2024.

Azur Lane HQ, Akashi's lab.

The Fleet Admiral is called to the lab and finds Enterprise there, looking slightly taller than she was before and with a new rigging. Instead of her WW2 flight deck, she now has the armoured deck of a Ford-class Carrier as well as a new compound bow.

"Enterprise? What happened? Has the Type II Rigging Project had a breakthrough?" The man asks.

"Compiler managed to upgrade my rigging by two ship classes. According to Lt. Colonel Bishop, I'm now one of the largest Carriers ever made." Enterprise explains.

Bishop counters, "On the contrary."

"Huh?" Enterprise looks at him.

The ace adds, "You are now THE biggest Carrier in this world, being the only one." He looks at the Fleet Admiral while gesturing to the Kansen, "The Gerald R. Ford-class. Powered by a nuclear reactor, Enterprise will be able to carry on for years without having to refuel. If we can do something similar, then the oil cost of missions will drop significantly and we have a Siren of all people to thank." He then gestures to the Compiler, who has since calmed down and seemed to have returned to an emotionless state.

"I see… so she's now the most powerful ship in the fleet again?" The Fleet Admiral asks.

"Affirmative…" The Siren nods.

"Are you alright, little one?" The man asks.

"…"

Graf Spee comes to her rescue, "There was a little misunderstanding during the process, Herr Kommandant. She'll be okay."

"I see. Alright, then. Lt. Colonel, how effective is the Ford-class in your world?"

Bishop answers, "Well, if I remember rightly, USS Enterprise CVN-80 herself isn't finished yet, but her sister, Gerald R. Ford herself, is the largest Aircraft Carrier ever built in our world, and indeed is the biggest warship ever constructed, period. She dwarves even the Yamato. She's capable of holding well over 4,000 aircraft including her air wings. She's powered by two nuclear reactors and a top speed of 35 knots, a little slower than CVN-65 because of the extra weight, but she's no slouch. Nuclear power means she's able to run for about 25 years straight before refuelling."

The gasps of all the Kansen fill the room. Enterprise herself slowly takes her sunglasses off and whispers, "Holy shit… that's… quite a step up from my old hull…"

"By the way, sir, if I may ask something from one of the Kansen?" Bishop requests.

"Go ahead." The Fleet Admiral gestures.

"Belfast."

"Oh? Yes, sir?" The Maid asks.

"Have you seen your rigging as well? You should've been given a new ship, too."

"Oh, indeed I have, sir. It is quite strange belong a smaller ship, but my weaponry is unlike anything I've ever used before." Belfast curtsies.

"The power of the Type 26 Frigate. Yourself and Glasgow have been upgraded due to your unfortunate demises in Operation Siren and then your revivals, but the rest of the ships who had become the Type-26 in my own world had survived the battle, so they need upgrading to this hull, too, sir." Bishop turns back to the Fleet Admiral.

"Which of the other girls have this new Frigate hull upgrade?" The older man asks.

Bishop thinks for a moment, "Let's see… um… ah, yes." He walks over to the board on the wall and writes them down so he doesn't accidentally repeat himself.

Birmingham

Sheffield

Newcastle

Edinburgh

London

Hunter

"I believe that's all the confirmed ones. The rest of them either don't have Kansen forms in this world or they aren't named yet in mine." The ace pilot/historian adds.

The Fleet Admiral looks at the list and orders, "It seems we're lucky you're so knowledgable of your world's Navies, despite being in the Air Force."

"What can I say, sir? A guy has interests." The pilot shrugs.

"Indeed. Belfast, round up these listed Kansen as well as Glasgow and bring them here." The Fleet Admiral orders.

"Immediately, Master." The Head Maid bows and leaves the room.

1998.

Spring Sea, near the Payton Channel.

The Allied Forces 4th Fleet steams towards a Rebel fortress and are preparing to break through the Payton Channel. On the deck of the flagship Carrier, Scarface Squadron ready their planes for take-off.

Nagase is approached by a taller woman who gently pokes her shoulder. She spins around and looks up at her, "Oh, Miss Valley. What can I do for you?"

"I'd like to know little about you two. You and Phoenix. I've heard a lot about him from this war and the last. Is he the real deal?" The Kansen of the Kinnear-class Carrier, White Valley, inquires.

"Yep, he's the real Phoenix, although he's unfortunately removed the firebird paint from his Raptor. I can attest to his combat prowess. He's unstoppable. Don't you worry, Miss Valley, we'll get your Fleet through the Channel. We'll undoubtedly not get through without a scratch, but we'll do it."

"…could I speak with him?" the Carrier asks.

Nagase looks over at her squadron leader, doing some pre-flight checks, "He's… not really good at talking…"

"He's shy?"

"He's mute. Gets kinda annoying when I ask what's wrong or if he needs help, but I can't argue that he's the best ace pilot I've ever seen." Nagase assures.

"Mute, huh?" She mutters, "Reminds me of Cipher…"

"Hm?" Edge asks.

"Oh? Just some other pilot I've heard about from a fellow Carrier friend of mine. Apparently her ace pilot didn't talk much either, but I don't think he was fully mute." White Valley clarifies. She looks ahead of the Fleet and sees land. "Looks like we're getting close. I'll leave you to it. I'll contact you from my bridge." The Carrier grins and begins to leave.

"Wait..." Nagase calls out.

"What is it?" The Kansen asks.

"Um… about your… sisters…" Nagase nervously starts.

"What about them?" Valley replies in a darker tone, her eyes narrowed.

"I'm sorry it came to this… they wouldn't surrender. I'm deeply sorry." The pilot announces sadly.

"They made their choice. They stopped being my sisters when they turned their backs on everyone they swore to protect. On everything they stood for." The Carrier coldly responds. She turns around again and adds, "But… thank you… for at least showing that you care." She gives Nagase a little smile before turning again and walking away, letting the pilot get back to her checks.

A little while later, the mission begins. Scarface Squadron and the 4th Fleet will make up the first wave of an attack on the Rebel fortress, but they must first brute force their way through the Channel as going around will give the Coup d' état more time to mount a stronger defence. Phoenix and Edge take off and maintain a Combat Air Patrol, keeping a lookout for enemy air units.

Valley enters the bride where her Captain stands observing the distant landscape where their target lay. He nods at her and picks up the radio, "This is the Captain of the Allied Forces 4th Fleet flagship White Valley. I haven't met either of you two yet, but you must be Scarface Squadron. We're trusting you to escort us through the Payton Channel."

Keynote chimes in, "'We're trusting you'? Since when have you gone so soft, Liam?"

Liam smiles at White Valley, making her looks away and blush. He responds, "Olsen? Is that you? Who'd have guessed you'd be running an ace squadron?"

"Yeah. Look, let's save the chitchat for later. We've got company." Keynote replies upon seeing the tremendous amount of enemy forces assembling to slow the 4th Fleet, which is just the White Valley and two human-crewed Frigates. He addresses Scarface 1, "That's quite the welcome party, but don't forget, Phoenix. The success of this mission lies in ensuring the Fleet's safety."

A sailor on one of the Frigates interrupts, "Tell those Rebel scum that Scarface Squadron is here. That ought to scare them!"

Valley chuckles, making Captain Liam look up at her with a smile. The Carrier says, "At least morale is high, considering our tiny little Task Force." As she summons her own planes ready for takeoff. Although she's smiling, he can see the distant look in her eyes.

Liam gently takes her hand in his and asks, "Are you sure you're feeling alright, dear?"

Her smile vanishes as she sighs, "Yeah… I'll grieve my sisters when the war's over, sir."

"If you need to let it all out after this mission, I'll be here for you. Don't ever bottle things like this up, understand? It'll do more damage over time." The Commander says.

"…yes, sir. Engaging hostile air units."

Having sunk two Kinnear-class Carriers and their Kansen, Scarface Squadron finally has the full support of the power of one of them against the massive Rebel force. Falling into formation with Phoenix and Edge, Valley's remote-controlled aircraft act as whole squadrons of wingmen for both of them.

Which is good thing, considering the Rebels have just as many Siren drone craft flying with their own human fighters.

St. Ark.

The Sirens controlling the drones watch from the main Rebel Stronghold.

"This is going to be a tough one for those two, even with Kansen support…" the Observer says.

"It better be. I want to finally test Phoenix properly. The data we managed to collect from this 'ZOE' AI has been very tedious to work with. How goes the transfer of the data to the drones?"

"Unfortunately, the transfer of Phoenix's flight data is incomplete. The AI pod had already sent most of I ts data to its home base, leaving behind only the remnants of the data. That coupled with the damage the pod itself sustained corrupted what was left. It seems we're not so lucky after all. The drones we have in play will be more than a match for the average ace now, but against Scarface Squadron and that Kansen? I don't have much confidence. We will need to seek out where the red aircraft came from and then find the AI for our own drones."

"It's never simple, is it…?" The Empress grunts. "Since when were humans so much more adept at us at programming drone AI…? Well, at least battles like this show us what Phoenix can do against a massive force and we can collect our own data on him. Zero's plan for the best aces in this world better be worth it. Keeping the Demon Lord and his plane in suspension is already using up a considerable amount of our power… we can only take the very best. That 'Nagase' girl of his will have to be ignored for now." The Empress replies.

"Such a shame. That apology of hers to that poor Kansen felt so sad…" the Observer quips.

"Just keep the spy drone over that fleet. If White Valley so much as sneezes, I want to know about it."

"Of course, Your Nosy-ness."

Payton Channel.

Commander Liam reports, "Rebel warships are blocking the channel exit! They may have Kansen! Phoenix, you need to sink them before they endanger our Fleet!"

Luckily, Phoenix is already on the case. Taking aim at a non-Kansen Cruiser, he unleashes hellfire upon it, overpowering the ship's CIWS and putting holes in the hull, setting the example as to what he's about to do to the other Rebel ships, who are all now focusing on him instead of the Allied Fleet, who themselves are busy fighting off Siren drones, one of which lands a missile hit on one of the Frigates.

The sailor from before yells, "Damn it, we just took a direct hit!"

Captain Liam orders, "Damage report! Put a firefighter on standby!"

Phoenix returns from his boat massacre to help Nagase hold off the Rebel and Siren fighters. As he also takes out tanks on the ground whenever he can, the Captain reports, "We're halfway through the channel! The ravine ends just ahead! Keep going, Scarface Squadron! The channel exit is in sight! Keep covering us until we're out!"

White Valley adds, "Phoenix, I see two Cruisers blocking the exit. I wish not to see them anymore." Her wish is swiftly granted as the two ships are sent to the bottom. "Thanks, hun." She smiles.

Liam puts his arm around her waist, "We're almost through, then the real assault begins."

"I know. I'm ready." The Kansen replies.

"You're sure?"

"Well, if I'm not, then we're fucked, aren't we?" Valley looks at him.

"I guess so." The man chuckles.

As the last remaining aircraft are taken out, Keynote confirms, "All enemy threats have been removed from the immediate airspace. Now our fleet should be safe. Mission is a success."

Captain Liam adds, "Thanks, Scarface Squadron. We owe you our lives. And one more thing, Olsen. How's your wife doing?"

"Sophie's doing fine. She said she'd like to see you too sometime."

"Great. I have a message for her; Tell her I'll come give her husband a pounding if he starts acting up." Liam jokes, making Valley laugh out loud.

Hearing the Kansen in the background, Keynote lets out an annoyed grunt.

"How romantic." Edge teases.

"…you got it, Captain." Keynote finally relents.

Top-Secret Gründer Industries research lab.

Morgan is kicked into the room with Deutschland carrying Purity's head and body behind him. He tries to get up but then the Kansen steps on him, pinning him to the floor. She glares at him and yells, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER MEMORIES!?"

Struggling to breathe and his hands on Deutschland's ankle in a failing attempt to ease the pressure off his chest, he rasps, "I… I altered them so that she'd obey my command…"

"So why did she go batshit insane!?" The Kansen demands with Purity's pouting head staring down at him too.

"You tell me! You both come from the same place and you're showing a good example of craziness yourself right now!"

"DON'T MAKE ME STOMP ON YOUR—"

"Deutschland! No!" Purity pleads. "We need him, remember!?"

Sighing, the Kansen puts Purity down on the table and grabs Morgan, and throws him into a chair. "Now, you will help fix her, or I will FUCKING CASTRATE YOU, DU VERDAMMTES ARSCHLOCH!"

"Okay! Okay! Calm down!" Morgan begs. "Just let me take a look at her and I'll see what I can do!"

"Fine." She equips hand-cannon and aims it at him. "Move your ass!"

"Alright!" Morgan stands up and walks over to Purity while the Siren glares up at him, still pouting. He picks up her head and she resist the urge to try and bite him as he puts it back on her shoulders, making sure to reconnect everything properly, or at least as well as he can. Luckily, the restored power to her body allows it to start mending the neck by itself.

Purity sits up and stretches, "Aahh… that's better…" she cracks her neck tinted sides and then suddenly grabs Morgan by his lab coat, "Now fix my memories!"

The memory stick is shoved into his hand by Deutschland and he sighs, "Right, then…" he turns towards the computer and starts undoing the tampering to Purity's memories.

"I'm sorry…" the Siren mutters.

"Was?" Deutschland asks, not taking her eyes off the scientist.

"From what I saw in those memories… I understand why you lied… and… I'm sorry for all I did to you before…" the Siren admits.

"You are?" Deutschland finally looks at her, surprised, and sees what seems like genuine remorse on Purity's face.

"Yeah… I just wanna fit in… and Azur Lane branded me an enemy by default, so I had to stay with the other Sirens…" she looks at the ground while nervously rubbing her left elbow with her right.

The Kansen sighs and gently holds the Siren's hand. She says, "Purity… you're probably the most violent and crazy Siren we've ever fought. We assumed that's just how you are, but this time spent with you here has shown me who you really are. A good, helpful and thoughtful person. Whatever the Sirens programmed into you, I can see that wasn't your true self. This is."

Purity smiles, but sees the Kansen's own turn to a frown.

"However, what you did to so many of us… I don't know of all of the Kansen back home can forgive you… but if I'm there with you, I can try and help persuade them, show them that you are sorry and that at least some Sirens can be allies. It's clear none of what you did was anything you really wanted. You were just forced to obey the other Sirens or have your mind reset or deleted or whatever… I'll be willing to help you become a better person, and you can be accepted by us soon enough. Again, it would take time for a lot of Kansen to forgive you, and some may never do, but eventually, you could be one of us… I… I guess…" Deutschland trails off at the end, rather surprised at herself. Everything she's been through since she got here seems to have changed her. Humbled her, even.

"Wait, there's more of you?" Morgan asks the Siren.

"SILENCE, LOWLY ANIMAL!" Deutschland yells, hitting him on the back of the head but not hard enough to knock him out, making Purity laugh.

Perhaps she hasn't changed too much, after all.