Chapter 53: Renewed Hope (Part 12)

"Why is it always me that gets teased in situations such as this?!"

"Because, precious little ritter, your reactions are simply beyond compare in both adorableness and intensity."

As if to prove her point Eugen darted forward, nipping Warspite's earlobe as the battleship unleashed a high-pitched yelp of surprise, her instinctive movement away from the assault meaning Alexander got a nice, soft impact from the shipgirl right up against his chest.

"I'm with Eugen. You really do make too inviting of a target, Warspite."

"Not you too, my liege…"

Chuckling to himself as he wrapped the naked woman in his arms the Aloadae casually remarked, "Have you ever considered wearing your hair down more often? You look incredible that way."

"Agreed. As bold a statement your preferred style may be you wear simple quite elegantly."

Hesitantly touching her light blonde hair - freed from its usual confines and allowed to spill across her back - Warspite hesitantly murmured, "You think so?"

"I know so."

While he doubted that the battleship would make that particular adjustment anytime soon the way she shyly played with the loose strands nonetheless, a tinge of pink to her pale skin left the male intensely resisting the urge to tease the shipgirl to tears.

Warspite sans her sword, clothing and typical hair style brought to mind some kind of angelic figure that he was scarcely able to believe he'd actually had sex with on more than one occasion. Hell, he still had trouble believing they were as into him as they obviously were from an emotional standpoint, never mind the physical.

"And of what of poor little me, Alexander? Don't I receive loving comments regarding my appearance?"

Eugen's utterly shameless crocodile tears coincided with the cruiser pressing herself up against the Aloadae's flank not currently occupied by Warspite, Curtis rolling his eyes as a curtain of silver adorned with a single bloody streak splayed itself across his chest.

"You know damn well you're gorgeous. Not afraid of using it to get what you want, too."

The Ironblood offered up the smuggest grin he could remember seeing in recent memory as she purred, "It certainly acquired an enthusiastic lover."

Taking that as express permission to fondle the woman's wonderful ass - drawing a pleased hum from the cruiser as she snuggled deeper into his side - he drew Warspite close in a more chaste movement, all three of them laying bonelessly on the mattress in post-coital bliss.

"Only two or so hours of sleep and I feel fine. This body is wild. Kinda wonder how less sleep works out okay, isn't my brain still a human's?"

Deciding to set aside questions of the finer points of brain biology he instead opened the connection between himself, Warspite and Eugen a bit wider before quietly asking, "How are you holding up? Still alright?"

Able to sense what he was really asking the Ironblood let her eyes drift closed, all but melting into his body as she murmured, "I am not made of glass, you know."
"Even if you're made of metal and crimson I'd still worry."

As usual the genuine concern approach worked wonders on causing the Ironblood to shrink in on herself, grumbling under her breath as the Aloadae smirked, the tips of Eugen's ears a pleasant shade of red.

"I…am keeping busy. There is precious little time to reflect on the enormity of the responsibility I bear when we rush from battlefield to battlefield."

Warspite shifted uneasily - no doubt empathizing with the shipgirl's plight greatly - as Alexander merely nodded, holding the Ironblood tight as he stared at the ceiling.

"I think I may have a way to fix that."

"How are you two doing? Everything alright?"

Rather than immediately reply both Amagi and Shinano blushed and looked away from Alexander as they made the final two hour approach to Azur Lane, the foxes appearing more regal and elegant than normal as the winds atop Essex's flight deck made their robes and tails flutter like ornate banners.

"...Was it something I said?"

A few awkward coughs left Amagi as Shinano demurely explained, "We returned to your room a few hours after Lady Eugen and Warspite claimed your attention…there were still, ahh…"

She quickly bowed her head as if chastised.

"Noises of passion."

He blinked a few times in rapid succession.

"Oh. Sorry, didn't know we were at it that long."

"Seriously, what the hell is up with this body?! I never would have pulled off that kind of insane stamina in my old toolbox."

[Male refractory periods are mostly physiological phenomena in response to an emotional and chemical high. As your physiology and mental makeup were altered during the change I hypothesize that you require much more stimulation to fully feel the effects of lessened sexual drive.]

Blinking at TB's sudden explanation the Aloadae just offered a mental shrug of thanks, Amagi mumbling, "Such stamina…truly Dragon-like…" as the male resisted the urge to crack a joke or two. He still wasn't sure how well the foxes were doing mentally and didn't feel like rolling that particular set of dice, instead standing alongside the pair as they seamlessly took up flanking positions before he could request otherwise.

"Whatever, if that's what they want so be it."

"Anyone showed you pictures or video of Azur Lane after it received all of its upgrades?"

Clearly happy for the change in subject matter both foxes shook their heads, Amagi responding, "We have heard rumors of its changes but not actually seen them…I can't help but wonder how it appears after so many tumultuous events."

"Well it's something, I can tell you that much."

A more companionable silence fell between the trio, the Aloadae simply enjoying the winds and sounds of sailing as his connection with the Bakunawa grew stronger and stronger as they approached, eventually asking, "Sorry if this is a bit blunt but how do you two feel when it comes to acting on your own? You seemed willing to go at it on your own yesterday but if it was too overwhelming…"

There was no hesitation from either of the Sakura, Shinano responding, "Thank you for your concern, Alexander-sama…but we feel more grounded and…connected, than before."

They simultaneously bowed as he resisted the urge to sigh in resignation.

"Your presence and diligence during our shameful hours after being freed cannot be repaid through simple words or platitudes."

Amagi raised her head, meeting the Aloadae's gaze as he found himself briefly transfixed by her beauty, accentuated by the snapping breeze that her fox appendages and rich chocolate hair swayed with mesmerizing movements in.

"Should you need our presence for purposes carnal or political, we will endeavor to meet those expectations."

"And just like that the mood is brought down."

"Look, for the last time I'm not into you whoring yourselves out to me, even with the best of intentions. You don't owe me that and while I'd be more than happy to do a bit of submissive or dominant play it's not going to be part of a transaction."

Shinano averted her eyes, softly and almost hesitantly stating, "If…it is genuine, what we desire?"

Alexander stopped dead in his tracks, taking a moment to clear his throat before carefully responding, "Well…if you want to I'm certainly not going to say no to a pair of women as drop dead gorgeous as you are, but…I dunno, maybe go out to dinner first or something?"

Both foxes blinked at his words staring at him as if he'd said something incredibly odd-

-before breaking down into synchronized laughter, tails swaying with mirth as the Aloadae protested, "C'mon, is that really such a strange thing to ask for? It took me and your sisters a decent amount of time to really start getting attracted to each other."

The duo turned their attention to the approaching horizon, one tail apiece curling around his arms.

"You are a strange man, Alexander-sama."

"I would hope you think so. I'm pretty different from most other guys at first glance."

Yet more head shakes as the pair of Sakura seemed to take a great deal of amusement in his words before a comfortable silence once more fell between them, Azur Lane beginning to take form on the horizon.

And, just like many upon their first time seeing it, the duo were awestruck as the Bakunawa came into focus, appearing less like a ship and more a part of the island itself.

"By the Sacred Tree…it's enormous…"

Amagi's disbelieving whisper trailed off into stunned silence as their flotilla swerved around the titanic vessel, Azur Lane itself coming into view and in the days they had been gone surging ahead in the amount of construction that had been accomplished. Already several of the plants or factories were taking in raw material before churning out a bevy of products ranging from weapons and engines to simple battleplate, attended to by human and Bulin overseers, fed by long lines of drones and overseen by lethal turrets or missile batteries.

"I…do not remember this version of Azur Lane."

"It's undergone some renovations in the past few weeks, I admit."

Shinano continued to stare at the island with open wonder, breathily stating, "Even in dreams and visions…of the future. Nothing before or since like this…"

Chuckling at the fox's reactions Alexander pointed towards the sight of their moored sisters, remarking, "And there are the rest of the reinforcements, awaiting your return. No doubt the novelty of being the latest arrivals is wearing thin and they're excited to have some new blood enter the field."

The Aloadae spotted a pair of figures skating their way towards the carrier, the rest of Azur Lane rolling out the welcome mat as supply drones and refueling crews gathered along the available berths, a few vessels parked alongside the Bakunawa and no doubt awaiting the final round of upgrades he had prepped.

"Is that…sisters Émile and Jean?"

"Wait, really?"

Instantly having a bad premonition at those two names - albeit for entirely different reasons - Alexander followed Amagi's gaze and did indeed spot the two shipgirls headed their way, the Aloadae taking a calming breath as he decided to not flip his lid and keep it cool…there was nothing to suggest that Bart was looking for a fight and if Émile was in tow then he at least had one shipgirl in his camp.

Supposedly.

"Alexander-sama?"

Shaking his head as he realized that the Sakura duo had picked up on his nervousness Alexander quickly said, "It's nothing, just some hangups from the last time everyone got together."

The frowns Amagi and Shinano produced were equal parts endearing and worrisome as they automatically assumed he would need some kind of support in this particular scenario, the man just rolling with it as he waited for the arriving duo to complete their approach, lips quirking into a smile as Émile practically flipped and swung her way up the side of the carrier with a dancer's grace while Jean just shimmied up everything like a true pirate, the only thing missing being a knife between her teeth.

"...Is she aware that flipping around like that flashes everyone with eyeballs? Not complaining, but god damn."

"Monsieur Curtis~! Oh how brilliant it is to see you again~!"

Irrepressible in her cheer Alexander could only blink in surprise as the shipgirl reached up with surprising strength and pulled his head down, planting two kisses on each cheek…as well as one on the lips as she beamed with delight.

"Pretty sure that's an Iris thing…right?"

Not given the chance to further reflect on that Émile whirled on Amagi and Shinano, both foxes also caught up in the cruiser's cheer as she planted another series of kisses on their faces, trilling, "We heard of your survival and rescue by Alexander, now here you are~! Our fortunes have taken quite the magnificent reversal in recent times, have they not~?"

"Ahh…yes?"

"It is good to see you again, sister Émile. I believe the last time we encountered one another was during the Lunar celebrations six years ago?"

Bouncing on her heels the blonde rapidly nodded, recalling, "Why yes, it was! Oh how I miss that kimono dress Empress Nagato gifted me, a few personal alterations and it was so easy and wonderful to move in! It left an impression on the audience too, if I remember correctly."

"Only because you cut off most of the lower half and left the collar open…"

Jean's muttered comment drew everyone's attention her way, the clear hesitation and caution in Amagi and Shinano's moods as Alexander didn't ease up in her presence causing the battleship to scowl, mouth opening to offer a sharp retort-

-and instead let loose a heavy breath, slowly stating, "I'm not going to apologize for how I reacted to you when we first met. But if we can move forward with no hard feelings…I'm alright with that."

The Aloadae kept an even expression, meeting the shipgirl's intense gaze without so much as a blink from either side…and his lips quirked upwards, striding forward before holding out a hand, Bart hesitating only for a moment before returning the handshake in kind.

"More than alright. Glad that we're all on the same page here, Jean Bart."

"Just Jean is fine, you don't need to be all formal with me. Or Bart, people always get me and Jeanne's first names all mixed up."

A scowl appeared on the woman's features.

"And getting compared to that holier than thou saint pisses me off."

Chuckling at her fiery temperament the Aloadae almost lost his balance as Émile bounded up his arm and perched atop his shoulder before he could do anything about it, legs kicking happily as she chirped, "Was that so painful, sister? I told you Monsieur Curtis would not be overly angry and upset with you~!"

"Yeah yeah, you were right like always, Émile."

Planting his feet so that he didn't accidentally toss the cruiser off of her impromptu perch Alexander said, "Matters of right and wrong aside how's Azur Lane and the process of the retrofits going?"

Shrugging as if the whole matter wasn't that big of a deal Jean responded, "Émile, myself, Tashkent, Le Malin, Sovetskaya and Jeanne are all set to go while the Empery pair are waiting in the wings. You need a backup plan or something for that lineup?"

"No, tell Chao Ho and Ying Swei to go ahead and have their ships also get ready for the retrofits, I've got a few experiments and tests to run with the Wisdom Cubes we liberated before we go ahead and do anything too crazy. And by that I don't want any aftereffects to spill over to all of you."

"That's…mildly comforting?"

Bart understandably looked skeptical about the whole situation while Émile merely commented, "Will this be an experiment that leaves you feeling rather defeated and worn out? I pray that you are not pushing yourself overmuch, monsieur."

"Not much choice in times of war. That aside I suppose there's a bit of a welcoming party formed for Amagi and Shinano?"

"Not as large as ours was but yeah, The Commander already has a bunch of plans for you two…and he also wants you-"

"To look the part in my armor?"

The pirate smirked, joking, "The poster boy knows his place."

"Are we to do anything…special?"

Shinano's question prompted Émile to bend down from her spot on the Aloadae's shoulder, informing the Sakura duo with, "Just appear as composed and elegant as you usually do, that's all~! Cameras and other implements will do the heavy lifting when it comes to spreading this wonderful turn of events across the world."

"Ahh…perhaps I should shower again?"

"I don't think you could look much more stunning than you already are, Shinano."

Alexander's blunt words caused the fox to preen, ears flicking and tails swaying before she mastered herself, merely bowing in thanks as Bart rolled her eyes.

"I really hope that's not how you ensnared the rest of our sisters."

"Well I won't deny it helped with a few of them."

A defeated sigh left the battleship as the Aloadae motioned with his head, the quartet following in his wake as he prepared to prep his battered and bruised armor for one last sojourn before it got a nice, long vacation in a repair bay.

…Well, three of them followed, Émile mostly just hung around on his shoulder and didn't seem in any great hurry to move from there.

"Oh thank christ I'm free of that thing…"

Gratefully hanging up his creaking and hissing suit in one of the Bakunawa's repair bays Alexander rolled his shoulders as they released a satisfying series of pops and cracks, The Commander rapidly tapping away on one of the ship's provided data pads as he murmured, "It'll certainly make an impact, take a look at this. For a rough draft it's not half bad."

Holding out the screen Alexander found himself resigned to the fact that he was going to be quite the public face for quite some time to come. Emblazoned on the front page of a possible newspaper headline was a photo of him in his damaged armor, Émile bounding around them mid-step as she waved to the Azur Lane personnel moving to refuel and rearm the shipgirls - Jean Bart having bowed out of the public display - while Shinano and Amagi flanked him, Appearing graceful and composed even in a still image.

[Stunning Azur Lane rescue mission, two more join the fold!]

"I don't know what's more frightening. Stuff like this or that I might get used to stuff like this."

"Did you really never have to do public relations, son?"

"Does speaking to a bunch of drunk people while drunk count?"

"Point taken."

Setting aside the pad the older man took a look around the machine room, curiously asking, "I hear you have a bit of an experiment in mind for those Wisdom Cubes we got ahold of a while back. Considering that you seem to be on something of a hot streak recently with success I'm interested in what you pull out of your hat."

"In all honesty I'm just as curious myself. Guess we'll find out in a few hours, no sense in waiting when the rest of the shipgirls are already set for their retrofits to be completed."

"That fast, huh?"

Shrugging at The Commander's raised brow Alexander replied, "I already ran things by our Siren 'allies' and they agree this is the closest thing we're going to get to a proper miracle if it pans out."

"Alright, if you think this is the way to go about things then Azur Lane will let you go ahead with our full support. Let me know when you're ready to begin, I want to see this with my own eyes."

The man turned to leave, the younger male hesitating for a moment before asking, "Elizabeth mentioned that there's a possible plan for Azur Lane to take on a more permanent spot of leadership the world over…is that a worst case scenario or an early forecast?"

Not even breaking stride The Commander simply replied, "You'll be kept informed as the situation develops. Focus on your little experiment for now."

The door shut closed behind him and while most might have considered that disrespectful considering all the shit he'd gone through…the Aloadae felt that the complete lack of reassurances was an indirect way of saying that yes, there were contingency plans in the works.

"Wonderful…not enough that we're fighting two variants of Sirens we're also fighting our fellow man."

Running a hand through his hair Alexander reflected that things just really couldn't be simple anymore, could they?

"As gratified I am that you desire my presence, is there any particular reason I am to just stand around like a pretty little decoration?"

"Yes, actually. TB, are we all set to go?"

[Affirmative, master. All preparations complete and merely awaiting your orders.]

"All right then, no more ways to procrastinate. Let's get this show on the road."

Ignoring Prinz Eugen's confused stare Alexander sent one last glance around the Azur Lane dockyards, liberally staffed with the research and engineering departments as they hungrily watched the latest and greatest of his experiments…hopefully one that wouldn't spiral out of control or blow up in their faces.

They'd cleared out most of the non-essential personnel from this part of the base and moved the Bakunawa slightly so that he could look down on the stretch of wavering blue that held most of the destroyed Siren ships, Wisdom Cube apiece held in his hands.

"Prinz, mind laying your hand on the back of my neck? And don't let go until I tell you to."

He saw the cruiser prepare herself to make a witty comment but ultimately fell short as she seemed far too curious what he was about to do, doing as requested as the Aloadae felt her gloved palm gently squeeze the metal and flesh atop his spine, the mental connection between them flaring open as Alexander took a deep breath, allowing the muted emotions of curiosity, slight apprehension and tender hope to wash over him before shrugging it off as he raised the cubes high, aware that all eyes - including the recently recovered shipgirls - were on him.

[Beginning harmonic pulse. Space time barrier handshake protocol cleared, retrieving data for personality and combat integration.]

Eugen almost flinched away as the metal coverings on the back of his body slotted open, admitting the bright blue glow of the Wisdom Cube shards embedded within to emit a brilliant shine as they went to work.

"It's fine…just focus on Eugen and what you want. The rest will take care of itself."

[Local resources and frames allocated, personality matrix and combat routines uploaded.]

As if possessing a mind of their own the two Wisdom Cubes shot out of Alexander's hands and came to a stop a fair distance away, hovering a few meters above the waters as they pulsed and shuddered like stars, the water beneath shivering as if there was an earthquake-

-and no shortage of gasps or startled curses could be heard around the base as chunks of armor composites, munitions, broken reactor casings and a thousand other bits of scrap floated upwards from the watery depths, forming spiraling halos around the pair of Cubes as Alexander grit his teeth, allowing TB to use his brain as a jumping off point for whatever process she was facilitating.

It felt a bit like a baseball bat to the head during a killer hangover but he endured it, the AI rotely saying, [Implementation process at optimal efficiency and occurring without issue, beginning reconstruction of outer chassis.]

In a process that dropped practically every jaw in attendance the storm of material began to dance and form itself in recognizable shapes, constructing the skeleton of a ship as engines, electronics and a dozen other critical or sensitive components neatly slotted themselves in predefined positions, hanging in midair as they waited for spontaneous phenomena to weld or socket them into a tangible place.

"Akashi is going to be so fucking mad at me for doing this without her."

The random thought was promptly pushed aside as another wave of crushing pain assailed his skull, Alexander gritting his jaw and focusing on the sensation of Prinz Eugen's emotions and thoughts as a form of anchor, consigning himself to riding out the entire process until it was done.

And with a sudden rush of air it was, metallic groans and the rush of displaced water echoing through Azur Lane as two newly formed and lethal looking ships manifested from seeming empty air, a stunned sort of silence filling the base.

Both vessels were a combination of midnight black, gunmetal gray and streaks of bloody crimson adorning their angled and dangerous hulls, one of them sporting batteries of high-end weaponry while the other was unmistakably a carrier, flat top supplemented by what looked like internal launch bays.

"...Alexander, what did you-"

Eugen's disbelieving words didn't get much farther than that as the Aloadae collapsed to one knee, gasping out massive breaths of steam as his head felt like it was going to pop at any moment, TB hurriedly saying, [My apologies, master. I attempted to limit the influx of information that your brain had to process without jeopardizing the success of the event, but…much like a muscle being used for the first time soreness is inescapable.]

"You're saying this is the first time I've used my brain, TB?"

[...In this capacity?]

Unleashing a pained chuckle the male blinked himself back to reality as Eugen worriedly crouched next to him, tilting his head to and fro and peeling open one eye at a time to ensure he wasn't too far gone.

"Not used to seeing you so openly worried. Just as cute as it was the first time around."

"Tch. Well if you can joke around like that then I assume you're fine."

The words were blunt, the emotions behind them less so as Alexander allowed the cruiser to pull him to his feet-

"Indeed. It would be quite the poor showing if our summoner was to fall apart at the seams after such a light workout."

"Mmm. A weak familiar holds little value, especially so when the call for aid was agreed upon."

Prinz's eyes widened, jaw dropping open in what was likely the most blatant form of shock the perpetually joking and irreverent woman had ever displayed in front of him.

Alexander followed her gaze, blinking at the pair of figures that approached them with the boneless grace and predatory threat he'd recognize in an Ironblood anywhere.

"Onto greetings then! Aegir and August von Parseval at your service, awaiting orders."

A challenging grin adorned the lips of the draconic looking shipgirl.

"I hear that there's fighting to be had?"

Personally I think opening a rift across space and time is easier than actually getting the PR ships in game.

So.

Much.

EXP farm.