned to address her again, shaking her out of her stupor.
"Um, Fortune, sir…"
"Fortune… Ah, yes, what a nice name. Again, my name is Emperor, and this is my brother Leviathan," the carrier said with a smile as the battleship nodded his head to her. "We are here on behalf of Azur Lane."
Fortune perked up at his words. If Azur Lane had sent them, it meant that Helena's plan worked. They were finally free from that damned game of hide-and-seek they were being forced to play with the Arbiters.
"Oh, and don't worry about your friend; she's probably under the effect of this weird mist," Emperor added as Yamashiro began protesting and struggling against her bindings. "The sooner we get out of here, the sooner she'll recover from-"
His words were interrupted by the sound of guns going off and by Leviathan swatting away an energy blast directed at him with his chain-covered forearm.
They all turned where the shot had arrived in time to dodge another round coming at them. Leviathan rushed to grab the bound shipgirl and haul her over his shoulder as Emperor shielded Fortune with his body.
The escort carrier took off his hat and threw it in the air. In a flash, it turned into its original form and began spinning around like a pinwheel at high speed. It generated a gust of wind strong enough to dispel the mist around them, allowing them to gaze upon the unfamiliar figure of the Siren that was attacking them.
Unfamiliar to most of them.
"Strength…" Leviathan stated matter-of-factly.
Having lost the element of surprise, the Arbiter moved toward the group, weaving through the corpses of her Enforcers littering the surroundings without even acknowledging them.
"You know her, brother?" Emperor asked.
"She's the one who attacked me while I was on my way to Azur Lane," Levithan replied.
"Oh, the one with the gravity gauntlets…" Emperor mused aloud, staring intently at her oversized gauntlets as the Arbiter came to a stop a few feet away from them, regarding them with a dead stare.
"External variables detected. Assessing temporal provenance..." Strength said, switching her gaze to Fortune first and then Yamashiro. "Temporal provenance identified... Simulation No. 274... Simulation No. 186... Initiate termination protocol," she added, bringing her fists together with a loud clang and then switching her gaze to the shipboys. "Male Kansen detected. Proceed to apprehend."
"Bruder, we can't fight her and protect these two at the same time," Leviathan declared, speaking from first-hand experience.
"I know, let me try this," Emperor whispered. "Tell me the truth, Siren; you haven't heard from your boss in a while, right? You've been too busy going after these ladies to report back," Emperor addressed the Arbiter, his grin never leaving his face. "You'll be glad to know that we've come to a truce with Observer Zero. We gave her all the information she was after in exchange for our bother. There's no more need to 'apprehend' us."
Strength, who had already brought her oversized fists up to attack, lowered her arms and paused in her tracks at the shipboy's words. She seemed to consider them for a moment, then she said, "Possible veracity detected. Recalculating priorities... Initiate negotiation: non-aggression pact between the Arbiters and the male Kansen in exchange for the external variables."
Fortune froze at her words; Strength just requested the shipboys hand over her and Yamashiro, and in return, she'd stop going after them.
"Mmh, not gonna lie, that's a tempting offer, but there's a bit of an issue here... You see, we are trying to get on good terms with these ladies, and we can't exactly hand them over like that; it would put us in a bad light with their comrades," he mused aloud, bringing a hand up to scratch his chin. He hummed in thought for a few seconds before his lips quirked up in a scornful grin. "Besides, we'd rather die a hundred times over than let the likes of you put your filthy hands on them, right, brother?"
Leviathan stepped in front of the destroyer and declared, "You can say that out loud."
Fortune beamed at the two shipboys standing up for them, a sliver of hope timidly appearing in her heart as their backs began looking like giant walls for her to lean on for support.
"Proposal Rejected. Negotiations failed. Recalculating priorities..." Strength frowned.
"Leviathan, go with them and keep them safe. I'll deal with this bitch."
"W-wait, I don't need protection; I can fight!" Fortune protested before another coughing fit forced her to double over.
"I don't doubt it, Little Miss, but you were being strangled only a few seconds ago and you are in no condition to keep fighting. Let me deal with this nuisance while my brother brings you back to the others." Emperor reassured her.
"Y-you want to fight her alone?!" Fortune was baffled, but before she could object further, Leviathan put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring nod. Reluctantly, the shipgirl complied, turning on her heels and rushing away from there, but not before sending another glance of concern to the shipboy.
"Good luck, bruder," Leviathan said before following behind her, still bearing Yamashiro's shackled and squirming form over his shoulder.
Strength was puzzled by the turn of events, which said a lot about the situation since it didn't happen often. Her calculations based on the previous encounter she had with that other male Kansen spoke clearly: an Arbiter like her had the advantage in a one-on-one against a shipboy; if it hadn't been for those shipgirls present at that moment, she'd have been able to terminate Leviathan on that occasion without issues. In the end, she was glad she didn't because it would have meant going against Zero's instruction of apprehending them, even if she had found out only after.
Nevertheless, their only chance against her was by fighting in group; she was sure they knew it, so she didn't understand why they decided to leave behind only one of them. She let them do it only because it came to her advantage; she would quickly take care of the escort carrier before the others would get too far and then attack them from behind.
"'Why did they leave him alone? They'd have more of a chance if they fought together.' Is that what you are thinking, Siren?" Emperor spoke up, and Strength narrowed her eyes at him. "Hehe, nailed it!"
The Arbiter's frown deepened. He was starting to get on her nerves.
"If you think you stand a chance against me just because you almost killed my brother once, then you are a fool. You know nothing about me, while I already know all the tricks up your sleeves thanks to him," he declared, pointing an accusatory finger at her, his tone suddenly serious. "And let me make this clear: Leviathan only lost because he met an unfavorable matchup in yourself and had to fight while protecting others, so don't fool yourself."
"Attempt at buying time detected. Proceed to the capture of the target," Strength said as she got into a stance, ready to pounce.
"If you want to go at it so badly, I'll show you what I mean," the shipboy declared, recalling his Morphing Polyhedron, which had been hovering in the air in its original form the entire time.
The contraption split into the two halves that composed its octahedral shape, which moved to hover a few inches above each of his hands.
Strength felt a sudden spark of danger course through her and lunged at the shipboy on instinct. Before she could reach him, the two pyramids shone with an intense, blinding light, enveloping both their forms.
Once the light died down, Strength found herself floating with her back on the water and with her nose throbbing in pain. She bolted upright, and her eyes fell on the male Kansen before widening in shock.
He was wearing her gauntlets on his hands, or rather, the two halves of his Wisdom Craft had turned into a copy of her own gauntlets. His were made of white and silver metal as opposed to her pitch black, and were traversed by golden lines of energy as opposed to her azure. They even had the double-barrel turrets on each hand, and she only needed a glance to understand that they were also permeated with the same gravity-altering power.
"Pick your jaw up off the floor, Siren," Emperor said, clenching his fists. "Cause I'm about to break it."
Renown was alone, limping her way through the sea of fog surrounding her, cursing at herself and her rashness.
Deep down, she knew that she was being tricked, that Repulse was dead, that she'd never see her again, and that the voice calling out to her was just a ruse to ambush her, but something compelled her to follow that illusion. It felt almost like dreaming; she knew it wasn't real, but she couldn't help going with the flow.
Of course, reality called back to her when she reached the source of that voice—an Enforcer-class humanoid Siren of the Concealment type who didn't waste time and shot her as soon as she got in range.
She was lucky the first shot sent her flying hard enough to wake her up in time to dodge the second and cleave through the Siren with a single swing of her scorching claymore, otherwise, she'd be dead.
Not that it wouldn't be long before she kicked the bucket.
She let out a frustrated growl as stabbing pain shot through her side after a particularly harsh stumble. She was holding her left arm against her chest with her right hand, trying her best to stem the bleeding from the gaping wound that Siren gave her. The more forward she pushed, the more the risk of bleeding out increased, and even if she was a Kansen with higher resistance than a human, she still needed the red stuff inside her body to live.
Even more frustrating was knowing that the Arbiters had planned this since the beginning. She was willing to bet her arse that those bastards had intentionally recalled their scouts early in order to drive her and her comrades into a false sense of security; then, they simply waited for them to go out on one of their hunts and return tired, so that they could take them by surprise by casting a massive Mirror Sea around the approximate location of their hideout.
It was an exceptionally straightforward strategy that paid off greatly at the expense of herself and her comrades. Renown was sure that if she had been in top condition, whatever trick they used to lure her would have never worked.
Or maybe it was just her wishful thinking, trying to come up with an excuse for her worthlessness.
That last thought came to her right as her last ounce of strength abandoned her. She fell on her knees on the water, panting heavily and shivering for the cold.
"Goddammit…" She cursed under her breath. Repulse didn't sacrifice herself to save her just so she could die in such a lame way, bleeding out alone, after having abandoned her comrades to chase down a ghost.
Right before she could fall unconscious, a voice reached her ears, followed by the appearance of a body attached to a familiar face.
"Hermione, over here! She's wounded!"
"Yes, Miss Howe!"
Another familiar face appeared from the fog, accompanied by two names she remembered perfectly, but this time, Renown wouldn't let herself be led astray.
"If you think the same trick will work twice... you are sorely mistaken... filthy Sirens!" She tried to lift herself up from her kneeling position, but another pang of sharp pain made her grimace and fall forward.
Both Hermione and Howe were there to catch her, holding steady the shipgirl whose face they knew so well but whose outfit, tone of voice, and attitude were completely different.
"It's okay, Renown; we are with Azur Lane, you are safe now." Howe's gentle voice graced her ears again, and a nostalgic feeling took hold of her.
"Howe... Hermione... It's really you." Her voice cracked, but before the tears could come out of her eyes, the fatigue she had accumulated, the pain of the wounds, the relief, and the elation at being held by her long-lost comrades were the final blow for her tired self, and she finally fell into Morpheus' embrace.
It didn't take long after Helena made that announcement for the search fleet to stumble upon a massive Mirror Sea. Its perimeter was delimited by a thick mist wall, which, to the untrained eye, would have looked like an everyday fog bank.
They figured the Mirror Sea was responsible for the disappearance of the signal and that the Ashes were somewhere inside there, so they all got ready to break in, but the shipboys told them to hold their horses.
They could feel that the mist wasn't just there to obstruct the view. There was something more to it. They couldn't quite put their finger on what it was, but they were sure it was there, and they offered to enter alone and check things out themselves.
Of course, their proposition was met with a few objections from the shipgirls, and the boys were forced to relent at their insistence. In the end, it was decided to split the fleet into small groups: the Kansen with better control over their Cubes would go explore toward the middle of the Mirror Sea, where the fog was thicker; the others would patrol the outer limit from the inside. Helena would stay with the latter group; their radio wasn't working because of the jamming probably enacted by the Sirens, but her radar was still working, and with it, she could direct her comrades on a preplanned course inside the fog and overcome the handicap of the low visibility.
Alabama and Zuikaku were one of the pairs who offered to explore the inner part of the Mirror Sea. Soon they realized that the shipboys were right and that there was indeed something wrong with the mist since the further they went inside the harder the strain of keeping up their mental defenses became. Not only that, but the number of humanoid Sirens they encountered increased sensibly; by now, they had vanquished five different groups one after the other, and they were starting to feel the exertion.
"This is more exhausting than I thought." Alabama let out a tired breath.
"What's wrong? Can't keep up?" Zuikaku provoked her, equally exhausted.
"Hardly… I can do this all day," Alabama smirked at the Sakura carrier.
"Then show me what you got, Captain Eagle Union." Zuikaku returned the smirk and settled into a stance as a couple humanoid silhouettes appeared from the mist.
She lunged at one of them, unsheathing her katana to slash at the figure and chop off the enemy's head, but her steel clashed with another blade of the same manufacture as her eyes met her opponent's single one.
Alabama was about to do the same, but then paused in her tracks upon noticing that the pair of silhouettes didn't belong to humanoid Sirens but to two very battered Sakura Kansen.
Zuikaku jumped backward, coming to stand side by side with the Eagle Union battleship, who had summoned her scythe just in case.
The two pairs stood there, inspecting each other with barely concealed mistrust in their eyes, until realization dawned on Zuikaku. "Hiyou, Junyou, is that you?" The carrier blinked as she tried to overlay the two shipgirls before her with the image of her comrades back home.
"Tch… This time it's Zuikaku… Prove that you are really her before I cut you down!" Hiyou said, narrowing her eye at her.
"H-hey, where'd that come from? We are here to help you! If this is just because I attacked you, know that you did exactly the same!" Zuikaku protested, pointing an accusing finger at her.
"Sister, I think it's actually her this time," Junyou said.
"What are you talking about? And why are you making such a fuss only for me and not for her?" Zuikaku said, pointing at Alabama, who sent her a deadpan stare.
"Because we don't know her. At least I think…" Hiyou mused aloud.
"This Mirror Sea shows illusions to those inside," Junyou explained. "Illusions of the past... friends, comrades, and loved ones... only to lure its victims into a trap. It almost got us multiple times, but because we were together, we managed to cover for each other."
"It's probably the fog then," Alabama said. "The boys were right. We need to get out of here as soon as possible."
"You two are free to go…" A fifth voice resounded in the air, and the group began turning their heads around, trying to assess where it was coming from. A sudden, ominous, azure glow shone through the mist, followed by the appearance of an Arbiter with long, silvery hair, yellow eyes, and anglerfish-like rigging. "…but the METAs stay here," the Hermit IX said, a menacing grin on her face. The ominous glow was coming from both the lantern dangling in front of her face and the one she was holding in her hand.
The four shipgirls drew their weapons and aimed their riggings at the Arbiter.
"That's not going to happen, Siren. We are here for them, and we have no intention of abandoning them," Zuikaku declared, much to the incredulous stares the two Sakura light carriers were sending her.
"Oh? So Azur Lane has finally decided to side with the METAs. It was only a matter of time, but that means I'm finally allowed to go all out on you without the risk of ruining Observer's simulation," Hermit said, her grin enlarging.
"How many times do we have to tell you?! Going after us is pointless-"
"Silence! Your pathetic excuses won't save you!" Hermit cut Hiyou off and snapped her finger. The mist around them rippled before parting to reveal the figures of multiple Enforcer-class humanoid Sirens of the Exploration and Concealment type encircling the group.
"Now, die!" Hermit shouted, and the battle begun.
AN: Hey there, it's been a while... Well, not that long since I like to keep my promises.
We are kicking off strong with the first of the fleets that departed from Azur Lane, whose task is to meet up with the Ashes by following Helena META's SOS.
I know what you are thinking: "You missed the chance to have Kaga here and turn her into a battleship…" I know, and I'm kicking myself for that, but with the way things were setup, it had to be this way, so that entire aspect of Hermit's mist is just absent here.
Nonetheless, I hope the chapter was worth the wait.
Also, did you notice that Emperor hasn't been in a single fight since the beginning of the story? (Except for the one in chapter two when he was introduced, but that was more of a scuffle, and he was relegated to the side in chapter thirty-one) Even Lenin, who's had a lot less screen time than him, has had his time to shine. Well, I intend to make it up to him by having him show off a bit.
I can't wait to show you what I have planned for everything else.
Next Chapter: Out of the Ashes
