"And that's all, Comrade Commander," Sovetskaya Rossiya finished explaining.
"Thanks, Rossiya," Ryan nodded to the screen displaying the battleship's face. Her head was half-covered in bandages and gauzes, and her arm was tightly attached to her torso by a sling, keeping her fractured ribs in place. "Take care of yourself," he added, trying to maintain a semblance of composure.
The woman nodded back at him weakly before cutting off the connection, and the room turned silent as Ryan processed the news.
"This is the worst," he thought.
What he feared the most was happening. It hadn't even been two days since Observer had spoken about Tower's existence, and it turns out the Sirens were so far ahead in the restoration process that they could already mobilize her rigging. Of course, Azur Lane hadn't had enough time to prepare an effective countermeasure against the Arbiter, but at least, thanks to the shipgirls of the Northern Parliament, they wouldn't be caught unaware of its awakening.
The first thing Rossiya and the others did after coming out—mostly unscathed—of their encounter with Tower was to hurry back home and report to Sovetsky Soyuz, who immediately set up a call with the Commander to allow her sister to tell him about their engagement with the enemy—although it couldn't even be classified as such, as the colossal whale-like rigging simply took off after bursting out of its resting place, heading in a seemingly random direction.
Unfortunately, by the time that happened, Tower had already touched land in Scotland. It had barreled through Edingburgh's port like a freight train, wreaking havoc on everything in its path. It continued its rampage inland until it emerged on the west coast of the UK, then kept going along Ireland's northern coast, leaving more devastation in its wake.
Where it was headed, they didn't know, but TB had an idea.
"According to my calculations, Tower is getting ready to cross the Atlantic," she said, drawing Ryan's attention. "Her destination escapes me, but at this rate, she's bound to touch land into the states."
Ryan pushed back the dread at the prospect and brought back his focus. Why would she do that? After touching land in Scotland, the Sirens could have simply turned her rigging southward, and it would have literally plowed the entirety of the UK, bringing the Royal Navy to its knees before focusing on the rest of Europe. Wasn't that what they woke her up for? To unleash its destructive power against humanity?
He shook his head. Never mind that; he had to focus on the facts, and the facts were that if Tower reached the east coast of the United States and began crossing the inland, it would be a disaster. If that happened, Azur Lane wouldn't be able to do anything; they could only wait for Tower to pop up on the other side to intercept her as the Eagle Union territories suffered immeasurable damage.
"We cannot allow it. We need to tell Admiral Nimitz immediately," Enterprise declared urgently. After the news spread around the base, she and the others were pulled away from the breakfast party at the Royal Navy dorm to witness the conversation between the Commander and the Northern Parliament and to be briefed about the situation. "He and the others are the only ones who can intercept Tower in time. They can buy us enough time to arrive and help them." Even if she was trying not to show it, the carrier was visibly shaken by the news; understandably so, as many of her friends and comrades were stationed in New York Harbor under the admiral's command.
"We'll tell them, but we aren't going to join them," Ryan declared solemnly.
Everyone turned to gawk at him.
"What?!"
"Commander, why?!"
"TB, can I have a proper outline of Tower's course?" He asked instead of replying.
"Of course, Commander," TB replied. One of the cables sprouting from her back moved to connect to the holotable in the middle of the room, which lit up to project the image of a blue, stylized globe. The zoom focused on the northern hemisphere for everyone to see, where a flashing red dot and line indicated Tower's possible course and current position. "Considering that we don't know her destination and assuming that she doesn't change direction all of a sudden, this is the result with the largest acceptable margin of error."
Ryan nodded to her in thanks before turning to address everyone else. "Listen, everyone, we know what Tower is capable of. Aoste already told us, and that comes to our advantage. Maybe if we joined the Eagle Union forces, we might be able to stop her, but we're talking about a moving weapon of mass destruction. If we just wait for her to come at us all clumped together in the same spot, we risk being all wiped out in one fell swoop," he explained concisely. "Besides, even if we depart now, we won't make it in time."
Enterprise bit her lips and hung her head. She knew he was right. The strategic position of the joint base in the Pacific allowed the fleet to operate in the Atlantic as well, if necessary, but the most efficient way to do so was to cross the Panama Canal. It was convenient, and it wouldn't normally be an issue, but this time, with so little notice, they wouldn't make it in time to intercept Tower in the open ocean.
"Then what do we do? If they engage on their own, they'll be destroyed," Yorktown retorted. "We can't just stay here doing nothing."
"And we won't; I have another idea," Ryan stated, turning to look to the side at Sparviero and Massachusetts.
The two of them, now at the center of attention, looked around, then perked up in understanding at the telling look the Commander was giving them.
"Are we thinking the same thing, Commander?" Sparviero inquired with a knowing smile.
"That's right," Ryan confirmed. "It'll be a repeat of what we did at the Sanctuary, but this time, we'll be on the attack. We are going to warp all the way in Europe, and we are going to intercept Tower before she gets too far—seven hundred miles out into the Atlantic," he explained as a group of blue-colored dots appeared on the west coast of Europe and began converging separately toward the red line that symbolized Tower's course. "We'll take her by surprise and bring her down before she can crush us."
"And by spreading our forces on different sides, we minimize the damage that such a powerful weapon could inflict on us," Amagi mused aloud. "Well thought out, Shikikan," she told him with a smile, making him scratch the back of his head sheepishly.
Enterprise frowned in thought. "Now I see, but... Mamie, you haven't been in Europe recently. How will you take us there?"
"As per the Commander's request, I gave one of my beacons to Emperor and the others when they departed," Massachusetts explained. "I can take us there, no problem."
"Wait, Commandant," Dunkerque interjected. "Does that mean…?" She trailed off with a hopeful tone.
"That's right, Dunkerque," Ryan told her with a nod. "Time to go home."
Lenin was lost in thought. News of the most recent development was spreading like wildfire and had reached the Iris Orthodoxy as well.
If he understood correctly what August had said to Leviathan, the Kansen of the Northern Parliament had bumped into a Siren base during one of their patrols, which was also the hideout of a particularly dangerous but dormant Antiochus, and the Sirens, feeling like they had been busted, had activated said Arbiter with the intent of unleashing its destructive power on humanity—or at least, that's what everyone would have expected.
In actuality, Tower wasn't going after the most populated areas nor any relevant military installations; her rigging had just laid waste to the land it had crossed without any actual purpose and was now on the verge of crossing the second greatest body of water in the world.
Her movements made no sense, and the Royal Navy had been caught so off-guard that they couldn't organize a response quickly enough. When they tried to intercept her as she moved further south, they missed her course and were left behind, essentially passing the ball to their closest allies—the joint fleet stationed at Brest.
The response was the immediate deployment of the Kansen stationed there, who had set off so quickly that they weren't even given the time for a proper briefing.
And now, Lenin was sailing along with his brothers and the rest of the fleet. They all had their rigging out and were sailing in formation on their way to catch that ball. The icebreaker's mind, though, wasn't on how to bring down such a menacing threat; it was rather on a certain white-haired destroyer.
There was no denying that Le Malin was the person he had bonded with the most during his stay in this world. They had gone through a lot together since they first met, and he had learned to know her on a comparably deeper level than the other shipgirls.
And that's exactly what he was struggling with.
What he had told L'Indomptable during their previous confrontation was true; he wasn't trying to hit on Le Malin. He knew he had a soft spot for her, but he figured it was normal. The Vichya destroyer was kind of a klutz, but she had this air around her, an allure that had drawn him in since he first laid eyes on her, but he never actually gave much thought to it until now.
Ironically, what brought this all to the surface were the interactions he had with her sisters. L'Indomptable's overprotectiveness and Le Terrible's continuous teasing did nothing but fuel his internal struggle even more, making him question himself more often than not, until he realized that his feelings for her ran much deeper than he initially thought.
"You are in love."
Emperor's voice came so suddenly and so close to his ear that Lenin's legs buckled, and he almost lost his balance on the waves below his feet.
"W-w-what?! Where did that come from?!" He exclaimed in surprise.
"You were staring at her like a lovesick puppy, Teddy Bear," Emperor said, nodding ahead of them. "You do it every time her back is turned."
Lenin's rebuttal died in his throat, and his gaze instinctively followed his brother's to where Le Malin was advancing with her sisters further ahead in the formation.
"That's right; just like that," Emperor said, his lips quirking up in a smirk. "And wanna know something? She does the same when you aren't looking," he added, whispering the last part with a conspiring tone.
Lenin's cheeks tinged red, and he averted his eyes, not knowing what to say.
"R-really?" He asked with a stutter, tentatively raising his gaze.
How was he supposed to react to that? Emperor just told him to the face that there was a chance his crush wasn't one-sided; that alone was enough to make any young man's heart flutter.
"Oh my God, I can't believe this; you are not denying it!" Emperor exclaimed, gushing at the sight of the embarrassed icebreaker. "Spring has finally come for our little brother as well. And here I thought your heart would be frozen forever like a popsicle in winter."
"Dammit, now you are doing it on purpose," Lenin muttered as the red spread even to his ears.
"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean it." Emperor's smirk didn't leave his face as he wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "You know I have a certain experience with the fairer sex. I could give you some advice. What do you say? Interested?" He asked him, unable to contain his excitement.
Next to him, Leviathan interrupted him by putting a hand on his shoulder. "No. I'm taking this from here. You've tormented him enough."
"Oh, come on, brother, I've been waiting for this moment since forever; let me have this one," Emperor complained.
But Leviathan was adamant. "I can already imagine the advice you are going to give him. This is a job for a gentleman, not a womanizer."
"Excuse me, good sir, are you trying to imply that I'm not a gentleman?"
"Lenin needs some serious advice right now, not some dirty pep talk."
"Guys, please…" Lenin sighed. "Let's just focus on the mission; we are almost at the contact point."
Ignoring his brothers, he shifted his attention ahead, trying to bring his focus back on track, but his gaze inevitably settled on Le Malin, sending his mind into another spiraling mess. Now that he thought about it, the destroyer's reaction to her sisters' teasing should have clued him in a lot sooner, but he had been too embarrassed to put two and two together.
He liked her, and there was a chance she liked him back. That simple thought was enough to make him ecstatic, but it also made him even more anxious. Before, he would have just told himself not to get carried away, but now, the more he thought about it, the less absurd it seemed. Even the destroyer's more eccentric demeanor—which usually surfaced only when she was around him—was starting to make more sense.
Now, it was a matter of understanding what to do with this newfound realization.
He was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice the weird formation of dark clouds gathering on the horizon until someone shouted a warning, and the fleet came to an abrupt stop. Everyone turned their heads toward it, and for a second, silence reigned over the Kansen until a deep, drawn-out bellow resounded in the air. Amidst the distant flashes of lighting and the muffled roars of thunder, a shadow could be seen emerging from the stormy clouds.
It was Tower. Their target had appeared.
Anzeel was pacing back and forth in the middle of the square at the center of the harbor, the absence of the Kansen and the scarce presence of human personnel making her even more nervous than she already was.
Right when she had thought her job with the Reality Lens at the joint base was done, Ryan had told her that there were a couple more patients he wanted her to look at, and on top of that, she had to be transferred to Brest with the whole contraption to attend to them.
She had wanted to express her complaints, but when he informed her of how serious their condition was and that he wasn't even sure she could actually do something to help them, concern replaced her irritation, and she immediately relented, resigning herself to a one-way trip with Massachusetts' warping ability.
That was only a few days before, and since then, she had been staying at Brest, working tirelessly with the Reality Lens to make sure that her two patients could wake up as soon as possible.
Not as quick as she hoped, though.
A flicker in the ether caught her attention, and Massachusetts blinked into existence a few feet away from her, accompanied by Ryan, Freedom, and Sparviero.
The shipgirl collapsed on her knees as soon as she appeared, letting out a long, fatigued sigh, but Freedom was there to catch her.
"You okay, Mamie?" Ryan asked her worriedly.
"Yeah…" she slurred. "Too much warping lately… I don't think I can do it again…"
"You did great. Get some rest now, okay? We'll take care of everything," the Commander said.
"Alright…" Massachusetts said dejectedly. "Not that I'd be of any help like this…"
As Sparviero moved to the side to open his pocket dimension and let everyone out, Anzeel earnestly approached Ryan.
"Doctor, good to see you..." Ryan paused after noticing Anzeel's troubled expression. "What's wrong?"
"Um… Actually, Commander, there's a problem," Anzeel said.
"Uh-oh," Ryan thought. Those were the last words he wanted to hear, as if they didn't already have enough on their plate. "What is it?" He asked her in apprehension.
"The Cardinal and the others have already left," she stated.
"What? Why? They were supposed to wait for us!" Ryan exclaimed.
Before departing, he had a meeting with Queen Elizabeth and Richelieu, and together, they devised a course of action. Queen Elizabeth was understandably furious; she and her subordinates were itching to take on the one responsible for devastating their homeland, so it was decided that the Royal Navy would be the first to engage Tower. They would intercept her in the open ocean and try everything they could to slow her down, buying enough time for him and Richelieu to complete their preparations. When the two of them would depart from Brest with their fleets, they would join the Royal Navy in the engagement, and together, they would take Tower by surprise with a pincer movement.
At least that was the plan.
"I know, but it seems there has been a change in Tower's course," Anzeel said. "She suddenly began speeding up, and the Royal Navy missed her. As soon as Richelieu got the news, she decided to depart to intercept her instead of waiting."
Ryan cursed under his breath. Tower speeding up or changing her course was something they had taken into account, but her straight up outrunning the Royal Navy meant engaging her with one fleet less. Richelieu did the right thing by setting off early to make up for it, but it also meant putting herself and her fleet at huge risk.
He racked his brain, thinking hard about how to proceed. He could have Freedom bring one of Massachusetts' beacons directly to them, but he immediately scratched that idea. Even if the shipboy made it in time, teleporting with Massachusetts in that state could be a disaster for everyone involved.
They'd have to count on their own and set sail at full speed if they didn't want the worst to happen.
"Dammit, let's just hope they don't do anything rash," Ryan mused, then he turned to address the rest of the Kansen, who were trying to take their bearings after coming out of Sparviero's pocket dimension. "Everyone, change of plans! We need to set sail immediately!"
"Commandant, what happened? Where's everyone else?" Dunkerque inquired in concern.
"There has been a setback, and they've already departed," he declared. "We need to catch up to them as soon as possible."
"Right!"
As the stream of Kansen acknowledged his orders and began hastily making their way toward the docks, he noticed a couple of figures approaching him from the side: a blonde woman and a brunette.
Initially, he didn't recognize them, but then he did a double take, his eyes going wide in disbelief.
"Please, wait a moment, Kommandant," the blonde woman said. "We might be able to help you."
She was wearing a fitted black uniform with a very short skirt and tight knee-high boots. She also had a black officer cap on her head, a black and red cape around her shoulders, and what looked like a zweihander sheathed at her belt.
"We've been waiting for you to show up," said the brunette with a ponytail next to her. "We didn't make it in time to go with my sister, and we want you to take us with you."
She also had a tight-fitting uniform, but this one bore red and black colors, and it was open in the front to show off her cleavage, just like the one she used to wear. As opposed to before, she was wearing a long-sleeved red and black gold-trimmed coat on her shoulders, which she wore with her arms outside of the sleeves, and that went down to frame her bare thighs and mismatched stockings. She also wore a large, feathered captain's hat on her head, making her look like a proper privateer.
Ryan felt like time had stopped in his mind. Not because of the surprise, but because he couldn't hear a pin drop around him. Glancing around, he noticed that some of the other shipgirls who had lingered behind were also frozen on the spot, looking at the two women in incredulity.
"What's wrong? Y'all look like you've seen a ghost. Are we in a hurry or not?" The pirate woman remarked, but no one seemed to react to her words.
Until a voice broke the silence.
"Jeanie!" Dunkerque shot out of the crowd and all but slammed into Jean Bart, who could barely keep her balance as she reciprocated the hug. "I can't believe this! You are awake!"
"Hey, Dunkerque, it's good to see you back on your feet," Jean Bart said, soothing the back of her sobbing friend. "Come on, stop crying. It worked; I'm alive. There's no need to make a fuss about it."
As the only two Vichya present hugged it out, Bismarck let out a small smile and turned her gaze to scan the group of shipgirls in front of her, her eyes settling on a certain British battlecruiser.
"Bismarck, is that really you?" Hood stepped forward hesitantly, and Bismarck immediately noticed the lack of a cane in her hands. She swallowed a lump of emotion and tried to put up a confident smile.
"Y-yes, Hood, it's me. It's good to see you back on your... No, that's not it," she stammered. "Um, you look... healthy; was it the doctor's work?"
Hood did her best to stifle a chuckle. After taking a deep breath to contain her emotion, she stepped forward and caught the other woman in a soft hug. Bismarck's body stiffened in surprise before she awkwardly returned it.
"Yes, it was," Hood replied. "She truly is an angel for performing all these miracles."
"Hehehe… No, I did nothing; it was a piece of cake, really," Anzeel said sheepishly, looking down with a soft blush on her cheeks.
"I figured modesty wasn't your forte, doctor," Ryan chimed in.
"Okay, fine, it was extremely difficult and exhausting, but it was worth it!"
Anzeel wasn't lying.
While her appearance had brought some hope to the residents of the base, she wasn't prepared for how serious Jean Bart's and Bismarck's conditions actually were. Their connection to their Cubes was hanging by a thread, and the two were more dead than alive, so much so that she feared she would have made things worse by interfering with the Reality Lens.
But the looks their comrades and friends had given her tugged at her heartstrings, only fueling her resolve to see the operation through, even if she had to do it through multiple sessions.
Issues began popping up immediately, though. As they were unconscious, Bismarck and Jean Bart couldn't recall their damaged vessels. She thought she could try doing it herself in their place by forcefully tapping into their Cubes with the Reality Lens. From there, she would be able to work on mending the damage to their bodies. The problem was that the moment they'd wake up and called out their ships, they would just collapse on themselves, undoing everything she had done.
So, all she could do was cut off their connection with their hulls.
As harrowing as that sounded, it wasn't much different from what she did to Yorktown—severing her connection with her old rigging and replacing it with the new Type II. As rigging and ship were both products of the hull data of a Kansen, they were essentially the same thing, allowing the shipgirls to use them interchangeably according to their needs. Normally, removing one meant removing the other, but by installing the Type II rigging, it was more like overwriting a new file on an old one, so nothing of importance would be lost.
Luckily, she didn't come into this timeline unprepared. Yorktown's wasn't the only model of Type II rigging she had brought with her.
Too bad the whole procedure had taken her longer than expected. When she finished, Richelieu and the fleet had already departed to intercept Tower.
But now, a few hours later, the two battleships had finally woken up, and Ryan and his fleet had arrived.
"Bismarck, Jean Bart, it's good to have you back," Ryan said as the two of them finished greeting their friends and comrades. "But what did you mean by that? How can you help us?"
Anzeel adjusted her glasses and puffed out her chest. "You better brace yourself, Commander," she said, a flash of pride mixed with mischievousness flickering behind her eyes. "Cause we are going to blow your mind."
Richelieu knew that engaging Tower on their own wasn't going to be easy; that's why the orders she had given her comrades were to just slow her down. The plan was to harass her with a series of hit-and-runs while alternating between groups from a safe distance.
However, as everyone knows, no plan survives contact with the enemy.
Turns out Tower wasn't alone. She had a bunch of Original Sirens escorting her—because of course she did. The moment Richelieu and her fleet entered the engagement radius, the clouds enveloping the figure of the giant whale-like rigging simply dissipated, disappearing into thin air and revealing a bunch of Hive-types hovering around it, protecting it.
Tower having an escort wasn't a surprise. Thanks to Aoste, they knew in advance that her rigging could store an entire flock of large drones called Pilots, which he had named after the pilot fish that usually gather around sharks and large marine animals to feed on their leftovers and parasites. It seemed a bit overkill for a weapon of such size, but their deployment had been taken into account during the planning of the operation.
However, that wasn't the case for the Hive-types. The shipgirls who were there at the time during the fall of the Basilica remembered clearly how hard it had been to deal with just one of them. But four at the same time? Not with their numbers.
"They are relentless," Richelieu grimaced internally. Rigging out, she held her banner high in the air, using its flashiness as bait for the Drone-types.
She and her own escort sprayed the area ahead of them with gunfire, trying to bring down as many of the nimble attackers as they could in one go before they got too close, at which point they'd be forced to switch to their close-range weapons.
But no matter how many they destroyed, the Hive-types kept pouring more and more out of their hulls.
She looked up at the closest of the nightmarish flying saucers right as it opened its compartments to unleash another horde of Drone-types and grimaced again. If they kept going like that, the entire fleet would eventually be overwhelmed.
"Monsieur Emperor, what's the situation on your side?" She asked the shipboy whom she had put in charge of managing aerial combat, taking advantage of a moment of respite to address him through the comms.
"Not good, Cardinal!" Emperor's voice came in, strained and full of concern. "We can barely get a hit on them!"
That wasn't what she wanted to hear. She was hoping that drawing the attention of the Drone-types would give their carriers enough of an opening to retaliate against the Hive-types with their aircraft.
But Tower's personal drones were proving much harder to deal with than expected. They weren't that fast, but they had enough armor to resist most attacks and used it to shield the Hive-types whenever a formation of allied aircraft would get too close to them.
"Cardinal, Tower is getting further and further away!" Algérie yelled from beside her.
Richelieu turned to look in the direction her comrade was pointing, and her blood ran cold in her veins. She had been so distracted by the fight that she didn't keep an eye on Tower's movements. The giant whale hovering above them was blocking the sun, casting a huge shadow over the battlefield, and it was slowly moving away from there.
That left the Kansen puzzled. Tower's rigging had done nothing the whole time, maintaining a passive stance since the beginning of the engagement. It had slowed down to allow its escort to deal with them but kept going on its course unrelentingly, as if they were nothing but ants, unworthy even of attention. It kept itself out of range of their guns as its escort kept them occupied. Now, it was about to slip away, and if it did, all their effort would be for nothing.
"We need to stop her!" Richelieu declared. "Monsieur Emperor, we can deal with the Drone-types a little longer; you and the other carriers focus your effort on Tower!" She yelled into the comms.
"Got it, Cardinal!" He responded. "You heard her, ladies! Time to show this cheap-ass Moby Dick what we are made of!"
The rallying cry that came through the comms from the other carriers as a reply to the shipboy was deafening, and Richelieu allowed herself a small smile.
"This must be another trial from Heaven," she thought, her mind drifting to her sister for a second. She had taken to the sea while Anzeel was still in the middle of the operation, and she prayed to the Lord for it to be successful and for her sister to be back in the land of the living with all her heart. She'd have much preferred to be there for Jean Bart in case it was, but alas, fate had other plans. Maybe if she made it through this, her reward would be her sister's recovery, but if she had to be honest, she'd be content even if her demise was the price to pay for it.
She let out a determined breath. If that were the case, she'd have to make sure her comrades wouldn't have to be part of it. That was her duty as flagship and Cardinal of the Iris Orthodoxy.
She lifted her spear once again and swiftly waved the banner attached to it in a grandiose manner.
"Camarades de l'Orthodoxie, prepare to give it your all!" She shouted. "For liberty and glory! Aux armes, marchons!"
While the rest of the carriers followed Richelieu's orders, a pair of shipgirls found themselves lingering behind.
"Unicorn, it's too dangerous," Illustrious tried to argue with the purple-haired carrier, opposing the idea she had just presented to her.
"Big sister, you don't have to worry about me. I've been training a lot; I've become strong," Unicorn replied.
There was fear in her eyes, Illustrious could see it, but there was also something new that she'd rarely seen in them. She grimaced at that, averting her gaze from hers. Inevitably, it settled on the pair of shipboys beside them.
"Are you sure about this?" Leviathan asked Lenin with a serious tone. The two were having a similar conversation, all behind the cover of Liebe's large form.
"Yes, brother," the icebreaker replied. "I'm tired of hiding behind cover; I want to be of help, and there's only one way I can do it."
When Leviathan glanced to the side, his gaze met Illustrious'. They both seemed to be in the same pickle, he noticed, but contrary to her, he knew what his little brother was capable of. So, to him, the decision was much easier.
"It seems we aren't winning this one," he mused aloud. Their wish to step up and into the fray was dangerous, sure, but from what he'd had the chance to see, the two of them were more than ready.
"Leviathan?"
"We might regret this either way, so we might as well let them do it," he told her. "Besides, I trust you'll keep them safe with your aircraft while I cover for you," he added with a determined nod.
Illustrious looked back at Unicorn, conflicting emotions tugging on her heart. The shorter carrier would usually tremble in the face of a battle, hiding behind her skirt while hugging her plushy tight. This was the first time her adoptive little sister showed so much initiative.
She didn't want to clip her wings, but she was too worried to just let her go. The situation was that desperate.
"Big sis, I can do this. I… I want to do this, please," Unicorn insisted, fixing her with a pleading but determined gaze.
Maybe it was the explosions going off around them that made Unicorn's resolve seem even more unwavering, but in the end, Illustrious relented.
"Alright, but please be careful, both of you."
Lenin looked down at the battlefield from above and frowned. The situation was slowly getting out of hand.
Richelieu and the rest of the vanguard were drawing the attention of the swarm of Drone-types, but soon they'd be overwhelmed. He knew that Le Malin was down there, supporting her flagship with her sisters and comrades, but he couldn't see her from up there.
He could barely keep at bay his concern for her, but him not having any kind of armament meant he couldn't do much to thin out the swarm. For that reason, from the beginning of the battle, he could do nothing but hide behind Leviathan's burlier and tougher form while the others dealt with the enemy.
He desperately wanted to help, but he didn't know what to do, so he tried racking his brain for something until his mind went back to when Algérie was recounting the events of the Basilica to Le Malin, particularly how she and Jean Bart had dealt with that Hive-type back then with the help of August.
When he voiced the idea that had come to his mind, Unicorn happened to be there with Illustrious and overheard it. One thing led to another, and now, there he was, sitting behind the purple-haired light carrier while riding on her plushy's back.
As soon as they received Illustrious' approval, Yuni had turned into her… grown-up form, and they took off into the sky.
He never thought the day would come when he would ride a unicorn into battle; he would have preferred to ride on Drachenberg's back for once, but alas, August was too busy covering the vanguard with her rigging, so he'd have to make do with the magical plushy.
Ultimately, it was for the better, he figured. Yuni's size was a lot less conspicuous than the dragon's, allowing them to weave through the battle-riddled sky while going almost completely unnoticed by the enemy. It helped that most of the Drone-types were aiming for Richelieu and the vanguard, but that's exactly what they were trying to help with.
"Over there!" Lenin shouted, pointing toward one of the Hive-types hovering ahead of them. It was surrounded by two of Tower's drones, hovering around it like a pair of guard dogs.
"H-how do we get past them?" Unicorn inquired. The Pilots were the size of a cargo plane, and from up close, they looked like some kind of spaceship straight out of a sci-fi novel.
But in their attempt to find an opening, the two Kansen wandered too close for comfort. The lights on the bodies of the Pilots began glowing more intensely as they took notice of the interlopers' presence, and their bulky bodies began swiveling to aim their alien-looking guns at them.
"Uh-oh!" Lenin uttered.
"Yuni!" Unicorn shouted.
Right before the Pilots fired, Yuni folded her wings against her body, diving downward to avoid the attack. Lenin and Unicorn held on for dear life to her purple mane as she twisted and turned midair, trying her best to avoid the energy blasts by strongly flapping her wings.
After a few close calls, the sound of aircraft engine reached their ears, and soon they found themselves flanked by an entire formation of planes. Yuni came to a stop, right as one of those aircraft threw itself in front of them, taking a blast that reduced it to smithereens. Then a voice reached their ears. "Don't hesitate, you two, go!"
"Big sis…" Unicorn felt herself tear up as Illustrious' planes moved past them, aiming directly for the Pilots, engaging them like a murder of crows mobbing a giant eagle.
Without hesitation, she spurred Yuni, who let out a neigh and gave a strong flap of her wings, swiftly climbing higher in the air. She kept going until they found themselves right above the Hive-type.
Lenin took a peek below. The only thing higher than them was Tower, which was getting further and further away. Illustrious' planes were also at their limit, having been reduced to only a small fraction. A few more seconds, and the drones would be free to attack them once again.
It was now or never.
"Up here is fine," Lenin said to Unicorn.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Lenin?" She inquired, unsure. Now that the adrenaline was starting to fade, she realized the extent of what he was trying to do.
"A bit late to chicken out, don't you think?" He commented drily, feeling his throat drier than he expected.
"R-right, I just... I wish I was half as brave as you…" she trailed off, hanging her head dejectedly. "I don't think I'd be able to go through with this."
His eyebrow shot up. "What are you talking about? You offered to bring me up here despite being scared, and you did it, didn't you? If that's not bravery, then what is?"
"I… I guess you are right." Unicorn fidgeted, his words cheering her up a little. "I just wish I wasn't always so afraid…"
Lenin pursed his lips. "Fear is what makes us what we are, what makes us human," he muttered under his breath. "Without it, we might as well go back to being just weapons."
She tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Uh…?"
"Nothing…" He took a deep breath to steady his breathing and rubbed his sweaty palms. "Wish me good luck, I'm going in."
AN: Finally, all that foreshadowing has come to fruition.
Let's just hope this doesn't end with someone's actual death…
Next Chapter: Between Hope and Despair