Carabiniere was worried.

It was the day after the others' departure. The Commander, Littorio, and the flagships were still busy with the meeting, and the bulins were still running around the place, fixing the last few things that needed to be repaired.

That morning, like any other morning, she went to pick Sparviero up from his room in the Sardinian dorm for breakfast, but when she knocked on his door, he all but shooed her away, saying he wasn't hungry and didn't want to be disturbed. The shipboy had been a bit downcast since his brothers left him behind to go out on sortie, so much so that he even skipped dinner the night before.

Dejected, the destroyer decided not to insist. She wished she could comfort him, but she didn't know what to say. She could only imagine what he was feeling after being put on the sidelines only because of his condition while the others went to risk their lives out to sea, and she didn't want to worsen his mood by saying something insensitive, so she decided to leave him alone. She figured he wanted some time by himself to mope and brood over the matter.

But now it had been hours, and when she returned, the others told her that he hadn't left his room the entire time, which only further increased her concern.

She decided to go check on him. Staying cooped up in a room too long while feeling sorry for himself wasn't going to help him; if he was depressed, it would only make things worse. As his bodyguard, it was her duty to look after him by getting him out of there, and if he refused to comply… well, she'd figure something out.

She walked briskly through the hallways of the Sardinian dorm and stopped right in front of his room.

"Sparviero, it's me; it's almost lunch time," Carabiniere called him, delicately knocking on the door, but no response came.

Weird. His hearing was exceptional; he should have heard her coming since she rounded the corner, and even if he was asleep, she knew he was a light sleeper. Was he ignoring her?

"You haven't eaten anything since yesterday; you can't skip another meal," she insisted, putting more emphasis behind her voice.

Again, no answer.

Carabiniere was starting to get frustrated. How do you get someone to listen to you when they don't want to?

"Sparviero, is everything all right in there?" She knocked harder on the door with creeping concern in her tone.

When more silence answered her question, a feeling of dread took hold of her. Setting decorum aside, she barged into the room, slamming the door wide open, preparing herself for the worst… and relief washed over her at the sight of the man sitting at the foot of his bed. He was slightly hunched over, with his elbows on his knees, his blindfold in hand, and his eyes closed. There was a focused look on his face, as if he was racking his brain over something.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, she called his name again, approaching him and nudging his shoulder. The shipboy jolted from his position, stiffening under her touch before recognizing her voice.

"Ah… Cara, sorry, I didn't hear you coming," the shipboy greeted her with a smile.

"You didn't? But your hearing's so sharp; I thought you were ignoring me," the destroyer told him with a borderline accusatory tone.

"N-no, I would never… I was just… practicing," Sparviero replied sheepishly.

"Practicing?" Carabiniere was genuinely confused. "What are you practicing alone in your room?"

The shipboy hung his head and pursed his lips, putting on his blindfold and replying with a somber tone, "My eyesight."

The destroyer blinked at him. She couldn't tell if this was another one of his jokes or if he was being serious, and that left her speechless.

Sensing her confusion, the shipboy continued, "You know how I can use my radar to identify enemy targets and direct my planes toward them? It essentially allows me to sense the presence of any Wisdom Cube in the vicinity; the Sirens appear as bright red dots, while the Kansen are light blue. It's very tiring and energy-consuming, but at least it helps me tell apart friends from foes when I fight."

He paused to take a wistful breath. "But it can't show me the appearance of things and people around me. Apart from those flickering lights, everything else is as dark as always."

Carabiniere felt something tug at her heartstrings, and she sat on the bed next to him, fiddling with her fingers awkwardly. She was already regretting doubting him. "Does this have to do with what your brothers told you before departing? Do you want to talk about it?"

The shipboy hung his head in dejection. Carabiniere was already doing so much for him that he didn't want to trouble her with his own insecurities more than he already was, and yet, her kind but firm tone of voice, accompanied by the barest hint of apprehension, persuaded him to open up.

"It's just…" he started with a dejected tone. "It's so frustrating, Cara. No matter how hard I try, to them, I'll always be the one who needs to be protected. Sometimes I'd like to be the one they can rely upon, but in the end, I always end up depending on them one way or another. I know there isn't much I can do to help in a search operation, but it still hurts to be left behind…"

Carabiniere finally started connecting the dots as she listened to him. The shipboy had an inferiority complex toward his overprotective comrades, one born and aggravated by his physical condition. During the time they'd known each other, Sparviero had never allowed his plight to get to him; in fact, he was always ready to joke and laugh about it, but apparently, it was just a façade he was putting up since being left behind by his brothers was enough to reignite the spark of his feeling of inadequacy.

Not that she didn't understand them for leaving him in the safety of the base. On one hand, she also didn't want him to put himself in danger if he could help it, but at the same time, she didn't like seeing him like that, especially since she wasn't good at comforting people. She didn't know what to say without worsening things for him, so she opted to just reach for his arm in a soothing gesture and ask something neutral.

"Is that why you wanted to be left alone? You didn't want to be distracted while you practiced?"

The shipboy nodded, taking in a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to stop being a burden to everyone, but I only succeeded in making you worry."

"Hey, where's this coming from? You are not a burden at all!" Carabiniere jumped to her feet. That was enough, she had to take him out of this spiral of self-deprecation before he fell too deeply into it. "Remember that you saved my life, and it's only thanks to you that we were able to save Freedom and Zuikaku from Observer's clutches!"

Taken aback by her sudden outburst, the shipboy recoiled in surprise. "B-but…"

"No buts. And that's enough self-pitying for today. As your bodyguard, I won't allow you to keep feeling sorry for yourself like this." She grabbed his wrist and hauled him up to his feet, making him stumble a bit as he regained his balance. "I came here to take you to lunch, and we are going, whether you like it or not."

With a tone that didn't admit any objection, she dragged him outside the room and toward the mess hall.

As she walked through the dark, barely lit hallways of their hidden base, Zero let her mind wander.

Lately, she's been starting to realize that acting was surprisingly easy for her; feigning ignorance or surprise came to her as naturally as breathing.

Of course, when you've been lying about something for so long, it becomes second nature, and none of her subordinates ever suspected anything.

Though she wasn't exactly lying, more like withholding information from them.

Every other Elite knew about the Creator's directive because it was intrinsic to their programming, and no one ever questioned it, mainly because it was against their nature.

But she was different. She was the Original Program, the first Elite Siren brought to life. She was borne to watch over her comrades as they carried out their Creator's will, and for that, she had a lot more freedom of choice compared to the others, which means she had the capability to go against some of the Creator's directives, or at least, she had the means and the will to find a way to work around them. Thanks to that, she was privy to some pieces of information her comrades weren't aware of.

Of course, she'd never even dream of going against their Creator's will; she just wanted to shed some light on their disappearance and the reason for their anonymity. That's why she spent most of her time locked behind closed doors, working her way through the endless amount of data that made up their programming code.

It was by doing so that she found out the truth about their origin. Imagine her surprise when she had learned that they all came from the same enemy they were trying to prepare humanity for. She could only surmise that the Creator had found the seed of the Original Sirens right after it had appeared from another world and had managed to hack into it before it could spawn the first horde of monsters.

The result being herself and the rest of the Elites.

Unfortunately, she didn't have the same luck with her true goal. Every registered piece of data regarding the Creator, their identity, or their whereabouts was absent or fragmented, as if someone had tried to erase it.

Maybe the Creator themselves? It was possible, but why hide the truth from them? And why forbid them entirely from investigating it while also giving her enough free will to issue that decision?

So many questions and not enough answers. Regardless, the truth was that Zero had been aware of the fact that their enemies were also their progenitors for the longest time, and that the Creator had forbidden them from interacting with other worlds due to the risk of alerting the Original Sirens.

Why didn't she ever tell any of her subordinates about it? Mainly because it was irrelevant to them. Their loyalty was to the Creator, and they all would keep doing their job by ensuring humanity's growth regardless of their origin, but also because if the others knew that she had found a way to work around the Creator's directives, they might consider her program defective and decide to depose her or straight up erase her.

And of course, she couldn't allow it.

But that's where her knowledge ended. She had been searching for more information about the Original Sirens, their methods, their organizational models, and their forces without giving out too much to her subordinates since forever, but to no avail; the data regarding their progenitors was too corrupted and fragmented for her to decipher. She had been on the verge of giving up, but then an opportunity showed up in the form of the male Kansen.

Was it an accident? A calculated risk? Or a successful plan? She didn't know. All she knew was that they had brought with them one of the Original Sirens, whose signal had managed to travel across the fabric of reality to reach its comrades.

Yes, in the end she did manage to identify both the origin and the path of that weird signal, and she could say without a shred of a doubt that the Original Sirens were now aware of the presence of a world in which their seed had arrived but didn't take root, at least not in the intended way, and she was ready to guess they'd do everything in their power to rectify it.

That's why she didn't hesitate to send her subordinates after the shipboys when she learned about their existence. Of course, she didn't expect the male Kansen to put up such fierce resistance, so she was more than happy to accept their offer when Observer had told her that the shipboys were willing to parley; her knowledge about their otherworldly counterparts was superficial, and she needed all the data she could gather on them.

She decided she'd take the chance and personally take part in the exchange. She really wanted to meet those who had faced directly against the Original Sirens and had given trouble to her subordinates. Besides, it'd be the perfect excuse to check on Azur Lane and their commander.

Lost in her musings, the Original Program reached her destination.

The automatic gate opened for her, and she stepped into the room.

"That Javelin is such a cheerful fellow; when did you meet her?" Sparviero asked Carabiniere.

"The day your brothers arrived; she came with the Royal delegation," the destroyer replied. "She's been friends with Nimi and the others for a long time and was really looking forward to seeing them again."

"I see; no wonder they were all so happy today."

Carabiniere and Sparviero had spent most of the time after lunch at the Royal Navy dorm. Javelin had invited all her destroyer friends to the garden for a small tea party, and of course, the invitation extended to both Sardinian Kansen. Carabiniere was more than glad to accept; it was the perfect chance to take the shipboy's mind off everything else, and judging by the way his lips were slightly quirked upward, she figured her plan to improve his mood had worked, and she couldn't help the satisfied smile adorning her face.

The two were walking through the harbor, side by side as always, with the destroyer leading the carrier by the arm along the path. A comfortable silence settled between them as they made their way toward the Sardinian dorm, interrupted only by the rhythmical tapping of his cane on the concrete and the muffled sloshing of the waves coming from the bay.

After a few minutes of walking and greeting the Kansen they met along the way, they reached the dorm and entered the building.

"Are you feeling better now?" The destroyer tentatively asked him as they came to a stop right in front of the shipboy's room.

"I do, actually," Sparviero replied with a nod of his head. "You were right, Cara. I really needed a breath of fresh air to clear my head."

"Glad I could be of assistance," Carabiniere beamed at him, letting go of his arm to open the door. "Does that mean you'll stop acting like a shut-in wallowing in misery from now on?"

The shipboy chuckled under his breath. "Don't worry, I will; I've learned my lesson."

The smile on her lips turned into a frown as she followed the shipboy inside the room.

"I'm serious, Sparviero," she addressed him with a more somber tone as she pleaded. "I want you to understand that no one here sees you as a burden; not your bothers, nor your sister, or even Nimi and the others, and certainly not me, I can assure you. So please, don't say things like that ever again."

Her words made him pause for a second. This was an issue he had been coping with for the longest time, and he wasn't about to just set it aside overnight, but he couldn't deny the fact that he was feeling a lot better thanks to her. Her attempts at cheering him up by strolling around the port and hanging out with the others worked wonders for his morale, and he was grateful to her even more than he already was.

"Thank you, Cara; I don't know what I'd do without you," he said, sending a smile toward her voice. "I'm so glad to have you by my side; I really mean it."

Whatever rebuttal Carabiniere had prepared died in her throat. Suddenly, she was reminded of the conversation between the shipboys she had overheard the day before. She couldn't believe he just went and said it out loud like that. Eyes wide open and heat flushing her cheeks red, the destroyer stuttered in embarrassment. "P-please don't tease your bodyguard like that!"

Another chuckle left the mouth of the shipboy. Oh, how much he wished he could see her flustered face right now.

At that moment, an idea came to his mind. It was something he had been meaning to ask her for a while, but he had never found the courage to do so, mainly because he believed it was a bit too early for that but also because it was rather embarrassing. It was something he had already done a long time ago with his brothers, and he was thinking of asking the same thing of the Kansen he had met during his stay. He figured Aquila wouldn't mind, and knowing Littorio, she would probably tease the hell out of him but ultimately go along with his selfish request, but he didn't know how Carabiniere would react—would it creep her out?

"Hey, Cara, about what I told you earlier… I wasn't lying; I was really practicing in here," he started saying. "I thought if I tried hard enough, I could get my Cube to help me perceive my surroundings, similarly to how some animals use echo-localization. That way, I'd be able to at least walk by myself without the risk of bumping into anyone; maybe I'll even be able to see other people's features from their outline."

"That's… can you actually do that?" The shipgirl asked in disbelief.

"I don't know, but it's worth a try; I'd give my arm away to be able to see the faces of the people I love," the shipboy shrugged, then took another deep breath to steel himself as he fumbled his way onto the bed. "Which brings me to my next question. I know this might sound weird, and I don't want to put you on the spot like this, so please don't freak out…"

Carabiniere was puzzled; she didn't know where he was trying to get at.

"W-what is it? You are scaring me."

"C-can I quickly feel your face?"

Carabiniere was more than taken aback by his request. For a second, her mind stopped working as she tried to process what he actually meant by that. Then she put two and two together, and her eyes widened in understanding. So far, Sparviero had no idea what she looked like, and this was his only way to find out.

"I know it's unbecoming of me to ask you something like this and you don't have to feel obligated to humor such a selfish request if it makes you uncomfortable-"

"N-no, it's fine," she interrupted him before he could get lost in his rambling.

"Eh? Really?"

"Y-yeah, I-I don't mind," the shipgirl stammered, fidgeting with her hands, unable to look at him. If she had to be honest, the question did catch her off guard, but after regaining her composure, she realized she had no issue with it; in fact, she had found herself wondering multiple times since they first met what he would think of her if he could see her, and she figured it was the perfect chance to find out.

An awkward silence fell over the two. No one dared speak another word until Carabiniere figured she was the one who had to make the first move.

"S-so, I guess I should move here, right? G-go ahead," she fumbled with her words as she moved right in front of him after taking off her black cap and putting it on the bed next to him.

By now, the awkwardness of the first days had completely disappeared, and the two were perfectly at ease in each other's presence and proximity—so much so that something like simple physical contact had become an occurrence they both very much looked forward to without even realizing it.

So why was she so nervous? It's not like they were doing anything obscene; this was just a favor between friends, nothing else; there was no reason to feel so flustered.

Sparviero raised his right hand, and Carabiniere took it in her own to guide it to her face. Normally, he was at least a head taller than her, but now that he was sitting on the bed, she had to lean forward slightly to allow him an easier reach.

Her heart was racing at a hundred miles an hour, and she closed her eyes as his lithe fingers came to rest upon her flushed skin. His hand began roaming over her reddened face, his fingertips slowly tracing patterns along her cheeks and jawline before moving upward as they delicately passed over her lips, her nose, and toward her eyelids.

She already knew it, but his hands were incredibly soft, and she could tell he was being very gentle with his touch. It didn't take long for her heart rate to slow down until she settled into a comfortable bliss as the shipboy engraved every inch of her features into his memory.

She was brought back to reality when his hand briefly brushed through her blonde curls before retreating. She snapped her eyes open and instinctively grabbed his hand to bring it back to her cheek, unwilling to relinquish its warmth yet. At that moment, she realized she had been unconsciously leaning into his touch until she had gotten only a few inches from his face. She didn't know what had gotten into her, but she wasn't planning on pulling back.

"You are so pretty, Cara," Sparviero whispered, his thumb tentatively brushing her soft lips as if asking for permission.

Her heart quickened once again, beating like a drum in her ears. Instead of replying, she leaned forward to press her lips on his. It was just a tentative brush from both parts, but it was enough for another wave of heat to surge from her depths, spreading through her core. He raised his other hand to cup her cheek, deepening the kiss and making her shiver in delight under his touch.

It didn't take long for what started as a chaste and tender kiss to turn into a full-on make out session. The shipgirl leaned closer into his lap, and Sparviero wrapped his arms around her back, pressing her body into his.

Letting himself fall with his back on the bed, he brought the blonde along and on top of him, his hands already wandering around her back, awkwardly looking for an opening in her uniform. Carabiniere let it happen without resisting. She had finally found an answer for the strange feeling swirling inside her for the past few days, and she was too entranced in the moment to bring herself to stop.

Sparviero was also completely enthralled; the light weight of her lithe figure, her thin, soft lips pushing back against his, the enchanting smell of her perfume—all those sensations were overriding his senses, and his mind was entirely focused on the girl in his arms.

They only stopped to come up for air; their faces were only a few inches apart. Sparviero could feel her panting, her hot breath mingling with his own. He didn't know how, but he was able to find a sliver of lucidity amidst the throes of excitement clouding his mind and managed to find his voice.

"Cara, before we go any further, I need to know... are you okay with this?"

Her heart made a flip in her chest, and she was suddenly made aware of their compromising position. Sprawled atop him, her body pressed into his, she could clearly feel his arousal poking at her through his clothes. The poor shipgirl had never found herself in such a situation, and anxiety started gnawing at her, mixing with both desire and excitement, resulting in a whirlwind of confusion swirling in her mind.

Gathering her resolve, she pushed her hesitation to the back of her mind; she already knew what her answer was going to be. It looked like she didn't need to ask Littorio for advice anymore. She was in love with Sparviero, and that's all she needed to know.

"If it's with you, it's okay…" she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

Her words were like music to his ears, and a big smile came to adorn his features. Carabiniere blushed even harder at how ecstatic he seemed to be about the prospect, and a warm feeling began spreading through her chest. She leaned in once again to meet his lips and resume their kissing, the two of them losing themselves once again in each other's arms.

Sparviero was so enraptured that he didn't hear the distinctive sound of heels clacking in the hallway until someone knocked on the door.

"Brother, it's me. Littorio invited us to dinner; want to go together?" Aquila's voice reached their ears, and they both froze in fear, dread creeping over them.

"NO! I mean… I'm not decent! Wait just a second!" The shipboy yelled.

"What do we do?!" Carabiniere whispered in panic.

"Just hide for now and get out of here as soon as we leave," he replied in a hushed tone.

Carabiniere dove behind the side of the bed opposite the door to hide as the shipboy sprang to his feet. He groped around for his cane and quickly made his way toward the door, stumbling and fumbling his steps until he reached the doorknob and opened it just enough to allow himself to slip through the doorframe.

A puzzled look came to Aquila's face at seeing her brother's flushed face and slightly rumpled attire.

"Are you okay? You look troubled," Aquila inquired.

"Y-yeah, I just came back from a walk with Carabiniere, and I was freshening up," the shipboy said, trying to regain his composure as he shut the door behind him.

"Hmm… And where's Cara at the moment? I haven't seen her around."

"I-I don't know; maybe she went back to her room," Sparviero said, trying to play dumb.

"I see… Well, I'm sure she'll join us later," Aquila chuckled aloud, moving to grab her brother's arm. "Meanwhile, shall we get going?"

The two carriers walked away through the hallway, and Carabiniere breathed a sigh of relief. As realization suddenly dawned on her, she hugged her legs and hid her face in her knees, squealing in joy and embarrassment, unaware of the fact that Aquila had been able to peek behind her brother's back in time to see a familiar black cap on the floor of the room.

Lenin woke up with a start, widening his eyes and gasping for air. He tried to move, but both his limbs were bound by some kind of contraption. He was suspended midair at the center of a circular room, his arms outstretched in a T-pose. Metal bands were adorning his wrists and ankles, and two twisted, claw-like metal bars that sprouted from the floor and went up toward the ceiling like stalagmites were at his sides, traversed by arcs of azure electricity.

He tried to struggle against his invisible bindings, but to no avail. He figured he was trapped inside some sort of magnetic field, and those metal bands were responsible for holding him still. On top of that, something was interfering with the connection with his Cube, preventing him from summoning his rigging and freeing himself.

He forced himself to calm down, steadying his heartbeat by taking deep breaths, in and out, until panic slowly faded, and he tried to collect his thoughts.

The last thing he remembered was Observer threatening him right after capturing him and bringing him back to their lair. After that, he remembered the arrival of another Siren dressed in white, with pure white hair and skin and deep blue eyes—their leader, if he understood correctly.

They had started discussing right in front of him. Something about capturing his brothers and using them as leverage on him, and after that, he felt a prick to the side of his neck. He remembered everything slowly turning dark until he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer.

They had drugged him and put him to sleep, but how long ago, exactly? His wounds were also healed; was it their doing or had it been that long?

"You are finally awake."

A voice startled him into alertness. The room was dark except for the light coming from the contraption around him, and once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he noticed a pair of bright, blue eyes glowing ahead and below him. The figure stepped forward into the light to reveal the features of the Elite called Zero.

Panic settled once more. If she was here, then did they manage to get the others? No way. His brothers would never let these dirty Sirens capture them.

When the diaphanous Elite came to a stop at his feet, she snapped her fingers, and the metal bars holding him in place at his sides began lowering into the floor with a loud whirring, the arcs of electricity intensifying their hold on his shackles.

"Did you have a pleasant sleep?" Zero's casual tone clashed with the unconcerned look in her eyes.

Lenin glowered at her as the contraptions came to a stop, and he was brought to her eye level, his feet almost touching the ground.

They remained like that for a few seconds, staring into each other's eyes in silence, until Lenin felt the need to break it.

"What do you want, bitch?"

"Attempt at courtesy, rejected. The subject still retains his hostility," Zero let out a resigned hum.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" The shipboy was genuinely incredulous. "You capture me, torture me, force me to fight other Kansen, then drug me and put me to sleep for who knows how long! Were you expecting me to just forget about it?!" He raised his voice with each word until he was basically yelling in her face.

Unfazed by his anger, Zero began explaining, "We've received word from your comrades. They offered the information we are after in exchange for your release."

Lenin remained speechless, his mouth agape and his eyes wide open. Was she telling the truth? Was he really free to go?

Before the glimmer of hope in his heart could become too bright, he forced himself to snuff it out, shaking his head to banish those thoughts.

"I don't believe a single word that comes out of your filthy mouth, Siren," he growled, gritting his teeth and swallowing the lump that was forming in his throat.

Even his insults left her unimpressed. "That's too bad; here I wanted to entrust you with a secret to relay to your comrades."

"Shut up! This is just a ruse! An elaborate scheme to get me to lower my guard and tell you what you want to know!"

"I was planning on doing something of the sort initially, but now that Tester and Observer are back with good news, there's no more need for that," Zero mused aloud, seemingly shrugging.

"What the- There must be something wrong with your head; that's the only explanation." Lenin didn't know what to make of her anymore. Her attitude was genuinely starting to weird him out. This Elite was too unpredictable and difficult to read, even by this world's Siren standards, and that's what made her dangerous in his opinion.

"Regardless, mine wasn't a request; you'll hear what I have to say, and you will relay it to your comrades," the diaphanous Siren stated.

"And what makes you so sure I'll do it?" He sent her a challenging look.

"You'll understand." She leaned forward, bringing her face close to his.

Lenin tried to recoil his head back in fear and disgust, trying to keep her at arm's length. He was about to give in to the impulse of headbutting her, but then her lips came to brush his ear, and she began whispering.

His eyes widened at her words.

"T-this is a joke, right?" Lenin stuttered in confusion and bewilderment when she finished speaking. "How do you know that?"

An enigmatic smile came to adorn her lips.

"I am the avatar of the seed, after all."

AN: For those who might be interested, part of the scene between Carabiniere and Sparviero was heavily inspired by a similar moment in Katawa Shoujo, one of the best visual novels I've ever read, which I highly recommend to anyone who likes the genre.

Also, a fair warning to everyone interested.

Remember when I said that chapter twenty-eight was the end of act two? Well, consider that we are almost at the second half of the third arc.

I consider this entire arc to be transitional, which means there is and will be a lot less action and a lot more talking, worldbuilding, character interactions, etcetera...

It's going to be like this for a while, but as I've already said, I value these as much as anything else in a story, especially now that they are needed to set up what's to come.

After all, I need to give these characters a moment of respite before throwing them into hell.

I can only hope that it's still plenty entertaining for you all.

Next Chapter: The Fox and the Eagle