Chapter 63: Counterblow (Part 5)

With a dismaying clack the barrels of Alexander's rotary cannon clicked dry, the rest of his weapons overheated and hissing wildly in a vain attempt to cool off and generally worsening the Aloadae's already foul mood.

"Oh for fuck's sake!"

The Tower-class drone he had been intending to shred seemed almost gleeful at his sudden vulnerability, surging forward as Alexander decided it was time to get stupid and beat a massive hunk of metal to death with his barehands, seeing as how everyone else was busy.

Planting his weight on his back foot the male watched as a massive, serrated saw blade that he knew from past experience could shred solid metal swung towards his skull-

-and smashed the flat of his shield against the weapon, sparks and chunks of burning composites flying as it embedded in the floor as a reverse stroke of the shield shattered the drone's sensor suite, the Aloadae seizing one of the machine's legs and exhaling as he sharply twisted the limb, suit shrieking with strain as with a voltaic crunch the limb was ripped free from its housing, serving as a convenient club for the repeated blows that caved in the thing's chest and ruptured its command and control unit, the beast collapsing with a heavy thud as Alexander sucked down a breath of air, glancing at the rest of his group as they took down the latest batch of Old Siren defenders.

"Ooh, quite the ferocious showing, Alexander~! I see why the foxes refer to you as a Dragon…"

Aegir was unmarked aside from a ragged cut across her cheek that wept crimson, the Ironblood staring at his kill with obvious delight as August favored one leg but seemed otherwise fine, Shinano and Amagi both sporting ragged and smoking patches of hair on their tails and a few splotches of heat rash. Empress and Arbiter were unharmed although their Riggings had seen better days, Alexander grimly remarking, "We've got eight minutes before everyone outside starts shelling the shit out of this place, haven't you found a freakin' port yet?"

"Just ahead, through the next doors."

Just about ready to sob in relief that the day looked like it might be over soon the Aloadae once again took point, shoulder cannon thankfully cooled enough to be usable again along with the shield emitters but with the rotary gun out of commission his offensive capabilities had just taken a serious hit to their effectiveness.

"Well, at least the shield means I'll be useful for getting shot at."

Morbidly smirking at the errant thought Alexander led the way, kicking in the sealed entryway and ducking behind his shield as laserfile deflected off its surface, Empress annihilating the scattered defenders with a single sweep of her Rigging's weaponry as she quickly strode to an access terminal, Alexander right behind her as one of the mechanical feelers on his back rammed itself into one of the ports, TB sighing in relief as she reported, [Self-destruct halted and Mirror Sea defenses neutralized.]

"How much time was left?"

[You are prone to worry, Master. I shall keep that information to myself. Now if you will excuse me I need to devote all possible runtime to keeping us alive.]

"Go get em' girl."

Breathing a shaky sigh of relief that they had narrowly escaped blowing up yet again Alexander instead watched as Empress and Arbiter began their work at another access port, expressions slack and gazes distant as they worked their technological magic.

"So are we to just remain here and look pretty?"

He shook his head at Aegir's comment, responding, "Keep an eye out, I doubt the rest of the locals are going to just let us leave without a fight. And I dunno how long those two are going to take."

"We shall remain vigilant…Alexander-sama."

Shinano rested a hand on the hilt of one of her three remaining blades, the fourth having met a rather grisly fate when it connected head on with a collection of Siren weaponry while the other three just nodded, spreading out as he stared around the room with narrowed eyes.

They were really pushing the limits of how long it was a good idea to stay inside this place, especially since it seemed the Old Sirens were actively doing everything in their power to destroy the thing and ensure they weren't able to learn or steal information of consequence.

As if summoned by those very thoughts a collection of heavy footfalls and clashing of metal came to a stop right outside the room they were in, Alexander and the Shipgirls raising their weapons towards the destroyed entryway…and with a shriek of tearing metal the drones came through the walls, armed with swords similar to Kawakaze and Shinano's own as Alexander's eyes went wide, these enemies not like the Tower and Bunker classes but bipedal much like his own suit.

They were also armed just as heavily, Amagi losing an arm to a blast of plasma while he doubled over as a gauss round shattered his armor as well as a fair amount of his insides, blood splattering the interior of his helmet as the Aloadae watched in horror as August's Rigging annihilated two of the armors but missed a third, the Ironblood carrier's head flying through the air as Alexander growled out, "TB, rewind!"

The AI worked herself overtime even as she was busy inside the Siren systems, reality reversing itself around them for about fifteen seconds before he doubled over and splattered more red across his helmet, steam curling from his lips as Shinano gasped at his sudden state.

"Alexander-sama, what-"

"Suits like mine, coming through the walls!"

On cue heavy footsteps approached their position, the Shipgirls adjusting their aim as just like before the Old Sirens came through their own custom made doors-

-and died within moments, the Shipgirls not holding back on firepower in the slightest as a total of eight battlesuits collapsed in smoking ruin, August at his side within a moment as she tersely asked, "Alexander, are you-"

"I'm fine, stay on alert."

Forcing himself to his feet Curtis ripped off his helmet, breathing out a ragged sigh before trying to scrape out as much gunk as possible from the piece, glancing towards Empress and Arbiter as they remained completely still and lost in their own world, willing them to hurry the fuck up as he slotted his helmet back into place under August's watchful eyes.

[Master, the Old Sirens have ceased their attempts to detonate the base's reactor and have instead used manual means of setting into motion its destruction. While that frees up runtime to other pursuits it also puts us on an unavoidable timer. Ten minutes is my best estimation.]

Scowling at that latest bit of news the Aloadae moved to address the rest of the room at large…and two things happened in quick succession. First the pair of Neo Sirens pulled away from their accessing of the base's files, Empress making to speak-

-and the wall behind them was ripped open, admitting another set of Old Siren battlesuits to pour through and open fire.

In an act that caught Alexander completely off guard Empress shoved Arbiter behind her Rigging, seemingly in defiance of common sense or what the Aloadae expected from the cold-blooded machines as she paid the price for the act of heroism, a round punching through her stomach as her Rigging took an additional barrage, shrapnel lacerating the pale-skinned woman until the group returned fire, downing the suits as Aegir mused, "Siren on Siren violence? You see something new everyday."

Rushing forward as Arbiter seemed completely lost on what to do Alexander grimaced, lifting up the wincing Empress into a one-armed carry - her Rigging well and truly mangled as he grunted out, "Base is rigged to explode regardless of what TB is doing, we need to move!"

"Understood, Alexander-sama. I…shall lead the way."

Shinano thankfully didn't question any of what he'd just said, merely leaping out into the hallways blade first and blazing a trail towards where they had originally come from, the male taking a second to admire the typically sleepy fox in the heat of battle - it was interesting seeing a form so…bouncy in action - before he snapped himself out of it and ran after the Sakura, Empress bluntly stating, "Do not waste our time attempting to rescue-"

"Shut up and let it happen. Arbiter, you're on my ass, don't let me get shot!"

"U-understood!"

The Neo Siren seemed to snap out of her shock at the series of unexpected twists and turns, sparking and ravaged Rigging nonetheless taking up a covering position along with Amagi behind him as Aegir, August and Shinano blazed a path, forgoing any kind of subtlety as they simply kept up a steady stream of fire or slashing, spending lavishly their last remaining bits of armor and ammo as they could practically taste the end of the operation coming their way.

"Why are you…"

Glancing downwards he found Empress staring up at him with nothing but perplexed confusion, the Neo Siren quickly losing the expression as a salvo courtesy of Amagi shook the corridor and causing her to wince, Alexander deciding to let the matter go as they finally retraced their steps to their original evacuation point-

-and winced as a veritable waterfall of ire and resigned frustration washed over his mind, Eugen in particular grousing, "Oh, the Wunderkind returns! How was your little field trip?"

"Stomp on my dignity and self-worth once we're out of here, please. And brace yourselves, this place is going sky-high in…"

[Two minutes, Master.]

"Two minutes-wait, TWO MINUTES?! Evac now, please!"

As if in answer to his panicked shout a collection of fighter craft slewed to a halt on columns of thrust, the rest of the Shipgirls and Arbiter leaping to the waves below as he jumped aboard one of the heavier looking planes, the rest firing off a howling barrage of cannonfire as he magnetically locked his boots onto the aircraft…and despite the stress and danger of the situation the Aloadae couldn't help but feel a surge of adrenaline and boyish excitement as he literally rode a combat jet like a surfboard, hot babe in his arms and his side aching something fierce thanks to all the midair maneuvers and the speed involved.

"I really need to do this at some point when our lives aren't in imminent danger."

The craft came in for a hard landing on Enterprise's deck, the Shipgirl sighing in resignation as he leapt off the back of the thing before wryly stating, "Perhaps it's for the best that Akashi isn't here right now, she'd probably have an aneurysm that you broke your armor and weapons again."

"Blame the Old Sirens."

"Take her below deck, Belfast had the foresight to have medical aid prepped once you got back."

"Of course she did."

Glancing back towards the base Alexander noted that the entire fleet was in full retreat, the rest of his companions grabbing deployed ropes and clambering up Enterprise's vessel as he watched the Old Siren base retreat further into the distance, eyeing the behemoth with a wary gaze as he waited for it to finally blow sky high-

-and instead the structure seemed to collapse in on itself, crumpling inwards with a horrific screech like an angry, invisible titan had crushed it in an inexorably powerful grip.

"Huh, I was expecting an explosion."

"The energy sources aboard constructs of that size typically use more advanced technology such as black holes or similar singularity techniques."

"Oh, shit. I forgot you were injured. You got everything covered up here, Enterprise?"

The carrier glanced towards where the base was sinking with a drawn out groan, nodding to herself before stating, "I think we can ensure nothing else overly dangerous or apocalyptic occurs in the meantime, Alexander. And I'm sure you'll be relieved that we don't have any more photos to take, even if the sight of you riding atop of a jet would have been quite the striking image."

"Less so with a Siren in my arms, people would start asking questions."

The Union Shipgirl just smirked at his comment before he began making his way below deck, feeling the chemical rush of battle and excitement begin to fade as his injuries began to announce themselves with unpleasant regularity. Attempting to distract himself he asked Empress, "How are your injuries, feel like anything permanent was damaged? The Bakunawa has some pretty nifty healing capabilities aboard it."

"They won't be needed, I will recover in time."

"Right, good talk then."

Rolling his eyes at the Neo Siren's taciturn response he descended below decks, hoping that there would be some good news at the end of the whole fiasco.

"Gotta say, Curtis, you earned some serious clout with us today."

"How? You lost a couple members of your team, if we-"

"We got warped into the middle of some wild Siren base and were surrounded by mechanical monstrosities on each and every side. We fully expected to be dead inside of a minute, past engagements with Siren forces have nasty attrition rates for us mortals. Instead here we are, chatting with you and a bunch of lovely ladies asking after our health. Not much more a soldier can ask for."

"Lovely ladies? My my, I think I quite like the sound of this chat if it means I get to hear such delectable comments all the time."

Aegir cheerfully sat herself on one of the many makeshift beds, the surviving Marines seeming more than eager to take up the woman on her offer as August just rolled her eyes, seemingly used to her companion's proclivities while Shinano and Amagi played the part of graceful hostess, patiently waiting to be addressed or spoken to form the sidelines…which they quickly were, to the shock of no one as the group of young men were eager to take the opportunity to speak with such rare figures.

"All of this seems so…wasteful."

And despite having that thought Empress couldn't help but feel a traitorous part of her wonder if that was what the Creator had intended for them, to be wasteful. Why else would she be feeling something as petulant and unnecessary as longing?

"You look like you're trying to puzzle out the meaning of life. How's the wound?"

"It will be healed within the hour. And I was merely reflecting on how inefficient all of your Human mannerisms are. All this talking, all this motion, all this…fraternization. How much time, energy and effort would be saved if you abandoned all these unnecessary trappings?"

Alexander - sans his armor considering its battered state - crouched next to where she lay on a sequestered cot with narrowed eyes, Arbiter dutifully standing nearby and watching the interaction in silence.

"I never figured you would be a poor liar. I interact with Zero and Purifier on a daily basis, there is nothing reserved about them and they definitely waste time bickering with each other."

Empress inwardly cursed herself for failing to account for such an obvious oversight, squashing the brief burst of unease that her programming and integrity were already failing if she couldn't keep track of such simple details.

"They are not the prime examples of our kind."

"And yet they've ultimately been more helpful than you have, despite all the shit they've done."

Fighting down the surge of irrational anger Empress met the man's gaze, simply responding, "We have our directives and we are to follow them, nothing more and nothing less."

"Are we really going to do this whole song and dance again? Why are you so stubbornly holding onto this programming or brainwashing or whatever you want to call it?"

He angrily pointed to where the Old Siren base had once been, growling, "None of it matters, now. The Old Sirens are here and even worse they're targeting your kind. If we hadn't already been near the Republic then what the hell would have happened? If you need someone to bash you over the head to do a hard reset or whatever then I would be more than happy to do so."

Empress was about to sharply retort before halting such a petulant action, instead focusing on the more disturbing fact that the logical side of her- the one she cherished and followed - was agreeing with Alexander, that to properly fulfill the Creator's designs she would ironically have to alter and do away with them. It was the weak, fragmented and emotional side of her that was clinging to past paradigms, refusing to change and clinging to what little certainty was left.

She bought herself precious seconds to think by turning to Arbiter, casually mentioning, "It's convenient that you bring that matter up, as it still needs resolving. We ensured that whatever the Old Sirens took from you was retrieved or deleted, all that remains is to close whatever access they may have made into your programming and this matter will have been settled."

Arbiter swallowed but shakily nodded nonetheless, replying, "I am prepared, Empress."

"Very well, then-"

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Glancing downwards and finding Alexander's hand firmly holding her arm the Neo Siren cooly replied, "Doing as you suggested and treating the Old Sirens as a proper threat that needs responding to."

"By killing off our allies and weakening our overall strength?"

"By closing off an avenue of attack that they may employ. Arbiter may very well have been corrupted by some manner of virus lying dormant within her. The Old Sirens have displayed the ability to subsume a Shipgirl's will, I am not above believing that they can do the same to us."

Arbiter's eyes flicked back and forth between the two of them, Empress grinding her teeth as Alexander just as furiously retorted, "Zero proved that this is a stupid idea when she spared TB. You know, the one who's basically ensured I haven't died a dozen times over? Who ensured all of us survived the clusterfuck of not more than a few hours ago?"

"So we should merely embrace every error and risk presented on the off chance that it may aid us? What manner of foolishness is this?"

"The one that's going to help us win. You almost lost one of your own and had no idea about it or were able to help, but we could. More of us means more chances to fight."

Anger blazed in the Aloadae's eyes.

"Imagine if your earlier attack on Azur Lane hadn't occurred. All of your vessels and all of the Shipgirls-"

He took a deep breath, visibly calming himself as Empress coldly stated, "We did not know of the Old Siren's presence during that time. We-"

"Exactly, we didn't know. But now we do and we need to change that."

The Siren stared into the man's fervent gaze, listening as he at last said, "No more following a broken scenario that doesn't match reality in the slightest…and no more sacrificing our own if we don't have to."

Empress listened to the man's plea in silence, looking around the hangar with a neutral expression. It was still noisy, with the Humans chatting up the Shipgirls as August, Amagi and Shinano had quietly placed themselves in the line of sight so that they could converse in relative private.

Her wandering gaze continued, alighting upon the gravely serious Alexander before landing on Arbiter, her compatriot obviously trying not to show any expression at all.

"...TB?"

[Yes, Empress?]

"Are you capable of searching Arbiter for any further signs of Old Siren corruption?"

[I have already done so and found no signs of lingering code or other traps. I also took the liberty of copying and beginning preliminary examinations of the other files that we retrieved from the base before it was destroyed. I expect it will be a few days before they are properly translated.]

She stared at the mechanical contraption fused to Alexander's back, idly remembering the cool and withdrawn experiment of Zero's that had ultimately failed, designated to be deleted once the timeline was reset…now speaking so confidently and showing initiative outside what she would have expected of her programming.

All because Zero couldn't bring herself to carry out her duties.

"Arbiter?"

"Yes, Empress?"

"Do you believe you would be useful if you stayed intact and involved in the war effort, rather than be deleted?"

Seconds passed, the Siren not looking her subordinate's way as she waited to hear what her response would be…and it was with hesitant words Arbiter spoke up with, "I believe that I can be of aid to our battle, Empress. Provided that there truly is nothing wrong with me."

Empress let her eyes drift closed.

"Then so be it."

She focused on Alexander's face, the male's expression shifting to something resembling hope.

"We shall abandon our previous actions and properly join forces. Although more concrete details and parameters will have to be established at a later date."

The elation clear to see in the Aloadae's body language left Empress with the oddest sensation, as if a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders while simultaneously giving her a headache.

"How curious…"