Chapter 24

"Wow, I've seen it in a few books and photographs before, but they really didn't do it justice." I said in amazement.

"Really?" Warspite quirked an eyebrow. "It seems smaller than I expected."

We both stood out on the deck of the John Brown, looking at the now steadily approaching land. The famous Statue of Liberty had caught our attention as the ship turned into the bay, and the smog-covered landscape of New York filled me with a sense of awe. The natural landscape had seemingly weathered the brunt of any Siren attack leaving the city in relative peace.

The heavily armoured multi layered wall of guns we had just passed probably had something to do with it as well.

Elizabeth's voice chimed in from my side, her eyes resting on the monument of green metal. "She was a marvel of engineering for the era she was built in. Consider how Hood is far larger than Dreadnought was, would you discredit her significance just due to her size?"

Footsteps on the deck pulled us away from our conversation, I looked to see Richard Spence and Hood walking over to us. The convoy leader gave us a wave while smiling approvingly

"This girl of yours is one hell of a negotiator, but a fair one at that. I feel more than happy with the payment we agreed upon. You saved our lives out there." He offered his hand.

"Thanks," I extended my own hand. "but I don't know if I don't know if I deserve all the praise. It was the girls who did everything. I just kind of stood there."

Hood stepped forward. "I have to disagree. Without you bringing us together we wouldn't have been there to protect the convoy. You were just as important as any of us."

Spence chucked and patted his hand on my shoulder. "You need to keep this one around, old boy. She'd make a good wife one day."

All three of the girls looked away uncomfortably at the comment, to my surprise Hood's face went slightly red as she blushed, it was the first time something had truly caught her off guard.

"Anyway." I quickly steered the conversation elsewhere. "Will Javelin be fine with docking her ship here? I don't really want to end up causing an incident." I glanced over to the small destroyer as it sailed beside the cargo ship. I decided it best to not have a Royal Navy Dreadnought sail directly into the port and had moved back over the Javelin, much to the joy of the purple haired girl.

"As long as you keep out of the way I don't see anyone giving you hassle. And if the harbour master comes knocking just mention my name. Me and him go way back." Spence said.

The John Brown then turned towards the dock; after all the long days of struggle we would soon be at our destination.

"Say," The captain folded his arms and gave me an inquisitive look. "you never did give a full explanation as to why you needed to come here."

I let his implied question go unanswered for a moment as I thought about the reply. I had no real reason to tell him the truth, but I didn't have cause to distrust him either.

I sighed and decided telling him would do no harm. We had already survived a Siren raid, and he had my back then, and even now. My eyes hovered over Warspite, Queen Elizabeth and Hood for a moment "These girls. We have reason to believe there may be more of them here, and that they may have a better understanding of what they are and the power they hold within. As you saw during the battle, they go far beyond just being able to control warships with their mind." I had omitted the fact of how I had discovered the information regarding the possibility of them being here, but that was probably for the best.

"So there's even more of them about then eh?" The captain spoke, scratching his beard. "Wouldn't mind hiring a few to escort my convoy full time. that's if it would be alright with you?"

"It's not up to me to say." I shrugged. "They speak for themselves and can make their own decisions. I'm sure if anyone tried forcing them to do something they'd just snap them in half."

"I don't doubt you there." He agreed. "That short blue haired one, U-556 was it? She was helping us move cargo crates around while we were making repairs. The girl just straight up lifted one up without any sort of assistance. Gave my boys one hell of a fright." The captain shook his head and sighed. "Nah. If I do come across any more of these fine young lasses, I will be sure to send them your way, their strength and abilities are wasted on just simple convoy escorts. That being said…

He spared a glance at the girls himself and then at me again.. "If you do happen to still be around in a weeks' time and want to head back east, I would be more than happy to pay for another escort"

"Thanks, but I don't really know how long we're going to be in New York for, or if we will be going straight back to England afterwards."

I had realised the moment we had entered the harbour that I hadn't actually planned anything regarding what we were going to do once we arrived. The entire trip all I could do was worry about when the next Siren attack would come.

There were the two ships Richard had told me about that saved the convoy last time they came into New York, but unless anyone had seen them recently, I was looking for a needle in a haystack. I didn't have any details on them either, so I didn't have much choice but to ask around or hope for the best, and considering my luck so far…

The ship slowly came alongside the dock, Sailors on both the bow and stern began throwing mooring lines out to the waiting dockworkers. The Javelin pulled ahead and took up the dock at the ship's front.

"Well even if you don't end up heading our way, come see me. I can probably get you a meeting with any of the other convoy leaders. Might be one that shares a similar destination with you. I will also get a few of my boys to keep an ear out for any mention of strange ships like yours." Spence said.

"I really can't thank you enough, for both the job and the information." I said sincerely. I saw the ramp being lowered and the crew preparing to both disembark and unload the cargo, so it was time for us to head back to the Javelin. I offered my hand to Spence.

"It's the least I can do, old boy. I wish the best of luck to you." The older man said.

We left the ship and started making our way over to the Javelin. I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief as I stepped upon solid ground once again even if I would be walking back onto another ship shortly.

"I am curious as to why none of you girls chimed in when we were talking about your kind. It did feel a little off for me to be speaking for you."

"One didn't see the need to intervene." Elizabeth replied. "You have shown on several occasions to hold our best interests at heart, so one sees no harm in letting you represent our kind when it comes to dealings with humans."

"Ah I see. Fair enough." I never liked it when the girls stated the difference between them and humans. Elizabeth had only mentioned it in a casual sense with no malice behind it. But I felt my own growing worry at the hidden implications.

I spared a last glance at Elizabeth's tiny form as she walked forward, ever proud, ever unstopped.

Following a quick meeting on the bridge of the Javelin and remembering some of the advice Warspite had given me during one of the long morning watches we shared, I decided to give everyone two days of relative rest, there would be a rotation of work that needed to be done to make the fleet able to sail again, but there wasn't any urgent need to cast off again, so I decided to do it at a more casual pace. This would also hopefully give me some time to create a plan for our next move.

I was walking through the ship's corridors on my way to start preparing some lunch with some grocery and supply bags on hand, when it occurred to me that while the girl's faces had brightened up in glee at the mention of two days off, it wasn't like there would hardly be any change in their day to day lives regardless. There was no need for any form of maintenance or regular work that normal ships needed when in dock. All that was required was to move the few supplies that were needed and to prepare meals, a few which we had already procured

I smiled as I realised that when we had been at sea the girls had mostly just leisurely gone about their days doing what they pleased. All I had really told the girls was to continue doing what they normally did.

Just as I was nearing the counters to drop the bags, Zuikaku walked into the mess as well, the bright whites of her coat and deep reds of her dress a strong contrast against the dark greys of the ship's interior. I had decided to give her some room the past few days to help her get to grips with her new body and the world she now found herself in, from what the other girls had told me she tended to keep to herself and would only occasionally spark up a conversation with them if she was curious about something.

She closed the distance with a curious look on her face. "Oh! Umm…" she looked puzzled for a moment. "I'm sorry your family name escapes me."

"Family name?" I replied, confused for a moment before I realised what she probably meant. "Oh you mean my surname. It's Dawson, I don't tend to use it much so don't feel bad about not knowing it."

Zuikaku nodded. "Thank you, I will make sure to remember it." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, Dawson-dono. You said during the meeting on the bridge that this fleet's next action is still undetermined and depends on what information regarding our kind in this country can be gathered from this port." She paused for a second and shifted her weight. "I was wondering if the Sakura Empire could be one of the possible future destinations of this fleet, or at the very least the western Pacific?"

"The Pacific? I've seen a few maps of it before but honestly I couldn't even begin to plan a voyage across it." I began unpacking the groceries. Zuikaku surprisingly scooted over and began helping me. I nodded at the gesture and allowed her to occupy a space to my side. "This trip was the first I've ever made across an open ocean and I've never even met someone who's gone past the Mediterranean."

Zuikaku took in what I said and thought for a moment while she unpacked the cheeses and yoghurt, tapping her foot against the deck all the while. The puzzled look on her face was rather nice to look at. She spoke again when she finished putting the dry meat bags aside, rather neatly at that if I may add. "A direct crossing from the most western point of the Americas would probably be unwise, a better approach would be to head down and come up from the chain of islands that stretch up from the south."

I thought over it as I opened another counter to fill with a box of hardtack crackers. Never liked the thing, and I hope I don't ever need to consume them, but they may come in handy in an emergency, Zuikaku immediately followed suit doing the same. "It would definitely be safer, but it would definitely take longer to make the voyage and it's likely those islands are now uninhabited. We would be risking overstretching our supplies and ending up in a difficult situation."

She twitched, and her face flashed gloomily for a moment, while her shoulders sagged, and surely it was not due to the weight of some measly potatoes. I interjected before she formed any ideas. "But if the history books have taught me anything it's that humans as a species did not achieve anything without taking a few risks. So while I don't fully know if we will be heading that way next I will definitely take it into consideration."

There was also the fact that the calculating part of my mind was telling me she was an invaluable part of the fleet and I needed to convince her to stay and if we did end up going to the Sakura Empire, a native would definitely help with communicating with the locals.

I looked at the carrier. Zuikaku gave me a curious look as if assessing me, which was a fair thing to do all things considered.

She slightly bowed and said. "Thank you, for both taking that into consideration and for how welcoming your fleet has been to me especially after what happened during our first meeting."

"Don't worry about it." I smiled. "There wasn't any harm done and the girls know you didn't have full control over your actions."

Zuikaku matched my smile, though there was some reluctance to it. It was polite, but it didn't quite seem genuine for some reason.

"Is there anything else I can help you with, Dawson-dono?" She said with some eagerness.

"Not really, no. I got lunch covered." While I appreciated the gesture, and by God, she was definitely better company than most sailors, I didn't want her to push herself. "You can go take it easy."

Zuikaku bowed again and excused herself, giving her thanks one more time. I finally had everything I needed to start preparing lunch.

"Oh, actually, I was wondering," just before she stepped through the door something came to mind. "Why did you want to call me by my surname? What's the deal with the 'dono' thing, too?" It seemed like something the Sakura girls Warspite and I had encountered back in the dream would say, but I didn't really understand what it meant.

"Oh, sorry. It's just a way us from the Sakura Empire refer to one another," Zuikaku smiled wryly. "If I had to make a comparison, it would be something like your language's Sir or Madam. Even when I want to speak English my mind just seems to naturally use some of my native language's terms. I'm sorry if I've caused any offence, I can try and stop myself from using them."

I had figured it was something along those lines. Z23 and U-556 would also use their own words from time to time, so I guessed it was just a natural thing the girls did. "It's fine, you can call me whatever you want. James is what most of the girls use when being informal with me."

Strangely, a blush appeared on her cheeks. "I-I think Dawson-dono will do just fine for now."

She quickly left the room, leaving me confused at what I had said to cause such a reaction. Was everyone from the Sakura Empire like her?

The next day I found myself standing on the Javelin's upper bridge, leaning against the edge. I watched the large number of people moving around the port. The dock was near the edge of the dockyards and to my surprise the city just seemed to start straight at its edge. Back home there had always been large stretches of land separating docks from population centres. It was crazy to see, did nobody care about a Siren attack?

I heard footsteps approaching from behind me, which I knew belonged to Warspite. She called chipperly. "I don't even need to look at your face to tell you you're thinking deeply about something. So what's on your mind this time?" She came over to my side, giving a reassuring smile before also turning her attention to where I was looking.

"It's nothing, just amazed at how carefree everyone here is." I said, scanning the meandering people at the dock and in the distance. "Even how the city has been built is strange, it's like the possibility of a Siren attack is practically non-existent for them."

She nodded, humming in agreement. "You're right, it is rather peculiar. We are still rather close to the open ocean, so you would expect the threat of attack to somewhat go into the city's design." Her eyes narrowed and she pointed out towards the closer buildings. "Look at all the roof work, There's practically no weathering due to coastal storms or soot from all the industry. The brickwork isn't mismatched either so it's not like it gets regularly repaired. I think the threat has only subsided recently and all of these buildings were recently constructed, or the yanks are more foolish than I'd give them credit for."

She smirked, which I followed with a tiny chuckle of my own. But Warspite was right, something had been bugging me but it wasn't until she pointed it out that I finally noticed the small details and everything started falling into place. "All the defences lining the coast look rather new as well, I think we might be seeing these so-called further advancements in research that Siren mentioned. Normal human weapons barely scratch Sirens but you girls can tear them apart with ease. If they could somehow build weapons with the same potency as yours…"

"Then defending a city would be child's play." Warspite finished my train of thought. "So chances are the Yanks are definitely in possession of a few cubes, and probably have made contact with my fellow kin by now too."

"That's one theory." I held onto the thought for a while, inadvertently gritting my teeth. "Unfortunately the only other plausible one is…"

"That there's a Siren working behind the scenes again." She finished my sentence. "And if that's the case we're all in danger".

I looked back at all the people wandering around. "We'll have to be extra careful, the last time we fought one the area was completely remote and the only people around were... well you know. If there is a Siren knocking around then you girls fighting one may cause immeasurable amounts of damage. It only took you a few shells to completely destroy that facility." The thought of the girls having to fight a Siren in such a densely populated city was slightly harrowing.

"I'm a battleship, we don't do 'subtle'." Warspite just shrugged, but bit her lip. "But you're right, our best bet will be to fall back into the open ocean and fight her there, that way we can at least keep civilian casualties to a minimum."

A moment of silence passed between us before she spoke again. "Though, you say we need to act careful but then give everyone some pocket money and tell us to go and enjoy the city, leaving yourself completely undefended. For someone who I consider to be smart, that was a rather boorish decision."

I couldn't hear any irritation in her voice.

"Javelin and U-556 said they wanted to try out the nearby restaurants and Z23 wanted to find some bookstores, so I gave them some money and told them to have fun. I said you girls could have a few days off so what's the harm in that?" I replied, trying to tease a reaction out of her.

Warspite pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, her violet eyes staring at me disapprovingly. "This was just after Her Majesty took leave with Hood to go and look at perfume, makeup and clothing. Had I accepted their invitation to go with them then you would have been left all alone with nobody to protect you."

I felt myself grin. "I knew you wouldn't go with them; all that stuff just doesn't seem like your kind of thing."

Her elbow hit me in the rib, not hard enough to be painful but it had enough force to push me slightly. "I will have you know that despite how you may perceive me I would have rather enjoyed such an outing with her majesty. Yet my duty must come first so I had to decline and remain at your side lest you be left completely unguarded."

"Really? Because they left before Javelin even came and asked me so you couldn't have known they would be going too. And Zuikaku is still knocking around somewhere." Warspite quickly averted her gaze and I spotted the beginnings of a blush forming. It made me happy that the grim subject of Sirens had ended, so I decided to tease her a little further "So, what was the real reason for your remaining? If you just wanted to stay with me, you could have just said so."

"Ah, uh, well." Much to my amusement a few beads of sweat appeared on her brow as she quickly scrambled for a reply. I did consider pushing a little further for fun, but decided to let her try.

The tiny battleship decided to follow a lady's etiquette and coughed into a balled fist. She composed herself and stood straight with a proud grin. "Well you tend to be a magnet for trouble and it would have been cruel to leave your protection in the hands of the small ships. As for the carrier, she has yet to commit herself to your command, and while I don't think she would just leave you to your fate, being a carrier means her specialty is long range engagements and would be ill equipped to properly protect you."

I had to give her credit for coming up with a rather logical reply. She had also made a rather good point so I decided to change the subject and spare her any further embarrassment. "That's actually something I've been meaning to seek your advice on. Yesterday, Zuikaku asked if we would be heading towards the Sakura Empire at any point, while I have yet to even figure out what our next step will be, the Sakura Empire has its fair share of ships, so it may be a good call to head there if this turns out to be a bust, despite the risks."

Warspite visibly relaxed at the change in conversation topic and scratched her chin as she thought. "You may be right. When they first opened up their country, the Royal Navy and the Sakura Empire worked together to build and train their navy. Even a fair share of their ships were built in English dockyards, one even having a design that would later help inspire Dreadnought."

"I see. It would be a long trip though, we would either have to risk the Pacific or head back and take the long way round."

"True." She nodded. "But if we travel into the Pacific then we can also go to Australia and New Zealand, both of which were once parts of the Empire. Any Royal Navy ships that come into being around there would undoubtedly head to them for safety." Warspite looked back out to the busy city. "But that's a discussion we can have later. Despite what I say, the girls do deserve a few days of rest after our first voyage and I doubt this place will end up being a complete bust. This is called the land of opportunity after all."

"Yeah." I leaned against the railing once more, sighing. "It's just that whenever anyone asks me what our next move is going to be I reply that I still need time to think about it and gather information. Yet whenever I do, I realise that I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. A few weeks ago my biggest concerns were engine problems and leaky pipes, and now I'm leading a fleet of superhuman reincarnated warships and dogging death at every corner. I'm… really out of my depth."

"James, you're doing just fine." I felt her small hand give me a hesitant pat on the back and looked at me with her deep violet eyes, the usual cold and calculating look they had was replaced with a soft reassuring warmth. "None of us expect you to have all the answers right away, just do what you think is right and we will follow. The burden of command is a heavy one and only a few have what it takes to carry it, I can see in you the strength needed to take that weight. All you need is to stop doubting yourself."

I felt pathetic at constantly needing someone to reassure me, but her words did help at calming the nigh constant worry. "Thanks, it's just sometimes hard to believe this is my life now."

Taking her hand away from my back she placed it on top of mind and stood a little closer. "Trust me, most who find themselves in situations like yours tell themselves the same thing. But don't worry it's as you said, we're stronger than any human could possibly be, apart from a few hiccups there's not much this world could throw at us that we can't handle."

With Warspite's reassuring words I went back to watching the busy port, all the time I was conscious of the sheer amount of body heat radiating from her and her hand softly resting atop mine, my quickening heart made me realise she was probably getting revenge for me teasing her earlier, I thought about moving away but decided against it.

Within the mass of grey moving about I spotted the slightest glimpse of blond, at first I thought nothing of it but my eyes were eventually drawn to it again. In the middle of the large crowd of people I was constantly seeing the same mass of blonde hair making its way through it.

I looked closer, there was no crown so I knew it couldn't be Elizabeth. Then for a second I caught the slightest glimpse of her face and her pair of nervous red irises, too vivid to be normal, as well as a short white cape.

"Warspite... Is that?" A flash of memory returned to me as I recognised the girl moving through the crowd.

"Aye, it is." I could hear the surprise in her voice. "Huh, small world."

She was shorter than everyone around her meaning she was constantly being obscured from view, but I could tell she was trying to get through the crowd as quickly as possible. Something in the back of my head was telling me something was wrong.

"There. Two men in dark coats." Warspite pointed off to where the girl had come from. I tried to see who she was pointing at but failed to spot them. "They're pushing their way through the crowd on an intercept course with her." Warspite looked back at the girl. "She looks terrified."

I had only just been able to catch a glimpse of her yet Warspite was once again demonstrating her kind's superior eyesight.

"James." The hand on mine tightened its grip. She turned to me with narrowed eyes. "She's in trouble."

There was no need for a reply, I turned instantly and ran through the ship, putting everything in my mind aside. Sirens and our next destination could wait, right now there was someone who needed our help.

"Like I said." Warspite panted as she caught up to me, her shorter legs making her work harder to keep pace. "You're a magnet for trouble."

Cleveland didn't realise her mistake until it was too late, the alleyway she had fled into had been a dead end. Her heart pounded in her chest as she clawed at the brickwork. trying futilely to get a handhold.

The sound of boots hitting the ground behind her sent a spear of ice down her spine. She forced her legs to remain standing and turned her head to look at her pursuers.

"End of the line, Cleveland, there's nowhere for you to scarper off to now." One of the two men coldly spoke. His hands left his pockets, revealing a pair of handcuffs in one and a gun in another. "Your lot has caused more than enough problems for us. Come quietly now and there won't be any trouble."

"I… I…" The blonde cruiser stuttered, her throat drying up. She tried to move back, only for the wall to feel like it pushed her closer to them instead. "I won't." She finally croaked, tears welling up on her eyes. Cold sweat dripped from her, and her stomach churned and turned. If she had eaten anything the past few days she would have probably thrown it up at this moment.

The men didn't seem to care for her defiance, they continued to slowly approach the cornered girl. "Don't you want to see her? Last thing I heard she's been crying out for you ever since you abandoned her."

"I didn't." Cleveland's voice was barely a whisper. Her spirit sank as she realised it was over.

The man smiled cruelly. "Don't worry, you'll be seeing her shortly. If she's alive that is."

Cleveland shut her eyes and waited for the inevitable. She didn't move, expecting the cuffs to come on her wrists soon.

A new voice called out; this one had a strange accent. "Really? Two guys chasing a defenceless girl into an alleyway. Where I come from, blokes like you would get one hell of a beating."

The two men turned as Cleveland looked past them to see this new person. At the entrance of the alleyway was a young man with messy looking brown hair and a ragged coat. She wanted to call out but didn't know if she wanted to plead for help or tell him to run.

"Listen, kid. This doesn't concern you; I'd advise you scram before we have any trouble." The pursuer threatened, ensuring to show him his gun.

"Yeah, you're right. It would certainly end poorly for me to get into a confrontation with you guys." He folded his hands and smiled. Cleveland couldn't believe how carefree he seemed. "However, it's not me you have to worry about. It's her."

He stepped aside, and revealed a short blonde woman with vibrant violet eyes who took a step forward, her long scarf fluttering in the wind. Cleveland couldn't help but notice the lack of clothing covering her legs, but she didn't dwell on that particularity for long, as soon after, four large turrets and a mechanical mass of rigging appeared around her with a bright blue flash. A huge ornate sword materialised in her hand that she promptly rested against her shoulder, her other hand went to her hip as she stood with a proud smile.

"Good day." she spoke to the two stunned men.

"Thanks, Warspite." I spoke as I stepped over the two unconscious men.

"Eh, it was nothing." She replied as her rigging slowly vanished. "They were too stunned to put up any meaningful fight."

I looked at the girl still standing at the end of the alleyway, now that I could have a closer look I could see that her clothes were filthy and her large cape was torn in several areas. Cuts and bruises could be seen on her arms and legs. Her eyes looked sunken and tired as she stared at us in shock.

Leaving a reasonable amount of distance between us to keep her calm I stopped and smiled at her. "Don't worry, you're safe now. You look absolutely starved, why don't you come with us to get something to eat? You can get yourself cleaned up as well." I reached out a hand for her to take it.

She just continued to stare at me for a while before something brought her back to reality. Her expression suddenly turned and she panicked. "M-monty! I-I have to save her!" She started stepping forward, looking at me with pleading eyes.

"I have to g- Ah!" She screamed as her body started to convulse. Sparks of electricity began to arch around her body, several of them reaching out and lashing at the walls and ground. Warspite grabbed my coat and pulled me back.

We both watched in horror as she continued to shake, while only seconds passed it felt like hours until eventually the sparks stopped and she fell to the ground, completely unconscious.

"What in the world? We need to get her back to the Javelin!" I stepped forward to help her only for Warspite to stop me.

"James, don't go near her." Warspite took a few careful steps towards her. "Let me." Warspite knelt down and had a look over the girl. "She's just unconscious. You're right, I'll carry her back to the ship."

Warspite carefully wrapped her arms around the unconscious girl and picked her up easily. "She's as light as a feather. And I don't even have my rigging out." The petite battleship stood still for a moment and looked at the two men. Her face suddenly went very pale. "James, I think we may have just stumbled onto something very bad here, something has just occurred to me."

"What?"

"She's definitely the same girl we saw in that other world's port and the colour of her eyes alone make it obvious she's not human." Warspite looked at the girl with a grim look. "There shouldn't be any reason for one of us to be afraid of humans yet she looked petrified of them."

"Why didn't she even try to use her rigging?" Warspite whispered to herself.

Goosebumps ran up my arm and my chest started to tighten. I had the feeling we had just stumbled into something very dangerous.

I looked at the unconscious girl, with the ethereal memories of the 'her' I had seen from another Warspite's life haunting me.

Seems like our arrival to America would get messy sooner rather than later.

(A/N)

Hello and happy new year to you all. First of all, I would like to apologise for taking so long to get this chapter out for you. I was busy during most of the holidays and serval things happened at once that hampered my ability to get this chapter out.

But don't worry about waiting too long for the next chapter as its already on its way. So stay tuned.