Chapter 25

Zuikaku sighed as she walked down a corridor, the sound of her sandals echoing against the hard metal of the ship's deck. She had considered taking a stroll out in the city like other girls had, but ultimately decided against it; one look at the large crowds and dull concrete maze had made her feel nauseous, so she decided she'd spend the day trying to alleviate the boredom by exploring the small destroyer instead.

She had been curious to see how the Royal Navy designed their destroyers and how it compared to her home nations designs, but a destroyer ultimately has a rather set role and design, so aside from a few differences there wasn't all that much to look at. Before long, the Sakura Carrier found herself with nothing to do once again.

Her hand rested against the hilt of her sword, mindlessly tracing the intrinsic patterns with her thumb. Just the presence of it at her hip seemed to help her feel relaxed, but the urge to draw it was growing harder to ignore. Even some practice swings would be enough, but the interior of the ship was too confined to do so, and the thought of going out on the deck where everyone could see her was out of the question, James had asked for all the girls to keep their rigging away while at the port and even the old Dreadnought had refrained from walking around outside with her sword.

The boredom soon grew more unbearable. The carrier knew that it was the nature of naval warfare to have long periods of inactivity and she was more than able to cope with that, rather, it was just the fact that the entire world seemed limited and confined ever since she had to return all of her recon flights and combat patrols.

She wished there was someone else like her among these ranks, a carrier she could speak with and find if she was alone in this. Or maybe even just another Sakura Empire shipgirl to converse with. Her current companions were not bad people, but she felt… lonely, like an odd duck among them.

"Or rather a crane, I guess…" She murmured, her lips curling up at her own joke, but then quickly falling down, as a thought she had been trying to not dwell on slowly echoed inside her mind once more.

"Shoukaku-nee…" The word was barely a whisper to the empty air. Zuikaku had seen the interactions between the two Dreadnoughts and wondered if she would have the same fraternal bond if she were to ever meet her sister.

She stopped herself, gripping her blade tightly. What was home like at the moment? What about her compatriots? Such thoughts had slowly been creeping in more recently.

The red crane relaxed her grip on the handle as best as she could, taking a deep breath. "I'll try meditating. The others should return soon."

Zuikaku turned and was about to start making her way to her cabin when the thumping sound of rushed footsteps reached her ears.

"MAKE A HOLE!" James's voice called out.

She only had a single second to twist her head and see him speeding down the corridor. Zuikaku shuffled to the side just in time for him not to miss a step, as the fleet commander ran with urgency way through the ship, barely sparing her a glance. Warspite quickly followed behind him with matching speed, and Zuikaku managed to catch the slumped girl carried like a sack of potatoes behind the British battleship. Zuikaku barely noticed her mismatched socks, marked with stars and striped patterns.

By the time the carrier had fully registered what had happened the two of them had already turned off down another corridor towards the ship's sick bay. She stood still for a second, then broke into a sprint. She couldn't help but slightly grin at the prospect of something interesting finally happening.

"Put her up on that bed! I'll grab the aid kit!" I called out to Warspite as we practically rolled into the sick bay. We had run nonstop from the alleyway and my legs and lungs were on fire, but I wasn't about to let that stop me.

I heard a hearty "Aye!" from Warspite as I quickly took out the box containing all the medical supplies. Unlike when Warspite had needed this room we were now fully stocked up and not wanting to repeat the sheer hopelessness of the past I had spent several nights on the voyage reading a few books on first aid. I had no idea how well it would translate over to the girls as all the experience we had had since then was just a few scrapes and bruises from the Siren attack, but I wasn't about to just stand around and do nothing.

I spotted Zuikaku entering the room as I returned to the unconscious girl. Just as I was about to start checking over her a hand moved out to stop me.

I was stopped by it. Warspite's hand stopped me cold.

"What are you doing?" I gasped between ragged breaths.

"Calm down." She said coolly. "It's far too dangerous for you to go near her, you could be shocked by those arcs from before."

"There's no time for-"

"James." Warspite repeated. She didn't raise her voice at all, but I felt the fingers of her hand slowly dig into my chest.

I found myself staring at her for a moment, my heart ringing in my ears, but her clear voice overpowered even that. She held her hand softly but firmly, not to hurt me at all, but to gently stop me.

"I am far more durable than you are." She said coolly. "Just tell me what to do."

"Do you know how to apply first aid?"

"Maybe not, but consider the circumstances." She responded confidently. "I adore your willingness to push yourself like this for us, but you need to keep calm, James. I will manage."

"You don't know that." I retorted.

"She's still breathing, isn't she? If she can take it, so can I."

My breathing finally slowed down. I took another deep breath, closing my eyes. She's right. Like always, Warspite was right.

"Right." I focused back on the task at hand, quickly scanning over the girl on the bed. I handed the stethoscope to Warspite. "There doesn't seem to be any large wounds or burns on her. You need to first check her airways and heart. Then check her pupils and see if they dilate in the light."

"Airways, heart and pupils. Aye." The tiny battleship promptly took the apparatus from me and moved over to the bedside. Brushing aside the girl's cape, she placed the medical instrument on her chest and listened for a few seconds before placing it against her own and comparing them two. "It's a little fast but it seems to be beating fine."

I nodded and passed her the medical flashlight as Warspite returned the stethoscope to me. She then quickly took a glove off, brushed the girl's hair aside and placed her finger near the girl's nose, then made sure once more by placing her ear near. "She seems to be breathing fine too."

With a cautious hand she tried to open one of her eyelids. She struggled to do so.

"Pinching motion." I instructed. "Index up, thumb below."

Warspite did as instructed and flashed the emergency penlight. "Yeah, it's reacting to the light."

"Test both eyes."

"Also reacting."

I felt a breath leave my mouth. Both Warspite and I relaxed slightly, though I kept ticking boxes off a checklist in my head, while I unintentionally began pacing. "Looks like she's just out cold, alright-"

"Excuse me." Zuikaku stepped forward. "May I ask who this girl is?"

My mouth opened to reply before I realised the only thing we knew about his girl was from the other world. I shared a look with Warspite and thought of a reply that wouldn't seem too outlandish.

"We spotted her being chased by two men through a crowd and intervened." Warspite quickly replied.

Zuikaku's eyes narrowed in confusion as she looked over the unconscious girl.

I tried my hardest to find a hint as to what had happened. "Firstly we were just helping someone in need but then I spotted her eyes. They're a deep red, no human can naturally have them. And after we helped her she was suddenly surrounded by arc's of electricity that scorched the ground around her."

"So she's one of our kind then?" The carrier guessed.

I nodded in agreement. "That's my reasoning as well. But we won't know until she wakes back up."

I watched as Warspite took another look over the girl, the memory of when it had been her laying on that bed superimposing itself on the scene. Back then, Warspite had seemingly slept with a serene calmness that apart from her injury, she had looked like nothing was wrong.

This girl however was anything but calm. Her breaths were quick and shallow, several beads of sweat had started to form and there was a general sense of urgency and restlessness about her. I felt anger supersede my anxiety the more I dwelled on the sight. Someone had caused her to be like this.

"She's so thin, I can feel her ribs through her clothes. She looks like Death's head upon a mop-stick." Warspite whispered to herself as she made the girl comfortable, fixing a fluffy pillow under her. The battleship looked up to me. "We need to call the others back to the ship."

"Javelin told me to turn on her navigation lights if we needed to get her attention. But I have no way of contacting Elizabeth. Do you have any way of getting a hold of her?"

The rings at the end of her ponytails swung as she shook her head. "Nay, without her rigging out I can't contact her by radio, and she wouldn't have any reason to get it out in such a crowded area."

"Fantastic." I barked acidly, and thought for a moment about a way we could grab her attention, but there was nothing we could do that wouldn't create more problems than it solved. As much as I hated it, it was probably better to just wait. "We will just need to hope she will be back soon."

I saw the beginnings of worry start to form on Warspite's face, we had just discovered there was a high likelihood of something or someone out there that could seemingly put their kind in danger. I knew there was nothing more she wanted than to go out and find her. It was a testament to her resolve at how she was keeping to her oaths by remaining at my side.

I took a deep breath again.

"I will get Javelin and the others to come back. Keep an eye on her." I turned and made to leave the room.

I saw Zuikaku move closer to the stricken girl with an inquisitive look on her face as I left for the bridge.

"I really need to have a word with Javelin about organising this medbay of hers. Bloody hell, how they were able to save me I will never understand... Ah, saddle-goose, the bleeding has probably stopped by now anyway." Warspite grumbled as she went through the plethora of half empty supply boxes. The old Dreadnought could tell there was some sort of sorting system in place, but not one she could wrap her head around. She swung shut the dull metallic box and stood back up, resting her eyes on the girl on the bed. "She really is sweating up a storm."

"I keep wiping away the sweat but it's like she has a fever." Zuikaku's head bobbed at the same time she nodded. "I fear she may start suffering from dehydration, especially if she doesn't wake up and have something to drink soon."

"You're right. I will go and grab some water and a few towels. Just keep monitoring her condition." Warspite agreed. "The commander should be back soon, hopefully with news on when the others will be back.

"H-hai" The crane replied, hesitant to be left alone with the mysterious girl. Zuikaku's eyes followed Warspite's form as she swiftly left the room before returning her attention to the girl she sat beside, a damp cloth in hand.

Zuikaku grimaced as a large amount of sweat had already formed on the girl's brow in the short amount of time since she had last wiped it away. She couldn't help but think about the myriad number of feelings she was experiencing as she gently rubbed the rag across the blonde's forehead. There was excitement and curiosity at the sudden appearance of this girl, but there was also an ever so slight frustration at the prospect of someone hurting her fellow kind, even if the stars and stripes socks she wore signified she likely wasn't from the Sakura empire.

There was one more emotion Zukaku tried her hardest to ignore lest it begin to foster and grow. Fear, fear of the unknown and fear of whatever was out there that had caused the sight before her.

"Is this all part of having a human body?" The crane wondered to herself as she continued to remain at the bedside.

A short while later Zuikaku would once again need to carefully wipe away the growing amount of sweat gathering at the girl's brow, not noticing the slight twitching of her eyes behind the eyelids.

Cleveland slowly began to stir from a dreamless sleep. Her malnourished and sleep deprived mind made it a struggle for her to regain consciousness, but she eventually started to wake back up.

Her brain began to send signals to the rest of her body as the serenity of waking was replaced by the state of sheer exhaustion she was in. When her vision came around all she could see was a dull glow behind her heavy eyelids, and though a part of her mind was ready to engage into fight mode, she was also so incredibly tired. Then when she finally got a better response of her sense of touch, she noticed there was also something else, a soft feeling on her forehead that seemed to wipe away the fatigue and replace it with a welcoming warmth.

When Cleveland's eyes finally opened she was met with a harsh artificial light that made everything around her blurry, but everything came into focus eventually. And then her weary eyes finally saw her. She had long silky brown hair and deep yellow eyes that seemed to almost shine in the light. For a moment all the fatigue, stress and pain she felt were replaced with a warmth that seemed to calm her soul.

The girl standing above her must have noticed her staring, and after a short moment of surprise smiled at her. "Hello, how are you feeling?"

With the last traces of sleep leaving her mind the crushing weight of her situation quickly made itself known again.

I made my way back into the internals of the ship with brisk steps. I had switched on the navigation lights and had received a reply from Javelin in the form of the ship's spotlights flickering on and off. The girls would be making their way back to the ship as quickly as they could. I hoped they would come across Elizabeth and Hood, but with how big the city was I knew it was probably unlikely to happen.

I spotted Warspite coming out of the mess as I finished descending a ladder. She carried a large glass jug of water in one hand and some cups in another. There were also some spare towels draped over her shoulder.

"Here, let me help." I walked over her, offering my hand out to take the jug.

"Ah, thanks." Warspite let me take the large container. It had obviously been difficult to keep upright using only one arm. "I didn't know how much we would need so I got the largest jug we had."

We started walking again, this time at a slower pace to prevent me from spilling the water. "Were you able to contact the others?"

I nodded, keeping my eyes on the jug. "Aye, Javelin and the girls should be making their way back. But I'm sorry, I tried the radio but couldn't get a reply from Her Majesty or Hood."

"Do not worry. Her Majesty will probably return soon anyway. We must remain focused on the matter at hand for now."

As we approached the sick bay we suddenly heard the sounds of a commotion. There was a clanging sound followed by distressed yelling.

"Looks like our guest is awake." Warspite half joked as we both picked up the pace, her gaze hardening.

Entering the sick bay, we were greeted with the sight of a panicked Zuikaku and a wide eyed, confused looking girl backing into a corner. The table that had been beside the bed was now tipped over explaining the metal crash we had heard.

The girl tried to keep us all in her sights. Her breathing was ragged, her eyes dilated and her whole posture screamed she was terrorised but ready to fight. She eventually spotted the open door, and her eyes danced between it and us a few times.

"It's ok, you're safe here." I said as calmly as I could, placing the jug down on another table and raising my hands peacefully to hopefully convey that she was safe. "Do you remember us?"

I felt Warspite take a step forward, but I pushed my hand further. She seemed to understand and painfully relented.

I locked eyes with the red-eyed blonde for a moment, the room started to feel tense as the only sound was her heavy breathing. She didn't seem capable of fully focusing on me.

"Wh-where am I?" She finally spoke.

"You're onboard the Javelin, a Royal Navy Destroyer. You passed out so we brought you here. What is the last thing you remember?"

Her mouth hung open for a moment and then stared at Warspite and me intermittently, as if she couldn't fully recall either of us. "The alley… you…"

Her eyes went to the jug of water at my side, her mouth moved to say something but no further words came out. It was easy to figure out what she wanted though. "Would you like something to drink?"

She gave a distrusting, slow nod.

I considered pouring out a cup for her, but I could tell one wouldn't be anywhere near enough, instead I just picked the jug up and offered it to her, though Warspite still handily gave me a cup as well. The girl stood still for a moment, and after a deep breath promptly snatched them out of my hands in a way that made me think she was worried I was going to take them away from her.

She stared at the cup for a moment and decidedly ignored it, bringing the rim of the jug to her lips and tilted it up, downing the liquid as quickly as she could, uncaring about how much was spilling over the side and down onto the deck. She stopped for a moment and coughed, but quickly regained herself and emptied the jug soon after.

She stared for a moment at the empty container in her hands, as her breathing slowly calmed down. It took a full minute or so, but eventually her breathing became normal, and against all odds, she closed her eyes, seeming to relax slightly.

"T-thank you." She spoke after catching her breath. An audible sound came from her stomach and her cheeks went slightly red. "U-um…. D-do you have any food too?"

"Yeah we can get you some. Warspite, would you?" I looked at the girl in question, she looked to me then to the girl. After probably assessing there was no threat to me she nodded and promptly left the sick bay.

I gestured to the bed. "Would you like to sit down?"

She nodded slowly after a moment's deliberation and slowly shuffled herself over to the bedside keeping a wary but also weary gaze on the both of us the entire time.

Keeping my distance I picked up the table that had been knocked down and sat myself down on a chair. "My name's James and this is Zuikaku." The carrier bowed to introduce herself. "The girl who was just here was Warspite."

"It's Cleveland." She half whispered her reply.

Zuikaku brought a hand to her chin. "Cleveland? The Eagle Union Cruiser?"

Cleveland slowly nodded. "Aye, that's the one. I'm Cleveland, the name ship in the Cleveland-class Light Cruisers."

I could tell just by looking at her that she'd been through hell. The Cleveland Warspite and I had seen in that fever dream of ours had been so full of life and energy, as if she could have taken on the entire world with a smile on her face. The Cleveland in front of me however, looked to be a shadow of her other self. My stomach twisted at the sight.

"I know this may be hard for you right now." I asked as I leant forward. "But what happened to you? Who were those men that were chasing you down?" She probably needed more time to rest and recover her strength, but I couldn't ignore the potential danger we might currently be in.

"Ah, well." her hands began to fidget. "It's a long story."

Cleveland took a moment to mentally prepare herself. "It was probably about six months ago when Monty and I suddenly woke up with these human bodies on a beach in Florida" Cleveland noticed my curious look at the mention of 'Monty'. "Ah right, Monty is my sister ship, Montpelier." I half nodded to show my understanding. "We had no clue as to why we were there nor was there anybody there to explain anything to us, so we decided to head up to Norfolk and see if we could reconnect with the Navy. But when we got there all we found were abandoned shipyards and rusted docks."

"We heard a rumour." She continued. "That some other warships had been spotted at an old power station just a few miles north of New York, Heading up that way we eventually found it and learned it was a research institute that was apparently offering to bunk and feed us."

She paused for a moment, the memory obviously being a heavy burden to recount. "And when we got there that was what it seemed to be, there were some other ships already docked up and we were given a welcome greeting on the radio. Once we had docked up they escorted us into a large building. And offered us some lunch." I could see the beginnings of tears starting to form on Cleveland's eyes, but she promptly wiped them away and continued talking. "In hindsight it should have been obvious what they were planning. They had drugged our food and next thing I knew we were out cold."

The story stopped as Warspite walked back into the sick bay carrying a large tray of bread, crackers, fruits and cheese. "I didn't know what you liked so I just got an array or stu-." Warspite was cut off as just like the water jug Cleveland snatched the tray from her grip and began wolfing down everything that was on it.

I assumed her lack of decorum was probably due to her hunger, but it was still surprising to look at.

"I don't think you're supposed to give people who haven't eaten for a long time too much to eat." Zuikaku commented as we watched.

"You can try to stop her." Was all I could give.

Within moments the tray was empty. Cleveland handed the tray back to Warspite. She didn't seem that sheepish anymore. "Thanks, that's the first meal I've had in weeks."

Warspite accepted the tray and placed it aside. Cleveland continued her story.

"I awoke in a strange dark room, thankfully Monty was there with me. The room was small and only had the basic necessities. Large metal bars kept us locked inside." The cruiser shifted uncomfortably as she recounted the memory.

Warspite's head tilted to the side in confusion. "Was that all? Metal bars should be like paper to you if you tried to break them."

Cleveland shook her head. "That was the thing, When I woke up I found myself unable to connect to my ship. They have... some sort of machine that for lack of a better term blocks us out from them. I can still feel it but I can't even switch a light on."

"Still? So you're still without your ship?" I interjected, the pieces started to come together as to why she hadn't been able to protect herself from those two men, and why she looked so rugged.

"Aye. If I try to connect to it, even unconsciously, well…" Her eyes drifted. "You saw what happened."

"They took away your ship?" Warspite asked gravely. I saw her fist clench, a parallel to my own growing anger. Even Zuikaku looked pale at the statement.

Cleveland swallowed and added even more to the grim recount. "It was true that the facility was for research around cubes and our kind. They had just left out the part that the results come from relentless experimentation. They wanted to know everything about us."

"They didn't...?" The words wouldn't even leave my mouth, lest they be followed by bile.

"No, thankfully." Cleveland shook her head. "It seems that their goals around us were focused on our healing qualities and how the weapons from our ships can punch straight through Siren armour."

I took a moment to stare at her in the eye, unsure if I believed that that really had been the full extent of what she had gone through, but I chose to take her word for granted. The American cruiser continued.

"Since Monty and I were sisters, they often used one of us as control during these tests…" Her voice trailed again into a whisper, and soon enough she hugged her legs against her curled form. "And yet… During all the chaos, I left her behind. Some big sister I am."

"You mentioned there were other ships there. Who were they? And how did you get out?" Warspite followed, her eyes sharp.

"We never really got to see the other girls. I was just thankful they hadn't split Monty from me. But we were sometimes able to catch a glimpse of one another and exchange a few words." Cleveland tried to recount. "I think there was a Royal Navy carrier… Ark Royal, I think her name was. Then there was an Iron Blood heavy cruiser… Deutschland, I'm sure. And… And a Sakura Empire destroyer that I think was called Fumi…cookie? Fumisusie? She never really spoke to anyone."

"Fumizuki." Zukaku spoke clearly. "Means July in your language. She's a Mutsuki class destroyer. A bit shorter and lighter than this J-class."

Cleveland nodded. "Yeah, she was definitely a small one, mostly just hid away whenever she could."

"And how did you escape?" Warspite asked with solemn eyes.

"So… God, let me get my head in order. It's been such a mess…" Cleveland palmed her forehead and then rubbed her temples with both palms, recollecting her thoughts with half-closed eyes. "A few days ago, most of the facility's power suddenly went out. I don't know how yet, only that the failure also disabled the machines that blocked us from our ships, or well, most of us. The other three girls did and broke out, and were kind enough to help us out as well. When we reached the other side of the dock, it became a mess."

"How so?"

"Our ships were obviously guarded, and the ones from within caught up to us, and it came to blows." Cleveland smiled bitterly. "With the others having recovered their rigging there was a sudden chaos; Monty and I tried to use the window to escape. We first tried to get on our ships but they were heavily guarded so we had to book it. Monty gave me a leg up to get over a fence but when she tried to climb…"

Cleveland's voice creaked. "A bunch of guards spotted us. Then Monty… she told me to just run and get as far away as possible, And I… I…"

Here she was. Alone.

"I should have stayed." Cleveland sobbed, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. "What sort of big sister am I to abandon her!?"

The dam broke, and she cried. I could feel her frustration, impotence, her sorrow. I took a seat beside her, pulling her close to me, arm over her shoulder. She was so, so frail, very much unlike the Cleveland I had seen in the vision.

"I know it may not seem like it, but you did the best you could." I reasoned. "You wouldn't have been able to do anything for your sister if you had stayed. And now you've found us, so we can do something about it." I told her, hoping my determination showed in my voice.

My eyes fell on Warspite and Zuikaku. The former had a serious look in her gaze, but I could feel that she was… proud? The carrier meanwhile had covered her mouth and nose with her hands, her expression more complicated.

"We will save your sister." I said with finality.

"You… you will? You will help?" Cleveland looked at me with incredulous eyes, ones that were deeply red from crying, irises aside; I wondered if this was the first time a human had said anything nice to her. It made me sick to my stomach.

"Wouldn't be much of a man if I ignored a woman in need, would I? You just rest for now and get your strength back."

Cleveland nodded and forced a half smile, wiping her tears away. She took a deep breath, giving me a look of gratitude I had seen on Javelin back in our previous messy affair in London. Like a burden, or at least part of it had been taken off her shoulders, I finally saw a glimpse of the Cleveland from my vision. It was a sight I wanted to see more of.

"Thank you... James."

Cleveland passed out again. But this time a serenity seemed to surround her, I laid her carefully down on the bed and allowed her to rest.

"W-what's the problem? Is everyone alright!?" Javelin huffed while trying to catch her breath. Z23 and U-556 and her looked as if they had run all the way across the city to get back. They had several bags of items both on their backs and in their arms, which were clearly strained from a lot of movement.

"No one is…" I struggled to find the correct words. "Well, we've got a situation, but it's not life or death at this very instant. I will fill you in on all the details later, but for now I'm sorry to ask, but can you start preparing the ship for departure immediately?"

Javelin stared at me for a moment, clearly studying my face and worrying, but she gave a sunny, understanding smile. "Aye."

And right on cue, Z23 wordlessly took Javelin's bags, allowing her to quickly make way to the bridge.

Javelin's retreating form only reminded me about the Sakura destroyer Cleveland mentioned alongside the memories of London that I had been thinking about already. The chaos of thoughts swum inside my head, though the cold air helped to keep them in check. Zuikaku had volunteered to continue caring for Cleveland, and it was a godsend to let me come to the deck to gather myself. After what we were told, I really needed the time to cool my head and try and think clearly.

I felt something on my hand. I turned to see Z23 staring at me with a worried expression, having freed a hand from the groceries to squeeze mine.

"Z23, please tell me you got some maps of the local area."

"Ja, kommandant." The Destroyer gave a tiny, proud grin. "And not just the local area, I was able to procure some maps of the entire East coast."

"Good. Head up to the map room and prepare maps of the local waters, I will be with you shortly."

Z23 nodded and headed into the ship, taking the assortment of bags with her. U-556 meanwhile stepped forward, with a smile that matched Javelin's. "How do I help?"

"Go down to the sick bay and see if there's anything Zuikaku needs, you'll understand once you get there."

I watched as she walked into the ship. U-556 constant cheerful mood would definitely help lift Cleveland's spirit. We still needed to wait until Elizabeth and Hood returned, but from the time frame she had given me that could be hours from now.

My grip on the rail tightened as I looked back out to the city. The city seemed different, I no longer looked at it with curiosity and wonder, now that I knew that somewhere within that jungle of concrete were people who would wish nothing more than to bring harm upon me and the girls, we would have to tread carefully as we couldn't trust anyone anymore.

"The geography is in our favour." Z23 commented as she pointed towards a spot in the map she had laid out. Just as Cleveland had said there was an old abandoned power station up north, and if nothing went wrong, it would only take us a few hours to sail there. Fat chance.

"It's at sea level so it would be easy to range in our guns, and there also are several areas around it that give good sight lines that could be used for reconnaissance or even a possible entry point. The only thing we need to decide is how we are going to approach it." The German Destroyer continued.

Warspite hummed as she scratched her chin. "We don't know the entire layout of the facility so a reconnaissance would definitely be needed." I shot her a glance, reminding her what had happened the last time we had gone for a reconnaissance. Her face went slightly red. "W-we would need to be prepared in case the reconnaissance escalates though. Keeping the rest of the fleet at a nearby ready position to move in."

I felt left out of the conversation, the two girls were warships and lived and breathed strategic thinking. I tried my best to add to the discussion. "There's the problem of Montpelier, and possibly other ships that may have been recaptured. If we go in guns blazing there's no telling what they may do to them."

"Their ships." Warspite mentioned. "If we can deactivate or disable whatever it is that blocks them then it won't matter where they are, no human would be able to do anything to them."

"If it's a machine it will need to have a power source." Z23 took another look over the maps. "If we discreetly took that out then the girls should be able to free themselves. "

A certain subject came to mind that couldn't be ignored anymore, but one that I wouldn't let go undiscussed. "There's still the possibility that there's a Siren behind all of this. If we go in there then we could find ourselves facing off against one of them. Or worse."

Warspite just shrugged though I could see she was working herself up. The fury she must have felt continued to grow with every passing minute. "If that is the case then I will blast it with my cannons until she is nothing more than a heap of slag. Our kind are there, I will not allow them to suffer a moment longer, neither at the hands of a human, nor a Siren."

"Well, we will not do anything until Her Majesty returns, if there is a Siren there then we will need every cannon we can get." I rebutted knowing the mention of her sister would calm her a bit.

"Aye." The dreadnought nodded.

The door opened and Javelin walked into the room. "Commander, apart from the mooring lines we are all ready to depart. Though I will say our stores are not ready for any sort of prolonged sortie. We would be forced to make port after a few days at sea. I give us three days without rationing."

"That's fine. It's a big city so news should travel slowly, we should be returning here long before it becomes a problem, or if needed we can weigh anchor off at sea and have a few of you head into the port to get supplies." I reasoned. I then clasped my hands together, for it was time for our next step of preparing. "Z23, bring Javelin up to speed on the situation and I'd like you to introduce yourselves to our new guest. Zuikaku will be there, please send her to my room when you get there, there's something I need her for. Warspite, head out onto the deck and keep an eye out for Her Majesty and anyone that may be observing the ship. The two men will be awake by now and have definitely sent word back about us."

With everyone giving their confirmation I went to my room. I started rummaging through my notes when Zuikaku appeared at the doorway a short while later.

"You called for me?"

I closed the notebook. "Yes. I need someone to go with me over to see Richard Spence. Want to go with me?"

She looked confused for a moment at the sudden invitation, undoubtedly confused as to why I had invited her. "Yes, I can come. But wouldn't you rather take Warspite along with you?

"Warspite would undoubtedly accept coming along with me." I replied while slipping the notebook into a bag, and slinging that bag over my shoulder. "But I would rather have her here where she can protect the ship and keep an eye out for her sister. You may have not noticed it yet but those two are practically inseparable."

"Ah, I see. Very well. On my honour, no harm shall befall you." She bowed to further express her words.

I nodded to her and made way for the door, from where she politely removed herself and followed a step behind me as we walked through the Javelin's interior. "Just keep yourself safe while doing so. You're far more important than me."

"Knowing the disposition of your fleet I believe my wellbeing is directly tied to yours." Zuikaku cracked a slight smile. "I'd rather face off against a hundred Sirens than endure the wrath of that Dreadnought of yours."

"I trust Warspite with my life, but I'm sure you're no slouch yourself." I replied. "Speaking of, I wanted to ask you a few pointers regarding your skills, if you don't mind."

Zuikaku gave me an easygoing smile, and casually replied to my questions regarding all the different types of planes she could launch as we made our way over to the cargo ship. I found her rather easy to talk to. It made me wish we had found her cubes far sooner all the more.

"Wasn't expecting to see you again so soon, old boy. What can I do for you?" The old captain quirked an eyebrow, walking over to us on the ship's deck. His gaze landed on Zuikaku. "And who's this fine young lass? I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting yet."

"This is Zuikaku. She's the one who was launching planes on the latter half of our voyage." The carrier in question bowed in greeting; the captain tipped his hat in reply. "And I've come to tell you that we're about to cast off again. Something has come up that requires our immediate attention, we should return shortly but I just wanted to ask if anyone comes asking about where we've gone that-."

"I know next to nothing about you." The captain finished. "Don't worry, old boy, you're not the first person I've worked with who's needed to cover their tracks. I won't pry into why you need to scarper off so quickly."

"Thanks, hopefully it won't be the last time we see each other but if it is I wish you luck with your next voyage."

"And I wish the same to you." The captain offered his hand and I shook it, we shared a smile together before going our separate ways.

"May I ask. Why did you need to inform that captain about your departure, surely it would have been better to leave him in the dark?" Zuikaku asked as we walked the short distance back to the Javelin.

"Formality, I guess. If we had just departed without a word it may have soured the relationship between us." I said grimly. "If things go south, we may need to rely on him in the future."

Zuikaku nodded, seemingly understanding my reasoning. "Another thing, and please be honest with me. What was the true reason you wanted me to come along with you? It's such a short distance to travel and you already have a plethora of ships who could have come with you."

"If you have already figured that out then surely you already know the reason why." I reasoned slyly.

The carrier rested her chin in her hand for a moment before coming to a conclusion. "You wish for me to join your fleet and want to convince me by showing how much of a competent Shikikan you are."

I nodded. "There's your reason. That and I just wanted to get to know you a little more."

"I understand you wish to have me officially become part of your fleet." Zuikaku said gravely, her hand reaching to the hilt of her sword again. "It is something I have thought about a few times, but I just can't make that commitment at this moment in time. I can assure you however, that I will follow your orders and continue to act as a part of this fleet for now. Our goals align after all."

I shrugged. "That's all I can ask for. You are free to do as you wish, all of you girls are able to. But I won't lie, the more ships we could get in the fleet the better, and a carrier would be a massive boon."

Zuikaku's hair bobbed as she nodded. "It is something I will take into consideration, from what Cleveland-san has said this world may be rather hostile towards my kind. Being part of a fleet may be the safest option."

"Yeah." We had reached the ramp onto the Javelin's deck. My mind now back on the grim matter at hand that needed to be attended to.

Elizabeth and Hood had returned, and were in the process of being filled in by Warspite. I ordered Javelin to cast off and begin the journey up north. As I stood on the bridge watching the city slowly shrink in size, I thought over what we were about to get ourselves into.

If there was a Siren behind all of this or just a human, either outcome felt just as bad as the other.

(A/N) will keep this short due to the sheer size of the chapter but this chapter is released on the 2nd anniversary of when I first started working on this story, I want to thank everyone who's followed, liked and commented on the story so far.