Commander Blaze, a front line commander story

by Dasmara

Meet William Blaze, a veteran who royally screwed his last mission and was thrown into prison. But when The Sirens invaded, Azur Lane High Command need him once more and so he is reinstated. His new job? Command the beautiful ship girls and give The Sirens big F you in the face. Join them as William balanced his daily life between dealing with the girl's antics and killing Sirens.

23. The clock ticks to Midnight

"Meguro? Meguro! This is Blaze, listen to me, incoming attack on HQ! I repeat, incoming attack on HQ! Large scale Siren forces are inbound for our base!" William said to Meguro on the radio.

"Dammit! Again?! Well, it seems your prediction has come true!" Meguro said to William on the radio.

"Yeah? Well, I'm not happy about it!" William said to Meguro on the radio.

"Radar just picked them up…kuso, we'll need you here Blaze. Bismarck-san took many of the Ironblood KANSENs and left for their own mission, so we're short on ship girl combat strength." Meguro said to William on the radio.

"Got it! We're on our way!" William said to Meguro on the radio.

William went to the cockpit and managed to see the approaching fleet toward their base; he couldn't help but grimace when he saw how many ships were in that fleet. William quickly racked his brain to find a way in chipping away some of their capabilities, while also flying back to the base at the same time. After thinking for a few seconds an idea hit him…What if this helicopter could be used like a gunship? Not a helicopter gunship, something like an AC-130 Gunship in firepower. How to do that? Well, they already got ship girls in here, so all that's left is to implement their firepower into this helicopter. William sat in the empty copilot seat; he's got a plan to implement now.

"Akashi, switch with me." William said to Akashi.

"Control is yours nyaa!" Akashi said to William as she relinquished the helicopter's control.

"Ladies listen up! I'm opening the hatches so you can thin the Sirens out. Mikasa, take the left hatch and deploy your rig. Akagi, launch your planes from the rear hatch. Amagi, you take the other hatch. I'm going to pass between them, we only have one shot to make this pass so make it count!" William explained out loud to the ship girls.

"""Ryoukai!""" Amagi, Mikasa and Akagi replied in unison.

"Shikikan-dono, could we also launch our torpedoes?" Takao asked William.

"Will it work at ten meters height?" William asked Takao back.

"Technically it will launch well in five meters." Takao said to William.

"That close to the surface…alright, we're risking it." William said to Takao.

"Arigatou." Takao said to William as she nodded her head.

"Takao?" William asked Takao as he turned around to see her sticking her head from the passenger bay.

"Hai?" Takao asked William.

"Make sure those torpedoes hit." William said to Takao.

"Count on us. Atago, take the left side! Kawakaze, you take the rear! I'll take the right side!" Takao said out loud.

""Hai!"" Atago and Kawakaze replied.

"Alright ladies! This is it!" William shouted at the ship girls.

There's a narrow gap in the Siren's fleet formation, he certainly could fit the helicopter through it, but the question is will they get shot down? William doesn't have any confidence to get close to one of the Siren ships even with a fighter jet, and now he's going to do it with a helicopter? William shook his head; he didn't have time to think about any of the consequences. He dived with the helicopter all the way to five meters height, the waters were quite still, so he won't have to worry about hitting the surface during this mad dash. The hatches were opened and the ship girls were on standby with their riggings out, the Sirens' mass-produced ships immediately lit up their AA guns, and William had to pay attention to the AA projectiles while he hoped that their luck would hold out.

Atago and Takao were the first ones to launch their torpedoes out, Akagi launched her torpedo bombers and dive bombers from the rear, and followed by Amagi alongside Mikasa fired a salvo toward the ships on their sides. William moved the helicopter to the right side a little to avoid crashing into a Siren light cruiser which Kawakaze immediately torpedoed, all of their attacks managed to cause some damage toward the Siren fleet in a single, daring run which William didn't want to do again anytime soon…William sighed in relief when they gained some distance away from the fleet without getting hit, they're quite lucky.

"It worked!" Mikasa said out loud.

"What did we manage to kill?" William asked out loud.

"Three cruisers, two battleships, and one Peace Breaker!" Akagi reported to William.

"Nice work there!" William complimented while he grinned.

The hatches were closed and the ship girls sat to rest themselves for the incoming battle that will surely come to their regional headquarters. Amagi got up and took a look at the situation in the cockpit where Akashi and William were still flying the helicopter, but it seems Akashi was the one who flew it while William just made sure their instruments were working as intended…William was just in time to look back and saw Amagi staring at him.

"Yeah?" William asked Amagi.

"Shikikan-sama, that tactic was reckless…But, I like your style. Reckless and daring." Amagi said to William while she smiled a bit.

"Um…Thanks Amagi." William said to Amagi.

"…I bet her panties are wet right now, kommandant." Prinz suddenly said to William on the radio.

"What the fuck Prinz?!" William half shouted at Prinz on the radio with a wide eye.

"Heyya, I'm babysitting these guys until Bismarck returns. Based on radar, they should arrive in five minutes." Prinz said to William on the radio.

"Five minutes? Their fleet is still pretty far away, they should arrive in at least ten." William asked Prinz with a confused tone on the radio.

"I forgot to mention, they do have their fleet of dropships coming in. They intend to kill us with ground forces." Prinz said to William on the radio.

"Just perfect!" William said out loud and huffed in annoyance.

Fleet of dropships? As if their fleet isn't enough of a problem! William saw the regional headquarters straight ahead and the dreaded dropships approaching from their far right, fortunately the AA defenses of the regional headquarters are strong enough that the Sirens didn't dare to fuck around by dropping straight in the perimeter. The sheer volume of AA flak in the sky was enough to force them to unload their cargo on the beach area which was also immediately rained by torrents of bullets from the pillboxes around the beach, the machine gun rounds tore into the dropping Troopers who didn't have any cover and could only occasionally fire back which didn't put any meaningful damage.

The experimental helicopter managed to land safely in one of the available landing pads, William and the other ship girls immediately disembarked and headed toward their respective destinations. The majority of them prepared themselves to combat the approaching Sirens while William, Mikasa, and Amagi who carried the nuclear case headed straight for the command center…Along the way, almost everyone who looked at William stopped whatever they were doing, since this would be the first time William donned the armor in public. His body is already intimidating enough in a sense, but the armor cranked it up by several levels especially when they couldn't see his face. William entered the command center and headed straight for Meguro who took a while to inspect him from head to foot in stunned manners. The other personnel including Prinz inside the room did the same, it looks like they're going to start a briefing about something.

"…Huh, so this is what you mean by testing something." Meguro commented as he stared at William.

"Yeah. Bad news, it would seem none of the spec ops squad you sent survived." William said to Meguro.

"…Hah…shit…okay, do you have the nuclear weapons?" Meguro grimaced then asked William.

"Here." Both Mikasa and Amagi showed Meguro the nuclear cases.

"Excellent. I need you both to leave them here." Meguro said to the ship girls as he pointed at the spot near the briefing room holographic table.

"Right there?" Amagi asked Meguro as she pointed at the spot.

"That exact spot, Amagi-san." Meguro confirmed to Amagi.

"…What are you planning, Meguro?" William asked Meguro as he watched the ship girls put down the cases.

"New order just came in, straight from Kabakura himself. We're doing a torch and burn op." Meguro said to William while he scowled.

…William took a second to process Meguro's words, a torch and burn operation? Can someone explain to him on why the fuck did high command just ordered that now?! They could've avoided so much loss if high command ordered them to secure every piece of intel and research, then burn this base to the ground, if they've done that then they won't have to commit some near desperate assault to the Siren base! They could focus entirely on defense and perhaps…Shoukaku, Zuikaku, and Hiryuu won't have to suffer such wounds!

"…We did all that, lost so many men, resources, and time only to retreat?! We're leaving the Sirens to win after all that?!" William asked Meguro with a widened eye.

"Calm down." Meguro said to William.

"Don't fuck with me Meguro! Do you have any idea what this battle cost us?! Three of the ship girls paid their price already!" William said to Meguro while he scowled.

"Don't give me that! I've thrown five thousand soldiers, five thousand sailors and dozens of pilots to hold this archipelago! I sacrificed them to hold this exact spot! All of them and thirty thousand civilians still died in the process! Do you think I don't want to go completely ballistic? No, I'm fucking pissed! If those motherfuckers back home could just make up their own minds regarding this! We could have saved so many lives! We could've fought them somewhere else! So what if they got this isle?!" Meguro shouted at William while he scowled.

CRASH!

Meguro threw his pad toward the wall on the far side of the room in a flick of anger, he definitely understood William's feelings, and he even felt he's supposed to be more pissed with this situation than him. Meguro felt this one battle will be a black mark on his entire military career, he lost so many men and assets in this fight against them which didn't even bore fruit, especially when Operation Icarus failed due to that goddamned shield wall! William got three injured ship girls? Bah! Meguro had it worse! He lost so many men which he knew on a personal level during the first hour of action against them! The civilians under his jurisdiction were slaughtered, William had no idea how he felt right now when he heard the order!

"…Isn't this place a strategic location sir?" Meguro's lieutenant to his side asked Meguro in a timid tone.

"Wake the fuck up lieutenant! The 'strategic' value of this isle is because of that nuclear weapon development facility and the wisdom cube research lab! Staging area? We could always sortie from Hokkaido for fuck sake! We sacrificed so much just to buy time for those scientists to back up the research data and acquire these nuclear devices! That's it! That. Is. it! And they got a prime ticket for getting out of here! Our C-130's would be prioritized for them!" Meguro said out loud while he scowled.

That caused every Sakura Empire personnel except the ship girls to direct their outraged gaze at Meguro, so essentially the eggheads got to be the first ones escaping and used the transport planes? As usual, the military guys got to stay behind, so the bright minded individuals like them could live longer. They knew it's their duty to protect the civilians from harm too, but right now in their frustration, many of them only felt disdain at this decision. All of them really want to get out of this hellhole. Meguro sighed heavily when he noticed the looks, he understood their feelings right now, and that's also the reason why he wanted to prioritize getting his men out.

But he does have a realistic view on the situation, before they get out, they need to thin the chasing horde. How to do that? Simple, the nuclear bomb that William and the ship girls just brought here will be put to good use. Meguro had resolved to attack Sirens' secondary base once again, but this time they would spare no quarter in ensuring its destruction; he already had a plan in mind and in the form of a presentation. He got a feeling that there won't be many who will follow him because this plan could be categorized as suicide order…but he made his choice.

"Don't give me that look, I know! All of us want to get out of here so listen up! Despite the order from High Command, our objective has not changed! 8th Carrier Division's already been notified about this, we're going to rendezvous with them in open waters! After we route this attack, we will be commencing Operation Taiga! Objective? Evacuate from this isle and put a massive dent on their secondary base! Non-essential personnel and the wounded will board our transport ships with several destroyer escorts then join the 8th Carrier Division! The rest of us? We'll pull an all-out attack on their large secondary base to distract the Sirens from focusing on them, that way we could at least cripple some of those aliens so all of this wouldn't end for nothing! There are only two outcomes! We die trying, or we'll make it back home with whoever and whatever's left! I will personally lead you from the front! So give me your all because we're doing this for our loved ones back home!" Meguro said out loud to the personnel with him in the briefing room.

"""""""""""SIR YES SIR!"""""""""" The man and women that were with him said out loud as they saluted him.

The personnel then immediately dispersed to coordinate with the others in order to execute Operation Taiga. Meguro kept his face straight, but deep down inside he felt immense pride for his soldiers for not backing down from this operation, if they have any objections, they will certainly voice them, but they only responded in absolution in their tone as they know the stakes…William looked at Meguro while he smiled, the local commander surely got some bold plan, and he approved of it. The only thing that concerned him is how suicidal it sounds…

"…Tell me, is that convincing enough? Because right now I'm both pissed and scared." Meguro said to William while he folded his arms.

"Yeah, I'd say you manage to get them up and going. But still, this is very risky." William said to Meguro with cocked eyebrows.

"Like when you rammed a jet at a Siren?" Meguro asked William while he cocked his eyebrows.

"…You'll never let that go, huh?" William said to Meguro while he cringed.

"Nah, I won't." Meguro said to William while he smiled a bit.

"Heh…Where's our part in this?" William snorted, then asked Meguro.

"I'd like to say that you alongside the ship girls should join the evacuating group, but saying we'll take on a technologically advanced base that large with just a handful of mass-produced ships is the literal definition of arrogance and dumbfuckery." Meguro said to William as he stared at the holographic table to his right side.

"Fair point. What do you propose?" William asked Meguro as he folded his arms.

"To take down that base we would need that one Titan bomb be placed within the center of the base, specifically this large building that we presume to be the shield generator…To do that? We're going have to infiltrate their perimeter, with just a bunch of people." Meguro said to William as he showed him the map for the Siren base.

William carefully studied the layout of the secondary base taken from aerial reconnaissance; it would appear the base had zero gaps in their defensive perimeter. So how to sneak in with just a bunch of commandos infiltrating from the water? Then William saw something that might be advantageous, a small cliffside on the southern part of the island. The position is relatively undefended, but the Sirens might post some patrol there, it won't be a problem as long as they didn't get spotted during the entry or the mission is over before it even started…

"…Have you ever tried infiltrating a Siren base before?" William asked Meguro as he stared at him.

"I might be able to help with that. A few Northern Parliament squads of elite troops did that a few months back, I happen to know some of the technical details from their experience." Mikasa suddenly said to William.

"Outstanding Mikasa! You will help with the technical planning!" William said to Mikasa while he smiled.

"Great. After we plant the bomb there, we blow it up and make a lot of noise as we flatten that place to the ground. We retreat back to our base, let their primary base send in their forces to eliminate us, and converge before…Boom, the second nuclear device exploded. That way, we could at least cripple a massive number of their units which should help us when we're escaping from this isle and still complete our objective." Meguro explained to William.

"Full of risk, but great plan nonetheless. Count ALASUC in commander." William said to Meguro while he smiled.

"Thank you. Mikasa-san, Amagi-san, can I count on your help to discuss the technical details?" Meguro said to Mikasa and Amagi who nodded their heads.

"Sure, Meguro Shikikan." Amagi said to Meguro.

"Understood." Mikasa said to Meguro.

"Alright. Prinz, you're with me, we're going to hold the turf." William said to Prinz who had been calmly watching from the side.

"Ja~wohl~" Prinz mock saluted as she approached William.

"Good luck, shikikan-sama, Prinz-san." Mikasa said to William and Prinz.

"Thanks." William said to Mikasa before he and Prinz, who nodded her head, left the room.

William and Prinz walked out of the command center and noticed that the people around them were running around while shouting, both of them looked outside from inside the building and noticed that the Siren gunships circled around the headquarters while laying down several suppressing fire. Prinz shrugged as she jumped off through the window, landed on the ground, deployed her rigging, and lit up her AA guns at one of the dropships. The aircraft suffered extensive damage before catching fire and fell down straight on the beach, Prinz smirked in satisfaction before something heavy hit the ground behind her. William just followed her lead by also jumping through the window, he managed to land while creating a dust cloud around him.

"You just can't wait for some action huh?" William asked Prinz while he smiled amusedly.

"Can't help it, it just begs to be shot down while circling around like that…How's your field trip by the way?" Prinz asked William.

"In short, the haunted house part really ticked me off." William said to Prinz while he shrugged.

"Ufufu, oh scheisse~" Prinz said to William while she smirked.

"Kommandant, this is Bismarck." Bismarck suddenly said on the radio.

"Bismarck?" William nodded his head as he asked Bismarck.

"I have the information regarding the Siren base." Bismarck said to William on the radio.

"We're going to get busy for now, contact Mikasa as she'll help with the planning for the next operation. Your information should help them." William instructed Bismarck on the radio.

"As you command. I have heard from Eugen regarding the inbound assault, we are returning to headquarters now." Bismarck informed William on the radio.

"Alright. Be careful." William said to Bismarck on the radio.

"You as well, kommandant William." Bismarck said to William on the radio.

"…So, inbound Siren fighters, dropships with troopers, and possibly the entire arsenal of nightmare fuel of whatever the fuck the Sirens decide to throw at us today. What do you think?" William asked Prinz as he stared at her.

"There are worse dates than this." Prinz said to William while she shrugged.

"You call this a date?" William asked Prinz with cocked eyebrows and pursed lips.

"Ufufu nein nein, of course not, that's just a bad joke from me…Regardless, if we can't shoot down the majority of the dropships? We'll be commencing that operation with so few men, it would be impossible to pull off a win." Prinz said to William while she stared at him.

"Right…you got any bright ideas to down those dropships quickly?" William asked Prinz as he stared at the other Siren dropships being harassed by machine gun fire.

"Ah…Follow me." Prinz said to William after her eyes widened a little.

…William and Prinz stopped by the armory first to get some weapons for William, they then ran all the way back to their temporary housing. Prinz held up her hand at William to signal that he should wait outside while she went in and grab everything she needed. William shrugged as he set down the M87 Anti Material Sniper Rifle loaded with .50 caliber rounds which have enough power to tear a human's limbs off in one shot. He pulled the bolt a few times to make sure it's working before he loaded a magazine to it and pulled the bolt again then released it, the round entered the firing chamber, and William set the safety off.

He wondered what Prinz had to get from their temporary housing, and it supposedly could bring down a Siren dropship quickly? Why store something as dangerous as that in their temporary housing? The longer he thought about it the more it became clear that Prinz really put everyone's life in danger with the potential accidents involving whatever she's picking up, boy he's glad that didn't happen this morning. Prinz came out while carrying a large box filled with numerous tubes and one large pipe like tube, this successfully gained William's attention when he noticed that those tubes were actually torpedoes! William started to connect the dots concerning the item in front of him…and he has mixed feelings about it.

"I've requisitioned some ordnance and got creative with it." Prinz said to William as she showed him the contents of the box.

"…I said bright ideas, Prinz." William said to Prinz while he stared at her.

"This isn't bright to you? Come on~" Prinz said to William while she smiled smugly.

"This is the first time I've heard of an Anti-Air Torpedo." William said to Prinz while he stared confusedly at her.

"Precisely because it's the first time, kommandant. Check this marvelous engineering of makeshift armament, ship girl grade torpedo strapped on missile propellers with the warhead removed. A torpedo is capable of killing a destroyer in one hit, imagine what it can do to a dropship." Prinz said to William while she grinned a bit.

"Exactly! This is overkill and a waste of resources! Our AA missiles alone should be enough to down it!" William said to Prinz while he frowned.

"With eventual continuous fire if I might add, sometimes we need a one shot, one kill weapon…I don't have your approval?" Prinz asked William while she pouted.

Nah, she just got it straight from him after he thought about her reasoning. Sure it's a waste of resources, but when a javelin missile launcher sometimes has to hit a Siren dropship three times before it falls down? An airborne anti-aircraft torpedo started to sound like a really good idea. Based on the appearance, it looks like the weapon worked with the same principle as your standard missile launcher, although the weapon itself looked like a children's bazooka toy, but that might be because this is an early version…he didn't even know this weapon existed until Prinz carried it here.

"On the contrary, you just got it. This isn't bright in the slightest, but I can appreciate the thought and effort…how can you be so sure this will work? And when did you even make this?" William asked Prinz.

"This morning when I woke up, Hipper helped me with the design and created a few as a prototype. We tested one, and it works." Prinz said to William.

"Hipper helped you with this?!" William asked Prinz in a surprised tone as he stared at the torpedoes.

"Ja, why are you so surprised? She won't turn down occasional bad ideas you know, despite what she said?" Prinz said to William while she smirked.

"Heh, that so." William said out loud, that little tsundere couldn't resist her little sister's request-

"The only downside of this? It's dumb fire ordnance, but perhaps with additional research we could make a heat seeking anti air torpedoes?" Prinz said out loud as she grabbed the large pipe.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves with that, here comes the second wave of the dropships!" William said out loud.

William spotted a large formation of the dropships approaching the headquarters, it would seem they decided to just drop in all at once this time. Prinz casually took one of the torpedoes and loaded it into the pipe tube from the front end, William paid close attention to how Prinz loaded the weapon as she walked a bit toward him and turned around toward the approaching dropships. She attached something like an iron sight at the side of the tube before she held it up on her right shoulder, when one of the dropships flew a little bit close under intense AA flaks. Prinz squeezed the trigger on top of the launcher which primed the rockets, and the torpedo flew off straight in the path of the flying dropship.

BOOM!

"Bloody hell!" William commented in amazement, the torpedo managed to blow a large hole in the center of the dropship instantly.

"I told you, it works wonders~" Prinz commented while she stared at William while she smiled smugly.

"Alright, hand me that." William said to Prinz as he opened his hands.

Prinz shrugged while she still smiled smugly as she passed the pipe tube at William who took it easily. He checked the weight a bit which was almost weightless in his arms. William went to the box and took one of the modified torpedoes, loaded it toward the pipe tube, and aimed it toward the approaching dropships. Prinz summoned her rigging, and she started firing at one of them, so William chose the other ones which haven't been targeted yet…Judging from the missile velocity he observed earlier, he should aim a little bit to the front…William squeezed the trigger, the missile fired, and it went to hit the dropship's right side which effectively put it out of action.

BOOM!

"Ja! That's how you do it, kommandant!" Prinz said to William while she smiled widely.

"This is fun, I'd admit!" William said to Prinz while he grinned.

"Well unfortunately, a dropship passed us and headed over there." Prinz said as she pointed toward the place where Bismarck and William talked yesterday night.

William chose to carry the M87 in his arms and put the launcher down on the box, Prinz led him toward the place where he sat yesterday and noticed that the dropship already dropped many Troopers and Brawlers. The Sakura Empire infantry valiantly fought to defend their post, but it's obvious that they would need help when that one dropship suppressed their pillboxes from firing by the torrent of plasma bolts.

"Let's keep our distance and help those men down there." William said to Prinz as he lay prone on the ground.

"Aww, I was hoping for some killing spree in close quarters." Prinz said to William while she pouted.

"Nope, keep our distance, we don't want to get caught in that crossfire." William said to Prinz as he set up the M87 bipod on the ground.

"Hmph fine~. I'll start then, take out any stranglers alright?" Prinz asked William as she aimed her cannons.

"Don't worry, I got you covered." William said to Prinz while he grinned.

Sniping? He's not the best at it, but he's good enough that Lena threw him some sniper rifles whenever a recon mission came up in the past. Looking through the scope, he carefully analyzed the situation before he eventually heard Prinz's main guns being fired. The high explosive rounds exploded on the Siren soldiers and instantly killed a group of Troopers that huddled close to one of the buildings. A trooper noticed Prinz and was about to turn its rifle at her before it died with its head decapitated by a .50 caliber round. Prinz quickly laid prone while William kept picking his targets and squeezed the trigger, he readied a magazine then reloaded the weapon in under two seconds and resumed firing at any Sirens in his line of sight.

Those Sirens weren't even two hundred meters away from their current position, sniping them at this distance is child's play, especially when recoil and weapon sway were almost negated by Albion's armor hydraulic system. William squeezed the trigger once more that effectively kept the troopers from sticking their heads out from cover and risked getting shot at. That's when Prinz showed up once more with her rigging and fired another salvo of high explosive shells toward the cover. The resulting explosions were enough to kill the majority of those Troopers that's still behind the cover. The remaining few that are still alive were immediately hunted and gunned down by the Sakura Empire infantry down below…William reloaded his M87 as he kneeled, Prinz stood up and observed the carnage they both made. She had to admit, they really make a good team.

"Clear. Nice shooting Prinz." William said to Prinz.

"Ditto on that, kommandant." Prinz said to William.

"Let's check the others…Akagi, how's it going over there?" William asked Akagi on the radio.

"We're still in the fight shikikan-sama, the Sirens proved to be quite persistent in their assault. Constant reinforcement keeps coming from the beaches." Akagi said to William on the radio.

"I see. We'll head there now; we've secured our side." William said to Akagi on the radio.

"Glad you could stop by shikikan-sama, we'll wait for you here." Akagi said to William on the radio.

William gently tapped Prinz's left shoulder as he left to head toward Akagi's position, the ship girls split themselves up in the defense of the headquarters without William having to order them. The majority of the ship girls went to handle the Siren's incoming fleet while some like Akagi, Takao, and a few others stayed back to help defend the base from aerial invasion. William reached the place that Akagi's defending with dozens of infantries covering the whole area, they stood guard on the rooftop of a building or behind a barricade. Several of them carried their injured comrades to safety from the previous fight that happened in this area. William noted that they prevailed for now, so he went to find the officer in charge of the defense in this area, a lieutenant who's currently talking with Akagi.

"Lieutenant, sitrep." William said to the lieutenant

"Sir! The Sirens focused some of their troops in this sector! This road leads straight to the munition depot entrance, I think they're trying to starve us out from our own supplies! Our men in the primary defensive line are already dead, those dropships' relentless plasma salvos took the majority of them out!" The lieutenant saluted and said to William.

"Then let's make sure that won't happen again! Have the infantry in this secondary defensive line focus their fire on the incoming Siren infantry, especially the Brawlers, we'll handle the drop ships!" William said to the lieutenant.

"Sir yes sir!" The lieutenant said to William.

"Good to see you, shikikan-sama." Akagi said to William while she smiled.

"Likewise. Are you hurt?" William asked Akagi as he stared at her.

"Oh, I'm not hurt in the slightest. Thank you for your concern." Akagi said to William while she smiled wider.

"KURUZO!" The lieutenant shouted out loud.

Four dropships approached directly in front of them while firing their chin mounted plasma cannons, everyone immediately rushed to find nearby cover. Prinz quickly hid behind the building next to them, while William grabbed Akagi by the waist and jumped to Prinz's position with her in tow. Akagi yelped at the suddenness that she had to grip on William's shoulder pad. Akagi looked back at her previous position, and she found it was scorched by a large plasma bolt, William sighed in relief as he looked at Akagi.

"You alright Akagi?" William asked Akagi.

"Hai." Akagi said to William.

"Troopers!" Prinz suddenly shouted out loud.

The dropships made a low pass to the ground while dropping its contents before they bailed out, around twenty Troopers made landfall with plasma rifles in hand in front of William, Prinz, and Akagi. They immediately started firing on any humans in sight including them. Prinz quickly deployed her energy shield, but unfortunately the radius didn't include William and Akagi under its protection, and they're under fire. William quickly gets in front of Akagi while firing his PKP from the previous mission with his right hand, while his left-hand grabs Akagi and guides her to behind Prinz's energy shield. The constant stream of plasma bolts was too much to dodge and one of them struck William's right torso side. Akagi widened her eyes in horror and quickly inspected him when he made it safely behind the energy shielding.

"Shikikan-sama!" Akagi said out loud in a worried tone.

"Don't worry Akagi, the plating took the beating. Launch your fighter support." William said to Akagi.

"H-Hai!" Akagi said to William as she summoned her planes.

William might be saying that to Akagi but behind his helmet, he winced as he took a knee while holding the spot where he got hit by the plasma bolt. Sure, it didn't have much kinetic force behind it, but the heat was so extreme the right side of the torso armor plate was blackened and still producing thin smoke. William felt it didn't burn his skin too badly though, the armor must've had some layer of protection against thermal damage. He felt like his right torso got hit by boiling hot water, but compared to the actual unprotected plasma hit he suffered on Southern Ironblood, this was nothing in the heat and pain factor.

"Oi kommandant, quit your daydreaming! I'm going to need help with those schwein!" Prinz said to William as she tapped his helmet twice.

"Got it. I'm taking the right side." William said to Prinz as he readied his PKP.

"Left for me then." Prinz said to William while she smirked.

The Troopers kept their relentless fire at the three of them behind the energy shield, William then dashed right as he fired his PKP at the Troopers while Prinz aimed her cannons to the left side. The Siren Troopers quickly take cover, but it does little for them when Akagi's Zero Fighters flew up and strafed them with cannon fire from above. The Troopers that were stuck between a rock and a hard place came out of cover to avoid the cannon fire only to find high explosive shells for them on their left and a burst of 7.62 rounds on their right. Being completely helpless in the open, the majority of them quickly died while the rest chose to retreat for a safer position…only to be strafed by Akagi's fighter planes from above.

"Shikikan-dono! Some of the Troopers managed to go past us, I'm really sorry!" Takao suddenly said to William on the radio.

"How did that happen?" William curiously asked Takao on the radio.

"They brought their tanks! We have to take care of them first before they could kill everyone!" Takao said to William on the radio.

"I see. I'll handle those Troopers, continue to hold your position!" William said to Takao on the radio.

"Wakarimashita!" Takao said to William on the radio.

"Akagi, see if you can help Takao with anything." William said to Akagi.

"Hai!" Akagi said to William as she moved to Takao's position.

"What are my orders?" Prinz asked William while she pouted a bit.

"Prinz, hold this point, I'm going to hunt those Troopers that slipped past us." William said to Prinz.

"Be careful, alright?" Prinz said to William while she smiled a bit.

"I will…Takao, where did those Troopers go?" William said to Prinz then asked Takao on the radio.

"They're heading straight for the command center!" Takao said to William on the radio.

"Alright, thanks!" William said to Takao on the radio.

William quickly ran toward the command center building to see its defenders under siege from the Troopers. William quickly used his PKP to shoot the Troopers from behind, and that managed to catch them completely off guard. The rounds managed to kill some of them, while the rest that were surprised fell when the Sakura Empire infantry fired at them from inside the command center building. William's PKP went click as he expended all of the 7.62mm bullets at the Troopers, he discarded the gun, and raised his right hand with a thumbs up toward the direction of the command center. The soldiers nodded their heads before they sealed the entrance to the building, which should buy them some time against potential intruders.

"Heh, well that should-" William said out loud.

WHACK!

Something just hit William from behind and with such force he was thrown toward the command center building then hit the wall face first, the impact shook him to the core, and his visor cracked a little as he fell down to the ground while he groaned in pain and discomfort…What the fuck hit him?! It was so sudden and had so much kinetic force with it, that William was surprised that his back didn't break already from that hit. William tried to stand, but something grabbed him from behind and lifted him up while spun him around.

"…Interesting…you didn't immediately die." William opened his eye when he heard that line.

William stared at who held him, a freaking two-meter giant cladded in matte black armor with Siren aesthetic design stared back at him through the downwards triangle V shaped like crimson visor...it looked like a humanoid shadow with a single red eye. William is sure the one he faced right now is a Siren, a male one like the one he encountered in the facility before judging from the voice alone. William noticed that the Siren held him by the nape and lifted him up, who probably weighed two hundred kilograms like he was nothing right now, just how strong is this motherfucker? The Siren tilted his head to the right a bit as he inspected William who remained motionless, so he wouldn't provoke this Siren, suddenly William heard the Siren scoff.

"…Pathetic. Is he really the one in this world, Alpha? You said he's an interesting specimen…" The Siren said to William in a deep raspy voice.

"I suppose you're a special snowflake just because you're Observer Alpha's tentacle love slave?" William scoffed back and asked the Siren out loud.

"…Ho?" The Siren said out loud.

"A Siren like you who likes being jacked off and molested by her tentacles?" William said to The Siren.

But he was cut short when the Siren threw him back to the wall that knocked the wind out of him, William however was prepared this time, and he shrugged it off like a trooper. William reached for his P90 and didn't hesitate to fire at the Siren in full auto, fifty 5.7 caliber rounds hit the Siren across his whole body relentlessly. The P90 went click, and William had to widen his eye, fifty rounds and it did nothing as the Siren stood still like he's not affected by anything! Not even recoiling when the rounds connected with his armor, now that William looked closely the armor didn't even get scratched! Who the fuck is this guy, seriously?!

William sheathed his P90 and pulled out his combat machete as he charged at lightning speed that betrayed his size at the Siren, said Siren only hummed in intrigue before he set his own stance. The Siren opened his right hand and a black metallic longsword materialized from a purple flash in his hand, the Siren let William close in before he swung at him at lightning speed. William noticed the attack a little earlier, and he stepped to the left, the blade struck his armor's right shoulder pad, and it chipped a large chunk of it from a single blow…William started to sweat in nervousness, a single strike from that guy is that devastating? Then he's sure that Albion wouldn't protect him from any of his attacks. He had to end this quickly and without getting hit…

The Siren started his attack, and William back stepped while trying to anticipate the attack, the Siren had a predictable attack pattern from the way he swung the sword around, so William could still dodge the blade relatively easily. Until the Siren suddenly switched his style with a more quick and flawless swing, William felt like he fought against a Jedi with a lightsaber due to his continuous and relentless movement which makes avoiding the blade become a lot harder. So, he went with the obvious choice, can't dodge it? Take it to them. William suddenly dashed forward with machete thrust, but the Siren deflected the attack by swinging his longsword upwards. William quickly used the momentum to launch a downward swing which was blocked by the Siren's longsword that was suddenly already in position to guard him. The Siren kicked William straight in the chest, and he was thrown back. William rolled before he stood and prepared his stance to defend against the Siren who dashed forward with a downward vertical swing. William himself swung his machete upwards in response, the blades immediately clashed between them.

CLANK!

The deafening sound of steely impact could be heard across the area, William could feel the impact all the way to his bones from that clash of steel. He lunged in close to the Siren and thrust his machete at him, only to find that his machete's blade was gone. William widened his eye in realization before he was kicked across the head that caused him to spin in the air then landed face first on the ground…William took a bit to stand up, he ran again toward the Siren as he threw the hilt of the machete which the Siren easily deflected. That gave him some opening to launch an unrestrained powerful jab to the face which caused the Siren's head to jerk backwards in response. William grinned knowing that direct unarmed melee attacks work, he immediately lowered himself before he jammed his left fist to the Siren's guts. The Siren bowed down a bit as he took a few steps back, but two seconds later the Siren discarded his longsword and launched a right hook at William. The man put his hands up in defense, but not even that was enough because the Siren's raw strength still caused him to be thrown backwards, spin in the air, and fall into the ground…this time William had to lay still on the ground, the pain and dizziness from repeated head strikes is becoming unbearable.

"…You ARE more courageous than the others, even going so far to challenge me in melee combat without hesitation…or was it in despair? Armor aside however, you're nothing but a human…You're nothing more than a weakling wearing a powerful shell, who will fall and die just like-" The Siren said to William who tried to sit up.

"Twice the arrogance, double the fall…you ever heard of that, Siren? Keep that up, and your end will be more painful than you'll ever imagine." William said to the Siren as he stood up shakily.

"…You still have the strength to talk after all that?" The Siren asked William with an intrigued tone.

"What can I say? I talk a lot…during duels, old habits die hard." William said to the Siren as he managed to stand up firmly in a fighting stance.

"…Fine…I will entertain you, human…show me how strong you are." The Siren said as he ran toward William.

"GRAAAHHH!" William shouted loudly as he also ran toward the Siren.

Both of them ran toward each other, closing in on each other at lightning speed for humanoid giants. William and the Siren each launched a right jab, and their fists met in the middle with a loud thud, both fighters quickly gained some distance before they closed in again at each other. The Siren launched a jab at William's torso which he managed to avoid; William then sent a knee jab to the Siren which was blocked by his left hand. The Siren counterattacked by sending a right hook that William avoided by ducking, the Siren kept up the attack by sending a follow up left thrust kick which William successfully anticipated by crossing his arms on his chest. The impact caused him to get pushed to the back a little, the Siren noted that William staggered with that last attack then decided to dash forward toward him.

The Siren is in range to strike, and he didn't waste any opportunity to launch a barrage of punches at William, who struggled to keep up in putting up his defenses. Every blow he managed to block or deflect cost his stamina, and it started to make his hands feel really painful. William felt something behind him, and he realized his back reached the command center building. The Siren launched a left, high thrust kick to William's head which he narrowly avoided. The kick connected to the wall and cracked it, William widened his eye in shock at the Siren's strength before he grabbed the Siren's left leg and slid his right one. However, the Siren used that opportunity to grab William with his legs and throw him backwards. William hit the ground again, he stood up and sent an elbow strike which the Siren caught. The Siren pulled William's right arm so hard, it produced uncomforting sounds before throwing him back toward the building's wall.

"AAARRRGGHHH!" William roared in pain at his right arm being pulled that hard.

William hit the wall, got his wind knocked out of him for the second time. But before he could fall down to the ground, the Siren already in front of him and held him by the neck while pushing him tightly to the wall. Being choked like that, William tried to free himself with his only remaining functioning arm by grabbing on to the forearm of the Siren to loosen it a bit so he could breathe. But all of his effort was in vain, the Siren is too strong, and William was exhausted, so there's not much he could do…For the first time since he became the commander for ALASUC, William felt something that he thought was long gone…the fear of dying. He knows he will die fighting this guy, and goddamn, he has so much regret. He sees no way out from this, and frankly speaking, now that he knows his death approaches…William feels scared, he's not ready to go yet.

"…Disappointing…Any last words?" The Siren asked William.

"Harder…daddy!" William said to the Siren with a croaked voice.

"…Hmph…Most interesting...I like you." The Siren said to William with an intrigued tone.

"I don't swing…that way…but thanks." William said to the Siren with a croaked voice.

"…You mask your fear with these quips, classic human soldier bravado." The Siren said to William before he sighed.

Yup, he's right because William is scared shitless right now and faking confidence is one of his ways to stave off that feeling from overpowering him. For a brief moment, William saw flashes of the ship girls' faces. Hood, Belfast, Prinz, Enterprise, Illustrious, Bismarck, Zara, Kongou, Hiei, Shoukaku, Zuikaku, Brooklyn, Vestal, and many other ship girls. He saw the faces of Lena, his mother, his sister, and even the freaking perv Lucas himself…would they cry if he died? Heh, for sure, especially Hood given how worrywart she is when he fights directly in the front. That assumption would become a reality if he didn't do something about this Siren that's choking him in the next few seconds, he hated to see the ship girls sad…In desperation William came up with an idea…losing a hand or any other permanent injury would be a worthy price for a chance to die another day.

William's left hand dropped down from grabbing the Siren's hand, it went to his rear pouch and fiddled its contents. William took a flashbang; he used his own left hand to unpin the flashbang before he held it by the tip. One wrong move, and that is it. William did a mental countdown despite his fading consciousness because he couldn't breathe before he brought it out and held it between him and the Siren while he grinned wickedly in a brief moment of insanity.

"Boom…motherfucker." William said to the Siren with a croaked voice before he looked away while he closed his eye.

BANG!

A loud explosion triggered from the flashbang that William held by the tip, the explosion blinded and deafened the Siren who had to release William down. The explosion also caused William's right ear to ring painfully, burned some part of his left hand, and his left ear to be completely silent from hearing anything. So congratulations William, you just made yourself half deaf from that feat, but it did give you a fighting chance! He quickly gained his bearing while the Siren was stunned, when he felt his breathing returned to normal William quickly reached back to the pocket he reached before. This time William pulled a fragmentation grenade. Since his hand suffered burn damage from the previous flashbang explosion, William used his helmet's chin guard to unpin the grenade by holding it between his chin and left shoulder.

The grenade was primed, and William looked at the stunned Siren who put a hand in front of his face. William threw the grenade at the Siren who caught it easily with the hand that shielded his face. The Siren looked at the grenade, and he tilted his head to the right a bit. William quickly charged at the Siren and launched a direct kick toward the Siren's gut. The powerful kick sent the Siren backwards, and he was thrown back. William grinned when he realized that he could actually do some damage to that Siren…that was until he saw something dropped down from above right beside his feet, it's the fragmentation grenade that the Siren held.

"Cheeky bastard!" William said out loud as he jumped backwards.

BOOM!

Despite jumping backwards, the proximity was so close that it didn't matter when the grenade exploded. William got hit by the shockwave, shrapnel, and it sent him backwards again toward the wall. He hit the wall, fell down to the ground in a seated position while his back was on the wall and goddamn, William felt numb and in pain at the same time…if that's even possible. The Siren stood back up, and he walked toward William who's got no strength left to even move his fingers, all William could do is stare as the Siren approached then kneeled in front of William. William noted that the Siren actually suffered some damage to his armor which showed some parts being chipped, but compared to his…it's not even any meaningful damage.

"…Now you impressed me, human…I will let you live because you have potential, and I'd like to see it fulfilled…But until then, you will do well to tread lightly." The Siren said to William.

"Who…are you?" William asked the Siren weakly.

"…I'm the end of an era and the dawn of a new one, I will be there in the downfall of the world and the rebirth from its ashes…I. Am. Midnight…remember that name." Midnight said to William before he kicked him straight in the head, and William blacked out.

.

…Akagi, Takao, Atago, Kinu, and Prinz walked back toward the command center tiredly, they successfully held the line for fifteen minutes before the Sirens decided to pull out from the attack. The soldiers fought valiantly against the incoming waves of Troopers, Brawlers, and Spider Tanks, which they managed to destroy after a sustained firefight. Bismarck alongside the majority of the Ironblood ship girl fleet safely returned to the base, but they missed the fight just by a couple of minutes, they rendezvoused along the way to the command center.

"Good work out there and welcome back, Lord Bismarck." Prinz said to Bismarck.

"Same to you. The headquarters still looks intact after that attack, impressive." Bismarck said to Prinz.

"To be honest, dropping your troops straight inside a kill zone isn't what we could call a smart move." Prinz said to Bismarck.

"It is not. But for a distraction, it works wonders." Bismarck said to Prinz.

"Distraction, huh?" Prinz said out loud in wonder.

"…Speaking of which, where's Kommandant William?" Bismarck asked Prinz.

"Last we spoke he was heading for the command center to deal with the Siren Troopers that went past us." Takao said to Bismarck.

"Then let's head there, I have much to discuss regarding that base." Bismarck nodded her head in affirmation.

Akagi massaged her right shoulder as she led the others to the command center, her right arm felt sore after constantly sending out planes or using the paper-based ones to kill some Brawlers and Troopers at close range. She noted that the entrance was quite empty, save for some corpses of Troopers, that is until she saw something near the sealed entrance. An armored giant rested on the wall unmoving, it's none other than William Blaze himself…Akagi widened her eyes as she ran towards him to check up on him, William's armor front side was scorched black, shrapnel embedded all over his unprotected body, his right arm looked detached, his left hand was scorching black, he lost the right shoulder pad, and his visor has a huge crack on it.

"SHIKIKAN-SAMA! SHIKIKAN-SAMA! PLEASE WAKE UP! PRINZ-SAN! EVERYONE! OVER HERE!" Akagi shouted as she shook William's unconscious body.

"Nein! KOMMANDANT!" Prinz, who was not too far behind, immediately ran.

As soon as everyone heard the distress in Akagi's and Prinz's voice, they ran toward their direction to see the sight that caused it, and all of them were shocked. Prinz arrived to inspect William's condition, and she deeply frowned as she tried to check his vital signs. Prinz quickly removed the helmet to see William's face with his eye closed. Prinz quickly put her finger on his neck to check his pulse, but the under suit was too thick for her to feel any pulse. Prinz's vision suddenly got blurry, and something fell down to William's chest piece…Prinz widened her eyes…she's tearing up.

"Mein gott kommandant…who did he fight!?" Bismarck asked out loud while she deeply frowned.

"I don't know, but whatever it is we won't want to fight it!" Tirpitz said to Bismarck with a grim expression.

"Ja…let's carry him back to the infirmary and call Akashi to remove this armor from him!" Bismarck said out loud.

Bismarck, Prinz, Akagi, and Takao quickly got to work. They put William's right hand on his stomach before they positioned themselves to lift him off the ground, Z23 banged on the sealed door while shouting to the personnel on the other side, so they could open the door. The door was opened, and Z23 alongside Hipper ran inside while ramming anyone that stood in their way. The two of them got to the ship girls' infirmary and brought out a wheeled stretcher. They returned outside, Bismarck nodded her head in approval, then she looked at the other ship girls before they lifted William up on the count of three. The ship girls lifted William up on the stretcher, they quickly wheeled him to the specialized ship girls' infirmary. The reason? He's guaranteed to be prioritized when he arrives there. Atago was on the phone, she's calling Akashi to get down to the infirmary lab with her tools.

"Please kommandant, please hold on! We'll treat your wounds as soon as possible!" Prinz said to William while she deeply frowned in worry.

"Dokke! Minna dokke!" Takao shouted as she made sure the hallways were cleared from obstacles or people.

"Is he breathing!?" Bismarck asked out loud.

"Yes, but it's shallow!" Prinz said to Bismarck.

"Akashi is on the way there!" Atago said out loud.

"Gut!" Bismarck said to Atago.

They reached the ship girls' infirmary, the doctors who scratched their heads were about to reprimand the ship girls for breaking in and stealing a stretcher, but then immediately bit their tongue in favor to help with the casualty laying on top of the stretcher. They quickly opened the door to the infirmary and let the stretcher in, the ship girls wanted to stay, but the doctors would need some room to concentrate, so they left the room and prayed for the best. Akashi arrived, and she only spared quick nods at the other ship girls before she entered the room. She would be needed to remove the armor from him. Bismarck felt her phone vibrate, and she took it out, it's a call from someone she really didn't want to speak with right now after what just happened…

"…Scheisse." Bismarck said out loud as she stared at her phone.

"What is it?" Z23 asked Bismarck.

"…Its Hood…notify Mikasa about kommandant's situation, Nimi." Bismarck said to Z23.

"…Jawohl Lord Bismarck…" Z23 said to Bismarck while she saluted then left for the command center room.

"…Hello?" Bismarck answered the call.

"Bismarck, I'm terribly sorry to call you during the assignment. I tried to call Lord William's phone, but it's deactivated, did you know what happen?" Hood asked Bismarck on the phone.

"Ah, he left it in his room. He's still away now." Bismarck said to Hood on the phone.

"I see. Can I request you to notify him, so he could call me when he's back?" Hood asked Bismarck on the phone.

"…Ja, I will." Bismarck said to Hood on the phone with a soft tone.

"…Are you alright? You sound…off." Hood asked Bismarck on the phone with a concerned tone.

"Nein, I'm fine Hood. Just tired." Bismarck said to Hood on the phone.

"In that case, please have a good rest, Bismarck." Hood said to Bismarck on the phone.

"I will do that later. Would that be all?" Bismarck asked Hood on the phone.

"I want to chat some more, but your surroundings sound busy, we could always talk another time." Hood said to Bismarck on the phone.

"Yeah…talk to you later." Bismarck said to Hood on the phone.

"Understood." Hood said to Bismarck on the phone.

The call ended and Bismarck looked around, indeed the surrounding area was quite busy with how many people were coordinating damage control around the command center building. People running around in the hallways, casualties being brought in…Bismarck rested herself on the wall, she sighed as she looked at the floor. The worst had been realized, something out there is as stubborn as their commander in frontline combat, and it's very strong. William was by no means weak or unskilled, but it looks like he met his match…Bismarck heard someone sob beside her, and she looked to the right, she saw that Takao was sobbing while she covered her face with her hands, and Atago had tears running down her cheeks as they huddled close together. Prinz squatted on the floor with her face buried between her knees, Hipper folded her arms as she leaned on the wall with an unreadable expression, and Akagi occasionally stole glances toward the infirmary door…

…The doctors worked as fast as they could with Akashi removing the armor pieces and the under suit, closer inspection revealed some nasty bruising around his body, his entire right arm was dislocated, William's left hand suffered third degree burns, and there's shrapnel lodged all over his body that wasn't protected by the armor plating…the operation took three hours, and he's still unconscious. One of the doctors came out of the infirmary, and Bismarck immediately questioned her. It's the same doctor that operated on Hiryuu, Shoukaku, and Zuikaku yesterday.

"…How is he, doktor?" Bismarck asked the doctor.

"To sum it up, he's quite lucky…Come inside, see for yourself." The doctor said to Bismarck.

Bismarck and the other ship girls quickly went inside the infirmary room to see William, he laid on top of the bed with bandages covering almost his entire body, the bandage bundle on his left hand is especially thick, and his eye patch was removed. Beside him there's Akashi who inspected the armor pieces as well the under suit on the floor, she was frowning deeply in conclusion to the armor's performance in tanking the damage he suffered…The armor was completely battered, armor pieces deformed or outright shredded, the under suit had holes in it, and let's not even mention the helmet visor which had a large crack on it.

"Akashi?" Bismarck asked Akashi.

"I have mixed feelings nyaa…I'm glad to see shikikan is alive, but I'm devastated to see my creation turned into this." Akashi said to Bismarck while she frowned.

"You could always fix it up or create a new one, we can't do that for our kommandant." Bismarck said to Akashi as she stared at William.

"You're right, Bismarck-sama nyaa." Akashi said to Bismarck.

"…So, what now?" Bismarck asked the doctor.

"I recommend a full bed rest for him and medication to ease the bruising. We already stitched the part where shrapnel punctured his skin, applied Regel for his left hand, and we've corrected his shoulder joint…luckily, he's unconscious because that's quite painful. You will need to treat him further when you return to your base, those wounds won't heal for quite a bit even with Regel." The doctor said to Bismarck.

"…Thank you, doktor." Bismarck said to the doctor while she nodded her head.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…William opened his eye groggily, his body was sore and in pain all over the place, so he winced when he tried to sit. Goddammit, he wants some painkillers for this! William groaned before he fully opened his right eye, someone suddenly lifted him up, and made the bed, so he could sit properly. William was finally able to clearly see, Amagi and Akagi were the ones who lifted him up as they stared in concern…He noticed that he was naked saved for his boxers, many parts of his body were bandaged and his left eye patch was missing.

"…Shikikan-sama? Can you hear me?" Amagi asked William in concern.

"…Amagi? Akagi?" William asked weakly.

"Oh thank kami, you're awake! Are you alright?! Do you need anything?! How do you feel?!" Akagi asked William as she grabbed on his shoulder.

"Calm down Akagi, let him breathe a little," Amagi said to Akagi calmly.

"Uh, hai nee-sama." Akagi said to Amagi as she pulled back while she smiled sheepishly.

"…Thanks, Amagi…To answer your question Akagi, I'm very hungry right now." William said to Amagi then Akagi.

"Then I will make something for you, shikikan-sama! Please wait for a bit!" Akagi said to William while she smiled widely.

Akagi got up from her seat and immediately went out of the infirmary room while shutting the door, William watched as Amagi texted someone on her phone then he looked around…Well, it seems he's inside a private room. The ship girls' infirmary is different from the ones for the ordinary personnel, the facility has private rooms, so the ship girls have some privacy…But really, he was brought there because his treatment will certainly be prioritized. A brief flash of the Siren that beat him crossed his mind, and William unconsciously shivered…something like that Siren is serious trouble, he alone could annihilate Azur Lane ground forces single handedly, if fighting William himself is like him toying with a child. And William was trained to be the best, if even the best of humanity falls…

"Are you cold, shikikan-sama?" Amagi asked William as she frowned a bit.

"Nah, no…just thinking about something." William quickly said to Amagi with a reassuring smile.

"I see…Akagi seemed to be quite 'attached' to you today." Amagi commented as she checked her phone.

"…That so…How long was I out, Amagi?" William asked Amagi while he frowned.

"Nine hours. The counter attack task force left long ago." Amagi said to William.

"…I see. How about the other ladies?" William asked Amagi.

"Other than the ones that participated in the operation, they're minding their own business." Amagi said to William.

"Good…good, I hope they stay out of trouble." William said out loud as he stared at the white ceiling.

"Speaking of trouble, you shouldn't make them worry so much, shikikan-sama. The ALASUC ship girls pretty much cried when they saw you in that state, don't you think making girls cry is just the worst thing a man could do?" Amagi said to William while she deeply frowned.

"Urgh, well-" William said to Amagi.

God fucking dammit! Did they seriously cry when they saw him in that injured state? He's all fuzzy inside knowing that the girls did care for him that much, but at the same time he felt like the world's greatest shit bag for being the cause of them crying in the first place! But before he could come up with an apology or anything, the door to his room was thrown open. Bismarck entered the room looking like she's out of breath…did she seriously just run here?!

"Kommandant!" Bismarck said to William.

"Hey, Bismarck." William greeted Bismarck with a weak smile.

"How do you feel now!?" Bismarck asked William as she approached him.

"Well now that you ask…not that great." William said to Bismarck while he cringed.

"…Tell me, who did you fight back then? You almost died Kommandant William!" Bismarck asked William with a serious expression.

"…A Siren who calls himself Midnight." William said out loud as he stared down at his feet coated in a blanket.

"Midnight? That's the first time I've heard that name…" Bismarck said to William.

"Me too…" Amagi said to Bismarck while she nodded her head.

"…He's strong…too strong in fact. Even with the Albion armor, I was nothing to him…all my hand-to-hand attacks did nothing, bullets flinched off of his armor, blades were stopped by his swordsmanship…even grenades could only slightly chip some of his plating while mine was completely busted. I shouldn't have used a frag grenade as bait to kick him…heh." William said out loud melancholically before he looked to the side as he snorted.

What could kill Midnight? Tactical nuclear strike? Why did William immediately assume that Midnight somehow has a plan in case that did happen? Hah…Well, in a sense, the current him even with the Albion Armor can't beat that monster. What's the cause? Simple, Midnight is stronger than him, he has better swordsmanship, his CQC techniques are quite refined, and that armor of his…a freaking grenade didn't really do much other than chip some part of his armor, he should carry a rocket launcher the next time he faced off against Midnight…Does William even want to face that monster again? No, even if he didn't want to, the world doesn't revolve around him, so there's a chance that he will appear again in the future. Solution? Also simple, he needs to train more. He lacked any form of training himself ever since his release from the prison, this may serve as his wake-up call.

"Oh…so that's why your armor was in such bad shape. Suicide grenade attack, really?" Bismarck said to William in a low tone.

"I have confidence in the armor's durabili-" William said to Bismarck while he frowned.

"Now I understand how Hood feels…you are one true dummkopf." Bismarck said to William.

Bismarck stared at William with a sharp gaze that reflected bewilderment, frustration, exasperation in one as she scowled at him. Yikes! William started to sweat in nervousness when Bismarck stared at him like that! It's not comforting and really puts him on edge, sometimes he forgot that Bismarck is also the fleet representative who used to be in charge of the Ironblood Navy because he saw her as a girl personally. Bismarck didn't really show it, but she was assaulted by the sense of dread when she saw him just after his fight with Midnight. She also thought that Hood was overprotective of him, and Bismarck approved of him going directly to the front…But after that incident, she understood why Hood did worry and why her perspective of him fighting in the front started to change.

"…and by the way, she wants to call you, but your phone is not active." Bismarck said to William.

"…Can I borrow yours?" William sheepishly asked Bismarck.

"What happened to your phone?" Bismarck asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"It's drenched in the water yesterday when I jumped off the plane." William said to Bismarck while he cringed a bit.

"Fine…here." Bismarck said to William as she handed him her phone.

William stared at Bismarck's phone, it's your average smartphone, and her lock screen is a picture of Tirpitz and her seated together on the bench in the base's central park. William unlocked the screen and quickly set a call toward Hood's number. It took a bit, but the lady on the other side finally answered. William noted that it's close to midnight, Hood must've gone to sleep already…

"…Hood?" William asked Hood on the phone.

"…Milord? Why are you calling from Bismarck's phone?" Hood asked William on the phone, she sounded like she'd just woken up…

"Mine was broken, Hood. I'll see if I can get it repaired later…In any case, do you need something?" William asked Hood on the phone.

"…I just want to hear your voice, ufufufu." Hood said to William on the phone before she giggled sweetly.

"…Cliché much?" William asked Hood on the phone while he smiled.

Yeah, he tried to play it cool, but he bet his ass that his cheeks are flushed red right now! Man, what a cliché method, but it works in making him flustered. Hood is quite good at this. William made a mental note to get her back later when he returned to base, he's not one to take it lying down. Did Hood seriously call just so they could talk? Oh shit! He hasn't even contacted her ever since his involvement in this god forsaken commission!

"Ufufufu…but that's how I really feel. I've been going in and out of the office for these past three days, seated in your chair, doing the paperwork…and I couldn't help but to wonder how you are doing, you never called." Hood said to William on the phone, see?! He's spot on!

"…I'm sorry about that…so many things happened, and I forgot to give you a call. Didn't you call the other girls though?" William asked Hood on the phone.

"Not. The point. Lord William." Hood said to William on the phone with a steely edge on her tone. Boom Will! Relationship landmine!

"Right, right…sorry, I-" William said to Hood, he's starting to sweat again.

"Something happened, didn't it?" Hood suddenly asked William.

"What do you mean?" William asked Hood on the phone with cocked eyebrows.

"You're nervous. I can tell from your voice." Hood said to William on the phone.

"Ha? How did you know?" William asked Hood on the phone with a surprised tone.

"I've been your personal secretary for months now, I do notice your habits. Like when you're nervous you tend to make blunders when you converse, when you're deep in thought you always look downwards with a little frown on your lips, when you're frustrated you curl your brows a bit despite your best attempts to hide it…shall I mention more?" Hood asked William on the phone with a cheeky tone.

…Holy shit! Right down to the tiniest detail! Not even he knew he made those gestures! How much time did Hood spend on watching him, really? Did she even observe him when they're in the office, just the two of them, spending time sorting documents, chatting, drinking tea…okay, there's plenty of time and chances, but wow! He really should pay more attention to the secretaries too, Hood paid that much attention to him, so it's only fair if he does so in return.

"No that's more than enough, not even I know I made those gestures…you really do pay attention to me." William said to Hood on the phone while he smiled softly.

"Naturally…So, what happened?" Hood asked William on the phone.

"…I got into a fight with the Sirens, multiple times for the past three days." William said to Hood on the phone while he smiled bitterly.

"When did you get hurt?" Hood asked William on the phone with an unamused tone.

"Ouch…that had to be the first thing you ask?" William asked Hood on the phone while he cringed.

"Let me guess. Today." Hood said to William on the phone.

"Right…today…I got into a duel with one of the Sirens that calls himself Midnight, he's very powerful…I guess he might be in the same class with Observer Alpha and Purifier." William said to Hood on the phone.

"…How bad are your wounds?" Hood asked William on the phone.

"…Well…I think, bad is an understatement." William said to Hood on the phone while he cringed and looked down at his bandaged body, like a mummy.

"…You're awfully cheery despite surviving something that I'm sure to be horrible." Hood said to William on the phone.

"Hey, I'm still alive, that's something to be celebrated." William said to Hood on the phone while he shrugged.

"I suppose…Hah, but-" Hood said to William on the phone then sighed.

The door to the infirmary was opened wide, and Akagi went in while carrying a tray with a bowl of porridge. She hummed happily with a wide smile on her face, and she seemed not to care about the fact that she surprised both Amagi and Bismarck. William also jolted when Akagi opened the door suddenly that he almost dropped Bismarck's phone, but he managed to catch it with his right hand.

"Shikikan-sama! Here, I made you some egg porridge! Let me feed you~!" Akagi said to William as she pulled a chair to sit on his right side.

"Oh don't worry about it, I could eat by myself." William said to Akagi while he smiled.

"But the doctor said that you shouldn't move your arms too much for now shikikan-sama, here I'm going to feed you!" Akagi said to William as she scooped the porridge with the spoon.

"It's alright, I told you-. Umph!" William said to Akagi but his mouth was jammed by the spoonful of porridge.

William had no choice but to gulp down the porridge inside his mouth. Hmm, the egg porridge that Akagi made tasted delicious. Amagi and Bismarck gazed at the porridge that Akagi made, how she made one in that short amount of time is a mystery, but they supposed it's edible if William had no problem with it…for now.

"Okay, don't worry I've made sure it's just at the right temperature and very tasty for your tongue. You will have no problem whatsoever with my cooking, shikikan-sama~" Akagi said to William while she smiled widely as she spoon fed him again.

"Who is that, milord?" Hood asked William on the phone curiously.

"*Gulp* She's-. Hey!" William swallowed before he protested when the phone was taken by Akagi.

"Ara, who are you?" Akagi asked Hood on the phone.

"Ah this voice, hello to you too, Ms. Akagi." Hood said to Akagi on the phone.

"Hmmm, ah, might you be that hoity toity all elegance talks from the Royal Navy called Hood-san? It's been a while!" Akagi said to Hood on the phone cheerfully.

"Certainly, it has…Could you hand the phone back to Lord William? I believe we are not finished speaking yet." Hood asked Akagi on the phone.

"I'm terribly sorry Hood-san~, he currently needs to eat, and you're kind of bothering him. Bye-bye~" Akagi said to Hood on the phone with a sly grin on her face.

"Hey, don't you dare hang up the call!" Hood said to Akagi on the phone.

"Too late~!" Akagi said to Hood on the phone with a mischievous tone.

Akagi swiftly pressed the hang up button and put the phone on the nightstand in front of her all while Amagi closed her mouth with her right hand, Bismarck stared at Akagi in bafflement, and William had his jaw dropped which soon was jammed with spoonful of egg porridge. Akagi's got guts and plain rudeness, seriously. William didn't expect her to behave like this, she gave off the proper and charming young woman when they first met. What the hell happened while he was out for nine hours?!

"…Hood's going to have my arse when we get back." William said out loud with a half-closed eye.

"I believe that would be the case, kommandant." Bismarck said to William with half closed eyes.

All of a sudden, the room flashes white then orange. Amagi stared with wide eyes, Bismarck glanced at the window, Akagi widened her eyes as she stopped spoon feeding William, while he turned around to see what was going on outside. From the window they could see a bright flash followed by a huge mushroom cloud? Yep, nuclear detonation. It seems Meguro managed to achieve the goal, and by God William hoped that the secondary Siren base is flat to the ground right now or they are fucked. He looked back toward the ship girls while he frowned a bit.

"…Did they do it?" William asked out loud.

"That explosion seemed to indicate so." Bismarck said to William.

"It's been six hours since they left port…it's enough time to complete their mission." Amagi said out loud.

"Let's just wait for them to return, we could hear how it went straight from them." William said out loud.

…They waited for one more hour after that explosion when the door to the infirmary room was knocked, Amagi went and opened the door only to see Mikasa with her beautiful face and clothing in a dirty state from the smoke and dirt. She went inside after nodding his head to Amagi and Bismarck, when she saw William's face, she allowed herself to smile a bit in relief that her commander is alive and conscious, however that smile quickly turned into deep frown and Mikasa looked at her own feet…

"...Shikikan-sama." Mikasa greeted William.

"Welcome back Mikasa, how is it?" William asked Mikasa.

"The attack…it was successful…But, all of our units except for the ship girls did not survive." Mikasa said to William as she stared at him.

"What?!" William asked out loud as he widened his eye.

"Hai…all of them, including Commander Meguro stayed behind to ensure the nuclear bomb exploded." Mikasa said to William while she frowned.

"SON OF A BITCH!" William shouted in frustration.

BANG!

William hit his right hand to the metallic nightstand to his side and dented it a bit while he scowled, the news really made him sad and angry at the same time. Amagi flinched a bit, Mikasa stared at the floor, and Bismarck was facepalming…Such a heavy cost for a single victory, and this battle isn't even over yet! Meguro clutched on to the last man standing to ensure the nuclear bomb would explode, that's not your ordinary dedication there, and the men and women under his command willingly followed him to their deaths. What's holding them together in the face of certain death? Loved ones? Home? William is sure that his family and friends are the one who's holding him together when Midnight choked him to death…The worst really happened for the strike force.

"…Are you absolutely certain that there are no survivors?" William asked Mikasa while he scowled.

"None, shikikan-sama…We stayed there within the safe zone as long as we could." Mikasa said to William while she frowned deeply.

"…What about the others that are still on this base?" William asked Mikasa while he scowled.

"Right now, none…everyone went with the evacuating transport ships or went with Meguro's task force…we're all that was left on this island." It was Amagi who answered William.

"Wait, didn't the plan only work if there's still someone on this base? If it's just us, then how would we bait the Sirens to attack this base!?" William asked Amagi with cocked eyebrows.

"I don't know shikikan-sama, but Commander Meguro said something before he ordered us to leave…he said that he left the other nuclear bomb in the command center for you to use, he said that you will know what to do with it." Mikasa said to William.

William widened his right eye, and he moved out of bed to walk only for him to fall down because both of his knees weren't strong enough to support his body. Amagi and Bismarck immediately moved to help him up. William can't believe how weak his legs were, but then again, he survived a direct fragmentation grenade blast with his feet still in the explosion radius…he better be thankful with the fact that it's still intact.

"Be careful! You're still hurt, shikikan-sama! Get him that wheelchair Mikasa-san!" Amagi said to Mikasa who grabbed the wheelchair from the corner of the room.

"…Take me to the command center!" William said to Amagi as he got onboard the wheelchair, again.

William could only sit as he was wheeled to the command center by Amagi with Bismarck and Mikasa close behind, they reached it and as expected the place was devoid of any human presence. William wheeled the wheelchair himself to the briefing room, he took a look around and noticed that there's still one case with the nuke that Meguro left with a sticky note on top of it. William moved closer and took the note, it had handwriting there that said 'Use this well, I'm trusting you for the final part of Operation Taiga. Godspeed Blaze – Meguro'…What? No personal goodbye or anything? Heh…William put the note down as he opened the case…Inside it, there's a rugby ball shaped nuclear bomb which is ready for activation.

"Shikikan-sama…what are your orders?" Amagi asked William as she watched him from the briefing room entrance.

"…We wait…They will wait for our next move after we just blew up one of their bases, let's wait until tomorrow at least." William said to Amagi as he turned around.

"I can see them doing that…Fine, I will trust your judgment shikikan-sama…but if they immediately attack us?" Amagi said to William after she nodded her head.

"We lure them in as many as we can to this island then blow this entire place sky high, just like we originally planned…Call the ladies, all of them...we're going to discuss our next move." William said to Amagi.

"Wakarimashita, shikikan-sama." Amagi bowed a bit before she left, leaving William with Mikasa and Bismarck.

The two of them looked at William who massaged his left temple as he thought up what to do next. A couple dozen ship girls against the entire Siren army didn't bode well for a power comparison no matter how overpowered anyone thinks the ship girls are. He's torn between two options, destroying this base or destroying the last Siren base, and no matter the choice that nuclear bomb would have to be used…Bismarck wordlessly walked up to William's front, which got his attention as he looked up at her to see her smile a bit. Bismarck reached for something from her pocket and pulled out William's eye patch, she then put it on him to cover his left eye like usual. She still doesn't know why he covered up his left eye, there doesn't seem to be any external injuries from her brief look of his closed left eye…but she supposed that mystery could be solved another time.

"I'm used to seeing you like this." Bismarck commented as she was done putting up the eye patch.

"Heh…thanks Bismarck." William simply thanked her while he smiled.

…The ship girls gathered in the briefing room not too long after that, and William explained to them their options in which he confessed he hasn't made any decision on what to do yet, but he knows that defending this empty regional headquarter is important for the next few hours to determine their next move. It's pretty simple, if the Sirens come knocking then they blow the base, if they're not they'll bomb their base. Mikasa recounted what happened during the mission last night all the way to the nuclear detonation, she said to William that the base did activate its energy shielding which tried to contain the nuclear detonation inside its sphere of protection before failing dramatically.

From close observation, it would seem the shield is a wall like structure where it doesn't cover up the base's top side so planes could still fly inside and cause havoc. There's one thing that Mikasa noted based on her experience during the North Pole Siren Base invasion. At the North Pole, the Siren base didn't have any kind of energy shielding, but they had a large metallic wall that proved to be very durable against the assault by Northern Parliament forces. The base on that island didn't have any kind of wall, but it had a shield generator in the center of it that was capable of projecting a large energy wall to stave off attacks. Tall enough to prevent most shells and low altitude flying missiles from hitting, but low enough for planes to easily scale it and attack the inner part. However, that was countered with the hundreds of AA defenses they have on that base, so all in all they got their defenses covered. Mikasa apologized with the fact that she didn't know how the infiltration team made it inside their perimeter, but she guessed they managed to get in before the shield was up. William was honestly satisfied with that hypothesis and he thought it made sense.

Based on that assumption, William chooses to 'play it safe' where he will send out a recon group out to scout the last Siren base. From there they could easily figure out their next move because William had set up two plans depending on the situation…One, the Sirens stayed on their base, William would send a carrier strike group and use them to send the bomb inside their walls remotely. Two, the Sirens come for them, then their only option is to blow the base sky high, their ideal bomb planting site would be the underground laboratory on this island…With the plans agreed on, they set everything into motion and they would move at dawn.

"…Dawn is upon us. Graf, you are cleared to launch your recon planes." William said to Graf Zeppelin on the radio when he noticed that the sun was up on the horizon.

"Ja kommandant, launching planes now." Graf Zeppelin said to William on the radio.

"Akashi, what can you find from the local database?" William asked Akashi who's operating the console in front of him.

"I could access the servers normally, shikikan, but all of them were void of any data nyaa…the scientists must've taken all the data with them and then wiped the entire servers clean." Akashi said to William while she frowned.

"Double check it, I don't want any chances…Yuubari, how's our communication system?" William asked Yuubari who's operating another console.

"It's still active, shikikan…Do you want to use it?" Yuubari asked William.

"Yes. Get me online with Sakura Empire High Command, specifically General Kabakura." William said to Yuubari.

"Wakarimashita." Yuubari said to William.

William, Amagi, Akashi, Yuubari, and several other Sakura Empire ship girls remained on standby inside the command center control room while Bismarck took the rest of them to secure the island's perimeter. The large screen in front of them went online, and they could see General Kabakura still seated in his office while writing something. He then looked toward them, and he put down his pen as he focused his attention to the screen. He looked exhausted, he had black eye bags and messy hair. Those eyes of his widened when he saw William being bandaged all over his body while only wearing his white pants and standing in the center of the room…Yeah, he forced himself to be able to stand, he doesn't want to be a deadweight on top of the wheelchair, so he prepared some adrenaline shots inside his pocket when he will need some strength.

"…Commander Blaze? This is quite the surprise! Where is Commander Meguro? Oh dear! You're hurt!" Kabakura said to William with a concerned face.

"…He died in battle, general. He valiantly ensured the destruction of the second Siren base with the nuclear weapon, the rest of your forces on Furushima are already on their way to join the 8th Carrier Division…It's just us in here now." William said to Kabakura with a firm face.

"…I see…that young foolish kid." Kabakura said as he looked to the left and sighed.

"…We still have one bomb left. Do you want to use it on this installation or the last Siren's base?" William asked Kabakura.

"…Commander Blaze, I've made a grave mistake." Kabakura ignored the question as he said to William.

"What do you mean, general?" William asked Kabakura.

"…I shouldn't have ordered him to stay and fight, I should've immediately ordered a scorched earth operation the moment it was clear that we would lose our foothold on Furushima." Kabakura said to William with a regretful tone.

To be honest? Yeah! William already questioned this right from the start, didn't he? Why not do some torch and burn operation to make sure any kind of data didn't fall into enemy hands from the start? They said that the regional headquarters and its surrounding facilities are very important to them, but as it was shown yesterday, they were finally willing to raze their own base to the ground after suffering such casualties…why not do so from the start to avoid such loss in the first place? Well, William decided that it's not his business to start arguing regarding the best course of action for their military business. He just wanted to get back home and rest, he had enough for this one.

"Sir? I'm in no position to judge your strategy or competency, right now all I care about is the fact that we have to settle this problem with the Sirens here, and I need your help. What do you think I should do? If you don't have any suggestions, I will settle this with my own method…I want to clear this up, so this won't jeopardize any relations between Azur Lane and Crimson Axis in the future." William said to Kabakura.

"…Right…Hah…I won't lie, I don't know the current situation on that isle, and I've made enough mistakes from just this one battle…Commander Blaze, I hereby give you an authorization to deal with the Sirens in the region however you see fit! If you deemed the nuclear bomb is necessary to defeat the last of the Sirens there? You have full authority to use it! I will take full responsibility regarding any fallout from this decision." Kabakura said to William with a serious face.

"Sir yes sir, thank you." William said to Kabakura as he nodded his head.

"Any after action report could be done online, after this you should just head back to your base…concerning the eight ship girls that are stationed there? They are all under your command from now on. I don't know what the higher ups are planning with this decision, but I will trust them." Kabakura said to William.

"Understood…General, Commander Meguro and his men served their country and fought valiantly to the end despite the overwhelming odds…I want to recommend an award for them." William said to Kabakura while he smiled bitterly.

"I will definitely do so…We lost so much already, please make that one bomb count, commander." Kabakura said to William before he ended the video call.

"…Transmission was terminated from Kabakura Taisho, shikikan." Yuubari said to William.

"…Don't worry Ms. Yuubari, I've said all I wanted to say to him." William said to Yuubari.

That means Amagi, Akagi, Kaga, Hiryuu, Kawakaze, Kako, Kinu, and Yuubari have been given permission to come with them back to their base. A bolster in Sakura Empire's ship girl fleet is always a welcome addition. William, however, had no time to think about what would happen with their integration to the base because Graf Zeppelin suddenly contacted them. Her planes haven't even arrived on the Sirens' base, but based on the local battle space projection shown on the large screen when the video call ended, her planes are pulling back toward her.

"Kommandant? This is Graf Zeppelin; the Sirens are moving toward our location. I'm transmitting the coordinates of their location and will update it as we stay out of range, it would seem they planned to take on the base after all." Graf Zeppelin said to William on the radio.

"Understood. Pull out and return to base as soon as possible." William said to Graf Zeppelin on the radio.

"Jawohl." Graf Zeppelin said to William on the radio.

The battle space projection started showing several red blips near Graf Zeppelin, William paid close attention to it as the dots moved…But it's just one small fleet? Are they a reconnaissance patrol? Suddenly however, multiple fleets appeared on the battle space projection near Graf Zeppelin and her escorts who kept their distance as they retreated. Okay, William believed those fleets were bad news, so he called Amagi and listened to her opinion.

"…Amagi." William said to Amagi.

"Hai?" Amagi asked William as she approached him.

"What do you make of that?" William asked Amagi as he pointed at the battle space projection.

"They're walking straight to our base, they came knocking at our front door…Shikikan-sama, there's a possibility that they knew this regional headquarters had been abandoned with us as the remaining defenders. I don't want to make any hasty conclusions, shikikan-sama, but if they encircle us here, which is a very high possibility, we would have no way out of this base…" Amagi said to William while she frowned.

"…That's it, we're scuttling this base! Get everyone ready for the defense perimeter! Akashi, ready the helicopter! Yuubari, Ayanami, help me out. We're going to plant the bomb!" William ultimately decided then said out loud.

"""""""""Hai!"""""""""" The ship girls immediately responded.

"I trust you know what to do, Amagi?" William asked Amagi as they prepared to leave the room.

"Hai, in our case, it would be preferable for us to just keep one part of the island secured. That way, we won't overextend our manpower to cover an island this big, and we could pretty much escape easily through the gap in their perimeter." Amagi said to William while she smiled.

"Nice. I'll trust you to keep the escape path open, Amagi." William said to Amagi while he smiled.

"Shikikan-sama, please be careful. You're not exactly healthy right now." Akagi said to William while she frowned a bit.

"Thank you for your concern, Akagi." William said to Akagi while he smiled.

Akagi nodded, then left with the other ship girls to help reinforce the defensive perimeter that was established by the Ironblood ship girls while William, with Ayanami and Yuubari, left to plant the bomb. They took a military jeep to head toward the laboratory entrance, and just when about they're about to enter the facility, William saw multiple Siren fighter jets in the air. William clicked his tongue in annoyance before he alongside Yuubari and Ayanami disembarked from the jeep. William, however, fell to the ground after he got out of the jeep. His knees are still weak, and he knew he would need some strength for this one, William took out the adrenaline shot, took out the cover, and injected the content to his left thigh.

"…Shikikan, don't force yourself. We can take a short rest." Ayanami said to William as she helped him stand.

"No, we can't afford to waste time, Ayanami. I just need to pace myself." William said to Ayanami.

After a few minutes, William felt strength returned to his body. Temporary as it is, it should get the job done. William, Ayanami, and Yuubari immediately proceeded deeper into the facility. The journey should be a short one according to William's prediction, but many of the doors were locked by the scientists before leaving, so William had to find another way. According to the schematics, the best place to plant the bomb would be the administration office which William is currently heading into. During the way, however, one of the doors was forcefully opened by a blue explosion, several Siren Troopers went in and met with William.

Ayanami immediately took cover behind the wall, William took Yuubari with him as they hid behind the wall while being constantly rained on by plasma bolts. William took out his revolver and noted he didn't carry any spare moon clips, so he's only got six shots. Ayanami summoned her sword while Yuubari summoned her rigging, they had to beat these four Troopers before they could advance. Yuubari fired several HE shells, she hit the wall and the resulting explosion knocked the Troopers to the floor. Ayanami and William moved in, she personally sliced two of them in a single stroke, while William quickly unleashed two headshots toward the remaining troopers.

"…They're inside the facility, they know what we're going to do…was our action that predictable?" William asked out loud.

"The Sirens are known to be very intelligent, shikikan." Yuubari said to William.

"Yeah…this is only going to get harder." William said to Yuubari.

William reached down and grabbed a fallen Siren Trooper's plasma rifle. William often saw this gun being carried by them, so this must be their standard issue weapon. It has designs that are fit to be used by a humanoid, has bulky construction so it's quite heavy, and painted in black with red lining. There's a small bulge in front of the trigger which William assumed to be the battery or whatever powering this rifle. It has no ironsight, so William basically had to make do with predictive aiming, and it has no butt stock, so he couldn't exactly fire it from a stable position...honestly? This weapon will be a pain in the ass to use. But, it's something over his revolver with very limited ammo, so he'll take it with him.

Walking further underground, they eventually arrived at the administration sector. This sector was filled with offices, archives, and data servers. William set down the nuclear case from his back, he opened the case, and took out the nuclear bomb. Yuubari immediately went to mess with it, she figured out how to set the timer and held the bomb to William, who stared in nervousness at it…who wouldn't be, when they are near a small sized nuclear bomb that if dropped could just yeet them into oblivion in an instant!?

"I'm setting up the bomb, how long should I set it?" Yuubari asked William.

"…How long did we take to reach this place?" William asked Yuubari back.

"Around half an hour." Yuubari said to William.

"…Set it for fifty minutes, Yuubari." William said to Yuubari.

"Hai! Wakarimashita!" Yuubari said to William as she set the timer and primed the bomb.

"Good thing it doesn't beep, hide it inside that table." William said to Yuubari as he told her to hide the bomb in one of the office tables.

"Done, let's get out of here!" Yuubari said to William.

William, Yuubari, and Ayanami immediately bolted out of the office they were in, finding their way back to the surface should be easy enough...if they didn't suddenly encounter around eight Siren Troopers, who immediately fired their weapons at them. William returned fire with the plasma rifle he carried. Ayanami and Yuubari went ahead of him to secure the elevator, when the door's terminal just before the elevator was hit by a plasma bolt, and as a result it short circuited. The door was closed automatically. Yuubari and Ayanami tried to open the door with force but it didn't budge, William clicked his tongue as he was trapped with the last two Siren Troopers. One of them threw a grenade at William, which caused him to dive toward low wall cover. The plasma grenade exploded, but fortunately, it didn't injure him.

"Shikikan!" Yuubari shouted at William from behind the door.

"GO NOW!" William shouted out loud as he fired his plasma rifle.

"NO! We won't leave you here!" Ayanami shouted at William from behind the door.

"I mean just find a way to go around! I'll wait here!" William shouted at the ship girls.

"Now you do that? Didn't I tell you to wait before?" William widened his eye when he heard that voice.

PSIU PSIU!

The two Troopers in front of him suddenly fell dead to the floor with burning holes on the back of their heads, the cause was a black cladded Siren behind them with a large pistol which he then sheathed behind him while he walked forward. William's eye went half closed when he realized something, it's the same freaking guy he met when he went to grab the nuclear bombs! Nyx walked toward William who didn't bother to lower his plasma rifle, any funny business, and William wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger.

"You again…In my defense you're being cryptic about it." William said to Nyx with a half-closed eye.

"If you didn't bomb that base, the Sirens would've pulled out slowly. They'll assume that you will take the bomb back to Sakura Empire mainland for later use. But since you used it the very same day, there's speculation that the other bomb will be used very soon, so that's why this attack happened…Oh well, shit happens…Anyway, it won't take long until Sirens completely surround this entire island. You better escape quickly, mate." Nyx explained to William then shrugged.

"Tell me something I don't know. You're done?" William asked Nyx with an unamused face.

"Oof, no need to be that rude, I'm just here to see you off…we'll talk again soon, hopefully you'll be in healthier condition." Nyx said to William as he pointed his finger at him before he turned around.

"Yeah yeah, piss off Siren…Unless you want to get murdered by Ayanami. She's going to give you some tough love in kisses and hugs, courtesy of Sakura Empire's sword techniques." William said to Nyx while he smirked a bit.

"Heh…I do miss that snarky attitude of yours." Nyx snorted then said to William.

Nyx snapped his fingers and a purple portal appeared in front of him, he looked at William once more before he entered the portal and disappeared. A few seconds later, the wall to his side exploded into small bits as Ayanami and Yuubari combined their firepower to create a hole, so William could fit through. Ayanami stuck her hand through the wall and William took it, when he went through the wall, he felt his energy rapidly draining, and he stumbled before he fell to the floor. Ayanami and Yuubari quickly picked him up, and they have no time to lose right now.

"Let's go shikikan!" Ayanami said to William.

"Right. Akashi, where are you?" William asked Akashi on the radio.

"Right in front of the laboratory's entrance shikikan! We're going to pick the other girls immediately nyaa!" Akashi said to William on the radio.

They reached the laboratory's exit, and they saw their helicopter already waiting in the entrance with the rear hatch opened. The three of them quickly got inside the helicopter. When Akashi looked back and saw them already inside, she quickly took off from the laboratory's entrance. They're going to pick up the rest of the ship girls on the defensive perimeter. William saw that Zuikaku, Shoukaku, and Hiryuu, who were still unconscious, were strapped to their seats, so it looks like they're the last ones to leave this island.

"This helicopter will be pretty jam packed shikikan! Please sit in the cockpit!" Yuubari said to William.

"…Alright." William said to Yuubari while he nodded.

…The battle below them raged as ship girls on both sides were going at each other, when they saw the helicopter above, the ALASUC ship girls immediately disengaged from combat. Akashi lowered the helicopter height all the way to just two meters off the water's surface, the ship girls jumped inside one by one while providing cover for each other. Half a minute later and several plasma bolts hit later, every ship girl was aboard the helicopter, and Akashi pulled up then flew toward their base at maximum speed.

"All aboard and accounted for! Punch it, Akashi!" Myoukou said to Akashi.

"Here we go nyaa!" Akashi said out loud.

"Full speed ahead! This helicopter will surely go down if we're still in range!" Mikasa said out loud.

"Wakatta nyaa!" Akashi said out loud.

"…Hah…that was a close one!" Hipper said out loud regarding their fight.

"Indeed…but at least we got out alive and well." Z23 said to Hipper while she smiled a bit.

"Well, not all of us are well…those three will be confined to bed for a while." Souryuu said to Z23 as she looked at Shoukaku, Hiryuu and Zuikaku.

Prinz smiled in relief that everyone at least managed to get out, now they could head back home, where she could use a good long rest from any combat for a while. Prinz went to the cockpit, she really needed to see the face of her kommandant, since she hadn't been able to see him because she went to escort Graf Zeppelin. She saw Akashi was the one who piloted the helicopter, while William leaned on the helicopter's wall. She smiled because William must be tired from all of this. She was about to wake him up when she saw his left torso, the bandage there was bloodied red, and it's quite dark…When did he get injured?!

"MEDIC! I NEED HELP OVER HERE!" Prinz shouted out loud.

.

…Nyx exited through the portal, he looked around and noticed he's inside a large hall with metallic black paint and metal pillars in neat rows, so it's a place where he indeed intends to go. Nyx walked ahead toward the end of the hall, a large futuristic double door which was firmly shut came into view, but before he reached to open it Nyx stopped moving. Someone approached him from behind, it's a black armored giant with a red visor who stood behind Nyx who turned around before he snorted in amusement. Midnight tilted his head to the right for a bit as he stared at Nyx.

"…Let me guess…You let him off." Midnight asked Nyx.

"Nice to meet you too, Midnight." Nyx said to Midnight in a cheeky tone.

"…Why?" Midnight simply asked Nyx.

"I have my own reasons." Nyx said to Midnight while he shrugged.

"…I see…Is it guilt?" Midnight asked Nyx in an intrigued tone.

"Eh you're not wrong…but there's something else, which I'm sure Alpha would agree with, wouldn't you?" Nyx said to Midnight as he looked upwards.

Both Nyx and Midnight could hear sinister chuckles coming from above. From the darkness of the ceiling, someone floated down with an amused face. Observer Alpha herself set her bare foot on the marble black floor, she circled Nyx sensually as her tentacle went up to his head. The tentacle gently caressed Nyx left side of the helmet as Observer Alpha stood in front of him, she knew Nyx would notice her even under the cover of darkness.

"My my…Astute as always, Nyx." Observer Alpha said to Nyx while she smiled in amusement.

"Child's play Alpha, I'm better than you at hide and seek." Nyx said to Alpha with an amused tone.

"So it would seem…come, the meeting will start in a moment." Observer Alpha said to Nyx while she smiled.

Observer Alpha went toward the large double door, she looked back to see Nyx and Midnight stared at her as if waiting for her to go. Observer Alpha smirked at this, oh boys and their alone time…Observer Alpha opened the door and went inside before closing it again, Nyx then stared back at Midnight who folded his arms as he stared back at Nyx.

"…Tell me, is it nostalgic? To see him in his original state? Or even the fact that he's alive?" Midnight asked Nyx.

"…It is…Never I would've thought that this will happen, to find him hidden here across all sorts of world lines…It just proved that his survival back on Operation Dradetheus, was almost impossible to happen…My turn Midnight, why did you spare him back then?" Nyx said to Midnight with a somber tone.

"…Same as you…Nostalgia…and I do see him having potential to become strong…He caught me completely off guard, even when I should've expected it." Midnight said to Nyx as he started to move toward the double door.

"Ah, I should've known…Miss that handsome face huh?" Nyx said to Midnight as he passed him with an amused tone.

"…Nothing I can do about it." Midnight said to Nyx as he stopped walking.

"I heard plastic surgery in Korea works wonders, want to try? It could get your handsome face back? You could even pick up a few girls here and there" Nyx said to Midnight in an amused tone.

"…No." Midnight simply answered.

"Come on! Don't pretend to be a virgin! You banged some hot girls in the past! You need to occasionally have some sex to relieve all of that stress!" Nyx said to Midnight in a teasing tone.

"…Shut up with that nonsense…Let's just get this meeting over with, I have plans to follow." Midnight said to Nyx as he moved toward the double door.

"Ooh, fine, you're the badass! Lead the way, mate!" Nyx said to Midnight as he shrugged.

Midnight only stared at him briefly before he opened the door, he went inside, and Nyx was the only one left in the dark hallway. Nyx sighed as he also walked forward toward the double doors as he grabbed on its golden colored handle, which he held firmly as he briefly recalled about Midnight. Oh what cruel fate that befell all of them…him, Midnight, Ash, Ember, and others…is this the only path left for them? Nyx shook his head lightly to dismiss that thought, even when their worlds fell, and their hope was crushed? They'll find a way...mankind cannot afford to be divided, especially now.

"…And that coldness is something I wish could just fuck off from you, Midnight." Nyx said to himself somberly before he opened the large double door and went inside.

---

Updated: 14-02-2022 (Beta readed by Culture-Hunt3r)

Yup, this one chapter underwent severe revisions, so it took a while to rearrange everything. Good news is this chapter and current arc is completed, so there you go people…I have no intention in completely hiding the identities of Nyx and Midnight, but any confirmation regarding them would have to wait when they are revealed in the story. Won't be fun if I just said it straight who they are but feel free to speculate, mwahahaha. Anyway, thanks for the follows, favorites, and reviews. I will take some time to rest before continuing the next chapter, pretty burned out right now, perhaps a couple of games will help. So stay tuned everyone!

See you next time!

- Dasmara