Chapter 22: Into the Storm

[Alexander, you can't keep berating yourself over what happened. Does it feel like any of us are blaming you for it?]

"I should have fucking known. The most obvious goddamn conclusion in the world to make and it slipped my mind and your sisters died for it."

[Need I remind you that we also didn't consider such possibilities despite being the ones outfitted with such capability from a Siren?]

Alexander grit his teeth, fingers digging into the unyielding metal of his command throne as Warspite tried to assuage his roiling guilt and directionless anger.

The whole situation would have been infinitely more easy to bear if the shipgirls had held any sort of animosity or bitterness towards him, held him accountable for his fuckup...but no. Despite the clear grief and barely contained fury held in check only by steely discipline they were worried about him, the empathetic bond pulsing with reassurance and concern as he stewed in his own helpless frustration, Warspite evidently taking it upon herself to try and get him back in working condition.

Heaving out a sigh and driving the heel of his palms into his eyes the male Siren tried to at least do as the Royal Navy battleship requested, if only to not further burden her.

The howl of wind and battering of waves made for a good distraction, a hurricane of ungodly strength pounding against the Bakunawa, albeit to little effect as his ship's tremendous bulk and size kept it anchored just fine.

It was as if their luck had gone from great to shit then back to great again, the tempest providing them with enough cover to safely escape the constant hounding from the Sirens and get a little bit of breathing room, to regroup and come up with another plan.

…

They'd lost Aurora, Hipper, San Diego and at least one of the subs, no contact able to be reestablished with the other two aside from brief sensations of stress and grim determination. Their telepathy was useful, but it had its limits when it came to distance.

The man ran a hand over his face, resisting the urge to sag in his seat.

Their long-range capability? Matched blow-for-blow. Their stealth? Seen through and neutralized. The two greatest assets they had possessed both nullified in the very first engagement. Sure, they'd reaped a grim tally - fifteen destroyers, eleven cruisers, nine battleships, seven carriers and a significant portion of the Siren air wing - but that left just shy of 700 ships they were up against, armed and ready with the tools to make their life hell.

Rising from his seat Alexander stared through one of the Bakunawa's view screens, treated to the sight of darkened skies, thunder and lightning, thrashing waves and the shipgirls sticking close as towering waves almost licking the decks of the carriers crashed around them.

The destroyers, cruisers and battleships had taken up relatively safe and secure positions inside a circle of the carriers and Bakunawa, their significant bulk going a long way in blunting the worst of the winds and waves. Under most circumstances it would have been a horrific idea to place the carriers as shields but given the raging weather they weren't too worried about sudden ambushes or assaults.

"Funny. There were never hurricanes like this in this part of the ocean before. Not until the Sirens tried that weather experimentation deal way back when."

His mood instantly plummeted at the reminder of the mess they were up against, once again trying to run through his options with depressingly little change to the available paths open to them.

They could try to engage the Sirens directly, rely on their shields to weather the barrage as they attempted to sink the battleships with a broadside or massed airstrike which would allow them to continue sniping the Sirens with impunity...but that was a plan with no guarantee of success and an absolute guarantee of massive casualties. Just because the vast majority of the Sirens couldn't outrange them didn't mean their guns weren't deadly. And diving headlong into the broadside of dozens - if not hundreds - of Siren ships would shred even the Bakunawa in short order, never mind the shipgirls.

"Dammit, if only we could get them to leave the protective screen of their accompanying armada...then again, if they were stupid enough to do that we probably wouldn't even be in this situation to begin with…"

Going over the available facts and forces with increasing desperation Alexander almost jumped as another mind brushed up against his own, Prinz Eugen's tones resounding within his skull with, [You are slipping into agitation and distress yet again.]

Grimacing at the reminder he huffed out a sigh, asking, "So I am. How are you holding up, Eugen? Hipper was…"

Unsure of how to articulate the rest of his words the young man settled for sending the Ironblood an emotional cocktail of concern and guilt, for messing so badly.

Yet again, to his surprise, only a sad chuckle was her response.

[I have lost sisters before, Herr Alexander...and today I would rather not lose more of them. Grief can wait, have you conceived of a workable scheme yet?]

Extending his thoughts to the rest of the shipgirls he winced, sending them a compilation of all the information his aerial spy drones had nabbed...and it was grim, to say the least.

Almost 500 Siren ships had chased after them into the hurricane, a bit less than 200 looping around the edge of the storm at maximum speed, no doubt hoping to make it to the other side before they could power through and catch them in a pincer movement...which meant they were in a bind one way or another.

And while his drones could stay afloat in the storm they couldn't fly whichever way they wanted to, confined to short, random sightings of their enemy rather than the perfect viewings they'd had previously.

"It's not looking great. And we can't rely on the storm to damage our enemy, they've started doing what we did, carriers and other larger ships taking the brunt of the tempest. Although…"

Frowning in thought at the latest images provided Alexander noted that the size of the Siren fleet had ended up working against them, forcing the enemy armada to split up into several smaller groups spaced out over many miles, not enough carriers or battleships present to shield all of the smaller vessels if they traveled as a giant pack.

...He discarded any thoughts of engagement, realizing they would have the same issue if they tried anything daring. Leaving the carriers on the front line would be tantamount to flushing money down the drain, since they would be perfect targets for every gun the Sirens had. And if they didn't frontline or run windbreaker duty then all it would take was one unlucky gust of sufficiently powerful wind to upend one of the destroyers of cruisers, god forbid a battleship.

The Sirens could afford to sacrifice hundreds of their vessels. They could scarcely afford to lose one.

[Hmm, it seems our course of action is clear, sisters. Are we all in agreement that we should charge and engage our foes in open battle?]

Elizabeth's bold proclamation caused Alexander's jaw to drop, a general sense of agreement or curiosity permeating the link as he made to object-

-and swiftly clamped his jaw shut, resolving to listen to what the Royal Navy queen had to say.

[Elizabeth has a point, they are scattered and the conditions are chaotic, to say the least. The Sirens will have a hard time picking out what ships to shoot in this storm, if our own sensors are any indication.]

"That's a two way street, Nagato."

The male Siren received a wave of wry amusement from the shipgirls, as if his statement was funny.

[It would be, Alexander. But we have a bit of an edge there courtesy of none other than yourself! Oh hoh hoh~!]

Elizabeth's haughty laugh left him feeling more confused than ever-

-and he sighed, understanding what they were referring to.

"You mean our link."

[Quite. We can locate each other's approximate location without the use of sensors or other technology that can be disrupted or deceived in a storm of this intensity.]

Nagato's response caused the male to slowly shut his eyes, Tirpitz softly adding, [Our options are limited in such a scenario as this. We either engage the Sirens within the hurricane, trusting our connection and luck to keep us from meeting an untimely end...or we exit the storm, rolling the dice and hoping that we are not caught in a pincer maneuver that will undoubtedly lead to our demise.]

The male collapsed into his command throne, running a hand across his face in resignation.

"There's no other option, is there?"

[Not unless you carry a miracle in your pocket, no.]

Resigning himself to the coming slaughter - of which side was yet to be determined - Alexander settled for a nod, tightly responding, "Then let the Bakunawa lead the way, if nothing else I'll be able to break most of the waves and draw the majority of their fire. The ship hasn't taken much damage yet, it can withstand it."

Feeling a strong surge of anticipation emanate from the shipgirls Elizabeth quickly ordered, [Then let us split into four groups, the Bakunawa and carriers spread out among them. Do not attempt to hold any sense of formation once among the Siren armada, fire at will and sink as many of the foul vessels as you can! Should our position become untenable or impossible we shall sound a retreat, hoping that the confusion and suddenness of our assault will leave the enemy too stunned to give chase in such weather.]

Yet another wave of roiling fury and acceptance from the shipgirls...and all Alexander could feel like doing was puking, the anxiety and stress of the coming charge doing away with his calm and composure, leaving him clenching and then unclenching his fists in a futile attempt to calm down-

-and three other minds gained in proximity to his, reassurance and courage bolstering his flagging own as he forced himself to keep his cool for the umpteenth time that day.

"Fuck, what a coward they must think I am, constantly freaking out and on the verge of having a panic attack…"

[There is much more courage to be found in overcoming a great fear rather than simply not having it exist in the first place, nein?]

[We ask thee not to be fearless, only brave in facing it down as thy have done so far, Alexander.]

Kawakaze didn't add words of her own to Eugen and Vampire's reassurance, but she didn't have to. The Sakura destroyer's iron will and steel composure did the speaking for her.

"Right...right. Alright, let's lead the way."

Coaxing the Bakunawa's engines to adopt a new course the titanic vessel slewed to starboard, the heavy cruiser and two destroyers taking shelter in the bulk of the massive hull while the rest of shipgirls also took on a similar formation, the male Siren sucking in a deep breath as the turn completed-

-and pushed all engines to full ahead.

A bass rumble reverberated throughout the Bakunawa, the young man sinking into the embrace of his ship's interface as all guns, missile batteries and other weapons were primed and ready to fire, the hurricane's lashing winds and the ocean's towering waves naught but slight annoyances to the colossus.

Lights were killed, windows were shuttered and all bulkheads were sealed as they powered headlong into the Siren lines, unsure of their exact position as one of his drones hadn't had the chance to properly relay an image of their last known location.

Seconds stretched into almost a minute, then two, then three as the Bakunawa smashed aside a wave a good thirty feet high-

-and the lead Siren destroyer that had been largely concealed by the wild storm and sheets of rain met the Bakunawa's bow in a titanic screech of metal and composites that ended in the only way it possibly could, the much smaller vessel snapped in two and sucked beneath the other ship's bulk, groans of armor scraping against armor echoing through the empty hallways.

And then they were through, Alexander's heart leaping into his throat as his tactical readout began painting targets of opportunity, a dozen - no, a hundred - Siren ships of all classes, practically within knife-fighting distance as they all continued forward without pause.

He didn't hesitate, the Bakunawa's four railcannons and two plasma railguns whirring on their mounts...and six thunderclaps separate from the storm overhead sounded out, two destroyers eviscerated by the solid-state ammunition as they were targeted by two railcannons apiece, a cruiser and battleship simply exploding in titanic balls of flame as their magazine stores were ignited by the plasma rounds, no evasive maneuvers or significant shielding to be found.

For a split-second longer there was relative silence, only the howl of winds and whistle of splattering rain as all sides held their collective breath, the Bakunawa and its three escorts diving deeper into the enemy armada...and the enormous vessel's shields blazed a solid blue as it was targeted for destruction by the numerically superior armada, the battle descending into complete chaos in short order.

Gritting his teeth as warnings of the rapidly dwindling shield strength flashed across his vision Alexander instead went on the offensive, the Bakunawa shuddering as every missile tube and silo spat out their guided contents in an unbroken stream of propellant, the main guns swung and fired at the target-rich environment everytime they were prepared to fire and the extensive point-defense systems filled the air with flak and superheated trails of water vapor as the laser batteries shot down enemy missiles or even the occasional high-explosive shell, the colossus launching every fighter and bomber it had from the secure runways located on the rear of the vessel, sacrificing launch speed for a sure departure.

Eugen, Vampire and Kawakaze reaped their own tally, the shipgirls darting away from his vessel's bulk and powering ahead as they began their own fast-paced melee, forgoing the Bakunawa's defensive strength for speed and lethality.

Fast-moving torpedoes that bypassed shields to rupture hulls, the destroyers clearing the skies of as many missiles or projectiles as they could to keep the pressure off the Bakunawa while Prinz Eugen made use of her slightly more powerful cannons to directly engage and wear away the massive and lopsided odds they were engaged against, the shipgirls trying to stay on the move and never remain stationary.

The male Siren's teeth began to ache, so tightly clenched was his jaw with a curse slipping past as visual sensors picked up the approach of an enemy air wing, forty bombers on approach directly towards his position. Granted, they were mostly just allowing the wind to take them where they would but he was already stretched to the limit in terms of available resources, he didn't have enough aircraft of his own deployed and-

-weapons fire lit the air, cutting down a number of the bombers as interceptors he recognized as Enterprise's went howling by, riding the sudden shifts in wind to the best of their ability as additional fighters from Lexington and Saratoga also flew onto the scene, his own complement of flyers joining the battle as he left them on automatic piloting, attention already strained to the limit.

The battle only became even more chaotic from there onward. Missiles dove and tracked, aiming towards each other and their targeted vessels. Aircraft dueled when they could stop themselves from being blown every which way by the howling winds. And through it all he desperately swiveled his guns at the last second to avoid friendly fire, the unlit and often shadowy forms of his allies darting in and out of sight as they dueled with the gradually dispersing Siren forces, their numerically superior enemy more often than not shooting each other in the frantic melee.

But just as the male dared to hope that they had somehow done it there was a burst of apprehension, warning and then brief terror-

-Saratoga disappeared from his consciousness with a fading blip of confused emotion, an explosion lighting up the horizon as Lexington's raw grief and anger briefly overwhelmed all other sensations from the shipgirls, Alexander freezing in his seat.

One of his early boyhood idols and favorite musicians, a young and playful woman he'd gotten to know and enjoy the company of for a very brief amount of time...dead, and he hadn't even known she was in danger.

Caustic and blazing rage from Lexington turned to frozen intent, her voice wavering but clear as she informed him with, [Alexander, the Sirens have formed a phalanx of sorts and are moving against me, Tirpitz and Z23. They're the ones who sank my sister...would you be so kind as to do the same?]

Channeling some of that unbridled fury the male Siren did just as suggested, his three escorts having managed to alleviate some of the pressure that had been directed at his ship - shields now hanging at a dangerous 20% integrity - but it was enough to accomplish what he was hoping to do, bringing the Bakunawa around to point roughly in the direction he could feel Lexington, one of his drones conveniently passing overhead and providing him with a clear image of what the scene he would be firing into looked like.

Just as the pink-haired carrier had described she, Tirpitz and Z23 were under heavy fire from a solid wall of Siren ships of all classes, at least sixteen of them burning through the battleship and carrier's shields and armor - some sections of protective energy already failing - while the Ironblood destroyer was firing torpedoes as fast as she could load them, Saratoga's shattered, burning and swiftly sinking hull close by.

Ignoring the sight which left an uncomfortable tightness in his chest Alexander instead calculated distances, opened up the Bakunawa's bow and revealed the primed and ready HELGA gun, locked onto the enemy group and ready to fire.

"Close your eyes and brace yourselves, things are about to get loud!"

And with that he sent a pulse of intent to his vessel, mechanical components heeding his orders and triggering the titanic weapon embedded deep within...less than a second later an illumination that put the storm to shame sprang to life, swiftly expanding into a massive mushroom cloud that found itself torn to shreds by the howling winds, chaotic ocean quickly filling the steaming gouge carved out of it as if the Siren vessels had never been there to begin with, only flaming bits of wreckage tossed far and wide to mark their passing.

As far as funeral pyres went it would have to do.

He was shaken out of that thought as one of the Bakunawa's shield arrays failed, a Siren missile striking home and while it only caused superficial damage it was a harsh reminder that they were still in the thick of it, the frantic melee far from over.

The next minutes were a blur, of chaotic flashes of emotion and stress as broadsides were exchanged at a furious pace, munitions flying each and every way as thousands of aircraft tried to hit their targets while avoiding being hit as they were tossed around like leaves in the wind, the storm somehow picking up pace in its fury as if the battle was fueling its vehemence.

But they were holding, Siren vessel after Siren vessel being sunk or capsized as they took damage in kind, the Bakunawa and no doubt plenty of other Azur Lane's vessels being picked apart rivet by rivet and plate by plate, still fighting but accruing a rapidly escalating amount of damage-

-and a hiss of sympathetic pain escaped the man as a sudden blow destroyed one of his ship's rail cannons, hypersonic CRACK heard clearly even through the howling winds.

"Those enhanced ships have entered the fray, keep your eyes peeled!"

Cursing quietly as a round of terse acknowledgements filtered through their mental connection Alexander focused on where his best guess of the barrage had come from, disseminating that information to his allies before returning fire with what would hopefully be a suppressive bombardment.

He had no idea if it was working or not, return shelling landing around his vessel with titanic plumes of water before he took a closer look around the battlefield, feeling a bit of cautious optimism color his dour and frantic mood.

The sheer amount of wreckage and drifting vessels - all of it tossed around by the wildly oscillating currents - had begun to create unintentional barriers and decoys, the still reinforcing Siren armada either having to navigate around the fast moving flotsam or even mistakenly firing on it, the pressure upon their much smaller force relieved just enough that they could maybe begin to organize and come up with a concentration of fire that could take down their equally enhanced Siren counterparts.

[It seems the mermaid reaped quite the tally.]

The briefest sensation of levity lightened his mood as Shoukaku and Zuikaku began to approach where he and his three escorts were finishing off a cruiser and battleship, the Bakunawa covering the smaller three vessels just in case any of the distant bombardment struck true.

"Took a few hits in kind. And no offense but neither of you look all that great either."

Both Sakura carriers had clear signs of battle damage even from a distance, several gun emplacements destroyed while Zuikaku had a fire raging on her flight deck...but they were still mobile and launching or receiving the occasional aircraft, very much in the fight.

[Nonsense, we still are hale and-]

A flare of light swallowed both carriers whole, the male Siren blinking at the sudden illumination...and the Bakunawa was almost flipped on its side as a shockwave that put the storm to shame struck a split-second later, damaged or peeled sections of armor being ripped straight from the hull as Eugen, Kawakaze and Vampire were thankfully shielded by his bulk.

...The Sakura duo were gone without a trace. A pair of wonderful people that he'd joked with, shared stories of the mainland with, actually felt a real sense of comradery with...now dead under Siren guns just like so many others, what he recognized as a HELGA blast taking them both out.

[-one ascertain where the blast came from-]

[There's more Sirens heading my way-]

[-airwing incoming!]

Alexander slumped into his seat, listening to the slowly growing panic among the shipgirls, the gradual realization that despite their extensive professionalism in the face of battle and casualties it was becoming clearer and clearer that this wasn't a fight they were going to win.

Too many of their 'advantages' had been matched and nullified in short order, too many of their limited number taken out in comparison to their enemies.

"...Fucking dammit."

No sooner had that curse left his lips than he felt a sudden surge of confidence that wasn't his own, a sort of melancholy acceptance tinging the emotion as he felt Laffey's mind brush his own, the rabbit's words clear to his ears.

[Laffey will save you one last time, Alexander.]

Then his perceptions afforded him the knowledge that five of his allies were breaking what little formation they had, diving deep into the heart of the enemy fleet with Lexington calmly announcing, [Sisters, take this opportunity to withdraw. We shall cover your retreat and cripple the enemy's strength as best we can...godspeed.]

The line of communication cut off between them, almost a dozen voices demanding answers even as Nagato, Tirpitz and Elizabeth organized them into a fast moving formation, five more of their sisters now absent from a mental link that was becoming dangerously sparse.

Laffey tried to focus more on the giddy fuzziness she felt rather than the trembling fright, of her clenching fingers and shaking knees as she sailed to her death.

…

It wasn't so bad, she realized, with her friends at her side.

"But it has always been like that, hasn't it? Friends make everything better."

Even when so many friends hadn't come back the destroyer had still stayed close to the ones that did, relying on booze to dull and dilute the ache.

"Laffey won't have to worry about that anymore, she supposes."

Instead the destroyer let herself be engulfed in her sister's love and affection, Lexington calmly stating, [I will cover for you as long as possible, little ones. Good hunting.]

Even with her ship badly gouged and damaged by weapon's fire Laffey couldn't help but smile at her big sister's words, always caring and looking after them even though Saratoga's death must have been hurting so badly.

"Laffey really does have the best sisters of all time."

The destroyer let her dreamy smile fade, eyes narrowing as she instead focused on the quarry she had spotted just after Zuikaku and Shoukaku had been destroyed, rare anger and cold fury coursing through her veins at the sight.

The main Siren vessel, surrounded by its enhanced companions...but not much else at the moment, which meant she and her sisters had an opportunity.

[Of all the hare-brained schemes you could have come up with, Laffey, it had to be this. I would have much preferred to be alive and not a hero, thank you very much!]

[Boo. Bad pun.]

Z23 and Ayanami's comments caused the pale-haired shipgirl to smile, enjoying their final bits of interaction together as Javelin warned, [Siren airwings incoming, sisters!]

Sure enough about a hundred fighter planes were diving towards them, the group readying their weapons for a run-and-gun operation...until Lexington maneuvered herself between them and the incoming fire from the few normal Siren ships escorting the enhanced ones, weakened shielding not lasting long as maybe forty of her own aircraft raced to meet the assaulting force.

The quartet of destroyers slewed around their sister, a lucky break finally heading their way as a particularly strong gust of wind kicked up an enormous wave, hiding their approach for a precious few seconds...and then they were sprinting towards the sluggishly reacting Siren flagship, no doubt drained and vulnerable from its use of the HELGA - it wasn't as big as the Bakunawa and likely had less energy to spare - as they prepped their weapons to fire.

If they could disable as many of the long range guns as possible...then the rest of Azur Lane and their allies might have a chance.

Munitions rained around them but mostly targeted Lexington while the rest were obscured by the cresting waves, the pink-haired carrier's emotions disappearing amidst a blaze of fire and destruction as her last thoughts were of Saratoga and a sort of melancholy acceptance of her fate, the four destroyers pressing on with grim determination and no further words shared...they'd been together long enough to know what each was thinking anyway.

For a precious few seconds the Sirens didn't react, completely oblivious to their headlong charge-

-and a spray of ocean water washed over Laffey's ship from a near miss, the quartet returning fire with every torpedo they could muster and every missile they could launch, weapons meant to take down aircraft and other such targets chipping away at battleships and other oversized vessels alike as they threw their entire arsenal at the enemy fleet, anything and everything to buy just a fraction of a second more.

Laffey calmly picked up a bottle of bourbon she had on hand, brow furrowing slightly as inspiration came to her even as her ship shuddered and creaked with strain. Grabbing the bottle of blue soda stuff Alexander had given her she poured it into the hard liquor, swirling it around to ensure they were properly mixed before walking out onto her ship's deck, legs trembling with fright even as she calmly sipped at the new concoction.

"...Tasty."

Howling winds tore at her clothes, rain drenched her to the bone within an eyeblink and the shipgirl honestly couldn't tell if it was thunder or artillery dazzling her eyes as she walked outside, automatically shifting her balance as she decided on a whim to see the result of their final battle from a more personal viewpoint.

...She wasn't sure why, honestly. She'd always hated the cold, hated shivering and loneliness...everything that she should have been feeling at that very moment.

But she didn't, surrounded by her sisters and the comforting knowledge that right now she was saving everyone she cared about.

That story Alexander told her, of how everyone had been happy when she saved them...it had stuck with her, made her want to experience even more of that strange emotion and her friends now felt the same way.

Z23 fell first, one of the battleships scoring a clean shot that tore the smaller destroyer to shreds, setting off the engines and munitions stores in a pyrotechnic display that Laffey thought the feisty Ironblood would have approved of.

Ayanami was next, the quiet Sakura being eviscerated by almost eighteen bombers one after the other, the only survivors of Lexington's aerial battle as she kept fighting until the very end, guns falling silent only once they were swept away by a colossal wave.

Javelin was third, scoring a clean kill on one of the enhanced Siren battleships as she fired off every missile and torpedo she could manage before being brought down by the countless Siren escorts streaming in from every direction...and then it was just Laffey, miraculously untouched despite being the target of dozens of warships and fighter planes, pushing all engines to full as she bore down on the enemy flagship, tears mixing with the lashing rain at her sister's demise.

But she wasn't too sad. After all, she would be joining them soon.

A round of sympathetic pain wracked her tiny body as the final barrage of Siren weapons finally did real damage, engines crippled and hull pockmarked...but momentum carried her forward, nose of her much smaller destroyer grinding into the enemy flagship with a shriek of metal as Laffey smiled, downing the rest of her drink in one go and sighing at the warmth that percolated in her stomach.

"Laffey...would have liked to see the end of this war and go bar hopping with her sisters."

Throwing aside the empty bottle the destroyer ensured that her ship was as close as possible to the enemy one, smiling as she saw a pale, yellow-eyed figure glaring at her from atop the much larger war machine.

The little rabbit promptly flipped the Siren a middle finger, grinning broadly even as her heart beat a mile a minute, fear and apprehension causing her tiny body to jump and twitch as the moment drew near.

"Laffey will be with you soon, sisters."

The Eagle Union shipgirl triggered the detonation of every missile, torpedo and remotely explosive piece of technology on her ship that she could, closing her eyes as a final warmth claimed her.

[Sisters, enemies on the horizon.]

Even Elizabeth sounded exhausted, normal haughtiness and majesty absent and replaced with a distant efficiency, Alexander dully staring at his ship's sensors and morbidly reflected that he wasn't even surprised anymore at how shit their luck continued to be.

The Siren battlegroup that had taken the long way around the storm had finally caught up with them, delving into the outer limits of the storm in a bid to trap them against the anvil of the still powerful armada behind them, no one under the impression that their sister's sacrificial rearguard action would buy them any significant amount of time.

And while it was just a few dozen ships headed their way...they were hardly in any condition to engage in another protracted battle, ammo low and hulls damaged while their shield arrays were at pitifully low strength, hardly having had any time to recharge.

The less said about their aircover the better, inbetween the storm, sporadic anti-air fire and cutthroat midair duels their complement of fighters was pitifully low, only Essex, Enterprise and himself capable of fielding maybe 200 planes between themselves...and the loss of their four carrier allies was crippling beyond description, in more ways than one.

"Laffey will save you one last time, Alexander."

The young man let his head drop into his hands, barely paying attention to the strained and longshot plans the rest of the fleet was trying to formulate, feeling more lost and confused than he could ever remember being in his life.

...Why him? Why had Laffey specifically singled out him for her final message? Sure, he didn't doubt she'd done it for all of her sisters but what was so special about his presence and actions that she'd told him that?

[Alexander, pull it together!]

[Dammit, I think he's going into shock, sisters!]

It would have been the simplest thing to reply, to offer up some kind of reassurance...but even that seemed to be beyond him right now, the male Siren limply reclining in his command throne, lips curled upwards in an utterly humorless smile.

"Maybe I am in shock. That sure would fit the theme of me fucking up endlessly today. Can't plan, can't keep my allies alive and now I can't even fight properly."

Listlessly watching the oncoming fleet surrounding a pair of Siren carriers he automatically primed what weapons systems remained on the Bakunawa for combat, fightercraft filling the airspace as he distantly noted the rest of the shipgirls also preparing for a desperate battle-

-and a pair of presences suddenly joined their mental connection, familiar and welcome as aforementioned carriers suddenly blossomed into flame, a battleship listing as a gigantic explosion emanated outwards from its hull as other smaller craft also began taking torpedo fire from an unknown source.

[Sisters, we've cleared the road for you! Although we're, umm...a bit short on ammo.]

[Indeed, we had to blow up a lot of submarines on the way here.]

Alexander was scarcely able to believe his mental ears, the exhausted but still resolute voices of I-522 and I-13 coinciding with them wiping out a significant chunk of the oncoming Siren vessels in a brutal ambush, the rest of the ships wavering as if they weren't sure what to do or where to go.

[Your timing is most fortuitous, sisters! Come, my kin! Let us return to Azur Lane and regroup!]

A fresh surge of hope and resolve filled the shipgirls as two of their own returned to the fold, Alexander quietly sitting through it all...and slammed a closed fist down on his fingers, grimacing at the shock of pain that lanced up his arm but ignored it in favor of snarling to himself, "Get a grip goddamn you!"

Sucking down a breath he did his best to also transmit feelings of relief and happiness at the two subs came back to them, even if he didn't feel a particularly large amount of those at the moment...and almost folded under a wave of guilt as the shipgirls seemed relieved at him finally responding, the male gritting his teeth in a bid to not fall into self-recrimination once again...that could wait until they were either dead or the battle was over.

For now they merely sped past the briefly stunned Siren fleet, the storm lessening in fury as they outstripped its howling winds and made best speed to Azur Lane.

...Their fight was far from over.