During the Siren War, the Azur Lane made a shocking discovery; they were not the first to take the fight to the Sirens. Stumbling across a frozen, mountainous island, the girls found traces of a cataclysmic battle, as well as what appeared to be human/mechanical remains.
These were brought back and, with the power of the wisdom cubes, rebuilt as the Shipboys, ships of more futuristic yet primal origins. After initial clashes wrought of confusion, the Shipboys were reminded of the alien threat that wiped them out, and are determined to use this second chance to protect more than just the man at his side...
Chapter 10: Of Men and Monsters
"In the fighting of monsters, one must take care that he does not become a monster himself."
-Friedrich Nietzsche
She sat at her terminal, thinking very hard and carefully about how to go about the report. It was an astonishing breakthrough but one that, for lack of a better term, scared the shit out of the team.
Human application of the wisdom cubes were stunted and warped, amplified by the negative impulses of the human race. Yet, the results were undeniable. For the first time, humanity wasn't just fighting against the Sirens. They were winning...
so what happens when the Sirens are gone?...
She reached for her keyboard and began clacking out her thoughts for her memorandum. It was mostly a hodgepodge of notes, collectively making an entire, coherent report.
"We ran the usual tests today. The men have lost all of their knowledge of their previous lives, or rather, if they remember anything at all, they have yet to tell us what they know. As a side note, many of them maintain certain character traits and quirks of personality, for example, Lewis Mchord, now known as Strawboss, had a penchant for biting his fingernails when stressed, a trait that he still exhibits. Also, Lt. Cmdr Thodin Jormundgandr, now known as Moder, has a fondness for Nicaraguan cigars, and still enjoys them now after the procedure. However, their previous identity appears to be gone.
"The days are becoming longer. More difficult to process. We have provided what we promised humanity; a shield from the extraterrestrial forces of the Sirens. But I can hardly get any sleep anymore. Not because I hear the children crying in pain all night, though that is partly the reason. I fear my own soul is forfeit for my part in inflicting this existence upon them. Upon Thodin.
"I am told that we did what was necessary for the survival of the human race. Dr. Vitali is not wrong when she says the sirens wage genocide against us. In the UK, my homeland, close to 30% of the population has been wiped out. It is with no small irony I see the situation before me. The British people have always thrived on the sea. It is not just a part of our economy and culture, it is quintessentially part of the English people. And now, our doom may come from the very same sea. Or it would have if not for these shipmen we have wrought.
"But as it is, I cannot help but feel we have traded our humanity to save it. By inflicting this state of living death on these men, my heart grows heavy. Do we really deserve to survive? If our lives come at cost of others, just how frail and helpless are we? These men are volunteers yes...though I am remiss to say that we were entirely truthful about the situation. Much of the disclosures were embellished. Heavily.
"Which begs the question; what happens when they find out about the lies? What happens when there is no more alien threat? There is one, Captain Joshua Blazvik, now known as Killshot, an exceptionally intelligent man. I am convinced he knows we are not being truthful with him. He watches us with eyes devoid of hope or compassion. Not blinking. Like a predator deducing to optimal moment to strike."
"It may come soon."
She let this thought hang as she stared at her monitor. As she listened to the clacking of her keyboard cease, she became very aware of the screams and cries of the men in lab come drifting into her ears.
"And who's to say we don't deserve it?" Dr. Claire Princeton whispered to herself.
Prince of Wales groggily opened her eyes. Another night devoid of rest. But no tears came to her eyes this time. Instead, a deep, almost judgmental dread fell over her as the picture gained another piece of a mental puzzle.
She looked around. She had never felt so lost and alone. But no tears came to her eyes.
She was past tears at this time.
North Atlantic, off the shore of Greenland...
Repulse and Renown stealthily patrolled the waters of the frigid arctic sea, wrapped in fur trimmed cloaks. Ice hung in dagger like icicles from their cannons and frosty sea foam coated their shivering legs.
"S-so c-c-cold!" Repulse whined, "W-why are w-w-we on patrol duty w-when Northern P-p-parliament girls are b-better suited for t-t-this?!"
"Stop f-fussing." Renown gritted her teeth, irritated by her companion's complaints, "doesn't m-matter who is better s-suited. Commander gave us an order, and we will f-finish it!"
Repulse mewled in protest but clutched her cloak tight and pressed on.
"I'm making the biggest pot of black tea when I get back," she whimpered, "then I'm spending the rest of my weekend in the hot spring."
"have as much as you please, Sister dear, but until then, pay attention to your duties."
Repulse opened her mouth to speak but the moment she did so, turning around a block of floating ice, the two girls came face to face with a ship.
The gigantic hulk listed in the icy waters, a massive tanker like vessel that rolled dazedly in the sea. Scours in the hull, deep pitted dents and scorch marks lined the ship from bow to stern.
Emblazoned on the side, faded by damaged paint but stilll visible was the emblem of the Azur Lane.
"Just as Commander feared," Renown whispered, her voice laden with fear, "they're blockading us."
A sudden bang accompanied by an explosion of ice from an iceberg next to them. The girls turned around and saw the their attackers.
Two shipmen, garish metal armor bolted into their torsos, hand's replaced by cannons and eyes blazing an angry red. They marched forward, lobbing shot after shot. Repulse immediately opened fire, the cold temperature forgotten in her mind.
"Homeport, this is Renown. We confirmed the shipmen activity and are taking fire at this time, returning to port immediately!"
"We won't make it to port unless we fight our way out of this!" Repulse shouted, "chin up, lass, I'm not missing my tea time!"
The shipmen snarled in mechanical tones as they fired again and again. But none of the shots landed near the two girls. They all were falling wide.
Renown gritted her teeth and turned to return fire.
BOOM!
Massive cannons cracked out their reply as Renown's shells struck home. One of the rambling ship men was set completely ablaze, shrieking in mechanized agony as fire charred his remaining flesh.
"Undertow is hit." His companion spoke in a stilted monotone, "Riptide re-engaging."
auto cannons snapped rapidly as shells assaulted Repulse and Renown. But the two were able to duck behind a chunk of ice and evade further attacks. Turning into the current, the two girls sped off back to base.
Meanwhile...
Queen Elizabeth and Warspite rested daintily on the beach side. Or rather, Queen Elizabeth was relaxing while Warspite was rushing frantically to appease her Majesty.
"Warspite, dear, isn't this the finest of days?" Elizabeth dreamily cooed as Warspite poured her another cup of tea.
"indeed, your majesty." She drawled exasperatedly, trying to handle the tea and a clipboard of files meant originally for the Queen.
Suffolk and Dido stood silently to the side of the Queen and her secretary as they waited on the two.
Warspite sipped from her own tea as she reviewed a list of contracts.
"about those dealings with Northern Parliament, your majesty,"
this caused Queen Elizabeth II to moan in discontent.
"Eehhhh?! Warspite, my dear! We can't afford to go over dreadful forms now! The sun is out on our shore leave! We can't pray for a day like this."
"I understand it's not the most savory of topics," Warspite chided her monarch, "but it is imperative that we clear certain aspects of their discovery. Sheffield's initial reports indicate that they are not interested in conflict with the Azur Lane, yet she also notes there is a divide in leadership."
"Add that and the Channel incident, it is looking...bleak, your majesty."
"hmph." Elizabeth pouted as she forced herself to sit up and look at the document.
"I just don't understand it, Warspite. Sheffield's intelligence has never been wrong. Did we miss something?"
"I'm not sure, your majesty, but I wager it's a complex issue. Considering the shipmen we're not even alive two weeks ago."
"Perhaps" Queen Elizabeth stretched as she stood up, "very well, Warspite. I will have a word with Sovieytskyya Rossiya on the matter."
Meanwhile...
Essex, Cleveland and Hamman streaked across the water as they navigated the Bering strait. Try as they may, however, they faired little better than the Royal Navy.
"Oil slick on the water, heavy in octane." Essex noted, "they're definitely close by, so where are they?"
"Sheffield's intel said that Northern Parliament approximated their island just above the arctic circle, sixty miles off the coast of Russia." Cleveland recalled, rubbing her hands together, struggling to stay warm.
"Who's the idiot who never charted the actual location?!" Hamman shouted, "Grrr!! Stupid Commander! I'll make him pay for being careless!!"
Ice shifted around them, the tide eddying as the slowly advanced northward.
"Say, Essex, whaddaya say we just go back and drag Sheffield with us?"
The young woman shook her head, ice-crusted purple hair swaying in the wind.
"She has her own duty to attend to. Follow up is up to us."
Cleveland laughed to herself ruefully.
"I know, but it's always helpful with her around...even if she goes commando..."
"I'VE GOT SOMETHING!!!" Hamman shrieked in excitement, causing the two older girls to stumble and almost collide into each other.
"Where?!" They both shouted.
"RIGHT...there?" Hammans face curled in confusion as her radar system homed in on an iceberg. A fairly big iceberg, perhaps, but certainly not an island.
"DAMMIT!"
Hamman stamped her foot into the sea in an irate mood.
"SOME UPGRADE THIS RADAR WAS!! HELENA SAID IT WAS GUARANTEED TO FIND ANY SHIP!"
Cleveland quickly sailed around the iceberg. There was indeed nothing connected to it. At least, not on the surface.
...the surface...
"Hamman...active your sonar." Cleveland ordered pensively.
"EEHHH?" Hamman raised an incredulous eyebrow, "Cleve, we're looking for islands not submarines!! Are you stupid?!"
"Just do it, Ham!"
All three ships activated their active sonar, the ping resounding quickly beneath the waves. The three waited momentarily for the feedback.
And then...
"oh my God," Essex whispered.
"wha-, the...eeeEEEEEEHHHHH??!" Hamman squealed.
Cleveland quickly turned her sonar off and motioned for the two girls to follow her.
"We need to go. Right now!" She shouted. "There's no doubt about these readings. That's why the island is never in the same spot. It's not an island! It's a ship!"
Suddenly, the iceberg's around them began to rise out of the sea. The waves grew choppy and white peaks sloshed over the ice sheets. A huge patch of the ocean began to boil violently.
It was beneath them, and it was rising.
"MOVE!" Cleveland screamed as the leviathan's limbs broke the water. Two, gargantuan arms, both rusted, ramshackle and studded with four huge triple barrel 406mm cannon turrets cracked the ice as if it were wet paper. A bestial roar sounded in the deep as the creature's head slowly rose from the roiling sea.
It's skin was the color of putrid rust. Pale splotched with ruddy orange. Bio mechanical muscles bulged underneath its carbon fiber skin, which appeared to be bolted to the frame of the monster. It's head was a mass of plate armor and garish screws and pins driven into its head. It had no visible eyes, but were covered by a thick, unadorned plate of solid steel. It had no nose, merely the skull like holes of what remains of a nose. It's mouth, its ravenous open maw, had way more teeth than any natural human would have, yet these were rotten and black. Acid and oil drooled from the corners of its mouth.
Four massive smoke stacks protruded from the monster's upper back, belching fiery black smoke. Stone, metal and ice formed a haphazard improvised armor around the creature, and absolutely every spare piece of the monster was covered in weaponry. From Large bore guns and anti ship missiles to anti aircraft and torpedo tubes, the monster was a walking gun platform.
All over its body, shipmen scurried all over like parasites on their host. Burrowing into its body, manning guns or screwing even more armor on to the hulk.
And there on the beast's shoulders, clearly in command of the situation, was the Silverman, Killshot.
The girls fled quickly from the scene. They knew better than to stay and fight. It would have been pointless, let alone impossible. Not against this thing.
As Cleveland fled, she became acutely aware of the Shipboy's laughing following her. Chancing a look back, she swore on her life that Killshot was looking dead at her.
And that's when she heard their voices, singing in haunting unison as they reveled in their apparent invincibility.
"Unopposed under crimson skies
Immortilized throughout time
his legend will rise!
And our foes can't believe their eyes
Believe his size
As they fall,
AND WURMSKRUT FEARS NOTHING AT ALL!"
Azur Lane HQ
Rawlings dropped the phone in stunned silence. He almost didn't believe what he was hearing, but Cleveland didn't have any reason to lie to him about something this drastic. He turned sharply to Pennsylvania and Belfast.
"Lock down the port." He gasped, "spread the message, expect imminent attack, source yet unknown."
"Right away, Commander," they acknowledged before quickly leaving the office. In less than a minute, the klaxon sirens blared out, causing the ship girls to go into defensive positions.
Meanwhile, Belfast and Pennsylvania took a moment to evaluate their situation.
"Source yet unknown, I can't help but feel Commander isn't being entirely truthful with that statement." Belfast shook her head, lips pursed.
"I know," Pennsylvania agreed, "but I know my commander would never withhold information like that without an extreme reason. Did you see his face? I've never seen Rawlings scared like that before. He doesn't want the younger girls to panic."
"That may be it, perhaps," Belfast brushed a silver lock of hair from her eyes, "or he's expecting something worse...the shipmen and sirens teaming up, maybe?"
Pennsylvania shook her head.
"Let's hope not, Bel...let's hope not."
Belfast nudged Pennsylvania in the side, causing the battleship to turn. The head maid bore a teasing smug look on her face, now.
"My commander?" She giggled.
"Stow it," Pennsylvania muttered. She was blushing furiously.
Meanwhile, on the waterfront, Cleveland, Essex, and Hamman rushed into port. Enterprise was there to meet them.
"What's going on?! We received the alarm but the indications still say unknown."
"Unknown?!" Cleveland clenched her teeth angrily, "No, we have a location. It's-"
"CLEVELAND!" A voice boomed out, "belay that!"
commander Rawlings strode to the dock and motioned for the three of them to follow him.
"I'll debrief you in my office. You come as well," he motioned so to Enterprise, "I need some tactical advice regarding the situation."
Enterprise followed warily with the other girls as Rawlings led them back inside.
The girls at the port exchanged uneasy glances.
"you know that feeling that something really, REALLY bad is about to happen?" Hornet asked absentmindedly, "I kinda have it now..."
Atlantic Ocean, 75 miles north of Azur Lane HQ and closing
Killshot growled in menacing ire. He had just about had it with his old friend.
Wurmskrut's innards comprised of entryways and access tunnels, connecting to fire control and communication hubs. If need be, the hulk could operate independently or as a giant mecha. This was how the Shipboys took the war to the sirens. Initially anyway. But the destruction Wurmskrut was capable of limited his use as a last resort trump card, as decreed by Moder.
It was a decision deep down, Killshot had never forgotten or forgiven him for.
With Wurmskrut deactivated, the war swiftly turned against them. They were superior to sirens one on one, even two on one, but the sirens then were unending hordes, pouring out of the oceans. They were backed into their corner, huddled on Wurmskruts husk. Killshot remembered desperately begging Moder to reactivate the behemoth.
All in vain.
He closed his eyes, and remembered that day...
...
"INCOMING!"
The lasers hit the barracks, sending bits of building and charred flesh everywhere. Killshot snarled in defiance. His brothers were dying. He HAD to see reason!
The Sirens were mounting what was obviously an all out assault on their base, the lifeless body of the beast that may well be their salvation. There was no doubt they sought swift, bloody revenge for the brutality inflicted upon them by the shipboys. Purifiers and Testers, faces twisted in unforgiving rage, ripped apart their lines as thousands upon thousands of sirens poured from dimensional portals.
Broadside ran up beside him, red eyes flashing under his white hair.
"Commander! Dreadnought's task force failed with 100 % casualties. Our flanks are completely open."
Killshot shook his head. Dammit, Dreadnought! Fair winds brother...we will meet again...
"Take a detachment of Raiders and plug all the holes. We're gonna run short, they'll have to deal with it until we get Wurmskrut up and running."
"Sir,"
Killshot turned, eyes flashed in impatience but also concern.
"He will activate him...right?..."
Killshot wanted to respond yes. But he didn't have the stomach to say a lie...
"Hold fast, brother." Killshot reassuringly put his hand on his friend's shoulder and turned to the command post.
A purifier rushed at him from the side.
"Your days are done, chromedome!" She laughed as she shot her lasers at him. The lasers reflected off of his mirrored silver skin.
Killshot didn't even grace her with a reply or even a glance. He simply raised his hand and fired a missile that impacted directly into her face. The alien exploded in a burst of blue blood and guts.
Killshot walked into the post, and instantly adopted a more tragic, pleading demeanor.
"Brother Commander, I'm begging you. Not as a warship. Nor as your right hand. As your brother and comrade. We must activate the Grootslang."
Moder was hunched over the active console that provided battle feeds. He watched firsthand as his men, his brothers, were ripped limb from limb. Beside him, Woden and Loki waited forlornly as they awaited their commander's orders.
At first Moder said nothing. Explosions rocked the control hub.
"Dreadnaught is gone!" Killshot almost shouted, grief lining his voice "the twins, Undertow, Cannoncocker, Niidhogg, Swashbuckles...do you need me to go on?"
Still Moder said nothing, but slowly turned away from the console to approach Woden solemnly.
"what do you see?"
Woden closed his milky eyes and began to sway softly in his seance, ignoring the explosions and gunfire outside.
"Eight for Silver...eight for Silver..."
The others waited for him to see his vision, before his eye snapped open again. A tragic look was on his usually serene face.
"there is no victory here. The sirens will be the end of us in our current state"
Moder nodded, ponderously.
"and if we activate Wurmskrut? What then?"
"We may live..."
"...but?..."
"...but Wurmskrut will be out of control in the frenzy...there will be human casualties."
Killshot spat in defiant rage "there have and always will be casualties where sirens are involved. What matters is that we aren't wiped out, and ensure those who die do not die in vain. Moder!..."
Killshot summoned his reserves of persuasive force to bear, eyes boring holes to Moder as they made eye contact.
"...if we do not...we are not going to survive. We will die on this corpse...when it could be brought to life."
Moder looked around him. He looked as though he were completely lost and alone. Out of all the situations he had found a way to claw his way out of, he was suddenly without any escape routes now.
He glanced at the folder on the desk, labeled "Project: ARTEMIS"
"...we can't. The cost would be too great."
"MODER!" Killshot stepped forward, incredulous that this was his decision. He pointed out to the battle outside, "THEY'RE GOING TO DIE. EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!!!"
"I KNOW!!" Moder reached down, grabbed the console and ripped it out of the frame and into the wall, opening the space between the commander and his first mate, grief and rage in his eyes"you think this is what I WANT? To send my men to their deaths?!"
That's what you ARE doing! Why?! Make me understand why our lives are worth nothing!"
Moder bowled forward, and crashed into Killshot, pinning him to the wall.
"Do not speak like your worth is a zero sum, Killshot. We are SHIPMEN. We are worth our weight in diamonds. But the future doesn't belong to us. We must trust that the Ladyships...we must trust they will finish what we started."
"Trust Zenith?!" Killshot shook his head in disbelief, "have you gone insane?!"
A tester suddenly broke through the ceiling, lasers firing. Moder released Killshot, grabbing the siren by the neck and shooting it multiple times into her gut with his cannons.
Killlshot looked up. Sirens were pouring in through the hole in the ceiling. This was the last stand.
The last thing Killshot remembered was being attacked by eight sirens. Two he managed to kill, but was overpowered by sheer numbers. They ripped off his legs. Then his arms. Shattered his ribs. An Observer pointed a cannon at his face.
"I didn't expect much from second rate failures." She said.
Failure.
Killshot couldn't disagree, or so he thought, as the Observer shot his head off...
...
Killshot was jolted back to the present by the alarm Klaxons going off. The Ladyships were making a move it seemed.
"Prepare to repel attackers. All hands, man your battle stations."
Azur Lane Headquarters was inside optimal cannon range. He licked his lips, savoring the moment.
This is for you, Brother ...
"Engage forward Targets. Range, Twelve miles. Elevation, 00.994. One for the Sea!
Fire."
Northern Parliament Embassy, Russian Federation...
Queen Elizabeth sipped tea as Sovietskkya Rossiya poured a shot of vodka.
"This St. Petersburg tea is delicious, my dear. I will have to order some for the Royal Stores."
"Russian tea is best for you!" Rossiya laughed, "warms your bones up. But vodka, dyuska. Vodka warms the soul!"
They sat for a moment longer before...
"this is about the island, isn't it?"
Queen Elizabeth sputtered, choking on her drink. She coughed and elegantly recovered and smiled embarrassedly.
"Erm, yes, dear... I was hoping that would receive a copy of the Northern Parliament report of the island discovery."
Rossiya raised her eyebrows.
"are you doubting our recount?"
"of course not. But you must understand. To better understand what we are facing. Especially considering that they broke out of our port."
"so it's saving face? If I recall, it was an Eagle Union ship who facilitated the experiments. Where is your dog in this fight?"
"Royal Navy has the best intelligence gathering of all the fleets."
"Quite so."
"Sheffield's intel corroborates what the original Northern Parliament report stated. Off the coast of Russia. But subsequent expeditions and scouts come up with nothing at her coordinates."
Rossiya nodded as she sipped her vodka.
"So to cut to the chase, I would appreciate a first hand recount of the discovery."
The Russian Shipgirl grinned and snapped her fingers. "GANGUT! Get your ass into my quarters. Royalty is here to see you..."
Azur Lane HQ...
"SHROPSHIRE!! Look out!!" "KYAA!!"
500 mm shells impacted the base, erupting in hellish plumes of smoke and flames. Buildings reduced to rubble and debris as material was blasted high into the air.
Rawlings barked orders in rapid succession as shells landed into the port.
"ENTERPRISE! Maintain air dominance with the carrier fleets! ESSEX AND LEXINGTON! Back her up!"
"Yes, Sir!"
"HOOD! REPULSE! RENOWN! I want fire support thirty minutes ago!"
"Aye, Sah! On the double sah!"
"KÖLN! Get the Iron Blood cruisers out In defensive position Dresden Victor!"
"JAWHOL!"
"Destroyers stay in harbor...this is beyond your ability..."
The unnatural behemoth burst from the waves and began to climb physically over the coastal walls. The shipmen aboard cheered in an animal like bray of savage intent.
"STEADY!" Bismarck shouted over the din, "Wait until zey are in range! Choose yar targets carefooly!"
several girls shrieked in fear at the amalgamation of flesh and steel that was roaring at them like some nightmarish hellbeast. What in Gods name was it?! They weren't designed nor prepared to fight against a monstrosity like that!!
Wurmskrut gave a guttural roar and fired another volley as the shipmen cheered. Killshot's grin grew wider.
Revenge was in reach-!
BRANG!!!
A high explosive shell struck Wurmskrut in the side of his head. The massive creature shook his head and steadied himself.
Killshot's grin instantly vanished. He turned where the shell came from. That was no Ladyship cannon!
Rawlings and the Shipgirls also started. They hadn't fired!...
"Aerial observation has a fleet to the northwest! 5 miles and closing, sir!" Enterprise called out, "They're...they're not ours!"
Rawlings turned back to the monster, perched on the sea wall. His immense weight was causing the concrete and iron to crack.
Killshot looked back at port.
the two glared at each other, murder in their eyes.
"WHEEL HIM ABOUT! Full to starboard! Prepare to engage...prepare to engage traitors!" Killshot screamed.
Rawlings and the women watched as the monster turned hard to the right on the wall, then fully leaping back into the sea, in the direction where the shot came from.
Rawlings ram at full tilt to the harbor.
"JAVELIN! TAKE ME OUT TO OPEN WATER!" He shouted, leaping off the dock...
...and directly on to the quarterdeck of HMS Javelin
"Aye, Commander!" Javelin was almost giddy that he was aboard her ship, but was still aware of the seriousness of the situation.
"TO THE COMMANDER!" Enterprise shouted, as the entirety of the Azur Lane leapt into the sea and followed Javelin.
Rawlings and Javelin stared in awe as the vessel pulled out of port.
The mechanized creature plowed through the sea towards a massive black battleship, steaming full bore towards the monster. Behind him, a fleet of dilapidated but angrily steaming warships were in tow. Destroyers, cruisers, battleships and carriers.
The lead battleship fired an earthshaking salvo, striking the monster in its armored chest. It reeled, giving a squawk of pain from the impact. The other ships behind their leader began to let loose a withering barrage of cannon fire. Carriers launched jet fighter bombers which harried the monster from on high.
But if only it were so easy, for the monster spread his arms wide, exposing his bristling weapons batteries before firing a salvo in response. Explosions broke out on several ships.
The Black Battleship meanwhile sped forward and, creating a swell created by the monster, collided into its gut. Rawlings swore he saw a figure leap up off the battleship, landing on the monster's shoulders. A fight of some kind was happening between the silver man and the figure. He reached into his coat and pulled out a telescope. He saw them.
Two men locking swords on the shoulders of the creature. The silver man he was aware of, but the other appeared to me mostly human, save for his metal lower jaw and blazing red eyes. Long sword and scimitar flashed in the light as the two fought furiously. There was no grace. There was no refined technique or even general skill. This was a vicious hacking into one another's defenses borne out of something truly primeval.
It was at this moment, getting closer to the cacophonous battle, he thought he heard what the silver man's attacker was screaming.
"Why?!"
Wurmskrut, off shore from Azur Lane HQ
"Why, you ask me?!" Killshot incredulously shouted as he smashed his scimitar into Moder's long sword, "AFTER EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN THROUGH! EVERYTHING IVE DONE FOR YOU! EVERYONE I KILLED FOR YOU! YOU HAVE THE UNMITIGATED GALL TO ASK ME WHY?!"
clang!
"YOU'RE INSANE!!" Moder shouted back, tears streaming down his face as he swung wildly back at Killshot, "I NEVER WANTED A WAR WITH THE LADYSHIPS! THIS IS MADNESS WHAT YOU SEEK!"
Clang! Clash!
"What you WANT!" Killshot spat these words hatefully, "WHAT ABOUT THIS LIFE IS ABOUT WHAT WE WANT?! YOU'RE SO BLIND IN YOUR TIMIDNESS TO DO ANYTHING IF AN ANT GETS IN THE WAY OF YOUR BOOT FALL! FUCK HUMANITY! FUCK ZENITH! AND FUCK THOSE LADYSHIPS! DONT YOU SEE THEYRE HERE TO REPLACE US! ZENITH HAS ABANDONED US AND YOUR LETTING THEM GET AWAY WITH IT! YOU STOOD AND WATCHED YOUR BROTHERS DIE!"
Clang!
"THAT WASN'T THE LADYSHIPS FAULT! IT WAS MINE! I ACCEPT IT! IF WE LOSE OUR HUMANITY WE ARE NO BETTER THAN THE SIRENS!-"
"SHUT UP!!!"
Their swords locked together as the two men heaved against their blades.
"Do you have any idea," Moder sobbed, "How much I do not want to do this?"
"Pity," Killshot leaned forward, licking his lips, "can you imagine how much I do?"
Killshot dipped his shoulder suddenly. Moder's straight bladed sword slid down the curved blade of the scimitar. Before Moder could recover, Killshot whipped the blade up and ripped open Moder's thigh.
There was no blood, only oil and lubricant that sprayed from the torn carbon fiber skin.
Killshot pointed his scimitar at his brother-turned-enemy.
"We aren't humans anymore, brother. We are not flesh and blood. We are better. Stronger! You see for yourself; Your body tells you the truth. We are steel and thunder. We have transcended mortality. Who are they to dictate our fates. Who are they to demand we lie down and die because it's convenient for them?!"
Moder, tears still streaming from his face, looked up at his fallen comrade.
"Steel and thunder, yes. Hell, they took our hearts, too. But our SOULS, Killshot! We still have our souls, which guide us in the dark! That's what made us different from the sirens. We still have that connection with humanity...OUR humanity!"
Killshot visibly recoiled from disbelief at what he was hearing.
"Oh good God in Heaven... LISTEN TO YOURSELF! They didn't make us walking death machines to worry about our humanity. THEY MADE US TO KILL!!"
No." Moder shook his head, "They made us...to PROTECT! Killing is just the unfortunate business...but it is not who we are."
"Not you," Killshot grinned wickedly, raising his scimitar, "but it is most certainly who I am."
"And that's why I'll always be here...to stop you."
Moder suddenly raised his sword and drove the blade deep into Wurmskrut's flesh. The behemoth roared and bucked, sending Killshot flying off its shoulder. He plunged into the sea, landing with a splash.
several seconds later, a massive silver battleship, identical to the black one, burst from the sea and steamed away angrily, firing wildly at the black ship's fleet. An ominous, cybernetic horn sounded out, and the renegade shipmen abandoned the behemoth and activated their own ship forms. Hyper advanced warships unlike anything anyone from Azur Lane had seen. They sped away, towards the horizon in the East.
Rawlings looked up at the man now in control of the monster. Their eyes locked...then he turned, man, beast and fleet, and retreated whence they came, north by north west.
No pursuit was made. No shots at the backs of the retreating shipmen. Not even a word was said as Rawlings and the Shipgirls watched as Wurmskrut dove under water with its master, and disappeared from view...
Chapter 10 of Shipboy Brotherhood.
I owe you all an apology. This chapter was a long time coming but between moving, changing jobs and just general writers block I didn't know how to proceed. It sort of cleared up in the past few days.
as a peace offering, I'll give you a spoiler. Next chapter will be how North Parliament found the Shipboys.
review, critique and share as always. I hope your still around to take this journey!